Shen Ping answered with a smile, "Mr. Yu has something else to do and is not convenient to come. Please don't mind."

After exchanging pleasantries, those martial clubs went on their way home in all directions.

After half a day on the road, Pei Moning and his disciples went out of State Bin and took a rest in the woods.

Pei Moning heard the rustle sound in the woods and alarmed other disciples.

Several people flew out from the woods.

Pei Moning and other disciples drew their swords.

"Who are you?" Pei Moning asked.

The men in black sneered, "You don't have to know this. Let me tell you, if you give the mental cultivation methods to us, we won't trouble you anymore!"

"You want the mental cultivation methods? What a tone! Just show me if you are capable to rob us." Pei Moning didn't talk much with them and directly made a thrust.

The men in black who fought with Pei Moning used fierce methods and his inner strength was as powerful as Pei Moning's.

Pei Moning found other disciples were about to fail, so he decided to finish this fight as soon as possible, or they would suffer great losses.

Pei Moning used the tactic he told his disciples yesterday. He made feints and attacked the man in black from the left side, when the man in black defended, he quickly withdrew his sword and attacked his right side.

After a few exchanges of blows, the arm of the man in black was hurt by Pei Moning.

The man in black called other men in black, "Pull out!"

Other men in black immediately stopped attacking and ran away in a direction.

Li Shan and other disciples ran to Pei Moning and asked with worry, "Master, are you alright?"

"I'm alright. How about you?" Pei Moning shook his head and asked them.

Pei Moning rested assured when the disciples shook their heads.

Li Ning asked, "Master, which school do you think they come from?"

"Yes. It's like they were here to ambush us." Another disciple agreed.

Pei Moning said, "They come from Weizhen Martial Club."

"Weizhen Martial Club?" The disciples frowned.

Pei Moning nodded, "Yes. When we were bidding farewell, we didn't see Yu Zhen. What's more, they have their own purpose to hold this competition. They lured the martial clubs with mental cultivation methods, aiming at defeating all the martial clubs to raise their fame and expand their martial club. However, they wet their shoes because of us and lost their fame as well as their mental cultivation methods, which existed before there was Weizhen Martial Club. So, are they willing to give us the mental cultivation methods?"

"I've never thought people of Weizhen Martial Club are such sanctimonious hypocrites!" Li Shan cursed.

Pei Moning continued, "Weizhen Martial Club won't quit. We should keep alert in the following journey!"

"We know, master!" Li Shan and others nodded.

They rode on the horse and went on the way to Jing City. This place was too dangerous for them.

Yu Zhen went back to the martial club and took off the mask. He put off his clothes to check the wound on his arm.

The wound on his arm was so deep that it almost hurt his bone.

"Master, are you alright?" Xiao Ce, who was in black, asked him.

Yu Zhen looked at his wound and ordered. "Get the vulnerary in the drawer and apply it on my wound."

"Yes, master." Xiao Ce answered and went to the table.

He took the vulnerary to help Yu Zhen with it.

Yu Zhen gasped when the vulnerary touched his wound.

After his wound was bandaged, Xiao Ce asked him, "Master, what shall we do next?"

"I underestimated our enemy. I didn't expect that Pei Moning's inner strength is as powerful as mine, and I've never thought he plays tricks!" Yu Zhen slammed on the table with another hand.

He clenched his fist and said, "I will get our mental cultivation methods back!"

...

After days of jolts on the road, Qiao Shu and others arrived in Jiandu.

Through the window, she saw a group of people in official suits standing at the gate of Jiandu. Qiao Shu was delighted. She could see Shuo Ling soon.

The carriage stopped and someone spoke outside, "Mr. Shen, thank you for your coming."

Qiao Shu knew it was Mo Li.

Shen Yang lifted the curtain of the carriage and went off the carriage, so did Qiao Shu.

Qiao Shu looked around after she got off the carriage, but she was disappointed, for she didn't see Shuo Ling.

Mo Li frowned when he saw Qiao Shu: They even let Qiao Shu come here. Was the imperial hospital understaffed?

Mo Li went to Shen Yang, "Mr. Shen, my Lord asked me to greet you here."

"Fine. Let's enter the city." Shen Yang nodded and said.

He then turned around to advise Qiao Shu, "Miss Qiao, you can get into the carriage. I'd like to have a walk."

Qiao Shu nodded with a smile and went back to the carriage. She had detected the strange smell before entering the city.

She put on a long face after getting into the carriage. If it weren't for Shuo Ling, how would she come to such a dirty place!

Shen Yang and Mo Li walked in front of the carriage and entered the gate.

They saw many victims gathering in the city.

To take a close look, they found the porridge shelves here.

Shen Yang went closer to the victims. Then he stopped and looked at them, frowning.

He saw each victim's face was covered with a piece of cloth.

Some of the victims kept coughing. Shen Yang frowned. They must have been initially infected with the plague, but they didn't realize it yet!

He had to separate the infected victims from the uninfected.

Mo Li saw Shen Yang stopped, "Mr. Shen, they are simply a small part of the victims. We'd better find lodging and then make a plan."

"What's the only way to go?" Shen Yang sighed and went with Mo Li.

He speeded up to catch up with Mo Li and asked, "What're those on the victims' faces?"

"Those are gauze masks, Mr. Shen." Mo Li answered.

Shen Yang frowned, "Gauze masks? Who made them?"

"Infanta Qingcheng. She said it can reduce the infection." Mo Li smiled.

Shen Yang nodded, absorbed in thought.

He had read it in a book that plagues usually spread through the air, so veils could filter the virus in the air.

When the plague attacked State Huan in Dongling, he ordered the imperial doctors who went to help to wear veils.

However, a veil couldn't fit the face.

He saw the gauze masks of the victims fitted their faces well and almost everyone wore a mask.

Shen Yang arose respect for Infanta Qingcheng.

...

In the room, Yang Zijin was bending over the table blankly. She had been staying in this room for several days. Shuo Ling left early and returned back late every day that she didn't see him.

She had to stay in this room. It was so boring!

She asked Yun and others to make a lot of gauze masks, and Mo Li would distribute these masks.

Yun ran into the room and beamed, "Your Highness, your potatoes have sprouted!"

"What? They have sprouted?" Yang Zijin immediately rose to her feet and ran to the yard.

She ran straight to the stone table and saw the sprouted potatoes.

She asked Yun behind her, "Go and get some soil and jars!"

"Yes, Your Highness." Yun left.

Watching this sprouted potatoes, Yang Zijin beamed.

Yun got her jars and soil. Yang Zijin pulled her sleeves up and squatted down to put the soil into the jar.

Then she buried the sprouted potatoes into the soil.

After she finished, Yang Zijin stood up and flicked the dirt off her hands, "Yun, put the jars in a sunny place."

"And water them every day. Don't water too much. Loosen the soil every two days." Yang Zijin added.

"Yes, Your Highness." Yun bent down and picked up a jar.

She was full of curiosity about Yang Zijin. This infanta asked them to make something strange, and then to plant potatoes.

To put the jars under the sun was to let the potatoes grow faster, not to water too much was to let the potatoes absorb enough water, and to loosen the soil was to make the potatoes grow bigger.

She knew this when she helped her parents with farm work. She was not a maid at that time. But noble as an infanta, why did Her Highness know the knowledge of farming?

During these days, she felt Her Highness was an easy-going person. She couldn't describe the feeling. It was like Her Highness had never seen herself as an infanta and seen them as maids. It was totally different from the time she was serving the second concubine in Magistrate He's mansion.

The second concubine disliked her clumsiness and arranged her to work in the side yard.

Not only did Yun, but also Runyu, the Ghost Immortal, got curious about Yang Zijin.

At first, he followed Yang Zijin not only because she looked like Wanchu. His intuition told him that she had something to do with Wanchu. So, if he followed her, he would probably find Wanchu.

He followed her all the way and found she was different from ordinary women, but he couldn't describe what the difference was.

It was when he saw her putting the soil into the jars and planted the potatoes on her own that did he know the difference was the cleverness and easiness that most women lacked.

She was doing the things she liked out of her will, but she was kind as well.

Runyu came over and smiled, "Are these that what you picked up last time, Your Highness?"

"Yes. These are potatoes. I think you've never heard of it." Yang Zijin turned around.