"What? For me?" Ye Lanshan was somewhat surprised. She had thought Futian had gone out for his own plans, but it turned out to be solely for her.
Fufeng nodded seriously, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes. "Grandfather went out to draw the Holy Land's attention, weaken their power, and divert all the danger away for you."
"Before he left, he told me to reveal the location of his hidden forces. He said he hopes you will live well—live to avenge him, and live to protect me for a lifetime."
"Is that so? How could he..." Ye Lanshan's eyes reddened, her voice tinged with tears, but the words that followed caught in her throat.
Ye Lanshan, Ye Lanshan, when did you become so sentimental? Weren't you always proud and confident? It's just a mere Holy Land—what's there to fear? She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were clear and resolute, devoid of any trace of negativity.
"Don't worry. Your grandfather won't die, I won't die, none of us will die. The only one to be destroyed is the Holy Land." Ye Lanshan spoke with unprecedented determination; it wasn't just self-encouragement, but a promise.
"Why did you come to me in such a hurry?" Ye Yutian tidied her slightly disheveled hair, his voice full of affection.
"I need to go out." Ye Lanshan met his gaze, leaving no room for refusal.
His body stiffened slightly but quickly returned to normal. He asked with some confusion, "Is it because Grandfather's body can't take it anymore? Don't worry, I've already sent people to find Zhou Haiming. Once we locate him, I'll personally capture him and break the puppet technique for your grandfather."
"It's not that. I know you're worried about my safety, but I can promise you that neither the Holy Land nor the Moon Kingdom will recognize me." Afraid he wouldn't believe her, she immediately chanted a spell, waved her sleeve, and transformed into a handsome young man.
"This? This is..." Ye Yutian stared at Ye Lanshan, who had completely become someone else, utterly astonished. He wasn't unfamiliar with disguise techniques, but he had never seen one so peculiar.
"In fact, Young Master Shanluo was also me in disguise." Ye Lanshan lowered her eyelids and said lightly.
"Hmm, I know." This time, Ye Yutian's tone was much calmer.
"You know?" Ye Lanshan raised an eyebrow curiously, wondering how he had figured out she was Young Master Shanluo.
"Ever since you auctioned off the Guqin of Fuxi and summoned that non-human woman in red during the pursuit, I knew." Ye Yutian had harbored some suspicions before when Ye Lanshan and Young Master Shanluo appeared simultaneously, but now he was one hundred percent certain.
"So your strange behavior before was because you knew Young Master Shanluo was me?" Ye Lanshan didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Hmm." The sound was soft, but it still reached Ye Lanshan's ears.
"So even if I go out, the Moon Kingdom and the Holy Land might not recognize me. You don't need to worry about my safety at all." Ye Lanshan shifted the topic back to her going out.
"Fine, but there's one condition." Ye Yutian struggled for a moment before finally agreeing.
"If you're going to say you want to follow me, forget it. A person can only grow in adversity." Ye Lanshan's tone was firm, leaving no room for Ye Yutian to refuse.
"Then take this." A token suddenly appeared in Ye Yutian's hand, engraved with a lotus pattern and the character for "dark." It looked small and exquisite, and it caught her eye.
She casually agreed and took the token.
Seeing that Ye Lanshan had accepted it, Ye Yutian's eyes curved slightly, as if pleased.
...
"Fufeng, are you sure you have to go to the Xuanling Academy?" A handsome young man led an adorable little child slowly down the road.
"Of course I do. Grandfather specifically told me to go." The child shot the young man a glance, looking quite proud.
"Fine, fine, then I'll go with you into the Xuanling Academy one more time." The young man shook his head, looking very reluctant to enter.
This was the Xuanling Academy, the top academy in the world, where countless people would kill to get in, yet this person was so disdainful—it was utterly unfair.
Who were this handsome young man and the child? They were Ye Lanshan and Fufeng.
It turned out that after leaving the Dark Hall, Ye Lanshan had called Fufeng out to search for Futian together, but Fufeng insisted on going to the Xuanling Academy. Though unwilling, Ye Lanshan had no choice but to take him.
She held his hand and brought him to the academy's entrance, looking down to ask, "Here we are at the Xuanling Academy. Now will you tell me why you had to come here?"
"I want to see the dean." Fufeng's eyes gleamed with depth, his expression calm, nothing like a child's.
"See the dean? Is your grandfather close with him?" Ye Lanshan thought that seemed like the only possibility.
"Hmm." Fufeng nodded and took a step forward, but before he reached the gate, an invisible barrier bounced him back.
"You're not a student here, so you can't get in." Ye Lanshan shrugged, explaining calmly only after he was repelled.
"Then how do we see the dean?" Fufeng looked up at Ye Lanshan, knowing she must have a way, or she wouldn't be so composed.
"Sigh!" Ye Lanshan let out a helpless sigh and called out in her original voice, "Elder Xue Yonghui."
In an instant, Xue Yonghui appeared at the academy's entrance, looking around, but after scanning for a while, he only saw a handsome young man and a cute child.
He straightened his robes, put on a dignified air, and walked toward them, clearing his throat before asking in a low voice, "Have you two seen a very beautiful girl with an ethereal aura pass by here?"
Ye Lanshan blinked innocently and replied in a male voice, "No, it's just been the two of us here."
Could I have misheard? Xue Yonghui thought, feeling a bit disappointed.
"Elder Xue."
That was definitely Ye Lanshan's voice—he couldn't be mistaken. Xue Yonghui immediately turned around, his sharp gaze sweeping over them, but he couldn't find anything after staring for a while.
"Sigh! It's only been a short while, and Elder Xue doesn't recognize me anymore?" A mischievous glint flashed in Ye Lanshan's eyes, but she feigned disappointment and shook her head.
"You... you're Ye Lanshan?" Xue Yonghui's eyes widened in shock as he scanned her up and down, left and right, several more times.
"Yes, that's right, it's me. This is just my disguised appearance." Seeing him still scrutinizing her with suspicion, she finally explained with amusement.