Players: All NPCs in the Sect Are Moles

Mrs. Su’s gaze lingered on that face for a moment before she quickly looked away.

Every time she saw a girl on the street with a figure similar to her daughter’s, her heart would clench, only to be met with empty disappointment time and time again.

Hope would be kindled, only to be extinguished. That feeling of plunging from the clouds into a deep valley grew more agonizing with each instance.

She didn’t dare to look again.

She was afraid—afraid that this time, just like the countless times before, it was just another case of mistaken identity born from her overwhelming longing.

She was afraid that if she ran after her, she would once again be met with a stranger’s face that clearly said, "You’ve got the wrong person." She preferred to believe it was just a passerby who happened to look similar.

Mrs. Su turned around, her back to the street, and snapped at the servants, "Hurry up! What are you all dawdling for? It’s almost dark!"

She used busyness and scolding to hide her racing heart and the uncontrollable sting in her eyes.

The rain began to let up, and Su Ling’er’s heart sank.

’Mother... she didn’t recognize me? Have I really changed that much from how I looked over three years ago?’

But Su Ling’er still took a deep breath, stepped forward, and walked under the cloth awning. Seeing this stranger carrying a sword approach, the servants instinctively stopped their work.

"...Miss... today’s porridge has already been given out." Su Ling’er looked at her mother’s face, etched with the marks of time, at the wrinkles by her eyes, and her throat felt tight.

"...Mom."

One word. Just that one word. Mrs. Su’s body trembled violently. The rag in her hand fell with a SPLAT into a puddle of water on the ground.

Her eyes were fixed on Su Ling’er’s face, her pupils dilating in an instant. ’That voice... that word... Could it be that this time, it’s not just my imagination?’

Mrs. Su’s lips quivered. She wanted to say something but couldn’t make a sound. She reached out, as if to touch Su Ling’er’s face, but her hand stopped in mid-air, trembling uncontrollably.

Seeing her mother’s reaction, Su Ling’er’s eyes grew hot as she spoke again, "Mom, it’s me."

"...I’m home."

...

The rain was still falling.

The main gate of the Su Mansion closed slowly behind Su Ling’er, shutting out the noise and damp chill of the world outside.

Inside the main hall, candles were lit. A reunion, more than three years late, slowly unfolded amidst the flickering candlelight and the fragrant steam of food.

During the meal, Su Ling’er fabricated a story about where she had been for the past three years. She made no mention of the fall of the Qingxu Temple’s Sect Leader, nor did she speak of the bloody battle in the canyon, let alone the conflict between the righteous and demonic paths of Cultivation.

Those brutal truths were too heavy a burden for her mortal family living in Anhe City. She simply said that by a stroke of luck, she had joined a reclusive immortal sect called the Guixi Sect.

She explained that the Cultivation there focused more on practical combat and worldly training, and that the sturdy attire she wore was the standard uniform for such training.

She said that this "Boss" surnamed Lin beside her was an employer she met during her training, as well as a friend who took good care of her. He was just passing through to sightsee.

The Su Family listened to these mysterious and profound tales of immortals. Although they didn’t fully understand, seeing their daughter before them—thin but full of life—they believed her.

From their perspective, it was a wonderful thing that their daughter, despite her known aptitude, had managed to enter a more profound immortal sect. And so, with Su Ling’er carefully steering the conversation, the name "Qingxu Temple" was sidestepped and eventually replaced by "Guixi Sect."

At the dinner table, her mother kept piling food into Su Ling’er’s bowl, which was finally filled to the brim. "Eat more. Look how thin you’ve gotten. You haven’t been eating properly while you were away, have you?"

Her father remained a man of few words, but he never stopped warming wine for his daughter. He pushed the warmed wine pot toward Su Ling’er and then quietly exchanged the dish of pickles in front of her, which had grown cold, for a new one.

Her younger brother and sister, initially shy, eventually drew closer out of curiosity, crowding around Su Ling’er and pestering her with all sorts of questions.

Lin Qingfeng, in his role as a friend, ate quietly. But at the same time, his gaze swept over the Su Family, and he then shook his head with a hint of resignation.

’No Spirit Roots. All of them are just mortals. For this family to produce someone like Su Ling’er, who has a Pseudo Spirit Root, is a case of their ancestral tombs spouting green smoke—an incredible stroke of luck. There are no other promising seedlings here worth cultivating. A pity...’

Afterward, Lin Qingfeng also began to play his part. When Mr. Su asked about Su Ling’er’s situation while she was away, he spoke up with a smile.

"Out there, Su Ling’er is a woman who puts men to shame! I’ve seen her slay a great Core Formation demon all by herself with a single sword! And she went toe-to-toe with a Core Formation Stage evil spirit!"

Hearing Lin Qingfeng’s boasting, Su Ling’er nearly spat out a mouthful of rice.

’Wait... Senior Brother! Don’t lay it on so thick! When we killed that Core Formation demon, I was basically a puppet on a string the whole time, okay? I was just scared witless!!!’

’And another thing! That time we fought the cursed wraith, *I* was the one getting tossed around... I know you’re working hard to pretty up my battle record, but... with you praising me so much, I feel like a total fraud!’

’Is he... trying to make me look good?!’

’He’s taking all the incredible things *he’s* done and pinning them on me, just to put Mom and Dad at ease and make me look more impressive to my family!’

Su Ling’er’s heart trembled.

’Senior Brother... he could have just stayed out of it. He could have even made fun of how weak I am, but he didn’t. In the most over-the-top way, he protected my dignity as a daughter in front of my parents.’

She turned to look at Lin Qingfeng, her expression no longer one of exasperation, but one full of gratitude and a trace of flattered apprehension.

"Boss... Boss Lin, you flatter me..." She lowered her head, her voice choking up a little. "It was... it was all thanks to everyone’s help."

"However, Cultivation in the Guixi Sect is just this dangerous. You kids shouldn’t think about getting involved."

But her brother, Su Wenxuan, and sister, Su Wenjing, listened with sparkling eyes. They had grown up reading the xianxia storybooks their sister had left behind, and their hearts were filled with endless fantasies about a world of slaying demons and fiends.

Her brother, Su Wenxuan, even pulled out a chopstick and brandished it in the air.

"Sister! You can kill a super-powerful great demon with one sword strike? Can you teach me? I want to be like the Sword Immortals in the stories, roaming the world with a sword at my side!"

Their questions came one after another. Su Ling’er looked into their bright eyes, and her heart ached with a sharp pang.

’Roam the world with a sword? She recalled the shameless alliances forged between the so-called righteous and demonic paths for personal gain. She recalled the cruelty of the Qingxu Temple’s Sect Leader, who performed a blood sacrifice on his own sect-mates. She recalled the elder from the righteous Celestial Furnace Sect, who had that same expression, one that viewed human life as nothing more than weeds.’

’In fact, the only time my life has truly been in danger so far was at the hands of a righteous sect leader, not anything I experienced in a demonic sect. Who would even believe that if I said it out loud?’

This world was not as wonderful as the one depicted in the storybooks. Su Ling’er did not want them to set foot in this mire.

She took a small porcelain vial from her storage pouch. It was filled with some body-fortifying pills she had purchased. While useless to Cultivators, they could bolster a mortal’s constitution and extend their lifespan.

She poured out the pills and gave them to her parents, brother, and sister. "Dad, Mom, Wenxuan, Wenjing, take these. They’re good for your health."

Seeing this, Lin Qingfeng also subconsciously reached for his own storage pouch. He thought for a moment, then decided against it.

’I’m supposed to be a wealthy merchant right now. If I just casually whip out some Immortal Pills, it’ll completely blow my cover. I’ll just give Junior Sister something in private later and have her pass it along.’

Then, he calmly continued eating, making himself right at home. The younger brother and sister were still pestering Su Ling’er, clamoring to go with her to pursue Cultivation.

Su Ling’er looked at them and shook her head. "You don’t have Spirit Roots, so you can’t cultivate. Just stay home, study hard, live well, and inherit the family business. Stop thinking about such illusory things."

’After all... this world isn’t as simple as the ones in the storybooks...’