Throwing meat buns at a dog? Isn't that just handing over food?

Lin Yuan couldn't help but laugh at her adorable, jealous expression.

He grabbed her mischievous little hand, pulled her back into his embrace, pinched her perky nose, and said with a spoiled yet domineering tone, "I don't want to be Gu Zheng's husband. That woman is like a ten-thousand-year-old profound ice, cold and unfeeling. How could she compare to my Xue Linglong, who is fragrant, soft, and knows how to care for me?"

The phrase "my Xue Linglong" instantly swept away the bitterness and grievances in Xue Linglong's heart.

A charming smile blossomed on her Face again, but she still retorted stubbornly, "Hmph, at least you have some conscience. You're so glib-tongued, who knows if what you're saying is true."

Her eyes darted around, and she looked a little worried, "Then when I go back, what should I tell Master? I can't possibly say that you sat there unmoved, completely ignoring a beauty like me, can I? That would be so embarrassing for me."

"Simple," Lin Yuan's lips curved into a mischievous smile, and he leaned into her ear, whispering in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Just tell her that I, Lin Yuan, have extremely poor self-control. The moment I saw an unparalleled beauty like you, I lost my soul and completely lost control, becoming utterly infatuated and subservient to you with just a few moves."

"Pfft..." Xue Linglong's Face turned crimson at his explicit words, and she gave him a charming glare.

"Hmph! You're so annoying! No seriousness at all!... Alright then, I'll say that. But I can't stay here too long. I still need to go to the other alchemists to collect today's Medicinal Pills, otherwise, if I return late, Master might get suspicious."

Saying that, she reluctantly prepared to get up.

Lin Yuan handed over the jade bottle he had already prepared: "There are six inside; these are my tasks for today."

Xue Linglong took the jade bottle, pulled out the stopper, and a Medicinal Pill fragrance, several times stronger than ordinary Medicinal Pills, wafted towards her.

When she clearly saw the grade of the Medicinal Pills inside the bottle, her breathing involuntarily stopped, and her beautiful eyes instantly widened. Of the six blood-melding muscle-generating pills, four were Medium Grade, and the remaining two were High Grade Medicinal Pills with spiritual light contained within!

Before she could recover from the shock, Lin Yuan slipped another High Grade blood-melding muscle-generating pill into her palm.

"Take this one, just in case. On the front lines, an extra life-saving trump card is always good."

Xue Linglong's heart felt as if it had been struck by the warmest current, both warm and soft.

She looked at Lin Yuan's concerned eyes, her own eyes slightly red, and she lightly pecked Lin Yuan's Face.

"I... I still have things to do. Tonight... I'll come find you again."

After she finished speaking, her cheeks flushed, she quickly dressed and almost fled, as if staying for another moment would completely immerse her in that tenderness, making her unable to leave.

After Xue Linglong left, the smile on Lin Yuan's Face slowly faded.

He sat cross-legged, took out and consumed an Extreme Grade Spirit Gathering Pill. The immense spiritual energy instantly exploded within his body, and he immediately focused his mind, sinking into Cultivation.

Though the embrace of tenderness was good, on this bloody and cruel battlefield, only one's own strength was the sole foundation for survival and protecting loved ones... On the other side, Xue Linglong, with a complex yet sweet mood, collected all the Medicinal Pills from the other alchemists in the city before finally returning to Su Meiniang's small courtyard.

"You're back?" Su Meiniang was leaning leisurely on a soft couch, sipping Spirit Tea. Seeing Xue Linglong enter, her enchanting eyes slightly lifted, and a knowing smile played on her lips.

"Today took a full hour longer than usual. It seems our Alchemist Lin, who Junior Martial Uncle Gu disdained, couldn't resist the charm of my precious Disciple."

Xue Linglong's pretty Face instantly flushed crimson. She remembered Lin Yuan's instructions and felt a surge of panic.

She quickly took a deep breath, trying to make her expression look shy rather than guilty, and then gently nodded.

"That... that Alchemist Lin's self-control was indeed... quite ordinary."

She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Master's eyes, which seemed to see through people's hearts. Her voice, too, became uncontrollably weak.

"When Disciple went to collect the Medicinal Pills, his eyes... were glued to Disciple, and Disciple had to try very hard to get away and come back."

Hearing this, Gu Zheng stomped her foot in anger and bit her silver teeth, saying, "So this guy is like that! I overestimated him!"

Her icy Face was now filled with disgust and an indescribable disappointment.

"I, however, think this guy has a good sense of self-awareness."

Su Meiniang leaned on the soft couch, picked up her Spirit Tea, slowly blew on the hot liquid, and smiled with enchanting eyes.

"He knows he's not worthy of our Zhengzheng, so he deliberately ignored you and turned to those Common, Vulgar Women. It must be so!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng's expression shifted. Her tightly furrowed brows did not relax; instead, they creased even deeper.

She came back to her senses and shook her head, "No, no!"

"What's wrong?" Su Meiniang put down her teacup and looked at her with interest.

"I investigated his background." Gu Zheng's eyes became sharp, filled with analysis and scrutiny.

"This person cultivated diligently for many years during the Qi Refinement Stage, possessing a firm will and showing no interest in women. His actions are meticulous, and his personality is cautious; he is definitely not the shallow type who loses control upon seeing beauty!"

She suddenly turned her head, her clear, cold gaze like two ice picks, piercing directly at Xue Linglong.

"You... you're lying! What exactly happened?"

Xue Linglong's heart trembled under her gaze. She subconsciously looked at Su Meiniang, only to see an imperceptible coldness flash in Master's smiling, enchanting eyes.

She felt bitter in her heart, knowing she couldn't hide it anymore.

"It... it was Alchemist Lin who told me to say that!"

With Xue Linglong's Cultivation, pure lies simply couldn't stand up before two Late Core Formation Stage Cultivators, especially in front of the meticulous Gu Zheng.

But what she had just said was not entirely a lie either.

Lin Yuan's gaze towards her was indeed lustful, and he did try to touch her... Moreover, the final explanation was indeed taught to her by Lin Yuan himself.

A mix of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion, is the most deceptive.

"Xue Linglong... what exactly happened?" Su Meiniang's voice was still charming, but it now carried an undeniable authority.

Xue Linglong dared not conceal it any longer. She bowed gracefully to the two of them and whispered, "Disciple was ordered to test this person, but he... he seemed to know from the beginning that Disciple was testing him."

As she spoke, Xue Linglong opened her palm, revealing a Medicinal Pill within, imbued with spiritual light and exuding a strong medicinal fragrance.

"He said... he only wants to Cultivate in peace here and doesn't want to be disturbed by matters of love."

"He gave Disciple this item and asked Disciple for help, telling me to say that his self-control is extremely poor and he's easily overcome, so that... so that Junior Martial Uncle, you would be completely disappointed in him and no longer pay him any attention."

"High Grade blood-melding muscle-generating pill!"

Su Meiniang's eyes instantly lit up. She snatched the Medicinal Pill and examined it carefully, her previous laziness and charm completely replaced by surprise.

A High Grade blood-melding muscle-generating pill, at a critical moment, could save the life of a Core Formation Cultivator; its value was self-evident.

The two Fifth-Grade Alchemists in Black Stone City usually produced mostly Low Grade and Medium Grade Medicinal Pills during their Alchemy, and only occasionally, with extreme luck, after several days or even half a month, might they coincidentally refine a High Grade one.

"What about the Medicinal Pills he submitted today?" Su Meiniang pressed on.

Xue Linglong quickly presented the jade bottle Lin Yuan had given her.

Su Meiniang poured out the Medicinal Pills, and as her Divine Sense swept over them, the shock on her Face deepened.

"Tsk tsk... four Medium Grade, two High Grade! This success rate, and the grade of these Medicinal Pills, are already infinitely close to the standard of a Fourth-Grade Alchemist! And from his bone age, I see he's still very young..."

She looked at Gu Zheng, her eyes becoming meaningful, "Zhengzheng, this time, you seem to have found a treasure."