Chapter 26. Meijian Luqing rushed to the edge of Bilin Pond, but the pond was full of...

Lu Qing rushed to the edge of Bilin Pond, but all the vibrant green and scarlet colors had disappeared, leaving only a slender, crystal-clear object lying in the middle.

Lu Qing jumped into the pool, picked it up, and asked, "Is this a ruler?"

She examined it from all angles. It was indeed shaped like a ruler, entirely emerald green, with varying shades of green displaying the two characters "眉间" (Meijian).

"A ruler between the eyebrows? Why did she leave me a ruler?"

Wu Chen reached out to her and pulled her out of the Bilin Pond. "It should be a warning and a measure, to measure oneself and others."

The ruler between the eyebrows was cool to the touch, yet smooth and supple. Holding it in her palm gave her a feeling of connection. Lu Qing liked it very much. Just as she was about to say something, the ruler between the eyebrows jumped in her palm with such force that she almost lost her grip. Then the ruler between the eyebrows pulled her towards the exit.

"What is this?" Lu Qing asked Wu Chen as she jogged forward following the force of the brow ruler.

Wu Chen held her hand and followed behind her, observing the surroundings of the cave. The soil began to crumble, and cracks were faintly visible extending from the stone walls. "This place is probably going to collapse." He put one arm around Lu Qing's waist, jumped onto the Taiyi Sword, and followed the direction of Meijianchi, moving swiftly forward.

Meijianchi led them in the direction Tie Zhilan had just left. The path was wide and easy to follow, and they soon reached the cave entrance. Looking down, Lu Qing saw only sheer cliffs outside the cave, with no way forward. Presumably, those disciples from the Sword Forging Manor had simply dumped their dregs here.

Just then, Wu Chen suddenly whispered, "Be careful."

The Taiyi Sword suddenly accelerated, carrying them forward at high speed. If Lu Qing hadn't been held by Wu Chen, she would definitely have fallen.

Before she could figure out what was happening, a loud crash came from behind her. When she turned around, she saw the entire Wanlian Peak collapse.

Endless smoke and dust obscured their vision. When they could see clearly again, Wanlian Peak was completely gone, the collapsed mountain filling the valley they had once visited. All the places they had experienced over the past two days had vanished in that brief moment. Only the ruler between her eyebrows in her hand felt slightly cool, like a sigh.

Wu Chen had the Taiyi Sword turn around and return to the Sword Forging Manor from another unnoticed spot. Yu Jitang was anxiously searching for their whereabouts. Seeing that the two of them were safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief. "We only said that we were walking along the mountain path with Tie Zhe, and we don't know anything else."

Wu Chen nodded. Now that the Sword Forging Manor has no leader, it will soon fall into chaos. The people there should be grateful that the two of them aren't causing trouble for the Sword Forging Manor.

The mountain path leading to Wanlian Peak was crowded with people, all of them the leaders and disciples of Wanlian Peak.

Wu Chen glanced at them but didn't step forward. Although these people weren't the ringleaders, many of them knew the truth, yet they still colluded with them, which was truly despicable. If he went to cause trouble for them, it would only bring up more problems. He glanced at Lu Qing and decided to leave these people for later, for Lu Qing's sake.

"Let's go back and rest. We'll talk about it after they come up with a plan." Wu Chen pulled Lu Qing's hand and walked back.

Yu Jitang followed closely behind, asking, "Then where will I sleep?"

Even with all her patience, Wu Chen wanted to throw him out. "I'm not your mother, I have nothing to do with this."

Yu Jitang snorted, "Don't think I don't know your tricks. With me here, I won't let you succeed."

Wu Chen stared at him speechlessly, then decided to ignore him.

The three returned to the courtyard, but Yu Jitang stubbornly refused to leave. Wu Chen had no choice but to let Lu Qing go to bed, while he and Yu Jitang meditated and rested in the outer room.

Without the two people disturbing her, Lu Qing was quite comfortable in bed. The strange feeling and violent impulse brought to her by the gray aura had completely disappeared, and she couldn't help but take out the Eyebrow Ruler from her spirit pouch again, examining it carefully from all angles.

"Eyebrow ruler, eyebrow ruler. Is that really what Wu Chen meant?" Lu Qing childishly placed the eyebrow ruler on her forehead, straightening it perfectly.

The two characters "眉间" (meijian) in "眉间尺" (meijianchi) suddenly seemed to come alive, with varying shades of green flowing like tides within the ruler.

Lu Qing immediately entered a dream.

Amidst the rippling blue waves, a woman held a ruler between her eyebrows, demonstrating a set of moves. Her face was delicate and beautiful, vaguely resembling the spirit fruit from the Azure Pool. However, she completely ignored Lu Qing's greeting, simply continuing to demonstrate the moves.

Lu Qing: Well, this senior is really thoughtful, even preparing the accompanying sword techniques. Oh, no, to be more precise, it's ruler techniques. However, these ruler techniques seem only good for scaring children; can they really be used for fighting and killing?

Lu Qing was very curious. Since that senior had demonstrated it to her, she figured she might as well learn it for fun since she had nothing else to do.

She didn't know how much time had passed when Lu Qing, lying on the bed, tilted her head to the side, and a hairline slid down her forehead. Lu Qing suddenly woke up. She sat up in bed, stretched, and felt refreshed.

Outside, someone was talking to Wu Chen and Yu Jitang. Lu Qing listened intently.

Those were several managers from the Sword Forging Manor, ostensibly offering apologies, but secretly probing as they spoke, trying to find out if the collapse of Wanlian Peak was related to them.

Wu Chen disliked this evasive and indecisive style, and his face darkened.

Yu Jitang retorted without holding back, "Just ask whatever you want. Last night, your Iron Master got drunk and insisted on taking us to tour Ten Thousand Refinement Peak. But he later passed out and couldn't move, so we brought him down. Your disciples guarding the mountain personally watched us descend. When Ten Thousand Refinement Peak collapsed, we had just taken the Iron Master back to his room. The gatekeeper can also testify. What's the point of saying all this nonsense now? Could it be that you can't fulfill your promise to us in refining weapons, so you're deliberately looking for an excuse?"

"No, no, Attendant Yu, you've misunderstood," the man said with a forced smile.

Lu Qing also came out of the house.

When Wu Chen saw her come out, he reached out his hand to her, "Have you rested well?"

Lu Qing nodded. "If you guys weren't so loud, I could have slept a little longer."

Wu Chen was too lazy to waste words with those people. He wasn't causing them trouble at the moment to avoid unnecessary complications, but that didn't mean he had the patience to play along with them. "Now that we've rested, let's go."

"Hey, Warlock, please don't misunderstand, that's not what we meant!"

Wu Chen casually remarked, "If it's not a misunderstanding, let your Master Tie come to me personally to explain." With that, he took Lu Qing's hand and left.

Yu Jitang was not the kind of person who would clean up after someone else.

He glared coldly at the Tie family members and followed Wu Chen away.

The people from the Sword Forging Manor looked at each other, not knowing what to do. They could only search for Tie Xiao like headless flies, planning to discuss things further once they found him.

After the three left the Sword Forging Manor, Yu Jitang couldn't help but ask him what had happened in the cave after he left. Wu Chen simply recounted what had happened afterward, but kept the matter of Meijianchi a secret.

After listening, Yu Jitang didn't ask any further questions, his brow furrowed, lost in thought. The three of them had a simple lunch at the inn by the ferry.

Yu Jitang suppressed his thoughts and said to Wu Chen, "She has just started cultivating, but if she has any old ailments, it will always be a hidden danger in the future. You should take her to Medicine King Valley to get rid of the root of the problem."

Wu Chen was somewhat surprised by his concern for Lu Qing, but he simply nodded. "I was already planning to ask someone to send a message back to the Divine Palace, as I will be staying with her for a while. Since you are returning to the Divine Palace, I'll ask you to help me send a message."

Yu Jitang was not surprised that Wu Chen had seen through his intention to leave. He glanced at him and said, "Don't delay too long. It'll only be half a year."

Wu Chen nodded. "Thank you for the reminder."

Yu Jitang had heard Wu Chen say "thank you for reminding me" countless times, but this time, he didn't sense the sarcasm or perfunctoriness in it. Yu Jitang subconsciously chuckled and looked at Lu Qing, whose eyes were darting around, "Take good care of yourself. When you come back to the Divine Palace, remember to come visit me."

"You're the one who's sick! Your whole family is sick!" Lu Qing glared at him fiercely.

Yu Jitang stood up and left without hesitation.

Lu Qing squinted at the direction he had gone and asked in confusion, "This guy is so unpredictable, who stepped on his tail this time?"

Wu Chen smiled, unsure whether to praise her for being too perceptive or criticize Yu Jitang for not being able to hide his thoughts. He summoned the shopkeeper, ordered rice, flour, oil, salt, vegetables, and other necessities, had the waiter carry them onto the small boat, settled the payment, and set off again with Lu Qing.

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 08:16:28 on March 22, 2020 and 08:32:37 on March 26, 2020!

Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: So Well (2); Someone Passing By (1);

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: 19262682, Someone Passing By, and Gobi Desert 5 bottles;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!