A faint incense burned in the Study Room. Qian Renxue sat behind the writing desk, still wearing Xue Qinghe's appearance.
Hearing footsteps, she raised her head. Her gaze lingered on Xiao Yun for a moment. She did not rise, merely gestured for the attendant to withdraw. As the door closed, the lock clicked sharply into place.
Xiao Yun raised his hand and laid down a soundproof barrier around the four corners. Once he confirmed that the inside and outside were cut off, Qian Renxue's face slowly changed in the candlelight, shedding Xue Qinghe's features and returning to her original appearance.
Rather than sitting back behind the writing desk, she rose, walked around it to Xiao Yun, and rested her forehead against his shoulders without saying a word.
Xiao Yun reached out and drew an arm around her back. "You missed me."
Qian Renxue did not lift her head, her voice muffled by his clothes. "Mm."
Then she asked, "You didn't come all this way just to see me, did you?"
Xiao Yun did not beat around the bush. "I want to enter the Heaven Dou Royal Treasury and retrieve something."
Qian Renxue lifted her head from his embrace. "What?"
"The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud."
Qian Renxue considered it for a while. "That item has always been stored deep within the treasury. No one has been able to use it for years. What do you want it for?"
Xiao Yun said, "It is an artifact left behind by the Sea God, and it is likely connected to the Sea God Inheritance. I need it to hunt a Soul Beast in the sea."
Qian Renxue's brows twitched slightly. "With your current strength, you still need to rely on an external item?"
Xiao Yun said, "That Soul Beast is close to a million