"Xiao Yuan, who are these two?" Lin Ning had dragged Xiao Cheng along to buy plenty of food and things to play with. When she returned and saw Lin Yuan chatting with Yezi, her eyes immediately lit up as she looked at Yezi.
"Friends I met on the Overseas Immortal Island, Miss Ye and Young Master Mu." After introducing Yezi, Lin Yuan added, "This is my older sister, Lin Ning, and my eldest senior brother, Xiao Cheng."
Lin Ning looked at the two excitedly. This was the first time she had ever seen her younger brother look so pleasant toward someone else—and a pretty girl, at that. "I remember! Xiao Yuan mentioned the person who saved his life on the Overseas Immortal Island. That was you, wasn't it, Miss Ye?"
"Why call me Miss? Just call me Yezi." Yezi patted the chest of the young man beside her. "His name is Mu Yang. Calling us lifesavers is a bit much. We just saw an injustice and stepped in to help, haha..."
"Are you here for the Friendship Gathering too?" Xiao Cheng was always considerate. "Since fate brought us together, why don't we travel together?"
Yezi's eyes darted. What a stroke of luck!
One look told her this inn wasn't cheap. Since someone was willing to pay, why wouldn't she stay? "Sure! Mu Yang, it's been ages since we last saw Big Brother Lin. This is a perfect chance to catch up."
Lin Yuan remained silent and followed the others into the inn.
"My apologies, honored guests, but we're fully booked." The owner smiled apologetically as he spoke to Lin Ning. "You can eat downstairs, but I'm afraid we can't accommodate you overnight..."
"Good thing I booked ahead." Xiao Cheng smiled. "We reserved two rooms earlier. Why don't we give Miss Yezi one and share the other between us?"
The owner was all smiles. "Honored guests, we've had a great many visiting cultivators here lately, and many of them are sharing rooms. If you don't mind, you could ask around in the other guests' rooms. You'll only have to make do for a few nights. After all, the other inns and lodgings are full too."
Yezi's eyes lit up at the owner's words. "Thank you!" Then she turned and whispered a few words to Mu Yang.
Lin Ning discreetly signaled to Xiao Cheng with her eyes, and the two secretly communicated through voice transmission. "Eldest Senior Brother, I think this Yezi is quite nice. She's pretty, lively, and cheerful. Xiao Yuan was laughing and chatting with her just now. It's the first time I've ever seen him smile at a girl."
Xiao Cheng chuckled. "I think she's nice too, but I think she likes Young Master Mu Yang more."
Lin Ning looked Mu Yang up and down. His clothes were ordinary, and his looks were reasonably decent. His cultivation was at the Golden Core Stage, and he carried an enormous heavy sword on his back. He seemed quite honest. "Eldest Senior Brother, you think Miss Yezi likes him?"
Xiao Cheng smiled and shook his head. If Miss Ye didn't already have someone she liked, they could have tried playing matchmaker.
The five went upstairs. Lin Yuan and the other two entered one room, while Yezi and Mu Yang entered the other.
Lin Ning nudged Lin Yuan with her shoulder. "Little brother, Miss Yezi saved your life. Why did you come back with us? Go to their room!"
Lin Yuan considered it for a moment, then nodded. "All right."
He actually had something he wanted to ask Yezi, so he could go over and have a look while he was at it. Where he slept didn't matter at all.
He went to Yezi's room and knocked on the door. "Young Master Mu? Miss Ye?"
Mu Yang opened the door. "Big Brother Lin, Yezi went out."
"Where did she go?" Lin Yuan walked into the room. "I have something to ask her. I'll wait here for a while."
"She isn't coming back." Mu Yang poured Lin Yuan a cup of tea. "She said she ran into an older sister she knew and wanted to get a place to stay with her. You can stay here if you don't mind, Big Brother Lin."
Lin Yuan pressed his lips together. "No need..."
Gu Yi returned to his room, feeling terribly pitiful...
He was caught between a wolf ahead and a tiger behind. Lin Yuan hadn't recognized him, but Yezi definitely had.
When Yezi had brushed past him earlier, she seemed to have glanced at him.
Knock, knock, knock-
Someone suddenly knocked on the door, and Gu Yi immediately tensed. "Who is it?"
Yezi's voice came from outside. "Sister Yiyi?"
Gu Yi closed his eyes briefly, then stood and opened the door, pulling Yezi inside. He checked that no one else was outside before closing it again.
Seeing the way he looked, Yezi covered her mouth and laughed. "Sister Yiyi, it's been three years, and you're still so funny."
Gu Yi gritted his teeth. "You wretched girl, what are you doing here?"
Yezi looked at Gu Yi with an aggrieved expression. "Sister, I had no choice back then. After all these years, you still can't forgive me?"
Gu Yi took a deep breath. "No. I'll never forgive you as long as I live."
Luckily, the Tianmu Sect was a respectable sect. How was drugging someone unconscious and dumping them in another sect any different from human trafficking?
"Sister Yiyi, you look much healthier now than you did back then." Yezi suddenly reached out and caught Gu Yi's wrist. "Has your Dao Companion abandoned you, Sister? It looks like you haven't practiced dual cultivation in ages."
Gu Yi flung her hand away, flustered and furious. "What Dao Companion? What nonsense are you talking about, you little brat..."
"Sister Yiyi, don't be angry. Going to the Tianmu Sect was good for your health. I wanted freedom, and you wanted to prolong your life. Didn't this work out well for both of us? Besides, the fact that you haven't left the Tianmu Sect all these years proves my point, doesn't it?"
Yezi made herself completely at home and lay down on Gu Yi's bed. "Sister Yiyi, I have nowhere to sleep. Could I squeeze in with you?"
Gu Yi knew Yezi was right. He had been the one benefiting from his three years at the Tianmu Sect. He had a legitimate identity, somewhere to stay, and someone helping prolong his life.
Besides, he was the one who hadn't been on guard against Yezi back then. This world was full of deception to begin with; it was nothing like his original world.
To put it bluntly, he had only himself to blame for being tricked...
But! He dragged Yezi off the bed. "No! You can't sleep here!"
"Sister Yiyi... my dear sister, have pity on me. Just let me sleep here. I can't share a room with a man."
Yezi clung pitifully to the bedpost and refused to leave no matter what.
Gu Yi was speechless. But I'm a man too...
"Sister Yiyi, don't throw me out. I have something on you, you know..." Before Yezi could finish, Gu Yi clapped a hand over her mouth. "Please... stop talking. You sleep here. I'll leave!"
With that, he pushed the door open and went straight out.
He had been in a pretty good mood, sightseeing along the way. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this... If he had known, he would have used Sword Flight straight to the Illusory Demon Sect. That would have been better than running into these two ticking time bombs here.
Judging by Yezi's tone, she probably wouldn't reveal his identity.
As for Lin Yuan, he could just pretend not to know him...
Gu Yi had just closed the door when he saw Lin Yuan coming out of Mu Yang's room. The two came face-to-face.
The instant Lin Yuan saw Gu Yi, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to him.
Lin Yuan had already spotted Gu Yi at the entrance to the inn earlier. If Yezi hadn't greeted him, he would have wanted to drag Gu Yi away right then to confirm his identity.
Gu Yi lowered his head and tried to head for Xie Wenyun's room.
But Lin Yuan approached him step by step. When he reached him, he suddenly stopped a single pace away and asked in a low voice, "Miss Ye Yiyi?"
Gu Yi: I'm done for! I'm going to die...
Before you continue