Qu Fuyi patted Lu Pianpian's back, "I didn't tell you these things because I thought they weren't important. But it seems I was negligent. Your senior sister and junior brother, including me, didn't mean to hide it from you. Besides, they're leaving soon, so you can't hold a grudge against them at this crucial moment..."
"What? You're leaving?" This was another bolt from the blue. Lu Pianpian grabbed Qu Surou and Huan Juntian's hands abruptly, her voice fierce, "Why are you leaving? Don't you want me and Master anymore?"
"No, no, it's Huan San's father who wrote a letter asking him to go home and visit!"
Qu Fuyi explained earnestly, "Pianpian, look, your junior brother hasn't been home for ten years. His family must miss him terribly. It's only natural for him to go back and visit! Besides, your junior brother is a prince after all. He needs someone to bring along to make a good impression when he goes back. Your senior sister, as the Holy Maiden, is perfect for that, isn't she?"
Qu Surou chimed in, "Pianpian, don't be so nervous. I'm just going back with Huan San to take a look. It's not like I'm not coming back."
Qu Fuyi and Qu Surou's back-and-forth explanations finally calmed Lu Pianpian down.
He realized that his reaction just now was indeed a bit too intense, and released Qu Surou and Huan Juntian, saying, "Then don't stay away for too long, your master and I will miss you."
Qu Fuyi noticed the deep reluctance in Lu Pianpian's eyes as she looked at her fellow disciples. After a moment's thought, she said, "Pianpian, it's been over ten years since you last went back to see your father, hasn't it?"
"Hmm." Lu Pianpian has devoted herself to her sect for the past ten years, rarely even traveling far from home, let alone going home.
Qu Fuyi smiled and patted his shoulder. "If I remember correctly, your father was also from Liguo. In that case, you three siblings should go down the mountain together this time and truly enter the world."
Huan Juntian looked at Lu Pianpian, "Senior brother, would you like to go to Li Kingdom with us?"
"Of course I'd love to!" Lu Pianpian nodded eagerly.
The three disciples immediately began chatting and laughing, their previous gloom gone, and they seemed to be very much looking forward to going to the Kingdom of Li.
Qu Fuyi sighed inwardly, but still smiled on her face, "Master has something to say to you."
"Master, please speak."
"I am sending you to the Kingdom of Li this time for two reasons. First, because of the letter sent by the King of Li, and second, because I want you to temper your hearts." Qu Fuyi said solemnly, "We cultivators must sever our worldly ties if we want to attain enlightenment and ascend to the upper realm. We must be free from all attachments and worries, and our hearts must be as still as water."
“Jun Tian, you are the eldest son of the Li Kingdom. The country and its people are the things you should care about as the eldest son. If you cannot let go of these things, you cannot become a true hermit.”
“Pianpian, you still have an unfinished father-son relationship with your father. Only by seeing things through to the end can you achieve the Great Dao.”
He paused here, then said, "If you encounter disagreements and setbacks on this path of severing worldly ties, I will be unable to help you."
Qu Surou frowned. "Master, what do you mean by that?"
“I am a person who has transcended the world, while the three of you are about to become people who enter the world. If I were to help you, it would be against the will of Heaven and against your destiny.”
The three looked at each other, knowing the implications of Qu Fuyi's words. Going against the will of Heaven and defying fate would bring disaster upon them and their master.
"Disciple understands."
After the three of them left the study, Qu Surou immediately turned back. "Master, you said that Pianpian and Juntian both have worldly ties that need to be resolved. What about me? What are my worldly ties?"
Qu Fuyi's smile faded. He stood up from his seat, walked to Qu Surou, and his expression revealed an unusual air of awe. He truly looked like a transcendent immortal, which startled Qu Surou.
Qu Fuyi suddenly smiled at her, "Silly girl, what worldly ties? That's just me bluffing those two boys! I'll tell them to behave themselves after they enter the world, and not to cause trouble everywhere and come back to me to clean up their messes!"
"real?"
Qu Fuyi flicked her forehead with her finger, and she winced in pain, "Master, what are you doing!"
"Haha, would your master lie to you?" Qu Fuyi whispered in her ear, "If anyone bullies you outside, you, as the eldest sister, must come back and tell me right away, and I will definitely help you get revenge!"
"I understand!" Qu Surou touched her forehead, unsure whether she believed it or not.
Soon the day of departure arrived, and Qu Fuyi's three disciples stood in the courtyard, fully dressed and ready to go, to bid him farewell.
Suddenly, Lu Pianpian held a rabbit cage in her hand. Qu Fuyi asked, "Why are you bringing a rabbit? Leave it here so your master can take good care of it. I guarantee you'll get a big, shiny rabbit when you come back!"
Lu Pianpian shook her head firmly, "I'm afraid that when my disciple returns, he will only find its bones."
Qu Fuyi clicked her tongue, "You heartless brat, get out of here, all you do is annoy me!"
The three disciples bowed to him in unison, saying, "Take care, Master."
Qu Fuyi suddenly choked up, "Go then."
"yes!"
Qu Fuyi looked up at the three of them as they flew away on their swords. His vision blurred for a moment until the figures of his three disciples disappeared from sight. Only then did he look away.
The only remaining chicken was clucking in the yard. Qu Fuyi picked it up and held it in her arms, looking at the blank plaque above the sect. "Let's give our sect a name when the three of them return..."
The three of them traveled on their swords and arrived in the territory of Li Kingdom in less than half a day.
Huan Juntian and Qu Surou were going back to the capital of Li Kingdom to meet with the King of Li.
According to a letter Lu Pianpian had received from her father, her family had moved to a place near the capital in recent years. The three of them traveled together for a while before parting ways upon arriving in the capital.
Huan Juntian noted down Lu Pianpian's address. "Senior brother, after my senior sister and I meet with my father, we will come to find you again tomorrow."
Qu Surou patted Lu Pianpian on the shoulder, "Don't run around, or Huan San and I won't be able to find you."
Lu Pianpian nodded in agreement, and the three of them separated for the time being.
Following the address, Lu Pianpian inquired and searched all the way until he finally found the door. He went up and knocked, but a beautiful young woman opened the door. "Who are you looking for?"
"May I ask if the scholar Lu Zhong resides here?"
"Lu Zhong? Never heard of him. You've come to the wrong place."
Lu Pianpian showed her the letter with the address written on it, "Excuse me, sister, isn't this the address written on it?"
He was handsome, and the woman was overjoyed when he called her "sister." She enthusiastically pointed out the place to him, saying, "This is the right place, but we don't have a scholar named Lu Zhong here. Maybe he moved away... Why don't you go to the yamen to check the household registration? Maybe you can find the person you're talking about."
Thank you.
Following the woman's advice, Lu Pianpian went to the yamen (government office). Just as he stepped onto the stone steps, a woman ran over and bumped into him, acting crazy.
He helped her up, looked down at the woman, and saw that she seemed dazed and was clutching a fuzzy blanket, like an infant's. "Have you seen my child? Have you seen him?"
Lu Pianpian shook her head, and the woman then paced back and forth around the yamen, clutching the quilt, muttering incessantly, "Have you seen my child? Have you seen my child..."
The guards at the gate were increasingly bothered by the madwoman's constant pacing in front of the gate. However, being under the emperor's nose, they dared not use force against the common people in public, and could only hurl insults, "You madwoman, go home and look for your lost child, don't come here causing trouble!"
Lu Pianpian stepped forward and said, "Her child is missing, so she should report it to the police and let the authorities investigate the child's whereabouts. Isn't it understandable that she's waiting here for the results?"
"And who are you? Do you want to stand up for a madwoman?"
"I'm just here to report a crime."
The constable said sarcastically, "If you want to report a case, walk in yourself. Do you expect us to carry you in?"
Lu Pianpian didn't want to waste her breath arguing with the yamen runners, so she went straight in and happened to meet the prefect on duty. She told him about her situation.
"Lu Zhong? A scholar?" The prefect had someone bring the household register to search. "Are you looking for Lu Zhong, a local who passed the imperial examination in the year of Jiazi and later rose to the rank of a sixth-grade official?"
Lu Pianpian was stunned. In her memory, her father was just an ordinary scholar. When did he become an official?
Seeing that he looked like a stranger, the prefect patiently asked, "May I ask you, what is your name?"
"My name is Lu Shaoyan."
"Then your father isn't Fu Xilang Lu Zhong. It's clearly written on the household registration that Fu Xilang has one only son named Lu—"
"elegant……"
The prefect raised an eyebrow. "Which two characters, '翩'?"
Lu Pianpian pursed her lips, "The 'Pian' in 'dancing gracefully'..."
"Yes, yes, it seems you really are the elegant young master of the Fu Xilang family!"
The prefect, without suspecting anything, told Lu Pianpian the address of Fu Xilang's new home.
Lu Pianpian thanked him, and as she walked out of the yamen, he suddenly turned back and gave the prefect a deep look, "May I ask if anything strange has happened in the yamen recently?"
The prefect calmly replied, "There are countless strange things happening in the yamen, but I wonder which one Young Master Lu would like to hear about?"
Lu Pianpian pondered for a moment, then said without asking any further questions, "Farewell."
"Take care, and don't bother seeing me off."
After finishing her own business, Lu Pianpian was not in a hurry to go home.
He was still thinking about the woman who had lost her child and wanted to ask her about her situation. However, when he went outside, the woman was no longer at the door, so he had to give up for the time being.
After dealing with Lu Pianpian's matter, the prefect dismissed his subordinates and hurriedly went to the backyard. Seeing that no one was around, he entered the artificial hill, opened a mechanism that revealed a hidden passage, and quickly slipped inside.
Someone was already waiting in the secret passage.
The prefect knelt and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness."
The person addressed as princess wore a veil, revealing only a pair of captivating blue eyes; it was none other than Huan Changming.
"Get up."
"Your Highness, according to our scouts, the eldest prince has already entered the palace with the Holy Maiden."
"Has anyone discovered the Holy Maiden's identity and appearance?"
"It is said that she is petite and seems to be from the same school as the eldest prince."
It seems that Qu Surou also came back with them.
Thinking of this, Huan Changming's eyes flickered slightly, "Besides the Holy Maiden, who else is by Huan Juntian's side?"
There was no one else.
“I understand.” Huan Changming turned his back. “Take this message to Crown Prince Wuyao and tell him that Huan Juntian is no ordinary person, possessing immortal cultivation techniques. He will definitely be a stumbling block to our success in the future. Tell him to be very careful.”
The prefect had already been bribed by Wu Yao and had become the contact person between Wu Yao and Huan Changming.
However, Princess Changming was not as weak and incompetent as the legends suggested; on the contrary, she was ruthless and extreme in her actions. The prefect, fearing that his lateness might displease her, explained, "Princess, I met Fu Xilang's son outside and did some things for him, which is why I'm late. Please forgive me."
"Oh?" Huan Changming seemed intrigued. "Fu Xilang has a son?"
"That's right, it seems they just returned to Li Kingdom and don't even know where they live."
"What's your name?"
Her name is Lu Pianpian.
Huan Changming's eyes widened slightly upon hearing this, then he said disdainfully, "You really are very loyal and devoted to your junior brother..."
They even came down the mountain.
A note from the author:
If I don't tell you who's being sarcastic, and you don't tell me either, Lu Pianpian will never know.