"Whether he believes it or not is up to him."
Vermilion Bird spoke calmly: "As one of Moonshade's people, not obeying Hidden Dragon's orders and acting on his own is already a mistake."
"Since you've delivered the message I asked you to bring, you can go back now. If anything comes up, I'll contact you."
After Vermilion Bird finished speaking, she was about to turn away.
"Vermilion Bird sis..."
Yvette Ye hesitated for a moment, looking at her back: "Who exactly is that woman?"
"She seems to be very important to Evan Lin."
To be honest, Yvette Ye didn’t really understand Vermilion Bird’s meaning either.
But as someone from Moonshade, she naturally had to carry out Hidden Dragon's orders without question. Besides, Vermilion Bird never gives pointless instructions.
"You may be from the Ye Family, but you’re not a member of Hidden Dragon. There are some matters and questions that Moonshade shouldn’t know about for now."
Vermilion Bird didn’t look back, her figure receding into the distance: "If you want answers, I can’t give them to you. You can go home and ask there."
"Also, keep a close eye on Mitch Mi and Harvey Li."
Yvette Ye watched Vermilion Bird’s silhouette fade away, still unable to get any answers, leaving her a bit discouraged.
Thinking back to the pair of eyes she glimpsed inside Evan Lin’s door just now, Yvette Ye couldn’t help but shiver.
After Yvette Ye left, Evan Lin returned to his room. Seeing that Lily Zhao was already sitting up, he got her consent, then took out the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll and let her enter it.
Lily Zhao was now physically weak, her spiritual qi nearly exhausted. But as someone who had survived Heavenly Tribulation and nearly ascended, even if all her qi was gone, she still had a hint of dao-rhyme circulating around her.
This was greatly beneficial to the three maiden spirits inside the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll.
Evan Lin sat cross-legged at the bedside and checked on the Scarlet Flame Python.
Ever since leaving the Mysterious Ruins, the Scarlet Flame Python had fallen into a deep sleep again. From the feel of things, it seemed to have gained an enormous benefit.
That three-headed giant serpent’s cultivation was at least several thousand years old.
The fact that it could swallow the serpent whole in one bite was enough to shock Evan Lin.
After checking for a while, Evan found no signs of the Scarlet Flame Python waking up. The Left-Hand Dragon was still sound asleep as well.
The Grand Dao Foundation Art inside his body was still slowly running, so his spiritual qi was recovering rather slowly.
Inside the Moonshade base.
Kevin Qin and the others’ injuries were treated well. Once they could get out of bed and walk, they made a point to find Evan Lin and thank him.
"If it hadn’t been for you that day, we might all have died there."
Kevin Qin bowed solemnly to Evan Lin in front of everyone: "Even though you saved my life, once I recover and get stronger, I’ll still seek a chance to spar with you."
Evan Lin agreed without any extra words.
In the eyes of ordinary people, Kevin Qin’s talent was quite impressive—even among Ancient Martial Clans. But unfortunately for him, he had met Evan Lin, and was simply outmatched.
"Little brother, I was wrong that day. I shouldn’t have kept saying those things about you. I’m really ashamed."
Harvey Li was among them, looking apologetic: "If I hadn’t jumped up so recklessly, I wouldn’t have triggered the lightning—and I got you struck, too."
"From now on, if you ever need anything from me, just say the word. As long as I can do it, I promise I won’t refuse."
Harvey Li kept speaking, his face full of humility—none of the arrogance or contempt he’d shown at first.
Jenna Jiang was there too, thanking Evan Lin. Her gaze toward him was complex and hard to read.
She’d thought Evan Lin was just a backdoor entrant, but later realized that with his strength, he didn’t even need an entry pass for Moonshade—he could join whenever he wanted.
Not just Moonshade—Jenna even felt that once Evan Lin grew stronger, he might compete for a Hidden Dragon slot.
"Thank you."
The last to speak was a man.
He wasn’t tall—about one meter sixty-five, with a well-proportioned build. Not handsome, but extremely clean-cut.
He was young. His gaze met Evan Lin’s, and when he spoke, his tone was steady—no admiration, no excessive gratitude.
"You’re Mitch Mi?"
Evan Lin looked at him and asked.
"Yeah." Mitch Mi nodded, then fell silent.
"Mitch Mi probably hasn’t recovered yet. He spent too long inside the Mysterious Ruins and was badly shaken—don’t take it personally."
Yvette Ye stepped in to smooth things over, worried Mitch Mi’s attitude might upset Evan Lin.
After a brief round of thanks, once everyone had left, Evan Lin decided to set out for home.
He spoke to Yvette Ye, who arranged a private jet for him.
"I still have some matters to handle these next few days. If you run into any trouble, just call me."
Yvette Ye saw Evan Lin board the plane, reminding him once more about the words she’d shown him that day.
She watched Evan Lin board alone, holding back from asking about the woman’s whereabouts.
That woman had appeared out of nowhere in front of everyone that day.
Yvette Ye could only guess that Evan Lin had some special artifact for hiding people.
The plane took off.
He arrived in Harborview City after three in the afternoon.
Outside the airport, he hailed a cab and headed back to campus.
At the university, Evan Lin thought about calling Autumn Zheng to check on her, but no one answered.
She was probably busy.
Evan Lin didn’t dwell on it. He returned to the dorm, where Tyler Tan was deep in conversation on the phone. When he saw Evan come in, Tyler quickly ended his call, tossed the phone aside, and grabbed Evan, face full of excitement.
"You really came back just one step too late today!"
Tyler Tan spoke with excitement, both hands gripping Evan Lin’s shoulders.
Ming Zhao happened to return from outside the dorm, surprised to see Evan Lin there.
"What’s going on? What do you mean, ‘just one step too late’?"
Evan Lin was curious.
"Our counselor got confessed to!"
"Damn! You have no idea—just last night, fireworks everywhere across campus!"
Tyler Tan nearly exploded with excitement as he recounted the story.
"And that person was really extravagant—every single classmate got the latest iPhone! Total rich kid move!"
Ming Zhao nodded repeatedly, just as excited as Tyler Tan about the story.
"Confessed to?"
Evan Lin frowned. "The counselor is Autumn Zheng?"
"Yeah, it’s Ms. Zheng."
Tyler Tan nodded. "You’ve missed so many classes, you don’t even remember your own counselor’s name?"
"Come on, Evan Lin, you’re still our class president!"
Autumn Zheng got confessed to?
By whom?
Evan Lin was stunned.