The Ancient "Dan Bau" and Suspicious Glances

Lam Minh stood by the lake for a long time, trying to digest all the earth-shattering information he had just received. He looked at the Thuan Thien sword in his hand, feeling the weight of history and responsibility. This wasn't just a weapon; it was a symbol, a beacon of hope.

But a practical problem now presented itself: how was he going to carry this precious sword back to the guesthouse without anyone noticing?

It was too conspicuous. The scabbard, made of deep green jade, still emitted a faint glow even in the dark. Carrying it brazenly through a heavily guarded city was no different from announcing, "Hey everyone, I just received a national treasure!"

"So troublesome," he muttered.

After some thought, he decided on the most rudimentary method. He took off his jacket and carefully wrapped the sword, trying to make it look like an ordinary object. After a few layers, from a distance, it looked quite a bit like a đàn bầu (a traditional Vietnamese monochord) or some other folk instrument wrapped in cloth.

"This will have to do," he told himself, then hugged the "dan bau" and began his journey back.

Sneaking out had been difficult; sneaking back in with a long, awkward object like this was even harder. He had to use all the skills of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, moving like a ghost in the night, avoiding patrols and security cameras.

Luckily, there were no incidents. He returned safely to his room just before dawn. He quickly hid the sword under his bed, breathed a sigh of relief, and then collapsed into sleep as if nothing had happened.

The next morning, when he woke up, there was already a bit of a stir in the guesthouse.

"Where were you all night?"

Quynh Nhu was already standing in front of his door with her arms crossed, her eyes as sharp as daggers. She had discovered he wasn't in his room since midnight.

"I... I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk," Lam Minh lied without batting an eye.

"A walk?" Quynh Nhu narrowed her eyes. "This area has a curfew after 10 p.m. Where did you take a walk? Don't tell me you sleepwalked to Hoan Kiem Lake."

Lam Minh was startled. This girl's intuition was terrifying.

"Of course not," he quickly waved his hands. "I just wandered around the guesthouse courtyard."

Just then, To Quyen also walked over, a worried look on her face. "Lam Minh, were you okay last night? This morning, I heard the guards say there was some unusual energy activity in the Hoan Kiem Lake area last night. The entire camera system was jammed for a few minutes."

A cold sweat broke out on Lam Minh's back. It must have been caused by the appearance of the Thuan Thien sword.

"Really? What a coincidence. I don't know anything about it," he continued to deny.

Both To Quyen and Quynh Nhu looked at him with deep suspicion. They were certain he was hiding something. But they had no proof, and they also knew it was useless to ask.

"Alright, let's get ready," To Quyen had to change the subject. "We're going home today. The train departs at 9 o'clock."

Lam Minh breathed a sigh of relief. Finally going home. If he stayed in Hanoi for another day, these two "scanners" would probably stare all his secrets out of him.

Another problem arose when he was packing his luggage. He couldn't just carry a "dan bau" wrapped in a jacket onto the train.

After fumbling around for a while, he decided to go out and find an old instrument case. He told everyone he was going to buy some Hanoi specialties as gifts.

He quickly found a second-hand shop and bought the most old-fashioned and ordinary-looking đàn bầu case he could find. He returned to the guesthouse and sneakily placed the Thuan Thien sword inside. It fit perfectly.

When he carried the instrument case out to the living room to prepare to leave for the station, he once again came face-to-face with Quynh Nhu and To Quyen.

"Oh? What's this?" Quynh Nhu asked curiously, pointing at the case. "You can play the đàn bầu too? How come I never knew?"

"Ah, I bought this as a gift for my grandfather," Lam Minh had to invent another excuse. "My grandfather loves listening to the đàn bầu."

"Really?" Quynh Nhu smirked. "Why don't you open it up and play a song for us? Let's see just how multi-talented our 'male god' is."

"No, I don't know how to play. I might break my grandfather's instrument," Lam Minh quickly refused, clutching the case as if it were a treasure.

His actions made the two girls even more suspicious. But just then, Professor Lan Anh came to hurry everyone onto the bus to the station, so they had to let him off the hook for the time being.

On the train ride back, Lam Minh kept the instrument case by his side at all times, not leaving it for a second, occasionally opening it to take a furtive peek inside.

Quynh Nhu sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hand, and muttered to To Quyen, "I bet you it's not a đàn bầu in there. It's definitely something shady. Could it be... a girl he met in Hanoi?"

Hearing this, To Quyen instinctively shot Lam Minh a glare, a flicker of annoyance in her heart.

Lam Minh, feeling the two invisible murderous auras aimed at him, could only look up at the heavens and sigh.

"My god, it's just a sword. Why is it harder to hide than my cultivation secret?"

The journey back, for Lam Minh, was even more stressful than facing the Divine Turtle. He had to face two "goddesses" who were far more terrifying: a jealous, violent loli and a smart, suspicious class president.