Chapter 88 – Catching Cheaters?

“Thank you for your kindness, Auntie, but it’s unnecessary. Without establishing my career, how can I establish a family? I have no plans to marry for now. As for the matter of attracting bees and butterflies… I agree, but I also have one condition.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Lingluo’s mother calmly replied, “You want more money?”

These words caused Mu Lin’s expression to freeze. He hadn’t expected that his fondness for demanding more money had also been uncovered.

This made Mu Lin wary of the Aristocratic Families and even more eager to quickly sever this matter—the turmoil here was too great, and he, still weak, could not afford to provoke it.

However, thinking this, he did not mention the matter of more money. Instead, he said:

“I agree to the matter of attracting bees and butterflies, but I don’t have time to actually do it. During this period, I will intermittently leave Chu Lingluo’s side to cultivate elsewhere. While I’m cultivating, you can spread some rumors, saying that I’ve gone to pursue others.”

This was the method Mu Lin had devised: letting the Chu Family spread rumors instead of him truly attracting bees and butterflies. This would achieve the goal without consuming Mu Lin’s cultivation time.

As for whether this method would be effective, it certainly would.

Idioms and stories like “three people spreading rumors can make a tiger seem real” and “public opinion can melt metal” illustrate the power of rumors.

Although rumors can be stopped by the wise, if Mu Lin, the person involved, acknowledges them when they arise, they cease to be rumors and become “facts.”

The young woman before him did not refuse this matter. Spreading rumors herself would be the fastest way to sever the connection between Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo.

But she also made a request.

“You don’t need to do anything ordinarily, but I need you to act a few times when the rumors are spread.”

“Agreed.”

Thus, the two settled on a plan to make Chu Lingluo voluntarily leave his side.

After leaving Yan Yunyu’s courtyard, Mu Lin realized that being stopped did not fill him with much anger, nor did it stir thoughts of revenge or turning the tables in the future.

This was partly because he had no romantic feelings for Chu Lingluo.

Another reason was that although Chu Lingluo’s mother was arrogant and clearly looked down on Mu Lin, she did not publicly humiliate him.

She met with him privately, ensuring he wouldn’t be publicly embarrassed, and her reasons for stopping him were reasonable and justified.

However, while he felt no anger, there was still some frustration at being looked down upon.

Because of this, his urgency to cultivate grew even stronger.

But just as the anxious Mu Lin took a few steps, he couldn’t help but stop.

A figure, not tall but reassuring, was standing not far from Yan Yunyu’s courtyard.

Seeing Mu Lin emerge unscathed from Yan Yunyu’s room, her tense expression finally relaxed.

“Are you alright?”

“Thank you for your concern, Teacher. I was sensible, and she didn’t give me too much trouble.”

“Sensible? You decided to part ways with Chu Lingluo… cough… This is also a good thing for you. Although the Aristocratic Families have their advantages, the competition within them is brutally fierce. With your current stature, you’d be crushed to dust in an instant. It’s better to stay outside and live freely.”

The person outside Yan Yunyu’s courtyard was Dongfang Ya. Clearly, she knew about Chu Lingluo’s mother’s visit and understood the reason for it.

Fearing something might happen to Mu Lin, she had rushed over immediately.

Her dedication made Mu Lin feel very reassured.

…

After confirming that Mu Lin was fine, she casually offered a few words of comfort and prepared to leave.

However, just before departing, Mu Lin’s next question left her looking rather awkward.

“By the way, teacher, do you know when that Puppet Master might arrive?”

The earlier incident had indeed affected Mu Lin.

At this moment, he was urgently eager to improve his strength.

For Mu Lin at present, aside from diligent cultivation, the best way to enhance his abilities was to use better materials, Talismans, and Arrays to improve the quality of his Paper Figures.

Using these resources to refine a Substitute Paper Figure—Training Type would allow his cultivation efficiency to increase further beyond the current 12-fold multiplier.

…

Mu Lin’s inquiry made Dongfang Ya scratch her head awkwardly as she replied with some frustration:

“Although I’d like to say as soon as possible, that fellow has gone out of town, and I really can’t say for sure when he’ll return. It could be in a few days, or maybe not for one or two months… If you can’t wait, I can help you contact other teachers in the Dao Palace.”

Hearing this, Mu Lin… declined.

Having come to understand Dongfang Ya’s character, he was well aware that anyone she recommended would undoubtedly be highly skilled. Such an opportunity to study under a master was likely unique, and he didn’t want to give it up.

…

After leaving Yan Yunyu’s courtyard, Mu Lin appeared as usual when he went to the Training Ground the next day.

Most of his time was still spent wholeheartedly on cultivation.

But whereas before, he would spend the entire day with Chu Lingluo—cultivating together and, during leisure time, relying on his Grandmaster Level Paper Folding and Master Grade Painting to create various fantasies he had seen or imagined for Chu Lingluo to admire—after returning, he no longer did so. He often went out several times for various reasons.

Then, Chu Lingluo’s mother made her move. Whispers began to spread in the class about Mu Lin meeting with other girls.

It must be said that Chu Lingluo’s mother arranged things quite well. The reasons for Mu Lin’s interactions with other young ladies seemed plausible enough.

“Hey, have you heard? Because Mu Lin made it onto the ranking list, some wealthy merchants in Anping City have taken notice of him. I heard there’s even a merchant planning to marry his daughter to him.”

“Huh? Didn’t Mu Lin fall off the list?”

“He did fall off, but he was on it once, after all.”

“So envious. If I made it onto the list just once, people would probably approach me too.”

Initially, the rumors weren’t excessive, and Chu Lingluo didn’t believe them when she heard them.

However, as time passed, the rumors in the class grew more and more intense. Some even claimed with certainty that Mu Lin had been in contact with certain girls.

When a lie is repeated by many, it becomes accepted as truth. Such rumors greatly affected Mu Lin’s reputation.

At this point, Chu Lingluo still refused to believe them.

She firmly believed that her Brother Mu would never do such things.

But what happened next made it hard for her to hold on.

First, Mu Lin spent less and less time by her side. What made it even more distressing was that she caught the scent of other women on him.

This discovery made her unable to bear it any longer, and she finally asked Mu Lin:

“Brother Mu, what have you been busy with these past few days? Do you need my help?”

Mu Lin did not give a direct answer to this. Instead, he hemmed and hawed, evading the question. This suspicious attitude made Chu Lingluo, even if unwilling to doubt him, unable to avoid suspicion.

After this suspicious behavior, Mu Lin made an excuse to slip out again in the afternoon.

Faced with his actions, Chu Lingluo hesitated for a moment but still decided to follow him.

Then, in a courtyard, she saw Mu Lin meeting with Yan Yunyu.

This scene stunned her.

Mu Lin was equally stunned.

‘Why is it you?’

Though he didn’t say it aloud, his eyes clearly conveyed this meaning.

Faced with Mu Lin’s confusion, Yan Yunyu found herself in a difficult position, unable to explain.

She had been actively involved in driving a wedge between Mu Lin and Chu Lingluo, with most of the rumors originating from her.

According to the original plan, today she was supposed to arrange for a wealthy merchant’s daughter to secretly meet with Mu Lin, only for Chu Lingluo to catch them in the act.

However, while her scheme was well-laid, Chu Lingluo’s mother was no fool.

PS: First of all, Lingluo will not give up.

Secondly, the protagonist has no interest in romantic entanglements; he only cares about cultivation… So when Chu Lingluo’s mother came to him, he did not insist.

As for those who say the protagonist is not arrogant and will suffer a shattered Dao heart… He doesn’t care, it doesn’t matter—this is the greatest arrogance of all.

Look down on me? Fine, I’ll leave. Let’s see who regrets it later—that’s the protagonist’s mindset.

Finally, Chu Lingluo will not leave either.

As for her mother, she will be the one who regrets it the most later, though not now.

(End of Chapter)