"Your rival has arrived. What are your thoughts?" Shen Xun asked, looking at her with amusement.

This time, Qinghe was very serious: "Don't talk nonsense, or you'll get yourself into trouble and won't even know how you died."

Shen Xun disagreed, his gaze shifting to the horse Ling Yin was riding. It had long, flowing mane and a magnificent physique; it was a fine horse.

He said casually, "The Qingyun Sect is so poor, yet they're willing to spend money on a good horse."

Upon hearing this, Qinghe looked at the horse that was digging in the dirt with its head down, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. "And it's for a junior disciple who has only recently joined the sect. Is that even possible?"

She knew that Lingyin was a member of the demon race, but she couldn't say it because of her status as the female lead. Moreover, Lingyin seemed innocent and lively at the moment and hadn't done anything evil. Even if she said it, probably few people would believe her.

"Just be careful, no need to take it too seriously," Shen Xun said, rubbing his lips together, his tone somewhat cold. "Anyway, he's just a minor supporting character."

The last sentence was spoken very softly, and Qinghe didn't hear it clearly: "What?"

Shen Xun shook his head and said nothing more.

Lingyin displayed her talkative nature to the fullest, and soon she was chatting with Li Jiang and the others, with bursts of laughter coming from time to time, creating an inexplicably harmonious atmosphere.

Li Jiang really liked this junior sister. In their team, there were either naughty kids or aloof and taciturn people. It was rare to have someone talkative and liven up the atmosphere, so he naturally welcomed her with open arms. It was also a good opportunity to take a break from his usual worries.

After chatting for a while, they set off for Luochuan. When their eyes fell on Lingyin's horse, which didn't look like a sect's horse, they showed a hint of suspicion.

Lingyin immediately explained, "The sect recently purchased a few horses, and this one is the fastest, so it was given to me."

The sect had made several purchases before, and Li Jiang did not suspect anything, nodding to indicate that she knew.

Qing and Shen Xun exchanged a glance but remained silent.

The other party was clearly well-prepared; no matter what question was asked, she answered flawlessly. Raising questions at this point would only alert her.

Well, let's just take it one step at a time.

The group left the inn in a grand procession, the watchtower behind them growing ever more distant.

Qinghe plucked a sweet grass from somewhere and put it in his mouth, humming an unknown tune. The horse was moving slowly, and the journey was quite pleasant.

Mo Junqian appeared beside her at some point. The two horses were very close together, and their shadows on the ground overlapped and then separated.

He looked at the stunning profile bathed in the morning sun, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Senior sister, that girl and I are just ordinary friends, not even friends. Please don't misunderstand."

Qinghe, with grass in her mouth, was somewhat puzzled by Mo Junqian's words. Whether there was a connection or not was irrelevant to her, and such an explanation was really unnecessary. Besides, in her heart, she had already bound Mo Junqian and Lingyin together, and the explanation now would only make things worse.

"You don't need to tell me all this, I understand what you're thinking," she said indifferently, holding the grass in her hand.

The sentence itself was not ambiguous, but Mo Junqian interpreted it in a different way.

He was secretly delighted: "Senior sister, do you mean you know what I'm thinking?"

Qinghe didn't know why he was so happy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lingyin in front of her looking back and giggling. She immediately guessed what was going on. She moved closer and whispered to Mo Junqian, "Are you hinting at this to me because you want me to help you come up with a plan to pursue this beauty?"

Mo Junqian was pleasantly surprised: "Is...is it okay?"

Qinghe: "Of course, but it's not free. It'll cost at least this much each time." She held up five fingers, looking very serious.

Mo Junqian looked at those slender, white fingers, his eyes gleaming. "But my money was originally meant for you. Even if you didn't ask me for it, I would still have done it."

Qinghe frowned, thinking that the child must have gone crazy with joy and couldn't even figure out who his girlfriend was.

The fact that two people who were not on the same wavelength had been chatting for so long made Shen Xun, who had been listening to the whole thing, burst out laughing.

"One is blinded by involvement, the other sees clearly from the sidelines, you two are truly born... Waaah..."

Qinghe suddenly raised her hand and covered his mouth: "I told you not to talk nonsense!" Turning to observe Mo Junqian, she found that he did not have any unusual emotions, and breathed a sigh of relief.

He withdrew his hand, said "That's the end of the topic," and then spurred his horse and galloped away, his retreating figure giving the impression of a hasty escape.

Mo Junqian asked in surprise, "Why is she reacting so strongly?"

Shen Xun stared at Mo Junqian for a long time, then sighed softly.

Three words echoed in the wind: "A tragic fate..."

...

Luochuan City

Compared to the reserved and understated nature of Tianqi Capital, Luochuan City can be described as unrestrained and flamboyant.

Everyone on the street was dressed in bright and shiny clothes, their gold-embroidered robes shimmering in the sunlight. Even the innkeeper's waiter wore two or three large gold rings, flaunting his wealth in an outrageous way.

Compared to the wealthy people all over the street, Qing and his group looked like refugees, their simple attire almost unbelievable.

Fortunately, she has a pretty face, making her stand out as a striking figure among the ordinary crowd on the street.

When they arrived at a brothel, someone threw handkerchiefs and flowers down. A petal accidentally hit Qinghe. She looked up and saw the girls in the brothel looking at the group of handsome men with shy and bashful eyes, seemingly both welcoming and refusing.

"Young master, look up at me!"

"That's right, young master, you're so handsome, how come you're so timid? You don't even dare to look up..."

The cheesy shouts gave Qinghe goosebumps, and he couldn't help but marvel at the open-mindedness of Luochuan City.

The air was filled with the scent of women's cosmetics, so strong it made one feel nauseous.

I quickly left the place and came to a relatively quiet spot. I took a deep breath of fresh air and immediately felt reborn.

Mu Dong's fair face was flushed, and she kept repeating, "Don't look at what is improper, don't listen to what is improper."

He grew up in the Qingyun Sect, where he was taught not only frugality and self-discipline, but also the importance of moral integrity. When he went on missions, he only encountered ordinary, law-abiding people and had never been to places like brothels. No wonder he reacted so strongly.

Qinghe even suspected that his attraction to her was entirely due to the severe lack of female disciples in the sect, as he had hardly ever seen any women.

Lingyin was a restless person who said whatever came to mind: "Luochuan City is indeed as famous as it is, even the girls in the brothels are so fierce."

She glanced at Mo Junqian and saw that his expression was normal. Her impression of him improved even more. He was not swayed by beauty and remained calm and composed. He was indeed a gentleman.

She randomly chose a relatively cheap inn to stay in temporarily. When paying, Li Jiang looked at her increasingly empty purse and sighed.

Qinghe saw this and felt it was necessary to do something for the team, so after putting away their luggage, he took Shenxun out to find a way to make money.