“Brother Lu, you know the body-binding curse?”
Lu Zheng nodded. Without it, he couldn’t have defeated Gao Junyu so quickly.
Hu Yijun was silent.
Gao Xiu was silent.
Wang Muran was silent.
Hu Yijun realised he’d spent too little time with Lu Zheng to truly know him.
He’d known Lu Zheng as a lay disciple of Baiyun Temple, skilled in martial arts and flying sword techniques, with a talented fox-demon fiancée.
He also had fine character and knowledge, impressive demeanor, saved Wang Yuzhi, and taught Hu Zhou well, earning Hu Yijun’s respect and brotherhood.
Now, seeing Lu Zheng produce fine wine, rare spices, top-tier mortal weapons, and, after only two years of cultivation, wield a Taoist body-binding curse…
Hu Yijun stroked his beard. His son’s master was truly extraordinary.
His cultivation was shallow, but his future was boundless.
Defeated by the body-binding curse and learning Lu Zheng knew mental techniques, Gao Junyu conceded fully. She handed her dragon-coiled spear to her maid and joined Hu Zhou to dine with the elders.
With the wedding date set, Gao Xiu, her husband, and daughter took their leave after lunch.
Lu Zheng stayed another night, gifting Hu Zhou a new blade with a tiger-head guard and tiger-claw hilt, majestic and striking.
That evening, Hu Yijun visited to discuss the “Western Extreme Wind-Calling Curse,” only to find Lu Zheng had already mastered it deeply.
Hu Yijun saw clearly: Lu Zheng not only cultivated quickly but learned techniques rapidly.
The next day, Lu Zheng bid farewell, declining Hu Yijun’s offer to fly him back, promising to attend Hu Zhou’s wedding, and left alone.
Tonglin County, Peach Blossom Flat.
Shen Ying and Liu Qingyan played chess under an old peach tree, their gazes distracted, minds elsewhere.
“Lu Lang really went to the Southern Border?” Liu Qingyan asked again.
“I don’t know,” Shen Ying shook her head. “But a few days ago, the incense faith from the south surged…”
Shen Ying’s voice carried worry. “Given the days since Lu Lang left, with his speed, he could’ve reached Peach Mother Sacred Mountain…”
Liu Qingyan suppressed her unease. “If it was Lu Lang, the surge in incense faith suggests everything went smoothly, doesn’t it?”
Shen Ying frowned, taking a deep breath and placing a piece. “I hope so.”
They exchanged a glance, a shared worry unspoken.
By the timeline, if Lu Zheng had slain the peach tree spirit and was unharmed, he should’ve returned to Tonglin County by now.
Yet there was no sign of him.
And how could someone with two to three hundred years of cultivation defeat a thousand-year-old peach tree spirit?
“Could we be wrong? Maybe it’s a coincidence, and Lu Lang didn’t go to the Southern Border. The surge in southern incense faith might be unrelated?” Liu Qingyan asked.
Shen Ying sighed. “I hope I’m wrong, but…”
“But what?”
“Lu Lang can’t lie.”
Shen Ying’s eyes were soft, filled with worry and warmth. “He never hesitated to mention the peach tree spirit before, but the last two times we met before he left, he avoided it entirely…”
“He was afraid you’d worry?”
“And that I’d see through him,” Shen Ying said. “I didn’t think much of it then, but when the incense faith surged, it clicked.”
Liu Qingyan, recalling Lu Zheng’s rescues, felt her eyes fill with affection.
“Lu Lang never acts without certainty,” she said, knowing him well. “When the peach demon’s forces attacked before, he didn’t act. If he went now, he must be fully prepared.”
Shen Ying asked quickly, “Then why didn’t he tell me?”
Liu Qingyan didn’t know how to explain.
“It’s been ten days since the incense faith surged, and still no sign of Lu Lang,” Shen Ying said, looking south with veiled worry. “Could he be injured… Lu Lang!?”
Liu Qingyan turned to see Lu Zheng at Peach Blossom Manor’s gate, hands behind his back, smiling at them.
“I’m back, oof—”
Before he finished, Shen Ying threw herself into his arms, silencing him.
Good heavens, it was only half a month apart. Was this reaction necessary?
Held by Shen Ying, Lu Zheng glanced and saw tears in Liu Qingyan’s eyes, startling him.
What was going on?
He patted Shen Ying’s back, calming her, and she released him.
Lu Zheng caught his breath. “What’s wrong with you two?”
Before Liu Qingyan could speak, Shen Ying demanded, “You went to the Southern Border to slay that thousand-year-old peach tree spirit. Why didn’t you tell me!”
Lu Zheng: (⊙o⊙)
“How did you know!?”
Liu Qingyan pressed, “You really went to the Southern Border!?”
Lu Zheng: (⊙o⊙)
He turned sharply, seeing Shen Ying’s teary eyes and her faint, knowing smile.
Damn! Tricked!
Lu Zheng tried to explain, but Shen Ying gave him no chance.
“Wait, oof—hold on, oof—”
Half an hour later.
Lu Zheng sprawled on a recliner under the old peach tree, rocking gently.
Xiao Cui brewed tea, which Shen Ying handed to him.
Liu Qingyan fanned him lightly with a round fan.
Six pairs of eyes fixed on his face.
“What are you staring at?”
“Waiting for you to talk!” Liu Qingyan said urgently. “How did you slay that thousand-year-old peach tree spirit?”
Lu Zheng asked first, “How did you know I went to the Southern Border?”
Shen Ying explained the recent surge in southern incense faith.
Lu Zheng nodded. “It’s probably a fleeting spike. It won’t last.”
Shen Ying didn’t mind. The southern incense faith was substantial, but with steady streams from across Great Jing, she wouldn’t miss it.
But Liu Qingyan was curious. “Why won’t it last? Did you not only kill the peach demon but burn Peach Mountain too?”
“Well…”
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. “Close enough. Peach Mother Sacred Mountain is gone. Even if the locals keep praying out of habit, it won’t last long.”
With the peach mother dead and half the mountain shattered, whether new forces or masters took over, the locals would gradually stop worshipping her.
Shen Ying couldn’t resist. “What do you mean ‘close enough’? How did you do it?”
Lu Zheng shrugged, smiling mysteriously. “Sect secret technique, can’t say, can’t say.”
If he couldn’t explain, he wouldn’t. A sect secret was the perfect excuse.
So they stopped asking. Shen Ying understood why he hadn’t spoken. “Because it’s hard to explain, and you didn’t want me to worry, so you left without telling me?”
Lu Zheng: (◔◡◔)
“Exactly! That’s it!”
“Lu Lang~~~”
