Hearing footsteps outside, Zhao Jing opened his eyes.
Soon, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," Zhao Jing said in a deep voice.
The door was pushed open, and the butler walked in.
"Master Zhao, those people have been brought back and are now tied up in the living room. Do you want to take a look?" the middle-aged man asked. Seeing those people filled his heart with discomfort. They had all been fine when they left, but now, they were all acting like madmen, crying and making a scene.
Zhao Jing stood up and walked out of the study.
Before even reaching the bottom of the stairs, he could already hear the commotion in the living room.
"Snakes! So many snakes, don’t bite me, go away, go away."
"Ghosts! Ghosts! Help! There are ghosts! Woo-woo-woo..."
"Don’t... don’t come over..."
Zhao Jing frowned and saw a dozen people bound with ropes, screaming and crying loudly, their faces filled with terror. What exactly had they experienced? Why had they become ?
Zhao Jing’s gaze swept over everyone’s faces, judging what they had been through from the words they were shouting. Now, he guessed that, first, the group had encountered a True Cultivator; they had been ensnared by some sort of Bewitching Array or a similar formation set by the True Cultivator. Second, they might have been drugged with a sedative.
"Go call Guo Lie over," Zhao Jing instructed his subordinate.
Upon receiving the order, the subordinate hurriedly ran outside.
In a short while, the subordinate returned with a young man wearing glasses and a scholarly look on his face.
"Big brother!" Guo Lie glanced at the tied-up people, then greeted Zhao Jing. He and Zhao Jing were sworn brothers. Although not related by blood, their bond was no less strong than that of real brothers.
"Guo Lie, check if they’ve been drugged," Zhao Jing said. He trusted Guo Lie’s medical skills immensely.
Guo Lie nodded, stepped forward, took someone’s pulse, and observed their complexion.
He withdrew his hand, walked to another person, took their pulse again, and after observing for a while, let go and stood up to look at Zhao Jing, "They are overly frightened and have not been given any herbal drugs."
Zhao Jing nodded, his expression growing more solemn. It seemed his earlier guess could very well be possible, and now all he could do was wait for news from Liang Qianjun.
Time ticked away, minute by minute, and as dawn approached, the subordinate he had sent out finally returned to the Zhao Family.
"Master Zhao! We went all the way there but did not find Young Master Liang. The Liang Family has been informed of his disappearance and has already sent people to search for him," the subordinate reported the situation in detail to Zhao Jing.
Zhao Jing nodded slightly, "Let those people go, don’t bother with them," he had already roughly confirmed his suspicion from various signs.
The sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the room with brightness.
Chen Xiaomeng smacked her lips a few times, scratched her face, and then yawned and opened her eyes, "I slept so comfortably!"
Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings, she paused for two seconds before remembering she was in a guest house.
Sitting up and stretching, she saw Luo Shu sitting on the bed, reading a newspaper, "When did you wake up? How did you even buy a newspaper already?"
Luo Shu looked up at Chen Xiaomeng, who still had traces of sleepiness, "Around 5:30 a.m. I’ll go check if Zhang Qi and the others are awake." She put down the newspaper and stood up to walk outside.
After checking out of the guest house, Luo Shu and the others went to a nearby breakfast joint.
Sitting down at an empty table, they looked at the menu and ordered a few local specialties for breakfast.
"Are we going back right after eating?" Liu Mengyao asked Luo Shu.
"If you’re not in a hurry to return to school, we can stroll around a bit more," Luo Shu replied. Now that there were no more dangers, going back a bit later wouldn’t pose any issue.
"We should still head back earlier. You getting home sooner will put us at ease," Li Yuan said. What she was most worried about was Luo Shu’s health. If anything were to happen to her, a pregnant woman, it wouldn’t be good.
The others nodded in agreement.
Luo Shu smiled faintly; she didn’t want to disappoint everyone’s good intentions. After all, the purpose of their trip to Southern Sky had already been achieved.
After breakfast, Luo Shu drove everyone to the Divine Doctor Family’s Northwest Office.
Upon receiving news that Luo Shu and the group had left, Zhao Jing heaved a sigh of relief. Ever since he had learned of Liang Qianjun’s disappearance, he had been worried that the person who might be a True Cultivator would cause trouble for him. After all, he was involved in the matter too. Fortunately, the other party did not take issue with him.
"Master Zhao! Shall we pursue them?" his subordinate asked, seeing that Zhao Jing hadn’t responded.
"Pursue my ass! Get lost!" Zhao Jing snapped. Having confirmed his guess, he would have sent them away on a palanquin if he could. Now that they had finally left, he felt like setting off fireworks to celebrate.
The plane descended smoothly at the Divine Doctor Family’s Northwest Office.
"I’ll visit you at Jinchen when I have the time," Luo Shu smiled and waved at everyone before walking down the plane.
As soon as she descended, she saw a tall and upright figure smiling at her from not far away.
"Hanmo!" Luo Shu excitedly looked at Lu Hanmo and rushed towards him. She had missed him so much after two days apart!
Lu Hanmo acted even faster, taking two steps and reaching Luo Shu to hold her in his arms, "Running so fast while pregnant."
Luo Shu playfully stuck out her tongue, "I just saw you and got excited!"
"Alright, my fault," Lu Hanmo said, lifting the corners of his lips and lightly flicking Luo Shu’s cute nose, his deep eyes overflowing with tenderness and indulgence.
"Did you take time off?" Luo Shu playfully batted her eyelashes, her eyes brimming with sweet joy.
Lu Hanmo nodded, took Luo Shu’s hand, and asked, "Tired?"
"Not tired," Luo Shu shook her head.
"Then let’s take a walk by the lake," Lu Hanmo said with a smile.
"Okay!" Luo Shu’s face lit up with a happy smile.
The lake glittered in the sunlight, and the scenery was picturesque.
Under the sun’s rays, the lake’s surface rippled with waves of gold, and a small boat was moored at the shore, gently bobbing with the water’s movement.
Lu Hanmo picked up Luo Shu, lightly jumped onto the boat, and seated her on the cushioned deck. He took out food he had already prepared and handed it to Luo Shu, "Today we’ll drift on the boat and fish, enjoying this afternoon’s leisure."
"Great!" Luo Shu beamed with a radiant smile.