“Wow!”
Qu Hongling let out an exaggerated exclamation, holding her face in her hands, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Lin An.
“Holy Son, your appearance… tsk tsk tsk, this subordinate doesn’t even know how to praise you.”
Lin An looked at her expressionlessly.
“Even though your appearance has changed, you’re still so handsome. How did your face grow like this? The heavens are too biased.”
“I was just worried you’d turn into a gourd-like mess and lose face, but now I see there’s no need to worry at all.”
Faced with this flattery, Lin An’s heart was completely unmoved, and he even felt a little like laughing.
“Are you done?”
“No, let me praise you a bit more. Look at these eyebrows, these eyes, this nose bridge—even with the disguise…”
“Talk about the real matter.”
“Ahem.”
Qu Hongling immediately put away her lovesick expression, but couldn’t help sneaking two more glances.
“Yes, then we’ll go over now.”
Lin An didn’t reply, just nodded slightly.
As he followed behind, he raised his hand and gently rubbed the mask on his face, a not-so-good guess surfacing in his mind.
The texture of this thing was too much like real skin.
Thin, soft, with warmth—pressed against his face, there was almost no foreign sensation.
He glanced at Qu Hongling.
That woman was smiling back at him, her face full of an expression that said “Praise me, praise me.”
Lin An sighed inwardly.
He didn’t plan to say anything; he wasn’t the type to be overflowing with a sense of justice.
Before his transmigration, he was a common citizen; after transmigration, he was a small soldier of the Imperial Court.
These two lifetimes combined hadn’t cultivated any sense of mission to “act on behalf of heaven.”
Besides, he himself was a clay Buddha crossing the river—how could he have the leisure to care about how others refined artifacts?
‘As long as it works…’
Qu Hongling led the way, twisting and turning through several alleys.
After about a quarter of an hour, the two stopped in front of a shop.
“We’re here.”
Lin An looked up.
Hanging above the door was a plaque with black background and golden characters: Cloud Brocade Cloth Shop.
The shop was not small; its frontage took up the width of four storefronts.
Three carved wooden doors were wide open, revealing various colored fabrics displayed inside.
Silks, satins, cotton, linen, and ramie—everything from low to high grade was neatly stacked on shelves.
Sunlight shone on the plaque, the two golden characters “Cloud Brocade” shimmering brightly.
Lin An raised an eyebrow.
From the outside, it looked quite grand, one of the top shops on this street.
It seemed the people of the Demon Soul Sect also deeply understood the principle of hiding in plain sight.
Who would have thought that in this town controlled by the Heaven Origin Sect, a demonic sect’s stronghold would operate so blatantly?
Not hidden in some deep mountain forest or underground chamber, but legitimately opening a cloth shop on the main street, and such a large one at that.
“Let’s go, Junior Brother Lin.”
Qu Hongling turned back and smiled at him, then stepped inside.
Lin An followed.
There weren’t many customers in the shop.
Two or three women were selecting fabric at the counter, while a young attendant enthusiastically introduced items beside them.
Another attendant stood by the door greeting customers.
Seeing them enter, he approached with a professional smile.
“What would you like to see, esteemed guests? We have newly arrived…”
Halfway through his words, he recognized Qu Hongling’s face.
Lin An noticed a momentary flicker in that attendant’s eyes.
Very subtle—if he hadn’t been watching closely, he wouldn’t have noticed.
Surprise, respect, and a hint of… nervousness.
That attendant reacted quickly.
The smile on his face didn’t even change, and his tone remained the same warm and courteous manner.
“Oh, it’s a regular customer! My eyes were blind, I didn’t recognize you. Please come in, please come in.”
Qu Hongling gave a faint “Mm” and walked inside.
Lin An followed behind.
As he passed by that attendant, he noticed the man slightly lowered his head, his gaze fixed on his toes.
The employees here were probably all their own people.
Passing through the front hall and lifting a cloth curtain, they entered a corridor leading to the inner courtyard.
At the end of the short corridor, beyond a doorway, was a small courtyard.
The yard was very clean.
Two servants in gray clothes were sweeping.
Seeing Qu Hongling enter, they immediately stopped their work, stood with hands at their sides, and lowered their heads without speaking.
Lin An noticed that their attitude was more pronounced than the attendant at the door, even carrying a hint of fear.
Earlier, he had thought that Qu Hongling, as a Protector of the Demon Soul Sect, might be too low in cultivation.
Now it seemed her cultivation might not be as weak as it appeared.
Crossing the yard, they arrived at a two-story building.
Inside was an elegantly arranged hall with fine rosewood tables and chairs, and several landscape paintings hanging on the walls.
A middle-aged man in a dark robe sat behind a table, flipping through an account book.
Hearing the noise, he looked up.
“Qu… Miss Qu?”
He froze for a moment, then stood up, a smile spreading across his face.
“Why have you come? Why didn’t you say something in advance so I could have someone pick you up?”
As he spoke, his gaze fell on Lin An, a flash of scrutiny in his eyes.
“And this is?”
“My honored guest.”
Qu Hongling’s tone was light, but she stressed the words “honored guest.”
“I brought him here to have a look today. You don’t need to worry about it; go about your business.”
The middle-aged man understood and asked no further, simply clasping his hands toward Lin An.
“Since you are Miss Qu’s friend, you are an honored guest of our Cloud Brocade. Please make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just ask.”
Qu Hongling nodded, then led Lin An through the hall to the back courtyard.
The back courtyard was larger than the front, with several independent buildings that seemed to be living quarters.
Qu Hongling walked straight to the innermost building and stopped in front of the door.
She hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Lin An.
“Junior Brother Lin, I need to go in and report something. You…”
Her gaze moved around Lin An’s face, a look of difficulty appearing.
Lin An understood what she meant.
Originally, she wanted to bring him in with her, but on second thought, his current identity couldn’t be exposed.
Qu Hongling bit her lower lip, looking a bit conflicted.
Lin An spoke up proactively: “You go ahead with your business. I’ll just look around here. It’s a rare visit, so let me see the sights.”
Qu Hongling’s eyes lit up, but she also seemed a bit embarrassed.
“Then… will you be okay alone?”
“What’s not okay? I’m not a three-year-old child.”
Qu Hongling thought about it and felt it was reasonable.
Although the Holy Son couldn’t reveal his cultivation, he didn’t lack means or brains.
Besides, what could happen on her own turf?
Turning around, she waved at the attendant following nearby.
“Take this young master around to have a look. No matter where he goes, don’t stop him.”
The attendant bowed and replied, “Yes.”
Qu Hongling glanced at Lin An again, smiled at him, then turned and walked into the room, closing the door.
Lin An silently memorized this location.
Inside, there should be some sort of artifact that could contact the Demon Soul Sect’s headquarters.
He turned to look at the waiting attendant.
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
“You’re too kind, young master. Please follow me.”
The attendant led the way, and Lin An followed behind him, beginning to wander around the Demon Soul Sect’s stronghold.
As he walked, he observed—the position of each building, the direction of every corridor, even the rockeries and flowers in the yard—all silently memorized.
The attendant was very quiet, not saying a word he shouldn’t, just silently guiding, occasionally offering an introduction.
“Here is the warehouse.”
“Over there is the tea room.”
Lin An walked to a small building in the corner of the back courtyard and stopped.
This building was different from the others—its doors and windows were tightly shut, and several talismans were pasted on the door panels.
He couldn’t quite understand the patterns on the talismans, but a faint spiritual light flowed on them.
“What place is this?”
The attendant’s expression stiffened slightly, then returned to normal.
“In reply, young master, this is a storage room for odds and ends. It’s old and in disrepair, afraid it might collapse and hurt someone, so it’s locked.”
Lin An gave an “Oh” and didn’t press further.
‘Old and in disrepair? Someone who didn’t know would really believe that.’
Silently memorizing the patterns on that talisman, Lin An continued following the attendant to other places.
He didn’t ask many questions, as that would seem unnatural.
Whatever happened here would definitely get back to Qu Hongling’s ears later; he couldn’t reveal any flaws.
After a cursory tour, Lin An basically understood the internal layout of this cloth shop.
He could only say it was quite professional.
Qu Hongling’s side wasn’t finished yet, so Lin An planned to go back to the front hall to wait for her.
But before he could enter the front hall, he heard a somewhat familiar voice from inside—crisp, with a slightly aggressive tone.
“Is this how your Cloud Brocade Cloth Shop does business? Look at the goods you sent us!”
Lin An stopped in his tracks, suddenly feeling an instinctive headache…
‘No way, could it be this coincidental?’
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