Zhang Ruochen did not know that this Half-Saint Mansion was not at all bought by Lu Youcai with his money, in fact, it was originally the property of the Divine Sword Holy Land.
Walking into the bamboo forest, Zhang Ruochen walked through a quiet stone path and followed the direction from which the sound of the xiao came.
The clear piping sound suddenly stopped.
“Wow!”
In the forest, only the sound of water flowing from the brook, and the sound of the wind blowing the bamboo leaves remained.
Immediately after, an incomparably pleasant and melodious woman’s voice came out from the bamboo pavilion on the banks of the stream, “People in the deep forest don’t know that the bright moon is coming to shine on each other.”
That one voice was both familiar, yet somewhat unfamiliar.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze, looked towards the bamboo pavilion, only to see a woman with a full head of white hair, sitting with her back to him.
White hair, as white as snow.
In her hand, she was cupping a yellowed bamboo xiao and added, “Zhang Ruochen, how did you know this line of poetry?”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes widened, as if a landslide was occurring in his heart, and his ears were roaring, as if there was the sound of a giant bell or heavenly thunder, ringing in his ears.
This time, Zhang Ruochen heard it clearly!
It was indeed her voice.
It had been eight hundred years!
After eight hundred years, there was actually a chance to see her again, and the once playful and greedy young girl was …… already grey-haired.
“Ta da!”
Zhang Ruochen tried to restrain his emotions, his mood was very complicated, and with heavy footsteps, he walked into the bamboo pavilion step by step and stood across from Kong Lanyou.
Kong Lanyou had restrained her aura to the extreme, and no one could sense power fluctuations from her body. She was just like a woman from an ordinary family, sitting there gracefully, her beautiful eyes slightly raised as she stared at Zhang Ruochen.
It was simply like a beautiful painting, and the woman in the painting was like a goddess above the Nine Heavens, elegant, idle, and serene, not eating the fire of the earth.
Her face, from eight hundred years ago, hadn’t changed much, her skin was fair, more delicate than even a baby’s skin, her red lips were bright, and her eyelashes were long.
The pair of eyes were dark like jade, giving off a feeling of divine essence that was unfathomable, yet incomparably bright, as if they were able to see through Zhang Ruochen’s soul.
Although, the face did not age, however, the long turquoise hair on her head had become snow white, symbolising the loss of time.
Things were different, and the red face had grey hair.
Zhang Ruochen’s mood was very excited, yet he had to remain calm and restrain his emotions, trying to avert his gaze from her body for fear of being seen by her.
“How could it be her?”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t dare to recognise Kong Lanyou, he remembered that he saw Kong Lanyou eight hundred years ago, moments before he was killed by Chi Yao.
How could it be so coincidental?
Could it be that his death was originally planned by Chi Yao and Kong Lanyou in conjunction?
He had always trusted Kong Lanyou, just like he trusted Chi Yao, but …… he died under Chi Yao’s sword.
So, could he still trust Kong Lanyou?
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes stared at the ground as he clasped his hands together and bowed slightly, his voice trembling a bit as he said, “Late generation Zhang Ruochen, I’ve met senior.”
Once upon a time, Kong Lanyou had always taken him as a role model to learn from, and had always followed him around, pestering him and getting tired of him, just like a little tail that couldn’t be shaken off.
But now, Zhang Ruochen didn’t dare to recognise her and could only refer to himself as a junior.
Kong Lanyou carefully sized up Zhang Ruochen, not sparing any of Zhang Ruochen’s subtle movements, any of his eyes.
Only after a long time did she say, “Zhang Ruochen, you still haven’t answered my question, how did you know that line of poetry?”
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, completely collected all his emotions and hid them deep within his heart, saying, “Is senior interrogating senior?”
Kong Lanyou put down the bamboo xiao in his hand, his voice icy cold for a few moments, and in a questioning tone, he said, “You’ve never seen me before, so why do you know that I’m a senior? What if, I’m in the same generation as you?”
Zhang Ruochen calmly said, “Although my junior’s cultivation is low and I cannot see through senior’s cultivation, I have seen some of the world and know that senior is by no means mortal. Besides, it is impossible for one’s eyes to hide secrets. Elder’s eyes, full of knowledge and learning, having experienced the vicissitudes of the world, are not something a young man can possess.”
Kong Lanyou’s eyes did not blink as she stared tightly at Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, as if she also wanted to see through Zhang Ruochen through her eyes.
A moment later, she added, “When I spoke that line of poetry, a normal person, would definitely ask how I knew that line of poetry. However, you weren’t the least bit surprised and instead questioned me. Why is that?”
Zhang Ruochen secretly shouted, Awesome.
Unexpectedly, that playful little girl back then had now become so shrewd. Zhang Ruochen had only said one sentence, and she had caught two breaks.
Zhang Ruochen was not alarmed, instead, he put on a puzzled expression and said, ”Didn’t I already say this line of poetry when I was in the Divine Sword Holy Land? Could it be that senior isn’t from the Divine Sword Holy Land?”
Kong Lan You’s brows furrowed, and there was a feeling of a punch hitting the top of cotton as all the force was dodged by Zhang Ruochen.
“Does he really think that I am someone from the Divine Sword Holy Land, or is he deliberately pretending to be like this?”
Kong Lanyou was a bit puzzled and sat back down again, asking for the third time, “That line of poetry, where exactly did you learn it from?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “This is a secret, please forgive the late generation for not being able to tell.”
“What if I must force you to say it?”
Kong Lanyou’s eyes, which became strong, spat out a cold aura.
An invisible aura erupted from her body like a tsunami, surging towards Zhang Ruochen.
She controlled her power very skilfully, and that aura, although it seemed very strong, was within Zhang Ruochen’s tolerance.
Zhang Ruochen was unperturbed by the change, “I don’t think that you should do this. Even if you force me, it won’t serve any purpose.”
“Is that so?”
Kong Lanyou smiled faintly and raised a snow-white jade-like slender arm, and instantly, the surrounding heaven and earth aura transformed into a small stream of aura that converged towards her palm, condensing into a circular cyclone.
A simple move of a Human Grade Lower Grade Martial Skill, the Whirlwind Palm, under her catalysing, it had become incomparably subtle and unpredictable, seemingly even more powerful than a Ghost Grade Martial Skill.
“Zhang Ruochen is a guest of our Silver Sky Mercenary Corps, if Your Excellency makes a move against him, don’t blame me for being impolite.”
Nie Honglou was responsible for protecting Zhang Ruochen’s safety, so of course, he would not stand idly by. He immediately took a step forward and rushed to fly, unfolding his hands as if he were a roc spreading its wings.
Flames emerged from his hands, and his two arms rotated in a circle, condensing a huge ball of fire that struck towards Kong Lanyou.
Kong Lanyou let out a cold snort and flicked his arms.
The spherical cyclone resting on the palm of his hand flew out, lifting the ball of fire and Nie Honglou off the ground at the same time.
With a bang, the fireball obliterated and became a wisp of smoke.
Nie Honglou landed ten feet away, and his body, like a bamboo leaf, landed lightly on the ground.
Nie Honglou touched towards his chest and realised that he hadn’t suffered any injuries, he had only been pushed out by the other party’s palm force, that was all.
It was this that made Nie Honglou even more alarmed.
One must know that he was at the Sixth Change of the Fish Dragon cultivation level, how powerful was the power that erupted out, even if it was a powerhouse like Silver Moon Linqiao that was able to repel him, but after repelling him, it was impossible for him to be as intact as he was right now, without even a hint of pain.
From this, it could be seen that this one white-haired woman’s cultivation was still above Silver Moon Prosperity, and her control of power had already reached the point of exquisiteness.
Could it be …… that she is a half saint?
Nie Honglou’s heart was horrified, and he didn’t dare to continue striking.
If the other party really had hostile intentions, just that palm just now would be able to smash him and Zhang Ruochen into flying dust.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm, glanced towards Kong Lan You and said, ”Even if you force me, it won’t do any good. Everyone should have some secrets, shouldn’t they?”
“I won’t force you.”
Kong Lanyou retracted the aura he had emitted and said, “Honestly, I’m quite curious about you, and I’ve specifically looked up everything about you. Before the age of sixteen, you were weak and sickly, and you couldn’t even open the Divine Martial Seal.”
“After the age of sixteen, you opened the Divine Martial Seal, and in a short span of three or four years, you grew from a scrawny teenager who was constantly bedridden to a young king who was famous in the Eastern Region. In that year when you were sixteen, what exactly did you go through?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, “Isn’t it rumoured by everyone that in that year, I was accepted as a disciple by the Golden Dragon and became the heir to the Buddha Emperor, which is why my cultivation skyrocketed and I leapt to become a dragon amongst men.”
“I don’t believe it.”
Kong Lanyou shook his head and said, “According to the information I received, when you obtained the Dragon Pearl, you were already at the Earth Extremity Realm Grand Circle cultivation long ago, and were a genius student of the Martial City Academy. Furthermore, when you were sixteen years old, what you were cultivating was not a Buddhist martial art, but the Spirit Grade Lower Grade Heavenly Heart Sword Technique. I’m curious to know, how do you know the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique?”
Zhang Ruochen laughed, “Your information is really detailed. With senior’s cultivation, but spending so much effort to investigate a junior like me, is it worth it?”
“Worth it! Why isn’t it worth it? Let alone now, even if I were to spend another eight hundred years, it would be just as worth it, as long as there can be a result.”Kong Lanyou’s eyes were misty and covered with a layer of water mist.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart ached, and if not for his efforts to restrain himself, he was afraid that he would have to rush up to her and tell her that he was the one she was looking for, the relative from eight hundred years ago, and perhaps the only relative.
