Lian Yin froze for a brief moment. Countless possibilities flashed through her mind, but she forced herself to remain calm.
“What divine artifact?”
Xie Sui replied, “I meant whether you had one to begin with. Forget it, why am I even asking? You don’t look like someone who would have a divine artifact anyway…”
After a pause, he continued, “For this trip into the secret realm, the Xie family announced to the public that a divine artifact might appear. In reality, the family was almost certain there was one inside.”
“Because of the prophecy?” Lian Yin asked.
Xie Sui nodded.
“That’s right. Since I didn’t bring back the divine artifact, I’ll probably have to inspect your storage pouch later. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to explain things to the Family Head.”
Searching someone else’s storage pouch was an extremely impolite thing to do, especially when that person had just saved his life.
In truth, discarding someone once they had outlived their usefulness was commonplace among cultivation clans. Especially in Lian Yin’s case, she had only just emerged from the secret realm, and almost no one knew she had rescued Xie Sui. Even if they killed her outright, word would never spread.
Compared to that, merely inspecting her storage pouch was already the gentlest approach.
“Oh, that’s fine,” Lian Yin said. “Then since you didn’t bring back the divine artifact, will you be punished when you return?”
“If I didn’t get it, then I didn’t get it. It’s nothing.” Xie Sui clearly didn’t want to discuss the matter further. “Since we have time now, let’s inspect it now.”
Knowing he was still too badly injured to stand, Lian Yin rose, untied the storage pouch from her waist, and walked over.
Although the Realm Spirit had planted a mental suggestion, and although the Xie family was one of the greatest powers in the world, she still couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
“My parents left me several magical treasures,” she explained. “They’re quite valuable… They weren’t taken out of the secret realm.”
Xie Sui looked utterly speechless.
“How valuable could they be? Do you think I’d covet the two treasures your parents left you? If you’re that worried, I’ll give you a pile of treasures afterward.”
“I don’t need a pile.”
Lian Yin handed him the storage pouch.
There wasn’t much inside. Xie Sui finished inspecting it quickly.
The only suspicious item was the paper crane.
“What is this paper crane?”
“My ex-husband gave it to me.”
Xie Sui froze. “…Ex-husband?”
Lian Yin reached out and took back her storage pouch.
“Yes. He’s been dead for a long time.”
Xie Sui fell silent.
A moment later, he changed the subject.
“The magical treasures your parents left you really aren’t bad. Some of them are quite impressive. Just remember not to let anyone else know about them. By the way, your parents weren’t rogue cultivators, were they?”
Lian Yin fastened the storage pouch securely around her waist again.
“No. They were both cultivators from Zhongzhou. They were quite famous back then, but one day they suddenly disappeared. I came out this time to find them.”
Xie Sui paused.
“…I’m sorry.”
If someone suddenly disappeared without a trace…
There was a ninety percent chance they were already dead.
Having accidentally asked two painful questions in a row, Xie Sui felt too embarrassed to continue.
“If you still can’t find any clues, I can ask one of our family’s Dao of Wisdom cultivators to help you investigate. It also gives me a chance to thank you for saving me in the secret realm. The Xie family’s main residence is in Zhaoyang City. It won’t take long by cloud ship.”
Throughout history, every cultivator who had mastered the Dao of Wisdom had been a genius without exception.
That path depended entirely upon innate talent.
Hard work was meaningless.
Because of that, Dao of Wisdom cultivators were extraordinarily rare, and truly powerful ones were even harder to find. Only the greatest powers and noble families could afford to support one or two of them.
Lian Yin had absolutely no leads regarding her parents’ whereabouts.
Searching blindly was impossible.
Finding a Dao of Wisdom cultivator to help was her only option.
She had no connections now.
If she missed the opportunity Xie Sui was offering, she might never encounter another chance like this for decades.
But…
Wouldn’t following him back to Zhaoyang City be too dangerous?
If the Xie family discovered the soul mark planted on him…
Wouldn’t they immediately suspect her?
Then again, soul techniques were rather specialized.
Xie Sui might not undergo that sort of inspection at all.
Besides, she only wanted information.
It would probably all be resolved within a day or two.
Lian Yin quickly made up her mind.
“Alright. When do we leave?”
Xie Sui had already settled on the departure time with the Xie cultivators.
“Tonight.”
“So soon?”
Lian Yin looked surprised before glancing at the injuries covering his body.
“In your condition…”
“It’s nothing.” Xie Sui sounded unconcerned. “The cloud ship takes three days anyway. I’ll recover during the journey. By the time we arrive, I’ll be fine.”
Seeing that, Lian Yin didn’t disturb his rest any longer and soon left the room.
Once Xie Sui regained consciousness, the suspicions surrounding Lian Yin naturally disappeared.
The Xie cultivators outside also became much friendlier toward her.
There was no longer anyone standing guard outside her door.
After returning to her room, Lian Yin had barely begun to relax when someone knocked.
Could it be Shen Qingle?
She hardly knew anyone here.
Xie Sui had only just spoken with her, so Shen Qingle was the only person she could think of.
Opening the door, however, she found a stranger in Xie family robes.
“Miss Lian, our young master sent me to check whether you’ve suffered any injuries.”
A medical cultivator?
Thinking about the divine artifact hidden inside her sea of consciousness, Lian Yin politely declined.
“There’s no need. I wasn’t injured.”
The medical cultivator smiled.
“Whether you’re injured or not can only be determined after an examination. Some injuries aren’t visible from the outside. It’s better to check.”
Lian Yin fell silent. If she continued refusing, it would become suspicious.
This medical cultivator was being unusually persistent.
Had Xie Sui not completely abandoned his suspicions after all?
Seeing that she remained still, the medical cultivator added,
“Miss, I’m only carrying out orders. I can’t very well return having done nothing. Everyone is watching.”
The divine artifact’s aura was incredibly faint.
Even Lian Yin herself struggled to perceive it.
An ordinary medical cultivator wouldn’t normally inspect someone’s sea of consciousness.
Left with no choice, Lian Yin let him inside.
The examination was extremely thorough.
As he worked, he prescribed several medicines to help restore her health.
“Although your body is fine, illnesses of the heart are still illnesses. Worrying too much will also affect your cultivation…”
“Lastly, I only need to examine your sea of consciousness.”
The moment he said those words, Lian Yin felt a gentle, unfamiliar stream of spiritual energy enter her sea of consciousness.
The magical instrument in the medical cultivator’s hand softened his spiritual energy, making it naturally lower a person’s guard.
Lian Yin couldn’t help feeling afraid he might discover something.
Her fingers tightened slightly where they rested on her knees.
His cultivation wasn’t particularly high.
He shouldn’t be able to detect it.
His spiritual energy drifted toward the divine artifact…
Then passed right by it without pausing in the slightest.
A pleasant voice sounded beside her ear.
“Alright! The examination is finished.”
Even after the medical cultivator left, Lian Yin didn’t dare relax.
She feared he had only pretended not to notice and would soon return with Xie cultivators to kill her.
With that unease weighing heavily on her heart, she waited anxiously until nightfall.
Nothing she had feared happened.
The moment Lian Yin stepped outside, several Xie cultivators greeted her warmly.
Their attitudes hadn’t changed at all.
Only then did the weight on her heart finally begin to lift as she boarded the cloud ship with them.
There were many rooms aboard the vessel.
Lian Yin planned to choose an empty one at random when she happened to run into Shen Qingle.
“Little Lian!”
After resting for half a day, Shen Qingle had fully recovered and happily ran over.
“Once we get off the cloud ship, I’ll be returning to the Nine Heavens Sect. Do you want to come with me?”
Lian Yin repeated the excuse about searching for someone.
“Once I’ve found them, I’ll come to Zhongzhou and visit you, Senior Sister Shen.”
Although Shen Qingle looked a little disappointed, she understood.
Before long, she happily changed the subject.
“Oh, right, Little Lian! Let’s exchange jade slips! That way we can stay in touch even when we’re apart. Maybe we’ll run into each other somewhere.”
Lian Yin’s mind blanked.
“…Jade slips?”
“Jade slips!”
Seeing her confusion, Shen Qingle took out a smooth rectangular jade tablet.
She injected a trace of spiritual energy into it, and it immediately lit up.
Rows upon rows of contacts appeared across its surface.
There were even chat channels.
Lian Yin’s eyes widened.
“…!!”
Isn’t this just a smartphone?
Has the outside world evolved this far already?
Shen Qingle looked puzzled.
“You don’t recognize it?”
Well…
Being resurrected after lying dead for three hundred years…
It wasn’t surprising that the outside world had changed so much.
Lian Yin quickly composed herself.
“No, I just didn’t hear you clearly at first. Then I saw how many friends you have and got a little shocked. I don’t have much money right now, so I haven’t bought a jade slip yet.”
Shen Qingle immediately looked at her with the expression of someone staring at a pitiful little stray.
“That’s alright! Senior Sister will give you one! I have extras!”
Lian Yin hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, it’s fine! I’ll buy one myself later…”
“No way! If you wait until later, you won’t be able to add me!”
Lian Yin had never been good at refusing overly enthusiastic people.
There was no way she could win against Shen Qingle.
In the end, she accepted the jade slip Shen Qingle gave her before returning to her room.
Originally, Lian Yin had intended to spend the next three days cultivating quietly.
Unfortunately, Shen Qingle kept knocking on her door over and over.
Before long, the two became close friends.
By the time they reached Zhaoyang City, Lian Yin even felt reluctant to part with Shen Qingle as she transferred to another cloud ship bound for Zhongzhou.
Although Xie Sui had mostly recovered from his injuries, countless matters demanded his attention.
The moment they disembarked, he disappeared.
Fortunately, he hadn’t forgotten to arrange accommodations for Lian Yin.
“Our young master said he won’t be able to thank Miss Lian until tomorrow,” one of the Xie cultivators explained as he handed her a token. “He’s tied up with business today. This is a Xie Family VIP Token. You may use it freely throughout Zhaoyang City. The young master apologizes for neglecting you and hopes you’ll enjoy yourself in the city tonight.”
VIP tokens were one of the methods powerful families used to recruit and befriend talented outside cultivators.
They were essentially limitless black cards, allowing unrestricted spending within cities governed by that family.
Lian Yin hadn’t expected Xie Sui to be so generous.
He had simply handed it over without hesitation.
Could it be because of the Realm Spirit’s command to protect his savior?
Truthfully, Lian Yin still had no idea what command the Realm Spirit had planted in their minds.
What if it instructed him to go insane and harm himself?
Perhaps she should remind Xie Sui before leaving.
Carefully putting away the token, Lian Yin decided to spend the evening exploring the city.
She needed to catch up on everything she had missed over the past three hundred years.
At the same time, she wanted to find out the fastest way to earn spirit stones.
Xie Sui had already repaid his debt of gratitude through favors.
She couldn’t possibly ask him for spirit stones as well.
As lanterns gradually illuminated the night, the inner city of Zhaoyang came alive with prosperity.
Crowds of people brushed shoulders along the streets.
Shops lined both sides of the avenue, colorful lanterns hanging beneath their eaves.
Viewed from afar, the entire street resembled a winding dragon of light.
Lian Yin had just stepped out of a teahouse after gathering information.
Working honestly for wages was out of the question.
The pay was pitiful, barely enough to survive.
The fastest ways to earn spirit stones, aside from exploring secret realms alongside powerful families, were fighting in arena matches…
In short…
Dangerous jobs paid the best.
An idea for making money gradually formed in Lian Yin’s mind.
She decided to think about it again tomorrow.
Pulling herself from her thoughts, she realized she had wandered to the edge of a lake.
A lively event seemed to be taking place nearby.
Curious, she walked over.
Beneath the shimmering lake and the night sky, an exquisitely decorated two story pleasure boat floated serenely upon the water, its elegant hull reflecting the rippling waves.
Above it hovered the illusion of a Go board.
Lian Yin listened for a while before piecing together the situation.
A cultivator had set up a wager here.
Anyone capable of solving his unfinished game would receive ten thousand spirit stones.
However…
The cultivator had an exceptionally foul temper.
Anyone who failed would be thrown into the lake and repeatedly drowned, forbidden from climbing ashore.
At first, Lian Yin had merely come to watch.
Then she realized…
The unfinished game displayed by the boat’s owner happened to be one she had memorized in her youth.
She knew several solutions by heart.
To her, these ten thousand spirit stones were practically free.
If she earned them tonight, she wouldn’t have to worry about making money tomorrow.
And at this very moment…
No one was challenging the board.
After suffering such terrible luck for so long…
Surely it was finally her turn to be fortunate.
Lian Yin stepped forward.
The spectators instantly erupted when they saw a young woman boarding the pleasure boat to issue a challenge.
“Someone’s going up! Can she really do it? She’s probably just trying her luck!”
“Miss! Don’t do this! If you don’t know how to solve it, hurry back down! Even if you’re beautiful, the owner won’t show mercy!”
“Why not? Miss, don’t come back down! Solve the game and let us see what you’re capable of!”
Some tried to persuade her.
Others loudly encouraged her.
The Go board stood before the pavilion atop the boat.
Behind it hung layer upon layer of gauzy curtains stirred by the evening breeze.
Through the soft lantern light, the silhouette of a single person could vaguely be seen.
That must have been the boat’s owner.
Ignoring the surrounding voices, Lian Yin calmly walked over and sat before the board.
White moved first.
She picked up a white stone and placed the opening move.
A short while later, someone sat opposite her.
A hand so pale it was almost unbelievable emerged from behind the curtains, holding a black stone before calmly placing it on the board.
Suppressing her curiosity, Lian Yin lowered her eyes and continued.
Every move she played was immediately answered.
Both sides played remarkably quickly.
On the board, the battle unfolded with fierce intensity as time quietly slipped away.
Half an hour passed.
When the watching cultivators realized the boat owner still hadn’t thrown the young woman into the lake, the mood of the crowd gradually shifted.
“Could this girl actually be skilled? Where did she come from?”
“Is she really about to win those ten thousand spirit stones?”
At first, Lian Yin hadn’t been completely certain.
But as the game progressed, she found herself able to predict every single move her opponent would make.
After completing one local sequence, she looked up.
The boat owner was reclining lazily on a couch.
Several layers of translucent curtains separated them.
A book rested casually in his hand as he turned its pages one handed, apparently reading from a collection of Go records.
Lian Yin couldn’t help laughing.
How bored was this person?
He had spent ten thousand spirit stones just to find someone to play Go with, yet he was following a game record move for move.
According to the record, the game would still take another six or seven hours to finish.
“I’ve read this collection too,” Lian Yin said. “Do we really need to keep playing?”
Hearing that, the boat owner turned his head toward her.
He set the book aside and slowly sat upright.
“You want to play something else with me?”
His voice carried the lazy ease of a young man.
“What would you like to play?”
Judging from his attitude, he didn’t seem particularly interested in Go.
Choosing her words carefully, Lian Yin said, “If you don’t actually want to play Go… I’m not necessarily good at anything else either.”
“Oh.”
The boat owner sounded disappointed.
“So you want to leave.”
“You think spending time with me is boring?”
Lian Yin had been unfairly accused.
“Not at all. It just seemed like you weren’t very interested.”
“Not interested?”
Soft laughter drifted from behind the curtains.
“That’s true. I really am not very interested.”
“Then what about you?”
“Do you want me to be happy?”
Lian Yin: “…”
What did his happiness have to do with her?
That might have been what she thought…
But she obviously couldn’t say it aloud.
“If I wanted you to be happy, would you really become happy? You…”
“Yes.”
The boat owner’s eyes stared directly at her through the countless layers of gauze.
His tone, however, remained leisurely and indifferent.
“If you wanted me to be happy, I really would feel a little happier.”
“But exactly how much depends on what you do.”
An ominous feeling suddenly rose within Lian Yin.
She glanced around.
The bustling buildings and crowds across the lake had vanished.
In their place stretched a brilliant sea of stars.
Without realizing it…
She had already been drawn into his killing formation.
“For example…”
The boat owner smiled.
“You could fall into the water and drown.”
“Or…”
“You could take me hostage.”
“You could kill me.”
“So?”
“Want to choose?”
“Oh.”
“I suppose you don’t really have a choice anymore.”
A lunatic! The instant his words fell, Lian Yin summoned the Sui’an Sword.
Her figure flashed like lightning.
She slipped through the curtains in a single movement and, in the blink of an eye, pressed the sword’s edge against the boat owner’s throat.
The fluttering curtains drifted back down.
Upon them, the overlapping silhouettes of two figures were cast in hazy intimacy.
The moment Lian Yin finally saw the boat owner’s face…
She froze. The first thing that captured her attention wasn’t his features.
It was his long platinum blond hair.