While Raiden Mei agonized over how to deal with the challenge, Bai Yan faced a small challenge of her own.
Bronya was staring at her expressionlessly.
Bai Yan had no idea what she was thinking, so she could only greet her first and try to strike up a conversation.
"Big Sister Bai Yan, do you have an older or younger brother around your age at home?"
"Uh... I do. Why are you suddenly asking that, Bronya?"
"It's nothing. Just asking."
Hugging her doll, Bronya silently returned to her room.
In truth, she had never met Bai Yan, because when Bai Yan escaped the orphanage, Bronya had not yet been adopted by Cocolia.
She had merely heard from Seele that there had once been such a child at the orphanage, who later disappeared.
So Bronya had curiously asked Cocolia about it.
At the time, Cocolia had looked rather unwell. After a long silence, she had taken out a photograph of Bai Yan as a child that she had always treasured.
The fact that those two still remembered him after all this time made Bronya deeply curious.
After so long, the girl before her had stirred up Bronya's memories. She also happened to have the surname Bai, which was why Bronya had asked that question.
"How long has it even been since Bronya was adopted by Cocolia? It's been years since I ran away. Why are they still thinking about me?"
Bai Yan frowned, faintly sensing that something was wrong.
"I'll need to pay closer attention to when Anti-Entropy invades."
He did not think anyone would spot any flaws in him. After all, Rita had personally inspected this disguise.
No one understood perfection better than Sister Tazi!
After locking her door, she turned on her computer and began writing today's report.
Today, I successfully made contact with the target. Our relationship is currently good. In the evening, I met with the Far East branch director. See the attachment for details of the scene...
The attachment contained all kinds of bundled photographs, taken by the miniature camera hidden in Bai Yan's genuine leather handbag.
If Rita opened the attachment, she would see numerous extremely high-resolution photographs.
The photographs used offices, campuses, and student dormitories as their backgrounds. Some were group shots, while others showed people alone.
There was a candid shot of Principal Theresa looking imposing, and a close-up of Bronya having her head patted by a hand...
All of these were intelligence.
As a frontline intelligence agent, Bai Yan was not especially skilled at multifaceted analysis, so she had to report every detail.
As for sorting, selecting, and analyzing it, that could be left to her other colleagues.
It was all work.
Rita: Very well done.
Seeing the reply, Bai Yan smiled faintly.
She recalled when Sister Tazi had first recruited her. As a lowly employee, she had been extremely anxious.
It had not been because of the difference in status and strength, but because she had made some mistakes when she was young.
At the time, she had possessed many, many photographs of Durandal as a child.
They had originally been everyday snapshots or mementos from outings. She had never imagined that her childhood friend would become such an important figure.
Yes, she had never imagined it at all.
Could someone casually keep childhood photos of such an important figure? What if military secrets were leaked?
She had not dared to hoard even one photograph to sell!
So she had handed over every photograph to her rigorous and dependable female superior, Lady Rita Rossweisse, for disposal.
Later, "Lady Rita" had become "Sister Rita."
Rita: Lady Durandal asked about "Bai Yan" again. Little Yan, what do you think?
Bai Yan frowned, thinking that types like Dumb Goose really were troublesome.
Her intuition was outstanding, and she was very serious. It was impossible to casually fool her.
Unlike her younger sister, who would selectively forget memories she did not want to face and often turned a blind eye.
Did Dumb Goose not understand what a precious quality it was to play dumb when necessary?
If her Rita did not pretend to be clueless, would Bai Yan be able to let her see all sorts of crucial photographs?
Annoying!
After pondering for a moment, Bai Yan carefully composed her reply.
Bai Yan: Tell her that no one truly understands Bai Yan except me.
Rita quickly sent back an emoji that said, "I understand."
For the first day of a mission, Bai Yan's gains had been quite substantial.
She had successfully contacted the target and established an initial connection, while also getting crystal-clear pictures of the Far East branch's person in charge.
In Rita's eyes, the progress could be called lightning-fast.
Bai Yan rose from her chair and stretched, then took two exquisite bottles of red wine from the cabinet.
She had bought them during a previous outing with Kiana, mixing them in with a pile of snacks and other ingredients so no one noticed.
The Kaslana family's monstrous strength was especially useful at times like this. Without Kiana, they would have needed a car to haul so much stuff.
Bai Yan had casually helped Kiana out, and feeling embarrassed about it, Kiana had volunteered to carry the bags as a small repayment.
It sounded a little strange, but there was nothing wrong with the result.
As for the expense of buying these things... after receiving this mission, Bai Yan felt that her salary could be described with a rather uncommon phrase.
—She could die without regrets.
That bishop had not said anything, but the truth was often hidden in the details.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Yan found two glasses and some cold dishes to go with the wine, then placed them all into a briefcase.
Only then did she take out a spiral mosquito coil, carefully light it, and search for the feeling from before.
The next moment, the world before her began spinning again, and her surroundings blurred.
In her senses, Jingliu seemed to have been summoned as well.
She was about to meet the white-haired former Sword Master of the Luofu Xianzhou again.
Volume One: Goddess of the Luo River
Feeling her feet step onto cool water, Bai Yan saw Jingliu sitting cross-legged atop a huge rock about four feet high.
Bai Yan felt her hands go empty. The red wine and everything else she had brought were gone.
She touched the small pocket of her top, only to find that the chewing gum inside had vanished as well.
"So I can't bring objects, but things that qualify as clothing are allowed... The rules for entering this space really are difficult to understand."
Putting those doubts aside for the moment, Bai Yan looked ahead.
Jingliu had just sat down. Her eyes were closed as she remained motionless, quietly meditating on the water-covered ground without caring that her clothes were getting wet. Her face held only an inexplicable sense of ease.
Bai Yan was in no hurry to approach and simply waited quietly from a distance.
After a while, Jingliu opened her eyes, seeming as though she had finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Master Jingliu, we meet again."
"You finally came."
Bai Yan could hear the sense of being saved in Jingliu's tone.
After their last meeting, Jingliu had felt her Mara-struck state fall completely silent, so she had tried taking off her blindfold for a while.
Very soon, she experienced physical ease for the first time in nearly a thousand years. She had even entertained the thought of finding Bai Yan somewhere in the universe and keeping her tied to her side forever.
Unfortunately, she could not find her.
Yet around six system-hours later, the Mara-struck state unexpectedly returned. It happened so quickly that she was caught off guard. Had her will not been strong enough, and had she lacked sufficient experience in dealing with Mara-struck, she might have lost control.
Still, it was fortunate that that young—young girl seemed to need her as well. That meant she still had a chance to remain here.
How many years had it been since she last experienced this feeling of needing something from someone?
"Master Jingliu, you look terrible. Is something wrong?"
"An old problem acting up. It's nothing serious. Let's not talk about that. There wasn't time to ask last time, but why are you still dressed as a woman this time?"
Bai Yan was speechless.
After considering her words for a moment, she picked out the important parts and explained the circumstances.
Jingliu did not laugh. Bai Yan guessed that she was holding it back out of consideration for her feelings.
"So you believe your target is quite dangerous?"
"...Why do you say that?"
"Although you did not answer directly last time, I believe you have some understanding of my identity."
"..."
"So before I teach you, you should carefully consider the current situation and establish an initial objective."
Bai Yan scratched her head and laughed awkwardly. "As expected of the Xianzhou Alliance's Sword Master. I can't hide anything from you."
"After all, I rely on your ability to ease my Mara-struck state. If I'm not proactive, who knows how much longer this master of yours can continue."
"Hehe, it's not that serious. Even just being around Master Jingliu makes me feel like I can move forward bathed in light."
If it had been anyone else, Bai Yan certainly would not have flattered them like this. But the person before her was an immortal who had lived for a thousand years, so she had to assume that Jingliu's eyes could easily see through any disguise she wore.
Bai Yan truly needed Jingliu right now. She needed a trump card that no one could know about.
She would cultivate quietly, then astonish everyone!
Being Master Jingliu's disciple was the greatest honor!
Jingliu said, "All right. Let me take a careful look at your condition."
So this was where she would teach according to the student's aptitude.
For Jingliu, the last time she had taught a disciple was also in the distant past.
Yet ever since her Mara-struck state had erupted and she had betrayed the Xianzhou Alliance, she had been living in the past.
Her wandering was for the past, her killing was for the past, and so was her search for a way to take revenge.
Even if she could obtain temporary peace now, compared to the long passage of time, it was nothing more than an instant.
A prolonged life was not a continuation of life, but fuel for reaching its end...
Jingliu moved close to Bai Yan, patting various parts of her body, then feeling some of her bones and joints before finally stopping.
"How much time is left?"
"Mm... about ten minutes," Bai Yan answered after sensing it.
"That should be enough—let's keep this brief. Fortunately, your aptitude is not bad, so you needn't worry about having limited room to grow.
"However, it seems you need to become stronger quickly?"
"It's not that urgent. I'll just see how far I can get within three years."
Her actual needs were not especially clear. Whether she would flee or fight the Herrscher of the Void alongside her companions, all of that remained uncertain.
Forcing herself to meet a certain KPI would distort her nature instead, which would be detrimental to improving her cultivation efficiency.
So there was no need to rush.
"Very well. I'll first teach you a set of basic movements. Once I finish demonstrating them, imitate them once. That will make it easier for me to find the basic direction that suits you."
This was the advantage of receiving private instruction from a famous master. She would not have to blindly choose her own path, since even her development direction could be personally tailored for her.
Jingliu curled her right hand as though gripping something. At that moment, it was as if she held an invisible longsword.
Before you continue