After she finished tying her hair, there was no sound from under the window. She waited a while, and only went out when she was sure no one was around. The three girls had no idea she slept until late morning; it would be awkward if they bumped into her, she was very considerate.
Outside, the sky was as clear as water, and the clouds rolled like waves. The air was thick with a stifling dampness, and a few distant claps of thunder signaled that a heavy rain was imminent.
He glanced at the markings on the bronze water clock in the corner of the corridor.
Sure enough, having missed breakfast, she was going hungry again. Frustrated, she rubbed her empty stomach, took a deep breath, and was about to sigh when she smelled an enticing aroma of food.
"To use together?"
The east-facing window had been opened at some point, and Cong Luan put down her pen and extended a sincere invitation.
Without any pretense, Yu Zigui calmly entered the room and gave a slight bow. "Thank you, Elder Shan."
On the table were several plates of delicate snacks, and steaming porridge still wafted from a black porcelain jar engraved with the seal script of Wenhe Tower. Her gaze swept over the two sets of bowls and chopsticks that had already been placed there. She had doubts in her heart but did not ask any questions. She just smiled and watched as Cong Luan served her food as if she were the hostess, and then accepted it with both hands.
"Thank you very much, Elder Shan."
People in the martial arts world don't usually adhere to such etiquette as eating or sleeping. However, the person sitting opposite her was Elder Shan of Nanshan Academy, a man of propriety in the martial arts world, a scholar among roughnecks, and with a righteous demeanor, she originally intended to simply follow the host's etiquette. But she didn't expect that the quiet atmosphere would be broken by him.
"Do you like the porridge and pastries?"
"Excellent, Wenhelou is indeed extraordinary." She smiled and said, "I am truly fortunate to have benefited from Elder Shan's influence."
She stirred the porridge in her bowl, a hint of a smile appearing in her delicate features. "Who knows who got it from whom."
There was a hidden meaning in her words. If it were anyone else, they would have pressed the issue to find out more, but unfortunately, she was Yu Zigui. All she could see was this bowl of fragrant, hot porridge, and she had no interest in what lay behind the meal.
Seeing her calmly take a bite of the ginger cake, Cong Luan suddenly burst into laughter. Indeed, indeed, no wonder Shangguan Yi said that when she delivered the food box.
"She won't ask."
"What if I lure him?"
"That old man is destined to be disappointed."
"Hmph, your face is really annoying."
She had disliked Shangguan Yi's arrogant and conceited manner since she was a child. Xiao Kuang was much better; he could never escape her grasp and was so easy to torment.
"Those who don't care won't be curious. That Miss Yu really doesn't seem like a person from the martial arts world."
She had only said it casually, but it had an unexpected effect. If she wasn't mistaken, a hint of annoyance had flashed in Shangguan Yi's eyes just now.
Annoying!
This realization almost destroyed the righteous demeanor she had cultivated for so long. She held back, her face twitching repeatedly. She had to think carefully about which sentence had broken Shangguan Yi's "unmoving divine skill."
After much thought, inspiration finally flashed through her mind like a comet's tail.
"What you don't care about, you won't be curious about," is that...is that...this sentence?
She trembled, she trembled with excitement.
“Ah Luan,” Xiao Kuang sighed again, “Even though your uncle’s back view is very pleasing to the eye, you don’t have to look at him like that.”
"What?"
"very…"
"Um?"
"Very erotic..."
Is it too blatant? Concealing her unspeakable, strange thoughts, Cong Luan straightened her eyes and carefully examined the woman who was drinking porridge.
If Shangguan Yi was just beginning to understand, then this one was clearly still figuring things out. As the saying goes, "The falling flower is willing, but the flowing water is indifferent," it seems Shangguan Yi has quite a bit to learn this time. Thinking of this, her mood brightened considerably, and she picked up her book and pen.
She actually managed to make Shangguan suffer a setback; she is truly an extraordinary woman whose achievements will last for thousands of years. She must be recorded in a book and her biography should be written about her in great detail!
Yu Zigui appeared in Lianzhou, Lingnan Circuit, in the spring of the fifteenth year of the Yuanning era. Later, he entered the Tianlong Sect and became the twelfth disciple of Wang Shuren. ...
Luan knew nothing of her childhood or her ancestral home. This was the first time she had admitted her ignorance since she took over as the mountain elder at the age of fourteen.
Her pen stopped, and she looked across at the other side.
How old is Miss Yu?
Yu Zigui paused for a moment. "Seventeen."
"Born in the fifth year of Yuanning?"
"yes."
"What date? Miss Yu, please don't misunderstand. I see that you are of marriageable age. Although I am not very talented, I have a wide network of connections and am willing to help you find a good match."
"Thank you for your kindness, Elder Shan, but marriage is an arranged marriage. Although my parents are not by my side, my master is still here. I cannot make decisions about my marriage."
Cong Luan considered himself a master of esoteric conversation, having never failed since becoming the head of the academy, but unexpectedly, he was completely overwhelmed by a single move: the "Tai Chi Bagua Continuous Palm".
Alright, alright, he's definitely not an easy person to deal with. This time, Shangguan is going to suffer.
She half-concealed her face, trying to hide the wicked smile at the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, but a gust of wind blew the sleeve up. She coughed twice to cover it up, and when she looked up again, she saw Yu Zigui turning his head to look at the sky with low-hanging leaden clouds.
Her slightly disheveled hair framed her face, like an ink wash painting, leaving even a woman like herself stunned.
In the distance, a purple lightning bolt, like a hideous scar, ripped through the dense clouds, and the spring rain that had been suspended for so long finally fell.
Raindrops tapped against the window frame, creating a melody almost like music, except this melody wasn't the slow, melodious "Willows on the bank, dawn breeze and waning moon" of Hongya, but rather the dramatic "The Great River Flows East" of Pipa, which was startling to hear.