After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

Lin Zhixu saw Yu Linzhou again half a month later.

It had been a whole month since the two had last seen each other.

He thought the two of them would feel a little awkward meeting, but Yu Linzhou seemed to have been coaxed by him. He sat down on the stone bench without any hesitation and poured himself a cup of tea.

Seeing that he looked perfectly normal and as if nothing had happened, Lin Zhixu's unease dissipated.

"Speaking of which, it's been a month since I last saw you. Have you been very busy during this time?"

The main reason was that Lin Zhixu couldn't think of anything Yu Linzhou could be busy with.

The other elders were busy because they had disciples to teach, but Yu Linzhou only had one disciple.

Moreover, this person used to be like a street urchin, never doing anything productive. Even when he was busy, he wouldn't be gone for a whole month.

Yu Linzhou paused slightly in his tea-serving hand, then casually took a sip and mumbled a "hmm": "I have something to take care of."

He secretly rubbed his ribs, which were still aching slightly, under the cover of the teacup.

That damned Yan Lingcang, he's really ruthless. Every move he made was aimed at his face, forcing him to hide for half a month before he dared to go out.

He coughed lightly, quickly changing the subject: "How's your cultivation? Is it stable?"

Lin Zhixu: "That's about it. I can control it now."

"That's good." Yu Linzhou put down his teacup and said seriously, "I came to see you because there's something I need to tell you. The once-in-a-century sect competition is in three months, and the younger generation of all the major sects will participate."

"As my disciple, you naturally need to make an appearance. The geniuses from all the major sects are no pushovers, so you need to hone your skills even further over the next three months. I don't expect you to be among the top, but at least you need to be able to protect yourself and avoid getting hurt."

Lin Zhixu looked at him strangely, almost thinking he had misheard.

He still remembered how this person forced him to cultivate before the newcomer competition.

They forbade him to sleep or rest, and forced Fire Essence Pills into his mouth, wishing he could break through two levels in a day and trample Luo Yiyan under his feet in three days.

It's as if he's been possessed to say something like "I don't aim for the top, I just want to protect myself."

Of course, he knew that was impossible.

The reason he had always been unfriendly to Yu Linzhou was largely because he remembered the old scores.

Lin Zhixu: "Okay, I understand."

After finishing their business, Yu Linzhou showed no sign of leaving.

He poured himself another cup of tea and sipped it slowly.

When the tea was finished, he poured himself another cup.

Lin Zhixu waited for a while, and seeing that he still hadn't left, he finally couldn't help but speak up: "Master, is there anything else? If not, I'm going to cultivate now."

Yu Linzhou awkwardly put down his teacup, cleared his throat, and said hesitantly, "I just remembered, it seems like it's been a long time since I've guided you in your cultivation, hasn't it? Why don't I teach you a few new moves since we have some free time today?"

Lin Zhixu remained silent.

This person actually had the nerve to say that no master is as unreliable as him, working only sporadically and disappearing for ten days or half a month at a time.

They'd just drop the manual and call it a day. If they were in a good mood, they'd give a few pointers; if they weren't, they wouldn't even see a trace of them.

Despite his inner grumbling, he still acknowledged Yu Linzhou's cultivation level.

Although this person has an unconventional personality, he is still quite capable to be on par with Yan Lingcang.

With his guidance, I will definitely benefit greatly.

Lin Zhixu drew his longsword, walked into the courtyard, and assumed a starting stance.

Yu Linzhou's eyes lit up, and he immediately put down his teacup and followed.

……

An hour later, Lin Zhixu stopped, panting heavily.

Although Yu Lin took advantage of him both openly and secretly under the guise of public office, he also learned a lot.

Yu Linzhou reluctantly withdrew his hand, his tone reluctant: "Let's stop here for today. Don't tire yourself out too much. I'll teach you again tomorrow."

Lin Zhixu shook his aching arms. "Tomorrow won't work. How about the day after tomorrow?"

Yu Linzhou's upturned lips immediately fell, and he pressed, "Why?"

"I made plans with Zhou Tong and Chu Yan to go down the mountain to buy some things, so I don't have time tomorrow."

Yu Linzhou: "...I want to go too."

Lin Zhixu asked in confusion, "What are you going to do? They'll feel uncomfortable with you there. If you need anything, just tell me and I'll bring it back for you."

Yu Linzhou wanted to throw a tantrum like before, but he was afraid that Lin Zhixu would find it annoying, so he could only mutter, "Okay."

Lin Zhixu, on the other hand, was taken aback. He genuinely felt that Yu Linzhou was behaving strangely today.

In the past, this person would have clung to him shamelessly.

He was lost in thought when the system's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

The system detected his emotions, and he found Lin Zhixu rather strange.

[You've already rejected him, so he definitely won't be clinging to you like before. On the contrary, didn't you dislike him? You should be happy that he's not bothering you, so why do you feel a little disappointed?]

Lin Zhixu was taken aback.

Yes, he used to find Yu Linzhou clinging to him the most annoying thing, but now that this person has finally learned to restrain himself, shouldn't he feel relieved? Why does he feel empty instead?

The system reacted as if facing a major crisis: [You haven't fallen for him, have you?!]

Lin Zhixu snapped out of her daze and almost reflexively denied it: "How could that be? If I liked him, why would I have rejected him in the first place?"

[Maybe I haven't gotten used to it yet. I'm used to him being clingy, and this sudden change in our interactions is taking me a while to adjust. Habits aren't something you can change overnight.]

The system replied with a hint of skepticism: "I hope so."

Yu Linzhou noticed that Lin Zhixu was lost in thought again, and his eyes darkened slightly.

He had long noticed that Lin Zhixu would occasionally drift off into a daze.

Although it wasn't frequent, he was always watching him and naturally noticed his unusual behavior.

Lin Zhixu, what are you thinking about? What secret are you hiding in your heart?

Lin Zhixu came to his senses and realized that Yu Linzhou had not left yet.

She was looking at him with an inquisitive gaze.

Lin Zhixu felt a slight tightness in his heart. It seemed that he would have to minimize his conversations with the system when there were outsiders around.

"Master, you haven't left yet?"

Yu Linzhou casually withdrew his gaze and smiled, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, bring me some things tomorrow. I saw you were thinking about something, so I didn't bother you."

"I just realized I need quite a lot of things. I'll make a list when I get back and give it to you tomorrow."

Lin Zhixu nodded.

After Yu Linzhou left, Lin Zhixu stared in the direction where his figure disappeared, and mentally called out to the system: [Did he find you?]

System: [How is that possible! I'm not even in the same dimension as this world. Even if a true god came, let alone someone who's only at the half-step Nascent Soul stage, they wouldn't be able to detect me.]

Lin Zhixu: [That's because I was distracted while talking to you and he noticed. Let's be more careful in the future; we should try not to talk to each other when he's around.]

After all, Yu Linzhou was incredibly intelligent, almost demonic.

System: [Okay.]