Volume 1, Chapter 141: The Next Destination—Mount Jingfang

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A drone circled overhead. Though it was equipped with a silencing device, the faint buzzing still proved irritating in the sweltering midday heat.

Qin Yu walked at the front, with Xing Qiao following behind at an unhurried pace, head bowed.

She did not look well. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a phone.

It was the spare phone she had asked Mu Ling to buy two days earlier.

The main reason was that she could no longer use her phone while livestreaming.

The moment she unlocked it, Qin Yu received a news notification:

“Concerned netizens” had edited Xu Jingtang’s performance in the livestream into a short video and uploaded it across various platforms. Gradually, the matter began to attract attention.

The police soon noticed the video and immediately launched a second investigation into Xu Jingtang.

Within two hours, Xu Jingtang was arrested. He confessed everything without resistance: he had once gone to Qingfeng Temple to seek a fortune slip for changing his fate, and the slip had revealed Shu Minglan’s personal interests and family background.

Xu Jingtang had always been an exceptional student. Give him the slightest clue, and he could promptly devise all kinds of strategies.

What happened afterward was exactly as Qin Yu had suspected.

Watching the news report, which laid everything out in black and white, Qin Yu narrowed her eyes slightly.

She had never expected Qingfeng Temple to be involved in this as well.

But Qin Yu had no way to settle accounts with Qingfeng Temple at the moment.

She took a taxi to Jingfang Mountain. Fortunately, the security guard at the foot of the mountain had seen Qin Yu twice before, so he offered to drive her to the summit in a patrol vehicle.

That was right—the place indicated by the mysterious figure this time was Lu Jinyuan’s residence.

To be honest, Qin Yu had not wanted to come.

She knew her own abilities very well. The problem afflicting Lu Jinyuan was simply beyond her power to resolve.

But two lives were in the hands of the mysterious figure.

For no other reason than those two lives, she had to come and try.

The patrol vehicle crept along the winding mountain road. The dense black aura of evil at the summit was so oppressive that Qin Yu could scarcely keep her eyes open.

The only thing she was grateful for was that Mu Ling was not with her. At this level of baleful energy, he would certainly have been howling nonstop.

“What day is it today?” Qin Yu asked, gazing toward the mountaintop.

The security guard was a warmhearted man. Hearing such a beautiful young woman ask him a question, he immediately replied, “Today is the third day of the month. On the third day of every month, the old master finds a renowned practitioner to treat Mr. Lu. It’s become a regular arrangement.”

Qin Yu’s eyes curved as she smiled and thanked him.

Yet the instant she lowered her gaze, her expression shifted to one of confusion.

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The scene at the summit did not look like anyone was being treated for an illness.

As Qin Yu drew closer to the castle, the discomfort caused by the baleful aura began affecting the security guard as well. He rubbed his neck repeatedly in puzzlement and muttered, “Huh? What’s going on today? Why do I already feel exhausted when I’ve barely started work?”

Qin Yu said nothing, but she told him to stop the vehicle.

“Brother, you can let me off here. I’ve arranged to meet Mr. Lu at this spot.”

The security guard’s face lit up with excitement. “All right, all right. I’ll be on my way.”

As Qin Yu got out, the guard’s face flushed crimson. Before leaving, he could not resist asking gossip-hungrily, “Master, so you and Mr. Lu are a couple, right?”

The wind at the summit was strong, and Qin Yu did not hear him clearly. She gave a puzzled “Huh?” and intended to ask him to repeat himself, but the security guard excitedly stepped on the accelerator and drove away.

Qin Yu: “...?”

At that very moment, a comment drifted across the livestream:

“Everyone, we have the truth! The Master and Mr. Lu are the real couple!”

“Which Mr. Lu?”

“The young master’s uncle!”

“No! My Qiuhua pairing! No way! The Master hasn’t admitted it, so I refuse to believe it!”

“She admitted it herself! I heard it with my own ears!”

And so, the fans of Qin Yu’s two major pairings began arguing.

While the person at the center of the controversy, Qin Yu, was making her way toward the summit.

As soon as she drew near, she saw Lu Hualing pacing outside the entrance.

The moment Lu Hualing spotted Qin Yu, his eyes lit up.

“Master! What brings you here?”

Lu Hualing had been summoned by Lu Jinyuan early that morning, so he had not watched the livestream. He had no idea that Qin Yu had come to complete the mysterious figure’s mission.

“Why are you standing outside instead of going in?”

“Oh, it’s like this! I don’t know what happened to Uncle. He drank a great deal this morning and summoned me here at dawn, but all he let me do was watch him drink.”

After only a few words, Qin Yu had successfully diverted Lu Hualing’s attention.

“And then?”

“Then Uncle got completely drunk and was taken away, while I was thrown out.” Lu Hualing sighed before continuing, “Now I have nowhere to go.”

“Why?”

That question immediately made Lu Hualing feel wronged.

“Grandfather said that I knew Uncle was in poor health and still drank with him. He accused me of being thoughtless and threw me out. But Uncle was the one who wanted to drink. What does that have to do with me?”

Lu Hualing pouted and launched into a stream of complaints. When he became particularly agitated, he wanted Qin Yu to judge who was right, but when he turned his head, she was nowhere to be seen.

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Yet he felt something shoot over the top of his head with a whoosh.

“M-Master? Did she fly inside?”

“Wow! As expected of my wife—what a cool way to fly! I’m in love!”

“Is the streamer performing acrobatics? I have to admit, that harness stunt was pretty impressive.”

“Um... why don’t you take another look before you start talking?”

“I’m lovesick for Big Sister, I’m crazy for Big Sister! I’d smash my chest against a wall for Big Sister! You are my newly crowned goddess!”

Qin Yu did not need to deliberately sense where Lu Jinyuan was. As long as she followed the densest and deepest concentration of baleful energy, she was certain to find him.

—

“Mr. Lu seems unable to endure much longer. Should we continue?”

The old man in a black robe looked somewhat reluctant as he sought the old master’s instructions.

The old master no longer wore the benevolent expression he had shown earlier. His face was rigid as he answered coldly, “Continue!”

“But if we go on, Mr. Lu’s body may explode.”

Not the slightest emotion stirred across the old master’s face.

The old man in black immediately understood what he meant.

He let out a heavy sigh inwardly.

Mr. Lu, if you ever learn the truth one day, please do not blame me. Everything was expressly ordered by your father. I had nothing to do with it.

Just as he began chanting and prepared to continue, a surge of spiritual energy struck from behind, knocking the golden pagoda talisman from his hand.

Smack!

The pagoda was made of pure gold, and its material was exceptionally soft.

With no protection at all, it struck the ground and was crushed into an indescribable yellow lump.

Seeing his treasured artifact ruined, the old man’s heart ached, while fury surged from his chest straight to his head.

“Who’s skulking around in the shadows? If you have the courage, come out and face me!”

“Who said I was skulking? I simply hadn’t arrived yet!”

Qin Yu touched down lightly on the tips of her toes, landing with an otherworldly elegance.