A few minutes later, after removing his water-stained Revised Daoist Robe and changing into a fresh one, Lu Li woke Gu Qingying, who was still catching up on sleep in the Guest Courtyard, and prepared to meet up with Gong Shangyu along with his disciple.
“Heh ah~ Master? What happened this time?”
Gu Qingying yawned, trailing behind Lu Li, her voice heavy with drowsiness.
“Just now, Gong Gongzi came looking for us and said there was another disappearance case in Yangzhou City last night. He invited us to go to the Front Hall to discuss it with his father.”
Hearing Lu Li’s brief reply, Gu Qingying nodded drowsily and followed him out of the Guest Courtyard to meet Gong Shangyu.
However, as she rubbed the sleep from her cloudy mind and stepped out of the courtyard, she immediately snapped awake when she saw Gong Shangyu waiting at the gate in a brand-new Revised Daoist Robe — his nose stuffed with two huge bloodied wads of white paper, creating a ridiculous sight.
The remnants of her sleep were instantly shattered, struck dumb by Gong Shangyu’s absurd appearance.
“Pftt…”
Gu Qingying couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing, pointing at Gong Shangyu’s nose, her deep purple eyes curving into crescent moons.
“Second Senior Sister…”
The words were barely out of her mouth when she suddenly glanced alertly at Lu Li beside her, making sure her Master hadn’t noticed, and hurriedly corrected herself.
“Gong Gongzi? What kind of act is this? Are you trying to look like a big dumb elephant with pig’s nose and scallions stuck on it?”
At this, Gong Shangyu felt a sharp pain in his chest; the nosebleed he had just stopped nearly burst out again, and his fair, delicate face flushed bright red in an instant.
But this time, the flush was not from embarrassment—it was clearly from being pissed off by Gu Qingying!
Lu Li quickly scolded,
“Qingkong! Don’t be rude to Baiyu Gongzi!”
In truth, Lu Li was also holding back laughter when he said this; he found Gong Shangyu’s look rather ridiculous as well, but no matter what, appearances had to be maintained.
Gu Qingying, reprimanded by her Master, immediately covered her mouth but her shoulders still shook as she struggled to suppress her laughter.
Her purple eyes continued to mischievously dance over Gong Shangyu’s nose, her heart already bursting with amusement.
Ahaha… serves you right!
Threatening me last night, forbidding me from being close to Master, and even framing me in front of him!
Heh heh… how’s it feel now?
To embarrass yourself in front of Master?
That’s karma!
That’s what you get, you lazy, gluttonous Shang Bajie!
Yet, faced with Gu Qingying’s teasing, Gong Shangyu only raised an eyebrow slightly, showing no trace of embarrassment.
Instead, he lifted his hand with exaggerated elegance and fanned himself gently with his feather fan.
His delicate eyes cast a sidelong glance at Gu Qingying—not a hint of anger, but rather a peculiar… smugness, even superiority!
Foolish little junior sister, laugh all you want!
Heh heh~ do you even know what “beautiful scenery” I saw when you fell asleep?
Ah… Master’s perfect physique!
Simply divine!
That unparalleled view, you probably won’t get the chance to see it in your lifetime!
And I not only saw it, I saw it so clearly…
Seeing Master’s perfect body was worth dying for!
At the thought, Gong Shangyu puffed out his chest proudly.
That haughty, triumphant expression made it seem as if the paper balls stuffed in his nose weren’t a mark of humiliation but some kind of honor badge!
Seeing Gong Shangyu like this, Gu Qingying gradually sensed something off.
After all, her senior sister’s reaction was unusually strange…
She had been mocking her, yet Gong Shangyu wasn’t angry at all?
Instead, she looked smug and pleased with herself…
Moreover…
Gu Qingying’s gaze flicked suspiciously between Lu Li and Gong Shangyu.
Huh?
Why did Master change clothes?
And Gong Shangyu changed too?
What exactly did Gong Shangyu do to Master while she was asleep?
Thinking this, Gu Qingying instantly grew uneasy!
Before she could use the Transmit Sound Technique to loudly question her senior sister about what she had done to Master,
Lu Li cut in first and said to Gong Shangyu,
“Gongzi, now can you tell me properly about the disappearance case that happened in the city last night?”
Gong Shangyu smiled faintly and gestured politely toward the Front Hall.
“Senior Lu, let’s discuss it on the way.”
“Mm, alright.”
Lu Li nodded, leading Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu toward the Front Hall.
On the way there, Gong Shangyu gave a rough explanation of the child disappearance case from last night.
In short, the little daughter of Zhounianwai, a silk merchant in the city, was attacked by bandits.
Because the girl belonged to the Four Yin Fate classification, the Danding Pavilion had long anticipated danger and sent four Qi Refining Period Guest Elders to keep watch near the Zhou residence.
Therefore, although the girl was frightened during the attack, she was unharmed. However, the kidnapper managed to escape the pursuit of one of Danding Pavilion’s Foundation Establishment Guest Elders.
After digesting this information, Lu Li and Gong Shangyu arrived at the Front Hall, where they met Wu Manager, who was impersonating the Danding Pavilion’s Elder Grandmaster, as well as the frightened Zhounianwai and his daughter.
“Oh my, Lu Sect Leader, you’ve finally arrived!”
Wu Manager greeted Lu Li warmly, giving him much face.
“Gong Elder, no need for formalities. Let’s prioritize the investigation over ceremony.”
“Of course, of course. Lu Sect Leader speaks reason!”
Wu Manager nodded and quickly introduced the Zhou family.
“Lu Sect Leader, this is Zhounianwai, and this is Miss Zhou.”
“Everyone, this is Lu Li. Lu Sect Leader, from Xuling Sect’s Immortal!”
Hearing Wu Manager’s introduction, Lu Li gave a slight nod to the Zhou father and daughter.
The Zhous, in turn, bowed deeply, as if seeing a lifeline.
“Zhounianwai,”
Lu Li’s tone was calm,
“Please describe everything that happened last night in detail. Any clue could be vital to the investigation.”
Zhounianwai hastily cupped his hands, still trembling slightly.
“Yes, Immortal. I will tell everything I know. The bandit was like a ghost, breaking through walls and directly rushing to my daughter’s room!”
“Luckily, a Danding Pavilion Immortal detected the intruder in time and engaged him in battle. The bandit failed and then swirled a gust of Yin Wind, turning into Black Smoke before escaping!”
As he spoke, the eleven or twelve-year-old girl beside him clung to his arm, trembling in fear.
Lu Li listened intently, then questioned Gong Elder, Zhounianwai, and the few Qi Refining Period cultivators stationed at the Zhou residence about the intruder’s appearance and magical characteristics.
While Lu Li interviewed the Danding Pavilion and the Zhou family, Gu Qingying seized a moment when her Master was focused and dragged Gong Shangyu to a corner of the hall, lowering her voice to angrily demand.
“Hmph! You better answer me honestly! What did you do to Master when I went back to rest? Why did you both change clothes?”
“Heh… What did you expect? So that’s why you came to find me~”
Gong Shangyu teased, leisurely fanning away Gu Qingying’s hand, glancing at Lu Li busily investigating in the Front Hall.
Then she smiled faintly at her junior sister, speaking in an unusually lazy, coquettish tone.
“Sigh… junior sister, you’re so impatient~ Want to know what I did to Master?”
“Hehe… take a guess~ This is a secret between me and Master~♡ ”