I'm quitting!

Chapter 29 For the Alliance!

Bamboo leaves whistled past my ears, and twilight painted the sky like ink.

Lin Xiaofan's Extreme Cold Dao Body left a frosty afterimage in the dim light, and the cold air in his palm flowed between his fingers, condensing into ice blades as thin as cicada wings.

The images of the dungeon kept flashing through her mind—blood everywhere, corpses strewn about… What if Su Qingxue and the others also met with misfortune…

"You bastard!"

He gritted his teeth and growled, his body suddenly accelerating.

The bamboo forest receded into blurry green shadows on both sides, and the cold air surged outwards uncontrollably. The bluestone underfoot was covered with white frost, and the sound of tiny ice crystals condensing could be heard in the air, as if the heavens and earth were trembling under his wrath.

Just as he rushed out of the edge of the bamboo forest, he suddenly stopped.

The pupils contracted sharply—then suddenly lost focus.

Thick smoke billowed from the roof of the woodshed, and flames greedily climbed along the ridge, crackling and popping against the eaves. The door was wide open, and Su Qingxue and Shan Ling'er were bustling about, covered in soot. The transformed star-shaped hemp ball, now half a person's height, was carrying a wooden bucket, running back and forth, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.

"Water! Quickly get some water!" Shan Ling'er shouted shrilly, her hair disheveled and the hem of her Taoist robe charred all around.

Su Qingxue hastily wiped her face, only to leave a comical black mark. She hurriedly tried to catch the wooden bucket that Maqiu had brought her. Water splashed everywhere, most of it landing on her soaked clothes, while only a small portion splashed onto the fire, sizzling and steaming in the blink of an eye.

The chilling killing intent in Lin Xiaofan's eyes froze in mid-air, slowly turning into a bewildered expression that was both funny and exasperating.

He approached slowly, the cold air from his palms brushing across the roof like a thin veil. The fire was extinguished instantly, and the entire woodshed was covered in a layer of crystalline ice, even the thick smoke was frozen into wisps of white mist, swirling in the twilight.

"Squeak!"

The little sesame ball was the first to smell Lin Xiaofan's scent. In an instant, it shrank back to the size of a palm, lightly leaping onto his shoulder, its tail wagging like a rattle: "Sisters don't know how to bake sweet potatoes... Sesame ball is hungry..."

Lin Xiaofan smiled and gently rubbed the little guy's head with her fingertips, then looked up at the two women.

Su Qingxue's ears turned slightly red, and her gaze quickly slid away, pretending to focus on wringing out her soaked sleeves; Shan Ling'er also lowered her head and clutched the charred hem of her skirt, her eyes darting around as if some rare treasure had suddenly appeared under her feet.

"Tell me—" Lin Xiaofan raised an eyebrow, "Who started the fire?"

The two exchanged a glance.

Su Qingxue stammered, "We're... roasting sweet potatoes..."

"It's for Maqiu!" Shan Ling'er quickly replied, but her voice was clearly lacking in confidence, "But... there was a tiny... little accident..."

"And then?" Lin Xiaofan couldn't help but chuckle. Seeing their disheveled appearance, most of the gloom in his heart dissipated.

"The fire at the Three Green Cauldrons is too fierce..." Su Qingxue's voice trailed off, "And we don't know how to control the fire..."

Dan Ling'er nodded vigorously: "Senior Sister Su tried to extinguish the fire with ice, but the fire wouldn't cooperate at all! Instead, it burned even brighter!"

Lin Xiaofan was taken aback: "Your ice can't extinguish the fire of the Three Green Cauldrons?"

He stroked his chin thoughtfully.

I didn't find anything special about the cauldron when I used it... I'll have to ask Danxuanzi about it another day.

Looking around, the charred woodshed came into view, and a helpless smile appeared on his lips.

As for now... I'll be busy.

The night was deep, enveloping the back mountain.

Beside the ruins of the woodshed, a simple bamboo shed was quietly erected.

The three people and the mouse sat around a stone table in the courtyard, the moonlight pouring down and draping them in a hazy veil.

"Junior Brother Lin, do you really not need our help?" Su Qingxue asked, her voice filled with guilt.

"No, no, I'm used to staying in the back mountain."

Lin Xiaofan waved his hand, a gentle smile on his lips, but inwardly he was thinking:

You think I don't want to live in a grand mansion with carved beams and painted rafters? It's just that this place is far from the emperor's reach, making it convenient for me to create my own "atmosphere narration".

He sighed softly and took out the can of milk tea that had long since gone cold: "Here, try this new thing."

The amber-colored tea was poured into a cup, with warm water specially added for Maqiu's portion. Upon seeing it, the little guy immediately jumped excitedly on the table.

"A new thing?" Su Qingxue took the cup, took a small sip, and found the sweet aroma soothing her throat. The pent-up frustration in her heart dissipated somewhat.

Dan Ling'er curiously leaned closer, sniffing lightly, her eyes instantly brightening like stars: "It smells so good! Senior brother, is this some new spiritual tea?"

"This is called milk tea," Lin Xiaofan replied with a smile, casually catching the little guy who was licking the rim of the cup. The little guy squinted his eyes contentedly, making gurgling noises in his throat.

[Rebelliousness Value +50 x 2]

Oh? Making monks drink milk tea really does make them prone to "breaking down".

Amidst the joy, a trace of doubt arose in my mind—Maqiu seemed to have never given any rebellious value, and even... I had never seen any trace of awakening on this little guy.

"Senior brother?"

"Ah...sorry, I was thinking about something." Lin Xiaofan snapped out of her reverie, cleared her throat, and suddenly became serious. "I have something...that I want to tell you."

Su Qingxue put down her cup, and Shan Ling'er held her breath. Even Maqiu stopped licking and tilted her little head to look at him.

"Don't you guys feel..." Lin Xiaofan lowered his voice, his eyes deep and unfathomable in the moonlight, "that this world is like a pre-written book? All the joys and sorrows, the partings and reunions, are predetermined. We are just characters in the book, acting according to the established script."

Dan Ling'er immediately looked disappointed and pouted, "So that's what Senior Brother wanted to say... I thought he was going to decide who to choose as his Daoist partner."

"Cough! Ling'er..."

Su Qingxue glared at Shan Ling'er, who immediately sighed, resting her chin on her hand.

"Hiss... what's going on with you two...?"

Have they made up? Or have they reached some kind of consensus?

Lin Xiaofan's gaze swept back and forth between the two girls, finally landing on Maqiu. The little guy, however, continued gulping down his milk tea, as if to say, "Maqiu doesn't know~"

"In short, you are free now." Lin Xiaofan stopped asking questions and returned to the main topic, "But the price is—the Script Management Bureau will send 'Correctors' or 'Corrector Agents' to eliminate us 'abnormalities'."

"Junior Brother Lin, is there anything we can do to help?"

"Live," Lin Xiaofan said earnestly. "Live well, and hold onto your true feelings. That's the greatest help you can give me."

The two women exchanged a glance and nodded solemnly.

Su Qingxue suddenly raised her glass: "Then why don't we form the 'Awakened Alliance' to protect each other's truth and prevent anyone from taking away our free will?"

"An alliance?" Lin Xiaofan was slightly taken aback, then chuckled and clinked glasses. "Alright, let's be allies."

Not to be outdone, Shan Ling'er also raised her glass and shouted, "For the alliance!"

Startled by the crisp sound of the collision, Maqiu, ignoring the milk tea still on its nose, climbed up Lin Xiaofan's arm and placed its little paws on the cup:

"Squeak!" "Tail hairs!"

The next morning, before the morning dew had dried, a thin mist hung in the air.

Dan Xuanzi walked along the path, his Taoist robe covered in charcoal ash, his eyes bloodshot, yet his spirit was so high that he didn't seem like someone who had stayed up all night.

"Senior!" he said in a hoarse voice, bowing with clasped hands. "The arrangements for the aftermath of the dungeon have been taken care of... I have another request."

Lin Xiaofan, who was reinforcing the shack with an ice hammer, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Speak."

"I want to promote milk tea, and I hope that seniors can give me some guidance."

A burning light ignited in Dan Xuanzi's eyes: "This item can harmonize Yin and Yang, and nourish the dantian. The ingredients are several times cheaper than regular pills. If we could set up a stall at the mountain gate, it might benefit many fellow cultivators, making the path of cultivation less bitter and more sweet!"

Lin Xiaofan flicked his wrist, and the ice hammer almost hit the instep of his foot.

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely true!" Dan Xuanzi exclaimed excitedly, gesturing wildly. "I stayed up all night and improved seven formulas..."

He spoke eloquently and logically, and Lin Xiaofan sighed inwardly, rubbing his forehead: He truly deserves the title of "Nine Cauldrons Pill Saint," producing such a complete list of recipes for me in just one night...

Wait a minute! Promotion?

"Master Dan, do you have a concrete plan?"

"Yes! Yes!" Dan Xuanzi deftly pulled out several sheets of rough paper from his pocket, the ink flowing freely. "Please take a look, senior."

Lin Xiaofan took the plan and examined it closely. The plan was so detailed that it was astonishing. It covered everything from stall location selection to pricing strategy, from promotional slogans to crisis plans, and even included countermeasures for "the potential fluctuations in the disciples' Dao hearts caused by drinking milk tea for the first time".

A glint of light flashed in his eyes: "Alright, let's test it out inside the Qingyun Sect today."

Dan Xuanzi excitedly bid farewell, his figure disappearing into the morning mist in the blink of an eye.

And Lin Xiaofan—

"Holy crap! I'm rich!"

"One person, fifty rebellion points; two people, one hundred rebellion points..."

He silently calculated, unable to suppress the smile on his face.

"Old Xian, you finally have a chance to be 'released from prison'!"