“Whoosh!”
“Back!”
Pushing the door open and stepping out, Lu Zheng gazed at the dense persimmon trees in the backyard, drew a deep lungful of fresh air, and basked in the warm summer sun.
“Perfect!”
He had returned from the Dragon Palace, spent some days at home, then some time at Wansong Mountain. The Zhilan Saintess had later guided Du Yueyao for over a month, and after that he had gone to Weizhou. Several months had passed, and the weather had long since turned to summer.
Lu Zheng reached out with his senses and detected Liu Qingyan and Du Yueyao at Benevolent Heart Hall. He greeted Uncle Li, strolled out leisurely, and soon arrived at the medical shop.
“Lu-lang is back?”
It was summer, so there were few patients. Benevolent Heart Hall was empty of sick people at the moment. Liu Qingyan was discussing medicine with Du Yueyao, while Old Liu reclined in a deckchair nearby, fanning himself and occasionally chiming in.
It had to be said that Du Yueyao’s medical skill had improved beyond recognition. She could now hold proper discussions with Liu Qingyan, and with the added benefit of her Pure Lady Blessing Divine Method, founding her own school or becoming a grandmaster might be overstating it, but she already surpassed seventy or eighty percent of ordinary famous physicians.
Yet Du Yueyao showed no sign whatsoever of wanting to leave Benevolent Heart Hall.
The two women came forward together to welcome Lu Zheng inside, pouring him tea.
“Thank you.” Lu Zheng expressed his thanks, then looked at them. “No patients at the hall, and you’re both just sitting here?”
Du Yueyao smiled. “We’ve arranged to go hot-spring bathing this afternoon with Sister Shen.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yes. Since Lu-lang is here at just the right time, let’s all go together.” Liu Qingyan’s eyes curved into happy crescents. It had been a long while since she had bathed in the springs with Lu Zheng.
“Fine.” Lu Zheng nodded.
“By the way,” Liu Qingyan asked, “do you still have any spare swimsuits?”
“Yes, why?”
“Give a few to Palace Lord Si. Before, we planned for her to borrow Sister Shen’s temporarily, but since Lu-lang is back, better to give her some new ones.” Liu Qingyan explained.
“Oh, right. No problem.” Lu Zheng nodded and agreed.
Hundred Springs Valley was one of their regular outings. Lu Zheng had previously handed out swimsuits generously. Du Yueyao, Wang Xiaowan, even the girls from Five Beauties Manor all had them, and there were still spares in his gourd, so swimsuits were no issue.
“It really is convenient to have a storage artefact. Things unused for years can still be taken out anytime,” Lu Zheng thought.
“Shall we go to Peach Blossom Plain for lunch?”
Liu Qingyan nodded. “Xiaowan and Xiaoqian are coming too.”
Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow. “A grand gathering. Are the ladies from Five Beauties Manor going?”
Liu Qingyan could not help laughing. “They and Sister Bi go to Hundred Springs Valley to bathe whenever they have nothing else to do. We didn’t specially invite them this time.”
“Fair enough.” Lu Zheng nodded.
Compared to Liu Qingyan, the girls from Five Beauties Manor and Bi Xinyu really were idle temptresses with nothing to do all day.
Actually, Shen Ying had been the same before. Well, she probably still was.
As they chatted, Wang Xiaowan and Yi Xiaoqian arrived together.
“Senior Brother!”
“Young Master Lu!”
“Ning-xiong didn’t come?” Lu Zheng asked with a smile.
Yi Xiaoqian laughed. “Ning-lang went to the county office early this morning. He’s not as carefree as Young Master Lu.”
“Tell him when you get back that he should enjoy life more. Official duties are never-ending.” As an idler himself, Lu Zheng began offering advice to a hardworking civil servant.
Yi Xiaoqian could not hold back her laughter and nodded repeatedly. “All right, I’ll tell him as soon as I get home!”
The other women all laughed. Liu Qingyan tried to stifle her amusement and said, “Lu-lang, Ning-gongzi has a bright future ahead. Don’t tease him.”
Lu Zheng rolled his eyes. “Tease? This is heartfelt advice.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Du Yueyao mimicked his tone. “You’re always right!”
Lu Zheng: “…”
Fine. He could never match that kind of dedication.
“Shall we set off now?” Lu Zheng glanced at the sky. It was mid-morning, around ten o’clock.
“Nothing else to do, so let’s go.” Liu Qingyan made the decision.
They bid farewell to Old Liu, then gathered around Lu Zheng and left Benevolent Heart Hall together, heading towards the south gate of the county town.
Once outside the gate, they cast an illusion spell and sped along. They soon reached the vicinity of Peach Blossom Plain.
“So many people!” Yi Xiaoqian exclaimed.
The sky was clear for miles, with leisurely white clouds drifting.
It was high summer, and flowers were in full bloom.
Peach blossoms covered the hills and fields of Peach Blossom Plain, a sea of pink stretching across the mountains.
Visitors thronged the paths, shoulder to shoulder.
Especially around Peach Blossom Temple behind the plain, where incense smoke curled upwards, almost forming a canopy of auspicious incense clouds above.
Such a sight was usually seen only at great Buddhist monasteries, major Daoist temples, or the finest city god temples in top prefectures.
“No wonder Sister Shen’s cultivation has shot ahead unrivalled. With incense clouds like these, any ordinary demon or ghost that came would be serving itself up on a plate!” Wang Xiaowan looked up, awestruck.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
Everyone looked up to see a troop of monkeys darting through the peach trees. Two little ones playfully chased each other to a nearby tree and chattered at the group.
“These little monkeys aren’t shy at all,” Wang Xiaowan remarked curiously.
Lu Zheng patted his gourd, took out two apples, and tossed one to each monkey. “Because they have their own backer.”
The two little monkeys reacted swiftly, snatching the apples mid-air.
“Crunch! Crunch!”
The sweet, crisp Red Fuji apples made their eyes light up. Hugging their prizes, they scampered off in a flash.
Moments later, a slim, small figure shot towards them.
“Young Master Lu! Miss Liu!”
Short in stature, carrying an alloy staff as tall as his eyebrows, yet light as a swallow, floating like willow catkins.
It was Hou Ping.
After greeting Du Yueyao and the others, Hou Ping could not help asking, “Young Master, what brings you to Peach Blossom Temple today?”
“We just followed the crowds and ended up here. Go about your business. Don’t mind us,” Lu Zheng said.
“Got it, got it.” Hou Ping nodded repeatedly.
The group turned and saw two figures emerge from behind a nearby peach tree: Shen Ying and Si Lingxi.
“Lu-lang is back!” Shen Ying approached with a beaming smile.
“Yes, I’m back.” Lu Zheng nodded.
Si Lingxi stood to one side, looking at Lu Zheng thoughtfully.
“The Palace Lord and I were out enjoying the scenery,” Shen Ying explained. “We hadn’t visited my Peach Blossom Temple before, so we came to take a look.”
After sending Hou Ping on his way, the group walked together towards Peach Blossom Temple.
All of them had cultivation, so they casually cast illusion spells. They did not interfere with each other, but ordinary people would subconsciously overlook them.
Peach Blossom Temple had flourished greatly in recent years. The county allocated funds annually for repairs and even expansions. Though still called Peach Blossom Temple, it was now quite a large complex. Besides the statue of the Peach Blossom Immortal in the main hall, the side halls now enshrined the Eighteen Peach Blossom Heavenly Maidens.
And beneath the Peach Blossom Immortal’s seat in the main hall, there was now an additional flower-holding attendant maiden.
