Chapter 52 Peace Is Not Peaceful. Wu Chen held the several pieces of silk talisman in his hand...

Wu Chen held the several silk talismans in his hand. "What, nothing to say?"

Qi Zhi slumped there, speechless, completely panicked and unsure of what to do.

Qi Ying leaned closer for a look, "This is... a tracking talisman!"

Wu Chen handed it to him, "It's sewn into my clothes."

Qi Ying was furious, "Qi Zhi! You..."

Wu Chen's needs at the Divine Palace were naturally met by his disciples, and his clothing for this trip was no exception. Since Qi Zhi couldn't find Wu Chen, he personally made some clothes and gave them to Qi Ying. Qi Ying thought it was just a few garments, and what difference did it make who made them, so he put them in Wu Chen's spirit pouch. Later, on the way, Qi Zhi, who had been following him, frequently changed direction without warning. At the time, Qi Ying had suspicions but wasn't sure. Now, seeing Qi Zhi's expression, he understood everything.

They actually dared to tamper with adults; this can't be explained away by mere "sincerity."

Wu Chen waved his hand, signaling Qi Ying to be quiet. His fingers traced the fine stitches on the talisman, and looking at Qi Zhi's terrified face, he asked, "Who told you to do this?"

"No, no one let me..."

“This is your last chance, Qi Zhi. If I hadn’t discovered anything amiss, I wouldn’t have bothered to trick you.” Wu Chen looked at her. “Who told you to do this?”

Qi Zhi was sweating profusely, even more so than the tears he had shed earlier.

Wu Chen found it very interesting. "Look, I just said you have a narrow vision. But that's not true at all. The expert behind you is no less than me, and I am not as important to you as you think. At least the person who taught you to do this is far more important to you than me."

"No, no, sir. I..."

Fear was in Qi Zhi's eyes, but she never uttered that person's name.

Wu Chen put away the tracking talismans. "So be it. The bond between master and disciple is also a matter of fate. Since you don't care, then let it be. Qi Zhi, from this day forward, you are no longer a disciple of my Nu Kun Peak. Go find that person; he will not mistreat you."

Qi Zhi was surprised that Wu Chen didn't pursue the matter. In this short time, her emotions had fluctuated wildly, and now she was left only with dejection and silence.

Wu Chen looked at Qi Ying, "Take back the forbidden token from Nu Kun Peak. No matter what the reason, she is not allowed to set foot on Nu Kun Peak again. Send a message back to the Divine Palace that Nu Kun Peak has nothing to do with her from now on."

“My lord,” Qi Zhi cried, “I have never had the slightest intention to harm you.”

"It's a real shame. I've taught you for over a decade, but only today have I realized that you're nothing like the disciple I taught." Wu Chen stood up, looking down at her. "Everyone has their own ambitions, and I won't force you. From this day forward, although you are no longer my disciple, I'm sure you still have a bright future ahead of you. I hope that while you are cultivating, you will not forget to cultivate your mind." After saying this, he looked at Lu Qing, gesturing for her to leave with him.

Qi Ying removed the spirit pouch from Qi Zhi's waist and took a jade pendant from it. Then she threw the pouch at Qi Zhi without saying a word and left with Wu Chen.

Lu Qing didn't get a single word in the entire scene. It felt a bit unreal that she didn't get any screen time in this drama of tearing apart her love rival.

The three went back to find Yu Jitang and Luo Sen, who had already started a fire. Yu Jitang had hunted some wild game from somewhere and was roasting it over the fire; the roasted meat was fragrant and dripping with oil, looking incredibly tempting.

Seeing that only three people had arrived, Yu Jitang asked in surprise, "Where is the other person?"

Wu Chen didn't seem to care much. "I'll find another job."

"No way, it really is her! Hey, she always used to be the one who argued the most with me, I never thought she would betray you like this. Women's hearts, really..."

Lu Qing coughed twice, feigning surprise. "Really what?"

Yu Jitang immediately changed his tune, "Are you hungry? The barbecue is ready."

After the five people finished eating and drinking, they each found a place to rest.

Yu Jitang and Luo Sen knew about their relationship and discreetly kept their distance. Qi Ying felt something was amiss, but because of Qi Zhi, she was feeling down and found a place to lie down and sleep.

Wu Chen led Lu Qing to the top of the slope and found a flat, sheltered spot to sit down.

Lu Qing stood in front of him, smiling as she watched Wu Chen busy himself. He pulled her onto his lap and asked, "How did you end up in the Western Wilderness?"

“I am sick. Qi Wu said the medicine is in the Western Wilderness, so he brought me here to find it.”

"Are you sick?" Wu Chen took her wrist and quietly checked her pulse, but found nothing wrong. On the contrary, her spiritual energy was much more abundant than it had been six months ago, probably comparable to Qi Ying's. This speed of cultivation was indeed extraordinary. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I just fainted at the time, like I took a nap, and I didn't feel anything," Lu Qing replied.

"What did Qi Wu say?" Wu Chen asked, still uneasy.

"Qi Wu said it's nothing, as long as the medicine is found," Lu Qing said.

If finding the medicine would cure her illness, why risk bringing her to the Western Wilderness? It seemed only Qi Wu knew the answer. Wu Chen sighed. He had originally planned to hide Lu Qing, but Qi Wu's actions had rendered all his efforts futile. He couldn't guess what Qi Wu was thinking. But one thing he still trusted: if he hadn't brought Lu Qing along, Qi Wu probably wouldn't have brought her to the Wilderness.

"The news that the Spirit Fruit is about to ripen was also spread by Qi Wu," Wu Chen confirmed.

Lu Qing nodded.

Wu Chen sighed, thinking to himself: Your sister really seems to thrive on chaos.

"What are you thinking about? Why are you sighing? And what's the deal with Qi Zhi?" Lu Qing asked in a series of questions.

Wu Chen looked at her face, his fingers stroking her chin, and lowered his head. "We'll talk about those unimportant things later." With that, he kissed Lu Qing's lips.

When they parted, the grass and trees were not yet yellow; when they met again, they were already thousands of miles apart. The longing they felt was both sweet and bitter, and even Wu Chen was tempered to the point of losing his temper. Now that Lu Qing had finally returned to his arms, his kisses went from light, tentative advances to passionate caresses, as if he wanted to devour Lu Qing whole.

Lu Qing chuckled, clearly enjoying the new game, and wrapped her arms around his neck, letting him do as he pleased.

No matter how cozy her residence in Medicine King Valley was, it couldn't compare to the comfort and warmth she felt in Wu Chen's embrace.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Qing fell into a deep sleep nestled in Wu Chen's arms.

Wu Chen pressed his face against her rosy cheek, feeling the anxiety hidden deep within his heart, unnoticed by anyone, being soothed little by little. He mocked himself inwardly, realizing that he was no different from Qi Zhi.

As dawn broke, Yu Jitang yelled from downstairs, "Hey, breakfast is ready, are you two coming down or not?"

Wu Chen flew down with Lu Qing.

Even if Qi Ying were slow-witted, she would know that the relationship between the two was unusual. But didn't the master have a sweetheart named "Lu Qing"? And didn't this Miss Qi also have a sweetheart who "had never seen a beauty before"? How could this be...?

He dared not think about it anymore, nor dared he ask. He was terrified that, like Qi Zhi, his innocent worldview would be destroyed by adults once again.

When Yu Jitang saw Lu Qing, he greeted her with a smile, "It's been a long time. How have you been?"

Lu Qing was happy to see him too, "That's great, how about you?"

"It's all good, it's even better to see you. Seeing that guy get tricked by his own disciple makes me feel especially good." Yu Jitang was genuinely gloating. In the past, Wu Chen was always the one laughing at him, but now the tables have turned, and it's his turn to laugh at Wu Chen's various misfortunes.

Lu Qing burst into laughter.

Wu Chen shook his head, annoyed by his unrestrained speech. "Eat something."

"Attendant Yu, do you know this Miss Qi?" Qi Ying had been observing for a while and found Yu Jitang's attitude rather strange. Logically speaking, Yu Jitang should know that his master had someone he liked, so why was he so open and unconcerned with Miss Qi?

"Yes, we know each other. Haven't you always wanted to meet your master's sweetheart? How come... hey, don't you know each other?" Yu Jitang asked, somewhat puzzled.

"My master's beloved isn't..." Qi Ying's name reached his lips, but he swallowed it back. If Miss Qi found out, and it turned out to be someone else entirely, wouldn't Miss Qi's temper and methods lead her to poison his master like pickled vegetables?

“It’s her, Lu Qing. Oh, by the way, why do you keep calling her Miss Qi?” Yu Jitang was also very curious.

Qi Ying was dumbfounded, "Your surname isn't Qi?"

Lu Qing chuckled, "That's what you think, not what I said. My name is Lu Qing. Lu as in deer, Qing as in clear spring. That man is Luo Sen, the son of the Valley Master of Medicine King Valley. He's also my nephew. My sisters and I don't have surnames, only given names."

What family doesn't have a surname?! Qi Ying thought to himself, speechless: You're clearly deliberately trying to mislead people. But he dared not speak out, nor dared he voice his opinion. His elders were watching him "calmly" from the side.

Yu Jitang was very enthusiastic about the fact that Wu Chen had been tricked by his own disciple. "Wu Chen, you said Qi Zhi has found a better job. What exactly happened? Could it be that she has someone backing her?"

Wu Chen tossed him a silk talisman, saying, "Take a close look."

Yu Jitang carefully examined the patterns on it. "Hmm, at first glance this looks like a tracking talisman from the Divine Palace, but it has been altered."

Wu Chen nodded. "I know Qi Zhi's talisman skills; she can't reach this level. Even I probably couldn't draw such exquisite talismans."

Wu Chen's cultivation in all aspects is top-notch in the Divine Palace. Even more powerful than him! Yu Jitang paused, then looked down for a closer look, "So, this is..."

"This was taught to her by the high priest." Wu Chen took the talisman and put it away.

No wonder Qizhi refused to say anything.

"Priest?!" Yu Jitang was utterly astonished, then suddenly jumped up, dumping everything from his spirit pouch onto the ground and examining it carefully, one by one. But he found nothing.

"Why did the High Priest put a tracking talisman on you? Besides Qi Zhi, who else is following you?" Yu Jitang asked a series of questions.

Wu Chen shook his head. "I don't know. Anyway, they're all in the Western Wilderness. We'll know what's going on once we see who Qi Zhi goes to."

Lu Qing glanced sideways. No wonder he only simply banished Qi Zhi from Nukun Peak; he was setting a trap. But were the people in the Divine Palace really this complicated? The officials didn't trust their servants and even cleverly planted spies. How come this place, which should be the most peaceful in the world, doesn't seem so peaceful after all!

-----------------------

Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 15:43:44 on July 6, 2020 and 00:20:50 on July 8, 2020!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Repigon 1;

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