Whether male or female form, Hua Mei had always taken very meticulous care of his appearance. But now, what had once been skin that you could blow on and break had become pitch-black and charred brown. Only his eye whites rolled particularly obviously.
Hua Mei looked in the mirror annoyed. The more he looked, the angrier he got. "Wasn't it some sect mission that got me covered in Thousand Pairs Tree sap? Can't wash it off, and there's no other way to remedy it. Can only slowly recover. It'll take at least a month to get back to how I was before."
Thousand Pairs Tree fruit was fresh and sweet, but the sap had a skin-staining effect. Harvesters were easily sprayed by the tree branches' sap all over. It's just that sect members usually had methods to deal with this. It was rare for someone like Hua Mei to fall for it.
Gu Changhuai tried to console him: "Look on the bright side. There are quite a few handsome young men in Xinnan Immortal Sect. Your current appearance might make more people remember you deeply."
"...That's enough." Hua Mei said faintly. "If you don't speak, I'll feel better."
Alright then.
Gu Changhuai helplessly spread his hands and closed his mouth.
The room returned to quiet. Once the room was quiet, the slight sounds from outside could be heard clearly.
Xinnan Immortal Sect's immortal boat was naturally built large with lots of space, divided into three-level areas. The sounds outside were more like footsteps of people walking on deck, along with conversation sounds that drew near and far.
Gu Changhuai and Hua Mei exchanged a glance, moving together to sit by the window and push it open. "When you came, did you offend anyone? Otherwise, why would someone tell you to pick Thousand Pairs Tree fruit?"
From their position, they could see four or five people standing on the nearby deck. One of them wore inner disciple sect robes, back turned to them, currently instructing the other disciples about something. They couldn't hear clearly.
A breeze brought along by clouds—Gu Changhuai squinted and watched for a while. He heard Hua Mei's voice beside him become gritted: "Wasn't it Jin Shuang? Wuding Workshop is somewhat problematic."
Gu Changhuai said quietly: "What does it have to do with Jin Shuang?"
The two were just talking.
Over there on deck, the people seemed to have finished giving instructions and began dispersing one after another. The young man wearing inner disciple sect robes turned around, gracefully walking toward them.
The young man carried a slight scholarly air, his eyes clear yet looking straight ahead. As he walked, he exuded an upright gentleman's handsomeness. He should just be passing by, slowly walking past their window.
"Putting on airs." Hua Mei ground his teeth hatefully. "That's Jin Shuang, Wuding Workshop's undercover agent planted in Xinnan Immortal Sect."
Though Hua Mei spoke quietly, everyone present had sharp hearing, so naturally it entered their ears.
Gu Changhuai's eyes glanced over. He saw Jin Shuang, who'd walked some distance away, pause in his steps after hearing the voice, then quickly backtrack a few steps to return to the window.
He looked down at the two crouched behind the window frame, then unnaturally scanned the surroundings in a circle before making a hand gesture: "Keep it down."
Gu Changhuai was quite interested. "So it really is you."
Hua Mei directly rolled his eyes at Jin Shuang.
Jin Shuang coughed lightly twice, his gaze stopping on Gu Changhuai for a moment before nodding. "It's me. Please pretend you don't know, both of you."
Gu Changhuai examined Jin Shuang's inner disciple attire for a while. Unlike outer disciples, inner disciples usually belonged under various elders and had to report directly to them.
To blend into inner disciple status, one either had to be naturally talented and stand out immediately upon entry, or grind away in the outer sect cultivating to a certain level before being selected. In short, grinding for seniority.
Judging from how Jin Shuang had just been conversing with people so smoothly, he'd been at Xinnan Immortal Sect for at least several years. They'd just seen him in the Demon Realm not long ago. Presumably after Jin Shuang left the Demon Realm, he hurried back to lead the outer disciples' training team.
Gu Changhuai's eyes gradually became sympathetic. "Looks like Wuding Workshop is also short on people." Otherwise, how could they use one person as two?
Jin Shuang smiled. "Indeed so."
Thinking that Jin Shuang had stayed at Xinnan Immortal Sect for a long time, he should know some inside information others didn't. The male protagonist's whereabouts remained unclear, making Gu Changhuai, who was already uneasy about the book transmigration matter, especially anxious.
"Wait." He called out to Jin Shuang who was about to leave, raising his eyes. "By the way, I need to ask you about someone."
Jin Shuang didn't understand. "What is it? Who?"
Gu Changhuai said: "Have you heard of... Zhao Qianlin?"
As soon as the words fell, he imperceptibly observed Jin Shuang's expression.
"..." Though Jin Shuang's nerves tightened, his face didn't reveal any flaws. He just shook his head normally. "Haven't heard of him."
Gu Changhuai was somewhat disappointed: "Alright then."
"Who is Zhao Qianlin?" Hua Mei asked curiously. "How come I've never heard you mention this name?"
Gu Changhuai paused, then said righteously: "He's a good person, a person full of justice. I've stayed in dark places too long, so I want to see someone beautiful and bright."
Mainly, as a book transmigrator, if he didn't pay attention to the male protagonist's movements, it made his book transmigration seem quite worthless.
Hua Mei: "...Come on. Isn't Qing Lian Immortal Lord bright enough for you? Yet you want to find some nobody." After finishing, he shot Jin Shuang a sideways glare. "You and I aren't done. Before I recover my original appearance, you need to take responsibility for me."
"..."
Jin Shuang gave an awkward but polite smile.
Seeing they were about to argue, Gu Changhuai yanked Hua Mei's collar, waving his hand at Jin Shuang. "Ignore him. Go on with your business."
Jin Shuang smiled and nodded. After Gu Changhuai closed the window, he quickly left, wiping the fine sweat at his temple before turning to enter the adjacent room.
______
On the jade table, wisps of pale smoke rose like thin threads from a double-chi carved incense burner, silently crushed into the air, dispersing with a clear, faint fragrance—just like the person wiping the sword before the table.
The thin, transparent Qiankun Sword gently turned in his palm. The mirror-like blade instantly reflected Rong Ye's handsome, cold eyes and brows. He spoke, "Transfer him to Supreme Peak." His tone neither light nor heavy rang out in the quiet room. He added: "No need to be overly guarded."
Across from him, Jin Shuang's expression was uncertain. "He said he wants to find Zhao Qianlin... but I have no impression of him. I've never seen him before."
A cultivator's divine sense can spread across the four seas. Moreover, with Rong Ye's cultivation level, even if the sound was small, as long as he wanted, he could take everything in. Naturally, he'd heard everything said outside just now.
Rong Ye's hand wiping the sword blade stopped. "The Zhao family has perished. In this world today, besides me, only you yourself know who Zhao Qianlin is. He can't stir up any waves. No need to worry."
After speaking, he waved his sleeve across the table. Instantly, the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees. On the table appeared several medicinal materials along with the ice core lying in a jade box radiating cold air. "The medicinal materials for this journey have been gathered. After returning to the sect, you can go into closed-door cultivation to clear your blocked spiritual veins."
Jin Shuang nodded. "Understood."
Just as he was about to take his leave, a sound came from a corner of the room. Jin Shuang looked up and saw a jade token stuck in the corner.
The formation on the jade token was slowly rotating. It not only isolated the sounds within this room but could also clearly transmit the sounds from the adjacent room.
"..." The intent was unclear. Jin Shuang carefully stole a glance at the Immortal Lord, but saw Rong Ye completely unaffected, listening to the sounds coming from the jade token without changing expression.
"What should we do next? Really become outer disciples at Xinnan Immortal Sect? This delicate body of mine can't endure hardship." Hua Mei muttered.
Gu Changhuai held a brush, writing and drawing on paper, sneering coldly: "Of course not. I'm going to let Qing Lian Immortal Lord see what methods we demons have."
"Oh?" Hua Mei's eyes lit up. "Could it be you have a way to kill with one strike!"
Gu Changhuai: "If I had that, I should be usurping the throne to become Demon Venerable right now, not being controlled and forced to do assassinations."
Hua Mei was disappointed. "Then what method?"
Gu Changhuai said thoughtfully: "Through these days of observation, I've discovered that Qing Lian Immortal Lord's vigilance isn't as high as rumored. For example, I once used sleeve arrows to sneak attack him and still wasn't discovered. Mm... so I think I can continue testing his bottom line."
Hua Mei's expression was strange, hesitating: "You used sleeve arrows and still weren't discovered? Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Gu Changhuai confidently nodded. "He definitely didn't discover it. Haven't you heard of Qing Lian Immortal Lord's great reputation for hating evil like an enemy? If he'd discovered it, how could I be standing here?"
"That's true too." Hua Mei breathed a sigh of relief. "So what do you plan to do?"
Gu Changhuai smiled. "High-end assassins often adopt the most simple assassination methods." He raised his hand—the paper was covered with strategies.
Hua Mei glanced at it. It was either poisoning or setting traps. Looking more, he suddenly frowned. "Wait." He pointed at the poison at the very top of the paper. "Isn't this Obedience Mushroom? This isn't lethal. Why did you write this?"
The reason for wanting to use Obedience Mushroom...
Gu Changhuai fell silent, suddenly recalling the disgusting sweet scent drifting in the cocoon... He quickly closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh air now.
"..."
Silence in the room for a moment.
After recovering, Gu Changhuai began bitterly complaining to Hua Mei with deep hatred: "You know how excessive Rong Ye is? He used me as bait. I was stuffed in that spider's cocoon and dragged around for a quarter-hour. The spider silk had toxins—the smell was disgusting..."
Moreover, that smell was extremely similar to the poisonous fog released after the Shadow Clan gathered a batch of shadow demons.
It was a dim sky.
The air was the same sweet scent, carrying a hallucinogenic, deadly smell spread across the entire training ground.
In the spacious field, hundreds of gathered shadow demons went berserk in this mind-destroying scent. Swords clashed, blood flowed like rivers. Severed limbs and broken arms flew. Flesh was sliced piece by piece. The masked Shadow Chief stood at the highest point, watching everything unfold with cold eyes.
Until the scent disappeared, the final winner left standing was the strongest poison among them—only then could they have a surname, only then were they qualified to become the newest assassin.
Smelling it easily brought these memories back, so just talking about the cocoon, his complexion turned unsightly, losing several shades of color. Finally, he declared resolutely: "I'm angry, so he must apologize for his discourtesy!"
The person accused of needing to apologize was next door, wiping the Qiankun Sword until it gleamed with cold light. The forceful accusation was transmitted word for word through the jade token.
Jin Shuang, shocked into silence for a moment, tried to observe Qing Lian Immortal Lord's reaction.
He only saw Rong Ye sheath the sword, a trace of smile seemingly at the corner of his eyes. Blinking again, Jin Shuang felt he might have been seeing things. The Immortal Lord's expression was clearly the same as always.
Hearing about the Five Spirits Moon Illusion Spider incident, those drawn into danger also included Enforcement Hall's Pei Tianyi and inner disciple Kong Huai. With Kong Huai's ability, escaping the cocoon on his own would be impressive, let alone saving another person. Gu Changhuai must have intervened.
Jin Shuang said: "Although he's from the Demon Clan, he also rescued two junior brothers. His nature shouldn't be bad."
As if unconcerned with Gu Changhuai's attitude, Rong Ye's eyes didn't change, saying quietly: "Let him be. When he's done making a fuss and his anger subsides, it'll naturally be fine."
This last sentence was so faint that Jin Shuang almost thought his ears had heard wrong. He instinctively said "Ah?" But he didn't dare ask in detail, only nodding dumbly: "Alright..."
Though, however.
The Immortal Lord seemed somewhat lenient toward this shadow demon.