The streets were bustling with activity, and the shouts of vendors filled the air.

Lingyao, his face grim, clenched his fists and stepped into a shop.

When he came out again, he had a spatial ring on his hand.

He was about to return to the inn when a woman exuding a strong fragrance blocked his way.

"Where are you rushing off to, young master? You look so travel-worn, it breaks my heart. Why don't you come inside and rest for a while?" The heavily made-up woman swayed her hips and gave Lingyao a flirtatious wink.

Lingyao glanced in the direction she was pointing and saw a luxurious restaurant called Gentle Village.

Inside the restaurant, couples were making out intimately. Lingyao frowned slightly as he watched their actions.

"Young master, would you also like to try that kind of taste? Ah, no need to say more, I understand." The woman teased him, noticing that he was staring at one of the couples.

"What are they doing?" Lingyao asked.

The woman was taken aback at first, as if she hadn't expected Lingyao to ask such a question, but then her face lit up with surprise. Could it be that I've met a virgin today?

Thinking of this, she became even more charming and said, "They're doing something fun, young master. Would you like to experience that feeling of happiness?"

"Why would they be happy doing this?" Lingyao asked, puzzled.

The woman was speechless for a moment; she really didn't know how to answer the question, and she had never thought about the answer before.

"Because...because I like him. Because I like him, I feel happy when I'm close to him. Does the young master like me? I am very fond of the young master." As the woman spoke, her face flushed pink.

She wasn't lying; with Lingyao's looks, few women wouldn't be attracted.

Given Lingyao's attire, he clearly looks like a wealthy young master, so he's sure to make a killing.

Where can you find such a high-quality client? We must seize this opportunity!

Like? Ling Yao frowned slightly. Although he knew the word and often heard people mention it, the scene in front of him did not seem to have the same meaning as his understanding of 'like'.

Just like Yin Ming also liked the purple cloud leopard, but his behavior was not as crazy as that of the couple in front of him.

Could it be because we like each other to a different degree?

The woman tentatively took Lingyao's hand, but he deftly dodged it.

"Sorry, I have something to do."

***

The door to the room was pushed in from the outside. Lingyao placed the fragrant food on the table and set it out. The corners of his lips were slightly raised, forming a faint smile. Coupled with his white robes, he looked just like a celestial being untouched by the world.

Yin Ming suddenly thought of a modern meme—"Isn't it good to be a god? Why be so foolish as to descend to the mortal realm?"

Unfortunately, this "immortal" Lingyao was also forcibly reincarnated, and in the cycle of cause and effect, he even implicated Yin Ming.

It's all fate, I guess.

"Yin Ming, let's eat." Ling Yao moved the table and chairs to the bedside, picked up a bowl, and filled it with porridge and vegetables.

"Thank you." Yin Ming felt embarrassed that a grown man like him had to be fed, but he really couldn't eat by himself right now, so he could only swallow his pride and eat the food that Ling Yao handed him.

Lingyao is truly a thoughtful daughter; knowing that Yinming was seriously injured, she ordered nutritious liquid foods that were easy to swallow.

"It's nothing." Lingyao paused, her hand holding the spoon still. "You said it yourself, friends don't need to say thank you."

!!

Yin Ming was so moved by these words that he burst into tears—Ling Yao had acknowledged him as a friend!

After all this time, we finally have a proper status. It was all worth it. Everything was worth it.

"Yin Ming, what are you thinking about?" Ling Yao asked curiously when he saw the other staring at him.

"It's nothing, I just think you look a lot like my younger brother," Yin Ming said seriously.

Yin Ming muttered to himself, "It's true! I want to strike while the iron is hot and become sworn brothers with you!"

"Yin Ming has a younger brother? He must be very happy. I don't have any relatives. I wonder what an older brother is like, or if he's like Yin Ming?" Ling Yao smiled.

Yin Ming was about to say that I could treat him like an older brother, which I would be more than happy to accept, when I heard a faint, threatening cough beside me. I immediately said seriously, "One should not speak while eating."

Lingyao blinked innocently, nodded, and obediently fed Yin Ming.

"This is for you." After finishing the meal, Lingyao cleared the dishes and chopsticks, then flipped her hand and a porcelain bottle appeared in her palm, which she handed to Yin Ming.

This is… Yin Ming took the porcelain bottle, opened it, and smelled it. It was a Soul Nourishing Pill for healing, a low-grade one.

While low-grade Soul Nourishing Pills aren't expensive, they're not exactly cheap either. Lingyao has already given Yin Ming all the treasures of Shenyin Mountain, so where would he get the money to buy this stuff?

Could it be his own savings that he's accumulated over time?!

Yin Ming was deeply moved. Waaah, he really was. I'm going to cry my eyes out.

Although it was practically useless compared to the high-level Soul Nourishing Pills given by the Dark Guards, I was still very touched.

"Thank you..." Oh, the male lead said there was no need to say thank you. "Okay, I'll accept it."

Yin Ming carefully put away the porcelain bottle and reached out his right hand to ruffle Ling Yao's hair.

***

After more than two months of recuperation, with the help of his bodyguards' secret treatment, Yin Ming has finally recovered almost completely.

Yin Ming immediately decided to leave the inn the next day and continue his travels—staying in the inn all the time wasn't a good idea, and he needed to think of a few more ways out. Wandering around might just spark some inspiration.

When Yin Ming finished packing his things and went downstairs, he saw Ling Yao standing straight outside the inn, surrounded by a group of pretty girls his age, who were all smiles as they asked him what was wrong.

As it turned out, this guy was probably a blockhead, remaining aloof and unmoved, only nodding occasionally in response.

Is this cold and aloof demeanor the legendary "single by choice"?

Yin Ming looked at Ling Yao with disappointment and frustration. "Look at the other male protagonists in cultivation novels. Which one of them doesn't have a harem of three thousand beauties? With your qualifications, you could also have a large number of wives and concubines. How did you become the frog on Qixi Festival—lonely and alone?"

I was hoping to find a few girls for the male lead, fulfilling my dream of romance as a reader, but he didn't even glance at the girls who came to him. Who could resist that?

Or does he simply look down on these girls?

Isn't the male lead's standard a bit too high? In Yin Ming's opinion, these girls are already considered high-quality—

Given the male lead's looks, how could anyone who's ugly even dare to pursue him? They'd feel ashamed just standing in front of him.

But it doesn't matter. It's okay if he doesn't like these girls. Yin Ming remembers that there was a goddess-level girl in the original work who almost became the female lead. There's still a chance.

In fact, the male protagonist had no one to teach him from a young age, and he could only truly understand some things after experiencing them for a long time. To put it nicely, he was slow to react; to put it bluntly, he had low emotional intelligence.

Furthermore, since the Demon Sect's purpose in having the male protagonist reincarnate was to accumulate resentment, it was impossible for him to have beautiful things like love.

If the male lead truly has someone he likes, the Demon Sect would probably kill her without hesitation, letting him experience heartbreak and accelerating his descent into darkness.

This probably foreshadowed the male protagonist becoming a widow later in life.

In the original story, it wasn't until later that the male protagonist realized that the beautiful, understanding girl he had met, who was like a lilac, was the epitome of love, only she had long since disappeared into the crowd.

Then, after a moment of sadness, our protagonist remembered that a monster boss on a certain mountain was still waiting for his "favor," and this sentimental feeling was immediately forgotten.

Well, that's how this relationship came to a perfect end.

Yin Ming: ...Heh...Hehe.

What the hell is this love?

As expected of you, author who's been single since birth.