Star Odyssey

Chapter 1481: Heavy Feelings

"Long Qi, tell me, is Long Quan a Redback?" Long Ke asked again. He stared at Lu Yin with blazing eyes.

Lu Yin's scalp went numb. "Father-in-law, this-"

Long Ke interrupted in a low, insistent voice, "When you were doing your best to expose Yun Mubai as a Redback, Elder Long Quan repeatedly tried to stop you. Have you had your doubts about him since then?"

Lu Yin was left speechless; Long Ke had even found motivation for Lu Yin to move against the elder.

"You suspected Elder Long Quan from that moment, and you used your intelligence sources that support you to look into matters until you finally discovered proof that Elder Long Quan is a Redback. Correct or no?" Long Ke asked loudly.

Lu Yin's gaze grew sharper. Was this the right choice, or not? This was a dilemma. Lu Yin did not actually care at all about whether Long Quan lived or died; the elder was either Lu Yin's friend or his enemy, but the same was true of everyone in the White Dragon Clan. Even though Lu Yin had yet to uncover the truth of the past, the White Dragon Rolls Over had exiled the Lu family. This was indisputable. There was also the fact that Long Xi's family had not originally been the White Dragon Clan's main family, but had overthrown the main family because of a major incident, and the most obvious event was the Lu family's exile.

Long Ke had taken the position of patriarch of the White Dragon Clan by way of exiling the Lu family. This meant that Long Ke was more of an enemy to Lu Yin than a friend.

While everyone in the clan was his enemy and Lu Yin did not particularly care about what means he used to deal with them, it was still too early to get involved in the White Dragon Clan's internal disputes.

When Lu Yin had arrested the mule transporting the stellular liquid, Elder Long Quan had eagerly spoken up for the transporters release, which indicated that the stellular liquid was most likely going to be used by Elder Long Quan's backer, who was at least a Semi-Progenitor. An elder in the White Dragon Clan had to have a Semi-Progenitor behind them, and that meant that it would not be easy to frame Long Quan. If anything happened, Lu Yin would take the blame, as it would be impossible to pin anything onto Long Ke.

"Long Qi, I asked you a question!" Long Ke shouted.

Cai Shu looked over from where he had retreated. He was not able to hear anything that Long Ke said, but the Envoy was able to discern that Lu Yin was being placed under a great deal of pressure. Cai Shu looked at the image of Long Ke in disgust. The four ruling powers were utterly revolting.

Lu Yin lifted his head and spoke somberly, "At the moment, there is no evidence suggesting that Elder Long Quan is a Redback."

Long Ke frowned and his eyes grew cold. "Well then, regardless of whether or not you've found any evidence, just tell me simply: do you believe Elder Long Quan is a Redback?"

Lu Yin frowned. It was quite uncomfortable to be hounded in this manner. Lu Yin was the acting Gate Master of Humility's Gate in Huaiyuan. While Long Ke had told Lu Yin to address him as father-in-law, the older man's tone was no different than scolding a grandson. The more Lu Yin thought about his situation, the more upset he became with it.

Suddenly, Twin Mansion collapsed and sword qi shot into the sky. Lu Yin spun to look. Liu Tianmu had attacked? Twin Mansion was resisting the arrest of a traitor?

The sword qi tore through the sky and ripped through the earth to reveal underground cells. Lu Yin saw that they held numerous girls imprisoned, and they all looked up. Seeing the outside, hope overtook the despair on their faces.

Lu Yin's pupils instantly shrank. There was a certain face he saw among the girls, and he instantly ended the call and vanished.

Cai Shu was startled by the sudden change, and he looked down to see that Lu Yin had appeared within the shattered underground section of Twin Mansion, right next to a group of the female prisoners. "Luo Shen?"

The girls who had been imprisoned beneath Twin Mansion were trembling as they looked up. Lu Yin had suddenly appeared, which had left them even more frightened. However, after he spoke, one woman quivered, and then looked up. Her eyes flushed red when she saw Lu Yin, and she tried to speak, only to be cut off by Lu Yin, "I am Long Qi, Luo Shen."

The woman was Luo Shen, and she had been held prisoner beneath Twin Mansion.

Lu Yin had truly never expected to find Luo Shen in the Perennial World. He had not been nearly so surprised to meet Bai Xue in Seed Garden, but how was Luo Shen in this universe?

Luo Shen was instantly ecstatic when she saw Lu Yin, and she leaped into his arms.

Lu Yin held Luo Shen and felt the warmth of her body. Many questions burned deep in his heart, but he knew that this was not the time to ask them.

"You need to remember that my name is Long Qi," Lu Yin reminded her. He looked down, only to see that Luo Shen had already fallen asleep.

Liu Tianmu appeared above Lu Yin. Her sword was in her hand as she looked down at Lu Yin. "Twin Mansion has been destroyed."

"Reason?" Lu Yin asked as he walked out of the cell while holding Luo Shen.

"They had lost their humanity," Liu Tianmu casually replied.

Lu Yin nodded. He had seen that the eyes of the girls imprisoned in the underground cells had been full of despair, and one could only imagine what Twin Mansion had done to them.

Shang Qing then approached. "All of these women were going to be sold, and some of them were even intended to be used for experiments."

Lu Yin choked back the words he had been about to say. "No need for too many details. It's has already been destroyed."

Shang Qing appeared calm, but given his status as the first Honor Chosen of the Hall of Honor, naturally he had witnessed something like this before.

Lu Yin's communication crystal trembled again. Long Ke was likely calling back.

Lu Yin did not answer the call. The White Dragon Clan's patriarch wanted to oppress Lu Yin, but given Lu Yin's current reputation and status, it would not be easy for even Long Ke to do anything.

"Hey, who's that? You know her, Bro?" Wang Dashuai approached and was instantly curious about the girl.

Lu Yin answered, "She's an old friend."

Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu glanced at each other; old friend? Another person from the Fifth Mainland?

"By the way, where are the resources that belonged to Twin Mansion?" Lu Yin asked after suddenly remembering.

Cai Shu was the one to answer, "Since Twin Mansion has been destroyed, their resources cannot be touched, as doing so would cause people to believe that we moved for their wealth."

This was unfortunate for Lu Yin. "Then let's head back."

He then set Luo Shen on the transport made from the folded white paper.

Twin Mansion's destruction was a minor matter for the Middle Realm as a whole, and it only affected the local region, not a widespread area. Thus, no one questioned the matter at all.

The next day, after they all returned to Huaiyuan Gate's headquarters, Luo Shen awoke. She had been completely exhausted, and she had also lost weight.

Lu Yin had stood guard over her.

The moment she saw Lu Yin, tears sprang up in her eyes. "I thought it was a dream! I never expected it would actually be you."

As Lu Yin looked at Luo Shen, he felt his heart squeezed. He softly asked, "Why are you here?"

Luo Shen pursed her chapped lips, which caused blood to ooze from them. Lu Yin quickly wiped it away.

"I- I- You disappeared into Jupiter, so I tried to find you," Luo Shen whispered.

Lu Yin had to ask, "You were able to get close to Jupiter?"

Luo Shen shook her head. "Not at first, but I returned every day. Maybe it's just a coincidence that I ended up here."

Lu Yin's heart trembled as he looked at Luo Shen's nervous expression. However, he did not know how to feel when he saw the unrestrained delight in her eyes when she saw him. In the past, this woman had blocked an attack intended for Lu Yin, and she had then gone to Earth to wait for his return. She had even chased him to the Perennial World, which weighed heavily on Lu Yin.

Both of them stayed silent for a while.

Luo Shen looked at Lu Yin and saw the complicated emotions flickering through his eyes. She quickly said, "I- I didn't mean anything further! I just wanted to know that you were safe. Don't overthink things."

Her words amused Lu Yin, and he stretched out a hand to rub Luo Shen's head. "I didn't think much of it. Rest well, and you have to remember, I'm Long Qi."

Luo Shen nodded, suddenly serious. "I remember."

Lu Yin knew that this woman would remember every word he said to her. She looked at him with a gaze that made it clear that she would remember for the rest of her life. This expression troubled Lu Yin quite badly.

"Rest well," Lu Yin said before turning and leaving the room.

After Lu Yin left, Luo Shen buried her head in the blankets and wept for joy. Finally, she had found him. He was still alive! This was wonderful!

After leaving Luo Shen's room and returning to his own quarters, Lu Yin felt rather drained. Luo Shen's feelings would make other people happy, but they weighed heavily on Lu Yin. Too heavily.

"Sigh, women," Lu Yin heard the old man's voice.

The sound startled Lu Yin, who was already in a bad mood. "Couldn't you knock or something?"

The old man showed his strange smile. "Kid, are you exhausted because of a woman?"

Lu Yin subconsciously nodded, but then suddenly felt that there was something slightly off about the old man's words, though Lu Yin could not quite find what was wrong.

Seeing the old man's strange smile, Lu Yin's voice grew more casual. "If you have something to say, just say it. I'm not in the mood for word games."

The old man stretched. "That girl reminds this old man of years gone by. Youth… Can't get it back."

Lu Yin was speechless. "You eventually have to admit that you're old. What do you miss about your youth?"

The old man sighed emotionally. "Kid, you'll understand when you get old that once you're old, memories are your greatest joy."

Lu Yin looked outside the room.

"You want some news about another Redback?" The next time the old man opened his mouth, he said something that startled Lu Yin.

Redbacks and traitors were two completely different things, and arresting even a hundred traitors could not equal the credit received for exposing a single Redback.

Lu Yin stared at the old man. "You have more information about Redbacks?"

The old man proudly replied, "Of course! Kid, this next Redback will be enough for your reputation to rise once again, and might even get you a meeting with the Commander of Humility's Gate."

Lu Yin started thinking about the implications.

"Aren't you excited?" The old man was caught off guard at Lu Yin's reaction.

Lu Yin quietly answered, "It's not good for a tall tree to attract too much wind."

The old man rolled his eyes. "Who told you that you need to be the one to expose this Redback? Sell the info to Qing Chen."

Lu Yin was taken aback at this suggestion. "Sell it?"

The old man smiled. "You can call it a sale, but it's really just exchanging resources. You tell Qing Chen that you'll give him the information about this Redback in exchange for whatever resources or information you want. It's just a transaction."

Lu Yin was swayed. This seemed like a good option. If he arrested another Redback, those monsters would likely see him as a thorn in their side, and Lu Yin had no desire to have to constantly be on guard against assassins. Not to mention, those monsters were sneaky and unpredictable. Lu Yin still wanted to survive long enough to return to the Fifth Mainland.

This option of selling the information to Humility's Gate and allowing them to arrest the Redback would not only allow Lu Yin to remain hidden, he would also be able to receive whatever resources he wanted, which would be killing two birds with one stone.

Some people needed reputation in order to have their status rise, but Lu Yin had no need for such things while in the Perennial World.

After thinking about it, Lu Yin's eyes filled with excitement and he looked at the old man and gave the man a rare smile. "I'll ask Senior to share his information."

The old man laughed. "Kid, you're too much of a flake! This old man shows you a clear path, and you instantly change your entire attitude."

Lu Yin pursed his lips. This really was a clear path forward. He would sell the information to Humility's gate anytime he received such information in the future, and besides, he did not need to continue with this method. A billion star essence could tidehim over for a while.

The old man snickered at Lu Yin, but then he quickly grew serious. "This Redback won't be as easy to catch as the others, and even this old man needs to confirm some things. Tell Qing Chen that there are traitors in the Crimson Garden, but you need to confirm some information first. You'll need to find a certain person in the Crimson Garden, and with that information, this old man will be able to determine the location of the Redback."

Lu Yin had to ask, "The Crimson Garden?"

"It's a weird place up in the Higher Realm. Most people never even hear of it. Qing Chen can get you there," the old man explained.

Lu Yin grew embarrassed. "So it's a hassle?"

The old man did not know how to respond. "It's not as much of a hassle as it is to expose a Redback! This old man can tell you that this Redback is even more important than Yun Mubai. As long as you confirm the target, this achievement will allow you to be able to walk sideways in the Higher Realm. Humility's Gate will absolutely become your greatest backer, and the credit from this will be enough to get your name recorded in history."

Lu Yin considered the matter for a bit longer. "Will Supervisor Qing Chen be willing to take me to the Crimson Garden?"

"Without a doubt," the old man affirmed. He then created an image in the air of a person. "Make sure that this person is in the Crimson Garden, and this old man will be able to confirm the identity of the Redback."

The old man did not see it as he was focused on his drawing in the air, but as he sketched out a figure, Lu Yin's face changed in an amazing manner.

Recently, Lu Yin had survived several disasters, and had also met with Bai Xue and Luo Shen, and each encounter had been startling. However, nothing could compare to the shock that this picture caused to Lu Yin. Wasn't it a picture of the grandpa from Driftcharge Planet?