The Bluebird had just suffered from a session of disgrace and belittling at the hands of the Black Phoenix King and was depressed in his quite little corner.
It had lost all hope of regaining its former freedom and the previous prestige it had as the subordinate of Lin Xi.
Demons used to respect it in the past and were quite afraid of it but now all his fame and honor had been reduced to a daily dose of shaming and depression followed by a bellyful of regret and unwillingness.
It was wallowing in its disgrace while hiding in his usual corner to avoid the eyes of its predator, the Black Phoenix King, when it heard a voice it had longed for even in its sleep.
"Do you want to come home? I know that you feel wronged but it was necessary, you know in your heart that it was. When we are done roping in Zhang Jian to achieve our goal you can come back to me, to your home."
Lin Xi knew that what she had done with the Bluebird was inhumane. She had directly handed it over to the enemy without even its consent. She knew that it was bound to be dissatisfied and had to be coaxed, therefore she had to use a softer tone than what she was used to using with the Bluebird. If she had still used the same tone as before, she was afraid that it might actually change sides. She had to coax it and keep it satisfied in order to achieve her ends.
"Please bring me out of here. I am about to be tortured to death. They won't let me live for very long especially since they already know that I am a spy for you."
"Is Zhang Jian torturing you? I didn't think he was that bloodthirsty. Tell me all that happened."
Lin Xi knew that Zhang Jian only seemed like a normal person but was actually a strong master and each of those powerful masters usually had a few quirks. She thought Zhang Jian might have been one of those who only appeared nice on the surface but hid a knife behind their backs.
She decided that she had to be very careful with him in the future if he really was such a bloodthirsty person instead of the nice and kind hearted demeanor he hid his ruthlessness behind.
"No it isn't him. Or at least I haven't seen him give the order explicitly. I can't even be sure whether their actions are being dictated by him or not but what I know for sure is that you will find me dead or out of my mind if you left me to fend for myself over there for a while longer. I am begging you, please get me out of here."
Lin Xi was relieved that there was at least no reason for her to doubt Zhang Jian. At least he neither looked calculative and cunning on the surface nor did he show any signs of ill intent towards her or Bluebird.
It meant that either he was so cunning that he hadn't let out a single clue or he was actually a kind and gentle hearted cultivator which was actually the rarest of unicorns.
"You have to bear with it for a little more. I understand that it is very hard and I feel very bad for you but you have to understand that it is imperative that we release that seal. The intel you are collecting for me is the most important lead I have in order to do that."
Before Lin Xi could say anything else, Bluebird shut her off. It shut down all its senses just to ignore Lin Xi and to spite her.
Lin Xi was shocked to see Bluebird throwing temper tantrums which it had never ever done before. She took it that the situation on that side was definitely very difficult for it since it was acting this way otherwise it wouldn't ever have dared to do so.
Since Bluebird had cut her off, she knew she had to give it something to coax it, otherwise her operation was going to be at halt for a long time so she decided to move the timeline for her plan forward by a little.
"Hoooo...fine, you can come home. Are you satisfied now?"
Bluebird felt as if an electric current had passed through its entire being. It had never imagined that Lin Xi would ever give in to his demands since they only had a master and aubordinate relationship.
After he managed to catch up to the shocking words that came out of Lin Xi's mouth, he immediately replied in a hurried manner while stumbling over his words.
"Are you for real? Can I really come home? Are you sure? Whata about the operation? Don't you need the information about Zhang Jian?"
"I need the information but your well-being is even more important to me. I have decided to move the plan forward by a huge margin. But you will still have to stay at that place afterwards for some time and don't you dare say no."
Lin Xi had shown enough concession towards it but it still needed to be kept on a tight leash so she threatened it at the end.
"Come back now, to me. I have something for you to do."
Bluebird flew back towards Lin Xi with the speed of a shooting star. This was the day the people of the earth witnessed a shooting star travelling horizontally parallel to the surface of the earth.
Lin Xi sensed its arrival, came out of her residence to receive it and to giveit an earful about its tantrum. She had to make sure that it did not do any such thing at some important moment in the future.
"I'm home. Finally I am free from that hellish place full of bullies and monsters. Thank you master for calling me back home. I really couldn't take it anymore."
Bluebird immediately started to let out all the things it had hidden inside its chest. They came out involuntarily but it made the Blue bird feel as if a huge load had just been shed feom its shoulders.
Lin Xi gave it an icy look that was chilly to the extreme. She wanted to teach the Bluebird a lesson and she had decided that she was going to make it regret ever throwing a tantrum in front of her at such an important moment.
One mistake on its part could have cost her the entire scheme. It needed to know that.
Bluebird was really afraid now since it had been her subordinate and knew that she was serious. She was not about to forgive it so easily, therefore it showed her how pitiful it was.
Lin Xi was going to torture it for its wrongdoings, therefore she turned around with cold eyes and went inside her home.
Bluebird followed after her in order to plead its case but it knew that she wasn't going to listen to whatever it said to her.
Lin Xi took out a quill and then grinded some ink before rolling open a scroll. She busied herself in writing a letter that was addressed to Zhang Jian. This step of her plan was not planned in the near future but due to the mutiny of the Bluebird, she had to bring it forward.
As soon as she finished writing, she rolled up the scroll and put down her quill. She heated up a candle and poured some wax over the rolled parchment before putting her seal on top of it. The seal spelled out the character Lin on the letter. After the seal dried up a little she finally turned around and met the eyes of the pitiful Bluebird who was awaiting its punishment.
"Tell me what did you see over there? Did you find any secrets that I should know about? Is there a secret to Zhang Jian's strength?"
All the information started rolling off its tongue in an attempt to gain favor with Lin Xi. But the information that it relayed was not enough at all for Lin Xi.
Because the information stated that Zhang Jian farmed everyday with his student Wang Yan and never ever properly practiced any cultivation. He didn't even manage to find the secret behind the treasure herb farm even after spending all this time. Bluebird had not found anything different or odd in the farming method that he used.
As soon as Lin Xi heard the information that she was looking for, she made an about turn.
"This is all the freedom you are going to get. Take this letter to Zhang Jian and hand it over to him. Let me say this again, this letter should only reach the hands of Zhang Jian only."
After being scolded by Lin Xi, it reluctantly took the letter and started moving back towards Mount Dabie with the speed of a turtle.
As soon as it left, there was another problem that completely took over Lin Xi's mind and that was the dress she was going to wear in order to meet up with Zhang Jian.
Zhang Jian received the letter from the Bluebird, and opened it to see that it was invitation from Lin Xi to visit her at her residence.
He pondered about it for a moment before deciding what to do.