Bustling streets, gentle sea breeze—everything was harmonious and natural.
Yet none of this brought even a trace of warmth to Lin An’s heart.
Instead, he felt a chilling unease.
The reason was simple: Shen Qishuang.
She didn’t recognize Qu Hongling, nor did she recognize Lin An with his current appearance, but she did recognize the Heaven Origin Sect disciple uniform he was wearing.
“So you’re from the Heaven Origin Sect after all,” Shen Qishuang said with a smile, walking over generously.
“I saw you coming out of Cloud Brocade Cloth Shop wearing Heaven Origin Sect clothes, so I thought I’d come say hi.”
Qu Hongling raised an eyebrow and looked Shen Qishuang up and down.
“And you are?”
“Canglong Academy, Shen Qishuang.”
She announced her affiliation with a hint of pride.
“I’m also heading to the Demon Extermination Assembly, so we’re going the same way. I had some business at the cloth shop just now. Didn’t expect to run into you.”
Canglong Academy was essentially a place where the Imperial Court trained its own cultivators.
Qu Hongling’s eyes narrowed slightly, then she showed a friendly smile.
“So you’re a junior sister from Canglong Academy. I’ve heard much about you. I’m Qu Hongling from the Game of Swords Pavilion of the Heaven Origin Sect. This is my junior brother, Lin…”
She had only said one word when she met Lin An’s gaze telling her to stop.
Qu Hongling didn’t understand why, but her reaction was quick.
She immediately changed it to, “Surname Lin.”
“Lin?”
Lin An nodded at her but didn’t speak.
He didn’t dare to.
Someone he grew up with—she was too familiar with his voice.
Even just a single “mm” could easily expose him.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of her, but… it would be too troublesome.
Lin An already had enough troubles.
Adding Shen Qishuang, whose actions were completely unpredictable, would be asking for trouble.
Shen Qishuang’s gaze swept across Lin An’s face.
“Junior Brother Lin, why aren’t you talking? Don’t like to talk?”
“His throat’s not feeling well,” Qu Hongling cut in from the side.
“He caught the sea breeze earlier—his voice is hoarse. Not convenient for speaking.”
“Oh.”
Shen Qishuang didn’t mind, turning to Qu Hongling.
“Senior Sister Qu, how many people did your Heaven Origin Sect bring this time? I heard your airship was damaged. What happened? Is it fixed now?”
A barrage of questions came like a string of firecrackers.
Qu Hongling answered succinctly, “We were attacked by the Demon Soul Sect, but repairs are underway. We’ll set off as soon as it’s fixed—won’t delay the Demon Extermination Assembly.”
“That’s great!”
Shen Qishuang’s eyes lit up.
“I’ll go with you then. I was supposed to wait for the academy’s ship at Guanlan Port, but their ship won’t arrive until the day after tomorrow. I can’t wait that long. Since we’re going the same way, can I hitch a ride?”
Qu Hongling instinctively glanced at Lin An.
Lin An turned his face away expressionlessly.
‘Come on, can you be professional and stop looking at me? I’m just a servant disciple—what say do I have?’
Qu Hongling also realized this and adjusted her smile.
“Probably yes, but I’ll need to ask my master first.”
“Sure, no problem.”
The two of them chatted very smoothly.
Only Lin An couldn’t say a single word, feeling quite stifled.
Nothing else happened along the way.
The three returned to the Heaven Origin Sect’s base at Guanlan Port, a residence not far from the harbor.
As soon as they arrived near the place, Lin An cupped his hands to the two and directly returned to his own quarters.
Shen Qishuang: “?”
Qu Hongling smiled ambiguously.
“Junior Brother Lin… uh, is rather shy with strangers.”
…
…
That evening, after a day of all-out repairs, the airship, while not brand new, was at least mostly restored.
The disciples boarded one after another.
Lin An deliberately chose to be the last one on, just to avoid running into people like Mu Qinghan or Shen Qishuang.
But contrary to his hopes, the moment he got on, he ran into both of them.
He quickly hid behind some crates on the deck, and then he heard the two of them talking in a rather discordant tone.
“Oh, if it isn’t Chief Mu? Long time no see.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Going to the Demon Extermination Assembly with you guys. What, is that not allowed?”
Mu Qinghan’s eye twitched.
“Who allowed you on the ship?”
“Why, your master, Pavilion Master Lu, of course.”
Those words directly choked Mu Qinghan.
Qu Hongling came out looking for Lin An and happened to see this scene.
“You two know each other?”
Shen Qishuang: “We do.”
Mu Qinghan: “We don’t.”
They spoke at the same time, but their answers were completely opposite.
Qu Hongling: “…?”
Lin An curled himself into a ball, wishing he could squeeze through the cracks into the cabin.
He didn’t dare move an inch, his mind racing.
Over there, Shen Qishuang and Mu Qinghan continued their “reunion.”
“Chief Mu, it’s been a year since we last met, hasn’t it? Your cultivation has improved again? I heard you single-handedly took on several Demon Soul Sect disciples yesterday. Impressive, impressive.”
Mu Qinghan remained expressionless.
“You’re not bad either. You’re this generation’s Sword Champion of Canglong Academy. I heard you just broke through to the eleventh level of the Mortal Martial Realm?”
“Of course,” Shen Qishuang said without any modesty.
“My master said that in two more years, I’ll be able to touch the threshold of the Spiritual Martial Realm. Then maybe I can spar with Chief Mu. Don’t go easy on me, okay.”
Mu Qinghan’s mouth twitched slightly, unsure if she wanted to laugh or say something, but in the end, she just gave a faint “mm.”
“But speaking of which,” Shen Qishuang tilted her head to look at her, “why is Chief Mu taking the initiative to talk to me today? When we met in the Capital City before, you wouldn’t even look at me.”
“I was looking for someone. I just happened to run into you.”
“Oh? Who? So important that our Chief Mu had to come looking personally?”
Mu Qinghan seemed used to her snide tone and showed no reaction.
Lin An over there probably knew who she was looking for, because she had just contacted him via artifact, and he hadn’t responded.
Mu Qinghan was really worried that he might talk recklessly with that junior sister.
She had searched inside but couldn’t find him, so she came out.
“None of your business.”
With that, Mu Qinghan turned and walked away.
She had only taken two steps when she stopped and said without turning around:
“Since you’re on the ship, behave yourself.”
“Got it, got it.”
Shen Qishuang didn’t care at all and casually agreed.
Mu Qinghan left.
Qu Hongling stood to the side, watching the whole scene, holding back her laughter with some difficulty.
“Junior Sister Shen, you’re really something,” she said, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes.
“This is the first time I’ve seen Senior Sister like this. How did you two meet?”
“At the last exchange meeting between Canglong Academy and Heaven Origin Sect, she came representing the Game of Swords Pavilion. I went up and fought her. I lost, and then we got to know each other. But she seems to have always disliked me.”
“It’s not dislike,” Qu Hongling said meaningfully.
“Maybe she just doesn’t know how to get along with you. Senior Sister is like that with everyone.”
“True.”
Shen Qishuang nodded, scanning the deck.
Suddenly she asked, “By the way, where’s that Junior Brother Lin of yours? The one who doesn’t talk much?”
Qu Hongling was taken aback.
“Why are you looking for him?”
“Nothing, just thought he was a bit strange,” Shen Qishuang considered.
“Can’t put my finger on it, but… he looks familiar, like I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
Qu Hongling curled her lips.
“Really? He only joined the sect a little over a month ago. Could it be a case of mistaken identity?”
“Maybe. I might be overthinking it.”
Shen Qishuang stopped dwelling on it and turned to walk into the cabin.
The setting sun sank into the sea, and the clouds on the horizon burned a deep orange.
Qu Hongling walked to the edge of the deck, gazing at the distant sea, her smile growing more pronounced.
‘The Holy Son seems… really afraid of this girl? How interesting.’
Her mood was pretty good, but Lin An, hiding behind the crate, was not having such a good time.
So, the current situation was…
Qu Hongling, a spy from the Demon Soul Sect, thinks I’m the Holy Son of the Demon Sect.
Mu Qinghan, a spy for the Imperial Court, should have been on my side, but wants to kill me to silence me.
Shen Qishuang, my childhood friend, doesn’t know who I am, but could recognize me at any moment.
And me?
I can’t be seen by her, can’t say a single word.
Ha…
Who am I?
Where am I?
Why did I get on this ship?
Unfortunately, no one could answer him.