The side effects of the Rejuvenating Pill were extremely severe, and coupled with his injuries, Yin Ming remained in bed for a long time, only managing to sit up on the fifth day.

He looked out the half-open window and saw that the courtyard was exquisitely decorated and the landscaping was well-arranged and lifelike.

The villain in the original story already lives in such a nice house, yet he's still not satisfied. What a greedy guy!

With limited views, Yin Ming listlessly withdrew his gaze.

With nothing to do, he focused his mind on his spatial ring, casually flipping through it before using the quilt as a mat to take out his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone and began to draw and paint.

"Senior Brother Yin... Senior Brother Yin!" An anxious voice called from outside the door. Yin Ming turned his head and saw a young man dressed in the robes of a Demon Sect disciple rushing in.

"What's wrong?" Yin Ming asked calmly, while raising his hand to signal him to calm down.

The boy seemed to realize he had been too impulsive. He hurriedly bowed and kowtowed, trying to calm himself down, before continuing:

"The young master has woken up, and the Grand Elder is leading him toward the Changming Hall... The Grand Elder asked me to come and tell you, Senior Brother, so that you can prepare in advance."

The young man's expression was conflicted for a moment before he finally managed to stammer out, "Young Master's emotions are currently quite unstable."

Yin Ming looked at the boy's evasive eyes and understood. Obviously, 'emotionally unstable' was a euphemism; the actual situation was probably that he was on the verge of losing control.

But that's understandable. After all, Nirvana is the return of all his memories from nine lifetimes. So many painful experiences of being tortured suddenly flood his mind. It's a miracle he didn't go crazy. How normal could his mental state be?

Yin Ming frowned suddenly. Wait, what did he say? Ling Yao has already woken up? So quickly?! In the original story, it clearly took ten days! How come it's been halved now?!

As if remembering something, Yin Ming's expression stiffened again. He seemed to have told Ling Yao that he was the one who sent people to do all of this...

Lingyao wouldn't be overthinking things and believe that all the suffering in these nine lifetimes was inflicted on him, would he?! Wouldn't that make him even more deserving of death in Lingyao's eyes?!

Yin Ming rubbed his forehead in annoyance. Damn it, why was he so cheeky back then!

But where is Changming Hall? Oh, it seems to be where Yin Ming lives.

Huh? So Lingyao is on his way now?! Holy crap! Oh no, he's coming to settle scores!

Before Yin Ming could respond, a voice came from outside the door.

"Young Master, Young Master, please calm down and listen to me..."

Yin Ming was startled. We've arrived already?

Upon hearing the sound, the boy immediately took a few steps back and stood in an inconspicuous corner, waiting for orders.

Seeing the commotion outside getting closer, Yin Ming hurriedly put everything on the quilt into his spatial ring.

She then called over the boy beside her, handed him the Xuan paper in her hand, and instructed him to give it to Lingyao later. Only then did she quickly lie down and pretend to be dead.

The boy didn't understand. The young master had already arrived at the door, so why didn't Senior Brother Yin personally deliver the message to the young master, but instead asked him to relay it?

However, Yin Ming was known for his bad temper within the Demon Sect, so the young man dared not ask any further questions and simply replied respectfully, "Yes."

What Yin Ming didn't notice was that, in his panic, he had handed the boy an extra sheet of Xuan paper.

***

Until he stepped into Yin Ming's room, the Grand Elder was still trying to persuade him, when a deep voice impatiently interrupted him, its tone clean and sharp.

"Shut up."

Although it was only two short words, the killing intent contained within was too strong. The Grand Elder was stunned upon hearing it and immediately fell silent.

Faced with the current situation, Yin Ming only dared to open one eye, so he could only vaguely see a black figure standing about two meters away from him.

"Yin Ming, long time no see. Didn't expect I'd still be alive, did you?"

Seeing that Yin Ming did not answer, the black figure took two more steps forward.

"Didn't I tell you? You'd better pray that I die, or you'll be the one who dies."

Yin Ming remained unmoved. The black-clad figure's tone suddenly turned serious, and he said with considerable displeasure, "What trick are you playing now? Or do you think you can escape this by lying in bed and pretending to be dead?"

Having his little scheme ruthlessly exposed, Yin Ming reluctantly opened his eyes and weakly called out, "A Yao."

The figure in black paused, then scoffed, "I don't deserve to be called 'Ah Yao' by you. Or are you trying to dredge up past memories to make me let you go? Don't dream about it."

He looked down at Yin Ming on the bed, his tone full of sarcasm, "It's only been a few days, and you've turned into this mess. What? You've done too many evil deeds, and now you're getting your comeuppance?"

Yin Ming felt a lump in his throat. Ling Yao after his transformation was anything but cute, and his words were truly awful.

"Waaaah, you dog system, give me back my sweet and soft little white lotus, A Yao!"

At this moment, the First Elder interjected, "Young Master, Yin Ming has become like this all because of you."

Yin Ming's eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, that's it! If you can talk, then talk more!"

This kind of thing is best said by an outsider; if Yin Ming says it himself, it will feel like a show, completely fake.

"Oh? For me?" The black-clad figure remained silent for a long time before finally uttering these words.

Seeing that he was finally willing to listen to the explanation, the elder hurriedly recounted the whole story.

"Heh..." The black figure chuckled contemptuously, clearly not believing the Grand Elder's words. "Just because he is a seventh-realm cultivator, does the Grand Elder fabricate these lies to deceive me in order to protect him?"

The black-clad figure glanced coldly at the Grand Elder, "This is quite disappointing."

Changing the subject, the black-clad figure added, "Of course, I will also disappoint the Grand Elder. He and I must settle things today."

Seeing this, Yin Ming sighed silently. Sure enough, Ling Yao wouldn't listen to any advice at this moment.

Let's give him some time to process this. As for now, Yin Ming needs to log off before Ling Yao takes him away to be executed.

Hopefully, when he wakes up again, Lingyao will understand what he did before.

Yin Ming took out the dark green jade piece from under the quilt. After successfully contacting Liu Ying and informing her that he could begin casting the spell, Yin Ming finally dared to fully open his eyes and slowly waved towards the black figure.

"Ah Yao, come here."

The black figure froze for a moment before slowly moving to Yin Ming's bedside.

"You must take good care of yourself..."

Yin Ming's eyes lit up as he looked at the androgynous face that appeared in his line of sight, and he couldn't help but reach out to touch it.

Suddenly, a wave of drowsiness washed over him, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air before falling heavily to the ground.