Great Zhou Martial Immortal

Chapter 65 Undercurrent
Just as Wang Yizhi was becoming suspicious and paranoid.

"Lord!"

Suddenly, a respectful voice came from behind me, belonging to the guard on duty.

Looking back, Lu Chenyuan arrived gracefully, dressed in a purple robe.

Unlike before, he now wore a specially made belt around his waist—a purple-gold belt buckle inlaid with seven black jade beads, but with a hidden secret at the back: a horizontal bar made of fine steel was inserted diagonally at his lower back, with a long iron mace hanging between it, the cloud and thunder patterns on the mace faintly visible in the firelight.

The murder weapon!

Wang Yizhi sensed the murderous aura and was startled.

His gaze then shifted and landed on a stunningly beautiful young woman behind him.

The girl also had a unique temperament, with a pure innocence between her bright eyes and white teeth.

Wang Yi stepped forward and bowed, wondering why there was suddenly such a young girl. He said gently, "My lord, congratulations on breaking through the Heart Wheel and obtaining the 'Heavenly Craft Scroll'... This must be your younger sister. She is indeed as beautiful as a lotus emerging from the water, naturally elegant and graceful."

Lu Chenyuan smiled and said, "My sister is only eight years old. She is my sworn sister, and her name is Lingxi."

"Sister-in-law?"

Isn't that her god-sister?
Wang Yizhi's expression was strange as his gaze shifted between the two of them. A rare hint of teasing crossed his face as he provoked, "My lord, this 'sworn sister'... she's probably from the princess's side..."

"It doesn't matter."

Lu Chenyuan casually flicked his sleeve, strode to the table, sat down, and pulled out a chair for the Empress.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said in a serious tone, "Empress Dowager Feng of the Northern Wei Dynasty favored Li Chong, bestowing upon him countless gifts and even allowing him to bring his wife into the palace without any objection; Princess Guantao of the Han Dynasty also provided Dong Yan with a residence and concubines, and kept more than twenty singing girls alone. I have no wife or concubines, not even maids, and Her Highness the Princess will not arrange any for me, so I can only rely on myself."

"puff--"

Wang Yizhi couldn't help but burst out laughing: "My lord, you really are 'ambitious'."

He realized that this Miss Lingxi was no ordinary person; she was probably more than just a sworn sister.

Lu Chenyuan was not a person who indulged in lust. If he really had such thoughts, he would have had a large number of wives and concubines by now.

Her Highness is not Princess Guantao; she truly cares about Lu Chenyuan… Lu Chenyuan is so intelligent that he naturally knows that doing so would only displease the princess…

After the two joked around...

Lu Chenyuan looked at the jade carving craftsmen: "How are the sacrificial artifacts? No accidents, right?"

"No."

Wang Yizhi said solemnly, "Don't worry, sir. The Ghost Craft Hall is guarded by the inner guards in six-hour shifts. All the guards eat and sleep inside the hall. The jade craftsmen haven't left this place for half a month, and they can't even send letters home. The doors and windows are all reinforced with black iron, and there are hidden mechanisms under the eaves. Not even a moth can get in!"

"Ah."

Lu Chenyuan nodded: "How's the progress? How many more days?"

Wang Yizhi looked at the craftsmen and said, "It should be finished in about two more days, and then things will be easier."

The most important thing is to avoid any problems while making it. Once it's finished, you won't need to be so careful. At worst, you can just move the jade to the princess's bedroom. Even if someone tries to sabotage it, they'll have to have the ability to get in.

With such tight defenses, Lu Chenyuan felt slightly relieved and began to multitask, studying the "Heavenly Craft Scroll" in his mind while teaching the Divine Queen to read and write.

The Goddess was sealed under the Four Symbols Revolving Heart Wheel in the Mechanized City, which was also the core of the entire living array. Gu Yunsheng used his extraordinary abilities to bring all the dragon energy of the Mangshan earth veins and the spiritual energy of the Luoshui River into the great array, so that the Goddess could be nourished for sixty years at the place where the primordial energy of heaven and earth converged, and thus develop unimaginable spirituality!
His spirit was exceptionally strong and his mind exceptionally clear.

In terms of comprehension alone, he would be considered a genius even among top geniuses; he can memorize anything he reads and apply what he learns to other situations.

One hour ago he was studying the Thousand Character Classic, and the next hour he was reading Mencius on his own.

Wang Yizhi didn't notice at first, but when he realized it, he discovered how amazing this girl was!

As the goddess learned more and more characters, her intellect also grew rapidly.

She opened the Mencius and read aloud softly: "He who harms benevolence is called a thief; he who harms righteousness is called a cruel. A cruel and thief is called a mere man. I have heard of the execution of the man Zhou, but I have never heard of the murder of a ruler..."

He suddenly stopped reading here, tilted his head, stared at the book with a blank look in his eyes.

Seeing that she seemed to be "stuck" with a blank look on her face, Lu Chenyuan couldn't help but reach out and pat her head, asking with a smile, "What's wrong?"

The goddess looked up blankly: "Brother, what does that mean?"

Lu Chenyuan explained in the simplest terms: "Mencius said that those who harm the virtuous are 'thieves,' and those who corrupt justice are 'cruel.' Such people have lost the right to be a ruler and can only be considered 'tyrants and traitors.' Therefore, King Wu's campaign against King Zhou was the execution of a tyrannical tyrant, not regicide."

The goddess seemed to understand a little, yet also seemed to understand even less. She quickly flipped to a certain page and pointed to the dialogue: "What about this sentence?"

Lu Chenyuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw it.

Hearing their conversation, Wang Yizhi looked over and, upon seeing the passage she was pointing to, couldn't help but twitch his lips in amazement.

As Lu's "adopted sister" is indeed different from ordinary people, her mind is something that only a literate person could make.
She was referring to a passage from Mencius, Book 2, Part 2: "Yang's 'for myself' is to have no ruler; Mo's 'universal love' is to have no father; to have neither father nor ruler is to be a beast."

Lu Chenyuan laughed and said, "What this means is that Yang Zhu advocated everything for himself, which means he had no monarch in his heart; Mozi advocated universal love, loving everyone without distinction of kinship, which means he had no parents in his heart. In Mencius's view, people who do not recognize monarchs or parents are beasts."

The goddess asked in bewilderment, "Then why isn't King Wu a beast?"

Wang Yizhi said: "Because King Zhou was immoral and could not be considered a ruler, killing him was not considered 'unruly'."

The goddess was bewildered: "Whether someone is a beast or a monarch, it's all up to Mencius to decide?"

Wang Yi choked, "Uh..."

The goddess put down her book, pushed it aside, and murmured, "Here it says that not recognizing a monarch is beastly, but there it says that killing a monarch is not beastly... Mencius is so strange. Brother, I'm not reading his book anymore."

Wang Yizhi couldn't help but chuckle.

Lu Chenyuan laughed heartily: "If you don't want to read it, then don't. It's a bit too early to read it now. You should read history instead. History books are all stories, which are more suitable for you. There are also books here. Moreover, reading history can help you understand the rise and fall of dynasties and the gains and losses. It's better to start with history than to directly instill the knowledge of various schools of thought. Let's start with the Records of the Grand Historian."

The goddess smiled and nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

She rummaged through the bookshelf, found a copy of "Records of the Grand Historian," and sat back down next to Lu Chenyuan, close to him, and began to read: "Xiang Ji was a native of Xiaxiang, his courtesy name was Yu. When he first rose to power, he was twenty-four years old..."

Wang Yizhi watched with awe.

This Miss Lingxi is exceptionally intelligent, yet she is as pure as a blank sheet of paper.

How are people like this raised?

Before long, the sound of cart wheels rolling came from the entrance, and two servants pushed a food cart to a stop outside the Ghost Craft Hall.

The head servant was a hunchbacked old man with deep wrinkles on his face and droopy eyelids. He opened the food box, and steam and aromas rose out. Roasted venison, steamed perch, and jujube soup with golden threads were served with freshly steamed glutinous rice, which was quite a sumptuous meal.

"Gentlemen, lunch is served." The old man's voice was hoarse as he bowed and stepped aside.

Another young servant stopped pushing the cart, silently followed behind the old man, and made way for him.

Suiming Pavilion has its own kitchen, which is also underground and should be relatively safe. Originally, they were allowed to go in to serve food to the jade craftsmen and guards, but Wang Yizhi became more and more cautious as the ceremony approached, and simply did not take even this small risk, and did not allow them to enter.

The food carts are delivered to the door; the rest is handled by the guards inside the hall to prevent anyone from causing trouble and to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

The guards on duty pushed the food cart into the Ghost Craft Hall and began skillfully serving the dishes and rice.

"My lord, please try the dishes served in the pavilion."

This wasn't Wang Yizhi's first time eating there, and he had a good opinion of the kitchen: "The fish, in particular, was very well prepared and extremely delicious."

Lu Chenyuan nodded and was about to pick up his chopsticks when he suddenly sensed that someone was watching him.

He picked up his chopsticks with a calm expression, and out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the young servant standing in the shadow of the pillar, his neck slightly tilted, his eyes peeking through the half-open door, frequently looking at the Ghost Craft Hall.

Lu Chenyuan initially thought he was looking at the goddess, but then realized something was wrong.

His gaze first fell on the location of the black iron window bolt, then swept over the arrangement of the blue bricks on the ground, and finally stopped on the ventilation mechanism in the northwest corner. His movements were subtle and quick, one glance after another.

If he were obsessed with the Empress's appearance, his gaze would never leave her. But on the contrary, he frequently glanced sideways, deliberately avoiding the Empress, as if he were using all his energy to focus on the layout of the hall within the limited time. Lu Chenyuan observed with his discerning eyes that this person was not disguised, nor did he possess much internal strength; he was just an ordinary person.

But this ordinary person is doing extraordinary things.

"It's really delicious."

Lu Chenyuan placed a piece of fish on the Empress's plate. She could eat and had a normal sense of taste, but after entering her stomach, the fish would be transformed into true qi by the "qi furnace" in her chest and abdomen for digestion and absorption.

—As the Huangting Jing says: "The spleen and stomach are the spirits of grains, the mysterious gate of the female, digesting the five grains and refining the nectar."

The Empress had a sweet tooth, so Lu Chenyuan pushed the golden jujube soup in front of her.

After everyone finished their meal, the guards put the bowls and chopsticks back on the food cart and pushed it out the door. The hunchbacked old man and the young servant had been waiting for a long time and silently pushed the cart toward the kitchen.

Lu Chenyuan stood up and straightened his cuffs: "Old Wang, once I'm married, I'll have that young man imprisoned!"

Wang Yi was taken aback: "My lord..."

"Lingxi".

Lu Chenyuan turned to the Empress: "Let's go, let's go out and take care of some business." After saying that, he strode out.

The goddess nodded, lifted her skirt, and followed him: "Brother, where are we going?"

Lu Chenyuan said, "It's not clear yet. Let's see who he's been informing on."

The goddess said, "Should I kill him?"

Lu Chenyuan said, "Be a lady. He's just a pawn; there's no need to take lives so easily. Be patient when you should be patient, and kill when you should kill. Didn't you read 'The Biography of Xiang Yu'? Xiang Yu has already told you what to do."

The goddess tilted her head and thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up: "'At the Feast at Hongmen, Fan Zeng repeatedly signaled to Xiang Yu with his eyes, and three times raised his jade pendant to show him, but Xiang Yu remained silent and did not respond.' Later, during the siege of Gaixia, he was killed by Liu Bang. This is a case of not killing when he should have; 'Xiang Yu once attacked Xiangcheng, and no one in Xiangcheng was spared. He buried them all alive.' This is a case of not being able to tolerate when he should have. Brother, am I right?"

Lu Chenyuan couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration: "Lingxi is so clever!"

The goddess said happily, "I understand. I don't want to be Xiang Yu. I want to follow my brother forever!"

Lu Chenyuan laughed loudly and walked out of the Ghost Craft Hall.

"..."

After listening to their conversation and witnessing the girl's transformative change in just one morning, Wang Yizhi couldn't help but question his own existence. Was this what genius was all about?

What did I use for early childhood education? Lu Chenyuan is a strange teacher; is this some kind of tacit understanding between geniuses?
Lu Chenyuan, accompanied by the Empress, followed the food cart from a distance.

After passing through three corridors, Lu Chenyuan stopped in the shadows at the corner. The young servant was squatting by the well, pretending to wash the dishes and rice buckets, but actually using a fine brush to sketch the layout of the Ghost Craft Hall on tung oil paper.

At three quarters past noon, the old farmer delivering vegetables pushed his cart down to the Suiming Pavilion kitchen right on time.

Under the cover of handing over the baskets, the servants stuffed the rolls of tung oil paper into the gaps of the old baskets and smuggled them out.

Lu Chenyuan remained silent and observed, then followed the cart closely as it passed through the inspection, onto the platform, through the winding alleys, and finally arrived at the backyard of an inn in the southern city to unload the goods.

A while later, a person emerged from a guest room on the third floor of the inn. He was dressed in black, wearing a silver mask that only showed the right half of his face. He had a fierce and sharp demeanor and was full of murderous intent.

He walked into the pile of baskets, skillfully found the one where the letter was hidden, took out the tung oil paper, unfolded it, and examined it closely.

"what?"

Far away, Lu Chenyuan and his companion stood atop the six-story-high eaves.

The goddess frowned slightly: "Brother, on his body..."

"I know."

Lu Chenyuan stared coldly at the men in black below: "No wonder he dared to reach out to Suiming Pavilion. Even if a normal person could get down from the pavilion and destroy the artifacts, he would surely die. But he might not... The Four Fiends of the Dry Bones, this person has a rare treasure on him. We will need your help this time. Please show yourself!"

Four ghostly figures flashed onto the eaves, stood in four directions, and bowed in unison: "Lord Lu."

The Four Killings refer to the Year Killing, Month Killing, Day Killing, and Hour Killing.

The leader was Nian Sha, the most powerful member of the Ku Gu Sect.

The Dry Bone Sect's "Ghost Concealment Technique" is unparalleled in the world, which is why Li Lingyue sent them to protect her secretly.

This order essentially handed over command to Lu Chenyuan. As long as he didn't send the Four Fiends to snatch women and cause trouble for Li Lingyue, or disregard his own safety and act willfully, the Four Fiends would naturally obey.

Of course, both sides should exercise restraint.

Lu Chenyuan couldn't possibly treat them as subordinates and order them around in everything. The Four Fiends wouldn't stay too close to monitor them either. If that happened, the so-called covert protection would lose its true meaning.

Now that they're catching a thief and genuinely need help, the Four Fiends naturally won't stand idly by.

Lu Chenyuan said, "Sun Fiend and Moon Fiend, attack this person and try to capture him alive! Year Fiend and Hour Fiend, follow me."

His voice was cold and stern as he gave the order: "Move!"

The two dark figures vanished instantly.

Below is the backyard of Laifu Inn.

"Rakshasa Hand" Cui Wujian was reviewing intelligence when suddenly the surroundings turned cold, and the ground behind him abruptly cracked open. Two dark figures, like evil spirits crawling out of the rotten soil, appeared from the left and right, their four gleaming white claws tearing through the air, aiming straight for his back and throat!
Before the claws even arrived, the stench was already overwhelming, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, sending chills down one's spine.

Cui Wujian did not turn around, but suddenly lowered his body, and rainbow threads flashed between his ten fingers, spreading out backward like a spider web.

"Hundred Turns of Silk Entangling Hands"!
"laugh--"

The silk thread collided with the ghostly claw, producing a sound like metal clashing.

Sun Fiend's claws tore at the rainbow silk, the friction between his nails and the silk threads sparking dazzling sparks; Moon Fiend's five fingers, like hooks, gripped three soft threads, and with a sudden tug, the threads tightened, almost snapping Cui Wujian's fingers off!
Cui Wujian grunted, unleashing his fourth-realm power. He flipped his wrist, and the silk threads suddenly swirled back, coiling around the wrists of the two demons like venomous snakes.

The silk thread pierced the flesh, instantly drawing blood, but the two thugs grinned maliciously and advanced instead of retreating—

Ri Sha's left claw suddenly shot out, its five fingers like knives, piercing straight into Cui Wujian's heart!

Cui Wujian dodged to the side, but was still a fraction too slow. His claws slashed across his ribs, tearing his clothes and revealing five gruesome bloodstains. The wounds were faintly tinged with a dark green, indicating that the poison had seeped into his blood!
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yue Sha lunged forward, his right claw sweeping across, the nails growing three inches long, like five thin blades, aimed straight for Cui Wujian's throat!

At the critical moment, Cui Wujian suddenly tilted his head back, his claws grazing his chin and drawing a bead of blood. He used the momentum to flip backward, his toes barely touching the ground, his figure retreating three zhang like a ghost, his ten fingers not stopping—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Dozens of rainbow threads shot out from his sleeves, some burrowing into the ground, some wrapping around the beams and pillars, and some piercing the three vital points of the Twin Demons' eyes, throat, and heart like poison needles!

Ri Sha sneered, crossed his claws, and actually grabbed the incoming silk thread, pulling it sharply!
Cui Wujian swayed and was pulled forward two steps by the tremendous force. Yue Sha was already close by like a shadow and grabbed at his crown with a claw!
On the brink of life and death, a fierce glint flashed in Cui Wujian's eyes. He bit his tongue hard, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the silk thread—

The blood-stained silk threads suddenly began to riot!
The originally supple silk threads twisted like living things, wrapping around Ri Sha's arm and cutting into his flesh in the blink of an eye, so deep that the bone was visible!

Ri Sha grunted, his claw strike faltering slightly. Cui Wujian seized the opportunity to pull away, sweeping back with a silk blade to force Yue Sha back. But before he could catch his breath, the ground suddenly trembled!
The two demons stomped their feet at the same time, causing the blue bricks to shatter and countless fragments of stone to shoot out like a torrential rain!

Cui Wujian parried with his silken threads, but from behind the rubble, two ghostly figures pounced like lightning—

The Sun Demon's claw rips out the heart!
The Moon Demon's Claw Slices Through Throat!
There is no way to avoid it!

Cui Wujian's pupils suddenly contracted, and his eyes turned blood red!
Death is imminent!

He couldn't afford to speculate about the origins of these two people or whether there were others behind them. At this critical moment of life and death, he could only use his life-saving move. He clenched his fist and poured his true energy into an unremarkable jade pendant on his wrist.

The jade pendant was shaped like a white carp, resembling the yang fish in the Tai Chi diagram. Its jade color was as white as frost and snow, and its eyes were inlaid with black crystals. When the light shone on it, swirling patterns appeared, which would make people dizzy if they looked at it for a long time. There were eight seal characters engraved below, with strokes as fine as spider silk. When true energy was poured in, it would light up slightly.

Yin and Yang complement each other, shifting forms and changing shadows!

next moment.

A crimson light flashed, and Cui Wujian vanished, leaving only a wisp of green smoke in his wake.

　Spending the weekend with a rich woman, this chapter is 5,000 words long, please bear with me.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)