With Si Lingxi’s announcement of “I win”, the group suddenly heard Li Hanyu’s voice calling from outside. “Is Brother Lu at home?”
“Hey?” Shen Ying was startled and looked at Lu Zheng. “It is Sister Li!”
“Oh no!” As soon as Lu Zheng heard Li Hanyu’s voice, he knew trouble had come. “Today is the county examination!”
“The county examination? Today?” Shen Ying exclaimed softly. “Has Brother Zhu got into trouble again?”
“I do not know, but…”
Lu Zheng nodded helplessly. Shen Ying quickly sent a voice transmission outward. “Lu Lang is home. Sister Li, please come in quickly!”
In just two breaths, Tao Qing led Li Hanyu into Peach Blossom Manor.
Li Hanyu spoke urgently to Lu Zheng. “Brother Lu, Zhu Lang has suddenly gone missing!”
“Missing again?”
Li Hanyu nodded hurriedly. “Yesterday he went to a gathering of old classmates in Yizhou Prefecture. They wanted one last discussion of the classics. Since they were all scholars, I did not accompany him. I did not expect him not to return even by nightfall. I went to look for him and discovered he had vanished along with another candidate. I searched all night without finding any trace. Only then did I think of Brother Lu’s treasure mirror, so I hurried here.”
Shen Ying frowned in reproach. “Sister, why did you wait until now? The examination must be about to start.”
“I did not want to trouble Brother Lu at first, but I truly could not find him.” Li Hanyu looked embarrassed, then added quickly, “There is still half a shichen before the examination begins.”
Shen Ying asked, “What about He Dingshan?”
Li Hanyu looked even more embarrassed. “The two of us are staying in Yizhou, so we did not bring him.”
Lu Zheng understood. A world for just the two of them naturally could not include a third wheel. He continued, “There is no time to delay. Give me something belonging to Brother Zhu!”
Li Hanyu immediately took a writing brush from her pocket. “This is the brush Zhu Lang uses every day.”
Lu Zheng nodded, took the brush, patted his gourd, and drew out the Cloud Palace Treasure Mirror. He formed a seal with his fingers, drew Zhu Yushan’s aura from the brush, and infused it into the mirror.
The next moment, thin clouds of mist appeared on the mirror’s surface, gradually clearing to reveal Zhu Yushan.
In the mirror, Zhu Yushan and another scholar stood in a small courtyard. Each had a desk before them, equipped with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Both were bent over their desks, writing furiously.
The other scholar looked bitter, as though he had been crying, while Zhu Yushan appeared helpless but kept writing without pause.
Everyone stared in confusion. “What is going on?”
Lu Zheng quickly adjusted the mirror, pulling the view farther back. Not far from the two men, in a shady corner of the courtyard, a woman sat on a small stool, gently fanning herself with a round fan. She watched them with evident interest, a playful smile on her lips.
“As expected, someone is causing trouble!” A fierce glint flashed in Li Hanyu’s eyes. She turned to Lu Zheng. “Where are they?”
Lu Zheng decisively pulled the view even farther. The courtyard shrank in the mirror and settled into an abandoned manor not far outside Yizhou Prefecture city.
“An abandoned manor northwest of Yizhou city,” Lu Zheng said.
“Thank you, Brother Lu. Once I rescue Zhu Lang, I will return to express my proper thanks.” Li Hanyu spoke quickly, then hurried outward.
“I will go with Sister,” Shen Ying said. “Brother Zhu’s cultivation is not weak. That woman is probably no weakling either.”
Li Hanyu quickly cupped her hands. “Thank you, little sister.”
“Let us go together.” Lu Zheng put away the treasure mirror and looked at Si Lingxi. “Will the Palace Lord come?”
Si Lingxi shook her head. “I will not go. You three hurry there and hurry back.”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Let us go!”
With a wave of his hand, a mass of white cloud gathered, lifting Shen Ying and Li Hanyu into the air. They rode the cloud straight toward Yizhou Prefecture.
…
Moments later, the courtyard came into view.
From high in the sky, the three could clearly see the two men still writing furiously in the courtyard. The place had been sealed by a technique that blocked auras and spiritual fluctuations. Ordinary searching methods would be ineffective, which explained why Li Hanyu had failed to find them.
Lu Zheng waved his hand. A white cloud formed and broke through the courtyard’s barrier.
“Hm?”
The woman sensed the spell being broken and looked up sharply. She saw a white cloud descending directly into the courtyard. When the cloud dispersed, it revealed one man and two women.
“Husband!” Li Hanyu’s eyes flashed. She immediately noticed that Zhu Yushan’s mana had been sealed.
“Hanyu?” Zhu Yushan looked up, smiled in pleasant surprise, then grew embarrassed when he saw Lu Zheng and Shen Ying. “Brother Lu, Madam Shen.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. Her already crescent-shaped eyes became mere slits, yet two cold glints flashed within them. “You are this scholar’s family and friends?”
“Exactly!” Li Hanyu’s gaze sharpened. “What demon woman are you, daring to run amok in Yizhou Prefecture? Release my husband at once!”
“I am running amok?” The woman laughed in anger, nodding repeatedly. “Very well, very well. Truly a married couple, carved from the same mould. Fine, this young lady is running amok. What do you intend to do about it?”
Li Hanyu wasted no words. Her right hand flipped, producing a cyan jade vial. Her left hand formed a seal, and countless streams of river water surged from the vial, pouring down toward the woman.
“A mere little fish demon dares to be impudent?” The woman sneered contemptuously. Her eyes flashed, and an invisible ripple shot from them, instantly penetrating Li Hanyu’s divine soul.
Li Hanyu felt her mind go blank and faltered.
The woman’s cultivation was very high. Though not equal to Shen Ying’s, it was at least on par with Liu Qingyan’s. Li Hanyu was no match. The river water she had just released lost its foundation and became ordinary water.
“Awaken!” Shen Ying gave a soft shout, her divine soul resonating to rouse Li Hanyu. At the same time, Lu Zheng reached out. A great white cloud hand formed in the air and seized toward the woman, attempting to restrain her.
Only then did Zhu Yushan, whose cultivation had been sealed, react. He hurriedly called out, “Brother Lu, show mercy! It is a misunderstanding!”
By now the great white cloud hand was almost upon the woman. Her eyes contracted. Knowing she was outmatched, she retreated swiftly and turned to leap over the wall and flee.
Lu Zheng nodded. Li Hanyu had been too anxious to think clearly, but after hearing the woman’s words and seeing that Zhu Yushan was unharmed, he had held back. The great cloud hand carried no killing intent.
Yet watching the woman’s lithe, fox-like movements, a thought struck him. He looked more closely at her features and immediately asked, “Might the young lady’s surname be Tu?”
“Hm?” The woman, halfway over the wall, paused and turned back. “How did you know?”
Lu Zheng instantly dispersed the great cloud hand. Shen Ying could not help pressing a hand to her forehead. “Are you Miss Tu Yujiao?”
“How do you all know me?” Tu Yujiao’s eyes widened. She quickly realised. “You have met my sisters?”
Lu Zheng withdrew the great cloud hand. Shen Ying held back Li Hanyu, then turned to release the seals on Zhu Yushan. She explained to the pair, “She is Qingyan’s relative.”
Zhu Yushan and the other scholar hurried over. The scholar’s face was full of shame, and Zhu Yushan also looked rather embarrassed.
