Honkai: Star Rail, Marry Acheron Upon Landing Chapter 28

"Ah, the reason I came to find you is twofold: first, I was roped into being a tour guide, and second, I wanted to warn you that someone might have their eye on you."

"Originally, I thought we could just play cards at the pavilion and then head to the Divination Department later. No matter how bold they were, they wouldn't dare make a move in broad daylight in a crowd. But the Diviner herself was being unreasonable, so please don't blame me for this."

Qingque sighed, clearly still bothered by having to work overtime tomorrow.

Lin Shuang nodded slightly, understanding why someone from the Divination Department was assigned to help her.

In terms of strength, Lin Shuang could easily deal with the elites of Abundant Doses; she didn't need much help in terms of combat prowess.

However, Lin Shuang was unfamiliar with the situation on the Xianzhou, and they were the ones in the open while the enemy was hidden. Bringing in a Diviner to help was a natural choice.

As for why Qingque was chosen, it was probably also a reflection of Fu Xuan's trust in Qingque's abilities.

"They have indeed set their sights on me. I can feel someone tracking me."

"Huh? Really?"

Qingque turned her head, looking at Lin Shuang in surprise.

This is a busy street, with so many people passing by. Are you sure it's not just your imagination?

"Yes."

Lin Shuang nodded affirmatively.

How to discern malice in a gaze, and sharp perceptive abilities.

These were skills Huangquan had beaten out of her, hand by hand.

"If we had stayed at the pavilion playing cards, it would have been difficult for me to make a move. It's good that we're out now."

"Ah? Wait, sis?"

Qingque meant that if they stayed in the pavilion, the bad guys wouldn't dare approach. She wasn't saying that they were restricting Lin Shuang's actions in the pavilion.

The Great Diviner didn't mention that Lin Shuang was such a reckless person when she spoke to me?

Seeing Qingque's expression, Lin Shuang knew this little sparrow had misunderstood.

"What are you thinking? I didn't say I wanted to fight."

"If you're not fighting, then what are you going to do?"

Hearing Qingque's confusion, Lin Shuang smirked.

"Get the Jade Seal ready to record in a moment. Just watch my performance."

After speaking, Lin Shuang patted Qingque's shoulder, then turned and pointed to a shop they had just passed.

She muttered a few words to herself, then led Qingque back.

The street was bustling with people. While they weren't shoulder-to-shoulder, it was certainly lively.

Qingque's clear eyes darted around, either feeling like everyone on the street was looking at them, or that no one on the street was paying them any attention at all.

Without consulting the divination, she had no way to pinpoint who was tailing them in such a crowd.

As Lin Shuang passed a small stall, she gently touched Qingque's arm with her left hand.

"Jade Seal."

"Huh? Oh, okay..."

Qingque immediately took out the Jade Seal. Then, as they passed a Xianzhou woman, Lin Shuang leaned slightly to the side, her shoulder accidentally brushing against the woman.

Qingque only managed to see Lin Shuang's right hand seem to flick.

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

"?"

A small question mark, a big doubt.

Qingque stared intently but couldn't follow the movement of Lin Shuang's hand. It was almost like a magic trick, pulling a piece of paper out of nowhere.

Lin Shuang unfolded the paper and let Qingque record its contents, then with another flick of her wrist.

Qingque swore this time that she was concentrating entirely on Lin Shuang's right hand, yet she still couldn't see how the paper in her hand had disappeared.

"Alright, it's back."

However, Lin Shuang was met not with gasps or praise, but with Qingque staring at her with an unreadable expression, scrutinizing her.

"How... how did you do that?? I didn't feel any strange power."

"This is called skill."

Seeing Lin Shuang's smug expression, Qingque's eyes widened, then suddenly darted around. She struck a divining pose and asked curiously:

"Then try taking something from me, let's see?"

Lin Shuang looked at her, giving Qingque a look.

Then, without Qingque knowing when it happened, when she looked down, a dried fish tile had appeared in Lin Shuang's hand.

Lin Shuang then simply raised her hand and lightly touched Qingque. Her hand disappeared for a split second in Qingque's vision, the tile vanished, and reappeared in Qingque's pocket.

Looking utterly bewildered, Qingque pulled the tile from her pocket. She stared at the divination reading and the tile, appearing incredulous.

"Your technique... have you done this before?"

It wasn't that Qingque was being nosy; it was just that Lin Shuang's skillful movements and confident actions didn't seem like something a "proper" person would do.

She could divine fortunes slower than Lin Shuang could pickpocket!

Lin Shuang immediately knew Qingque wasn't thinking anything good.

"Done what? I'm a proper person!"

"What proper person practices this?"

Lin Shuang heard this and looked at Qingque with a subtle expression. She had actually learned this skill from Qingque herself.

If you didn't like playing cards and slacking off, I wouldn't have picked up this skill.

Seeing Lin Shuang's strange look, Qingque, while holding her cards, said earnestly:

"...Lin Shuang, seeing as we're fellow card players, just turn yourself in. The Cloud Knights are all over outside."

"???"

Seeing Lin Shuang falter, Qingque finally broke into a smile and patted Lin Shuang on the shoulder:

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

After saying that, just as Qingque was about to examine what she had just "picked up," she suddenly flipped her hand over to cover the Jade Seal and then shoved it into Lin Shuang's hand.

"No, you should look at it yourself. If this turns out to be some kind of trouble, don't show it to me."

Looking at Qingque's reaction, one would think she was holding a bomb.

Lin Shuang suppressed the urge to pinch her cheek and took the Jade Seal to look.

It was a secret order, instructing the person whose purse Lin Shuang had just picked to specifically monitor Lin Shuang's movements.

The document specifically mentioned that due to Lin Shuang, the plan had failed, and the leader of Abundant Doses was very angry, holding the person in charge accountable.

It also emphasized several times not to initiate conflict. They were only to record her movements and the people she contacted.

Although the secret order didn't explicitly state it, perhaps Abundant Doses didn't know the detailed circumstances of their failed attempt.

However, the wording suggested a strong wariness of Lin Shuang's combat prowess. Not only did it repeatedly stress avoiding conflict, but it also seemed to imply an intention to recruit Lin Shuang.

It seemed like there wouldn't be any major trouble in the short term.

Volume 1: Chapter 39 - Why Lie to You? Tingyun Said It Was Good Too.

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

"You can look at it. There's no major problem."

"Really?"

"Of course, it's real."

Lin Shuang replied unenthusiastically.

It seemed her sudden appearance and arrival on the Xianzhou had not only drawn the attention of the Xianzhou but also Abundant Doses.

Logically, after an incident like this, wouldn't they want to get rid of her instead of trying to recruit her?

Tingyun's body was undoubtedly used by the Great Annihilation Lord Phantylia to infiltrate the Xianzhou.

She had foiled this plan, and instead of trying to kill her, Abundant Doses seemed to want to recruit her. This was rather perplexing.

Wouldn't Phantylia be angry if she knew? A Great Annihilation Lord couldn't possibly be on equal footing with an organization like Abundant Doses.

Lin Shuang stroked her chin, wondering what Abundant Doses was planning.

Meanwhile, Qingque carefully read the information on the Jade Seal. Upon realizing there was no particularly sensitive intel, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, her little brain began to whir.

"It seems they don't plan to do anything for now, which is good... I thought I was going to stumble upon some big secret."

"How could you possibly uncover a big secret in a situation like this?"

A big secret wouldn't be found on someone who was just tailing someone.

Qingque's mind raced, and she realized it was true, making her previous actions seem a bit foolish.

She felt a little embarrassed and scratched her head with a sheepish grin.

Knowing there was no immediate danger, Qingque relaxed, and even the white fluff on the back of her head seemed to puff up a bit.

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

"So, what are we doing now? Want me to treat you to something delicious?"

Looking at Qingque's demeanor, Lin Shuang suddenly felt a sense of a playful, cute girlfriend, and a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips:

"Oh? Not playing cards anymore? Now it's a date invitation?"

"What date invitation? This is work, work!"

As she said that, Qingque suddenly paused, and her expression fell:

"Don't remind me that I have to work overtime tomorrow. I just managed to forget about it. Besides, I don't want to be caught by the Diviner twice in one day."

Qingque pouted and shot Lin Shuang a glare.

"Forget it, I'll take you for a stroll around here."

Lin Shuang had initially thought Qingque's "stroll" would mean heading to another spot to continue their mahjong game.

To her surprise, Qingque was actually serious today, leading Lin Shuang from Changle Heaven all the way to Starship Sea, showing her the most bustling side of the Xianzhou.

Afterward, Qingque brought her to Mr. Xiyan's place, ordered a pot of tea, and they sat down in a corner.

"Ah, time to rest, time to rest. I think I walked more today than I do in a whole month."

Qingque took a big gulp of tea and then rubbed her smooth calves.

Lin Shuang tilted her head, taking in Qingque's delicate and cute calves, suppressing the urge to touch them.

"Why didn't you buy a starship? Walking all this way must have been exhausting."

"Why would I buy one? I don't usually run around anywhere. Today's an exception, otherwise, I wouldn't have walked this much."

Lin Shuang noticed Qingque's small feet fidgeting restlessly, and she did indeed look a bit tired from walking.

Feeling a little guilty, Lin Shuang spoke up:

"Actually, I know a bit about massage. How about I give you one?"

"You know how to do that? Wait... you want to give me a massage here?"

Qingque was initially a little interested, but then she suddenly realized this was Starship Sea, with a storyteller right there, and so many people around. Was she really going to be comfortable getting a massage?

"What's the big deal? It's just a foot rub, a calf rub, I'm not doing anything else. It's not like anything will happen if you put your foot on my knee."

As she spoke, Lin Shuang gestured to other tables, where people were wearing slippers, hooking their toes over their shoes while crossing their legs, or couples being affectionate.