While Tianlin was catching up with Xue Qinghe, over by Prince Xue Xing, a servant whispered something in his ear—probably to inform him of Xue Qinghe's arrival.
Because Prince Xue Xing turned and glanced this way. When he noticed Tianlin, who had disappeared for two years, the hostility in his eyes was completely undisguised.
In his mind, Tianlin was loyal to Xue Qinghe's faction, so for someone supporting Xue Beng, it was no wonder he viewed Tianlin as an enemy.
But the problem was, he was being far too obvious. At this time, shouldn't he, like Xue Beng, be hiding his strength and biding his time?
It seemed that these past years, the Heaven Dou Empire had undergone changes different from the original story.
Xue Qinghe also noticed Prince Xue Xing's hostility toward Tianlin. Her brows furrowed. Someone being more hostile to Tianlin than to herself made her even angrier.
At this moment, a melodious and graceful harp tune began to reverberate throughout the Moon Pavilion. Whether it was Prince Xue Xing or Xue Qinghe, the small flare of anger that had just arisen instantly dissipated.
Tang Yuehua was already performing in the center of the Moon Pavilion, and some other beautiful noble girls—even Princess Xue Ke—were accompanying her.
It was said to be the most beautiful music in the Heaven Dou Empire, calming to the soul.
Tianlin had to admit, that if he didn't have the Holy Spirit Pearl, just coming here for this musical baptism would greatly help him master the killing intent within his body.
He could feel a gentle wave emanate from Tang Yuehua, elegant and natural as if it could smooth away all grievances and sorrows in the world.
This was Tang Yuehua's innate domain: the Noble Circle. Besides soothing hearts, it had no other function.
Tianlin activated a tiny Demon Suppression Domain on the surface of his body, preventing himself from being affected by the Noble Circle.
Because this Noble Circle would unconsciously immerse people in it; even someone as powerful as Xue Qinghe, whose combat strength was already comparable to a Titled Douluo, was now sitting with her eyes closed, enjoying the wonderful music.
"Brother Skydream, I suspect Tang Yuehua's method of passing messages is related to her innate domain. Use your spiritual power to sense if anything unusual is happening."
This was the best time to transmit information, because Tang Yuehua had just received the intelligence, and she had not left Tianlin's line of sight the entire time. Under normal circumstances, no one would think she had any chance to pass on a message during this period, so they'd ignore the present and only focus on what she would do afterward.
In other words, once there's a focal point in your field of vision, a blind spot naturally appears.
"Leave it to me!" Skydream Ice Silkworm closed his eyes and sensed.
No matter how wondrous this Noble Circle was, it was ultimately a spiritual technique, and under Skydream Ice Silkworm's million-year spiritual power, nothing could escape notice.
"Xiao Tian, the second person from the left in the third row of the audience, the spiritual waves he receives are different from the others. Everyone else gets a continuous melody, but his is intermittent—like drumbeats, very rhythmic."
"Intermittent and rhythmic? I feel like I've seen this before." Tianlin racked his brain, "Right, it's the telegraph."
He finally remembered. Wasn't this just like the telegraph method of the early modern era? Tang Yuehua's Noble Circle couldn't transmit soul-to-soul messages directly, but as long as the target didn't resist, she could interrupt the music with planned stops.
In this way, the receiver just had to remember the rhythm. Over at the Clear Sky Clan, they probably had a codebook for this kind of thing. Tang Yuehua wouldn't need to hand over a letter directly; the clan could decipher the message themselves.
"What a clever method! No wonder, after so many years, we could never use you to find the Clear Sky Clan's location." Tianlin secretly marveled.
Tang Yuehua's intelligence matched the strength of the Clear Sky Twin Stars. If the events of that year hadn't happened, the three siblings working together would have led the Clear Sky Clan to surpass the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
After all, who could discover such a method? The spies never even knew when Tang Yuehua passed on the intelligence, or to whom.
Even if they watched her closely, under the influence of the Noble Circle, everyone's mind was immersed in the music.
When the performance ended, Tang Yuehua stood up and elegantly bowed to the audience, expressing her gratitude to all the guests.
The applause was thunderous. Her musical skill was so sublime that everyone forgot time and their own identities, simply enjoying it all.
Tianlin's lips moved slightly, sending a secret voice transmission to Oslo, who was clapping wildly.
Oslo had been shouting, "Madam Yue is the best! Princess Xue Ke is awesome!" but when he heard Tianlin's transmission, he looked over in confusion, then rarely showed a serious expression, nodded to Tianlin, and used his agile movement skills to slip away through the crowd.
"Hm?" Others didn't notice Tianlin's small action, but Xue Qinghe did. "Xiao Tian, what did you transmit to Oslo, something even I can't know?"
She was a little angry, and a bit jealous. Why could only Oslo be told, and not her? Was it because their feelings had faded after two years apart?
Xue Qinghe also moved her lips, sending a secret order to a servant to follow Oslo closely—not to touch him, but to find out exactly what he was up to.
Xue Qinghe's move didn't escape Tianlin's notice either. He smiled slightly. This was exactly what he wanted; some things were better left for Qian Renxue to discover herself. Even if she didn't show up today, he'd find a way to guide her eventually.
With the performance over, Tianlin took his leave from Tang Yuehua and left the Moon Pavilion with Xue Qinghe. But he wouldn't be going home today—Xue Qinghe forcibly dragged him back to the Eastern Palace.
He knew that unless he explained himself today, he wouldn't be leaving.
Helplessly, Tianlin had to give Xue Qinghe a trimmed-down account of his time in Slaughter City. For example, Hu Liena being controlled by him and obtaining the Asura God's inheritance—those were off-limits. But a Deathgod Domain didn't matter; after all, Tang Hao had one, and so did her mother. To her, it was far less valuable than her Angel Domain.
"So that's how it is. You went to Slaughter City, no wonder every time I asked Teacher, he'd hesitate to answer, and neither Rongrong nor Gu Ran ever knew where you were."
"Brother Xue, the only ones who knew were my Master and Uncle Ning. Don't blame them; you know how dangerous Slaughter City is—they just didn't want you to worry." Tianlin, having learned a fair bit of tact from Ning Fengzhi, also pressed Qian Renxue's soft spot.
Precisely because she knew how dangerous Slaughter City was, if she'd known, she'd have never allowed Tianlin to go. So, he could only act first and report later, leaving without a word.