Chapter 65 Memory:

A flash of annoyance crossed Lu Yinglin's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.

He chuckled softly, "Junior Brother Rong, can you be sure your feelings are real?"

"What?"

"Sometimes people are deceived by their feelings. For example, young women who are still unmarried are often attracted to wandering men riding by on horseback. They think it is love, but it is just a longing for freedom."

Rong Xie didn't know why Lu Yinglin suddenly brought this up, but what he said seemed to make some sense.

"For example, those women who are married and suffer all kinds of mistreatment from their husbands' families. Anyone with eyes can see all the bad things about their husbands' families, but they still argue that their husbands' families love and protect them. In fact, they are just afraid that after leaving their husbands' families, they will not have a roof over their heads to shelter them from the wind and rain and will not know what to do. They are just finding an excuse to comfort themselves."

"Young Master Lu seems to know a lot about women's affairs."

“Women are people too, and they are more innocent and kind, and more likely to open their hearts to others.” Lu Yinglin looked at Rong Xie and smiled. “I’m saying this just to tell Junior Brother Rong that feelings can be deceiving. You thought your relationship was unbreakable, so why did you leave him? You have your own reasons, but you just don’t dare to face your true feelings.”

"Oh?" Rong Xie scoffed. "If feelings can be deceiving, how can you know what's real and what's fake? Does that mean what Young Master Lu says is real, and what I feel is fake?"

Lu Yinglin was waiting for him to ask this question.

“If you truly care about someone, you can’t bear to see them sad or upset, or suffer outside. You’d want to pile all the good things in the world in front of them, just to bring them a moment of pleasure.” Lu Yinglin’s eyes darkened as he stared intently at Rong Xie. “So, if you feel pain, frustration, embarrassment, or worry, that’s your real feeling. The uniqueness you imagine is just an excuse you’re making for yourself.”

Rong Xie frowned. She had to admit that Lu Yinglin's words were very persuasive. If Rong Xie were a young woman of marriageable age, she might have believed him.

“I’m not blaming you, I just want to tell you that from now on, you don’t need to make excuses anymore. You’ve left him, you don’t need to rely on him for shelter anymore. Face your true feelings, open your heart, and accept the person who can truly make you happy.” Lu Yinglin’s voice became lower and gentler as he began to describe to Rong Xie the bright lights, delicious food, fun activities, and colorful city life.

Listening to Lu Yinglin describe those extravagant and indulgent pleasures, Rong Xie couldn't help but yearn for it. The human world is so wonderful; no wonder most cultivators live on the mountains. If one were born in a bustling city or a wealthy family, how many temptations would one face? It would be impossible to calm down and cultivate.

As Lu Yinglin vividly described the scene, he observed Rong Xie's reaction. Sure enough, he saw Rong Xie show a moved expression. This aloof beauty, hidden deep within Huanxue Manor by the Sword Saint, had a heart as unshakable as her appearance. However, once he got close, he was moved. The scene of the frost melting and the ice river opening was extremely beautiful—her face, which was even whiter and more translucent under the sunlight, was flushed with a rouge-like blush. Her hazy gaze was slightly unfocused, and she floated lightly on the river surface, as if looking at the luxurious scene that Lu Yinglin described in the void.

The thought that his words were stirring his emotions and arousing his imagination filled him with a tingling sense of accomplishment, more exciting than any previous visit to a brothel. Even though there had been no physical contact, just the deep connection in words, it brought him so much pleasure. Lu Yinglin was secretly surprised.

Rong Xie has always been powerless against exquisite and interesting things, especially beautiful architecture and decorations. Lu Yinglin's description of the extravagant life in the capital city hit the nail on the head. He thought that since listening to it didn't cost any money, he could visit all these places when he had money in the future. Before he knew it, he was somewhat engrossed.

It wasn't until Lu Yinglin stopped talking and stared intently at him that he came to his senses and felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Young Master Lu, it’s getting late, let’s go back.” Rong Xie bowed slightly. “This meal must have been quite expensive, I’ll pay half of it later.”

"How could that be? I invited you to come and help me with my business," Lu Yinglin said with a smile. "It is my greatest blessing that Junior Brother Rong is here with me. Today, thanks to Junior Brother Rong, I was able to finally vent the old grudges that have been weighing on my heart for many years. I feel much more relaxed now."

"Since Young Master Lu says so, then I'll invite you to dinner after I move to Lan Yuan." Rong Xie thought to himself that since he would have to contact Lu Yinglin anyway after going to Lan Yuan, he wouldn't stand on ceremony. He would invite Lu Yinglin to dinner and send him a gift of wine, and settle the bill at the same time.

Lu Yinglin was delighted: "That's for the best."

The boat took quite a long time to row, and by the time it docked again, almost half the afternoon had passed.

Lu Yinglin originally intended to take the shortcut out of the county town, but Rong Xie said he needed to give someone a ride.

Lu Yinglin found it strange that Rong Xie knew people in Qinghe.

When they arrived at the entrance of the county government office, a thin, dark-skinned boy ran up quickly and called out, "Brother Rong!"

After calling out, he glanced at Lu Yinglin again and said with a grin, "Young Master Lu."

"This is my servant in the Shen family," Rong Xie introduced simply.

Although Lu Yinglin found it strange that the Shen family servant had ended up in Qinghe County, he didn't think much of it. When it was time to get on the carriage, Rong Xie got on first, and Lu Yinglin followed. He thought he could take advantage of the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot and strengthen their relationship.

Unexpectedly, when the carriage curtain was lifted, Wang Mu also got in, sitting down next to Rong Xie with a grin, facing Lu Yinglin.

“This…” Lu Yinglin looked at Rong Xie.

“The journey is bumpy, and he is still young. It would be bad if he fell off the vehicle,” Rong Xie explained on Wang Mu’s behalf.

Lu Yinglin felt slightly uncomfortable. He had never seen a servant sit with his master before, especially since there were two masters sitting in the carriage, which was already crowded enough.

But since Rong Xie had said that, he couldn't chase him away anymore, so he could only smile and temporarily give up the idea of ​​building a relationship.

They remained silent the entire way.

By the time the carriage arrived at the Shen family's residence, it was already dark. The two returned to their respective rooms, and that's another story.

Rong Xie called Wang Mu into the room, played a soundproof talisman, and asked him how his intelligence gathering was going.

Wang Mu was quite clever. He hadn't mentioned gathering intelligence the whole way, but now his smile faded and his big eyes darted around: "Brother Rong, if we use this talisman, the neighbors definitely won't be able to hear us, right?"

“Yes, you can speak with confidence,” Rong Xie said.

"That's good, that's good..." Wang Mu, who was usually fearless, showed some fear at this moment. "Brother Rong, I think we should not meddle in the Lu family's affairs. The Lu family is very powerful!"

"How powerful is it?" Rong Xie sat up straight.

Following Rong Xie's instructions, Wang Mu only scouted the area from the outside and did not approach the Lu residence. Even so, he still managed to gather some remarkable information.

The most astonishing thing is that the Lu family has a spiritual spring well. As long as you drink the spiritual spring water from the well, even if you are just an ordinary person, you can grow spiritual roots and start cultivating.

"What? Such a thing is true?" Rong Xie was taken aback. His instinctive reaction was disbelief. If such a spring really existed, wouldn't it throw the world into chaos? The distinction between immortals and mortals would be broken down, wouldn't the Lu family become the object of everyone's scramble? How could they still stand peacefully as the local tyrant of Qinghe County as they do now?

“I don’t know if it’s true or not, but the villagers all swore that there is such a well in the Lu Mansion. They said that if they can’t afford to raise their children, they will send them to the Lu Mansion and the children will be able to cultivate immortality in the future!” Wang Mu said.

"Hiss... Have those children really grown spiritual roots?"

“They don’t know either, that’s just what everyone says. The Lu family has a condition for accepting children: they can never contact them again, the child’s name will be changed, and their memories will be erased… Yes, they only accept children under three years old, so their memories won’t be too deep and there won’t be any mistakes,” Wang Mu explained.

"How did they know the child could cultivate immortality?"

"Whether you know it or not... anyway, sending the child to the Lu family gives you hope. If they had kept the child at home, they might have starved to death. That's what they say. They also say that some people have actually seen their children later, who don't walk, fly in mid-air, and can even conjure gold out of thin air!"

"It sounds quite serious..." Rong Xie pondered.

"Yes, the Lu family is so powerful, don't the people in the surrounding villages and towns treat them like gods? The government offices are the same way!"

Rong Xie had personally witnessed how the Qinghe County government welcomed Lu Yinglin. Indeed, just as Wang Mu had said, the Lu family was the largest in the entire Qinghe County. Could it be that... the Lu family really had such a spiritual spring that could make people grow spiritual roots out of thin air?

“And there’s more. The Lu family has connections with all three major sects, especially with the Xuantian Sect. It’s said that immortals from the Xuantian Sect personally bring spirit-testing stones to the Lu family. Locals have all seen it with their own eyes.” Wang Mu said with wide eyes and a look of longing. “The Lu family sends a lot of cultivation children to sects of all sizes. As long as they have the ability, even lowly servants can be sent to major sects.”

"By the way, the servant boy that Brother Rong asked me to inquire about is a child that the Lu family took in from outside. However, their servant boys are all very powerful, much more powerful than ours. They can directly enter the three major sects... I heard that one of them even entered the inner sect of the Xuan Tian Sect with the young master of the Lu family and became a disciple of their most powerful elder."

"Are you talking about Xiao Ya?" Rong Xie asked.

"Who is Xiao Ya?" Wang Mu was taken aback.

"He's the pageboy who was with that young master from the Lu family earlier."

“Oh… that shouldn’t be it. Wasn’t that Young Master Lin just now?” Wang Mu scratched his head. “I heard it was Young Master Qi, Young Master Lin’s twin brother, a great cultivator known as the Xuan Tian Sword Master. He’s now the eldest elder of the Xuan Tian Sect, yes, the eldest disciple of Elder Bai. It’s said that his swordsmanship is no less than our Great Master’s.”

"What?" Rong Xie felt a jolt of disbelief. He seemed to have heard a very familiar title, "Lu Yingqi, the Xuan Tian Sword?"

"Yes, that's the name. Does Brother Rong know him? Is he really more powerful than our Master?" Wang Mu looked at Rong Xie with curiosity.

“No… I feel like I’ve heard this name somewhere before.” Rong Xie thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out where he had heard it. Strangely, after hearing the name, his heart started pounding, as if he had forgotten something very important.

Rong Xie felt a little irritated. He had never been like this before. He couldn't remember something important. His usually proud memory had failed him at this crucial moment.

Wang Mu stood to the side, mouth agape, waiting. After a long while, Rong Xie did not say anything surprising to satisfy his gossipy nature.

"That's enough." Rong Xie lowered his hand from his temple and said to Wang Mu, "Have you found out anything else?"

"That's all..."

"Alright, it's getting late, you should go back and rest." Rong Xie took out ten spirit stones from his pouch and placed them on the table under Wang Mu's intense gaze. "This is your reward for finding out so much information."

"Thank you, Brother Rong!" Wang Mu swept the spirit stones into his pocket, beaming with joy. Now that he was back in Yingbin Town, he could buy many more things. Rong Xie's teaching him how to use spirit talismans had sparked his interest in this area, and he wanted to buy some more to try.

After Wang Mu left, Rong Xie washed up and lay on the bed, his mind a jumble of thoughts. One moment he was thinking about Xiao Ya's tragic story, the next about the Lu family's spiritual spring well and the sensational rumors...

As he pondered these thoughts, he drifted off to sleep.

In a state between dreaming and waking, he seemed to return to the spacious hall at the entrance of the Mirror Palace. The hall was crowded with people who were talking in hushed tones, creating a very oppressive atmosphere.

In front of Rong Xie, the round-faced Taoist was talking to others, exchanging information about Rong Xie, just like last time.

This time, however, Rong Xie didn't care so much about what they thought of him. He knew what was going to happen next, and he also knew that their discussions were completely irrelevant to him.

Rong Xie's attention was diverted, and he began to listen to a wider range of discussions. The conversations of those standing in the background suddenly became clear.

"It seems the prophecy of the Heavenly Demon destroying the world is about to come true!"

"It's pitiful that Sect Master Xue sacrificed himself to protect the Spirit Mirror Sect's protective formation... but how long can those incompetent disciples hold out?"

"If Lu Yingqi, the Sword Master of the Profound Heaven, were still alive, perhaps he could have joined forces with the Demon-Slaying Sword Saint to fight against the Heavenly Demon, but alas..."

Rong Xie suddenly sat up in bed, his fingers gripping the sheets tightly.

He remembered! He remembered where he had heard that name before!

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Finally, we've gotten to the main storyline!

Although it's a romance novel and the plot isn't very strong, it still has its share of elements...

You guys didn't all get bored and run away, did you?! Why are there fewer and fewer [bubble tea] shops?! Come back! (tug)

Now that the plot is over, let's move on to the romance, okay? [Sprinkling flowers]