Probing

He smiled and said, “These two are the elders protecting my safety. I noticed that you have no spiritual energy fluctuations, yet you remain completely unbothered here in this Imperial City. This state of mind is truly admirable.”

“Is having no spiritual energy a crime? Which law of Great Li states that mortals must stand while eating?”

Su Yueli shot him a sidelong glance, picked up her wine flask, and took a deep gulp.

Shen Huai'an was completely stunned by her sharp retort.

If it were any ordinary cultivator, they would have probably slapped this ignorant mortal to death by now.

However, Shen Huai'an had spent two hundred years in bitter cultivation. Though his Dao Heart was firm, he was practically a giant infant when it came to the ways of the world, as blank as a sheet of paper.

In his eyes, everyone around him either deferred to him or feared him. Only this masked woman before him treated him like an ordinary, simple-minded fool.

This bizarre contrast not only made him lower his guard but actually made him feel that she was highly genuine.

“You are quite a straightforward person, Miss. It seems I was the one being overly conventional.”

Shen Huai'an chuckled self-deprecatingly and raised his teacup to toast Su Yueli. “I am Shen Huai'an of the Blue Moon Sect. May I know how to address you, Miss?”

Beneath her mask, Su Yueli smiled faintly.

She picked up her wine cup and lightly clinked it against his teacup, producing a crisp ring.

“I am Qingli.”

Su Yueli took a sip of her wine, her gaze deep.

After two hundred years of cause and effect, this superficial friendship was finally established in a perfectly natural manner.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Su Yueli glanced nearby.

In the corner sat two unremarkable old men, resting with their eyes closed.

Those were the personal bodyguards assigned to Shen Huai'an by the Blue Moon Sect—two genuine Ninth Realm grand cultivators.

Making any suspicious moves under the noses of such old monsters would, at the slightest slip-up, result in her soul being searched and her body burned like a sky lantern.

Su Yueli forced herself to remain calm, her mind rapidly calculating her words.

She set down her wine cup, a perfectly calculated look of awe and curiosity appearing on her face. She spoke in a casual, offhand tone:

“Speaking of which, when I traveled the world in my early years, I happened to pass by the region near the Blue Moon Sect. Back then, I often heard of the Young Sect Master's great fame. Which cultivator within a ten-thousand-mile radius wouldn't give a thumbs-up at the mention of Shen Huai'an?”

“At the time, I wondered what kind of blessed land could nurture a figure like the Young Sect Master. I wonder what the scenery of your hometown was like when you were still in the mortal world? Are there any interesting stories you could share to broaden my horizons?”

Su Yueli had rehearsed these words in her mind no fewer than a hundred times.

Her tone was perfectly controlled, carrying a hint of a female cultivator's admiration for the strong, while sounding like mere casual conversation.

She did not dare to ask too directly. On the path of longevity, cultivators feared karma above all else. Inquiring about another's mortal past was already a sensitive topic, so she had to package her motives as pure curiosity.

Upon hearing this, Shen Huai'an's chopsticks paused slightly as he reached for some food.

He looked up at Su Yueli, a self-deprecating smile playing on his handsome face.

That smile was somewhat cold and rigid, as if the topic had touched upon a rather uncomfortable part of his memory.

“Fellow Daoist, you overrate me. What great fame? It was merely the sect building up my reputation.”

Shen Huai'an shook his head, his voice carrying a trace of weariness that did not belong to his age. “Ever since the Sect Master tested me, discovered the Heavenly Bone in my body, and brought me back to the sect two hundred years ago, my path of cultivation has been set in stone.”

“During these two hundred years, I have spent almost all my time in death seclusion within the deepest chambers of the sect. Every day, the moment I opened my eyes, I faced a spirit-gathering array and an endless supply of elixirs. When I closed my eyes, I was circulating my cultivation method. I have never taken a single step outside the sect, let alone enjoyed any mortal scenery.”

Hearing the words “death seclusion,” Su Yueli's heart sank slightly.

Two hundred years without setting foot outside. This was no Young Sect Master; he was clearly being treated as the sect's core asset, cultivated under strict confinement.

Long-lived sects were highly adept at using such exhausting methods to cultivate Dao soldiers or cauldrons.

Su Yueli composed herself, her fingers clenching slightly beneath her long sleeves.

Intentionally showing an expression of sudden realization mixed with a touch of inquiry, she smiled softly. “So the Young Sect Master has been in bitter cultivation all this time. Your Dao Heart is truly firm. I suppose your family and friends must also be living well...”

As those words left her mouth, the air seemed to freeze.

Su Yueli's eyes locked onto Shen Huai'an.

She was gambling. She was gambling that deep down, Shen Huai'an still held onto a shred of his mortal familial affection from back then.

As long as there was even a flicker of emotion in his eyes—even a tiny trace of guilt or panic—she would be able to confirm that the person before her was still the boy from the past.

However, Shen Huai'an's reaction made Su Yueli feel as if she had plunged into an icy abyss.

Upon hearing her words, a barely perceptible coldness flashed through Shen Huai'an's eyes, followed by... an almost absolute blankness.

It was not a feigned blankness, but the kind of look one would give a random stone on the side of the road or a beast of burden.

He shook his head and said coldly, “Mortals are but ants. I entered the Dao too early, and my mortal memories were severed and forgotten long ago.”

“However, I did indeed have an older brother. But the path of cultivation is long, and only the Great Dao is eternal. A mortal's lifespan is a mere few decades; by now, he has likely turned into a handful of yellow clay. There is no meaning in it.”

The young man's tone was as flat as water, as if his older brother, Shen Qing'an, was nothing more than a meaningless syllable.

Looking at his completely undisturbed eyes, Su Yueli could not tell at all whether this guy was playing dumb or if he had been completely kept in the dark by the Sect Master of the Blue Moon Sect, turned into an emotionless cultivation tool.

If he was acting, then this former village youth was so cold-blooded that it made her skin crawl.

Could two hundred years truly erase a person's conscience and familial bonds to such an extent?

Could he really discard his own blood brother like trash?

If he wasn't acting... then the Blue Moon Sect's methods were far too terrifying.

With all ties severed, the Shen Huai'an before her might just be a puppet wearing his skin.

A massive chill rushed from the soles of her feet straight to her crown. Su Yueli suppressed her turbulent emotions, warning herself to stay calm and not break character.

The current Shen Huai'an was an extremely dangerous variable. Revealing her identity rashly would be no different from seeking death.

She had to play the long game. She needed to survive first before planning her next move.

“Indeed. The divide between immortals and mortals is vast; it seems I was overthinking. The Young Sect Master's Dao Heart is clear, and your future on the immortal path is bright.”

Su Yueli smiled, raising her teacup to brush off the fatal topic.

In the conversation that followed, Su Yueli did not touch upon anything personal, only chatting about various rumors and anecdotes of the cultivation world.

After a short while, Su Yueli stood up to take her leave.

“Thank you for your hospitality today, Young Sect Master. I still have some minor matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave first.”

Shen Huai'an politely cupped his hands. “Take care, Fellow Daoist.”

Su Yueli turned and walked out of the Spiritual Tea Pavilion, quickly blending into the bustling crowd of the market.

Shen Huai'an watched the direction Su Yueli had left, his deep gaze lingering for three breaths.

Then he shook his head, as if the encounter just now was nothing more than an insignificant coincidence. He picked up his chopsticks and continued eating, as if nothing in the world could disturb his appetite.

However, the two Ninth Realm elders in the corner opened their eyes at this moment.

The faces of the two old monsters were incredibly grim, their brows furrowed deeply.

They exchanged a glance, both seeing deep suspicion and wariness in each other's eyes.

“Something is wrong,” the white-haired elder on the left transmitted.

“There is a major issue with that woman.”

“Indeed. On the surface, it was casual chatter, but everything she asked about afterward concerned the Young Sect Master's mortal secrets. The Young Sect Master entered the sect with a Heavenly Bone; his mortal background is a top secret within the sect...”

“Aside from the Sect Master and us old fellows, it is impossible for outsiders to know anything about it,” the dark-faced elder on the right transmitted, a trace of cold intent to kill flashing in his eyes.

Could someone be investigating Shen Huai'an's background?

The Young Sect Master was the future lifeblood of the Blue Moon Sect. Absolutely nothing could be allowed to go wrong.

This female cultivator's seemingly casual probing today was full of glaring loopholes in the eyes of two old foxes who had lived for over a thousand years.

The two exchanged another glance. The dark-faced elder remained behind, sitting in his original spot to protect Shen Huai'an.

Meanwhile, the white-haired elder slowly stood up, his figure flickering slightly before vanishing from the corner, heading in the direction Su Yueli had departed.