After Lin Chen and Mo Yuan finished their discussion, both fell silent.
The dim lamplight in the Training Ground stretched their shadows long.
One sat in the seat of honor, while the other leaned against the wall. Neither spoke again. Different thoughts surged through their minds as they weighed the implications hidden in their conversation and considered every move they would make next.
Just as the two were lost in thought, a voice tinged with amusement suddenly came from the other end of the Training Ground.
"What are you two doing, hiding in a corner and whispering?"
It was Yun Yan.
She had returned without them noticing, carrying two cups of hot water and smiling at the master and disciple in the corner.
Lin Chen and Mo Yuan snapped out of their thoughts at the same time and answered almost in unison, "Nothing. Just chatting."
Then they exchanged a glance, one looking up and the other looking down as they tacitly averted their eyes.
Seeing the guilty looks on their faces, Yun Yan raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Still, she asked no further questions and simply set the cups beside them. "All right, enough chatting. Have some water and get some rest."
That night, Lin Chen slept fitfully.
The same thread kept winding through his mind:
Tang San was at Blue Tyrant Academy, and Dugu Bo had formed some unknown connection with him... These thoughts tangled together like a snarl of hemp that he could not unravel, no matter how he tried.
Several times, he was on the verge of drifting off, only to jolt awake and rehearse his next move in his mind again.
Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, Lin Chen got up.
Without disturbing anyone, he changed into ordinary coarse-cloth clothes, put away