144: 4.9 Going To Marry?

4.9 Going To Marry?

Lu Yizhou's breathing was calm and measured as he threaded through the dark forest. Now that the sun had descended down the horizon and darkness veiled the sky, the entire space looked thoroughly uninhabited. Not only was there not the sound of small animals or insects prancing around, there wasn't even the faint rustle of trees and leaves as if the forest was thoroughly bereft of life. It made the conversation a few distance away drifted clearer to Lu Yizhou's ears.2

"...think he's here?"

"Judging by the location…"

"Woah! What is this?!"

It seemed like they had found the tiger carcass that Lu Yizhou had left in the open. The group made a louder ruckus yet still within the range of hushed whispers. Lu Yizhou counted. Three, there were three men. His grip on Hexue tightened and his eyes hardened in repressed fury. He had been waiting for the signs of people for hours. If… If they were those who had hurt Heimo, who had inflicted such severe injuries on him and even poisoned him… There would be no mercy.

Lu Yizhou stepped forward enough to make his presence known.

The sharpest of the three snapped his head in his direction. "W—Who's there?!" He lifted the torch — no, it was a spiritual fire on his palm — higher. The other two gasped and hastily took on a defensive stance, hands flying to their swords. "H—Hello?! Is there someone here?!!" The spiritual fire illuminated their faces and only now Lu Yizhou could see that they looked young, not even older than twenty. Youthful features and wide, bewildered eyes looking around in muted panic like deers caught in the headlights. They resembled three newborn fawns. 

No, his gut instinct denied, they couldn't be the people who managed to hurt Heimo so badly. He allowed his grip on Hexue to relax as he walked into the light.

"Gasp! J—Jingxue-Jun!" 

"It—It's a pleasure to meet you, Jingxue-Jun!"

"Greetings, Jingxue-Jun!"

They simultaneously cupped their fists and dipped their heads low in respect. 

Against any better judgment, Lu Yizhou mimicked the action which earned him three pairs of comically widening eyes. Hmm, it seemed like he wasn't supposed to do that. Flabbergasted, the trio cupped their fists again and bent even lower, confusion radiating from their innocent faces.

[666: Ah, stupid Host! You're Jingxue-Jun ah! The revered Jingxue-Jun! You don't need to pay respect like that because your position is waaay higher than theirs! The only person you need to bow down to is only the Sect Leader of Lingyan Sect, your master! Look at how badly you surprised them. Sigh, poor children…]

[What did you call me?]

[666: eh…ehehe what are you talking about, Host? *whistle*]

Lu Yizhou subtly raised a brow and scrutinized the three intruders closely. As soon as they realized the stranger was none other than the esteemed Jingxue-Jun, their shoulders sagged in relief and wide beams spread across their faces. They then giggled against each other at their earlier foolishness. Too defenseless, Lu Yizhou noted. Their blue-green embroidered robes bore a symbol that was on the medicine bag in Jingxue-Jun's possession. Lingyan Sect's disciple? He took a guess.

His answer was answered in the next second. The man in the middle stepped forward to introduce himself. His countenance was gentle yet his eyes were bright and intelligent. "Good evening, Jingxue-Jun. We are very sorry to intrude on you. My name is Zhan Yi and the one beside me are Luo Gengxin and Luo Gengren and we are the disciples under Elder Mu of Lingyan. It's a great honor to finally meet Jingxue-Jun for the first time."

Luo Gengxin and Luo Gengren beamed with identical smiles and crinkles on the corner of their eyes. Twins, Lu Yizhou belatedly realized. Well, he had always been bad with names and faces. [You should remind me of their names if we meet again next time.] 

[666: Sigh, what will you do without 666, Host?]

[Shut up.]

"What are you three doing here in the middle of the night?" He asked with his hands clasped behind his back. He couldn't help it. Facing three teenagers made him feel way too old even though his original age must not have differed much from them. Alas, the irony.

The three exchanged silence messages through their eye contact and looked mildly embarrassed in the next second. "Well…" Luo Gengren explained. He was also the one who had sensed Lu Yizhou's presence first. "We have no idea whether Jingxue-Jun noticed it or not but rumors of Heimo's whereabouts have spread among Lingyan's inner circle. They said… They said that traces of his spiritual energy have been sighted around here so…"

Lu Yizhou filled in the blanks. Being young and curious inner disciples they were, they must have thought that it was exhilarating to investigate by themselves. Moreover, it was still unconfirmed whether the existence of the Black Demon was real or not because no one had actually seen him in person before. They were here to personally confirm the rumor. It was similar to a bunch of youngsters who planned a courage test by going into haunted places simply because they wanted to see ghosts at least once in their lifetime… 

Lu Yizhou admonished softly. "It's dangerous."

Luo Gengxin replied with a totally innocent look. "But Jingxue-Jun, aren't your esteemed self here to find him too?" In the next second, he received an angry hiss from Zhan Yi. 

Lu Yizhou let out a sigh and gestured at the tiger carcass. 

Zhan Yi not so subtly slapped the back of Luo Gengxin's head and offered Lu Yizhou a flattering smile. "Of course, Jingxue-Jun. You must be here to investigate the purple tiger which has inconvenienced the nearby villagers. I apologize for his rudeness, he has always been a bit too—"

"Ignorant? Uncultured? Insolent?" Luo Gengren unhelpfully supplied.

"—straightforward and blunt." Zhan Yi finished with a constipated look. Behind him, the twins exchanged a quiet snicker. Zhan Yi cupped his fists once again. "Then we'd better excuse ourselves. Please feel free to continue on your journey, Jingxue-Jun."

"Go back." Lu Yizhou said, which was similar to a polite command for them to scram. "Heimo isn't here."

"If Jingxue-Jun said so…" With a clearly reluctant look on their faces, they turned back to where they came from. However, all of a sudden, Luo Gengxin whirled around and took a deep breath with a do-or-die expression. "J—Jingxue-Jun, may I ask a very personal question?!" His loud voice echoed throughout the tranquil forest. 

Zhan Yi's eyes widened and he lunged forward to tackle Luo Gengxin down, presumably to cover his loud mouth but Luo Gengren held onto him firmly from behind. His whole body shook with laughter as he winked at his twin, encouraging him to go ahead. "No, don't do it—" Zhan Yi flailed his limbs around. Alas, it was too late.

Luo Gengxin's face was beet red and he didn't even wait for Lu Yizhou's permission as he shouted the question out loud, mustering every drop of his courage. "Jingxue-Jun, is it true that you're going to marry Young Lady Ling in the future?!!"

pqdm.com