Lin Xi had invited Zhang Jian to visit her at her place, though not her actual home but a made-up one. She had carved out a cave in a mountain that was not very far away from Mount Dabie where Zhang Jian was living.
She had extensively decorated the place to make it look like there was someone living in the cave.
The decorations were not expensive at all so that they did not make her look vain and rich but were very simple like some colored stones arranged in an aesthetic manner that only portrayed her dedication to the craft.
After all she had told Zhang Jian that she lived somewhere far away from Mount Dabie. She needed to make it look like the place had been inhabited very recently. She also needed Zhang Jian to believe that she was very poor and in need of support.
She had to portray herself as a damsel in distress in order to sell her story completely. Men loved nothing more than a woman who was desperately in need of help and a beautiful one at that was definitely a precursor for disaster. Somehow this instinct of men had remained the same ever since the primordial era.
Lin Xi had done all this in order to get a little closer to Zhang Jian who was an integral part of the plan she needed to execute. If it weren't for how important and crucial Zhang Jian had been to her plan, she would never have given her subordinate over to Zhang Jian, which was practically sending it to the enemy's den unarmed.
Meanwhile, Zhang Jian had received the letter of invitation received through the gift she had previously left him, the Bluebird.
Zhang Jian was contemplating on whether he should or should not visit her, whether it would be inappropriate or not. After all she was a girl, and a beautiful one at that. It wouldn't look very good if he were to visit her alone.
After pondering for a bit, Zhang Jian decided to oblige her since she had been the one to visit previously. Etiquette implied that Zhang Jian should reciprocate and therefore he decided to move out in the morning.
Lin Xi had clearly marked the landmarks that Zhang Jian had to follow from Mount Dabie till he reached the mountain that Lin xi had carved her cave in. She had deliberately kept the destination very close to Mount Dabie so that Zhang Jian wouldn't have a reason to decline her invite.
It didn't take very long before Zhang Jian reached the destination described in the letter sent to him by Lin Xi. He was both surprised and angry to find that her home was very close to where he lived. He thought that she had lied to him about her home being far away from him. After all, no one liked being lied to. Also it had been the only reason that he had taken the Bluebird in; to communicate with her.
Before he could call out for her, he found a beautiful yet graceful woman walk out of the cave in a forest green dress that was embroidered extensively from the neck to the hems and sleeves. She looked vibrant and surprisingly lively which was very unlike a demon, not that Zhang Jian could tell the difference either way.
"Thank you for coming to see me. I was delusional thinking that you would find some ridiculous excuse to decline my invitation."
Lin Xi acted like a pitiful lover that had been neglected, trying to charm her way into Zhang Jian's good graces.
Her excessive pouting, coquettish behavior and low hanging dress were indications of her real intentions. Of course Zhang Jian's mind never registered any of those indications.
If it had been anyone other than Zhang Jian, he would have definitely felt flattered seeing one of the most beautiful women in all three worlds trying to curry favor with him.
Lin Xi being the prideful woman that she was, never doubted her tactics in the slightest. She was sure that her display had been top notch and there was no chance of failure at all but she was in for a surprise since she had miscalculated one thing and that was how insensitive Zhang Jian could be.
She was looking for signs of affection from Zhang Jian after what she considered to be a perfect honey trap but was shocked to see that there was anger and disgust on Zhang Jian's face instead of lust and obsession.
Her first instinct had been to run thinking that she had been found out with her true intentions out in the open, bare in front of Zhang Jian.
She was unable to find where she had gone wrong. Anyone other than Zhang Jian would have been in her pocket by then and yet it had the opposite effect on Zhang Jian. He had become antagonistic towards her after her display which was contrary to her expectations.
"Did I do something to displease you? If so, I apologize for my tardiness. If my misbehavior has flipped your mood, I won't be able to forgive myself for several lifetimes." Lin Xi looked at Zhang Jian pitifully with a sad face and eyes that were moist to the point that anymore and the waterfall of tears would have flown out of them.
Anyone that could have seen her at that moment would have unconditionally fallen for her regardless of who he was yet the anger on Zhang Jian's face didn't diminish in the slightest.
It wasn't that Zhang Jian wasn't tempted to give in to her especially when she looked so wronged, yet he forced himself to avoid doing that. He had to give her a harsh lesson so she would never lie to him again.
"Actually I am angry, very angry."
It was like Lin Xi had been crushed under the weight of a thousand boulders. She could feel all her schemes vanishing in a puff of smoke, all her hopes and plans being destroyed and all her hard work rendered nothing in that moment. She still hadn't figured out what she had done to anger Zhang Jian and was hoping that Zhang Jian would tell her that so she could rectify whatever mistakes she had committed.
"Can you tell me about the reason that you are so angry with me? Please tell me, I can't bear you being angry with me anymore."
Lin Xi could only pitifully plead hoping that Zhang Jian's heart would soften.
"You lied to me."
Zhang Jian replied in a straightforward manner. Even his nerves had been strained trying to show his anger on the pitiful girl who was close to bawling her eyes out. He couldn't bear to torture the girl any longer so he decided to air out the matter in the open.
Lin Xi almost lost consciousness after she heard hia answer thinking that Zhang Jian had somehow found her scheme and was now angry with her.
Lin Xi thought about running away but gave up since she wouldn't be able to outrun such a master anyway. She wanted to salvage the situation somehow but didn't know how to. She wasn't sure how much Zhang Jian had found out and couldn't risk divulging any new information so she decided to keep quiet to encourage Zhang Jian to continue talking.
She was able to successfully manipulate Zhang Jian into talking more by maintaining her silence.
"You lied to me before about how far your home was from mine. You said that it wasn't convenient to visit and that's why you gave the Bluebird to me to maintain communication and yet here it is, your home, barely at any distance from Mount Dabie."
Hearing Zhang Jian's answer invigorated Lin Xi like no Immortal treasure could have. Her head shot up and she looked right into Zhang Jian's eyes with defiance and said, "I have never told you a lie. I would never do that to you. You have to believe me. As for the reason you are doubting me, please let me explain."
"I am listening." Hearing her confident answer had sparked a curiosity in Zhang Jian and he was looking forward to her explanation.
"What I told you before when I visited is as true as the heavens. My home really is very far from here, so far that an ordinary person can never hope to reach there even in all his lifetime. As for why I am here, it is because I don't have any money left to live in my hometown anymore. My parents, they died when I was young and I have lived alone ever since. I chose this place as my residence for two reasons. One, I couldn't support my parents' home with the little amount I earned, and this house barely cost me any money. Secondly, I wanted to see you and this place was closest to the mountain that you lived on."
Lin Xi broke into tears as soon as she finished the last sentence.