"I hit you with the ruler to discipline you, but you must respect your elders and love the young. Don't smack my backside..."

Oddly enough, their relationship did not worsen because of this. On the contrary, it seemed to bring them closer.

He sat on the ground, gazing into the direction of Yin Sword Mountain in the nighttime silence, saying nothing for a while.

After waiting quite a while, he estimated that Lu Ying's emotions had probably settled down and rose to approach her.

Lu Ying trembled slightly, feeling her neck grow hot:

"You—You stay back! If you come closer, my master won't spare you... If you touch me, I'll kill myself, and my grandmaster won't forgive you either!… Stay back, stay back, I'm begging you, let me go, alright?!"

Chen Yi halted his steps, feeling quite helpless, and sat down about a zhang away from her.

Once Lu Ying's agitation had subsided a bit, Chen Yi finally spoke:

"Lu Xian Gu, I was merely scaring you earlier. We do know each other after all—I absolutely wouldn't harm you, let alone have improper thoughts toward you."

"You... you wouldn't harm me?" Lu Ying clearly didn't believe him. "Then why did you scare me?"

"Uh..." Chen Yi didn't know how to reply.

Lu Ying exclaimed angrily: "You're terrible!"

"I'm not terrible." Chen Yi shook his head.

"If you're not terrible, then why did you scare me?" Lu Ying rolled her eyes and suddenly, as if she'd discovered a secret, asked: "You're... not capable?"

Chen Yi instantly replied: "I'm terrible!"

If Little Yin had said these words, Chen Yi would have surely lunged over and harshly made them realize who was truly "not capable."

But Lu Ying was different. In both his past life and this one, she had been his senior sister. Setting aside the fact that Chen Yi held more straightforward thoughts toward her, if he acted against her, Zhou Yitang would be the first to deal with him.

Lu Ying twisted her constrained body and gritted her teeth: "Then why won't you let me go?"

Chen Yi replied: "No rush. I need to observe your senior and junior sisters' movements first. By the way, do any of them recognize me?"

"...No." As a Taoist disciple, lying was forbidden, and now that she was in someone else's hands, Lu Ying answered truthfully.

Chen Yi nodded, choosing to believe her.

Very few Taoists from Yin Sword Mountain had actually seen his face, so when Chen Yi abducted Lu Ying, this had been part of his calculations.

If his location were discovered too soon, it would undoubtedly get reported to the palace.

When that happened, countless pursuers would come rushing toward him.

In the moonlight, Lu Ying stared at Chen Yi for a while before suddenly asking:

"Why did you betray and conspire against the nation?"

Chen Yi froze momentarily, then chuckled: "I didn't. Besides, the court hasn't officially charged me with such a crime, isn't that right?"

Over the past days, Chen Yi had inquired extensively. Thanks to his father-in-law, King Jing, beating the Drum of Complaint and leading the opposition, he hadn't actually been branded with the crime of treason but had instead been accused of irreverence.

According to the laws of Great Yu, irreverence and treason were both among the ten major crimes, but there were still distinctions between the two.

Nonetheless, rumors in the Jianghu often preferred to exaggerate the severity.

Lu Ying eyed Chen Yi skeptically. To her, there was no crime beyond Chen Yi's imagination. Yet now she felt there was a delicate balance between them. Coupled with their acquaintance, this was why she hadn't yet used the Sword Intent left by her master.

Lu Ying was about to ask another question when Chen Yi spoke first:

"Has Dong Gong Ruoshu written to you?"

Lu Ying blinked in surprise before replying:

"Yes, there was a letter. That's how I found out you conspired against the nation."

For Ruo Shu to send a letter to Lu Ying meant she was unharmed, which put Chen Yi somewhat at ease.

To be honest, ever since he fled from the capital, Chen Yi had been quite worried about those women.

This was why, during his days in the palace, he had deliberately distanced himself from the widowed woman and the foolish girl.

It seemed Empress An hadn't descended into utter depravity after all. Chen Yi's mind swirled with thoughts as the pendant around his neck swayed.

But beyond this, Chen Yi was more interested in the state of Yin Sword Mountain.

"Lu Xian Gu, you're a disciple of Cangwu Peak, correct? What's the scenery like there nowadays?"

Lu Ying suddenly grew alert, a memory flashing across her mind.

Yet refusing to answer Chen Yi would put her in an unfavorable position, so she replied: "Picturesque and mighty, the scenery is splendid, resembling an ethereal paradise."

Chen Yi observed her expression and said: "I'll be blunt—my concubine was taken to Cangwu Peak. True or false?"

"True." Lu Ying hesitated momentarily before continuing: "The Taoists of Yin Sword Mountain cultivate independently. Once she joined Yin Sword Mountain, she ceased to have any connection to you."

No wonder Chen Yi had gone to the extent of kidnapping her. Turns out her master had rescued an unfortunate girl and taken her in as a disciple, while Chen Yi was harboring thoughts of reclaiming his little junior sister.

"It's not for you to decide whether there's no connection!" Thinking of Yin Tingxue's smiling face, Chen Yi's tone shifted as he asked: "How is she doing? Is her diet bland? Are her blankets thick enough?"

"At my Cangwu Peak, she is naturally well cared for. Chen Benefactor, you should abandon your intent to take her back." Lu Ying's reply was righteous and firm.

Chen Yi didn't argue with her. Knowing Yin Tingxue was doing well made him feel more at ease.

To tell the truth, he still had many questions he wanted to ask, but given Lu Ying's current unwillingness to communicate and the late hour, it was better to wait until the next day.

"Can you use Flying Sword messaging? Send a letter to notify them you're safe."

...............

Not long after, the female Taoists of Yin Sword Mountain received Lu Ying's Flying Sword message.

"Is Senior Sister Lu really okay?"

"No, that won't do; we still have to search for her. Although she carries Uncle Zhou's Sword Intent, there's always... uncertainty."

"Split up to search—some outside the county, some within."

A mere Flying Sword message filled with reassurances could not completely calm their concerns, but it was enough to stop the Taoists of Yin Sword Mountain from reporting to the authorities, at least temporarily.

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