Encounter

Jie Xiulan finished cleaning the dishes pretty quickly since there were only two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks. The chopsticks were bamboo-made and could be washed for repeated use, which was much cheaper than repeatedly buying disposable chopsticks.

She dried off her hands after placing the bowls and chopsticks on the drying rack before making her way to the living room where Lin Shen was.

Lin Shen didn't return back to his room to cultivate since he had a guest. It would be rude to have her awkwardly staring as he circulated energy after all the efforts she did to come here.

He decided to just watch some channels on the TV.

"Brother Lin, what are you watching?" Jie Xiulan plopped her bum down onto the couch across from the TV, right next to Lin Shen.

The TV was playing a drama about a female assassin who fell in love with her target, one who often escaped from her grasp.

The female assassin disguised herself as a maid and infiltrated her target's mansion. The target, the male lead, was taking a shower when she came into his room. She witnessed his great body and was flustered, which Lin Shen couldn't believe a trained assassin would do.

Well, because of her flustered state, she just stayed still while the target didn't even notice her because of the steamy fog covering the entire shower room and just left.

After that, a series of failures occurred as the female assassin started to develop feelings for her target. She started to spend more time being a maid and enjoyed it more than her life as an assassin.

When they finally professed their love, the male lead's parents paid a visit to their son and saw the female assassin who was dressed as a maid.

Their first reaction was: "Daughter!"

And the drama came to an end.

Bzzt-

Lin Shen turned off the TV, his face a mix of shame, ridicule, and sadness.

He wanted to make fun of the two lovers in the drama, considering they were actually siblings, but their love felt so real that it was quite the twist when the news was revealed.

Now shame, because Jie Xiulan was sitting right there beside him, her eyes alternating between the TV and his face. Her expression seemed to be saying something.

Lin Shen awkwardly sat there, not saying a word.

"Brother Lin...you like these types of movies?" Jie Xiulan finally broke the ice after a long contemplation. Did Brother Lin have a sister complex? But I don't think he has a sister?

"Xiulan, I remember you promised to help me destroy Wolf's Bane." Lin Shen hurriedly switched the topic.

"Hmm? Oh yeah I remember that. But Brother Lin, about my question, you still haven't-" Lin Shen abruptly placed his palm onto her lips, stopping her inquiry. Only after realizing his actions did he retrieve his hand.

Jie Xiulan just sat there, her mind short-circuited. She subconsciously tasted her lips, feeling a faint fragrance of warmth from it. It was really attractive to her, she wanted more…

'No!' She hurriedly snapped out of her trance, the feeling very familiar. 'Brother Lin's aura? No, it's more condensed this time. His Qi?' Jie Xiulan remembered that Lin Shen was already in the Foundation Establishment realm and connected the dots.

"Ah, sorry. I did that impulsively." Lin Shen quickly apologized for his actions.

Jie Xiulan shook her head. "Nevermind that. About Wolf's Bane, I did some research and found out where they're hiding. If father helped, then we could get rid of them easily, but he won't so we're on our own."

"We'll have to be careful. They're very dangerous and have many elites." Lin Shen was surprised she found their hideout in one day, but he quickly cleared his head.

"Brother Lin, it seems their leader is very strong. At first I thought he was a cultivator, but I confirmed with my father that he wasn't. It's just that his power is very strong, at around a Soul Bonding cultivator's level."

'He's not a cultivator but his abilities are equal to that of a Soul Bonding cultivator?.' Lin Shen quickly calculated in his mind. 'A Soul Bonding cultivator is two stages above Foundation Establishment Realm.'

He could remember that Jin Da seemed to be stronger than normal adult males three years ago.

He turned to Jie Xiulan and said, "I'll reach the Soul Bonding realm before we make our move. Right now they're laying low because of your father so we should take the opportunity to prepare."

"Alright." Jie Xiulan didn't mention the movie they were watching earlier, but it was still on her mind.

They conversed for a while before noticing it was getting late. It was already 7 PM so Jie Xiulan had to go home, which was one of the conditions Jie Zheng had set before allowing her to roam around.

Lin Shen decided to walk her home since it was safer. Jie Xiulan initially refused but after some convincing she relented.

He didn't forget to lock up before exiting the apartment compound, Jie Xiulan following after him.

Lin Shen didn't change his outfit so he was still wearing his earlier clothes, a grey long-sleeved shirt matched with khaki colored cargo pants.

He walked neither slow or fast, just matching Jie Xiulan's speed. They walked quietly, neither of them speaking a word. Lin Shen didn't talk to many people so his conversational skills were limited. He couldn't really start a conversation.

After many calculations through her head, Jie Xiulan decided to speak. "Brother Lin, the ending of that movie was such a twist! Who knew they'd turn out to be siblings?"

As expected, that was still on her mind.

Lin Shen wryly smiled. "Y-yeah…"

This girl definitely thinks he had a weird fetish…

Lurking in the dark, the shadow of a man gazed intently at the duo, Lin Shen and Jie Xiulan. He trailed them discreetly with a murderous intent.

Although Lin Shen had never killed before, he had once been on the receiving end of a killing intent. He remembered the feeling very well and immediately became alert.

Such undisguised killing intent was aimed directly at him, and thankfully not at Jie Xiulan. This told him that it was an enemy he recently made, and probably one who didn't know he was a cultivator.

Since he didn't want to alert the assassin, he didn't make any moves nor did he tell Xiulan. He just quietly circulated the 'Immortal's Benevolent Qi Cultivation' method to get his Qi ready.

Lin Shen noticed that there were less and less people who went past them as they continued walking. The assassin's plan was obviously to kill him when there were no others around. Xiulan was walking together with him, so she would definitely be dragged into this.

Every minute as they walked Lin Shen's heart only beat faster and faster. He was getting nervous since this would be his first assassination encounter.

Finally, there were no more people passing by or anywhere in the vicinity, so Lin Shen immediately readied for battle.

Jie Xiulan noticed the lack of people and Lin Shen's alertness, so she immediately stood behind him. She was also nervous since she didn't know what they were dealing with.

"Come out." Lin Shen shouted a little bit and stood alert. He glanced left and right, trying to locate the assassin.

The assassin didn't waste any time. He calmly came out hiding and approached the duo. He was surprised he was found out though. He had made sure to cover his tracks and stay undetected while trailing them. How did he get found out?

"Young man, I'm surprised you knew I was here, but since you're my target, you can only blame your bad luck." The assassin got out a gun from his waist and aimed it at Lin Shen.

Seeing this gun, Lin Shen really did start cursing his luck. What happened to using knives or whips to kill your target? Those novels are a bunch of liars!

Even as he complained, he was actually circulating the energy in his body and stopping them in place. This way they would act as a defensive layer.

Although he didn't know if his layer of Qi would be enough to defend against a bullet, it was still better than nothing.

"Xiulan, when he shoots the gun, run away immediately. You have talismans on you so you should be safe." Lin Shen quietly whispered to Jie Xiulan.

She had been dragged into this by him so he didn't want her to get hurt.

Jie Xiulan's father had stuck a bunch of talismans on her, so at least one of them was bound to be a defensive talisman.

As for Lin Shen, there were no places nearby to hide except for where the assassin had come out of. He could only stake it on his improved constitution. The distance between him and the assassin was at least 10 meters, so all he had to do was dash as fast as he could towards the assassin when he shot the gun.