Liu Xing let out a sigh and continued, “Initially, I didn’t know about Mei Qing’s father’s identity either. It wasn’t until later, after my master and senior brothers had all passed away, that I started to pay attention. I then made efforts to recruit some people to investigate what had happened back then. Actually, during the time I was away, many people in Anlu City knew about the young apprentice girl. It’s laughable that after I returned, I stayed at home, busy with various matters, and never thought about this matter at all.”
“So, I suppose you must know about those events back then. I wonder, where exactly is the Plum Blossom Valley? Could that Master Maoyang possibly have been one of you brothers in disguise? And why did the Plum Blossom Master arrange for my parents to meet?” Mei Qing couldn’t help but ask.
“At the time all these events occurred, I happened to be traveling elsewhere, so I don’t know many details,” Liu Xing shook his head. “Why the master wanted to marry the Five Blossoms to your father, perhaps only he himself could know. As for that Master Maoyang you mentioned, I’m also unclear about who exactly he was.”
Upon hearing this, Mei Qing asked again, “Then among you brothers, is there anyone particularly skilled in the art of external alchemy?”
Liu Xing thought for a moment before replying, “Within the Plum Blossom sect, the one most proficient in external alchemy should be the second senior brother. The fourth brother focused solely on cultivation and never really delved into this area. As for the eldest senior brother…”
He hesitated for a moment before continuing, “I’m not sure if he was skilled in external alchemy either. He never displayed any such abilities in front of us. However, when the topic occasionally came up, he seemed to have considerable knowledge about it. In fact, Shao Yuanjie and Tao Zhongwen were successively favored by the current emperor, so naturally they should have had some knowledge of external alchemy. However… if one of them was Master Maoyang, he should have had the opportunity to meet with Minister Lu, and managed to avoid being recognized by him. I wonder whether it was indeed neither of them pretending to be Maoyang, or if the disguise was just that convincing.”
“You’re referring to Lu Bing, the official from the Xianxian王府 back then, right?” Liu Xing nodded. “He’s a favorite of the current emperor and the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I heard about him during my investigation, but I’ve never met him in person. I don’t know his cultivation level.”
Just at that moment, a distant, low voice suddenly rang out, “Never thought that after crossing mountains and rivers in search of you, you were right under my nose all along. Mr. Liu, I’ve come especially to greet you.”
With the voice came a long whistle from afar. Everyone was startled and stood up. At this time, the sky had already brightened, and a black dot flew rapidly from the north. As it approached, it turned out to be a whirlwind.
The whirlwind rose straight from the ground, like a dragon soaring into the sky, carrying a violent vortex and making a shrill sound. In the blink of an eye, it arrived above Liu’s mansion. With a loud bang, the whirlwind suddenly dissipated, and two figures abruptly appeared in the courtyard.
The one in front wore a long robe and had a thin face—none other than Lu Bing. Standing behind him was the tanned-skinned giant who had once subdued Mei Qing years ago.
“Ah… Dad…” Bi Zhen opened her mouth to call out, but suddenly remembered that Lu Bing was not appearing here as the Sixth Master. She stomped her foot hastily and quickly held her tongue.
However, Liu Xing and the others had clearly heard everything. Very few people knew that Lu Bing was Bi Zhen’s biological father. Although Liu Xing had lived on the same mountain as Bi Zhen’s maternal grandmother, they had never interacted, so naturally he had no knowledge of this. A flash of surprise flickered across his face before he bowed respectfully to Lu Bing, saying, “I never expected the renowned Minister Lu Bing to be the son-in-law of the Yao family from Bishan. It seems I have been rather ignorant.”
“We’re even. I spent years searching the world for the truth behind those past events, never imagining that the people involved were right under our noses all along,” Lu Bing replied coldly, glancing at Liu Xing and the White Elder. When his gaze fell on the White Elder, his expression suddenly changed.
“This gentleman seems very familiar. Perhaps we’ve met once before. Do you still remember me?” Lu Bing slowly brought his hands from behind his back, letting them hang by his sides, his eyes fixed intently on the White Elder.
The White Elder remained silent, his gaze averted, completely ignoring Lu Bing.
Seeing this, Mei Qing quickly pulled Bi Zhen forward and addressed Lu Bing, “Your humble servant greets you, Father-in-law.”
Lu Bing turned his head and looked at Mei Qing and Bi Zhen. Seeing Bi Zhen bow her head, and hearing Mei Qing call him “Father-in-law” without protest—only bowing her head even lower—he realized his daughter had finally started to accept him as her father. His heart swelled with joy.
“Good, good,” Lu Bing looked happily at Bi Zhen’s blushing face, then turned to Mei Qing with a nod. “Very well, Mei Qing. You’ve done very well indeed.”
With a hearty laugh, he continued, “Alright then, today is a joyous occasion, not the time for fighting or violence. A’bi, let’s go back together. I haven’t visited your mother yet. Now that our family is finally reunited, we should celebrate.”
Bi Zhen nodded and said, “It’s a pity that Grandma isn’t here. It would be even better if she were.”
Lu Bing couldn’t help but shudder slightly, murmuring, “Perhaps it’s better that she isn’t.”
“Dad, how come you’re here?” Bi Zhen sat between her parents, smiling happily.
Thanks to Mei Qing’s earlier words, Bi Zhen had now completely overcome her psychological barriers and was calling “Dad” with such affection that Lu Bing’s face broke into a wide grin.
“After receiving Mei Qing’s message, I felt a bit concerned,” Lu Bing slowly sipped his wine and explained. “I didn’t know why you suddenly wanted to investigate the emperor’s practice of external alchemy, or why you brought up Shao Yuanjie again. These matters are deeply entangled, so I felt worried. Yesterday, suddenly my subordinates reported some news indicating that both Tao Zhongwen and Duan Chaoyong seemed to be acting suspiciously. However, my men’s cultivation levels were limited, so their information was incomplete. I felt something was amiss, so I invested more effort into the investigation, and eventually traced it back to the Liu family of Bishan. Hehe, I never thought that the person we couldn’t find no matter how thoroughly we searched back then would actually be hiding right under our noses.”
“Father-in-law, there might be some things you are not quite aware of. In fact, Liu Lao first…” Mei Qing proceeded to recount, from beginning to end, everything Liu Xing had said at the Liu residence.
“Actually like this!” Lu Bing showed a surprised look on his face. “We also guessed that the five flowers were members of the Plum Blossom Sect. Truth be told, I’ve had suspicions about Master Dian too. Yet no matter how I thought about it, I never expected that Shao Yuanjie and Duan Chaoyong would turn out to be members of the Plum Blossom Sect as well! Mei Qing, what do you think about the credibility of what Liu Xing just said?”
Mei Qing thought for a moment and said, “The overall account is probably accurate. However, there are certain things about which Liu Xing must have held back, especially… the cause of my mother’s death and the whereabouts of Master Mei Hua.”
Speaking of this, Mei Qing suddenly remembered to ask, “Father-in-law, when you met that White today, you seemed to harbor considerable resentment. Could it be that you’ve known each other for a long time?”
Lu Bing nodded and was about to speak when Mei Qing smiled and said, “If that’s the case, may I venture a guess? If I’m not mistaken, could this ‘Master Bai’ be none other than the old man with the white snake who you encountered when you first entered the Mei Valley? The very one who was driven away by Master Mao Yang?”
“You always see through me.” Lu Bing was startled, then burst into laughter. “You guessed it right away. I really don’t know how you thought of it. But he mustn’t be a member of the Plum Blossom Sect. The method doesn’t match.”
Mei Qing nodded and said, “This Master Bai was probably either deceived and used back then, or he genuinely knew nothing about the matter. He wouldn’t be someone involved in the conspiracy. However, there’s still one more thing…”
Mei Qing took a deep breath and asked Lu Bing, “Was there a potted plant kept beside my mother back then? A plum tree with twisted, bare branches, which she always kept with her?”
Lu Bing nodded and said, “When you just mentioned that Mr. Liu spoke about this Dry-Branch Plum Blossom, I suddenly remembered something. Although at that time I had very little contact with your mother, I still knew about this particular potted landscape. Moreover, my suspicion that your mother might be a member of the Plum Blossom Sect originated precisely from this plant. Back then, your mother forbade anyone from touching the potted plant and placed a magical ward upon it. I merely came across it by chance, and I found the technique she used extremely exquisite and mysterious, though I didn’t think much of it at the time. Later, as my knowledge broadened, I gradually realized that this technique bore a striking resemblance to the legendary methods of the Plum Blossom Sect. That’s when I began to suspect that your mother might be connected to the sect. Why are you so particularly interested in such a small detail?”
Mei Qing sighed and said, “When Liu Xing spoke of my mother’s request to him, on two occasions he expressed regret so clearly that it overflowed from his words. I suspect… my mother asking him to transplant plum blossoms must have had a tremendous connection to her being able to send me away and to her death. Yet Liu Xing, for some reason, has remained tight-lipped and evasive about it. If only I knew where he planted those plum trees, perhaps an investigation would bring clarity.”
“What about Mei Hua Zhen Ren? Liu Xing said his master had already ascended to immortality, but he didn’t mention it in his story,” Lu Bing pondered aloud.
“He won’t say, I’m sure, since it probably involves secrets from within his own circle,” Mei Qing shook her head. “But it must certainly have something to do with Shao Yuanjie, Tao Zhongwen, and that man Duan Chaoyong.”
“I have met all three of the people you mentioned,” Lu Bing sighed. “Especially Tao Zhongwen; since he was appointed as the Dian Zhenren (Venerable Master Dian), I have met him even more frequently. When Shao Yuanjie entered the court fifteen years ago, he introduced Dian Zhenren Tao Zhongwen to His Majesty. Not long after that, Shao Yuanjie passed away. As for Duan Chaoyong…”
Lu Bing suddenly frowned. Seeing this, Mei Qing pressed further, asking, “When was Duan Chaoyong recommended to the court, and by whom?”
“About four years ago, Duan Chaoyong was introduced to His Majesty by Guo Xun,” Lu Bing said, shaking his head. “However, at that time, His Majesty had already begun to lose interest in Duke Guo, so he didn’t pay much attention to Duan Chaoyong either.”
“Guo Xun?” Mei Qing said, somewhat surprised. “Why him? Is Lord Guo also interested in cultivation and alchemy?”
“As the superior goes, so follows the inferior.” Lu Bing said with a bitter smile, “Nowadays, there are no few in the court who practice alchemy and cultivation. But they are all mere wandering charlatans, aren’t they?”
Mei Qing then asked, “Does Father-in-law know the reason why he was stripped of the title of Celestial Master and the cause of his death?”
Lu Bing nodded his head, then shook it and said, “Fifteen years ago, Zhang Tian Shi failed in his attempt to summon rain and was stripped of his title of Tian Shi by the Emperor in a fit of rage. Zhang Yu Chong returned to Dragon and Tiger Mountain. However, along the way… it is said he encountered the Plum Blossom Daoist. The two fought, and both suffered heavy losses. Later, I sent people to investigate the scene of their legendary confrontation…”
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