Zhu Yourong, aren't you just trying to be argumentative?

Zhao Rong frowned.

What kind of cleanliness is this?

Before, when they were in the Yilan Pavilion of the Academy, he had taken Zhu Yourong's teacup and drank from it, and she didn't say anything. Why did he care about mysophobia now? Besides...

Isn't drinking this cup of tea just a formality to make it easier to get into the topic of the conversation?

If you don't want to drink, at least take the cup and don't drink it.

At this moment, Zhao Rong's smile faded after being 'politely rejected' by Zhu Yourong.

He glanced at the orchid lady in front of him.

Her expression was somewhat unfathomable, and her pair of snow-white yet still beautiful eyes seemed to be staring at Zhao Rong without blinking.

He was a little unsure for a moment, wondering if she was giving him another reading comprehension question...

"OK."

Zhao Rong nodded, his expression turned a little colder, no longer as enthusiastic as before.

He turned his body slightly, also facing sideways towards Zhu Youran, and raised his head to drink the hot tea in one gulp.

There are a few less tea leaves in the teacup.

Zhao Rong turned around and was about to leave. If he didn't want to drink, then he wouldn't drink. He would not serve Mr. Zhu anymore.

"etc."

Zhu Youran suddenly spoke and stopped Zhao Rong.

"what?"

He didn't turn his head.

"Use this."

Zhao Rong frowned slightly and looked back, seeing Zhu Yourong reaching out for a new and elegant wooden and jade-inlaid tea set.

Her Nascent Soul brought the Sumeru object with her.

Zhu Yourong also had a hobby of collecting tea sets. For every dynasty or small country she traveled to, she would buy a set of pleasing tea sets, and she had no shortage of them.

"Mr. Zhu, what do you need this for?"

Zhao Rong asked curiously.

Zhu Yourong turned the new teacup in her hand and said softly to him, "Pour me a cup of tea."

"Isn't the tea kettle on the table? Please pour it yourself, Mr. Zhu. I'm afraid of dirtying such a clean and beautiful tea set."

"What did you call me?"

Zhao Rong: "Zhu..."

The woman suddenly threw the teacup into the air beside her, and Kuaizaifeng held it up. She stretched out her free hand and reached towards Zhao Rong's face.

As if to touch his face.

Zhao Rong was frightened immediately and leaned back, almost spraining his waist, but fortunately he avoided her hand.

In fact, it can also be said that Zhu Yourong slowed down the speed of her hand, giving Zhao Rong time to react and dodge.

"What are you doing?"

Zhao Rong's eyes widened, and he subconsciously covered his collar with one hand. He didn't know what he was worried about for a moment...

Zhu Yourong withdrew her gaze from the cowardly guy’s hand that was covering his collar.

Pull the corners of your lips.

In the air, a frosty hand that looked like snow pointed at the corner of Zhao Rong's mouth.

"tea."

As she spoke, she raised her hand again, as if to help him pick off the 'very annoying' tea leaf at the corner of his mouth.

Zhao Rong was stunned at first, then his brows relaxed and he quickly wiped the tea leaves from the corner of his mouth.

He nodded quickly and took a half step back, "Okay, thank you Mr. Zhu, I'll do it."

Zhu Yourong didn't take his hand away and asked leisurely, "What did you call me?"

Zhao Rong was speechless. He felt that if she acted recklessly, he really couldn't stop her.

After holding it in for a while, he could only say, "Yourong... Daoist friend Yourong."

Zhu Yourong nodded, withdrew his hand, and gently pushed the wooden and jade-inlaid teacup floating in the air forward with his slender white index finger.

At the same time, a quick breeze blew from the hem of the woman's Confucian gown, and the teapot on the Eight Immortals Table not far away was lifted up by the wind and flew over.

The teapot and teacup both flew obediently in front of Zhao Rong.

Zhu Yourong stood quietly with his hands behind his back and said, "Pour me a cup of tea."

Zhao Rong: “…”

In the lake of heart, the sword spirit fanned the flames and said, "Zhao Rong, Zhao Rong, have you forgotten what you said when she secretly teleported you a hundred miles away from the bamboo forest courtyard?"

It cleared its throat and imitated someone else's tone and said, "Zhu Yourong, you big-breasted lady, can you teach me how to do things?"

Zhao Rong: “…”

Gui urged: "Hurry up, scold this busty lady, so that she knows who is the master of this place."

Zhao Rong pretended not to hear.

He took the teapot and teacup, shamelessly succumbed to the coercion of a busty lady, and poured the tea.

"Well, really, you are the only one who is so particular."

As he handed out the hot tea, he muttered, "...and...Fellow Daoist Yourong, don't teach me how to do things in the future, or else I..."

Pause.

Zhao Rong didn't say any more words of seeking revenge because he had already brought the hot tea to Zhu Yourong.

Logically, she should have said nothing and just taken the cup, letting him take his time. Both of them should have tacitly ignored what had just happened, and then finished their tea and started talking about business.

However, Zhu Yourong looked at the stubborn man who was carefully holding the teacup for her with both hands, and asked curiously, "What else do you want to do?"

Zhao Rong: “……???”

I……

No more chatting today!

Zhao Rong was ready to throw the cup away and leave.

Zhu Yourong suddenly took the teacup from his hand and glanced at the handsome man who looked slightly embarrassed.

She lowered her head and pouted slightly.

He blew on the steaming cup of noodles.

The woman's breath smelled like orchid, and the orchid scent seemed even more fragrant than the scent of hot tea.

“Tzuyu.”

She said.

"What?" Zhao Rong was about to leave when he asked unhappily, "You don't want me to serve you drinks, do you?"

The next second, a cup of hot tea was carefully held by two delicate hands and presented to...

In front of Zhao Rong.

"Please have some tea." Zhu Yourong held the hot tea in both hands and handed it to him. She looked at him with eyes slightly raised, "You've worked hard today."

Zhao Rong was startled, turned around, and couldn't help but look up and down carefully at Zhu Yourong, whose attitude seemed to have changed 180 degrees.

This is the wrong medicine... Is this the right medicine?

Or have you finally felt the domineering aura of this young master?

Zhao Rong couldn't see the look in her snow-white eyes.

But he felt the seriousness with which the woman handed the tea to him.

He blinked, frowned, and couldn't help muttering:

"Why did you give it to me to drink? Isn't this the tea you wanted..."

Zhu Yourong curved her lips, her voice soft, crisp and pleasant at this moment: "Do I have to drink the tea I asked you for? Can't I ask Tzuyu to drink it?"

"Okay, okay, Fellow Daoist Yourong is the best at making plans and controlling people. She is always hard to guess what she is thinking. She is the most virtuous and kind-hearted woman in the world..."

Zhao Rong laughed and shook his head, praising helplessly.

"Zi Yu, drink some tea, quickly." Zhu Yourong seemed not to hear his flattery and teased him. He blew the hot air out of the teacup again and this time handed it to Zhao Rong's mouth.

As if to feed him, Zhao Rong quickly took the teacup himself.

"I'll do it, thank you."

He thanked him and took a sip of tea. This time he did not guzzle it like before, but even swallowed two pieces of tea leaves.

Instead, he savoured the tea carefully, and from time to time he looked up at Ms. Rulan who was quietly serving tea in front of him.

Zhao Rong felt somewhat pleased.

Ahem, this is right. They have returned to the way they used to treat each other like guests and get along like a spring breeze when they were writing in Yilanxuan in the early morning.

After he reunited with Qingjun Qian'er, Zhu Yourong stood aside without saying a word. Her polite and calm attitude made Zhao Rong feel a little uncomfortable.

However, at this moment, Zhao Rong seemed to have forgotten that he had actually poured the cup of tea in his hand, and Zhu Yourong's commanding tone and verbal argument were also a bit rude.

At this moment, she just took the hot tea from Zhao Rong, and then simply and casually returned the cup to him.

A simple action and a few words can immediately dispel someone's previous dissatisfaction, and even make them feel a little warm and refreshed.

If a beautiful woman of noble status and powerful cultivation offers tea and compliments with an apologetic tone, most men will probably be generous and tolerant.

A sword spirit in a certain heart lake watched the scenes happening outside and marveled at them.

"Isn't this just like giving a big stick first and then gently handing over a sweet date? Tightening and loosening, making men unable to stop."

Although he pouted, he was a bystander and saw things very clearly.

But it didn't expect that Zhao Rong, a guy with a bit of machismo, would actually be susceptible to women's tricks.

However, Zhu Yourong used it as if nothing had happened, and it was indeed very lethal.

Zhao Rong seemed to be completely subdued.

The purple-robed sword spirit looked at the quiet and elegant big-breasted lady outside again, and felt that she seemed to be a little different from before.

In the past, Zhu Yourong was straightforward, elegant and easy-going when she was with Zhao Rong.

Although she would sometimes put on a stern face and act like a serious gentleman in front of others, in private, when Zhu Yourong was with Zhao Rong, she was mostly like an intelligent, gentle and generous older sister.

It is the natural atmosphere of a confidante.

And now, Gui felt that Zhu Yourong seemed to have changed silently, as if he had figured something out recently, or realized something, and began to quietly guide Zhao Rong in his interactions, trying to control him in some ways.

It was similar to the Senior Sister Ning that Zhao Rong met outside Taiqing Mansion a few days ago.

However, the purpose of the Bai Chi woman who chose the path of sword cultivation was a little difficult for the sword spirit to guess.

So in summary, in a nutshell.

The elegant, gentle, and peaceful big-breasted lady is starting to feel a little... arrogant.

As for why it changed...

"By the way, Yourong."

At this time, Zhao Rong put down the teacup and looked at the woman in Confucian clothes who seemed to be in a different state.

He said:

"I forgot to ask you before, why does your body make me feel a little weird, especially your eyes..."

Zhu Yourong looked at Zhao Rong who finally asked about her condition.

Just now in the imperial mausoleum and on the way back, his attention had always been on Concubine Zhao Lingfei and Zhao Qianer. Now... his eyes finally grew?

She looked calm and said, "This is my Nascent Soul. My real body is on the way."

"Nascent Soul?" Zhao Rong nodded.

He had been in the mountain for quite some time and had heard a little about some of the immortals' methods.

Zhao Rong was puzzled. "Didn't you say that you were still at the half-step Nascent Soul stage? Your Dao Nascent Soul hasn't completely 'broken out' yet. How can you now... leave your body and travel so far?"

Zhu Yourong lowered her eyes, stretched out her hand to take the empty teacup from Zhao Rong's hand, and said casually:

“This is… the Nascent Soul from before.

"In addition, I have a Confucian gentleman's item, which is a quick wind that can carry the Yuanying to travel far away."

The previous Nascent Soul?

Zhao Rong was slightly stunned.

Gui suddenly said, "She has fallen in realm, but it is not the ordinary cultivator's realm fall... Look at her snow-white eyes of the Nascent Soul, there is still a 'finishing touch' missing, this is not a complete Nascent Soul."

Zhao Rong was silent.

He suddenly remembered that he seemed to have heard Zhu Yourong say before that she once followed the path of Confucian classics and even became the first-class Confucian scholar recorded in the Zhongzhou Confucian Temple, and was the youngest female Confucian scholar among them.

But later, she turned away from the classics, abandoned the classics, and started writing...

Zhao Rong seemed to understand something.

He immediately looked apologetic and said, "Fellow Daoist Yourong, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned those things. Besides... you are traveling far away with this Nascent Soul this time. Even if you have some noble things, it will consume a lot of vitality, right? For me..."

"It's okay, Ziyu." Zhu Yourong interrupted calmly and said seriously: "I am a teacher of the academy. If a student of the academy is in trouble, it is my responsibility to separate my Nascent Soul and rush to rescue them as soon as possible. It's all for the academy."

Zhao Rong's expression was slightly stunned, and he couldn't help but look at the female teacher in front of him who was slightly raising her chin.

No, why are you being so polite and distant again? Can't we just communicate normally?

Zhao Rong nodded and looked at her. "Oh, is that so? Mr. Zhu came here really quickly. The other teachers of the academy are still behind..."

Zhu Yourong was calm and composed, "I have Kuaizai Feng, of course I am fast enough. Didn't Ziyu say before that with great ability comes great responsibility, and I am that person."

As she spoke, the lady who had hurriedly taken advantage of the wind to travel south looked calm and composed. She calmly picked up the teapot and filled the empty cup in her hand with seven-tenths of hot tea.

She pursed her lips and took a sip, then as if she remembered something, she raised her head and nodded to the man with a slightly twitching mouth:

"Yes, the cup of tea just now was the same, it was presented to Tzuyu on behalf of the academy's headmaster and others.

"This time it was the academy's fault. The teacher who accompanied us down the mountain failed to complete the task of bringing all the students back to the academy, causing Ziyu to be ambushed by thieves. This is absolutely wrong. I offer this cup of tea to Ziyu on behalf of the academy."

Zhao Rong...

It's numb already.

He didn't know how many times he had been choked and speechless tonight.

I felt like being with Zhu Yourong tonight was like being trapped in a series of traps, one after another, and always being rejected.

He looked at Zhu Yourong who was drinking tea leisurely, tilted his head slightly, and said:

"Oh, didn't you say you were a bit of a germaphobe and couldn't stand drinking out of a cup that someone else had used? Why are you drinking tea out of the cup I've used now?"

Zhu Yourong didn't even raise his eyelids. "Oh, I forgot. It's okay. This is not my real body. It's my Nascent Soul clone. It's as clear and spotless as Taoist colored glaze. Strictly speaking, I can't taste any strange smell."

Zhao Rong: “…”

That's not what you just said.

He thought about it and decided to hold back.

Zhao Rong had a premonition that if he dared to continue asking these questions, Zhu Yourong would have more tricks waiting for him.

Thinking of this, Zhao Rong sighed and couldn't help rubbing his handsome face.

Zhu Yourong lowered her head to drink tea and glanced at his face.

Zhao Rong patiently waited until the woman in Confucian robes in front of him finished tasting her tea. Then he asked, opening the conversation:

"Yourong, you came here not just to serve tea and check the cleanliness of the tea, right? Is there something important you want to say?"

Zhu Yourong nodded.

The two came to the table and sat down.

Zhu Yourong sat upright:

"Ziyu, the dean is also paying attention to what happened to you this time. The academy has classified the situation as serious. Everyone in the academy takes this very seriously."

She paused and explained:

"Our Confucian Academy has always taken good care of young students, but later scholars and even the seeds of the academy are not given such attention.

"As long as the situation is not serious and does not endanger the lives of the scholars, the academy will not even ask about the grievances between the scholars and let their respective teachers handle it."

Seeing Zhao Rong nod, Zhu Yourong continued to speak, her eyes narrowed slightly:

"The one who killed you this time was a Jindan realm cultivator! He is three realms higher than you! This is not just a matter of touching the bottom line of the academy's protection of young students.

"Even in a continent with the most chaotic order on the mountain, two mortal enemies abide by the rule of not sending cultivators with a cultivation level higher than one realm to kill the other party's low-level cultivators."

Zhu Yourong stopped, stared at the teacup on the table, and after a moment of silence, he called out the names one by one:

"Zhang Huizhi, who colluded with the thief, was involved in the Dali Dynasty; the Dawei Qin family to which the thief named Qin Jianfu belonged; and the Siqi Academy involved in these two Confucian scholars... and so on."

"We at Linlu Academy will carefully investigate and negotiate with all the forces that are involved in this matter, one by one. It may take a lot of time, but we will do our utmost to help. Even the dean will come forward if necessary to have a proper talk... We will find out the evil spirits hiding behind and give you, Tzuyu, an explanation."

Zhao Rong nodded, squinted his eyes and thought for a while, then said: "I will be satisfied if the academy attaches so much importance to it. If the investigation is really difficult..."

"That has to be investigated!" Zhu Yourong interrupted, "Ziyu, this is not just about you, it's about the reputation and authority of our Linlu Academy."

"If you can't even protect your own students, then who would come all the way to Linlu to study? Just go to Siqi Academy."

"Moreover, it has been many years since anyone dared to kill students from Linlu Academy in such a despicable and shameless way. What's more, the murderer is also a Confucian scholar from the Confucian Academy! This is a deliberate crime!"

Zhu Yourong's eyebrows were raised.

“And this also involves another Siqi Academy, which can easily lead others to think… maybe there is discord among the Confucianists in our Wangque Continent.

"So this matter must be thoroughly investigated."

When she said this, her tone was somewhat meaningful.

Zhao Rong digested it quietly.

Zhu Yourong turned and looked at him and said:

“Right now, the people sent by the academy to handle the matter have already set out and are on their way. They will arrive at Moon Sacrifice Mountain soon.

"Among this first group of people, there should be many people you are familiar with. Meng Zhengjun, Mr. Yan, and a talented scholar, um, the disciple of the deputy headmaster..."

Zhao Rong nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

For the first time, he felt how good it felt to have a responsible big force as his backer. He felt like a legitimate descendant of a famous family.

Putting aside other things, at least the attitude of Linlu Academy made Zhao Rong feel warm.

However, it is unknown whether these are the rights and interests that Zhu Yourong fought so hard for him.

Zhu Yourong suddenly said: "Oh, Ziyu, there is one more thing. Well, maybe it might be a little inappropriate for me to say it in my capacity..."

Zhao Rong was puzzled. "What's the matter? Just tell me."

Zhu Yourong looked away and lowered her voice, "In fact, you can still... appropriately seek help from the academy... and ask for some comfort and compensation."

Zhao Rong blinked and understood immediately.

The two then discussed for a while.

Soon, the relevant topic ended and they suddenly became quiet.

It seems... there is nothing to say.

Zhao Rong looked at Zhu Yourong, who didn't look at him. Her eyes were fixed on the door, as if...she was about to leave?

Zhao Rong suddenly remembered something and thought it would be better to make it clear first.

He first raised the teapot and poured tea to keep the guests, then he couldn't help but said, "Oh, wait."

"What's the matter?" Zhu Yourong didn't take the tea.

Zhao Rong thought about it and said:

"Fellow Daoist Yourong, before in the bamboo forest, I actually thought I would never see... everyone again, um, I would never see you again, so..."

Zhu Yourong lowered his eyes, "So what."

Zhao Rong gritted his teeth secretly, but still brought it up, "So before I said goodbye to your clone, I asked it to pass on some words to you."

Zhu Yourong asked softly, "What did you let it... convey?"

At this moment, she finally turned her head and stared at Zhao Rong's expression intently, asking him to speak out.

Zhao Rong frowned slightly.

At that time, before he asked Zhu Yourong's inky clone to teleport Qian'er a thousand miles away, he said some words to it that now seem quite hypocritical.

Zhu Yourong’s reaction…didn’t the words get passed back?

The two looked at each other, and the atmosphere became even quieter.

Zhao Rong opened his mouth and was about to speak when suddenly, the roller curtain at the door was lifted.

Xiao Qian'er rushed in.

She first glanced at the hall as if nothing had happened.

Especially the distance between Zhao Rong and Zhu Yourong.

The little girl breathed a sigh of relief, then ran between Zhao Rong and Zhu Yourong.

At this moment, she suddenly turned her head and said to a certain woman in surprise:

"Hey, Mr. Zhu, you're back? By the way, Brother Rong'er, I didn't disturb you guys talking, did I?"

“…”

Zhao Rong looked at the innocent-looking girl standing in front of him and was speechless.

You're just saying this after you've already disturbed me?

But he still shook his head, and then looked at Zhu Yourong...