Playing It Safe or Going All In?

"The potted plant in my room barely grew at all over the past several years, so what exactly did you do over these three days to make it grow so quickly?!"

Lin Fan: "..."

What did he do?

Awkward.

He rubbed his nose, only to feel a smooth, tender surface beneath his fingers. He couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

Should I tell you that, in order to pry more information out of the Protector Disciple, I ate a few extra times—and then peed a few extra times too?

And should I tell you that, to avoid blowing my cover and letting anyone know I can't practice Grain Avoidance, I had no choice but to take care of it in the flowerpot?

In fact, Lin Fan himself felt rather fortunate at that moment.

"Fortunately, all the food they prepared for me was Spirit Fruits, Spirit Liquid, and the like. They were basically all liquid foods with hardly any residue. Otherwise..."

If he needed to take a dump, he really had no idea how he would deal with it.

Qi Zixiao's image had already disappeared.

Lin Fan rubbed the back of his head. His embarrassment gradually faded, and he glanced curiously at the potted plant. "It grew quickly?"

"Er... It does seem quite a bit taller than when I first transmigrated here. Ahem."

Then he made a decision.

Tell Qi Zixiao the answer?

That was absolutely impossible!

If she found out what he had done, who knew whether she would lose her mind?

"Fine, I'll just pretend I didn't hear that question. Mm..."

After watching the image Qi Zixiao had left behind, Lin Fan finally felt slightly more relaxed. Earlier, he had only been able to pretend to be angry and fish around the edges for information, lest he reveal a flaw.

But now, it seemed that Qi Zixiao herself had an extremely aloof, "iceberg" personality. Once he understood this, he could impersonate her more "perfectly." At the same time, learning Qi Zixiao's name and so on was also a considerable step forward.

Otherwise...

Take an example.

If Lin Fan controlled Qi Zixiao's body and rashly went outside to investigate the situation, only to encounter elders or other senior figures from the sect...

He could pretend to be distracted or something and act as if he hadn't seen them.

But what if they called out to him?

What if they called several times, yet he failed to react because he didn't know his own name? Wouldn't that make it obvious that something was wrong?

Now, that problem had been solved.

"So... should I go out for a stroll?"

Lin Fan's thoughts began to stir.

He couldn't cultivate, and staying in his room the whole time meant sitting around for three days. How unbearable would that be?

He hadn't gone out during the first three days because he had learned far too little. But now...

He knew "who I am," and he also knew "what my personality is like." So, he could indeed try stepping outside.

Of course, the prerequisite was that his luck couldn't be too bad. He couldn't run into any of the high-ranking figures within the Holy Land, because people like that were very likely to possess terrifying strength, and he was afraid they might see through him.

Moreover, if he encountered such people, then even as the Saintess, he would most likely have to greet them or something. Since he didn't know any of them, that would also make it easy for him to blow his cover...

As for those whose status was beneath his, what was there to fear?

Since Qi Zixiao's personality was naturally cold and indifferent, unmoved by the myriad things, then when he encountered people of lower status, he only needed to carry through with a single word: cold.

Someone greeted him?

He could nod or something—or even just cast them a sidelong glance. Surely no one would find that strange...

"So, am I going out, or am I continuing to play it safe?"

A choice!

As a modern man, Lin Fan knew all too well how important choices were.

At that moment, this was the first major choice he had faced since transmigrating. Should he go out as soon as possible to learn about this world, or should he continue playing it safe, waiting until he had enough confidence before going out?

After pondering for a moment, Lin Fan suddenly smiled.

"I'm too nervous..."

"If I keep looking over my shoulder in fear of both wolves and tigers, when will I ever accomplish anything?"

"Right now, I at least have the status of a Saintess. There shouldn't be many people in the entire Holy Land whose status is higher than mine."

"I'm only going out for a stroll. I shouldn't run into those people so easily."

"Besides, as long as I don't stay out too long, there shouldn't be any problems."

"So what I need to do now is think of a reason to go out..."

At present, in the eyes of everyone throughout the Holy Land, this "Saintess" should be in seclusion, preparing to break through for the First Sequence Battle a year from now.

If she hadn't broken through yet, but happened to emerge from seclusion and go out...

Ordinary disciples wouldn't be qualified to question her, but what if her "master" or someone like that asked?

He still needed an explanation.

"Then... I'll say that I happened to gain some insight, and so I came out for a walk?"

"Anyway, the cultivators in novels are all so mysterious and inscrutable. The more profound I make it sound, the easier it will be for people to believe. So... that's what I'll do!"

After thinking it over and considering all sorts of details,

Lin Fan stood before the mirror and tidied up his appearance. He recalled the image Qi Zixiao had left behind earlier, then did his best to make his expression resemble hers.

Creak...

The door opened.

The Protector Disciple standing guard outside, Chen Cheng, and Zhou Yining immediately bowed and saluted. "Saintess..."

"During my recent seclusion, I happened to gain some insight..."

Lin Fan spoke "coldly." "You two, accompany me on a walk."

"Yes."

The two women agreed.

Seeing that they didn't show the slightest suspicion, Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sure enough, I just need to bluff. The more mysterious and profound, the better~"

Then she added, "However, time is pressing. I will devote most of my mind to deducing a method of breaking through. If we encounter a senior of the sect who requires us to pay our respects, remember to wake me."

Chen Cheng and Zhou Yining also accepted this explanation with ease, nodding one after another.

This wasn't really anything strange.

Wasn't she merely walking while thinking about something, afraid of slighting her elders?

She had only made it sound a little more profound...

"Saintess, may I ask where you would like to go for a stroll?"

Zhou Yining asked softly.

Lin Fan's expression didn't change, but his thoughts began to race.

Where should I go? How would I know?

I'm not familiar with Purple Mansion Holy Land either!

Should I just say I'll wander around?

For a moment, his thoughts churned.

Wandering around would indeed let him deepen his understanding of Purple Mansion Holy Land. There would certainly be benefits, and they wouldn't be insignificant.

But... it was too slow!

Going outside carried the risk of exposing himself. Since this was his first time out, he had to get some kind of benefit from it, right?

Then he needed to choose a target.

What target?

Although Lin Fan's understanding of Purple Mansion Holy Land was infinitely close to zero, he still had his own considerations.

If I haven't eaten pork, does that mean I haven't seen a pig run?

He had read plenty of cultivation novels. The large and small immortal sects in them might have differed in size, but their organizational structures were all "more or less the same"~!

Thinking of this, Lin Fan spoke in a distant voice.

Please recommend this book, great lords!