"AHEM." He coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, then realized another issue. "Then why do you look like this? I mean, the maid outfit and all."
"Do you not like it... Master?"
Little Nine tilted her head and smiled sweetly.
GASP.
Shen Yun felt his heart skip a few heavy beats. His gaze was involuntarily drawn to the curve of her thin lips. The aura she exuded when smiling was far superior to that of any movie star.
As expected of a spirit!
He hurriedly waved his hands. "No, it's not that I don't like it. I'm just curious, just curious!"
"HEHE." Little Nine covered her lips, her large eyes curving into crescents. "Because the photos saved in my memory, as well as the images Master browsed online, were mostly of this type. So, during my Transformation, I chose this appearance myself."
...
Shen Yun's face flushed with embarrassment.
So that was it. No wonder her appearance resonated so perfectly with him. If there was anyone in the world who understood him best, it was undoubtedly his own smartphone.
"Master, no matter what I turn into, I am still your phone. That will never change." Little Nine walked up to Shen Yun step by step. Mustering her courage, she reached out and clasped his hands in hers, holding them against her chest. Her smile was radiant, her gaze tender like water.
At this moment, the morning sun dispersed the clouds, shining its light over the devastated land and illuminating Little Nine. Her pitch-black hair and milky, healthy skin faintly reflected the sunlight, making her look as if she were veiled in a layer of golden brilliance.
Shen Yun couldn't help but hold his breath at the sight of such beauty. However, his heart grew increasingly calm, and his eyes shone brighter and brighter.
Although he hadn't fully figured out what was going on, the anxiety and unease caused by this completely unpredictable situation gradually settled. The Bodhi Branch on his body and Little Nine standing before him... both declared that his past life was gone forever. From today onward, he was no longer an ordinary person. Instead, he was a man with a beautiful companion.
Shen Yun tried hard to adapt to his new identity and everything in front of him. They didn't stand outside looking foolish for long; soon, they returned to the villa behind them. His own phone had turned into a spirit—what was the point of going to a refugee camp now?
Shen Yun also discovered that Little Nine's familiarity with the house was on par with his own. It was as if she had lived here for years. She knew exactly where the potato chips were kept, how the fruit was arranged, and even exactly where the TV remote was.
As expected of his Pineapple 9 smartphone.
Shen Yun sighed in amazement. He looked at the pattern on the back of his hand. It felt exactly like his own skin to the touch, and other than that, there was no special sensation... Well, it wasn't completely devoid of changes. His body felt somewhat lighter, and he could faintly sense traces of warmth in the air.
He wondered if this was Spiritual Qi. It seemed he would be capable of cultivating after all.
"Master." Little Nine had tidied up the clothes and snacks Shen Yun had taken out the night before. She walked out of the room, holding some laundry. "Many people have arrived outside. There are police officers and two Cultivators with decent strength."
"Cultivators... how do they compare to you?"
Shen Yun instinctively sat up straight. With such a huge commotion last night, it would have been strange if no one came. He panicked a little.
Little Nine's strength shouldn't be weak. After all, he had witnessed the power of the Celestial Tribulation last night with his own eyes. The surrounding villas had been reduced to ash. If a spirit that could emerge unscathed from such an onslaught was considered weak, the world's order would have collapsed long ago, and Immortals would be flying everywhere.
But the problem lay in Little Nine's identity and how to explain her relationship with him. Why would such a powerful person suddenly appear to serve as a maid for an ordinary mortal who hadn't even started cultivating? Any fool could tell that there was either a complicated backstory or a deep secret involved.
"They're not even worth mentioning." Little Nine smiled sweetly, as if seeing through Shen Yun's worries. She whispered, "I have a plan... As long as we say that you were the one undergoing the tribulation last night, Master, and that I'm just your little maid, no one will be suspicious."
Judging from the Information Little Nine had gathered from the internet, more than half of those at the absolute forefront of cultivation in this world were young people. After all, this was an era of Spiritual Qi revival and the reshaping of the Heavenly Dao. Even within prestigious sects that had preserved their legacies, the elderly and the young stood on the same starting line. They were competing purely on who had stronger talent, superior comprehension, and the deepest fortuitous encounters.
Compared to an unknown entity like Little Nine popping out of nowhere, Shen Yun—a young man who had stayed holed up in his home for three years—had a verifiable identity and a traceable history. At most, others would just assume he had spent these three years in ascetic training, hiding his strength. They wouldn't find it unbelievable or grow wary of him.
"Will that really work?" Shen Yun felt a bit guilty.
Although he could sense traces of Spiritual Power within his body, he hadn't even officially stepped onto the path of a Cultivator yet. Others played the weak to catch the strong off guard. Was he supposed to play the strong to bluff the weak?
"You have me here, Master." Little Nine beamed, though deep in her eyes, there seemed to be a hint of... teasing?
"PHEW... let's give it a try then." Shen Yun adjusted his mindset and nodded solemnly.
After all, with just a little thought, he knew Little Nine's suggestion was a decent way to bluff them—provided they could actually pull the bluff off. Shen Yun wasn't stupid. He inevitably harbored a massive secret, and in the face of the state apparatus or even the general trends of the world, only true strength could protect his secret. When lacking strength, pretending to have it was a strategic move. He couldn't give anyone an opportunity to take advantage of him.
Therefore, he sat upright on the living room sofa, waiting nervously with a guilty conscience.
Outside, about five or six police cars had driven over from the city. The officers were utterly shocked by the scene before them.
"Everything is destroyed. Even the concrete ground has melted away."
"Yet this house is completely unscathed!"
"I wonder if the Cultivator undergoing the tribulation succeeded."
"They must have succeeded, otherwise this house would have been destroyed too."
...
Ignoring the chatter of the police officers, Director Zhao, the man in charge, stepped out of one of the police cars. Looking at the scene before him, he couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from his brow.
He was also a Cultivator. Otherwise, how could he have become the head of a city's police department at the mere age of thirty-three? During such special times, the country had special countermeasures in place. It was just that...
"Director Lu, is this the aura of a Celestial Tribulation?" He turned his head to look at a man stepping out of another car. This man was none other than the head of the special department who had rushed over overnight. His strength was an entire major realm higher than Director Zhao's.
"I don't know either. I've never seen a Celestial Tribulation."
Director Lu appeared to be a few years younger than Director Zhao. At this moment, his face was similarly pale. The oppressive might a Celestial Tribulation exerted on a Cultivator penetrated deep into the soul. Even just the residual aura of the tribulation made the Spiritual Power circulating within their bodies sluggish, creating a stifling sensation that left them nearly breathless.
"...It seems highly likely that the person in this house is that unaffiliated Golden Core Cultivator." Enduring the discomfort, Director Zhao looked at the only intact building nearby. He pulled out a tablet, brought up a file, and handed it to Director Lu.