In Ancient Moon Town, the clouds and mist intertwined.
The town, once bustling and prosperous,
suddenly grew desolate in the blink of an eye.
The once crowded streets were now completely deserted.
The two exchanged glances, their Divine Senses simultaneously projecting outward.
But, just like what their eyes saw, everything was a blur in the white expanse.
"Let's go outside and talk,"
Xu Yuan said gravely.
He did not try to call for Lin Qingque; after all, if she could not see him initially, she would definitely be more anxious than himself. She must have tried every possible method already, but he had perceived nothing.
That indicated that conventional methods were ineffective here.
"Alright,"
Tian Liuli nodded lightly.
They headed towards the door they remembered, but strangely, the sensation from their shoe soles, as they stepped on the bluestone slabs, remained unchanged.
Furrowing her brows, Tian Liuli let out a soft cry without any visible movement.
A whirlwind instantly took shape and with a whoosh, it fiercely blew forward.
However, the flowing mist was extremely dense. Even though the wind was strong enough to move tens of thousands of pounds of boulders, it only shifted slightly.
"Try using fire magic,"
reminded Xu Yuan, but he himself had no intention of making a move.
"Fire magic?"
Tian Liuli paused slightly, but soon her eyes brightened, immediately grasping his implication.
Mist is water vapor, and fire magic counters water magic.
Using fire to disperse the mist was indeed the best choice!
Her fair, slender arms raised slightly, and as her delicate fingers formed a spell, a huge fireball appeared and soon swelled to the size of a mountain above their heads, engulfing them in waves of heat.
"Indeed, the power of Daoist Magic has diminished here,"
Tian Liuli said dissatisfiedly, furrowing her brows as a fine sweat appeared on her forehead.
"Quickly!"
With a gentle wave, the fireball plunged towards the mist in front of them.
But, compared to the earlier wind skills,
this time, the effect of her fire magic was even weaker.
The dense mist, it seemed, existed in a different dimension from their own space, unaffected by any influence.
"Senior brother!"
Just as the two were stunned, a delicate cry interrupted them.
Suddenly, a celestial-looking, ethereal young girl rushed out from behind the mist.
The newcomer was Lin Qingque.
Upon seeing Xu Yuan, a smile immediately spread across her face.
"Junior sister, you scared me to death. Where did you go just now?"
Xu Yuan asked with a look of surprise while discreetly pondering whether he had just thought of something inappropriate.
"It's all because I was looking for you,"
Lin Qingque slightly pouted.
"I was just about to follow you when, in the blink of an eye, you disappeared."
"Fortunately, I just heard your voices."
Lin Qingque patted her chest, about to step forward, but in the next moment, Tian Liuli suddenly flicked her fingers.
A Daoist Sword Qi tore through the mist towards her.
"What are you doing!"
Lin Qingque seemed to be prepared, her elegant brows raising as she effortlessly deflected the spiritual light with a wave of her hand.
"I was just worried that you might be a demon adept in the art of transformation impersonating her,"
Tian Liuli's flawless and delicate celestial face revealed a faint smile, "But now it seems to be true, after all, you even guessed what spell I would use."
"Hmph!"
Lin Qingque knew that this was just her excuse.
She had just seen the regretful expression on Tian Liuli's face; clearly, Tian Liuli had done it intentionally.
But considering that the three of them were still in an unknown place and had yet to escape danger, it was not a good time to make a fuss, so she let it go.
"Miss Liuli, are you playing some sort of charade? What do you mean by this?"
Xu Yuan pretended to be completely unaware as he asked.
"Mr. Xu seems to still be in the dark."
Tian Liuli glanced meaningfully at Lin Qingque, who seemed to realize something and suddenly became tense, and said with a smile, "But, I'm just guessing and I'm not completely sure."
"Miss Liuli, if you have something to say, why not speak plainly?"
Xu Yuan said in a deep voice.
"What I mean, why not ask your junior sister?"
Tian Liuli's eyes smiled as she looked at Lin Qingque, ready to watch the drama unfold.
"Junior sister?"
Xu Yuan looked at her, appearing completely unaware of any secret she might have.
"Senior brother, I..."
Lin Qingque was visibly conflicted.
"Never mind, if the junior sister has some unspeakable difficulties or inconveniences, then let it be."
"It's not that."
Lin Qingque shook her head, hesitating for a moment before she still spoke the truth.
"Senior brother, I'm about to speak, please don't be angry."
She secretly swallowed her saliva and spoke softly, "Actually, I have the ability of Mind-Reading Technique."
"Oh?"
Xu Yuan was taken aback, but his expression did not show the disgust or suspicion she had expected; instead, he smiled gently and said, "Isn't that a good thing? From now on, I won't have to worry about you being deceived by others."
Both of them were startled, clearly not expecting this response, especially Tian Liuli, who could never have anticipated this outcome.
Lin Qingque smiled, quickly shifting from her previous panic to a nonchalant victor's stance, as if she had anticipated this all along.
"You... aren't afraid of having no secrets in front of her?"
Tian Liuli asked, quite puzzled.
Hearing her question, Xu Yuan was initially stunned, as if he had never considered this aspect, then relaxed and said confidently, "I'm not afraid, and besides, if the junior sister wants to know anything, she can just ask me, why would she need to use Mind-Reading Technique on me? I believe she wouldn't use it on me, right?"
"This..."
This time, it was Lin Qingque's turn to find it hard to laugh; she managed a forced smile and nodded with difficulty, "Yes, yes."
'I'm sorry, senior brother... I've failed your trust.'
Lin Qingque's heart cried out mournfully.
She felt that she had let her senior brother down.
Not only had she read his mind several times, but she had also seen those extremely inappropriate images about herself in his mind.
If senior brother knew about these, surely his image of her as obedient would shatter, right?
I... have become impure, turned into a dishonest child.
"You see, I was right, wasn't I?"
Xu Yuan smiled as he looked towards Tian Liuli.
Tian Liuli remained silent, her phoenix eyes slightly squinting.
She did not know.
Did he really not understand?
Or did he truly trust her that much?
Or perhaps...?
Had he actually known all along?
Tian Liuli watched Xu Yuan's face, with its warm smile, and the corners of her mouth lifted in an almost imperceptible curve.