Liu Yao had just finished wiping Lu Chao’s face when Murong Yun arrived.
“Well, well, you finally look somewhat human again. You nearly scared your master to death yesterday.”
Though Lu Chao’s spirits had improved, his gauntness was still evident. Murong Yun’s heart ached at the sight, reminiscing about the mischievous lad who used to stir up trouble everywhere a few years ago.
“No wonder your mother always says the feng shui of my Guanfu Mountain isn’t suitable. A fine son of hers, raised by me, now skin and bones. You’d better recover quickly, or next time, even this old man will get an earful from her.”
“The sun must be rising from the west today—rare for you to show concern for me. The main issue was being without Liu Yao by my side. I couldn’t eat or sleep properly, and the motion sickness didn’t help. That’s why I collapsed.”
Lu Chao put on an ingratiating act for the old man.
“Alright, alright. From now on, Liu Yao will stay with you. We have more hands available now, unlike before when we were stretched thin. No need to suffer unnecessarily.”
Lu Chao raised an eyebrow. “Are these people left by His Highness the Crown Prince for Xiao Youcheng?”
Murong Yun nodded. Previously, he had sent Liu Yao and a few others to the capital to fetch them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let Lu Chao travel to the northwest alone.
“You mentioned an urgent matter to discuss earlier. What happened?”
Murong Yun brushed it off with a chuckle. “Nothing major. It’s already resolved. Just focus on recovering.”
Then he deftly changed the subject.
“While you were away, your elder brother paid a visit. He asked you to send word once you returned. When I asked if everything was fine at home, he said there were no issues—just that they missed you.”
Lu Chao nodded.
“Thank you, Master. I’ll contact him in a few days.”
In his current state, returning home would only worry his family.
“Very well. Rest properly.”
As the old man turned to leave, Lu Chao quickly spoke up again.
“Master, during the northwest campaign, I used the formations you taught me. Their power was immense—countless enemies fell. But I have some doubts.”
Murong Yun stroked his beard, signaling him to continue.
“Since these formations are so effective on the battlefield, could we teach them to the border garrison commanders?”
Murong Yun studied Lu Chao’s earnest expression and recalled the oath of their sect.
“‘A fish cannot leave the abyss; the tools of the state cannot be shown to others.’ Throughout history, countless have acted solely for profit. Our founder refused to make these techniques public precisely to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. If the secrets of the Qimen Dunjia fall into the wrong hands, chaos and rivers of blood would follow—utterly contrary to the founder’s intent.”
“But with our sect’s formations, border soldiers would suffer fewer losses. Only by strengthening ourselves can we deter foreign invaders from plundering our lands.”
Murong Yun patted Lu Chao’s back, his eyes gleaming with pride. He really had an eye for talent.
According to sect records, most disciples who mastered these formations returned from battle with contempt for life—some even harbored ambitions of dominion. Yet here was Lu Chao, wanting to teach them to others. Truly pure of heart.
“If you really want to teach someone, just take them as your disciple. Our sect has only two members now—you and me. That wouldn’t break the rules.”
Lu Chao looked baffled. “Huh? That’s allowed?”
Murong Yun shrugged. “Probably. Or you could devise your own formations—just don’t use the ones from the founder’s manual. Then it wouldn’t violate sect principles. As for taking disciples, well, if you break the rules, it’s on you, not me. Heh heh.”
Lu Chao’s lips twitched. Logical, yet somewhat questionable.
Murong Yun sauntered out, chuckling heartily.
“You’ve barely grasped the basics of our sect, and you think creating new formations is easy?”
His late master had once said the founder could command a stone-soldier formation to repel twenty thousand enemy troops. Now, all that remained was this manual of Qimen Dunjia—which Murong Yun himself hadn’t fully mastered. A few more generations, and it might be lost entirely. If the founder had any awareness in the afterlife, he’d have risen long ago to beat someone senseless.
But that was a problem for the future.
——
The day was bright and sunny.
Liu Yao helped Lu Chao stroll through the academy grounds to bask in the sun. After days of acupuncture and bitter medicines, Lu Chao’s face remained pale, but his energy had improved.
As they teased a bluebird under the sunlight, a mocking snort reached their ears.
Lu Chao turned toward the sound.
Several men in dark green round-collared robes stood there—two elderly scholars, two middle-aged men, and a youth barely past twenty.
Though it was unclear who had snorted, their expressions were uniformly disdainful and dismissive as they eyed Lu Chao.
Lu Chao had little patience for hostility. After sizing them up, he turned away just as the youth opened his mouth to speak.
“You—!” The youth choked on his words, infuriated by Lu Chao’s disregard.
Liu Yao muttered in Lu Chao’s ear, “These are the ones from the capital. Their noses are so high they might drown in rain. Before you returned, they kept asking about you. None of us bothered with them.”
“Wherever they’re from, as long as they don’t provoke me.”
Lu Chao had no interest in engaging—unfortunately, the feeling wasn’t mutual.
“Might this be His Highness’s junior brother, Young Master Lu?” The youth stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting. If not for the provocation in his eyes, the gesture would have been elegant.
“And you are?” Lu Chao smiled.
“This unworthy one is Xue Yongsheng, a third-rank scholar in the 49th year of Great Yuan. Currently serving under Prince Kang with these esteemed elders. I’ve long heard of Young Master Lu’s brilliance. Seeing you today, your talent and bearing are indeed extraordinary.”
“Thank you for the praise, Young Master Xue. We won’t disturb you further. Liu Yao, let’s go.”
Lu Chao gave a slight nod and prepared to leave. How annoying—these people were blocking his sunlight.
His shamelessness stunned the group. One of the middle-aged men couldn’t resist snapping, “Young Master Lu, such disrespect toward your elders—aren’t you concerned about tarnishing His Highness’s reputation?”
Lu Chao frowned. For Xiao Youcheng’s sake, he’d been restraining himself. But these grown men were acting like scheming concubines from a harem drama. Did they really think they could vie for Xiao Youcheng’s favor? Were these the only people the Crown Prince had left for him?
“Young Master Xue, was it? Aren’t you worried about damaging His Highness’s reputation by bullying the younger?”
“Sharp tongue!” an elder barked.
Enough was enough. Lu Chao laughed coldly.
“No wonder His Highness was so eager to summon me back to Yingchuan. Tsk tsk.”
His words struck like a dagger.
“Arrogant brat! Your reckless campaign squandered ten thousand shi of His Highness’s grain and handed his enemies leverage! How dare you act so insolent!”
Lu Chao’s brows knitted. He retorted bluntly,
“Oh? The master hasn’t spoken, yet the dogs bark first. How amusing.”
Liu Yao watched the flustered expressions of the men across from him, then glanced at Lu Chao’s calm and composed demeanor. He couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath—who knew the young master’s words could be so cutting? It was like one man holding the pass against ten thousand. Clearly, he hadn’t had enough opportunities to show off this skill before.
Perhaps their voices had risen too loudly, because Murong Yun soon arrived on the scene.
He stepped in front of Lu Chao, offering an awkward chuckle to the group.
"Ahaha, he’s still young and blunt by nature. Gentlemen, there’s no need to lose your temper over a child."
Then he shot Lu Chao a meaningful look.
Lu Chao rolled his eyes at the men before finally turning away. Behind him, their voices rose again.
"Master Yun! You be the judge of this!"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, Prince Kang is still waiting for you. Let’s not delay any further."
"Hmph! We’ll certainly have a word or two with His Highness Prince Kang about this!"
Murong Yun smiled and nodded.
Go ahead, complain. That man was even more biased than he was.
If not for the risk of these men letting something slip, he might have helped his beloved disciple curse them out a few more times.
Lu Chao pulled out a letter and handed it to Murong Yun.
"This is from the Northwest Marquis—"
