“Saintess, please rise!” Du Yueyao hurried forward to help Saintess Zhilan up.
Saintess Zhilan remained bowed for three full breaths before straightening. “That Miss Du has been favoured by the Ancestor is a blessing for our sect. From now on, let us grow closer. Between saintesses, unless there is a master-disciple bond, we do not stand on seniority. You may call me Elder Sister.”
Du Yueyao pressed her lips together in a smile, nodded, and said softly, “Elder Sister!”
“Yes!”
Saintess Zhilan’s eyes shone like stars. Though inwardly impatient, she knew this was not the moment to rush. She turned to Lu Zheng and the others with a restrained smile. “Zhilan lost her composure for a moment. I hope you will forgive me.”
Lu Zheng laughed. “A perfectly natural reaction. It is midday now. Shall we eat first?”
Saintess Zhilan gave a slight curtsey. “Then I shall impose upon your hospitality.”
…
Aunt Liu had seen the guests and prepared extra dishes long ago. The meal could be served at any time.
After the meal, Du Yueyao led the clearly eager Saintess Zhilan and Fan Boyu back to her own house across the lane.
Leaving aside Saintess Zhilan’s shock and delight at the perfected Pure Maiden Blessing Divine Method, Lu Zheng and the others chatted idly.
Liu Qingyan said worriedly, “Saintess Zhilan will not try to take Yueyao back to the southern borders, will she?”
Shen Ying’s lips curved. “She would not dare.”
Lu Zheng smiled and shook his head. “If she truly has the Yuan Sheng Sect’s interests at heart, a few conversations with Yueyao will dispel any such notion.”
After all, Lu Zheng had cultivated countless methods from various sects and schools, and he often guided Du Yueyao in her practice. The pills Liu Qingyan refined with spiritual herbs had never been withheld from the girl who was both sister and disciple to them.
As a result, in just one year Du Yueyao had solidified her foundation, fully consolidating the cultivation she had outwardly gained from Saintess Xueyi. At the same time she had awakened her potential. Not only did her own cultivation speed increase, but the power left by Saintess Xueyi was also stirred, causing her progress to surge once more.
Staying in Tonglin County allowed Du Yueyao to see her parents regularly. Emotionally, in terms of safety, and for cultivation, all three were perfectly balanced. There was no reason for her to go to the southern borders, a place rife with danger and intrigue, and torment herself there.
The only drawback, perhaps, was that she felt little sense of belonging to the Yuan Sheng Sect.
But that could be remedied later, bound by mutual benefit and gradually cultivated affection.
If Saintess Zhilan was unwilling to offer such benefits and instead wanted to take Du Yueyao away to foster belonging through emotion…
Lu Zheng gave a soft humph. “Then she will have to experience my methods and see whether she has the ability.”
Shen Ying turned to ask, “How deep is this Saintess Zhilan’s cultivation?”
Lu Zheng recalled their brief exchange earlier and admitted, “Her dao is profound. She is considerably stronger than I am. Winning a real fight would not be easy.”
“But…” Lu Zheng smiled. “There are all of you, are there not?”
Yue Honghai immediately thumped his chest in loyalty. “Old Yue will stand at the front!”
“Enough, enough! We are all family here. She is at least Yueyao’s fellow sect member, and she has done nothing yet. How have we already started talking about dealing with her?” Liu Qingyan said helplessly.
Shen Ying rolled her eyes charmingly and reached out to tickle Liu Qingyan. “It was you who worried Yueyao might be taken away. We are only reassuring you, yet you turn around and accuse us?”
Liu Qingyan quickly begged for mercy. “I was wrong, I was wrong! I will not do it again!”
As the two women played, Yue Honghai tactfully slipped away.
After the Double Jiao Island affair, he had developed excellent perception.
Once the women had laughed enough, Lu Zheng went to the kitchen himself to prepare dinner, a welcome meal for Fan Boyu and Saintess Zhilan.
After all, when Fan Boyu had lived here years ago, he had helped a great deal. Their relationship was good.
Saintess Zhilan had come in person, bringing pills and ready to guide Du Yueyao. Her intentions were kind.
Lu Zheng’s side could naturally not fall short on courtesy.
“I will prepare dinner. Qingyan, invite Father, Mother, and Qingquan to join us.”
“Very well,” Liu Qingyan agreed.
…
After dinner, Shen Ying did not return to Peach Blossom Flat. Instead, she followed Liu Qingyan and Lu Zheng back to the master bedroom.
The three did not sleep. They squeezed together on the bed, heads close, watching the Cloud Palace Treasure Mirror in Lu Zheng’s hand.
Saintess Zhilan had spoken confidently, but Lu Zheng did not relax his vigilance.
As Lu Zheng formed hand seals, the mirror surface displayed an overhead view of Tonglin County.
Night had fallen, and all was quiet. It was the perfect time for Lu Zheng to investigate.
He directed the view, first sweeping through the major inns in Tonglin County. As expected, he found nothing.
Then he began a thorough search of the surrounding dozens of li.
As great experts, if they had not entered Tonglin County itself, they would hardly bother concealing their presence in the wilderness.
So…
Lu Zheng circled several times and found no obvious targets.
“Could it be that the new sect branch of the Yuan Sheng Sect truly has not discovered Saintess Zhilan and Fan Boyu?” Lu Zheng stroked his chin, rather doubtful.
“She is, after all, a saintess of the original lineage, with profound cultivation. Surely she would not be followed on a quiet trip to the Central Plains!” Liu Qingyan said. “If that were the case, the original lineage would long ago have been swallowed by the new sect.”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Very well. Perhaps I am overthinking it. That would be best.”
With that, he put away the Cloud Palace Treasure Mirror and turned solemnly to Shen Ying. “I seem to recall that earlier today, Qingyan turned the tables on us?”
Liu Qingyan’s expression changed. She tried to leap away, but Shen Ying caught her around the waist. Then Shen Ying pulled up the quilt and, laughing, covered all three of them.
…
Early the next morning.
After breakfast, Lu Zheng and the two women stepped out. They saw Saintess Zhilan looking bewildered as Du Yueyao bounced over to the Lu family gate, joining Liu Qingyan to go together to Benevolent Heart Hall for consultations.
“Sister Yueyao still sees patients every day, treating ordinary folk?” Saintess Zhilan asked incredulously.
Fan Boyu nodded. “Yes.”
“A waste of time!” Saintess Zhilan could not help scolding. “Now that my sister has entered the method, her future path is wide open. This is precisely the time for rapid progress, yet she spends whole days seeing ordinary patients?”
Fan Boyu said with some effort, “Yueyao is kind-hearted. Seeing patients daily also accumulates merit.”
“What use is that small amount of merit?” Saintess Zhilan frowned deeply. “Great love knows no bounds. Protecting a region with good weather and bountiful harvests is far more valuable than treating colds and fevers. Even if one wishes to save lives, one should save only those certain to die. To waste herself daily on these trivial matters, does she still intend to cultivate?”
“Yet Yueyao’s progress is faster than that of any other disciple in your Yuan Sheng Sect,” Lu Zheng said, stepping out from the gate.
Saintess Zhilan replied, “That is because my sister inherited Saintess Xueyi’s entire cultivation.”
“Yueyao’s state of mind is better than that of any other disciple in your Yuan Sheng Sect,” Lu Zheng said.
This point Saintess Zhilan did not dispute. “I know seeing patients also refines the heart, but is the time spent not too much?”
Lu Zheng shook his head. He had no intention of forcibly changing Saintess Zhilan’s views. He merely said calmly, “Each person has their own karmic path. Yueyao received the Pure Maiden’s transmission. Her cultivation advances rapidly, and her state of mind grows steadily. Why demand that she alter her daily conduct?”
In modern terms, this would mean: successful people need not change. They should simply continue following the practices that brought them success.
“This…”
Saintess Zhilan was left speechless.
