341: Chapter 341: Questions and Answers

Su Qinghan did not turn her head, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood up for a fleeting moment.

That glance was too sharp.

It was not the kind of scrutiny filled with calculation and interrogation like Fairy Hehuan's, but something much deeper.

It was like a hunter catching a whiff of an unusual scent; no immediate reaction, but it had already been noted.

She did not reveal Xiao Chan's reaction and merely asked casually, "Does Poison Lady often walk around the Sect?"

"Not necessarily." Xiao Chan shook her head.

"She is elusive; sometimes you won't see her for months at a time."

"However, I've heard she is particularly sensitive to aura. She can see through whatever someone is carrying that they shouldn't be at a single glance... Oh, never mind her. Let me take you to see the peach blossom grove behind the mountain; the flowers are in full bloom right now!"

Su Qinghan was dragged forward by her, but her peripheral vision swept, without leaving a trace, toward the direction where Poison Lady had disappeared.

The dark green hem of her robes was no longer visible.

"Is that Xiao Ran's... mistress?"

Su Qinghan felt a sense of unnaturalness in her heart.

After all, they had once used the same thing.

...

That evening.

Just as Su Qinghan returned to her residence, a message jade slip landed by her hand.

There was only one line of text on the jade slip: "Tomorrow at the hour of Chen, discuss matters in the study."

In the Demonic Path, there was only one person capable of sending such a message so easily.

Xiao Ran.

Fairy Hehuan was hiding in the shadows, witnessing everything.

Her gaze lingered on the jade slip in Su Qinghan's hand for a moment, and the corners of her lips curled into an ambiguous arc.

Su Qinghan clutched the jade slip, the string in her heart tightening a little more.

For some reason, she felt deeply conflicted.

She both wanted to see Xiao Ran and did not want to see him.

...

The next day, at the hour of Chen.

Su Qinghan arrived at the study on the main peak an incense stick's time early.

The study was in a small, independent two-story building to the west of the Council Hall; the ground floor was a reception hall, and the upper floor was the study.

The Disciple leading the way left after bringing her to the ground floor.

Su Qinghan walked up the stairs, the wooden steps emitting a faint creaking sound beneath her feet.

Pushing open the door, Xiao Ran was sitting behind the desk under the window.

He was wearing a dark gray robe today, his hair not tied up but draped loosely, and he held a bamboo scroll in his hand, his posture as leisurely as if he were drinking tea in his own backyard.

The daylight from outside the window fell diagonally, illuminating half of his face while the other half remained in shadow.

"You're here."

He looked up, his gaze falling levelly on Su Qinghan's face. "Sit."

Su Qinghan followed his instruction and sat on the chair opposite the desk.

The chair was not high, and her line of sight was just level with Xiao Ran's desk when seated.

"How was your settlement yesterday?"

Xiao Ran put down the bamboo scroll, his tone casual, like small talk.

"Answering the Alliance Leader, everything is settled. Fairy Hehuan and Xiao Chan took me around to familiarize myself with the general layout of the Sect."

"Mm." Xiao Ran lifted the teacup beside him and took a sip.

"Are you still used to the Hehuan Sect? You've been gone for so many years; some places have changed, and some haven't."

"This Disciple is still slowly adapting."

"Take your time, no rush."

The opening of the conversation was as flat as water, yet Su Qinghan dared not relax.

She maintained the posture that Liu Qingyan should have.

Slightly bowing her head, but occasionally casting her eyes upward.

Neither too respectful nor appearing overly humble.

Xiao Ran asked her a few more ordinary questions.

Did you encounter any trouble on the way back? What is the situation at the border now? Have you seen people from other Demonic Path Sects active?

Su Qinghan answered them one by one.

She said she encountered a few groups of Loose Cultivators on the road but no conflicts arose.

There are many Loose Cultivators at the border now, and the Righteous Path patrols are stricter than before.

She hadn't really seen people from other Demonic Sects.

Xiao Ran listened very carefully, occasionally responding with a "mm," and occasionally following up with a detail.

His questions were not dense, often with pauses in between, as if they were just chatting while drinking tea.

But Su Qinghan could feel a certain kind of waiting hidden within those pauses.

It seemed as if he were waiting for her to slip up.

But she did not.

Su Qinghan had turned herself into Liu Qingyan, a Hehuan Sect Disciple who had been drifting outside for many years, had become gloomy and reticent, and was unwilling to talk much about the past.

After chatting for about an incense stick's time, Xiao Ran suddenly fell silent.

He put down the teacup, his gaze falling on a small celadon vase on the windowsill, with a withered flower branch stuck diagonally inside; it was impossible to tell what species it had originally been.

"In all your years outside, have you ever seen a flower called a Snow Lotus?"

Su Qinghan's heartbeat skipped a beat.

Snow Lotus.

Something unique to the Ancient Battlefield, growing in the rifts where Spiritual Qi and Death Qi intertwined, entirely snow-white.

It bloomed every three years, and its petals were covered in golden patterns.

Righteous Path ancient texts mentioned it, and old Demonic Path records had entries on it, but an ordinary Cultivator should not know this name.

Especially not Liu Qingyan, who had just drifted back from the border.

She did not know if Xiao Ran was asking offhandedly or if he had deliberately thrown out bait.

But her breathing only paused for that fleeting moment before returning to normal.

"Snow Lotus?"

Su Qinghan tilted her head slightly, feigning a look of contemplation.

"This Disciple has never heard of such a flower. What does it look like?"

Xiao Ran looked at her for two breaths, then smiled.

That smile was very faint, so shallow it was barely discernible, just a slight pull at the corners of his lips.

"It's nothing, just a rare thing."

He picked up the bamboo scroll again. "Alright, that's all for today."

"You just got back, rest for a few more days. Take this jade slip."

He took a palm-sized ink-colored jade slip from the corner of the desk and pushed it to the edge.

"You can enter and exit most areas, including the Scripture Library. Don't wander into the forbidden book area; it won't be easy to clean up if something happens."

Su Qinghan stood up and received the jade slip with both hands: "Thank you, Alliance Leader."

When she turned to walk toward the door, her steps were steady, her back straight, and she did not look back.

But when she reached the top of the stairs, she heard Xiao Ran's unhurried voice behind her.

"Liu Qingyan."

She stopped in her tracks.

"That's a good name."

Su Qinghan was stunned for a moment, then replied calmly: "This Disciple thinks so too."

She did not turn back to look at Xiao Ran's expression and stepped down the stairs.

Su Qinghan always felt that Xiao Ran must know something.

She gripped the jade slip in her hand tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Regardless of how much truth there was in his words, at least he hadn't exposed her on the spot.

This meant that either he was waiting for something, or he was playing a larger game.

Either way, Su Qinghan was still safe for the time being.

She needed to hurry.