He Qing now doesn't want to stay with Gu Changnian for even a second. She can yell at Gu Changnian, but Le Qingru's attitude towards people and things depends on He Qing. Le Qingru has been quite friendly to Gu Changnian recently. If He Qing becomes enemies with Gu Changnian again and Le Qingru is retaliated against in the future, it will be a loss.
Thinking of this, He Qing gave a seemingly reasonable reason: "There have been a lot of things going on recently, and we still need to keep some people in the sect. You should stay at the North Peak just in case."
"..." How could Gu Changnian not hear that this was just an excuse for rejection? When has the Yaoguang Sect ever had a precedent of keeping someone to look after the house? A master and a disciple are everything to the Yaoguang Sect.
But considering that this was a rare good look that He Qing had shown him since their conversation in the corridor, Gu Changnian had no choice but to agree even though he was in a low mood.
That night, He Qing ran to find Lu Li again.
Under the candlelight, Lu Li was flipping through some scriptures. He did not look up when he heard the noise. The warm orange light reflected on his fair and somewhat sickly face, showing a hint of warmth.
However, the smile on his lips clearly contained a hint of contempt, which was inconsistent with his little white face.
He Qing set up a barrier and walked over while muttering, "Since you don't like these immortal sect manuals, why force yourself?"
Lu Li chuckled and said, "These volumes of laws have not been changed or expanded for tens of thousands of years, so it is understandable that no one has ascended to the Immortal Realm."
He Qing raised his eyebrows noncommittally: "No one in your demonic sect has ascended to heaven either."
Upon hearing this, Lu Li said seriously, "Demon cultivators are abandoned by the heavens. The efforts and risks they take cannot be compared with those of the immortals."
He Qing thought about what Lu Li said and agreed with it to some extent.
The people of the Immortal Sect hold the skills left by the ancient gods and are favored by heaven. As long as they are talented enough and have a firm faith in the Tao, the greatest test in the process of cultivation is nothing more than a heavenly tribulation. But at the same time, because the Immortal Sect has obtained enough resources, they have lost their fighting spirit. Without the guidance of the ancient gods, it will be difficult for them to ascend on their own.
On the other hand, if the demon cultivators could enjoy the favors that the immortal cultivators received from the Heavenly Dao, the Immortal Sect might have been razed to the ground by the demon cultivators long ago.
But He Qing didn't come here tonight to discuss the past and future of immortals and demons with Lu Li.
She closed the book of law that Lu Li was reading, and leaned on the desk in this position, observing Lu Li's reaction while saying, "I think what Qingru said today is not a bad idea. What do you think about going to Sanzu River?"
Chen Sanyi might not disclose the fact that Lu Li is the young master of the Demonic Path for a short period of time for his own benefit, but if he cannot profit from Lu Li, it is hard to say what he will do next.
Given the current situation, if Lu Li continues to stay with her, it will be a time bomb. He Qing thought that if she understood the current situation of the Demonic Path, she might be able to find a good candidate to send Lu Li away, which would not delay the cooperation and she would not have to worry anymore.
Lu Li also turned sideways to look at He Qing, and said in a playful tone: "Since Master cares so much about your disciple's affairs, why don't you ask me directly?" As he spoke, he lifted a strand of He Qing's long hair and played with it in his hand very seriously.
He Qing smiled and said, "You have always been a dishonest child. How can I know that you will tell the truth?"
Both of them spoke very softly and were close to each other. Although there was no direct physical contact, the atmosphere was inexplicably ambiguous. However, they both knew that beneath this ambiguity was a test of mutual vigilance.
Lu Li looked at the hair in his palm, feeling the slight coolness coming from it, and his smile deepened: "Then Master, why don't you give it a try and see if your disciple will be as you think."
"Then I'll ask directly." He Qing stood up straight, pulled back the strand of hair, and asked with his hands in his pockets: "Among the current demon cultivators, is there anyone you can trust? Can he be your helper?"
Lu Li leaned sideways with his head propped up, looked at He Qing with a smile, and said slowly: "Master, haven't you heard everything today? Among the demon cultivators, most of them do not obey me."
"Is that so?" He Qing said in surprise, "But since your cultivation level increased greatly thirty or forty years ago, even if they don't obey you, they wouldn't dare to attack you, right? Are the people chasing you demon cultivators?"
Lu Li shook his head but did not give any further explanation.
He Qing asked again: "Although the Immortal Sect has been secretly watching the every move of the Demon Cultivators, they have not yet decided to engage in direct combat, so the people chasing you will not be from the Immortal Sect. If it is neither the Demon Sect nor the Immortal Sect, who else would be chasing you?"
Lu Li seemed to be very happy to see He Qing racking his brains for him, and smiled and gave two words: "Guess."
He Qing was silent, holding back his anger, and continued to ask: "I went to Guanyue to confirm it. According to him, the demon cultivators have not done anything radical in the past few decades. Is it because you killed a few elites thirty or forty years ago?"
Lu Li raised his eyebrows and thought for a while: "Maybe."
"Can you please speak properly?" He Qing couldn't stand it any longer and slapped him on the head, but he was firmly grasped by the wrist. He Qing struggled symbolically and said, "What you said is as good as nothing."
Lu Li looked at her with deep eyes, and said with a smile: "If one day, Master is willing to tell you the reason why you can't kill Gu Changnian yourself, everything Master wants to know may be easily available."
"..." He Qing pulled his hand out forcefully in annoyance, and looked at him speechlessly: I was wondering why this guy was so calm, it turns out he was waiting for me here. Then he said: "Well, in that case, let's go down the mountain, I want to see how unpopular you, the young master, are." After saying that, he turned away with his sleeves.
Lu Li looked at He Qing's leaving back, with a hint of smile in his eyes.
For some reason, He Qing's desire to understand his behavior made him feel happy from the bottom of his heart.
※
He Qing acted decisively and quickly informed the other four peaks' leaders of her plan to go down the mountain and take a trip to Sanzu River. The leaders had been accustomed to her being a hands-off boss for many years, and although they were surprised, they naturally agreed.
However, what He Qing did not expect was that after she said she wanted to leave Gu Changnian behind to guard the door, Xuan Qingzi would take the initiative to ask Gu Changnian to go with him to check the seal.
He Qing naturally disagreed with this. If Gu Changnian saw something from those seals and discovered Lu Li's identity, it would not be as easy to deal with as Chen Sanyi.
Of course, what surprised He Qing even more was that Guan Yue also disagreed.
The reason is simple, because Guanyue has approved Hua Chiyu's request to go down the mountain, and he wants to go with Xuan Qingzi.