Pan Wendi regrettably slapped his thigh:
"If Yong’an Island had an airport back then, I would’ve just flown my ’War Eagle’ over there; no need to take that lousy boat."
"Fang Cheng, if you ever plan to visit those monsters of the True Thought Society, let me know. We can go together..."
Lin Chuqiao lightly coughed twice, interrupting Pan Wendi’s endless chatter.
Pan Wendi immediately got the hint, chuckled, and scratched his head:
"Of course, this time, being able to come out is mainly thanks to my cousin."
"If it wasn’t for her saying she wanted to attend some academic seminar in Tian Nan, take a vacation and felt lonely by herself, insisting on dragging me along, my mom wouldn’t have let me out!"
"So, you better remember to appreciate me."
Lin Chuqiao picked up a glass of lemonade, slowly sipped it, and said:
"Once we reach Tian Nan, be good and don’t cause trouble for me."
"The rules of the Pan Family; you should know them better than I do. If Aunt finds out you’re fooling around outside, your life might not be easy later."
Pan Wendi immediately toned down his attitude, sat on a nearby sofa, but still muttered:
"I really don’t want to go back to that lousy Secret Realm for cultivation. It’s like prison in there; I don’t know how those old geezers stand it..."
Fang Cheng listened quietly, understanding in his heart.
It was clear that the Pan Family, being a noble family, had very strict rules.
Pan Wendi seemed to want to complain a bit more, but when he caught sight of his cousin’s half-smiling gaze, he instantly chuckled.
His eyes shifted, and suddenly he got interested, deliberately flicking his gaze between Fang Cheng and Lin Chuqiao, drawing out his words:
"But you know, this time out, besides thanking my talented and lovely good cousin, I must also thank Fang Cheng, my brother."
"After all, it’s not often someone could grab her attention so much that she’d personally venture to Tian Nan..."
The implied meaning in his words made Bai Ling cover her mouth to stifle her laughter.
A slight, almost imperceptible blush appeared on Lin Chuqiao’s cheeks; she gave Pan Wendi a sharp glance, eyes full of penetration.
Pan Wendi shrank his neck, immediately surrendered and didn’t dare to continue on that topic.
He then cleared his throat, stood up, and mimicked a professional flight attendant’s tone:
"Cough, cough, dear passengers, welcome aboard this ’Wendy Airlines’ flight WD888."
"This flight goes from East Capital to Cui City, with an expected flight time of three hours and twenty-five minutes at an altitude of twelve thousand meters. During this time, we will provide you with the most esteemed service..."
His vivid impersonation made Bai Ling laugh uncontrollably again.
After his comedic act, Pan Wendi snapped his fingers suavely and instructed the two smiling, quietly standing flight attendants:
"Alright, go prepare some drinks for our esteemed guests. Remember to take special care of this handsome Fang Cheng; he’s our most important VIP."
One of the flight attendants with chestnut-colored wavy hair walked over gracefully.
She leaned slightly, the light scent of her perfume drifting in the air, with a voice so soft it seemed ready to drip:
"Mr. Fang, would you like something to drink? We have freshly ground Blue Mountain coffee and thirty-year-old aged whiskey..."
The flight attendant’s gaze was bold and direct, seemingly trying to scrape something off Fang Cheng’s exceptionally handsome face.
Before Fang Cheng could respond, Lin Chuqiao already approached with a freshly brewed cup of tea, positioning herself directly between the flight attendant and Fang Cheng.
She wore an impeccable smile, though her eyes were as calm as a deep pool.
"He has a sensitive stomach, can’t take anything too stimulating."
Lin Chuqiao gently placed a white porcelain teacup on the table in front of Fang Cheng, speaking as naturally as if she were explaining something mundane from a girlfriend’s perspective:
"A little hot tea will do."
The flight attendant’s smile slightly froze, quickly straightening and retreating tactfully.
It was only then Lin Chuqiao sat down contentedly across from Fang Cheng, as if nothing had just happened.
Fang Cheng picked up the teacup, feeling the warm cup wall, but inside, he felt amused and caught off guard.
To think, I’ve even devoured the filthy Deep Red Eye whole!
On the other side, Bai Ling was eagerly pulling Pan Wendi, asking him to teach her a complex card game.
The two quickly huddled together, and bursts of laughing and playing sounds rose.
In the corner where Fang Cheng and Lin Chuqiao were, the atmosphere returned to silence.
The noise seemed isolated to the other end of the cabin.
Lin Chuqiao also took out a stack of printed documents from her handbag, with the title boldly reading "Tian Nan Province Chen Family Curse Case."
"Looks like we’re on the same page."
She smiled gently, pushing the documents to the center of the table: "I also bought some intelligence from ’Naihe Bridge’ two days ago."
"Besides buying intelligence, I also took on the task of solving this case."
Fang Cheng added afterward.
Hearing this, a flash of understanding appeared in Lin Chuqiao’s eyes.
"That’s good, it’ll make our actions more convenient."
She asked no more questions and instead opened the documents.
The two of them huddled together, attempting a deeper analysis of this bizarre case.
"Three victims, three methods of death."
"One was scared to death, another seemed to be stripped of their sanity and willingly sought death, and one died silently in their sleep."
Fang Cheng frowned slightly, speaking solemnly:
"The only commonality is that there was no intense struggle before death, making it seem less like a homicide."
"Precisely because of this, it makes one more suspicious, is there really such coincidence in the world?"
Lin Chuqiao’s expression became somewhat serious as she continued:
"The intelligence experts at Naihe Bridge, based on the events and clues from the scene, believe it to be a result of the extremely sinister ’Black Magic’ from the Southern Ocean area."
"So, before we visit the Chen Family, we must make some preparations in advance to prevent any unforeseen circumstances."
Fang Cheng nodded slightly in agreement.
The two discussed for nearly half an hour and, still without a clear conclusion, decided to take a break. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⸺fire.net
Lin Chuqiao put away the documents, leaned back into the soft sofa, closed her eyes, and prepared to nap and rest.
Her long eyelashes cast a shallow shadow under her eyelids, making her intellectual and beautiful face appear exceptionally serene under the soft light.
Fang Cheng did not disturb her and turned his gaze outside the window.
The plane had already entered the stratosphere, and outside the window was a vast and boundless sea of clouds.
The layers of white clouds resembled frozen waves, their edges inlaid with dazzling gold under the sunlight.
Further away, the sky presented a purer shade of azure blue.
Fang Cheng suddenly found himself lost in thought.
What a delight it would be if he could soar freely between the sky and sea of clouds without any external assistance?
By the current standards of his physical condition, plain static hovering can last about eight seconds.
If he jumped off a cliff or a high-rise, using the wind for gliding, and combined it with the tiny thrust generated by True Qi erupting from all his pores for adjustments and acceleration—
Perhaps he could extend this time to twenty seconds.
But that was ultimately just gliding, not true flying...
Fang Cheng sighed in resignation.
While quietly calculating his limits, immersing himself in longing for the sky, a subtle feeling made him subconsciously turn his head.
In an instant, Fang Cheng’s gaze met Lin Chuqiao’s eyes in mid-air.
She had opened her eyes at some point and was gazing at him without blinking.
Her bright eyes reflected only his figure.
It was an extremely focused stare, carrying a hint of inquiry, curiosity, and a touch of tenderness buried so deep within that perhaps even she hadn’t realized it.
Being caught on the spot, a trace of obvious fluster flashed across Lin Chuqiao’s eyes.
Her fair cheeks quickly flushed with a faint blush, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly.
Then she slowly closed her eyes, her breathing becoming a bit longer than before, pretending that she just happened to open her eyes and glanced inadvertently.
Looking at her in this state, Fang Cheng couldn’t help but smile.
He didn’t call her out, simply withdrew his gaze calmly, picked up the slightly warm cup of tea from the table, and took a gentle sip.
This corner was filled with the serene aroma of tea and a silent atmosphere.
Meanwhile, from the other side came Pan Wendi’s exaggerated laughter and Bai Ling’s playful complaints for losing a card game.
Time quietly passed during the smooth flight.
After an unknown amount of time, the soft announcement from the flight attendant echoed in the cabin.
"Dear passengers, our plane has begun its descent and is expected to arrive at Cui City International Airport in fifteen minutes."
"The ground temperature is twenty-eight degrees Celsius, the weather is clear, please fasten your seatbelts in advance..."