Chapter 12: What’s wrong with taking a look at the Northern Hemisphere?

“What? You’re going to the Demon Extermination Assembly?”

Gu Yingge, soaking in the slime pool, was stunned.

Outer Sect servant disciples did occasionally get such chances—they could tag along to events like this.

It was considered a hidden perk for lower-tier disciples: take them out to see the world, gain some experience, and maybe even stumble upon a lucky encounter.

The reason Gu Yingge was surprised wasn’t that she looked down on him.

It was simply that Lin An had only been a disciple for a little over a month.

There was no way it should be his turn to go.

Lin An sat on a stone, propping his cheek on his hand as he looked at Gu Yingge with mild dissatisfaction.

“What? I can’t go? Besides, even though my strength is a bit lacking, Senior Sister Gu, you have to understand: the jianghu isn’t about fighting and killing. The jianghu is…”

Gu Yingge waved a hand and cut him off.

“Oh, I know—it’s about deception and scheming. Do I need you to teach me that?”

Lin An blinked and thought for a moment.

‘That phrasing isn’t wrong either.’

“I’m not saying you’re weak,” Gu Yingge said, a hint of dejection in her voice as she mumbled, “I mean… I mean, with you gone for at least ten days or half a month… I’ll be a little bored, that’s all.”

Her hair was matted, her face shiny with oil, and she looked a real mess.

With that slightly aggrieved expression, she seemed genuinely pitiful.

The more trust Gu Yingge placed in Lin An, the more relaxed their interactions became.

Now she could show this kind of dependent, almost girlish side without any restraint.

Seeing this, Lin An smiled and tried to comfort her.

“Senior Sister Gu, there’s no need to be so sad. It’s not like I’m never coming back. And when I return, I can tell you all about what happened—what the outside world is like, right?”

Instead of answering, Gu Yingge’s eyes rolled, and she put on a troubled look.

“Sigh… without Junior Brother Lin’s stories, your Senior Sister Gu will surely be very bored. When I’m bored, my mood gets bad. When my mood gets bad, the things I make turn out poorly. When things turn out poorly, the disciples who use them are in danger. When the disciples are in danger, the sect is in danger. When the sect is in danger, it’s all over. Ah… what a headache!”

Lin An’s lips twitched.

He quickly extracted the key point from that ramble: Leave me a few stories, or I’ll keep nagging you.

‘I never noticed before—this woman can be such a handful.’

“Ahem.”

Lin An cleared his throat and met Gu Yingge’s hopeful gaze.

“Then before I leave, I’ll try to finish a few drafts for Senior Sister Gu?”

“Great!”

Gu Yingge grinned and raised both hands.

“Then I’ll trouble Junior Brother Lin!”

But her joy didn’t last long.

She noticed Lin An awkwardly turning his face away, only occasionally glancing sidelong in her direction.

Gu Yingge instinctively looked down—because of her big movement, her entire northern hemisphere had been exposed.

She quickly hugged her chest and sank back down, this time submerging even her chin, leaving only her flushed cheeks and earlobes visible.

After a moment, she whispered her accusation:

“…Junior Brother Lin, pervert.”

“What do you mean?!”

—

Meanwhile, in Steward Li’s room.

As the head of the servant disciples in this area, his room was naturally a bit more upscale and spacious.

A folding screen separated the inner and outer rooms.

At this moment, Steward Li stood in the inner room, bowing respectfully toward the screen.

“Milady, are you certain of that person’s identity?”

“Naturally. The Tracking Spell doesn’t work on him. Combined with the previous orders from Headquarters, it’s pretty much certain. Besides, you’ve confirmed it yourself, haven’t you?”

The woman’s soft, sweet voice was exactly the same as the one that had visited Lin An’s room that day.

“That’s true.”

Steward Li considered for a moment, then asked, “Logically speaking, with his apparent identity, he shouldn’t be able to attend this Demon Extermination Assembly. No matter how I think about it, there must still be one of our people among the upper echelons. Does Milady know who it is?”

“No.”

The woman flatly denied this.

“I’m sure of it: in the Heaven Origin Sect, there are only the two of us. No third person. It can only be… the Holy Son’s own means.”

Hearing this, Steward Li also looked admiring.

“It seems our sect has truly produced an extraordinary talent. Demons Rise, Dao Declines—it’s time for our era!”

“Heh~”

The woman suddenly shifted her tone, becoming serious.

“By the way, minimize contact with him. Have you forgotten what the higher-ups said?”

Steward Li offered an ingratiating smile.

“Yes, yes, of course I haven’t forgotten. The Holy Son’s trial—to single-handedly bring down a righteous sect. No one is allowed to help, nor can we reveal each other’s identities.”

“Mm, good that you understand. Then I’ll take my leave. In a few days, I’ll be going with my master to the Demon Extermination Assembly. I really am looking forward to it~”

As the figure behind the screen vanished, Steward Li dropped his fawning expression, straightened up, and gave a cold snort.

He had been planted in the Heaven Origin Sect for several years now, yet he had never met this superior face to face.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t guess who she was.

He had heard a bit about this woman’s reputation.

In short, she had always wanted to become the Sect Master’s wife.

Too bad the current Sect Master wasn’t interested in women.

Otherwise… hmph.

Now that she finally had a chance to hitch herself to the Holy Son’s big ship, would she let it slip by?

No, I need to warn the Holy Son not to fall for her tricks.

Elsewhere.

After leaving, the woman didn’t return to her own residence.

Instead, she went to the outside of Lin An’s room.

Seeing the lamp still lit inside, she didn’t choose to enter but crept up to the window to eavesdrop.

“Mm, here like this… there… and finally, here like this… Perfect! Heh, just wait to cry!”

Hearing these fragmented words, her eyes lit up.

As expected of the Holy Son—still up late thinking about how to deal with the Heaven Origin Sect!

Even though she hadn’t seen the plan the Holy Son was making, it was surely some profound scheme that would cripple the Heaven Origin Sect.

Otherwise, why would he make them cry?

With that thought, the woman also felt a surge of fighting spirit.

No, for my first meeting with the Holy Son, I must bewitch him!

Mm…

I’ll go borrow two outfits from that woman.

She’s so cold and aloof, but I didn’t expect her taste in clothes to be pretty good.

So annoying.

Inside the room.

Lin An was very satisfied with this tragic romance story he had written.

Especially the line, “Can’t you cultivate without a Spiritual Root?”

It perfectly captured the pain of the Immortal-Mortal Distinction.

His goal was simple: to make Gu Yingge cry!

Lately, this woman had been more and more dismissive of him.

Today, she even openly slandered him.

He was a righteous gentleman!

That was appreciation!

Calling him a pervert—totally unbearable.

—

Time passed quickly, and the departure day had arrived.

Lin An placed the stories in a bag.

“Senior Sister Gu, I’ll leave these here. Read one a day. Maybe I’ll be back before you finish them all.”

Gu Yingge looked up at Lin An smiling on the shore.

Even though they hadn’t known each other very long, a sudden feeling of reluctance welled up inside her.

Come to think of it, ever since Lin An came, she found that the evenings didn’t seem so hard to get through anymore.

She had endured it for so many years, so why was she having trouble adapting after just one month?

She bit her lower lip, suppressing the pathetic thought, and put on a nonchalant expression.

“Got it, got it. Oh, and take that bag over there. I prepared a few things for you. Hopefully you won’t need them.”

“Huh?”

Lin An turned to look.

“What do you mean, ‘hopefully won’t need them’? If you think I won’t need them, why prepare them?”

“You brat. ‘Won’t need them’ means I hope you run into no danger, understand?”

Lin An nodded, taking the bag embroidered with the character “Gu” in his hand.

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony. Thank you, Senior Sister.”

“No need, no need. Think of it as payment. Go back early today and get a good rest. Don’t be in a daze tomorrow.”

After she finished, she found that Lin An wasn’t speaking, just looking at her with a smile.

“What are you looking at?”

Lin An shook his head.

“Nothing. It’s just that the way you were acting just now reminded me of how my elder at home used to tell me the same thing.”

Gu Yingge raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean? Are you calling me old?”

She made as if to grab a handful of slime and throw it at him.

Lin An quickly stepped back.

“Hey? Who said you were old? My Aunt Yan is very beautiful. Not old at all.”

Gu Yingge squinted at him.

That “Aunt Yan” was someone she had heard Lin An mention a few times.

“Hmph, fine. Take care. Be careful on the road.”

“Alright. Thank you, Senior Sister Gu.”

Lin An raised his hand in a salute, then left the cave.

The cave, which had been lively moments before, instantly fell silent.

Gu Yingge found it a bit hard to adjust.

She tilted her head toward the bag of stories, a hint of anticipation rising in her heart.