"I'm home!" Lin Chen spoke as he opened the front door. His father poked his head out from the living room to get a glance at him before returning to watch the television.
Lin Chen removed his shoes and was about to walk up the stairs.
"Are you back, Lin Chen?" He heard his mother ask from the kitchen, and Lin Chen responded quickly, "Yeah mom! I'm heading up to my room!"
"Why were you so late today?" His mother asked another question, forcing Lin Chen to stop climbing up the stairs and reply once again. "Uh, I was at Fang Meng's place!"
Lin Chen waited for a few more seconds, checking if that was all that she wanted to ask, before heading up the stairs and entering his room.
Clack!
He shut his door as soon as he entered his room and locked it immediately. He then turned around and let out a long sigh.
He then turned his gaze at the ceiling as he thought to himself, 'Boar demon can probably handle this, right?'
A few minutes earlier..
Inside the basement, underneath the abandoned restaurant.
[ You should probably heal yourself once again if you really are going through with the plan today… ]
The boar demon spoke softly, concern evident in its voice, and Lin Chen let out a chuckle. "Oh, it's definitely happening today. But don't worry, I won't be the one who's going to be in charge of this operation.."
[ What do you mean? ]
The boar demon was confused, and Lin Chen, with an evil smile on his face, answered, "Of course, it's going to be you, boar demon!"
[ Me?! Huh?! What the hell are you talking about, punk? ]
The boar demon's voice reverberated within Lin Chen's mind, making him cover his ears before continuing, "Well yeah! I have to focus on my cultivation practice, don't I?"
Lin Chen replied as he shrugged his shoulders in response.
[ You're cultivating today as well? Can't you take a day off? ]
Boar demon spoke with shock and surprise in its voice. 'I can't be missing a single day of cultivation practice, remember?' Lin Chen responded while cracking his shoulder blades.
While others with better talent and constitution could afford to take a day or two off from cultivating, Lin Chen didn't have that luxury. If he wanted to fulfill his dreams of getting accepted into Grand Central University, then he had to make sure that he didn't miss a single day of cultivation practice. He was weak, but he was planning on overcoming his weakness through hard work.
[ Urgh.. that is true.. But wouldn't you be needing my help? ]
The boar demon asked, having remembered how it had to step in and provide him with a portion of its power the last time he cultivated.
"I only needed your help for the final part of the meridian clearing process." Lin Chen started to explain. "I definitely won't be able to clear the sixth meridian today, so you don't need to worry about me."
[ But I don't even know the plan, kid! How on earth do you think I can help you out? ]
The boar demon sounded confused. Lin Chen snapped his fingers and said, "Well, that's easy. I'll explain it to you right now. Do you remember how we defeated Lord Seondeok?"
[ !! Oh, you have got to be kidding me! ]
"Oh, but I'm not, though?" Lin Chen chuckled as he waved his hands in the air. He then pointed his finger at the undead Geral, and said, "You can use him. Gerald Wilson is connected to my mana core now that he's been resurrected by me, so you'll be able to control him without any problems, just like how you controlled Minister Munmu."
[ You're talking about possessing someone! Don't you know that you're not as strong as before? It automatically reduces my powers as well, so how on earth do you think I can hold on until we complete the mission? ]
The boar demon was raising some valid points. Lin Chen waved his finger as he spoke, "I thought about that as well. I've already instructed Gerald to break into Qin Xiao's place without anyone knowing, so he'll do that on his own. There'd be no need for you to interfere unless something goes wrong. If all goes well, then you'd only need to utilize your energy for the Dreamcatcher Spell."
The boar demon remained silent for a few seconds.
[ … I'm going to be needing a big rest after this.. ]
The boar demon spoke with a tone of annoyance in his voice, and Lin Chen smiled. "Yeah, and you'll get one. Now, are you ready?"
---------------------
Present time.
In Lin Chen's room.
Lin Chen sat down in the middle of the room and crossed his legs. He then closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his breathing, as a calm yet dense aura began to form around him.
'I need to trust the boar demon.' Lin Chen said to himself in his mind. 'The boar demon has done this before, and he can definitely do it again.'
After reassuring himself that he had made the right decision, Lin Chen began to cultivate, and the aura that had formed around him began to fluctuate and move in a chaotic manner.
At the same time, in an expensive hotel room.
"Hah…" Qin Xiao let out a sigh as he pressed a hot towel against his face to soften his beard hair. He was about to slather on a moisturizer, when all of a sudden, he felt a chill run down his spine, causing him to tremble for a second.
'What was that?' He turned around inside the bathroom, but found nothing. Qin Xiao raised his eyebrows before shrugging his shoulders, and continued with his routine.
'I wonder if Gerald has already completed the task that I gave him?' Qin Xiao thought to himself as he applied shaving cream on his beard with a brush. He then rinsed the razor and shook off any excess water before starting to shave.
"Lin Chen." Qin Xiao whispered softly as he splashed cool water on his face to remove the lather. He didn't think much of the young boy before. But after Lin Chen suddenly dumped Jia, Qin Xiao couldn't help but be annoyed by him.
Qin Xiao wanted to steal beautiful women away from others. He felt a thrill in taking something that was claimed by someone else. But with Lin Chen dumping Jia before he even knew about the affair, Qin Xiao felt as though he had lost the thrill. He couldn't steal Jia if she wasn't Lin Chen's girlfriend.
"This is what you get for humiliating me, Lin Chen!" Qin Xiao looked in the mirror and murmured under his breath before wiping his face with a towel, and then exited the bathroom.
As he walked out of the bathroom, a cold wind brushed past him once again, making him look around the living room with suspicion, only to find nothing.
'Weird..' He thought, but decided to ignore it. Qin Xiao then headed to the bedroom, which was dimly lit, and lay down. He then raised his hand up into the air and clapped, and every light in the apartment switched off automatically. He then closed his eyes, dozing off.
As Qin Xiao slept, a dark figure suddenly appeared in the room, and began slowly walking towards him without making a single noise.
The figure stood close to the sleeping Qin Xiao, inches away from him. The figure then stretched out his right hand and a red circle materialized in his palm, which the figure held above Qin Xiao's head.