The next morning, Lu Yurong arrived at the Yi public house only to see Lu Yushu seated alone inside. Lu Yurong walked in and sat opposite Lu Yushu.
The Yi public house was where their family would have their meals together; there was a rosewood round table in the middle of the room, where Lu Yushu sat deep in thought. The house itself seemed empty.
Lu Yurong was wearing her clean white dress, feeling refreshed, “Where’s big brother?”
“Too focused on his training, he decided not to eat.” Lu Yushu replied nonchalantly.
He leaned back in the armchair and lazily asked, “I heard you were drunk last night?”
“You earned another hundred gold.” Lu Yurong replied calmly, “You will receive it next month.”
“You little brat, don’t you act all high mighty now!” Lu Yushu suddenly slammed the table and shouted, “As the young master of the house, do I not deserve a little more gold to enjoy?”
“You think you deserve too much.” Lu Yurong calmly replied.
Lu Yushu huffed and did his best to calm himself down, “At the end of the day, it’s only but a mere White Robe Chief – I hate men clad in white the most!”
Lu Yurong raised her voice, “Old man Xi, ask them to begin serving the food.”
“Yes, miss!” Xi Wu’s voice rang out from outside.
Lu Yushu continued, “Like I said, just end him, that would bring honor to our family’s name as well… that bastard was beyond maddening!”
“Honor?” Lu Yurong calmly said, “Do you know many grandmasters you will need in order to kill Du Feng? You witnessed his knife technique yourself, are you confident that old man Xi and the rest will triumph in a one to one fight?”
“If one can’t get the job done, then send two, or three instead!” Lu Yushu huffed, “I do not believe that he can deny every single one of them. If he does not give the House of Duke the respect we so deserve, then we shall end his life; he will serve as a lesson!”
“All you think of is killing.” Lu Yurong shook her head and replied rather lazily, “What good can you accomplish through killing alone?”
“That Du fellow is no different, all he does in kill!” Lu Yushu tried to protest for his case.
“He eliminates criminals; he takes justice into his own hands!” Lu Yurong was obviously displeased as she said, “What about you? All you do is kill whoever you feel is an eyesore. Weren’t you just about to kill someone for dressing in white?”
“No men who clads themselves in white is any good anyway!” Lu Yushu frowned, “There’ll be no harm in killing them! Did your heart perhaps waver upon meeting this White Robe Chief?”
“You tell me!” Lu Yurong said.
Lu Yushu heaved a sigh, “True, you fancy women after all.”
“Who told you that I fancy women?” Lu Yurong shot him an angry glance, “Do not speak such nonsense!”
Lu Yushu replied, “From where I stand, it seems that you prefer the figures of other women over men.”
Lu Yurong was noticeably displeased as she replied, “Not only do I not fancy women, but I don’t fancy men as well. Romantic relationships are such a bore to me, it only gets in the way of much more important matters!”
“You…” Lu Yushu shook his head as he sighed loudly, “You’re way too boring.”
“What’s it to you, second big brother. There’s no need for me to waste my energy and efforts!” Lu Yurong huffed.
Lu Yushu replied, “Well, if you did not take a liking to him, then why did you treat him so well? There was absolutely no need to!”
Lu Yurong heaved a sigh, she seemed to be getting quite sick of the conversation as she spoke in a stern manner, “The House of Duke is known to be powerful, but, to win the hearts of the people, we must show them some goodwill.”
Lu Yushu frowned.
“Another friend means another ally, but you’re so stuck in your own dream world that you do not see this! If you dare bother Sir Du again, I’ll personally see to it that you are thrown out of the house next month!”
“Who’s the elder brother and who’s the little sister here!” Lu Yushu shouted in protest.
At this moment, a few maids filed in, carrying some dishes and bowls of soup.
Lu Yurong ignored him and picked up her chopsticks so that she could start eating her meal.
Lu Yushu immediately shut his mouth in order to maintain his young master appearance before the maids; a man’s image was valuable after all.
This little sister was too cunning, initially, he wanted to finish off this Du character, but he had his plan interrupted and was forced to let the man go.
As Lu Yushu grit his teeth Xi Wu suddenly came in with a letter in his hands, “Young mistress, Sir Du sent this through a courier!”
Lu Yurong was stunned.
Xi Wu opened it, then shuddered and passed it to Lu Yurong.
Lu Yurong scanned the letter and immediately set aside her chopsticks, “Sir Du is leaving, I should go send him off. Old man Xi, ready my horse!”
“Yes.” Xi Wu replied before hastily making his way out.
“The man named Du now wishes to leave?” Lu Yushu chuckled, “He’s certainly an interesting character!”
Lu Yurong shot him a glance, then turned around to head out.
Xi Wu had already readied a couple of horses outside the house. He held a lunar white cloak in his hand.
The moment Lu Yurong stepped out, Xi Wu covered her in the cloak. Then, she jumped onto her steed.
“HAH!” The two of them galloped through the streets.
A sheet of white hid Lu Yurong’s face as she followed Xi Wu closely. They were traveling so quickly that they were leaving a cloud of dust in their wake – it was quite a sight.
Xi Wu then stretched out his palm and used martial arts to shove aside the people in the way, thus clearing a path for them to travel through.
—
Chu Li had a courier deliver a letter to the House of Duke before leaving the guest inn and making his way out of the city.
He felt that there were no benefits to staying here, so he had better leave before trouble caught up with him.
As their enemy, he would be complicating things for himself if he couldn’t completely set his mind on going against them.
He had already investigated the House of Duke here and had discovered some astonishing information. But, there were fourteen grandmasters in the Ren Public House and Lu Yurong herself was too cunning, she had trick after trick up her sleeve.
He noticed many characters from the martial arts world in the guest inn. All of them looked at him like food when he first walked in; he did not feel safe.
They had set their traps. First, they would try to poison him, and if that fails they would just rely on brute force.
Chu Li knew that the House of Duke would immediately retaliate if he made any sudden moves – they were willing to sacrifice themselves, just so they could force the House of Duke’s hands on him.
Chu Li had killed many men, it would be unavoidable if these people had relatives or apprentices who had fallen victim to him. Now, filled with a thirst for vengeance, they were willing to do whatever it took to kill him.
He also knew that things were messy at the Green Hill Road; thus, he decided that it would be wise to leave.
As he walked, he scanned his surroundings. Already, there were people tailing him, and they did not seem like the friendly sort either.
He picked up his pace and had increased the distance between them by a few meters when he suddenly heard someone calling for him.
“Sir Du!” The sound of horses galloping in the distance could be heard. This was accompanied by Lu Yurong’s all-pleasing voice calling out to him from afar.
Chu Li cocked his head and saw Lu Yurong and Xi Wu riding a couple of horses toward him.
The luna white cloak shone like the sun while the horse moved toward him like a dragon; the passenger itself was a treasure.
Upon arriving in front of him, Lu Yurong casually stepped down from her steed and shot him a dirty look, “Why the need to rush out, good sir?”
Chu Li gestured to their surroundings and shouted out loud, “Best if I leave.”
Lu Yurong’s eyes darted around her and she waved casually, “Just mere rats in the streets, nothing to concern yourself with, old man Xi!”
“Yes.” Xi Wu replied solemnly.
He trudged into the woods. Screams and curses followed suit.
Lu Yurong ignored them and gestured towards the gazebo near the woods, “Let us continue our talk there.”
The two walked to the gazebo.
Xi Wu swiftly exited the woods and followed them into the gazebo, quickly dusting off the stone table and chairs.
Lu Yurong gracefully sat down and heaved a sigh, “Already parting ways after one brief meeting? Surely Sir Du could extend your stay by at least a few more days!”
“I will visit another time, there is still plenty of time to do so.” Chu Li smiled.
“Where will you be heading to, then?” Lu Yurong asked, “Once you settle down, do not forget to write to me!”
“Very well.” Chu Li nodded.
Another horse suddenly galloped toward them. On it sat an elder in a feathered robe, a grandmaster no doubt.
He held a wooden box held in his hands and entered the gazebo to open it. Then, he took out the wine and dishes from within.
Xi Wu poured wine for the two of them.
“Some light wine to prepare for your departure!” Lu Yurong raised her cup and covered her face with her sleeve before downing her drink.
Chu Li did the same.
The two of them helped themselves to a few bites of food whilst helping themselves to more wine.
But as they were enjoying their meal…
“Rumble…..” the ground shook, and a group of knights arrived from beyond the city, moving swiftly, they quickly surrounding the gazebo.