Although Little Yuan’er would really love to laugh at this moment, she stifled her laughter as she stole glances at her master.
Lu Zhou’s expression was as calm as a still water lake. Nobody could figure out what he was thinking. He kept stroking his beard.
Little Yuan’er looked at her master, askance. She thought to herself, ‘Master never used to stroke his beard so much. Why did he suddenly have this habit?’
When Zhao Shuo saw Lu Zhou did not reply to him, he said, “Master, please help us!”
In the end, Lu Zhou only said indifferently, “I have my own plans. Yuan’er, see them out.”
Little Yuan’er nodded. She hopped toward Zhao Shuo and gestured for them to leave.
Zhao Shuo felt helpless. He had no choice but to leave.
Lu Zhou was speechless. As the master, did he have to raise the banner of justice to deal with his own disciple? Moreover, Mingshi Yin was only killing mounted brigands, not abducting young girls. It was obvious that the general public had a biased opinion of the Evil Sky Pavilion. No matter what the Evil Sky Pavilion did, they would be seen as causing trouble.
Jiang Aijian did not leave. “Master… Master?”
Lu Zhou who was still sitting looked at Jiang Aijian and said, “Jiang Aijian.”
Jiang Aijian quickly jogged up to Lu Zhou and said with a grin, “I knew you won’t keep me at arm’s length, master.”
Lu Zhou’s wizened face lost a little of its indifference as he said, “I spend my days holed up on the mountain, and I’m disconnected from the outside world. If you’re willing to be my eyes and ears, I won’t treat you unfairly.” He wanted to make himself seem as friendly as possible. ‘Let’s not scare this fellow away.’ After all, it was natural for a timid person to be cowardly.
Jiang Aijian said in a self-abasing manner, “M-master? Please don’t joke! You’re a Buddhist master, surely you have no need for someone like me to become your eyes and ears.”
“You’re not willing?” Lu Zhou asked.
Lu Zhou’s behavior stunned Jiang Aijian. It seemed like if he did not agree to this request, Lu Zhou would no longer have any interaction with him. He stroked his chin as he considered this. Finally, he said, “Master, with your position and standing, you’ll give me some sort of compensation, right? I can’t be doing this for nothing.”
Lu Zhou remembered that there were many precious swords back in Evil Sky Pavilion’s hidden chamber. He had never appraised their grade before, but he did not think they were low. ‘At the very least, that saber is quite good. It’s evenly matched with Unnamed. It might very well be a heaven-grade weapon.’ Finally, he asked, “Do you like sabers?”
“Huh?” Jiang Aijian was confused by the non sequitur.
“Forget it…” Lu Zhou rose to his feet and stood with his hands on his back. He said slowly, “My sword has already recognized me as its owner, but if you become my eyes and ears, I can give you a good sword or two.”
Jiang Aijian grinned widely as soon as good swords were mentioned, it seemed like he had lost some of his quick wit as soon as swords were mentioned. He asked with bright eyes, “How good is it?”
“No weaker than the male and female double swords!”
Jiang Aijian slapped his thigh and cried out without any hesitation, “Deal!”
“…” Lu Zhou was rendered speechless by Jiang Aijian’s behavior, but he maintained the calm expression on his face.
Jiang Aijian was overjoyed at this moment. He had collected many good swords in his life. There were swords with strange designs and patterns from a variety of grades in his collection. However, heaven-grade weapons were always the most precious. After all, heaven-grade weapons could only be discovered, not sought. He had always possessed an innate talent for gathering information, this job would not be difficult for him. After a while, he looked around the room before asking, “Master, where did you put the she-villain?”
Lu Zhou barked, “Get lost!”
“Getting lost now.” Before Jiang Aijian left the inn, he left Lu Zhou with a way to contact him. When he left the inn, he felt refreshed. He stretched his limb and smiled. However, a thought suddenly appeared in his mind. ‘How long would I have to do this? It seems like we didn’t discuss the timeframe! Wouldn’t it be bad if I have to do this for a lifetime? This is bad, have I been duped? Will I be beaten up if I return to negotiate with him now?’
…
Inside the room.
Little Yuan’er said contemptuously, “What a shameless man!”
Lu Zhou said calmly, “He’s useful.”
Little Yuan’er could tell that her master was tired. She half-rose from her chair and said, “I’ll be taking my leave.”
After Little Yuan’er left, he did not go to bed immediately. He brought out the system dashboard and scrolled through the mall. Under the avatar column, there were no changes. The only avatar he unlocked was the Mighty Four Quadrants. In the cultivation base realm, there was only comprehending the Heavenly Writing. He could only slowly improve it, there was no shortcut for this. He checked again to see if he had unlocked any weapons or cultivation methods. He willed the interface to change and discovered the weapons and cultivation methods column was still red.
Lu Zhou wondered if this was due to his cultivation base being too low to unlock the weapons and techniques. He sighed in understanding, after all, Ji Tiandao was still in his prime when he accepted his disciples. He would have to take care not to follow in Ji Tiandao’s footsteps.
Lu Zhou wondered if Ji Tiandao had died because his life had reached its end and his cultivation base had regressed. However, since Lu Zhou had the Reversal Cards, he did not think he would have Ji Tiandao’s problems. He would not repeat Ji Tiandao’s mistakes. Saying that, he was left with one problem. He thought with a frown on his face, ‘What would happen if I keep using the Reversal Cards? Will I have to crawl back into my mother’s womb? That’s no different from committing suicide!’
However, Lu Zhou’s mood took a turn for the better. If he used the Reversal Cards every year as he aged, did it not mean he would gain eternal life? He thought to himself, ‘This logic is flawless!’
After that, Lu Zhou pulled up the Heavenly Writing’s interface and continued his quest to comprehend it. Time ticked by as he immersed himself in the text, and dawn came without him realizing it.
Lu Zhou had fallen asleep halfway through reading. When he woke up, he felt as though he had returned to his student days. Just as he was about to get off the bed, he heard hurried footsteps outside his door.
The pitch of Zhao Shuo’s voice seemed higher as he said urgently, “M-master! Please help us! The Evil Sky Pavilion’s villain has already arrived in Runan City. He’s raining down disasters on the public!”
Lu Zhou said nonchalantly through the door, “Let him be. He won’t do anything evil.” Since he had entrusted Mingshi Yin with a mission, Mingshi Yin would be extremely bold if he dared to commit evil acts at this juncture.
“Master… The villain is evil in nature, and he’s notorious for his wicked acts. The villain had entered the city early this morning and hung two heads at the city gates. The citizens are too terrified to step out of their houses! The villain has a profound cultivation base. His speed and movements aren’t something that ordinary people can compare to. I’m afraid you’re the only person in Runan City who’s capable of defeating the villain, master!”
Lu Zhou shook his head and got off his bed. After doing some simple stretches, he felt much better. Finally, he opened the door.
When Zhao Shuo saw Lu Zhou emerging from the room, he was overcome with emotions that he had difficulty stringing sentences together. After a while, he finally said, “Master, please do something! I’m begging you on behalf of Runan City’s citizens!”
Lu Zhou remained silent as he stared at Zhao Shuo.
At this moment, Little Yuan’er and Zhao Yue appeared. “Master!”
Zhao Yue was dressed in plain white robes, different from the one she wore on the holy altar.
“Let’s go.” Lu Zhou waved his hand.
Zhao Shuo called out tentatively, “Ma-master?”
“Come along.” Lu Zhou placed his hands behind his back and descended the stairs.
When Zhao Shuo heard this, he was overjoyed. He hastily caught up to Lu Zhou. He was certain this was a sign of Lu Zhou’s agreement to help.
After Zhao Shuo had returned to his residence yesterday, he had listened to his subordinates’ detailed account of the incident on the holy altar. When he heard about how Lu Zhou was unaffected by the Temple of Great Emptiness’ Brahman Lullaby, defeated the monk, Kong Xuan, and subdued the she-villain, he was filled with respect toward Lu Zhou. He did not want to offend Lu Zhou at all. Hence, he sent a message to the palace and informed them that the royal token was in the possession of a senior Buddhist monk. He also told the palace that he was powerless to retrieve the token.
As they left the inn, Zhao Shuo turned to look at Little Yuan’er and Zhao Yue as he thought to himself, ‘This girl with the golden lotus between her brows must be the Evil Sky Pavilion’s she-villain.’ He nodded to himself as he continued his train of thoughts, ‘The master’s cultivation base is profound. With him on our side, there’s no need to fear the Evil Sky Pavilion’s fourth villain. Victory is in the bag!’