Chapter 1098: Maintaining the Persona

Chapter 1098: Maintaining the Persona

Back to this broken place again.

So what kind of identity do I hold now? What era am I in?

Lin Nuo was in his room, hastily getting up to check the mirror and see what kind of person he had become.

He looked slightly younger than before, still with a bit of naivety.

Probably a year or two ago, he thought this must be the case.

Just check the calendar.

His gaze turned to the calendar by the bed, confirming the date.

It was the fourth year since he joined the Xuanyun Sect.

The very year Su Kexin arrived.

What a coincidence! The dream he had before was set around this time; his consciousness was still stuck in that moment, just a useless brat who often took a beating.

“Did Su Kexin join around this time? I can’t quite remember.”

Lin Nuo racked his brain, but he honestly couldn’t recall.

It wasn’t any kind of celebratory day to have a commemoration, right? It could only be a bad news kind of day.

“With this level of skill, I can only go repair the sewers.”

Lin Nuo couldn’t help but complain. This was worse than when he reincarnated; many spirit techniques couldn’t be used because he lacked enough blue energy.

Tap, tap, tap.

“Young Master, are you in there?”

Outside, Ruo’er’s voice came through, and Lin Nuo replied:

“Yeah, come in.”

“Oh, okay.”

Ruo’er gently pushed the door open, holding a few dishes in her hands.

“Young Master, it’s time to eat.”

“Alright, put it here.”

Lin Nuo walked over and instinctively ruffled Ruo’er’s head.

“Ah!”

Ruo’er was startled and incredibly surprised; it had been a long time since Young Master had patted her head, and she was quite astonished.

“Young Master, you today…”

“Never mind. You can go out; I’ll eat later.”

Lin Nuo’s tone changed, sounding a bit stern. Ruo’er felt reassured upon hearing this; it was a normal Young Master.

“Then Young Master, I’ll head out first. Enjoy your meal.”

Ruo’er politely bowed and then closed the door behind her.

Though he didn’t want to be so harsh with her, it was unavoidable.

Lin Nuo sat down, looking at the dishes while pondering a bit.

This was Qin Shili’s dream; as an outsider, he couldn’t interfere recklessly, or the consequences would be unthinkable.

He was well-educated, understanding the constraints of connecting to one’s dreams.

He knew that everything here was from the past; dreams like this were all about restoring the past, and everyone appeared as they were then.

Including him.

If he suddenly displayed strength and stood out in the sect, it would contradict the past, and the dream could collapse.

The consequences of collapse would be that both of them would be buried.

So he had to be cautious.

Changes were allowed, but they couldn’t be too substantial.

Because at that time, he was just a trivial character who held no weight in Qin Shili’s heart.

As long as he didn’t act out of line, everything would seem to go smoothly in Qin Shili’s view.

So he had to maintain his previous style for now and look for a way to break the situation.

That meant being strict with Ruo’er at times, even scolding her a bit, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.

After all, he hadn’t scolded Ruo’er since his reincarnation; even when she made mistakes, he just said a few soft words.

He didn’t have much reason to scold her; he had taken many things lightly.

Right, why didn’t he ask her what time it was now? He just let her run off.

First, let’s eat something.

Lin Nuo ate the dishes and rice on the table; everything felt very real, the food smelled just like it normally would.

Good, he filled his belly, and he felt great overall.

Time to go out.

Lin Nuo picked up his broken sword and stepped out of the room.

In the male disciples’ quarters where he lived, he naturally encountered many male disciples, most of whom looked at him with disdain.

【So where did this aura of attracting hatred come from?】

He was also troubled; these people must have too much time on their hands to look down on him all day.

Of course, a group of failures needed to bully someone weaker to feel some semblance of existence.

“Lin Nuo.”

A male disciple called out to Lin Nuo, who turned to see Zhou Jianhu, a male disciple.

He was a nice guy filled with a sense of justice. Honestly, Lin Nuo thought this guy would make a good pair with Su Kexin, but they were just a combination of naive justice; they hardly exchanged words.

“What?”

Lin Nuo asked lightly, coming back to his senses, and added a term of address,

“Zhou Shixiong.”

Saying that made him want to vomit, but there was no choice; he had to keep up this persona; otherwise, if his character changed drastically, it wouldn’t align with historical development here.

“Lin Nuo, you left early this morning for training; that caused a bad influence. Your skills are lacking and you should work harder; otherwise, if this continues, harsh words will have you expelled.” Zhou Jianhu said sternly.

“Leaving early?”

Lin Nuo recalled a bit; he had some impression of that.

But he got tricked by other male disciples who said his master was looking for him, and when he left, he was treated as having absconded.

He had asked for permission, but the person who agreed to his departure had told him to go in one ear and out the other; later, they didn’t acknowledge it.

All in all, he was just played.

He had been played before, but after his reincarnation, he had taught those people a lesson.

Now, should he admit fault?

No, at this time, he should explain and then be told he was unrepentant.

Right, “unrepentant,” that phrase sounds good, quite comfortable to hear.

He quickly adjusted his tone, trying his best to pretend to be like before.

“Zhou Shixiong, I was tricked; at that time, I was notified that my master was looking for me, and that’s why I left. It wasn’t deliberate…”

“You can ask for permission, but leaving without consent is wrong.” Zhou Jianhu continued to reprimand Lin Nuo.

“But I asked for permission, but…”

“Don’t make excuses; that’s not acknowledging your mistake…”

Zhou Jianhu went on and on, and Lin Nuo found it quite enjoyable.

Yes, reprimanding like this, talking about lack of progress and slacking off, was far better than calling him some nonsense knight.

I must admit, at this moment, he was quite nice; every day, people praised him.

Comforting.

After getting scolded by Zhou Jianhu, Lin Nuo kept nodding, saying “yes, yes,” while others gathered to watch the excitement, laughing and mocking.

Lin Nuo didn’t feel like indulging in this praise; he preferred to head outside and see what was going on.

Soon enough, he ran out with his sword in hand, avoiding everyone he could, not wanting to engage too much in case he said something that might affect his persona.

So where is Qin Shili?

“Hello, Shixiong.”

Lin Nuo suddenly heard a familiar voice and turned around to see the girl in a pink Daoist robe, Su Kexin, looking like a peach blossom.

Goodness, she had already arrived and could still chat with him; she must have just come.

“Oh, it’s Shimei. Is everything alright at the Xuanyun Sect? If you have any difficulties, be sure to tell Shixiong.”

Yes, tell me your troubles; I need a good laugh.

“Not yet; I’m currently with the Senior Martial Sister. Shixiong, you left suddenly before… um… I heard the Senior Martial Sister say they seem to have bias against you… I know this isn’t something I should ask…”

Su Kexin spoke hesitantly, and upon hearing her, Lin Nuo thought, oh boy, here we go again.