Chapter 13: The bed in my sister’s room is very big

Description

Early in the morning, Lin An followed Li Guanshi as they walked toward the airship landing site.

Heaven Origin Sect was located in the northern Han Province, while this Demon Extermination Assembly was to be held in Grey Wastes City in the Central Province—a distance of no less than ten thousand li.

Even flying would exhaust someone to death, let alone the fact that they, as servant disciples, couldn’t even fly yet.

And there was another important point: showmanship.

Speaking of which, Grey Wastes City was only about twenty li from the No Life Town where his home was.

Maybe he could go back for a visit.

“Lin An, the Game of Swords Pavilion suddenly insisted you come along this time. Do you have an elder you know there?”

Lin An put on a deep, mysterious expression.

“There is an elder… but it’s not convenient for me to say who.”

An elder?

Well, that counted.

And it really wasn’t convenient to talk about.

Li Guanshi just smiled knowingly, with a look that said I understand, but then he glanced at Lin An with a strange expression.

“Lin An.”

“What’s wrong?”

“As a senior in cultivation…”

Li Guanshi’s tone was a bit awkward.

“Let me give you some useful advice. Cultivating while retaining your primal essence yields the best results.”

“…?”

Lin An slowly typed a question mark.

What do you mean?

Why are you suddenly saying that?

His first thought was that something about Lu Mingyue had been discovered, but he immediately dismissed it.

If he couldn’t discover it, how could Lu Mingyue fail to do so?

If she really had found out, he felt that with Lu Mingyue’s style, Li Guanshi probably wouldn’t be staying with Heaven Origin Sect much longer.

Ahead lay the landing platform.

Li Guanshi turned and patted Lin An’s shoulder.

“Anyway, that’s all I have to say. Just remember one thing: keeping your primal essence intact has many benefits in cultivation.”

Still not understanding what this was about, Lin An could only nod with an awkward smile.

As they reached the square, the first thing that caught his eye was a massive airship, lying across the center of the square.

The entire hull was made of ancient brown wood, carved with patterns of flowing clouds and auspicious beasts.

Under the morning light, spiritual light shimmered faintly.

The prow rose like a mythical beast lifting its head, with several ten-foot-long bronze masts extending from both sides, hung with banners embroidered with Heaven Origin Sect’s cloud patterns, fluttering gently in the wind.

The hull was as wide as a palace, its multi-tiered eaves and upturned corners ancient and heavy.

The portholes were inlaid with warm spirit jade.

Looking at it from afar, it didn’t resemble an ordinary vessel but rather a celestial palace floating in the air, majestic yet solemnly ancient.

So this was the foundation of a great sect?

Lin An had seen small flying boats before, but compared to this… it was like comparing goods you’d throw away.

“Oh, Li Guanshi is here! And this must be…”

The two walked over, and another man dressed as a steward approached, sizing up Lin An as he greeted them.

Not many people knew that Lin An had been selected to go to the Demon Extermination Assembly—or rather, no one cared, since he was only a servant disciple.

If anyone did care, it would have to be the steward in charge of them.

A cold glint flashed in Li Guanshi’s eyes, but then he put on a smiling face and said with deep meaning:

“That’s right, Liu Guanshi, please don’t spread this around. This young man has an elder looking out for him in the Game of Swords Pavilion.”

“Oh, I see.”

Liu Guanshi immediately caught on and dropped his contemptuous attitude.

“Then please board quickly. I’ve already sent my disciples up.”

“Good, but wait—”

Sharp-eyed Li Guanshi spotted a group approaching from the distance.

“The people from Game of Swords Pavilion are here. Let’s wait a moment.”

He showed a slightly apologetic expression toward Lin An.

Lin An: “?”

This made him unconsciously use Observe Like and Dislike on Li Guanshi.

’Eh… when did he get so much blue? What did I do?’

He turned to look at Liu Guanshi—very faint white mist.

That was normal.

“Aiya, Old Li, you’re late. If the Game of Swords Pavilion sees this, they might think you’re being disrespectful.”

Liu Guanshi shook his head with schadenfreude, while Li Guanshi’s expression turned somewhat ugly.

Lin An’s gaze shifted between the two.

’Good grief, we haven’t even left yet, and the scheming has already started?’

Then he looked toward the Game of Swords Pavilion group.

At the front was, of course, Lu Mingyue.

Today she was dressed much more formally.

She wore a black Daoist robe that reflected a colorful black in the sunlight, her long hair tied up with a jade crown.

Her expression was completely neutral, her gaze fixed straight ahead—cold, aloof, untouched by the mundane.

She carried an ethereal aura, like a celestial banished from the moon, only to be admired from afar, never profaned.

’Hmm… if Lin An hadn’t seen through her before, he’d have been fooled by this lofty, otherworldly act.’

Among the people behind her, two figures stood out—one cold, one gorgeous, completely contrasting.

This was also Lin An’s first time seeing Lu Mingyue’s eldest and second disciples.

He didn’t even need to guess who was who.

The one on the left wore an ice-blue Daoist robe, her robes like snow falling into a cold pool, spotless.

Her long hair was tied with a silver ribbon, her brows and eyes cold as an icy peak, her lips pressed into a faint line.

An invisible layer of cold seemed to surround her, as if nothing in the world could enter her eyes.

Standing there quietly, she was like a lone, proud plum blossom in the snow—not to be observed from afar, nor to be approached.

’Mu Qinghan… prime suspect for being the hidden agent. The other one, of course, is Qu Hongling.’

Unlike her senior sister, this one wore a fiery red fairy dress like flames and sunset clouds, the hem embroidered with entwined lotus patterns, flowing with iridescent colors as she moved.

Her brows and eyes were soft and seductive, her beauty striking.

Her skin, white as jade, set off the allure of her red lips.

There was a liveliness in her glances, bright like a peony in full bloom.

Every smile tugged at one’s heartstrings, making it hard to look away.

’Hmm?’

Lin An frowned.

’A red dress?

’Don’t you prefer pink? Why did you change clothes? And where’s your veil?’

As the group drew closer, Lin An stood behind the two stewards, bowing with his hands clasped.

He clearly felt a gaze from the front of the group fixed on him.

’Is it Lu Mingyue? Or Mu Qinghan? It can’t be Qu Hongling…’

He really couldn’t guess, just like he still didn’t know who the hidden agent was.

After the Game of Swords Pavilion disciples boarded the airship, Li Guanshi turned around.

“Go on up, Lin An. Be careful in everything. If anything happens, remember to find Hua Guanshi—I’ve already talked to him.”

“Okay, thank you, Li Guanshi.”

Lin An quickly boarded the airship.

Liu Guanshi watched his disappearing back and asked with some confusion, “I say, Old Li, you’re really nice to him. Who exactly is his elder?”

“Can’t say, can’t say.”

Li Guanshi said mysteriously.

“Hey, you…”

—

The airship was not only imposing from the outside; the interior space was also quite spacious.

Lu Mingyue and her two disciples stayed in the topmost attic rooms.

Inner and outer sect disciples were in the middle level.

As for the servant disciples like them, they slept in small compartments within the hold.

“This is your room. After you settle in, come to the deck.”

Since he was the last to board, Hua Guanshi personally led him there and stressed before leaving.

“I don’t know what connections you have, but in Heaven Origin Sect, strength is what ultimately speaks.”

Lin An nodded without a word.

It was clear that this Hua Guanshi was the strict type.

He didn’t have much luggage—everything was stored in his storage token.

To keep up appearances, he carried a small backpack.

As for the pouch Gu Yingge had given him, he hadn’t had time to look at it yet.

The compartment wasn’t large, but enough to turn around.

He put down his pack and headed to the deck.

The work on the ship wasn’t bad.

Including him, there were ten servant disciples.

Their main job was to transport cultivation resources to the inner and outer sect disciples.

Then there was cleaning the airship—since the ship was a kind of magic artifact with a self-cleaning function, it was pretty easy.

After carrying another box of pills over, Lin An rested in a corner to catch his breath.

Both of the most suspicious people were on the ship.

The question was, did the hidden agent know who he was?

Logically, they shouldn’t.

He had never said anything.

The only time the two of them had been relatively close was at the slime pool.

So, from the other’s perspective, he should seem very mysterious…

[You are on the ship]

An abrupt message made Lin An’s entire mood plummet.

’How does she know!’

’Is this magic tool limited by distance? What a scam! Why didn’t you say something so important earlier!’

The orientation hadn’t mentioned this.

Probably the Imperial Court hadn’t anticipated this situation.

Even though ten thousand alpacas were stampeding in his heart, he had to calm down.

[Want to meet?]

Lin An’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

’How am I supposed to reply? Say no? That’s admitting I know what she wants. Say yes? Do I have that many lives to spare, meeting a thug like that? That’s insane.’

Just as he was struggling, a voice sounded beside him—one that was obviously sultry.

“Little sir, what are you doing here all alone? Are you tired? How about coming to sister’s room? Sister’s bed is very big~”

Lin An was completely numbed.

’Who is it this time?’