Lin Shijin recognised Sheng Rufei at once, his eyes nearly popping out of his skull. Sheng Rufei was actually the head of the Scourge-Slayer Envoys?
If Sheng Rufei was the Scourge-Slayer Envoys’ commander, then he was utterly doomed. Even with a human-skin mask on, Sheng Rufei would catch him without fail.
He had even shown Sheng Rufei his mission token. This meant the lot of them had already exposed themselves.
It was, quite literally, the worst possible situation.
“It is indeed him,” Su Lian’s gaze paused for a moment. “There is no one else it could be.”
If they fell into Sheng Rufei’s hands, escaping would be all but impossible.
Lin Shijin had worn a veiled hat when entering the city. He heard Su Lian’s remark. Was that… a roundabout way of praising Sheng Rufei? Fuguang Sect produced talented disciples as though by the handful; Xue Ning and Su Lian themselves were formidable, and Sheng Rufei had achieved renown at a remarkably young age. Other peaks had their own prodigies as well.
He wondered who would win if Su Lian ever faced Sheng Rufei head-on.
“Lin-shidi, we cannot fall into Sheng Rufei’s hands. If we do, recovering from it will be near impossible.”
Lin Shijin of course knew that. He whispered, “Su Lian-shixiong, then what should we do? Should we run now?”
“Hmm.” Su Lian hesitated. “But we can’t all flee. He is the enemy for the moment, and we still need to uncover the other factions at work in this city. Ideally, one of us needs to get close to him as an undercover agent.”
…What?
Lin Shijin stared at him in disbelief and pointed at himself. “Su Lian-shixiong, you want me to be the undercover agent next to Sheng Rufei?”
“No.” Ye Lang’s expression darkened at once, flatly rejecting the idea. “We can’t let him go.”
If Lin Shijin ran off, how was he supposed to lure Sheng Rufei into the trap?
Su Lian gave Ye Lang a disapproving look. “It’s the best method. If Seventeen stays with us, we can’t guarantee his safety.”
“By contrast, at Sheng Rufei’s side, he won’t be discovered. Sheng Rufei would protect him.”
Lin Shijin felt a little embarrassed and murmured, “Su Lian-shixiong… my shixiong might not protect me. He might hand me over.”
“Don’t worry. Even if he doesn’t protect you, I’ll find a way to get you out.”
“For now, the three of us will split up. We’ll regroup at the city-gate inn later. If I can’t make it, I’ll contact the two of you somehow.”
Su Lian pressed a talisman into his palm. “If possible, place this on Sheng Rufei.”
Before Ye Lang could object, Su Lian slashed out a streak of sword-qi, grabbed him by the collar, and vanished with him on the spot.
The moment the sword-qi appeared, all the scourge-slayers rushed their way. Before Lin Shijin could react, the other two were already gone.
He was left alone.
Lin Shijin stared blankly. His Su Lian-shixiong had abandoned him?
Yes, he had found Sheng Rufei. But Sheng Rufei was now a scourge-slayer, and he very much did not want to be caught.
While he was still agonising over his fate, Sheng Rufei had already heard the commotion and was heading over. Lin Shijin didn’t want to be left behind, but what had happened could not be undone. He had to think about what to do next.
Su Lian’s task was what mattered most in the secret realm. Su Lian wanted him to stall Sheng Rufei.
Whether he could actually stall him was another matter entirely. And this definitely wasn’t the method he wished to use.
Thinking this, he peered at Sheng Rufei through his veiled hat. He found Sheng Rufei didn’t even spare him a single glance, and instead went straight to the scourge-slayer behind him to ask about the situation.
“My lord, two fiends escaped just now. The three of them entered together, but the other two abandoned one.”
As he spoke, Lin Shijin felt the back of his collar seized, and the next thing he knew, he was being hauled in front of Sheng Rufei.
Sheng Rufei’s gaze fell on him, lingering briefly upon his veil. The surroundings were utterly silent as all waited for his order.
“Anyone who entered after the hour of Chen,” Sheng Rufei said coolly, “take them away. They’ll be examined again at the Spirit Building Platform tonight.”
This was to prevent fiends from using illusion spells. Such spells rarely lasted long; unless one’s cultivation was high, their aura would weaken with time, increasing their chances of being exposed under the Spirit Building Platform.
Lin Shijin looked at Sheng Rufei through his veil. His heart was naturally with Sheng Rufei, but he was on a mission, and his cultivation was low. If he failed…
He really didn’t want to fail.
“My lord, and this one?”
The guard beside him asked. Sheng Rufei paused for a moment before saying, cool and faint, “Take him back to my residence.”
Upon hearing that, Lin Shijin’s heart lurched. No good. Sheng Rufei must have recognised him. He dipped his head, fingers just brushing his sword, when the guard immediately levelled a blade at him in warning.
He withdrew his hand slowly. The guard obeyed Sheng Rufei’s order, and in a blink they vanished.
As he left, Lin Shijin vaguely heard Sheng Rufei murmuring something. Then he was escorted to a carriage surrounded by scourge-slayers. Even if he sprouted wings, he wouldn’t be escaping.
“My lord said you’re to stay here. Don’t act recklessly.”
The guard who had tied his wrists earlier now untied them, still wary, but following Sheng Rufei’s instructions and not harming him.
Lin Shijin sat stiffly inside the carriage. He had been in the secret realm less than an hour and had already been captured by Sheng Rufei. He looked around the carriage. It was rather nicely furnished, matching their randomly assigned identities.
Unfortunately, Sheng Rufei’s identity happened to be the scourge-slayer commander.
He had clung to a shred of hope that Sheng Rufei might not recognise him. That was until a guard entered, lit the incense burner, and the familiar scent of wintersweet filled the carriage. Pastries and tea were brought in.
All the pastries were ones he usually liked.
There was no fooling himself anymore. Sheng Rufei had absolutely recognised him.
Uneasily, he fidgeted. In his palm was still the talisman Su Lian had given him. It was a high-grade tracking talisman, meant to locate Sheng Rufei for the next stage of the mission.
After a while, he tried poking the carriage wall with his sword. Sure enough, it struck a barrier. They really were worried he’d escape and had enclosed him in a formation.
Sheng Rufei had always been adept at barrier-craft. Not only barriers, anything to do with restraint and confinement he learned with unnerving ease, even crafting small artefacts on a whim. No wonder he had bound him so neatly with the soul-bond earlier.
He tried poking again. The moment his blade touched the barrier, it rebounded with a sharp bang. The barrier flickered briefly, then vanished again into the wooden wall.
Someone outside murmured, “My lord.” The beaded curtain was lifted by a long, pale hand. The instant Lin Shijin heard Sheng Rufei’s voice, he sheathed his sword and shrank back into a corner.
Through the veil, he saw Sheng Rufei’s face. Sheng Rufei gave a quiet order to someone outside, and Lin Shijin felt this version of him was somewhat unfamiliar.
Sheng Rufei seemed born for this role. Commanding presence, strong leadership, always the most eye-catching person in any crowd. He was born to be revered, and frighteningly suited to authority.
The beaded curtain fell shut again. Only the two of them remained. Sheng Rufei’s gaze lingered on him before he asked, “Why are you wearing a veil?”
As if he didn’t know. Before entering the realm, Sheng Rufei had specifically told him to hide his tail. He must have already guessed he wouldn’t be able to transform properly.
Lin Shijin pretended not to hear. His intent was to play dead; he still couldn’t retract his ears and tail, and he certainly didn’t want Sheng Rufei to see him like this. It was mortifying.
He stayed silent. Sheng Rufei asked again, “Are you angry?”
Lin Shijin looked down at his fingers, sneaking small glances at him. He couldn’t see Sheng Rufei’s expression from this angle, but he could feel the weight of his gaze. He stared instead at the crescent-moon sword pattern embroidered on Sheng Rufei’s sleeve.
Why would he be angry? he wanted to ask. But remembering he was acting mute, he forced himself to hold back.
“Outside the city, my identity was that of the scourge-slayer. People were watching me. I couldn’t show you any special attention.”
Sheng Rufei paused. “We’re going somewhere safe now. There’s no need to worry.”
Lin Shijin remained quiet. He didn’t know where Sheng Rufei was taking him. He didn’t reply, and Sheng Rufei, being the reliable blockhead, was already running out of things to say.
After a moment of silent staring, Sheng Rufei pushed the plate of pastries towards him.
The pastries were beautifully made, bearing various patterns. When he looked properly, he saw they were all shaped like rabbits. A whole plateful of rabbits.
Lin Shijin blinked at the little rabbit pastries. He was convinced Sheng Rufei did it on purpose. He hadn’t been angry before… but now he was. He shoved the pastries back stiffly.
“You don’t like these?” Sheng Rufei asked.
Lin Shijin couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I don’t like rabbits,” he said, voice soft and sulky.
Sheng Rufei fell briefly silent. “We can’t change them now. We’ll change them once we’re back.”
Since he had already spoken, Lin Shijin decided he might as well ask, “Where are you taking me?”
Sheng Rufei had said earlier that he would take him somewhere safe. Lin Shijin looked at him again. “Su Lian-shixiong and I still have a mission. Are you going to catch me and use me to lure Su Lian-shixiong and the others, to catch them all at once?”
Sheng Rufei knew Su Lian and the others had escaped; catching them wouldn’t be easy. He paused, then said, “I’m not capturing you. You can’t transform in the city. It’s too dangerous. Staying with me is far safer.”
He knew he couldn’t transform!
Lin Shijin’s cheeks warmed under the veil, his ears twitching faintly. He ignored the latter half entirely.
“You… you knew I couldn’t take human form. Why didn’t you tell me before we entered the secret realm?”
His voice was low, tinged with grievance.
If he had known, he would’ve hidden somewhere remote until he could retract his ears and tail. He wouldn’t have embarrassed himself in front of Su Lian and Ye Lang like this.
Sheng Rufei’s eyes dropped to the veil. His voice remained cool. “You truly can’t transform?”
What was that supposed to mean? Why keep confirming it?
If anything, Lin Shijin suspected Sheng Rufei was secretly pleased he couldn’t transform. His tone, though cold, was lifted ever so slightly compared to normal.
Lin Shijin answered absentmindedly with a soft “Mm,” glanced up at him, and asked:
“You said you wouldn’t capture me… you really meant it?”
Sheng Rufei replied softly. Lin Shijin thought he must have misheard, so he listened again. When the confirmation came, a surge of joy swelled in his chest. After all, his own shixiong was still the best.
“You kept your word… Since you said you wouldn’t capture me, could you let me go back later? I don’t want to fail my mission.”
As he spoke, the youth stepped closer, his white hair glinting in the light. Lin Shijin caught sight of the Ghost King mask pattern embroidered on Sheng Rufei’s shoulder.
Then he felt his veil being touched. Sheng Rufei’s fingertips rested lightly on it, and his voice dropped a few decibels, lower and softer than usual.
“Letting you go back isn’t impossible. But first… I need to see what you look like now. Whether you can be seen by anyone without causing a stir.”
