Chapter 33

"Last night, I admit, I acted improperly. I apologize to everyone again, but he is really important to me. You can't stop me, and I don't want you to try. Of course, I promise I won't leave your sight."

With these words, Luoluo walked out of the side door of the Hundred Herbs Garden. Along the way, maids and attendants handed her towels to wash her face and basins to rinse her mouth. As she walked, she said to the clan members following her, "Even if you have to follow, don't get too close. If you expose my background and scare him, that would be bad."

Behind her, a middle-aged man and a beautiful woman exchanged glances, their faces pale. They were the long-serving chief and lady-in-waiting sent by His Majesty to serve the princess. Hearing the young princess's words, they clearly felt like they were in a folk tale where a wealthy young lady falls in love with a poor, struggling scholar, and naturally, they were uneasy.

"Chief Jin, what should we do now?" the beautiful woman asked in a low voice.

The middle-aged man, Chief Jin, looked extremely grim. "How do I know what's going on? How would I know? Lady Li, if anything goes wrong, you will be held fully responsible!"

Luoluo was escorted out of the side door of the Hundred Herbs Garden by everyone. She brought things she had prepared in advance and boarded a seemingly ordinary carriage. She waved goodbye to the people around her and drove the carriage toward the end of Hundred Flowers Lane. The clan's experts had already gone ahead secretly.

The little girl's actions were truly decisive and swift.

Lady Li watched the carriage gradually disappear, raised her sleeve to gently wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes, feeling both uneasy and relieved. She said to Chief Jin beside her, "Since the young princess has started to fall in love, we must inform His Majesty and Her Majesty as soon as possible."

Chief Jin's expression became even more grim. "Do you think we can survive if His Majesty finds out that the princess is in love with a human?"

Lady Li said, "Don't forget, His Majesty also married a human woman."

Chief Jin angrily replied, "Marriage and being married, men and women, are they the same thing?"

Lady Li sneered, "If you have the nerve, say that to Her Majesty."

Chief Jin was speechless, his heart heavy.

...

...

The Hundred Herbs Garden and the National Teaching Academy were separated only by an old wall. Even if one took the roundabout way through Hundred Flowers Lane, the distance was still very short. The carriage didn't travel far before it entered the old gate of the National Teaching Academy, which was still desolate but showed signs of new life.

The National Teaching Academy was quiet, with birds chirping in the dense forest. The small building with its eaves reflecting the sunlight like glass, and the stone lion fountain outside the main building had been cleaned, with all the weeds removed. It still looked somewhat aged, but it no longer felt abandoned.

Luoluo led the horse to the lakeside, looking at the deep marks on the lawn and the uprooted trees by the lake. Thinking about the assassination attempt last night, which seemed sudden but was actually planned by the demons for years, she suddenly felt a chill.

The National Teaching Academy was eerily quiet, seemingly empty, but in reality, it was hiding many experts, both from her clan and from the palace. She was certain her safety was not an issue, and her mood gradually relaxed.

The library door was tightly closed, but the copper lock was not locked. She knew someone was inside.

She took a deep breath, feeling a bit nervous, and walked over.

...

...

Changsheng was reading a scroll of the Minghua Sutra. In fact, he was unusually distracted while reading, thinking about what happened last night.

He lightly stroked the scabbard of his short sword, silently recalling the scenes, hoping it wouldn't affect his studies at the National Teaching Academy. A demon expert had been hiding in the capital for so long; someone had to take responsibility for this.

The little girl who was targeted in the assassination attempt must have been of significant importance. She should be safe now, right?

Just as he was thinking about these things, there was a knock on the library door.

He stood up, walked to the door, and pulled open the heavy wooden door. Then he saw the little girl he was worried about.

The little girl looked very young, with bright, large eyes, long lashes, and red, beautiful lips. She looked at him with wide eyes, and the way she blinked was very cute.

He had never dealt with such a cute little girl before and was momentarily stunned.

Luoluo opened her eyes wide, her lashes fluttering, looking at the boy who seemed like a dazed goose, feeling a bit shy and a bit proud. She thought to herself that the methods her mother taught her were indeed effective.

"Hello," Changsheng finally came to his senses and took a step back.

Luoluo said, "Hello."

Changsheng seriously asked, "May I ask, is there something you need?"

Luoluo was slightly taken aback, thinking, "We just met last night, and so much happened. Don't you understand why I'm here?" For some reason, seeing Changsheng's serious expression, she couldn't help but become serious as well. She bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for saving me last night."

The little girl's serious bow was a bit clumsy, as she rarely needed to bow to anyone, especially after leaving her hometown and coming to the capital. But as they say, a clumsy seriousness paired with a beautiful face is absolutely adorable—she was really very cute at that moment.

Changsheng, who didn't like physical contact with the opposite sex, awkwardly tried to support her, saying, "No need to be so formal, no need to be so formal. It was my duty."

This was a common polite phrase, but Luoluo didn't want to be formal. She straightened up, her black eyes turning slightly, and asked, "Why was it your duty?"

Changsheng was slightly taken aback, thought for a moment, and then seriously explained, "You are younger than me, and he is a demon. We are both humans, so of course, I should protect you."

Luoluo smiled at the phrase "we are both humans," then noticed a detail in his words: he said "protect you" rather than "save you."

"But ultimately, it was you who saved me."

She looked at Changsheng and said, "What can I do to repay you?"

Changsheng seriously replied, "Your special visit to express your gratitude is enough."

Luoluo thought for a moment, smiled at him, and then turned to leave the library.

She turned without hesitation, leaving with determination.

Changsheng watched the little girl's small back, feeling very moved. "When I say it's enough, it's enough. When you say you're leaving, you're really leaving. People in the capital are really generous."

But just as he was about to sit back down and continue reading...

The little girl came back.

She brought many things from the carriage and placed them one by one on the floor in front of Changsheng.

...

...

The first item was a night pearl.

This night pearl was very large, not as big as a basin, but definitely as big as a bowl, and it was perfectly round, smooth, and flawless.

Changsheng looked at the night pearl rolling on the floor in front of him, feeling a bit stunned.

He had never seen a night pearl, let alone one this big.

He had heard that the palace's Gannu Platform had countless large night pearls, but he believed that those night pearls were definitely not as big as this one.

...

...

Changsheng had never seen a night pearl, but he knew that the thing that looked like a glass ball was a night pearl, not because he had read about it in books, but because every time Luoluo took out an item, she would introduce it in a childish and serious manner.

Luoluo was generous but would not waste her treasures.

"This is the complete set of the Lishan Sword Technique... Whether it's the Longsheng Sect or the Holy Maiden Peak, anyone who uses a sword must learn this set of techniques. However, those southern barbarians are very petty and unwilling to pass it on. My... family had to go through a lot of effort to get this set of techniques."

She handed a scroll with an ancient look to Changsheng and added, "This is the original. The one in the Lishan Sword Hall now is a copy."

Changsheng felt a bit dazed, looking at the scroll in his hand, thinking he must be dreaming.

He was holding the complete set of the Lishan Sword Technique?

He had never heard of the Lishan Sword Technique being stolen.

Or was it taken by the little girl's family?

Who is this little girl?

...

...

There was a dull thud.

Luoluo placed a heavy box in front of Changsheng, and some dust rose from the cracks in the floor.

The box was opened, revealing a pile of gold leaves, but that was not all. She used her small hands to sweep the gold leaves aside like real leaves, revealing the true contents: half a box of extremely rare and precious crystals!

"By the way, I live in the Hundred Herbs Garden, right next door."

Luoluo pulled out a bamboo basket from behind her, saying, "I don't know what you need, so I had people pick a bit of everything."

Changsheng was already numbed by the night pearl, the scroll of the sword technique, and the half box of crystals, but when he saw the rare herbs and fruits in the bamboo basket, he was once again stunned, unable to speak.

Luoluo looked at him curiously, thinking, "Is this not enough?"

She thought for a moment, reached into her left collar, and with a bit of force, pulled off a button.

Last night, she had already pulled off two buttons. This button being pulled off made her left collar fall, revealing her white neck.

Changsheng was startled by the white flash and quickly turned his head, asking in surprise, "What are you doing?"

Luoluo handed him the button made of rhinoceros horn and said, "I... I'll give this to you too."

"What is this?"

"A Thousand Mile Button. Have you heard of it?"

Changsheng took the button, thinking of the records in the Daoist scriptures about this magical device, and was very surprised. He held it up to the light, examining it carefully.

After a while, he came to his senses and quickly returned the button to the little girl's hand.

"No reward without merit."

He looked at the little girl seriously and said, "Last night, the main reason we were saved was the army that came to our rescue. I didn't do much. Even if I did, I already said that your special visit to express your gratitude is enough. I can't accept such valuable gifts."

"You misunderstood. These are not to thank you for saving my life."

Luoluo pointed to the items on the floor and said, "These are the gifts for a master."

Changsheng didn't understand and asked, "What?"

"Gifts for a master."

Luoluo looked into his eyes, her expression very determined, "Master, I want to be your disciple and follow you in cultivation."

...

...

The library was silent.

A gentle breeze blew in from the window.

The night pearl slowly rolled on the black floor.

The ancient Lishan Sword Technique scroll gently flipped, revealing dozens of images of people holding swords.

The herbs in the bamboo basket emitted a faint fragrance.

Changsheng took a long time to understand what was happening.

He looked at the little girl and asked, puzzled, "Why?"

Luoluo said, "On the night of the sixth day, didn't Master light your destiny star?"

Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "Yes... but, as you can see, I just lit my destiny star and haven't even successfully cleansed my marrow. Last night, I saw you fight the demon, and you are much stronger than me. Why would you want me to be your teacher?"

Luoluo said, "Last night, I could injure the demon because of what Master taught me, right?"

Changsheng said, "First, can you not call me Master?"

Luoluo smiled sweetly and said, "Okay, Master."

Changsheng was very helpless, raising his hands to explain, "That was just a coincidence."

Luoluo still smiled, "But Master knows the Zhongshan Wind and Rain Sword and the Yeshi Step. That can't be a coincidence."

Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "I just... read more books than most people."

Luoluo opened her big eyes and said seriously, "What about the method of circulating true energy? I have long memorized the Zhongshan Wind and Rain Sword technique, but I didn't know how to use true energy to control the sword. Even the professors at the Heavenly Dao Academy and the Star Plucking Academy don't know this, but Master... you could enlighten me with just a few words."

Changsheng was silent. He wanted to explain that it was just a coincidence, but he had conducted several theoretical experiments on the use of true energy in blocked meridians. In the critical situation last night, he was forced to try them out, and he didn't expect the little girl to actually succeed.

But last night's success doesn't mean it will always work.

He couldn't explain his own physical condition to the little girl.

Of course, he couldn't really take her as a disciple.

Although the night pearl was beautiful, the sword technique was attractive, and the herbs were really good...

He stood up, preparing to leave the library, but found that he... couldn't move his feet.

Because his legs were being held.

Luoluo was sitting on the floor, leaning forward, and tightly hugging his thighs.

Her small face was pressed against his thighs.

She looked like a pitiful little girl who had been abandoned by a heartless man but refused to give up.

But in her heart, she was filled with joy.

She silently thought: Yes, this is the feeling!

"Master, please take me as your disciple."

She looked up, her big, watery eyes gazing at Changsheng, and said pitifully, "Whatever you want, I will agree to it."

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