But he did not relax in the slightest, his eyes still fixed tightly on the star pirate ship over there.
However, he suddenly realized that the instant his side accelerated at full speed to leave, the star pirate ship on the other side accelerated as well.
In an instant, his heart clenched.
This abnormal scene only made Liuge more convinced of his own judgment.
At this moment, Tingyun also noticed that something was wrong with the ship over there.
Why was the ship occupied only by Voidrangers accelerating and turning toward them to ram into them when they had accelerated to leave?
It felt like... it felt as though someone was controlling and directing everything.
The clever Foxian lady recalled Liuge suddenly mentioning a Lord of Ruin earlier. Could it be...
She panicked as well.
That was a Lord of Ruin!
While she was somewhat flustered, Liuge suddenly caught a flash of dim green light in his field of vision as he watched the ship.
As expected!
The moment he saw that dim green flash, Liuge knew that his speculation had likely been confirmed.
Lord of Ruin: Phantylia was indeed aboard these four Star Pirate Ships.
Judging by her purpose, she seemed to want to use this method to approach the Minghuo Merchant Guild's ship. Once the people aboard inspected the ships, she would replace Tingyun here.
However, she apparently had not expected the Minghuo Merchant Guild to have a crafty bastard who would inspect them remotely, disrupting her plans...
Things... had already begun!
At that moment, Phantylia was hidden among the cargo in the hold of the third star pirate ship.
She had originally planned to use these Star Pirate wreckage ships to approach the Minghuo Merchant Guild's vessel. After they killed the few Voidrangers she had casually left behind as cannon fodder, they would take in the cargo.
At the moment they received it, she would take advantage of their carelessness to possess and replace Tingyun, the Minghuo Merchant Guild's chief representative aboard the ship.
She had not expected that, when her plan had been going so smoothly, the Minghuo Merchant Guild would suddenly have a crafty bastard who not only inspected the ships remotely,
but somehow even deduced that a Lord of Ruin was present here.
It was absurd!
Phantylia now felt as though this crafty bastard had the troublesome ability to foresee the future.
On the other side, the Minghuo Merchant Guild's merchant ship had already sped along for quite some time, yet the ships behind them remained relentless and were getting closer and closer.
"Things are bad, Young Master! The guild's ship's propulsion system seems inferior to theirs."
Watching this, Tingyun grew somewhat nervous as well.
Although the merchant convoy's engines could also burst into a state of extreme speed, they were fundamentally built for stability. Compared to Star Pirate Ships designed specifically for plundering others at high speed, their side was completely outmatched.
"Damn it!"
Liuge watched the ships draw ever nearer and gritted his teeth.
At that moment, he suddenly discovered that three golden Stat-Stick Light Orbs had dropped from Tingyun.
After quietly picking them up, Liuge's gaze sharpened.
Character Stat-Stick: Foxian Item: Six-Ribbed Folding Fan Stat-Stick: Merchant
Liuge stared at the Stat-Sticks and the item he had obtained, his expression going blank.
He turned to look at Tingyun beside him, then at the Character Stat-Stick and the Stat-Stick Library.
He suddenly realized that he seemed to meet the requirements to assemble Tingyun's Stat-Stick Character Card.
Of course, that was only his own guess. He would only know once he verified it.
"Young Master, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with me?"
Tingyun found it strange to see the conflicted look amid Liuge's dazed expression.
"Miss Tingyun, if my deduction is correct, the existence aboard those Star Pirate Ships behind us is after you."
"After me?!"
Tingyun cried out, but clever as she was, she understood after giving it some thought.
She was the person in charge of the Minghuo Merchant Guild and its chief representative. More importantly, there was fundamentally no need for her to undergo any inspection when returning to the Luofu. Her identity was perfect for the task.
"Young Master, do you mean... that person behind us wants to infiltrate the Luofu under my identity?"
"That is possible."
Naturally, Liuge would not say that he knew the plot. He merely gave an ambiguous answer.
"What should we do? How about I contact the Luofu and have everyone, including myself, inspected immediately after my convoy returns?"
"I think it is already too late. The moment they began pursuing us, our communication signal was likely cut off."
Liuge pondered for a moment.
Then he began assembling the Stat-Sticks.
He first selected Character Stat-Stick: Foxian, then added the Merchant Stat-Stick. After thinking for a moment, he realized that if he truly wanted to accomplish this, he would also need to add Sleepless. The result was Stat-Stick Character Card: Tingyun (Incomplete).
Stat-Stick Character Card: Tingyun (Incomplete) Description: Once equipped with this Stat-Stick, you will transform into Tingyun, the Minghuo Merchant Guild's chief representative. (The current Character Stat-Stick is incomplete, and you can only wield fifty percent of the original body's strength.)
"Miss Tingyun, I have a solution. I wonder if you can accept it."
"Young Master, please tell me. If it is something I can do, I will certainly comply."
When Tingyun heard that there was still a solution at a time like this, she knew that the Young Master before her was clearly no ordinary person.
"Come with me."
Liuge looked around. There were quite a few Minghuo Merchant Guild personnel nearby, making this difficult to discuss, so he led Tingyun back to the previous room.
"Young Master, what is this?"
After entering the room, Tingyun watched Liuge close and lock the door, a trace of confusion appearing between her brows.
"For this method, only you and I can know about it for now."
Liuge turned around and looked at Tingyun.
"What method?"
Tingyun grew even more curious upon hearing that.
In response, Liuge's figure began to change.
As he gradually became smaller until he matched her height, even becoming identical to her in appearance and clothing, clever Tingyun understood what Liuge's solution was.
"Young Master, are you planning to replace me and confront that existence in the open?"
"Yes!"
"Absolutely not! How could I let Young Master risk himself for me? Tingyun would be deeply ashamed!"
Tingyun immediately objected to this plan.
Although she did not know how Liuge had managed to transform into someone identical to her,
she understood the danger that lay ahead and naturally could not allow Liuge to take her place and face it.
"Don't worry. I have a way to protect myself. But you... do you have a way to protect yourself?"
What Liuge meant by protecting himself was making use of the Sleepless Stat-Stick's trait to keep his consciousness awake at all times. He would not fall unconscious, asleep, or into any other state, maintaining complete clarity.
Only in this way would there be no problem even if Phantylia possessed him.
Then, once they reached the Xianzhou, Tingyun could seek help from someone like General Jing Yuan, the General of the Xianzhou who stood on equal footing with a Lord of Ruin. He should be fine by then.
Of course, danger still existed in all this.
But Liuge did not care.
Before his transmigration, Tingyun's incident had always left him with lingering regret. Now that he had encountered such a situation and had the ability to help Tingyun, why would he not help her?
"But..."
"No buts. It is settled! If that existence truly needs your identity to enter the Luofu, she should only make her move to completely replace you after entering the Luofu. Before that, she will probably remain hidden."
"Once we reach the Luofu, go straight to General Jing Yuan and tell him everything."
Liuge took a deep breath. After explaining everything, he opened the door and walked out.
Behind him, Tingyun watched Liuge's departing figure and wanted to reach out to stop him, but the closing door blocked her the next moment.
Staring blankly at the shut door, Tingyun inexplicably felt a flutter in her heart.
An indescribable feeling.
But she knew that this was not the time to think about such things.
She knew that from this point on, she had to hide herself and hide everything completely. Before reaching the Luofu, she absolutely could not expose herself.
On the other side, Liuge walked out of the room and headed straight for the deck.
At that moment, the Star Pirate Ships crashed into the merchant vessel. In an instant, the Voidrangers remaining aboard those ships swarmed forward.
At the same time, the merchant ship's guards rushed forward to meet them.
For a time, the battle was incomparably fierce.
Meanwhile, Liuge, transformed into Tingyun, took out the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan he had obtained earlier. He nimbly darted through the fighting, observing who was in the most difficult position before giving their enemy a fan strike to disrupt their rhythm and give the guards a chance to recover.
It was precisely because of Liuge's support-oriented fighting style that the entire battle soon came to an end.
However, Liuge knew that Lord of Ruin: Phantylia had already possessed his side.
Because just now, he had vaguely sensed a flash of green light enter the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan in his hand.
Under normal circumstances, anyone would have ignored such a thing, because there was nothing particularly unusual about it.
But Liuge knew that things... had already begun!
Arrival at the Luofu
Time passed quietly. Three days had gone by since the star pirate ship incident.
Over these three days, Liuge had never once lifted his Tingyun transformation.
After all, he now represented Tingyun, and Phantylia was, unsurprisingly, attached to the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan in his hand.
There was no way Liuge could claim not to be nervous with her so close.
But in order to avoid letting Phantylia notice anything amiss, Liuge had remained on guard these past few days except when eating, focusing mainly on the affairs of the entire merchant ship.
To outsiders, Tingyun had simply become extra cautious after the star pirate ship incident and had shifted her attention entirely to the return voyage.
But Liuge himself knew that he was acting under the effects of the Sleepless Stat-Stick, and everything he did was meant to confuse Phantylia.
He wanted her to believe that, as Tingyun and the person in charge of the entire merchant ship, he did not dare let down his guard in the slightest.
He was the very picture of a diligent, capable little fox.
This left Phantylia, who was attached to the Six-Ribbed Folding Fan, without the slightest suspicion. She had even grown sleepy from watching.
Everything was far too boring.
Meanwhile, the real Tingyun, who had remained hidden in the cabin, watched Liuge act this way and felt ripples stir in her heart.
He had worked without sleep or rest for days just to keep the Lord of Ruin steady and prevent her from noticing anything amiss.
Such temperament, such perseverance.
Even Tingyun felt somewhat ashamed of herself by comparison.
At the same time, Tingyun was very curious about why Liuge was so skilled at playing her, as though he were intimately familiar with every one of her movements. Nothing he did carried even the slightest awkwardness.
Before you continue