Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Xu Lingguang looked at Liu Zhu and said inwardly, "Liu Zhu, I want to go to Jing Si Hall to see Lu Dong."

Liu Zhu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why did you go to see Lu Dong? Do you know what's wrong with Lu Dong?"

Xu Lingguang shook his head, then nodded, his tone hesitant: "I'm not quite sure yet, but I had a nightmare last night... The dream was a bit strange..." He summarized the dream in a few words, saying, "I feel there's some connection between the two, and I want to go see Lu Dong in person to confirm it."

Ryusoo's expression also turned serious upon hearing this: "I'll go with you."

Xu Lingguang originally wanted to go to Jingsi Hall by himself, but Liuzhu offered to go with him. He felt it would be safer to have someone to look after him, so he agreed.

After discussing it, the two pondered how to leave without being noticed and go to the Jing Si Hall to investigate.

The hall was crowded with people, especially Zheng Er, whose cold gaze kept sweeping over them, clearly watching their movements. It wouldn't be easy for them to slip away unnoticed.

Xu Lingguang pondered for a moment and then transmitted his voice to Liuzhu: "Later, Danhuang and several other Grandmasters will definitely go to the palace to check on the Emperor's condition. At that time, most of the accompanying disciples will wait in the side hall. We won't be needed then. Let's find an opportunity to avoid others and go to the Meditation Hall."

Liu-soo nodded slightly.

Xu Lingguang was right. Sure enough, not long after, Emperor Meng Dan and several Grandmasters got up with solemn expressions and headed towards the palace. Their disciples followed obediently behind them, whispering about Lu Dong's madness.

Xu Lingguang and Liuzhu exchanged a glance, deliberately falling behind and stopping at a corner.

The people walking in front did not notice that two people were missing from behind.

Out of caution, Xu Lingguang and Liu Zhu did not move immediately. Instead, they stayed in place for a moment to make sure that no one had noticed that they had broken away from the group before concealing their presence and heading to find the Jing Si Hall.

Shortly after the two left, Zheng Er, realizing they were missing, came looking for them with his followers.

He surveyed the area for a moment, a cold glint of calculation flashing in his eyes. He chuckled and said, "They just left. Let's follow them and see what they're up to."

The royal palace covers a vast area, with the Jade Spirit Palace located on the east side, close to the emperor's sleeping quarters. Every plant and tree exudes a sense of meticulous care and prosperity.

Jingsi Hall, however, is located to the west. The west side consists mostly of idle halls, storerooms, and servants' quarters, and is rarely visited, making it appear somewhat desolate.

Xu Lingguang tried to avoid main roads where people might be, and instead chose to walk along paths and corridors hidden by flowers and trees.

The further west you go, the more desolate the environment becomes. The number of patrolling guards and eunuchs is also noticeably smaller. The air still seems to retain the damp, cold, and sticky feeling of last night, and even the sunlight seems to have dimmed a bit here.

The two were on high alert. After bypassing a desolate bamboo forest, a row of old-looking halls came into view. One of the halls had a plaque that read "Hall of Quiet Contemplation".

The Jing Si Hall was very quiet because it was surrounded by tall buildings that blocked most of the sunlight. The surrounding vegetation was desolate, and even the chirping of insects and birds could not be heard.

Xu Lingguang approached quietly and saw that the door to the Jingsi Hall was closed but not locked. He could vaguely hear suppressed, intermittent groans coming from inside, unsure if it was Lu Dong's voice.

Apart from that, no other sounds could be heard.

Xu Lingguang and Liuzhu exchanged a glance and tiptoed through the gate.

The courtyard was empty, with only a few clumps of withered yellow weeds shivering in the wind. The doors and windows of the main room, which faced the courtyard gate, were tightly closed, and no sound came out from inside. The suppressed, intermittent groans had stopped at some point.

The air was filled with a musty smell, a mixture of mildew and herbs.

Xu Lingguang's eyelids twitched. He signaled Liuzhu to keep watch on the surroundings, while he himself carefully stepped forward and gently pushed open the tightly closed door of the main room.

The room was dimly lit and simply furnished, with only a bed, a table, and two chairs.

On the bed, a human figure covered with a thin blanket, with its back to the door, lay motionless, seemingly fast asleep.

It was Lu Dong.

When Xu Lingguang saw this figure from behind, his eyelids twitched even more violently. Before, he was not sure if the figure in his dream was Lu Dong, but now, when he saw the person on the bed who was also facing away from him, all his uncertainties were answered.

Xu Lingguang held his breath and approached the bed step by step.

Walking to the bedside, Xu Lingguang gently called out, "Fellow Daoist Lu?"

The person on the bed showed no reaction.

Xu Lingguang hesitated and reached out, wanting to gently touch the other person's shoulder, but his fingers strangely stopped when they touched the other person's clothes.

Through the thin white inner garment, the touch of his fingertips was very strange—Lu Dong's skin was too soft, and when Xu Lingguang touched it, he had the illusion that he was touching a cotton doll.

No, calling it a cotton doll isn't quite accurate. Underneath its overly soft skin, there's no sense of bone support. When he pressed his finger on it, it felt like he was pressing on a full, stuffy sack.

The skin was filled with air or liquid.

From the moment he entered the Meditation Hall, Xu Lingguang's eyelids hadn't stopped twitching. A strange sense of unease also gripped his heart, as if some intuition was frantically warning him to stay away from danger.

Xu Lingguang's movements faltered slightly, and just as he hesitated, voices suddenly came from outside.

"Oh, isn't this Liuzhu? What a coincidence, you've come to visit Lu Dong too?"

It was Zheng Er's voice.

Xu Lingguang frowned. Why was Zheng Er here too? What a coincidence.

He immediately dismissed the idea. It wasn't a coincidence; it was most likely that Zheng Er had discovered they were missing and followed them. He and Liu Zhu were so focused on avoiding the palace staff that they hadn't noticed the tail following them.

This Zheng Er is really annoying. Xu Lingguang had no choice but to put Lu Dong aside for the time being, opened the door to the main room, frowned at Zheng Er, and said in an unfriendly tone: "What are you doing here?"

Zheng Er grinned and said, "Didn't I say I came to visit Lu Dong? What, just because we've known each other, does that mean you're allowed to visit the patient but we're not? That's too domineering!"

Zheng Er looked at his two henchmen and said in a pretentious manner, "Don't you think this is too domineering?"

One of the two followers was Zheng Xuantong's other disciple, and the other was one of Nangong Wang's disciples.

The two clearly followed Zheng Er's lead and agreed with a grin, but looked at Xu Lingguang with hostility: "Yes, Master Xu, you're too domineering!"

Seeing Liu Zhu glaring at him coldly, Zheng Er became even more engrossed in his act. His malicious gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, and he clicked his tongue and said, "Or is it that you didn't come here to visit Lu Dong, but to do something shady?"

Zheng Er, with an arrogant expression and a defiant look that seemed to say, "I'm going to ruin your plans," stepped over Liu Zhu and shoved Xu Lingguang past the doorway as he walked in. "Tsk tsk tsk, what's with those expressions? Did I really guess right? Let me see what you're up to..."

He entered the house, only to find it empty except for a figure lying on the bed.