The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 22
by Little PandaYour mouth is quite impressive.
The two people did not stay outside for too long. Waiting until the sky had begun to show fish-belly white [魚肚白 | yúdúbái | the first light of dawn], Song Linlin felt it was about time to go back. Since it was already dawn, that Shen Jin would definitely take Ye Tingran to Luofeng Temple.
“Let’s go.”
Song Linlin clapped her hands. During this time, she had peeled several lotus seedpods, but picking them was rather difficult. It wasn’t yet the fully ripe season, so they tasted so-so, not very sweet.
Putting the remaining lotus seeds into her pocket and tidying up the table in front of her a bit, Chi Qianning then took Song Linlin back to the vicinity of Luofeng Temple.
Song Linlin squatted in a concealed location, a large rock blocking her from view. From time to time, she would poke her head out to look, confirming whether anyone was approaching this way.
“What do you plan to do when they arrive?” Chi Qianning asked, sitting beside her, bored.
“I don’t know.”
Song Linlin shook her head honestly. Although she had already reached the Golden Core stage, she was still very unaccustomed to it. No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t feel real.
Moreover, only her power had increased; the moves and techniques she had learned were still the same as before, truly not enough to be impressive.
She thought for a moment, then said with a bit of a headache, “I’ll see what the situation is like then. Let her fight for a bit by herself first, then I’ll go out. Otherwise, it will be too suspicious, with no way to explain why I’m also here.”
Chi Qianning looked at her and slowly said, “Have you not considered winning against that Golden Core late-stage fellow inside yourself?”
Song Linlin gave her a “don’t joke with me” expression.
“I’d believe it if you said Ye Tingran could win against me. As for me, forget it…” Song Linlin shrunk her neck. Just thinking about fighting someone at the late Golden Core stage made her feel a bit cowardly.
It was already not easy for her to be squatting here without running away. She also didn’t know why Chi Qianning was so confident in her.
“Useless.” Chi Qianning gave her assessment, leaning against the wall behind her. Looking at Song Linlin, she analyzed, “Whether that Ye Tingran can win depends on luck. If you go, I will naturally teach you. Are you afraid I’ll let you die?”
Hearing the other party say this seemed to make some sense, but Song Linlin still had a bitter melon expression. This was too much like being forced onto the stage. She didn’t want to become a powerhouse, only wanting to quickly resolve this matter so that she could conveniently return to her sect early and live the life of a salted fish.
“So tired…”
Song Linlin, no longer caring whether the ground was dirty or not, sat down on the ground with a plop, leaning against the large rock behind her, emitting the sound of a salted fish.
It was better to wait and see what the situation was like before deciding on the next course of action.
In the distance, Ye Tingran gradually approached Luofeng Temple, following Shen Jin. Shen Jin walked in front, leading the way. When his line of sight could already see the red walls outside Luofeng Temple, Shen Jin lowered his voice and turned his head, saying, “I can quietly send you inside. That Xing Jiu stays in the main hall of the temple most of the time. After that, it’s up to you. I wouldn’t dare go in.”
Ye Tingran nodded without much change in expression. “I understand. Many thanks.”
The two arrived at the temple gate together. Shen Jin knocked on the main gate rhythmically. After two seconds, the gate opened a crack from the inside. Seeing Shen Jin outside, the person inside then fully opened the gate.
Song Linlin, hiding at the side, naturally noticed the commotion at the gate. However, at this moment, it wasn’t suitable for her to go out. She could only sit quietly in place.
The gatekeeper hadn’t seen Ye Tingran behind Shen Jin earlier due to the angle. Now, with the gate wide open, he discovered that there was unexpectedly another person who had come along.
The man just as he was about to open his mouth and shout in surprise, Shen Jin immediately gave him a serious look and made a silencing gesture.
The gatekeeper then swallowed the words he hadn’t had time to utter. Although Xing Jiu was their current boss, there were very few who were truly willing to serve him.
Ye Tingran just like that smoothly followed Shen Jin into Luofeng Temple, disappearing from Song Linlin’s line of sight.
Song Linlin retracted her head, which had been poking outwards. She couldn’t see the situation inside now and could only rely on listening for sounds. She would wait until Ye Tingran and Xing Jiu started fighting before going over to help.
“Hu…” She exhaled nervously. Thinking about facing such a powerful enemy next, she couldn’t help but feel panicked. Chi Qianning, on the other hand, sat leisurely in place, as if she had come out for a spring outing.
“No need to be so nervous. The people inside aren’t strong.” Chi Qianning said indifferently.
Her consolation didn’t have the slightest effect. Song Linlin silently complained in her heart: Of course you don’t think they’re strong. If even you thought they were strong, I would have been obliterated instantly…
What she thought in her heart was one thing; what she did on the surface was another. Song Linlin, full of initiative, moved closer to Chi Qianning, grabbed her leisurely placed arm, and stared at her with a serious expression. “You will help me, right? I won’t be instantly killed after I go in, right?”
“Just go in with peace of mind.”
Chi Qianning also couldn’t understand how Song Linlin could be so cowardly. When she was born in her early years, her strength was far from as powerful as it was now. Even knowing she definitely couldn’t win, she dared to go and fight those cultivators who had long been famous.
Now, having become increasingly stronger, she had instead restrained herself a lot, because there were too few things that could catch her eye, too few humans worthy of being her opponent. If there was nothing of interest, she preferred to stay in secluded cultivation in the deep mountains and secluded valleys.
Having received Chi Qianning’s promise again, Song Linlin barely gained a bit more confidence. She stood up and moved her hands and feet a bit. However, after several minutes had passed, there was no movement at all from Luofeng Temple.
Song Linlin curiously pressed herself against the wall, wanting to hear what exactly was going on inside. The result was still that she couldn’t hear anything.
“That’s not right. Why is it so quiet inside?” Song Linlin turned her head to look at Chi Qianning.
“A spell has been cast inside. Unless one leaves the main hall, the sounds inside cannot be transmitted out.”
After Chi Qianning finished explaining, she also stood up, patted the dust off her clothes, and said to the person beside her, “Let’s go. They’ve already been fighting for a while. You can go over now.”
“Okay…”
In her heart, Song Linlin still couldn’t help but feel nervous. She drew her sword in advance, looked at the tall red wall, then glanced at the tightly closed gate not far away, and hesitated. “How should we go in? If we go through the main gate, it’s closed. Wouldn’t forcing our way in be too conspicuous?”
“You still want to climb the wall?” Chi Qianning couldn’t help but give her an eye roll.
That late Golden Core stage Xing Jiu was already being held back by Ye Tingran. The remaining ones were just a bunch of shrimp soldiers and crab generals [蝦兵蟹将 | xiābīng xièjiàng | insignificant underlings]. She was at the Golden Core stage, yet she was actually still thinking about climbing the wall.
Chi Qianning gave her no room for refusal: “We’ll go through the main gate, openly and honorably.”
“Fi-Fine…” Song Linlin really did want to climb the wall, but since the other party didn’t agree, she couldn’t bring herself to climb over by herself. She had no choice but to follow Chi Qianning towards the main gate.
Arriving in front of the vermillion gate, Song Linlin was just about to step forward and knock when Chi Qianning lightly waved her hand. The sturdy gate suddenly collapsed with a loud crash, and for a moment, dust flew up from the ground.
Holy sh*t!
Song Linlin was startled. This commotion was too big! Originally, she had wanted to imitate Shen Jin’s earlier knocking code to open the door and then sneak in quietly. As a result, now, it was likely that everyone in Luofeng Temple knew someone had barged in.
The underlings originally standing guard at the gate inside Luofeng Temple hadn’t anticipated the gate’s sudden collapse at all. Fortunately, their reaction speed was fast enough. They dodged to the side a few steps, narrowly avoiding the fate of being crushed by the gate.
He and the other gatekeeper brother exchanged a look. Both their eyes were filled with terror. The gate crashing to the ground stirred up a cloud of yellow dust, making it impossible to see clearly who exactly had forcibly broken open this gate.
Judging by this posture now, it was definitely a master!
The people patrolling not far away naturally also noticed the commotion at the gate. Everyone looked nervously in the direction of the gate.
A gentle breeze blew past, swirling a few maple leaves. Even the birds in the trees stopped chirping. At the same time, the figure of the person at the gate faintly appeared.
The people inside the gate involuntarily took two steps back, their hands nervously gripping their weapons. The two closest to the gate even nervously swallowed their saliva.
What first appeared was a set of white robes. The material looked like something their group of country bumpkins couldn’t afford. The brocade fabric was light, thin, and close-fitting, the tailoring very refined, even embroidered with pale golden cloud patterns, very much in the style of disciples from large sects.
This area was under the jurisdiction of the Xuanyun Sect. Could it be that Xuanyun Sect had sent a powerful disciple over?
When their gazes shifted upwards, everyone was completely dumbfounded. They didn’t see the imagined youthful and spirited face. On the contrary, the person outside the gate also had a bewildered expression and a nervous look.
That’s not right. How was this different from what they imagined?
Song Linlin was stunned. As soon as the gate opened, she saw a group of people holding weapons pointed directly at her. The other people couldn’t see Chi Qianning. Inside and outside the gate, silence fell simultaneously.
Facing such a large group of people holding weapons, and with nervous expressions clearly guarding against her, Song Linlin forcibly straightened her back, looked towards the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, leaving them with a seemingly profound and unfathomable image.
“Hmph, what are you looking at?”
“Look again, and I’ll chop all your heads off!”
Song Linlin’s toes curled, forcing herself to finish these two sentences while suppressing her embarrassment. In reality, her heart was panicked to death.
Unable to keep up the act any longer, she felt like she would be exposed in the next moment. So, she picked up her sword and ran quickly with a dada-dada sound, looking as if she was about to engage in a fierce battle of eight hundred rounds.
“Ye-Shijie, I’ve come to lend you a hand!”
Under the astonished, curious, or nervous gazes of the crowd, Song Linlin summoned the energy she used to run the eight hundred meters back in the day, dashing in a flash into the building that was clearly the main hall.
Only after entering the building did Song Linlin finally hear the sounds of fighting, of weapons clashing. At this moment, Ye Tingran was clearly struggling somewhat to fend off Xing Jiu’s attacks.
The two people inside the room could naturally hear the sounds from outside. Only the sounds from inside couldn’t be transmitted out. After Ye Tingran heard a loud crash, not long after, she then heard Song Linlin’s voice.
She originally thought she was hallucinating, but in the next moment, Song Linlin pushed open the main door and burst into the fight scene.
“Song-shimei?! Why are you here?!”
Ye Tingran blocked Xing Jiu’s attack and took the opportunity to retreat a few steps. Looking at Song Linlin, who had suddenly barged in, she didn’t feel surprised but instead just felt a headache coming on.
Right now, even Ye Tingran herself could only barely withstand Xing Jiu’s attacks. Song Linlin suddenly running over like this, wasn’t this just making trouble? Later, she would have to be distracted to protect her.
“Don’t be foolish! Hurry back!” Ye Tingran turned her head and shouted at Song Linlin at the doorway.
Xing Jiu, of course, also noticed this person who had suddenly barged in. He had originally felt a small bit of worry, wondering if this fellow who dared to barge into Luofeng Temple alone would also be as difficult to deal with as Ye Tingran. But after this look, he immediately felt relieved.
This person in front of him was clearly just a fledgling youngster. When their eyes met, she was even frightened into taking half a step back, timid and shrinking, clearly a newbie who didn’t need to be taken too seriously.
Xing Jiu sneered, looking cruelly at Song Linlin. “Hmph, since you’ve come, you still want to leave? Then stay forever!”
“Hiss—” Song Linlin subconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air. From Shen Jin’s earlier description, Xing Jiu should be a large and burly fellow. This time, seeing him in person, she estimated his height was definitely over two meters tall, his whole body muscular, practically like a gorilla.
Compared to him, Ye Tingran, who was currently fending off his attacks, wasn’t actually short, at least 1.7 meters tall. But next to Xing Jiu’s large physique, she really appeared fragile and petite, not to mention Song Linlin, who wasn’t even as tall as Ye Tingran.
She had a feeling this big guy could crush two of her with one punch.
In any case, Song Linlin was panicked. Her gaze looked back, turning her head to search for Chi Qianning’s figure. She had run too fast just now and seemed to have left Chi Qianning at the doorway, rushing in on her own.
This was too impulsive!
Without Chi Qianning present, Song Linlin really didn’t dare to continue staying here.
However, when she turned her head to look, she didn’t see the other party’s shadow at the doorway, only a lone gate lying on the ground. Where was Chi Qianning’s figure?
Where is she?!!!
At this moment, Song Linlin felt like dying. No way, right? She wouldn’t have left because I ran ahead without waiting for her, would she?!
“What are you looking at?” Chi Qianning’s voice suddenly came from the side.
As if grasping at a lifeline, Song Linlin immediately turned her head towards the direction of the voice. She saw Chi Qianning currently sitting leisurely on a wooden chair by the side of the main hall, her elbow propped on the table beside her, one hand supporting her chin, looking very bored.
So she’s here. In her panic, Song Linlin had forgotten that the other party could teleport. The situation she was most worried about hadn’t happened, which gave her a bit more confidence.
“Wh-What should we do now?” Song Linlin looked at her and asked nervously. Her palm, gripping the sword hilt, was sweating. She switched the sword to her other hand and wiped her sweaty hand on her clothes a couple of times.
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Chi Qianning said indifferently, her tone full of disdain. “Just go straight at him. Opponents with large physiques are actually easier to deal with.”
“No way, I still don’t dare…” Song Linlin switched the sword back to her more commonly used hand. In the distance, Xing Jiu and Ye Tingran had already started fighting again. The two sides exchanged blows fiercely, the sounds of weapons colliding incessant.
That Xing Jiu didn’t even bother to spare Song Linlin a glance. He used his signature moves against Ye Tingran, each attack fierce and powerful. His physique was large, so his stamina was naturally better than Ye Tingran’s. He seemed to be planning to wear Ye Tingran down.
As for Song Linlin, after he finished dealing with Ye Tingran, it would naturally be her turn.
Seeing Song Linlin standing in place for a long time without moving, Chi Qianning really couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to take the initiative to make her take the first step.
“Get ready, go!”
After saying that, regardless of whether Song Linlin was actually ready, she lightly flicked her finger. Before Song Linlin could react at all, she felt a force appear behind her. She couldn’t even control her own body, forced by that power to be pushed rapidly forward.
“Waaaah!”
Song Linlin gripped her sword, one hundred percent unwilling. However, from an outsider’s perspective, it clearly looked like Song Linlin was rapidly charging towards the two people fighting in the distance.
Seeing the girl, who had been scared stiff before, unexpectedly have the courage to raise her sword and charge towards him, Xing Jiu immediately felt that the other party was clearly overestimating herself. He raised his large cleaver and swung it forcefully in the direction Song Linlin was charging from.
“Song-shimei, dodge!” Ye Tingran called out to remind Song Linlin.
Seeing herself getting closer and closer to the opponent’s blade, Xing Jiu’s movements were fast. Based on Song Linlin’s previous strength, it was absolutely impossible to dodge this blow, and the consequences naturally wouldn’t be pretty.
But at this moment, Song Linlin clearly saw the trajectory of the opponent’s blade, even able to judge where the tip of the blade would strike next. Everything in front of her seemed to have become a stop-motion animation, slowing down. She subconsciously leaned to the right, the blade grazing past her scalp without severing a single hair.
This action seemed slow, but in reality, to outsiders, it happened in a flash. Song Linlin had indeed dodged very easily.
This time, not only were Xing Jiu and Ye Tingran stunned, but even Song Linlin herself was dumbfounded.
Oh my god! How did I become so awesome?!
Song Linlin realized her perception was like it had undergone a transformation, greatly improved. After thinking for a bit, she understood why.
Another benefit of dual cultivation with a being possessing powerful spiritual power had manifested. Because of the vast difference between their spiritual powers, Song Linlin had benefited from the other party. After their spiritual powers intertwined, her own spiritual power was undoubtedly much stronger than before.
If it were before, Xing Jiu’s blow would have separated her head from her body. Yet this time, she was unexpectedly able to dodge perfectly.
This discovery made Song Linlin overjoyed.
Having a thigh to hug was truly great, and dual cultivation seemed to be quite worthwhile. Not only had it allowed her to advance to the Golden Core stage, but it had also greatly enhanced her perception.
Except for the fact that it was a bit too intense during dual cultivation, feeling like she was almost “tormented” to death, but strictly speaking, this shouldn’t be considered a flaw.
Under the clearly astonished gazes of the two people in front of her, Song Linlin stylishly flicked her long hair and said in a deliberately profound tone, “Ye-Shijie, to be honest, I’ve actually been hiding my strength. I advanced to early Golden Core stage long ago.”
“Originally, I didn’t plan to make this matter public, wanting only to interact with everyone with a low-key identity.”
“Alas! Who could have predicted the twists and turns of life!”
“It seems this world simply doesn’t allow for the existence of low-key people. Now, faced with such a situation, I have no choice but to take action!”
After listening, Ye Tingran didn’t suspect Song Linlin was boasting or talking nonsense. She nodded, deeply moved and approving. “Song-shimei, you are truly modest and virtuous. It turns out we’ve been underestimating you all along.”
Chi Qianning, not far away, watched Song Linlin spouting nonsense with a serious face and couldn’t help but shake her head, chuckling softly. “It seems your mouth is quite impressive.”
Cringe hit hard