True Solution of the Sword Dao
Chapter 154 - 148: Showdown Part 1

Chapter 154: Chapter 148: Showdown Part 1

The rumbling sound of the train was the dominant theme throughout the sleeper car. Scenery flew by in reverse from the windows at high speed.

Lin Fei sat at the table by the window, quietly observing the outside landscape. He was a person who liked tranquility. Despite knowing Lin You wasn’t aware of his situation, anyone faced with direct verbal abuse would feel a sense of rejection. Lin Fei decided to wait until Lin You had calmed down before slowly talking to her.

From leaving the hotel until boarding the train, the two hadn’t spoken. Lin You was silent the whole time, occasionally glancing at Lin Fei but quickly looking away, unsure if it was because of the earlier incident or something else. She also didn’t hold her black cat, Feil, as she usually did.

Next to Lin Fei sat Shuang’er, the young girl clutching a large bag of chips and munching away happily. The bag was twice the size of her little head and looked rather adorably disproportionate.

Lin You sat opposite Lin Fei, silent, face down on the table. She had been like this since they boarded the train. Her posture hadn’t changed at all even after half an hour.

Chris, the foreign girl in the middle bunk beside them, was still wearing a look of indifference, sitting on a pull-out chair across from them, completely silent. Unlike Lin You, she seemed to naturally have a detached and serene disposition.

Jiang Nan also sensed the weird atmosphere between Lin You and Lin Fei and was considerate enough not to speak, so all four fell into an awkward silence. For Jiang Nan, this trip to Coastal City was odd; Lin Fei and Lin You had spent such a short and mysterious time there before heading back. Although she wasn’t the brightest, she could still sense that something was off. Yet, she didn’t say anything. She had come to Coastal City primarily to accompany Lin You.

Initially, Lin Fei had planned to have a serious talk with Lin You, but the train wasn’t the right place for it. With Jiang Nan and Chris right there, their eyes glued to them and the proximity too close, anything said could be overheard by the people around them.

In Lin Fei’s eyes, Lin You and the so-called mysterious people around her showed signs of folly. They were unprepared for sudden changes before a fight, collected incomplete intelligence, and had imperfect battle plans. Facing Dolanna who exhibited the real strength of a D-grade Peak, they immediately retreated and were seriously injured. Lin Fei genuinely didn’t know how Lin You had survived until the last moment in her previous life.

Moreover, he had obtained some information about the Energy Scepter, which was mostly from enemy intelligence agents who had approached Lin You with malicious intent recently.

The Energy Scepter, renowned as the grand core of the world’s foundation, was managed collectively by five major families, suggesting there were a total of five Scepters. It seemed that Lin You had been caught up in the whirlwind around one of them.

The issue was serious yet not too troubling at the same time. To top-level powerhouses, the Energy Scepter meant nothing as it was an external force. However, to low-level powerhouses, it was a ladder and shortcut to climbing higher.

Seeing Lin You lying face down across from him, Lin Fei had no intention of revealing his own strength.

"What’s the point in telling Lin You about my strength, given the uncertainty about Feil and Lin You’s secretive nature and the unknown dangers we might face? How would I even explain the speed of my power improvement? Should I tell her about the existence of ’Sword Dao True Solution,’ or about my rebirth? Lin You is gullible, but those around her might not be so easy to deceive. If even a smidge of this top-level secret tome is leaked, attracting other’s prying eyes would be inevitable. Such risks must never be allowed!" Lin Fei’s gaze hardened. With the enemy’s strength unknown, it was better to continue accumulating slowly now that his power was in a slow phase. Breaking through B-grade wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon.

For Lin You, it was better to keep to the original plan. Not interfering too much in her encounters and life. Although unsure of how her past life unfolded, she certainly wasn’t just a sacrificial character. With him secretly protecting her life, she should be fine. Her current strength wasn’t likely to attract very powerful opponents.

Lin You lay face down at the table. By now, she had calmed down considerably. She indeed felt somewhat apologetic about her tone towards Lin Fei earlier. Quite stubbornly, though, she wasn’t ready to swallow her pride and apologize. Apologizing would be akin to bowing down to him.

"I refuse to bow down to him!" she thought resentfully.

"Lin You, have you calmed down?" Feil gently leaped into her arms. He shifted his body to find the most comfortable position to lie down. Lin You didn’t mind, as Feil always seemed spotless, extremely clean, and never dirtied her clothes.

"Yes," she responded.

"The attitude you had towards your brother just now, wasn’t that a bit inappropriate?" Feil whispered.

"What’s inappropriate about it!" Lin You pouted. "Haven’t we always been fighting since we were little? When I used to throw those colorful things at him, when did it not end up in a big fight?"

Feil’s lips twitched: "Such a wonderful adolescence....."

But she naturally wouldn’t say that aloud.

"I know how you feel, hiding it all by yourself, not letting others know your situation, bearing all kinds of pain alone. It must be hard, right?"

Lin You bit her lip and remained silent.

"You could find a chance to tell Lin Fei," Feil suggested.

"Can I?" Lin You asked a bit anxiously, fed up with the immense pressure.

"It can’t always be you blocking everything by yourself," Feil said helplessly. "And in the future, there might be many times when you’ll need your brother’s cooperation, since he should also be slowly getting involved in the Inner World now. Additionally, this time, it was my mistake, not expecting such a large gap between the intelligence and the reality. If it wasn’t for Dolan’s timely arrival, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"Yeah, if it wasn’t for Uncle Dolan, we would have..." Lin You’s face turned pale, seemingly recalling Dolan’s weird laughter earlier. "Actually, though Uncle’s usually a bit weird, he’s actually a pretty decent person," she thought Dolan saved her.

"Yes, he has saved me many times," Feil said proudly.

Lin Fei sat opposite, watching Lin You’s changing expressions with interest. Even though he didn’t know what she was thinking, it was obvious even to a fool that she had made an important decision.

Suddenly, with a swoosh, Lin You abruptly stood up and stared intently at Lin Fei.

"Is there something on your mind?" Lin Fei revealed a harmonious smile. Although he had decided to let her handle her troubles alone to grow quickly, when she truly needed help, Lin Fei would still lend a hand. It’s not like he would disown his kin over some petty issues and tempers, right?

Of course, offering help voluntarily didn’t mean he had to become a scapegoat.

Lin Fei felt that inexplicable warmth from when she used to fight with her sister when they were younger.

"Can you not laugh so fakely!" Lin You said irritably. In fact, she had calmed down as soon as they boarded the train, but had been too embarrassed to speak. After talking with Feil for a while, she felt a bit more confident. That was when she suddenly stood up.

"Is it really that fake?" Lin Fei touched her face.

"Very fake." Jiang Nan also said with a laugh, feeling a bit relieved inside. The atmosphere between the siblings had been too awkward, and it was a relief to see it soften.

"Nannan, you think so too," Lin Fei pinched Jiang Nan’s cheek.

"Ouch, I’m not a child, stop pinching... um... stop it," Jiang Nan laughed as she dodged Lin Fei’s hands.

Lin You watched them get along harmoniously, and suddenly felt uncomfortable. Her face flushed and then paled, then flushed again. Suddenly, she grabbed Lin Fei’s hand. "Come with me! I have something to tell you!" She hurriedly pulled Lin Fei away.

The latter was confused, but didn’t resist and let herself be pulled along.

The two of them walked past other passengers in the sleeping car, heading towards the end of the carriage. Lin You spotted an open empty room and rushed into it.

Bang!

Lin You’s face was red as a tomato. She slammed the door shut.

The two stood in the cramped space, staring at each other. Soon, a strange smell began to permeate the room. It was the odd smell of the toilet.

"This isn’t good," Lin Fei said hesitantly. He also felt quite helpless about the situation.

Lin You’s face turned even redder, and her neck skin turned a faint pink.

"How about we go out now?" Lin Fei said helplessly.

"Is going out now really going to help?" Lin You also realized something was off.

"This is the toilet..." Lin Fei was speechless. She really was a silly girl. Running into a toilet on a train together as a man and a woman... This scenario really was...

Actually, the moment Lin You slammed the door shut, she realized she had acted foolishly again. Initially, she had planned to apologize to Lin Fei, but given the current situation, and being someone who was already shy, she couldn’t muster a word, let alone apologize.

"Let’s just go out," Lin Fei was about to open the toilet door.

"Wait!" Lin You suddenly said. She slapped Lin Fei’s hand away. "I have something to tell you!"

Lin Fei paused, turned around, and faced her, a hint of teasing flashing in his eyes.

"Little You, we’re siblings... this isn’t right..."

Pfft!!!

It seemed like a cloud of steam had risen above Lin You’s head. Her face turned the color of tomato sauce.

"No... not..."

"Little You!" Lin Fei suddenly grabbed Lin You’s shoulders, his face full of sorrow.

"I know how you feel about me, but it’s really impossible between us..."

"It’s not you..." Lin You felt her whole body blush with heat.

Thud, thud, thud...

The toilet door was suddenly knocked.

"Hurry up in there!! Stop hogging it..."

"Shh... It’s a couple who went in, don’t disturb them!" another voice interrupted.

Lin You felt her brain turn into mush. She could bear it no longer.

"Ahh~~~~~~~!" she screamed loudly, flung open the toilet door, and ran away. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote and provide a monthly ticket at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)