“Ding! Instructed Yu Shangrong. Reward: 500 merit points.”
Early the next morning, the sun rose from the east as usual.
When the morning rays shone into the Cave of Reflection, Little Yuan’er hopped toward the entrance. She called out, “Second Senior Brother!”
“Morning, Little Junior Sister.” Yu Shangrong carried the Longevity Sword in his arms and walked out of the Cave of Reflection.
At this moment, Yu Shangrong’s hair was no longer partially white. They had turned completely white. Little Yuan’er’s eyes widened in shock. She pointed at him and said, “Second Senior Brother, your hair…’ “It’s alright.” Yu Shangrong looked up at the sun in the east and smiled in contentment. “I’ll look for master.”
“No need.” Yu Shangrong walked forward.
Little Yuan’er stopped in her tracks.
Yu Shangrong walked up to her and smiled. “Little Junior Sister, I’ve completely lost my cultivation base. If you want to spar with me, you’ll have to go easy on me…”
“I… will…” Little Yuan’er found it difficult to speak.
There was a small crowd at the Cave of Reflection now.
Pan Zhong, Zhou Jifeng, Hua Yuexing, Zhao Yue, Mingshi Yin, Zhu Honggong, and several female disciples gathered around and watched Yu Shangrong. They had heard about Yu Shangrong killing a Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm expert even with his cultivation base sealed. They had also heard about his hair turning partially white. However, now that they had seen him, they saw that his hair was completely white. His hair had turned white overnight. They knew about Yu Shangrong’s lineage and whispered among themselves.
The melilot grew in Nobleman Nation. It bloomed in the morning and wilted at night.
Yu Shangrong glanced at the others. He greeted them in an elegant manner, “Morning.”
Everyone else cupped their hands. “Good morning, Mister Second.”
Little Yuan’er said, “Second Senior Brother, I’ll go ask for master’s help. He’ll surely find a way.”
“Didn’t you come to spar with me?” Yu Shangrong asked.
“Well…” Little Yuan’er gave it some thought before replying, “Alright.”
In the eastern pavilion of the Evil Sky Pavilion.
Lu Zhou had meditated upon the Heavenly Writing scrolls for a whole night. He was now in high spirits. He stretched his limbs and he stood outside the eastern pavilion/
At this moment, Li Yunzhao and Jiang Aijian walked over. The two of them bowed.
Li Yunzhao said, “On behalf of the Empress Dowager, I thank you, Old Mister. After your treatment, the Empress Dowager has been feeling better. We’ll return today, and I’m here to bid you farewell.”
Jiang Aijian stood up, bowed, and said, “I’ll see them off.”
Lu Zhou knew what was in Jiang Aijian’s mind. He said, “Li Yunzhao… When you return to the Divine Capital, tell them Jiang Aijian is dead. Moreover, tell the Crown Prince that the Evil Sky Pavilion will remember this.”
Li Yunzha bowed immediately to kowtow, begging for forgiveness.
However, Jiang Aijian said, “Save it. Don’t you know the old senior’s style? Go.”
“Uh…” Li Yunzhao was a person of the Imperial family, after all. It was only natural for him to speak in favor of the Imperial family. However, Jiang Aijian was also a member of the Imperial family. Liu Huan and Liu Zhi were his brothers, and yet, he did not care about them at all.
Lu Zhou looked as Jiang Aijian pulled Li Yunzhao out of the eastern pavilion. He could not help but sigh. “Oh, ever-living Emperor, don’t you have any decent descendants?”
When Li Yunzhao thought about it, that statement sounded wrong. The Fourth Prince, Liu Bing, was a general of the borders. He was a man with achievements. The Fifth Prince, Liu Hong, was timid, but he was not wicked. He almost forgot… Jiang Aijian or Liu Chen, the Third Prince, was not an evil person as well.
Meanwhile, in one of the more secluded branches of the Nether Sect.
Yu Zhanghai was pacing back and forth. He looked at Si Wuya, who was sitting on a chair at the side, and asked, “Seventh Junior Brother, do you have a good plan?”
Si Wuya shook his head. “I didn’t expect Jiang Aijian to make this move. Now that he’s hiding in the Evil Sky Pavilion, my men can’t touch him.”
“Must we capture him?” Yu Zhenghai asked.
“Jiang Aijian is Great Yan’s Third Prince… He’s deeply loved by the Empress Dowager. If we can capture him, the Nether Sect will have another chip to play. Alas… he’s too cunning,” Si Wuya replied.
Yu Zhenghai said, “The barrier in Golden Court Mountain is gone. You have elites like the Five Mice among your men. Can’t they think of a way to sneak in and kill Jiang Aijian?”
“That’s impossible.” Si Wuya recalled the scene of the blooming blue lotus Si Wuya. “We can’t kill Jiang Aijian… Master’s clearly protecting him. Also, from the mole I planted around the Crown Prince, I learned that the Crown Prince had sent an assassin to kill him.”
“The Crown Prince wants to kill the Third Prince?”
“The Crown Prince must be unaware that Jiang Aijian is the Third Prince. He’s merely trying to avenge Liu Huan to gain a good reputation,” Si Wuya replied.
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhenghai seemed amused. He laughed and stepped forward to smack Si Wuya’s shoulder.
Si Wuya frowned, confused.
Yu Zhenghai said, “Sometimes, I wonder how you’ve got all these connections in the palace?”
Si Wuya. “…”
“Don’t be shy. I won’t laugh,” Yu Zhenghai said.
Si Wuya appeared awkward as he remained silent.
“So, it’s really Princess Yong Ning?”
When Princess Yong Ning was mentioned, Si Wuya shook his head and said, “You’ve misunderstood, EldestSenior Brother. There’s nothing between us.”
Yu Zhenghai gave him a meaningful look. He nodded and said, “It’s no wonder that Han Yuyuan is afraid to touch you. What a wonderful lady, and yet, you’re not satisfied. Junior brother, you should consider lowering your standards slightly.” Si Wuya was speechless. He changed the topic at once. “Let’s talk about the Nether Sect’s upcoming plans.”
“That’s good! It’s just what I wanted.” Yu Zhenghai was immediately invigorated. He no longer entertained himself with romantic affairs.
A table was prepared, and a map was spread on it.
Si Wuya pointed to where Liang Province was.
Seven days passed in just a blink of an eye. After getting ten ‘thank you’ messages in a row, Lu Zhou exited the room. He wanted to get some fresh air. As expected, he should not put too much hope in the lucky draws. It was one thing to obtain various items at the end, but it was different to lose everything he possessed.
As he was stretching his limbs, Little Yuan’er appeared and said, “Master, master, Second Senior Brother has been staying in the Cave of Reflection for many days now. I’m worried about him. Can you go and have a look at him?”
Lu Zhou frowned. ‘It’s been seven days. Is he still struggling with his thoughts?’ “What’s the situation?”
“His hair has turned completely white the other day. Now, he’s in a poor state. I don’t think he can even lift his sword.”
Lu Zhou turned around slowly.
At this moment, Mingshi Yin, Zhao Yue, Zhu Honggong, Pan Zhong, Zhou Jifeng, and the female disciples swarmed into the eastern pavilion. With a collective thud, they fell to their knees.
It seemed obviously rehearsed.
“Please do something, master!”
Lu Zhou looked at everyone as he stroked his beard and said, “You’re pleading on that rascal’s behalf?”
Mingshi Yin said, “Although Second Senior Brother has done wrong, he has killed many who coveted the Evil Sky Pavilion’s possessions over the years. Please do something, master!” The others bowed as well.
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, “If anyone should beg, it should be him.”
“Master!”
“Silence,” Lu Zhou said in a deep voice, “If I were merciful, do you think the Evil Sky Pavilion would be where it is today? Tell him that if he wants to die, I’ll let him die!”
With a wave of his sleeve, Lu Zhou returned to the eastern pavilion. He was not Mingshi Yin. He was not Zhao Yue. He was not one of the fellow disciples. He was the master of the Evil Sky Pavilion.
The others were rooted to the spots.
Lu Zhou’s words rang in their ears. If he had been merciful, the Evil Sky Pavilion would have been destroyed a long time ago. If everyone behaved in this manner, who would be responsible for the next traitor? Their master was right. If he accepted their plea made on the traitor’s behalf, their master would not be able to maintain the Evil Sky Pavilion as it was. Moreover, Yu Shangrong had fought against their Eldest Senior Brother and stayed idle when the Evil Sky Pavilion was under siege. He was not without fault. Their master had already fulfilled all his moral obligations by being this tolerant.
