342: Chapter 342: Xiao Ran's Attention

On the evening of the third day after returning to her residence, Fairy Hehuan arrived.

Su Qinghan was meditating and regulating her Qi in the courtyard; she opened her eyes upon hearing footsteps.

She saw Fairy Hehuan leaning against the courtyard entrance, holding a round fan in her hand with a languid posture.

"How is your recovery?"

Fairy Hehuan walked in gracefully and sat down on a stone stool.

"Much better." Su Qinghan stood up and poured her a cup of tea.

"Does Fairy have any business with this Disciple?"

"Can't I come to chat with you if I have no business?"

Fairy Hehuan took the teacup, her fingertips slowly tracing the rim of the cup.

"I heard you went to the Alliance Master's study yesterday? You chatted for quite a while?"

Su Qinghan's internal alarm bells rang, but she only showed a hint of perfectly measured surprise on her face.

"Not that long, the Alliance Master just asked about some matters regarding the border."

"Oh?" Fairy Hehuan lowered her eyes, watching the tea leaves floating in the cup.

"The Alliance Master is quite thoughtful; he usually doesn't have time to personally inquire about Disciples returning."

This sounded like small talk, but Su Qinghan detected the probing within it.

Fairy Hehuan was probing the depth of the relationship between her and Xiao Ran; perhaps she was worried about something, or perhaps she was just curious.

"This Disciple also found it somewhat unexpected."

Su Qinghan smiled and lifted her own teacup to take a sip.

"Perhaps this Disciple is just lucky to have caught the Alliance Master when he happened to be free."

Fairy Hehuan raised her eyes, her gaze lingering on her face for a beat.

"Your luck is indeed good." She tapped the round fan gently against her palm.

"The Alliance Master rarely pays this much attention to one person, seeking you out two days in a row."

"Qingyan, do you think there is something special about you that makes him find you interesting?"

Upon hearing this, Su Qinghan lowered her head slightly, revealing a somewhat awkward expression.

"Fairy is joking; what could be special about a down-and-out person like this Disciple who just returned?"

"The Alliance Master is probably just... habitually inquiring about new Disciples."

Fairy Hehuan stared at her for a few breaths, then burst into a laugh.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore."

She stood up and brushed the dust off her skirt.

"Rest well; I will call you when there is work to do in a while."

She walked to the courtyard entrance, paused, and without turning back, pointed with her round fan toward the faint blue orb in the distance.

"By the way, look outside less at night; some things are easy to cause nightmares if you look at them too much."

After saying this, she left.

Su Qinghan stood in the courtyard, watching Fairy Hehuan's pink skirt hem disappear at the end of the corridor, and slowly let out a breath.

This conversation appeared to be concern on the surface, but in reality, it was telling her two things.

First, she had noticed Xiao Ran's special attention toward her.

Second, she was warning Su Qinghan not to snoop around at night.

Fairy Hehuan's attitude was ambiguous; it was as if she were helping her, yet also as if she were watching her.

Su Qinghan returned to her room and closed the door.

She walked to the desk, sat down, and took out the short blade from her sleeve.

The blade gleamed coldly under the dim candlelight, reflecting half of her face covered by the mask.

Today, Xiao Ran mentioned the Snow Lotus, and Fairy Hehuan mentioned not to look outside at night.

Poison Lady's glance felt like a thorn stuck in her back.

Xiao Chan innocently and lively pulled her along to show her the way, smiling as she handed her a bunch of peach blossoms picked from the peach grove.

This Eternal Night Demon Sect was like a giant spider web, with every thread trembling slightly, and she was standing right in the center.

She didn't know which one would tighten in the next second.

She gripped the short blade tightly, her fingertips rubbing over the thin blood groove on the blade's surface.

Li Changsheng had said one thing before sending her away; she hadn't thought about it in detail at the time, but now it suddenly surfaced in her mind.

"Remember, no matter what happens, come back alive."

...

Su Qinghan had lived in the Eternal Night Demon Sect for a full seven days.

Seven days were enough for her to map out seventy percent of the terrain around the Hehuan Sect's station, and enough to confirm one thing.

There was someone in the shadows of the Eternal Night Demon Sect watching her.

That gaze did not come from a fixed direction, nor was it always the same person.

Sometimes it was an old woman sweeping the floor in the Hehuan Sect; the broom in her hand would always stop at the same angle, while the corner of her eye tracked her back as she moved.

Sometimes it was a Disciple on guard outside the Council Hall; they appeared to be looking straight ahead, but every time she passed by, the person's shoulders would tense up for a brief moment.

The most concealed gaze came from above.

Beneath the faint blue orb on the main peak tower was a row of arrow slits.

On two different late nights, Su Qinghan had caught a glimpse of a very faint light flashing behind one of the windows by the moonlight.

That was not the light of a patrol, but someone using a scrying lens to watch her.

She was unsure if this surveillance was instructed by Xiao Ran or if others were acting on their own.

But she did not show any abnormality, continuing her daily routine of waking up to meditate, walking around the station during the day, eating at the cafeteria in the evening, and occasionally accompanying Xiao Chan for a walk in the peach grove behind the mountain.

The peach blossoms in the peach grove were about to wither; when the wind blew, the falling flowers were colorful, and pink petals paved the bluestone path.

Xiao Chan hopped and skipped on the petals, suddenly turning back to blurt out a sentence.

"Sister Qingyan, have you noticed in the last few days that the Alliance Master seems to be running over to our side often?"

Su Qinghan's footsteps paused: "Is there?"

"Yes!" Xiao Chan answered immediately and affirmatively.

"To be clear, I have been cultivating here at the headquarters for many years; even with my Soul Transformation Stage cultivation, it is very difficult to see the Alliance Master."

"Because the Alliance Master is always elusive."

"I heard rumors that the Alliance Master might be attempting to break through to the Mahayana Immortal stage."

"Once the Sect Master achieves the Immortal realm, no one in the entire Northern Territory will be able to stop the footsteps of the Demonic Path."

"Whatever Righteous Path, whatever Li Changsheng, whatever old man Qingxu... count them one by one, they will all die miserably."

Xiao Chan seemed to have a mysterious confidence in Xiao Ran.

"Don't talk nonsense; it won't be good if the Alliance Master hears you."

Su Qinghan hurriedly tried to stop the topic.

However, Xiao Chan started counting on her fingers.

"What I said is all true."

"The day before yesterday at the alchemy room, yesterday at the entrance of the martial arts arena, and this morning on the road outside our courtyard, I ran into the Alliance Master."

"He never used to come here; if he had anything to say, he would send a jade talisman or call people to the study."

She blinked and lowered her voice: "Sister, you say, is the Alliance Master... a little interested in you?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Su Qinghan's tone was flat.

"The Alliance Master is probably inspecting sect affairs."

"Inspecting sect affairs all the way to the Hehuan Sect's alchemy room?" Xiao Chan curled her lips.

"I don't believe it. You don't know that when you were practicing sword in the martial arts arena yesterday, the Alliance Master stood on the side for at least the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"I saw it clearly; he wasn't watching the Disciples sparring in the arena at all, he was watching you the whole time."

Su Qinghan did not reply.

Of course, she knew Xiao Ran had come to the martial arts arena yesterday.

She had caught a glimpse of that dark gray hem with her peripheral vision and had deliberately slowed down a set of sword techniques by half a beat.

Her strikes were clean and restrained, neither exposing traces of Righteous Path Cultivation Techniques nor avoiding the eccentric and treacherous paths of the Hehuan Sect, choosing the most conventional Loose Cultivator-style sword moves.

After all, her current identity was Liu Qingyan, who had just regained her memories, not the former Saintess of the Hehuan Sect.

Therefore, the choice of Cultivation Technique was still more on the common side.

That set of sword techniques was something she had improvised on the spot, looking exactly like the appearance of a Genius who had emerged from the bottom.

She was not sure if Xiao Ran had seen through anything.

That afternoon, she was sitting in the courtyard flipping through a book borrowed from the Scripture Pavilion, "Chronicles of the Eternal Night".

A shadow suddenly fell on the pages.

She looked up.

Xiao Ran stood at the courtyard entrance, holding a wine gourd in his hand, wearing a dark-colored tight-sleeved martial outfit, with a short blade hanging at his waist, looking like he was about to go out.

The sunlight fell on his face, diluting the usual laziness by a few points, and between his brows was an extra layer of something Su Qinghan had seen for the first time.

The air of dust and travel.