Ninth Mistress sat leaning against the railing. With a light wave of her jade hand, a strand of true essence entered Liu Xiaolou's body and unsealed his true essence. The force was gentle, like spring rain moistening all things.
"Tell me, how did you come to Dongting? How did you know I was here? And why were you spouting nonsense about becoming my nephew?" As she spoke, a faint smile she could not conceal tugged at Ninth Mistress's lips.
Liu Xiaolou climbed up from the ground, sighed with a miserable face, and said, "I am foolish and dull-witted. I truly mistook you for someone else. I thought the person in the sedan chair was my distant aunt, whom I had never met. Who would have thought it was a young lady instead? What a coincidence indeed."
Then he added, "As the saying goes, the SkyNet spreads wide, its mesh sparse yet nothing slips through. Could it be that because I failed to carry out what I promised you that day, Heaven has sent me before you once more? Please give your orders, miss. Whatever service you require, I will not refuse."
Ninth Mistress looked at Liu Xiaolou and suddenly said, "Turn around. Turn over there..."
Liu Xiaolou was bewildered. "Huh?" Still, he turned as instructed.
"You turned too far. Turn back a little, face the Brocade Pool."
"Oh."
Liu Xiaolou kept his profile toward Ninth Mistress, occasionally twisting his head to glance at her. What was this girl doing?
Yet Ninth Mistress said nothing. Her lashes fluttered, and no one knew what she was thinking.
After a long while, Ninth Mistress let out a sigh. "Are you really Seventh Sister's nephew? Why have I never heard that she had such a relative?"
Liu Xiaolou hurriedly said, "You are my distant aunt's younger sister? Then calling you distant aunt would not actually be wrong."
Ninth Mistress shook her head. "I am not from the Zhou family. I came to visit a friend—your distant aunt, if Seventh Sister truly is your distant aunt. Go on, tell me..."
Seventh Mistress Zhou's birth mother had been the first wife of the Zhou clan chief's legitimate son. The couple had died young for certain reasons. The identity Lord Xingde had arranged for Liu Xiaolou was that of a relative from Seventh Mistress Zhou's mother's family, and one so distant as to be nearly beyond the fifth degree of mourning. Even if the Zhou clan chief learned of it, he would not bother investigating such a far-flung relation.
Once he explained this connection, Ninth Mistress said coldly, "So that is how it is. Have times grown hard, and you came to sponge off her?"
Liu Xiaolou smiled ingratiatingly. "Not exactly. I am alone in this world now as well. My distant aunt is my last remaining relative, so I wished to visit and see her."
Ninth Mistress snorted. "I can help you ask, but do not get any wrong ideas. If you hope to climb a high branch and cling to my Seventh Sister, she may find it inconvenient to deal with you, but this young lady can make you wish you were dead!"
Liu Xiaolou nodded. "Rest assured. I only came to visit relatives. If my distant aunt offers me any gifts, I will not take a single coin."
Ninth Mistress's expression eased slightly. "Wait here."
Liu Xiaolou quickly presented the sachet. "A token. My distant aunt will know at a glance... Miss, may I turn around now?"
"No need!" Ninth Mistress tapped a finger out, knocking Liu Xiaolou down again, then walked out of the courtyard on her own.
Liu Xiaolou lay in the pavilion for a while. Then footsteps approached, and a woman rushed into the pavilion. After examining him a few times, her eyes immediately reddened. "Nephew... it really is you!"
At last, Ninth Mistress believed him and unsealed Liu Xiaolou's Meridians. Liu Xiaolou looked at the woman's face. She truly was beautiful, but she was clearly much older than Ninth Mistress. This time, he was certain, and hurriedly acknowledged her. "Distant Aunt—"
Ninth Mistress watched aunt and nephew embrace each other and weep bitterly. Moved, she withdrew outside the pavilion to give them space, yet she had no intention of leaving. She feared that Seventh Sister was too kindhearted and might be taken advantage of without even realizing it.
Toward Rogue Cultivators from Wulong Mountain, she had always maintained the utmost vigilance, along with a faint disdain.
Her maidservant Xiao Qin brought tea into the pavilion. When she came out, she winked at Ninth Mistress, her expression strange. Though Xiao Qin was a maidservant, they were as close as sisters, so Ninth Mistress followed her outside the courtyard and asked, "What is it?"
Xiao Qin whispered, "Did you notice, miss? Seventh Mistress's distant relative looks a little like Young Master Jing Zhao."
Ninth Mistress said disdainfully, "How do they look alike? They are a hundred thousand miles apart!"
Xiao Qin covered her mouth and laughed. "From the front, not really. But his profile... when this maidservant saw it just now, my heart gave a sudden jolt..."
Ninth Mistress said, "Enough. Do not say any more."
Xiao Qin said, "Miss, it has been a long time since we heard any news of Young Master Jing Zhao..."
Ninth Mistress frowned. "Do not say any more!"
Xiao Qin stuck out her tongue. "All right. I will go to the Zhou family kitchen and arrange some wine and dishes."
Ninth Mistress shook her head. "No need... Let us hear what Seventh Sister means first. There is no need to hurry."
Not long after, Seventh Mistress Zhou and Liu Xiaolou came out of the pavilion. Ninth Mistress stepped forward and asked, "Seventh Sister, this nephew of yours..."
Seventh Mistress Zhou said, "Thank you, Sister. Xiaolou is leaving."
"He is leaving?"
"He has other matters to attend to."
Ninth Mistress looked at Liu Xiaolou. Liu Xiaolou smiled. "There is plenty of time ahead. Today, I only came to recognize the way here. There will be many chances to visit in the future."
Seventh Mistress Zhou said, "Ninth Mistress, I cannot leave the house. Please see Xiaolou off for me."
Ninth Mistress readily agreed. She escorted Liu Xiaolou out of the manor, and the moment they reached the gate, her expression darkened. "Seventh Sister lost her parents early. I absolutely will not allow her to suffer any grievance. You had best know what is good for you..."
After pondering for a moment, she took out two silver ingots, a full twenty taels, and tossed them to Liu Xiaolou. "Take these. At least your trip was not for nothing. But this ends here. Do you understand?"
Liu Xiaolou froze, then handed the silver ingots back. "Miss, you misunderstand. Though I am poor, I have made my living by my own abilities since childhood. I eat according to however much ability I possess, and I have never accepted food thrown in contempt."
After a pause, he looked at Ninth Mistress with complete sincerity. "Besides, Liu is a cultivator. Perhaps, in your eyes, Liu's cultivation is not worth mentioning, but Liu is devoted to the Dao. Mere gold and silver are not what I seek."
Ninth Mistress gave a cold laugh. "Very good. Then make your words count! If I learn that you are pestering Seventh Sister, I will not spare you lightly!"
With that, she turned and entered the manor.
Liu Xiaolou rubbed his nose, deeply disappointed, and muttered to himself, Is this Ninth Mistress an idiot? Does she not understand what I mean? Or is she simply stingy and unwilling to part with spirit stones?
Late that night, Liu Xiaolou hid atop an Old Pine outside the manor. Just as the chirping insects and croaking frogs in the grass were making him restless, a figure vaulted over the courtyard wall and drifted toward him.
It was Seventh Mistress Zhou.
"Where is he?" Seventh Mistress Zhou asked in a trembling voice.
Liu Xiaolou beckoned. "Follow me."
Under cover of darkness, they headed northwest. After traveling less than five li, they entered a dense forest.
Lord Xingde had long been waiting there. He and Seventh Mistress Zhou clasped each other's hands, both choked with sobs and unable to speak.
Liu Xiaolou withdrew from the forest and climbed a small hill nearby. From his lofty position, he guarded the road below and kept watch for the two of them.
He had not stood watch for long when his eyelids suddenly twitched several times. Sensing something strange behind him, he turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin. Who else could it be but Ninth Mistress?
Dressed in black, Ninth Mistress stood more than a zhang behind him and said coldly, "There really is something fishy going on!"
Liu Xiaolou immediately broke out in a cold sweat and forced a smile. "Miss, you came? This truly is... fate..."
Ninth Mistress asked, "What are you doing here in the dead of night, skulking about like a ghost?"
Liu Xiaolou swallowed. "It is just that... I suddenly gained some insight and came here to cultivate for a while. I was about to break through a crucial acupoint when you arrived, miss."
Ninth Mistress eyed him. "Silver-tongued liar! I will not waste words with you. Where is Seventh Sister? Where did you take her?"