My low-key cultivation of immortality was discovered by the emperor in my diary.

In the restaurant.

Chu Lengyu stood up and stepped forward, saying apologetically, "Please don't be offended, my lady Lüyun is kind-hearted and mistakenly thought you were people in need of help. Please forgive her."

Seeing this, Fu Wenshen quickly returned the greeting and said with a smile, "You flatter me, young lady. We are just ordinary people in the martial world, and it is common for us to live a life of hardship. We are very grateful for your help today, young lady and your maid."

"Thank you, sister," Ah Xing said again, while tightly clutching the oil paper package, afraid that his master would make him hand over the food with just one word.

Fu Wenshen gently patted A-Xing's shoulder, signaling him to prepare to leave, and A-Xing obediently nodded.

"I apologize for disturbing you today. I hope we can meet again someday," he said as he took his leave.

Green Bamboo stood aside, watching the two say goodbye and leave. Although she felt a little embarrassed, she was more curious and puzzled.

The master and apprentice left the restaurant.

Fu Wenshen felt a sharp pain in his meridians, but he forced himself to stay upright, unwilling to let Ah Xing notice anything amiss.

After walking several dozen feet, he finally couldn't hold on any longer.

He leaned against the wall and walked into the depths of the alley, found a secluded corner, sat cross-legged, and began to meditate and regulate his breathing.

Holding the food in his arms, Ah Xing asked in surprise, "Master, are you injured?"

No wonder that pretty lady invited him, but he wouldn't even sit down and hurriedly took him away. Ah Xing thought that his master left in anger because the lady in the green dress misunderstood his identity.

Fu Wenshen closed his eyes and concentrated, his internal energy surging as he tried to soothe the meridians that had been disordered by the recoil.

He took a deep breath and slowly replied, "Although that girl had no intention of targeting me, the spiritual light she unleashed contained a counterforce. If I hadn't stopped in time, I would probably be seriously injured by now. Alas, there are always people more capable than you. I was the one who was overconfident."

Ah Xing didn't quite understand, and couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him: "Just how amazing is that woman?"

"Approximately... comparable to the Peak Master," Fu Wenshen said uncertainly.

In his view, only the Peak Master could rival her unfathomable cultivation level.

Such a person is actually hidden in the capital! I have never heard of him before, whether in the Misty Mountain or the Ten Directions Forest!

Fu Wenshen frowned deeply, belatedly realizing that he was starting to worry.

Wushan is thousands of miles away. If she harbors evil intentions, who in the capital can stop her?

With this in mind, Fu Wenshen immediately made a decision to visit his acquaintance, Master Lu, in the palace and seek his help.

……

However, when the master and his disciple arrived at the palace, they were stopped by the guards.

Seeing the two men's shabby clothes, the guards looked at them with disdain and shouted, "This is the imperial palace, all unauthorized personnel must leave immediately!"

Fu Wenshen did not want to cause any more trouble with these guards, so he replied indifferently, "I am Fu Wenshen, and I have come here to see Master Lu Dan."

"Fu Wenshen? Never heard of him." The guard sneered, his words laced with sarcasm. "Who do you think you are? Do you think the palace is a place where commoners like you can just walk in?"

Ah Xing, who was listening from the side, was furious and was about to step forward to argue, but his master pressed down on his shoulder, signaling him not to be impulsive.

Fu Wenshen's gaze was calm, and his tone was neither humble nor arrogant: "I have something to discuss with Master Lu, and I hope you will inform him on my behalf."

The guard's sneer intensified, deliberately making things difficult: "Master Lu? He's a favorite of His Majesty, not someone you can just see whenever you want. Unless you can produce some token to prove you have a real relationship with Master Lu, don't blame me for being impolite!"

After saying this, the guard deliberately swung his spear, making a clanging sound, as a show of force.

Seeing this, the surrounding people cast sympathetic glances, but no one dared to step forward to help.

Seeing this, Ah Xing could no longer hold back and was about to lash out when Fu Wenshen gently shook his head, signaling him to stay calm.

Then, he took out an exquisite jade pendant from his pocket. The pendant was engraved with intricate patterns and exuded a warm and lustrous aura, clearly indicating that it was not an ordinary item.

"This jade pendant was a gift from Master Lu, and it proves my friendship with him. Please pass it on to the guard." Fu Wenshen handed the jade pendant to the guard.

Upon seeing this, the guard was taken aback at first, then took the jade pendant to examine it. However, he was still somewhat unwilling, so he pretended to be nonchalant and said, "Hmph, so what if you have this jade pendant? Without His Majesty's decree, no one is allowed to enter the palace without permission!"

Just as the two sides were deadlocked, the King of Qin left the palace and happened to pass by the place, where he witnessed the scene.

"Stop!" he shouted to the guards, then slowly walked forward and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Upon seeing this, the guard hurriedly bowed and reported what had happened to the King of Qin.

Upon hearing this, the King of Qin turned his gaze to Fu Wenshen. He saw that although the man was dressed in shabby clothes, he had an extraordinary temperament. He then took the jade pendant, examined it carefully for a moment, and concluded that the jade pendant was no ordinary pendant.

"So you two are friends of Master Lu, my apologies." King Qin returned the jade pendant to Fu Wenshen, his tone becoming more polite. "The guard was rude, I will teach him a lesson. However, Master Lu is not in the palace right now, this chivalrous man has come to the wrong place."

Fu Wenshen put the jade pendant back into his pocket and couldn't help but ask, "If he's not in the palace, then where did he go?"

"Don't be anxious, hero. Master Lu is somewhere outside the city. I'll send someone to escort you." After saying this, the King of Qin whispered a few instructions to his attendants and sent them to see him off.

Although the voice was not loud, Fu Wenshen heard the place name "Songlin Xiaozhu" clearly.

He clasped his hands in thanks and said, "We dare not trouble the King of Qin. Since the alchemist is not here, we will take our leave."

After saying this, he ignored the King of Qin's attempts to persuade him to stay and left the palace gates with Ah Xing.

Even without the rules of Wushan, Fu Wenshen would not want to associate with these powerful and influential people.

As he had lamented before, "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the roads, the bones of those frozen to death lie." In his eyes, these powerful and wealthy people lived a life of decadence and were never satisfied.

Back at the market, Fu Wenshen found a vendor selling pickles and asked him if he knew where Songlin Xiaozhu was located.

The vendor exclaimed in surprise, "Pine Forest Cottage? Isn't that where Fairy Chu lives?"

"Fairy Chu?" Fu Wenshen asked in confusion, "Who is this?"

The vendor exclaimed urgently, "You don't know Chu Lengyu, the Fairy Chu? She's a real fairy descended to earth!"

"A fairy? I don't think so." A woman buying vegetables next to her curled her lip. "I heard she's cold and aloof, and doesn't care about other people's lives at all."

“That’s not right,” the vendor retorted. “There are many people gathered outside Pine Forest Cottage, but why should Fairy Chu help them?”

As Fu Wenshen listened to these discussions, his curiosity about Chu Lengyu grew even stronger. He knew that someone who could generate so much discussion must possess extraordinary qualities.