Chapter 9

"Such a clumsy lie, it's actually quite amusing!" Chu Li shook his head and laughed.

He glanced at Gu Litong and Zhou Yuting, shook his head again, and said, "You two are trying to rely on your numbers, thinking that three people can make a tiger, sigh... Instead of resorting to such despicable tactics, why don't you put your efforts into something more worthwhile!"

"It's not your place to lecture us!" Zhou Yuting sneered. "Chu Li, you must be desperate for fame, to actually dare do something like this!"

"Zhou, you should just shut up!" Chu Li waved his hand and looked at Gu Litong. "Meeting you in person is worse than hearing about you. I never thought Gu would be this kind of person, disappointing, very disappointing!"

Gu Litong snorted. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Chu Li said, "Gu, can you really grow the Moonlight Orchid?"

"What do you mean?" Gu Litong frowned.

"I'm really worried for you," Chu Li shook his head and laughed. "Such a low-level trick, do you think I wouldn't be prepared? The Moonlight Orchid isn't that easy to grow!"

Gu Litong's face turned ugly, and he asked in a dark voice, "Didn't you say it could adapt to the climate here?"

"It can adapt, but you still need to know its quirks. After all, it's inherently delicate and picky," Chu Li said with a smile.

Gu Litong sneered, "Chu, you're quite devious, keeping something up your sleeve!"

Chu Li nodded.

"Really refreshing! Refreshing, hahaha!" Li Yue laughed heartily, drained his cup in one go, and laughed with satisfaction.

Gu Litong and Zhou Yuting glared at Chu Li with dark faces.

Chu Li shook his head and said, "Gu, if I give you another year, can you research the Moonlight Orchid?"

"Of course!" Gu Litong snorted. "I'm about to succeed, but the Rare Herb Pavilion won't have any Moonlight Orchids this year!"

Chu Li said, "Alright, I can provide you with Moonlight Orchids, one per month, twelve in a year. Let's see if you can succeed!"

Gu Litong snorted, "Since you've already researched it, why bother with this?"

"You're feeling guilty, Gu," Chu Li said with a smile.

Gu Litong said coldly, "Chu, don't get too cocky. You won't always have such good luck!"

Growing the Moonlight Orchid really does require luck. He had done a year of research but made little progress, even buying soil from Moonlight Island, which didn't help.

He guessed that Moonlight Island used a secret method to cultivate the Moonlight Orchid. Even with the same environment, soil, and climate, without the secret method, it couldn't be grown.

Zhou Yuting snorted, "Chu, be careful!"

Chu Li raised an eyebrow and said in surprise, "Zhou, are you threatening me, thinking of using force?"

"I won't violate the rules of the mansion!" Zhou Yuting smiled. "But people outside the mansion might not give you any face!"

"In that case, I'll report to the Punishment Hall first!" Chu Li shook his head. Zhou Yuting's methods were really low and shameless.

"Do you think the Punishment Hall will listen to you?" Zhou Yuting said smugly. "I was just joking!"

Chu Li put down his cup, leaned forward, and said to Zhou Yuting, "If I get hurt, no one will take care of the Moonlight Orchids, and many will die. Think about the loss. Will the mansion protect you just because you're Zhou's son?"

Zhou Yuting's face darkened, and he snorted.

Chu Li sighed softly, "Let me give you some honest advice, Zhou."

Zhou Yuting looked at him impatiently.

Chu Li sighed, "Apart from having a good father, you have nothing. Being used by Gu Litong, you're still so enthusiastic. Zhou will be furious when he finds out!"

"Shut up!" Zhou Yuting shouted angrily. "Don't mention my father!"

He hated it when people said he relied on his father. Chu Li's words were like knives, each one piercing his heart.

"Zhou," Chu Li looked at him in surprise, "Without Zhou, what are you? Do you think everything you have is your own doing?"

"Chu!" Zhou Yuting stood up abruptly, slammed the table, and shouted, "You're asking for it!"

Chu Li sat up straight, took a sip of wine, and said calmly, "Zhou, just a few honest words. Compared to your accusations, they're nothing!"

"Chu, you'll regret this!" Zhou Yuting gritted his teeth and turned to leave.

Gu Litong hurriedly got up to follow, afraid that Zhou Yuting might do something foolish. Chu Li was untouchable now; if anything happened, the Duke's Mansion wouldn't let it go.

"Ha ha..." Li Yue laughed heartily, feeling thoroughly satisfied.

Chu Li smiled, finally feeling a bit more confident. To rely on the Duke's Mansion, one needed a significant position and contribution within the mansion. As a servant, he had no place to complain if he was bullied.

---

The two drank to their heart's content, had a hearty meal, and then went downstairs, wandering around the city. They came to a tall building that seemed to reach the clouds.

The lights were brilliant, like a celestial palace, and the sounds of music drifted down from the clouds.

"This is the Moonlight Tower. Why don't you come in and see?" Li Yue enthusiastically invited Chu Li to take a look and broaden his horizons.

Chu Li shook his head and waved his hand. His martial arts were not yet complete, and he shouldn't break his vow.

"Ah..." Li Yue sighed, as if Chu Li had missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The two walked back and arrived at the south gate of the Duke's Mansion.

The lanterns lit up the gate like daylight, the copper nails on the red door gleaming, and the stone lions on either side looked fierce and intimidating, as if ready to pounce.

Gu Litong and Zhou Yuting stood in front of the left stone lion, waving to Chu Li and Li Yue.

Li Yue snorted, "These two, what are they up to now?"

Chu Li walked closer and smiled, bowing slightly. "Gu, Zhou, what else do you have to say?"

Gu Litong looked at Chu Li's smiling face and sighed inwardly. He was deep and devious, a formidable opponent.

Zhou Yuting gritted his teeth and cursed silently: Hypocritical bastard, you really deserve to die!

"Cough, cough." Gu Litong cleared his throat and said with a smile, "Chu, to be honest, I'm still not convinced. I think you might have been lucky, and I want to have a serious competition with you."

"What kind of competition, Gu?"

"Have you heard of the Yunyao Grass?"

"Lightweight and purifying, it can enhance lightness skills. It's quite rare, a seventh-grade herb, right?"

"Exactly. The Yunyao Grass is hard to find. I have some seeds of the Yunyao Grass. You can try growing them."

"Have you grown them successfully?"

"By luck, yes." Gu Litong nodded proudly. An eighth-grade guard growing a seventh-grade herb, especially such a rare one, was a true genius.

Zhou Yuting handed a packet of seeds to Chu Li. "Take them. These seeds are very precious!"

Chu Li waved his hand and didn't take them, smiling. "Gu, you have a good plan... How about this, if we're going to compete, let the Hundred Herbs Hall set the rules!"

Even if he grew the seeds successfully, it would only be a tie with Gu Litong. If he failed, he would be worse off. Even with the *Kurong Sutra*, he wouldn't be overconfident and wouldn't accept this.

Zhou Yuting snorted, "Are you afraid of losing?"

Chu Li looked at Gu Litong. "If we're going to compete, let's do it properly, not with these underhanded tactics."

"Fine, it's settled!" Gu Litong snorted.

This Chu Li was devious and hard to outsmart. He needed to win fairly.

"Agreed," Chu Li said.

He and Li Yue entered the mansion and took a small boat back to the East Garden.

Li Yue rowed the boat, fuming. "This Gu Litong is a real scoundrel!"

Chu Li nodded.

Gu Litong was narrow-minded and couldn't tolerate others, always using underhanded tactics. Such a person needed to be thoroughly defeated until he no longer dared to resist.

He needed to strike at Gu Litong's pride and his expertise in herbs, destroying his courage to be an enemy.

Chu Li returned to the Moonlight Orchid garden. The *Tianmeng Flower* was the most important, and the competition with Gu Litong was just a distraction to change his mood.

The next day was calm, and on the morning of the third day, Chu Li was practicing the *Xiaomai Pulse Technique* with the *Tianmeng Flower*. The *Tianmeng Flower* had a purer and stronger aura than the Moonlight Orchid.

Chu Li was confident he could complete his foundation in three months.

Light footsteps approached, and through the *Great Circle Mirror Wisdom*, Chu Li saw Su Ru approaching, her apricot-yellow robe fluttering.

Chu Li stood up and bowed. "Manager Su."

Su Ru waved her hand lightly. "No need. You made a bet with Gu Litong?"

Chu Li nodded. "I had no choice. He was aggressive, and not accepting the challenge would make the East Garden look weak."

"That's true. We can't let the East Garden lose face," Su Ru frowned. "But your focus should be on the *Tianmeng Flower*!"

Chu Li pointed. "The *Tianmeng Flower* is growing well."

"Really, this is the *Tianmeng Flower*?" Su Ru's eyes widened in surprise. "No way, it's growing so fast?"

"Like a brilliant but fleeting firework."

It grows in remote, uninhabited areas, sprouting, blooming, and bearing fruit within a month, then withering and decaying, leaving no trace, like a dream of a moment.

Finding its seeds is a matter of luck, and few have that luck, making the *Tianmeng Flower* extremely precious.

More importantly, the *Tianmeng Flower* blooms at night, only for one night. Even those who have seen it often think it doesn't bloom, only bears fruit.

"Can you really make it bloom?" Su Ru asked eagerly.

Chu Li nodded.

"Then I'll be watching!" Su Ru said.

"Manager, are you reminding me about the right time to harvest?"

"It seems you know."

"I'll keep a close eye and won't miss the blooming period."

"If you can harvest the *Tianmeng Flower*, you'll have done a great service. The young lady will reward you handsomely!"

"I'll do my best!"

"Doing your best isn't enough; you must be absolutely certain!"

"Understood," Chu Li nodded slowly.

Su Ru's gaze returned from the *Tianmeng Flower*. "The Hundred Herbs Hall is in a fierce dispute and can't decide what flowers to have you grow."

"Can't the Hundred Herbs Hall decide?"

"Isn't it because of the intense competition?" Su Ru shook her head. "The young lady is getting impatient and wants me to resolve this quickly."

Chu Li smiled. "What's your decision, Manager?"

"Shenxianxu," Su Ru said. "It's the best horse feed, already lost to time, but the mansion still has some seeds."

"Shenxianxu..." Chu Li searched his memory.

A strange grass, somewhat useless for humans but a wonder for horses, enhancing their physical condition.

Shenxianxu has a low survival rate and can only grow in specific conditions. People have yet to figure out its habits. Some say it needs blood irrigation, others say it needs drastic temperature changes, and still others say it needs the dung of a wild horse king. There are many theories, but no definitive answer.

"Chu Li, can you grow it?"

"What grade is it?"

"Probably around sixth-grade."

"I can give it a try."

"Good, it's settled!" Su Ru clapped her hands. "Alright, let's go!"

She waved and left gracefully, moving slowly but disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Chu Li sighed inwardly. Her lightness skill was truly remarkable, truly enviable!

---

Chu Li sighed again. Her lightness skill was truly amazing, truly enviable!