Lu Zheng placed a piece, chuckling softly. “And in the end, I got lucky.”
Hearing his words, Liu Qingyan felt a tingle in her heart, as if she had tasted honey, filled with sweetness. “Lu Lang, you always tease me.”
“You deserve it!” Lu Zheng reached out, gently flicking her delicate nose, making her twitch it involuntarily. “Who told you to keep it from me all this time? Can’t I have a little laugh?”
Liu Qingyan gave a shy smile but said nothing.
Lu Zheng asked with a grin, “If today hadn’t been so urgent, when were you planning to tell me? You couldn’t keep it from me forever, could you?”
Liu Qingyan’s eyes darted away, and she stuck out her tongue.
Lu Zheng blinked. “Were you actually planning to keep it from me forever?”
“No way, it’s just… just… there was never a good moment to say it…” Liu Qingyan instinctively switched to a coy tone.
“Anything else you need to confess?” Lu Zheng sat up straight, feigning sternness. “Now that your secret’s out, come clean completely, or don’t blame me for not warning you.”
Liu Qingyan’s eyes curved into crescents, and she stifled a giggle. “Really, everything?”
“Of course!” Lu Zheng nodded as if it were obvious.
“Fine, I’ll confess then.” Liu Qingyan blinked innocently, holding back a laugh as she leaned her head closer. “I know about you and Sister Shen~”
Lu Zheng: ⊙_⊙!!
“A few times when you came back at dawn, you still had Sister Shen’s scent on you. Oh, and sometimes the scent of another lady. Is she your confidante from Spring Breeze Pavilion?”
Lu Zheng: ⊙_⊙!!!!
“My true form is a white fox, you know. My nose is very sharp~” Liu Qingyan’s eyes gleamed mischievously, her gaze playful, her lips curving into a charming arc, truly like a little fox.
“Then you—” Lu Zheng was stunned, stammering, his eyes flickering, at a loss.
“Lu Lang, you’re a true gentleman, protecting my family, gifting me medical books, and helping the clinic through tough times.”
Liu Qingyan looked up, her eyes misty with emotion. “With such kindness, you always treated me with respect, never crossing the line. I’m deeply touched.”
On the surface, Lu Zheng remained calm, but inwardly he thought, I always assumed you were a refined lady, proper and shy, so I only teased lightly, never making a move.
And now he’d earned the title of a true gentleman!
Thinking of the bustling scenes at the county’s Fragrant Street and Spring Breeze Pavilion, Lu Zheng felt he might indeed qualify as a gentleman.
His mindset steadied instantly. I’m a gentleman, no doubt about it!
Lu Zheng gave a faint smile, looking at Liu Qingyan with gentle eyes.
That look made her heart skip a beat.
Biting her lower lip, Liu Qingyan’s face flushed, her pure features revealing a natural allure. Her eyes softened, and she whispered, “Actually, I can do that too.”
“Hiss—” Lu Zheng sucked in a breath.
*Thud!*
A crash came from the door, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps fading away, along with Liu Qingquan’s voice drifting back. “I was just passing by—”
Liu Qingyan’s face turned crimson, steam practically rising from her head. She looked up to see Lu Zheng’s wolf-like gaze, and her newfound courage vanished. She stammered, “Well… actually… I…”
After such a battle, with Yuan Jing still in the house, tonight wasn’t the time to go all in.
But collecting a little interest, taking it a step further, was fine.
“Mm—”
Their lips met, breaths mingling, curves pressing close.
After a while, Liu Qingyan, breathless, “escaped” Lu Zheng’s grasp. “I have to see patients tomorrow. I’m heading back. You should go too, Lu Lang.”
She opened the door to find the outside quiet, no one around. Liu Qingyan paused, glancing back with a captivating look. “Lu Lang, I can do that too~”
…
“Senior Brother!”
“I thought you’d stay at the Liu residence tonight,” Yuan Jing teased.
“Heh, but you’re still here, Senior Brother,” Lu Zheng laughed.
Yuan Jing: “…”
So if I weren’t here, you’d have stayed, huh?
What a guy!
Being a lay practitioner doesn’t make you special. We direct disciples aren’t forbidden from marriage either. I just haven’t felt like it!
Infinite Heavenly Venerate!
Still, Yuan Jing said, “The Liu family may be fox spirits, but they do good deeds and carry merit. Even I didn’t see through them, nor did that Southern Border sorcerer. Unless Miss Liu revealed herself, only a great master could discern their true nature.”
Lu Zheng nodded. Lucky he had his cheat, yet he hadn’t noticed a thing. But that was because they masked their aura with merit, living as ordinary people.
Also, Liu Qingyan’s nose was *that* sharp, picking up Lin Wan’s scent and mistaking it for a Spring Breeze Pavilion confidante. So she didn’t know about his ability to vanish and travel.
She probably knew he occasionally disappeared but not where he went.
Like Lin Wan, Liu Qingyan was understanding. If he didn’t say, she didn’t ask.
But… he’d need to shower more carefully after his escapades.
A female ghost and a fox spirit… uniforms were outdated. This Great Jing Dynasty was too thrilling!
…
“Ahem!” Yuan Jing cleared his throat. “Let’s talk about this Southern Border sorcerer.”
Lu Zheng turned promptly. “Please, Senior Brother, I’m all ears.”
“I can’t tell which sect this sorcerer belongs to. I’ll take one treasure leaf talisman back to ask Master. You keep the rest,” Yuan Jing said. “Also, take the sorcerer’s body to Yizhou Prefecture yourself, not through Tonglin County authorities, to avoid complications. White Cloud Temple’s reputation is great, but not in the Southern Border. You’re usually in the county, and if trouble arises, the temple might not reach you in time.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother. I understand,” Lu Zheng nodded, then added, “But the spoils should be shared. I’ll keep the bracelet, but I don’t know how to use the rest. Take them back to Master.”
Yuan Jing thought it over and agreed. They were family, no need for formalities. If the items were usable, he could bring them back to Lu Zheng later.
“Also, when Master returns, make a trip up the mountain. After this sorcerer incident, I feel *White Cloud Swordsmanship* alone isn’t enough. Ask Master if he can teach us *Cloud Walking Technique*.”
Lu Zheng’s eyes lit up. “*Cloud Walking Technique*? A combat skill?”
Yuan Jing nodded. “*Taiqing Mysterious Qi Cloud Walking Secret Scripture*, or *Cloud Walking Technique* for short. It controls qi and clouds, decisive in combat, a core secret of White Cloud Temple. Even I haven’t learned it.”
Lu Zheng blinked, thrilled by the grand name. “Am I qualified to learn it?”
“Hm?” Yuan Jing rubbed his chin, suddenly falling silent.
…
Brother, what’s with the sudden silence? Shouldn’t you confidently assure me I’m included?
“Probably,” Yuan Jing nodded.
Lu Zheng sighed in relief.
“It’s not the temple’s highest secret, *Innate Taiqing Rootless Cloud Qi Scripture*. It’s just a combat technique, so lay practitioners should be able to learn it,” Yuan Jing said.
Lu Zheng: ╭(°A°`)╮
Thanks for the reassurance!
“But you’re really something, Junior Brother!” Yuan Jing said with a sigh. “You mastered the binding spell already? With such strong vitality and deep cultivation, how do you train? Even if the Peach Blossom Immortal gave you all her incense qi, it wouldn’t be this fast, would it?”
“Oh, I found a lingzhi horse in the mountains. I drink scorpion wine and lingzhi wine alternately, and I never lack meat. It boosts vitality and stimulates true qi. It just happened this way,” Lu Zheng explained.
Yuan Jing nodded. That made sense. Lu Zheng’s talent must suit cultivation.
He was only impressed, not shocked. History recorded those who ascended to immortality in a single epiphany, or dominated the world after three months of study. Geniuses advancing by leaps and bounds were common, and many who later faded into obscurity didn’t even make it into the records.
So…
Just a binding spell, just catching up to me in a year. I’m not jealous at all, really… really…
“Alright, it’s late. Rest, Junior Brother. I’m turning in too.”
“Alright, Senior Brother, rest well. I’m heading back.”
…
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Yuan Jing ate breakfast and left the city for the mountain. Old Man Liu went to see patients as usual, while Liu Qingyan, unusually, skipped her shift at Benevolent Heart Clinic to stroll the streets with Lu Zheng.
“Wanfu County is bigger than Tonglin County and lies on a key route in Yaozhou, so it’s more prosperous.”
Liu Qingyan held a bag of candied fruit, eating one herself, then, seeing no one around, popping one into Lu Zheng’s mouth. “But with people coming and going, it’s noisy. The folk here in Tonglin are simpler, and life is more comfortable.”
“Lu Lang, where’s your hometown?” Liu Qingyan asked curiously.
Lu Zheng’s public story was that his family had fallen, too ashamed to face friends. Like the Liu family’s excuse of fleeing a local tyrant to move to Tonglin, it was vague, hiding deeper truths.
Liu Qingyan had imagined scenarios like a fiancée breaking off an engagement or overbearing relatives. Seeing Lu Zheng master *Eighteen Mountain-Carrying Forms* to cultivate vitality and succeed in the Dao, she wondered if some mysterious figure was pulling strings.
“My hometown?” Lu Zheng paused. “It’s a very magical place.”
“Magical?”
“Mm.” Lu Zheng nodded but said no more, unsure where to begin.
Seeing he didn’t want to talk, Liu Qingyan didn’t press, feeling a bit guilty for possibly touching a sensitive spot.
“I spoke out of turn, Lu Lang, don’t…”
“When I can ride clouds, summon winds and rains, overturn rivers and seas, or shift stars and constellations, I might take you to see my hometown,” Lu Zheng said lightly.
“Eh? You’d take me to your hometown?” Liu Qingyan was delighted, then realized he meant he needed to be extraordinarily powerful to return. Her imagination kicked in. “Just as I thought!”
Lu Zheng glanced at her, puzzled. “Just as you thought what?”
“Nothing!” Liu Qingyan smiled brightly, counting on her fingers. “To ride clouds, you need five hundred years of cultivation. Summoning winds and rains depends on their scale. For a single county with gentle breezes and light rain, five hundred years might do. Overturning rivers and seas or shifting stars and constellations is harder. That needs a thousand years of cultivation. River gods, sea dragon kings, and celestial star officials aren’t to be trifled with.”
Lu Zheng stared, dumbfounded, looking utterly dazed.
