After sending off the slightly regretful Zhao Wenrong, Lu Zheng noticed Shen Ying’s lips twitching, clearly suppressing laughter while trying to maintain her composure.
“Laugh if you want to laugh. Do not hold it in until you cramp,” Lu Zheng said irritably.
“Hee hee hee!” Shen Ying’s beautiful face lit up as she laughed openly. “I wonder if Baiyun Temple has any direct transmission of the Taiqing physiognomy arts. Why not learn them, my dear Lu? They might come in useful one day.”
Lu Zheng rolled his eyes. “Do you think, with the abilities of the Dao Ancestor, he would need arts like physiognomy or divination?”
“None at all?” Shen Ying asked curiously. “I have seen Daoist Mingzhang and Daoist Yuanjing often interpret lots for pilgrims.”
Lu Zheng was speechless. “That is a book called Interpretations of the Baiyun Lots, compiled by generations of predecessors in the temple. Do you think lots drawn by ordinary pilgrims without any mana blessing could truly be accurate?”
“Hm…” Shen Ying blinked, then nodded. “I understand. It is like how my Peach Blossom Fortune Curse is not bestowed on everyone. For most people, it is merely a comfort for the heart.”
Lu Zheng nodded. “Exactly. If someone is truly sincere, my master can naturally see it. If they face difficulties, he will lend aid.”
Just as the statue of the Peach Blossom Fairy provides feedback for the fortune curse, Daoist Mingzhang would selectively give out paper talismans for peace, warding off evil, or calming the mind, offering people some assistance.
“My dear Lu and this Zhao Wenrong could be said to have become friends through adversity,” Shen Ying said with a smile.
“What do you mean ‘friends through adversity’? It sounds as if we fought,” Lu Zheng shrugged. “If we really fought, would he fare well?”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Shen Ying giggled as she clung to Lu Zheng’s arm. They admired the peach blossoms for another half day before returning to Peach Blossom Manor and inviting the still-enthusiastic Tu Yuya down from the card table.
“Continue tomorrow!”
Tu Yuya called out excitedly to the Peach Blossom Heavenly Maidens, then tucked her bulging money pouch into her bosom.
The several heavenly maidens were left speechless.
They had not expected that, not only was her cultivation beyond them, but even in card skills practised daily, she had caught up and surpassed them in such a short time. Truly, some people could not be compared.
After dinner, Tu Yuya did not return to Tonglin County and stayed overnight at Peach Blossom Manor.
Lu Zheng blinked and transmitted to Shen Ying, “Should she not go back to teach Qingyan the techniques?”
Shen Ying transmitted back, “She says it is livelier here than at the Liu home. For teaching Qingyan, Tu Yuqing is more suitable.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
It seemed that, of the three Tu sisters, only the second, Tu Yuqing, was truly reliable.
…
Lu Zheng stayed overnight at Peach Blossom Manor, and peach blossoms bloomed profusely through the night.
…
Early the next morning, Lu Zheng returned to Tonglin County. Upon arriving home, he saw Tu Yuqing still leisurely reclining in the deckchair in the small courtyard of his study, sipping tea and reading in the dappled sunlight.
But today’s book had changed to My Few Affairs with the White Fox Fairy.
Lu Zheng blinked. Had he been hasty yesterday in thinking Tu Yuqing the only reliable one among the three sisters?
“Eldest sister is still at Peach Blossom Manor?” Tu Yuqing asked upon seeing him return.
Lu Zheng nodded. “When I left this morning, she was playing tennis with the Peach Blossom Heavenly Maidens.”
Suppressing cultivation to play tennis and volleyball was a longstanding pastime for the heavenly maidens. He had not expected Tu Yuya to take an interest.
At this thought, glancing again at Tu Yuqing holding her book, Lu Zheng suddenly understood.
All three Tu sisters loved entertainment. They simply enjoyed different things and pursued amusement in different ways.
Tu Yuqing gave a faint sigh. “Eldest sister is never home, and little sister only knows how to play. Managing them is truly difficult…”
By comparison, Tu Yuqing, who merely liked reading novels, was indeed the least troublesome.
At this thought, Tu Yuqing looked at Lu Zheng, her eyes shining. “Young Master Lu, sit. I have read your Liang Zhu, The Ghostly Beauty, and Song of Everlasting Regret. All are rare masterpieces. You must have other stories, yes? When will you write more?”
Lu Zheng: Õ_Õ
Very well. Perhaps she was not so trouble-free after all…
“I will think about it… I will think about it…”
Under Tu Yuqing’s slightly dissatisfied gaze, Lu Zheng brushed it off vaguely, then fled out the door to Renxin Hall.
After greeting Old Liu and Du Yueyao, Lu Zheng sat beside Liu Qingyan.
“My dear Lu!” Liu Qingyan looked at him, her eyes brimming with tender affection.
Seeing only one patient consulting with Du Yueyao, Lu Zheng gently embraced Liu Qingyan.
Du Yueyao, facing them, winked with a smile, while Liu Qingyan’s fair face flushed crimson, her charm captivating.
This was what made Liu Qingyan especially endearing. She blushed easily, and when she did, she was particularly enchanting.
“Tonight, I would like to see your tail,” Lu Zheng transmitted softly.
Liu Qingyan’s eyes widened, her small face turning even redder in an instant.
Seeing she could barely suppress the Red Pill Dark Fragrance within her, Lu Zheng hurriedly changed the subject. “How has cultivation of the Tushan Scripture been going these days?”
Liu Qingyan caught her breath, gave Lu Zheng a coquettish glance, and said softly, “Sister Yuya first transmitted the general outline to me. Afterwards, Sister Yuqing has explained it personally every day, thoroughly and meticulously. Qingquan and I are progressing well, but Father encounters obstacles at every step.”
Liu Qingyan glanced worriedly at Old Liu. He was advanced in years, after all. His progress had been slow with both the Heavenly Demon Nine Transformations Blood Refining Method and the Moon Reflection Scripture. Even switching to the more suitable Tushan Scripture, it remained the same.
Yet Liu Qingyan knew there was no helping it. Even among the white fox clan, where everyone cultivated the Tushan Scripture, few foxes reached profoundly high realms.
“No matter. When our cultivation is higher in the future, how could we fear Uncle Liu lacking longevity?” Lu Zheng consoled her.
Just like his and Lin Wan’s parents in the modern world. They themselves would surely achieve nothing notable through cultivation.
Better to wait until his own cultivation advanced, then bestow a blessing spell or refine an immortal pill for them to consume. One step, complete.
If Shazam could do it, there was no reason Lu Zheng could not, right?
Liu Qingyan nodded at this. It could only be so. As the saying went, do one’s best and leave the rest to heaven. Even heaven’s favoured few rarely achieved immortality. Birth, ageing, sickness, and death were the common lot. Not everyone could be an immortal, after all.
Liu Qingyan leaned softly against Lu Zheng. “If I can spend a thousand years with my dear Lu, Qingyan would have no regrets in this life.”
“A thousand years? How is that enough? At least ten thousand to start,” Lu Zheng said. “Then we can visit other worlds.”
Liu Qingyan smiled, lips pursed. “My dear Lu loves to jest. Ten thousand years, unless we both ascend to the upper realms and keep company with immortals.”
Lu Zheng blinked. “That is exactly what we must do!”
“Very well, very well!” Liu Qingyan laughed, going along with him. “It just so happens that Qingyan would like to meet the ancestor who transmitted the Tushan fox lineage in the upper realms.”
