As he spoke, Lu Sheng Zhong thought to himself that these two were vastly different.
The chasm between them was so immense that mere feelings could hardly bridge it. They lived in two distinct worlds. It would be strange indeed if they were to truly settle down together. Over the years, they had developed different habits and notions of comfort. Even if they were together, only Tang Xiang Yang's swift rise could save them from parting. Otherwise, they would be unable to remain together. This was the principal reason why the Shao family refused to acknowledge their affections.
Tang Xiang Yang wiped away his tears and looked at Lu Sheng Zhong. It was as if he had awakened him from a dream.
They gazed at each other thus. Lu Sheng Zhong nodded, seemingly encouraging him.
Tang Xiang Yang's eyes gleamed. He placed a hand on his chest and paced the hall in this manner. He was agitated and excited.
However, just as quickly as his courage appeared, it vanished. He approached the table, sat down, and hung his head.
— I understand the Shao family's wishes. But what good are my own desires? The Shao family will not agree, and I can't even see her now.
Lu Sheng Zhong cursed inwardly, "So you're an idiot, then why are you still lingering in Beizhou?"
He approached him, leaned in, and said:
— The Shao family won't let you see her, so find a way yourself.
Tang Xiang Yang raised his head:
— Entry to the manor is forbidden, and Shao Liu Er isn't allowed to leave. How can we meet?
Lu Sheng Zhong: You communicate with leaves. Then make it so she can come out, since you can't go in!
— But her family won't allow her to leave.
— If it were easy to enter and exit, would you need to be thinking right now? Ask her exactly where her difficulties in leaving the manor lie. Then we can figure out how to solve it. Either way, you need to try, not just sit here paralyzed by fear. You're not a coward, are you? Or do you not love her?
These words, of course, stung Tang Xiang Yang. He stood up and quickly retorted:
— Even if Shao Liu Er comes out, then what? The Shao family won't let us live together. What good would that do?
— ...Lu Sheng Zhong was at a loss for words. This spineless scholar was already grating on his nerves. They hadn't even done anything, and he had already erected numerous barriers for himself. Lu Sheng Zhong sighed and said:
— If Young Lady Shao comes out, gaining their consent won't be difficult either.
Tang Xiang Yang looked up and sincerely asked:
— Brother Li, please enlighten me!
— Just abduct her! Take her to a place where the Shao family won't find her, and there you can live forever.
— This... would this really be suitable for her? — Tang Xiang Yang said awkwardly. He added, hesitating: Would Liu Er even agree?
— Then what's done cannot be undone. Once Young Lady Shao becomes your woman, she herself will wish to follow you. Even if she doesn't, there will be nothing left to do. The Shao family will also have to accept this fact. Everything will then resolve itself naturally.
Tang Xiang Yang said, flustered, "But this goes against my moral principles."
Lu Sheng Zhong could no longer tolerate this regressive idiot. He turned around, intending to step into the courtyard to calm himself.
Tang Xiang Yang thought Lu Sheng Zhong was about to leave. It wasn't easy to find someone at such a time who could advise him on how to act, especially against the Shao family. He quickly rushed over and grabbed his arm:
— Brother Li, let me think.
Lu Sheng Zhong turned his head and looked at him appraisingly. He knew the other man had already made up his mind and asked:
— Will you follow your conscience and obey the ruler, or will you go to any lengths for Young Lady Shao?
— This... Tang Xiang Yang nodded with difficulty.
Lu Sheng Zhong wanted to ask him what that nod meant, but then he thought that this fellow was already psychologically weak. So he grabbed his shoulder and told him:
— All right. Quickly contact the young lady and find out the situation inside the manor. We'll see how she can get out.
This was his true objective.
He knew this was a dangerous matter, but Niu You Dao had asked him to resolve it. And he couldn't return without results.
Only, the Shao family was already on guard. They had already "cut the grass and startled the snake", so it would now be difficult to find a crack to approach them. Therefore, Lu Sheng Zhong decided to use Shao Liu Er to find an opening.
If he could manage to rescue Shao Liu Er, if he could abduct her and take her to Qingshan, then he wouldn't need to take such risks here. He would then have something to report to Niu You Dao. Niu You Dao could then arrange a suitable position for him within the Wuliangshan Sect.
He himself was tired of lingering here. When he thought of his sect, he blamed himself. When he had first appeared near Wang Heng, it was only thanks to his abilities as a Zhu Ji cultivator that he could remain by Wang Heng's side. At a time when most cultivators around Wang Heng were Jin Dan level.
Wang Heng had been pleased with Lu Sheng Zhong, which was why he dispatched him to assassinate Niu You Dao. And this was the result.
He had gone to Cang Wu County to kill Niu You Dao, to a place where even Jin Dan cultivators had failed to kill Niu You Dao. But Wang Heng wasn't interested in that. He had sent him on this mission.
In the end, Lu Sheng Zhong fell into Niu You Dao's hands. Clearly, Niu You Dao recognized Lu Sheng Zhong's abilities, which was why he, in turn, dispatched Lu Sheng Zhong to deal with Shao Ping Bo.
He was truly tired of constantly walking on the blade's edge. And wasn't he afraid??? He was a human too, and he was also afraid. He understood perfectly that sooner or later, working like this, disaster could strike.
Tang Xiang Yang, looking at the sky, said:
— The time isn't right yet. I'll prepare everything for now.
Lu Sheng Zhong: Can I help you with anything?
— No need. — Tang Xiang Yang shook his head and quickly rushed out into the courtyard.
He plucked a few leaves from a tree.
Then he returned and took a needle and thread. Sitting down at the table, he suddenly asked:
— Brother Li, what should I write?
Lu Sheng Zhong: Write that you wish to see her. Ask her if she wants to meet.
Tang Xiang Yang shook his head:
— I told you, she can't.
Lu Sheng Zhong: Then write that you are leaving Beizhou and wish to see her one last time. Ask her what precisely prevents her from coming out to meet you? Perhaps together we can come up with something.
Tang Xiang Yang wanted to say something, but remained silent. Lu Sheng Zhong had already persuaded him several times, and he was now ashamed to display his indecisiveness.
Leaning over the table, he began meticulously pricking tiny characters onto the leaves with a needle.
Witnessing such a technique, Lu Sheng Zhong was speechless. Truly astonishing. But how tedious it must be to prick all that! And yet this bookworm was so capable that he even pricked the characters quite quickly! Truly a scholar...
What annoyed Lu Sheng Zhong the most was that the leaves used characters he didn't recognize. Clearly, he and Shao Liu Er had agreed on a cipher, so it was impossible to understand what they were writing.
Lu Sheng Zhong had even thought he could correspond with Shao Liu Er in Tang Xiang Yang's stead, but that wouldn't be possible.
At this moment, he felt frustrated. It seemed he would still have to rack his brains over these lovers...
When everything was ready and the time was approaching, Tang Xiang Yang took out a book before leaving and placed the leaves inside it.
Taking the book in hand, he approached Lu Sheng Zhong and asked:
— Brother Li, it's time to go.
Lu Sheng Zhong sat down at the table and said with a chuckle:
— This is a secret place. It's better if I don't appear there. You go alone; I'll wait for you here.
How could he dare appear openly with him?
— All right! — Tang Xiang Yang nodded, thinking to himself that it was indeed better not to reveal his location.
Watching him leave, Lu Sheng Zhong immediately climbed onto the wall and looked in the direction Tang Xiang Yang had gone. Then he followed him...
Outside the city was an irrigation canal that ran into the city. Many people washed clothes, rinsed vegetables, cooked food, and children bathed in it. People constantly walked along both sides and crossed over bridges.
From this irrigation canal, a single channel had been diverted, which entered the manor, looped around it, and exited elsewhere.
It was in this place, where the channel branched off from the canal, that scholars and educated individuals strolled. They read books, memorized things, or recited poems to each other. Some even composed their own works. Tang Xiang Yang was precisely one of them.
He often strolled there, enjoying holding leaves in his hands and waving them, or placing them within a book. And as he passed the canal leading to the manor, he would, as if by chance or simply casually, drop a leaf into it. He did this periodically, several times.
"This works too?". Lu Sheng Zhong stood in one corner. He was, after all, amazed by the ingenuity of this loving pair...
Inside the manor, in a garden, a young woman in a long pink dress strolled through the wooded park.
Not far away stood guards, who occasionally observed Shao Liu Er, but paid little heed. After all, Shao Liu Er constantly strolled here with a book at this time, so no one bothered her.
Taking her book, Shao Liu Er noticed a leaf floating down the stream. Upon seeing it, she was overjoyed. She understood that this was not the first leaf to drift down the stream.
She immediately approached the stream and sat on a stone. Thus, she waited for a second leaf. Reaching out, she grasped the second leaf. However, she did not rush to unfurl it and examine it. She walked away, as if playing with the leaf in her hands. And even the demons knew not what she was thinking in that moment...
When darkness fell, Tang Xiang Yang returned to the house. He opened the door and quickly entered the hall. There, he saw a smiling Lu Sheng Zhong.
— Is that all? — Lu Sheng Zhong asked.
Tang Xiang Yang awkwardly replied, "Yes."
Lu Sheng Zhong: When will she reply?
Tang Xiang Yang: She should tomorrow morning.
Lu Sheng Zhong, nudging Tang Xiang Yang, uttered:
— It seems tomorrow Brother Tang will go read his book again.
Tang Xiang Yang immediately broke out in a sweat.