# Chapter 452: Kong Lanyou
Zhang Ruochen did not know that this half-saint mansion was not actually purchased by Lu Youcai with money; in fact, it had always been property of the Divine Sword Sacred Land.
Walking into the bamboo forest, Zhang Ruochen passed through a quiet stone-paved path, heading in the direction from which the flute sound came.
The clear, melodious flute sound suddenly stopped.
"Rustle rustle."
In the forest, only the sound of the flowing creek and the wind rustling through bamboo leaves remained.
Then, an extremely pleasant and beautiful woman's voice came from the bamboo pavilion by the creek: "Deep in the forest, none know of man; the bright moon comes to shine upon him."
That voice was both familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned toward the bamboo pavilion, where he saw a woman with snow-white hair sitting with her back to him.
White hair, white as snow.
In her hand, she held a yellowed bamboo flute. She spoke again: "Zhang Ruochen, how did you come to know that line of poetry?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes widened wide, his heart feeling as if mountains were collapsing and seas were roaring, his ears ringing as if giant bells and heavenly thunder were sounding beside them.
This time, Zhang Ruochen heard clearly.
It was indeed her voice.
Eight hundred years.
After eight hundred years, there was actually a chance to meet again. That once playful and mischievous young girl had actually... already had hair white as frost.
"Tap tap."
Zhang Ruochen struggled to control his emotions, his feelings extremely complicated. With heavy steps, he walked into the bamboo pavilion step by step and stood opposite Kong Lanyou.
Kong Lanyou had restrained her aura to the extreme; no one could sense any power fluctuation from her. She sat there elegantly like an ordinary woman, her beautiful eyes slightly raised, staring at Zhang Ruochen.
It was like a beautiful painting, the woman in it like a goddess from the Nine Heavens—elegant, leisurely, tranquil, untouched by worldly affairs.
Her appearance had not changed from eight hundred years ago. Her skin was fair, even more delicate than a baby's, her red lips bright, her eyelashes long and slender.
Those eyes were black like jade, giving a feeling of unfathomable mystery, yet extremely bright, as if they could see through Zhang Ruochen's soul.
Although her face had not aged, the blue-green hair on her head had turned snow-white, symbolizing the passage of time.
Things had changed, and people were different; rosy cheeks had turned to white hair.
Zhang Ruochen's heart was extremely agitated, yet he had to remain calm, restrain his emotions, and force himself to look away from her, afraid she might see through him.
"How could it be her?"
Zhang Ruochen did not dare to acknowledge Kong Lanyou. He remembered that eight hundred years ago, in the moment before Chi Yao killed him, he had seen Kong Lanyou.
How could it be such a coincidence?
Could it be that his death was originally a scheme jointly planned by Chi Yao and Kong Lanyou?
He had always trusted Kong Lanyou, just as he had trusted Chi Yao... but he had died by Chi Yao's sword.
So, could he still trust Kong Lanyou?
Zhang Ruochen's eyes stared at the ground. He clasped his hands and bowed slightly, his voice trembling a little: "Junior Zhang Ruochen pays respects to Senior."
Once upon a time, Kong Lanyou had always regarded him as a role model to learn from, always followed behind him, clung to him, pestered him, like a little tail that couldn't be shaken off.
But now, Zhang Ruochen did not dare to acknowledge her and could only address himself as a junior.
Kong Lanyou carefully examined Zhang Ruochen, not missing any of his subtle movements or any look in his eyes.
After a long while, she said: "Zhang Ruochen, you still haven't answered my question. How do you know that line of poetry?"
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, completely suppressing all his emotions, hiding them deep in his heart. He said: "Is Senior interrogating Junior?"
Kong Lanyou put down the bamboo flute in her hand, her voice turning a few degrees colder, using an interrogative tone: "You have never seen me before, so how do you know I am a senior? What if you and I are of the same generation?"
Zhang Ruochen said calmly: "Although Junior's cultivation is low and I cannot see through Senior's cultivation, I have seen some of the world and know that Senior is no ordinary person. Besides, a person's eyes cannot hide secrets. Senior's eyes are filled with knowledge and learning, bearing the vicissitudes of the world—not something a young person could possess."
Kong Lanyou did not blink, staring intently at Zhang Ruochen's eyes, as if she also wanted to see through Zhang Ruochen through his eyes.
After a moment, she said again: "When I spoke that line of poetry, a normal person would definitely ask how I knew it. But you showed no surprise at all and instead questioned me. Why is that?"
Zhang Ruochen inwardly exclaimed, "Impressive."
He never expected that the playful little girl from back then had now become so sharp. He had only said one sentence, and she had caught two flaws.
Zhang Ruochen was not flustered; instead, he put on a puzzled expression: "When I was at the Divine Sword Sacred Land, didn't I already say this line of poetry? Isn't Senior from the Divine Sword Sacred Land?"
Kong Lanyou frowned, feeling as if she had punched cotton—all her force had been dodged by Zhang Ruochen.
"Does he really think I'm from the Divine Sword Sacred Land, or is he deliberately pretending to be like this?"
Kong Lanyou was somewhat puzzled. She sat back down and asked for the third time: "Where exactly did you learn that line of poetry?"
Zhang Ruochen said: "That is a secret. Please forgive Junior for not being able to tell."
"What if I insist on forcing you to tell?"
Kong Lanyou's gaze turned aggressive, emitting a cold gleam.
An invisible aura burst forth from her body, like a tsunami surging toward Zhang Ruochen.
She controlled her power very skillfully. Although that aura seemed strong, it was within Zhang Ruochen's ability to withstand.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm in the face of change: "I don't think you should do this. Even if you force me, it won't have any effect."
"Is that so?"
Kong Lanyou smiled slightly, raising a snow-white, jade-like slender arm. Immediately, the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy converged toward her palm like small streams of spiritual energy, condensing into a spherical air vortex.
A simple human-grade lower-level martial technique, the Whirlwind Palm, under her activation, became incredibly exquisite and unpredictable, seeming even more powerful than a ghost-grade martial technique.
"Zhang Ruochen is a guest of our Silver Sky Mercenary Group. If you make a move against him, don't blame me for being rude."
Nie Honglou was responsible for protecting Zhang Ruochen's safety, so of course he would not stand idly by. He immediately stepped forward, leaped into the air, and spread his arms like a roc spreading its wings.
Flames burst from his hands, and his arms spun once, condensing a huge fireball that he hurled at Kong Lanyou.
Kong Lanyou snorted coldly, waving her arm lightly.
The spherical air vortex held in her palm flew out, sending both the fireball and Nie Honglou flying.
With a bang, the fireball extinguished, turning into wisps of smoke.
Nie Honglou landed ten zhang away, his body floating down lightly like a bamboo leaf.
Nie Honglou touched his chest and found that he had not suffered any injuries—he had merely been pushed back by her palm force, nothing more.
This made Nie Honglou even more alarmed.
After all, he was at the sixth change of the Fish-Dragon Realm. The power he could unleash was formidable. Even a strong expert like Silver Moon Over the Sky could repel him, but after being repelled, he would not be completely unharmed like this, without even a trace of pain.
This showed that this white-haired woman's cultivation was even above Silver Moon Over the Sky's, and her control over power had reached an exquisite level.
Could she be... a half-saint?
Nie Honglou was shocked in his heart and dared not continue attacking.
If the other party truly had hostile intentions, just that one palm strike could have turned him and Zhang Ruochen into ashes.
Zhang Ruochen remained very calm. He glanced at Kong Lanyou and said: "Even if you force me, it won't have any effect. Everyone should have some secrets, shouldn't they?"
"I won't force you."
Kong Lanyou withdrew the aura she had released and said: "To be honest, I am quite curious about you. I have specially investigated everything about you. Before you were sixteen, you were weak and sickly, unable to even activate your Divine Martial Mark."
"After you turned sixteen, you activated your Divine Martial Mark. In just three or four years, you went from a frail youth who had been bedridden for years to a young king famous throughout the Eastern Domain. What exactly did you experience in that year when you were sixteen?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said: "Isn't everyone spreading the story that that year, I was accepted as a disciple by the Golden Dragon and became the successor of the Buddha Emperor, which is why my cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, making me a dragon among men?"
"I don't believe it."
Kong Lanyou shook her head and said: "According to the intelligence I obtained, by the time you obtained the Dragon Pearl, you were already at the Great Perfection of the Earth Extreme Realm, a genius student of the Martial Market Academy. Moreover, when you were sixteen, the martial technique you practiced was not a Buddhist technique but the human-grade lower-level Heavenly Heart Sword Technique. I really want to know, how did you come to know the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique?"
Zhang Ruochen laughed and said: "Your intelligence is truly detailed. With Senior's cultivation, spending so much effort investigating a junior like me—is it worth it?"
"Worth it. Why wouldn't it be worth it? Not to mention now, even if it took me another eight hundred years, it would still be worth it, as long as I could get a result." Kong Lanyou's eyes were hazy, covered with a layer of mist.
Zhang Ruochen's heart ached. If not for his strenuous restraint, he might have rushed up to tell her that he was the person she was looking for, a relative from eight hundred years ago, perhaps the only relative.
(One more chapter)