Lin Yuan stopped and feigned surprise, studying the two of them without making it obvious.
Two years had passed, and both Xiao Wu and Tang San had changed quite a bit. They were each around 1.7 meters tall now. But Xiao Wu's scorpion braid and rabbit-ear hair ornament were unmistakable, as were Tang San's unremarkable face and the Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night at his waist.
Lin Yuan recognized them at a glance.
Xiao Wu was especially startled. She stepped in front of him, looked him up and down, and exclaimed,
"Wow, Lin Yuan, it really is you! I only thought your back looked familiar. I figured I'd made a mistake, but it's actually you."
"Where have you been all these years? I asked the academy teachers, and they said you'd left."
"Xiao San and I went to your house, but the medicine shop had already closed. I thought you'd..."
The moment Xiao Wu opened her mouth, words came pouring out of her.
Lin Yuan could hear the concern for him in her voice.
A faint warmth rose in his chest.
But what Xiao Wu said next set off alarm bells in his head—and made Tang San, standing beside her, visibly bristle.
"And how did you grow so much? Back then, you were only a little better-looking than Xiao San and not much taller. How did you suddenly get so tall and handsome?"
Tang San said, sounding a little jealous, "Xiao Wu, don't you think that's a bit blunt?"
"What? Lin Yuan is handsome now, and he's way taller than you. If you don't believe me, let him see for himself."
As she spoke, Xiao Wu pulled a small mirror from a Soul Tool of some kind and thrust it in front of Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan was briefly taken aback by his own reflection.
He had spent nearly three years in darkness and had paid little attention to his appearance.
Now that he looked, he had to admit he'd grown quite handsome.
His thick, tousled black hair, clear dark eyes, strong nose, and fair skin from years spent in black robes and out of the sun made him strikingly good-looking.
That left Lin Yuan faintly annoyed. Being handsome was usually a good thing, but not in these circumstances.
It looks like Xiao Wu hasn't really recognized me. She just thought my back looked like it did when I was a kid...
With that thought, Lin Yuan pretended he had only just caught on and asked in confusion, "Do you two know me?"
"What? Don't you remember us?" Xiao Wu asked, a little angry.
Lin Yuan nodded and lied with a straight face. "I've never met either of you."
Tang San had been studying Lin Yuan the whole time. Ever since Lin Tian, he had been wary of any man who struck up a conversation with Xiao Wu.
Seeing no sign that Lin Yuan was lying, he asked tentatively, "Aren't you Lin Yuan? Lin as in 'forest,' Yuan as in 'abyss'?"
Lin Yuan knew Tang Hao was nearby, so there was no way he could admit it. "Then you really have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Ling Yuan, not Lin Yuan. Ling as in 'overbearing,' not Lin as in 'forest.' Yuan as in 'source,' not Yuan as in 'abyss.'"
"Sorry, we mistook you for someone else," Tang San said.
Lin Yuan waved it off, turned, and walked away without looking back.
"See, Xiao Wu? I told you it wasn't him. That man's Soul Power wasn't weak. He's already very close to becoming a Soul Grandmaster. With Lin Yuan's innate level-three Soul Power, there's no way he could have reached that point at his age."
Only after watching Lin Yuan leave did Tang San finally relax and turn to Xiao Wu.
To be honest, he had been afraid the man really was Lin Yuan and would grow close to Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu had said little about it over the past five years.
But Tang San could tell she still blamed herself for Lin Tian's death.
That guilt had also made her worry about the disappearance of Lin Yuan, who had once been Lin Tian's follower.
If that man really was Lin Yuan—and he had become a Soul Grandmaster and grown so handsome—then for Tang San, who wanted Xiao Wu all to himself,
it would be bad news.
After hearing Tang San's reasoning, Xiao Wu began to doubt herself. "But he really looked like Lin Yuan. Did I actually get it wrong...?"
As Lin Yuan walked farther away, he could no longer hear their conversation.
He found a decent restaurant, ordered a tableful of dishes, and settled down to eat.
While he ate, he listened to the other diners talking.
At last, he learned why so many people had come to Suotuo City.
One story was that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's young princess had gone missing, and the sect had offered a reward of two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins to find her.
That was one version.
Another claimed the young princess had fled on the day of her engagement to her fiancé.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had offered the same reward to bring her back.
Someone had reportedly seen her in Suotuo City, so people hoping to claim the reward had flocked there.
That was why the city was so crowded.
In the original story, Ning Rongrong ran away in a huff, but someone was secretly keeping an eye on her the whole time. If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is offering such a huge reward now, it must be the second version.
That does sound like the Little Demoness. As for the poor fellow she was supposed to marry...
Imagining the Transmigrator's furious face when Ning Rongrong fled the engagement, Lin Yuan couldn't help a gleeful smile.
Just then, someone in the crowd shouted, "Ning Rongrong's over there! Quick, stop her..."
At once, people from the restaurant and all along the street surged in that direction.
Before long, the once-packed restaurant was nearly empty.
Lin Yuan paid them no mind. He finished his meal, paid the bill, and headed toward Shrek Academy.
But as he passed a quiet, deserted alley, a young beggar called out to him. "Hey, handsome, come over here..."
The beggar was filthy, but had an unusually cute face. More importantly, the beggar's Soul Power was far from weak—at least at the level of a Soul Elder.
There was also an air of privilege about the beggar, the kind only vast wealth could cultivate.
Together, those details gave Lin Yuan a good idea of who this was.
"Need something?" Lin Yuan glanced at the beggar's unusually fair neck. Amused, he feigned surprise as he asked.
"Mm. Come here. I have something to discuss with you," the beggar said mysteriously.
Before you continue