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Chapter 658 Returning a Favor
Zhu Yu is someone who can fall asleep quickly anywhere when he's extremely tired and quickly regain his energy, even if it's on a bumpy, rocky road.

However, now she was lying on the thick straw mat that the rune talisman had carried down for her in advance. It was soft and comfortable, neither damp nor cold, and she was covered with a warm cloak, but she was not sleepy at all.

Zhu Yu's eyes were tightly closed, and he lay motionless, looking as if he had fallen into a deep sleep. Only his two ears seemed to be two diligent guards, meticulously capturing every rustle of wind and movement around him.

Even the slightest unusual rustling of leaves around her would trigger a small alarm in her mind, instantly waking her up. Though her eyes remained closed, her entire body was in a state of alert, ready to spring up at any moment.

It has to be said that this kind of "rest" is more tiring than traveling.

Zhu Yu closed her eyes and sighed inwardly. She had always heard people say, "It's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you." She had never truly understood this before, but today she finally understood it clearly and distinctly!

Although going all out in one go requires giving it your all, at least you get a clean and decisive result.

Such a long period of waiting and vigilance, waiting for the enemy to launch a sneak attack but never getting one, and being unable to relax during rest—this feeling is too agonizing.

She endured the day until dawn was breaking before finally drifting off to sleep from exhaustion. When she woke up again, the sun was high in the sky.

Lu Qing, Fu Wen, and Fu Lu had already gotten up, and the three of them were sitting to the side chatting about something.

Seeing Zhu Yu sit up, Fu Lu immediately stood up: "Second Master, you're awake! I'll get you something to eat right away!"

Just as Zhu Yu was about to say she wasn't in a hurry, her stomach rumbled with hunger, causing her to swallow her words and nod to the talisman.

Lu Qing also came over and reached out to help Zhu Yu up from the ground: "It looks like one of you didn't sleep very well last night."

"It would be a miracle to sleep soundly at a time like this," Zhu Yu muttered meaningfully under her breath. "Out in the middle of nowhere, who knows when someone might suddenly drop something on us..."

"No." Lu Qing's voice was also soft, but her tone was firm. She reached out and helped Zhu Yu remove the straw sticks stuck to her loose hair. "Those people won't show up last night."

Upon hearing him speak so bluntly, Zhu Yu instinctively reached out to cover Lu Qing's mouth.

Since being with him, Zhu Yu has truly had her eyes opened to the astonishing hearing ability of someone who has trained in martial arts.

If the other party is also a master, even if they are hiding in the treetops, they can still clearly hear what Lu Qing just whispered.

Lu Qing grabbed the hand that she reached out to cover her mouth, and looked at Zhu Yu with a smile in his dark eyes.

Zhu Yu subconsciously wanted to pull her hand back, afraid that their ambiguous behavior, despite both of them being dressed as men, would alert those in the shadows.

However, she immediately abandoned the idea as soon as it came to her mind.

It wasn't that Lu Qing was holding her hand so tightly that she couldn't free herself, but rather that she suddenly realized that given Lu Qing's consistently cautious nature, his nonchalant and uninhibited behavior must have some implications.

"Have the people around left?" she tried to ask.

Lu Qing wasn't surprised by Zhu Yu's quick reaction. He nodded, picked up the cloak from the ground, draped it over her shoulders, and then pulled her to sit down by the fire. "Those people aren't made of iron either. They've been watching us from the treetops all night. We're not tired, but they're exhausted."

"At this point, I guess they'll go back and get someone else to take over."

"They were quite careless, not letting the replacement come over first." Zhu Yu said with some surprise.

"Perhaps it's due to a shortage of manpower. After all, keeping watch on us isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is to protect the safety of that grandson and leave behind the only legitimate bloodline for Prince Lan," Lu Qing replied.

This reason does sound quite reasonable.

"Were they so calm yesterday? Was that within your expectations or not?" Now that no one was watching them, Zhu Yu relaxed a lot.

Lu Qing looked quite cheerful and relaxed. As she handed her a damp cloth to wipe her hands and face, she said, "This is exactly what I wanted to see."

Zhu Yu looked at Lu Qing with some surprise. She thought that they had stayed here the night before to lure the other party out so that they could catch them all at once.

That's why she was on edge, afraid that if she fell into a deep sleep, she wouldn't be able to help others and might even cause trouble for them if something happened during the night.

"If they are really attracted by those brocade boxes and show themselves, wouldn't they become real mountain bandits?"
"If that's the case, we've become the ones who 'misinterpreted their intentions,' and we'll have to expend some effort to deal with real bandits," Lu Qing said. "And this area was originally supposed to be their hiding place. If it's taken over by a real band of bandits, then our purpose for this trip will probably be lost."

Zhu Yu wholeheartedly agreed with his words: "Then what should we do? Slow down our journey even further?"

“No need for that. Let’s just stay here today and wait for them to tire themselves out. Wouldn’t that be better?” A hint of cunning flashed in Lu Qing’s eyes. “Last night, we proved that they weren’t real bandits. Today, let’s make them think that we’re not just ordinary passing merchants.”

This can be considered a reciprocal gesture.

"The more suspicious they are of our identities, the more they'll want to keep an eye on us!" Zhu Yu immediately understood Lu Qing's meaning. "You're just trying to be a good bait, afraid the fish will get away!"

"So don't worry about anything, eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty, and rest when you're tired." Lu Qing patted Zhu Yu's head and looked around. "It's cozy and warm here, and God has been kind to us, giving us sunny weather these past two days. Let's just consider it a short rest after a long and tiring journey!"

This time, Zhu Yu finally understood Lu Qing's intentions. Although he had misunderstood the previous night and had stayed up half the night for nothing, he was now greatly relieved.

After about half an hour of relaxation, the people in the shadows returned from their shift. Lu Qing remained relaxed, but his earlier intimate gestures were gone.

They whiled away half the day in this almost boring way. As evening approached, Fuwen Fulu, as usual, gathered firewood to prepare dinner.

Perhaps they were too thirsty while looking for firewood, because the two of them immediately grabbed water bags and drank like mad after they got back.

“It’s still a bit hot in the sun during the day,” Lu Qing said, taking out a small water bag, taking a few big gulps herself, and then handing it to Zhu Yu. “You should moisten your throat before you eat.”

(End of this chapter)