Chapter 39

Star Dejun watched Liu Xiaolou’s smile and felt a faint unease, quickly warning: “If you’re to lure them, do it properly—no crude methods!”

Liu Xiaolou patted his chest: “Master, rest assured—I won’t be too rough. I’ll get them here quietly, so even this lady won’t know how she got here, hehe...”

Star Dejun swiftly stopped him: “No need for your tricks. Just send word plainly.”

Liu Xiaolou suddenly understood: “Ah... so they’re mutually in love... then why not go to her door?”

Star Dejun sighed: “She’s a lady of a prominent family—strict clan rules.”

After a brief explanation, Liu Xiaolou finally grasped it: all this time, Star Dejun had come to meet his secret lover.

This Lady Zhou Qi was the biological granddaughter of the Zhou clan patriarch. Though over thirty, she remained unmarried, her heart entirely bound to Star Dejun. But Star Dejun was a rootless cultivator with no outstanding cultivation base—utterly unsuitable as a match for the powerful Zhou clan. In plain terms, they were mismatched in status.

Both lovers knew the difficulty. They had been together for years, keeping it secret. Yet no matter how hidden, exposure was inevitable—last month, while meeting in secret, they were discovered by the clan. Star Dejun was severely beaten by Zhou clan experts. Out of pity for Lady Zhou Qi’s desperate pleas, they spared his life and let him escape.

But no beating could quell longing. Before his wounds fully healed, he returned—and brought Liu Xiaolou with him.

Liu Xiaolou silently cursed inside: Star Dejun truly valued love over life. This wasn’t hard for him—he still needed Star Dejun to teach him arrays, so he agreed to deliver the message to the Zhou manor.

According to Star Dejun, Lady Zhou Qi left the manor every day like this to stroll—it was their agreed meeting day. Liu Xiaolou doubted she’d still come out after last month’s beating, but he’d go see first, then decide.

He lay in wait at a crossroad three li from the manor, hidden among tall grasses, patiently waiting. Perhaps because the manor had recently been raided by rogue cultivators, few came or went. He waited two full hours, seeing only a few servants pass by.

As dusk approached, a sedan chair finally emerged from the manor. The driver cracked his whip, urging the horses forward, while a young nobleman rode beside the carriage.

The curtain was green gauze—the real person had come!

Liu Xiaolou burst out crying out: “Auntie!”

The steed reared, the carriage halted. The young nobleman spurred forward, cracking his whip through the air—*snap!*

“Who are you? Why block the carriage?”

With the whip’s crack, a wave of qi surged toward him. Liu Xiaolou, caught off guard, nearly stumbled backward.

Star Dejun had warned Liu Xiaolou: after last month’s incident, the Zhou clan might assign a patron to watch Lady Zhou Qi closely. He must be cautious. This whip-wielder must be one of them—but he didn’t seem as powerful as Star Dejun described. He felt barely stronger than Liu Xiaolou himself!

Liu Xiaolou kept shouting: “Auntie, it’s your nephew! Come out and you’ll see!”

Hearing Liu Xiaolou’s cries of “auntie” and “nephew,” the young nobleman held back his second strike, frowning toward the carriage.

The curtain parted. Inside sat a woman in a pale yellow blouse and pleated skirt, a golden hairpin adorning her coiffure. Her figure was slender and graceful, her face delicate and ethereal—truly radiant beyond compare.

How could she be over thirty? She looked no older than a girl of twenty.

Truly a stunning beauty—no wonder Star Dejun couldn’t forget her!

Their eyes met. Liu Xiaolou, awed by her beauty, dared not stare long, only holding out a sachet: “Auntie, look!”

The sachet was a token. Once shown, Lady Zhou Qi would understand instantly and cooperate without hesitation.

Moments passed. No recognition came. Instead, a question: “Liu Xiaolou?”

Liu Xiaolou was stunned. He instinctively looked up—the woman inside stared back, eyes wide with equal shock.

That voice... so familiar. That wide-eyed expression... had he seen it before?

After a brief stare, Liu Xiaolou’s heart leapt—he suddenly remembered: wasn’t this the woman who harvested spirit fields on Eyang Mountain months ago?

Back then, she caught him red-handed, then inexplicably let him go—a Qi Refining peak expert. It had been night, in the wilds. Today, she wore different clothes, a different hairstyle—he hadn’t recognized her at first glance.

The woman asked coldly: “When did I ever have a nephew like you?”

Liu Xiaolou stood dumbfounded, mind blank.

This twist was utterly unexpected. He couldn’t fathom it. Star Dejun’s long-loved lover—how could it be her? And why would a Zhou clan heiress go to Eyang Mountain to do farmwork?

His only reaction: keep waving the sachet—left, right, front, back...

“What are you doing with that sachet?” the woman asked again.

Doesn’t she recognize it?

Liu Xiaolou glanced at the curtain—yes, green gauze.

Had Star Dejun tricked him? That couldn’t be.

“How do you know I’m here?” the woman asked again.

Liu Xiaolou’s mind raced, still grasping for answers—when the whip-wielder struck.

The whip coiled like a spirit snake, striking his Zhongwan point. Liu Xiaolou flicked his wrist, dodging easily. The young nobleman snarled: “You dare dodge?”

The second lash came. He dodged again—then his meridians were sealed by a powerful true qi, leaving him motionless.

It was the woman who sealed his meridians.

The nobleman raised his whip for a third strike, but the woman stopped him, whispering: “Take him back.”

The nobleman’s furious lash was effortlessly halted. His face flushed. He stammered: “Jiuniang, not going out anymore?”

The woman shook her head: “This man is strange. I must take him back and question him. Thank you, Second Young Master.”

Liu Xiaolou finally understood—he’d mistaken her. This wasn’t Lady Zhou Qi. This was Jiuniang.

Wasn’t it said only Lady Zhou Qi’s carriage had green gauze curtains? Star Dejun—I’m not done with you!

The nobleman hoisted Liu Xiaolou onto his saddle. The carriage turned and headed back toward the manor.

They entered through a side gate. The carriage stopped outside a moon gate. Jiuniang stepped out and walked, the nobleman dragging Liu Xiaolou behind. They passed corridors, gardens, and pavilions, entering a quiet courtyard.

In the courtyard stood a fish pond, with clusters of emerald bamboo lining the walls—serene and tranquil.

The nobleman set Liu Xiaolou down in a bamboo pavilion by the pond. He glanced at Jiuniang. She said: “Thank you, Second Young Master. I’d like to question him alone.”

The nobleman warned: “These unknown types are cunning. Jiuniang, be careful. Their manor was raided last month by a gang of thieves...”

Jiuniang sneered: “I know this one. With his three tricks and two moves, could he have pulled off such a raid? Let him train for thirty years first!”

The nobleman nodded, said no more, and withdrew from the courtyard, leaving Jiuniang standing silently in the pavilion.