Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 313 - 50: Truly Qingming’s Real Aunt

Shen Qingming was startled by the sudden voice near her ear, letting out a sound akin to a small animal’s cry.

Seeing the person next to her clearly, Shen Qingming felt deeply embarrassed and snapped, "Shen Ying?! When did you get here, sneaking up on me on purpose!"

Shen Ying replied innocently, "Hey, hey, hey, I’ve been here all along."

"...What?"

"I got here earlier than you guys! When you and that maid were entering the venue, I was already sitting on the opposite corner on a mat and even waved at you!"

Shen Qingming broke into a cold sweat: "I didn’t notice at all!"

Shen Ying suddenly smiled, "Hehe, it’s good you didn’t notice, isn’t my Void Clarity Body handy?"

"Your method indeed is quite handy... Wait, what are you doing here?!"

Shen Ying stated confidently, "I’ve told you before, I’m an avid book fan. What do you think I’m doing here?"

"...I didn’t expect you to enjoy this sort of thing."

"What’s strange about it? Mr. Three Lives Stone’s works are entertaining, but the output hasn’t been high. In recent years, it’s even more refined, and we might not even get one book published in a year. We readers are hungry for more and have to satisfy ourselves."

"Your words sound quite awkward."

Shen Ying said, "Anyway, I did come for the fan gathering, but I didn’t expect to run into a few of you, especially when you have a fanfic bigshot among you."

Li Chaolu turned red: "Stop it, I already want to die..."

Shen Ying waved her hand dismissively: "That’s nothing, you don’t know how miserable it was for me when I signed up for the fan gatherings last year. Back then, I submitted a manuscript in the Outer Courtyard to the organizers beforehand, received considerable praise, and was invited to speak at the gathering. I finally found an opportunity to get leave from the Outer Courtyard and attend, and when I got to the venue, I raised my hand for half the day and the organizers utterly ignored it, then said something like, ’It’s unfortunate the scheduled speaker might not make it today due to unforeseen circumstances, so we’ll move on to the next segment.’ I was seriously tempted to jump up and explode, taking her down with me."

"..."

Shen Ying continued, "But that’s all in the past now. I can barely manage to control my Void Clarity Body, so I no longer miss having chopsticks during meals or souvenirs at conferences. Yet sometimes, when I want to lazily sneak around, my Void Clarity Body relapses, making me invisible. But thanks to my thin presence, I discovered something interesting just now."

Speaking enthusiastically, Shen Ying said: "Just now, the maid organizing the event kept looking more and more familiar to me. My Void Clarity intuition tells me she’s someone I definitely know! And she has big secrets!"

Shen Qingming curiously asked, "Judging by her attire, being part of such a book gathering, she might be an advanced maid from some prominent household. You, with your distinguished Shen Family background, might have seen her at some family gathering. That wouldn’t be surprising."

"No, her attire is just a disguise and has no reference value," Shen Ying explained. "This book gathering, many book fans attend with makeup and disguises. Once inside, no one minds one’s identity, and people don’t deliberately investigate each other’s true identities. So even if she’s dressed as a maid, or even a bunny girl, as long as she’s willing, no one says a word. What’s intriguing about her is herself, and even through a disguise, I sense she must be someone I’m familiar with. If my presence wasn’t so thin, she would’ve deliberately hidden from me, and I wouldn’t have noticed. It’s just that I can’t figure out who around me would be so meticulous and disguised coming to such a place."

Wang Jiu also spoke: "Analyzing from True Essence fluctuations, even with three layers of encrypted disguise, reverse analysis suggests she’s likely at the Mountain-Overturning Realm level."

"Mountain-Overturning Realm!?" Shen Ying was taken aback, "That’s no ordinary figure."

Currently, on the Xiangzhou Continent, the pinnacle of cultivation is the Sea Overturning Realm—as with the Saint Sect’s Sect Leader, or the City Lord of Shen City, Shen Ruoshi exists in this realm. In terms of combat capability, Li Fengyun is similarly rated. However, reaching this realm truly requires all objective and subjective conditions to be optimal—a feat not common even among a thousand Cultivators. Furthermore, Cultivators in this realm typically do not wander casually nor appear to the public.

The Mountain-Overturning Realm, a notch below, becomes the general pinnacle of cultivation. Don’t mention reaching the peak of Mountain-Overturning Realm, even those initially entering Mountain-Overturning Realm are considered top experts on the Xiangzhou Continent. Such top experts aren’t mere footmen crawling everywhere; typically each has a distinct role and recognizable identity.

"This becomes interesting; a Mountain-Overturning Realm expert, disguised as a maid, attending a book gathering, and even serving as the coordinator in the fan zone - such a person ought to have a certain level of prestige and reputation..." Shen Ying said, her eyes lighting up.

Then she fell silent for a while, looking towards Wang Jiu and others for help: "Who do you think it might be?"

"You, a Shen Family member, actually ask us this?!"

Shen Ying argued: "As the saying goes, ’Your enemy knows you best,’ right? Your Li Family has been opposing the Shen Family for years, acting as foreign anti-Shen forces active in various fields in Shen City. You must be very familiar with us Shen Family members. If there’s anyone unknown among us who loves fanfiction, your Li Family surely knows."

"Utter nonsense! Our Li Family is so poor that we couldn’t afford a practice sword for the Patriarch’s daughter’s training, much less have funds to engage in such espionage antics!"

To preserve the Li Family’s reputation, Shen Qingming immediately provided an irrefutable reason.

Shen Ying said: "Then what should we do?" After a pause, she added, "I truly find this person suspicious. If they’re a significant figure in Shen City, you could use this to coerce them into helping resolve the conflict between our two races."

Li Chaolu’s eyes brightened: "Oh, that makes sense. This person is certainly trying to hide their fondness for romance novels and fanfiction from others. If we use this to coerce them..."

Shen Qingming pouted: "Are you really resolving conflicts or adding to the hatred?"

Wang Jiu then said, "Speaking of revealing someone’s true identity, I do have a method that can be tried."

Everyone expressed anticipation.

To the Li Family members, witnessing the methods of the Celestial Divine Sword equates to an Immortal Dao fortune, and for Shen Ying, it’s a rare opportunity to witness the means of the guide behind the Cyan Cloud championship.

"Wait a moment, let me first lock onto the target location," Wang Jiu said, merging the Sword Spirit’s consciousness with the Sword World.

After more than half a year of revival, Sword World has already taken shape. Besides the initial Wind Gathering Array, Spirit Gathering Array, and Light Gathering Tower, functional buildings have also increased.

On an altar connected to the Spirit Gathering Array, a pitch-black Ancient Sword quietly hovers about a foot above the altar. The tip of the sword points directly downward without the slightest deviation.

The Demon-Pointing Sword, the world’s most advanced Demon-Hunting Divine Artifact, where the blade points, demons cannot hide. It was one of the favorite tools of the Celestial Divine Sword during the Jiuzhou Immortal Demon War.

Now that the Demon Race has vanished from the world, the Demon-Pointing Sword no longer points anywhere, only lowering its tip as if it were a sleeping stone carving.

Wang Jiu came to the altar and, after pondering for a moment, skillfully painted the maid he had just seen onto a sheet of paper within Sword World, then wrapped the paper around the hilt of the Black Sword.

"Demon-Pointing Sword, this is the latest type of demon, tell me her location."

The next moment, the pitch-black Ancient Sword trembled slightly, then burst with an excited and joyous light. The sword tip slowly and resolutely rose, pointing in a direction, like a stubborn plant shoot breaking through the soil.

"Good, I will go slay the demon now, you can rest." After saying this, Wang Jiu removed the paper, letting the Demon-Pointing Sword return to its slumber.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Wang Jiu’s gaze shifted: "I found her."

——

The organizer of the fan fiction area, the Sea Overturning Realm leader in maid attire, had already left the book club meeting and was walking alone through a winding alley.

Suddenly, the woman looked back and saw the upright, confidently striding Wang Jiu... followed by a few young boys and girls.

The woman slightly furrowed her brows but quickly put on a smile: "Good evening, is there an issue with the book club event?"

Her expression, bearing, and tone all appropriately fulfilled the role of a book club organizer, showing no flaw. If not for Wang Jiu and Shen Ying noticing the subtle hints on her—barely flaws—no one would suspect she was hiding a significant secret.

However, Wang Jiu ignored these disguises entirely, chuckling coldly as he stepped forward.

"I have seen through your true self."

The maid tilted her head slightly: "Eh?"

"One question: What if tomorrow everyone in Shen City knew you dressed as a maid appeared at the Three Lives Stone romance novel book club and also hosted the fan fiction area? What then?"

The maid was stunned for a moment, but her face still held an innocent and helpless look of confusion: "I truly don’t know what you’re talking about."

Wang Jiu didn’t waste more words: "Alright, see you tomorrow."

He turned to leave, but after only two steps, a low voice came from behind: "Stop!"

At the same moment, Wang Jiu and Shen Qingming and others behind him realized the alley they stood in had been sealed by a talisman, turning the entire alley into an independent chamber, isolated from the world.

This method is indeed only executable by a Sea Overturning Realm expert.

Wang Jiu observed the changes around and said: "I already wrote your true identity and relevant evidence in a letter and sent it to major newspapers in Shen City and QingCyan Cloud yun City. The letter is set to open on a timer. If we can’t return to extend the time with a Remote Array, the letters will open in the morning, and within a day, both cities will know."

The maid’s face finally turned icy and stern.

"Do you think you mere outsiders can threaten me in Shen City?"

Wang Jiu said: "Yes, even if you can rule Shen City, this act of concealing information will be enough to cause suspicion among those around you. The secrets you carefully hide will eventually be exposed."

Hearing this, the maid’s fists clenched tightly, her body trembling with anger.

Yet after a prolonged silence and standoff, the woman released her fists.

The gentle yet somewhat ordinary facial features and the maid’s costume slowly distorted like a shattered dream.

Moments later, her true face was revealed.

In the next moment, before Wang Jiu could speak, Shen Ying behind him couldn’t help but exclaim.

"Aunt!?"

Wang Jiu was also surprised: "So it was you."

The furious Shen Yueying remained silent for a while, then suddenly frowned even more.

"Wait, you didn’t know it was me!?"