Chapter 156: Aerial Acrobat

Night fell, and the streets of Mycenae gradually fell silent.

Scattered earthen oil lamps flickered on the stone road, their weak flames wavering in the night wind, stretching pedestrians' shadows long and vague.

A few house windows emitted a dim yellow glow, the light supplied by burning olive‑oil wicks, occasionally spitting out one or two sparks.

The air carried a faint burnt‑oil smell, mingling with the lingering scent of baked flatbread and livestock from the day.

There were few pedestrians.

Among them were Yu Lin, and.

Li Ya, whom he met at dusk.

He lowered his head, watching Li Ya, who trailed him like a clingy follower, silent, head down as she walked, and said helplessly:

"Li Ya, aren't you going home?"

Li Ya heard his question, then lifted her head and whispered:

"I... no one is at home."

"No one? What about your father and mother? Didn't they return home?"

"They... all died, when they went out to buy things they were robbed..."

"..." Looking with reddened eyes, Li Ya seemed to be holding back tears, yet she couldn't.

Yu Lin raised his hand and slapped himself.

I really am doomed.

He crouched, rubbing Li Ya's head, then lifted his hand to wipe the tears from her eyes:

"Alright, alright, don't cry, it's my fault."

"I happen to have nowhere to stay either; would you let me stay for a while?"

"I can make sure you have roasted lamb every day."

"Great!" Li Ya's eyes lit up at the words, and she immediately nodded in agreement.

She clutched Yu Lin's hem tightly, leading him through the dim alley. The night wind swept sand dust across the stone road, and a few dog barks sounded in the distance.

Just a dozen steps away from the house, Yu Lin suddenly halted.

—A strong scent of alcohol drifted on the wind, mixed with heavy breathing.

He lowered his head toward Li Ya: "Didn't you say no one was at home?"

Li Ya lifted her face, her blue eyes filled with bewilderment: "I... I don't know... I'm really the only one at home."

"Brother, you trust me..."

Yu Lin said nothing further, and strode forward.

The dilapidated Wooden Door was half‑ajar; before he even approached, a pungent stench of alcohol hit his nose.

Inside, the room was a wreck—earthen jar shards scattered everywhere, furniture toppled in all directions.

On a crude wooden bed, a man in his thirties lay on his back, pouring wine into his mouth.

His beard was unkempt, his face flushed, and his open shirt exposed his chest.

Seeing intruders, he squinted drunkenly: "Who let you in? This is my house!"

"Get out!"

Li Ya suddenly lunged forward, her little face flushed bright red:

"You're lying! This is my home, not yours!"

"Ha, so it's you, little brat." The drunk sneered, shaking his wine jar: "Your parents are dead, you living alone in such a big house is wasteful... just right for me."

His murky gaze swept to Yu Lin: "Hey, little girl, you're quite capable, finding a lover so quickly, and you're not even from around here; you should've said you were..."

Before the words finished, his throat suddenly seemed grasped by an invisible hand.

Under Li Ya's shocked gaze, the drunk rose into the air, flailing his limbs as he "flew" toward Yu Lin.

Yu Lin grabbed his neck with one hand and dragged him out like a dead dog.

The night wind hurled sand particles at the drunk's face; he finally cleared a bit, his eyes widening in terror.

He tried to utter some pleading words, but nothing came out.

"Brother, I'll give you a performance of an aerial acrobat," Yu Lin smiled at Li Ya, then looked up at the night sky:

"Fly up!"

Whoosh—

The drunk turned into a Black Shadow that shot straight into the clouds, breaking through the cloud layer in an instant and vanishing, leaving only a few fragments of cloud drifting slowly.

Li Ya opened her little mouth, staring blankly at the sky: "He... he flew so high..."

"Flying high is the point," Yu Lin clapped his hands, turned and looked at the still wine‑smelling, messy interior.

He waved his hand; a gentle breeze passed, and the shattered jars and toppled furniture automatically began to clean themselves and return to their places!

Li Ya stared in amazement, and when Yu Lin raised his hand and waved before her eyes, he said: "Alright, stop spacing out."

"Come in."

Li Ya snapped back to herself, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Yu Lin: "Brother, you're amazing!"

Yu Lin laughed, rubbing her head: "I have plenty of impressive tricks."

"Alright, come in."

The two entered the house, which had two floors; the first floor had been Li Ya's parents' residence, and the second floor was Li Ya's small room.

Yu Lin naturally took up residence on the first floor.

After saying goodnight to Yu Lin, Li Ya trotted up the stairs.

Not long after, even breathing sounds came from upstairs—she seemed to have not had a proper sleep in ages, and now finally drifted peacefully into dreamland.

It seemed she felt very at ease with Yu Lin.

Alas, who let him be such a kind soul? Being liked is perfectly normal.

Yu Lin sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, circulating his cultivation technique.

The night wind blew in from outside the window.

After who knows how long, a figure flew in from outside, and a voice suddenly sounded beside his ear:

"What, I just left for a few days, and you're living in someone else's house?"

"You don't even spare the little girl......"

Yu Lin raised a hand and covered its mouth: "All right, don't say any more."

"Am I that kind of person?"

"His parents are dead, and his name is the same as a girl I knew before, so I'm just helping her out."

"Don't think wildly, okay?"

"By the way, Old Dragon, what did you do? Where's the qilin?"

Old Dragon slipped from his grasp and explained: "Nothing much, I just wandered around."

"Then I went to that Olympus for a trip."

"A heavenly queen received us, very enthusiastic beautiful woman; if she weren't married, I could introduce her to you."

"I wanted to come back and tell you first, but that qilin fellow stayed behind to keep playing."

"The heavenly queen summoned several goddesses to attend to it, making it very comfortable...... I, Old Dragon, am I less handsome than the qilin? Why do they like the qilin so much?"

"Really, no taste at all!"

After hearing its words, Yu Lin twitched the corner of his mouth.

Quite the fellow.

He hasn't even seen Hera yet, and these two have already been to Olympus for a trip.

Is the qilin liked by the goddesses of Olympus?

As long as Zeus doesn't like him, the rest doesn't matter.

"I get it." Yu Lin nodded to show he understood, then asked: "Have you seen Zeus?"

Old Dragon spread his hands: "No."

"Now it's just that heavenly queen around; I quietly asked her, and she said she also doesn't know."

"Still want to ask if we've seen him; if we have, just tell her, she'll...... you know what I mean."

Seeing Old Dragon didn't know, Yu Lin stopped pressing, ended today's cultivation, and lay down on the bed:

"Alright, then I'll lie down."