Chapter 15: Trouble at the Outer Gate? I Just Wanted a Nap…
The morning mist hadn't even lifted properly from the peaks when Lin Mo opened one eye, stretched, and mumbled,
"Another day of peace, tea, and pretending to cultivate."
He reached lazily for his teacup under the peach tree when—
BOOM!
A muffled explosion echoed from the direction of the outer gate, shaking the quiet of Silent Peak. Birds flew off in alarm.
Lin Mo paused, teacup halfway to his lips. "…Did someone just knock on my peace with a cannon?"
From the side, Luo Yixue peeked out of her small wooden hut, hair messy and eyes wide. She clutched the golden egg tightly.
"Senior Brother… that sounded close."
"It's not our problem yet." Lin Mo yawned.
Another boom. Then a scream. Then—
"Senior Brother Lin Mo! Outer Sect under attack!"
A disciple came running up the slope, panting like he'd outrun a thunder beast.
Lin Mo gave him a sleepy look. "You climbed all the way here just to scream at me?"
"Th-The sect gate! Bandits or rogue cultivators! They're forcing their way in!"
Luo Yixue gasped. "The Sect Leader?"
"She's still out on patrol… We're the only inner peak still untouched!"
Lin Mo blinked. "…Me. Only me."
"Uh—yes! I mean—Senior Brother Lin Mo, they say you're the strongest—"
"I know what they say." Lin Mo stood slowly and cracked his neck. "Let's go have a look."
---
📍 Outer Sect Gates – Moments Later
Dozens of outer sect disciples stood in a messy line, facing three rogue cultivators. The leader, a tall man with wild hair and eyes like burning coal, carried a giant curved blade with dried blood still caked on it.
"You bratty weaklings have no idea how the world works," the man sneered. "Hand over all your cultivation resources, and maybe I'll leave a few of you with your legs still attached."
His two lackeys cackled.
One disciple stepped forward. "This is Misty Cloud Sect territory. Leave now!"
The rogue smirked. "Cute."
He raised his blade.
CLANG!
The weapon stopped mid-swing—intercepted by a single stick.
A bamboo stick.
"…Huh?"
Lin Mo stood between the disciples and the rogues, tapping the ground with his teacup still in hand.
"You talk too much for a guy with blood in his beard."
The rogue's eyes widened. "You… you're Lin Mo?"
Luo Yixue peeked from behind him, still holding the egg. She looked worried.
Lin Mo sighed. "I just wanted tea. Why are you people like this?"
"You think you're untouchable just because you're from a peak?" the rogue shouted.
"No. I think I'm untouchable because… I am."
In a blink, Lin Mo vanished.
WHAM!
The rogue cultivator flew backward into a tree, his massive blade spinning off like a flying fan.
The remaining two barely had time to react before they were swept off their feet—literally. Lin Mo tripped one and bonked the other on the head with the tea tray.
Silence fell.
The outer sect disciples stood frozen.
"…Did he just beat three rogue cultivators with tea accessories?" one whispered.
Luo Yixue raised a hand. "He hasn't even finished his tea yet."
---
📍 Back at Silent Peak – Afternoon
Lin Mo lounged under the tree again.
"This is exactly why I prefer naps to hero work."
Luo Yixue giggled softly beside him. The egg in her lap glowed faintly, warm and calm.
"Still," Lin Mo said, eyes closed, "it's strange."
"What is?"
"That rogue. His spiritual signature wasn't normal. Someone sent him here."
"You think someone's targeting the sect?"
He cracked an eye open. "No. They're targeting me."
Luo Yixue looked down at the egg. A chill ran down her spine, even under the sunlight.
Chapter 17: A Man Who Shouldn't Be Forgotten
The warm sunlight still touched Silent Peak gently, yet an unexplainable chill crept into the wind.
Lin Mo sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff, biting into a peach. "Hmm… sweet. Maybe too sweet." He casually tossed the pit into the air, flicking it into dust with a finger.
Luo Yixue sat nearby, still holding her egg like a mother hen. "Senior Brother, do you think it'll hatch soon?"
Lin Mo didn't answer immediately. His gaze had shifted.
A shadow—a man in worn-out brown robes—stood at the bottom of the peak, looking up at them with expressionless eyes. He didn't climb. He just… stood there.
Luo Yixue turned her head. "Who is that?"
Lin Mo's tone dropped. "A ghost from the past."
She blinked. "What?"
He stood slowly, dusting off his robes. "Stay here. If I don't return in fifteen minutes, run to the Sect Leader."
"Eh?! But—!"
"No 'but.' That man… he shouldn't exist."
Down below, the man slowly stepped forward, eyes locked on Lin Mo, who now walked down the path with the same casual pace—but his fingers were twitching, veins slightly bulging. The aura around him was still hidden, but his instincts were screaming.
The man finally spoke. His voice was hoarse… and heavy. "Lin Mo. Silent Peak. Still pretending you're no one."
Lin Mo cracked his neck. "Better than pretending to be human."
The man smiled, broken and bitter. "Do you know what they did to my sister?"
Lin Mo didn't reply.
"Qingyu was fourteen," the man continued, "when the Emerald Rain Sect took her away. I begged our sect master for help. He told me… 'talent is currency, and yours is cheap.'"
Lin Mo's eyes narrowed. "So you killed them."
"I burned down the entire branch hall."
Silence.
The man stepped closer. "They laughed at me when I cried. Laughed when my mother died waiting for her daughter. I stopped crying after that. I started learning how to make others cry."
"…Yan Zhentian," Lin Mo said the name quietly, like dusting off an old tombstone.
"You remember it," Yan said. "Good."
Lin Mo exhaled. "You're not wrong to be angry."
Yan tilted his head. "Then step aside."
"No."
That one word cracked the air.
"I only want the elder who sold my sister," Yan said. "You know he's still alive. Still fat. Still laughing."
"And killing twenty others in your way is fine?" Lin Mo asked.
"I'm not asking for approval. I'm asking if you'll stop me."
Lin Mo didn't answer. But his body blurred.
A blast of wind shook the mountain.
They stood a few meters apart, neither having moved — but the earth between them was sliced open.
Yan stared at the cut. "So you are strong."
"I don't want to kill you," Lin Mo said quietly. "But I won't let you walk past."
"You're just another tool for the system that let her suffer."
"I don't serve anyone. Especially not monsters."
Yan's eyes trembled. "Then you'll die like the rest."
As the two clashed, Luo Yixue watched from above, holding her egg tightly. She felt her chest tighten. Not because of the power—but the pain she saw in the enemy's eyes.