Chapter 763: Hard to Fool

Sai Fei Er let out two dry laughs, her voice tinged with obvious guilt, "Ah, don't listen to her nonsense! I really don't know where Bai Hang went; I haven't seen her shadow since I left home early this morning! I went to the eastern morning market to buy fried cakes, then to the western teahouse for a pot of tea, then to the south—"

"And Heimu?"

Jing Liu interrupted her impending itemized report of today's itinerary.

Sai Fei Er's cat ears drooped down.

Sai Fei Er scratched her cheek with her right hand, her gaze drifted aside for a moment, then returned, a trace of extremely subtle guilt flashing in her sapphire‑blue pupils.

"Uh—Muzi, Muzi…"

"I don't know either. You know Muzi, that person who appears and disappears like a spirit; today he might be on Xianzhou, tomorrow maybe off on some planet. I'm just a tiny shrimp, a minor character, a little cat; do I look like I have the Qualification to know the boss's itinerary?"

Jing Liu's complexion sank bit by bit as Sai Fei Er spoke.

That already cold‑white face now seemed covered with a layer of frost, the corner of the mouth pressed down a millimeter.

The fingers gripping the Ice Sword tightened slightly, the cold glint flowing over its surface suddenly brightened a few degrees.

The temperature in the alley dropped another notch.

Sai Fei Er's cat ears were pressed even lower, almost touching her hair.

Sai Fei Er quickly waved her hand, speaking half a beat faster: "Hey hey, it's not my fault! I really don't know; I'm just a tiny shrimp—if you're looking, you have to look for Muzi, right?"

She spread her hands, making a gesture as if pulling out her heart for you to see, her Tail flicked quickly left and right behind her, "Even though I don't know where Muzi is, but, but don't follow me! I'm just an innocent little cat! Look, it's so cold!"

She hugged her own arms, hunched her shoulders, and her body shivered exaggeratedly.

The Tail coiled around her leg, the ice‑blue fur at the tip trembling.

The silver‑gray cat ears folded inward repeatedly, together with her already petite face and the pair of sapphire‑blue eyes now straining wide, giving her a pitiful look of a small animal that's been frozen.

Jing Liu said nothing.

She simply stood there, sword in hand, her face mostly covered by the Eye Mask, facing Sai Fei Er.

The gaze beneath the Eye Mask pierced through the black veil, landing on Sai Fei Er.

It was like a hunter's steadfast stare at prey feigning death.

The alley's air grew cold and heavy again, quiet enough to hear the faint crackle of frost forming in the wall cracks.

Sai Fei Er shivered.

This time it wasn't an act.

She could feel the chill racing from her lower spine to the tip of her Tail, the cat Tail's fur bristling uncontrollably.

That guy's gaze, an unwavering Lock that could be sensed through the black veil, made goosebumps rise on her back layer by layer.

Her mind began to race at high speed.

Run, I can outrun.

She had previously experienced Jing Liu's strength, but Sai Fei Er had absolute confidence in her own escape speed; the title "Trickster Demigod" was not given in vain—she could shake off pursuers from Weng Fa Luo Si and race from Ao He Ma to the gate of Xuanfeng City.

But the problem isn't speed.

The problem is that this guy, for reasons unknown, always manages to find her.

This morning she hid behind the fried‑cake stall at the morning market, and Jing Liu found her.

Just now she had slipped into the underground passage of an abandoned warehouse; after pushing open a hidden door and emerging, Jing Liu was waiting at the alley entrance, like a location‑refreshing NPC.

This is no longer stalking.

It's some stranger, indefinable thing.

She even wondered whether Jing Liu had placed some mark on her, but after checking her clothes, shoes, Tail, ears, every corner of her body, she found nothing.

If she truly ran, who knows whether, when she turns a corner later, this guy will be silently waiting in the corner for her.

Just thinking about it is a bit terrifying.

Sai Fei Er's cat ears twitched, and she switched tactics.

"Uh—That Giant Tree."

She pointed a finger toward the faint golden outline on the distant horizon, the Giant Tree's glow visible even from that distance, its edges rimmed with an eerie gold at the cloud margin, and said, "That Giant Tree isn't… uh… your side's… thing? The situation doesn't look great either. Aren't you going to help? It's so lively over there, glittering gold, crackling—Luofu's folks are all busy there, aren't they? You, a sword‑master, chasing a little cat here, isn't that a bit—resource misallocation?"

She finished the remark in a caring tone, even tilting her head slightly, her cat ears leaning forward a bit, striking a "look how much I'm thinking of you" pose.

Jing Liu didn't look at the tree.

She didn't even turn her head.

The gaze hidden behind the Eye Mask remained firmly locked on Sai Fei Er, unmoving, steady as a mirror nailed to the wall.

Sai Fei Er's mouth twitched.

She kept the ingratiating smile on her face, while the beads of her mental abacus clanged chaotically.

This guy isn't easy to fool.

Against this kind of person, ordinary tricks are useless.

Playing the victim—useless; changing the subject—useless; feigning weakness—useless.

She had just employed those three moves one after another, with zero result.

While coping, she quietly sent a message to Heimu in her heart.

A brief single line, tone compressed to utmost urgency: "Muzi, I'm stuck in that white‑haired alley, hurry and rescue the cat."

The message vanished like a stone in the sea, with no reply.

Heimu usually replied so fast that sometimes the other side responded before she finished typing; a situation where a sent message lingers without even a read receipt can only mean one thing—Heimu isn't in the service zone.

Or, Heimu's current state is such that even system messages can't reach him.

Jing Liu took a step forward.

The heel of her boot struck the bluestone pavement with a "tap", bouncing back and forth several times in the narrow alley.

The chill in the air suddenly intensified, the thin frost in the wall cracks spreading visibly outward, tiny ice crystals blooming one transparent flower after another on the wall.

Sai Fei Er's cat Tail exploded into a feather‑duster of chicken hair.

Jing Liu took another step forward.

This time Jing Liu did not pause; her steps were steady and sure, each pace unhurried yet without any hesitation.

The tip of the Ice Sword dragged behind Jing Liu, carving a straight white line on the ground, and frost blossoms blossomed one after another along its sides with each step.

Jing Liu's aura rose gradually, like a slowly tightened spring accumulating coldness bit by bit.

All the hairs on Sai Fei Er's nape stood up.

This guy couldn't possibly be forcing it, could he?