Crush's Cold Senior Sister is Actually Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: “What Are You Doing When You Come Back?”

“Looking for someone!” The more Liao Huan spoke, the better she thought her idea was. “We’ll sneak in after stealing the roster, take a quick look, and then leave without even saying hello.”

“…”

An Jin was speechless. Is it that shameful?!

“To put it bluntly,” she sighed, rubbing her forehead, “you’re just afraid of confronting your mother.”

Liao Huan gave a sheepish smile, and her guilty look gave An Jin an even bigger headache. But then she thought, she was still helping Liao Huan find someone, so since she was determined to steal the roster, she could only accompany her to the death.

“You’re such a good person.” Liao Huan’s eyes were teary as she clutched An Jin’s hand, deeply moved.

“…It’s not necessary.” An Jin’s mouth twitched, and she pulled her hand away with some effort.

The palace corridor was winding and had a corner every few dozen meters, but it always maintained a single path without any forks. Countless red-painted wooden doors were symmetrically arranged on both sides, but the further they walked in, the wider the distance between the doors became.

Finally, they came to the end of the corridor.

Saying it was the end of the corridor wasn’t entirely accurate. Although there was a high wall straight ahead, there was a fork in the road on both the left and right sides. There was a sign on the wall at each intersection: the sign on the left pointed to the “Main Hall,” and the one on the right said “Palace 1 to 7.”

Liao Huan was about to turn to the left fork, but An Jin grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the right without a word.

“…Have you been here before?” Liao Huan’s voice was full of confusion, but her feet honestly followed.

“The written test during the grand selection seemed to… have this question.” An Jin’s tone was a little hesitant, but her steps didn’t stop at all. Too much time had passed, and she only had a vague impression, remembering that Emperor Fo Ling’s bedchamber seemed to be hidden in one of these seven side halls.

But if you asked which one specifically, she couldn’t remember how she had chosen it back then.

Following the sign on the right, they soon came to a narrow staircase. The stairs were only wide enough for one person to pass, and each step was steep and narrow. Looking up, it was dark, and they couldn’t see where it led.

An Jin was still at the very front. The stairs were too steep, and each step was a bit difficult. Fortunately, there was a handrail on the left side of the stairs, so she supported herself with one hand and used the leverage to walk up.

The wall on the right was full of portraits, dozens of them, all of Emperor Fo Ling’s self-portraits.

An Jin couldn’t help but click her tongue: “This Emperor… is a bit too narcissistic, isn’t she?”

Emperor Fo Ling in the paintings maintained the exact same sitting posture, wearing the same black robe and a stern expression. The background, clothes, and posture in the dozens of portraits were almost unchanged. If it weren’t for the subtle differences in the signatures in the bottom right corner of each painting, An Jin would have thought they were all copies of the same painting.

Interestingly, even though the person in the portraits had a serious expression, the signatures in the corners of each painting were particularly lively. The signature “Yuan Shunhua” was always embellished with various small decorations, sometimes a small pink flower, sometimes a simple smiling face. There was no pattern to it, and they were all drawn very casually.

After climbing the stairs, there was a room on each side, with the doors wide open, but the styles inside were completely different. The right side was marked “Palace 7,” which was a pink-themed princess room, and the large bed inside was more than enough for three or four people to sleep on. On top was a very exquisite white crystal chandelier, and the room was also equipped with a dressing table, a writing desk, and a bench at the foot of the bed.

Palace 1 on the left was much simpler. There was only a single bed against the corner, no writing desk or bookshelf, and the bed even had a layer of dust on it.

This time, neither of them hesitated and they walked to the right with great understanding.

Liao Huan also lamented: “I didn’t expect Emperor Fo Ling to have such a princess’s heart.”

An Jin pouted: “That’s a stereotype.”

Stepping onto the soft carpet, they saw a book lying open on the desk by the bed. An Jin and Liao Huan exchanged a look, neither of them expecting things to go so smoothly.

An Jin was a step ahead of Liao Huan and leaned in to look. But when she glanced at the handwriting in the book, her eyes froze, and she slammed the book shut.

“What, isn’t it the roster?” Liao Huan noticed the sudden change in An Jin’s expression and reached out to flip through the book. But An Jin was faster, and she directly put the book into her arms without any hesitation.

Liao Huan: “?”

Facing Liao Huan’s confused gaze, An Jin realized what she had just done. She smiled awkwardly, “Anyway, it’s not the roster you’re looking for… let’s keep looking.” Her hands were still tightly gripping the book, with no intention of letting go.

“Oh, what is that?” Seeing that it wasn’t what she was looking for, Liao Huan didn’t insist anymore. She walked around the room, casually opened the wardrobe, and asked.

“…” It was Senior Sister Ling’s diary.

Of course, she couldn’t say that. An Jin coughed lightly and blurted out a fabrication: “It’s a cultivation secret manual from the upper realm, all things that Senior Sister Cen never taught. I’m afraid you’ll surpass me if you learn it, so I don’t want to show you.”

“I’ll believe you.” Liao Huan rolled her eyes at her.

An Jin also felt that her fabrication was illogical. She smiled awkwardly and walked outside: “Don’t look anymore, this isn’t Emperor Fo Ling’s bedchamber.”

“Huh?” Liao Huan was confused. “Whose room could this be with this kind of decor?”

“I don’t know, but it has nothing to do with Emperor Fo Ling.”

An Jin had just reached the door when she suddenly heard a rapid sound of footsteps in the distance, accompanied by a few muffled conversations.

Her heart tightened, and the leg she had just stepped out with was pulled back. She anxiously retreated into the room. After exchanging a look with Liao Huan, the two of them quickly hid behind the curtains. The curtains were extremely thick, with four or five layers of lining inside. The sheer and blackout curtains were layered together, perfectly hiding the two of them.

The footsteps got closer and closer, and finally stopped briefly outside the door before entering the room opposite.

An Jin held her breath, her heart pounding. The two rooms were open face to face, and the conversation from the opposite side came clearly into their ears.

The two people who went in opposite were vaguely discussing something about “divine bones” and “martial arts competition.”

But at this moment, An Jin’s mind was full of the diary she had just glimpsed. Although she had only scanned two lines, the impact was so great that she couldn’t even hear what the people opposite were saying.

She suddenly felt someone patting her hand. An Jin came back to her senses and saw Liao Huan desperately winking at her, motioning for her to look out the window.

…No way, are we really going to jump?

But even if they flew down, they couldn’t do it silently. There would still be some sound of the wind. An Jin shook her head at her to indicate no, but Liao Huan still didn’t give up and motioned to her with her hand again.

An Jin tried to understand, but An Jin couldn’t understand.

She was about to raise her hand to signal Liao Huan, but her arm accidentally hit the window frame. The window wasn’t closed tightly, and the collision actually knocked it open, making a “creak” sound.

“Who’s there?!”

A sharp shout came from the opposite side immediately. An Jin was so startled that her mind went blank, and in the end, she and Liao Huan obediently crawled out from behind the curtains.

Two people were already standing at the door. The one leading was Emperor Fo Ling, whom they had seen in the portraits, her brows deeply furrowed at this moment.

The woman standing behind Emperor Fo Ling had a slight smile on her lips, her gaze clearly on An Jin, but she was speaking to Emperor Fo Ling next to her: “I didn’t know you had distinguished guests today, Senior Sister.”

There was only one person in the upper realm who could freely enter and exit Jiu Yang Palace and dare to call Emperor Fo Ling Senior Sister.

It was High God Tian Mo, who was from the same lineage as the two Emperors.

An Jin’s heart tightened, and she looked up, but was caught off guard by that person’s eyes. The woman was still smiling, but her eyes held a deep and uncomfortable chill.

Facing that person’s fake smile, An Jin could only brace herself and explain: “Well… you two might not believe it, but that face recognition door outside is really broken. Anyone can get in, really…”

Although she was telling the truth, there was a hint of guilt in her tone.

“I’m sorry, we’re here to find someone.” Liao Huan, who was standing on the side, suddenly interrupted her. “I just received a letter from my mother this morning saying she’s living in Jiu Yang Palace. I was wondering if the Emperor and High God have seen… a fox clan immortal?”

Liao Huan’s expression was calm, but her hand at her side was trembling violently. She didn’t know if it was because of the strong presence of the two people in front of her, or if she was afraid of hearing news she didn’t want to hear.

As soon as her words fell, High God Tian Mo at the door’s smile deepened, “Oh, is that so… a fox clan immortal, let me think.”

High God Tian Mo said she was thinking, but her gaze was scrutinizing the two of them. She pretended to be in thought for a while and then said: “For the past hundred years, the only fox clan immortal living in Jiu Yang Palace was Dao Friend Zhao Han, wasn’t it? But Dao Friend Zhao left for the mortal realm more than ten years ago. I wonder when this Dao Friend came to the upper realm and when she received this letter?”

She had already gone to the mortal realm?!

An Jin’s heart skipped a beat, and she secretly glanced at Liao Huan from the corner of her eye. She saw that Liao Huan’s face instantly turned pale, and she was frozen in place as if struck by lightning.

Seeing Liao Huan’s pale face, High God Tian Mo’s expression became even more pleased: “What, did you forget or is it inconvenient to say?”

Although she was smiling, her voice was cold and condescending.

“My friend’s family matters are not for the High God to worry about.” Although the other person’s gaze made An Jin very uncomfortable, she still stepped forward and stood in front of Liao Huan.

“Oh?”

Upon hearing this, High God Tian Mo’s gaze turned to An Jin, and her smile remained unchanged: “Then I have overstepped. But this Dao Friend looks very familiar. It reminds me of… a daughter of an old friend.”

She lightly glossed over Liao Huan’s matter, and her scrutinizing gaze fell on An Jin.

For some reason, An Jin’s intuition told her that the other person’s target had been her from the beginning, and her aggressive attitude towards Liao Huan was to get her to speak up.

But why?

Who was the daughter of an old friend she was talking about?

An Jin was completely baffled. Her intuition told her that the other person was trying to hint at something. But for a person with amnesia, even a direct hint might not yield any results, let alone such an obscure one.

High God Tian Mo’s gaze was still fixed on her, waiting for her reply. But An Jin could only stare back blankly, with a very clear look of confusion in her eyes.

She really didn’t know.

Seeing An Jin’s slightly dazed look, High God Tian Mo’s smile actually froze on her face.

“Emperor, High God, long time no see.”

Just then, a familiar voice sounded from outside the door. An Jin felt her eyes welling up with tears. She didn’t have time to ask why her senior sister was here and quickly raised her hand to signal to her.

She moved too quickly, and the diary in her arms slipped, almost falling to the ground. An Jin quickly pulled her hand back, clutching it tightly to her chest.

“Why are you back?” Seeing Ling Qi slowly approach, Emperor Fo Ling, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke. Her gaze was very deep, staring at Ling Qi and lost in thought.

High God Tian Mo, on the other hand, seemed to have expected this. She folded her arms and leaned against the wall, a smile returning to her lips: “It seems that High Immortal Ling is still worried, afraid that we’ll eat them. Well then, hurry up and take them away. We won’t make a fuss.”

An Jin didn’t expect High God Tian Mo to give in so quickly. As she was leaving the door, she subconsciously turned her head and glanced at her, but she didn’t expect their gazes to meet directly.

The moment their eyes met, High God Tian Mo’s smile on her face deepened even more.

With just that one look, An Jin suddenly understood where the strong sense of discord she had felt from the moment the other person entered the room came from.

If you were to cover the lower half of High God Tian Mo’s face at this moment, there was clearly no trace of a smile in her eyes.