Chapter 133 - Immature
The Alioth Star Lord looked exactly the same as how he did years ago.
The only difference was that he had grown a bit older and looked more mature.
In fact, Lu Mingshu could barely remember what he looked like in the past. When they first met, she was just a kid. The only impression she had of him was that he was a good-looking youngster.
"C-Cousin…!" the junior sister of Yu Kuang stuttered.
"Imperial Tutor didn"t give you that item so you could use it in such a way."
The automatic wheelchair slowly came into the ally. Xie Lianzhen glanced over them, "Get back to the mountain and stay in the Red Fountain Cave for a month."
"Cousin!" she moaned in despaired. By the time she was released, the Qilin Festival would already be over!
"Senior Brother Xie-" Yu Kuang began.
Before Yu Kuang could continue, Xie Lianzhen cut him off, "You too. Jia Yan"s still young, but what about you? You should be taking care of her instead of creating more trouble."
"It"s not like that, Senior Brother Xie…!" Yu Kuang tried to defend himself, but he couldn"t come up with an excuse. It was Jia Yan"s own fault for trying to hara.s.s Lu Mingshu in the first place.
"Don"t blame Senior Brother Yu!" Jia Yan interrupted. "It was my decision. He only came because he was worried for me."
"Yeah, sure. He was worried," Xie Lianzhen glanced at Yu Kuang. Even though he sounded calm, it was obvious that he was blaming everything on Yu Kuang. "If you were worried for Jia Yan, you should"ve stopped her instead of joining the fight. The Qilin Festival is almost here, and yet you"ve injured Lu Mingshu. How is she supposed to fight now?"
"Cousin!" even though Yu Kuang remained silent, Jia Yan felt indignant, "Why are you siding with her? Yu Kuang didn"t cause any serious injury; it"s just a small cut."
"Junior Sister!" Yu Kuang tried to interrupt.
However, Jia Yan chose to ignore Yu Kuang, "Am I wrong? We did all of this for you, yet you… I would"ve ignored it if it was Ling Wuxia, but who is she?"
Xie Lianzhen furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing that and bellowed, "Shut up! Why are you spouting nonsense when you"re not a kid anymore? Behave, and don"t slander her!"
"Reputation? What the h.e.l.l?" Jia Yan muttered, "Do you think I"m dumb? She doesn"t appreciate you! The Nine Jade Palace is just making use of you!"
She turned toward Lu Mingshu and gave a deadly stare, "What, are you scared of getting exposed?"
"Shut the f.u.c.k up!" Xie Lianzhen bellowed. "What does it have to do with you anyway? So what if I"m your cousin? Who do you think you are?"
"You…!" Jia Yan burst into tears.
"Senior Brother Xie!" Yu Kuang burst out. "How could you say such things to her? You may not be related by blood, but she"s done so much for you since you were kids. Why are you always so unappreciative?"
"Junior Brother Yu. You are always finding excuses for her when she gets into trouble; that"s why she"s getting more and more out of control. Your reason is that she"s doing it out of good will for me, but what if she accidentally kills someone? Good will can"t be exchanged for a life - what"s wrong will always be wrong."
"I never thought of it that way!" tears m.u.f.fled her voice.
"And yet you keep repeating the same mistake again and again. Jia Yan, by doing this, you"re just embarra.s.sing me," Xie Lianzhen sighed. He paused for a while before continuing, "I know - you did all of this for me, and I don"t wish to see people hating you because of me. Besides, she may not be the one that wants to make use of me."
"If not her, then who?" Jia Yan cried even more. "I am so angry because everyone looks down on you!"
Xie Lianzhen smiled at her warmly, "Now, now, not having the intention to marry me does not mean that she looks down on me. Her parents forced her into this, so how could you blame her?"
"Stepmother," Lu Mingshu corrected, interrupting the heartwarming conversation between the cousins.
The three of them turned to her.
As soon as Xie Lianzhen appeared, she hadn"t spoken, as if it had nothing to do with her.
"Nothing to do with my mother," Lu Mingshu said firmly.
Jia Yan"s mouth widened in shock, "Not your mother?"
"Yes."
Silence took over.
The happiness was all gone, and so were the heartwarming moments. Silence took over, and everyone just stood there.
"Erm," Yu Kuang coughed slightly, "Erm, Miss Lu, I apologize…."
Silence once again took over.
"Miss Lu?" Yu Kuang called out.
"What?"
"I"m sorry."
"I heard you the first time."
"Oh… then, shouldn"t you respond?"
"h.e.l.l no!" Lu Mingshu rolled her eyes, "What do you want me to say? "It"s alright, I don"t mind"? Sorry, but I do mind."
"Uh…"
Yu Kuang bit his lips. It wasn"t a rule that an apology would be automatically accepted.
"Heh," Xie Lianzhen chuckled. "Nevermind. You two aren"t to blame for being so impulsive anyway. It was his idea after all…."
"Is Junior Brother Xie talking about me?" a deep voice cut Xie Lianzhen off, as a man strolled into the alley.
He was tall and buff, and he took heavy steps. Even though he was young, he gave off a mysterious aura.
"Senior Brother Wei," Xie Lianzhen plastered a smile onto his face, "I didn"t expect you to be here. Aren"t you busy cultivating?"
"The Qilin Festival is the day after tomorrow. I should have enough time to prepare," he stopped right by Yu Kuang. "What about you, huh? You rarely go out, yet you"re here in Tianyun City today. I"m surprised."
Xie Lianzhen nodded and smiled at him, "It"s merely a coincidence. I came because the queen called me. What about you? Are you here just to make things difficult for a young girl? Surely Senior Brother Wei isn"t so petty, am I right?"
Smiles were plastered on both of their faces, but sarcasm filled their conversation.
Lu Mingshu raised her eyebrows. This seems weird.
The ident.i.ty of this Senior Brother Wei was now abundantly clear to Mingshu.
Wei Chunqiu! The top disciple of the Seventh Truth Platform!
Wow, interesting. Just by competing in some arenas, I gained the attention of the disciples of the Seventh Truth Platform, including Wei Chunqiu. How popular am I?
"Cousin, it"s all my fault, I"m too much of a busybody. Don"t blame it on Senior Brother Wei…."
"Yeah!" Yu Kuang added on. "We chose to do this. Senior Brother Wei even helped defend Lu Mingshu just now."
When that fist was broken, the sparkle was caused by Xie Lianzhen, but the sword energy was because of Wei Chunqiu.
Xie Lianzhen turned to them and gave them a death-stare, "Did I ask for your explanations? Go and reflect on what you"ve done wrong!"
Both of them lowered their heads in silence.
"Hah!" Wei Chunqiu laughed out loud. "It"s not surprising that Junior Sister s.h.i.+ would do something like this, but it"s surprising that you would. Seems like you are very pleased with the girl chosen for you!"
"And it"s surprising that Senior Brother Wei would poke your nose into somebody else"s business. So, what brought you here?"
"You could say… curiosity," Wei Chunqiu smiled. "If everything comes to fruition, our Seventh Truth Platform would definitely be affected, and to a rather great extent, no?"
Xie Lianzhen burst out laughing, "Senior Brother Wei, are you not confident in me, or are you overly confident in her?"
Chapter 134 - A Promise That Can"t Be Fulfilled
"What are they talking about…?" Jia Yan looked at them in confusion.
Yu Kuang pulled her back.
"Ignore them," he whispered.
"But…!"
"You have no right to poke your nose into their matters."
One was the current Alioth Star Lord, and the other one was the soon-to-be Dubhe Star Lord. Jia Yan was just a low-level disciple of the Seventh Truth Platform, so why would she have the right to intervene in their matters?
When Xie Lianzhen and Wei Chunqiu ended the awkward situation, Xie Lianzhen turned to Lu Mingshu, "Long time no see, Miss Lu."
"Cousin, you know her!?" Jia Yan shrieked.
Xie Lianzhen glared at her.
"Sorry… I"m just shocked," she muttered. She knew that it was disrespectful to cut somebody off while they were speaking, but she chose to ignore that because she despised Lu Mingshu.
Xie Lianzhen ignored Jia Yan and turned toward Lu Mingshu, "I didn"t expect that we would meet again… and in such a situation."
"Yes, it indeed has been a long time. It"s my honor that the Alioth Star Lord still remembers me," Lu Mingshu smiled brittlely at him. "It seems like we always meet when I"m in a terrible situation."
"It"s my fault this time around," Xie Lianzhen nodded.
Lu Mingshu didn"t reply. However, based on how she looked at him, one could guess the message she was trying to send; I"m glad you"re aware.
Jia Yan was riled up when she saw Mingshu"s expression. She shouted at Lu Mingshu fiercely, "Hey! What do you mean by that face? Even if it"s not your mother, it"s still partially your fault for wanting to make use of my cousin!"
"Jia Yan!"
"Junior Sister!"
Being stopped by both of them, she turned her back on them, sulking, "Fine! I"ll just shut up."
After the silence once again took over, Xie Lianzhen continued, "It"s my pleasure to be able to meet you again, and in Zhongzhou no less. I presume that Miss Lu hasn"t forgotten about what happened back then?"
Lu Mingshu looked down, "Some things will never be forgotten as long as I"m alive."
Yu Kuang eyes widened upon hearing that. Her sentence sounded very solemn. This Miss Lu seemed to have a different agenda, unlike what he previously thought. He used to think that she went to the battle arenas to raise her value so that she could successfully marry Xie Lianzhen, and then make use of that to bring benefits to the Nine Jade Palace and herself. However, seeing how she reacted, it seemed that she had a different agenda.
It was their fault that they jumped to conclusions too quickly without researching her life in the Nine Jade Palace. He somehow missed the fact that her surname was Lu, not Fu.
Yu Kuang was submerged in guilt at the moment. I have wronged her. If she was really the Eldest Miss of Nine Jade Palace, why would she admit that she only cares about killing? When he said those words initially, he was just being sarcastic. But her response of "I may only care about killing, but at least I don"t kill innocents," seemed a lot different now.
"So, what are you planning to do this time around?"
Lu Mingshu smiled at him, "Would the Alioth Star Lord help me if I tell you my problems?"
Xie Lianzhen paused for a while before replying, "I"ll try my best."
"I want to get out of the Nine Jade Palace. Will you marry me for that?"
"Hey!" Jia Yan interrupted, "Are you trying to force my cousin into a marriage!?"
Lu Mingshu nodded as she raised another term, "I hope to have a new sect leader in the Nine Jade Palace, would you help me?"
Yu Kuang bit his lips, "Erm… I believe that it isn"t good for us to intervene in another clan"s matters."
Seeing that Yu Kuang was having such a hard time, she laughed. "Alioth Star Lord, don"t make promises that you can"t fulfil."
"Wow!" Wei Chunqiu, who had been standing there silently for a long time, laughed out loud. He glanced at Xie Lianzhen with a grin, "My dear Junior Brother Xie, this is my first time seeing you tongue-tied! Today"s trip here has definitely been worth my time."
After that, he turned toward Lu Mingshu, "Miss Lu, since you"ve said so much, I will be lenient to you if I come across you at the Qilin Festival."
"Thank you."
Wei Chunqiu being lenient to her would indeed be very beneficial.
"Hmm…" Xie Lianzhen started after pondering for a while, "Is that what you really want?"
Lu Mingshu raised her eyebrows in confusion. She didn"t understand what he meant.
"If that"s what you want, your first wish has already come true."
Silence took over the place once again.
"Your second wish isn"t difficult either," he strummed his fingers on the armrest of his wheelchair. "I would just need a bit of extra time."
"Cousin!" Jia Yan interrupted, "Do you really want to marry her? She"s not even worth half of Ling Wuxia!"
Yu Kuang whispered to her, "Didn"t you say that even Ling Wuxia isn"t good enough?"
"Shus.h.!.+" Jia Yan chided him.
"Miss Lu," Xie Lianzhen smiled at her, "This is the best option for you and me. What do you think?"
"I know, right?" Wei Chunqiu smirked. "With your innate skills, there"s a high chance that you"ll be able to reach the a.s.similation Realm. Junior Brother Xie here has some physical defect that acts as a barrier for him. If you marry him, you would fill up that gap, and you would be able to leave Nine Jade Palace. You have the ability while he has the authority; you would be perfect for each other."
Lu Mingshu nodded, "So, that"s why you came."
Initially, she was confused - how valuable was she that Wei Chunqiu would actually send people here to hara.s.s her? Now she knew why, and she knew what Xie Lianzhen meant when he asked whether Wei Chunqiu was overconfident in her; they were talking about the possibility of her getting into the a.s.similation Realm.
"So, what"s your choice?" Wei Chunqiu probed. "Your wish would be granted with a single word from you."
Lu Mingshu shook her head, "His Highness doesn"t know what my wish is, and he couldn"t fulfil it either."
Wei Chunqiu sighed jokingly, "Oh, so it"s a rejection then. Sorry, Junior Brother Xie."
"…" Xie Lianzhen nodded, "As expected."
It was clear why she was battling at all costs.
"If you ever change your mind," he continued, "you can come to me at the Seventh Truth Platform."
Lu Mingshu retorted, "So what Alioth Star Lord means is that this case is settled then?"
Xie Lianzhen grimaced, "I"ll try to change queen"s mind."
""Try"? So, you"re still incapable after all."
"Hah!" Wei Chunqiu burst out laughing once again. "Junior Brother Xie, it"s time to be honest with yourself. Promising something and failing to deliver will only make you seem untrustworthy."
He smiled bitterly, "Thanks for the advice, Senior Brother."
"I"m finally done. Time to go back now," Wei Chunqiu turned to the two young kids, "Are you coming?"
"Duh!" Yu Kuang agreed in no time, dragging Jia Yan with him.
Jia Yan hesitated in her steps, "But cousin"s alone…."
"Hey, this is Tianyun City; what could possibly happen? Let"s go. See you, Senior Brother Xie!"
Yu Kuang knew that he had gotten into trouble today. Thus, he dared not stay for long, and he hurried behind Wei Chunqiu.
As the three of them strolled away, Jia Yan kept looking back worriedly.
"Miss Lu," Xie Lianzhen fished out a small bottle and threw it to her, "I sincerely apologize for what happened today. This is a secret medicine of our Seventh Truth Platform. It will help in your recovery."
"Is this only for the injury on the skin?"
"Why?"
"Just now, when your cousin threw her secret item out, I received inner injuries from it even though you blocked it."
Xie Lianzhen was taken aback. He never expected her to say such things. He fished out a wooden box and threw it to her. "Once per day. Three consecutive days."
"Thanks," Lu Mingshu put it into her bag swiftly.
"I"ll be leaving first then."
"Wait."
Xie Lianzhen stopped in his tracks.
Lu Mingshu fished out a piece of jade from her pocket and put it in front of him. "I heard that, with this jade, I could get help from any Seventh Truth Platform disciple; is this true?"
Xie Lianzhen smiled upon seeing the piece of jade. "So, you still have it. And yes, it"s true."
"So, will you help me?"
Xie Lianzhen chuckled and nodded, "Of course."
"I need your help to find someone," Lu Mingshu said.
Chapter 135 - Non-Existence
Xie Lianzhen nodded, "Name? Is he in Zhongzhou?"
"He…" Lu Mingshu smiled upon remembering him. This was the first time she genuinely smiled tonight. "He"s called Yan Wugui, a disciple of the Seventh Truth Platform."
Oh, so she has a dimple.
Xie Lianzhen tried to recall, "Any more information? Which generation is he in? Or what"s his cultivation, age, and appearance?"
"He said that he"s from the fifth generation. He should be twenty-four this year…. He was in the Harmonization Realm five years ago, and he has been to Jade West Mountain Forest before. He is good at using knives. Oh yeah! He had a big scar on his face, around here," Lu Mingshu pointed on her face.
Xie Lianzhen didn"t speak for a long time. The shadow of the wall blocked his expression.
After a while, Lu Mingshu called out to him since she didn"t get any response, "Alioth Star Lord?"
"Oh, I"m sorry," Xie Lianzhen was called back down to earth, "From what I know, there"s n.o.body in the fifth generation who"s called Yan Wugui."
"What?" Lu Mingshu eyes widened in shock, "That"s not possible."
Yan Wugui said that he"s a Seventh Truth Platform disciple! He wouldn"t lie to me.
"I"m definitely sure," Xie Lianzhen nodded. "If you are just searching for an ordinary disciple, I would have to go back and flip through the name-list. However, if you"re searching for someone in the fifth generation who was in the Harmonization Realm at the age of nineteen… as a clan leader, I would have noticed him, and I have not seen anyone with such a big scar on his face."
The answer that she got was totally out of her expectations. Lu Mingshu stood rooted to the ground upon hearing that.
"Moreover," Xie Lianzhen continued, "the Seventh Truth Platform focuses on swords, so not many would use a knife as their weapon. So far in the fifth generation, none of the disciples are skilled with knives."
Perhaps because Lu Mingshu looked so disappointed, Xie Lianzhen continued, "Miss Lu, I think you might"ve remembered wrongly."
Lu Mingshu shook her head violently.
Remembered wrongly? How could that be possible? During the past eight years, there weren"t many who gave her a helping hand or treated her nicely. Those short two weeks interacting with him were carved deeply in her memory.
"Alioth Star Lord, is he perhaps some kind of external disciple who only comes to the Seventh Truth Platform to learn? You guys have a lot of such disciples, right?"
Some rich kids had a place in the Seventh Truth Platform, but they didn"t stay there. Yan Wugui"s body language told her that he probably wasn"t from a wealthy family, but the rare treasure he had wasn"t something that low-level disciples would have. She was afraid that he might have a special ident.i.ty.
Xie Lianzhen shook his head, "If he was just with us to learn, then he wouldn"t be considered part of the fifth generation." He raised his eyebrows as he looked at Lu Mingshu, "Were you deceived?"
"No!" Lu Mingshu shouted. "He would never lie to me!"
She sounded so angry that Xie Lianzhen kept quiet for a moment, "Well, neither would I."
Lu Mingshu took a deep breath and looked at him awkwardly, "I"m sorry, I don"t mean to doubt your credibility."
"It"s okay."
After a while, Xie Lianzhen broke the silence, "Could I ask… what"s the relations.h.i.+p between you two?"
Relations.h.i.+p? Lu Mingshu shook her head. They weren"t related at all… just two strangers who came together by chance.
"Alioth Star Lord, could I change my request then?"
Xie Lianzhen nodded, "The Metro Star is still in your hands. What"s your request?"
"Could I get the name-list of all the disciples who went to Jade West Mountain Forest five years ago?"
Lu Mingshu was clear that this request was overboard. Name-lists weren"t exactly some rare treasure, but they weren"t something that outsiders could see. However, she couldn"t accept the answer given by Xie Lianzhen.
Maybe Yan Wugui had some hidden troubles that forced him to use some other ident.i.ty. Or maybe Yan Wugui simply wasn"t his given name. However, a human who went to the Jade West Mountain Forest alive and kicking wouldn"t possibly vanish into thin air.
Xie Lianzhen didn"t agree or disagree. Instead, he questioned her, "Since he"s not related to you, why do you care so much?"
This sounded like an interrogation. Normally, Lu Mingshu wouldn"t answer, or she would say something sarcastic. However, at the moment, she was too emotionally confused to be rude. She stroked the dagger that was tied to her waist and muttered, "I need to give him something."
"What is it?"
Lu Mingshu bit her lip in silence.
She looked at her feet. The moonlight created a long shadow.
How can a living person not exist?
She could hear the wheelchair moving further away, and Xie Lianzhen"s voice rang across the alley, "The name-list will be sent to Miss tomorrow."
Without even a farewell, he just left.
In the hotel, Lu Mingshu sat on a stone and stared blankly into s.p.a.ce while Little Daze munched on an apple in her hand.
Munch. Munch. The apple was soon finished.
After a while, Lu Mingshu sighed and stroked Little Daze"s horn, "Little Daze, do you remember the guy who picked you up with me?"
Before Little Daze could react, she continued, "Oh yeah, I forgot. You were only just born back then. How could you remember?"
"You know, today, I met the Alioth Star Lord, but he said that there"s absolutely no such person in the Seventh Truth Platform. Even though five years have pa.s.sed, I still remember it all clearly! I would have been dead by now if it wasn"t for him."
"The Alioth Star Lord says that I may been deceived, but that"s impossible, right? There"s no reason why he would do that, and besides, he mentioned things about the Seventh Truth Platform too! If he wasn"t a disciple of the Seventh Truth Platform, why would he know so much about it?"
"Who is he actually? Why am I the only one who has seen him? Oh my G.o.d, is he just an imaginary friend?"
Lu Mingshu hugged her head. She had never felt so confused in her whole life before.
Over the years, she was a girl who received hardly any love, and she treasured any that she got. That teenager back then might"ve just been a random stranger, but since he had saved her and took care of her, she would remember it for her whole life.
She sighed.
Little Daze seemed to sense that she wasn"t in a good mood. It stuck out its tongue and licked her hand, attempting to comfort her.
Lu Mingshu fed it another fruit.
"There"s two possibilities: one - he used a fake ident.i.ty. It"s weird that he came to the Jade West Mountain Forest to train in the first place. The Seventh Truth Platform is not a small sect, so there should be plenty of places for him to train. Perhaps he has some difficulties?"
"Two - Yan Wugui isn"t his real name. Is there some reason he couldn"t tell me his real name?"
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off, "Oh yeah. Xie Lianzhen said that there"s no disciple in the fifth generation who"s a master with knives, but he is, which is why he didn"t care about the sword skills on that stone wall. Is it that he wished to keep it a secret that he"s a master in knives, which is why he was so far from his own sect? Was the scar on