At this thought, Bo Saixi quietly let out a breath of relief. Since this "Zhao Ling Diary Replica" was only visible to her, that made things much easier.
From now on, she wouldn't have to worry about being caught reading the diary.
As Zhao Ling was still digesting the system-provided "Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record," and the two women were engrossed in reading their respective diary replicas, the carriage fell into a moment of silence.
After finishing her copy of the diary, Ah Yin turned to Bo Saixi with a smile on her lips and introduced herself.
"Big sister, my name is Ah Yin. May I know how to address you? What a coincidence—just the other day we met briefly, and today we're riding in the same carriage!"
Bo Saixi smiled gently in return and nodded politely.
"Hello, I'm Bo Saixi. Now that you mention it, I do remember meeting you the other day. It seems we really are fated."
For the sake of staying close to Zhao Ling and trying to gather information on Tang Chen, Bo Saixi was more than willing to bend the truth.
She outright lied through her teeth, claiming she and Ah Yin were "fated."
But only she knew how many days she'd waited at that inn just to catch Zhao Ling and Ah Yin leaving the Spirit Hall.
Now that she saw them finally leaving, if she didn't jump on their carriage, she'd be missing her golden chance.
Ah Yin, of course, saw through the situation. In fact, she hoped this woman would stick around her husband even more.
That was because both Ah Yin and Bibi Dong had discovered something peculiar: starting from their second day in Spirit City, Zhao Ling seemed to have awakened some kind of special ability.
That special ability continuously increased their fondness toward him, while negative impressions faded away.
If not for the fact that Zhao Ling's physique was simply outrageous, they probably wouldn't even want to leave his side.
They weren't sure what the ability was exactly, but they strongly suspected it enhanced his charm toward women.
For the two of them, that ability was quite convenient—it would be much easier to bring more women into their "sisterhood trench."
So what if Bo Saixi had once loved someone else? As long as she stayed by Zhao Ling's side long enough, her affection for him would keep rising, until she completely forgot about her past love.
Smirking to herself, Ah Yin leaned closer and asked warmly,
"Big Sis Saixi, you're not from Spirit City, are you? I remember that day, you said you came here looking for someone?"
Bo Saixi's eyes lifted, glancing over at Zhao Ling and Ah Yin as she debated whether to bring up Tang Chen.
She figured that if she mentioned Tang Chen, Zhao Ling—knowing his whereabouts—might accidentally let something slip.
After mentally rehearsing her story, she solemnly replied:
"Yes. Actually, I'm not from the mainland at all. I come from a faraway island called Sea God Island…"
She went on to say she came to the mainland in search of a man named Tang Chen, that she was visiting Spirit City to ask old friends about his whereabouts.
She even played the sympathy card, claiming she had been robbed during her stay in the city and had lost all her money.
Wiping away nonexistent tears with a handkerchief, she acted out the role with seven parts truth and three parts fiction, hoping to win enough trust to make Zhao Ling talk.
While telling her story, she kept stealing glances at Zhao Ling, curious to see how long he could hold out.
Indeed, Zhao Ling knew exactly where Tang Chen was. But Bo Saixi had completely overlooked one important point:
Men are possessive by nature.
Even if Bo Saixi wasn't Zhao Ling's woman, what kind of normal guy would willingly send a stunning beauty like her straight into another man's arms?
A woman like her would only make a man think: "If I can't have her, I won't let anyone else have her either."
Expecting Zhao Ling to reveal Tang Chen's location? She was dreaming.
As Zhao Ling listened to her story, his mouth twitched as he ranted internally:
Come on, can you stop lying with a straight face? You're the High Priestess of Sea God Island.
What kind of suicidal thief would dare rob you? At least come up with a better excuse for hitching a ride.
Ah Yin's lips twitched too. Her eyes glinted with amusement as she looked at Bo Saixi like she was a fool.
Did this woman not realize that her husband already knew her identity? He had even mocked her in the diary.
Now she was acting like a pitiful victim, saying she'd been robbed? What a joke.
Of course, Bo Saixi knew full well that both Zhao Ling and Ah Yin were aware she was lying.
But she also knew they were both playing dumb and pretending not to notice. The worst part?
Any time she tried to directly mention the diary contents aloud, she immediately lost the ability to speak.
It gave her quite a headache.
But she soon had an idea: if she couldn't speak about the diary, maybe she could write it down.
If writing worked, she could directly ask about Tang Chen's whereabouts.
This thought made her eyes light up.
But Zhao Ling paid no attention to her eager gaze. Instead, he lifted the curtain and glanced outside. They had already left the city, though many other carriages and pedestrians were still heading toward Spirit City.
He called out to the driver:
"Hey, brother driver, can you take us down a quiet road and drop us off?"
"Sure thing!" the driver replied without hesitation.
Zhao Ling had told the driver earlier that they were only leaving the city for a short trip, so as long as the payment was right, the driver didn't care.
But this confused Ah Yin.
Could it be that he didn't want Bo Saixi hitching a ride because she claimed she had no money?
That didn't make sense—her husband wasn't the stingy type.
Still, she couldn't figure out why Zhao Ling wanted to take a side road and get off the carriage.
Bo Saixi, meanwhile, was getting annoyed. She'd gone to all this trouble just to stay close to him—and now he wanted to get off?
What was that supposed to mean?
Did he dislike her that much?
Wouldn't even let her hitch a ride?