Lin Xiao
High above, a sea of clouds rolled beneath them like white waves.
Lin Xiao and Clara flew side by side on their swords, cutting two straight rifts through the clouds.
Clara turned her head, her red robe snapping in the wind. "You'd better repay me properly tonight. If I hadn't stepped in for you earlier, your new boss really was about to fire you."
"Sis, my best Clara. There is nothing more I can do to show my gratitude. As Sect Leader, I'm devoting the whole night to you, full effort helping you cultivate. Fair enough?"
There was a look in Clara's eyes that saw right through him. "Cut it out. You obviously just had a rough interaction with Seongwoo down there and flew up here to avoid him."
Lin Xiao gave in and admitted it honestly. "You got me. He almost recognized me in person just now."
"Not surprised at all." Clara snorted. "Though I am curious. Your face is identical to your real one. How has he not figured it out yet?"
"It's not completely identical..." he muttered.
In the game, Lin Xiao had flowing white hair and an ethereal, elegant presence, worlds apart from the version of himself at the office, dark circles under his eyes, gloomy expression, smelling faintly of cigarettes.
"OK, let's back up to half an hour ago."
By the stream in the bamboo forest.
Seongwoo stared hard at the white-robed sect leader in front of him.
Lin Xiao felt his skin crawl under the scrutiny. "Stop staring."
"You look like a coworker of mine."
"No way."
"Really similar. Where do you live?"
"I live in Shenzhen," Lin Xiao blurted out. "And don’t ask something that personal, OK?"
"What time is it in Shenzhen right now?"
Lin Xiao froze for a second, quickly doing the time zone math in his head.
If Seongwoo had logged on at his usual time, ten at night in New York, then Shenzhen would be twelve hours ahead.
Holy shit.
Shenzhen is now 10 a.m.!
Who the hell plays a video game at ten in the morning on a weekday?
But the words were already out, so he had no choice but to commit.
Lin Xiao cleared his throat. "It's only a bit past ten in the morning. I just woke up not long ago. Well, the economy's rough, I got laid off."
"Ah... I'm sorry to hear that." Seongwoo nodded. "But Shenzhen is a great city. I love it there, and there are always so many things happening."
"Exactly, just like New York."
"Wait, what?"
"Huh? I didn't say anything."
"You just said it just like New York."
"Nah, it must be the wind."
"No," Seongwoo said. "I heard you clearly say it just like New York."
"OK, OK. Fine." Lin Xiao admitted, “You got me.”
"You even have similar verbal habits. He also likes talking in that same tone, and he's also into this cultivation game. There's no way this many coincidences add up, right?"
Yep.
He's definitely figured it out. What do I do now?
"And I'm literally in New York too, isn't that quite a coincidence? I believe it’s destiny. Have you ever visited New York before?"
"Ah? Ah..." Lin Xiao jumped in quickly. "Yeah! I did travel to New York for a while before… That's why I'm used to using it as a reference."
“Ah ha, I knew it.” He said, “That's a shame. I just moved to New York from Shanghai for work. Otherwise, we might've actually run into each other in real life."
How come Seongwoo’s like a completely different person the moment he gets into the game? So... approachable and lovable?
But dealing with your cold face at the office every day is already more than enough, it’s not a shame to me at all.
"Yeah, sure..."
Thankfully, this crown prince didn't seem to be the sharpest.
Lin Xiao told Clara, "That's basically what happened."
Clara said, cutting straight to the point, "You can't keep hiding it. Truth will come to light sooner or later."
"One more day of hiding it is one more day alive," he said, face twisted in distress. "Besides, making him realize that the high and mighty sect leader is actually that depressing slacker intern would probably kill him."
"Given how annoyed he already is with you at the office, he'll probably be killed anyway."
"Don't kick me while I'm down; help me think of something." Lin Xiao said. "Maybe... next time before I see him, I could use a disguise spell."
"That'll just make it more obvious," Clara said. "Give yourself away."
"Or I could just stab him to death outright. Every time he respawns, I'll kill him again, force him to go join a different sect."
"And what if he actually buys the game company? For revenge, he’ll just delete and ban our whole sect from the server."
"Ah, fuck, I really did piss off the wrong person," Lin Xiao said. "What if I just say I have a twin brother in Shenzhen? Damn, I think that could actually work! Seriously, I'm a genius."
"Yeah, so brilliant," Clara said, mocking him. "Alright, let's focus on the Great Invasion for now. We're here."
The two of them descended and saw a vast, desolate expanse of reddish-brown desert stretching to the edge of a range of cracked mountains.
They landed at the mouth of a massive cave at the foot of the mountains. Fierce wind howled, kicking up clouds of sand that stung against their faces.
"This is where the anomaly was spotted?" Lin Xiao landed on the ground, his flying sword sliding smoothly back into his hand.
He looked up at several sky lanterns hovering in midair and the sect markings carved into the rock wall in cinnabar red, all bearing their sect's insignia.
"But where is everyone?" Lin Xiao frowned.
"They didn't rush in on their own trying to claim credit, did they?" Clara formed a hand seal, and a blazing fireball appeared out of nowhere in her palm.
She flung it forward, and it rolled deep into the cave with a whoosh.
The firelight lit up the dark cavern. The cave walls were lined only with stalactites hanging like monster fangs. Inside, it was empty.
A swarm of black bats, startled by the light, burst out of the cave over their heads with a flurry of wings.
Lin Xiao noticed drag marks on the ground. "Or maybe they were dragged in."
The two exchanged a glance, then tightened their grips on their swords.
A low hum sounded.
Three tails made of blazing fire unfurled behind Clara, radiating a dazzling, warm red glow.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, stepped carefully over the loose sand and gravel, moving cautiously into the silent cave.
The air inside was dry and thick, mixed with the smell of sulfur. The cave system at the edge of the desert turned out to be unusually complex, riddled with small passages branching in every direction.
There were very peculiar pools in some places. How could there be water in a desert cave?
They followed the narrow passage deeper, walking several hundred meters, the only sound the faint breathing of the two of them and the crackling hiss of Clara's burning tails.
But why haven't we run into a single monster?
This is too strange.
Just in case, Lin Xiao flicked his fingers, and a translucent, pale blue barrier of light unfolded out of thin air, wrapping around the two of them.
It was a high-tier protective spell, capable of blocking most attacks, and it would also drastically weaken the spiritual energy of any unidentified creature caught inside it for ten minutes.
They walked another five minutes or so before the path ahead abruptly ended, leaving only a bare wall of reddish-brown rock.
Not even a body in sight.
"Strange... did the scouting disciples get the location wrong?" Clara's beautiful green eyes were full of confusion in the firelight.
Lin Xiao caught something off.
Spiritual energy. Someone was casting a spell nearby.
An ambush!
"Clara, watch out!" Lin Xiao shouted and spun around.
Hundreds of talisman arrows came screaming toward them.
The massive impact sent violent, water like ripples rushing across the barrier.
Five water-element cultivators in black robes finally revealed themselves. They wore no sect robes, and their faces were covered with torn cloth.
A net of arcs was drawn tight, sealing off everyone inside the narrow cave with no way out.
Sand and rock shattered. Sword energy tore through the air in every direction.
This was a trap, set specifically to kill them.
ns216.73.216.248da2
and then Add to home screen.