Chapter 203 - Fair and Square

"Little junior sister! Don't!" Yu Kuang ran after State Master Jiayan quickly, trying to stop her.

"Get lost!" State Master Jiayan's blood was boiling. "Now, n.o.body takes me seriously anymore. Even you want to stop me?"

"Little junior sister!" Yu Kuang persuaded her patiently. "What are you going to do? Scold her? Or beat her up? What's the point?"

"Then what do you want me to do!?" Jiayan shouted. "Just accept it? Who is Lu Mingshu to mess things up for me and not be responsible for it? She caused me to be in this situation, who do I look for if not her?"

She was now emotionally unstable, and there was nothing Yu Kuang could do.

"Get lost! Yu Kuang, just because I call you Senior Brother doesn't mean you're qualified to speak! Following me around all day like a dog, even if you're not irritated, I am!"

"s.h.i.+ Jiayan!" Yu Kuang shouted strictly, leaving Jiayan rooted to the ground.

Yu Kuang was breathing heavily. His face turned red. "Dog? So that's how you see me, huh?" He stared at her firmly.

His expression was way different from how he normally was. The cheerful Yu Kuang could no longer be seen, and it scared s.h.i.+ Jiayan, making her move back. "I…" just talked without thinking.

"Sure, I got nothing to say about you calling me a dog, since I do follow you around all day long." Yu Kuang calmed himself down. "Do you think I want to poke my nose in your business? To look at what you do all day?! Just talking without processing anything just because you're the State Master… how many people have you offended since you were a kid? Do you think you would be able to live so peacefully if I wasn't behind to clean your mess?"

Yu Kuang's voice calmed down slowly. "You want to find Lu Mingshu - what for? Was this caused by her? No! It's because of your father's rebellion! The king and queen decided to give him face, which is the only reason they didn't announce it to the public. What does Lu Mingshu have to do with this? She may have gotten a few benefits, but she's just a pa.s.serby! Even the rocks on the ground aren't as innocent as she is!

"Sure, you could say your father isn't at fault. However, the person who stopped the rebellion is the queen; what the h.e.l.l does Lu Mingshu have to do with this? Why not go after the queen or your uncle? Or Senior Brother Xie at least. But no, you don't dare! Do you really not get this logic? I'm sure you do, it's just that you dare not act on it! You dare not look for any of them, only Lu Mingshu, who can take no action against you. s.h.i.+ Jiayan, aren't you at least embarra.s.sed?"

Piak! A slap was given.

A red mark emerged on Yu Kuang's face.

The slap was on impulse, and Jiayan didn't expect that Yu Kuang wouldn't dodge. She was fl.u.s.tered and started to explain, "I, I didn't…"

"I know you are jealous of Lu Mingshu," Yu Kuang said calmly. "You feel that she has no right to be more well-regarded than you when she's not even half as good as you. A b.u.mpkin from an unknown backwater not only got the limelight during the Qilin Festival, but the queen valued her too. But the thing that you are most jealous of is how Senior Brother Xie treats you both differently. He acts like you're a non-existence, but he cares for her in every possible way. Jealousy is an emotion, and it's okay to feel that way. However, you should know that the difference between a gentleman and a nasty person is how well they can control themselves. You hate that I'm always poking my nose in your business, right? Fine, I'll never care about you again. Hopefully, you can take good care of yourself. Now that the king of Yijun is in his current state, you have no rights to behave like how you always have. Please give yourself a route out, alright?"

After that, Yu Kuang turned and walked away.

Seeing him walk away without any reluctance, State Master Jiayan stared into s.p.a.ce blankly for a moment. When she realized what just happened, she burst into tears.

Hearing her cries, Yu Kuang's eyes brimmed with tears. He turned a corner to see Wei Chunqiu standing there.

"Senior Brother Wei…." His lips trembled.

"You should've done this earlier," Wei Chunqiu said with a blank face. "Giving in to her would only make yourself as worthless as dust."

Yu Kuang turned around, not wanting Wei Chunqiu to see tears in his eyes.

"Cheer up, at least you're better than Junior Brother Xie." Wei Chunqiu smirked. "He's the one who lifted a rock only to have his own toes squashed."

In Tianyun City, Xie Lianzhen sat on his wheelchair, looking at the main street that was outside the majestic city gate that lead away from Tianyun City.

As usual, Xie Zhanghui was standing beside him.

Far ahead, a person holding a horse was walking further away from the city. They finally entered the morning mist and could no longer be seen.

"Am I a coward?" After she disappeared from his sight, Xie Lianzhen asked. "I don't even have the courage to send her off."

Xie Zhanghui remained silent.

"Actually, I'm regretting a bit now…."

Xie Zhanghui looked at him nervously.

Seeing that, Xie Lianzhen burst out laughing. "Are you afraid that I'll send someone to get her back?" After he finished laughing, he continued. "Eh, you seemed to like her a lot, huh?"

This made Xie Zhanghui even more nervous. "Young Master, you're thinking too much. Zhanghui only thinks that… it's such a pity."

"What's a pity?" Xie Lianzhen teased.

"According to Miss Lu's desires, if Young Master forced her to stay, Young Master would never get her heart," he replied.

Xie Lianzhen thought over it and nodded. "You're right." He sighed. "To be honest, I lost from the start. It's hard to win if you're unaware of what you even want. There's no use in forcing a woman like her to stay, and I'm not confident I could make her stay either."

"Young Master, you lost because you care. You worry for her at all times, and that's the reason Young Master lost."

Xie Lianzhen smiled. "You really know me better than myself."

The sun rose up to the sky, and the mist gradually dissipated. The one who left could no longer be seen.

"Actually, I know she did it on purpose."

"You mean…?" Xie Zhanghui replied.

"She helped me block that attack for her goals," Xie Lianzhen said calmly.

Xie Zhanghui stared at him blankly.

"Interested in why I let her off?"

Xie Zhanghui remained quiet, but his expression gave him away.

Xie Lianzhen smiled. "Because I lost to myself!" He lowered his volume. "I knew she did it on purpose to stir up my emotions. And she did, so I lost."

After Lu Mingshu had dropped to the ground, what happened was like a dream.

Everything was scattered and smashed. Blood splattered, and the queen's face appeared in his vision at the same time.

He took a long time to remember what happened.

He nearly crippled Ding Qingqing. He was at the peak of the Harmonization Realm, and he suddenly broke through to the Spirit Realm at that moment.

However, due to his deranged emotions at the time, he became obsessed.

The queen sent him back to the Seventh Truth Platform and saved his life with help from the elders.

"We're even now, I guess?" Xie Lianzhen mumbled to himself. "I teased her when I could, and I even got the queen to do it too. I even hindered her in the challenger's fight. To be honest, what I did was way more overboard, so it's okay for her to take revenge."

"But…"

"I lost!" Xie Lianzhen repeated. "I always read minds, yet I couldn't read my own. I'm just reaping what I sowed."

"…" Xie Zhanghui said nothing.

Xie Lianzhen smiled. "It's okay, we'll leave it at that. Where's the queen? In the palace?"

"Yes."

"Send me to her then."

"Yes."

Chapter 204 - Definitely

The queen was now teaching the little prince, s.h.i.+ Yu.

Maybe it was because she regretted not spending enough time with her elder son, but no matter how busy she was, she would take some time out to teach her younger son on her own.

"Okay, you've finished your work today." The queen caressed him and called out to her personal servant. "Bring the prince to rest."

"Yes."

"Mother, your child asks to be excused." The little prince said goodbye politely.

The queen smiled, looking at him leave. The king of Zhongzhou came in at the same time.

"Qing'er"

The queen smiled at him.

"That young lady has left?"

"Yes," she answered softly.

"Xing'er finally agreed to let her off?"

The queen nodded.

"That's great," the king of Zhongzhou said. "What doesn't come from the heart is only superficial. With him being so stubborn, it was only going to bring harm to himself."

The queen sighed but said nothing in reply.

Seeing her exhausted face, the king of Zhongzhou went beside her and gave her a ma.s.sage.

"Please be at ease, this is a good thing for Xing'er." The king of Zhongzhou soothed her. "These past few years, he has been too depressed, which is why he's always ill. It's a good chance for him to vent his emotions, and he will soon be okay."

"I hope so." The queen furrowed her eyebrows. "As a mother, I feel sorry for him too. He's willing to let that young lady off because he's moved, but I couldn't even get that girl to stay for him."

"Liking her doesn't mean that you must make her stay. Most important is what the feeling gives him. Even if she stayed, it may not be good for him. But now, he put his feelings for her in his heart, and when he recalls it, he can feel the happiness sincerely."

"That will be good then." The queen was convinced.

"He's very similar to you." The king of Zhongzhou looked at her. "Back when you returned from the Yin Mountains to the Seventh Truth Platform, I remember that you looked like you were about to destroy everything around you. I am sure that if you had the ability, you would've already flattened all of Zhongzhou."

The queen stared at him blankly upon hearing him talk about that matter.

It was her own past, but now, it seemed like something that happened in a previous lifetime.

When she was in the duplicated s.p.a.ce, the crazy Xie Lianzhen made her feel like it was fate.

The queen always thought that he was just plain curious and stubborn. When he was satisfied, he'd get tired of it soon afterward.

The last thing she ever imagined was that he'd be so serious about her.

What if Lu Mingshu died? She shook her head. She didn't want to think about the answer. Back then, she had a loving master, a baby in her, and the determination to take revenge. That's what allowed her to make it through and gave her a new life.

But Xie Lianzhen? He had nothing but sickness.

As a mother, she had complicated views toward Lu Mingshu. She didn't like that Lu Mingshu had affected her son so deeply, yet she was grateful that she pulled him back and allowed him to pull himself back together.

The queen had a lingering fear toward the crazy Xie Lianzhen.

If Ding Qingqing wasn't seriously frightened by him and unable to react since he broke through to the Spirit Realm all of a sudden, the results would've been disastrous.

The Xie Lianzhen that had gone berserk was filled with a murderous aura as if he had climbed out of h.e.l.l. It was a different Xie Lianzhen that she had never seen before.

Fortunately, he recovered quickly. The obsession helped him clear the depressed emotions in himself, and when he woke up, he looked peaceful. He seemed genuine, as if he no longer had his mask on.

After a moment of silence, the King spoke, "I'm sorry."

The queen opened her eyes. "For what?"

"As a king, I did nothing, and you had to carry everything on your shoulders."

The queen smiled. "Isn't that good? I'd be unhappy if you poked your nose into these matters. No ruler would like to share their power."

The king of Zhongzhou smiled. "Somebody else told me that too." Before the queen could comment, he continued, "My father, the previous king of Zhongzhou.

"My father wanted to carry on a deathbed wish of his ancestors, which was to conquer the huge desolate wasteland and subdue the barbarians. But this mighty dream will always be a dream. Before he could put his hands on it, he died. In an aristocratic family fight, he died of mental and physical exhaustion.

"But I'm different from him, I have no interest in controlling Zhongzhou. If younger brother wasn't so incompetent, I would've given him the position long ago. So, when you stood in front of me, it was as if I found a treasure. I saw father's determination and aggressiveness in you. The first thing that came to my mind was that it was great that I finally found someone who could continue father's ambition."

"But I never proved myself worthy back then…."

"You did in the past." The king of Zhongzhou smiled. "When you were still a disciple in the Seventh Truth Platform, the fifth clan was almost under your control. Your system was so useful that, even now that Xing'er doesn't care about it, the fifth clan is still functioning well. I knew that your master set his heart on letting you be the next Alioth Star Lord, not Xie Zhanghe.

"Qing'er, I know that it's more of a platonic relations.h.i.+p between us. Our marriage is more of an alliance." The king of Zhongzhou looked at her softly. "But it's alright. If you want revenge for Xie Zhanghe, do it. If you want to change the world, sure, I'll give you the authority. I'll give you whatever I can, and you'll share my burdens. I'm glad we are a couple in this way."

The queen looked at him.

He came here just to tell me this, eh? Because of Ding Qingqing's words that day?

"I'm glad too," The queen mumbled. That I met you after I lost him.

When Xie Lianzhen entered, they were sitting together talking. "King, queen," he said calmly.

The king of Zhongzhou smiled at him and stood up. "Have a good chat with your mother, I'll go and take a look at Yu'er."

After he left, it was just the queen and Xie Lianzhen.

The queen walked over and caressed his legs. "How are they now?"

"Senior Uncle Zhang said that my energy isn't smooth yet, so I can't get my True Energy back yet. When it's back, I'll be able to stand up," Xie Lianzhen replied.

"That's great, that's great," the queen mumbled, eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears.

After ages, she finally heard a piece of good news.

"Queen." Xie Lianzhen grabbed her hand in his own tightly.

The queen trembled, looking at him in tears.

This is the first time he ever came to me on his own accord.

"For some things, I used to think that I didn't care, so there was no need to know. Now, I finally realize I didn't dare to ask because I care too much." Xie Lianzhen looked up at her in antic.i.p.ation. "Do you love me?"

Tears rolled down the queen's cheeks. She held out her hand, shaking, and embraced him tightly.

"Definitely," she replied. "Mother definitely loves you."

Xie Lianzhen kept his eyes shut. He teared up in this hug that came so late.

Chapter 205 - Setting Off to Beiming

Setting off from Tianyun City's north gate, then going east from the main street, after proceeding for ten miles, Lu Mingshu reached a ferry crossing.

There was footpath made out of pebbles leading to a bamboo forest, covering the waters slightly. A simple stone slab in unadorned colors showed how long it had stayed at this ferry crossing; more than a thousand of years. It had been washed into this color by time.

The morning mist had dispersed by now, and the sound of horse-trotting got closer. At the end of the footpath, a girl on a horse galloped toward the ferry crossing.

"Little Daze, we are here!" A clear voice could be heard. The horse raised its front hoof up high and stopped in time, landing exactly where the rider wanted.

Lu Mingshu got down from Little Daze and looked around the ferry crossing.

It was a peaceful river, clear water rippling, but not a single ferry could be seen, and there wasn't anyone around.

Is Xiahou Shan trying to fool me? She sulked.

Sending her out of the city, Xiahou Shan had asked Lu Mingshu where she was going to go. "Where is Miss Lu planning to go?"

"I came from Xichuan, and Dongyue's my hometown. It's boring to go back to either of those places, so I'll go to Beiming to have a look," Lu Mingshu replied.

Xiahou Shan furrowed her eyebrows. "It's not easy to get to Beiming!"

Bei meant north, and Ming meant river. Just like its name, it was an area near a large river surrounding the whole northern part of China.

Looking at the map, a huge portion of Beiming was occupied by the Ming River. This huge river with many tributaries could bring someone to anywhere in the world, and it was the thing that cut the land into many islands in the river. All of Beiming relied mainly on the river; the land was just complementary.

There were so many tributaries to the Ming River that made the topography complicated. Even today, there wasn't any map that could record its actual topography. Moreover, the Ming River was filled with many ferocious beasts. Even a Spirit Realm wouldn't dare to step into it rashly.

"Before I left, my master gave me a book of personal letters, which recorded his years while travelling in Beiming. With the book and my cautiousness, I should be safe."

Xiahou Shan nodded. "It's good that you know what to expect. If anything happens, take that string of Mystic Dewdrops out. Beiming knows well that it represents Zhongzhou royalty. Don't hesitate to take it out when you need to."

Lu Mingshu couldn't help but feel grateful to the queen. "In the end, I should thank Her Highness for this."

"You returning safely is the best way you can express your grat.i.tude to her," Xiahou Shan said.

What Xiahou Shan said made Lu Mingshu feel uneasy. The queen cared for her safety all because of Xie Lianzhen, and speaking of him reminded her of what she did.

She did that not because she truly wanted to move Xie Lianzhen, but out of evil intentions. Since you want me to wholeheartedly acknowledge allegiance to you, then I'll show you the outcome of that. See if you can bear the consequences.

But she never expected that, not only could Xie Lianzhen not bear the consequences, she herself…

Being sharp, Xiahou Shan intuitively knew that Lu Mingshu was uneasy by her expression, so she changed the topic. "Anyway, if you want to travel to Beiming, there's an old ferry crossing ten miles away from the north gate. The river is interlinked with their tributary. Sometimes you'll meet the Jianghu people from Beiming, who make a living on the Ming River. They might not be capable, but they are experienced, so it will be easy for you to get to Beiming with their boat."

"Thank you for the information, Emissary Xiahou."

After bidding Xiahou Shan goodbye, Lu Mingshu made her way to the old ferry crossing. However, now that she was here, she couldn't even see a boat.

Am I just unlucky?

Without a boat or guide, it would be hard to reach Beiming. In her master's book, it wrote that the hardest obstacle that an outsider would face while going to Beiming was that it was so easy for them to get lost. If they did, it would be a serious problem.

The river of Beiming could get you anywhere in the world. In an ancient travel book, there were many cla.s.sic stories of this. One losing his way in the Ming River and meeting a senior who had been missing for years, or losing their way in the Ming River and being unable to find the way out until a junior came to help.

From the cla.s.sics, it showed how easy it was for one to lose their way on the Ming River and how serious the consequences were.

The last thing that Lu Mingshu wanted to happen was for her to waste her years in the tributaries of the Ming River, so she had to find a ferry first.

Creak!

There was a sound of rowing as a small boat paddled out from a bunch of reeds near the riverbank.

Lu Mingshu's eyes lit up.

The simple and dull boat paddled across the waters. The old ferry crossing that was as still as a painting regained life.

The boatman wearing a bamboo hat shouted across to Lu Mingshu. "Miss, do you want to cross the river?"

Lu Mingshu flagged down the boat.

The small boat came over quickly. A teenage girl with a hakka scarf on her head came out from the hold of the s.h.i.+p and jumped up with a rope.

After securing the rope, the girl looked up, wiping the sweat from her rosy cheeks and forehead. "Miss, please get on board."

"Thanks a lot." Lu Mingshu leapt on board, followed by Little Daze. Its weight made the small boat sway from side to side.

The boatman was an old man; his hair and beard were already half white. Seeing these two, he chuckled. "Lady Luck's on my side today that I would be able to get a n.o.ble guest."

Lu Mingshu turned around. "How does Sir know that I'm a n.o.ble guest?"

The boatman beamed. "From your dress and the mount. It has a magical and G.o.dly look; it must be a precious beast. If you're not a n.o.ble guest, what else would you be?"

Lu Mingshu smiled. "May I know how much the fare is to get from here to Beiming?"

"Depends on which part of Beiming Miss wants to go to." The boatman caressed his beard. "As long as there's enough, we can go anywhere you want."

Anywhere you want - such an arrogant sentence! But if he dares to say that, he must know the Ming River like his own palm.

Lu Mingshu pondered before replying. "I don't know where to go either. Can I rent Sir's boat and go wherever I want?"

"That's a good idea!" Before the boatman could reply, the girl clapped her hands. "That's great, go whenever you want and stop whenever you want. That's freedom!"

This girl on the boat seems to have a concept of Zen, Lu Mingshu thought.

But that wasn't something surprising. The boatman and the girl had mystic force circulating through their bodies, which told her that they were martial artists. These should be the Jianghu people that Xiahou Shan mentioned.

She tossed a golden spindle into the girl's hand. "How many days can I rent the boat with this?"

The girl's eyes widened. "Hundred Refined Golden Spindle?" It was obviously a pleasant surprise for the girl.

Lu Mingshu nodded her head.

The girl and the boatman exchanged a glance. The girl clapped her hands together. "For half a year, we'll go wherever Miss wants!"

Firstly, refine gold in water to get the essence. After refining it a hundred ways, it becomes a Hundred Refined Gold Essence. Sixty kilograms of gold essence would then be refined into merely a small spindle. This Hundred Refined Golden Spindle could be used to refine a mystic weapon! As Jianghu people made a living on the Ming River, their cultivation materials came from the river. Mystic weapons were rare because mining masters were monopolized by the aristocratic families.

The girl turned toward the river and shouted. "Elder brother, we are setting sail!"

A wave appeared in the middle of the river. In the blink of an eye, it was beside the boat. A person appeared from under the water. "Here I am!"

The guy wasn't much bigger than the girl. He wasn't very tall, but he was flexible. He came onto the boat half-naked and threw a net on the boat. Prawns and fish leapt about in the net.

Out of curiosity, Little Daze went to smell them, but the fishy smell turned it off, and it turned away.

The guy and the girl looked extremely alike. They even had the same smile.

"Be at ease, Miss. We can bring you anywhere you want, and we can guarantee you that we won't lose our way! "

Lu Mingshu nodded. "Thank you for your trouble."