CHAPTER 90: CHAPTER 90: A DARING PLAN

After Chen Guan put the Secret Spirit Egg into Xiu Yingmei’s bag, he took a map out of his own backpack, spread it out, and pointed to a spot on the map, saying: "We have only one way to go. Right now, we are probably at this location. In Yuhua City and a few nearby cities with Teleportation Stations, the people from Reincarnation City should have already placed their personnel there in advance, so we definitely can’t go there."

Xiu Yingmei saw that the map Chen Guan was using was one of those very simplistic ones, marking only a few major cities, with many wild areas and undeveloped forbidden zones not marked at all. She knew that this was an ordinary version that could be easily bought on the streets of any city, and only cultivators as poor as church mice would buy this kind of map.

"Our only chance now is to go through this lawless Happiness Forest, from here to Ye Xiang City. Ye Xiang City and Reincarnation City are sworn enemies, Reincarnation City’s influence doesn’t extend that far." Chen Guan said.

"If we can think of this, Shang Qingtian and his people can surely think of it too. I’m afraid it’ll be very difficult for us to get through Happiness Forest and reach Ye Xiang City." Xiu Yingmei pondered aloud.

"So, we’re not going to Ye Xiang City. We’ll head for Happiness Forest first, and once we’re there, we’ll head this way." Chen Guan pointed to a river mark on the map.

"That’s a branch of the Yellow Springs River, it’s not a road. Moreover, this tributary goes towards Reincarnation City." Xiu Yingmei looked carefully and said.

"That’s right, there’s no road there, only this downstream tributary of the Yellow Springs River. But the waterway of this tributary is not good; the current is too fast, it’s impassable for large boats, and going upstream is nearly impossible. If we go downstream, we’ll eventually reach the region near Reincarnation City; the moat of Reincarnation City draws water from this tributary."

Chen Guan smiled and said, "We’ll head to Happiness Forest first. Once we’re in Happiness Forest, we’ll turn towards this tributary. It will only take us a few hours drifting downstream to reach Reincarnation City. They all think we’re going through Happiness Forest to Ye Xiang City, but we’ll go back to Reincarnation City instead, and use the Teleportation Station to get out of there. They’ll never expect us to return, and by the time they realize something’s wrong because they can’t find us, we should have already teleported out of Pingdu Mountain Blessed Land."

"Aren’t you afraid of being recognized by the people of Reincarnation City?" Xiu Yingmei stared at Chen Guan, feeling that he was indeed daring to the extreme.

Though some say the most dangerous place is the safest, those who believe that often end up in trouble. Xiu Yingmei thought this was too risky.

"Don’t worry, no one can recognize us." Chen Guan analyzed, "Shang Qingtian wants the Secret Spirit Egg in our possession, so he definitely can’t make this known to everybody. If other forces found out, what chance would he have? So he certainly won’t make our matter public; only a few from the core class will know of our existence, and these people would likely all be sent out to block us, so we can deduce that inside Reincarnation City, no one recognizes us."

"What if Shang Qingtian specifically left someone who knows us waiting in Reincarnation City?" Xiu Yingmei still thought the plan was too reckless.

"That’s why we need a disguise, so they won’t recognize you and me." Chen Guan chuckled.

"Impossible, Shang Ziyi has an eidetic memory and is a master in painting; I fear our portraits have already spread among the upper echelons of Reincarnation City. No matter how we disguise ourselves, it’s hard not to be recognized, as entering Reincarnation City requires facial verification, an unavoidable procedure, especially in this specific period." Xiu Yingmei didn’t think disguises could fool the people of Reincarnation City.

"A man and a woman entering the city would definitely draw attention, and no matter how we disguise ourselves, it would be hard to fool anyone. But what if it’s two women? They probably wouldn’t pay special attention." Chen Guan said.

"Two women? You want to disguise as a woman? Can that work?" Xiu Yingmei thought Chen Guan was utterly whimsical, a man with such bold features, how could he possibly pass for a woman?

"Why not give it a try to find out? My mom is a makeup artist. When I was little, she always liked to dress me up as a girl and even braided my hair. People often mistook me for a girl when I was young, so I think putting on some makeup shouldn’t be too much of a problem." Chen Guan smiled and said, "I noticed earlier that you have makeup in your bag; I’ll borrow some and a set of women’s clothes from you."

"Alright, help yourself." Xiu Yingmei blinked, not believing in the slightest that Chen Guan could make himself look like a woman.

"No rush; we can do the makeup while we’re drifting on the river. We’ll have a few hours for that. For now, let’s head to Happiness Forest to avoid being caught by our pursuers." Chen Guan said as he helped Xiu Yingmei get up and continued their journey.

Following Chen Guan’s plan, the two arrived at Happiness Forest, and with a turn, headed to the tributary of the Yellow Springs River.

Chen Guan took out a compressed bag from his backpack. Once opened, it quickly expanded into a small raft.

"You even brought this?" Xiu Yingmei was a bit surprised. Pingdu Mountain Blessed Land is not known for its water-related Secret Realms, and there aren’t many places where a boat would be useful. She hadn’t expected Chen Guan to have brought such a thing.

"My dad always says, be prepared for everything," Chen Guan said, pushing the raft to the river’s edge. He got on first, then gestured for Xiu Yingmei to join him.

Though Xiu Yingmei thought the entire plan was unreliable, without any better options, she could only go with the flow and get on the raft.

With a slight effort, Chen Guan set the raft into the water, and they drifted downstream.

In this stretch of river, the current was swift. Both Chen Guan and Xiu Yingmei held tightly onto the raft’s handles, constantly maintaining their balance to prevent being thrown overboard, without any spare time to do anything else.

After more than an hour, the current started to slow down. Chen Guan asked Xiu Yingmei for makeup and clothes and began his transformation.

The first step in Chen Guan’s makeup was trimming his eyebrows. His eyebrows were too thick and wide, recognizable at a glance. With eyebrows like those, no disguise would work.

Taking out a small knife, Chen Guan used the compact mirror from Xiu Yingmei’s makeup kit to shape his eyebrows into a finer style.

Watching him, Xiu Yingmei’s beautiful eyes gradually grew brighter.

With a slight trim, Chen Guan’s entire face seemed to gain a more defined structure, his aura dramatically shifting.

If the un-groomed Chen Guan was the friendly next-door big boy, once his eyebrows were thinned, he exuded a suave, rakish charm that unexpectedly captivated Xiu Yingmei, leaving her momentarily entranced.

Seeing Chen Guan’s eyes meet hers, Xiu Yingmei’s heart uncontrollably raced. Her cheeks felt as though they were on fire, blushing. She dared not meet Chen Guan’s gaze directly, turning her head to feign attention to the river ahead, adopting a coy demeanor.

It wasn’t until Chen Guan trimmed his eyebrows further, finishing them into willow-leaf arches, that Xiu Yingmei felt somewhat better.

Now, Chen Guan’s appearance seemed overly delicate, losing some of the masculine charm he had before.