Chapter 16: That’s How Rumors Get Started

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Xie Lin instinctively glanced at her face—a face marked by haughty pride and arrogance, her red lips gilded by the sunlight... exactly as the scene he had previously imagined in his mind. Truly, it was uncanny.

That maddened thought surged through his mind again, and he couldn’t control the trembling in his hands, his entire body quivering uncontrollably! He was powerless against the urge to crawl under her skirt!

Jiang Lingyi watched as Xie Lin’s normally indifferent expression quickly flushed with a deep red, his whole body shaking with anger. He bit his teeth hard, as if struggling to restrain himself from plunging a sword into her.

His face was naturally hauntingly beautiful, usually cold and aloof, radiating a forbidding gloom that warned others to keep their distance. But now, flushed with shame and fury, even the corners of his eyes glowed with a fierce crimson. He shot her a glance before abruptly turning his head away, and oddly enough, Jiang Lingyi thought he looked... quite endearing.

No, no, no, that’s not right—I’m here on a mission, not to admire handsome men!

Xie Lin, having turned away, wanted no further entanglement with her. Besides, he had already found the person he was looking for and saw no need to continue the fight. So he decisively admitted defeat. “I concede.”

If he stayed any longer, he feared he might go mad. Every time he saw Jiang Lingyi’s face, he couldn’t control that inexplicable impulse!

With the mission progress advancing significantly, Jiang Lingyi then spun around and glared at the NPC, unreasonably snatching the Mingyi Sword from his hands!

In the eyes of the onlookers, the spectators held their breath, dumbfounded by Jiang Lingyi’s bold move.

She rolled up her sleeves and lifted a leg, gripping the two ends of the Mingyi Sword like breaking a twig, pressing her knee upward with force!

It didn’t snap.

The crowd erupted in astonishment again, and Jiang Lingyi felt awkward.

She refused to believe it and tried several more times without success. The silent NPC beside her finally spoke, “Are you trying to break the Mingyi Sword?”

She nodded. The NPC kindly offered, “I’ll help you.”

Thus, under an oddly surreal atmosphere, Jiang Lingyi returned the sword to him, and, true to his word, he helped her break the Mingyi Sword into two pieces.

Xie Lin: ?

The NPC handed the two broken sword pieces back to Jiang Lingyi, who accepted them politely and thanked him. The NPC replied courteously that it was no trouble.

...The atmosphere grew even weirder.

He really was an NPC! Always ready to help without even asking why!

Though he helped her break the Mingyi Sword, Jiang Lingyi still had something to say. After all, an NPC wouldn’t harbor murderous intent, but Xie Lin truly would.

So Jiang Lingyi cleared her throat, raised her arrogant face, and glared at him. “The Mingyi Sword has been touched by you and is now dirty. If Xie Lin doesn’t want this sword, then so be it! I will forge a better spiritual sword for him in the future!”

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The crowd: ?

What kind of domineering young lady falling in love with me scenario is this?

Has the original script by Shanxia really developed to this extent?

Jiang Lingyi didn’t dare look at Xie Lin’s expression.

In the original story, the Mingyi Sword was an unparalleled masterpiece, the weapon of a great master of old. But now...

Ahhhh, this wicked villainess role, she simply couldn’t play it for even a moment longer!

She averted her gaze, too afraid to meet Xie Lin’s eyes, and glanced at the mission progress bar, which still had half remaining. Then, taking small, quick steps beneath her skirt, she moved closer to Xie Lin and gently...

Stepped on his chest!

In truth, her heart trembled with fear, but there was no other way. Life was hard, and this task was worse.

Xie Lin was furious beyond measure that she had broken the Mingyi Sword. He wished he could leap up and pierce her through with his sword. Yet, the maddened, possessed thought in his heart kept him frozen, afraid that a single lapse in control would make him really fall under Jiang Lingyi’s skirt.

He clenched his teeth in hatred, nearly choking back tears of frustration, barely enduring the humiliation of her stepping on his chest.

But to the onlookers, his flushed face, tears in his eyes, and the push-pull tension between them looked entirely like a young couple’s flirtation!

No, what was going on here? What was this supposed to be?

Were they supposed to be part of their little romantic game too?

Could they please go inside and shut the door before playing like this!

The crowd's noisy chatter rose to a roar, and the probing, puzzled gazes directed at Jiang Lingyi almost scorched her like a sieve.

She only had one line left unsaid—victory was within reach!

Jiang Lingyi took a deep breath, striving not to be affected by the chaos around her, and turned to the NPC, raising her voice.

“I tell you, if Xie Lin isn’t worthy of the Mingyi Sword, then no one in the world is!”

The NPC: ?

“What nonsense! If you don't have the insight, don’t dismiss Xie Lin as crooked. As long as he can defeat others in battle, that means he has talent!”

The crowd: ?

They understood the logic, but why was she speaking while stepping on Xie Lin?

“And you! Small-minded and malicious, a scoundrel like you deserves to practice swordsmanship? Useless trash! Get out of the Xuyang Sect as soon as possible!”

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This was what Jiang Lingyi had planned from the start.

After all, the system task only required her to say that line in front of everyone—it never specified who the line referred to.

She had used a little cunning, though uncertain if it would truly succeed, and waited anxiously for the delightful sound of confirmation. Sure enough!

[ Ding—Congratulations, host, mission accomplished! ]

In that instant, she felt all her strength drain away; her legs gave out, her vision dimmed, and she collapsed onto Xie Lin, eyes rolling back into her head.

She fainted outright, unconscious. The onlookers, still processing the spectacle, scratched their heads in confusion, feeling as if a cat were clawing at their hearts.

The monthly exam was briefly delayed due to this unexpected incident. On the arena, several junior disciples hurriedly helped Jiang Lingyi to the apothecary, while elders likewise assisted Jiang Yuanshan to the same place.

When the two woke around the same time in the apothecary, they both fell silent for a few seconds.

Jiang Yuanshan nearly fainted again at the sight of her. Hastily rising from his bed, he sat by Jiang Lingyi’s side and lamented, “Qin Qin! I told you to bring a cloth to wipe Xie Lin’s sweat, not to beg him to form a Dao Companion bond with you!”

Jiang Lingyi: ...

“I didn’t beg him to become my Dao Companion.”

“Then did you kneel and beg for mercy on his behalf?”

Jiang Lingyi: ...

That’s how the rumors started.

She rubbed her forehead weakly, voice faint and light, “I just couldn’t stand seeing someone bully him, so I wanted to speak up for Xie Lin. But I’d been out in the sun too long, my legs went weak, and I fell as soon as I stepped forward.”

“I see...”

Jiang Yuanshan nodded repeatedly. He had fainted earlier and wasn’t aware of what happened next.

To everyone else, Jiang Lingyi clearly liked Xie Lin. She couldn’t bear to see him humiliated and bullied, so she impulsively rushed in to defend him. But who knew she not only defended him but also shamelessly showed off their affection!

In just one day, the story of Jiang Lingyi’s unyielding love for Xie Lin had evolved into thirty different versions, spreading widely throughout the Xuyang Sect.

Jiang Lingyi felt utterly doomed.