Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 139 Don't Flirt With Me
Lu Xingzhou didn't study divination, but Yuan Muyu was proficient in it and had even taught A Nuo, so he still understood the basics.

The Yu official is in charge of hunting and fishing in mountains and marshes. Without the Yu official's assistance, hunting deer in the mountains is unlikely to succeed. It's not exactly an inauspicious omen, but it's certainly not lucky.

What we get from the hexagram text is not necessarily "good or bad" or "should we do it or not". It can also be a hint about what is lacking and guidance on how to do it.

The message says there's no official in charge of the field; either don't do it, or if you want to, you should go find an official in charge of the field.

In fact, Lu Xingzhou had been looking for Yu Guan all along... the Sheng family, the Pei family, he had been trying to leverage any available resources, otherwise how could he possibly deal with the Huo family all by himself?
But does this divination mean that the direction we're looking in is wrong, and we haven't found the right one? It's hard to say. Sheng Qingfeng might not be able to offer much help in dealing with the Huo family, and the Pei family is already at odds with the Huo family, so whether we side with them or not doesn't make much difference. It seems like we really need to find another way.
The most troublesome thing about divination texts is that even if the imperial advisor were here, she might not be able to explain them clearly.

"I'm still grateful for the Imperial Advisor's divination; at least it gives me a better understanding of the situation. I'll consider other forms of assistance." Lu Xingzhou didn't say much, only smiled and asked, "By the way, why would the Imperial Advisor suddenly give me such a divination? Does she even know me?"

"How could I not know her? What's your relationship with her apprentice?"

Lu Xingzhou's face turned green: "She doesn't know, does she...?"

Sheng Yuanyao: “?”

"Ahem." Lu Xingzhou quickly changed the subject: "This divination can also refer to how others treat me. Look at Ye Wufeng, isn't he a typical headless fly, asking for trouble?"

Pei Chuyun is another one.

Looking at it this way, the divination is really accurate.

Sheng Yuanyao's attention was indeed diverted, and she laughed, "Anyway, it's good that you know what you're doing. I'm just afraid you'll blindly seek revenge, and something might happen..."

His voice trailed off at this point, and he finally lowered his head and remained silent.

Lu Xingzhou looked down at her expression and for the first time felt that Gua Mei had become a bit more womanly.

The girl with a more feminine charm is really pretty... It's quite different from when she was so focused on her official duties, and the contrast is even more beautiful.

Even without Pei Chuyun saying it, Lu Xingzhou was well aware that Gua Mei's behavior most likely indicated that she had fallen for him. But he dared not respond.

Sheng Yuanyao is different from Pei Chuyun. While the little vixen Hehuan can be casual about such things, Sheng Yuanyao's identity dictates that she cannot simply seek momentary pleasure. With Shen Tang standing there, Sheng Yuanyao is destined to keep her feelings hidden and dare not express them. Lu Xingzhou also dares not flirt recklessly, lest something bad happen.

Anyway, the ripples created by this momentary hero saving the damsel in distress haven't stood the test of time. Just like the ambiguous relationship caused by Xiao Bai Mao's momentary infatuation, it's unlikely to last. Maybe next time they meet again, it'll just be a casual greeting of "How are you, old friend?" And after a while, when Gua Mei's mood has calmed down, that should be about it, right?

Thinking about it this way, it's quite tragic. After Pei Chuyun was recognized as a member of the Pei family, her identity as a member of the Pei family became even more important... Once that was gone, everything was gone.

"You..." Sheng Yuanyao took a small step back and said cautiously, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No." Lu Xingzhou smiled casually, "Can't I look good?"

Sheng Yuanyao bit her lower lip: "Don't tease me."

Don't you know that what you said is more flirtatious than anything else? Lu Xingzhou hesitated, but the words that came out were: "Why would I flirt with you? Do I look like a gay man to you?"

"You!" Sheng Yuanyao glared angrily, but quickly put on a fake smile: "Oh, is that so? Well, my mother has introduced me to a son of an imperial censor. How about you come with me to the blind date sometime and help me check him out?"

"No need to vet them, they're all unsuitable." Lu Xingzhou said seriously, "Next time someone introduces you to a girl, I might go with you to take a look."

Sheng Yuanyao kicked out.

Because of his back injury, he couldn't exert much force, and the kick felt weak. Lu Xingzhou instinctively reached out and caught it.

The air was silent for a moment. Lu Xingzhou watched as Sheng Yuanyao's face grew redder and redder, but there was no anger in her eyes. Instead, she seemed to shrink back and say, "Hey... let go... my back hurts."

Lu Xingzhou hurriedly put it down and awkwardly tried to change the subject: "Um, let me check the back?"

Actually, there's really no need to see a pill refiner for that kind of back injury. The Sheng family has been the Demon Suppression Division for so long; they're quite skilled at treating such simple external injuries. Besides, if they really needed to change the dressing, it would be A'nuo who would do it, which would ultimately require undressing…

But Sheng Yuanyao's eyes flickered slightly, and she only gave a soft "hmm": "Then take a look, I feel a little uncomfortable."

Now Lu Xingzhou was in a difficult position. He had only casually changed the subject, but now he was actually going to take his clothes off to look?

After thinking for a moment, he simply helped her to the garden pavilion. Looking around, even though no one was around, Lu Xingzhou still casually set up a concealment array. Sheng Yuanyao stared at him intently, a half-smile on her face.

You actually dare to take off my clothes?

But then she saw Lu Xingzhou sitting behind her, pressing his palm against her wound.

A refreshing, watery aura swept over, cutting through the bruises and nourishing the flesh. It felt like soaking in a spiritual spring, so comfortable that one couldn't help but hum softly.

As soon as he uttered a sound, Sheng Yuanyao immediately covered her mouth, her eyes darting around before she remembered that he had set up a magic array.

Oh no, if someone outside hears this, will it sound similar to the sound I heard Shen Tang from outside the carriage?

"You..." Sheng Yuanyao said with difficulty, "So you know healing magic? Why didn't you let me use it that day?"

"It's not a spell, just the power of water element. I rarely use it out on my own, and I'm not used to it... I used it once last night during the battle with Ye Wufeng, and that's when I started to get used to it."

Sheng Yuanyao fell silent, feeling the comfort and slight tingling on her back, her mind drifting somewhat.

A subtle, romantic feeling was stirring in their hearts, yet they both suppressed it, afraid to express it in the slightest. This feeling was somewhat oppressive, lacking the ease and comfort they used to have when they were together.

After a long while, Sheng Yuanyao finally asked calmly, "What exactly is your relationship with Shen Tang?"

In that instant, she desperately hoped that his relationship with Shen Tang was just like hers just now, and that the voice was just a misunderstanding... But Lu Xingzhou's hand paused slightly, and he still answered, "Lover."

Sheng Yuanyao was completely speechless. Suddenly, she felt a strange urge to laugh. What answer did she want?
If Lu Xingzhou is the type to manipulate women's feelings, he just said "it's a normal relationship between a sect leader and a guest minister," and then what? He himself was manipulated, wasn't he?

Fortunately, he wasn't that kind of person after all.

It's clearly a commendable act of frankness, so what's there to feel uncomfortable about?

Sheng Yuanyao let out a long sigh, her tense muscles gradually relaxing, and suddenly laughed: "Hey, do you know what kind of relationship you have with me?"

Lu Xingzhou paused for a moment: "A friend?"

Sheng Yuanyao snorted, "You are the criminal I'm investigating, and you're full of lies. The first question I asked you was the truth you've only just told me now."

What was their first sentence?
"Name?"

"Lu Xingzhou."

Yes, the first thing he said was a lie; he only told the truth today.

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh out loud after thinking about it: "Then, Commander Sheng, should we continue to investigate the Huo family case?"

"What kind of crazy idea are you up to now?"

"Come on, I'll take you to eat some watermelon."

Sheng Yuanyao immediately became interested: "Where to?"

"The Demon Suppression Division."

"...I took you to eat melon seeds. Would you have been able to get in without me?"

"Then I'll take you somewhere you don't know?"

"where?"

"Yanluo Palace Branch".

Sheng Yuanyao immediately stood up: "Let's go. I want to see if there are any Ox-Head and Horse-Face demons inside."

"There's no Ox-Head or Horse-Face, but a little pig is about to go in, that's the real deal."

"I'm a little pig, what are you?"

"Little Gou, wasn't he personally appointed by Commander Sheng?"

The two bickered all the way out, and the lingering sense of oppression suddenly vanished.

Ah Nuo followed behind, opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

Have you two forgotten that there are still people here?

She even said she was closer to Anuo than to Lu Xingzhou—what a liar!

…………

While the two were strolling in the garden after dinner, Madam Sheng hid away to give the young couple a "blind date space," but Sheng Qingfeng didn't have time for that; he went to the Demon Suppression Division.

Huo Lu and Ying Gui were only escorted from Menggui City to the capital this morning.

The main problem was that Huo Lu was severely injured; his bones were almost completely shattered, and his dantian was destroyed. Even a slight movement could have been fatal. Meng Guan personally escorted him, carefully protecting him in a carriage all the way, and it took them so long to reach the capital.

I arrived in Beijing in the morning, reported to the emperor, and the trial began in the afternoon.

Whether the collusion with demonic cultivators was Huo Lu's personal act or the Huo family's act was a serious question, and Gu Zhanting came to hear the hearing in person.

At noon, Huo Xingyuan went to Lu Xingzhou's inn again, only to find that wretched little maidservant chasing people away with a broom; Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice were nowhere to be found. He had brought a large amount of gold and silver as a gesture of goodwill that day, but it had all been wasted; he had no choice but to go to court first.

Under Sheng Qingfeng's interrogation, the infant ghost's remnant soul could not withstand it at all and responded weakly, "It was indeed Young Master Huo who asked me to kill Lu Xingzhou."

Sheng Qingfeng pressed further, "How did Huo Lu meet you when he first arrived in Menggui City?"

The infant ghost weakly replied, "So that Prefect Shi was actually a member of the Huo family. I was on his side, and through him, I made contact with the Huo family..."

Grand Tutor Huo Liancheng interrupted sharply: "I don't know you at all, stop making baseless accusations!"

He then bowed to Gu Zhanting and said, "Your Majesty, how can we trust the words of a demonic cultivator? Moreover, according to Soul Search, his master is the Holy Maiden of the Joyful Union, which is clearly an attempt to smear the Huo family."

Pei Qingyan's lips twitched.

I hadn't really thought much of it when I heard that the infant ghost was backed by the Holy Maiden of Joy, but this time I was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

You old scoundrel, you're trying to frame my daughter, aren't you?

He immediately stepped forward: "Your Majesty, since Grand Tutor Huo believes that the words of demonic cultivators cannot be trusted, then let's just search their souls directly; after all, we can't fake it."

Previously, Pei Qingyan had also wanted Lu Xingzhou to testify, mainly because she was unsure of herself. If the soul search revealed it was truly unrelated to the Huo family, everything would collapse. But now she was very confident. In short, it couldn't have been her daughter who did it; otherwise, how could she and Lu Xingzhou be together? Now she had that confidence.

(End of this chapter)