"Oh?"
"Didn't the two of you also use the art of disguise?"
Shen Qing replied unhurriedly. She didn't seem flustered at all even though her magic had been seen through.
Li Xian just sat there calmly, not even lifting his eyelids. He was still thinking about the Water-Crossing Red Silk.
A look of surprise flashed across the middle-aged woman's eyes.
Only those with a cultivation higher than hers could possibly see through the disguise art of her and her husband. After all, what they wore on their faces were real human skins.
But this young couple in front of them was so calm. Their cultivation must be at least in the early Nascent Soul stage.
Thinking this way, the middle-aged couple finally put away the contempt in their eyes. When they spoke again, their tone was much nicer.
"The new generation always surpasses the old. We didn't expect that the two of you would have such high cultivation at such a young age. We were too arrogant."
"But our intention to cooperate is sincere. The shipowner and his wife seem strange, not only in appearance but also in behavior. In the Nine Desolate Continent, killing is a common thing. The sea is even more dangerous than the land. If we cooperate, our chances of survival will be higher."
"Please think it over, you two."
Shen Qing smiled but didn't give a definite answer.
The captain and his wife were problematic, and the middle-aged couple in front of them was no ordinary people either.
The packages on their backs made Shen Qing feel a sense of unease. On the deck, she even saw something wriggling inside the packages, which made her want to stay away from them.
Therefore, Shen Qing wanted to reject their offer of cooperation.
Seeing that Shen Qing had no intention of cooperating with them, the middle-aged couple wasn't annoyed. Instead, they introduced themselves in a low voice.
"By the way, my name is Mei Hua, and my husband's name is Wu Tong. You can call me Lady Mei Hua."
After hearing their names, Shen Qing was stunned for a moment, and even Li Xian looked up.
"Lady Mei Hua? Are you the Lady Mei Hua who is good at using Gu worms?"
Seeing the change in Shen Qing and Li Xian's expressions, Lady Mei Hua raised her chin proudly and said, "I only know a little bit about Gu arts. I can't be called an expert."
Shen Qing subconsciously moved a little further away from Lady Mei Hua. Goosebumps appeared on her arms.
Lady Mei Hua was well-known, but not for good reasons. Her reputation was rather bad.
She was obsessed with Gu arts. In order to practice secret techniques, she didn't hesitate to turn her relatives and friends into ingredients to feed the Gu worms. If someone accidentally offended her, they would suffer the pain of ten thousand Gu worms drilling into their bodies.
Moreover, her Gu worms were strange and unpredictable. Some could make a cultivator lose their spiritual power, and some could make a sword cultivator unable to pick up their sword. It was hard to guard against them.
No normal person would want to provoke such a person.
Lady Mei Hua saw the resistance in Shen Qing's eyes and felt quite pleased.
In the Nine Desolate Continent, being feared by others was a good thing.
"Alright, I won't bother you two anymore. Just know that we mean no harm to you. Come to us anytime if you change your mind."
"I'm waiting for you, dear!"
As she said this, Lady Mei Hua winked at Shen Qing and Li Xian. It was completely out of tune with her simple and honest face.
Li Xian looked thoughtfully at Lady Mei Hua and Wu Tong in the distance and said, "It is said in the Nine Desolate Continent that Lady Mei Hua is as beautiful as a ghost in the mirror, and her personality is as vindictive as a ghost in the mirror. Although we may not cooperate with them on this journey, there's no need to offend them."
Shen Qing nodded.
She could somewhat guess Lady Mei Hua's intention. On the surface, everyone on this ship was here for the Red Silk Pearl Fish and the Dragon-Horn Fish.
But Nian Duanyan's defensive actions just now might have made Lady Mei Hua think that there might be some unexpected gains on this trip.
Nian Duanyan was the son of the city lord. As a wandering cultivator, Shen Qing didn't dare to compete with the power of a city lord. So Lady Mei Hua wanted to find some cooperation partners first to avoid any disputes over the spoils later.
But Shen Qing and Li Xian's purpose on this trip was to find the Merman Palace. They were not interested in these resources and didn't want to get involved in their affairs.
"Li Xian, have you sensed anything?"
Li Xian shook his head. "On the deck just now, I could strongly feel that there seemed to be something underneath. But as those fish eggs were fished up, that feeling became a bit weaker."
Shen Qing then asked, "So shall we still follow this ship on this long journey?"
Li Xian nodded. "We never thought we could find it on the first try. If we don't get any results this time, we'll just rent another ship and come again."
The two then talked in a low voice about An Wu and her sister, and then curled up in their chairs to rest.
Since Ling Zhou didn't make any sound in Shen Qing's mind, it meant everything was safe.
When everything was completely quiet, Shen Qing began to miss the time when she was with the Dark Wolf and the Dragon Treasures.
With the Dark Wolf around, they never had a moment of peace on the way.
She originally thought it was a cold and aloof white wolf on the Snow Plain, but unexpectedly, it was a chatterbox.
She didn't know how the father and daughter of the Huan family were doing. After Chu Lanqiu became the young sect master, did he take good care of them?
Was Xian Shiyu still competing with the Dragon Treasures for food? Did Hong Zhaoyang force the disciples on their peak to change their sword sheaths to pink in order to let the Red Butterfly True Person make up for the lack of motherly love? Was Qi Nian still busy following Elder Fei Yun everywhere?
Shen Qing thought of everyone she could remember in her mind. Only then did she realize that she had met so many people after her rebirth.
Drowsiness gradually came over her. Shen Qing nodded her head twice and then fell into a deep sleep.
Under the dazzling golden light, Scarface and Lady Mei Hua and the others also closed their eyes. But they all felt a strong sense of drowsiness.
Slowly, everyone in the cabin fell into a deep sleep.
In her dream, Shen Qing saw that she had successfully avenged herself. She had driven the system and Lin Yibai out of this world, and made those blind people on the Forgetful Sorrow Peak pay the price they deserved. She had also successfully ascended to the upper realm.
This dream was so perfect that Shen Qing unconsciously sank into it.
I don't know how much time had passed. Shen Qing heard a very noisy voice, which annoyed her so much that she slowly woke up from the dream.
"Little disciple!! Wake up quickly!! Do you know that your soul is about to fly away!!"
"Help!! Who will take pity on this lonely old man! If you die, I won't be able to live either!!"
"Since that's the case, little disciple, don't blame your master for being ruthless!!"
Shen Qing recognized Ling Zhou's voice. Just as she was about to respond, she felt a sharp pain in her spiritual consciousness. The pain made Shen Qing fall to the ground from the stool with a ferocious expression.
Shen Qing didn't bother to get up from the ground. She directly argued with Ling Zhou in her spiritual consciousness.
"Master! What are you doing!"
Seeing Shen Qing appear in the spiritual consciousness in the form of a soul, Ling Zhou immediately squeezed out two lines of tears in surprise and rushed forward to hug Shen Qing.
"Little disciple, wuwuwu, I was so scared. You're finally awake!!"
Shen Qing felt quite confused. She just took a nap, but when she woke up, she felt that her spiritual consciousness had been attacked.
Ignoring Ling Zhou's crying, Shen Qing asked, "What on earth happened?"
Ling Zhou told Shen Qing not to control her body for the time being and to spread out her spiritual consciousness to observe.
Shen Qing opened her spiritual consciousness, and what came into view was Liu You's terrifying face magnified.