Chapter 119: Lady Ye

That night, Lu Xingzhou experienced a rare moment of genuine infatuation.

The little demon girl was too skilled at seduction and so uninhibited. After her bath, her fragrance was fresh, her charm technique overwhelming; her misty eyes seemed ready to drip with water, accompanied by a soul-stealing voice that could make even immortals drunk.

Unknowingly, they moved from the table to the bed, and by the time Lu Xingzhou regained a slight clarity of mind, the enemy army was already at the city gates.

Panting, he stopped, meeting Pei Chuyun's hazy eyes.

The air seemed to freeze for a few breaths; Lu Xingzhou pressed his lips, seeing mockery and disappointment in the little demon girl's eyes.

What was she disappointed about?

Disappointed that she ultimately failed to seduce him, and the prepared Maiden's Profound Art remained unused?

Or was she disappointed... that she hadn't intended to use the technique at all, yet the man dared not trust her?

He didn't know, and dared not guess.

Pei Chuyun wouldn't say either.

The misty spring water in her eyes finally receded, but she only smiled weakly: "Hold me while I sleep."

Lu Xingzhou said nothing, lying down quietly to embrace her. Pei Chuyun leaned against his shoulder, her legs and feet shamelessly wrapping around him; she smacked her small lips twice and closed her eyes, sinking into deep sleep.

Lu Xingzhou, however, was completely unable to sleep, so he could only calm his mind and practice his art to pass the time.

He felt that since getting involved with this little demon girl, life had become much harder to endure than before... Shen Tang would help solve problems, but the little demon girl wouldn't even care if you were killed and buried; afterwards, she would still cling to you.

If this continued, he would surely be driven to madness... He must think of a plan...

Early the next morning, Lu Xingzhou carried Meng Guan's letter to visit Meng Guan's elder brother, Meng Li, the instructor at the Alchemy Academy.

Instructors were established in both the Imperial Academy and the Alchemy Academy; if in a commandery or county, an instructor was often the top leader, while in the Imperial Academy of the capital, they were roughly equivalent to a director of education, responsible for educational work. The position within the Alchemy Academy was somewhat like a political commissar; they were not responsible for professional alchemy teaching, but rather for controlling the students' ideological education and medical ethics, teaching loyalty to the monarch and love for the country, refining medicine for the people, and the benevolence of physicians, and so on...

Ranked below the Dean, they were the second-in-command. Given the current high regard for alchemy in Great Qian, both the Dean and the Instructor held extremely high ranks and were figures of great importance.

The little maid, Pei Chuyun, was throwing a tantrum today and refusing to accompany him. Lu Xingzhou knew what kind of tantrum she was throwing and didn't have the heart to call her; instead, A'nuo pushed the wheelchair to Meng Li's home.

Because of his younger brother's connection, Meng Li was very friendly toward Lu Xingzhou: "I know about your situation. You are at odds with the Huo family; I heard you were disturbed by Huo Jin during dinner yesterday?"

"Yes. I am not overly worried about other matters, but I fear the Huo family might set traps or rig things during the Alchemy Academy assessment. I hope Instructor Meng will offer some support."

Meng Li stroked his beard and smiled: "Actually, this time, it will be difficult for the Huo family to do anything... because Your Majesty mentioned a few days ago that He would personally attend the observation. Who dares to cause trouble under Your Majesty's very eyes?"

Lu Xingzhou was not surprised; in recent years, the Emperor had personally observed this assessment quite frequently. He didn't think the Emperor would specifically come to see him; after all, in his heart, the Emperor was not particularly attentive to Shen Tang, and a mere guest advisor around Shen Tang was hardly worth a special look.

"The worry about rigging can basically be put aside, but the Emperor's personal attendance will also mean the assessment will be even stricter; even the exam questions might be written by the Emperor Himself. Without true talent, the scene might become very embarrassing." Meng Li glanced at Lu Xingzhou: "I wonder what your actual level is; let me give you a test paper to try your medical theory?"

Lu Xingzhou clasped his hands in a bow: "Instructor Meng, please feel free to set the questions."

Meng Li then took out a ready-made test paper and handed it to Lu Xingzhou, who immediately took up a brush to answer.

Seeing the way Lu Xingzhou thought and answered, Meng Li was quite surprised.

This was not some entrance assessment paper; this was the "final exam paper" for the Alchemy Academy for this academic year, used to verify the learning achievements of alchemists who had studied for a year after enrollment. It involved a large amount of knowledge regarding third-grade and above alchemy cultivation; for entrance candidates, guessing two or three questions correctly would be remarkable, and submitting a blank paper was considered normal.

Yet, although Lu Xingzhou answered quite slowly and needed to think frequently, he actually answered nearly half... and every single one he put down on paper was correct.

Little did Lu Xingzhou know that he was also sweating profusely while answering; damn, this was too difficult! Was the entrance medical theory exam like this?

He had the Mahayana Notes and the inheritance from the Incense Burning Pavilion, far exceeding the knowledge quantity a normal fifth or sixth-grade alchemist should possess, yet he still hadn't encountered half the knowledge... He originally thought it was like taking the entrance exam for Tsinghua or Peking University, but looking at it now, it seemed like taking the doctoral entrance exam for Tsinghua or Peking University!

Just as he was deep in thought trying to answer, a servant came in to announce: "Lady Ye is visiting."

Meng Li's expression became solemn, showing a hint of nervousness: "Invite her in."

A woman wearing a light veil walked slowly into the room; seeing someone bent over a desk answering questions, she used telepathy to ask: "Instructor Meng, this is..."

Meng Li bowed slightly: "Lu Xingzhou is a student taking this year's Alchemy Academy assessment; I am first checking his knowledge."

Lady Ye seemed stunned for a moment: "He is Lu Xingzhou?"

Speaking thus, she subconsciously moved a few steps closer to Lu Xingzhou, looking down at his answers.

After only a moment of looking, her beautiful eyes grew even more surprised: "This... some medical theories are things the Incense Burning Pavilion can know, so it's not strange that he knows them, but some..."

Meng Li spoke in a low voice: "Lady, you must have noticed too; some of his angles of solution are very profound... although it is third-grade knowledge, the train of thought seems like that of a first-grade..."

"First grade?" Lady Ye smiled: "That is because you only know first grade."

Meng Li was horrified.

Both of them were using only telepathy, so Lu Xingzhou and his master could not hear. A'nuo kept her round, big eyes wide open, studying Lady Ye; she felt this sister must be very beautiful, for just those beautiful eyes were as lovely as the starry sky.

Unfortunately, this sister's light veil also seemed to be a treasure, impossible to see through.

So she tried to cast a divination.

She could calculate nothing, and almost suffered a backlash. A'nuo was startled and dared not calculate again.

Lady Ye naturally discovered that this little brat was calculating her; she squatted down with a smile and pinched A'nuo's cheek: "You are calculating me?"

A'nuo smiled apologetically: "Sister, you are so amazing; I was wrong..."

Lady Ye asked with interest: "Where did you learn your divination art?"

"Um, I learned it from a wandering old Daoist Priest..."

Lady Ye's eyes held a smile; no wonder it was Yuan Muyu's divination method; this lying, dead-spirit nature right from the start was also inherited from the same lineage as Yuan Muyu.

She didn't know how many years it had been since anyone dared to calculate her; unexpectedly, an ignorant and fearless child had come. She also felt a bit of childlike playfulness and said with a smile: "Little girl, I will restrain my power to let you calculate; see what you can calculate out, okay?"

A'nuo asked in surprise: "Sister, is your path ahead confused, and do you also want to simply cast a real divination?"

Lady Ye was stunned for a moment, then nodded.

Subconsciously, it should be so.

Since ancient times, calculating others has been difficult, and calculating oneself even more so; there has never been anyone else who could calculate oneself. The path ahead is confused, and one is utterly exhausted. Taking advantage of the childlike playfulness of teasing a child, just taking a casual look, what harm could there be?

This time, A'nuo pinched her fingers and calculated again; indeed, there was no backlash... but as she calculated, her chubby face became even more strange.

"What's wrong, little girl?"

"Um, why does your divination image look so much like a sister I know..."

"Who?" Could it be Yuan Muyu? Then this child still has some cultivation.

The result was An Nuo's answer: "Sheng Yuanyao."

What similarity could there possibly be between me and that Sheng girl? Think as hard as I might, the only thing we share is being women—there's not another trace of resemblance. This is clearly a false divination.

Lady Ye didn't even bother asking what the specific omen was; she shook her head listlessly and rose to address Meng Li: "Meng Jiaoyu, I came to ask what private views your brother, the Meng Prefect, has on the infant ghost case—don't use official platitudes to evade me."

"Er…," Meng Li pointed at Lu Xingzhou: "The party involved is right here. Why ask me for secondhand accounts when you could ask him directly?"

At that moment, Lu Xingzhou sighed and turned in his exam paper: "Meng Jiaoyu, I can only answer so much. It seems the entrance examination for the Alchemy Academy far exceeds my expectations—I'll have to pack up and go home to study for another two years."

Meng Li's hands trembled as he held the paper.

He actually passed…

Even if it's barely passing… you haven't even enrolled yet! Do you know how many students who've studied all year still failed?

If even you have to pack up, then the Alchemy Academy might as well shut down.

Meng Li's voice wavered: "This… this isn't the difficulty of the entrance exam—it's something else, something else. The actual entrance exam will be easier. Return to your quarters and read more alchemy texts. Don't slack off. The next assessment is next month—you have a great chance, a great chance…"

Lady Ye couldn't help smiling.

Lu Xingzhou exhaled and turned his gaze to Lady Ye: "Who is this…?"

"This is Lady Ye, highly accomplished in both alchemy and divination," Meng Li hurriedly said. "Lady Ye came to inquire about the details of the infant ghost case. This is a perfect opportunity—you may also seek her guidance."

Lady Ye… sounds like a married woman, probably from a prominent family—that's why she wears a veil.

Since Meng Li introduced her, she must be aligned with Meng Guan. I can share some things cautiously. Lu Xingzhou bowed: "Greetings, Lady Ye. What would you like to know?"

Lady Ye studied him intently: "I find it inconceivable that Huo Lu would summon an infant ghost to kill you in broad daylight—he couldn't be that foolish. I want to know: how much have you fabricated in this matter? Is your story truly airtight?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "Huo Lu summoning an infant ghost to kill me is absolutely true—even if you searched their souls, that's the answer you'd get. They merely chose to carry out the assassination inside the Hongfa Temple; the public street scene was staged for others to see—but it doesn't matter. The fact stands, doesn't it?"

Lady Ye's eyes relaxed, and a smile returned to her face: "Good. What alchemical guidance do you hope to receive?"

Lu Xingzhou paused thoughtfully: "Your cultivation is so profound I cannot fathom it—you're certainly third grade. Might I ask you about cultivation matters?"

Lady Ye nodded: "Yes."

That aura, that confidence… she doesn't even ask which aspect of cultivation—I feel she could answer any question on the subject.

Lu Xingzhou gritted his teeth: "Forgive my abruptness, Lady… I wish to ask about yin-yang harmony. It's been troubling me lately."

(End of Chapter)