Chapter 20: Shadows of trust and secrets.

Before we left, I turned to Lin Xuan.

"Hey, are you sure you want to come with us? If you come with us now, you won't be able to turn back, and if the worst case scenario happens, we can all die, you understand right?"

Lin Xuan didn't have any words, he was only a merchant at the heavenly pavilion after all, even if he was at a good cultivation realm for his own position, it's still dangerous for him.

Lin Xuan didn't know how he could respond yet so I stepped in once more.

"Lin Xuan, it's okay, we understand even if you don't want to come, we didn't save you expecting something in return either, it was because of your kindness back then that saved you, so don't worry, go find somewhere safe, I think the heavenly pavilion should have taken action to protect their workers by now, so go" I gave him a pat on the back, smiling at him.

Lin Xuan looked at me, his emotions were unclear but he asked "Are you sure?"

Before I could even talk Xue stepped in

"It's fine, don't worry about it! Me and Ace can pull this off!"

I liked her confidence, I just nodded being right next to her.

With that Lin Xuan sighed, and looked at me,

"Alright then, next time you come to me looking for something, it will have a 90% discount!" He said with a smirk slowly curving on his mouth.

I chuckled, "seriously? You're not considering anything free?" We both smiled at each other before parting way from one another.

Before even knowing, I was walking side by side with Xue, well, we're already friends since we been through life and death situations. But if i think about it, I don't really know her.

"Hey Xue, why was I the one you asked help from?" I asked her curiously, hoping this conversation starter might lead to somewhere we can get to know each other better.

Xue looked at me.

"Well, you were the only one that seemed reliable to me.." and she murmured

"You're the only friend I have" hiding her face.

I didn't hear the last part she was saying,

"What? Sorry I didn't hear the last part"

She seemed to be more embarrassed now.

"It's nothing..." Xue responded while keeping her face hidden.

As we walked in silence for a few moments, I pondered over her words. There was so much about Xue that was still a mystery to me, despite everything we had faced together. Her strength and resilience were evident, but beneath that exterior, there seemed to be a vulnerable side she rarely let anyone see.

"Hey," I said softly, breaking the silence. "You know, it's okay to open up. We've been through a lot together, and I consider you a true friend." I thought to myself as we walked

Well she's the only friend I have too, so..

Xue glanced at me, her eyes betraying a mix of surprise and uncertainty. She took a deep breath, as if gathering the courage to speak. "I... I've always been on my own. Trusting people doesn't come easy for me. But you've shown me that there are still good people in this world. That's why I asked for your help."

Her honesty caught me off guard, and I felt a surge of empathy for her. "Well, I'm glad you did," I replied sincerely. "And you don't have to face everything alone anymore. We're in this together."

Xue nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. "Thank you, Ace. That means a lot."

As we kept moving towards the imperial palace, I was curious, what was Xue's relationship with the palace? She looked comfortable enough to talk about it and entering it like she can go in and out like she's used to it. I finally started another conversation.

"Hey Xue, may I ask what's your relationship with the palace?"

Her face twiched, her facial expressions was enough to tell me that she didn't really want to talk much about it, so she gave an short answer.

"I'm the adopted daughter of the emperor..."

"I see..." I responded, not wanting to continue the conversation on her behalf, I could feel that she didn't want to talk about it, at least not yet.

It had been some time since we were heading towards the imperial palace, I and Xue both had some chit-chat here and there, we got to know each other by a little, and we could see the sun setting at the horizon. And there was the palace, we finally arrived at our destination, we quickly entered the palace without wasting anymore time and we reported the situation that was going on at Yunhai, which was a city in Xiancheng.

The Xue's adoptive father, which is the emperor has called Xue to meet him after we had reported about the situation. I had to wait outside till she came out, but I couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"Nicely done Xia Xue, with this, your sister is sure to be favoured by everyone! After your sister becomes the empress, you can be free! We'll let you cultivate in peace and do whatever you want, alright?"

Xia Wei said earnestly, taking full advantage of the catastrophe that's happening outside.

There was no response from Xue so she must've just accepted what he just said.

I was angry at the whole situation, I clenched my fist and grit my teeth.. not understanding what was happening.

Is Xue just being used by them?! I thought to myself, so many thoughts running in my head. I decided to play dumb until I got a clear image of what was happening.