Chapter 36.1

The Mantis Stalking The Cicada (1)

“Do you think it’s ugly?”

Lu Zhi Yao was not anxious to hear her answer. He played with the puppet’s hands and legs with his fingertips, occasionally twisting its head, and laughed happily.

Fragments of gold swayed on the blue waves, and the fine specks of light reflected between his brows and eyes, making him look like an immortal.

Even now, Zheng Mei couldn’t help being dazzled by his smile.

The boat was slowly moving forward. Her body became colder and colder, and the lake water had already reached her lips. This panic brought her back to her senses.

Zheng Mei frowned, staring at the puppet whose joints were turning.

It was indeed ugly, but obviously she couldn’t say so. But if she said that it was beautiful, what if this person said she was lying?

How should she answer?

Zheng Mei’s thoughts were very confused now, and she couldn’t calm down to think at all.

Looking at the boat that was speeding up behind her, she suddenly remembered Li Ruo Shui’s words.

“Don’t let the guards get too far away from you, be calm.”

Zheng Mei bit her lip hard to suppress her fear. Her heart was full of remorse. She should have let them be on the same boat as her in the first place.

She looked at the puppet, calmed down a little, and replied, “It’s not ugly.”

Lu Zhi Yao tapped on the wooden window with his fingertips and sighed silently with a gentle and compassionate expression like a monk in a mountain temple.

“Why can’t you even lie?”

If it was Li Ruo Shui, not only would she answer without hesitation, but she would also praise the puppet.

He ignored her but raised the puppet and said something to himself.

“It’s not ugly, it’s so interesting.”

Lu Zhi Yao’s voice was gentle, as if he was chatting with her, but it sounded extremely absurd to Zheng Mei.

How could someone like to hear others lie to themselves?

“It’s beautiful!” Zheng Mei immediately added this sentence. “If you are willing, I’ll buy it for one hundred taels!”

Lu Zhi Yao propped his chin and rubbed the puppet with his fingertips with a faint smile on his lips.

He didn’t listen to what she was saying at all!

“You are committing murder! I can sue you at the court! Did you hear what I said?!”

Zheng Mei was terrified. She couldn’t help but reach out and knock on the hull of the boat, splashing water on the corner of her eyes as her tears flowed down.

The veil became looser, and the lake water had already covered her lips. She could only keep treading on the water to keep herself afloat so as not to be submerged.

There was no way to ask for help. It was between life and death.

Why did she think he was an immortal back then? He was obviously an evil spirit who took pleasure in torturing people!

Zheng Mei’s tears were mixed in the lake water, and she felt extremely helpless. The veil would loosen completely at some point, but she was already tired from just treading water at this time.

“If you fall into the water, don’t waste your energy by struggling too much. You can grab the hull and stern of the boat.”

A clear voice rushed into her mind, and she suddenly thought of the second half of what Li Ruo Shui said this morning.

She really could predict the future!

Zheng Mei hastily touched the hull of the boat, but there was only a smooth surface without any bulge.

Thinking of Li Ruo Shui’s serious expression, she gritted her teeth and prepared to gamble.

Zheng Mei simply tore off the veil that could not be relied on, and she swam to the stern of the boat with the little physical strength she had. Sure enough, she saw rows of wooden sticks protruding from the hull of the boat.

She pulled the wooden bar to prop herself up, looked at the chasing boat with red eyes, and couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

When they all arrived, she must make him pay the price!

The boat in the rear was relatively small, and there were ten guards standing on it. The speed of the boat was very slow. It would take some time for them to catch up.

Two of the guards hurriedly jumped into the water and pushed Zheng Mei, who was weak from the soak, onto the boat. The rest of them drew their swords and pointed them at Lu Zhi Yao with nervous expressions.

They were all the guards of Zheng’s mansion who failed to catch the “ghost” after so many night patrols until Lu Zhi Yao came.

Zheng Mei was wearing wet clothes, and her hair was dripping with water, soaking the wooden boards under her feet. She stood on the bow and shivered, then pointed her finger at Lu Zhi Yao.

“Go and catch him!”

The guards stood in front of her and looked at each other for a while, but no one moved. No one wanted to be the first to lose their lives.

Zheng Mei looked at the crowd. Her pride was crushed twice in a day, and she laughed back in anger.

“After today, all of you no longer work in Zheng Mansion!”

One of the guards looked at her in embarrassment. His hand holding the sword tightened and then loosened. He hesitated for a while before speaking.

“Guarding is a precarious job of licking blood off the tip of a knife. We are not afraid of death if we dare to do it, but this is in the lake, so it’s not so simple. When we land on the shore, we will definitely catch him in front of the young lady.”

“He’s blind. How can he beat you?” Zheng Mei sneered and stopped talking.

Twelve people stood at the bow of the boat, causing the elegant boat to be high on the left and low on the right. The lotus-colored window screen was blown obliquely and spread on the tea table inside the boat.

The man at the stern of the boat had his back to them, not caring about their conversation. It was unknown what he was thinking.

Suddenly, he moved, and the guards at the bow of the boat subconsciously shuddered. They held their breath. The hand holding the sword tightened again, and the hanging tip of the sword pointed straight at him.

Lu Zhi Yao suddenly turned over and sat on the window. The corner of his white robe and the lotus veil were blown up together. It seemed as if he was about to throw himself into the lake or ride away with the wind.

He raised his hand, and the little puppet walked by the window. The rotatable joints were manipulated arbitrarily, dancing and making rattling sounds.

Lu Zhi Yao was leaning against the window, his legs dangling on the lake swayed with the hull of the boat.