Wen Ji Ting was startled and quickly shook his head, "Your subordinate is not tired, my Princess. You should go and rest. I can stand guard for a while."
Lu Qing Wan suddenly lowered her head and chuckled, "A blue-clothed protector of the dignified Samsara Hall, condescending to serve under me as an unknown soldier, do you not feel wronged?"
The person opposite was stunned, as if accepting his fate, "The Saintess is indeed as sharp as ice and snow. Did I reveal any flaws?"
Lu Qing Wan chuckled and shook her head, "No, you have been very well disguised all along.
I know that besides Shi Er Yue, there must be people from Samsara Hall around me, for protection as well as for surveillance.
But I never imagined that the future leader of the martial world, whom Wu Ying Hua worked so hard to pull Ming Wu Ya down from his position for, would be someone from Samsara Hall, until I saw you today."
Wen Ji Ting looked at Lu Qing Wan suspiciously, "You only met me once and knew my identity. Is the Saintess a mind reader?"
Lu Qing Wan shook her head, "How could it be so mystical?"
Wen Ji Ting cupped his fists in confusion, "Your subordinate is dull, please enlighten me, Saintess."
"Still calling yourself 'subordinate'?"
Lu Qing Wan raised an eyebrow, "By the rules, shouldn't I address you as Uncle Master?"
"By seniority, your subordinate dares to presume to be your Uncle Master.
But whether we talk about Bu Ye Zhou or Samsara Hall, by status, I am your subordinate."
Perhaps to appear more like a martial artist in front of Lu Qing Wan, Wen Ji Ting wore a light blue robe, half of his hair tied up and the other half loose, without a hair crown, only adorned with a blue hair pin.
He carried a long sword and wore a gourd-shaped jade pendant at his waist.
Paired with his righteous and heroic face, he indeed looked like a martial arts leader who championed justice.
When he spoke these words, he exuded even more of a heroic aura.
Lu Qing Wan shook her head, "It's hard to imagine that Xue Hong Yi, such a dissolute rake, had not only a lovely senior sister like Cheng Yi, but also a righteous senior brother like you.
With your martial brothers in the jianghu, will you not become enemies due to some irreconcilable conflict between good and evil?"
This time, it was Wen Ji Ting who chuckled and shook his head, "Not to mention that although we live our own lives, we are all people of Samsara Hall in the end.
Even if we were to take different sides, although Junior Brother Hong Yi is a bit lax in his disposition, he is upright at heart and would not become enemies with me."
He said it naturally, and from his expression, Lu Qing Wan knew that in his heart, Xue Hong Yi was indeed a good person, appearing dissolute on the outside but righteous and kind within.
Lu Qing Wan teased, "Uncle Master Lan Yi trusts Xue Hong Yi so much, does it mean that I recognized your arduous disguise today thanks to him?"
Wen Ji Ting was stunned at first, then covered his forehead, "A few months ago, on a whim, he picked up his brush and painted portraits of the seven of us martial brothers. Did that painting, by any chance, end up in your hands?"
Lu Qing Wan smiled without speaking. Wen Ji Ting sighed speechlessly, "Senior Sister Zi Yi always said that when there are no external enemies, he is the enemy we need to guard against the most. I used to feel he was wronged, but now I realize Senior Sister Zi Yi was quite far-sighted."
Lu Qing Wan also smiled, and after finishing her laughter, she sternly said, "Tell me, why did you go to such great lengths to lie low by my side?
I said I would be a good Saintess of Samsara Hall. What, does Liu Xun Ran not believe me?"
Wen Ji Ting repeatedly shook his head, "Saintess, please do not misunderstand. After you went down the mountain, our Master gave us no orders related to you, except to pay respects to Senior Sister at the Zhaolie Hou Ancestral Shrine.
Your subordinate acted entirely on his own initiative and has nothing to do with Master."
Lu Qing Wan remained noncommittal, and Wen Ji Ting nervously explained, "Saintess may not know, but among the seven great protectors of Samsara Hall, except for Senior Sister Zi Yi and Hong Yi, the rest of us were brought to Samsara Hall by Senior Sister Da Shi Jie.
We are grateful for Master's nurturing grace, and even more so for Senior Sister Da Shi Jie's companionship and guidance."
When mentioning the person he respected, a hint of warmth appeared on Wen Ji Ting's extremely upright face.
"When we learned that Senior Sister Da Shi Jie still had a trace of bloodline in the world, not only was Master excited, but all of us martial brothers approached you in our own ways.
The difference was that the other martial brothers saw you, knew you had Shi Er Yue protecting you, and left.
As for me, just as I was about to approach you, I discovered Wu Ying Hua was looking for someone to teach Ming Wu Ya a lesson. The opportunity was presented to me, so how could I refuse?"
Lu Qing Wan said straightforwardly, "Do you know that the Senior Sister Da Shi Jie you respect might still be alive?"
Wen Ji Ting looked at her in astonishment, his eyes wide with shock, as if trying to confirm if Lu Qing Wan was serious or joking.
Seeing Lu Qing Wan's solemn expression, he calmed down, "Are you serious?"
"At least I can be sure that the one who died in the lotus pond was not her. Xue Hong Yi is already looking for her. Given her identity and skills, there's a high probability she's still alive."
Overwhelmed by shock, Wen Ji Ting couldn't recover for a long time.
Lu Qing Wan looked at his stunned expression, then thought of Xue Hong Yi from a few days ago, shook her head, and let out a long sigh.
The next morning, on the official road far from yesterday's campsite, Li Su Bu Jie said, "My Princess, the merchant caravan brought by Wen Ji Ting can indeed help us easily evade the inspection of the Xiliang government. Why don't we travel with them?"
"I have the clearance token given by Xie Shi Luan. Why should I pretend to be a merchant?"
Lu Qing Wan said to Han Chen without looking back, "Find an opportunity to send a message to Wu Ying Hua. Wen Ji Ting and his men are no longer people of Bu Ye Zhou. Don't order them around casually in the future."
Li Su wanted to ask more, but upon hearing this, he thought Wen Ji Ting had done something he shouldn't have, and quickly swallowed his doubts.
The group followed Lu Qing Wan smoothly into Xiliang. Within ten days, they arrived at Xiliang City.
The journey was arduous, and as they went further into Xiliang territory, it became increasingly dry. Lu Qing Wan and her entourage looked like rats emerging from the earth, covered in dust.
Han Chen's extremely cold yet extremely handsome face was a little chapped, "Master, this is Xiliang City.
You previously instructed that Bu Ye Zhou has a branch here. Should we go directly to the branch or find an inn to stay?"
Lu Qing Wan was not much better than Han Chen. On her dusty little face, only her eyes still had some sparkle.
Looking at the thick, tall earthen walls and small earth buildings around them, she asked with some difficulty, "Is the Bu Ye Zhou branch also like this?"
Lu Qing Wan had always considered herself quite capable of enduring hardship and did not have high demands when traveling.
Only now did she realize it wasn't that she didn't have demands, but that she hadn't encountered conditions she couldn't adapt to.
Looking at the houses that seemed to be built with mud, she admitted that she was not simple enough, and she wanted to live in a house that was within her normal perception.
Han Chen rubbed his nose and said, "Master, didn't you say that our branch should adapt to local customs? So..."
The implication was clear: the Bu Ye Zhou branch here was no different from the buildings they could see.