Xiao Lin ran out of the Tiandou Royal Academy and headed into Tiandou City in search of Xue Qinghe's residence.
Because Xue Qinghe was the crown prince, Xiao Lin didn't get lost—everyone in Tiandou City knew which direction the crown prince's residence was in.
And it was precisely at this moment that the Thousand-Faced Guest noticed Xiao Lin's movements.
He had been staking out Xiao Lin in Tiandou City for a long time already.
Although it was possible to enter the Tiandou Royal Academy, there were quite a few powerful experts there, making it very easy for Xiao Lin to escape.
Tiandou City, however, was different.
Although there might be even stronger experts in the city, there were far more ordinary people, making it much easier for him to hide.
Soon, the Thousand-Faced Guest saw Xiao Lin asking passersby for directions to Xue Qinghe's residence.
An idea instantly formed in his mind.
So Xiao Lin didn't know the way. In that case, couldn't he just pretend to be a passerby and wait for Xiao Lin to come ask him?
Having thought of a plan, the Thousand-Faced Guest quickly left the route Xiao Lin was taking.
When he reappeared on another street, he had already changed his appearance, and he moved to a road that Xiao Lin would have to pass on his way to Xue Qinghe's residence.
Now all that remained was to see whether Xiao Lin would come ask him for directions.
As for that, the Thousand-Faced Guest thought long and hard—and actually came up with a solution.
Rather than waiting for Xiao Lin to ask him, it would be better for him to control Xiao Lin's line of movement.
For example, when Xiao Lin appeared, he could say that Xue Qinghe was in the imperial palace, and that he himself, as a servant from Xue Qinghe's residence, had urgent matters to report.
In this way, once Xiao Lin heard that Xue Qinghe was at the palace, he would surely follow him toward the palace.
Once Xiao Lin got close enough, he would strike in a single blow, kill Xiao Lin, seize the storage soul tool, and take the War God Cloak.
After that, everything would proceed according to the Thousand-Faced Guest's script.
On a road that Xiao Lin had to pass in order to reach Xue Qinghe's residence, Xiao Lin just happened to be passing through.
By this time, he already knew how to get to Xue Qinghe's residence.
It wasn't that he had suddenly asked clearly for the exact directions.
Tiandou City was so large—how could he possibly remember such a long route from the city gate to Xue Qinghe's residence?
It was simply Xiao Lin's intuition telling him that going in that direction could not be wrong.
As the crown prince of the Tiandou Empire, Xue Qinghe's residence couldn't possibly be in some obscure place.
Naturally, the more luxurious the area looked, the more likely it was to be there.
Xue Qinghe's residence had to be top-tier, after all.
And so, without asking for directions, Xiao Lin went straight to an intersection and looked around.
Very quickly, he spotted a road that looked more opulent than the others.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Lin continued running toward Xue Qinghe's residence.
However, at this very moment, the Thousand-Faced Guest's performance began.
In Xiao Lin's puzzled gaze, a servant dressed in clothing embroidered with a royal swan was heading in another direction.
Behind him was someone who looked like a steward, shouting things like, "Something's happened at home! Hurry to the palace and fetch the crown prince!"
Xue Renxue wasn't at her residence?
Hearing this, the thought of following that servant toward the imperial palace immediately arose in Xiao Lin's mind.
But very quickly, Xiao Lin abandoned the idea.
He continued running in the direction of Xue Qinghe's residence.
There was only one reason—he was looking for Qian Renxue, and this wasn't something that should be discussed on the street.
In any case, Qian Renxue would return eventually.
Thus, Xiao Lin ignored the Thousand-Faced Guest's act and ran straight past the steward he was impersonating.
However, at that moment, the expression on the steward's face—who was actually the Thousand-Faced Guest—changed from astonishment to delight.
Although Xiao Lin hadn't acted according to his plan, he had indeed approached him of his own accord.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he would just kill Xiao Lin directly and collect the reward.
Because three Titled Douluo had appeared earlier, the Thousand-Faced Guest had already demanded that the bounty be raised to three million gold soul coins.
And Dai Mubai had no choice but to agree.
He also hadn't expected that the War God Cloak would end up being bought by Xiao Lin.
If he'd had more money, he definitely wouldn't have hired the Thousand-Faced Guest.
With that kind of money, he could have hired a Titled Douluo to assassinate Xiao Lin instead.
Before long, as Xiao Lin reached another intersection and stopped to look around, the steward played by the Thousand-Faced Guest also strolled over to Xiao Lin's side.
He couldn't be like Xiao Lin and look overly anxious.
It was also at this moment that Xiao Lin turned his head and fixed his gaze on the Thousand-Faced Guest.
Seeing Xiao Lin's sharp stare, the Thousand-Faced Guest panicked internally, thinking he had been exposed.
Fortunately, Xiao Lin's next sentence put him at ease.
"You're Xue Qinghe's steward."
"Yes. And you are?"
The Thousand-Faced Guest performed convincingly as a professional steward and replied at once.
Closer. Just a bit closer.
The Thousand-Faced Guest screamed inwardly, eagerly hoping Xiao Lin would stand a little nearer to him.
It wasn't that he lacked confidence in killing Xiao Lin at face-to-face distance.
It was just that this was broad daylight, on one of the busiest streets.
Once he erupted into violence, he would very likely be noticed.
Moreover, this steward wasn't a transformed clone, but his true body in disguise.
He had been on the bounty list for over thirty years without being caught, relying entirely on caution.
"By the way, something happened at Xue Qinghe's residence?"
Seeing that he had a guide now, Xiao Lin didn't want to rack his brains anymore. He figured he could just follow behind the steward, so he began chatting casually.
When he heard that something had happened at Qian Renxue's home, his heart skipped a beat.
He worried for a moment about something like a fire breaking out and burning the books.
But thinking about it more carefully, Qian Renxue herself was impersonating Xue Qinghe—would she really be doing anything at home?
It should be like Dugu Bo's place, with hardly anyone around.
Huh?
Qian Renxue actually had a steward and servants—wasn't she afraid of exposing inconsistencies?
"Yes, the crown prince, he…"
Damn it—he couldn't come up with a reason.
A bad feeling rose in the Thousand-Faced Guest's heart. Gritting his teeth, he made something up on the spot.
"A thief broke into the crown prince's residence. I'm worried something important was stolen, so I came to summon the crown prince back."
As he spoke, the Thousand-Faced Guest took another step closer to Xiao Lin.
However, at this moment, Xiao Lin instinctively stepped back.
Xue Qinghe losing something or having valuables stolen was understandable—but such a thing couldn't possibly happen to Qian Renxue.
As an undercover agent, Qian Renxue would certainly keep anything important in a storage soul tool.
The rest were probably Xue Qinghe's belongings, which Qian Renxue wouldn't care about.
Could this steward's excuse really make Qian Renxue return?
At this point, Xiao Lin still hadn't suspected the steward's identity—he was just thinking that maybe he should simply wait for Qian Renxue at the palace gate instead.
However, very quickly, Xiao Lin noticed something off about the steward.
Xiao Lin was already preparing to go to the palace, yet the steward kept edging closer to him, wearing an innocent, harmless expression, while his eyes remained locked onto Xiao Lin.
Xiao Lin instinctively sensed a sense of discord.
Could a steward really stare so directly at a friend of the crown prince?
Could an ordinary person look at a soul master with such an aggressive gaze?
Xiao Lin's thoughts raced, and he subconsciously activated his Fiery Golden Eyes.
After all, Xiao Lin still remembered that someone was watching him.
Sure enough, under the perspective of his Fiery Golden Eyes—
The steward's true identity was not a steward at all, but a soul master with a lizard-like martial soul in a state of possession.
Wasn't this the Thousand-Faced Guest?
(End of chapter)