Their small flying ship floated through the air in almost complete silence, the only sound audible to the passengers being the gentle hum of spiritual energy coursing through the reinforced wood that made up the barge and the sharp whistle of the wind being parted by their quick movement, but even that was dampened by some kind of barrier that sprung up once they’d taken off.

Zhen Yin didn’t particularly care, for once she relished the silence as she had some puzzling matters plaguing her mind.

She would be the first to admit that she wasn’t exactly the sharpest sword in the armory, she felt no shame in acknowledging a fault that she was more than aware of, but even Yin could figure out that something fishy was going on here.

A new mission picked by their local prodigy for all of them to take together? Sure, whatever. Not the first time and something she’d gotten used to in the past month.

Apparently, this mission came directly from the hands of their Sect’s heir? Uh, ok. Yin wasn’t really aware of the current state of the sect’s inner politics, so she didn’t know if Yu being a sect born disciple made him important enough to meet the Golden Prince in person or if he was just being scouted as a young talent, but up to this point, things still weren’t too weird.

A core disciple, who was apparently working directly under the previously mentioned heir, being appointed as their handler for the mission? Now things were starting to get weird.

The wild redhead had looked at the scrolls that contained the details of the expedition, and while a newly discovered hidden space was something that would certainly arise some interest, the fact that it was located in a zone where the ambient spiritual energy couldn’t naturally sustain even constitutional realm plants and beasts made its presence far less tempting, as whatever was inside the hidden realm would probably not be very useful for cultivators in higher realms.

So why exactly was such an important disciple, who no doubt had every possible resource ready to be delivered to him at a moment’s notice, interested enough to personally lead a mission there?

Then something else came up, something that made Zhen Yin’s suspicions flare up. Something that completely solidified in her mind was the notion that this little trip of theirs was more than what their orders entailed.

Su Rong and his entourage were coming with them.

Admittedly, the amber eyed young woman had seen neither hide nor hair of the fiery cultivator since they’d first set foot in the inner compound a few months ago, but none the less she struggled to believe that in the time since then he and Yu Xiang had buried the metaphorical axe, and that the two were now on friendly enough terms for the green eyed cultivator to invite him along on this trip.

Besides, Su Rong had looked just as surprised as they had been to see them here, and the look he was now giving Yu, who was currently doing his best to start some kind of friendly conversation with him, certainly didn’t speak of some newborn sense of camaraderie between the two.

With all of this taken into account and with all the pieces of the puzzle being so unabashedly unhidden she doubted she was the only one who had noticed.

Never the less, Feng Liu was too demure and polite to raise a fuss about it, especially since the sect's heir was somehow involved and the ever prim cultivator was way too strict in his deference to people higher on the social ladder.

Yu and Lin no doubt noticed that something was wrong but had decided not to say anything. Yin trusted their judgment, so she held her tongue as well, something helped greatly by the presence of the crimson clad core disciple currently standing at the front of their flying ship, directing it towards their destination.

A shiver ran through the redhead's back as her eyes settled on the swordsman's back, she had been trying to ignore his presence and relax a bit since they would be in the air for a good half a day, but the man almost seemed to be flaring his aura on purpose.

A chilling sensation of freezing cold water dragging across her skin, alongside the phantom touch of an imagined blade, sent her body into another shivering fit.

Zhen Yin grit her teeth in annoyance, finally having run out of patience with the man's unsettling presence.

The warm shroud of her aura uncoiled from the center of her being, her presence pulsing alongside the beat of her heart, spreading past her skin and forming a protective cocoon around herself and her cousin, who was sitting right next to her.

Zhen Ai, or just Ai to her, looked like she hadn't even noticed both her and the aloof swordman's auras, focused as she was on a yellowed scroll.

Her nose was almost touching the paper and her gaze was so intense that Yin was surprised she hadn't already burned a hole through the scroll.

This was the first time she'd seen her cousin so absorbed in studying something, usually she got tired of an activity after a few days or weeks at the longest, then she would dive into something new that caught her fancy and repeat this cycle over and over.

Whatever it was about talismans that had made her so enraptured with the subject Zhen Yin could not even begin to guess, her cousin's thought process was a headache to figure out at the best of times. Now that she acting in a way so unusual to her normal patterns?

The fiery redhead didn't even try. She simply felt glad for Ai and wished her the best in her studies, all while wishing she had had the same idea as her darker haired cousin and brought with her something to pass the time.

A sigh of boredom escaped the wild haired woman, a finger curling around the lone braid hanging from the side of her head and playing with it, she might as well take a nap or something since they'd be on the road for a good while still.

>>>

Yu Xiang put on a familiar variation of his usual serene smile on his face as he regarded the fiery cultivator sitting just a couple of steps in front of him.

The flying ship they'd taken for their mission was a lot smaller than the ones used by the sect to transport paying disciples towards the various treasure mountains, looking to be around the size of a fairly wide school bus at most, so willing or not the passengers, apart from Chun Dai who was standing alone at the front of the barge with a wide space around him left empty by the younger cultivators, were forced to be in relatively close proximity of one another.

Which also meant that Su Rong was currently trapped in front of the young reincarnator, with nowhere else to run to.

While Yu was doing his best to look approachable and inviting, Su Rong was doing the exact opposite. A scowl was twisting his rugged face, his dark brown hair now cut short enough to be on the verge of becoming a buzz cut. His brown eyes were fixed on the green eyed cultivator, almost glaring at him if it wasn't for his wandering eyes, which seemed to always come back to his new gleaming white armor.

"Interested in my armor?" Yu said, finally breaking the tense silence between the two. "I had it made from the hide and scales of a giant snake. Killed it myself during the inner disciple trails!"

"Eh-hem." Lin Fen, who was sitting right beside him, coughed into his hand meaningfully, looking at him from the corner of his eye.

Yu Xiang's smile turned a bit more real at his friend's reaction.

A heavy pat on Lin Fen's back from the green eyed cultivator almost propelled the young alchemist out of his seat, while Yu let out a hearty laugh. "Of course, my friend here helped as well! I would've been in much deeper trouble if it weren't for his aid."

The young beastfolk's feline ears twitched in annoyance at his companion's overly vigorous pat on the back, but seemed mollified by his acknowledgment.

Su Rong stared at them completely nonplussed for a few moments before he let out a derisive snort at their antics.

Yu Xiang simply pretended he hadn't heard him, and waited to see if he would actually say anything to keep their conversation going.

A few seconds passed in complete silence between them, their brief chat seemingly having come to an abrupt end. But the green eyed cultivator knew better, he could see right through Su Rong's feigned indifference.

There was a question forming in his eyes.

He merely had to wait for it to fully mature.

A couple of minutes more were spent in quiet contemplation, everyone else besides the flying barge's driver and Zhen Ai, who was still nose deep in her scroll, trying and failing to pretend they hadn't been eavesdropping on their talk.

"That armor..." The fiery cultivator had finally come to a decision, finally voicing what he'd been ruminating over for the past couple of minutes. "It looks to be of pretty high quality." A crooked smile split the dark haired cultivator's face, an expression that didn't really reach his eyes and that Yu couldn't figure out the source of.

It wasn't a question, but a statement that left Su Rong's mouth, and while the young reincarnator was not exactly sure where he was going with this he could certainly follow along.

"Indeed." He said in a jovial tone. "It cost me an eye and a leg to pay for it, even after supplying some materials myself, but I was certainly satisfied with the finished product once I laid eyes on it for the first time!"

The fiery cultivator's smile turned even more crooked as he listened to Yu Xiang praising the armor's quality and boasting about its durability, a hint of mockery shining through.

"Oh? If it's such a good piece of armor then whoever made it must be a very skilled blacksmith." Su Rong commented.

From the corner of his eye, Yu Xiang saw the young woman sitting on the fiery cultivator's right side, who he now knew was his sister, send the dark haired man a disapproving stare, which he either didn't notice or choose to deliberately ignore.

The young reincarnator didn't know what that was all about but simply decided to keep up this charade, now even more curious of where Su Rong was trying to bring this conversation.

"Of course, anyone who could make something this outstanding must be either an expert or a young talent on the rise!" Yu Xiang let compliments run freely from his glib tongue, praising this unknown crafter in a not entirely genuine way. "Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to meet them, or I would've given my most sincere thanks and praises in person."

At this point, Su Rong had begun to chuckle sinisterly under his breath, his evil laugh so out of place in their current situation that the other young disciples paying attention to the conversation were starting to get weirded out, while Su Rong's sister was busy cringing in embarrassment.

"Well well well." He said menacingly, his previous feigned smile replaced by a positively malicious grin. "If that's the case then let me illuminate you on this matter, Brother Yu Xiang." He continued in an ever more self satisfied manner.

"Truly? You know who made my armor?" Yu Xiang kept playing along, by this point already suspecting what the fiery cultivator's next words would be, yet still acting the part of the fool in their little performance.

"Of course! How could I not?" At this point, the man's contempt and mockery could no longer be contained, as even Zhen Ai was disturbed from her studies, which made the longer haired redhead send a glare towards the grinning cultivator.

"I am the one who made it after all!" His right hand gently touched his chest for a moment, his head dipping slightly in what might have been perceived as humbleness in any other situation, and whose ambiguity was completely erased by his next action.

The same hand that had briefly touched his chest extended forward towards Yu Xiang, his empty palm laying open. "Now feel free to praise me to your heart's content!" He finished boisterously, a toothy, self satisfied grin placed firmly on his wide face.

Now, this might have ended up as an embarrassing moment for Yu Xiang. Having promised his utmost thanks to a man that he now knew was someone that not only despised him, but that he'd also trampled on in a fight.

And it would've been truly shameful for the green eyed cultivator if it weren't for a single tiny kernel of information that Su Rong had failed to take into account.

The fiery cultivator's outstretched hand was suddenly enveloped into a crushing vice grip that startled the fiery cultivator out of his moment of triumph, both of Yu Xiang's hands having gripped his in a tight grasp.

Namely, that Yu Xiang had no such thing as shame when he found it convenient.

"I truly had no idea, Brother Su Rong!" The young reincarnator put as much sincerity and awe in his voice as he could muster, delivering a direct attack on Su Rong while his mind was off guard.

The dumbfounded look on the fiery cultivator's face almost made Yu develop a predatory smile, but he managed to push the instinctual reaction down.

For the fool had let himself far too open in his hubris, and now the young reincarnator had managed to plant his hooks deep into him.

Meanwhile, the other inner disciples looked on in amusement as Su Rong's little plan was flipped on him, with his two companions facepalming in exasperation.

Chun Dai had not turned around even once, merely driving the flying ship towards their destination with the same stoic silence as ever.