Chapter 266: Empathy

　　Chu Li’s raised his brow and directed his glances towards Lu Yurong. Lu Yurong naturally returned his gaze.

　　“… Lady Lu’s good intentions are very appreciated.” Chu Li said, “I won’t forget them!”

　　Lu Yurong smiled, “Very well, I won’t force this upon you; I’m rather curious, however, how did your techniques the blade reached this level? Truly astonishing.”

　　Chu Li’s appearance did not match with what he was capable of.

　　Normally he would disperse his inner energy, similar in a sense to a vast empty field. When necessary, he would gather the energy through sheer will and his heart would then be spurred into motion; with his body normally serving as an empty shell, none could accurately gauge his capabilities.

　　The Seven Forms of Godly Knife were astonishing in ferocity, especially since mastery over the six later form would double the strength of the first form.

　　The Blade of Eternity would gather the surrounding inner energy into one slash whilst the Seven Forms of Godly Knife would accentuate all of his inner strengths into one strike, thus multiplying his destructive capabilities. This allowed him to deal unmatched damaged.

　　The Seven Forms of Godly Knife received its name from the Godly Knife; now Chu Li knew that its name was no exaggeration.

　　Chu Li grinned, “It required me to go beyond my limits for my ways with the blade to have peaked at such a level.”

　　Lu Yurong gleamed in suspicion, “How could one train themselves to reach the peak of their potential?”

　　Chu Li smiled without replying.

　　As he sat before her, he could clearly see the many odd traits of Lu Yurong.

　　At first glance, she appeared to not have been trained in the martial arts, just as he was. If not for his Omniscient Mirror, this fact would’ve slipped by him.

　　There was no aura to be seen through the Omniscient Mirror, and her inner energy was a blur to examine – it faded in and out, as smoke and mists would – it was bizarre to say the least.

　　The more attuned the inner energy of a warrior, the more it would solidify into view, so for it to sway so easily like the flow of water and mercury, her mist-like inner energy wasn’t the least bit threatening.

　　He saw the wounds inflicted on, Prince An, however, and knew that Lu Yurong possessed immense inner energy.

　　Lu Yurong said, “I have a suggestion, I implore you to offer your thoughts about it.”

　　Chu Li gestured her to continue.

　　Lu Yurong continued, “How about I cooperate with you?”

　　“How so?”

　　“The House of Duke will notify you of targets.” Lu Yurong said, “It’s entirely up to you on whether to kill the target, but, whenever you are in trouble and are in need of assistance, you may reach out to the House of Duke.”

　　Lu Yurong continued, “The House of Duke will assist in tracking the whereabouts of whichever group of bandits you wish to eliminate …… as always, this will be a private arrangement between me and you, not with the House of Duke.”

　　“Hmm…” Chu Li remained silent as he thought it over.

　　Lu Yurong poured him another cup of wine, “Consider this, but remember that it is but a mere suggestion.”

　　Chu Li finally spoke up, “Lady Lu, there’s one thing that I don’t understand from all this.”

　　“Speak as you please.” Lu Yurong lightly nodded and stared at him patiently.

　　“What’s the matter with Second Master Lu?” Chu Li continued, “Kidnapping women? Logically speaking, it is unusual for one such as him.”

　　Lu Yurong smiled and heaved a sigh, “This was all my idea.”

　　“Oh? Chu Li replied curiously as his ears perked up, ready to listen further.

　　Lu Yurong continued, “Our emperor harbors paranoia, especially towards the House of Duke. He grows warier with each passing day. Thus, I’m left with no other choice and could only follow through with this scheme, in order to avoid our lord’s suspicions.”

　　“Is that so…” Chu Li furrowed his brows.

　　Lu Yurong declared aloud, “Our House of Duke has gained the favor of the public; We ensure that the Green Hill Road is guarded carefully from outsiders, so that none could pass by without our notice. There is no way that our emperor could ignore this!”

　　Chu Li slowly nodded.

　　“Rather than provoking our emperor, it would be better for the second eldest brother to take the fall in the House of Duke’s name, allowing us to kill two birds with one stone.”

　　“Two birds with one stone?”

　　“The House of Duke is having trouble in the recruitment of maids.” Lu Yurong heaved a sigh, her smile masking the pain in her voice, “Many men wish to get into House of Duke either to sabotage us from within or to try to benefit themselves.”

　　Chu Li nodded slowly, raising his cup to sip from it.

　　Lu Yurong said, “How could anyone rely upon such maids? In order to be safe, I felt that it would be better to personally look for maids.”

　　“…Intriguing.” Chu Li commented.

　　Lu Yurong smiled, “I secretly picked them out after meticulously looking through their backgrounds to ensure they had clean records, possessed just the right traits, then had the second eldest brother bring them in through the act of kidnapping.”

　　Chu Li sighed as he said, “You really planned this in detail, huh?”

　　“I am but a woman after all.” Lu Yurong heaved another light sigh and shook her head, “I am frail in both physique and appearance; to carry out matters, I have to rely heavily on men. If there was no assistance from a character such as yourself, nothing would be accomplished.”

　　Chu Li set his cup down, “Well then, since Lady Lu has displayed such sincerity, then let us cooperate!”

　　“From now on, we are friends!” Lu Yurong beamed happily, “I raise my cup in honor of our new-found friendship!”

　　She covered her face with her sleeve and downed her drink.

　　Xi Wu approached to fill Chu Li’s cup as he murmured, “Mistress, you should not drink anymore.”

　　Chu Li then raised his cup and likewise drank its contents in one go.

　　Lu Yurong waved him off, “No matter, today I have gotten closer to one of the world’s brilliant minds – a few more cups to celebrate is nothing!”

　　“Your body…” Xi Wu hesitated.

　　Lu Yurong furrowed her brows and fixed her gaze on him.

　　Her precious face was highlighted hues of red, making her even more alluring, attractive to excite the hearts of many men.

　　Xi Wu reluctantly bowed and retreated to where he initially stood.

　　—

　　“Come, allow me to drink to your name once more!” Lu Yurong raised her cup before downing the contents.

　　Chu Li mimicked her actions.

　　Lu Yurong’s vision blurred as her mind become infected with various emotions.

　　She sighed lightly, “You sir, are a brilliant hero, amongst all the others that I have seen throughout my lifetime, there is only one other who could compare.”

　　Chu Li chuckled at the comment, “Who?”

　　“Do you know of the Yi public-house?”

　　“Of course.”

　　“The second highest ranking guardsman from within the Yi public house, his name is Chu Li.” Lu Yurong lightly shouted, her eyes distant, “He is one who is as mighty as a dragon – at such a young age, he is already wiser than many.”

　　“Chu Li?” Chu Li smiled wryly.

　　To say his own name was somewhat odd to him.

　　Lu Yurong nodded firmly, “In terms of martial arts, Chu Li would fair well against you, in terms of intellect, he is much more astonishing, truth to be told, I admire him greatly, somewhat envious even!”

　　Chu Li replied, “Pity that we can’t meet him.”

　　“Chu Li is a guardsman of the Yi public house, so he can’t possibly leave his post.” Lu Yurong shouted, “It’s no easy task to meet him!”

　　Chu Li smiled, “The world is full of heroic figures, one couldn’t possibly meet with all of them.”

　　Lu Yurong stretched her right hand outward, “No, no, this Chu Li is different from the rest; amongst all of the young heroes, only the two of you are worthy, the rest don’t even come close!”

　　“I dare not see myself as so.” Chu Li laughed in response, “I am merely a practitioner of the martial arts, I am nowhere close to being a hero.”

　　“Sigh… it would be splendid if I could invite that Chu Li over here!” Lu Yurong shook her head as she declared, “It’s a pity that he is loyal to the end – he is more likely to be my enemy than my friend.”

　　“If he’s your enemy, would you like to eliminate him?” Chu Li asked.

　　Lu Yurong vigorously waved her hand and huffed, “It would be a pity to end such a renowned character!”

　　“Your magnanimity is above that of many, it is far beyond even myself!” Chu Li slowly nodded.

　　Chu Li gripped his cup, with mixed feelings within him.

　　As he looked at the somewhat drunk Lu Yurong, he heaved a sigh to himself, indeed, it would be a shame to just end such a character!

　　Xi Wu said, “Sir Du, the mistress is drunk, I shall carry her back to the House.”

　　Chu Li nodded, “Yes, thank you.”

　　Lu Yurong tilted her head with a loose smile on her lips. She clenched her hands into a fist, “How ungraceful of me. I am indeed drunk, let us be merry with wine once more another day!”

　　Chu Li returned the gesture, “Please do!”