Chapter 117: Senior Sister's Habit, Soul Leaving the Body, Fairy of the Moon Palace

Outside the window, the night grew heavy.

After about an hour, Luo Zijun finally finished writing the entire story.

The young girl beside him came back to her senses and looked at the title of the book.

"Shen Yuan Love Dreams..."

This story of Luo Zijun's was about Lu You and his cousin Tang Wan.

Lu You and his cousin were childhood sweethearts, deeply in love, and became husband and wife.

After marriage, the two treated each other with the respect due to guests and were a devoted couple, yet because of Lu You's mother, they were forced to separate.

Lu You took another wife, and Tang Wan also married someone else.

However, the two remained attached to each other in their hearts.

In the blink of an eye, ten years passed, and the two met by chance at Shen Yuan; although ten long years of time stood between them, that bone-deep love remained at the very depths of their emotional worlds.

Tang Wan obtained her husband's consent and sent someone to deliver wine and food to Lu You.

Lu You was moved by the scene to sorrow and pensively inscribed a song for the ages on the wall.

Upon seeing it, Tang Wan was filled with endless emotion; she fell ill and never recovered, eventually dying of unresolved grief and resentment.

While ill, she also took up her brush to leave behind a final song, leaving later generations sighing endlessly.

Of course, the most brilliant parts of this story were those two poems.

After Luo Zijun finished writing, he collected his emotions slightly, then rose to take his leave.

The hour was late, and he had to hurry back.

Liu Chujian hurriedly stood up and, with great reluctance, saw him downstairs and out the door.

She stood outside the door for a long time, and only after that figure disappeared around the distant street corner did she return to the shop, looking somewhat lost.

She returned upstairs.

She sat blankly at the table for a while longer before lowering her head to look at the manuscript on the table.

Just now, while he was writing, she had been absent-minded and hadn't looked at it at all.

Only now did she begin to read it earnestly.

Once she had read the entire story word for word, her heart was suddenly filled with pain and melancholy.

"Red crispy hand, yellow willow wine, the city is full of spring colors and palace wall willows. The east wind is cruel, our happy love is thin, a heart full of sorrow, years of separation. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

Spring is as it was, the person is thin in vain, tear stains soak through the red silk handkerchief. Peach blossoms fall, the pond pavilion is idle, though our mountain-deep vows remain, the silk letter is hard to deliver. No, no, no!"

She murmured it several times, then looked at the poem Tang Wan wrote before she died.

"Worldly feelings are thin, human hearts are evil, the rain brings dusk and flowers fall easily. The morning wind dries, tear stains remain, wanting to write down my heart's affairs, I speak alone to the slanted railing. Hard, hard, hard!

People have become separate, today is not yesterday, my sick soul is often like a swing rope. The horn sounds cold, the night is fading, fearing people will ask, I swallow my tears and feign joy. Hide, hide, hide!"

After reciting this, thinking of the image of the two in love yet separated by the ends of the earth, her tears fell like rain.

Bi'er hurried over, took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears, and complained, "That scoundrel makes Miss cry every time he comes; this servant won't let him come upstairs next time."

The young girl's tears seemed unstoppable, rolling down.

These two short poems, reading them once meant a bout of heartache, pain, sadness, and regret.

Her mood was hard to calm for a long time.

"Bi'er, why do you think he... can always write such moving stories?"

The young girl murmured, tears streaming down.

Bi'er huffed, "I reckon it's because he often goes to the Brothel to hear stories, or often plays with other girls, that he gets his inspiration. Miss, you must be careful; that guy can talk to make girls happy, can write stories to make people cry, and is so good-looking—he must have tricked many girls' hearts."

The young girl looked at the story on the paper with tear-filled eyes, stunned for a moment, and whispered to herself, "It's already too late... my heart has already been... tricked away by him..."

Outside the window, the night was black as ink.

Luo Zijun walked along the street, his mind wandering, unable to calm down.

As he passed Bao'an Hall, he turned his head to look.

He had thought that at this hour, the Pharmacy would have long since closed and his master and senior sister would be asleep, but he suddenly saw a tall, slender, and cold figure in a white dress leaning against the doorframe, her eyes looking at him coldly.

Luo Zijun was stunned for a moment, then pretended not to see her and continued walking forward.

"Ahem..."

That cold figure immediately coughed.

Luo Zijun suddenly quickened his pace and left, soon disappearing around the corner ahead.

Su Qingling stood blankly outside the door, stunned for a long time, before slowly withdrawing her gaze from the street corner; she stood silently for a while longer before lowering her head to return inside, preparing to close the door.

Just then, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and stuck into the door crack, saying, "Don't be in a hurry to close the door, I'm buying medicine!"

Su Qingling paused, then slammed the door shut, catching that hand in the door crack.

"Ah!"

Luo Zijun let out a scream, hurriedly pulled it out, pushed the door open with force, and said angrily, "Senior Sister, you almost broke it!"

Su Qingling huffed, turned away, and went behind the counter, preparing to fiddle with the abacus.

Luo Zijun walked straight over, took her abacus away, and while shaking his pinched hand, asked, "It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet? Where is Master?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud snoring sound suddenly came from upstairs: "Snore... snore..."

"Oh, Master is already asleep."

Luo Zijun answered his own question, looked at the cold, elegant, and charming beautiful junior senior sister behind the counter, and whispered, "Senior Sister, you wouldn't happen to have been waiting for me, would you?"

"Hmph."

Su Qingling huffed, her face full of cold mockery.

As if to say: Why don't you go to the puddle in the back and look at yourself in the mirror?

Luo Zijun said, "By the way, Senior Sister, I left in such a hurry last time that I didn't get a chance to ask you, what about that shop in the Outer City? Has it been sold? Did you see the letter I left for you and Master?"

Su Qingling's pretty face was cold; she did not answer.

Luo Zijun said again, "Also, Senior Sister, why did you and Master suddenly come to the Inner City to open a shop? Did you come before me, or after me?"

Su Qingling said coldly, "None of your business."

Luo Zijun said, "I'm just very curious. How did you suddenly come to the Inner City without even telling me? You left me all alone at the shop in the Outer City, and I was so sad for a long time."

"Hmph."

Su Qingling turned her pretty face away, her expression cold; she seemed not to want to look at him.

Luo Zijun placed the abacus on the counter and fiddled with it casually. He stared at her pretty little appearance for a moment before saying, "Fine. Since Senior Sister doesn't want to talk to me, I'll be going then. It's getting late, so Senior Sister should rest early. I need to hurry back as well."

Having said that, he waved his hand and went out the door.

Su Qingling turned her face back and looked outside the door.

Silence for a moment.

She came out from behind the counter, arrived at the doorway, and gazed at the street outside, but she did not see that departing figure.

Just then, a stick suddenly poked out from the right side of the doorframe and tapped her little head three times in a row: "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

He ran away as soon as he finished tapping.

Luo Zijun ran onto the street, turned his head, and waved, "Senior Sister, no need to see me off. Remember to have a good dream tonight."

After saying this, he laughed heartily and left.

The young girl stood at the doorway, slowly raised her hand to touch her tapped head, and quietly watched his back as he gradually walked away. Only after that figure disappeared around the distant corner did she remain dazed for a while before slowly withdrawing her gaze.

Then she closed the door, extinguished the lamp, and walked upstairs with light steps.

Upstairs, in a certain room, a long sigh suddenly came, followed by a lowered voice talking to itself: "Silly girl, can't you sleep unless that little bastard hits you? Sigh..."

In another room.

The young girl lay on the bed, wrapped in the quilt, hugging the pillow he had used when he was young, and soon entered a sweet dream.

Luo Zijun returned to the Bai Mansion.

Xiaohuan had already washed up, wearing a small bellyband, her budding, plump chest already showing signs of development, waiting for him on the bed.

"Young Master, you aren't allowed to go back on your word. You said last time that once your body was better, you would give it to your servant..."

When Luo Zijun took off his clothes and got into bed, the little girl immediately pouted her little mouth to remind him.

Luo Zijun rubbed her little head and said, "Wait two more days. I need to cultivate tonight, a very important cultivation. If I give it all to you, I'll be exhausted and might fail."

"Hmph, Young Master is lying again."

The little girl pouted her mouth high, immediately burrowed into the quilt, turned her back to him, and ignored him in a huff.

Luo Zijun kissed her earlobe and said, "Young Master really isn't lying to you this time. In two days, this Young Master will definitely make you beg for mercy."

The little girl turned her head, hummed, and said, "It's clearly Young Master who will be begging for mercy."

"Alright, then we'll see when the time comes who begs for mercy."

Luo Zijun smiled and went to the other side.

He was a martial artist now, with a physique far beyond the ordinary and powerful Qi and blood. He could survive doing it six times a night, so could this little girl, with her tiny frame, compare to him?

If he got serious, even that female flower-thief would be left defenseless, let alone this innocent little girl who had yet to experience the ways of the world.

It was still early.

He would practice the Liehuo Finger a few times first.

Seeing that he was truly cultivating, Xiaohuan didn't dare to disturb him. She tossed and turned in the quilt for a while before falling asleep.

"Sss—"

Energy gathered at his fingertips.

On Luo Zijun's thumb, a flame two inches long soon ignited.

After repeating it several times, the flame gradually grew longer.

But soon, it began to weaken.

The drawback of this Liehuo Finger was that it consumed too much Internal Energy.

Luo Zijun immediately stopped the technique and did not continue to consume it.

He still had to perform Soul Refining tonight.

He rested for a while.

After the Internal Energy in his Dantian Sea returned to normal and the Qi and blood in his body calmed down, he got up, lit some sandalwood incense, and returned to the bed. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes to focus, and emptied his mind.

It was quiet for another moment.

In his mind, he began to visualize a nine-story pagoda according to the drawings in the book.

Then, his consciousness transformed into a figure, entered the pagoda, and began to climb upward.

He took a deep breath.

It was as if that figure condensed from consciousness also took a deep breath along with him.

He lifted his feet and stepped onto the stairs.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Soon, he climbed to the first floor. He did not stop and continued to climb to the second floor.

One step, two steps...

Soon, he climbed to the second floor again.

The figure began to feel somewhat exhausted; its speed began to slow down, but it continued to climb.

When he climbed to the third floor, he found that the figure began to become somewhat blurry, its footsteps became heavy, and it began to pant for breath.

He did not stop and continued to climb upward.

The fourth floor, the fifth floor...

When he climbed to the fifth level and prepared to continue climbing to the sixth, his legs suddenly went weak, and he knelt on the stairs; his figure became increasingly blurred, almost transparent.

His head began to ache, and his consciousness began to blur.

That nine-story pagoda also began to sway, becoming blurry.

This was a sign that his mental energy was almost exhausted.

He did not dare to persist, immediately choosing to destroy the pagoda and retract his figure; the pitch-black world immediately began to brighten, and other things appeared.

He opened his eyes, his mind returned to normal, and his thoughts danced freely in his mind like strands of silk.

He let out a long breath, rubbed his head, and thought to himself: It seems my mental energy is still insufficient, and my soul is not yet strong enough; I can only climb to the fifth level.

I must continue practicing boxing to perform Body Tempering and strengthen my spirit.

Or sit in meditation to cultivate the spirit through stillness.

I will try again in a few days.

Soul Cultivation is quite draining on the mind; now, not only does his head ache, but his spirit is also exceptionally exhausted.

He quickly lay down, not daring to let his mind wander anymore.

He fell asleep very quickly.

The next day, the weather was fine.

However, Luo Zijun did not go out; he only went to the Su Guo Fu across the way to visit his sister and brother-in-law, then returned to continue practicing boxing.

In the evening, he continued his Medicine Bath.

After the Medicine Bath, he practiced the Liehuo Finger in the backyard.

Until it was dark.

Now, his Liehuo Finger could be retracted and released at will, without any obstruction or hesitation.

With a light sweep, the hard wooden block was cut into two pieces.

The middle was full of charred marks.

He secretly pondered in his heart: If I am tied up by that female flower-thief again next time, perhaps I can quietly use the Liehuo Finger to cut the ropes, and then...

No, that is too risky.

Every time at that moment, the other party would first grip his vital point.

If he dared to make any unusual moves, he feared the other party would immediately act to leave him completely crippled.

However...

Perhaps I could launch a surprise attack when the other party has discarded their armor and helmet.

But... that won't work either.

At that time, he is in high spirits, his blood boiling, and his soul soaring to the clouds; he is completely unable to circulate his Internal Energy, and if he were to force it, he would likely end up with all his meridians destroyed.

It seems I can only act before being caught.

Hmm?

Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!

Why did he suddenly think of this matter again uncontrollably?

Once, twice, but never a third time.

How could there possibly be a third time?

Absolutely impossible!

If there really were a third time, then he would be too unlucky; he might as well just die.

Back to the room to sleep.

Tonight, the Young Maid was very well-behaved, only telling him: "Young Master, we agreed on two nights; once tonight is over, it will be tomorrow night, you know."

Luo Zijun said: "Tonight, tomorrow night, isn't that just two nights?"

"That's not it at all; last night was the first night, and tonight is the second night! Young Master, you are not allowed to go back on your word! If you try to go back on your word, tonight this servant will show you what's what! Hmph!"

"Show this Young Master what?"

"Hmph, I'll make you hiss all night long!"

"Tsk tsk, what a ruthless little maid; this Young Master is afraid."

"Hee hee, if you're afraid, you can't go back on your word. Hmph, even if you go back on your word tomorrow night, this servant won't be afraid; I'll just ride the horse myself, hmph hmph!"

"..."

Luo Zijun decided it would be better to put away those strange books under the bed tomorrow.

This little girl is probably studying them with wide eyes every day.

She is almost becoming a little teacher.

The two bickered for a while, and Xiaohuan, carrying beautiful expectations for tomorrow night, closed her eyes and entered dreamland.

Luo Zijun waited a while longer, got out of bed, and lit the sandalwood incense.

Then he returned to the bed and began to continue his attempt at Soul Cultivation.

The first step of Soul Cultivation: Soul Out-of-Body.

Calm the heart, focus the spirit, and empty the mind.

After being quiet for a long time, his "vision" began to enter his mind.

Inside, it was pitch black, and he gradually visualized a nine-story pagoda; then, his Divine Sense transformed into a human figure, pushed open the door, and entered the pagoda.

He began to climb from the first level.

One step per stair, unhurriedly, climbing all the way up.

First level, second level, third level...

When he climbed to the sixth level, his footsteps began to grow heavy, his figure began to sway, and before his eyes, besides the stairs and the darkness, some other things suddenly appeared.

He immediately closed his eyes, stood in place for several breaths, opened them again, and dragging his heavy footsteps, continued to walk upward.

Suddenly, that nine-story pagoda transformed into a steep mountain peak once more.

Beneath his feet were still stairs.

The surroundings were no longer dark; there were flowers, grass, trees, and even animals.

But everything was still, silent.

With his mind set on nothing else, he looked up and continued to climb.

The sky was also pitch black, and the stairs above were winding and steep, as if they had no end.

He did not stop, dragging his heavy footsteps, step by step, continuing upward.

Finally, he climbed to the sixth level.

Then, he began to climb toward the seventh level.

At this moment, his footsteps became heavier, his entire body felt heavier, and the scenery around him suddenly began to move, as if tempting him to turn his head and look.

He held his breath and focused his mind, looking straight ahead, and continued upward.

This time, the climbing took longer, and his speed was even slower.

But finally, he still climbed up.

The figure formed by his Divine Sense became even more blurred, nearly transparent.

His entire body was as heavy as lead.

His two legs and feet felt as if they had suddenly turned into heavy stones; every time he lifted them, he had to exert immense strength.

He did not hesitate and continued upward. At this moment, the scenery around him began to change, and even some figures and faces appeared.

But there was still no sound at all.

The entire world was deathly silent; he could not even hear his own breathing.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

His footsteps seemed to slam hard onto the stairs; every step was heavy and powerful, as if stones were falling to the ground, and every step became extremely sluggish.

But in the end, he still climbed up.

He looked up and saw there was one last level, and one last step above.

Continue!

He used all his strength to lift his feet and continue upward.

Suddenly, some sounds began to appear in the surroundings.

There were the cries of birds, the roars of animals, and even some familiar voices.

!

"Zijun, what are you doing? Come here quickly, come to sister..."

"Zijun, come here, brother-in-law will teach you how to practice boxing..."

"Luo Zijun! You would rather let others bite you than let me bite you, right? Come here and let me bite! I want to bite you to death!"

"Brother Zijun, come find Keqing, okay? Keqing is so scared, so lonely..."

"Young Master, if you lie to this servant again, this servant will take matters into her own hands!"

"Hehehehe... It seems you have become much stronger again. Very good, this time, I want to do it seven times!"

The voices were noisy, filled with all kinds of illusions.

Luo Zijun turned a deaf ear, looked straight ahead, and continued to lift his increasingly heavy footsteps to climb upward.

The mountaintop was getting closer, the sky was getting lower, and his body was getting heavier.

His entire figure had already become transparent.

It felt as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

For the last few steps, every time he lifted a foot, it felt as if it carried the weight of ten thousand jun; his entire body was trembling, and the falling footsteps were equally heavy.

He gritted his teeth, exhausted his last bit of strength, and continued upward.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Only one last step remained!

His whole body trembled as he lifted his foot; his vision was pitch black, his entire figure seemed to have shattered, no longer in human shape, as if a mountain were pressing heavily down on his head.

He could barely breathe.

His entire body was almost crushed to pieces.

But in the end, he still took that last step.

"Boom!"

When his last step landed and he finally stood on the mountaintop, the heaviness on his body, the heaviness in his legs, the heaviness in his mind—all the pressure vanished in an instant.

His entire body suddenly felt light and airy.

"Swish!"

A ray of golden morning light suddenly appeared in front of him.

Immediately, the darkness was dispelled, and the scene before him was filled with brilliant light!

Then, there was a "buzz" in his mind, and the surroundings suddenly seemed to have sound and scent.

The chirping of birds, the sound of butterflies flapping their wings, the fragrance of flowers, and the scent of sunlight.

The pitch black was gone, the deathly silence was gone.

Suddenly, there was color before his eyes.

Everything around him was bright, the sun was shining, birds were singing and flowers were fragrant, full of vitality.

Everything seemed to have become so beautiful.

He smelled the enchanting fragrance of flowers, touched the warm sunlight, felt the clear air, and saw the colorful scenery.

At this moment, the entire world was new, including himself.

But he only lingered for an instant before walking to the edge of the cliff, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and then, leaping down!

At the same time, it was as if he had leaped down from a nine-story pagoda.

There was no dizziness from falling, no approach of death, no fear, no illusions; everything was so natural.

His entire body felt light as if ascending to the clouds.

Then, he slowly opened his eyes.

The world before him had suddenly changed, the atmosphere had suddenly changed; the room was pitch black, but everything was clearly visible to his eyes.

The sandalwood incense on the table had burned out.

His physical body was sitting quietly on the bed, eyes closed, motionless.

The little girl was sleeping at the other end, one small, snow-white foot exposed outside the quilt, a smile from before she fell asleep still lingering at the corners of her mouth.

The wind snuck in through the gap in the window.

He suddenly swayed on the roof, steadied his form, and headed back toward the wall beside him.

Without a sound, he passed through the wall.

He passed back through the wall and arrived before the dressing mirror, looking at himself in the mirror.

Yet in that mirror, there was no sign of him at all.

He clumsily moved about the room, up and down, left and right, drifting to and fro.

Soon, he became proficient and was flying everywhere.

Passing through walls, beds, wardrobes, tables, chairs, the ground...

But strangely, he could not pass through the ground.

Even in his ethereal soul state, it was as if he had collided with something solid; it was hard and unyielding.

He tried reaching out to grab things again, but naturally, he could grab nothing; his hand passed straight through the objects.

But suddenly, his gaze fell upon the chat Copper Mirror under the pillow.

Under the vision of his current soul state, that Copper Mirror was different from other objects; a layer of hazy fluorescence flickered upon it.

That "Soul Cultivation" manual had stated that in a soul state, one could only touch physical objects upon reaching the Object Manipulation Realm, unless it was some treasure specifically refined for the soul that could be contacted.

Luo Zijun's heart stirred; he drifted over and reached out to gently touch the Copper Mirror.

To his surprise, the moment his finger touched the Copper Mirror, he immediately felt a cool sensation.

This was the feeling of touching a physical object!

He immediately reached out to pick it up, and sure enough, he picked it up without any effort.

This Copper Mirror was actually a soul treasure!

He pondered secretly in his heart: since his soul could pick it up, it should also be able to chat. However, was there only a chat function?

He extended his finger, channeled his Soul Power, and wrote on the mirror surface.

Sure enough, characters appeared!

Sending a message to that lunatic called "Yaochi Fairy" to test it should work.

He immediately swiped his finger to write, then sent it out.

【Fairy, come out】

Hmm? The message was sent, but why was there no name?

Could it be that soul manipulation uses a different account?

He waited for a moment.

A reply came, and the other party also had no name: 【Who are you】

Eh?

Is it not that lunatic "Yaochi Fairy" anymore?

Did it change to someone else?

That's great!

So soul chatting allows changing people; can I change to a few more?

He immediately replied: 【What is your name】

After a moment.

The other party replied: 【Moon Palace Fairy】

Hmm???

The last one was "Yaochi Fairy," and this one is "Moon Palace Fairy"?

Just because they are in a virtual world and cannot see each other, are they this unscrupulous and shamelessly narcissistic?

Pfft!

Where are there any fairies in this world? Why hasn't he met any when he goes out? All he meets are shameless female flower-pluckers!

At this moment, another message was sent.

Moon Palace Fairy: 【What about you】

Luo Zijun pondered for a moment and replied: 【Human Realm Tough Guy】

Moon Palace Fairy: 【Heh】

Human Realm Tough Guy: 【What are you "heh"-ing at? You're allowed to call yourself a fairy, but I'm not allowed to call myself a tough guy?】

Eh, it actually changed the name automatically all of a sudden.

Luo Zijun asked again: 【Fairy, how did we add each other? How should I add others and chat with them?】

The other party did not reply again.

Luo Zijun waited for a while longer, then put down the Copper Mirror. Just as he was thinking, he suddenly felt a chill in his Soul, and when he looked down, he was immediately startled.

The Soul, which had originally been dense and substantial, had become transparent at some unknown point.

Even on his chest, cracks had begun to appear.

The entire Soul seemed as if it were about to shatter!

He woke up with a start, hurriedly returned to his physical body, and quickly dove back inside.

As soon as his Soul returned to its shell, he felt a piercing pain shoot from his head; his vision went black, he felt dizzy, and his head felt as if it were about to explode.

This was the reaction to excessive mental exhaustion.

The book said that when first practicing Soul Refining, after the Soul Out-of-Body, it could only leave the physical body for a short time and must possess another living body as soon as possible to continue practicing.

At the beginning, the Soul state was extremely weak; thunder, the powerful life-blood of a martial artist, or even a cold wind could damage the Soul or even cause it to dissipate.

Therefore, one must hide inside a sturdy physical body to be safe.

He rubbed his head.

He did not dare to let his mind wander anymore, closed his eyes, calmed his heart, and soon entered dreamland.

The next day.

After waking up in the morning, he actually felt refreshed and exceptionally energetic.

It seemed that Soul Refining truly had many benefits.

After finishing breakfast, he prepared to continue practicing in the backyard when Ziyuan suddenly knocked on the door outside and said, "Young Master, do you have time now?"

Xiaohuan hurried over to open the door.

Luo Zijun said, "I just finished eating. Is the Third Miss looking for me?"

Ziyuan said, "It is not the Third Miss; there are people outside looking for you. They are two young ladies, seemingly students from the West Lake Academy, waiting in the alley outside. I went to invite them into the residence, but they were unwilling to come in."

"West Lake Academy? Two young ladies?"

Luo Zijun frowned upon hearing this and said, "Ziyuan, just say I am studying and do not have time."

Ziyuan nodded and did not ask any further.

Just as she was about to go out to reply, Luo Zijun suddenly said again, "Forget it, I will go out and take a look."

Ziyuan smiled slightly and said, "Mm."

Luo Zijun followed behind her toward the side gate of the alley, secretly guessing in his heart that it should be Sun Yan'er and Huang Zhaodi.

His brother-in-law had mentioned before that when he went to the Academy to ask for leave for him, he had met Sun Yan'er and Huang Zhaodi and told them the address of where they had moved in the Inner City.

He had not expected that they would actually come looking for him.

Although he disliked women now and was unwilling to have contact with other women, the Sun Family was a family friend of theirs after all, and Sun Jintang's attitude toward his sister, brother-in-law, and him was still quite good.

Since they had come to find him, it would indeed be unreasonable to turn them away without seeing them.

Of course, he did not care.

It was mainly because his sister and brother-in-law would likely still need to maintain contact with the Sun Family in the future; it was impossible to cut off all ties just because they had moved into the Inner City.

His sister and brother-in-law were not that kind of people.

Thinking this, he soon arrived at the side gate with Ziyuan.

Ziyuan stopped at the entrance and said, "Young Master, they are right outside; I will not go out. If you wish to invite them into the residence to visit, that is also fine; I can accompany you."

Luo Zijun said, "No need, you go back first; I will not bring them into the residence."

This was not his home, after all.

He still understood this bit of etiquette.

Although that Third Miss appreciated him and would not say anything even if she knew, it was a virtue to have self-awareness, so as to avoid being annoying.

Ziyuan nodded and withdrew.

Luo Zijun stepped out of the gate and saw two figures standing in the alley outside.

One was wearing a blue dress, with a slim figure and fair, beautiful skin; the other was wearing a pale yellow dress, with skin of a healthy wheat color, a round face, and large, lively, cute eyes. Both were youthful and beautiful.

It was indeed Sun Yan'er and Huang Zhaodi.

When the two saw him come out, their eyes lit up.

Huang Zhaodi walked straight over with large strides and said with a face full of envy, "Tsk tsk, Luo Zijun, you are so amazing, you actually moved into the Duke's residence..."

Sun Yan'er felt a bit uncomfortable and followed slowly behind.

Luo Zijun said, "Why did you come?"

Huang Zhaodi poked her head around to peek inside the gate, seemingly wanting to see the scenery within, and upon hearing this, she huffed, "What, can we not come? Now that you have climbed high into the Duke's residence, you don't want to acknowledge us poor friends anymore? Hmph, back then you kissed me and Yan'er, and even touched us."

This girl spoke in a boisterous, crisp, and loud manner.

Luo Zijun was afraid that people in the residence would hear and gossip, so he could only say, "Let's go, let's talk outside."

Huang Zhaodi said deliberately, "Are you not going to invite us in for a look?"

Luo Zijun walked quickly out of the alley and said, "It is not my home; I am only working inside. Even I am not allowed in many places inside."

Huang Zhaodi giggled and said, "I'm teasing you. That pretty Young Maid just now called us in, but we didn't dare to enter. Any noble residence is full of all sorts of rules, let alone a grand Duke's residence; even if you invited us in, we wouldn't dare."

Luo Zijun walked toward the outside and asked, "Is something the matter?"

Huang Zhaodi immediately became unhappy: "Can't we come to see you if there's nothing wrong? The Academy is on holiday today, and Yan'er and I came to the Inner City to play, and just happened to think of you, so we came to see you. After all, you saved us back then; we have always kept that life-saving grace in our hearts. Yan'er even went to great lengths to pick out fruit and pastries for you."

Luo Zijun turned his head to look.

Sun Yan'er was following behind, carrying some fruit and gift boxes in her hands. Seeing his gaze, she hurriedly lowered her head, blushing slightly, and said, "It... it was my father who said if I came to the Inner City, I should come to see... see you and Sister Jiaorong..."

Luo Zijun said, "My sister is at Su Guo Fu, but she should be busy making clothes for people right now. After I go back later, I will tell her, and when we have time, we will go to your residence to pay a visit."

Sun Yan'er let out an "oh" and handed the things in her hands to him.

Luo Zijun took them, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Where are you two planning to go逛 today? Would you like to..."

"We want to! We want to!"

Before he could finish, Huang Zhaodi hurriedly said, "Yan'er and I aren't very familiar with the Inner City and have no idea which places are fun; we might even get lost. Luo Zijun, we need you to accompany us! It's not easy for us to come here once, surely you won't refuse, right?"

Luo Zijun said, "I'll go find a guide later and give him a few coins to take you around. I haven't been in the Inner City long either, and I'm not familiar with anywhere."

Huang Zhaodi immediately said angrily, "Luo Zijun, how can you still be so excessive? Are we still friends or not?"

Luo Zijun asked in confusion, "When were we ever friends?"

"You..."

Huang Zhaodi was about to scold him, but suddenly blinked her eyes, stared at him suspiciously for a moment, and said, "Luo Zijun, you had already changed for the better and become gentle before. Now that you've suddenly become like this again, have you been hurt by some woman again?"

Luo Zijun: "..."

I was insulted by a female flower-plucking thief again, damn it!

Six times in one night!

How could I not hate women?

Of course, that is not the point.

The point is, he does not want to go shopping with women, wasting time and wasting life.

Isn't staying home to cultivate and whittle wood more practical than wandering the streets accompanying women?

Seeing his expression, Sun Yan'er thought Huang Zhaodi had guessed correctly; her gaze flickered, and she hurriedly said, "Zhaodi, stop talking."

Then she couldn't help herself, bit her lip, and whispered, "Is it... that girl from the Pharmacy?"

Luo Zijun looked at her and said, "What girl from the Pharmacy?"

Sun Yan'er raised her head, looked at him, and said, "I went to that Pharmacy in the Outer City to check, and it was closed."

Luo Zijun said, "And then?"

Sun Yan'er looked at his expression and gathered her courage to say, "That Su Guniang, she left here, right? She... she is very beautiful, you must like her very much, don't you?"

Luo Zijun looked at her and said, "Does it have anything to do with you?"

Huang Zhaodi immediately said, "Luo Zijun, Yan'er is just concerned about you, what is that attitude?"

Luo Zijun looked at her and said, "What is your attitude? You don't kneel, kowtow, or act submissively to your life-saver, and on top of that, you're so fierce. Have your conscience and morals been eaten by a dog?"

Huang Zhaodi: "..."

A flash of grievance appeared in Sun Yan'er's eyes, and her voice turned cold: "It indeed has nothing to do with me; I was just asking casually. If you don't want to say, that's fine."

Luo Zijun didn't speak again and continued walking forward.

Soon, they arrived on the street.

Huang Zhaodi snorted from behind: "Since she doesn't want you anymore, you're like this, without a shred of manly spirit. You look so good and have talent, can't you go find other women? There are so many beautiful women in the world, and there are many in the Academy too; must you hang yourself from one tree?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Zijun turned his head and said, "Huang Zhaodi, then what if I look for you, would that be okay?"

Huang Zhaodi sneered, then puffed out her full chest and said, "Sure, why not? You kissed me, touched me, and you are my life-saver; you are handsome and talented. If you look for me, I guarantee I'll follow you without hesitation. However, you definitely wouldn't look down on me; I have self-awareness."

Luo Zijun said, "That's fine. Although I don't look down on you, I don't mind you following me. It's not like we're getting married anyway; at worst, after I play with you for a while and get bored, I'll dump you and go find other women. Does that work for you?"

Huang Zhaodi stopped in her tracks, glared at him with her eyes, and clenched her two small fists. But soon, she relaxed her fists, sneered, and said, "Sure, of course that works, I don't care. You play with me, I'll play with you. When we're both bored of playing with each other, I'll dump you first and go find other, more handsome men. Hmph! Who's afraid of whom!"

Then her eyes suddenly lit up, and she chuckled: "Also, when that time comes, I'll get pregnant with your child. After I kick you away later, I'll go find other, more handsome men, make your child call another man 'Daddy', and I'll encourage other men to beat your child every day until he cries for his father and mother, just to piss you off!"

Luo Zijun: "..."

Huang Zhaodi looked at the expression on his face and burst into loud laughter, very smugly saying, "Luo Zijun, your skin is thick, but mine is thicker than yours! Your mouth is poisonous, but mine is more poisonous than yours! Let's see who's afraid of whom! Heh heh, I'll drive you crazy!"

Luo Zijun ignored her and continued walking forward.

Huang Zhaodi said, "Where are we going to have fun now? I'm hungry; I haven't eaten breakfast yet."

Luo Zijun glanced ahead and said, "To the Pharmacy."

"The Pharmacy?"

Huang Zhaodi was stunned and asked in confusion, "Why go to the Pharmacy? Do you need to get medicine?"

Then she suddenly widened her eyes and said, "Luo Zijun, I just practiced my mouth to be a bit more poisonous than yours, and since you can't out-poison me, are you going to get medicine to poison me?"

Luo Zijun couldn't be bothered to deal with her and continued walking forward.

Soon, at the corner, the plaque for "Bao'an Hall" was revealed.

Some things are better done thoroughly.

Dragging things out will only harm others and oneself, and waste each other's time.

(End of chapter)