Roaring Dragon-Chapter 106: A Proper Lady

Lin Residence.

Outside the window, faint chirping of insects drifted in. The vast estate had long since fallen into silence—only the young miss’s private quarters still glowed with a dim light.

Inside the room, Lin Wanyi sat at the table with her face resting in her palms. The reflection of the flickering candlelight danced across the lenses of her gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes blank and distant.

On the round table were four dishes and a white porcelain jar, all covered with upside-down plates. A blue-and-white porcelain wine bottle stood nearby.

But after waiting half the night, the food had long gone cold—just like her heart, chilled by the hours.

He said he’d come early tonight. It’s already past third watch...

That damned pig-hoofed bastard. And to think I was worried he’d be hungry, so I secretly made a few small dishes...

Probably off keeping Linghu girl company...

Who else could he be with besides Linghu Qingmo...

Should I bolt the door and not let him in...

...

As she sat there, lost in her endless thoughts, a faint sound finally came from outside.

Fwoo~

Creak~

The door slowly pushed open. A young man in white peeked his head halfway in. At the sight of the room, he paused slightly, and his usually cold features now held a hint of guilt.

“You even made food... Sorry for being late. I, uh... got caught up investigating a case...”

“Hmph~”

Lin Wanyi straightened up, looking off to the side, her tone lukewarm:

“I understand, you're a busy man. My place isn’t anything important. You can come by whenever you find the time...”

Clearly annoyed.

Xie Jinhuan had, in fact, gone off to kill Zhou Ming’an, then helped “clean out” Li Gongpu’s house, followed by a business chat with Bu Hanying. At hundreds of taels a minute, his night had been packed to the brim—so yeah, arriving late was unavoidable.

Glancing at her now, he saw she’d changed into a deep green autumn dress—more modest than yesterday’s, but lending her an even more elegant, scholarly charm. With those gold-rimmed glasses, she looked like a fully-bloomed peony, clearly dressed up with care.

But what surprised him most was the food on the table.

The last time he’d come home to a warm meal was before he left the capital at sixteen—back when he was still in the academy, wandering the city after classes. His old man, busy as he was, always waited for dinner.

Back then, that warmth had seemed ordinary. Unremarkable.

But once it’s gone for good, seeing it again feels like someone smashed a hammer into your chest. Like it belonged to another lifetime.

Lin Wanyi had turned her head, waiting for him to offer some slick apology. But seeing Xie Jinhuan’s odd reaction—no words, just a faint smile—she watched him walk over, then turn back to wipe his hands with her towel.

That startled her. He looked genuinely surprised she’d made food, and suddenly she didn’t feel so mad anymore. Rising, she said:

“I thought you might be hungry, so I threw together a few quick dishes. They've gone cold though. Let me warm them up...”

“No need. It’s already late. I'm a wandering swordsman—hot or cold, makes no difference.”

Xie Jinhuan gently pressed her shoulder, guiding her to sit, then took a seat across from her. Lifting the lids, he revealed four side dishes: stir-fried pork with greens, cold bamboo shoots, spicy shredded celery, and vinegar-glazed fish. The porcelain jar held plain white rice.

From the knife work, it was clear the bespectacled lady had made them herself—meticulously plated, reds and greens arranged with care. If they hadn’t cooled, the presentation alone screamed delicious.

“Your cooking’s amazing. I never knew you had such skill...”

Sitting beside him, Lin Wanyi grew a bit self-conscious watching him inspect each dish. She picked up the stir-fried pork and the fish, saying:

“They’re no good cold. I’ll go heat them up. Just eat some of the cold ones first.”

And with that, she scurried off.

Xie Jinhuan watched her graceful figure disappear—perhaps the first time his eyes didn’t drift down to her backside.

Once the little beauty left the room, he shook his head and chuckled.

“This silly girl... so damn domestic.”

Ye Hongshang appeared soundlessly and sat across from him.

“Ohhh~ You came here for her body, and now that she caught feelings, you feel bad, huh?”

“How can you say I came for her body? I came to teach her a cultivation technique.”

Xie Jinhuan straightened up solemnly—but yeah, he was feeling a bit guilty inside.

Lin Wanyi was the picture of a noble lady. Her only connection to the demonic path was peripheral at best—nothing like the crooked path he himself had walked. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Judging from his current level of criminal finesse, even he didn’t want to think about what he’d been up to the last three years.

The matter of the Demon-Suppressing Tomb still wasn’t resolved. If the whole thing exploded in a few days and triggered some cataclysm, who knew what would happen?

Still, thanks to Li Gongpu’s generous “donation,” he now had a sizable travel fund. Tomorrow he’d meet the seller of the Jiazi Lotus. As long as he got his hands on that, he could maintain his current wholesome image and decent lifestyle without too much trouble.

As he mulled this over, the door opened again.

Lin Wanyi returned with two warmed dishes. She placed them on the table, then pinched her earlobe—still hot from the plates.

“Try it. If it’s not to your taste, let me know.”

“No way it’s not good.”

Xie Jinhuan tugged her sleeve, pulling her to sit next to him, chatting casually:

“Thanks. I asked around about the medicinal herbs today.”

Lin Wanyi opened the wine bottle and poured him a cup.

“I looked into it. The herbs aren’t a problem—but the final payment...”

“Don’t worry. I’ll have it in five days.”

“...Huh?”

Lin Wanyi lifted her cup, puzzled. “Where are you going to get that kind of silver?”

Xie Jinhuan clinked glasses with her and grinned:

“You don’t know what I’m capable of? Princess Changning arrives tomorrow. I could even borrow it from her if needed.”

The princess...

Lin Wanyi’s expression grew a bit strange. She turned away, downed the wine in one gulp, and pursed her lips.

“Off to serve the princess again, huh? And here I thought you were a hero...”

Xie Jinhuan laughed.

“I’m a royal guard in her manor. If I don’t serve the princess when she arrives, wouldn’t that make me a freeloader? But don’t worry—I sell skills, not skin.”

“Tch... Who knows if you want to sell your skin...”

Lin Wanyi felt she was only making herself uncomfortable with this line of talk, so she changed the subject:

“Um... You know Miss Linghu. Have you ever talked about Sect Master Nangong?”

“We did. She said Fairy Nangong would be back after Mid-Autumn Festival—so, soon. Why do you ask?”

Lin Wanyi had been given the difficult task of “persuading” Nangong Ye to surrender. She was still fretting about how to approach it.

It was a personal feud between two sect masters, and the rumor was “whoever chickens out first loses face.” If that got out, things would spiral. Xie Jinhuan didn’t even know Nangong Ye, so she couldn’t say it outright. Instead, she replied vaguely:

“Just curious. Nangong Sword Fairy has deep cultivation and a great reputation. You two should get along well. If you see her, make sure to curry favor. Mm... If she does return, let me know. I kind of admire her, too.”

“Sure. If I run into her, I’ll introduce you.”

Xie Jinhuan dug in with full gusto. Relying on his martial artist’s appetite, he cleaned all four dishes and the rice—didn’t even need to wash the plates.

Lin Wanyi had worried he wouldn’t like the food, but seeing him devour everything, she felt deeply pleased and went to clean up.

But Xie Jinhuan, after a day of blood and chaos, getting to enjoy a proper home-cooked meal was a surprise gift. No way was he gonna [N O V E L I G H T] sit around like a lord. He picked up the plates himself, carried them to the Lin family kitchen, washed everything, and only then returned to the room.

Lin Wanyi, afraid her parents would find out, didn’t follow. She stayed by the bed, fussing. Maybe because he’d held her all night before, she felt it had gone too far—so she laid a blanket beside the bed, making a floor mat.

When Xie Jinhuan slipped back in, she sat on the bed and said:

“You’re not allowed to climb onto the bed tonight. Otherwise... I’ll curse you.”

Her eyes carried a hint of warning—adorably fierce.

Xie Jinhuan might enjoy a beautiful woman, but her home-cooked meal and quiet companionship tonight brought more comfort than any fumbling under the sheets.

He simply sat cross-legged on the floor mat.

“Alright. If I misbehave, curse me with a love spell—let me suffer a thousand ants gnawing at my heart!”

Love curses required consummation on the spot. Lin Wanyi wasn’t that naive.

Knowing dream cultivation required lying down, she took off her shoes and lay down, eyes on the figure sitting at her bedside, and slowly closed them.

Soon after, that familiar dizzying feeling returned.

The bed vanished. She plummeted downward—

——

BOOM—

Whoooshhh~

Waves roared in her ears, accompanied by peals of thunder.

Fully lucid, Lin Wanyi felt her body violently lurching as if on a boat. She opened her eyes—no more stone steles or endless abyss.

Now, just a vast, endless ocean.

Thunderclouds rolled overhead. The sea below churned a deep, dark green-black.

Towering waves surged from the horizon, tossing the shattered plank beneath her like a splinter in a raging river. She struggled to stay seated as seawater soaked her to the bone.

“Eh?!”

Suddenly flung into such a deadly, lifeless place, her face went pale. She clung to the edge of the plank, scanning frantically.

“Xie Jinhuan? Xie Jinhuan?!”

There was no one—just her, adrift alone in the middle of an oceanic death trap.

She fought to stay afloat—but then saw movement below the water beside her plank.

Bloop bloop bloop~

Peering over the edge, she saw Xie Jinhuan sinking beneath the surface—flailing and blowing bubbles, clearly trying to surface, but sinking instead!

“Eh?!”

Panicked, she reached down, grabbed his arm, and pulled with all her might.

Splooosh—

Xie Jinhuan burst out of the frigid sea, rolling onto the broken raft.

“Shit—cough cough—”

Lin Wanyi could barely stay upright. She clung to him, eyes wild:

“What happened?! Where are we?!”

Xie Jinhuan had nearly drowned and was just as confused.

But as the one casting the spell, he couldn’t look clueless. Gripping the gaps in the plank to steady himself, he said:

“I just started using this dream technique. Still not great at controlling it. As they say—what you dwell on by day, you dream of at night. This... might be because I drank too much and needed to pee...”

“...What? You... you didn’t wet the bed, did you?”

“How could I? I’m not a damn toddler.”

...

Lin Wanyi clung tightly to him. The towering waves surrounding them were terrifying—even knowing it was a dream, it felt like death could come at any second.

Thank goodness Xie Jinhuan was here. If she were alone in this endless, stormy sea, she didn’t know how she’d bear it.

After a while, seeing she wasn’t falling off, Lin Wanyi relaxed a little. She looked around, then up at the sky.

Dark clouds loomed, laced with thousands of lightning bolts, forming a stormy constellation that resembled the star map she’d seen the night before.

As the saying goes, first time’s luck, second time’s skill—this time, she didn’t need him to guide her. She turned slightly, leaned against Xie Jinhuan, and began memorizing the celestial pattern, muttering in her mind:

“I get it, I get it... Wait, why am I not getting it...”

Xie Jinhuan lay back on the drifting plank, wrapping one arm around the soft, curvy spectacle-wearing beauty. At first, his thoughts were... less than pure.

After all, she was curled tightly into his armpit out of fear. Her curves pressing against his arm brought back very vivid memories of their half-hour on the pleasure boat.

But with the waves crashing and the plank rocking, even keeping himself stable was tough—let alone groping around.

Instead, he focused on keeping them both steady while she memorized the technique. He resumed his own study of “Alternating Candle Pouring.”

After a while, though, he frowned—his gaze shifting between the storm-tossed sea and the battered plank beneath them.

Lin Wanyi had been concentrating, but noticed him glancing about and asked:

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm...”

Xie Jinhuan hesitated, then grinned.

“Don’t tell me we’re still lying on the bed?”

“...Huh? You and your damned dream spell—go jump in the sea!”

“What if I drown?”

“Not my problem. You did this on purpose...”

“Why would I—just focus on your cultivation, don’t let your mind wander.”

“......”