Even though Yue Xianzi couldn't recall Lu Yin's identity, that didn't stop her from probing him. Every once in a while, she would find an opportunity to strike up a conversation with Lu Yin, which made him feel rather helpless. He wondered if he should find an opportunity to deal with her.
However, Yue Xianzi didn't always bring trouble to Lu Yin. For example, Lu Yin was currently following behind the carriage, only a few meters away from Ming Yan. This had been arranged by Yue Xianzi; Ming Yan treated her extremely well and had even allowed her to enter the carriage. However, due to Ming Zhaoshu's presence, Yue Xianzi hadn't been able to enter.
"Is there anyone else in your family?" Yue Xianzi asked Lu Yin as she rode.
Lu Yin's face twitched. "No, there was a plague in my hometown. Everyone died."
Yue Xianzi nodded. "How old are you this year?"
…
Inside the carriage, Ming Yan occasionally looked outside in surprise. "Father, Yue'er seems to be very nice to that coachman."
Ming Zhaoshu held a scroll and smiled. "Perhaps they're fated."
Ming Yan seemed to understand, but she still stole a glance at Lu Yin and blinked. This person seemed a little familiar.
At this moment, Lu Yin wanted nothing more than to stuff Yue Xianzi's mouth with a pair of stinky socks. This was a carriage, and Ming Zhaoshu was sitting inside. Lu Yin would be discovered if he answered even the slightest mistake, but this daughter of his was asking questions as if they were on a blind date. He couldn't just ignore her; it was disgusting.
"The way you're driving the carriage is very strange. You don't look like an ordinary person. Have you cultivated before?" Yue Xianzi asked as she stared into Lu Yin's eyes.
Lu Yin's heart sank, but at this moment, Tang Si arrived. "Your Highness, we've arrived at Ming Lake. The boat has been prepared."
"There's no rush. Yue'er, ask the same question again." Ming Zhaoshu's voice rang out from within the carriage. Tang Si immediately stared at Lu Yin with a wary expression.
Lu Yin's finger moved, and Yue Xianzi spoke up. "The way you're driving the carriage is very strange. You don't look like an ordinary person. Have you cultivated before?"
Many people around them looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin calmly replied, "I haven't cultivated before. It's just that when His Majesty traveled to Qianshan Village, he passed down a few techniques. I passed by Qianshan Village and learned a few things from the villagers there."
The curtains parted, and Ming Zhaoshu looked at Lu Yin with surprise. "You've been to Qianshan Village?"
Lu Yin bowed. "Yes. When I was young, I learned a few moves from an old tree at the entrance of the village. I've always used them for self-defense."
"Which moves did you learn?
Ming Zhaoshu was interested.
Lu Yin didn't dare to refuse, and he hurriedly displayed the technique in the open space. It was just three moves, and although they seemed ordinary, Ming Zhaoshu felt a sense of nostalgia. This was a technique that he and Ming Zhaotian had created when they were younger, and it had actually been passed down in that small village. When he thought of this, Ming Zhaoshu looked at Lu Yin with a much gentler gaze. "You're lucky to be able to learn it. After His Majesty's birthday, you can stay in the manor."
Lu Yin immediately expressed his gratitude. "Thank you for your promotion, Your Highness."
Ming Zhaoshu nodded in satisfaction. "Let's go and cross the Ming River."
Ming Yan looked at Lu Yin curiously, pursed her lips, and lowered the curtain.
Yue Xianzi frowned. This person wasn't a trialtaker, or else he wouldn't have known about such a small matter. Forget it, it was a waste of time. She was no longer interested in Lu Yin.
Lu Yin sighed in relief. Fortunately, Wu Xia had seen Crown Prince Ming Hao learn in front of Ming Zhaotian. Lu Yin had learned it on the spot, and he had guessed correctly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to deal with this situation. He glanced at Yue Xianzi.
Deep in the universe, in the Daynight clan's prison, a grating voice woke Zhuo Daynight up.
She raised her head, her face drained of all color.
An old man walked in and looked down at her. "What's your relationship with Astral-10's Lu Yin?"
Zhuo Daynight looked at the old man and trembled. "Nothing."
"Why did you help him?"
"He did it to save me."
The old man looked at her for a while. "The Daynight clan doesn't marry outsiders. You should know that."
Zhuo Daynight whispered, "I don't have that kind of relationship with Lu Yin. We've only met three times."
The old man nodded. "Alright, I believe you. However, he was willing to reveal the Third Nightking's secret for you, so he isn't heartless towards you. From today onwards, you are Nightking Yuanjing's disciple."
Zhuo Daynight looked up in shock. "The Third Nightking?"
The old man's lips curled up. "That's right. This person provided information on the Third Nightking in exchange for your acquittal. I agreed."
Zhuo Daynight was stunned. The Third Nightking?
The Ming River was wide, and its surface sparkled with light. It was divided into many channels, and each channel was filled with large ships carrying people and goods.
The Reverent King's Household's fleet had taken over five of the channels, and the military was leading the way towards Antai City, the entrance to Ming Island.
The large ships moved along with the undulations of the lake, but the ships were very stable.
As a coachman, Lu Yin was not qualified to be on the same ship as the Reverent King and Ming Zhaoshu. However, there were some precious items that required coachmen to carry, and Lu Yin was honored to be named.
Butler Seven's attitude towards Lu Yin had completely changed. He had gone from praising him in the beginning to being friendly and humble, and even a little flattering.
Lu Yin was amused, as this was power. Even the slightest bit of kindness from Ming Zhaoshu would cause thousands of servants from the Reverent King's Household to fawn over him, including the butler.
Just as the ship was about to set sail, a group of people riding giant beasts rushed over from the shore, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Student Bei Qing requests an audience with the Reverent King!" a voice shouted from the shore. Lu Yin and the rest turned around to see a pale-faced scholar with a handsome face. He was dressed in long white robes and held a folding fan in his hand. He smiled at them.
Bei Qing?
Lu Yin vaguely recalled that this person was the son of some important person.
"So it's Nephew Bei." Ming Zhaoshu walked out from the stern of the ship and smiled at Bei Qing. He raised a hand, and a large deck was lowered. "Nephew, you must be heading to the capital as well. Why don't we go together?"
Bei Qing was delighted, and he bowed. "Thank you, Your Highness." He did not stand on ceremony and boarded the large ship.
On the other side of the luxurious ship, Ming Yan frowned in displeasure.
"What's wrong, Princess?" Yue Xianzi asked.
Ming Yan replied softly, "This Bei Qing once asked Father to marry me, but I don't like him."
"Why? Princess, you haven't come into contact with the outside world since you were young, right?" Yue Xianzi asked curiously.
Ming Yan gripped her teacup tightly and pursed her lips. "His reputation isn't good. I've heard that he frequents brothels."
Yue Xianzi nodded. "Since that's the case, Princess, let's not go out. We don't want to meet such a person."
Ming Yan grunted in acknowledgment and turned to look at the lake. Suddenly, her gaze shifted. "Yue 'er, look! Why are there tree branches on the lake?"
Yue Xianzi turned to look, and her expression changed. "Not good! There's an assassin at the bottom of the lake!" The entire ship shook as waves of energy swept up and pierced through the bottom of the ship. White waves of energy erupted from the ship and swept across the area.
Ming Zhaoshu's expression changed as he realized that he had been careless. He shifted his right foot to the side, and a majestic martial energy spread out from his foot to the bottom of the lake. There was a muffled boom as the entire lake boiled over.
At this moment, Ming Zhaoshu was like a god that controlled the entire world. The air became heavy, and Bei Qing was so frightened that he almost fainted.
The surface of the lake quickly turned red as corpses floated up to the surface. These people had only attacked once, and they had not had the chance to attack again. As a Martial Emperor, Ming Zhaoshu could crush all of them.
There weren't many corpses on the surface of the lake, only a few dozen. However, they were scattered across a wide area, and there were even some at the bottom of the nearest river. These people seemed to have been trying to destroy the ship, but they had not been able to do so in time. They had underestimated Ming Zhaoshu's strength.
Against such a powerhouse, numbers were meaningless.
"Check the other rivers to see if there are any remnants of the sect," Ming Zhaoshu barked. The surrounding troops immediately moved to seal off the Ming River, and even Antai City's troops were mobilized.
Bei Qing leaned on the railing and heaved a sigh of relief. He had thought that he was dead for sure, as the pressure had been too great.
"Nephew, are you alright?" Ming Zhaoshu looked at Bei Qing with concern.
Bei Qing bowed. "With Your Highness here, these rascals are just ants. I'm fine." Then, he suddenly asked, "Right, Your Highness, where's the princess?
Is she alright? "
Ming Zhaoshu waved a hand. "Yan 'er is fine. Don't worry, I'll arrange for someone to take you to rest."
Bei Qing nodded, his face pale.
Bei Qing was actually not weak, as he was a Martial King. He had used countless resources to accumulate his strength, and he had even reached the 132nd position on the List of Tempering. However, he had too little experience, and the number of battles he had fought since he was young had been limited. It was naturally difficult for him to adapt to the pressure of a Martial Emperor at such close range.
Within the cabin, Ming Yan's face was pale as Yue Xianzi hugged her. "Princess, everything's fine now. Don't worry."
Ming Yan nodded. "Thank you, Yue 'er. If not for you, I would have been in danger."
Yue Xianzi smiled. "If not for you, Yue 'er would have been sold to a brothel. Please don't be so courteous, Princess. Yue' er's life belongs to you."
Ming Yan forced a smile and held Yue Xianzi's hand.
The ship's hull had been slightly damaged, but fortunately, it was not too serious. Ming Zhaoshu had acted too quickly, and those people had not been able to do much damage in time. In less than half a day, the ship had been repaired, and they could safely cross the river.
"These sect evildoers really don't know when to stop. They dare to do anything. They even dared to assassinate His Highness," Butler Seven said with lingering fear. He had almost been killed by a blast of energy.
Lu Yin also appeared to be terrified. "Seven, Butler Seven, how do you know that those people are sect evildoers?"
Butler Seven angrily replied, "Who else could it be? A thousand years ago, the empire's strongest cultivator, Lord Ming Taizhong, ruled the world and wiped out all the sects. Since then, there have been no more sects on the continent, and all the cultivation techniques have been handed over to the empire. Although Lord Ming Taizhong perished together with the foreign cultivators, the current emperor is even more powerful. He fought until all sides submitted, and no one dared to resist the empire. Only these sect evildoers are hiding like rats, but they can still wreak havoc."
"I heard that there's a Demon Hunters Society that specializes in dealing with sect evildoers?" Lu Yin was curious.
Butler Seven nodded. "That's right. I don't know what the Demon Hunters Society are doing, but they still haven't wiped out the sect evildoers after so many years. They're really useless."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. Useless?
Not necessarily. The Demon Hunters Society was useless without sect evildoers. As long as they weren't stupid, they wouldn't go all out to wipe out the sect evildoers.