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Chapter 288 Shadow Guard
When Zhu Cheng heard Zhu Yu praising his second son, Zhu Feng, he felt a complex mix of emotions.

"You don't need to persuade me. My mind is made up. This is a very important matter. I absolutely cannot trust Zhu Jie with this. I must take this trip myself." He sighed slowly and waved his hand at Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu seemed to want to persuade him further, but Lu Qing stopped her: "There's no need to persuade him anymore. Although you are acting out of filial piety and are worried about your father's safety, your father-in-law's considerations are not without reason."

He looked at Zhu Cheng and said, "If my father-in-law is willing, I can go with him and also serve as a witness. The Pang family was the one who started this trouble from beginning to end, and it has nothing to do with my father-in-law."

"That would be wonderful!" Zhu Cheng no longer had any reservations about these matters at this moment. He was eager for Lu Qing to accompany him so that she could help him. He agreed without hesitation.

Although Zhu Yu looked worried, seeing that the two of them had made up their minds, she didn't say anything more. She just sighed silently and didn't say anything more after that.

Zhu Cheng glanced at Zhu Yu several times, seeing his daughter's worried expression. He wanted to say a few words of comfort, but the father and daughter had never seemed to have done anything affectionate with each other in the past, which made him suddenly unsure of how to start the conversation.

Thinking of his second daughter, who had been polite and distant to him, Zhu Cheng felt increasingly guilty. She had been married off to the Jin Kingdom by imperial decree and had been running around for the sake of the Shuo Kingdom and the Zhu family. She had even cut her wrists to bleed in order to provide him with a medicinal ingredient.

Then think about Zhu Ning, who was so beloved...

Zhu Cheng sighed and decided to put aside these upsetting things for now and deal with the important matters at hand first.

Because this matter was of great importance, Zhu Cheng was busy arranging manpower, while Lu Qing, who had fewer people around her, didn't have much to do and even had time to accompany Zhu Yu back to have dinner with her.

The meal was as lavish as ever. Since Zhu Yu had something to say, Lu Qing had the food delivered to Yan Daoxin and Yan Shu's room via talismans.

"What's wrong? Are you worried?" Only the two of them were left in the room. Lu Qing asked, his tone as light as ever, as if he were going on a picnic with Zhu Cheng. "Didn't Madam make a very good impression on Father-in-law just now?"
If it weren't for my wife's explanation, which hinted at all the pros and cons, I reckon my father-in-law would still be debating whether or not to go himself.

"That's all because of you!" Zhu Yu glared at him. "Don't think I can't see it. Just now you clearly wanted him to make this trip. Although I don't know exactly what you were planning, since you're so sure, as we said before, maybe I don't trust my father, but I trust you."

However, the situation over there is really hard to predict, and I can't help but feel a little uneasy.

Who are you planning to bring along this time?

“Runes.” Lu Qing had clearly already considered this issue. “I’ll leave Yan Daoxin and the talismans with you. That way, I’ll feel more at ease when I’m out here.”

“That’s not appropriate.” Zhu Yu shook his head. “If you leave the talisman at home, Yan Daoxin will still accompany you.”

You are traveling abroad, and the other party is a member of the Pang family. I wonder if the so-called distinguished guests from Lan Kingdom that they mentioned are among them.

Lately, we've encountered quite a few strange and poisonous creatures around us, so having Yan Daoxin with us is the safest option.

Don't worry about me. I can handle most things, even minor injuries.

Lu Qing hesitated for a moment, then followed Zhu Yu's arrangement.

However, after the meal, he went to find Yan Daoxin again. The two of them didn't know how to communicate, but after a while, Yan Daoxin came over with a bag of things as if presenting a treasure, and pulled Zhu Yu to explain for a long time.

He left Zhu Yu a bunch of small porcelain bottles, each about the size of a palm, containing sleeping potions, non-lethal poisons, antidotes, and stimulants. In addition, there were some wound medicines for stopping bleeding and promoting tissue regeneration.

“You’re already quite capable, and with these added, dealing with ordinary goods will be a piece of cake.” After instructing Zhu Yu, he pulled out a small black gourd from his pocket. “You’d better keep this safe!”

This contains a poison pill that I concocted myself. After swallowing it, although it won't kill you, it will make your limbs weak and sore, and your whole body will feel like it's being bitten by ants. It's painful and itchy, and scratching your skin and flesh won't help.

Moreover, I haven't had time to prepare an antidote for this yet; I don't have one for the time being.

So keep this safe. If you encounter a really tough opponent, just feed them this. It melts in your mouth, they won't even have time to spit it out!

Zhu Yu, feeling both amused and exasperated, carefully put away the small black gourd. After listening to Yan Daoxin's instructions, he was finally done.

The next day, Zhu Cheng's men were assembled and the group prepared to set off.

Before leaving, Lu Qing took out a small note she had written earlier and handed it to Zhu Yu: "After we leave, please deliver this to him for me."

Zhu Yu knew he was referring to their own shadow guards, so he quickly put the note into the pouch at his waist and nodded.

Zhu Cheng and Lu Qing rode their horses out of the city to join the large group of people waiting outside. Zhu Yu waited until they were far away before calling Fu Lu to go out together.

Once in a secluded spot, Zhu Yu took out the note, unfolded it, and quickly glanced at it.

This time the note was very short, containing only three words: "Departed".

However, those three simple words made Zhu Yu breathe a sigh of relief.

It seems that Lu Qing was indeed prepared, and the plan was even more reliable than she had originally expected.

She quickly folded the note and blew the silver whistle.

In the blink of an eye, there was movement above them. In the time it took to look up, the man in black had already landed beside them like a phantom.

Their speed was so fast that one couldn't help but wonder if the shadow guard had been secretly following them ever since they stepped out the door.

Zhu Yu handed the note to the other party. The shadow guard quickly unfolded it and looked at it. He then burned the note to ashes with a single fire. After bowing to Zhu Yu, the shadow guard leaped up and disappeared without a trace.

Zhu Yu looked up for a while, and after confirming that he could not find any trace of that person, he and Fu Lu walked back together.

"How does that person's lightness skill compare to yours?" she asked Fu Lu with some curiosity.

Fu Lu grinned and touched his neck: "Second Master is joking. If it's a contest of fists and feet, I might have a good chance of winning, but if it's a contest of lightness skills, I'm less than 30% as good as that person."

"It's alright. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. To me, you and the runes are already very impressive!" Zhu Yu praised him. "Come on, we're already out here. Come with me to buy some snacks for my mother, and then we'll go back."