Rain is pouring when young master An makes to the Lin’s villa.
The iron thorns in the yard have crawled their way to the fence so that An can’t see clearly inside. The rain falls on the glass window, sounding like a symphony.
Except for the sound of rain, the entire villa is absolutely quiet.
Thinking of Superior Huizhu’s seriousness and seeing what’s going on here, An is anxious. The large lotus leaf in his hand finally can’t stand the heavy rain and break. An throws it away.
Raindrops stop shortly on the tip of grass and they gather into a little stream on the ground. The stream flows through the gaps between cobblestones and into the outdoor swimming pool. Grass cuttings and deadwood are brought into the pool, making the water filthy.
Young master An pushes open the unclosed glass door. There is no bloody scene of dead bodies on the floor as he imagined. The fragrance of chypre is pleasant. The sound of rain drowns out the voice of people talking—
An makes a bow to express his apology. He looks around and sees the only unfamiliar face.
It is a woman in black tights. At first sight, she looks like a young woman in her twenties. However, her side face seems to belong to a woman in her forties. Her nose bridge is high, which makes her face look chiseled. The black vest barely covers her breasts. This woman is sexy. Though she is definitely an oriental woman, she has the beautifulness of western girls.
Different from the anxiety of An, the atmosphere in the greenhouse is harmonious. The woman in black is holding a cup of hot tea and she is chatting happily with Lin Luoran.
“Young master An.” Lin Luoran stands up and greets An more passionately than usual. Lin is smiling, like she doesn’t know how dangerous the woman in black is.
Only the woman in black, Lin Luoran, Qu Yi and Li Xi’er are in the greenhouse. Mr. and Mrs. Lin, as well as Luodong, are not here. Young master An relaxes a little bit and makes a bow. He says, “Lady Lay Buddhist, my master Huizhu heard that you were here. He sent me here to invite you to the Qingcheng Taoist Temple.”
The woman in black smiles behind her hand, “Lay Buddhist? I am not equal to this title. Since your superior asked, I may as well go.”
She puts down the teacup. She doesn’t misconduct, yet every move of hers is more charming than usual.
Young master An seems to be in a hurry. While saying to the woman in black that there is no need to rush, his expressions give him out.
Lin Luoran urges them to stay and walks them to the door after they refused.
The woman in black and An each takes an umbrella from Lin’s. They walk out of the gate. Suddenly, the woman turns around and stares at Goldie, which is resting on a tree in the back yard. She smiles, which makes Goldie alerted.
“This is such a rare golden hawk…” The woman whispers to herself. Then she looks up and says, “Lin, wait for me. We’ll have another good talk about the Tao of Bolus after I get back from the Qingcheng Taoist Temple, ok?”
Lin Luoran nods and says yes with a smile. When the woman in black and young master An are out of sight, Lin bites her lips and almost collapses.
Both Qu Yi and Li Xi’er believe that this woman is an ordinary person. Lin Luoran used to believe so because there was not a single fluctuation of Reiki in her.
This is also suspicious.
The woman came in the rain. Mr. Lin invited her inside because the rain was pouring. Qu Yi and Li Xi’er barely made friends with the mortals, yet they were impressed by the woman.
Even Lin Luoran herself — Lin thinks coldly. Even she was somehow invited to the greenhouse. Her parents went to the kitchen to make a hotpot. By the time Lin offered the woman a cup of hot tea, she realized that something was wrong.
Though there are kind people in the world, it is just so odd that everybody loves the woman. People all have different aesthetic standards, so they should act differently in front of the woman.
However, all the members of the Lin family treated the woman in black as she was a dear friend and Qu Yi and Li Xi’er were fascinated by every word she said. She only talked about ordinary matters. How could they be attracted so much?
All the abnormalities indicated that the woman in black was more than a mortal person!
Lin Luoran was alarmed but she didn’t dare to act rashly. She even was afraid of spying on the woman with her spiritual mind.
If the woman is really a cultivator, what is her purpose of coming to Lin’s house? Was she only passing by, or was it something else…? When the others were chatting and drinking tea, these thoughts filled Lin’s mind and made her anxious. Fortunately, Lin’s trip to the North Pole has trained her to be calm like water, or else she might breakdown under the pressure before young master An came.
Why did the Superior of Qingcheng Taoist Temple send An here? Did he…?
Lin Luoran leans on the door frame and feels chill on her back. Without noticing, her clothes are drenched in sweat.
Lin tries to calm herself down. If the woman did come to make trouble, Lin would have no chance to put up a fight since the superior of Qingcheng Taoist Temple is afraid of her. Then… Lin Luoran clenches her fists. The worst case is that she will have to run with her family. The woman’s target is Lin, so she will not vent her anger on Li Xi’er and the others.
Lin Luoran makes the decision and goes back to the villa.
Mrs. Lin is standing on the stairs in a daze. She can’t remember why she was so enthusiastic to a strange woman before. Seeing her daughter standing in the rain, Mrs. Lin immediately puts her confusion behind and asks everybody to have the hot pot for lunch.
Lin Luoran puts on her smiley and easy face. She doesn’t mention the abnormality of the woman in black to anyone. After meal, she returns to her room on the excuse of studying prescriptions of medicines.
Goldie is peeping by the window. The rain doesn’t wet its feathers, instead, Goldie looks freshly cleaned.
Lin Luoran fondles Goldie’s head and feeds it a “Seven Stars Grass”. Goldie swallows the grass lazily. It keeps looking around rather than going to the mountain to hunt or sleep. It seems disturbed.
Goldie, do you feel it too?
When will the rain stop…? Lin Luoran strokes the bead hanging on her wrist. She loses all the interest in reading the prescription.
If she runs now, the smell of her family will be washed clean by the rain. Goldie can take her parents and Luodong, and she can ride on the Sword of Bright Snow. All of them can run away fast… However, will the superior of Qingcheng Taoist Temple detain the enemy?
Granted that he does, how long will he be able to keep the woman?
Lin Luoran sighs. She looks out through the window and sees the view on Mount Qingcheng. Heavy rain is still pouring on trees and grasses, covering the sound of insects and frogs—
Should she run or not?
