Mountain and River Festival

Is Chapter 109 fair?

Pei Chuyun felt despair.

If someone told her that "the last time" is a flag that shouldn't be set lightly, she definitely wouldn't come.

Lu Xingzhou couldn't fathom what power he could possibly have left to use, since he couldn't have imagined that it was precisely his own appearance that led Meng Guan to participate again. This power had always been there.

Things change according to circumstances. There is no such thing as not taking action if you are not supposed to. This is a lesson that the naive demoness learned after paying a painful price for being captured. But the demoness doesn't know if she will live to use this lesson.

As soon as her vital points were sealed, Ah Nuo excitedly took out a rope and tied her up tightly, then grabbed a mochi and stuffed it into her mouth.

Pei Chuyun angrily ate the mochi in one bite, glaring at A Nuo without saying a word.

This is no way to humiliate someone. You think you can shut me up with mochi? What do you take me for?

Ah Nuo said, "Sister, you've misunderstood. I'm inviting you to eat. Are you hungry?"

Pei Chuyun ate her food with her mouth moving slightly, then with a "humph" she turned her head away as if facing certain death.

Lu Xingzhou sealed her acupoints but ignored her completely. The first thing he did was grab Huo Lu, who was rolling on the ground, and punch him in the chest.

The sound of bones cracking rang out. Huo Lu stared wide-eyed in pain as all the bones in his body shattered and his dantian was broken. He was clearly ruined.

"Is that all you've got, Fourth Brother?" Lu Xingzhou patted his face with a smile. "You're so great when you bully kids, but you're so weak when you hit adults?"

Huo Lu's mouth was full of blood as she glared at him hatefully, mumbling, "You...aren't you afraid...of Father..."

"Hey..." Lu Xingzhou slapped him across the face again, knocking out two teeth: "Take care of yourself first."

Huo Lu was in so much pain that he had no strength to speak.

Upon noticing the dramatic change below, Uncle Lin frantically pushed Jing Ge away and rushed down, but it was too late.

Meng Guan captured the evil infant and separated Uncle Lin with one hand. The surrounding county guards were indistinct and surrounded the place: "Mr. Lin, don't go crazy. You colluded with Huo Lu to become a demonic cultivator. Everyone can witness it. Let's go to the prison and talk it out slowly."

Huo Lu was still unable to speak. Uncle Lin's eyes widened, and he angrily said, "We don't know this demonic cultivator woman at all!"

"So the infant ghost has nothing to do with you?"

Uncle Lin opened his mouth, but couldn't answer.

It's easy to deny it now, but the infant ghost has already been captured. Once the soul is searched, everything will be exposed. At the very least, it's a certainty that Huo Lu ordered the infant ghost to kill Lu Xingzhou.

Meng Guan sneered: "Take them all away! Before His Majesty, I want to ask Grand Tutor Huo how he raised his descendants!"

Lu Xingzhou chuckled as he searched Huo Lu's body, finally removing his ring and tossing the limp Huo Lu to Meng Guan: "The spoils are mine, no problem, right?"

Meng Guan gave him a deep look: "Sir, please don't be in such a hurry to leave. I still have something to discuss with Mr. Lu."

Lu Xingzhou laughed and said, "I already had something to do and couldn't leave. Would the prefect arrange accommodations?"

Meng Guan glanced at Pei Chuyun with a strange expression. Theoretically, he should also take this demonic cultivator with him, but at this moment everyone knew that Lu Xingzhou wanted to "enjoy the spoils of war," and only a fool would argue with him over such a thing. So he smiled slightly and said, "I'll leave a guard to escort Mr. Lu to a quiet room. But Mr. Lu should be careful, the women of the Joyful Union Sect are not so easy to enjoy... Don't let him disappear when I come looking for him..."

"Ahem, Your Excellency Prefect, please rest assured..."

Huo Lu, Shadow, Uncle Lin, and all the lower-ranking guards who couldn't help at all during the battle were arrested and imprisoned.

Jing Ge landed in front of Lu Xingzhou, his expression complicated: "So it really is true that helping you beat Huo Lu will allow me to see the Infant Ghost again. Luckily, I trusted you and didn't make a bet, otherwise I would have lost everything."

Lu Xingzhou smiled and asked, "What are your plans for the future, Brother Jing?"

"Are you trying to trick me into joining the Heavenly Sword Sect?"

"To be honest, Brother Jing, that is indeed what I meant."

"Forget it, I'm a wanted criminal, which is not good for you... Besides, I don't want to be stuck in one place just for cultivation, which is not my wish."

Lu Xingzhou nodded, not insisting, and cupped his hands, saying, "Then I wish Brother Jing all the best in his travels and that he may find his way. Perhaps we will meet again in the martial world in the future, and I will invite Brother Jing for a drink then."

Jing Ge laughed heartily: "I'll treat you to drinks then. Until we meet again!"

"See you later."

The man, carrying a long sword, leaped away. Lu Xingzhou watched him disappear into the horizon before turning to look at Pei Chuyun with a smile.

Pei Chuyun, who was tightly bound, turned her head away angrily.

The prefect's guard beside him smiled and said, "Mr. Lu, the quiet room is ready. Please follow me."

…………

The room was warm with the scent of incense and candles.

Pei Chuyun was tied up and thrown onto the bed.

Lu Xingzhou sat down beside her with a smile and reached into her arms to pat her.

Pei Chuyun bit her lower lip and glared at him resentfully.

Lu Xingzhou took out the poetry collection, flipped through a couple of pages, and shook his head slightly: "It's really quite ordinary."

Pei Chuyun remained silent.

Lu Xingzhou casually placed the poetry collection on his pillow, tilted his head and examined her for a long time: "Your original appearance was even more beautiful than Miss Ayi. Miss Ayi is already considered charming and beautiful, but your original appearance... it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that you were stunningly beautiful."

Pei Chuyun rolled her eyes and said in a seductive voice, "Since I've fallen into your hands... it's a world of survival of the fittest, so I'm willing to serve you."

"Huh? What do you want me to do?" Lu Xingzhou's hand swept across the mountain peak: "Like this?"

Pei Chuyun gritted her teeth and said in a seductive voice, "Don't you want to, sir?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "You wish."

Pei Chuyun: "?"

"You want to trick me into having sex with you, so that I'll either be controlled or turned into a dried-up human?" Pei Chuyun thought strangely.

You're afraid of this? Then you can cripple me first. Don't tell me someone as smart as you hasn't even thought of this?

As if sensing what she was thinking, Lu Xingzhou said slowly, "I really didn't think about it... I can't bear to part with it."

Pei Chuyun: "..."

"Hey, let me ask you, why didn't you participate in the battle at the temple's guest courtyard?"

Pei Chuyun finally dropped her feigned coquettishness and said sullenly, "You were prepared."

"Then I'll be in this battle too," Lu Xingzhou laughed. "Because you also think that people like Infant Ghost shouldn't live, right?"

To be honest, Pei Chuyun really didn't know why, but somehow she asked in return, "You judged Hongfa Temple to be a den of infant ghosts, just because I casually mentioned wanting to visit Hongfa Temple?"

"Of course. Even if you knew about the attractions beforehand, how could you, as a witch, possibly choose to visit a temple first? The Buddha's light has a certain restraining effect on you, and you should subconsciously avoid it. It would be much more normal for you to say you wanted to visit some famous building or garden. As soon as I heard that, I suspected there was something wrong."

"That's assuming you know that Ayi is me. Where did I give myself away?"

Lu Xingzhou took out an embroidered shoe: "It told me that."

Pei Chuyun blushed crimson: "Give it back!"

"Then I'll be at a loss. What are you going to offer in exchange?"

Pei Chuyun had long since given up hope; in fact, the moment she was caught, she no longer expected to be innocent: "I can't resist you, so what can I do to stop you?"

As expected, Lu Xingzhou reached his hand up to the hem of her clothes.

Pei Chuyun's body trembled, and she gritted her teeth.

But she discovered that Lu Xingzhou had reached behind her, loosened the straps at the back of her bodice, and then pulled them back to the front.

Pei Chuyun: "?"

A pink undergarment was quietly pulled out.

"This should be enough to exchange it for her." Lu Xingzhou solemnly put away the undergarment and returned the shoes to her: "Here, take them back."

Pei Chuyun: "..."

For some reason, I felt like laughing, but my face was burning red, and even my neck was bright red.

Lu Xingzhou stretched and naturally leaned against the headboard next to her, casually putting his arm around her shoulder as they chatted like a young couple: "I had someone investigate you, but unfortunately, the money was wasted so far, and the information I got was very unsatisfactory. This only proves one thing: even within the Joyful Union Sect, your information is a secret, and most people are completely unaware of it."

Pei Chuyun leaned helplessly against his shoulder, feeling bewildered by the casual, natural atmosphere of their conversation: "What do you want to say?"

“This is not the attitude one should have towards nurturing a saintess… Your repeated acts of venturing into danger alone are even less befitting of a high-ranking official in power,” Lu Xingzhou said. “What are your own thoughts on this matter?”

Pei Chuyun's expression was strange and inexplicable: "You mean you want to help me succeed?"

I was tied up, my hands were pinned behind my back, and you acted like we were really close, hugging me and saying you wanted to help me?

Are you sick?

Lu Xingzhou replied naturally, "I need to know your situation before I can say what I think."

Pei Chuyun was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The sect raised me under the name of a Holy Maiden, so I have a noble status and abundant resources, but they did not grant me any power. I can't order anyone around, nor can I cultivate any authority. For example, the poetry we talked about during the day was originally intended to create the identity of a talented woman, but in reality, she is the Holy Maiden of the Joyous Union. This is a common practice in previous years... But when I suggested this, my master rejected it, and I don't understand why."

Lu Xingzhou stared at the ceiling in thought: "This kind of operation can only be understood as them not wanting you to attract too much attention... Do you know about your background?"

"I don't know, my memories from before I was a few years old are very vague."

"Have you ever thought that you are a daughter of the Pei family, and that you were stolen by the Hehuan Sect of the Maidens"?

“I’ve thought about it. I’ve also secretly investigated the Pei family, and they haven’t lost any children.”

Lu Xingzhou shook his head: "That's not necessarily true... The Pei family themselves might not even know about the switch."

Pei Chuyun said, "Then what's the point of doing this? And if that's the case, you should change my name. Why keep the surname Pei?"

“An investigation is needed; guessing is pointless,” Lu Xingzhou said. “I’m going to Beijing this time and will be staying for quite some time. You can come with me to investigate.”

"No..." Pei Chuyun couldn't help but ask, "What exactly is our relationship?"

Lu Xingzhou finally smiled: "You want to take revenge on me, but you keep getting the short end of the stick. Actually, after thinking it over, I don't think we have any deep-seated hatred for each other."

Pei Chuyun gritted her teeth.

No, it is.

Lu Xingzhou turned his head and lightly kissed her ear: "Actually... if you hadn't just captured my Jianjing acupoint, but instead used your ultimate technique to kill me, I might not have been able to handle it. My raw strength is far inferior to yours."

A tingling sensation spread through her, and Pei Chuyun's breathing became rapid: "I... I should have killed you..."

“Whatever your intentions, whether you want to capture me or tame me, since you didn’t kill me, that’s considered showing mercy, and I will naturally accept that.” Lu Xingzhou gently stroked her body and said slowly, “You just wanted to capture me, and I just wanted to capture you. Doesn’t that even things out?”

Pei Chuyun felt weak all over from being touched, and gritted her teeth, saying, "Then what are you doing now?"

"I finally managed to capture a stunningly beautiful enchantress, I have to make something out of her, right? Do I look like a fool to you?"

Pei Chuyun was speechless.

Lu Xingzhou then asked, "Hey, if you caught me, would you use me for sedation?"

"No!" Pei Chuyun gritted her teeth: "My innocence will not be wasted here!"

"Then don't worry." Lu Xingzhou continued to touch it: "Since you can't do it and neither can I, isn't that fair?"

Pei Chuyun was so angry she almost burst out of her acupoints: "I'd rather you knew how!"

(End of this chapter)