The little girl didn't ask about breaking off the engagement again. She busied herself with the spirit medicine, then took a ball of medicine and said to Lu Shui:
"Hand."
Lu Shui held out the hand that was about to go numb, then added:
"You said you're a lot older than me? How much older?"
"I don't remember. Just a lot, a whole lot." The little girl pointed, injecting the medicine into Lu Shui's hand.
"Then why do you still look like a child?" Lu Shui didn't mind what was happening to his hand.
"Because I can't grow up." The little girl watched Lu Shui's hand.
She seemed to be watching for Lu Shui's reaction.
By now, Lu Shui could indeed feel his hand regaining sensation.
After a long pause, Lu Shui asked:
"Are you a dwarf?"
He'd wanted to ask for a long time, but had never had the chance. Now was a rare opportunity.
At those words, the little girl looked up at Lu Shui. Her eyes were exceptionally clear, and it was impossible to tell whether she felt anything at all.
In the end, she said nothing and continued examining Lu Shui's hand.
Lu Shui felt inexplicably relieved. Just then, he'd thought the little girl was about to swat him flying.
"Have you ever wanted to grow up?" Lu Shui pinched his hand. It felt a little itchy, as if a rash were starting to appear.
The little girl noticed and applied a new medicine to Lu Shui's hand:
"I used to. Now I don't."
Lu Shui was curious:
"Why not?"
When she saw that Lu Shui's hand was starting to recover, the little girl stood up and said:
"Don't you know that growing up means having grown-up troubles?"
Without looking at Lu Shui again, the little girl turned to Zhen Ling and tossed over two bottles of medicine.
"Take these to the person in charge of maintaining Qiuyun Town this time and have him pour them into the water source. Then have everyone drink a sip of water. That'll put an end to this outbreak."
Zhen Ling caught the medicine and nodded reflexively.
"Yes."
But as soon as she agreed, Zhen Ling was a little surprised. Why had she agreed?
Still, she didn't dare say anything more. She took her leave and headed for Qiuyun Town.
Lu Shui stood up too and found that his hand had already recovered. It seemed he really had been a guinea pig just now.
Well, it was what he'd expected.
Just then, Lu Shui saw the little girl look over.
"Go to the main hall. The Third Elder is waiting for you there."
Afterward, the little girl turned and took a step forward, then disappeared on the spot.
Lu Shui wasn't surprised, and neither was Zhen Wu.
But unlike Lu Shui, Zhen Wu didn't look toward where the little girl had gone. His senses had been deceived.
Lu Shui paid it no mind and started toward the Lu Family Main Hall.
He was about to see the Third Elder. That wasn't something to be happy about.
If he put aside the failed attempt to break off the engagement, what he'd done this time had saved the entire Lu Family.
If Mu Xue had killed him back then, she would have made an enemy of the Lu Family. In a few years, she'd have been able to flatten the Lu Family.
He'd done it all for the Lu Family.
All right, he was joking.
In the Lu Family Main Hall.
The Third Elder sat at the very top of the hall, his face dark. He'd already looked like someone was five million in debt to him, but now he looked like someone owed him fifty million.
Before long, however, the figure of a little girl appeared beneath the hall. The moment she appeared, she headed straight for the very top.
As soon as the Third Elder saw her, he immediately dropped his fifty-million-yuan expression, stood up, and stepped aside.
The little girl reached the seat at the top and sat down.
As soon as she sat, the little girl spoke:
"The matter in Qiuyun Town has been resolved."
"Thanks for all your effort, Second Elder," the Third Elder said at once.
The Second Elder of the Lu Family was Lu Youting. She had remained in the form of a little girl her entire life, and her strength was formidable. Her medical and alchemical skills were also transcendent.
The Second Elder paid no mind to that and said:
"I've already met Lu Shui."
The Third Elder was a little surprised, but still asked curiously:
"What do you think of him, Second Elder?"
"The fact that Lu Shui failed to break off the engagement is beyond dispute. And the matter we have to face is something we can't avoid either," the Second Elder said.
Yes, they couldn't possibly evade the trouble Lu Shui had caused.
That was exactly why the Third Elder was angry.
He could have let it go if they'd only lost face before, but this time Lu Shui had dragged them into it too.
It was simply lawless.
"But Lu Shui put forward a rather interesting theory," the Second Elder said.
At the Third Elder's curious prompting, the Second Elder described Lu Shui's theory.
After hearing it, the Third Elder furrowed his brows.
"Is it credible?"
The Second Elder shook her head.
"No. He was just making excuses for himself, but those excuses do point us in a direction.
"However..."
"Is there a problem?" the Third Elder asked.
The Second Elder sounded puzzled.
"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but although what he said felt like nothing but excuses, he doesn't seem opposed to marrying Mu Xue. Or rather, he really does want to marry Mu Xue."
"But that goes against our original plan," the Third Elder said.
"Then we can offer two options. The first is to follow the original plan and find a candidate in Heaven's Pool River. If the candidate isn't suitable, we choose the second option.
"As for the second option, we indulge Lu Shui's nonsense and let him marry Mu Xue, who is an ordinary person," the Second Elder said.
"Lu Shui's antics strengthened the Mu Family's hold on the marriage contract. That won't be easy to handle," the Third Elder said. That was what stood in the way of the first option.
The Second Elder didn't think it was a problem.
"The Great Elder was already going out because of Lu Shui's marriage. Going out once or twice makes no difference."
The Third Elder was a little surprised. Were they asking the Great Elder to personally go and break off the engagement?
They were certainly showing the Mu Family respect.
"Will the Great Elder agree?"
"Of course." A calm voice suddenly rang through the hall.
Since that was settled, the Third Elder no longer worried about it.
It was better to have the Great Elder and Second Elder step in than to leave him to figure it out alone.
The main thing was that Lu Shui really was impossible to deal with. He'd completely given up caring about the consequences.
At that moment, the Second Elder stood up.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
"Does Lu Shui still need to be punished?" the Third Elder asked.
"That's your business. Don't let our involvement affect your decision." With that, the Second Elder stepped forward and vanished from the spot.
The Third Elder furrowed his brows, thoroughly puzzled.
"Did Lu Shui offend the Second Elder?"
The Second Elder appeared again outside a room. Its door stood open, and inside sat a beautiful young woman, sighing as if burdened by her thoughts.
The Second Elder saw her and walked in.
"What are you thinking about?"
Dongfang Liyin immediately turned to look.
When she saw the Second Elder, her face lit up with joy.
"Second Elder, what brings you here?"
As she spoke, Dongfang Liyin ran over to the Second Elder and reached out to pinch her adorable little cheek.
Smack!
The Second Elder knocked Dongfang Liyin's hand away, then said sternly:
"Have some respect..."
"I know, respect your elders and cherish the young." Before the Second Elder could finish, Dongfang Liyin cut in.
The Second Elder was a little helpless. She sat down beside the table and said:
"Hand."
Dongfang Liyin didn't hesitate at all. She immediately held out her hand.
Then the Second Elder began taking Dongfang Liyin's pulse.
Before you continue