Chapter 109: Night Meeting
Rong Xie’s eyebrows twitched violently twice. Forcing down the urge to curse Shen Bingsi out, he suppressed his voice and said, “Shen Bingsi, you dare try flying over my head? Just try it!”
Shen Bingsi paused. “Can’t fly over the Lu family? Oh, I got it.”
Then, Rong Xie heard Shen Bingsi turn back to discuss something with Captain Zhao. Soon, he returned to the token: “We’ll avoid the Lu estate and land in the nearby mountains first. We’ll find a mountain village to settle in. Don’t worry, secret operation. We absolutely won’t let the Lu family discover us.”
Rong Xie breathed a slight sigh of relief and gave an “Mn” of acknowledgement. “Give the token to Captain Zhao.”
“Actually, if you tell me, I can also…”
“Give the token to Captain Zhao.”
“…” The person on the other end changed. Zhao Dajiang’s respectful voice came through: “Fellow Daoist Rong, we plan to stay in a nearby mountain village and guarantee not to let the Lu family discover us. When does Fellow Daoist Rong plan to start the operation?”
Rong Xie thought for a moment and said, “The talks didn’t go smoothly today. Lu Yingqi’s attitude was actually quite good, but that Madam Mei kept using the ancestors’ legacy to pressure people. Their Old Master also had a seizure, so we couldn’t talk further. We can only stay here for now and wait for the Old Master to recover.”
“Alright, we will stand by and wait for Fellow Daoist Rong’s message,” Zhao Dajiang said.
Shen Bingsi seemed to interrupt with something mumbled in the background, unclear.
Zhao Dajiang hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Fellow Daoist Rong, where are you staying tonight? There won’t be any danger, will there?”
“I’m staying in the same courtyard as Lu Yingqi. No need to worry,” Rong Xie said.
“Oh… Oh, stay safe.” Zhao Dajiang added a reminder, and the connection ended.
Rong Xie had reached the gate of Lu Yingqi’s courtyard. Seeing attendants standing on both sides, he stepped forward and asked them to announce him.
Upon seeing Rong Xie, these people put on arrogant airs, ignoring him completely with no intention of announcing him. When Rong Xie pressed them, they said impatiently, “It’s late. The Eldest Young Master has already rested. Whatever it is, talk about it tomorrow.”
“Fine,” Rong Xie said, but his steps continued toward the door.
“Hey, what are you doing!”
“This is the Eldest Young Master’s courtyard. Who allowed you to enter?”
The maids at the door came up to block him. Being people without magical power, how could they stop Rong Xie? Before their fingers could even touch his body, they were repelled by a strange force. Their palms felt like they had been whipped hard, fingertips numb and stinging.
Rong Xie possessed Water, Wood, and Thunder spiritual roots. Just because he rarely used his Thunder root didn’t mean he didn’t know how.
Easily electrocuting the blocking maids aside, Rong Xie walked into the courtyard. As he walked, he secretly marveled—as expected of the Eldest Young Master’s courtyard. The layout and decoration nearly rivaled the Lu family’s main facade.
The small hall of the main house was atop the front steps, lights shining inside. Before Rong Xie even climbed the steps, servants possessing spiritual energy walked toward him from both sides.
Rong Xie sensed that these two servants had spiritual energy around the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining; they had undergone proper cultivation. He turned to look and found they were very young, appearing no older than fifteen or sixteen. Their faces were expressionless. Rong Xie couldn’t help but wonder if these two were also attendant boys cultivated by the Lu family.
Just then, a figure in casual white clothes appeared at the top of the steps. Lu Yingqi waved his hand: “This is my guest. You may leave.”
“Yes, Eldest Young Master.” The two attendant boys bowed to Lu Yingqi and retreated into the shadows under the corridors on both sides.
Rong Xie bowed slightly to Lu Yingqi and stepped forward. Together, they entered the small hall and went to the study on the right.
Rong Xie loved looking at other people’s studies, but unfortunately, Lu Yingqi didn’t live here year-round. The study was empty, with only a few expensive-looking ornaments placed for show.
“Why did you come here?” Lu Yingqi asked.
“That guest room of yours isn’t livable, so I came here to ask for a guest room.” Rong Xie looked out the window. “Are the side rooms in your courtyard habitable?”
“…” Lu Yingqi was silent for a moment. “I’ll have someone clean one.”
Rong Xie understood. Previously, Little Zhi handled such things. With Little Zhi not around, when Rong Xie asked suddenly, Lu Yingqi didn’t know how to answer.
As for hot tea for guests, there was none.
“Never mind, no need to clean specifically. I happen to have a few words to say to you, so I’ll just make do here tonight.” Rong Xie’s gaze swept over the sitting couch under the south window. A sitting couch was meant for sitting and lying down. Moreover, this was Lu Yingqi’s main house; the servants kept it spotless. Wasn’t this much more comfortable than a dark side room?
“As you wish.” Lu Yingqi was indifferent to these matters. “What did you want to say?”
Rong Xie thought for a moment and said, “If the Old Master remains bedridden, what do you plan to do?”
Lu Yingqi was startled, seemingly not having considered this possibility.
He mused for a moment: “Then I will talk to Madam Mei.”
“What if Madam Mei doesn’t agree to abolish the attendant boy system? He can just repeat what he said today,” Rong Xie asked again.
“I can organize the Lu family clan relatives to talk,” Lu Yingqi said. “If the clan relatives vote and the majority supports it, it can pass without Madam Mei’s approval.”
“And if the clan relatives don’t support it?” Rong Xie pressed.
Lu Yingqi looked at Rong Xie, seeming somewhat perplexed. “If the clan relatives don’t support it, it means the time isn’t right to abolish the attendant boy system. They understand the family’s interests best and know the right thing to do. If they decide that way, it is inconvenient for us to interfere further.”
“…” Rong Xie was somewhat speechless. “That is your solution?”
“Of course. The development of things always has its laws. Forcing change inevitably incurs karma. If we cannot persuade the clan relatives, it means the time for change has not yet arrived. Continuing as is… is also a result,” Lu Yingqi said in a very transcendent manner.
Very… easy for you to say while standing there without back pain kind of nonsense.
Rong Xie noticed Lu Yingqi’s expression was calm as if he truly believed “letting nature take its course” was a solution.
He realized Lu Yingqi cultivated the Heartless Path. Although there were many factions within the Heartless Path, the common point was the same: the Heavenly Dao is heartless and does not interfere with the karma of all things.
“Then what about Little Zhi? What about those poor children?” Rong Xie couldn’t help asking. “Back then, you threatened to kick me out of Lanyuan to stop me from talking nonsense. Why didn’t you say you couldn’t interfere with others’ karma then?”
“…” Lu Yingqi found that Rong Xie was very good at digging up old scores, completely in the same vein as Shen Bingsi in this regard. He could only say truthfully, “I just didn’t want you spreading rumors everywhere; avoiding trouble is better than dealing with it. As for those children, I do not know their will. Since I haven’t seen them resist, I cannot decide their future lives for them.”
“Is it possible they don’t resist because they can’t resist? Because Madam Mei planted gu-worms in their bodies and can kill them at any time—”
“Do you have evidence?” Lu Yingqi asked.
“Evidence?” Rong Xie was baffled. “Is Little Ya’s death not evidence?”
“Little Ya simply couldn’t cultivate anymore. The five signs of decay caused by the inability to cultivate are, in the end, an extreme condition. It doesn’t prove Madam Mei used gu to kill him.” Lu Yingqi shook his head. “Besides, our Lu family isn’t some demonic sect; how would we know such evil arts? These are just your imaginings.”
Rong Xie was stunned. The attendant boys were controlled by the Lu family, and the Lu family used the boys to blackmail young masters like them—that was a plain fact. Yet Lu Yingqi was now starting to ask for evidence.
“Furthermore, if there were gu, wouldn’t I see it? Little Zhi is by my side every day, and we have cultivated together. If he had gu in his body, wouldn’t I know?” Lu Yingqi continued.
Rong Xie fell silent for a moment. “It might not be gu. It could be something else, like flower scent, pollen, or the like.”
“That is still just your guess,” Lu Yingqi said. “You have no evidence.”
“…”
If Lu Yingqi hadn’t stood on his side during the day, arguing rationally with Madam Mei to express the demand to abolish the attendant boy system, Rong Xie might have suspected whether Lu Yingqi truly wanted to solve the problem.
“I am just an outsider, and you ask me for evidence?” Rong Xie found it ridiculous. Then, thinking of something, he nodded. “Fine. I can go find evidence. But you must promise me one thing: turn a blind eye.”
After speaking, Rong Xie stared intently at Lu Yingqi.
Lu Yingqi was slightly puzzled, seeming to want to ask how Rong Xie would find evidence. He moved his lips but didn’t ask, simply saying, “Okay.”
Rong Xie felt assured. The person with the highest cultivation in the entire Lu family was Lu Yingqi. As long as Lu Yingqi stood by and watched, no one could stop the Treasure Hunting Team’s actions.
Of course, they still had to avoid Madam Mei. Before investigating what the well actually was and finding the method controlling the attendant boys, they couldn’t alert Madam Mei. Otherwise, Madam Mei might very well use the attendant boys’ lives to threaten them.
An even worse scenario would be using Little Zhi’s life to threaten Lu Yingqi into dealing with them.
It was precisely because of this pressure hanging overhead that Rong Xie was so cautious, having the Treasure Hunting Team hide their tracks and forbidding rash action without his permission.
“There is one more thing I need your help with,” Rong Xie said seriously. “That Madam Mei seems to have a special method of detection. I’m worried he will discover me when I investigate the well. If you have any method to temporarily seal his perception, our investigation won’t alert the enemy.”
“Special perception?”
“Yes. To be honest, I already went to the ‘Well’ just now. I smelled a very strong rose scent around it, and then my body became somewhat uncontrollable.”
“So you suspect Madam Mei uses the flower scent to control the attendant boys… control Little Zhi?” Lu Yingqi seemed to think of something. “Little Zhi does indeed have the scent of Rose Dew on him. However, Rose Dew isn’t a rare incense. Even if the Rose Dew on Little Zhi and Madam Mei’s incense come from the same source, we are a thousand miles from Zhilan Ridge. Even a powerful Scent Cultivator cannot control another person across such a distance.”
Lu Yingqi’s analysis was calm and objective, reasonable in every sentence. However, this wasn’t what Rong Xie wanted to hear.
“Fine. When you act, I can help you stall Madam Mei. How much time do you need?” Lu Yingqi finally relented.
That was the sentence Rong Xie wanted. Joy rose in his heart. Just as he was about to discuss the operation time with Lu Yingqi, he suddenly heard someone knocking on the window behind the sitting couch.
“?” Rong Xie sat up abruptly. When Lu Yingqi spoke with him just now, he had cast a soundproofing spell. Logically, sounds from inside couldn’t go out, and sounds from outside shouldn’t come in so clearly.
Lu Yingqi shook his head at Rong Xie and transmitted his voice secretly: “The visitor has high cultivation. It is not my family.”
From outside came an affected voice: “Can Young Master Lu hear me? I am the attendant boy sent by Madam Mei, specifically to serve you. Is there anyone else in the room? If not, I’m coming in~”
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