Chapter 195: A Mess of Chicken Feathers

The Demon Suppression Bureau truly caught an assassin, brought back the corpse to report and investigate the source in detail.

The Head Master, who had feigned illness and claimed to be the victim of an assassination, was actually shocked into sitting up straight from his sickbed when the result came out of nowhere, finding it incredible.

Pei Qingyan, standing nearby, also heard the report: Lu Xingzhou and Pei Chuyun met in secret at Qingyao Garden; this person seized the opportunity to assassinate and was caught red-handed by Lady Ye of the Pill Academy...

Pei Qingyan's smile vanished.

Who met in secret with whom at Qingyao Garden?

Isn't this class time?

The two old men exchanged a glance, feeling a shared sense of grievance.

One skipped work, the other skipped class; one claimed his father was ill, the other met a yellow-haired rogue in secret; let no one laugh.

Two towering figures who held the balance of power in the Great Qian court simultaneously dropped a sentence: "Just you wait."

The dog couple over there still did not know the tragic ending that was about to come.

Sheng Yuanyao stepped into Qingyao Garden and saw from afar Lady Ye standing before the dog couple and speaking: "Worried about too many eyes and ears, I did not send more people from the Pill Academy... this is my negligence."

In fact, what Ye Tinglan truly neglected was not wanting to expose her Super-grade strength.

If limited only to First Grade, Third Grade and First Grade actually belong to the same major realm according to ancient methods, distinguished only by early and late stages. Combat power might differ greatly, perhaps even several times the gap between Ninth Grade and Third Grade, but there is no dimensional difference in the realm itself.

If she were Super-grade, she could have instantly killed the assassin on the spot, or found a way to restrict space so the opponent could not teleport at all, but as a First Grade, she could only do nothing but chase after him. Although catching up to someone who teleports purely by speed was already terrifyingly strong, it still gave the opponent room to commit suicide.

Ye Tinglan truly did not expect the opponent to commit suicide so decisively... indeed, she had been negligent.

Lu Xingzhou did not mind at all: "It is already very good that Mr. stepped in to help; the opponent can teleport. Even if other Mr. s from the Pill Academy surrounded him, they still could not stop him."

Ye Tinglan knew that was not the issue and felt guilty in her heart: "Since the person is dead, we may not be able to trace the mastermind behind the scenes; your danger has not completely passed."

"Regardless, there will be some clues; it is much better than the result of being completely ignorant before." Lu Xingzhou smiled: "I will go to the Demon Suppression Bureau later to take a look; perhaps I will gain something."

Ye Tinglan knew there would be no gains. The basic quality of a death soldier is not to leave any traces that could reveal their identity; otherwise, their death would be in vain. His ring was empty, containing almost nothing except some basic Spirit Stones and pills.

The only thing that could count as a clue was the address, but for most people, that address would likely be seen as pointing to the Prince of Jin.

She fell silent for a moment, glanced and saw Sheng Yuanyao approaching, so she said no more, only stating: "Facing such danger, do you still intend to play outside?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "Right now is actually the safest time."

Theoretically so, but who could remain so calm immediately after encountering a death soldier's assassination... Ye Tinglan left a sharp comment: "Choosing lust over life."

Having finished speaking, she vanished directly; no one knew if she went to investigate the case or do something else. Did she stand there watching this disciple mess around with a woman right in front of her?

Only after she vanished did Pei Chuyun, as if releasing pressure, speak her first words: "I can't think of who it would be, but it certainly isn't my father."

"If you can't think of it, don't think. I probably have a slight judgment, but it is not important right now." Lu Xingzhou casually put his arm around her: "Speaking of which, I am actually worthy of someone using a Third Grade death soldier; it is truly unexpected. I only knew today that I have such great value."

To be honest, even Pei Chuyun did not think her lover had such great value. She truly did not know which madman would spend such a huge price; they probably never thought the death soldier would run into trouble?

Pei Chuyun also felt Ye Tinglan's emotion of being speechless: "They want your life, yet you say 'it is not important right now.' Then what do you think is important right now?"

"Of course, taking advantage of the fact that there is truly no one else right now to be intimate with my A-Nuo is the most important." Lu Xingzhou kissed her.

Pei Chuyun yielded gracefully.

"Lu Xingzhou!" Sheng Yuanyao rushed over like a gust of wind, furious: "You said you were going to lie in wait for the assassin; I even sold out my father and ran over to help you, and you are just drinking tea here!"

"Heh..." Pei Chuyun, nestled in Lu Xingzhou's arms, said leisurely: "Wait for you to come help? They could have already assassinated him eight hundred times by now. Whether it is the assassin against him, or him against me."

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

Being on home ground, Sheng Yuanyao doubled her support: "I don't care how you assassinate; this is my garden. I do not welcome fox spirits. This way, please~"

Pei Chuyun said: "What if I don't? Will you chase me away?"

Sheng Yuanyao snorted with a cold laugh: "I saw it long ago. You pretend to be a cold, noble lady in front of outsiders; you pretend to be a pure, white flower."

"So what?"

"Do you know how many workers my garden employs?" Sheng Yuanyao let out a whistle: "No need to hide anymore. Come out, come out~"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~" By the lake, in the mountains, countless flower farmers, grass workers, reception staff, management personnel, and security personnel suddenly popped out from who-knows-where. The empty Qingyao Garden suddenly became full of people: "Hello, Boss."

Pei Chuyun was so frightened she instantly jumped a zhang away from Lu Xingzhou, both angry and anxious: "Sheng Yuanyao! You are flipping the table!"

"Hmm? What flipping the table? Where is the table?" Sheng Yuanyao, looking refreshed and clear-minded, arrived beside Lu Xingzhou and threw her arm around his shoulder like a good brother: "Do you want to see what the Lingxiao flowers look like when they bloom? Let's go, brother will take you to see."

Dressed openly in official robes, there was truly no sense of ambiguity at first glance; it was truly just like two good brothers. Others who saw it basically had no reaction, only thinking the Boss truly possessed the spirit of a man.

Pei Chuyoon was dumbfounded. She never thought that after roaming the Hehuan Sect for eighteen years and studying countless tea arts, she would actually lose the battle of snatching a man to the legendary female brother, and she could not find a way for the time being.

Indeed, A-Nuo was right; this kind of creature is the most terrifying. Lu Xingzhou was helplessly saying to Sheng Yuanyao: "You should not have come over. If the assassin happened to launch the attack right now, you would be in great danger."

"I am Fourth Grade now; why does everyone think I am an idiot?" Sheng Yuanyao was unconvinced: "How about I go find Qi Tuizhi to train with?"

Lu Xingzhou laughed out loud: "I think it is better to spare Qi Tuizhi..."

"Then tell me, can I beat Qi Tuizhi or not?"

Lu Xingzhou pondered for a moment, feeling that the current Sheng Yuanyao might not be able to win; she would need to reach the upper stage of Fourth Grade. Qi Tuizhi was truly not weak.

He said tactfully: "I reckon it is about equal. She might be slightly inferior in strength; cultivating for a while longer would be more stable. Qi Tuizhi is stuck at the major bottleneck of Third Grade; it will be very difficult to make progress in the short term, so she is easy to catch up to."

Sheng Yuanyao heard his attempt to save face, pouted: "I don't even care about competing with him; my goal is also to reach the upper three grades."

Speaking here, she paused, then added: "But if I want to reach the upper three grades, I will mostly have to go out and cultivate through experience. But I don't want to be assigned to the provinces..."

"What, haven't you played enough in the capital yet? I actually think you cannot suppress your restless heart; you can't stay idle."

Sheng Yuanyao glanced at him with a look of hidden resentment.

Where was it that she was reluctant to leave the capital because she hadn't played enough...

It was because you were in the capital.

Lu Xingzhou quickly realized this point and said in a low voice: "I... should be leaving the capital in these few days."

Sheng Yuanyao blurted out: "Why? Haven't you only been enrolled for a month?"

"I have a mentor... My mentor believes the general curriculum of the Pill Academy does not match my needs; I should study privately with her. Furthermore, the significance of studying within the academy is small; I should go out and test myself more... Hmm, we should still return to the capital from time to time."

"I see..." Sheng Yuanyao stopped, standing before the stone stele of Lu Xingzhou's poem "Reduced Character Mulan Flower," gazing at it in a trance for a while, then smiled with relief: "That is true; you were never meant to stay in the capital for a long time."

At this moment, the young girl's heart truly held a hundred flavors that were hard to describe, but like Pei Chuyun, they both coincidentally felt that him leaving for a while seemed not so bad.

Always here, soul hooked away, yet unable to become anyone's subordinate; self-consuming, endless tugging.

Better to let things cool for a while; perhaps when the boat reaches the bridge, another world awaits.

Whether it be the little demoness or the little constable, neither had enough experience to realize that the more people stick together day after day, the more likely they are to grow weary or clash; sooner or later, a quarrel would erupt over the triangular relationship.

Yet the more it is a brief parting, the more longing settles. Distance covers all small faults and magnifies the other's virtues.

Just like Shen Tang now, missing Lu Xingzhou so much she was nearly going mad.

In some southern mountain valley, tossing and turning, countless times.

"Since that is so..." Sheng Yuanyao turned to Pei Qingyan, smiling brightly: "Let us share a few cups of parting wine, to see him off?"

Pei Qingyan tilted her head to study her once, appreciating for the first time this Miss's spirited and upright manner, and smiled in return: "Very well."

The three, accompanied by a little A'nuo, filled the four-person table beneath the tree; Sheng Yuanyao ordered wine brought up and poured a cup for each.

Then she raised her cup first toward Pei Qingyan: "I know you have also reached third grade; count me one step behind, but I will catch up. One day, as the poem on the stele says, 'At this time, a hundred-foot hero reaches the clouds'; both of us shall be so."

This "one step behind" referred to cultivation or something else, no one knew... but Pei Qingyan, at that moment, was too lazy to ponder the deeper meaning; she raised her cup and clinked: "The morning glory loves to climb; are you sure you wish to learn it?"

Sheng Yuanyao said carefree: "Climbing is not necessarily clinging... For us cultivators, what do we climb if not the mountain rocks, if not the heavenly path?"

"Well said." Pei Qingyan tilted her head back and drained her cup.

Who would have thought the Miss who always seemed a bit odd was so interesting... provided one did not speak of men.

Just as Pei Qingyan was about to say something, voices rose from below the hill: "Where is Yuanyao!"

"Where is Qingyan?"

The two women's faces instantly turned green; they turned to look: Sheng Qingfeng and Pei Qingyan, furious, were climbing the mountain.

The two women shot away like arrows and vanished, yet how could they outrun their own old masters? Each was grabbed by the scruff and dragged home like a cat.

"Cursing your father to fall ill; are you very filial?"

"Sent you to the Imperial Academy, and you skipped class to drink!"

The lofty, dignified exchange they had just shared, which Lu Xingzhou had not yet finished savoring, instantly turned into a mess of feathers on the ground.

(End of this chapter)