Chapter 78: After This Mission Ends…

“Senior Brother, Senior Brother, wait for me! Slow down!”

Lin Shuang, with bright eyes and pearly teeth, youthful and lively, was the beloved little junior sister of the Yongzhou Six Doors.

Her master was none other than the head of the Yongzhou Six Doors—Zhu Dongfeng.

In the dreams of every young constable in the Yongzhou Six Doors, the bunny-girl junior sister was without a doubt Lin Shuang.

This little junior sister who haunted the dreams of all the young constables of the Six Doors was now walking along a narrow mountain path, tilting her head as she looked at the young constable striding swiftly beside her, his eyes fixed forward, never glancing sideways.

Her gaze was filled with tender affection.

Any older person could instantly see that this constable junior sister had already fallen deeply in love.

But her feelings seemed to have never reached the young man at her side.

This young man was Lin Shuang’s senior brother in the same sect, the most dazzling rising star among the Yongzhou Six Doors’ new constables—Su Bing.

Even when he heard his junior sister’s slightly coquettish tone, his eyes remained fixed straight ahead:

“Little Junior Sister, this mission Master gave me may be dangerous. I think it’s best if you don’t follow me. Go back to the Six Doors.”

Su Bing’s somewhat distant words made the adorable little junior sister pout:

“Senior Brother, what are you saying? Didn’t we clearly agree before, that we would always be partners?”

“Then why is it that every time you have a mission, you kick me away?”

Su Bing’s quick steps paused ever so slightly, and he finally turned his gaze toward Lin Shuang:

“Sorry, Little Junior Sister.

I shouldn’t have said that. We’ve always been partners.”

Looking at the little junior sister who had always stood by his side no matter the circumstances, dressed neatly in her constable’s uniform, a trace of gentleness finally surfaced in the young man’s eyes.

Lin Shuang felt the warmth of Su Bing’s gaze, and her pretty face flushed red.

She instinctively turned her head aside:

“N-no, it’s fine, Senior Brother. I know your concerns are reasonable.”

“After all, several villages nearby have suddenly had many pregnant women, all claiming they were enlightened by the Bodhisattva in a Child-Giving Temple in this mountain. That’s just far too strange.”

Su Bing nodded:

“Whether it’s you, me, or Master, we all believe that if there truly are Bodhisattvas in this world, they shouldn’t be appearing in these deep, remote mountains.”

“Those women, unable to conceive for various reasons, all suddenly became pregnant after worshipping at that so-called Child-Giving Temple in this mountain.”

“According to Master and the other senior constables’ deduction, there must be villains hiding in this temple. That’s why I was sent on this mission.”

“But Junior Sister, you weren’t assigned to this task. There’s no need for you to come along.”

Though his tone carried affection, Su Bing was clearly trying to send Lin Shuang back to the Six Doors once again.

But this time, Lin Shuang had no intention of being driven away like before:

“No, Senior Brother. Master already said my strength is now enough to fight against a Profound-Rank Demonic Beast. With the protective treasure Master gave me, as long as it’s not an Earth-Rank Demonic Beast, I at least have the ability to protect myself.”

“And within a thousand miles, who doesn’t know that the only Earth-Rank Demonic Beast is the Mountain Lord? Any others who could become Earth Demons were either driven away or killed under the Mountain Lord’s claws.”

“So as long as we don’t encounter the Mountain Lord, no beast can take my life.”

Su Bing sighed helplessly:

“But according to Master’s deduction, the one behind the Child-Giving Temple might not be a beast—it could be a human. And what if that villain has Earth-Rank strength?”

Lin Shuang stuck out her rosy tongue playfully and rubbed coquettishly against Su Bing’s chest:

“Then I can only believe that my Senior Brother Su Bing will surely protect me～ After all, we’re partners～”

Nestled against Su Bing, Lin Shuang’s eyes flickered with a mischievous gleam—this trick was something she had especially learned from her best friend.

Her best friend had said no hot-blooded young man could resist Lin Shuang acting this way.

And indeed, she was right.

Lin Shuang’s act made Su Bing’s cheeks flush red in an instant.

His breathing grew rapid, and the hands that had once cut down dozens of bandits without trembling now, for the first time, shook slightly:

“J-Junior Sister, you’re right. Even if I die, I’ll protect you.”

“Hehe, I knew Senior Brother treats me the best. I like Senior Brother the most!”

Lin Shuang, feigning excitement at being allowed to join the mission, hugged Su Bing tightly.

But what she blurted out this time was something she usually felt too shy to say aloud.

Su Bing looked at the radiant Lin Shuang, and something within him stirred.

All these years, he and his junior sister had always been as close as family.

He had only ever seen Lin Shuang as a younger sister and never entertained other thoughts.

But today, why did he suddenly realize that his junior sister had unknowingly become so beautiful?

So beautiful that his heart leapt along with her cheerful laughter.

“Hu～”

Su Bing let out a long breath, forcibly pressing down that strange emotion within his heart.

After this mission ended and they returned, perhaps it was time he reconsidered how he truly felt about his little junior sister.

......

Inside the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore cave, the Black Bear of the Profound Rank widened its eyes, staring at Mo Lin who was devouring chunk after chunk of Purple Crystal Dragon Ore.

Its lips trembled slightly.

It had discovered the secret passage leading to this Purple Crystal Dragon Ore beneath the mountain three years ago.

Ever since then, the Black Bear had risked losing its head if the Mountain Lord discovered it, secretly refining the ore.

Thanks to its unique method of refining ore poison, it had been able to extract one jin of nearly toxin-free Purple Crystal Dragon Ore from the cave each day.

By consuming a jin of toxin-free ore daily, though its strength hadn’t increased, its foundation had grown ever more solid.

The last time it advanced into the Upper Profound Rank, it had been almost effortless, free of setbacks—all thanks to the Purple Crystal Dragon Ore strengthening its soul.

According to the Black Bear’s calculations, if it continued consuming ore in secret for another ten years, it would no longer have to worry about its soul when breaking through to the Earth Rank.

By then, it would leave this small Mountain God Temple and seek an opportunity to advance elsewhere.

As if it would ever willingly stay cooped up in this little Mountain God Temple for life!

This was the worst of times, but also the best of times.

The Great Qian was weakening, demons roamed unchecked—danger and opportunity walked hand in hand.

The Black Bear swore to carve out an invincible path of its own in this age.

That had been its plan—before it met Mo Lin.

In just three short hours, the Black Bear had watched Mo Lin devour an enormous amount of Purple Crystal Dragon Ore.

By its estimation, the weight of ore consumed had exceeded at least two thousand jin.

That was the equivalent of thirteen years’ worth of ore it could have secretly refined for itself!!!

The vast quantity of ore that should have been enough to steadily support its soul’s breakthrough to the Earth Rank had, in just three hours, been swallowed into Mo Lin’s stomach.

And the Black Bear still couldn’t see the limits of Mo Lin’s appetite.

Because Mo Lin continued devouring ore endlessly, as if every chunk thrown into his stomach vanished into another dimension, leaving not the slightest burden!

He was still devouring, still devouring!!!