Chapter 124 Sixteen Lang "That girl is a good person. After she married into the family..."
"That girl was a nice person. After she married, she and her husband often came to play in this lake. Every time the fish beauties saw them, they were heartbroken. They would hide under the lotus leaves and cry at night. It broke my heart. The couple must have lived a good life. Later, the man seemed to have fallen ill or something? Anyway, the couple died." The fathead fish finally managed to dredge up this little impression from its distant memories.
Lu Qing lowered her eyes, making a move to take back the half-pill. "I'm not satisfied with this information. It seems I should ask some new friends for more information."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't do that!" the fathead fish said anxiously. "Although I don't know, those little girls who swam in his pond every day back then must know. Wait a minute, I'll go look for you. But Fuxian Lake is so big, it'll be a bit difficult in a short time. Give me some time. As soon as I get the news, I'll come find you immediately."
Lu Qing nodded, "That's more like a friend." As she said this, she still put away the half-pill. Fathead Fish's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Then she tossed a porcelain bottle to Fathead Fish, "Here, I won't let my friend work for nothing. This is nothing, but I'll reward you handsomely when you find out any useful information."
Fathead Fish took a sniff and immediately beamed. "A friend's business is my business. I'll go find out for you right away. But what kind of information is useful? What exactly are you looking for?"
Lu Qing said, "My friend had a past relationship with this couple, and I was asked by him to find out how they died. If they have any descendants, I hope I can take care of them."
The fathead fish nodded. "Understood. Just pick a place to live near the water. I'll take care of it right away and won't delay your business."
Lu Qingyi cupped his hands in thanks.
The fathead fish clasped its hands in a fist salute, flipped itself into the water, and disappeared without a trace.
Old Hei finally breathed a sigh of relief, "It's amazing you thought of that, finding a place... to ask around."
Lu Qing sighed, unsure of how much the fathead fish could find out. "Let's go back."
Qi Fu responded and reached for the oar, but there was nothing underneath. The four of them felt the boat sway slightly, rise a little, and then suddenly speed off in the direction of return.
Old Hei looked down curiously and saw streaks of silver light beneath the water's surface. He couldn't tell what kind of fish was hiding under the boat, propelling it back. Old Hei found it amusing and couldn't help but laugh.
Qi Fu simply let go of the oars and sat with Qi Ying at the stern, enjoying the night breeze that was blowing in their faces.
Lu Qing lay on her side at the bow of the boat, feigning sleep. About half an hour later, the small boat suddenly slowed down. Lu Qing sensed something was amiss and opened her eyes. Not far ahead, a painted boat was drifting with the current. A person stood at the bow of the boat, seemingly admiring the moonlight. Dressed in wide robes and sleeves, even from the side, she looked like a painting.
Moonlight spilled onto the water between the two boats, and Lu Qing could clearly see the reflections of many fish scales, presumably the fish were scrambling to get to the pleasure boat.
Lu Qing recalled what the fathead fish had mentioned about the fish girls liking to look at handsome men. Could it be that the man was good-looking? She wondered how he compared to Wu Chen.
While thinking about these random thoughts, she reached out and tapped on the deck of the boat, "Wake up, the fish have all escaped."
Qi Fu and Qi Ying were dozing off together. They were startled by the sound, "Huh, why did they run away?"
However, Qi Fu still stood up and continued to row. But after only a few strokes, he exclaimed, "Something's strange about the water. Why can't this boat move?"
Qi Ying reached out to help, but neither of them could budge the oar. Just as they were about to see what was wrong, the small boat suddenly began to spin wildly. A huge whirlpool appeared on the lake beside them, and they were about to be sucked in.
The man on the pleasure boat seemed to sense the situation. He leaped up from the bow and slashed the water with his sword, creating two neat and tall walls of water that also cut a large gap in their small boat.
Lake water rushed into the boat. The small boat blew a few bubbles, then gave up struggling and began to sink.
Lu Qing and the others stared at the man soaring through the air on his sword and cursed inwardly: "He's crazy."
The man seemed somewhat surprised and apologized, "I'm sorry, I was in a hurry and made a mistake. Please take my boat back." As he spoke, he reached out to pull Lu Qing.
The man stood atop the magical artifact, his clothes flowing gracefully, and his approaching posture was enough to make a young girl's heart flutter.
Old Hei's eyes lit up, and he pushed Lu Qing aside, saying, "Young master is so considerate." Then he firmly grabbed the man's outstretched hand.
Qi Ying had witnessed Lao Hei's "molestation" and, in this situation, suddenly felt a sense of absurdity, as if the wicked would be punished by the wicked. She suppressed the urge to laugh and tried her best to keep a straight face.
Lu Qing took out the Eyebrow Ruler and sat down. "Then I shall respectfully comply."
Qi Ying and Qi Fu also followed behind Lu Qing, each riding their own flying sword.
The man looked at Old Black, who was gripping his hand tightly, gave a wry smile, and grabbed her, flying back to the pleasure boat. As soon as the man landed, he quickly released Old Black's hand and said apologetically, "I made a mistake just now and got everyone's clothes wet. If you don't mind, you may come inside to wash up."
Qi Ying and Qi Fu glanced at Lu Qing, who said, "It's hard to refuse such hospitality, so let's go."
A maid came to invite Lu Qing and Lao Hei. Lao Hei followed Lu Qing inside with a smile.
The two entered the bathroom, where everything was luxuriously furnished. Old Hei chuckled as he looked around, "Tsk tsk tsk, really nice. Look at this bathtub, it's made of cypress wood. Look at this little box, it's even inlaid with mother-of-pearl..."
The maid glanced at her, her expression revealing a hint of disdain, though not an obvious one.
To everyone's surprise, Old Hei suddenly changed the subject, "Although these are things you wouldn't normally care about, you shouldn't be so picky when you're out and about. Here, let me add some perfume for you, wash up quickly so you don't catch a cold. Look at that clumsy guy, he's soaked you from head to toe with lake water."
Old Hei took out the perfume bottle, uncorked it, and the room was instantly filled with a pleasant fragrance.
Lu Qing stopped her, "What would you do with this on someone else's boat? You said it yourself, when you're traveling, just be casual, as long as it's clean."
The maid, having been subtly insulted by Old Hei, looked rather displeased. She bowed and said, "Please make yourselves at home, gentlemen. I will wait outside. Just let me know if you need anything."
After she left, Lao Hei snorted coldly, "You dare to show off something made of cypress wood? You treat a piece of broken seashell as a treasure. How uncultured must you be?"
Lu Qing asked curiously, "What kind of wood would be considered worldly-wise?"
Old Hei was a little smug, "Do you still remember that piece of wood of mine? It's a thousand-year-old purple nanmu tree, with naturally occurring landscape patterns on it..."
Lu Qing was stunned for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, "That's a coffin, compared to someone else's bathtub?"
Old Hei was displeased and his face darkened as he said to Lu Qing, "The water is fairly clean. Are you going to wash or not?"
Lu Qing shook her head. "I don't have the habit of bathing in other people's houses." She just wanted to see what that person was up to.
Lu Qing simply dried her hair and changed her clothes before being led to the ship's hall by a maid. The man had laid out a table of food and wine and invited them to take their seats.
Qi Ying and Qi Fu stood to one side, refusing to sit down.
Lu Qing looked at the man carefully.
His build was ninety percent similar to Wu Chen's, only slightly thinner. His features lacked Wu Chen's deep, resolute expression; his chin was more pointed, giving him a somewhat androgynous air. However, he was different from Yu Jitang's effeminate handsomeness. His appearance was like a peony painted on white rice paper with colorful brushstrokes. Lu Qing had never seen a man with such striking beauty. One glance was enough to reveal his captivating charm. If she hadn't spent so much time with Wu Chen and Yu Jitang, becoming accustomed to such beauty, she probably wouldn't have been able to resist.
However, this person's actions were rather interesting. Lu Qing said directly, "You damaged our boat and got our clothes wet. Now that we've changed our clothes, just compensate us with a small boat. There's no need for anything else."
The man cupped his hands in greeting. “Miss, there’s no need to worry. Once we arrive at the dock, I’ll send someone to make arrangements immediately. It will take some time to get to the lake, though. You can all sit down and pass the time.”
Lu Qing nodded, "Sit down. There's no need to be so formal when you're traveling."
Qi Ying and Qi Fu then sat down.
The man sat down in the head seat. "My surname is Fang, and my given name is Lansheng. I am the sixteenth child in my family, and people call me Sixteenth Son. May I ask how you gentlemen address me?"
Lu Qing said, "My husband's family name is Wu, and these three are my husband's disciples."
Qi Ying and Qi Fu greeted him with clasped hands.
Fang Lansheng was somewhat taken aback. "The surname Wu is quite rare. Apart from Wu Chen, the divine servant of the Divine Palace, I have never met anyone with the surname Wu."
Lu Qing gave a noncommittal reply, "Is that so?"
Fang Lansheng was somewhat surprised by her coldness, and smiled, "Madam Wu, is there something you need at Fuxian Lake? My family has lived here for generations, and perhaps we can be of assistance."
“Young Master Fang is truly kind-hearted.” Lu Qing pretended to realize something. “You are a member of the Fang family. There is indeed something I need to ask you. I have a cousin who was abducted when she was young and left home. Later, someone said that when they passed by Fuxian Lake, they saw a woman who looked very much like my aunt. They were about the same age too. My family was extremely anxious, so they sent me here to look for her.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Lansheng exclaimed, "Is that so? Do you have a portrait?"
Lu Qing pointed to her face and made up a story on the spot, "It is said that my sister and I look very alike, so we should look pretty much like this."
Fang Lansheng took the opportunity to carefully examine her face. Although Lu Qing was not stunningly beautiful, her features were refreshing and pleasing to the eye, especially her eyes, which were clear and bright, as if they could see right through people.
Fang Lansheng's eyes flickered slightly. "If Madam Wu trusts me, I will try to help you search."
Lu Qing said, "What's there to trust or not trust? The kidnapper from back then is long dead, and my family can't settle accounts with him. Now, we just hope to know her whereabouts so that our family can have peace of mind."
Fang Lansheng nodded. "But why would Madam Wu go to the depths of Fuxian Lake in the middle of the night to look for someone?"
"How does Young Master Fang know that we didn't come from there, but returned from there?" Lu Qing seized on the loophole in his words, waiting to see how he would answer.
-----------------------
Author's Note: I've maintained daily updates for two weeks, so please give me some praise! When I applied for the ranking, I forgot about the National Day holiday. The editor even gave me an ad slot. As a result, I gained 9 more favorites in two weeks.
I...I truly feel ashamed of the editor's kindness. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 18:43:41 on October 13, 2020 and 17:52:54 on October 14, 2020!
Thanks to the little angel who threw the landmine: Someone passed by with 1;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
