"Brother Ning, sorry for the poor hospitality."
Ye Hongluan came to the courtyard where Ning Wangshu and the others were staying.
Ning Wangshu smiled and waved a hand. "You're too kind, Miss Ye."
"By the way, Miss Ye, there's something I'd like to ask you about. Would that be all right?"
Ye Hongluan paused, then replied at once, "Go ahead, Brother Ning!"
"Good. I'll get straight to the point, then."
Ning Wangshu answered, then asked directly, "Do you know someone named Luo Han?"
"Luo Han?"
Ye Hongluan was startled at first, then looked at Ning Wangshu in surprise. "Brother Ning, are you talking about the 'Hanli True Monarch'? If I remember correctly, that was Luo Han's given name!"
"Mm, that's right. It's her!"
Ning Wangshu nodded.
Luo Shuqing had mentioned before that Luo Han's title was "Hanli True Monarch."
Hearing Ning Wangshu confirm it, Ye Hongluan drew a small breath. "So it really is that 'Hanli True Monarch.'"
After a pause, she continued, "Brother Ning, you suddenly asked about the 'Hanli True Monarch'... Could your personal business here in Spirit Prefecture have something to do with her?"
Ning Wangshu didn't hide the truth. He nodded slightly and said, "That's right. I came to Spirit Prefecture because of her. As it happens, she and I go back a long way."
"I happened to hear from someone that Luo Han seems to have run into some kind of trouble more than two hundred years ago and suddenly disappeared. So I wanted to find out what exactly happened."
"Do you happen to know anything about it, Miss Ye?"
Ye Hongluan pondered for a moment, then shook her head slowly. "I'm afraid I don't know much about this matter."
"'Hanli True Monarch' did suddenly disappear more than two hundred years ago, and her disciples