Chapter 10 What did the demons infiltrate? Who are you calling a spy?

For the entire second half of the suspended stone staircase, Yin Lisheng was held in Fu Yunshu's arms. Logically, this behavior violated the assessment rules, but Yin Simiao, considering that Yin Lisheng had been quite frightened, turned a blind eye and did not pursue the matter.

Yin Lisheng felt completely dizzy, simply because Su Yun's embrace was so comfortable. This person always had a faint, delicate fragrance surrounding him, very subtle, only noticeable when you were close, yet it made Yin Lisheng somewhat intoxicated.

The boy was actually rather thin, but the hand holding him was very steady. Even when walking on the suspended stone steps that could shatter one's body with a single misstep, his pace was unhurried.

Yin Lisheng closed his eyes, somewhat craving this warmth. No one had ever embraced him so tenderly, as if protecting a rare treasure.

But the suspended stone steps had come to an end, and no matter how unwilling he was, he had to come down.

As soon as Fu Yunshu left the suspended stone steps, Yin Lisheng struggled to get out of his arms. He put her on the ground, his fingers unconsciously rubbing together, somewhat reluctant to let go of the feeling from just now.

Qiu Nan and Yan Shuangwan followed closely behind.

"Congratulations, you've successfully passed the second hurdle," Yin Simiao said cheerfully, looking even happier than the people involved.

“However,” he changed the subject, winking mischievously, “don’t get too excited yet, we’re not at the top yet, you still have to keep climbing.”

It was already late afternoon. Qiu Nan looked up at the seemingly endless Ladder to Heaven and wailed, "How much longer!"

"Don't be discouraged," Yin Simiao squatted down, put her arm around Qiu Nan's shoulder, and patted him encouragingly. "I have high hopes for you guys."

Qiu Nan gave him a resentful look but didn't say anything.

"Let's hurry," Yan Shuangwan said anxiously, "We don't have much time left."

Although the sun sets late in summer, there were still less than two hours left. What lay ahead was still unknown. After a brief farewell to Yin Simiao, the group continued on their way.

Yin Simiao stood on the stone steps, looking up as the sunlight cast long shadows of the young men and women. Qiu Nan hooked his arm around Yin Lisheng's neck and whispered something, while Yan Shuangwan watched the two quietly. Although Yin Lisheng was listening to Qiu Nan's rambling, his eyes were constantly on Su Yun.

Yin Simiao eagerly awaited the day when they would call him "Senior Brother." He believed they could, but...

Her gaze shifted to Su Yun. For some reason, Yin Simiao felt that although this person seemed to be traveling with Yin Lisheng and the others, he was actually always detached from the three of them.

After thinking for a moment, Yin Simiao instructed the disciples behind her, "You all watch over things here for now, I have some things to take care of."

After the disciple agreed, Yin Simiao flew away on his sword, intending to visit Fu Yunshu's room.

Huayang Courtyard is a place for new disciples of Qingyuan Sect to rest. Older disciples don't come here unless there's a reason, and the new disciples are still taking their assessments and haven't returned yet. Logically, there shouldn't be anyone here at this moment.

But……

Yin Simiao raised her hand and summoned her natal spirit sword. She channeled her spiritual power and thrust the sword in a certain direction.

Who's there?

A figure emerged from the corner.

"Clang—"

The weapons clashed, producing a piercing sound. Both were jolted back several steps by the opponent's attack, but upon seeing who it was, Yin Simiao was stunned and her face showed an expression of disbelief.

"Demons?"

The man in black wore a mask, obscuring his face. He clearly didn't want to get entangled with Yin Simiao any longer, and after regaining his footing, he immediately darted away.

"stop--"

Yin Simiao wanted to chase after him, but the man in black was too fast and disappeared in an instant.

He raised his hand and formed a hand seal, placing a seal on Huayang Academy, and then began to check the situation.

Unfortunately, that demon was far too cautious, and Yin Simiao searched for a long time but couldn't find anything amiss.

The fact that the Qingyuan Sect had been infiltrated by demons was no small matter. After confirming that there were no other demons in Huayang Academy, Yin Simiao, unable to find any clues, immediately rushed to the main peak to tell Song Wenzhuo about it.

Upon arriving at the main peak, Yin Simiao was slightly surprised to find that, apart from the two peak masters, Gu Zhinan and Du Zhun, the other peak masters were all in the main hall. He rarely saw such a scene, but he couldn't be curious, as the matter of the demon race was more important.

“Master,” Yin Simiao bowed respectfully, “this disciple has discovered the demon race at Huayang Academy.”

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Xiuzhu and the others, who had been focused on the water mirror, also turned their attention to Yin Simiao.

Yin Simiao recounted everything that had just happened in Huayang Courtyard, and at the end, she lowered her head in shame.

"It is because I am incompetent that I let that demon escape."

Song Wenzhuo waved his hand and comforted him, "It has nothing to do with you. Demons are good at hiding their tracks. That demon dared to infiltrate Qingyuan Sect alone, so his strength must be considerable. You can't just catch him if you want to. It's good that you're not injured."

“Yes,” Ning Xuexi echoed, “You’ve done enough, there’s no need to blame yourself too much.”

Compared to these things, Wen Xun was more concerned about other matters.

"The demons went through all sorts of trouble to infiltrate our Qingyuan Sect, but instead of coming to the main peak or other peaks to gather intelligence, they went to Huayang Academy, which only has new disciples. What are they thinking?"

“This matter is indeed a bit strange,” Ye Xiuzhu said, looking at Yin Simiao. “Little Yin, you have a lot of contact with those new disciples. Have you noticed anything unusual?”

Yin Simiao pondered for a moment and said, "This disciple does indeed have someone I suspect."

Ning Xuexi and the others became interested.

Tell me about it.

Yin Simiao said seriously, "There is a new disciple named Su Yun this year. I initially thought he was a bit strange, but now I think he might be a spy from the Demon Clan."

Song Wenzhuo, Ye Xiuzhu, Ning Xuexi, and Wen Xun: "..."

“You…” Song Wenzhuo’s voice was slightly hoarse, “Why would you think that way?”

Yin Simiao: "I asked the junior brother who was in charge of them yesterday. Su Yun only made the Observation Stone emit a faint light yesterday. His talent is mediocre, barely enough to step into the threshold of cultivation."

"But in today's assessment, whether climbing mountains under pressure or crossing suspended stone steps, this person walked as if on flat ground, as if these things had no effect on him at all. How could an ordinary person do this? He must be a demon in disguise!"

"Oh, right, there's one more thing," Yin Simiao said excitedly, completely oblivious to the subtle atmosphere in the hall, slapping his forehead. "Today, a disciple brought out a magic weapon that was at least a low-grade Earth-rank artifact, and Su Yun destroyed it with just one move. Is that reasonable? Is that even possible!"

Wen Xun's expression was strange, hesitant to speak, then stopped, and then said after a long while, "Little Yin, according to you, he has revealed many flaws, but would a real demon spy really be so stupid? Doesn't this blatantly tell us that something is wrong with him?"

“Oh right,” Yin Simiao suddenly realized, but then he wondered, “What’s with Su Yun’s strange behavior?”

Song Wenzhuo sighed softly and said, "Before you came, the rest of us were watching the entrance exam. If only you had paid attention to Shui Jing."

Yin Simiao turned around awkwardly; she had arrived in such a hurry that she hadn't paid much attention to what was happening inside the hall.

He looked at the water mirror in the very center, and then—

Yin Simiao: "?"

Yin Simiao: "!"

A note from the author:

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It's a bit short (I'm a little guilty), and I'll update about five times a week depending on the rankings.

Also, while revising the text, I suddenly realized that the first few chapters were mostly from the perspective of the seme (scratching head). I don't know if everyone can accept it. The whole story is mostly told from the perspective of the uke. The couple is sweet and loving, and they're locked in for life.