Chapter 16 Are You Worthy?

From a cultivation standpoint, Zhao Yuanzhen could kill ten Chen Lingyuns with just one hand.

But when it comes to brains, ten Zhao Yuanzhens tied together wouldn't be able to outplay Chen Lingyun, that trashy woman.

While Yan Yu was boiling noodles in the kitchen, he could hear Zhao Yuanzhen sighing in the living room, and Chen Lingyun giggling non-stop. He had no idea what those two were actually talking about.

By the time the noodles were ready, Yan Yu brought them into the living room only to see Zhao Yuanzhen transformed into a burying hamster, lying on the couch with a pillow over her face, silent.

Chen Lingyun, on the other hand, was sitting next to her, her face full of joyful smiles, gently poking Zhao Yuanzhen's body… wait, where are you poking?

Leave it to me!

Yan Yu set down the bowl of noodles and stopped her, saying:

"What are you doing?!"

"Mi Zhen Xianzi is ignoring me." Chen Lingyun's smile was unstoppable, and the thick scent of trashiness enveloped her.

"You've done enough." Yan Yu advised helplessly, knowing full well this trashy woman wouldn't stop unless she grew bored of the game, "It's good to leave some leeway, you know? Even a cornered rabbit will bite."

"It's okay." Chen Lingyun's smile bloomed like a flower, "You'll protect me, right, hubby?"

Zhao Yuanzhen, who had still been playing dead under the pillow, suddenly sat up straight as if rising from a coffin.

"Who are you calling hubby?" She looked at Chen Lingyun with a cold expression, asking icily.

"Him," Chen Lingyun said, wrapping an arm around Yan Yu's, her eyes twinkling as she added, "Didn't he tell you? We're a match made in heaven~"

Zhao Yuanzhen turned her gaze back to Yan Yu, her eyes now devoid of sparkle. That look… wasn't the one that Qin Xianglian had for Chen Shimei, but rather like Kotonoha Katsura's for Makoto Ito.

"Stop talking nonsense." Yan Yu forcefully shook off her hand, "Doesn't it say single on your household registration? Show me!"

"That being said." Chen Lingyun wasn't upset, but rather asked Zhao Yuanzhen, "What is your relationship with him?"

"I am his Taoist cultivation partner." Zhao Yuanzhen said coldly.

"Cultivation partner, huh." Chen Lingyun showed no signs of jealousy, only asking Yan Yu, "Which takes precedence, a secular marriage or a Taoist sect marriage?"

"First off, there's no such thing as a Taoist sect marriage." Yan Yu explained patiently, "Cultivation partners are just partners in cultivation. Marriage itself is a secular concept involving a relationship between a man and a woman, which cultivators don't really care for."

"Oh." Chen Lingyun got it and lit up with a trashy yet sweet smile, looking at Zhao Yuanzhen as she said, "Looks like we aren't love rivals anymore."

Zhao Yuanzhen: ......

Arghh! I'm so furious, I could kill somebody!!!

But since this woman was brought back by Yan Yu, reason told her she couldn't lash out, and she could only forcefully suppress her anger, silently noting to herself:

"…Today, the little thief brought a woman named Chen Lingyun home, who dared to mock and humiliate me, I won't forget this vengeance! The day I have control over the universe, I must make the little thief take her as a concubine, making her serve me tea and water every day, at my whim to demean and scold!"

Hmm?

Wouldn't that be letting that little thief off too easy?

Never mind, after all, by then the little thief will be a toy in my hand, hmph!

Regaining her self-esteem in her fantasies, Zhao Yuanzhen didn't feel as angry at Chen Lingyun anymore, merely snorting as she asked Yan Yu:

"What about the noodles you cooked? I want to eat too."

"They're in the pot, help yourself." Yan Yu said unceremoniously.

Zhao Yuanzhen glared at him with force.

Then she got up and walked towards the kitchen… but after a few steps, she felt so annoyed that she turned around and glared at him again.

Chen Lingyun was also very happy, after all, Yan Yu had specially served her the noodles, and the difference in how he treated her compared to Zhao Yuanzhen was stark, instantly giving her a sense of superiority.

Just as she was about to receive the noodles with a smile on her face, she saw Yan Yu pull the bowl towards himself, picked up some noodles with his chopsticks, and slurped them up.

Chen Lingyun: ......

After swallowing the food, Yan Yu looked up at her, puzzled:

"Go get your noodles, what are you sitting there for?"

"Playing hard to get, huh?" Chen Lingyun asked with a smile.

"Playing hard to get? What do you mean?" Yan Yu frowned in confusion.

"Hehe." Chen Lingyun's smile didn't waver as she stood up and headed to the kitchen to serve the noodles.

Upon reaching the kitchen, she saw that the pot was already completely empty—Zhao Yuanzhen had poured all the remaining noodles and soup into a large bowl and then, giving Chen Lingyun a sidelong glance as if she had just avenged a great wrong, turned her head high and haughty and left.

The smile finally disappeared from Chen Lingyun's face. She silently stared at the empty iron pot, lost in thought.

After a moment, Yan Yu's scolding voice came from the living room:

"Can you even finish all those noodles?"

"I'm a cultivator!" Zhao Yuanzhen retorted, "Of course, I can finish them!"

"You're a cultivator, not a pig in a pen!" Yan Yu tapped her on the head, "Stop throwing a tantrum! Share half with her, off you go!"

Reluctantly, Zhao Yuanzhen got up to fetch a bowl to divide the noodles in the kitchen. Chen Lingyun returned to the living room and, looking at Zhao Yuanzhen's back, asked with a frown:

"Is that all there is to the Demonic Sect Enchantress? She seems more like a disobedient little maid than anything else."

"Don't let her appearance deceive you." As Yan Yu continued eating his noodles, he said, "In fact, she's quite ferocious; it's all thanks to my efforts in restraining her. Otherwise, if she ran loose, there would certainly be havoc."

"Really?" Chen Lingyun mused thoughtfully.

She knew that Yan Yu had memories of the future, and according to what Mei Yingxue said, Zhao Yuanzhen indeed was the type who took lives without a second thought—not that she was innately evil, but the environment of the Demonic Sect had shaped her to regard human lives with indifference, just like "when everyone eats fried chicken, they don't consider the chicken's life."

"So you're really protecting the people, taking the weight of the world on your shoulders alone." Chen Lingyun's smile returned as she looked down at her toes, a rough plan already forming in her mind.

"What kind of devilish idea are you thinking of now?" Yan Yu asked with a frown.

This crafty woman, though fond of feigning smiles, had discernible differences between them. Simply put, smile with curved eyes=happiness, raised eyebrows=displeasure, half-lowered eyelids=contentment, gaze directed downwards=up to no good again.

"Guess?" Chen Lingyun said mischievously.

"If I guess it right, you'll tell me, right?" Yan Yu chuckled coldly.

"I'm afraid not." Chen Lingyun's smile was sweet, her tone sly, "If you guess it right, there's no need for me to say more, right? And if you guess wrong, why would I tell you?"

From the kitchen, Zhao Yuanzhen, with two bowls of noodles in hand, came back and grumpily placed one of them in front of Chen Lingyun.

Even though she put it down with such force that the soup splashed, Chen Lingyun wasn't really upset and simply smiled and said, "Thank you."

Picking up some noodles with her chopsticks, she tasted them and suddenly said out of the blue:

"The newly built campus of Jinling University was suddenly requisitioned not long ago."

Time for the exchange of riddles!

"Oh." Yan Yu did not show any sign of surprise, "What's the new school going to be called?"

"Zhendong National Defense Science and Technology College." Chen Lingyun replied, "What do you think of this name?

"The final name will probably drop the 'Science and Technology' part," Yan Yu answered, "After all, it's going to be a higher education institution for cultivators; bringing 'science and technology' into it seems a bit far-fetched."

"Zhendong National Defense College, mmm-hmm." Chen Lingyun nodded with a smile.

"Cultivators?" Zhao Yuanzhen's ears perked up, but she didn't ask anything, merely eavesdropping.

"That being said," Chen Lingyun continued, "someone suggested that the cultivators should be unified in their education, but in the end, it was decided to establish institutions in four different locations—the east, south, west, and north—namely in Jinling Prefecture, Xingwang Prefecture, Shuzhong Prefecture, and Shengjing Prefecture. What do you think?"

"Of course, it makes sense." Yan Yu replied, "Alma mater connections are natural factions. All the country's cultivators from the same school—who would dare propose such a rotten idea?"

"Indeed, alma mater connections are natural factions." Chen Lingyun tapped her lips with her finger, smiling slightly, "So, would you join my faction?"

Zhao Yuanzhen, who had been scratching her head in confusion listening to their cryptic conversation, bristled at Chen Lingyun's last sentence; the only thought left in her mind:

Some shameless person is trying to steal my dao companion!

Just as she was about to explode in rage and tear into a confrontation, she saw Yan Yu glance sidelong at Chen Lingyun and suddenly smirk:

"Do you even qualify?"

Chen Lingyun's smile froze on her face.