Returning to Tonglin County, Daoist Mingzhang and Daoist Yuting went back to the mountain. Lu Zheng headed home.
Just as he arrived home, he saw Liu Qingyan lightly float over the wall.
“My husband, you went to Shaotong Mountain?”
“How did you know?”
“My mother told me. She said she saw a paper crane from Baiyun Temple circling above your house.”
Liu Qingyan came to Lu Zheng’s side and asked with concern, “Is there something wrong at your sect?”
In Liu Qingyan’s view, Daoist Mingzhang was already a very powerful expert. Yet he had summoned Lu Zheng with a paper crane. She wondered what urgent matter it could be.
She had worried all afternoon. When Lu Zheng did not return at night, her anxiety grew. She could not sleep.
Now, seeing him back, she could no longer hold back. She flew over to ask with care.
“Nothing serious, nothing serious!” Lu Zheng reached out to embrace Liu Qingyan and smiled in reply. “Daoist Yuting returned. Master could not beat him at chess, so he called me to help.”
Liu Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief, then could not help laughing. “So that was it. Qingyan worried too much.”
But on second thought, she felt something was off. She looked suspicious. “You played chess until the hour of chou?”
Lu Zheng blinked. Fox spirits really were hard to fool.
Liu Qingyan blinked back. A mist formed in her eyes. She asked no more. Instead, she said thoughtfully, “It is rather late. Qingyan will fetch water for my husband to wash up. You have been tired all day. Rest early soon.”
Lu Zheng grinned, reaching out to stroke her hair. “Do not worry. Even if your husband cannot beat an enemy, can he not escape?
To be honest, this is not boasting. Looking at the cultivation of Dragon King Ao Jin and Master Dejie that day, even if experts like them attacked your husband, he could retreat unscathed.”
Liu Qingyan’s eyes curved into beautiful crescents. She smiled. “Just keep boasting. Master Dejie has cultivated for centuries. Jade Dragon King is a true dragon king. Capturing you would be easy for them, would it not?”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow and laughed proudly. “Just wait and see!”
“No!” Liu Qingyan said quickly. “Qingyan does not want to see!”
Lu Zheng joked around. Liu Qingyan smiled brightly.
The two entered the bedroom. Liu Qingyan fetched clean water from the back courtyard, heated it with true qi, and attended to Lu Zheng as he washed and changed.
While there was time, Lu Zheng recounted what had happened that night.
“So a Baiyun Temple disciple was attacked. Is that ghost king so powerful?”
“Not weak. The split soul avatar alone had over three hundred years of cultivation. It is probably a thousand-year ghost king.” Lu Zheng said. “But fortunately, it did not kill Senior Brother Yuanye. It also dared not linger in Dingshan County. It has already fled.”
Baiyun Temple was a major Daoist sect. Failing to eradicate the threat but exposing its traces meant it had to run, of course.
After Lu Zheng finished washing, Liu Qingyan took a wrung-out towel and wiped his face.
“But you destroyed one of its split soul avatars below Shaotong Mountain. I fear it will not let matters rest.” Liu Qingyan asked while wiping, worried the ghost might return for revenge.
“If it comes, that would be perfect. We can settle it once and for all.” Lu Zheng stared at Liu Qingyan, so close. “Your father, Ying’er, and you. We all swarm it together.”
Liu Qingyan burst out laughing. “No wonder Elder Sister always says you have no martial ethics.”
Lu Zheng laughed heartily. He casually tossed the towel. It floated lightly onto the basin rack nearby.
Taking Liu Qingyan’s hand, he leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I am all cleaned up. Time to rest.”
Liu Qingyan’s cheeks flushed pink. Her eyes grew watery as she gazed at Lu Zheng. She bit her lower lip gently. A faint fragrance emanated from her body.
Lu Zheng smiled and lightly kissed her smooth cheek.
Liu Qingyan’s body immediately softened. She reached the bedside almost entirely supported by Lu Zheng.
“My husband~~~”
…
Early the next morning, after seeing Liu Qingyan off, Lu Zheng soared into the clouds toward Shaotong Mountain.
“How is Senior Brother Yuanye?”
“Thanks to Junior Brother’s concern, I am largely fine.”
Yuanye’s voice sounded. Then the side room door opened. Yuanye, already dressed neatly, stepped out.
“Senior Brother.”
Yuanye nodded. “Uncle Master, Junior Brother. Greetings to Daoist Yuting.”
Daoist Mingzhang stepped forward and checked Yuanye’s pulse again. “Not bad. All external injuries. No damage to dantian or sea of consciousness. Rest quietly for a month, and you should recover fully.”
Yuanye said, “Then I can ask Uncle Master to take me back to the mountain.”
Daoist Mingzhang nodded, falling silent.
Yuanye looked around. His heart sank. He hesitated before asking, “Could it be…”
Lu Zheng spoke for him, recounting the previous night’s events.
Yuanye’s gaze hardened. His mood darkened. “Then it seems I caused her death.”
Daoist Yuting consoled him. “How is this your fault? Without you, the woman would have lived only a couple more days at most. The ghost is the one who deserves to die!”
Yuanye nodded, sighed, and said no more. In demon-slaying and evil-exorcising, things did not always go as one wished.
Daoist Mingzhang patted Yuanye’s shoulder. “Rest assured. Your uncle master has his eye on it. Lately I will watch the nearby counties closely. As soon as it shows itself again, its life is forfeit!”
Daoist Yuting rolled his eyes. “Can you beat the ghost’s main body?”
Daoist Mingzhang glanced at Lu Zheng and snorted. “This old Daoist has Baiyun Temple behind him. Unlike a lone wanderer like you, once we find it I will directly call reinforcements from the temple. I would like to see what ability it has to dare attack a Baiyun Temple disciple!”
Daoist Yuting, “…”
Lu Zheng was also speechless. Master, why glance at me before saying that?
…
After staying another half day on Shaotong Mountain, Lu Zheng took his leave. He composed himself, then crossed over to the modern world.
…
“Are you off work? Shall I come pick you up?” Lu Zheng called Lin Wan.
“What? Working overtime?”
Lu Zheng asked blankly, “Did you not say you have been very free lately?”
Over the phone, Lin Wan’s laughter carried a hint of mischief. “I am free. But I thought staying idle all the time is not good, so when I have nothing to do I work overtime a bit, checking some things.”
Lu Zheng instinctively asked, “Checking what?”
“Confidential!” Lin Wan laughed. “I will tell you when I find it.
But since you are back, I will finish up now. When will you arrive? Shall I wait for you in the car park, or you wait for me at the entrance to my workplace?”
“I am at the community gate now, about to ride a bike over.” Lu Zheng wore Bluetooth earphones. While talking, he unlocked a shared bicycle. “Probably half an hour.”
Lin Wan laughed. “Can you not just ‘whoosh’ and fly over?”
“Sky eyes are everywhere. One careless moment and I get exposed in minutes.” Lu Zheng looked up and saw a cute black camera on the side above a shop entrance.
“Nowadays, technology is really unfriendly to the extraordinary.”
Lin Wan’s laughter came through the phone. “That is unfriendly to Spider-Man. Iron Man would not care.”
Lu Zheng shrugged, mounted the bike, and pedalled hard. The shared bicycle shot forward with a “whoosh”.
…
Seven in the evening, Zha Jiang Mian noodle shop.
This noodle shop not only served Beidu’s signature zha jiang noodles but also Shandong’s signature jianbing.
Lu Zheng and Lin Wan each rolled a speciality jianbing, filled with egg, sweet bean sauce, spring onions, meat, and various other toppings.
Just no big spring onions.
“So… what exactly are you checking?”
As soon as Lu Zheng spoke, his phone rang.
He answered casually. From the other end came an awkwardly pronounced Chinese sentence. “Lu! We came to China to visit you. We are in Haicheng.”
