Someone Had Their Eye on Xue Qinghe

After Qin Yue retreated to the edge of the field, the atmosphere on the training ground was clearly different from before.

Lu Yuan did not step onto the field again, and Steward Zhao did not arrange any further opponents for him. Today was merely an exchange between young spirit masters. Defeating Gu Yan and Qin Yue in succession was already enough to make the Royal Academy reconsider his strength. There was little point in continuing.

The remaining sparring matches proceeded as usual. Lu Yuan stood beside Steward Zhao and watched for a while. He occasionally sensed people looking his way, but no one else took the initiative to challenge him.

As noon approached, the exchange gradually drew to a close.

Xue Qinghe exchanged a few brief words with several Academy Teachers, then left the training ground under the escort of his guards. From Lu Yuan's arrival until now, the two had not interacted publicly beyond their initial ordinary introduction. It looked no different from their first meeting today.

Lu Yuan likewise did not deliberately pay attention to him. It was only when Xue Qinghe was about to leave the training ground that familiar gray text suddenly appeared in his vision.

[Qian Renxue]

[Identity: Xue Qinghe]

[Fate Node: Latent]

The preceding information was no different from yesterday.

Lu Yuan was just about to look away when the words at the bottom suddenly rippled faintly. A moment later, a line of information that had never appeared before slowly surfaced.

[Fate node has shifted]

Lu Yuan's gaze narrowed slightly, but his steps did not stop.

When he had first seen Qian Renxue in Heaven Dou City yesterday, the "Latent" node had shown no abnormalities. Yet in just one day, it had suddenly changed. Something had clearly affected her original fate, and the most noteworthy event today was this Royal Academy exchange.

He followed Steward Zhao outside while reviewing everyone he had seen on the training ground. Besides the Royal Academy Teachers, the young spirit masters, and the Spirit Sanctuary group, several outsiders had stood at the edge of the field. One of them, a middle-aged man around forty dressed in a dark gray robe, quickly resurfaced in his mind.

That man wore no Royal Academy uniform and did not seem like an ordinary guard. From the beginning of the exchange to the end, he had barely spoken with anyone. Lu Yuan remembered him because the man had looked at Xue Qinghe several times.

The first time had been when the sparring had just begun. The second had been before Qin Yue took the field. Just now, when Xue Qinghe was preparing to leave, the man's gaze had followed him again.

None of those looks had lasted long. Under normal circumstances, those few glances alone would prove nothing. Xue Qinghe was, after all, the First Prince of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. His appearance at an event like this was naturally bound to attract attention. But the fate node had changed today of all days, so Lu Yuan could not dismiss it entirely.

When he reached the training ground exit, he used the motion of turning aside to avoid several academy students to glance back. The gray-robed middle-aged man was still standing where he had been, speaking quietly with a young man beside him. Nothing appeared unusual.

Lu Yuan did not continue watching. He did not even know the man's identity yet, so deciding rashly that he was suspicious would be meaningless. If he kept staring, he might instead draw the man's attention first.

After leaving the Royal Academy, Steward Zhao was clearly in a good mood. On the way back, he even took the initiative to bring up the earlier sparring match.

"Qin Yue is considered quite good among this generation of young people at the Royal Academy. I originally thought it would already be enough if you could last several rounds against him. I didn't expect you to actually win."

"His strength was much greater than mine."

"That much was obvious." Steward Zhao smiled. "He had been pressing you the whole time, yet in the end, you pushed him out of the field. The Grand Pontiff must have trained you quite a bit over the years, huh?"

Lu Yuan recalled those days at North Field. "He certainly did."

Steward Zhao did not press further after hearing that, and Lu Yuan likewise did not mention the gray-robed middle-aged man from the training ground. Nothing had been clarified yet, and bringing it up now would only create needless trouble. Moreover, Qian Renxue had made it clear last night that unless necessary, they should minimize private contact.

White Stone Alley had merely been the place of their first meeting. If there truly was an urgent matter afterward, he had to leave a mark according to their arrangement first, then Qian Renxue's side would decide whether to meet. The route back to the Spirit Sanctuary happened to pass through West Street.

When the convoy reached the area, Lu Yuan glanced out the window and said to Steward Zhao, "I want to buy a few things along the way. I'll head back on my own later."

Steward Zhao knew that Lu Yuan had already familiarized himself with the nearby streets yesterday. West Street was not far from the Spirit Sanctuary either, so he merely reminded him not to take too long before having the coachman stop at the street entrance.

After getting out of the carriage, Lu Yuan did not head directly to the appointed Teahouse. Instead, he strolled normally along the street for a while. He first entered a weapons shop to look around, then bought some daily necessities nearby. Only after circling through two streets did he pass the teahouse's rear courtyard through the small alley at its side.

Several wooden crates were piled against the wall, and a few inconspicuous little stones lay scattered beneath the windowsill.

Lu Yuan did not stop walking. As he passed by, he bent down as though adjusting the edge of his shoe and casually moved one grayish-white pebble to the left side of the windowsill. The two had agreed last night that as long as this mark appeared here, the people arranged by Qian Renxue would know he needed to make contact.

After doing that, he left through the other end of the alley. Once back at the Spirit Sanctuary, he ate and cultivated as usual.

According to the contact method they had established last night, if Qian Renxue's side decided to meet, someone would leave a message beneath an old bamboo basket outside another general store on West Street around nightfall. If there was nothing there, it meant contact was inconvenient for the time being.

At dusk, Lu Yuan left the Spirit Sanctuary again. However, he did not head straight to the general store. He first ate something nearby, then slowly circled around two streets. Only after confirming that nothing unusual was following him did he pass by that general store.

The shop had already begun closing up, and several old bamboo baskets that had once held dried goods sat by the entrance.

As though examining the wares at the neighboring stall, Lu Yuan lingered for a moment before naturally crouching down. He casually straightened the outermost bamboo basket, and his fingertips found a tiny folded slip of paper beneath it.

He did not open it on the spot. Instead, he tucked the paper into his sleeve and entered an alley no one passed through only after leaving that street.

There were only two lines on the paper.

Tonight, at the hour of the Pig.

South City, Qingmufang Back Alley.

There was no signature and no further explanation.

Lu Yuan memorized the time and place. After leaving the alley, he paused before a lantern by the roadside and used its flame to light the paper. Once it had burned completely, he ground the ashes beneath his shoe. Only after confirming that no writing could be discerned did he continue onward as though nothing had happened.

White Stone Alley would no longer be used. This time, even the meeting area had been changed to South City. Qian Renxue clearly did not intend to let either of their traces appear too frequently at any secret contact point.

There was still plenty of time before the hour of the Pig, so Lu Yuan did not go early. Instead, he returned to the Spirit Sanctuary and cultivated as usual for more than an hour. Only after night had fully fallen did he change into ordinary clothes and leave the Sanctuary as usual.

When he met Qian Renxue tonight, he needed to tell her about the fate node's sudden change, as well as the gray-robed man at the Royal Academy who had watched Xue Qinghe several times.

Meanwhile, at another residence in Heaven Dou City.

The gray-robed middle-aged man who had appeared at the Royal Academy during the day was standing in a study. The person behind the desk was looking through several pages of newly delivered records. Only after reading the final page did he casually set them aside.

"How was it today?"

The gray-robed man bowed slightly. "I saw nothing unusual about the First Prince today. His interactions with the people from Spirit Hall were merely ordinary courtesies."

The person behind the desk was silent for a moment before speaking blandly. "Keep watching him."

"Yes."

"Especially everyone who has been in contact with him recently. Do not miss a single one."