No matter whether Yaozhuang had anywhere to go or not, Linglong had firmly decided to be a hopeless good Samaritan.
Mounting the flying sword, Hua Jian pressed Yaozhuang between the two of them.
This was when the advantage of the large flying sword board truly showed—it could comfortably seat three people without any instability.
Taking advantage of the travel time, Hua Jian continued pressing Yaozhuang for every little detail, trying to piece together the truth from these fragments.
But ideals are lofty, and reality harsh. Yaozhuang was just a typical protected target—she only knew she was being hunted but had no idea why.
Her elders had said nothing to her, only ordering her to run and hurry back to her main family in Huiyue City.
“Sigh, how nice would it be if the world had fewer riddle-speakers,” Hua Jian sighed.
Only Linglong would think about helping Miss Yao like this; if it were her, she’d probably have robbed Yaozhuang and left immediately.
I bring you somewhere, and there’s no reward for me. Why should I risk so much to help you?
…
“The mission failed, what a bunch of useless trash!”
“We can’t even catch a weak little girl. If you ask me, we should step in ourselves!”
Less than half a day after Hua Jian and her group left, two uninvited guests appeared at the battlefield.
They unearthed the pit where several Spirit King corpses were buried, glanced at the number of bodies, and one of them growled in dissatisfaction.
The other wasn’t any better—he casually tossed a ball of black flame, burning the corpses in the pit to ash, then looked toward the distance.
“Chase them. Once they reach Huiyue City, things will get complicated.”
“Wait, something’s off here…”
“Hm?”
A man in black bent down and picked up a withered vine from the soft soil, gently crushing it.
As the shell broke, a faint drop of multicolored spiritual energy fell into his palm.
The spiritual energy was weak, and if not discovered, it would soon vanish completely.
But now, it became a clue—one that made the two black-clad men frown deeply.
“Wanhuagu? Why are they sticking their noses in?”
Multicolored spiritual energy was rare; even rarer was spiritual energy colored and fragrant with a peculiar floral scent.
Of all the spiritual energy they knew, only one fit these characteristics:
Wanhuagu, the Flower Viewing Sword Style!
“Could it be they also want this treasure and intend to fight us for it? Or… use it to extort the elders?”
“Hmph, that’s exactly the kind of thing they’d do. But as long as the item hasn’t fully fallen into their hands, we still have a chance to snatch it back! Here in the Central Continent, even if we die, Wanhuagu can’t trace us!”
“Exactly. Everyone knows the elder’s breakthrough is imminent. Them moving now is declaring war on us—kill them without mercy. Pursue!”
…
“This thing is useless; it’s just common goods. Why would two Spirit Kings hunt you so fiercely?”
After a warm and friendly chat with Yao Mei, Hua Jian successfully persuaded her to hand over her Storage Pouch for inspection.
How she persuaded her? Don’t ask—just know it was a very cordial and comfortable negotiation for both sides.
But Yao Mei’s Storage Pouch held nothing valuable.
There were plenty of Spirit Stones, which made sense since she was, after all, half a young lady and naturally had some savings.
Besides that, only common pills and Spirit Tools were inside—things anyone could buy on the market.
Not something that would cause two Spirit Kings to chase her down.
Hua Jian searched carefully, even shaking out the clothes inside the pouch three times; if anything was missed, she would be convinced.
Looking at Yao Mei’s pale, frightened face, Hua Jian stroked her chin and began thinking aloud.
“Your surname is Yao, your father is an outsider, so the Su Family’s internal power struggles don’t involve you.”
Since she was only half a young lady, the usual reason for being hunted in a noble family didn’t apply here.
Who in their right mind would send two precious Spirit Kings to hunt down a girl with no claim to power?
“Since it’s not power, it must be you personally!” Hua Jian stared at Yaozhuang, speaking slowly and clearly.
“You may possess a peculiar constitution even you don’t understand—that’s why they’re after you.”
“Constitution?” Yaozhuang blinked, utterly clueless.
She was over twenty but had barely reached the Ling Shi Realm—does that sound like someone with a special constitution?
“Don’t look at me like that. This is the only guess I have now. Otherwise, why do you think you’re being hunted? Three Spirit Kings died because of you. If not because of some unique reason, what else could it be?”
This was a simple question of interest calculation.
Three Spirit Kings outside the Saint Sect were formidable combatants; why would they care about a young lady?
Knowing she had no other treasures, what could this treasure be?
Only herself.
“For now, think of it this way: you are the treasure those people want. Our goal is to get you back to Huiyue City…”
Before Hua Jian could finish, Linglong added, “And to uncover the truth behind this incident.”
That black dragon tattoo made her uneasy.
Such a violent black dragon hidden in the shadows of the cultivation world was no good omen.
Most of the Dragon Race lived in secluded immortal islands overseas.
Only a few traveled to the continent.
It was rare for someone like her mother to meet her love and bear a child on the mainland.
That black dragon seemed to have loyal followers and its own power base—this was serious.
“Yes, and we have to be detectives and figure out the secret behind this. But the main mission now is to get you back to Huiyue City.”
“We won’t rest along the way. We still have about a day and a night’s journey left. Hua Jian, can you hold out?”
A day and a night required two people to take turns using the flying sword.
Even so, Hua Jian’s spiritual energy wasn’t enough for nonstop flight that long.
Fortunately, she had plenty of pills.
With those supplies, she should be able to manage.
“Most likely, yes. Even if I can’t hold out, I should last until near Huiyue City.”
Hua Jian pulled out the pills Linglong had given her from the Storage Pouch and shook them, showing she had enough healing supplies.
“Keep track of how many you eat, I’ll replenish you later.”
“Okay.” Hua Jian didn’t refuse.
For now, with Linglong around, a few pills were nothing.
The Ling Shi Realm’s Returning Spirit Pills only cost a few dozen Spirit Stones, maybe a hundred at most for a few.
Small change.
These weren’t precious miraculous pills made with rare ingredients, just everyday items—no big deal.
A day and night of nonstop travel was nothing harsh in Hua Jian’s life.
Someone took turns with her, supplies were plenty, and no one was chasing them from behind.
It felt like a vacation.
Her childhood was much tougher than this.
When day and night alternated, a city bathed in silver moonlight appeared in her sight.
Hua Jian exhaled long and deep.
They arrived safely.
Speaking of which, where did the silver moonlight above Huiyue City come from?
Was it some grand immortal left behind?
Hua Jian guessed correctly.
The silver moonlight above Huiyue City came from a great immortal—a several-thousand-year-old Spirit Lord who left this treasure for his hometown.
“This artifact converts spiritual energy into silver moonlight scattered across the city.
Even ordinary people who haven’t begun cultivation can benefit by bathing in the moonlight, strengthening their bodies.
This is why Huiyue has thrived for thousands of years,” Linglong explained calmly.
Because of this, the city’s entry fee was high, making it one of the few large cities in the Central Continent not affiliated with the Saint Sect.
The city’s publicly known strongest fighter was a peak Linghuang Fairy, but no one dared guarantee there wasn’t a Lingzun guardian hiding inside.
Once inside, safety was almost guaranteed.
“Don’t say ‘almost guaranteed.’ When you say that, I feel like we’ll definitely face some big crisis,” Hua Jian groaned, recalling their recent secret realm journey, where everything that could go wrong did—demonic paths and evil spirits without exception.
Now this place felt like another dungeon.
With her identity as a transmigrator, trouble was definitely coming.
Maybe they’d be trapped in the city like fish in a barrel, caught between officials and bandits…
“You can’t enter the city using your true identity, especially you!” Hua Jian pointed at Yao Mei.
Yao Mei didn’t object much to Hua Jian’s suggestion.
She was already a frightened bird and didn’t trust the Su Family.
But hiding her identity to enter the city wasn’t easy.
“Using our real appearances to enter isn’t a problem; no one here knows us.
But she’s half local and too conspicuous.
If recognized, there’ll be lots of trouble.”
“Before we clear the Su Family’s suspicion, we need to hide her identity. Is that okay?”
Linglong and Yao Mei nodded together—no problem.
“This city has strict entry inspections; ordinary disguise spells can’t fool the city’s formation.”
After agreeing with Hua Jian’s plan, Linglong raised another urgent issue.
They all lacked any useful disguise spells.
How would Yao Mei get through city entry?
Linglong’s concealment spell was exclusive to the Dragon Race and couldn’t be taught to Yao Mei.
Hua Jian was worse off—she didn’t even know disguise spells.
After all, spells required Spirit Stones to buy, and Hua Jian had only been rich a few days—no spare money for that.
“Then we’ll use physical disguise. Don’t always think magic is the answer. Her face isn’t so memorable as to be either beautiful or ugly,” Hua Jian pulled out some bottles and jars from her Storage Pouch, showing off some little skills she’d learned as a child.
Singing and making up a courtesan elder sister on the side for pocket money was normal, right?
This craft was taught to her hand-in-hand by that courtesan elder sister.
Unfortunately, the elder sister disappeared later.
Hua Jian didn’t know where she went—only heard the tavern owner say she switched to a better place.
While reminiscing, Hua Jian started applying the small tools onto Yao Mei’s face.
Soon, Yao Mei’s aura changed dramatically.
Though barely wearing any makeup, Yao Mei looked like a different person.
It was shocking.
Then Hua Jian loosened Yao Mei’s hair and changed her hairstyle.
Now, unless Yao Mei’s real mother came, no one would recognize her.
And Yao Mei’s mother was already dead and gone, so no one could identify her now!
“Mission accomplished!” Hua Jian clapped, proudly looking at Linglong.
Seeing those big eyes practically shouting, “Am I amazing or what?” Linglong thought Hua Jian really enjoyed doing out-of-place things, successfully lowering others’ favorability toward her.
“Even her real parents wouldn’t recognize her now!”
The next sentence hit Yao Mei’s sore spot.
“Enough talking.” Linglong pressed Hua Jian’s shoulder, afraid Hua Jian would say more and make Yao Mei cry.
If she cried now, it would be a total disaster.
Hua Jian glanced at Yao Mei and made an ‘awoo’ sound, understanding Linglong’s meaning.
“Got it!”
“Let’s go, let’s enter the city first.”
“What’s your relationship? What brings you to Huiyue City?”
“To attend the Auction. Relationship? She and she are friends, and I’m hired as their companion,” Hua Jian pointed first at Linglong and Yao Mei, then herself.
A Ling Shi recording at the city gate gave Hua Jian a disdainful look—hired as a companion, huh? More like a maid.
“Attending the Auction? The qualification isn’t easy to get, and you’re late.”
As the guard of a big city, he wouldn’t just blame them outright. He responsibly warned them.
Huiyue City’s Auction had been publicized long ago. Most slots were booked; only a few remained.
For Linglong and her group arriving now, getting into the Auction would be difficult.
Either they had to show enough wealth or use some shady methods.
He didn’t pay much attention to Yao Mei—just a normal city guard.
How would he know the Su Family had a Miss Yao?
Yao Mei behaved naturally, showing no suspicious signs, so he didn’t worry.
After entering Huiyue City smoothly, Hua Jian tossed around their Entry Tokens and asked Linglong how to get Auction qualifications.
“I don’t have enough funds,” Linglong said bluntly.
Though a Saintess, she only carried enough Spirit Stones for two people to live comfortably—no match for those powerful factions coming to the Auction.
So they had to choose the second path.
Seize qualifications from those individual holders!
This Auction recognized only tokens, not identities.
Whoever held a token could enter with up to two companions.
Huiyue City didn’t care how the tokens were obtained.
Whether through deal or force, as long as there was a token, it was valid.
“The highest-grade rooms are all booked; we can only stay in slightly lower-grade rooms?”
“Yeah, we’re late. It took my boss a lot of effort to get these two adjacent rooms.”
Hua Jian tossed silver tokens to Linglong and Yao Mei, indicating she’d tried her best to negotiate.
Their competitors had stronger finances.
Besides, the inn wouldn’t spoil its reputation for three unremarkable newcomers, so Hua Jian settled for two connected rooms instead of three.
The front desk girl said three adjacent rooms were impossible—all were booked.
Reluctantly, Hua Jian had to share a room with Linglong.
“Yao Mei, you’ll stay alone, okay?”
“No problem, I’m not that delicate.” Miss Yao nodded firmly.
After all, she was a Ling Shi who trained in childhood, unlike fragile young ladies with no strength.
Living alone wasn’t an issue!
Plus, she didn’t like sharing a room with strangers—alone was more comforting.
With rooms arranged, Hua Jian and Linglong followed the inn servant to their rooms, closed the door, and began discussing how to get Auction entry.
“This time, we can only seize the tokens, and our targets are those held by individual holders,” Hua Jian had just pried some info from the inn maid about the distribution of Auction qualifications.
Tokens held by big factions were untouchable—guarded by Spirit Kings.
“There are many tokens released to individuals, mostly Ling Shi. Those are our targets!”
Two Spirit Kings can’t handle them, but Ling Shi? That’s easy.
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