Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 112 How Can a Demoness Be a Literary Youth?
The year-end has just passed, and the Dan Academy's assessment time is not this early.

Lu Xingzhou's journey to Beijing was not as rushed as when he came to Menggui City. He leisurely enjoyed the scenery along the way, visiting every city he encountered.

If it weren't for Huo Lu's matter, she should still be in Shen Tang's sweet and soft bed right now, and wouldn't have left the house until at least next month...

Now that they were out, they naturally weren't going back. Lu Xingzhou, A Nuo, and Pei Chuyun rarely traveled; they usually had missions to complete when they went out, always in a hurry. This rare moment of relaxation and simple enjoyment for sightseeing was quite an experience.

"I was wrong..." Standing before a magnificent waterfall, gazing at its breathtaking drop, Lu Xingzhou sighed and stamped his feet. "Dream City said there were so many attractions, but I was fooled by some idiot into going to see the temple. I didn't see anything else and left the next day... I could have stayed put..."

Pei Chuyun looked at the waterfall with a delighted expression, ignoring him completely: "Did I let you leave? Let's not talk about anything else. Even when you were looking at the temple, you only saw one hall. Even your decision to stay overnight to see the moonlit mountain temple was full of scheming. It's all your own fault."

"If I weren't full of scheming, I would have died long ago, and probably still at your hands."

"Then you can take your time calculating. If you underestimate it, you might end up dying in my hands again."

Lu Xingzhou didn't respond to this: "I heard Huo Lu hired a courtesan, but I didn't even go to see what she looks like. Would asking her to sing a song be considered cheating on Huo Lu?"

"You can still go see the courtesan now, no one will stop you."

Lu Xingzhou stared at her profile.

Pei Chuyun glanced at her sideways.

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "Besides being able to cuckold Huo Lu, the courtesan is definitely not as pretty as the Holy Maiden of the Joyous Union. I'd have to be stupid to go see her."

"What's the use?" Pei Chuyun sneered, "No matter how good-looking someone is, some people don't dare to do anything except raise their hands. Useless."

"I clearly moved my mouth."

Pei Chuyun: "Tch."

Lu Xingzhou felt somewhat embarrassed; now that she hadn't been banned from cultivation, he really didn't dare to say anything more.

Let alone using words, she didn't even dare to use her hands after her cultivation was sealed... Back when she was hunting wheelchair-bound people, she had to rely on the wheelchair shield to isolate herself from the entire time, otherwise, if her seductive skills invaded her body, she would end up like that little white-haired girl that day, a truly pitiful sight.

Although it's unlikely that Pei Chuyun will make a move on him now, if he messes up and gets messed with by her, he can't blame anyone else. Just because someone doesn't make a move on him doesn't mean he can touch him however he wants.

Sensing that Lu Xingzhou was a little frustrated, Pei Chuyun knew exactly what the man was thinking. Her mood inexplicably improved, and she deliberately puffed out her chest at him: "Hey, does it look good?"

Lu Xingzhou took out the child's bib: "It's nice."

Pei Chuyun's face darkened.

Ah Nuo quietly moved three feet to the side to avoid being recognized as the instigator and getting beaten up for no reason.

Lu Xingzhou calmly put away his undergarment: "Um, how about we discuss some academic issues?"

"what is the problem?"

"Dual cultivation technique".

Pei Chuyun gave a half-smile: "You really want to solve the problem from the level of cultivation techniques? Don't dream about it."

"I'm not planning to solve your problem of 'sexual union,' can't I solve my own problem? I have a wife, is it strange for me to study dual cultivation?"

Pei Chuyun's smile vanished, and she didn't even know why. After a long while, she sneered, "What kind of wife do you have? Did you have your parents' consent? Did you have a matchmaker's words? Did you have a wedding ceremony? Did you have a banquet? You're just a wife now? A clandestine marriage without a matchmaker, what's the difference between you and us demonic female cultivators?"

Faced with a long string of questions, Lu Xingzhou answered with only five words: "I am also a demonic cultivator."

Pei Chuyun: "...We don't study dual cultivation, we only study the exchange of essence and energy."

"Why must we use the method of 'dual cultivation'? Although dual cultivation is slower, it is a great path with no side effects. While the method of 'dual cultivation' may seem to lead to rapid progress in the short term, it has many well-known drawbacks, and even infant ghosts have abandoned it."

Pei Chuyun was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "If it's about absorbing the essence, you just need to extract the core from the cauldron... If it's about dual cultivation, you need to transfer the essence from your own body to the other person, and then have the other person return it, and so on, back and forth."

"Yeah, so what's wrong?"

What if he doesn't return?

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment, and was speechless.

Pei Chuyun said coldly, "We never place our hopes on that; we only pursue what we can control. So you've come to the wrong person to discuss dual cultivation techniques with me. I don't know how."

This isn't a problem with the technique; it's a problem with trust.

Therefore, dual cultivation has always been something that only lovers do, and it will collapse once betrayed.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou's silent expression, Pei Chuyun suddenly smiled again: "Actually, to deal with the Charming Maidens' Harmony, you don't necessarily need to study cultivation techniques. There is a simpler and more direct way."

Lu Xingzhou asked, "Cultivation crushing?"

"Yeah. But how much crushing do we need to suppress him? Ugh, it's hard to guess." Pei Chuyun stretched and said with a grin, "Anyway, don't count on that crippled sixth-rank bastard."

Lu Xingzhou said with a straight face, "I already said I have no intention of resolving your issue of 'Cha Nu He Huan' (a type of erotic game)."

"Tch." Pei Chuyun's eyes darted around as she moved closer. "Your Excellency Judge is quite different from others. If you want to relive last night's memories, I can give you the chance."

Lu Xingzhou took a step back without making a sound: "If I really want to relive the old days, I can just devise another plan to capture you, it won't be that difficult."

Pei Chuyun grinds her teeth.

She was still trying to poach him, of course. She wasn't going to use more drastic methods now; she wondered if pure seduction would work. Lu Xingzhou had strong willpower; even after what happened last night, he could actually fall asleep in her arms, which made Pei Chuyun feel insecure. However, the little vixen knew what men wanted: "Even if you catch me again, you still won't dare to do what you want… but if I'm willing, then it's okay…"

Lu Xingzhou gave a half-smile: "How can you say it's voluntary?"

"Once you join my sect and become one of us, you can freely have sex with any of the women in the sect without any hesitation or coyness. There will be no indiscriminate sexual exploitation. It will be like being in paradise."

"Really? Then give me a kiss first, and see how strong I am."

Pei Chuyun: "?"

"Look, you won't even do this. No matter how much you boast, you're still just trying to get something for nothing. Do I look like a fool?"

Pei Chuyun retorted angrily, "Then why didn't you give me anything before asking for a kiss? Aren't you just trying to get something for nothing?"

Lu Xingzhou chuckled: "Then what do you want?"

Pei Chuyun didn't want anything. In fact, even if she were "poached," while she verbally said "join my sect," she didn't really mean to poach a strategist for the Joyful Union Sect. What she wanted was a strategist of her own.

In other words, they only want Lu Xingzhou.

What can I say? Even if I did, Lu Xingzhou wouldn't pay any attention.

Pei Chuyun's eyes darted around, and when she saw the waterfall beside her, she said with a grin, "This waterfall is magnificent, and the fine rain is so refreshing, it's full of poetic charm. If Young Master Lu can compose a poem that satisfies me, I'll take the initiative to give him a kiss."

Lu Xingzhou was silent for a moment: "Let's forget about it."

Pei Chuyun was taken aback. Actually, she would kiss Lu Xingzhou even if he could just give her a perfunctory poem, implying that he could get more if he met other conditions. Logically, Lu Xingzhou shouldn't have missed this subtle meaning. Judging from the poem "There are still unsummoned souls in the mortal world" that day, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to give a perfunctory poem. Why did he refuse?

But Lu Xingzhou said earnestly, "Some poems are too terrifying. Once they are published, all other waterfall poems in the world pale in comparison, and when people think of waterfalls, they only have one sentence left in their minds... This is not a good thing..."

Pei Chuyun glanced at him sideways, annoyed: "So you can brag too."

"It's true..." If it were about other scenery, Lu Xingzhou could remember quite a few poems, but when it came to the waterfall being ruined, he could only think of one sentence. He believed that most of his fellow Chinese would feel the same way.

That's the power of the Poet Immortal!

Pei Chuyun rolled her eyes: "Don't even mention making other poems pale in comparison. As long as you can really make a poem that I admire, I'll let you seal your power tonight and relive your old dreams."

"Never mind, no need." Lu Xingzhou took out a pen and paper, quickly wrote two sentences, and handed them to her: "Keep it to play with."

Pei Chuyun pursed her lips, took the document, and glanced at it casually.

The next moment, he was completely still, as if he had been struck by a pressure point.

Lu Xingzhou turned around and took A Nuo's hand, leisurely descending the mountain: "Let's go, it'll be quite a while before we get to the city, don't miss dinner."

Only after the master and apprentice had walked far away did Pei Chuyun suddenly come to her senses, carefully clutching the paper and hurried after them, calling out, "Wait for me~"

Even after entering the city and sitting in the courtyard of the inn for a meal, Pei Chuyun was still somewhat dazed.

She felt utterly doomed; from now on, when she talked about waterfalls, that would probably be the only thing on her mind...

"What's wrong?" Lu Xingzhou tapped his chopsticks. "Why are you constantly peeking at me while you're eating?"

"Huh?" Pei Chuyun lowered her head and ate her rice.

She wasn't looking at Lu Xingzhou; she was completely lost in thought.

Lu Xingzhou lectured A Nuo in an annoyed tone: "See? You can do anything when you grow up, just don't be a literary girl, she's too dull."

Ah Nuo wanted to laugh.

Actually, Sister Yu can be quite artsy at times. She reads the poems you wrote to her endlessly by the window late at night, chin in hand. Did you know that?
The funny thing is that these are all demonic women, while the righteous ones, like Little White Hair or Little White Hair, if you send them a poem, they probably won't even know what you're talking about, and might be trying to figure out if it contains some secret sword technique.

Who knows, you might actually glean a sword technique from the line "A waterfall plunges three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way were falling from the ninth heaven"...

After finishing his meal amidst Pei Chuyun's sleepwalking behavior, Lu Xingzhou ignored her and went upstairs to look at the moon from the window.

After dinner, a light drizzle began, the fine mist brushing against my face, which felt very comfortable. The air also became increasingly fresh, but the moonlight seemed to be veiled, making it hazy and indistinct.

Lu Xingzhou thought that if Pei Chuyun were also looking out the window at the moon at this moment, she might be lost in poetic and artistic thoughts.

In fact, Lu Xingzhou himself is quite literary. He even reads things like "fire dragons with embroidered robes and painted ribbons." Who would believe he's not literary? It's just that in the past few years, he was confined to a wheelchair and restricted in the underworld. His heart was full of resentment and gloom. Even if he wrote poetry, it would be melancholic. He had no mood to appreciate any poetic or artistic sentiments.

He never imagined that his poetic inspiration would be stirred up by a sorceress, which was nothing short of a miracle.

"Knock knock~" A knocking sound suddenly rang out on the door.

Before Lu Xingzhou could speak, the door was pushed open, and Pei Chuyun walked in with her head down.

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at her curiously: "What's wrong?"

Pei Chuyun stood dejectedly in front of him: "I can't think of a better waterfall poem than that. Just seal my acupoints, I'll honor my bet."

Lu Xingzhou almost burst out laughing: "I already said it's not necessary... It would be dishonest for me to win in this kind of situation."

(End of this chapter)