Xiao Er turned around, looking meaningfully at the master and servant.
Qing’er tugged at Su Mu’s hem, but Su Mu remained composed, a hint of excitement even flickering in her azure eyes.
Qing’er’s legs went weak with fear as she hid behind Su Mu, who from appearance was nothing but a delicate-looking, bookish young man with red lips and white teeth, unable to even truss a chicken.
On the contrary, she showed curiosity. No doubt anyone could see she was far from ordinary—able to spend a fortune, yet remain so calm after hearing such eerie tales.
With this identity going to the martial arts tournament, it would naturally be best to move around as conveniently as possible before taking the stage. But Su Mu never intended to deliberately conceal it; after all, she didn’t plan to keep hiding under this identity forever.
And until then, Su Mu could enjoy being regarded as a transcendent master. The thought of the sect leaders staying on the same floor as her growing suspicious and even imagining her as a legendary ancient demon amused her greatly.
Xiao Er’s dark eyes glinted as he watched the master and servant enter the guest room. After a moment, he suddenly grinned.
“Interesting.”
And once inside, Su Mu also wore a sinister smile, which frightened Qing’er again.
Seeing Qing’er’s fear only heightened Su Mu’s amusement.
“Qing’er, guess what we’re going out to do tonight?”
Qing’er felt dizzy, leaning against the bedpost.
“Go to Suitable Spring Tower for dinner?”
“I’m talking about after curfew.”
Qing’er swallowed hard. She could probably already see the answer on her chief’s face, but she didn’t dare guess.
Su Mu sighed softly and was about to turn around, but Qing’er quickly grabbed her sleeve.
“Forget it. Seeing how scared you are, I’ll go alone.”
Sure enough, little Qing’er was already teary-eyed. She was indeed afraid of ghosts, but if Su Mu wasn’t by her side, she’d feel even less secure alone in the room.
“Don’t leave me here alone, Chief…”
Hearing this, Su Mu chuckled inwardly, then turned around and gently rubbed Qing’er’s head.
It had to be said, this little trick of coaxing and deceiving that she learned from Tang Nai was particularly effective for teasing little girls, but it was completely unnecessary for controlling Qing’er.
To be honest, this little girl was a bit too dependent on her, but Su Mu preferred it that way. If she showed any sign of turning back into a bad woman, Su Mu would correct her without hesitation.
Forget it. She’d just stay here peacefully for a few days.
Su Mu lay down on the bed, releasing the fatigue from her body.
The aftereffects of Tang Nai’s mischief hadn’t fully dissipated; she wanted to get some sleep first.
—
“Brother Xiaobei, is this really okay?”
Lu Shan watched Ye Xiaobei, who was trying to disguise himself as an ordinary swordsman with an effect no different from covering his ears while stealing a bell, and felt embarrassed.
“It’s fine. I asked a lot of people today, and they all said they didn’t recognize me.”
Ye Xiaobei raised his nose proudly, confidently stroking the standard longsword at his waist—he was quite confident in his disguise.
It never occurred to him that everyone said they didn’t recognize him just to play along.
Lu Shan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, so she had to let Ye Xiaobei drag her toward the dog hole behind the mansion.
Although he had always known that place could be used to enter and exit, this was the first time Ye Xiaobei planned to sneak out of Heavenly Origin Mansion, so he couldn’t help feeling excited.
After carefully avoiding the night patrol disciples along the way, Ye Xiaobei looked around, confirmed no one was there, then crawled into the dog hole while turning back to wave at Lu Shan.
“Hurry up, Shan.”
Lu Shan could have easily jumped over the wall, but seeing Ye Xiaobei so excited, she couldn’t help but smile and followed him, bending down to crawl into the waist-high hole.
But just as Ye Xiaobei’s head was about to emerge from the hole, a wooden stick lightly tapped him on the forehead. He quickly covered his head and shrank back.
Lu Shan sensed something amiss in an instant, her expression turning serious. She leaped to jump out, but a stream of qi as gentle as a spring breeze blocked her.
But when Lu Shan tried to muster her internal energy to resist, she realized the qi was powerful and irresistible, even slightly overpowering her. Helpless, she had to be pressed back down.
There was an expert outside the wall.
But this was within Lu Shan’s expectations. How could a passage used to sneak in and out of Heavenly Origin Mansion be unguarded? The conditions for entry and exit were even stricter than the main gate.
In the brief exchange, Lu Shan already felt that the person outside had deeper internal energy than her. Seeing Ye Xiaobei dizzy from the knock, she knew it was impossible to break through by ordinary means.
The martial arts of Heavenly Origin Mansion were all upright and expansive, difficult to display in such a cramped space. The only thing that could work was the unique martial arts of Mixian Mountain.
Pursing her lips, Lu Shan still grabbed Ye Xiaobei’s wrist.
“Brother Xiaobei, close your eyes.”
Ye Xiaobei was startled, but trusting Lu Shan, he hastily closed his eyes. In the next moment, he felt a dizzying spin, as if he had been flattened and pressed against the ground, quickly sliding some distance.
And when he opened his eyes again, he was already outside the wall.
The old man who kept the gate was sitting leisurely by the hole, marveling at Lu Shan.
“What a fine Mixian Mountain! This technique is truly impossible to guard against. Even this old man was fooled by you. But regardless, you’ve passed the test. Go down the mountain.”
Lu Shan respectfully cupped her hands toward the old man, while Ye Xiaobei was still stunned.
“But Miss Lu, you must ensure the young master’s safety. Otherwise, this old man will have trouble answering to the mansion lord.”
Hearing this, Lu Shan nodded, then quickly led Ye Xiaobei down the mountain.
Ye Xiaobei scratched his head, not knowing what to say.
He always felt like an accessory. Without Lu Shan, he probably couldn’t have gotten out of Heavenly Origin Mansion on his own.
Lu Shan walked lightly ahead, each step barely touching the ground and covering several meters, but she had to slow down to accommodate Ye Xiaobei. Seeing this, Ye Xiaobei quickly started running.
“Don’t worry, Shan. Though I’m no good at martial arts, I’m pretty good at traveling.”
Because Ye Xiaobei had practiced swordsmanship for years without mastering the technique, and his internal energy never improved, he often felt frustrated in the mansion.
And when he was troubled and at a loss, he would often run around the entire Heavenly Origin Mansion like a fool. Although this seemed incredibly stupid to the disciples who were used to using light-body techniques, over time, Ye Xiaobei had built up considerable stamina.
Although the sword qi he released could only leave a shallow white mark on stones, he was actually quite strong, and when running, he could go for a long stretch without even panting.
The distance from the mountain to the town at the foot was far, but to him, it was just a warm-up exercise.
But this kind of endurance, which even ordinary people could achieve through hard training, wasn’t considered martial arts, so even Ye Xiaobei himself didn’t take it seriously.
Seeing Ye Xiaobei full of energy, Lu Shan smiled and also leaped forward with light-body technique, covering ground in a few steps and getting ahead of Ye Xiaobei.
“Since Xiaobei says so, I’ll be straightforward.”
Ye Xiaobei stared blankly at Lu Shan’s ethereal, smoke-like figure, a surge of envy rising in his heart, but he verbally agreed while quickening his pace to catch up.
Lu Shan’s breath remained calm, and her heart rate hadn’t even increased.
About half an hour later, two figures arrived at the entrance of Jingyuan Town, one after the other.
Ye Xiaobei looked a bit tired, sweat seeping from his forehead.
“I can’t let Shan always see me looking pathetic.”
“Not bad, Brother Xiaobei.”
Looking at Lu Shan with a smile on her lips, Ye Xiaobei scratched his head helplessly.
“Compared to you, I’m far behind.”
The two walked side by side again, making their way to the street by moonlight.
In the town, people generally didn’t go out at night. Every household had their doors tightly shut, as if to guard against thieves, but this also made it difficult for them to find lodging.
“How about we rough it for the night in the temple north of town?”
Lu Shan nodded and turned her head, but in a fleeting glance, she caught a few figures in her peripheral vision.
The tall man at the front was dressed slightly differently from the Han people, looking like someone from the Eastern Ocean.
Why would there be people from the Eastern Ocean out on such a night? Could they be bandits?