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Lin Shen had already considered such a possibility and had been very careful; additionally, the Lin Family's large courtyard was guarded by many Mutators, including some of Alloy Level.
Bai Shenfei was still able to arrive in Lin Shen's room unnoticed, even sitting behind him without anyone realizing it. This wasn't something Lin Shen could prevent just by being cautious; it was a real and substantial difference in strength.
"Sister Bai has taken such great pains to find me, surely you aren't here to ask me for advice on indulging in life's pleasures?" With things as they were, Lin Shen decided to be frank.
"I remember Brother Lin once said that you are a full ten years younger than him, so it is indeed appropriate for you to call me 'sister'." Bai Shenfei nodded slightly and said, "In fact, at the recruitment meeting, I had already guessed your identity. The reason I left later was another matter. Do you know what that reason is?"
"I really don't know that, I'll have to trouble Sister Bai to enlighten me." Lin Shen's eyes flashed slightly as if he had thought of something, but in the end chose to remain silent.
Bai Shenfei smiled and said, "You do know; you've thought of it but chose not to speak. It seems you're different from what Brother Lin said about you; you're not only versed in indulging in life's pleasures."
After a pause, Bai Shenfei continued, "The Mutator who followed you today is called Ye, isn't that right? While Brother Lin was training at the Sea Corn Base, it was Ye who took care of his daily needs. I've seen him a few times as well."
Lin Shen just looked at Bai Shenfei without saying anything. Bai Shenfei was right; he had already guessed that what she wanted to talk about was Ye.
However, from Lin Shen's standpoint, there were things he couldn't and didn't want to say.
"Ye has a problem," Bai Shenfei stated bluntly.
"What's wrong with Ye?" Lin Shen asked calmly, neither confirming nor denying.
"When I brought up Gourd Mountain, his expression was off," said Bai Shenfei.
"People always say a woman's intuition is the most accurate; if Sister Bai feels that Ye's expression is off, then it must surely be the case," said Lin Shen.
"Brother Lin said you were the most clever and never used foul language. I didn't believe it at first, but now I do. You insult people without even a single curse word; indeed, you don't need to swear," Bai Shenfei said without being angered, just speaking indifferently, "I will ask you three questions, and you can choose to answer or not. After these three questions, if you still think Ye has no problem, then we'll consider it my intuition."
"I will not evade any question that I can answer," Lin Shen said.
"The first question, has he encouraged you to go to Gourd Mountain?" asked Bai Shenfei.
"No," Lin Shen shook his head.
"The second question, do you think he has encouraged you to go to Gourd Mountain?" Bai Shenfei asked again.
The second question seemed repetitive of the first, but Lin Shen hesitated, not answering as readily as he had the first.
Bai Shenfei appeared to have received the answer she wanted without waiting for Lin Shen's response and continued, "Was it his idea for you to impersonate Brother Lin at the recruitment conference?"
Lin Shen did not answer immediately this question either.
It was not that he wanted to conceal the truth, but Bai Shenfei's question had triggered some of Lin Shen's previous doubts, prompting him to reconsider the events of the past two days once again.
After asking the three questions, Bai Shenfei did not press Lin Shen for answers and sat on the sofa, looking at him with interest.
Before the recruitment conference, although Lin Shen had been preparing for any emergencies, that was just as a precaution.
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Under normal circumstances, Ye should have helped him resolve most of the issues, but in reality, Ye did far less than Lin Shen had expected.
These actions could be explained by Ye's reluctance to deepen the Qi and Wang families' suspicions.
However, later on, Ye's sometimes intentional and sometimes unintentional acts indeed raised suspicions that he was leading Lin Shen to Gourd Mountain.
Ye had been an old servant of the Lin Family, having been with them since Lin Xiangdong's younger days and having taken care of the fourth brother for so many years, Lin Shen didn't want to suspect him, but the current situation of the Lin Family forced Lin Shen to think more.
Still, Lin Shen couldn't understand if Ye wanted him to go to Gourd Mountain, why he didn't just take the opportunity at the very beginning? Why make such a big detour?
"He doesn't know where Gourd Mountain is," Bai Shenfei suddenly said, as if she had seen through Lin Shen's inner thoughts.
Bai Shenfei's words instantly connected all the dots for Lin Shen.
If Ye didn't know the location of Gourd Mountain, then the person in the Lin Family most likely to know would only be Lin Shen himself.
That made sense. If Ye did have some scheme, the big detour he took was just to find out whether Lin Shen knew the location of Gourd Mountain or not.
"Bai, all that you're saying is still just speculation," Lin Shen said. Although he had begun to suspect, he wouldn't deny Ye, who had lived and died for the Lin Family for so many years, just because of a few words from Bai Shenfei, an outsider.
"I know where Gourd Mountain is," Bai Shenfei said, speaking sparingly, yet each sentence seemed to strike at the heart of the matter.
Surprised, Lin Shen looked at Bai Shenfei with some disbelief, "You know where Gourd Mountain is?"
If even Ye didn't know the location of Gourd Mountain, how could Bai Shenfei possibly know?
"Of course, I know," Bai Shenfei said calmly: "The reason I came to Dark Bird Base was at Lin's request. If he couldn't return after the recruitment assembly, I was to protect you and take you to Gourd Mountain."
"If the fourth brother wanted me to go to Gourd Mountain, why didn't he and the third brother just take me with them when they went? Instead, after something happened, they had you take me to Gourd Mountain?" Lin Shen felt that it didn't quite make sense.
"He didn't take you to Gourd Mountain because he didn't know you had already undergone Base Mutation, and that you had reached Alloy Level. Even I was surprised by that; Lin clearly said you had not undergone Base Mutation." Bai Shenfei stared at Lin Shen with curiosity, "You brothers have been together for so many years, you've reached such a degree of Mutation, yet someone as astute as Lin is completely unaware. How did you manage that?"
Lin Shen smiled wryly to himself; he hadn't undergone Base Mutation at all, so Lin Xiangdong could not have possibly noticed.
"Bai, why does the fourth brother want you to escort me to Gourd Mountain? If it was for the purpose of attaining a top-quality Base Mutation Egg, do you think it's still necessary for me to go now?" Lin Shen continued to probe, still not quite believing Bai Shenfei.
"Who told you that Lin was going to Gourd Mountain to find you a top-quality Base Mutation Egg?" As soon as Bai Shenfei spoke, she seemed to realize the answer and continued, "If it was Ye who told you this, then we can be even more certain that something is wrong with him."
"The fourth brother went to Gourd Mountain not to find me a top-quality Base Mutation Egg?" Lin Shen asked with a slight shock.
"Of course not, even if Lin didn't know that you hadn't undergone Base Mutation, searching for a Base Mutation Egg for you would only require a Steel Level one. Perhaps it makes some sense for a Crystal Base Level top-quality Base Mutation Egg, but there is absolutely no need to risk life and limb at a place like Gourd Mountain for a Steel Level top-quality Base Mutation Egg," Bai Shenfei declared emphatically.
"Then why go to Gourd Mountain? And why should I go to Gourd Mountain?" Lin Shen couldn't suppress his curiosity.
"For a possibility, a possibility that might make you the strongest man under the stars," Bai Shenfei slowly said, enunciating each word.