Zhu Di truly hadn't expected that the painting he'd hung in such a place would fall into Lu Heng's hands.
From their few conversations, he could tell that Lu Heng wasn't interested in such matters, which was why his portrait had been hung there.
Seeing Lu Heng remain silent, he felt a bit awkward and tried to struggle a bit more.
"Where did you get this portrait painted? It's quite lifelike. I should find that artist someday and get one done myself."
"You don't know?"
"..."
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Zhu Di lowered his head. It seemed Lu Heng knew everything.
"Heh heh heh, I just missed Brother Lu occasionally..."
"So you hung my portrait in a place like that?"
Lu Heng couldn't understand. If Zhu Di truly wanted to see his portrait, he would have hung it in his own residence.
No, that wasn't the main point. Why would Zhu Di want to see his portrait?
Lu Heng scanned him up and down. "You don't happen to have a homosexual preference, do you? I'm telling you, I'm not into that. If you have that kind of problem, we shouldn't interact anymore."
It was possible that Zhu Di's preferences had changed after enduring the apocalypse.
"Brother Lu, no, I'm quite normal. You don't know, after I came here, my cheap father took ten concubines for me... Cough, never mind that, but Brother Lu, I promise, I'm really normal."
"Then tell me, why did you hang my portrait? Are there any other places?"
"No, I just hung it there because I frequent that place.
Cough, no, I mean, everyone who can afford to spend money there in Jinyang City is a person of status. So I wanted everyone to know Brother Lu, which would make things more convenient for Brother Lu in Jinyang City."
Waving his hand, Lu Heng retrieved the portrait into his space and warned Zhu Di, "Don't do such unnecessary things in the future. I don't want to be famous, nor do I need to associate with anyone."
"Yes, I understand. Brother Lu, are you free now? Would you like to visit my sect?"
"It's already built?"
Thinking about Zhu Di's idea to build a sect, it hadn't even been a year. Constructing a sect here with extensive building efforts in less than a year likely meant it wasn't finished.
"No, but several main halls have been completed. The carpentry here is truly exceptional. Sigh, I used to go watch them work when I wasn't at the City Lord's Mansion."
"Don't you cultivate?"
"I do. But cultivation here is very simple. As long as I get demon crystals, I just need to consume them and then find someone to spar with."
Heh, he'd forgotten. Zhu Di was now a second-generation official. In this era where imperial power reigned supreme, his authority was not insignificant.
"Alright, then I have nothing else. Don't hang my portraits everywhere anymore."
Lu Heng stood up, smoothing the wrinkles on his long robe, and glanced at Zhu Di again. "Do you still have my portraits?"
The moment Zhu Di made eye contact with Lu Heng, Zhu Di's gaze instantly became vacant, and his voice grew somewhat slow. "No more portraits."
Releasing his control over Zhu Di, and after Zhu Di regained his senses, Lu Heng bid farewell and left the City Lord's Mansion.
Returning to his small courtyard in Jinyang City, Lu Heng looked at the dust covering the furniture. Lu Da Niu must have left not long after they parted ways. He wondered where Lu Da Niu was now.
However, before leaving, Lu Heng had left a roc-mouthed beast for Lu Da Niu.
But when Lu Heng and his contracted animals were far apart, they couldn't communicate through telepathy.
Tapping his fingers on the table, Lu Heng used his mind to ask the other roc-mouthed beasts still in his space.
"Da Lang, can you contact Si Niu?"
"Yes, I can."
Lu Heng stopped tapping his fingers. "If I asked you to find it, could you find it?"
He'd forgotten that the one given to Lu Da Niu and the one in his space were a pair. They might have a connection.
As expected, after asking, he received confirmation that they could contact each other even when far apart.
Walking into the courtyard, Lu Heng decided to check on Lu Da Niu first. If he confirmed that he was safe, he would return to the apocalypse.
A roc-mouthed beast rapidly ascended from within Jinyang City. Before anyone could get a clear look, the beast had already flown high into the sky.
Lu Heng waited until the beast flew outside Jinyang City before confirming its perceived distance with it.
"About how far is it from here?"
"At the current speed, it will take a day to fly, but their location hasn't changed, so it's easy to find."
"Alright, let's go take a look."
The roc-mouthed beast nodded. It hadn't seen its mate for a long time either, so it flew much faster than usual, eager to see its mate.
Lu Heng sensed the roc-mouthed beast's thoughts and his lips curved slightly.
These animals were also full of emotions. When they had nothing to do, they lived harmoniously in Lu Heng's space.
Lu Heng sometimes thought that living in the space with them forever would also be quite wonderful.
When he first acquired this space, it was too quiet, always giving him an urge to escape.
But after contracting more animals, Lu Heng felt that the space was filled with vitality and was no longer a cold, empty place.
A day passed quickly, and Lu Heng admired much of the beautiful scenery along the way.
This Divine Yuan Continent was vast. Lu Heng estimated that it was larger than the total land area of Blue Star.
Around noon on the second day, they finally approached Lu Da Niu.
"We're not far now."
"Yes, then slow down a bit, I'll check the situation first."
Lu Heng intended to observe Lu Da Niu's current situation here.
The roc-mouthed beast slowed down and, sensing that they were very close, found a spot to land.
Lu Heng recalled the roc-mouthed beast into his space and hurried in one direction.
As he got closer, he could also sense the location of the female roc-mouthed beast.
In a short while, Lu Heng saw many people gathered on an open space ahead, resting.
Lu Da Niu's location was very conspicuous, simply because among this group of people, only Lu Da Niu had a flying mount lying beside him.
As if sensing Lu Heng's presence, the roc-mouthed beast, which had been sleeping on the ground, instantly lifted its head and looked in Lu Heng's direction.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Da Niu, seeing the roc-mouthed beast's strange behavior, thought it sensed some approaching danger.
Lu Da Niu and the roc-mouthed beast did not have a contracted relationship, so they could not communicate with each other.
Fortunately, the roc-mouthed beasts contracted by Lu Heng had improved intelligence, and could understand some simple human language.
It let out a low purring sound, emitting a tone that seemed to greet its kind.
However, those around who had never raised roc-mouthed beasts did not know this. They all noticed the roc-mouthed beast's abnormality and stood up defensively, looking around.