Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 125 Melon Girl in Danger

After a short while, the attendant brought a visiting card and a box of gold and silver, and they really paid their respects in full accordance with proper etiquette.

This time, Lu Xingzhou didn't put on airs. He let A'nuo open the door and said to Huo Xingyuan with a forced smile, "Marquis Zhenyuan is truly capable of bending and stretching to save his son. If only he could treat everyone equally..."

The elderly men and women, each holding a handful of melon seeds, craned their necks to listen, watching helplessly as the courtyard gate was closed, letting out a regretful sigh.

Lu Xingzhou felt that Gua Mei's personality was mostly related to her environment...

The door closed, and Huo Xingyuan strode to the stone table in the courtyard. The wretched maid and child from before stood obediently behind Lu Xingzhou. Huo Xingyuan glared at them irritably, but the maid and child were even fiercer than him, glaring back angrily.

Lu Xingzhou found the scene adorable, while Huo Xingyuan thought, "Is this how you, Lu Xingzhou, raised your family?"

Lu Xingzhou said indifferently, "I'm sorry, my family has no manners, after all, my father died early."

"you!"

"Lord Zhenyuan, please sit down. You must be fifty years old. It's really embarrassing to be arguing with little maids and children."

Huo Xingyuan took a deep breath and sat down opposite him with a blank expression.

The attendant quickly placed the gold and silver on the table. Huo Xingyuan said calmly, "I have fulfilled your request. Has your anger subsided a bit?"

"Lord Zhenyuan is joking," Lu Xingzhou chuckled. "This is merely a small gift; as for calming down, that's completely unrelated."

Huo Xingyuan was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Lu'er is still your brother..."

"Stop..." Lu Xingzhou waved his hand, indicating, "Get to the point."

"You and Lu'er had a personal feud and had been fighting for some time before the Infant Ghost launched a sneak attack in the street. This does not necessarily mean that Lu'er and the Infant Ghost had any prior collusion. On the contrary, it should prove that the two did not collude. Otherwise, given the Infant Ghost's strength as a third-rank cultivator, shouldn't he have been the one to strike first?"

"You can only fool yourselves with that," Lu Xingzhou scoffed. "Once they're taken to the capital, their souls will definitely be searched. Don't you know whether you're colluding with the infant ghost? What's the point of telling me all this?"

"We have our own opinion on this. As long as you, as the person involved, say that you can't see any tacit understanding between Lu'er and the baby ghost, then this matter will be over."

Lu Xingzhou smiled enigmatically: "I'm the aggrieved party, speaking up for the other side... What kind of saint does Marquis Zhenyuan take me for?"

Huo Xingyuan said calmly, "After this matter, you will be reinstated to the family genealogy, and you will have everything that a brother in the family should have. Furthermore, the family will do its utmost to support and favor your future development as compensation... Also, the family will do everything in its power to treat your leg."

Lu Xingzhou sneered: "What about Huo Yu's matter?"

Huo Xingyuan was silent for a moment: "Regardless of the details of Xiao Liu's matter, we will let bygones be bygones."

Lu Xingzhou stared at him for a long time: "Is this sudden generosity due to a change of heart, or something else?"

Of course, a large part of the reason lies with Shen Tang. But Huo Xingyuan didn't say that, he just sighed: "In the end, blood is thicker than water. Of course, your family has noticed your success now, ranking on the list of rising stars and being recommended to enter the Imperial Academy of Alchemy.

Lu Xingzhou seemed quite moved and remained silent.

To others, this would make the Huo family appear very sincere, and the reasoning is clear: Lu Xingzhou is promising, while Huo Yu is not. If Huo Yu's death could appease Lu Xingzhou and bring him back to the family, it would be a huge win for the Huo family. Moreover, the presence of Shen Tang behind the scenes gives the Huo family more flexibility in the future.

Huo Xingyuan knew that Lu Xingzhou understood, and then said, "That day, I asked Xiao Wu to invite you home for dinner, but Xiao Wu's attitude was bad, and I have already taught him a lesson. Think it over carefully. If you've made up your mind, there will always be a place for you at home."

Seeing that Lu Xingzhou still didn't respond, Huo Xingyuan sensed that he was interested, so he didn't press him. He quickly got up to say goodbye: "Let's leave it at that for now... The old man is getting old and misses his grandchildren. Don't keep his family waiting too long."

After saying that, he led his men away; that was all he said.

Not long after, a shadowy figure emerged from Lu Xingzhou's room through the window like a ghost: "My lord, we have obtained Lu Xingzhou's hair."

Huo Xingyuan looked at the hair in his subordinate's hand, then plucked one of his own and handed it over: "Go check it."

The subordinate bowed and left, muttering, "The men's and women's hair are all mixed together, making it hard for me to pick them out. If this is really the Seventh Young Master, he's quite the ladies' man."

Huo Xingyuan thought of that wicked maidservant; she was undeniably beautiful, but she desperately needed discipline. He shook his head and strode away.

In the courtyard, Ah Nuo held the gold that Huo Xingyuan had brought, beaming with joy: "I've been using up a lot of gold and silver in the mortal world lately, and I'm a little short. This money is really easy to earn."

Pei Chuyun whispered, "Just now, in the room..."

"They're probably testing my hair or something," Lu Xingzhou laughed. "Don't worry about it. It's just bloodline resonance technology. It's too vague to be scientific."

Pei Chuyun didn't understand science and assumed he was genuine, so she wasn't afraid of being tested. She said, "Judging from your attitude just now, are you really going back to the Huo family?"

"How could that be? I was just teasing him." Lu Xingzhou stretched. "They think I'm useful and want me to go back... but that kind of thinking will get them into big trouble."

Pei Chuyun pouted. Wasn't she the one who thought he was useful and wanted to win him over, only to end up with terrible luck...?

However, it's hard to say whether it was bad luck or good luck at the moment.

Lu Xingzhou said, "The first month of the lunar calendar is almost over. Today I really need to shut myself in and study the alchemical texts. Would you like to come and keep me company, little maid?"

Pei Chuyun snorted, "If I stay next to you, you won't be able to study. Fine, I'm going out to find some people from my sect, I'll be back tonight."

Lu Xingzhou nodded and said to A'nuo, "A'nuo, go to the Demon Suppression Division and find your sister Yao. See what arrangements she has for Ye Wufeng. She hasn't made any moves these past two days, and I'm a little worried that she's not taking it seriously enough and something might go wrong."

Pei Chuyun was turning to leave when she heard this and couldn't help but turn back angrily: "You two still say you're innocent!"

Lu Xingzhou was taken aback by her anger, then chuckled, "Hey, want to be my private concubine? Your Highness." Pei Chuyun's anger froze on her face. She snorted and turned away angrily.

When Huo Xingyuan arrived at the Huo family residence, Grand Tutor Huo Liancheng and a group of Huo family members gathered in the courtyard to watch a Taoist priest perform a ritual.

Two strands of hair intertwined, trembling slightly with the incantation. Before long, they turned to ash, merging into one, indistinguishable from one another.

The Taoist priest stood up and bowed, saying, "There is indeed a blood relationship, without a doubt."

The effectiveness of this technique is far more reliable than the unreliable blood-drop kinship tests of ancient times, and it cannot be faked. Unfortunately, it ultimately lacks the precision of modern genetic technology, and Lu Xingzhou had long anticipated this outcome.

The Huo family members exchanged glances, each with a different expression, their thoughts unclear.

Huo Liancheng sighed: "No matter what, this identity is correct... What a tragedy."

Everyone remained silent, including Huo Xingyuan.

While Huo Shang was bullied and even killed, Huo Qi, as his father, did not participate, but his favoritism and indulgence were the main factors, as were those of Grand Tutor Huo. Others were involved in the bullying to varying degrees, with Huo Qi being the one who personally killed Huo Shang.

No snowflake is innocent during an avalanche, so it's not surprising that Lu Xingzhou hates everyone.

Now that Lu Xingzhou has become successful, that's secondary. The key thing is that, strangely enough, he always manages to use various forms of influence to make it impossible for others to take action against him.

In Xia Prefecture, she was involved with Sheng Yuanyao and Shen Tang, and in Menggui City, she dragged Meng Guan into it. This time, she was going to the capital as a student taking the exam at the Dan Academy, and also as a party involved in the Huo Lu demon cultivator case. She was under the spotlight, and even the emperor was paying attention. Let alone killing her, even a slightly bad attitude would cause problems. She was extremely frustrated.

If I really wanted to kill him, I'd have to wait until he finished his studies at the Alchemy Academy and left the capital before I could do it. But that would take forever... What's infuriating is that this year's Alchemy Academy entrance exam was particularly difficult to rig, so I couldn't get him to leave early. He's really stuck here.

When he was in Beijing, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and try to win them over, even risking his own reputation.

Huo Xingyuan remained silent for a long time before saying, "In our conversation just now, his bad attitude was only expressed through the maids and children. His own attitude... wasn't actually that bad."

Huo Qi said, "Of course. Would he dare to do that to my father's face? In other people's eyes, regardless of whether he's right or wrong, he'd be seen as unreasonable from the start!"

Huo Liancheng asked, "So, what is his stance on the proposal to return?"

"He remained silent, but his attitude suggested he might be considering something," Huo Xingyuan said. "He did so much, partly to vent his anger, and partly to gain the family's approval..."

Huo Qi scoffed, "You don't mean you want to overthrow the Huo family, do you?"

A cripple of the sixth rank... facing a powerful family with two first-rank members. Indeed, no one in the world would dare to think like that.

Huo Liancheng said, "Since that's the case, then you should be more courteous to them in the future. If you guys encounter them on the road, you must not cause them any more trouble... The situation isn't good right now, so give them some leeway."

Some of the Huo family members were unconvinced, but dared not disobey, and could only agree.

The group parted ways amidst their differing thoughts. Huo Jin, with her dislocated arm in a splint, approached her elder brother Huo Qi: "Brother, are you really going to fawn over that bastard like that? I won't accept it."

Huo Qi's expression was also very unpleasant. While Huo Shang might forgive and forget others, he might not forgive Huo Qi, who was his "sworn enemy." Furthermore, if the princess rose to power, Lu Xingzhou's status would rise accordingly, and if things went wrong, Huo Qi might even lose his position to Huo Shang, which would be a true tragedy.

After a moment of contemplation, Huo Qi's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Fifth brother, go and contact the Underworld... Ye Wufeng was still in Beijing last month. If he were to assassinate Lu Xingzhou, we might not be too suspicious."

Huo Jin was stunned for a moment: "Why? Didn't Father say that in the current tense situation, no matter who killed Lu Xingzhou, His Majesty might suspect us, and we shouldn't act rashly?"

Huo Qi sneered: "Based on information from various sources, this bastard might be a judge in the Underworld, and Ye Wufeng happens to be a mortal enemy of the judge. You can contact him first. If he really is, then we can create an opportunity for Ye Wufeng. At that time, it will be an internal feud within the Underworld, and it will have nothing to do with us."

…………

Ah Nuo returned to the inn from the Demon Suppression Bureau. Lu Xingzhou was still reading a book when he casually asked, "So, what did Sheng Yuanyao say?"

Anuo scratched her head: "The people from the Demon Suppression Division said that Sister Yao didn't work today and went to the park with Pei Yu."

"A...a stroll in the garden?" Lu Xingzhou was stunned. "Your sister has such refined tastes? I never would have guessed. This morning, the way she sat at our door eating Huo Xingyuan's gossip was more normal than going to a garden."

Ah Nuo said, "They say it's springtime in February, and the young masters and ladies of the capital often organize these kinds of garden parties at this time of year. Sister Yao didn't usually like to participate, but this time, I don't know why, is it because Pei Yu has a lot of influence or something..."

Lu Xingzhou's expression turned somewhat unpleasant: "She didn't usually get involved, but suddenly she did this time... What face does Pei Yu have in front of Gua Mei? Gua Mei stood up to him several times that day... Pei Yu, isn't there also that Chu Qingchen?"

Ah Nuo's heart skipped a beat: "Could it be that they're trying to use this opportunity to lure Ye Wufeng? But the people from the Demon Suppression Division said she didn't bring any of their subordinates."

"It's precisely because they wanted to create the appearance of a stroll in the garden that they didn't bring anyone... They believed that their own followers and Pei Yuchu Qingchen's own strength were enough to hunt down Ye Wufeng." Lu Xingzhou frowned: "Do you know which garden it is? Looks like we'll have to go take a look."

“I know, Qingyao Garden in the suburbs.” Anuo scratched his head and said, “Judging from Chu Qingchen’s level of fourth rank upper stage, it shouldn’t be a big problem, right? Pei Yu is also fourth rank middle stage, and Sister Yao is fifth rank. They also have a bunch of protectors.”

“Theoretically, that’s true, but I’m uneasy,” Lu Xingzhou said. “You know, Ye Wufeng topped the Rising Star Ranking a year ago. Nobody knows what changes have occurred in the past year. Judging a person’s strength based on the outdated Rising Star Ranking is the most foolish thing to do. People always put themselves in others’ shoes and think that it takes many years for a fourth-rank person to break through to the third-rank. But the reason why the Rising Star Ranking is the Rising Star Ranking is because it is the dividing line between ordinary people and mediocre people. He may not necessarily need many years.”

Ah Nuo also became nervous: "If Ye Wufeng has already reached the third rank and suddenly launches an attack at the right moment, Sister Yao may not be able to handle it. Let's go and see, and at least remind Sister Yao."

"We've arrived at just the right time. The little demoness is going to find the sect members, which means we're missing a major fighting force." Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment and said, "That's fine. If she's going to go all out, she might reveal the Charming Maiden Technique in public. It's better if she doesn't go. Let's go first."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

PS: 10,000 words completed. I achieved the badge for writing 10,000 words in 20 days. Pretty good, right?

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(End of this chapter)