Chapter 74

The two of them rowed a small boat to a small island.

This island was twice the size of the East Garden, surrounded by willows, lush and vibrant, brimming with life. From a distance, the greenery was refreshing to the eye, giving a similar feeling to the East Garden.

Chu Li nodded to himself. This Gu Litong may not be a good person, but he indeed had some skills, able to bring out the vitality of the plants, affecting one's mood.

The two arrived at the island, and two people were already waiting by the shore. Gu Litong and Zhou Yuting stood side by side in front of them, their faces unfriendly.

Chu Li clasped his fists. "Brother Gu, Brother Zhou, it's been a while!"

Zhou Yuting gave him a cold glare and ignored him, only bowing to Su Ru.

Gu Litong smiled and returned the bow. "Brother Chu, you look even more impressive than before, truly enviable!"

Chu Li smiled. "Brother Gu, you flatter me. Is the Moonlight Orchid dead yet?"

"Even if Brother Gu were to act, it wouldn't be that easy to die!" Zhou Yuting snorted. "If it were you, you would have died long ago!"

Chu Li smiled. "Brother Zhou, do you understand the Moonlight Orchid?"

"Of course!" Zhou Yuting patted his chest. "Brother Gu has been researching the Moonlight Orchid, and I've been following him all along!"

Chu Li said, "You're just a fool. No matter how much you see, it's useless. Shut up!"

"You..." Zhou Yuting's eyes widened.

Su Ru smiled and waved her hand. "Alright, stop bickering and let's go see the flowers!"

"Manager Su, please follow me." Gu Litong patted Zhou Yuting's shoulder and smiled at Su Ru.

The four of them walked through several flower beds. The layout here was completely different from the East Garden. All the flowers were mixed together, creating a dazzling and colorful scene, though not as neat and tidy as the East Garden.

The East Garden was built according to Xiao Qi's personality. She had a cleanliness obsession, was orderly, and remained calm and rational in any situation. This West Garden, on the other hand, reflected the personality of the eldest son, who was more emotional than rational, prone to acting on impulse. Chu Li analyzed this to himself.

The four of them saw the Moonlight Orchid not far from a small pavilion.

Its leaves were drooping, almost lifeless, the once snow-white leaves now withered and yellow.

Su Ru frowned, feeling a deep sense of sorrow at seeing such a beautiful Moonlight Orchid in such a state.

Chu Li had already connected his senses with the Moonlight Orchid from a hundred meters away, their energies intertwined. The Moonlight Orchid was him, and he was the Moonlight Orchid, feeling what the Moonlight Orchid felt.

Su Ru, seeing him staring blankly at the Moonlight Orchid, hurriedly said, "Chu Li?"

Chu Li turned to look at Gu Litong and Zhou Yuting.

The two glared at him coldly.

Chu Li sighed. "You two are not fit to manage the West Garden!"

"What do you mean, Chu? What do you mean by that?!" Zhou Yuting shouted loudly.

Chu Li said, "The Moonlight Orchid was deliberately damaged!"

"Nonsense, no one has come to our West Garden!" Zhou Yuting shouted, laughing coldly. "You're just making things up. You can tell it was damaged just by looking at it?"

Chu Li said, "If I didn't have this skill, why would I be in the East Garden?... Brother Gu, don't you think so?"

"Explain how it was damaged," Gu Litong said coldly.

Chu Li said, "Was it you, Brother Gu?"

"Ridiculous!" Gu Litong laughed coldly. "Isn't it laughable to make such a childish accusation?"

"You won't admit it until you see the evidence!" Chu Li sighed. "Bring a shovel!"

Zhou Yuting snorted. "What are you going to do?"

"Dig and you'll see!" Chu Li said irritably. "Do you think it's foolproof?"

Zhou Yuting looked at Gu Litong.

Su Ru was already angry and said coldly, "Zhou Yuting, are you not going?!"

Zhou Yuting reluctantly responded, "Yes," and brought a small, exquisite iron shovel.

Chu Li took the shovel and dug fiercely a few times, then slowly, quickly digging up several black clumps of soil, which he handed to Su Ru. "Manager, this is it!"

"Isn't this just mud?" Su Ru said.

She knew Chu Li's cultivation method, which involved digging some mud from the bottom of a lake and mixing it with decayed soil to create the soil for the Moonlight Orchid. This black clump of soil looked like mud.

Chu Li shook his head. "This isn't ordinary mud. It has something added to it."

"What?"

"Horse urine!" Chu Li snorted. "The Moonlight Orchid is most afraid of horse urine. The person who buried this knows the Moonlight Orchid's habits very well, don't you think, Brother Gu?"

Gu Litong snorted coldly and said nothing.

Chu Li said, "Was it you who buried it?"

Gu Litong shook his head lightly. "It wasn't me."

"Then was it Brother Zhou?" Chu Li laughed. "Brother Zhou isn't that smart!"

Zhou Yuting said irritably, "You're making things up! I could say it was you!... Besides, just because you say it's horse urine, it's horse urine? Why should we believe you?"

Chu Li smiled. "It's not hard. Just ask the elders of the Hundred Herbs Hall!"

"Fine, let's ask the elders!" Zhou Yuting shouted.

Gu Litong snorted. "No need!"

"Brother Gu?" Zhou Yuting said hurriedly. "We can't let him get away with this!"

Chu Li smiled and shook his head, looking at Gu Litong.

Gu Litong said, "I buried it!"

"Ah—?" Zhou Yuting's eyes widened in disbelief.

Chu Li sighed. "Why go to such lengths!"

"Killing a Moonlight Orchid to test your skills is worth it," Gu Litong snorted.

Su Ru said coldly, "Gu Litong, you have some nerve!"

Gu Litong smiled. "Manager Su, I only killed a Moonlight Orchid. I'll pay the fine of a thousand taels of silver!"

Su Ru's face was cold, and she glared at him.

Gu Litong looked at her with a smile, unconcerned. The West Garden couldn't do without him, and with the eldest son's protection, even Manager Su couldn't do anything to him.

He was confident, which is why he admitted it so openly.

Chu Li said, "Brother Gu, your methods are too despicable!"

"Mutual!" Gu Litong snorted, smiling smugly.

Chu Li sighed, looking around. "I wonder if the sick plants in the West Garden before were also caused by you, and then you cured them... Others were helpless, but you had a solution, which is why you gained the reputation of a genius!"

"You—!" Gu Litong's face changed.

Chu Li sighed. "Your intentions are not pure, what a pity!"

He turned to Su Ru. "Manager, let's go. This Moonlight Orchid is fine now!"

"Let's go!" Su Ru glared fiercely at Gu Litong and Zhou Yuting and walked away.

Zhou Yuting shrank back, and Gu Litong's face was grim, but he didn't look away, his demeanor strong and confident.

Watching the two leave, Zhou Yuting said softly, "Brother Gu, why do this? Offending Manager Su won't end well!"

"Who's afraid of what!" Gu Litong snorted. "We have the eldest son, she can't do anything!"

"Manager Su has a lot of influence among the guards," Zhou Yuting said, shaking his head. "If she says a word, we'll be in trouble!"

"We're in the West Garden, who dares to act rashly!" Gu Litong sneered. "Besides, even if they don't respect the monk, they respect the Buddha. With the eldest son, they won't dare to act recklessly. Don't worry!"

"Ah..." Zhou Yuting's face was grim, sensing something was wrong.

—

On the small boat, Chu Li used his inner strength, and the boat shot forward like an arrow, the West Garden quickly disappearing from sight.

Su Ru's face was dark, and she stomped her foot fiercely. "Gu Litong!"

Chu Li's blue robe fluttered, his expression calm. "Manager, don't take it to heart. Such a small person isn't worth it!"

"If I don't teach him a lesson, I'll have lived in vain!" Su Ru snorted.

Chu Li said, "Dealing with him is my job!"

"You—?" Su Ru turned to look at him.

Chu Li said, "Dealing with him isn't hard. I've just been holding back because of the eldest son. This time, he's been so disrespectful to you, I can't tolerate it anymore!"

"What are you going to do?" Su Ru frowned. "The guards can't kill each other. If you break the rules, I can't help you!"

"I'm not that foolish!" Chu Li smiled.

"What can you do to him?" Su Ru said irritably.

She had thought of many ways, but none of them worked.

Complaining to the eldest son would only make him favor Gu Litong and become wary, thinking she was trying to remove a thorn from the West Garden. He wouldn't believe her.

Getting others to cause trouble for Gu Litong wouldn't work either, as he stayed in the West Garden and had the eldest son's support, making other guards hesitant.

Thinking about it, she felt frustrated.

Chu Li smiled. "Leave it to me. In a few days, you'll see!"

"Don't do anything reckless!" Su Ru warned. "Don't break the rules!"

"Of course!" Chu Li nodded with a smile.

—

A full moon hung in the sky, the world serene.

Zhou Yuting and Gu Litong lazily arrived at the Moonlight Tower.

Standing at the base of the Moonlight Tower, they looked up. The tower soared into the clouds, the sounds of music and laughter floating down, like a celestial palace. Being in this tower, one could forget the troubles of the world.

Zhou Yuting and Gu Litong visited here every few days, infatuated with the beauties here.

Some were dignified, some alluring, some pure, some seductive, each with a different charm, all beautiful, like gifts from heaven to men.

Though each visit cost a lot, they never tired of it. After five or six days without a visit, they felt itchy and restless, their bodies moving on their own, unable to control themselves.

Both had their favorite girls. After entering the Moonlight Tower, Gu Litong and Zhou Yuting parted ways, each going to their favorite.

Zhou Yuting swaggered up to the third floor, waved away the girl guiding him, and came to a room. He knocked, but there was no response, and the room was dark.

Zhou Yuting's heart sank. Could it be that Yu Jiao was with someone else?

He had clearly paid to have her exclusively for himself, not to see other guests!

"Someone! Someone!" He shouted angrily at the door.

A delicate girl floated over. "Master Zhou!"

"What's going on?" Zhou Yuting pointed to the room. "Where's Yu Jiao?"

"Yu Jiao has left the tower!" The delicate girl said in surprise. "Master Zhou didn't know?"

"Left the tower?" Zhou Yuting's face changed. "When did she leave?"

Leaving the tower meant she had been redeemed and left.

He had been saving money to redeem Yu Jiao, but the price was too high, ten thousand taels, a sum that made him despair. Even if he and Gu Litong combined their money, it was still out of reach.

PS: The number of favorites isn't increasing, though I have received many recommendations, for which I am grateful. Still, I feel a bit uneasy, and my old habit of self-doubt is back. Could it be another flop? Let the recommendations come more fiercely, to boost my courage!

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