Lu Yurong was sitting at a stone table in the courtyard while having her meal.
She removed her white veil and exposed her stunning face. Her alluring eyebrows slightly furrowed. She seemed to be thinking about something while staring at the dishes spread in front of her.
As a distinguished guest, the dishes that were prepared for her were delicately made and delicious.
Lu Yurong’s beauty was accentuated under the lights as if she was glowing; no one dared to directly look at her.
The maid who was hugging a white cat beside her asked in a soft voice, “Lady Lu Yurong?”
“I’m feeling a little uneasy. I feel like something is about to happen.” Lu Yurong frowned and said, “Xiao Huan, please fetch Aunt Shao here!”
“Yes,” Xiao Huan replied with a gentle tone.
While carrying the white cat, Xiao Huan left the courtyard and gave the order at the courtyard gate. The Protectors passed on the message.
Lu Yurong placed down the silver chopsticks. She rose and walked with gentle steps, like a willow tree swaying in the wind.
Xiao Huan hugged the white cat while she looked at her.
Lu Yurong took a few deep breaths. She was trying to calm her anxious heart.
After a while, Shao Rou arrived gently. A gloomy expression was hanging on her face.
“Aunt Shao, what happened?” Lu Yurong knew that something had happened from the look on her face.
Shao Rou replied, “Lady Song Yuning is missing!”
“Hmph —— ?” Lu Yurong’s expression changed. She turned around and walked out. Even under these circumstances, she remained calm and composed, off-handedly wearing her white veil.
In front of her, Shao Rou was leading the way. Lu Yurong and the others went to Song Yuning’s residence.
There were numerous Protectors standing downstairs, all with solemn looks hanging on their faces.
Lu Yurong entered the boudoir upstairs. Song Shiling was there as well.
“Brother Song Shiling!” Lu Yurong said in a serious tone.
Song Shiling passed a letter to her. “Take a look Lu Yurong, as you are knowledgeable. Do you know where exactly is the Golden Summit Palace?”
Lu Yurong opened the letter and read its contents, eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Golden Summit Palace? I’ve never heard of it!”
“These people are too tyrannical. They just took her away without a word. They think of our Public House as nothing!” Song Shiling’s face darkened, his teeth clenched. “I demand an explanation!”
“Aunt Shao?” Lu Yurong turned her head to look at Shao Rou.
Shao Rou said, “We too are baffled by their actions. Ever since Lady Song Yuning has arrived, there had been no strange incidents. If the Heir to the Duke had not come over, we would not have noticed.”
Song Shiling shrugged. “I had a feeling that something was wrong the moment I stepped into the room. There was no one in the house! Sister Lu Yurong, could it be Chu Li’s doing?”
“No matter how good his Light-body Technique is, how could he smuggle two people right under the noses of six Grandmasters, without even making a sound?” Lu Yurong scoffed.
“It’s impossible.” Song Shiling sighed.
Lu Yurong circled the place and noticed a scabbard on the dresser. “Where’s the sword?”
“Could it be that the Lady clashed blades with them?” Song Shiling frantically asked.
Lu Yurong shook her head.
If they had really fought, how could Shao Rou and the others not hear it?
The few swords that Chu Li used were reduced to fine powder, eluding the attention of everyone.
To be able to turn a long sword into powder, the void power harnessed from the formation was visibly powerful.
Lu Yurong circled around but found nothing. She turned her head and left.
She returned to the courtyard, Shao Rou and Xi Wu followed closely behind.
“Golden Summit Palace…” Xi Wu pondered along the way.
Lu Yurong sat beside the stone table and scoffed. “It must be Chu Li!”
“Is it really him?” Shao Rou asked, shocked.
Lu Yurong sneered. “He might be able to fool others, but he can’t fool me! Xiao Huan, let Xiao Bai lead the way and we’ll follow in pursuit!”
“Alright,” Xiao Huan replied softly. She put the white cat down, gently stroking under its cheeks.
“Meow meow,” the white cat purred. It was unlike the purr of a cat as it was actually a magical beast.
It transformed into a ray of white light and leaped forward. The four of them followed hastily.
They left the Public House, chasing the white light to the shop that Chu Li bought his wine from, where they saw the gowns that Song Yuning and Xiao Yi had taken off.
With a white veil covering her face, it was hard to read Lu Yurong’s expression. However, Shao Rao and the others held their breaths as they felt her anger.
“Lady Lu Yurong, why don’t we head to the outskirts of Chong Ming Town to stop him?” Xi Wu asked in a low voice.
“That’s useless!” Lu Yurong coldly replied.
She turned to look at the two of them. “How on earth did he manage to get the two of them out?”
Both Xi Wu and Shao Rou frowned.
This was what caused them distress. It was impossible no matter what. Apart from Xi Wu and Shao Rou, there were four other Grandmasters; it was definitely not due to carelessness.
“Curse Chu Li!” Lu Yurong scoffed. “If the Golden Summit Palace is truly behind this, we’ll have to settle this by ourselves… Everyone needs to hold their tongue and let nobody know of this, especially Big Brother!”
“You want to hide this from Master Xiao Tieying?” Xi Wu asked.
“If the outsiders were to find out about this, the Ren Public House would become a joke! If Big Brother ever finds out, he’ll definitely start a fight with the Yi Public House. Anyone would be able to guess what happened if so!” Lu Yurong replied.
“Very well then.” Xiao Huan and the other two nodded hastily.
This incident was indeed a humiliation. If Master had found out about it, no matter how brilliant and considerate he was, he would not be able to tolerate it and insist on waging war with the Yi Public House.
The power of Yi Public House was weak. If they were to start a war, both parties would suffer great losses and in the end, nobody would be able to claim a victory. Besides that, a political marriage was about to unite the Yi Public House and the Imperial Residence of King An.
“My Lady, if we ruin King An’s marriage, it could be considered a revenge as well,” Xi Wu said.
“If Xiao Tieying snatched away Sister Song Yuning, then Big Brother will do the same to Xiao Shi!” Lu Yurong coldly responded.
Xi Wu smiled. “A good idea! Second Lady Xiao is the fairest maiden of the Great Ji Dynasty. If Master Xiao Tieying gets his hands on her, we will gain an edge over them!”
“My Lady, how should we deal with the Huay Public House?” Shao Rou asked.
“We’ll delay the wedding first and wait until we’ve snatched Xiao Shi, then we’ll show our cards! They’ll probably know why we do that!” Lu Yurong scoffed. “Let’s go!”
——
After traveling day and night, Chu Li and the two women reached the Yi Public House at midnight. They immediately went to his island.
The island had already been fully prepared. A formation had been set but Chu Li did not want to leave the Jade Guardian Island, putting off from moving in. It was coincidentally the right time so he stationed Song Yuning and Xiao Yi on the island.
With the protection from the formation, nobody could enter it.
Settling the two women at the main hall, Chu Li smiled. “This island was originally gifted to me. Nobody has ever lived here, so the two of you should stay here for now and get some rest.”
“I want to meet Brother Xiao Tieying,” Song Yuning said. “Thank you for your work, Chu Li!”
Chu Li smiled. “I’ll immediately inform Master Xiao Tieying!”
“Allow me to repay your kindness in the future!” Song Yuning broke into a smile.
Chu Li fist saluted and left, heading to Iron Eagle Island.
Xiao Tieying was going through documents in the main hall. Hearing the announcement of Chu Li’s arrival, he quickly set down his documents and strode hastily over to Chu Li.
“Master Xiao Tieying, please follow me,” Chu Li said.
“Was it successful?” Xiao Tieying nervously looked at him.
Chu Li smiled, nodding.
Xiao Tieying exclaimed excitedly, “Good! Good!”
Chu Li led the way with Xiao Tieying following close behind. The both of them stepped onto a boat and drifted away. Linquan did not follow.
“Master, please allow Miss Song Yuning to stay at my place. If they ever get bored and want to wander outside, they just need to wear a veil; nobody would be able to recognize them.”
Chu Li stood proud, his robes flapping in the wind. “If they leave the Public House, I will be their Protector.”
Xiao Tieying nodded. “I apologize for troubling you with the role as their Protector.”
He was aware of Chu Li’s abilities and that he could read people easily. He was sensitive to any ill intentions and danger.
If Song Yuning wanted to leave the Public House, he had to guard against the Ren Public House and the Huay Public House from snatching the women away. He could rest assured with Chu Li present.
“It’s my duty.” Chu Li smiled.
The boat reached the shore of the island. Xiao Tieying’s body seemed strained, his pacing stiffened. He looked odd.
Chu Li smiled to himself. Master Xiao Tieying’s love for Song Yuning was really deep.
“Master, I need to return to the Huay Public House immediately.” Chu Li stepped onto the shore and said, “I want to see how Lu Yurong reacts and make plans for prevention in advance.”
“Very well.” Xiao Tieying tried to calm himself down, not wanting the excitement to cloud his mind.
“This is how you enter the island.” Chu Li pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeves and passed it to Xiao Tieying. He stepped back onto the boat and drifted away.