Chapter 109 Night Meeting:
Rong Xie's eyebrows twitched twice. He forcibly suppressed the urge to curse Shen Bingsi and said in a low voice, "Shen Bingsi, you dare to fly over my head and try it!"
Shen Bingsi paused for a moment: "Can't we fly over the Lu family's territory? Oh, I see."
Then, Rong Xie heard Shen Bingsi turn around and discuss with Captain Zhao. Soon, he turned back and said, "We will avoid the Lu residence and land in the nearby mountains. We will find a mountain village to settle down. Don't worry, it will be a secret operation and the Lu family will definitely not find out."
Rong Xie breathed a slight sigh of relief and hummed in agreement: "Give the jade pendant to Captain Zhao."
"Actually, if you tell me, I can..."
"Give the jade pendant to Captain Zhao."
"..." The person on the other end of the jade pendant changed, and Zhao Dajiang's respectful voice came through: "Fellow Daoist Rong, we plan to stay in a nearby mountain village to ensure that the Lu family will not find out. When do you plan to start your operation?"
Rong Xie thought for a moment and said, "The talks didn't go very smoothly today. Lu Yingqi's attitude was quite good, but that Madam Mei kept using the family's legacy to pressure us. Their old master also had a relapse, so we couldn't talk anymore. We can only stay here for now and wait for the old master to recover before continuing the discussion."
“Alright, let’s wait and await Fellow Daoist Rong’s message,” Zhao Dajiang said.
Shen Bingsi seemed to interrupt again, saying something mumbled and unclear.
Zhao Dajiang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Fellow Daoist Rong, where will you be staying tonight? Will you be in any danger?"
“Lu Yingqi and I live in the same courtyard, so there’s no need to worry,” Rong Xie said.
"Oh...oh, be careful," Zhao Dajiang said, and the two sides ended their communication.
Rong Xie arrived at the gate of Lu Yingqi's courtyard and saw servants standing on both sides of the gate. Rong Xie went up to them and asked them to announce his arrival.
When these people saw Rong Xie, they acted arrogantly and ignored him, showing no intention of announcing his arrival. When Rong Xie urged them again, they impatiently said, "It's late, and the young master has already retired for the night. Let's talk about it tomorrow."
"Alright then," Rong Xie said, but his feet led him toward the door.
"Hey, what are you doing!"
"This is the young master's courtyard. Who gave you permission to go in?"
The maids at the door came up to stop him, but they were all people without any magic power, so how could they stop Rong Xie? They felt that before their fingers could even touch Rong Xie's body, they were bounced away by a strange force, and their palms seemed to be pulled away heavily, their fingertips were numb and painful.
Rong Xie possesses three spiritual roots: water, wood, and lightning. He rarely uses the lightning spiritual root, but that doesn't mean he can't use it.
Easily swatting aside the maid blocking his way, Rong Xie walked into the courtyard, secretly admiring as he went. As expected of the young master's courtyard, the layout and decoration were almost on par with the main hall of the Lu family.
The main hall of the house was located at the top of the steps. The lights were on inside. Before Rong Xie could even step onto the steps, servants with spiritual power approached him from both sides.
Rong Xie sensed that the two servants' spiritual power was around the third or fourth level of Qi Refining, indicating that they had undergone proper cultivation. He turned his head and saw that the two were very young, looking no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, with no expression on their faces. Rong Xie couldn't help but wonder if these two were also servants trained by the Lu family.
Just then, a figure dressed in white casual clothes appeared in front of the steps. Lu Yingqi waved his hand and said, "This is my guest. You may leave."
"Yes, young master." The two servants bowed to Lu Yingqi and retreated into the shadows under the corridors on both sides.
Rong Xie bowed slightly to Lu Yingqi and stepped forward. The two entered the small hall together and went to the study on the right.
Rong Xie loved looking at other people's studies, but unfortunately Lu Yingqi didn't live here for many years. The study was empty, with only a few expensive-looking ornaments to make it look nice.
"How did you end up here?" Lu Yingqi asked.
"Your guest rooms are uninhabitable, so I came here to ask for one." Rong Xie looked out the window. "Are the outbuildings in your courtyard habitable?"
“…” Lu Yingqi paused for a moment, “I’ll have someone clean it up.”
Rong Xie understood. In the past, Xiao Zhi was the one who prepared for such things. Now that Xiao Zhi wasn't around, Rong Xie suddenly asked, and Lu Yingqi didn't know how to answer.
As for hot tea to serve guests, that was no longer available.
"Alright, no need to tidy up. I was just about to say a few words to you, so I'll just make do here tonight." Rong Xie's gaze swept over the couch under the south window. A couch is a place where you can sit or lie down, and this is Lu Yingqi's main room. The servants and maids have kept it clean and tidy for him. Isn't this much more comfortable than the dark and gloomy side room?
"Whatever." Lu Yingqi was indifferent to these matters. "What do you want to say?"
Rong Xie thought for a moment and said, "What do you plan to do if the old master remains bedridden?"
Lu Yingqi was taken aback, seemingly not expecting this possibility.
He pondered for a moment, then said, "Then let's talk to Madam Mei."
“What if Madam Mei doesn’t agree to abolish the servant system? He can say those things again today,” Rong Xie asked again.
“We can organize the Lu family clan members to come and talk,” Lu Yingqi said. “If the clan members vote, it will pass if there are many supporters, and it won’t need to go through Madam Mei.”
"What if the clan doesn't support it?" Rong Xie pressed.
Lu Yingqi glanced at Rong Xie, seemingly puzzled: "If the clan members do not support it, it means that the time is not right to abolish the servant system. They understand the interests of the family best and know what is right. If they make this decision, it is not appropriate for us to interfere."
"..." Rong Xie was speechless. "Is this your solution to this?"
"Of course, things always have their own laws of development. Forcibly changing them will inevitably involve cause and effect. If we cannot persuade our relatives, it means that it is not time to change this matter yet. Maintaining it is also a possible outcome." Lu Yingqi said something very detached.
Very... the kind of nonsense that comes from someone who's not in the same boat.
Rong Xie noticed that Lu Yingqi's expression was very calm, as if he believed that this "letting nature take its course" was indeed a solution.
He realized that Lu Yingqi cultivated the Path of Ruthlessness. Although there are many different schools of the Path of Ruthlessness, they all have the same point: the Way of Heaven is ruthless and does not interfere with the cause and effect of all things.
"What about Xiaozhi? What about those poor children?" Rong Xie couldn't help but ask. "Back then, you threatened to kick me out of Lanyuan in order to stop me from spreading rumors. Why didn't you say that you shouldn't interfere with other people's karma then?"
"..." Lu Yingqi discovered that Rong Xie was very good at bringing up old grievances, completely inheriting Shen Bingsi's ways in this regard. He could only tell the truth, "I just don't want you to go around talking about it. It's better to avoid trouble. As for those children, I don't know what their wishes are. So far, I haven't seen them come out to resist, and I can't decide their future for them."
"Is it possible that they aren't resisting because they are powerless to resist, and that Madam Mei has planted a poison within them that can kill them at any time—"
"Do you have any evidence?" Lu Yingqi asked.
"Evidence?" Rong Xie asked, puzzled. "Isn't Xiao Ya's death evidence?"
“Xiao Ya can no longer cultivate. The five signs of decay caused by not being able to cultivate are, in the end, an extreme situation. It doesn’t mean that Madam Mei killed him with Gu.” Lu Yingqi shook his head and said, “Besides, our Lu family is not some evil sect. How could we know such evil arts? These are just your imagination.”
Rong Xie was stunned. It was an obvious fact that the servants were under the control of the Lu family and that the Lu family used the servants to blackmail them, the young masters and nobles. Now Lu Yingqi was actually saying that there was no evidence.
“Besides, do you think I wouldn’t be able to tell if there’s a Gu poison? Xiao Zhi is by my side every day, and we’ve cultivated together before. If he had a Gu poison in his body, wouldn’t I know?” Lu Yingqi continued.
Rong Xie paused for a moment: "It might not be a Gu poison. It could be something else, like floral scents or pollen."
“That’s just your guess,” Lu Yingqi said. “You have no evidence.”
"..."
If Lu Yingqi hadn't stood by Rong Xie's side during the day and argued his case to Madam Mei about abolishing the servant system, Rong Xie might have doubted whether Lu Yingqi truly wanted to solve the problem.
“I’m just an outsider, and you’re asking me for evidence?” Rong Xie found it ridiculous. Then, as if remembering something, he nodded. “Sure, I can find the evidence, but you have to promise me you’ll turn a blind eye.”
After Rong Xie finished speaking, he stared intently at Lu Yingqi.
Lu Yingqi was slightly puzzled, seemingly wanting to ask Rong Xie how to find evidence. He moved his lips but didn't ask, only saying "okay".
Rong Xie was now certain that Lu Yingqi was the most powerful person in the entire Lu family, and as long as Lu Yingqi stood by and did nothing, no one could stop the treasure-hunting team.
Of course, they also had to avoid Lady Mei. Before they could find out what the well was and how to control the servant boy, they could not disturb Lady Mei. Otherwise, Lady Mei might use the servant boy's life to blackmail them.
Even worse, they could use Xiaozhi's life to blackmail Lu Yingqi into dealing with them.
It was precisely because of this pressure that Rong Xie was so cautious, making the treasure hunting team hide their tracks and not allow them to act rashly without his permission.
“There’s one more thing I need your help with,” Rong Xie said seriously. “That Madam Mei seems to have a special way of detecting things. I’m worried that she might discover us when we’re investigating the well. If you have any way to temporarily block her detection ability, then our investigation won’t alert her.”
"Special Detective Abilities?"
"Yes, to be honest, I just went to the 'well'. I smelled a very strong rose fragrance around me, and then my body started to feel a little out of control."
"So you suspect that Madam Mei used floral scents to control the pageboy... to control Xiaozhi?" Lu Yingqi seemed to have thought of something. "Xiaozhi does have the scent of rose nectar on him. However, rose nectar is not a rare incense. Even if the rose nectar on Xiaozhi and Madam Mei's incense come from the same source, this place is thousands of miles away from Zhilan Ridge. No matter how powerful the incense master is, they cannot control another person from such a distance."
Lu Yingqi's analysis was calm and objective, and every sentence made sense. However, this was not what Rong Xie wanted to hear.
"Alright, when do you make your move? I can help you hold off Madam Mei. How much time do you need?" Lu Yingqi finally relented.
Rong Xie was delighted with those words and was about to discuss the timing of the operation with Lu Yingqi when he suddenly heard someone knocking on the window behind the couch.
"?" Rong Xie sat up abruptly. When Lu Yingqi was talking to him, he had already cast a soundproof spell. Logically speaking, the sound inside should not be able to get out, and the sound outside should not be able to get in so clearly.
Lu Yingqi shook his head at Rong Xie and secretly transmitted his voice, saying, "The person who came is highly skilled and is not a member of my family."
A affected, high-pitched voice came from outside: "Young Master Lu, can you hear me? I'm a page sent by Madam Mei to serve you. Is there anyone else in the room? If there's no one else, I'll come in~"
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