Lu Ying was deep in thought when suddenly there came a loud "thump."

Her forehead was knocked, making her wince in pain and hiss. She glared at Chen Yi: "You interrupted my train of thought."

"Interrupted it, so what? Why are you always thinking about so much at your age? Thinking and thinking all day." Chen Yi showed no sign of remorse for disrupting her thoughts, instead wearing a mischievous grin.

Her thoughts cut short, Lu Ying looked visibly annoyed and huffed:

"You say I'm young, but you don't even know what I'm thinking about."

"Oh? What are you thinking about?"

"Heading to Chongyang Sword Pond—if it wasn't me going, perhaps it'd be fine. But if it's me going, everyone talks about my Daoist heart being pure like a crane's. If I can't attain any fortuitous encounters, I'll bring shame to Master and disappoint everyone."

As Lu Ying spoke, a worried expression hung on her face.

Chen Yi replied, "You're worried about that?"

Hearing his tone, Lu Ying raised her chin defiantly and retorted: "Why shouldn't I be worried about it? Why can't I worry about it?"

As soon as her words fell, a torrent of arguments surged in Lu Ying's heart. In an instant, she rehearsed multiple rounds of rebuttals, ready to counter whatever Chen Yi might say.

"Why indulge in sappy musings over spring and autumn?"

"I'm just…" But before Lu Ying could finish her sentence—

A sudden swish.

To Lu Ying's surprise, Chen Yi pulled out a pig-face mask and plopped it directly onto her head.

Pointing at her nose, he laughed: "You're a pig! Stop overthinking."

Lu Ying yanked the mask off indignantly and snapped:

"I'm not a pig!"

Chen Yi nonchalantly said, "What's the point of thinking and overthinking all this? When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten out. Although I sometimes think a lot too, I've never liked overthinking."

Just as Lu Ying was about to refute him again, he added:

"Cultivating the Dao requires things to fall into place naturally. The biggest pitfall is going too far." Chen Yi uttered calmly.

Lu Ying paused for a moment, biting her lip in thought.

The worries plaguing her now—with no solutions in sight—weren't they precisely what one would call "going too far"?

Her master had spoken such words before too, though Lu Ying had merely heard them without truly understanding their essence. Now, hearing Chen Yi—this sham Taoist—say it, she suddenly felt a small flicker of insight…

Could it be that the fortune from the divination, the uppermost lot, was truly correct? "Advantageous to meet a great man." Is he really a so-called great man?

Still—so infuriating!

Unbothered by her fuming, Chen Yi turned and began asking around the city for directions to Moon Viewing Tower.

"Go down this street, take a left. When you see Renhe Pawn Shop, walk a hundred steps further, then cross the third alley—it'll be right there."

After asking for directions, Chen Yi led Lu Ying hurriedly onward.

They turned several alleyways, passed through a few narrow streets, asking for directions along the way, until finally they came upon a sloping road. In the distance, they could see the corner of a courtyard.

Pavilions, towers, carved railings, and painted beams—while Shantong City may have been prosperous, it didn't compare to the Capital City, where every inch of land was precious. Despite being a brothel, the Moon Viewing Tower was not merely a single building but a sprawling garden estate.

The more elegant the courtyard, the more likely it was to attract literati, merchants, and officials.

As Chen Yi gazed toward Moon Viewing Tower, someone carrying a load suddenly came walking along the roadside.

"Fresh pancakes for sale! Hot pancakes, come buy pancakes!"

It turned out to be a street vendor, wandering through alleys to sell his warm pancakes.

Though Shantong City was bustling, it was nothing like the Capital, where stationary stalls sufficed; here, vendors had to shoulder their goods and roam the city to sell their snacks and meals.

In the narrow alley—barely wide enough for one person—the vendor approached, but there was space behind him; all it would take was for him to step back slightly to let them pass. So, Chen Yi strode forward with Lu Ying.

However, the vendor did not yield and instead walked straight toward them.

Qin Tu carried his pole and hollered: "Hey, young master, make way, make way! Oh, forget it, I'll make way instead."

Chen Yi stopped in his tracks, while Lu Ying furrowed her brows.

Qin Tu shifted his stance, angling his pole toward Chen Yi, and slowly approached, as if trying to squeeze past.

But in such a narrow alley, this paltry attempt to make way was far from sufficient for anyone to pass. Still, Qin Tu resolutely moved forward.

As he came closer, Qin Tu stepped on a loose stone, bent at the waist, and suddenly jostled his carrying pole.

"Whoops!"

With a loud yelp, the pole buckled, and what lay beneath its white cloth covering—a stack of steaming pancakes and a boiling-hot stone pot—leapt straight toward Chen Yi.

Lu Ying's eyes widened in shock. If the hot mess landed on Chen Yi, it would surely burn his face right off.

But Chen Yi remained calm in the face of chaos. With one swift motion, he wrapped an arm around Lu Ying's waist, supporting her lower garment with his hand, while his other hand shot forward and stopped the pole with a single finger, before pressing downward.

The pole slammed to the ground with a loud "thud."

Flushed bright red from being held in such a way, Lu Ying could barely respond before Chen Yi leapt through the air with her.

Qin Tu saw only Chen Yi's sleeve flicker before the pair soared over him and darted out of sight beyond the alley.

Watching their retreating figures, Qin Tu called out enthusiastically:

"Young master, fancy buying a pancake?"

Chen Yi glanced back at him, chuckled lightly, and walked away without a word.

Once they disappeared, Qin Tu spat on the ground and muttered:

"What a pretentious Taoist."

Then he hoisted his pole again and continued down the road.

At last, he took a turn into another alley.

There, a county government clerk who had been waiting for some time stepped forward and asked: "Well? How'd it go?"

Qin Tu responded: "He's a martial artist, but it seems he's not from Taihua Mountain."

"Did you catch his martial arts style?"

"Couldn't tell. We exchanged just one move, and I scared him off. I even called out to him about buying pancakes—he didn't dare come back."

As Qin Tu spoke, he habitually offered the clerk a sly smile. But this time, in front of his colleague, his smile was dripping with pride.

"I dared to come back."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice echoed from close by, freezing Qin Tu in place.

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