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Chapter 420: The True Qilin
Chapter 420: The True Qilin
Lu Yuan Yi turned around and saw Lu Zhaoyan with a complex expression. He smiled lightly and patted his chest to assure Lu Zhaoyan, "Don't worry, it's just about inviting someone to come out of seclusion. Leave it to me."
At this moment, Lu Zhaoyan wasn't thinking about inviting someone to come out of seclusion.
He knew this kid was doing it on purpose.
Deliberately selling a pitiful image in front of him.
But even knowing he was selling a pitiful image, he still cared.
After all, she was his flesh and blood...
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and said, "I say, my newly recognized father, if you keep dilly-dallying, we won't catch up. I don't mind, but if we really go into the mountains, I'm afraid your weak-as-silk body won't hold up."
Lu Zhaoyan glared at him.
Lu Zhaoyan wasn't weak as silk; any normal person would be in no better shape after being jolted around and vomiting all the way.
Seeing that Lu Zhaoyan didn't respond, Lu Yuan sighed, "Fine, fine, you're my father. Go slow if you must. I'll just carry you later if I have to."
Lu Zhaoyan's body shuddered, and he instinctively quickened his pace.
The two arrived at a rice terrace. To the south, there was a vast expanse of cultivated paddy fields, about twenty acres, with more than half already planted with rice seedlings.
At this moment, some farmers were still wading through the paddy fields, planting rice seedlings, men and women, young and old.
At a glance, it was really hard to tell which one was the high person they were looking for.
Fortunately, Lu Zhaoyan had brought a portrait of the person.
He took out the portrait and compared it with the farmers planting rice seedlings, spotting a figure in the westernmost paddy field that matched the portrait's description.
Although he was wearing a bamboo hat and his face was not visible, the gourd hanging at his waist was identical.
"That old man with the gourd flask at his waist?"
Clearly, Lu Yuan had also recognized him.
Lu Zhaoyan said, "Don't be disrespectful; that is Zi Wu Master."
Lu Yuan readily agreed, "Fine, you're the father, you decide."
He looked at the old man working in the field, "Father, you rest here on the rice terrace for a bit. I'll go meet Zi Wu Master."
With that, he walked away, and Lu Zhaoyan couldn't stop him even if he wanted to.
However, he hadn't fully recovered from Lu Yuan's "filial piety." It would be better to rest here for a while to avoid vomiting in front of Zi Wu Master.
His gaze followed Lu Yuan.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if he wanted to watch him or assess Zi Wu Master.
Lu Yuan walked to the rice terrace near Zi Wu Master. Just as Lu Zhaoyan thought he would bow deeply to Zi Wu Master, something unexpected happened.
Lu Yuan took off his shoes and socks without a word, tied his sleeves, and rolled up his pants legs, and stepped into the paddy field with the ease of a seasoned farmer, starting to plant rice seedlings.
The old man didn't pay much attention at first.
He planted one seedling, and Lu Yuan planted one.
Gradually, he planted one, and Lu Yuan planted two.
By the time the old man had planted half his row, Lu Yuan had finished the last row.
That wasn't-all.
Lu Yuan then proceeded to plant the seedlings in reverse, perfectly neat and pleasing to-the-eye.
The old man finally couldn't help but notice, straightening his back, and frowning at the young man who-Had-appeared-out-of-nowhere.
Lu Yuan's attire was lavish, obviously either rich or noble, yet his planting technique was more skilled than-the-old-man.
"Was the-Liang-Emperor-who-sent-you?"
The old man-asked.
Lu Yuan smiled, "I-don't-know-what-Liang-Emperor, I-came-With-My-Father, He's-Exhausted,So-I-Have-Him-Rest."
He pointed to Lu Zhaoyan, who stood up and bowed to the old man as a junior.
The old man withdrew his gaze and continued planting, "I-don't-know-what-rumor-you-heard. I'm-just-an-ordinary-citizen. Besides-farming, I-have-no-extraordinary-skills. You're-looking-for-the-wrong-person."
Lu-yuan-grabbed-a-handful-rice-seedlings, this-time-not-rushing-to-finish-quickly, but working-slowly-and-carefully.
He smiled, "As-you-say, who-isn't-an-ordinary-citizen? Just-take-farming-as-an-example, when-to-pull-seedlings, when-to-plant, and-when-to-harvest... All-are-wisdom-of-true-study, which-benefits-the-country-and-the-people, not-learned-from-books-books."
The old man said, "Don't-try-to-convince-me-with-flowery-words. I'm-not-fooled-by-a-few-words."
Lu Yuan didn't mention that a shepherd boy had directed him, but how-could-the-old-man-not-guess?
Lu Yuan didn't deny it but asked, "Before-me-and-my-father, did-others-try-to-convince-you?"
The old man paused, "Your-grandfather."
Lu-yuan: "..."
That's-not-my-real-grandfather, at-most-a-wild-one.
The Liang-Emperor-is-also-a-clever-one, at-such-an-age, to-fool-a-shepherd-boy, wouldn't-his-conscience-pain?
This Zi Wu Master is even more clever. He-haven-told-me-his-name, he-already-guessed-my-wild-grandfather-was-the-Crown-Prince.
Lu Yuan's gaze-fell-on-the-old-man's-gourd-flasks, "You-love-to-drink, coincidentally, I-have-two-jugs-of-superior-burnt-Knife."
"Not-drinking."
The old man refused.
Lu Yuan didn't give up, continuing to plant rice seedlings, "See, my-grandfather-has-been, my-father-and-I-have-come. They-truly-admire-your-character, revere-your-talent, and-want-you-to-come-out-of-seclusion, to-serve-the-people, not-as-an-official-of-the-Great-Liang, but-as-an-official-for-the-common-folk."
The elder said, "I've already said I don't have such extraordinary skills."
Lu Yuan replied, "There are many officials who lack skills, and you're not the only one."
The elder glanced at him coldly.
Lu Yuan, unperturbed, said, "What I mean is, you must not underestimate yourself and belittle your own skills."
The elder fell silent.
Lu Yuan reminded him, "Your rice seedlings are crooked, and at your age, how can you not even plant the seedlings properly... And it's not just me saying this, the silkworms I raised when I was seven are better than your apprentice's. How did you teach him as a master? I heard you're from Wushan, are the silkworm farmers there this incompetent?"
Lu Zhao Yan was not too far away, close enough to see them, but not close enough to hear their conversation.
He could only sense that Zi Wu Master's aura was gradually becoming strange, and he shivered all over, his eyes cold, as if enduring something.
But that kid was clearly very polite, constantly helping with the seedlings and even taking the seedlings from Zi Wu Master's hands to plant them.
"That's enough, I'll do it. At my age, what can't I do? The way you plant these seedlings, I can't even bear to look at them."
Lu Yuan muttered to himself as he took the seedlings and finished planting them.
The truth was, the seedlings Lu Yuan planted were indeed the neatest and most beautiful among all the paddy fields.
Zi Wu Master had secluded himself for ten years to learn rice planting, only to lose to a clumsy kid in the end, how infuriating!
"Master! Something's wrong with the master!"
A woman in her fifties, taking small steps, hurriedly ran over from the ridge, panting, "Da Niu's cow is having trouble giving birth! It's almost time—"
The elder had secluded himself in the temple, and the villagers believed he was a lay practitioner, so they respectfully addressed him as Master.
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Whenever someone in the village had a headache, a fever, or their cattle or chickens fell ill, they would go to the temple to find him.
"Oh no—"
The woman rushed too quickly and tripped, but fortunately, Lu Zhao Yan was nearby and supported her in time.
"Be careful."
Lu Zhao Yan gently reminded her.
"Oh—" The woman was stunned by Lu Zhao Yan's handsome face, which seemed otherworldly.
Lu Zhao Yan spoke calmly, "Madam, take your time. Where is Da Niu, and when did the cow start having trouble giving birth?"
"Ah..." The woman snapped out of her daze and smiled awkwardly, pointing back, "He's from our village. Da Niu just went up the mountain and is over there. He can't walk, and he said the cow has been in labor for a day now."
Lu Zhao Yan asked, "Is it the village at the foot of the mountain?"
The woman replied, "Yes! Ah, was the horse carriage that passed by the village entrance this morning yours?"
Lu Zhao Yan nodded.
This was bad.
Although descending the mountain was easier than climbing up, there was still a long mountain road ahead. By the time they reached the village, it would probably be dark, and he wasn't sure if they would make it in time.
Lu Zhao Yan estimated the time.
Jing Feng should be close to the top of the mountain by now.
In a moment, he would have Jing Feng carry the master down the mountain, hoping they would make it in time.
Lu Zhao Yan turned to Lu Yuan, using his eyes to signal him to help the master pack up his belongings and go to the thatched cottage with Jing Feng.
Lu Yuan gave Lu Zhao Yan a knowing look, and with a swish, he carried the elder on his back.
A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Lu Zhao Yan's heart.
As expected, Lu Yuan supported the elder's legs with both hands, displayed his light body skills, and disappeared without a trace in front of him with a whoosh—
Lu Zhao Yan felt a gust of wind, and he stared stiffly, then quickly came to his senses, his expression changing, "That's not the way down the mountain!"
"Short—cut—down—the—mountain—!"
Lu Yuan leaped and descended vertically!
"Hiccup—"
"Vomit—"
"Splash—"
After descending for fifteen minutes, he vomited for an hour.
Da Niu's cow had given birth.
It wasn't the elder who assisted in the birth.
It was the two disheveled, crazy, and frizzy-haired lunatics who scared the cow, and with a shudder, the calf was born.
"Are you feeling better?"
Lu Yuan kindly handed the elder a bowl of water.
The elder took it and drank a sip. It was sweet.
He asked curiously, "Why is there sugar water?"
Lu Yuan replied, "Oh, it's the cow's leftover water."
The elder fell silent.
Heaven knows how hard he struggled to resist the impulse to press the rude kid's head into the bowl.
Do not kill, do not kill.
On the other side, Lu Qi finally reached the top of the mountain with Jing Feng, only to be informed that Zi Wu Master had descended. They had to go down the mountain as well.
Lu Qi's tiger-like body trembled, his legs nearly giving out, and he hadn't even caught his breath, yet they were telling him to go down the mountain again? Down the mountain?!
When they arrived at the village at the foot of the mountain, the sky was completely dark.
Lu Qi was carried into the house by Jing Feng and sat on Da Niu's small stool.
"Master."
Lu Zhao Yan went to the backyard and bowed to the elder standing in the night, his hands clasped behind his back, gazing unblinkingly at the stars rising one by one, forming a vast Milky Way in the endless sky.
Lu Yuan sat by the side, leisurely playing with dogtail grass.
The elder sighed, "Gou Chen Constellation, bright as the morning sun. I never expected that Great Liang indeed has a Guardian Dragon, and the Prince has brought the Dragon with him. I should come out of seclusion and pledge my loyalty to the Prince."
Lu Zhao Yan's expression paused.
The elder turned around and bowed to Lu Zhao Yan, "Zi Wu, I am willing to serve the Prince."
(End of Chapter)
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