Within Green Bamboo Villa, there was an atmosphere of a benevolent teacher and a filial disciple.
Lin Yun secretly wished he could castrate Elder Green Lotus and send him to the palace, but Elder Green Lotus didn't concern himself with such thoughts.
In his eyes, Lin Yun was nothing more than a tool; why bother worrying about a tool's thoughts?
Furthermore, now that the Azure Dragon Gu Worm had been planted, Lin Yun's life and death would be at his whim. The greatest feature of the Azure Dragon Gu Worm was its ability to devour and purify spiritual power. Even if Lin Yun had exceptional talents, as long as he allowed the Azure Dragon Gu Worm to consume Lin Yun's cultivation level when it approached his own, feeding it back to himself, the master, he had no fear of Lin Yun turning the tables.
"Since your cultivation level has now dissipated, you may leave the villa today. As long as you don't tell anyone you are my disciple, you can do whatever you want in Qinghe City."
Having said this, Elder Green Lotus gave Lin Yun a silver ingot.
"Thank you, Master."
Lin Yun didn't know how much purchasing power this silver ingot had, but took it as if receiving a salary!
After Elder Green Lotus had spoken the necessary, he floated away.
Yet Lin Yun didn't rush to step outside for fresh air; he needed a few minutes to calm down and assimilate the current situation.
To be honest, Lin Yun was somewhat impressed with himself for maintaining his composure in front of Elder Green Lotus.
It was all thanks to his past work experience; making a mistake in front of a Demonic Cult Fiend could cost one's life.
The Demon Sect was definitely not a place to mingle; too dangerous.
Before Elder Green Lotus used the gu on him, Lin Yun had even considered betraying the Righteous Path to join the Demon Sect, but now, the warmth of the Righteous Path's light seemed much more appealing.
"Who would have thought having too good a constitution could be problematic?"
Lin Yun couldn't help but sigh inwardly when suddenly, he discovered something important.
The Elder of the Sword Sect had said he had the Innate Sword Body, while Elder Green Lotus claimed he possessed the Crimson Flame Immortal Physique—the two... shouldn't be the same, right?
The burning sensation on his index finger interrupted Lin Yun's contemplation, signaling from his Brother of the Sword Sect.
Lin Yun stood up, freshened up his appearance, and stepped out of Green Bamboo Villa.
Seeking help from the Sword Sect might not solve the issue of the Azure Dragon Gu Worm, but at least it was an additional option. Lin Yun decided to meet this fellow.
After leaving, he began to respond to the other party's signals.
Another function of Mutual Awareness became apparent—when both parties responded to the signal at the same time, they could sense each other's location.
This was Lin Yun's first time using a magical treasure; he found it pretty interesting. Such a treasure, responsive to the wielder's thoughts, truly was miraculous.
Walking on the stone-paved streets, observing the bustling passersby, Lin Yun felt for the first time a real sense of being in another world.
Previously, he was confined to Green Bamboo Villa, akin to being in jail, and his understanding of this world was limited to the original host's memories, which was somewhat unreal, as if living in a dream.
But now, the conversations of passersby, the hawkers' cries, and the noisy footsteps mixed together, awakening Lin Yun as if from a dream.
Approaching an arch bridge, Lin Yun's index finger grew hotter. He could sense that the other person was close by.
As he walked onto the arch bridge, he saw a young man dressed in white, holding a folding fan, coming towards him. Looking quite delicate, it was likely he was a woman in disguise.
As their eyes met, they recognized each other in that instant.
"Excuse me, brother, could you tell me how to get to Tongji Tavern?"
Initiating conversation by asking for directions?
This comrade was quite professional.
Lin Yun thought to himself and played along, saying, "You're from out of town, right? I happen to be free today, so I'll take you there!"
The two hit it off immediately, with Lin Yun confidently walking ahead and the person behind him lowering their voice to say, "A sword comes from the west."
"Heaven... heaven has no deception."
Man, I almost said 'an immortal flies from beyond the heavens.'
This was the agreed-upon passphrase. In fact, Mutual Awareness was a unique token of identity; adding a passphrase just seemed like going through the motions.
With this, both parties finally confirmed each other's identities and connected.
"Daoist Fuyun, we finally meet. My surname is Wang, and you can call me by my code name, Wan Qiu."
Fuyun was Lin Yun's code name. Although they were from the same sect, Lin Yun was undercover, so she simply addressed him as 'Daoist Fuyun' and not 'junior brother.'
"I too am glad to see a fellow... fellow sect member again."
Lin Yun almost misspoke again. Wang Wanqiu, seeing his excitement, quickly calmed him down, "Let's stay calm for now, Daoist Fuyun, and go over what you've been through these years. Also, why didn't you respond to my calls earlier?"
Truth be told, Wang Wanqiu also had her doubts. When she took on this important mission, the sect had assigned her the undercover agent Fuyun, described as a chess piece in whom the sect had placed great hopes. However, for three years, Fuyun had responded only occasionally and had sent no significant information.
Therefore, this time, she needed to ascertain the status of this chess piece to determine whether he was a friend or foe.
Lin Yun had not been responding for a while and had suddenly answered today, which made Wang Wanqiu worried there might be a trick. But the mission she carried was too critical; even with the risk, she went to meet Lin Yun anyway.
How could Lin Yun admit that he was figuring out how to extract the Mutual Awareness and make a run for it? Initially, he had decided to stick with the Demon Sect, but today, after Green Lotus taught him a lesson, he decided to return to the Righteous Path.
So, he said, "It's quite a complicated story..."
Lin Yun hinted that they were still on the street, which could be overheard by someone with intent.
Wang Wanqiu caught on and let Lin Yun continue to lead the way. Fortunately, Tongji Tavern, which Wang Wanqiu was seeking, wasn't far. After Lin Yun meandered a bit and saw the sign for Tongji Tavern, they went inside.
Wang Wanqiu even played out the part of thanking him for the guidance by inviting Lin Yun to a meal.
The two entered the tavern and requested a private room.
Now, they could finally start talking. Lin Yun had a bellyful of words; it had been half a month since his arrival in this world, and aside from grumbling to himself, he hadn't communicated with anyone. He was almost going insane.
Talking with Green Lotus was nerve-wracking. Now that he saw Wang Wanqiu, he started to feel better.
"Three years. Do you know what I've been through these three years?"
Lin Yun began recounting the original host's hardships. Although he hadn't experienced them himself, he had absorbed some memories and naturally knew the frustration of being under house arrest.
Wang Wanqiu listened intently and managed to understand why there hadn't been any exchange of intelligence over the three years.
However...
If Lin Yun said he hadn't left Green Bamboo Villa for three years, how did he find Tongji Tavern so quickly?
He was lying!
Yet at that moment, Lin Yun started to divulge even more critical intelligence.
"Green Lotus plans to send me undercover to the Red Lotus Sect. She planted the Azure Dragon Gu Worm inside me, then offered me to the Red Lotus Demon Lord as a male pet, hoping I could become a disciple of the Red Lotus Demon Lord. The Three Sects of the Demon Path are considering uniting and holding a joint lotus conference in ten years..."
"The Three Sects of the Demon Path thinking of uniting! We had no idea. This matter is too important. I will send a flying sword message to report to the sect master as soon as possible."
Lin Yun: "..."
Don't you think the Azure Dragon Gu Worm and me being sent to serve a female demon lord as a male pet are also important?