On this day, Lin Muxue’s eyes reflected countless traces as she did not pause in her search for Su Qianqian, weaving her way through the streets, flitting past houses and alleys, until she finally stopped at the cultivator market closest to the Formation outside the Imperial Palace…
Her Divine Sense quietly crossed the vast distance and tried to seep into the Formation, withdrawing each time before being detected.
Over and over, she repeated this process; one day, she would fully grasp this Supreme Array, but it was destined to be a long and arduous process…
Although patience was the one thing Lin Muxue never lacked, each night that passed meant Su Qianqian’s situation grew more uncertain—perhaps even…
Lin Muxue forced herself to cut off that line of thought. Just the mere possibility made it difficult for her to steady her breath!
With each attempt to infiltrate the Supreme Array, controlling her Divine Sense to avoid detection consumed tremendous energy.
Even Lin Muxue’s spirit gradually became fatigued, so she pretended to be just another ordinary cultivator, casually purchasing some Cultivation Resources before blending into the crowd and leaving…
Lin Muxue strolled along the now-familiar road, her face dark and somber.
Ever since Su Qianqian had been taken, her face had worn that same expression…
Everything she saw on the street now made her think of her Junior Disciple…
“Osmanthus Cake… Qianqian really liked to eat it…”
“It’s getting dark… I wonder how Qianqian is doing right now…”
“What a loving family, Qianqian must miss her family a lot…”
“Qianqian, Qianqian, Qianqian…”
Lin Muxue continued walking absentmindedly, Su Qianqian’s image growing ever clearer in her mind…
Amid the bustle of the Night Market, two mischievous children, not watching where they were going, nearly collided with the distracted Lin Muxue.
Yet no matter how lost in thought she was, Lin Muxue was never so unguarded as to let two children bump into her.
She shifted slightly to the side, avoiding the two little girls…
“She’s about as tall as Qianqian…” Lin Muxue gazed dazedly at the child who had almost run into her.
“I’m sorry, please, please don’t be mad!” The taller of the two girls, seeing they’d almost run into someone, quickly tried to apologize.
But Lin Muxue’s cold stare gave the girl a fright, and she spoke fearfully.
Lin Muxue realized she’d scared the children, waved her hand to show it was fine, and kept walking.
Still, faced with a lively girl about the same height as Su Qianqian, Lin Muxue couldn’t help but pay them a bit more attention.
That extra moment of observation suddenly sent a shock through her spirit!
“Elder sister, look, there’s another street performer over there! Let’s go watch!”
“Wait a bit, there are too many people. Let’s wait for Father and Mother to catch up. Sigh… I kind of miss that pretty elder sister we played with last time, but we haven’t seen her in so long. Mother said she’s actually an adult, just a little short, but she’s about as tall as me, and I had such fun playing with her. She said she has a younger sister too… Oh no, I forgot to ask her name!”
“The three sisters she was with were also really pretty. Especially two of them—they looked exactly the same, and their hair was blue! That’s so strange, I’ve never seen anyone with blue hair before.”
Lin Muxue, having paid more attention to the two little girls for a short while, overheard this conversation.
The children’s casual chatter stirred up ripples in her memory—
“Blue hair… I remember that Luo Qianqiu’s empress also had blue hair… Then there was a grown girl, with a younger sister, as short as that child—!”
Lin Muxue immediately turned around, wanting to question the two girls, but reason held her back.
In her current state, she’d surely scare them to tears.
Silently reciting the Calming Mantra in her heart, Lin Muxue kept her attention tightly focused on the two girls.
Once her mind was calm, Lin Muxue contemplated for a moment.
When no one was watching, her face shifted, finally taking on her Master’s appearance.
In Luo Wuhen’s territory, it was better to be cautious.
She slowly approached the two girls.
They were struggling to push their way into the crowd to watch the acrobats, but whether because today’s show was especially popular or not, after a long time they still couldn’t get in and, disappointed, tried to peek through the gaps.
“Hello, little ones. I’d like to ask you something…”
“Hmm?” The sisters turned their heads in confusion, and the first thing they saw was the familiar clothing—it seemed to be the person they’d almost run into earlier?!
A trace of fear rose in their hearts, but looking up, they saw a pretty elder sister, so different from the stern one before.
“Elder sister, what is it? Do you want to ask which pastry shop is best, or where the most fun place is? We know all about those!” In front of the pretty elder sister, their guard dropped by more than half.
“I overheard you just now, talking about an elder sister with blue hair, and a beautiful elder sister about your height. Can you tell me about them? They might be the friends I’ve been searching for.”
“Sure! That day, I brought my younger sister out and we saw several pretty elder sisters together. One of them was about as tall as me, so I wanted to be her friend. Later I learned she was already a grown-up, just short! That short elder sister was really gentle, and I got along with her so well!”
“Then, do you remember any distinguishing features of the short elder sister?”
“Features?”
“Like… was there anything special you noticed about her?”
“Um… She was very fair-skinned, really pretty!”
“And? What about the shape of her face? Her eyebrows? Her nose…”
“Um, this, um…” The little girl stammered, unable to describe such details.
“I don’t remember those very well… But I do remember her eyes—they were golden, and so beautiful!”
“Golden eyes… such height… has a younger sister… Is it Qianqian!!”
Lin Muxue couldn’t be completely certain, but she was at least eighty percent sure it was Su Qianqian!
So she really is here…?!
Just as Lin Muxue was growing excited over this sudden clue, she realized her odd behavior while talking to the girls had drawn the attention of their parents, who hurried over.
“Excuse me, you are…?” the girls’ father asked.
“Hello, I happened to overhear your daughters describing someone who sounds like the friend I’ve been looking for, so I wanted to ask in detail…”
“I see… When our children go out, we’re always with them. Perhaps we remember even more clearly.”
Lin Muxue then described Su Qianqian’s features, but the parents could not recall all the details of her appearance.
Still, they seemed to remember someone fitting the description.
“Ah, that girl! I remember her quite well, because she looked only a bit older than our own children, but her hair was already tied up in married woman’s curls—of course, we found out later that was a misunderstanding, she’s just short! Miss, are you listening?”
Upon hearing that Su Qianqian had already put her hair up in those bridal curls, Lin Muxue’s mind went blank.
She’d already expected this would likely happen, but still… it hurt so much! It felt like something was gripping her heart—
Already mentally exhausted, the sudden shock sent Lin Muxue’s aura out of control for a moment, but she quickly regained herself and managed to suppress it.
Then she looked toward the Imperial Palace. Fortunately, she had controlled herself in time—hopefully she hadn’t exposed anything. She was not yet prepared. She had to be patient…
“But… wait for me, Qianqian. Master is here. I won’t make you wait much longer…”
“Miss, Miss?” Coming back to herself, she saw the two parents calling to her with concern.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought.”
Lin Muxue slowly crouched down, forcing a smile as she looked at the little girl.
“What’s your name?”
“Um… Father and Mother both call me Xiao Yuanxiao. You can call me that too.”
“Well then, Xiao Yuanxiao, if you see that elder sister again, please tell her: There’s an elder sister who likes playing the flute, and she’s looking for you.”
“Oh, okay…” Xiao Yuanxiao nodded, half-understanding.
Lin Muxue patted her head, then left with a smile—her hand clenched tight…
And just when Lin Muxue’s aura had leaked out…
In the middle of handling official business, Luo Wuhen suddenly looked up. She had sensed that brief surge of aura, but could not locate its source.
“Lin Muxue…?” Luo Wuhen murmured, frowning…