Chapter 105: A Life of Drunken Dreams

"My dear fellow disciple, we don't seem to be that well-acquainted, do we?" Gu Weiyu said, her voice indifferent.

Yan Qing met Gu Weiyu's probing gaze and inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt. Her direct, unblinking stare, combined with her stony silence, made him feel quite awkward and unable to step down gracefully.

Left with no choice, he forced himself to continue, his tone dry and strained, "We aren't close now, but we will be in the future. Wouldn't you agree, Junior Sister?"

Gu Weiyu’s eyes flickered; she had noted the unnatural shift in Yan Qing’s expression. This fellow named Yan Qing was surely up to no good. Recalling what she had heard from Wan Gu regarding the new missions posted at the Mission Tower, her heart skipped a beat.

"Qingtuan!" She had originally intended to wait until they were further along to summon Qingtuan for the journey to Ten Thousand Swords City, but it seemed that was no longer an option.

No sooner had she whispered the name in her mind than Qingtuan appeared before her. She nimbly stepped onto the creature and shouted, "Go, quickly!"

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Yan Qing stared, stunned, as the black cloud drifted rapidly into the distance. By the time he regained his composure, the cloud was nothing more than a faint, indistinct shadow.

Yan Qing’s expression darkened. Was this Lian Hongyi out of her mind? All he wanted to do was strike up a rapport; was there any need to treat him like a plague god? He hadn't expected someone like Lian Hongyi to possess so many treasures. That black cloud was, at the very least, a spirit-grade artifact—even on his flying sword, he might not be able to catch her.

Thinking of his mission target slipping right through his fingers, Yan Qing felt a wave of irritation. After a moment’s thought, he pulled out a transmission talisman. "Junior Brother Wu, can you tell me which mission Lian Hongyi accepted?"

He released the paper crane, which fluttered nimbly toward the mountain gate. Within the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the crane returned, and a voice emanated from it: "Senior Brother Yan, Lian Hongyi accepted the mission for the Hundred Herbs Hall in Ten Thousand Swords City."

"So, she's headed to Ten Thousand Swords City." A faint smile appeared on Yan Qing’s face. He stepped back onto his flying sword and set off toward the city. A streak of sword light cut across the sky, soon vanishing into the horizon.

Gu Weiyu stood quietly beneath a towering tree, her form completely concealed by the dense foliage. She watched the flying sword disappear into the high clouds before slowly withdrawing her gaze, thinking to herself that this Yan Qing was truly here for her!

***

Yan Qing had already successfully reached the Foundation Establishment stage; it would be unwise to confront him head-on. Furthermore, with Chu Xingyun lurking in the shadows outside the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, if she couldn't deal with Yan Qing, her situation would be dire.

Gu Weiyu lingered under the tree for a moment before summoning Qingtuan again and continuing toward Ten Thousand Swords City. She made no attempt to hide her tracks this time. When she reached a point a hundred meters from the city, she dismounted and walked toward the gates.

Yan Qing stood silently atop the high city wall, his eyes fixed on that flash of red in the crowd. He had gone to the Hundred Herbs Hall, found no one, and then waited at the gate. As expected, his patience had paid off.

Gu Weiyu, while waiting in the line to enter, felt a prickle of sensation and looked up toward the wall, catching only the corner of a green robe fluttering in the wind. *Someone is watching me in secret!* she thought. She surmised it must be Yan Qing, still lurking after failing to strike up a conversation earlier.

A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. Since the fish had come to the hook, she would see if he would take the bait. She cast a subtle glance at the city wall, then stepped out of the queue and headed toward a dense forest outside the city.

Yan Qing, who had been observing her, frowned. What was wrong with this Lian Hongyi? Why was she always doing such strange things? Despite his misgivings, he climbed down from the wall and quietly trailed her at a distance.

Gu Weiyu walked ahead as if completely oblivious, moving at a leisurely pace. Within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, she arrived at the edge of the dense forest.

Suddenly, Yan Qing felt a gust of wind, and when he looked toward the woods, Gu Weiyu was nowhere to be seen. Anxious, he hurried into the forest. The woods were thick with lush, leafy trees, and the grass beneath his feet was so tall it reached his waist. He stepped carefully, trying to quiet his tread.

*Rustle—rustle—*

He could hear nothing but his own slight footsteps and the occasional chirp of an insect. Just as he was wondering where she had gone, a flicker of red appeared beneath a cluster of bushes in the emerald forest. Yan Qing held his breath. *This Lian Hongyi really knows how to hide!*

Ahead, a woman in red was crouched low among the weeds. Yan Qing couldn't help but smile; the poor girl must have been caught short, which explained why she had run off so suddenly. He turned his eyes away, thinking, *I knew it. It’s just a mission to keep an eye on a Qi Refining disciple. With my Foundation Establishment cultivation, how could I possibly fail?*

A cultivator’s senses are sharp, especially after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage. Standing ten meters away, Yan Qing caught a faint, unpleasant odor drifting from the bushes. *You’ve got to be kidding me.*

Having long since attained the state of *bigū*—abstaining from worldly food—Yan Qing had not experienced the need for such bodily functions in ages. His expression shifted rapidly. He turned to leave, deciding it was better to wait outside.

But as he walked, he grew puzzled. *Wait?* He had been walking for a while now; why hadn't he reached the edge of the woods?

Just as he was growing confused, a powerful wave of divine sense lashed out at him—one that felt even stronger than his own! Yan Qing’s heart hammered against his ribs. *Does this Lian Hongyi have a Foundation Establishment cultivator protecting her? The Mission Tower is setting me up! No wonder the reward for monitoring a mere Qi Refining disciple was so generous...*

With his divine sense under attack, his sea of consciousness reeled. Knowing his presence had been exposed, he gave up on stealth and, looking rather disheveled, bowed toward the surroundings. "I am Yan Qing of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. Which fellow Daoist is this? Why not reveal yourself?"

Deep in the forest, a mocking smile appeared on Gu Weiyu’s lips. Without hesitation, she activated the killing mechanism of the "Drunken Dream" formation—a high-level illusionary trap gifted to her by Master Yuling, designed to slay enemies in silence and obscurity.

Yan Qing watched as a beautiful woman in a pink gauze dress emerged from the woods. She looked no more than twenty, her face flushed with a spring-like vitality. She smiled at him, saying, "Fellow Daoist Yan, greetings..." She bowed gracefully, her voice dripping with tenderness.

Yan Qing stared, transfixed. The woman in pink looked as if she were sculpted from water. He had never imagined that the Foundation Establishment expert behind Lian Hongyi would be such a stunning creature.