Phoenix Destiny

Chapter 50: The One Who Sent Her the Jade

It was a jade pendant that was only about the size of a finger, however, the appearance and colour of the jade showed that it was no ordinary item. The Big Dipper was carved on it, with the star on the handle being slightly larger than the rest.

Yan Wugui stared at the Big Dipper carving, and no trace of a smile could be seen on his face. “Why do you have this?”

Lu Mingshu could not help but to be stunned, when she felt killing intent coming from him. “What’s wrong?”

Yan Wugui turned his head to look at her. “Where did you get this jade pendant?”

His expression scared Lu Mingshu, so she could not help but take a few steps backwards. “It was given to me.”

This jade pendant was given to her by Gentleman Lian Zhen when she had just arrived at Nine Jade Palace. Lu Mingshu had mixed feeling towards this GentlemanLianzhen every time she recalled this matter. At that time, when her mother had just passed away, and she faced the public’s condemnation, he was the only person that believed in the innocence of the Lu family beside Hui Niang and Ah Sheng. However, he did not stand up for them.

Lu Mingshu knew that it was not realistic to have any expectations in this matter. GentlemanLianzhen wasn’t from Nine Jade Palace and was someone that had no connection to this matter whatsoever. Furthermore, he was there to represent the Seven Truths Platform in the discussion about possible cooperation with Nine Jade Palace. So why would he slap Nine Jade Palace’s face for someone he had no relationship with?

She knew that all too well, however, he was a hope she could not help but long for in such a desperate situation. A hope that someone would stand on her side no matter what others said.

But no matter what, she was still grateful to Gentleman Lian Zhen. For the trust he had given her in such a moment was very precious.

“Xie Lianzhen?”

Lu Mingshu did not know the surname of Gentleman Lianzhen, but since Yan Wugui was from the Seven Truths Platform, he wouldn’t be wrong, right?

Once he got Lu Mingshu’s confirmation, Yan Wugui threw the jade pendant back to her and spoke in a tone that carried some odd teasing, “To think you’re someone chosen by Xie Lianzhen.”

Lu Mingshu had wondered for many years why GentlemanLianzhen would send her a jade pendant, but it was all to no avail. Now, she could finally get the answer she had been waiting for. Disregarding Yan Wugui’s poor tone, she hurriedly asked, “What do you mean?”

“You don’t know the reason why Xie Lianzhen gifts jade pendants?”

Lu Mingshu shook her head. Why would she remember to ask for the reason when she had been drowning in the sorrow of losing her mother.

Yan Wugui replied in a warmer tone, “Then, you know what type of a person Xie Lianzhen is, right?”

Lu Mingshu nodded her head. The organizational structure of Seven Truths Platform differed greatly from Nine Jade Palace; the seven truths in its name referred to the Big Dipper Seven Star Lords. Yangming Dubhe Star-Lord, Yinjing Merak Star-Lord, Zhenren Phecda Star-Lord, Xuanming Megrez Star-Lord, Danyuan Alioth Star-Lord, Beiji Mizar Star-Lord and Tianguan Alkaid Star-Lord. As the name of Seven Truths Platform stated, it was a sect divided into seven clans, and the title of star lord was passed on from generation to generation to each clan leader.

GentlemanLianzhen was precisely the Alioth Star-Lord of Seven Truths Platform– the clan leader of the fifth clan.

“It’s good that you know.” Yan Wugui’s tone went cold again, “Xie Lianzhen may appear dignified, but in fact …”

When he saw that Lu Mingshu did not react to his words, his tone went warm. “Anyway, he isn’t a good guy. He is someone that thinks too highly of himself and thinks he is really good at judging someone. The moment he sees a good sprout, he likes to send them a jade pendant to mark them as someone he had chosen. You have to be careful of him in the future. You need to be wary of him every time you meet!”

Lu Mingshu furrowed her eyebrows. “What are the consequences of being someone he has chosen?”

“The consequence will be him sending someone to follow you closely. Who knows, they might even help you out at times.”

This … doesn’t seem bad?

Yan Wugui who had seen through her thoughts, immediately continued on, “But think about it, does such a good situation as receiving and not having to give anything in return ever happen? What he is doing is akin to investing in advance, so that he can collect his interest once you have grown up.”

This … doesn’t seem to be anything bad either? Isn’t it still me who decides on how I want to repay the kindness shown to me?

Yan Wugui was racking his brains. “As the saying goes – it is hard to owe a debt of kindness. So, just keep this saying in mind, and you’ll be on the right path.” after a pause, he continued resentfully, “but, having this thing is pretty convenient. For example, say you meet difficulties while you’re away to travel. You can take this thing out to ask for favours from nearby Seven Truths Platform disciples.”

At the end of his statement, even Yan Wugui felt how unmeaningful his explanation was. Hence, he hurriedly slipped away to wash the clothes.

Later at night, as Lu Mingshu laid in bed to recuperate, looking at the young man, who looked like a fierce ruffian, mending clothes for her under the light of the flames.

“Done.” Yan Wugui put his needle and thread pouch away, shook the mended clothes, and then threw them back to her. “You will have to put up with these two sets of clothes for the moment.”

Lu Mingshu diverted her gaze away and took her clothes from him. Unexpectedly, she discovered that they were very well mended. Mysophobia, excellent cooking skills, knows needlework… What should I do now that I suddenly feel like snatching him home and marrying him?

“What are you thinking of?” Yan Wugui took out a woven mat and laid it out on the floor.

Lu Mingshu casually replied, “I am thinking about whether they will discover the tracks left behind by you.”

“So what if they discover them? It’s impossible for them to find us.” There was indescribable ridicule in Yan Wugui’s manner of speaking.

“Why not?”

“You haven’t felt anything unusual about this place?”

Lu Mingshu thought for awhile. “Is Brother Yan talking about the unusually dense mystic force?”

“I guess there’s no harm in telling you. The mystic force here originates from a chunk of irregular rock, that is the rock precipice we were at previously. If they were to discover it, then I guess a fight for its ownership would break out …”

Lu Mingshu went silent. Nine Jade Palace’s internal conflict is infamous after all …

“But I have a friend that will attempt to track me down.”

“We’ll talk about that after you’ve been tracked down.” Yan Wugui lied down and shut his eyes, “rest now.”

It was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. The shadow of the flames from the fire torches danced across the walls. It was clearly a foreign place to Lu Mingshu, yet she slept blissfully well that night.

…

The interior of the Heavenly Wheel was still serene, and the usual fluttering six-coloured streamers were still there.

Lu Mingshu placed her palm on the tree; searching the huge volume of information for what she wanted.

“Brother Zhang, are you around?” She started a private chat.

Her luck today did not seem to be too good, as the other party did not reply even after a long time. Hence, Lu Mingshu decided to just exchange a few vulnerary to treat her injuries.

The six-coloured streamers revolved around her, as they restored her damaged body bit by bit.

Time in the Heavenly Wheel flowed slower and its healing effect was even better. Once she had absorbed the vulnerary and her body had restored to its initial condition, a reply came in through her message box.

“Young lady Lu, is there something you wanted to ask me?” a young voice rang across her head.

This Brother Zhang was a young man from a Xianxia world that Lu Mingshu met during her second transaction. These years, the person she was the most familiar with besides Brother Six, was this Brother Zhang. She had exchanged many elixirs from him. If it wasn’t for the support of these elixirs, given the little resources she was given, she would not have been able to improve at her current pace.

“Un, I wanted to exchange for some talismans with you.”

“Sure, what kind of talisman do you want? I don’t have many in reserve though …”

“I want a bit of each kind.”

Talismans were considered one of the specialities of Xianxia worlds. They were similar to the scrolls from the Magic worlds but were cheaper and handier. Any newbie could use talismans, while the deadly expensive scrolls needed large spells to activate.

Lu Mingshu liked to get some self-protection talismans for which could save her life in critical situations.

“I have some herbs and hunt harvest here; you can choose whatever you need.” As she took out the spoils from the beast hunt, she felt a little guilty. Anything truly good was kept with the Team Leader and were to be distributed after the hunt. Hence, she only carried a limited amount which the other party might not fancy.

Unexpectedly, an item managed to attract the attention of this Brother Zhang.

“Is this a scorpion shell?”

The thing he was attracted to was the shell of the Blood Scorpion. This left Lu Mingshu greatly surprised. “Yes, it had poison originally, but I had burnt it away …”

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll pick this one. I can use it for elixirs.”