Chapter 136: Not the Heroine?

Hearing Liu Pan’s words, the delicate-featured woman’s excitement grew. She began to ask a series of questions, mostly concerning human geography and social environments. It was clear that she possessed a keen interest in the world beyond the Northern Plains.

Drawing from his own writings, Liu Pan could deduce the reason. This young woman had likely spent too long in the Northern Plains, weary of the endless wind and snow, which explained her fascination with the outside world.

Since her inquiries were not particularly sensitive, Liu Pan answered them without reservation. Even though he had never personally visited the Eastern Barrens or the Western Deserts, his role as the author allowed him to provide a vivid and knowledgeable account, leaving the woman spellbound.

"By the way."

Nearly half an hour into their conversation, Liu Pan’s eyes flickered as if something had just occurred to him. "When I first saw you, I felt you bore a striking resemblance to an old friend of mine. I am not entirely sure where she was from, only that her name was Lin Xin, and she was about your age. I wonder, do you happen to know her?"

As he asked, Liu Pan fixed his gaze on her eyes. To his surprise, there was not the slightest flicker of recognition; it was clear she did not know anyone by that name.

Indeed, after a moment of thoughtful reflection, the young woman shook her head. "I have never heard that name before."

How could this be? Liu Pan’s expression remained unchanged, but his mind was in a turmoil. If she wasn't the heroine, and had no connection to her, yet looked so much like her... what could this mean?

Was he being too presumptuous? Perhaps the heroine did not look the way he had imagined, and this woman was merely a stranger?

Perhaps sensing the shift in atmosphere caused by Liu Pan’s sudden personal question, the young woman asked a few more casual things before rising to take her leave.

Watching her depart, Liu Pan was filled with doubt and confusion. If this was all just a coincidence, it was an incredibly strange one.

After a moment of frowning in thought, Liu Pan called the waiter to settle the bill. He left the restaurant and began to quietly track the mental mark he had placed on her.

He followed at a distance, maintaining a casual pace, but noticed nothing unusual until the woman entered a grand, imposing residence. It was the City Lord’s Manor.

Gazing at the manor from afar, Liu Pan furrowed his brows. The residence was protected by arrays laid out by a Spirit Array Master, and his mental perception could not penetrate it.

While he sensed no supreme experts within, there were certainly individuals with cultivation levels higher than his own, making it unwise for him to attempt any rash actions against the City Lord’s Manor.

Scanning the area, Liu Pan decided to find an inn. He had no intention of leaving until he had uncovered the truth about the mysterious woman. Although he couldn't peer into the manor, he could still sense the mental mark within, ensuring that she could not slip away unnoticed.

He soon found an inn not far from the manor—a convenient location that would make observing the residence much easier.

Just as he was about to book a room, he suddenly frowned. He turned around and looked back toward the City Lord’s Manor.

He had assumed that as long as the mental mark remained, there would be no issues. Yet, in that very instant, the fluctuations of his mental mark had vanished.

What was happening? Liu Pan was puzzled. He could not determine if the mark had been destroyed or otherwise compromised, but he knew there were only three possibilities for such a loss of signal: the mark was destroyed, it was shielded by a specialized array, or it had been transported to a location too distant for him to perceive.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the fluctuations reappeared. Liu Pan took two rapid steps northward before catching himself and freezing in his tracks.

He looked up at the sky to the north, pondered for a moment, and then glanced back at the City Lord’s Manor. A profound sense of intrigue settled in his eyes.

A teleportation array!

Truth be told, Liu Pan would have preferred to believe his mark had been destroyed or shielded. Teleportation arrays were not simple to construct; they required a top-tier Array Master at the Martial Emperor level or higher, capable of manipulating spatial forces. The materials required were exceedingly rare and costly, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Even when built, most were commercial ventures; private ones were exceptionally rare.

Ultimately, it came down to a question of value. Take the Southern Prefecture, for example—a vast expanse of land that lacked even a public teleportation array because no one deemed it worth the investment.

The Northern Plains, as Liu Pan had designed them, were just as "impoverished" as the Southern Prefecture. He could not fathom why anyone would install a teleportation array here.

Could it be the Gu clan? In truth, he could think of no one else. His journey thus far had left him convinced that the Gu clan was deeply suspicious.

Turning back, Liu Pan returned to the inn. Although he could once again sense the fluctuations, they were faint—enough to determine a general direction, but confirming only that the target was now very far away.

He realized that catching up in the short term was impossible; chasing after her now would be a wasted effort. Furthermore, he was truly exhausted, and he preferred a good night’s sleep over a long, arduous trek.

Besides, he reasoned that if the woman could leave via a teleportation array, there was a chance she might return the same way. Staying put was his best bet. If he left and she returned, he would have missed his chance.

Ultimately, what concerned Liu Pan most was the influence behind the woman. The array was inside the City Lord’s Manor and not open to the public—it was clearly a private, restricted installation.

The ability to use such a facility suggested her identity was far from simple. And in the North, it seemed there was truly only the Gu clan...

What Liu Pan did not know was that because of the casual mental mark he had left behind, the faction that had been lurking in the shadows of the North for nearly ten thousand years was destined to be thrown into turmoil this very night.

As for the delicate-featured woman, her fate was now inextricably tied to Liu Pan’s mark—and she would not be the only one whose destiny would be rewritten because of it.