CHAPTER 505: CHAPTER 505: UNDERSTANDING ONE’S TRUE HEART

"Xiaozhou? Jun Yu!"

Before Lu Zheng could move, Liu Qingyan went to greet them first, "How did you guys get here?"

Lu Zheng looked at the small green flag in Hu Zhou’s hand.

Hu Zhou and Gao Junyu’s cultivation level obviously hadn’t reached the adequate stage, but they had just flown over. Naturally, it was thanks to that little flag.

"Hehe." Hu Zhou scratched his head, "I’ve been cultivating quite diligently recently and hit a bottleneck, so I said I wanted to visit Master and Mistress. Dad gave me a Wind-controlling Banner, allowing me and Jun Yu to come together and also deliver a letter to a Great Demon friend along the way."

This was fulfilling the child’s request while assigning a task.

"Come sit, just you two?" Lu Zheng beckoned.

Gao Junyu bowed in response, "Replying to Master Lu, it’s just us two."

Lu Zheng raised his eyebrows, thoughtfully gazing at the distant horizon.

Hu Yijun and Gao Xiu are the only children, highlighting their importance. How dare they act alone before they’ve fully grown?

It’s just for training, without telling them the truth.

Lu Zheng naturally didn’t need to point it out; instead, he welcomed them to sit down. After introducing the present guests to each other, he also discussed the rules of today’s talent showcase.

"Master, when I was here before, why didn’t you organize such fun activities!" Hu Zhou was the first to exclaim injustice.

"As if you have any talents, is it carrying heavy loads or fighting in brawls?" Lu Zheng reached out and flicked his forehead.

"Hehe!" Hu Zhou scratched his head, having no arguments to refute.

"Here, five tickets each." Lu Zheng took out two ballots from the gourd; he had just explained the voting rules.

Hu Zhou reached out to take them, while Gao Junyu was eager to try, "Master Lu, can I perform?"

"Sure!" Lu Zheng nodded, at most, the votes for Gao Junyu will be added to the bottom of the ballot.

"Great!" Gao Junyu nodded excitedly, "I want to perform the Flying Bear Battle Dance!"

"Good!" Lu Zheng nodded.

After a while, when Hua Yixing danced through the Plum Blossom Illusionary Shadow Dance.

Gao Junyu said again, "I think since I’ve just arrived, I should not take up performance time, just watching is fine."

Lu Zheng, "..."

The crowd went on stage one after another, mostly singing or dancing, along with some musical performances.

Lin Jing’Er drew a quick sketch, Tao Rui demonstrated beautiful calligraphy, and Tao Rong performed a brilliant puppet show, winning roaring applause.

Hu Zhou scratched his head, grateful there weren’t such events in his time, and Gao Junyu also breathed a sigh of relief for not performing.

The two aggressive individuals seemed to have no other talents besides fighting.

Unexpectedly, the little girls Liu Qingquan and Ao Qian.

Besides loving to eat and play, Liu Qingquan was quite talented in wood carving, creating a lifelike little fox in just a stick of incense’s time.

And Ao Qian played a little pipa with elegance, singing and dancing, exuding a regal banquet ambiance.

Only then did Lu Zheng realize that despite Ao Qian’s mischievous appearance, she was indeed a legitimate little princess of the Dragon Race, with a profound heritage rarely seen in the world.

"Applause!"

"Clap clap clap!"

The Peach Blossom Forest was frequently filled with enthusiastic applause.

The joyful day quickly passed, and, unexpectedly but predictably, the little girl Ao Qian won first place, receiving a reward made by Lu Zheng himself.

An eighteen-inch three-layer cake, with Lu Zheng crafting a dancing little Ao Qian holding a pipa out of chocolate and cream on top.

Then...

She ate it in one bite!

Completely satisfied!

Afterward, the little girl personally cut the cake, giving each elder sister a piece, earning dozens of thank yous, and feeling more comfortable than being served in the Dragon Palace.

Thus, through two ten-day events, the little girl thoroughly integrated into the demon and spirit circle of Tonglin County.

Yes, the demon and spirit circle.

The Liu Family and Five Beauties Manor are demons, the Peach Grove Lineage are spirits, if it weren’t for the disruptions of Du Yueyao and Fan Boyu, Lu Zheng wouldn’t have any human relatives and friends around him.

Lu Zheng: (◔◡◔)

...

After the performances, naturally, it was a barbecue bonfire party. Everyone wasn’t mortal and lingered until nearly midnight before dispersing.

Hu Zhou and Gao Junyu naturally returned to Tonglin County with Lu Zheng. The Lu Residence had incorporated several neighboring courtyards, with dozens of rooms, prepared to accommodate guests.

The following day, Gao Junyu roamed around with Hu Zhou to his various nostalgic spots and a gathering at the Liu Family in the evening, where Lu Zheng again tested Hu Zhou’s Martial Dao.

Although Hu Zhou had made significant progress, he was still suppressed by Lu Zheng, at least he hadn’t been successfully countered by this son of the Demon King.

On the third day, since they needed to deliver a letter to Chuandong Dao, the two bid farewell, departing with the Wind-controlling Banner.

Lu Zheng rubbed his chin, contemplating whether to move or not.

In fact, just looking at Guangyue and Yan Hongxia of the past and Daoist Rong Song from a while ago, one knows that generally, when achieving about a hundred fifty years of Dao practice, it’s sufficient to travel the world.

In this world, few cultivators continuously cultivate to reach longevity or even to the realm of flying through the air.

Most people, even those from major sects, throughout their lives, achieve about a hundred eighty years of Dao practice, traveling within several counties or states.

Yuan Jing, with nearly two hundred years of Dao practice, is rare, whereas Yuan Ning, with about thirty years of Dao practice, is the majority.

As for Daoist Mingzhang, if he wasn’t exceptionally talented, how could he be assigned to manage a White Cloud Sub-temple?

So, although Lu Zheng nowadays stays put in Tonglin County, he actually already has the ability to travel the world.

This was the reason Fan Boyu felt aggrieved then: encountering one with direct lineage strength of Yuan Jing is rare; suddenly having Lu Zheng pop out along with the not weak Shen Ying and Liu Qingyan, coupled with the Eighteen Celestial Maidens Array, he would collapse.

As for Lu Zheng, he had been here for several years. Apart from the incident of water disasters going to Chuandong Dao, special affairs in Yinan Dao, New Year’s Dharma Assembly to Sanjiang Dao, and passing Southern Border during the Southern Incident, he basically hadn’t left Tonglin County.

So...

"Should I go wandering?"

"The conclusion is... no!"

"What a joke, even if there are numerous weaklings, there’s no standing against a true master among them. What if I encounter one while wandering? Where would I reason if something happens?"

Going out to kill a demon of Du Yu Mountain already involved calling four people, last time even getting mixed up with the Dragon Palace matter.

Although eventually solving the crisis, what if that Demon pursued and found me? What if they killed Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan to silence us?

Not to mention, despite carefully avoiding trouble, I still encountered experts like Song Kaichuan, Hu Yijun, and the old beggar.

Luckily, none of them were evildoers, but Lu Zheng couldn’t lower his guard because of this.

So...

"With so much Light of Fortune left, why go out? Isn’t it delightful to enjoy music and flip cards every day?"

Through reasoning, my heart was enlightened.

"Pa!"

Spreading the folded fan, Lu Zheng fanned himself, walking with a swagger, aiming for Leping Building.