Su Lingling and the other disciples were all diligently learning various “life skills” from Elder Qin, but Su Qianqian found herself uninterested—after all, she’d already mastered these things in her previous life.
But she couldn’t just leave the group, nor could she act too careless; if Elder Qin caught her slacking, it would only make things difficult.
Meanwhile, Ying and Shun, who had been secretly following the group of disciples, actually found everything quite novel—after all, they had truly suffered through these hardships before…
“So this is what it’s like to be a disciple of a great sect? Not only do they provide cultivation techniques and resources, but they even teach these sorts of things. The two of us had to learn the hard way after suffering so many setbacks. Little Sis, this isn’t fair at all!”
“Big Sis, among these disciples, some clearly come from poor backgrounds. They’re not necessarily any better off than we were. I’d say… our luck was just too rotten until we met the Prime Minister and the Emperor. That was when our fortunes finally turned around.”
“So we’re back to the original problem—caught between loyalty and gratitude. If we capture the Prime Minister, it’s betraying our lifesaving benefactor; if we don’t, it’s turning our backs on our ruler. What a bitter dilemma, caught between a rock and a hard place.”
Shun still cared about this issue, sighing once more.
“……”
It was truly an impossible question. But now that their lives were in Luo Wuhen’s hands, all they could do was choose “loyalty to the Emperor”.
Since that topic had ended in silence, Ying and Shun could only continue their quiet surveillance of the Su sisters, Su Qianqian and Su Lingling.
Before long, Shun watched the energetic Su Lingling and couldn’t help but complain to her sister:
“I have a feeling the Prime Minister is probably that short one. I just can’t picture the Prime Minister being this lively.”
“Mm.” Ying replied to her sister, all while keeping her eyes on the two girls. She was always much more composed than Shun.
The two quietly followed the Sword Sect disciples’ group from morning all the way until sunset.
Though everyone they passed was a cultivator who could easily see in the dark, the city’s many shops still lit their lanterns, making the city feel even more lively and bustling by night.
Elder Qin’s lecture had ended for the day. She instructed the disciples to keep their Disciple Tokens on them for positioning, and told them to gather at the city gate three hours later.
This was the favorite part for the disciples—they could finally use the spirit stones they’d saved up to buy things not provided by the sect.
Watching the disciples scatter in all directions, Elder Qin smiled and tugged at her beard.
He cared about order, but that didn’t mean he wanted his disciples to think only of cultivation; reasonable desires could be satisfied.
If cultivation led only to a memory of endless practice and tedious experience, then it would be better not to pursue immortality in the first place—this was a truth Elder Qin had come to realize only after centuries.
He glanced at the Luopan Compass in his hand, checking the disciples’ locations. He wasn’t worried about them facing danger here.
After years of careful management, Dingshan City was safe, and as it was firmly under the Sword Sect’s control, no one would dare offend its disciples.
What he did worry about was whether the disciples would abuse their authority.
Still, perhaps it was a good thing—this batch of disciples was… “pure” enough that, with the right guidance, there was little chance of them bullying others.
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it… It means the world is becoming more peaceful. In the old days, so many disciples bore deep grudges and suffering—hard work, yes, but that’s not always a good thing…”
With this thought, Elder Qin felt a sense of comfort and made his way early to the meeting point to await the disciples’ return to the sect.
Back to Shun and Ying’s perspective—they’d never imagined things would go so smoothly, that they’d even have free time to move around! Wasn’t this the perfect chance for them?!
At this moment, they blended into the crowd. Ahead of them were three young girls.
“Come on, follow me, follow me! There’s a shop up ahead that’s really delicious, Su Lingling Senior Sister, you’ll love it!” Ming Xi cheerfully led her beloved senior ahead.
Behind her, Su Lingling, eyes shining, dragged Su Qianqian along.
Although her Master’s cooking was decent and she sometimes enjoyed her parents’ food, those were all just home-cooked meals—she hadn’t had a real feast in ages!
Su Qianqian, pulled along by her sister, helplessly went with the flow.
She wasn’t particularly eager for a feast, but she didn’t mind accompanying Lingling.
At least, until… Su Qianqian’s eyes landed on several booklets displayed outside a certain shop…
“This is! The illustrated albums and novels I read at home are here too? And there are so many new updates?!”
As they walked, Su Lingling suddenly felt her sister’s grip tighten dramatically.
She turned to see Su Qianqian staring, completely entranced, at a shop overflowing with books.
No matter how she tugged, she couldn’t get her to move.
Su Lingling remembered how her sister always loved these things at home…
“How about this: Why don’t you buy a few books before we go?” Su Lingling suggested tentatively.
Su Qianqian nodded enthusiastically and ran off without another glance back.
At first, she’d only planned to buy the series she was following.
But after glancing up, she was drawn to even more illustrated albums and novels. The shop was surprisingly large, and business was brisk…
“Miss, welcome to Book Immortal Study. Would you like me to recommend some popular titles?”
“Yes! Please do!”
Su Qianqian’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at the dazzling array of novels—just like Su Lingling when she saw good food!
Seeing her sister like this, Su Lingling hesitated and then whispered to her through a voice transmission:
“How about you stay here and pick what you like? I’ll bring back your favorite food later?”
“Sure, sure, thank you Lingling! Love you~”
Seeing Su Qianqian so truly delighted, Su Lingling didn’t disturb her further.
She pulled Ming Xi along to the highly recommended restaurant, leaving her sister to “feast on books” for now. Hmph!
Su Qianqian quickly became engrossed, flipping through books at a rapid pace.
She only read the beginnings, picking out those that interested her—she’d have plenty of entertainment when she returned to the sect.
So absorbed was she that she failed to notice someone nearby, also pretending to read.
This person circled around Su Qianqian with calculated regularity, and only when the last Formation Eye was set in place…
“Soul Confusion Array is complete. It should last about ten minutes—time to bring the Prime Minister ‘home’…”
At that moment, Su Qianqian sensed something was off—why had it suddenly gone so quiet?
Within that silence, footsteps approached behind her. Su Qianqian spun around, alarmed!
She saw an ordinary-looking woman behind her. Normally, she’d have thought this person was just a passerby, but right now—something was definitely wrong!
“What do you want? Do you know who I am? Do you want the Sword Sect to hunt you down?”
Su Qianqian drew her Magic Sword from her Storage Pouch, cautiously eyeing the newcomer.
She was no match for this woman’s cultivation, so she could only hope her identity would be intimidating enough.
The woman did not answer, only uttered two words: “Soul Following Wind, Moment Passing Without Trace.”
At that phrase, Su Qianqian’s thoughts exploded—this was the secret code she—or rather, “he”—had set up!
“Are you Shun or Ying?”
It was clear she’d been deliberately trapped, and they obviously knew her true identity now.
Hiding it was meaningless, so Su Qianqian simply asked directly.
Ying dropped her disguise. With a gentle swipe across her face, she revealed two horns, blue hair, and an expressionless visage.
“Did Luo Wuhen send you to capture me?”
“Yes. It seems you still retain your memories. Then, please come with me. I’d rather not use force.”
Of course, Su Qianqian could not agree to go quietly. Instead, she asked the question that mattered most: “How did you manage to track me down?”
“It seems there are some things you don’t know…”
“About a year ago, many powerful individuals connected to you sensed your location. The Emperor was among them.”
“But just as they were about to succeed, your whereabouts were hidden—likely the work of your current Master, Lin Muxue. Even so, the Emperor deduced from various clues that you must be one of Lin Muxue’s two disciples—the Sword Sect Leader isn’t great at covering her tracks.”
“So Lin Muxue has always known my identity…?” Su Qianqian realized she was out of options, and might as well ask everything she wanted to know.
“Yes. I don’t know if you ever tried hiding the fact that you possess Su Ling’s memories from her, but allow me to point out—your concealment skills have greatly declined. Even someone as unskilled in such matters as Lin Muxue should have noticed long ago.”
“I thought so. With Lin Muxue’s personality, there’s no way she’d do those things to her disciple…”
Su Qianqian was both surprised and yet not at all—she wasn’t stupid. Lin Muxue’s actions had already spoken volumes; she could hardly have failed to notice.
Still, until the very last moment, she’d hoped to live simply as Su Qianqian, as Lin Muxue’s disciple…
“So, please come with me, Prime Minister. The Emperor misses you dearly.” Ying bowed slightly and respectfully.
“You know that’s impossible. Waiting helplessly for death isn’t my style.”
Before Su Qianqian finished her words, she dashed toward the edge of the array!
Ying didn’t stop her, because—
“Heh, got you, Prime Minister! Did you ever think there’d come a day when I’d have you in hand like this? Ha!”
Shun laughed gleefully, grabbing Su Qianqian by the collar like a chick.
Because Su Lingling and Su Qianqian had separated, Shun had gone after Su Lingling—but the moment Su Qianqian revealed her identity, she rushed over!
As she gloated, Shun’s hands didn’t slow down. She immediately tied Su Qianqian up with the Restriction Rope, just in case.
“Let me borrow a strand of your hair~”
Shun plucked a hair from Su Qianqian’s head. Meanwhile, Ying took out a Puppet from her storage.
The Puppet scanned Su Qianqian, then attached the hair.
After a moment’s wriggling, it transformed into Su Qianqian’s exact likeness—even its aura was convincing.
This “Su Qianqian” then pretended to read, just as before.
Finally, Shun took off Su Qianqian’s Storage Ring and placed it on the Puppet.
“This way, the Disciple Token’s identity verification shouldn’t be a problem.”
In the last few minutes, Shun and Ying used various Secret Methods and Treasures right under Su Qianqian’s nose to clean up the scene.
Su Qianqian tried to leave clues, but was intercepted at every attempt.
Shun weighed the “clue” in her hand, and smirked at Su Qianqian: “Always check for clues left by the ‘victim’—that’s what you taught us. You really did teach us well.”
Su Qianqian fell silent. With her current cultivation, there was no way she could overcome her two “disciples”…
No, perhaps not entirely hopeless. Lin Muxue had implanted a Sword Aura in both her and Lingling’s bodies—it could be activated voluntarily, or triggered in mortal danger.
But doing so would likely kill Shun and Ying, and here in a bustling city, she might also harm innocent bystanders…
With thirty seconds left before the Soul Confusion Array wore off, Ying produced a small pouch and stored Su Qianqian inside, apologizing softly: “Sorry, Prime Minister, but you’ll have to put up with some discomfort for now.”
Ten short minutes passed, and the Soul Confusion Array dissipated.
During those ten minutes, everything inside looked normal to those outside, and any low- to mid-level cultivators approaching the area instinctively avoided it.
Once the array ended, outsiders only saw “Su Qianqian” still reading, while the plain-faced woman and another person who’d come looking for her quietly left together…
Half an hour later, Su Lingling and Ming Xi returned with loads of delicious food, greeting the reading “Su Qianqian”…
Meanwhile, far away, Shun and Ying sent their triumphant message to Luo Wuhen:
“Your Majesty, the mission is complete. Su Qianqian’s identity confirmed. She has been successfully retrieved.”
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