Chapter 137: Rare Kindness

　　Greenery surrounded the area, hiding the pavilion among the trees.

　　Shao Zhengyang guided Lu Mingshu to a courtyard.

　　“You’ve constantly been going to the arenas these past few days, so I didn’t inform you earlier because I didn’t want to disturb you.”

　　Lu Mingshu nodded in response.

　　Being used to Lu Mingshu’s quietness, Shao Zhengyang continued, “Junior Sister Lu, your situation right now is tricky, and they might be able to help you get through it.”

　　Only then did Lu Mingshu finally reply, “Thank you, Senior Brother Shao.”

　　Shao Zhengyang nodded, “I was afraid you’d think I’m a busybody.”

　　As soon as he finished, both of them stepped into the courtyard.

　　“I’m so bored. I’m so bored!” a young man sighed as he was sprawled on the table. He tapped his teacup with some chopsticks. Suddenly, Shao Zhengyang entered with Lu Mingshu. The young man realized how unsophisticated he looked and abruptly stood up, knocking the teacup over and spilling tea all over himself.

　　“I’m so sorry. Welcome in,” he apologized profusely while trying to clean himself up. He jumped up in pain as he accidentally knocked into the table.

　　Lu Mingshu bit her lips to control her laughter. They hadn’t even said anything yet and this guy was already putting on a one-man show.

　　“Hahahaha!” laughter could be heard from the stairs as a few people walked down.

　　“Aiyo, Little Brother Qi, thanks for sacrificing your image to lighten up the mood! I appreciate your sacrifice!” Yue Lingyin joked.

　　Kou Wei fanned himself, “That’s because he has admired Miss Lu for too long. His image is nothing compared to her smile!” he added.

　　“Senior Brother, why are you spouting nonsense?” Qi Sheng turned red as a beetroot. He looked over to Lu Mingshu, and after seeing that she was smiling, he suddenly couldn’t feel any pain.

　　“Why are you smiling like an idiot?” Yue Lingyin pinched him and turned toward Lu Mingshu. “Hello, Miss Lu, I am Yue Lingyin from the Amethyst Phoenix Pavilion, and I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time.”

　　Lu Mingshu bowed in return, “I have been looking forward to meeting Miss Yue for a long time too.”

　　Yue Lingyin got into the top ten in the last Qilin Festival. She had only just entered the Harmonization Realm back then, so she was rather famous.

　　Similar to Lu Mingshu, she became famous because of a competition. The difference was that Yue Lingyin competed with the best of the best, and she had only just entered the Harmonization Realm when she achieved it. She could be considered the best martial artist in the Harmonization Realm.

　　On the other hand, the Heavenly Door competition was just an internal competition of Nine Jade Palace, so the results obviously weren’t as valuable as the Qilin Festival. Lu Mingshu’s result could only prove that she was above average, not that she was the best.

　　“I’m Kou Wei,” Kou Wei introduced himself in a refined manner, then pointed to Qi Sheng, “As for this idiot over here, he’s Qi Sheng, my junior brother.”

　　Lu Mingshu bowed politely.

　　Kou Wei – he didn’t need much introduction. Any disciple in the same generation as him would know his name.

　　To Lu Mingshu, Yue Lingyin was already considered part of a higher social class. As for Kou Wei coming to meet her, it was like he was lowering his own class.

　　“This is Lan Ruoyun, and that’s Zhu Hanguang.”

　　One by one, she was introduced to all the people who were present.

　　The gathering today had fewer people than their other gatherings. Since everyone only just reached the Flying Immortal Palace, not everyone was free to come over. Those who came were Kou Wei’s close friends.

　　“Miss Lu, how’s your injury?” as soon as Kou Wei sat down, he asked her this. So, they really have been watching me for a long time.

　　“I’m okay. It’s an external injury, so it will heal fast.”

　　Kou Wei nodded, “The Qilin Festival is going to be very intense, so please take good care of yourself. Even minor injuries may hinder your performance.”

　　“Thank you for your concern.”

　　Kou Wei chuckled, “Spare the politeness. I’m way older than you, so feel free to call me Senior Brother the way Yue Lingyin does.”

　　Lu Mingshu paused for a while. She wasn’t too aware of how each clan operated, but she knew that the Amethyst Phoenix Pavilion and the Heavenly Sea Pavilion had close ties, so it was perfectly reasonable for Yue Lingyin to address Kou Wei as Senior Brother. For Mingshu to do it was a bit much.

　　Ever since she entered Nine Jade Palace, nobody had treated her with so much kindness, and moreover, Kou Wei was just a stranger to her! Being used to keeping a distance from people, Lu Mingshu felt awkward at Kou Wei’s kindness.

　　Shao Zhengyang nudged her and smiled, “Junior Sister Lu, Senior Brother Kou is very friendly, don’t be so reserved.”

　　He changed how he addressed Kou Wei from Brother Kou to Senior Brother Kou. It was a good chance for him to pull their relationship closer.

　　Kou Wei smiled warmly at her, “It’s okay. We will become closer as time passes.”

　　After the conventional greetings, Qi Sheng couldn’t contain his curiosity anymore, “Miss Lu, how can you tell the recipe of medicine just by tasting it, could you please teach me?”

　　Lu Mingshu smiled in reply.

　　Yue Lingyin pulled Qi Sheng’s ear, “You idiot. Who asks such a question, huh? What do you expect her to say?”

　　“Hey! Senior Sister Yue….”

　　“It’s okay,” Lu Mingshu shook her head. “I can’t answer anyway.”

　　“Can’t answer?” Qi Sheng raised his eyebrows. “So, it’s a natural talent?”

　　“I suppose.”

　　Qi Sheng pouted, “Haish, a natural gift. I’m jealous. Why do I not have such a gift?”

　　It could be considered a natural talent, right? I’ve lived with the Heavenly Wheel for such a long time now….

　　A girl called Lan Ruoyun asked her another question, “Miss Lu, I heard about your competition at the rune-carving shop. Is it true that talismans can be used to fight?”

　　“Of course,” Lu Mingshu replied. “I’m not the one who came up with it; some rune-carvers of the past used talismans to fight back when humans were fighting the barbarians. The technique was no longer passed down when rune carving waned after the war.”

　　“Really?” Lan Ruoyun’s eyes brightened up in excitement. “I am researching rune-carving, but I have never seen any written account about that. May I know where Miss Lu found this information?”

　　“Some ancient books have records on it. For example, <qingyang’s collection>. Duke Qingyang has been investigating it for a long time. Also, the…”

　　Lan Ruoyun sighed in awe and admiration, “Miss Lu is extremely knowledgeable. I still have so much to learn.”

　　Lu Mingshu learned about talisman fighting from some random ancient book that Lan Ruoyun hadn’t even heard of. Even if she had heard about it, she never paid much attention to those books. This Lu Mingshu is younger than me, yet she’s so good in so many areas. Wow!

　　But Lan Ruoyun was unaware that Lu Mingshu had the Heavenly Wheel. With that, she had much more time to read compared to others. On top of that, during her childhood, she rarely left Green Jade Valley. She spent all her free time reading since there wasn’t much for her to do. She finished all the books in the Heavenly Ascension Pavilion as well as various books she exchanged for in the Heavenly Wheel. She may not be comparable to the best disciples of the clans in other ways, but knowledge-wise, even a Confucian scholar may lose to her.

　　“Miss Lu, what about your fight with Yu Kuang…?” after she answered Lan Ruoyun’s question, another question popped out.

　　The gathering was in high spirits as they chatted until the sky darkened. They unwillingly prepared to leave.

　　Before she left, Kou Wei called her, “About Xie Lianzhen… may I know what your plans are?”