Why Would I Lie? Tingyun Says It's Good, Too

"Hey, the reason I came looking for you was partly because I got dragged here to be your guide, and partly because I wanted to warn you. Someone might have their eye on you."

"My original plan was for us to play cards at the parlor together, then head straight to the Divination Department later. No matter how bold those people were, they wouldn't dare make a move openly in a crowd. But the Master Diviner wouldn't listen to reason, so don't blame me for this."

Qingque sighed heavily, clearly still bitter about having to work overtime tomorrow.

Lin Shuang nodded slightly. She could understand why they had sent someone from the Divination Department to help her.

When it came to strength, Lin Shuang could easily deal with the elite members of Abundant Doses. In terms of sheer combat ability, she did not need much help.

However, Lin Shuang knew little about the Xianzhou's situation, and the enemy was hidden while she stood in the open. Finding a diviner to assist her was naturally the right choice.

As for why they had chosen Qingque, Fu Xuan probably trusted Qingque's abilities as well.

"They've definitely got their eye on me. I can feel someone following me."

"Huh? Really?"

Qingque turned her head and looked at Lin Shuang in surprise.

This place was bustling, with so many people coming and going. Could it really not just be her imagination?

"Mm."

Lin Shuang nodded firmly.

The ability to distinguish malice in someone's gaze, along with her sharp senses—

Those were all skills Acheron had beaten into her through hands-on "training."

"If we kept playing cards in the parlor, it would be inconvenient for me to act. Coming out was perfect."

"Huh? No, sis?"

Qingque meant that if they stayed in the card parlor, the bad guys would not dare approach recklessly. She had not meant that they were restricting Lin Shuang from making a move there.

The Master Diviner had not mentioned that Lin Shuang was this reckless, either.

Seeing Qingque's expression, Lin Shuang immediately knew the little sparrow had gotten the wrong idea.

"What are you thinking? I never said I was going to fight."

"If you're not fighting, why would you make a move?"

At Qingque's puzzled question, Lin Shuang gave a crooked smile.

"Get your Jade Seal ready to record. Just watch my performance."

After saying that, Lin Shuang patted Qingque on the shoulder, then turned and pointed at a shop they had just passed.

After lowering her head to mutter a few words, she led Qingque back the way they had come.

The street was crowded with people. It was not quite shoulder-to-shoulder, but it was undeniably lively.

Qingque's clear eyes darted around. Either she felt that everyone on the street was watching them, or she felt that nobody on the street was paying them any attention at all.

Without casting a few divinations, she had no ability to accurately pinpoint who was tailing them among so many people.

As Lin Shuang passed a small vendor's stall, her left hand lightly touched Qingque's arm.

"Jade Seal."

"Hm? Oh, right..."

Qingque immediately took out her Jade Seal. As they passed a Xianzhou woman, Lin Shuang leaned slightly to the side, and their shoulders bumped together by accident.

Qingque only caught a glimpse of Lin Shuang's right hand seeming to flick once.

Then a folded piece of paper appeared in Lin Shuang's hand.

"?"

A tiny question mark, enormous confusion.

Even while staring without blinking, Qingque had failed to follow Lin Shuang's movements. The paper had practically appeared out of thin air like a magic trick.

Lin Shuang unfolded the paper and let Qingque record its contents, then flicked her hand again.

This time, Qingque swore she had focused completely on Lin Shuang's right hand, yet she still could not see how the paper had vanished.

"Alright, I put it back."

Yet what greeted Lin Shuang was not amazement or praise. Qingque stared at her with an indescribable expression, looking her up and down.

"You... how did you do that?? I didn't sense any strange power at all."

"It's called skill."

Seeing Lin Shuang's smug expression, Qingque's eyes suddenly shifted. She struck a divination pose and asked curiously,

"Then try taking something from me."

Lin Shuang gave Qingque a look.

Then, without Qingque having any idea when Lin Shuang had moved, she lowered her gaze to find a Wubbaboo card already in Lin Shuang's hand.

Then Lin Shuang merely raised her hand and lightly touched Qingque. Her hand vanished from Qingque's view for an instant, and the card disappeared, only to reappear in Qingque's pocket.

Qingque fished the card out of her pocket with a blank expression. Looking between the divination and the card, she seemed utterly incredulous.

"This skill of yours... have you done this before?"

It was not that Qingque was trying to imply anything, but Lin Shuang's practiced technique and confident movements really did not look like something an honest person would possess.

Qingque's divinations were not even as fast as Lin Shuang's hands!

Lin Shuang instantly knew that Qingque was not thinking anything nice.

"What do you mean, done this before? I'm an honest person!"

"What honest person practices this?"

Lin Shuang's expression turned subtle as she looked at Qingque. She had picked up this skill from Qingque herself.

If Qingque had not loved playing cards and slacking off, Lin Shuang would never have acquired this skill.

Seeing Lin Shuang's strange expression, Qingque pinched the card between her fingers and said earnestly,

"...Lin Shuang, for the sake of our friendship as card buddies, turn yourself in. The Cloud Knights are everywhere outside."

"???"

Only when Lin Shuang broke character did Qingque finally grin. She raised a hand and patted Lin Shuang's shoulder.

"Hehe, just kidding. Let me see..."

As Qingque spoke, she was about to check what they had just captured when she suddenly flipped her hand over the Jade Seal, then shoved it into Lin Shuang's hands.

"No, you should look at it yourself. If it's some kind of trouble, don't let me see it."

From Qingque's behavior, anyone who did not know better would think she had been holding a bomb.

Lin Shuang resisted the urge to pinch Qingque's cheeks and accepted the Jade Seal for a look.

It was a secret order commanding the person Lin Shuang had pickpocketed to specifically monitor Lin Shuang's movements.

The message specifically mentioned that the plan had failed because of Lin Shuang, greatly angering the leader of Abundant Doses, and that the person in charge had been held accountable.

It also repeatedly stressed that they must not provoke a conflict on their own. They only needed to record her movements and the people she came into contact with.

Although the secret order did not state it outright, perhaps Abundant Doses did not know the details of how she had acted.

Still, between the lines, they seemed extremely wary of Lin Shuang's combat power. Not only did they emphasize several times not to start a conflict, they even seemed to intend to recruit her.

It looked like nothing would happen for the time being.

After reading the secret order, Lin Shuang returned the Jade Seal to Qingque.

"You can look. There's nothing too serious."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true."

Lin Shuang gave a completely uninformative reply.

It seemed that her sudden appearance and arrival on the Xianzhou had drawn attention not only from the Xianzhou authorities, but from Abundant Doses as well.

Logically speaking, after something like this happened, would they still want to recruit her?

There was no doubt that Tingyun's body had been meant for Lord Ravager Phantylia to use in infiltrating the Xianzhou.

Lin Shuang had ruined that plan. It was already strange enough that Abundant Doses was not trying to kill her, but they even seemed to want to recruit her. That was hard to make sense of.

Wouldn't Phantylia be angry if she found out? A Lord Ravager dealing with an organization like Abundant Doses could not possibly be maintaining some equal relationship with them, could she?

Lin Shuang stroked her chin, unable to figure out what Abundant Doses was plotting.

Meanwhile, Qingque carefully read the information on the Jade Seal. Only after confirming that there was no particularly sensitive intelligence did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.

At the same time, her little brain began turning.

"It looks like they don't plan to do anything for now. That's good... I thought we'd stumbled onto some huge secret."

"How could we find a huge secret so easily?"

How could a major secret possibly be carried by someone assigned to tail them?

Qingque turned that over in her head and realized it was true. That made her earlier behavior seem rather silly.

For a moment, she scratched her head with an embarrassed, goofy grin.

After learning that nothing would happen for now, Qingque relaxed. Even the white fluffy tuft behind her head seemed to puff up a little more.

She blinked her big eyes and looked happily at Lin Shuang.

"So what are we doing now? Want me to take you somewhere good to eat?"

Looking at Qingque like this, Lin Shuang suddenly got the impression of a playful little girlfriend. The corner of her mouth curled.

"Oh? No cards this time? You're inviting me on a date instead?"

"What invitation? This is work, work!"

As she spoke, Qingque suddenly paused, and her face fell.

"Don't remind me that I still have to work overtime tomorrow. I'd finally managed to forget. Besides, I don't want the Master Diviner catching me twice in one day."

Qingque puffed out her cheeks and glared at Lin Shuang.

"Forget it. I'll just take you around."

Lin Shuang had originally thought that Qingque's idea of taking her around meant going somewhere else and continuing to play cards at another parlor.

Unexpectedly, Qingque seriously led Lin Shuang all the way from Changle Heaven to Starskiff Haven today, showing her the Xianzhou at its liveliest.

After that, Qingque took her to Mr. Xiyan's place. They ordered a pot of tea and sat down in a corner.

"Ah, let's rest a bit, let's rest. I've probably walked as much today as I usually do in an entire month."

Qingque took a huge gulp of tea, then rubbed her smooth calves.

Lin Shuang tilted her head and examined Qingque's delicate, cute legs, restraining the urge to touch them a couple of times.

"Why not buy a starskiff? Walking all the way here must've been exhausting."

"Why would I buy one? I usually don't go running around at all. Today was an exception. Otherwise, I wouldn't have walked this much."

Lin Shuang watched Qingque's little feet twist restlessly, and it did seem like she was tired from all the walking.

Feeling a little guilty, Lin Shuang spoke up.

"I actually know a little massage. Want me to help you out?"

"You know how to do that too? No... you want to give me a massage here?"

Qingque had been somewhat interested at first, but then she realized this was Starskiff Haven. There was a storyteller right in front of them, and so many people around. How could she possibly be comfortable getting a massage here?

"What's wrong with that? It's just a foot and calf massage, not like I'd do anything else. Even if you put your feet on my lap, nothing would happen."

As she spoke, Lin Shuang pointed at the other tables. Some people wore slippers, some had their toes hooked around their shoes as they crossed their legs, and some young couples were being affectionate.