Chapter 25: Clues and Traces

Mo Yu shook his head with a smile, finding himself in a surprisingly good mood.

Seeing Lin Chuyi asleep against Lin Qiyue’s shoulder, Mo Yu realized how late it had grown. He didn't feel comfortable sending the two of them back alone at this hour.

"It seems the three of us will have to make do here for the night."

"No problem at all!" Lin Qiyue clenched his fists, his expression alight with excitement. It was his first time spending the night in the mountains. The scent of nature filled the air, giving him the thrilling illusion that he was truly living the life of a wandering adventurer. Surely, only those who roamed the world lived under the stars like this?

Infected by Lin Qiyue’s enthusiasm, a pleasant curve tugged at the corners of Mo Yu’s mouth.

"Does Prefect Lin know?" Mo Yu asked.

Lin Qiyue froze. "Brother Mo, you know my father?" He immediately regretted the words; he had forgotten that Brother Mo had used that very fact to threaten Yiyi earlier. He worried he might have offended him by bringing it up.

As it turned out, Lin Qiyue was overthinking it. Far from being displeased, Mo Yu smiled warmly. "I do not know him."

"Huh?" Lin Qiyue was stunned again. He didn't know him? How could that be? If he didn't know him, how had he threatened Yiyi, and how had he known her father was the Prefect?

Recalling the events of the afternoon, Mo Yu couldn't help but laugh. "Truth be told, Yiyi was a bit careless. At the time, I didn't actually know she was the Prefect's daughter."

Seeing Mo Yu willing to explain, Lin Qiyue was filled with curiosity.

"Her sleeve gave her away."

Lin Qiyue immediately looked at Lin Chuyi’s sleeves. Sure enough, embroidered on the cuff of one was a crooked, jagged character for "Lin." Seeing the embroidery, Lin Qiyue felt an urge to wake the sleeping girl and give her a sound scolding; there was no doubt she had stitched that herself. He clearly remembered his father hiring the finest embroidery tutor for her, yet it had turned out like this.

"But even with that character, how did you deduce her identity, Brother Mo?" he asked, genuinely intrigued.

Mo Yu smiled, answering patiently. "A single character was enough. As far as I know, the only family in town with the surname Lin is the Prefect’s."

Lin Qiyue lowered his head, pondering this. He was right; they were indeed the only Lin family in town. Thinking of how Mo Yu had managed to piece together such clues even in the heat of a life-or-death moment, the admiration in Lin Qiyue’s eyes grew uncontrollable.

"I remember Yiyi said you made that threat before she was even close to you. Brother Mo, how could you see the embroidery on her sleeve from that distance? It’s so small."

Mo Yu laughed. "The eyes of a martial artist are naturally sharper than those of an ordinary person. Once you start training, you will be able to do the same."

"Really? I can do it too?" Lin Qiyue was so excited he could barely contain himself, and he stood up instinctively.

Because Lin Chuyi was leaning against his shoulder, she inevitably suffered from his sudden movement.

*Oh, no!*

Lin Qiyue cried out in his heart. It was too late to catch her, and he could only watch helplessly as her small frame pitched forward, colliding squarely into Mo Yu.

Since the three of them were sitting quite close together, the impact was solid. A trickle of blood immediately welled up at the corner of Mo Yu’s mouth.

As he watched Lin Chuyi tumble into him, Mo Yu thought to himself: *Does this girl have some kind of grudge against me?*