Chapter 659: Chapter 658: Returning a Favor

Zhu Yu can quickly fall asleep and rejuvenate her spirit anywhere when she’s tired, even if it’s on a bumpy stone road.

However, now she was lying on the thick grass mat that the talisman had prepared for her beforehand, soft, dry, and warm, covered with a warm cloak, yet she couldn’t fall asleep at all.

Her eyes were tightly shut, lying there motionless as if she were in a deep sleep, only her ears were like two diligent sentinels, meticulously capturing every little movement around her.

Whenever there was an unusual rustle of leaves, it was like a tiny alarm in her heart, quickly alerting her, even though her eyes remained closed, her whole body was in a state of readiness to spring up at any moment.

This kind of "rest" was even more exhausting than traveling.

Zhu Yu sighed inwardly with her eyes closed, remembering what people said, "Don’t fear the thief stealing, but fear the thief lurking." She never truly understood this until today, feeling it clear and distinct!

While giving it your all takes effort, at least it ends clean and straightforward.

This long wait and guard, not able to counterattack nor truly relax, is truly draining.

She endured until dawn broke, finally falling asleep in a drowsy state and waking up again when the sun was already high.

Lu Qing and the talisman had already been up for a while, and the three of them were chatting about something nearby.

Seeing Zhu Yu sit up, the talisman immediately stood up: "Second Master, you’re awake! I’ll get you something to eat!"

Zhu Yu was about to say there’s no rush, but her stomach growled, swallowing her words, and she nodded to the talisman.

Lu Qing also came over, reaching out to help Zhu Yu up: "Looks like someone didn’t sleep well last night."

"Who could sleep soundly at such a time?" Zhu Yu muttered with a hint, "In the wild, who knows when someone might drop down on us from nowhere..."

"No, they won’t." Lu Qing said softly but confidently, helping Zhu Yu remove strands of grass caught in her loose bun, "Those people wouldn’t show up last night."

Hearing him speak so plainly, she instinctively wanted to cover Lu Qing’s mouth.

Since being with him, Zhu Yu has been amazed at how keen the ears of martial artists can be.

If the opponent is also an expert, they could easily hear what Lu Qing just whispered, even hidden up in the trees.

Lu Qing caught her hand as she tried to cover his mouth, looking at her with a smile in his dark eyes.

Zhu Yu instinctively wanted to withdraw her hand, fearing their intimate gesture in men’s clothing might reveal something to those watching in the shadows.

But she immediately dismissed the thought.

Not because Lu Qing held her tightly and she couldn’t pull her hand away, but she suddenly realized that Lu Qing, always so cautious, behaving so openly might also indicate something.

"The people around us have left?" she tried to ask.

Lu Qing wasn’t surprised by Zhu Yu’s quick response, nodded, and picked up the cloak from the ground to drape it over her shoulders, then led her to sit by the fire.

"Those people aren’t made of iron, watching us from the treetops all night. We aren’t tired, but they’re worn out.

By now, they’re probably going back to switch shifts with someone else."

"They’re quite careless, not having someone replace them first." Zhu Yu was a bit surprised.

"Perhaps they’re short on manpower. After all, tailing us isn’t as important as ensuring the safety of the heir, protecting Prince Lan’s last legitimate bloodline." Lu Qing replied.

This reason sounded quite plausible.

"Were you expecting them to be so patient last night?" Now that they weren’t being watched, Zhu Yu relaxed considerably.

Lu Qing’s demeanor was still cheerful and relaxed, handing her a damp cloth to wipe her hands and face while saying, "That’s exactly what I hoped to see."

Zhu Yu looked at Lu Qing in surprise; she thought their intention for staying there overnight was to lure the others out and catch them all at once.

She’d been so tense, fearing she’d fall deeply asleep and not be able to help if anything happened at night, even causing trouble for the others."If they were truly drawn out by those brocade boxes, they’d just become real mountain bandits.

If that were the case, we’d be the ones who ’misunderstood’, and then need to deal with actual mountain bandits." Lu Qing said, "This area should have been their hideout, and if it was taken over by actual bandits, our entire trip would be for nothing."

Zhu Yu agreed: "So what do we do? Slow down our journey a bit more?"

"No need, we’ll just stay here today, resting while taking it easy. Isn’t that better?" Lu Qing’s eyes twinkled with a bit of mischief, "Last night, we proved they aren’t actual bandits, so today let them see we’re not just passing merchants.

You could say it’s tit for tat."

"The more unsure they are of our identity, the more they’ll want to keep an eye on us!" Zhu Yu immediately understood Lu Qing’s intention, "You’re being super cautious, like making sure the fish doesn’t escape by being the perfect bait!"

"So there’s nothing to worry about, we can eat, drink, and rest as we wish." Lu Qing patted Zhu Yu’s head, glancing around, "This place is sheltered and warm. The weather’s working in our favor with sunshiny days, so we’ll take a break here after our hard journey!"

Finally, Zhu Yu fully grasped Lu Qing’s intentions. Although she’d misunderstood the previous night and unnecessarily held out half the night, she felt a huge relief now.

After relaxing for about half an hour, the people in the shadows switched shifts and returned. Lu Qing maintained a relaxed demeanor, only becoming less intimate in his actions.

Spending nearly half a day in such a leisurely manner, by dusk the talisman, as usual, gathered firewood to prepare for dinner.

Perhaps they were quite thirsty after gathering wood, as they both took long drinks from water bags upon returning.

"It was quite hot under the sun today." Lu Qing also took out a small water bag, drank several big gulps himself, and then offered it to Zhu Yu, "Moisten your throat before dinner."