Fishhead wanted to scratch his head, but his fins couldn’t reach. Helpless, he turned to look at Luan Ling, then back at the old woman.

Luan Ling waved her hand, signaling for him to say something—anything would do, just some basic social interaction. But Fishhead still didn’t know how to start. After a moment of speechless silence, Luan Ling extended her left hand, intending to cast a spell, only to realize she didn’t have enough spiritual power. She then raised her right hand as well, directing both hands toward the old woman’s mind. Like unraveling threads, she carefully read something from it.

Luan Ling opened her mouth, but the voice that came out was that of an elderly man.

“Old woman, I’m back.”

At the sound, the old woman’s previously calm expression shifted. She lifted her chin, as if trying to locate the source of the voice.

Fishhead hadn’t expected this at all and raised a fin toward Luan Ling in admiration.

That’s right—searching for true love didn’t necessarily mean he had to become someone’s true love. Pretending to be someone else’s true love might work too.

Luan Ling spoke to him through divine sense.
“What are you praising me for? I was just easing the awkwardness. You’re not actually thinking of deceiving someone, are you?”

But Fishhead stepped forward anyway. Retaining the memory of the voice he had just heard, and before Luan Ling could react, he spoke to the old woman.

“It’s me. I’ve come back.”

Luan Ling frowned, ready to smack him, when the old woman paused, thought carefully, then shook her head with a gentle smile.

“You’re someone from the village, aren’t you? Where did you learn such a trick? It does sound somewhat like him.”

Fishhead froze, then looked back at Luan Ling. She no longer felt like helping him and simply crossed her arms to watch.

Fishhead didn’t really understand how to deceive people. He just wanted to break the curse and go home as soon as possible. With no prepared explanation, he could only ask,

“How did you know?”

The old woman smiled calmly.
“Your voice may sound like his, but he would never speak to me that way. If he truly returned from a long voyage at sea, he would bring me a bouquet of flowers. And the very first thing he would ask would be—did you get hurt anywhere?”

Both Fishhead and Luan Ling fell silent. Fishhead quietly took out the copper coins he had exchanged for spirit stones, while Luan Ling asked softly,

“Has he come back?”

The old woman shook her head.
“He’s been at sea for over ten years now. Perhaps one day… he will return.”

Luan Ling and Fishhead left the village in low spirits.

“See? This is all your fault,” Luan Ling said, displeased by Fishhead’s recklessness. “Trying to trick her and dragging up her painful memories.”

Fishhead raised a fin.
“Alright, alright. Didn’t I leave her a little something as compensation?”

“All that useless nonsense,” Luan Ling complained. “She’s a blind old woman—have you thought about what danger it might bring if her house suddenly fills with gemstones?”

It would’ve been far better to help repair her house or do some farm work, at least put food in her kitchen.

“Not everything can be solved with money,” Luan Ling added. “Use that fish brain of yours.”

She meant to flick his forehead but figured he’d be too slippery, so she stopped. Even so, the feint alone made Fishhead instinctively dodge—

—and he leaned back too hard, falling flat on the ground.

Luan Ling scooped him up with visible disgust. If not for conserving her power, she wouldn’t have bothered touching him at all.

Whatever. Let’s just say this is Si Zhuo’s body suffering instead.

“Boss, are we almost there?”

As they neared the city gates, Fishhead sensed a familiar aura. Just as he was about to sniff more carefully, Luan Ling kicked him.

“Turn your head and look!”

They were already right in front of it—what was he sensing for?!

“Ah—we’re here!”

Fishhead’s voice grew excited. He almost jumped up to pat Luan Ling.
“Boss, boss! We’ve arrived!”

Hmph. Luan Ling felt a rare sense of pride, showing off before her lackey. After all her hard work, she had finally—

—realized they couldn’t get in.

“Boss, the city gates are about to close.”

Fishhead glanced at the sky and urged her while she was forging fake travel documents.
“Can we still get in?”

Luan Ling looked at the forged pass she had painstakingly modeled after one she’d glimpsed earlier, then waved her hand.

“Forget it. Let’s splurge today and use an illusion spell. Remember this, Fishhead—when we get back, you’re handing over all your valuables with both hands to the Qilin Hall of the Celestial Academy. Otherwise, all this effort would’ve been wasted. Got it?”

Fishhead followed along.
“But boss, didn’t you always look down on worldly things? You said the Eastern Sea has endless treasures—these things are useless.”

What? Si Zhuo’s family background was even deeper than she thought? No wonder he cultivated so quickly—a full-on pay-to-win player. Tch. Nothing compared to her natural talent.

Luan Ling ground her teeth.
“I looked down on them before. Now I’m in school—there are plenty of places to spend money. Don’t ask so much. Do you still want my help or not?”

Fishhead nodded furiously.

This illusion spell required multitasking. Not only did she need to fake the travel papers, she also had to disguise Fishhead himself.

As they passed the guards, Luan Ling felt a little guilty under their scrutiny. She rarely used tricks like these growing up—after all, she’d always been a good kid. Lying wasn’t exactly her specialty.

Fortunately, her spells were flawless. The guards said nothing and let them enter what was, for Fishhead, a city of heartbreak.

Whether Fishhead was heartbroken or not, Luan Ling was definitely getting a headache.

Repeated mental spells were taxing, even for someone born with exceptional spiritual strength. Worse still, she was inside Si Zhuo’s body, already irritated enough, and now she had to listen to Fishhead ramble on, replaying earlier events.

“So do you think the old woman figured us out because we picked someone who hadn’t come home for so many years?”

Luan Ling finally snapped and knocked him on the head.

“Boss, why did you hit me?” Fishhead complained, unable to even touch his face. “Wasn’t that reasonable?”

Luan Ling laughed coldly.
“I don’t know whether it’s reasonable, but turning you into fish slices would be considered legal across all three realms.”

She closed her eyes, exasperated.
“She was trying to tell you that for someone who truly loves you—someone who truly knows you—what you look like or what you sound like doesn’t matter at all. What matters is that you love her, and she can feel that love. That’s the meaning of the fairy tale. Do you understand?”

When she opened her eyes, Fishhead still looked confused. After a long pause, he muttered,

“So… I should go home and let my father and mother kiss me?”

Zhu Yin glanced around, picked up a convenient tool from the ground, weighed it in her hand. Fishhead sensed danger and bolted.

“I didn’t say anything wrong! Why are you hitting me, boss?!”

Because none of that was the point!

The point was that she really wanted to hit him.

Not to mention the sheer exhaustion of traveling all the way from the coast north to the capital—draining both energy and magic—even if they did turn back, the Sea Folk guards alone would stop him. And he still wanted parental affection? The curse had to be undone by whoever tied it. Asking the heretic caster why they did this without killing him made far more sense than Fishhead’s wild fantasies.

With that thought, Luan Ling chased him harder. Si Zhuo’s body had a clear physical advantage. Just as she was about to catch up—

—a figure suddenly dropped from the wall above and crashed straight into her arms.

She rubbed her tailbone for a long moment. When the woman on top of her lifted her head, they stared at each other in stunned silence—until Luan Ling realized that yes, that really was her tailbone.

“What are you doing here?!”

Seeing her own face was more terrifying than seeing Fishhead. Luan Ling completely forgot about hitting him and instead anxiously examined her own body, asking Si Zhuo,

“No mortals bullied me, right? You didn’t even cushion your fall with magic—what if you’d broken my leg?!”

Si Zhuo pushed himself up, annoyed.
“If I hadn’t almost broken your leg, you’d be on your way into the palace as some old emperor’s concubine by now.”

Luan Ling opened her mouth in shock. Nearby, Fishhead—who had been watching—also opened his fish mouth slightly.

“What? Palace? Concubine?”

Luan Ling was confused too and grabbed Si Zhuo’s shoulders, demanding an explanation.

Dizzy from being shaken, Si Zhuo slapped her hands away and irritably explained how he’d been dragged down into a mortal tribulation because of Luan Yu.

“That bastard Luan Yu!”

Luan Ling grabbed a fallen weapon and raised a stick, ready to fight again. Si Zhuo stopped her.

“Even if you don’t deal with him now, he’s not having an easy time.”

He explained: Luan Yu had helped a young lady escape her household. Officially, her plea spared him, but in reality, he was sent back to suffer punishment. He washed clothes nonstop for three days and nights. When he collapsed, the master said he’d be kicked out if he didn’t finish. Luan Yu agreed, thinking he could escape—only to be caught and beaten. Last night, exhausted from night watch, he ran again. This time he succeeded, but no one knew where he went.

Luan Ling grew worried.
“What if he dies? If he dies, he gets to return to the Heavenly Court and won’t suffer anymore.”

Fishhead: “……”

Even Si Zhuo fell into an awkward silence. In some respects, he and Luan Ling thought disturbingly alike.

Luan Ling was about to ask more when she suddenly heard shouting.

“Over there! The young lady seems to have run this way!”

Luan Ling looked at Si Zhuo. He looked back—but casually dusted himself off and stood up, not the least bit anxious, making her grind her teeth in frustration.

Fine. Protecting her own body came first. If she got dragged into the palace, then it would be time to panic.

With that, Luan Ling formed seals with both hands, trying to cast an invisibility spell. But just as it formed, it lasted only a brief moment before an unfamiliar external force interfered. The spell shattered—

—and the search party arrived at that exact instant, running straight into them.

Fishhead froze. Si Zhuo frowned. Luan Ling grabbed her own hand and bolted.

“Stop! Who are you?!”

As they sprinted onto the main road, Luan Ling and Si Zhuo brushed past a carriage. The wind lifted its curtains. As she turned her head, her gaze met the eyes of the person inside.

In that single instant, it felt like a devastating blow—electric shock surged through her body. Her vision went black, and she collapsed forward.

What… just happened?

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