She glanced quietly at Chen Qing in the distance once more. With Chen Qing now by Mu Qiuzi’s side, if there was an attack targeting Mu Qiuzi, she could react even faster.
Chen Qing, with her sharp senses, naturally noticed Su Mu’s sneaky gaze.
But she didn’t call her out on it. Instead, she quietly observed Su Mu’s movements.
Seeing that Chen Qing wasn’t paying attention to their side, Su Mu quickened her pace and walked ahead.
Shen Ling was vigilantly scanning the dense bushes around them. Dangers that could threaten the caravan’s safety might emerge from there at any moment.
While she was fully focused, a voice rang out behind her.
“Miss Shen, you’ve been on alert for so long. Have some water.”
Su Mu proactively handed her own water flask to Shen Ling.
Looking at the flask Su Mu offered, Shen Ling hesitated, unsure whether to take it or not.
But seeing Su Mu’s expectant gaze, she helplessly reached out and accepted it.
“Go on, drink.”
Seeing Shen Ling just holding the flask without drinking, Su Mu grew anxious.
If you don’t drink, it won’t feel right for me to ask you to teach me martial arts.
Shen Ling glanced toward Chen Qing and saw she wasn’t looking their way. Feeling a bit guilty, she uncorked the flask and took a sip.
The cool water slid down her throat, easing her taut nerves considerably.
“Thank you, Miss Su.”
“No need to stand on ceremony. Just call me Xiao Su.”
“How could I? Miss Su, we’re about the same age. We can’t mess up the hierarchy.”
Hierarchy… The word made Su Mu think of her master-disciple relationship with Chen Qing. Yet this rebellious disciple had gone so far against her.
After mentally lambasting Chen Qing’s outrageous behavior, Su Mu refocused on Shen Ling.
“Ahem, Miss Shen, how old were you when you started practicing martial arts?”
“How old was I when I started?”
Though Shen Ling wasn’t sure why Su Mu was asking, she answered without holding back.
“I began training at three years old. My master was skilled with spears, so I started practicing with one from a young age too.”
“Three years old!”
Su Mu stared at Shen Ling in shock. At three, she herself had still been playing in the mud, while this girl was already training.
“Does Miss Su want to learn martial arts?”
Shen Ling studied Su Mu. She was puzzled why Su Mu hadn’t asked her partner, Grandmaster Chen, but the longing in Su Mu’s eyes made her intention clear.
After all, as a top expert, plenty of people wanted her as a master.
“Yes, Master! I want to learn martial arts!”
Su Mu gazed earnestly at Shen Ling. She couldn’t start at three, but who hadn’t dreamed of being a cool wuxia hero as a kid?
Besides, with a major foe like Chen Qing looming, she absolutely needed to boost her self-defense skills.
Hearing Su Mu call her “Master” outright, Shen Ling panicked and shook her head.
“I’m just teaching Miss Su a move or two. I can’t bear a title as weighty as Master. If you keep calling me that, I won’t teach you.”
“If not Master, then I’ll call you Ling’er from now on. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?”
Su Mu looked at Shen Ling with confidence. She was pretty proud of the nickname she’d come up with.
Plus, it would help draw them closer. What a genius I am.
Shen Ling quickly glanced toward Chen Qing again. “Ling’er” sounded far too intimate. If Grandmaster Chen overheard…
But Chen Qing kept her back to them, acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
Her reaction left Shen Ling baffled. With Chen Qing’s strength far surpassing her own, there was no way she hadn’t caught their conversation.
Could Grandmaster Chen and Miss Su’s relationship not be what I imagined? But that kiss yesterday—that was definitely something only lovers would do.
Su Mu waved her hand in front of Shen Ling’s eyes, snapping her out of her thoughts.
“Not happy with that one? I can switch it to Xiao Ling or Sister Shen.”
“Ahem, Miss Su, no need to overthink it. I’m a few years older, so if you’d like, you can call me Sister Shen.”
Shen Ling picked the safest option from Su Mu’s three suggestions.
“Alright then. Sister Shen it is from now on.”
A radiant smile lit up Su Mu’s lovely face. Since she’d accepted the nickname, it meant she was open to teaching her martial arts.
The counterattack against that detestable Villain began right here and now.
The thought of Chen Qing kneeling before her one day, begging for mercy, filled her with irrepressible joy.
Meanwhile, gazing at Su Mu’s breathtakingly beautiful face, Shen Ling zoned out for a moment.
No wonder an expert like Grandmaster Chen keeps such a partner. Miss Su really is stunning.
Her delicate features, even slick with sweat, resembled freshly peeled egg white—smooth, supple, and tempting to poke just to feel the texture.
“Captain Shen, we’ve been marching under this blazing sun for ages. Time to rest.”
A heavy panting voice shattered the warm rapport between Su Mu and Shen Ling.
A middle-aged man, soaked in sweat and fanning himself vigorously, wheezed out the words.
As captain of the caravan’s security team, Shen Ling’s approval was required to halt for a break.
Most of the caravan were desk-bound abacus whizzes. Forcing them on a forced march in the scorching heat was asking too much.
Still, getting the whole caravan to stop required more than just her say-so. On security matters, real authority rested with the strongest member: Chen Qing.
“There’s a flat stretch by the river nearby. We’ll rest there.”
Shen Ling had just been about to consult Chen Qing when the latter’s icy voice sounded right beside her.
At some point, Chen Qing had silently approached.
For a top-tier expert like her to close in undetected… If they’d been fighting, Shen Ling wouldn’t have enough lives to cover it, even ten times over.
“Good… Got it.”
The middle-aged man peeked at Chen Qing’s cold, blood-red eyes and felt his body heat freeze solid.
Not daring to linger, he spun around to relay the news that rest was imminent.
“Grandmaster Chen’s power is truly unfathomable. This humble one is in awe.”
Shen Ling spoke from the heart. Chen Qing’s stealthy approach and perfect breath control were beyond ordinary martial artists.
“Mm.”
After brushing off Shen Ling with a perfunctory reply, Chen Qing fixed her gaze on Su Mu.
Thinks I don’t know, huh? Pulling all these sneaky little stunts and even picking up a Sister Shen.
This Traitorous Shizun is getting bolder by the minute.
Under Chen Qing’s icy stare, Su Mu squirmed uncomfortably.
She and Shen Ling were so far away—even with superhuman hearing, their conversation shouldn’t carry.
Emboldened, Su Mu puffed up with confidence, determined to outmatch her in aura.
“You… why are you staring at me like that?”
Her bravado crumbled halfway, and Su Mu wilted.
The sword in Chen Qing’s grip, paired with the glacial chill in those blood-red eyes, triggered Su Mu’s survival instincts.
