Chapter 193: Xianxia Love Story

What is an ill-fated connection?

It is a sentiment different from normal love, a connection that should not have been born, a seed that should never have sprouted from the very beginning...

But now.

This seed has been artificially catalyzed by oneself!

It's all Yue Lao's fault, why reward someone with Pan Jinlian's bamboo pole for no reason...

What a sin!

"Manager Lin, please stay." Just as Lin Bai stepped out of the City Lord's Mansion, the voice of the scholar Zhao Xiansheng reached his ears.

"Zhao Xiansheng, is something the matter?" Lin Bai turned around; a card landed in his palm, and the dazed Pei Yanzong stood behind him.

Seeing this scene, the scholar's expression changed instantly: "Good for you, Lin Bai, the City Lord's affair was indeed your doing."

"Zhao Xiansheng, what are you talking about? I don't understand." Lin Bai looked at the scholar and smiled slightly, "The City Lord has already forgiven Lao Mi; does Zhao Xiansheng still wish to pursue this further?"

"Lin Bai, I have followed the City Lord for over ten years; I understand his temperament and character better than anyone." The scholar looked at Lin Bai, his entire body radiating a bone-chilling coldness, "But after he was struck by Lao Mi's short rod, he became entirely too abnormal. The way he looks at Lao Mi is as if he were looking at a woman, yet he himself is completely unaware. How similar is this behavior to those struck by Manager Lin's Love Bow? Do you dare say this has nothing to do with you?"

Lin Bai looked at the scholar, pondered for a moment, and said, "It has nothing to do with me."

"You..." The scholar almost choked on his breath; he glared at Lin Bai in annoyance, "Do you know what you are doing?"

"I am accelerating the rapid integration of the Heavenly Descended and He Gan Cheng." Lin Bai straightened his body and said sternly, "I want to push the Justice Alliance to the world, pull the high-and-mighty cultivators down from their altars, and return peace and stability to the world. I am doing one of the greatest things in human history..."

In Lin Bai's mind, the scholar's Negative Emotion was practically exploding; bloodshot veins crawled onto his eyeballs, and the fist hidden inside his sleeve tightened and then relaxed.

Finally, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and opened his eyes again: "Lin Bai, the City Lord has always valued you. From the day you arrived in Qian City, he has been secretly looking after you at the request of the Yunyang County Princess..."

Looking after?

When I first arrived and was threatened by several sects from the Immortal Supervision Department, where was he?

When I was ambushed by Qingming Daozhang of Huilong Temple, where was he then?

When I was outside the city, fighting Huilong Temple alone, what was he doing?

Bah!

If this is called looking after, then looking after is far too simple...

Xu Longyun provided him with a place for Pill Refinement, spent a large sum to buy his pill recipes, and even gave him a royal Token to ensure his safety—now that is what you call looking after, isn't it?

To have the nerve to gild one's own lily!

Lin Bai muttered to himself, looked at the gate of the City Lord's Mansion, and cupped his hands: "Lin has always been grateful for the City Lord's care. For such an elder, I hold the utmost respect in my heart. After establishing the Justice Alliance, the first thing I did was invite him to be the supervisor of the alliance. With such an upright elder overseeing the Justice Alliance, Lin firmly believes that the Justice Alliance will surely grow strong..."

Watching Lin Bai play the fool, the scholar's blood surged, and he felt the urge to fight him to the death again. But thinking of Lin Bai's impossible-to-guard-against methods, he suppressed the impulse in his heart and said: "The City Lord is not like those sect leaders; he is the parent-official of a city. Every decision he makes concerns the food, clothing, housing, and transportation—even the life and death—of countless commoners. Sect Leader Lin, I know that although your actions are arrogant, you still hold to the conscience in your heart. Please, let the City Lord go."

"Zhao Xiansheng, you have truly wronged me." Lin Bai shook his head, "Besides, the City Lord said that keeping Lao Mi was to discuss some economic issues; you shouldn't overthink it."

Saying this, he performed the Wind Riding technique and prepared to leave.

The scholar became anxious: "Lin Bai, do you wish to be the enemy of the whole world?"

Lin Bai stopped, looked at the furious scholar on the ground, and smiled slightly: "No, I am saving the people of the world."

A flash of anger crossed the scholar's eyes: "Lin Bai, if you persist in your own way, you will regret it."

Lin Bai glanced at him, said nothing, and turned to leave.

In the scholar's ears, he clearly heard Lin Bai's arrogant voice transmission: "If I can save the people of the world, what does it matter if I am the enemy of the world? Fool, how do you know this isn't a strategy the City Lord and I agreed upon?"

The scholar shuddered violently. Looking at Lin Bai bathing in the sunlight in the sky, his angry gaze gradually became complex. His lips moved: "What does it matter if I am the enemy of the world? Did I misunderstand him?"

Lin Bai landed at the Beggar Sect branch, and the players who had been waiting for a long time immediately surrounded him.

"Manager Lin, Lao Mi didn't come back with you?" 【Gugao Laoren】 asked.

"He stayed at the City Lord's Mansion tonight to cultivate feelings with the City Lord." Lin Bai smiled at him, "If there are no accidents, the City Lord should have been taken down by Lao Mi."

"Manager Lin, after Lao Mi and the City Lord develop feelings, what will they be like? Will it be like Qingyu and Huaxi, the husband sings and the wife follows?" 【Gugao Laoren】 asked persistently, unwilling to give up.

"Something like that! At the time, the City Lord only had eyes for Lao Mi; even I was kicked out," Lin Bai said dismissively.

He had long known from private chat logs what these players were concerned about. It was nothing more than whether they could turn an NPC into an obedient Puppet.

Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't ask directly.

But this time, 【Lao Mi】 had turned off the live stream, and they couldn't get into the City Lord's Mansion. Each of them was itching with curiosity, and in private, they were practically cursing 【Lao Mi】, who was enjoying all the benefits, to death.

"Don't talk about this; we'll know what the situation is with Lao Mi tomorrow morning!" Lin Bai scanned them and asked, "What are the current movements of those sects like Hundred Flowers Valley?"

"Just as we expected, no sect is willing to join the Justice Alliance," 【Gugao Laoren】 said. "Our undercover agents sent back news that the Chaoyuan Sword Sect, Medicine King Valley, and Spirit Tool Pavilion plan to go to the Seven Orthodox Sects to ask for reinforcements, while Hundred Flowers Valley will rush to Qian City, feign surrender, and delay our march."

"Asking for reinforcements, huh!" Lin Bai pondered for a moment and asked, "How long will it take for the reinforcements to arrive?"

"It takes about seven days to get to the Seven Orthodox Sects," 【Gugao Laoren】 said. "Whether the reinforcements can come and when they will arrive is hard to say. After all, they also have to look at the decisions from above."

"Seven days?" Lin Bai was stunned, "Is the disconnect between the Seven Orthodox Sects and the sects below that severe?"

"We don't know about that," 【Gugao Laoren】 said. "After all, we have only been here for less than two months, and our understanding of the world is limited to the affairs we have experienced. Moreover, those sects have become wary of us, and many secrets cannot be probed at all."

"No matter, just do our own things step by step. You have already done very well; how could ordinary people set up such a large industry in such a short time? Lao Mi has taken down the City Lord, and the entire Qian City is under our control," Lin Bai laughed.

It would take seven days to go to the Seven Orthodox Sects, which gave him enough confidence.

According to the nature of the Xianxia World, to deal with a small fry like himself, the Seven Orthodox Sects would likely not mobilize their entire force.

Even if the experts of the Seven Orthodox Sects could arrive in an instant, seven days would be enough for him to complete many tasks.

Who knows how many trump cards he will have by then?

Besides.

The system forced him to walk step by step to this point; clashing with the Seven Orthodox Sects or the Five Demonic Sects was simply an inevitable event. He had long been mentally prepared.

With the Red Thread in hand, there is no panic in the heart!

"It's all Manager Lin's credit," 【Gugao Laoren】 said. "We are just tagging along."

"Before, you were just tagging along, but now our operation is getting bigger and bigger; in the future, you won't be able to slack off even if you want to." Lin Bai waved his hand and smiled, "Alright, let's not talk about those ethereal futures. Walk every step steadily, and I guarantee that everyone in the Beggar Sect and the Justice Gate will live the most wonderful life in this world."

"Many thanks to Shopkeeper Lin for the support," Gugao Laoren said, cupping his hands.

"How is the interview with the Evil Five Sects going?" Lin Bai looked at the Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo and asked.

"Reporting to Shopkeeper Lin, I have obtained the first-hand material," the Number One Paparazzo frowned and said, "but there is nothing particularly brilliant, and due to equipment limitations, many of the photos taken cannot be printed."

"Find a way to polish the stories; you must make the deeds of these sect leaders sound legendary. Try your best not to focus your writing on the fact that they are evil sects," Lin Bai said. "You must highlight the tragic heroism of the winner being the king and the loser being the villain. Focus the writing on the struggle of orthodoxy; the defeated sects had no choice but to be labeled as evil by the Seven Righteous Sects. Emphasize that Dao Methods are righteous when used for good and evil when used for evil; blood refining methods can kill, and a dignified Sword can also kill. Start from their unwillingness to submit and their resistance, portraying them as a group of inspirational people who have been struggling to survive for the sake of pursuing orthodoxy."

"Understood," the Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo nodded.

"Remember, reversals—there must be reversals," Lin Bai said. "The evil deeds they committed must have been framed by people from the Seven Righteous Sects. But because of their pride, they disdained to explain, which led to the current situation..."

"..." Daoxu could not help but frown.

"Sect Leader Lin, this deviates from the facts!" the Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo said. "Once the truth is uncovered by others, the reputation of Justice Weekly will be ruined."

"Otherwise what? Are you suggesting I say the Justice Alliance has recruited a bunch of demons and monsters as members? How will the world trust our Justice Alliance in the future?" Lin Bai glanced at him and scoffed. "What do you think the common people want to see? How much do they know about the world of cultivation? Aren't they just looking for excitement? Who knows what is true or false about things that happened hundreds or thousands of years ago?"

"But?" The Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo still wanted to argue, but was ruthlessly interrupted by Lin Bai.

"I know you hold fast to the truth in your heart, and that is very good, but we should value the results more," Lin Bai said. "The main feature of the second issue is the Justice Alliance. Therefore, the Justice Alliance cannot bring panic to the common people."

Only in this way will the people believe in us and believe in every single thing we report.

"Furthermore, after promoting Xin Shang and the others with a positive image, when they encounter the common people, do you think they will maintain their own image, or will they deliberately smear themselves and completely destroy the future of the Evil Five Sects? The most critical point is, how do you know if the content you interviewed is true or false?"

"..." The Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo opened his mouth, stunned.

"Understand now?" Lin Bai smiled. "The past is not important; what we want is the future, and what we want is to plant a seed of kindness. This way, even if others learn from us and start a newspaper to smear us in the future, the common people will take the initiative to stand up and argue with them."

"Paparazzo, listen to Shopkeeper Lin," Gugao Laoren sent a private message. "Only by doing as he says can Justice Weekly succeed. We are not in reality; we are playing a game, understand?"

"Fine!" the Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo said aggrievedly. "Lao Gu, why is playing a game so dark too?"

"This is reality." Gugao Laoren cast an admiring look at Lin Bai and sighed. "Just as Lin Bai said, after Justice Weekly spreads, other players will definitely follow suit. When they spread rumors then, are we going to fight them with the truth? Little Paparazzo, no matter when, the purpose of public opinion is very clear. How many people in the Beggar Sect are counting on Shopkeeper Lin to eat? We cannot lose."

"I understand." At this moment, the faith of the Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo collapsed. He looked at Lin Bai and said, "I know what to do, Shopkeeper Lin."

"Do you know the purpose of the Justice Alliance?" Lin Bai nodded and asked.

"Combining cultivation with the people's livelihood, and having Dao Methods serve the people's livelihood," the Number One Paparazzo said.

"Correct," Lin Bai said. "In this issue of the weekly, include a few love stories."

"Love?" The Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo was stunned.

"I want to promote the Love Dao," Lin Bai said. "Spreading love among the people might enhance the feelings between the parties involved and help promote the cultivation of the Love Dao. After all, this adds the faith and blessings of all living beings."

"Write about whom?" the Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo asked tentatively. "You and Jiang Xianzi?"

"Writing about me is fine, but my story isn't particularly brilliant. The forbidden love between Qingyu of Huilong Temple and Huaxi of the Profound Underworld Sect that broke through sect blockades; Pei Yanzong's declaration of love before the battle, and his great sentiment of being willing to die for his lover; even the age-defying love of mutual appreciation between Lao Mi and the City Lord; if these stories are polished well, they will be more attractive to the eyes of the common people," Lin Bai thought for a moment and said.

Gulp!

There was a sound of swallowing saliva all around.

Aside from him and Jiang Qingqin, none of these things were normal. Practicing the Love Dao in private was one thing, but once it spread, how would the world see it?

Daoxu's face changed immediately: "Lin Bai, you cannot do this. There is nothing between Pei Yanzong and me; it was all your doing!"

"I know," Lin Bai glanced at him and said. "But the fact that Pei Yanzong was willing to die for you cannot be erased! I know you dislike Pei Yanzong, and I am not forcing you two together. I just want to use these examples to awaken the world's yearning for the beauty of love. This world is too impetuous, and many people no longer believe in love. All of this stems from a lack of understanding. I want to use various examples to let the world understand what the true meaning of love is!"

"..." Daoxu's face turned bright red instantly, and he still wanted to argue.

Lin Bai flipped his palm, took him back into the card, and said to the Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo: "I know the things that happened between these pairs of lovers are a bit thin; you can do some artistic processing. For example, between me and Jiang Qingqin, you can highlight 'sweetness'; between Qingyu and Huaxi, you can highlight 'struggle' and 'firmness'; between Pei Yanzong and Daoxu, highlight 'parting by life and death' and 'devotion'; between the City Lord and Lao Mi, you can highlight 'admiration for talent'..."

The new reward from the Yuelao System was the "Moon-Running" ultimate move for group battles. To make up for his own shortcomings, Lin Bai had become obsessed and was willing to go all out, even hyping himself up.

Lin Bai finished speaking.

The players and the Daoist priests of Huilong Temple present were all stunned. Is this what is called the Love Dao?

Aside from him and Jiang Qingqin, there wasn't a single normal one!

"..." The Immortal World's Number One Paparazzo looked at Lin Bai and said stammeringly, "Shopkeeper Lin, in this way, won't Justice Weekly become a tabloid?"

"The Love Dao concerns the Laws of Heaven and Earth; how can it be a tabloid? The purpose of the Justice Alliance's establishment is to promote the Laws," Lin Bai's expression became much more serious. "Before the articles, name the cultivation mysteries of the Law of Love. If anyone can attain the Dao from it, that is a great Merit. Don't worry about so much; just do as I say."

(End of chapter)