Chapter 1152: Chapter 696
Du Jiaolan watched as the men in white robes passed by her stall, only glancing at her briefly without showing any interest, and she secretly exhaled in relief!
But shortly after, Tang Feiyang also passed by in front of herâand he looked at her!
Du Jiaolanâs heart raced wildly. It was himâthe one she loved!
The one she loved was right in front of her, but she dared not acknowledge him nor let him recognize her.
Du Jiaolanâs heart was a mess of shyness and sorrow, but how could she explain herself while secretly carrying out a mission?
Moreover, she had even been involved in an attack against Tang Feiyangâthis was impossible to explain!
What had once seemed like a simple division among different factions in the Capital City now revealed itself as something far greaterâa bridge between nations, one that perhaps could never be crossed.
Du Jiaolan couldnât bear to give up, yet she had no choice but to feign ignorance!
Tang Feiyang, moving from stall to stall, was also determined to catch spies and rapists, yet his abilities were insufficient. He learned that a certain floral fragrance was the keyâa fragrance someone had already used to apprehend one of the culprits!
Upon catching a faint whiff of the floral scent, he couldnât help but turn his head, where his gaze landed on an elderly woman with her head bowed down. Her figure seemed strangely familiar, though her face was unfamiliarâbut the scent was distinctive!
This floral fragrance was vaguely familiar to him, as if heâd encountered it somewhere before.
It might even have been associated with someone familiar to him, though he couldnât be sure.
Suspicious, Tang Feiyang glanced back at Du Jiaolan but did not take any action against her. He couldnât suspect someone based solely on a scent, nor could he equate it with wrongdoing.
âBoom boom boom boom boom!â
When Tang Feiyang turned back, Du Jiaolan could feel her heart pounding even faster!
She wanted him to recognize herâbut she also didnât want him to. This was the North; if he started suspecting her, the entire mission could fall apart!
He turned back. He turned back!
Du Jiaolan cried out inwardly, yet she dared not meet Tang Feiyangâs gaze. Her nerves were taut, and she didnât dare move an inch!
Tang Feiyangâs current role was to patrol the area as part of their mission. They stood on opposing sides; she couldnât approach him, couldnât call out to him, couldnât even attempt reconciliationâfor he might suspect she was a spy and apprehend her.
Du Jiaolan⊠In truth, she was part of the organizationâa spy from another nation. But her current identity was that of the daughter of the Dukeâs Mansion in the Capital City. Her involvement in the organization stemmed from her mother!
Her mother had secretly married across nations, hidden her true identity, and led her daughters into the organization. Her brothers, on the other hand, werenât subjected to such misfortune!
If their plight was deemed unfortunate, it was because they had entered the organization and undergone grueling demon-like training!
As the children of the Dukeâs Mansion, even the boys had to undergo martial arts training. But compared to the daughters, their training was nothingâthey didnât endure the life-threatening hardships that the organization inflicted.
Thinking back to those days sent shivers through Du Jiaolanâs heart. Her face, now unblemished, had undergone surgery and treatments to erase the scars she bore, likely to help her better fulfill her duties within the organization.
Tang Feiyangâs mission was substantial. Besides patrolling, over the past two to three months, he had traveled from the Capital City with his junior disciples and guards, enduring considerable hardships along the wayâwhile also training his companions.
Now, Tang Feiyang had reached Foundation Establishment, while his junior disciples and guards had achieved the third stage of Artifact Refining. They were capable of learning spells; those with stronger abilities could even utilize Flying Artifacts or Flying Swords for low-speed aerial travel!
Tang Feiyang himself was a family elite, and those he brought along were also family elitesâaffluent Young Masters laden with treasures. Yet, they hadnât previously been cultivators and lacked Flying Treasures.
The items they carried were primarily related to martial artists, many of which were now useless. Dual cultivation didnât render them incapable of mundane feats, like walking across the land using Qinggong, despite their cultivated ability to fly.
The resources available to them were limited. At most, one could purchase an ordinary Flying Sword on the marketâa small object for low-speed flight.
But these items held little utility in the North. In the snowy, harsh weather, their low abilities meant even low-speed flight posed risks; falling from greater heights could be fatal.
Needless to say, dual cultivation didnât protect against death. After all, the cultivation world hadnât seen an ascension in over ten thousand years. Even the Great Powers, reaching the end of their lifespans, couldnât escape destruction.
Luo Yaxuan grew suspicious of the elderly woman, but he merely ordered his men to keep an eye on her.
He focused instead on interrogating the captured women emitting the floral scent, alongside his junior sister.
The captured individuals, despite their disguises, were discoveredâeach possessing delicate features.
Perhaps they had practiced a specific cultivation technique; their walking postures, standing stances, and sitting manners all appeared slightly unnatural.
Even the way they gazed at others, exuding a mix of feigned frailty and seductive charm, seemed calculated.
Luo Yaxuan found these women unappealing; he wasnât the type to show favoritism towards women simply because they were women, nor did he casually display tenderness and mercy.
His expression remained stern as he doubted their identities.
Despite facing an imposing, capable, and handsome man like Luo Yaxuan, the women, even in captivity, refused to reveal their true identities!
They were stubborn, resisting interrogation with evasive answers, claiming to be lone orphans drawn by the commotion. They expressed fear for their safety due to the presence of rapists, thus explaining their disguises.