Chapter 103
"Senior, Hu Ruoyan is ordering me back to the Hu residence."
The Shadow Spirit looked at Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao with an expression so eager to please it was almost painful to watch.
A trace of approval flickered through Lou Yuqing's eyes.
"Go. We'll be watching you. If you try anything behind our backs..." She let out a cold sneer and left the threat unfinished.
The Shadow Spirit shuddered.
"This humble one is called Ying Ling," he blurted out, introducing himself as though presenting a formal declaration of loyalty. "Seniors spared my life out of mercy. I'm deeply grateful. I swear I'll be a good informant and keep sending messages back to you."
Lou Yuqing waved a hand dismissively.
Seeing that neither of them had anything more to say, Ying Ling glanced cautiously at Ling Yunxiao.
Only after receiving permission did he finally relax.
He immediately transformed into a streak of escaping light and shot into the distance.
He had barely flown a short distance before suddenly stopping.
As though remembering something important, he turned back and asked carefully, "Seniors... have either of you seen my companion?"
Lou Yuqing blinked in surprise.
This Ying Ling looked terrified of death at every moment, yet he still remembered to ask about his companion's fate.
Maybe she'd judged him too harshly.
Not bad.
Loyal and righteous.
With unusual kindness, she pointed toward a patch of scorched ground.
"The body's over there. You can go pay your respects."
Ying Ling followed her finger and immediately spotted the blackened corpse lying in the distance.
His expression changed dramatically.
For a moment, he stood frozen in place.
Just as Lou Yuqing thought he was about to burst into tears, Ying Ling let out a long breath of relief.
"Good." His entire posture visibly relaxed. "Now that I know you're dead, I can finally stop worrying."
Lou Yuqing: "?"
Ling Yunxiao: "?"
Completely oblivious to their expressions, Ying Ling folded his arms and grinned smugly.
"We made a bet before about who'd live longer. I told him I'd outlive him, but he never believed me."
He lifted his chin proudly. "Well? Now he has no choice but to believe it."
Silence.
Lou Yuqing quietly withdrew her earlier assessment.
Loyal and righteous?
Not even remotely.
At that moment, Ying Ling suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
The sensation was so sharp it felt like someone had stepped directly on a rabbit's tail.
His smile vanished instantly.
Without another word, he turned and fled, covering dozens of feet in a single breath before disappearing from sight altogether.
Lou Yuqing looked after the departing figure, doubt written plainly across her face.
"Can that idiot really be trusted to accomplish anything?" she asked. "What if we end up losing more than we gain?"
A short while earlier, she had wanted to kill the Shadow Spirit on the spot.
The moment Ling Yunxiao mentioned infiltrating the Hu family, the Shadow Spirit had immediately volunteered his name, pledged his loyalty, and enthusiastically offered himself as their inside man.
The speed of his surrender had been almost impressive.
Unfortunately, knowing his name did little to improve confidence in his abilities.
Back then, Ling Yunxiao had stopped Lou Yuqing before she could finish him off.
"Hu Ruoyan is too cautious," he had said. "Breaking in directly will be difficult. We can use Ying Ling to infiltrate the Hu family."
Lou Yuqing had found the reasoning sound enough and agreed.
As a result, in addition to the restrictions Hu Ruoyan had planted inside him, Ying Ling now carried restrictions from both Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao as well.
Three masters. One Shadow Spirit.
The advantage was overwhelming.
Ying Ling had switched sides without the slightest hesitation.
To be fair, he hated Hu Ruoyan far more than he feared the two of them. Betraying her came naturally. Even without instructions, he looked eager to sabotage her whenever possible.
The problem was-enthusiasm and intelligence were two entirely different things.
Recalling Ying Ling's earlier performance, Ling Yunxiao silently lowered his original estimate. The eighty-percent success rate he had calculated vanished from his mind.
"Fifty percent at best," he said with a sigh.
Lou Yuqing rubbed her forehead.
"At this point, I'll happily take fifty percent."
Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, Ling Yunxiao hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Actually... I prepared a backup plan."
Lou Yuqing immediately perked up.
"You have a backup plan?"
She stared at him.
"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I hid a shadow clone inside Ying Ling's shadow." Ling Yunxiao paused briefly. "Once he enters the Hu family, I can descend through the clone and appear there at any time."
For some reason, he felt oddly guilty while saying it.
Lou Yuqing immediately understood.
"So you can get in." Her gaze narrowed. "And I can't?"
Ling Yunxiao instantly fell silent.
A rare trace of unease appeared on his face.
He wasn't even sure why he felt nervous. The reaction was completely instinctive.
To his surprise, Lou Yuqing showed no sign of annoyance.
After a brief moment of consideration, she casually flipped her wrist and tossed the bead in her hand.
"You have your clever schemes," she said lightly, "and I have my own methods."
Ling Yunxiao paused, then quietly let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
Right.
Why was he worried?
She possessed a Barrier-Breaking Bead. The Hu family's defensive formation wouldn't be able to stop her.
Even if Hu Ruoyan remained vigilant, she wasn't close enough to the family head to convince him to strengthen the manor's defenses overnight.
"However..."
Lou Yuqing's tone suddenly shifted.
Ling Yunxiao's heart jumped.
Then he heard the concern hidden beneath her words.
"You're using a shadow clone to descend directly into enemy territory." She frowned. "Isn't that basically walking alone into a wolf's den? What if something goes wrong?"
Looking at the worry on her face, Ling Yunxiao instinctively turned his head away.
A strange desire to appear reliable surfaced out of nowhere.
He cleared his throat.
"It'll be fine."
After a brief pause, he added with deliberate confidence, "I can handle it."
Lou Yuqing accepted the answer immediately.
Ling Yunxiao wasn't the sort of person who made empty claims.
With their plans settled, the two of them set off for Baishi City.
Their figures shot through the sky like arrows released from a bow, disappearing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Their voices gradually faded into the wind.
"There are only three people left in this small world. We still don't know who the third one is."
"Whoever it is, their chances of winning are slim. If we run into them, we'll eliminate them first."
At that very moment, inside the Hu family estate, Qi Qingxiong-currently disguised as a member of one of the branch families-suddenly sneezed.
The man beside him, who bore a slight resemblance to him, immediately looked over in concern.
"Little brother, what's wrong? Is your illness acting up again?"
As he spoke, he reached for a bottle of pills.
Qi Qingxiong quickly stopped him.
"Big Brother, I'm fine. Please continue."
The identity he had assumed happened to belong to a sickly young man. Ironically, that flaw had become his greatest protection.
Combined with Qi Qingxiong's less-than-convincing acting skills, it provided a convenient explanation for any strange behavior and allowed him to avoid suspicion all this time.
Seeing that his younger brother looked fine and knowing how stubborn he usually was, the man eventually gave up trying to force the medicine on him.
Instead, he continued the conversation.
"This year's ancestral worship ceremony is grander than ever before. The family head plans to announce the next heir during the ceremony. Word is that Second Miss Hu Ruofeng from the main branch has already been chosen."
A trace of admiration appeared on his face.
"She reached the Foundation Establishment realm in only six years. Her talent is truly extraordinary."
As soon as he finished speaking, however, his expression turned slightly awkward.
Qi Qingxiong wasn't surprised by the reaction.
Two days earlier, after escaping the pursuit of the Baishi Sect Master, he had encountered members of a Hu family branch on the road and seized the opportunity to replace one of them.
During the journey from the outskirts into Baishi City, he had heard no shortage of stories about Hu Ruofeng.
There were rumors about her illicit relationship with Xie Wenheng, the young master of the Baishi Sect.
Rumors about her openly bringing men into her elder sister Hu Ruoyan's bedchamber.
Rumors about the two of them seeking excitement at an auction house, only to be thrown out naked by the owner.
Qi Qingxiong had listened to every story with great interest.
The gossip itself was entertaining enough, but more importantly, it had drawn his attention toward people he had previously overlooked.
Until now, his focus had been fixed on the Hu family head and the Baishi Sect Master.
But after hearing all these stories, Hu Ruoyan, Hu Ruofeng, and Xie Wenheng had entered his field of vision for the first time.
Especially the Hu sisters.
If Hu Ruofeng was truly about to become the next heir, could Hu Ruoyan really remain indifferent?
According to the information he had gathered, the sisters had never gotten along. The family head's wife controlled the household and naturally favored the younger daughter, while Hu Ruoyan, born to the first wife, occupied an increasingly precarious position within the family.
The most interesting part was that their talents were remarkably similar.
In fact, if one were being honest, Hu Ruoyan's aptitude might even surpass her younger sister's.
Yet the family head had chosen to turn a blind eye, allowing her cultivation to stagnate for years.
How could she possibly not harbor resentment?
The more Qi Qingxiong thought about it, the more significant the upcoming ancestral worship ceremony seemed.
Both sisters had once been candidates for succession.
And this ceremony... might very well be Hu Ruoyan's final opportunity to turn the tables.
If chaos broke out during the ancestral worship ceremony, he could use the confusion to approach the Baishi Sect Master and obtain the Snow Lotus.
If things unfolded differently from what he expected, then he would simply have to make other plans.
The thought made Qi Qingxiong frown unconsciously.
Among the final three survivors, where were the other two hiding?
Could they, like him, be disguised among the Hu family's branch members?
What he could never have imagined was that those two happened to be fellow disciples from the same sect, and had only recently been discussing the best way to kill him.
Meanwhile, in a restaurant within Baishi City, Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao sat quietly in the bustling main hall with their appearances concealed.
Cups of wine rested before them, untouched. To any passerby, they looked like ordinary cultivators taking a break from their travels.
In reality, they were listening to every conversation around them.
It wasn't long before the information they wanted drifted into their ears.
"The Hu family's making such a huge spectacle out of this ancestral worship ceremony. I'd love to see it for myself."
"See it? Who do you think you are? They've invited people from the City Lord's Mansion and the Baishi Sect. Do you even qualify to step through the gate?"
"I don't, but apparently you do?"
"Enough, enough." Someone cut them off impatiently.
"What does any of this have to do with us?
I was planning to introduce someone to one of the Hu family's branch clans and maybe make a little profit, but the moment those people entered the city, they were escorted straight into the Hu residence. Left me with nothing."
"Boss, why's the Hu family keeping them all inside? They've never done that before. Is something going on?"
"Hmph. It's all because of the heir issue. Let me tell you..."
By the time the conversation ended, Lou Yuqing and Ling Yunxiao had already gathered everything they needed.
They left the restaurant and rented a secluded courtyard instead of returning to Wanfu Inn. Neither of them wanted to risk running into Hu Ruoyan's informants.
Once the courtyard's formation was activated, Lou Yuqing immediately contacted the Shadow Spirit through the restriction.
"Shadow Spirit."
A moment later, a somewhat familiar voice answered. The Shadow Spirit had already introduced himself as Ying Ling-a name he claimed was entirely his own, despite having blatantly stolen it from his late companion.
"Senior," Ying Ling replied hurriedly, "there were too many people around just now, so I couldn't speak."
Lou Yuqing waved away the explanation.
"What did you find?"
The question instantly energized him.
"I found a lot!" His voice rose with excitement. "The garden maids, Head Chef Qian from the kitchen, the guards patrolling the estate-they're all that woman's people! Every single one!"
As he continued rattling off names, Lou Yuqing's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
In her view, those people no longer looked like servants or guards.
They looked like walking piles of points.
Thousands of points.
She and Ling Yunxiao had already agreed that whoever moved fastest would claim the reward. The more capable person earned more points.
Simple.
After listening to Ying Ling's report, she instinctively looked toward Ling Yunxiao.
The gleam in his eyes told her he had received exactly the same information.
Clearing his throat, Ling Yunxiao asked, "So... should we split up?"
Lou Yuqing narrowed her eyes. "Or?"
"Or move together."
She looked at him suspiciously.
"How?"
Was he planning to use the barrier-breaking bead?
Noticing her expression, Ling Yunxiao immediately felt both amused and helpless.
Without a word, he raised both hands.
Under Lou Yuqing's puzzled gaze, his fingers trembled slightly.
The next instant, silver-white light flashed.
A ring appeared on every finger.
Ten rings in total.
They gleamed brilliantly beneath the afternoon sunlight.
Lou Yuqing froze.
She recognized them immediately.
They were the same storage rings he had once lent her while helping catch thieves.
Back then, she'd thought the man was so poor he couldn't even afford proper magical artifacts.
Now he was casually producing ten of them.
Ten.
The contrast was enough to leave her speechless.
While she was still processing the sight, Ling Yunxiao removed one of the rings and held it out to her.
"With this," he said, "we can stay together."
He had barely spoken before he noticed the look in her eyes.
A look full of accusation.
"So you weren't poor after all."
Ling Yunxiao blinked.
"Huh?"
Since when had he ever been poor?
Then the memory surfaced.
The gifted magical artifacts.
The sympathetic looks.
The inexplicable kindness.
For the first time, everything clicked into place.
So that was it.
She'd been pitying him all along.
For a moment, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"I joined ten sects before," he explained helplessly. "Aside from one that used cooking utensils as collateral for my monthly stipend, every other sect provided cultivation resources to some extent."
The explanation earned him an even stranger look.
Lou Yuqing's gaze practically screamed: That somehow sounds worse.
Unable to endure it any longer, Ling Yunxiao decisively changed the subject.
"This ring isn't for storage."
He gestured toward it.
"If you wear it, I can use the shadow clone to bring you directly to Ying Ling's location."
Only then did Lou Yuqing's expression improve.
She snorted lightly.
"Now that sounds reasonable."
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she seized the opportunity to negotiate.
"The points from our first target belong to me."
Ling Yunxiao looked at her for a moment before smiling.
"Alright."
The answer came so readily that it sounded as though he had never intended to argue in the first place.