Chapter 2575: Following One's Heart, Master Duan

Duan He Yun picked a rose and placed it on her temple, even attracting two little bees, which made A Lian giggle with delight.

Xiao Ping stayed in charge of Ling Yun Palace and did not come along, so she did not have to witness this heart-wrenching scene.

He Lingchuan glanced at his own shoulder with the corner of his eye and then noticed a yellow thread.

The divine gaze returned.

But he felt no panic, for every steward, experimental subject, and demon puppet master who emerged from Yan Xia Bay, as well as the military commanders, all had such an antenna stuck to them.

Of course, Duan He Yun and A Lian were no exception; A Lian's antenna was even dark red, deeper and more vivid than the threads on the cultivators who had been tailed in Bai Song City the previous day.

This is the key marker.

Clearly, the heavens wish to monitor the movements of every important traveler, especially A Lian's; "Hu Xin" is merely an inconspicuous member among them.

At this moment, Steward Liu questioned a few people and then went to the nearby wild forest to find Steward Hu.

The woods were dense, and sunlight could not penetrate; after walking just a few zhang inside, he heard a distant crack, like the sound of trees falling, followed by startled birds taking flight with loud squawks.

He wondered uncertainly: "Hu, Steward Hu?"

Then a shadow flashed in that direction, startling Steward Liu badly.

But the newcomer was indeed Steward Hu, who also frowned and asked him: "I just came in to relieve myself. What are you doing?"

Who doesn't have three urgencies?

"Just now, that..."

"Just now was me." Steward Hu replied irritably, "You came in looking for me—what urgent matter do you actually have?"

"Ah, there is." Steward Liu then reported.

It turned out that an experimental subject in the cage had awakened early; the guard leaning against it failed to notice it biting his arm, and now his life hangs in the balance.

He Lingchuan, disguised as Hu Xin, rolled his eyes.

The work at this post is truly unpleasant; from the initial preparations to now, this field release has seen dozens of troubles and accidents, big and small. Some he must handle himself, others he must still report.

In fact, when he earlier entered this forest, he was first conducting a patrol to confirm the nearby area was safe and free of surveillance, then he released the helpers from the Dou Kou Garden.

While he dealt with these trivial matters, Ling Jinbao and other idlers began cracking melon seeds and drinking tea, though the location had shifted to Dong Rui's snail toad space.

The snail toad had already burrowed underground, so it would not attract anyone's attention.

These fellows travel to and from Ling Yun Palace in concealed special vehicles, meaning only He Lingchuan is busy running around.

Seeing He Lingchuan rushing about frantically, Dong Rui laughed: "Du Shan and Liu Qingdao usually have this much to attend to; they should also let Jiu You experience it properly."

In Cang Yan, when the Jiu You Emperor has an idea, those below must rack their brains and run themselves ragged.

Moreover, the Jiu You Emperor's ideas are numerous—several can pop up every few days, and someone must always be found to implement them; this group of capable ministers and generals dare not complain to his face, and during public banquets, while drinking tea and wine, they often tease each other.

After He Lingchuan resolved this minor demon puppet incident, taking advantage of the fact that no one nearby was paying attention, he pulled out the "Yang Guan Dao" and shone it on A Lian's back.

His movements were swift; this small mirror was held in his palm, making it hard to draw notice.

Then he saw: two dots appeared on the mirror surface of the "Yang Guan Dao."

The deep red dot was A Lian—this could be confirmed without error.

But there was also another very faint cyan dot, likewise appearing on A Lian.

The Soul-Capturing Mirror immediately noticed: "Huh, what is that?"

He Lingchuan whispered: "Eye mite."

He has also been exploring the uses of the "Yang Guan Dao" recently; now he can even command it to distinguish different life forms.

For example, humans and insects are both alive, but their gathered energy differs; when both are separated by a wall, the Yang Guan Dao will prompt its owner.

This tiny cyan dot represents a life form of very small volume, weak self-awareness, and located within A Lian's forehead.

Furthermore, He Lingchuan had earlier seen something moving in her pupils; A Lian said it was the thing Duan He Yun placed in her ear, making her itch so much she often wanted to rub her eyes.

Taken together, it is not hard to conclude that Duan He Yun placed the eye mite in her.

This little thing harms the host, only transmitting what the host sees and hears to Duan He Yun.

A Lian is one of Duan He Yun and Ling Yun Palace's most important assets; naturally, the means to control and monitor her are diverse, not limited to just one antenna.

He Lingchuan prevented the heavenly demon from obtaining the "Yang Guan Dao" from Shangguan Biao's hands, originally only to sabotage their divine descent plan, but now he discovers this treasure is actually also a reconnaissance tool. Those parasitic worms lurking in human bodies—whether eye mites, response worms, three corpses worms, same fate gu, or even the un-emerged child-devouring silkworm, as well as the brain-eating worm demon that can control the host's bodily movements—are hard to detect with the naked eye, but none can escape the illumination of the "Yang Guan Dao."

To some extent, it is also a demon-revealing mirror.

At this moment, someone reported from the front of the team: after advancing another five li, they will reach Luan Mountain.

Upon hearing this, everyone inside the snail toad space also perked up.

They had arrived at Luan Mountain one step ahead of the Ling Yun Palace team and were busy setting up; especially Zhu Xiuer, who had been idle for two days, now felt her whole body was about to grow mushrooms.

The Yan Xia Bay team had made similar considerations; all groups participating in the field release began preparations.

However, at this moment, A Lian swayed Duan He Yun's hand, speaking in a childish voice: "Not playing here—there's nothing to do here, it's boring!"

The terrain here is complex, but looking around, it's nothing but flowers, grass, trees, and valleys. Have they seen little on their journey so far?

A Lian dislikes this place.

Duan He Yun asked her: "Then where do you want to go?"

She pouted her little mouth: "Father clearly knows, yet still asks me."

Duan He Yun smiled: "Alright, A Lian decides. Then we'll change locations. Steward Hu—"

He Lingchuan silently thought: Oh no, but he could only step forward: "Master Duan, are you thinking...?"

Every word Duan He Yun spoke was not what he wanted to hear:

"We're not going to Luan Mountain; we're going to Bai Qiu."

"This..." Hu Xin showed difficulty: "Master Duan, this is the destination pre-set by Ling Yun Palace; it's not good to change it temporarily."

"It was originally my decision—why can't I change it?" Duan He Yun's face darkened slightly: "All are wilderness—why can Luan Mountain be visited, but Bai Qiu cannot?"

"Bai Qiu is too close to Bai Song City—less than five li away; if we conduct the field release there, rumors will likely spread in the city by tomorrow, saying monsters are coming to attack."

"If anything happens, I take full responsibility." Duan He Yun straightened his face: "Nonsense—so much talk—will you change it or not?"

As the main person in charge of the plan, he was being so unreasonable that He Lingchuan could only nod:

"Swap. We'll just swap."

Upon hearing this, the snail toad shell was filled with resentful voices.

"This surname Duan is simply too arbitrary!" Dong Rui cursed, "We spent considerable effort on Luan Mountain, making such elaborate preparations!"

(End of chapter)