[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou":3,"chapter-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-162":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ink Saint of Great Zhou",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2292125,4481,"Chapter 162","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-162",162,"\u003Cp>At the first watch, the hot late-summer dawn had just begun to lighten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the stone steps of Jiezi Mountain at Wenyuan Academy, a slender green figure walked slowly, muttering complaints under her breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Li Yu, who found it absurd that Lu Fang had invited her to watch the sunrise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When returning from the Buddha Realm trial ground, Li Yu had talked at length with Lu Ling—but all their talk centered on Lu Fang, and she could tell Lu Ling had deliberately tried to bring them together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Li Yu still held strong feelings for Lu Fang—a brilliant man, like a tiny sun, who had repeatedly shattered her expectations since their first meeting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, her feelings for him may have been mere admiration and awe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since watching the sunrise with him in the trial ground and hearing his unmistakably confessional words, her feelings had grown complicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, she used not to care when she hadn’t contacted Lu Fang for a long time, but now, only two or three days after returning, she felt an emptiness in her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yesterday, when she received Lu Fang’s invitation to watch the sunrise at Wenyuan Academy, she had been delighted—but today, rising early and walking alone on the mountain path, she felt inexplicably annoyed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not sincere at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s so special about a sunrise?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How is this different from me watching it alone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Li Yu thought about it, the more agitated she became; normally, her temperament wouldn’t let her feel this way, but somehow, she was irritated now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she grew restless, a voice suddenly rang out ahead: “Oh, what a coincidence? Want to watch the sunrise together?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?” Li Yu froze. Seeing Lu Fang in white robes, holding a large bouquet of red roses atop the misty stone steps, she burst out laughing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you laughing at?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang raised an eyebrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu tried to suppress her smile, but her lips refused to obey. She tilted her head away, feigning indifference. “I could’ve slept in today. What’s so important, Young Uncle, that you made me come to Wenyuan Academy at this hour?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang smiled and shook his head, stepping toward her and offering the bouquet. “For you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Strange,” Li Yu leaned back slightly, eyes wide with confusion. “Why give me flowers? What kind are these? Why are they wrapped? Still… they’re pretty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment’s hesitation, she took the bouquet from his hands, sniffed the blooms, and smiled. “They smell nice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me carry them for you,” Lu Fang said, extending his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu looked baffled. “You just gave them to me, and now you want them back?” Even as she spoke, she handed them over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll just ‘hold’ them for you,” Lu Fang said, taking the flowers and pointing toward the mountaintop. “Let’s go up there—the sunrise should be coming soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu clapped her hands lightly. “No need to climb. We can see it from right here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang insisted, “No. Didn’t you say the best sunrise view in Wenyuan Academy is from the rooftop? If we came all this way and didn’t go up, wouldn’t that be a waste?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu stared at him, expression plainly saying: Are you serious?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang asked, “What’s wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu let out a light laugh. “What’s wrong? Don’t you know, Young Uncle? A man and woman can’t appear together at Wenyuan Academy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Try going up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang walked upward, his pace slow but utterly resolute. Li Yu sighed softly, quickened her steps, and caught up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few steps, Li Yu suddenly noticed the stone steps ahead had turned into pure white clouds. She warned, “Young Uncle, be careful—the steps ahead have become clouds.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hurry up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang didn’t turn around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh,” Li Yu hesitated. “Young Uncle, do you know why this happened? Is this some kind of trap?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you want to come?” Lu Fang smiled lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu sniffed haughtily, grinning. “I’m not afraid of you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she stepped onto the cloud-like stones, she stumbled—these steps were softer than she’d imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang, as if anticipating it, stood still and naturally reached out to steady her as she nearly fell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why are these steps so soft?” Li Yu chuckled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang raised an eyebrow. “Would you believe me if I said I did it on purpose?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu coughed twice, pretending not to hear, cheeks flushed, fidgeting with her hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look over there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang pointed ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu instinctively looked up, pupils contracting sharply—before them on the cloud steps stretched a dazzling sea of flowers, radiant as fireworks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So beautiful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her eyes sparkled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brilliant fireworks faded in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang smiled. “How was my performance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s that? Just some illusion?” Li Yu was nearly beaming, yet stubbornly refused to admit it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come on.” Lu Fang ignored her reply, grabbing her wrist and sprinting up the cloud steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you doing? Why run so fast?” Li Yu struggled a few times but couldn’t break free, so she stopped resisting and let him pull her upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After running about fifty steps, Lu Fang stopped and whistled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Li Yu puzzled over it, six pure white unicorns pulled a gleaming carriage, trotting toward them across rainbow-hued clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu didn’t cover her mouth, but turned to Lu Fang in astonishment, murmuring, “You arranged this too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang nodded with a smile. “It’s an illusion formed from righteous qi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a dozen breaths,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the unicorn carriage halted before them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang stepped forward, opened the carriage door, and gestured inward. “It’s an honor to watch the sunrise with you today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu stepped inside without hesitation—and froze. The carriage was spacious, filled everywhere with pink flowers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s like a maiden’s chamber. Young Uncle, what kind of person are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She shook her head, smiling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang entered the carriage. “Don’t like it? Next time I’ll change the color. I saw pink flowers in your room’s vase—I assumed you liked them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yu spoke insincerely. “Aren’t we supposed to watch the sunrise? Why are we inside the carriage now? What are we doing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fang nodded. “Actually, watching the sunrise isn’t important. Who you watch it with is what matters most.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1044,"2026-06-20T03:56:21.568Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","6b30b4c23c7342738f9fe40f2c338b22e6484d4e0bcfb29647f28036859cbaae","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-163","the-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-chapter-161",289,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ink-saint-of-great-zhou-cover.jpg"]