Long Aotian’s Beautiful Butler Has Run Away chapter 103

Chapter 103: Splitting into Two Groups

After finalizing the investigation itinerary with the treasure hunting team, Rong Xie met with Lu Yingqi again.

Before meeting Lu Yingqi, Rong Xie had prepared himself. If Lu Yingqi tried to stop him, he would just hum and haw to brush it off. Then, he would investigate the case clearly with the treasure hunting team, find the method the Lu family used to manipulate the servant boys, destroy that method, and sever the connection between the Lu family and the servants. Once everything was done, he would tell Lu Yingqi.

Act first, report later. Once Lu Yingqi knew, the matter would already be settled. Even if Lu Yingqi wanted to make trouble, it would be too late. Besides, would someone like him, who was uninterested in everything, really make trouble because the Lu family lost their method of controlling servants? If he truly wanted to protect such corruption, then he and the Lu family were birds of a feather. Such a person had no value in being saved, and Rong Xie wouldn’t mind falling out with him.

The cultivation world was, after all, presided over by righteous sects. Adopting innocent children, infecting them with Gu, and manipulating their lives was the work of evil cultivators. If Lu Yingqi really dared to stop him, he wouldn’t hesitate to expose this scandal and ruin the reputations of everyone involved.

Although Shen Bingsi had various flaws, at least he was never ambiguous about major issues of good and evil. It was precisely because he had a friend as hateful of evil as Shen Bingsi that Rong Xie’s first reaction upon hearing of wickedness was that the culprit must be caught and face justice.

Why am I thinking of Shen Bingsi again…

Right, when he first learned of the Lu family’s evil deed of controlling servants, Rong Xie had thought about getting Shen Bingsi to handle it. Shen Bingsi went around slaying demons and devils; dealing with some Gu or sorcery should be a piece of cake for him.

Who knew that when he really needed him, he would disappear again.

When Lu Yingqi appeared outside the private room at Chongyue Terrace, Rong Xie was lost in thought. He only snapped back to reality when the door suddenly opened.

Lu Yingqi still wore an expressionless face. This time, he didn’t bring Xiao Zhi.

A bad feeling rose in Rong Xie’s heart. Sure enough, after sitting down, Lu Yingqi spoke directly: “Fellow Daoist Rong, I hope you will not interfere in my family affairs.”

“…” Rong Xie’s heart sank.

Lu Yingqi continued, “I will handle this matter myself.”

Hmm?

Rong Xie looked up at Lu Yingqi again.

“If Senior Brother Lu can handle it yourself, that is best,” Rong Xie paused. “But, how do you plan to handle it?”

“That has nothing to do with you,” Lu Yingqi said indifferently. “Fellow Daoist Rong, do you not think you are overstepping? We only met for the first time recently, yet you said many offensive things. If not for Xiao Zhi, I could have turned hostile on the spot, refused to interact with you, and even made it impossible for you to stay within the Xuan Tian Sect’s sphere of influence. Have you considered that possibility?”

“…” Rong Xie knew it. How could he persuade a brother whom even Lu Yinglin couldn’t persuade ten years ago, just based on a baseless prophecy? So, Lu Yingqi not only wanted him to shut up but also threatened to drive him out of Blue Plateau?

“Fellow Daoist Lu, I thought you studied the Ruthless Path. I didn’t expect you to be ruthless only to outsiders like me, while being affectionate and righteous toward your family.” Rong Xie couldn’t help but mock him. He gathered his things and stood up, planning to brush him off as per the original plan. “Since that is the case, I will not interfere in this matter. I will pretend I know nothing. Everyone has their own destiny; Fellow Daoist Lu, take care of yourself.”

“Wait,” Lu Yingqi said. “I see you are not convinced. Since that is so, for this trip back home, you shall come with me.”

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“It is… a dragon-shaped kite. I obtained it by chance. Although its appearance is a bit odd, it has absolutely no problem flying!” Captain Zhao hurriedly explained. “However, regarding Fellow Daoist Rong’s question about whether it is conspicuous… it is truly too conspicuous. As long as it flies, everyone within a hundred miles will notice it.”

A gigantic dragon-shaped kite. That would indeed be hard to miss.

“How fast does it fly? It’s about one thousand two hundred li from here to the Lu family home,” Rong Xie asked.

He had already given Captain Zhao the map to the Lu family, and Captain Zhao had estimated the travel time: “No more than three days.”

“That’s acceptable,” Rong Xie sighed in relief. “Lu Yingqi and I will go to the Lu family first. After we leave, you set off. I will find a way to slow down Lu Yingqi’s flight speed. Once we arrive at the Lu family, I’ll watch how he handles the matter while investigating the internal situation. When his negotiations collapse, you will arrive just in time. Then we can coordinate from inside and outside to destroy that well and force the Lu family head to give up control over the servant boys.”

“That’s a good method!” Captain Zhao punched his palm.

“But, Brother Rong, you’ll be acting alone,” Linglong worried. “That’s too dangerous without anyone to look after you. That Xuan Tian Sword doesn’t look like a good person either.”

“Yeah.” Captain Zhao also became concerned. “I don’t think this plan works. Let’s move together.”

“Lu Yingqi doesn’t know you are going too. I can see he is very protective of his own. If he finds out I brought a team of people, who knows how he might turn hostile.” Rong Xie mentioned Lu Yingqi’s threat to drive him out of Blue Plateau.

“This…”

“But waiting until his negotiations fail before organizing people to move out would be too delayed, and the Lu family would be on guard. It’s best to work on two fronts,” Rong Xie analyzed the situation for them.

After listening, Captain Zhao and Linglong admitted Rong Xie’s plan was more reasonable and had a higher success rate, but…

“Are you really going to look at me like that?” Rong Xie said helplessly. “I am, after all, an inner disciple of the Lingjing Sect. I have formally studied spells and talismans. The Lu family members are ultimately just ordinary people; there might be a few with spiritual roots, but in terms of magical power, they may not be my match. Although Lu Yingqi is powerful, he is a disciple of a renowned righteous sect; he can’t very well attack an innocent witness like me. Besides, before you arrive, I don’t intend to conflict with them. There is basically no risk.”

“That’s true, but…” The two still looked troubled.

“If you’re really worried, I have two sound-transmission jade talismans here. You take one, and we’ll keep in touch at all times.” Rong Xie took out two sound-transmission jades from his portable storage bag.

When seeing the guests out of Bamboo Lane, Rong Xie already had three sound-transmission jades hanging from his belt—one for Shen Yan, one for Wang Mu, and one for Captain Zhao. The three jades had some weight to them, dragging his belt down.

Rong Xie thought that these sound-transmission jades were rather inconvenient. If only there were a multi-directional communication device, so everyone could hold one and contact whoever they wanted.

The appointed time arrived. Rong Xie inventoried his talismans again, ran through response methods for various situations in his mind, and walked out of the house at Bamboo Lane toward Lu Yingqi, who was waiting at the lane entrance in the twilight.

Lu Yingqi hadn’t called a carriage; he stood there alone. Seeing Rong Xie arrive, he walked toward the exit of the lane.

Rong Xie followed him for a distance. His pace was particularly fast, and several times Rong Xie almost couldn’t keep up and had to jog. The two crossed a dirt road, reached the junction of the bluestone main street and the wilderness, and beyond that lay the endless snowy plains.