Walking out of the basement door, Mu Lin saw Claire and the other girls waiting at the entrance. It was already deep into the night, and Mei Zi and Bess had fallen asleep on the chairs. When they saw Mu Lin emerge, the girls rushed over. Facing their concerned gazes, a warm current surged through Mu Lin’s heart. What he didn’t realize was that as his cultivation deepened, a magnetic field of vitality around his body had grown stronger, subtly influencing those around him—especially the women. Even Hong Jia Ni, who had always treated him coldly, regarding her association with Mu Lin as a torment, had gradually changed without realizing it. Now, she was waiting for him voluntarily.
“Why did you all come here?” Mu Lin asked Claire.
“Are you okay?” Claire and the other girls asked almost simultaneously.
“Shh,” Mu Lin silenced them, then gently picked up Mei Zi and carried her outside. Claire did the same with Bess, and the rest followed behind. They arrived at the living room on the first floor. Perhaps due to the quiet surroundings, the two young girls woke up at the same time. Mei Zi, who had grown a little older, felt shy being held in her brother’s arms. Seeing Mei Zi awaken, Mu Lin gently placed her on the sofa.
Everyone sat down, and Claire asked, “Daniel, what happened today? This evening we all felt a strange mix of joy and sorrow. Since we were all together, and even Finny and Hong Jia Ni had called their homes, we knew nothing had happened to us. So we thought something must have happened to you.”
Listening to her, Mu Lin thought, “Impossible! How could I have a psychic connection with them?” He knew that today had been the most emotionally volatile day since leaving the mountain, even more so than the last time with Yu Gang Mao. Yet he was puzzled—how could they feel this connection without any dual cultivation? “Nothing happened to me,” he said.
Seeing their disbelieving expressions, he reluctantly added, “Today I found an old item from my sect, which caused me some emotional instability. Don’t worry, I’m fine now.”
Still seeing doubt in their eyes—even Mei Zi, who trusted him the most, looked at him with an expression that said “You’re lying”—Mu Lin felt uneasy. Should he tell them more? Would they even be able to accept it?
Claire then said, “Daniel, I don’t know what happened to you, but you’re definitely hiding something. This afternoon, we all felt a wave of fear, so we rushed back. You know, everyone cares about you deeply. Finny and the others had arguments with their families today. Their parents found out they were dating an Asian boyfriend together and doing internships at his company, so they ordered them to come home and arranged internships elsewhere. But Finny and the others refused, and their parents felt they had disgraced the family honor, so they disowned them publicly in the newspaper. Despite that, they still didn’t leave.”
Only then did Mu Lin notice Finny and the others with tears welling up in their eyes. He thought to himself, “It’s not like I forced them to be my girlfriends…”
Claire pointed at Hong Jia Ni and continued, “You should know that you stripped her naked, spanked her, and then left her in Hong Kong. A Chinese girl, exposed by you and physically punished—how can she ever marry anyone now?” Mu Lin avoided looking at Hong Jia Ni, thinking nervously, “Accident, accident! I was still young back then!”
Claire went on, “Jia Ni’s family arranged a match for her with a wealthy Hong Kong family, but she ran away here. Her family thinks she has disgraced them, and now they’ve cut ties with her.” Mu Lin thought anxiously, “Oh no, I haven’t even called her father yet. I wonder what Mr. Hong will say to me when he finds out?”
Claire continued, “You know that Mei Fang, Mei Zi, and our family can’t live without you anymore. We’ve been sincere with you, ready to spend our whole lives with you. So why can’t you be honest with us?”
Mu Lin thought to himself, “None of this was my idea.”
After Claire broke the ice, the girls all blushed and lowered their heads. Looking at them, Mu Lin felt deeply moved. Since coming down the mountain, he had stayed in many places and received help from many people, but never had he encountered such unconditional devotion. He knew they had been gradually influenced by his spiritual aura or life force, making them unable to leave him.
“But how can we be together forever? You know the current laws don’t allow this kind of relationship,” Mu Lin said, somewhat ruining the mood. The girls lowered their heads again.
“So what? Last time I went to your home in Salt Lake City, there were many men there with multiple wives. Mei Fang and Mei Zi’s classmates even had dozens of mothers. Mei Fang and Mei Zi took me to their classmates’ homes, and they all lived together in one big family—it was so lively!” Bess countered, and the girls lifted their heads again, gazing at Mu Lin with determined eyes.
“There are some things I haven’t told you,” Mu Lin decided to confess. “I’m actually a cultivator.”
The girls looked at each other in confusion. “What? You mean those Taoist priests who shake bells, wear robes, have messy hair, burn paper, and wave wooden swords while jumping around and chanting incomprehensible words?” Hong Jia Ni stood up in shock.
Seeing the skeptical looks around the room, Mu Lin was both amused and frustrated. When did cultivators become associated with exorcists?
Deciding to tease them, Mu Lin said, “Yes, today I almost set myself on fire while performing a ritual, which is why I was so upset.”
As soon as he said it, the girls stared at him like he was a gorilla in a zoo. Feeling their gaze, Mu Lin became uneasy. Finally, Claire, concerned for him, stepped forward to examine him closely. “Let me check where you’re burned,” she said. The others followed, inspecting him carefully. Mu Lin felt like he had entered a kingdom of women, surrounded by sweet scents and blooming beauty. He felt both flattered and overwhelmed.
Bess, unable to get close, muttered, “Daniel isn’t like a gorilla. Why are you all rushing to touch him?”
Hearing that, Mu Lin nearly stumbled. The girls burst into laughter, returning to their seats. Mei Zi squeezed into Mu Lin’s arms and pinched his nose, saying, “Stinky brother, you’re lying. We’ve lived together for so long, and neither me nor my sister have ever seen you doing anything like that.”
The girls suddenly realized they had been tricked. Claire, sitting closest to Mu Lin, was the first to twist his arm. The others prepared to follow suit. Sensing an uprising, Mu Lin quickly pulled out a talisman, infused it with spiritual energy, and flicked it. A paper crane flew into the air.
The girls’ attention was instantly drawn to it. Mei Zi, Daisy, and Bess jumped up trying to catch it, but the crane danced around each of them, causing chaos in the room. Finally, the crane burst into flames and vanished into a wisp of smoke. The girls were stunned, looking at Mu Lin with strange expressions, as if he were some kind of monster, too afraid to even breathe. The room fell into a heavy silence.
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