Zhang Ruochen was unaware that Lu Youcai had not bought the Half-Saint mansion. In fact, it was originally an estate of the Sword Sanctum.
Entering the bamboo forest, he walked along a quiet stone path following the direction of the flute.
Suddenly, it stopped.
PHHF!
There was now only the sound of water flowing from the creek and bamboo leaves rustling in the wind.
Moments later, the melodious voice of a woman came from the Bamboo Pavilion next to the brookside. “Deep in the woods, I stay alone. I have only the moon for company.”
The voice was familiar but difficult to place.
Zhang Ruochen gazed towards the Bamboo Pavilion. He saw a woman with white hair sitting with her back to him.
Her hair was white as snow.
She held a yellowed bamboo flute in her hand and said again, “Zhang Ruochen, how do you know this poem?”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes widened. His heart began to beat hard in his chest and there was a roaring of thunder in his ears.
This time, he had heard it clearly!
It was indeed her voice.
After eight hundred years.
Eight hundred years later, and they actually had the opportunity to meet once again. The playful young girl he once knew was now crowned in silvery hair.
CLIP-CLOP!
Zhang Ruochen tried to conceal his feelings. With heavy footsteps, he took one step at a time into the Bamboo Pavilion until he stood opposite Kong Lanyou.
Kong Lanyou concealed her aura to the extreme; no one could feel the power fluctuations around her body. She seemed like an ordinary woman, sitting there elegantly. She shifted her beautiful eyes and stared at Zhang Ruochen.
It was just like in the scroll. The woman in the scroll looked like a goddess above the Nine Heavens. She was graceful, calm, quiet and otherworldly.
Her face had not change much in 800 years. Her fair white skin was more delicate than a baby’s. She had bright red lips and long eyelashes.
Her eyes were dark and resembled jade, giving an unpredictable feeling. They were extremely bright and seemed to be able to see through Zhang Ruochen’s soul.
Although her face was not old, her long green hair had faded to white, symbolizing the passing of time.
It was wrong. Such beauty with white hair.
Zhang Ruochen was very agitated, but he had to keep calm and restrain his emotions. He tried to look away from her as he was afraid she would see through him.
”How could it be her?”
Zhang Ruochen did not dare to unite with her. He remembered 800 years ago, the last time he saw her, the moment before he was killed by Chi Yao.
How could it be a coincidence?
Had his death been planned by Chi Yao and Kong Lanyou?
He had always trusted Kong Lanyou, just as he had trusted Chi Yao. And yet, he had died under Chi Yao’s sword.
Could he still trust Kong Lanyou?
He stared at the ground and cupped his hands, bowing. He said with a trembling voice, “Predecessor, I am Zhang Ruochen.”
Once upon a time, Kong Lanyou had seen him as a role model. She had followed him around, pestering him like a small tail that could not be thrown off.
But now, Zhang Ruochen did not dare to identify on the same level. He could only address himself as a junior.
Kong Lanyou carefully analyzed him. She did not ignore his small movements or glances.
After a long while, she said, “Zhang Ruchen, you haven’t answered my question. How do you know that poem?”
He took a deep breath and hid all his emotions. He said, “Predecessor, are you interrogating me?”
Kong Lanyou put down the flute in her hands, and her voice was colder. “You have never seen me before. How do you know that I am a predecessor? What if I am your peer?”
Zhang Ruochen said calmly, “Even though my cultivation is lacking and can’t see through your cultivation, I have seen some aspects of the world and know that you are by no means an ordinary person. Besides, one’s eyes cannot conceal secrets. Your eyes are full of knowledge and you have experienced the vicissitudes of the world.”
Kong Lanyou did not blink. She stared intensely into Zhang Ruozhen’s eyes, attempting to see through him.
After a moment, she said, “When I mention the poem, a normal person would certainly ask me how I know it. However, you were not surprised at all and questioned me instead. Why is that?”
Zhang Ruochen was screaming internally.
The once playful little girl had become so shrewd. He had said just one sentence and she had discovered all its flaws.
Zhang Ruochen did not show his panic and put on a doubtful look instead. “When I was in the Sword Sanctum, I would say this poem. Aren’t you from the Sword Sanctum?”
Kong Lanyou frowned. She hit the cotton. Zhang Ruochen dodged all her strength.
”Does he really think I am from the Sword Sanctum, or is he deliberately pretending to think so?”
Confused, she sat back. She asked for the third time, “How do you know that poem?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “This is a secret. Please forgive me but I cannot tell you.”
“Must I force you?”
Kong Lanyou showed a firm expression in her eyes.
An invisible momentum erupted from her body and raced toward Zhang Ruochen, like a tsunami.
She controlled the power with great skill. However, while strong, the momentum was within the boundary of Zhang Ruochen’s tolerance.
Zhang Ruochen was not surprised, “Even if you attempt to force me, it won’t work.”
“Is that right?”
Kong Lanyou smiled and lifted one of her slender white arms. Suddenly, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi turned into Spiritual Qi streams and gathered toward her palms. It condensed into a cyclone.
The Qi-spinning Palm, a simple Human Stage Inferior Class martial technique, became incredibly unpredictable under her regulation. It seemed to be even more powerful than a Ghost Level martial technique.
“Zhang Ruochen is a guest of our Silver Sky Mercenary Group. If you hurt him, don’t blame me if I harm you.”
Nie Honglou was responsible for Zhang Ruochen’s safety. He certainly would not stand by. He immediately took a step forward and flew up. He stretched his hands like a giant bird spreading its wings.
Blaze came out of his hands. His arms swung in a circle and condensed a huge ball of fire, attacking Kong Lanyou.
Kong Lanyou hummed and gently waved her arms.
The spherical cyclone in her hand flew out, sending Nie Honglou and his fireball flying.
With a bang, the fireball disintegrated, leaving only streaks of smoke.
Nie Honglou landed 33 meters away. His body landed on the ground lightly, like a bamboo leaf.
Nie Honglou touched his chest to find out if he had suffered any injuries. He was okay.
This caused him to be even more fearful.
He was in the Sixth Change of the Fish-dragon Realm. A superior like Silvermoon could defeat him, it made little sense to leave him unharmed like this.
It was obvious that this white-haired woman’s cultivation was above Silvermoon, and her control of her power was exquisite.
Was she a Half-Saint?
Nie Honglou was shocked. He did not dare to strike out again.
If the other side became hostile, Zhang Ruochen and he would be turned to flying ash with one palm.
Zhang Ruochen was still very calm. He spared a glance at Kong Lanyou. “Even if you try to force me, it will be no use. Everyone has their secrets, don’t they?”
“I won’t force you.”
Kong Lanyou retracted her momentum. “To be honest, I am quite curious about you and have investigated you. Before the age of 16, you were weak and sickly. You couldn’t even open up the Sacred Mark.”
“Then, when you got older, you opened up the Sacred Mark. And in a short period of three or four years, you grew from a sick young boy who stayed in bed all the time to a young king who was well known in the Eastern Region. What did you experience when you turned 16?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “Everyone is saying that I became the Golden Dragon’s disciple and Buddha Emperor’s descendant. My cultivation advanced rapidly, and I became an elite man.”
“I do not believe that.”
Kong Lanyou shook her head. “According to the information that I have, you were in the Completion of the Earth Realm when you got the Dragon Pearl. You are a genius student at the School of the Martial Market. And when you were 16 years old, it wasn’t the martial technique of Buddhism that you practiced, but the Sacred Sword Skill of low-class of Spiritual. I want to know, how do you know the Sacred Sword Skill?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “Your information is quite detailed. Is it really worth for someone like you to spend so much effort investigating a junior like me? ”
“It’s worth it! Why wouldn’t it be? Even if I spend another 800 years, it would still be worth it. As long as there is a result.” Kong Lanyou narrowed her misty eyes.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart ached. It took all his restraint not to rush forward and tell her that he was the one she was looking for; he was her relative from 800 years ago, possibly her only relative left.
…