My disciples are all villains.

Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "Can you find him?"

"Uh…" An awkward expression appeared on Mingshi Yin's face. The last time he tried to track Si Wuya, it took him a long time and he went through a lot of trouble to find Si Wuya. After scaring the snake by beating the bush, Si Wuya was surely on his guard now. It would not be easy to find Si Wuya. Moreover, he knew he was not as smart as Si Wuya.

At this moment, Lu Zhou remembered the box in the east pavilion. He stood up slowly and said, "That'll be all."

The others rose to their feet and cupped their fists at him.

...

In a secluded hut.

Si Wuya sat inside with his legs crossed.

"Sect master, there's a letter from the Five Mice."

"They failed?" Si Wuya opened his eyes. He knew if they had been successful, they would not have sent a letter but returned with the Peacock Plume.

"Yes… The leader of the Five Mice, Bai Qingyun, says in the letter that they ran into Leng Luo in the Evil Sky Pavilion and had to retreat."

"Leng Luo… Master even has someone so prideful under his control…" Si Wuya shook his head. "That person repelled the Black Knights with a single move at Slender West Lake. The Upper Prime's Five Mice have been captured by him before as well. It's understandable for them to fear Leng Luo. Forget it."

"Then, the Peacock Plume…"

"We won't get another chance."

If they did not succeed when they had that perfect opportunity, they would not likely succeed at another time.

"However… the Five Mice did bring this back." The subordinate produced a bunch of wastepaper from his pocket.

Si Wuya flattened the paper… The drawing of a box appeared before his eyes. Although it was only a draft, he could still recognize it. He smiled faintly and said, "Send word to the Evil Sky Pavilion."

...

The second day, in the Evil Sky Pavilion.

Inside the east pavilion.

Lu Zhou did not amass much extraordinary power overnight. He opened his eyes and called up the system dashboard.

Merit points: 19,380

'I obtained 7,550 merit points on the Lotus Dais… Alas, I'm still more than 600 points short from being able to purchase the Eight Methods Connected.'

Lu Zhou was not particularly determined to buy avatars. It was just that based on his understanding of the system, he had a feeling that it would be much more difficult for him to strike the jackpot in the lucky draws in the future. However, such is human nature; even if one knew the chances of winning were low, they would still feel compelled to try their luck.

"I'll make five draws…"

After five draws, Lu Zhou sighed softly. He muttered, "As expected. I should just save up to purchase the avatar."

Lu Zhou was about to continue studying the Heavenly Writing when a voice rang from outside.

Zhao Yue stood outside the pavilion and bowed. "Master, a letter from Si Wuya."

"Read it."

Lu Zhou projected his voice to her.

Zhao Yue said, "Si Wuya mentions that he has information about the box that you want to unlock… However, he has a request. He wants the Peacock Plume and for you to remove the Binding Mantra in exchange for the information."

After a moment's silence, Lu Zhou said in a deep voice, "Rascal!"

Zhao Yue sensed her master's fury and hastily said, "Please stay your anger, master."

"The rascal thinks too highly of himself… Does he think he can negotiate with me just because he has left Golden Court Mountain?"

"You're right, master. Si Wuya is too audacious!" Zhao Yue said.

There was a brief moment of silence before Lu Zhou said, "Any word from Jiang Aijian?"

It did not seem to be in Jiang Aijian's character to not send word after such a long time.

"In reply to your question, Master, Jiang Aijian hasn't sent a reply yet," Zhao Yue said.

"Very well. You're dismissed."

"I'll be taking my leave."

After Zhao Yue left, Lu Zhou checked the mission list on the system dashboard. Under the mission of instructing his disciples, the clue about the key was not shown as completed. He thought about it and decided to search his memories for information on the box. Perhaps, he might find some clues. Alas, many of the memories were too distant in the past and were blurry at best. He did not find anything even after searching for a while. He wondered out loud, "Could this have something to do with the lost memories as well?"

Since his transmigration, Lu Zhou had gotten used to this wizened body. He was not worried that he would grow old since he had the Reversal Cards. However, it seemed like there was no way for him to recover his memories.

After pondering about it for some time, he made no progress. Hence, he shook his head and went back to studying the Heavenly Writing.

...

The next morning.

Lu Zhou barely opened his eyes when Zhao Yue came with a letter in her hands.

Zhao Yue saw her master making some strange movements in the east pavilion's courtyard and did not dare to interrupt him. She waited for a while before she finally walked up to him, bowed, and said, "Master, a letter."

Lu Zhou stopped what he was doing before he asked, "Who's it from?"

"Initially, I wanted to read it, but the contents seem important. I didn't think it's appropriate for me to read it. Therefore, I quickly brought it here," Zhao Yue said.

"Read it."

"Understood." Zhao Yue opened the letter and read, "I was foolish yesterday and hope that you'll forgive me, master. Although I have left Golden Court Mountain, I have never thought of making an enemy out of you. As a token of my sincerity, I have ordered someone to send the information to you." After she finished reading the letter, she put it away and said, "Indeed, there's a nun at the base of the mountain requesting an audience. I suspected Old Seventh is up to no good so I didn't grant her entry. I await your orders, master."

"A nun?" Lu Zhou was puzzled.

"From the Cloud Shine Nunnery."

When he heard the words, 'Cloud Shine Nunnery', Lu Zhou was outwardly calm. However, he was puzzled. Was this… fate? His memories of the Cloud Shine Nunnery were strangely vivid. Nonetheless, he did think the nunnery had anything to do with the key.

"Let her in."

"I'll bring her here." Zhao Yue left the east pavilion.

Lu Zhou continued stretching his limbs.

A short while later, Zhao Yue led a nun to the east pavilion.

"Master, this is Senior Nun Xuan Jing from the Cloud Shine Nunnery."

"Xuan Jing of Cloud Shine Nunnery is here to see the old benefactor."

Lu Zhou stopped what he was doing and looked at the nun.

She wore humble nun's robes, a cap, and held Buddhist beads. She was slightly old, a hint of silver could be seen in her hair.

Lu Zhou said apathetically, "Stand up and speak."

Xuan Jing rose to her feet. She took out a scarlet brocade box from her sleeve and said, "Returning this to its owner."

Lu Zhou waved his arm. The brocade box flew into his palm.

Xuan Jing said slowly, "Master Jing Yan left this behind… When I was informed that you were searching for it urgently, I quickly came to return it."

"Jing Yan left this?"

"You left this at Cloud Shine Peak after the discourse on the peak. Alas, after all these years, you didn't come to retrieve it, old benefactor," Xuan Jing said.

Lu Zhou looked at the brocade box in his hand. He conjured up some energy. With a pop, the box opened up…

"Ding! Completed the mission: Searching for the lost key 1/1. Reward: 1,000 merit points."

Indeed, an antique-looking key was contained in the box. Perhaps, it was an item from the distant past, his memory of it was blurry.

Lu Zhou stowed the key away and asked, "What's the situation at the Cloud Shine Nunnery right now?"

"Speaking of that, I would like to thank you for punishing Wu Nian… Wu Nian disregarded the Cloud Shine Nunnery's rules and committed crimes everywhere. She got what she deserved. Now that she has lost her cultivation base, she's no longer the abbess of the Cloud Shine Nunnery," Xuan Jing said.

This outcome was expected.

Lu Zhou nodded and said, "How did you find out that I was looking for this urgently?"

Xuan Jing sounded puzzled when she said, "Didn't the Evil Sky Pavilion's Benefactor Si send word about it?"

Zhao Yue chimed in, "As expected, it's that traitor."

"Traitor?" Xuan Jing was puzzled.

Zhao Yue said, "It has nothing to do with you, senior nun. You've been in the nunnery for a long time, it's understandable that you're not aware of certain things. If there's nothing else, you're welcome to leave."