Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 191 A Gentleman is Constantly Striving
Dugu Qingli was also startled. She hadn't expected that she would find signs of witchcraft when she came to say goodbye to her "friends," especially since it was an altar built by the emperor.

It seems they've inadvertently gotten involved in some serious political incident.

But neither the demonic disciple nor the direct descendant of the holy land took this political event, which should have made people want to stay away, seriously. Instead, they were eager to see the truth.

Since it is a "blood vessel", then there is a flow of blood.

Following the flow of blood, they soon arrived at the central room.

It's as if blood vessels from all directions converge here; this room is the heart.

However, Lu Xingzhou had already examined this "heart" and found that it was completely filled in... He had previously thought that the filling was a mistake in the architectural design, but now that he saw it, it was clear that there was another reason.

Lu Xingzhou immediately set up a soundproof array, and then punched it without saying a word. Water and fire exploded, creating a huge hole.

Then the talisman was lit, and the Five Ghosts Transporting Things started moving. In no time, they had moved all the bricks and stones inside.

Dugu Qingli: "..."

I've felt more than once that Taoist cultivation is more useful than martial arts cultivation... Speaking of which, my master clearly knows everything, so why does he only teach me swordsmanship?

The room was empty, and a pattern resembling a heart was clearly visible etched on the earth's core, but it was in a stopped state. The blood flowing into the surrounding "vessels" was meaningless here, leaving the space empty.

Lu Xingzhou crouched down to examine it: "Judging from this, it was originally a witchcraft, and the form corresponds to the emperor's illness. But the witchcraft seems to have failed, so this place was abandoned. But I don't understand witchcraft..."

Dugu Qingli was also puzzled: "How does this work?"

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her, his eyes somewhat unreadable.

Dugu Qingli looked at herself strangely, but there were no flowers on her clothes: "What's wrong? That look in your eyes."

Are you sure you don't know witchcraft?

"Of course not. Besides swordsmanship, I only know a few ice spells, which is due to my talent."

Lu Xingzhou remained silent: "Your technique of plucking hairs from a distance, isn't that witchcraft?"

Dugu Qingli retreated in shock: "You... how did you know..."

"It really is you!" Lu Xingzhou was furious. "What did I do to offend you that you're torturing me like this!"

After racking my brains for so many days trying to figure out which bastard did it, apart from the day Pei Chuyun cut her hair and gave it to Dugu Qingli to wrap around her finger, there couldn't be any other suspects.

I just can't believe that such a lousy thing was done by Little White Hair. I don't even dare to guess that! It would be easier to understand if you said that Pei Chuyun left one down to cast a spell.

And it really is true!
Dugu Qingli, feeling guilty, backed away again: "It was just pulling your hair, why are you so angry? You cut a lock of my hair too..."

"I freaking..." Lu Xingzhou didn't know how to explain, so he could only say, "Anyway, you're not allowed to make this up anymore. If you do, I'll..."

Dugu Qingli stared at him intently, her eyes so clear, as if to say, "You can pull my hair too, I'm not afraid."

Lu Xingzhou took a few steps closer, furious: "If you keep pulling that string, I'll kiss you!"

Dugu Qingli reacted immediately: "You can't!"

"Then you can't pull me anymore!"

Ah Nuo squatted to one side, feeling that these two seemed even more childish than herself. What kind of conversation was this...?

“If you don’t want to pull, then don’t pull. It’s like nobody wants to pull…” Dugu Qingli said seriously, “I also considered it later. If you were accidentally pulled during the battle, it would be dangerous. You really can’t pull randomly.”

Lu Xingzhou breathed a long sigh of relief: "That's good. Speaking of which, what else could this be but witchcraft?"

"Indeed, it's not; it should be considered a kind of immortal technique."

The atmosphere turned cold.

Since no one knows witchcraft, even if they can see that there is witchcraft here, they won't know its specific effects or the reason for the shutdown. Wouldn't this investigation be a dead end?

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment, then suddenly cut his finger and dripped a drop of blood onto his heart.

The heart's color brightened, as if it had begun to beat.

Even without understanding witchcraft, as long as there is an energy reaction, people can naturally make a rough judgment based on the flow of energy.

Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli's expressions turned ugly at the same time, and they said in unison, "Anuo, step back and go outside."

Ah Nuo disappeared instantly.

Lu Xingzhou said in a low voice, "There are demon corpses underground. This witchcraft draws bloodline power from the demon corpses and feeds it back to the emperor. This is like drinking poison to quench thirst."

“Not all witchcraft is evil; some witchcraft is even righteous, but this is a typical evil spell,” Dugu Qingli said. “Since this spell can absorb demonic power, it can naturally absorb human power as well… What if one day the emperor wants to use human power…”

Lu Xingzhou pursed his lips. He never hesitated to speculate about feudal emperors with the utmost malice. It was perfectly normal for an emperor to do such things for his own health. And since the Huo family was always doing such dirty work for the emperor, how could ordinary scandals possibly bring them down?
Even some of the scandals involving the Huo family were actually done on behalf of the emperor, so what could they possibly be used to expose?

“There’s something wrong with the ley lines here.” After a long investigation, Lu Xingzhou finally came to a conclusion: “I don’t know if the quality of the core materials is faulty, or if it has been interfered with by others, which is why this witchcraft is so ineffective. The demonic power that the emperor wanted may not be obtained in much form, but the demonic energy is mixed and we’ve absorbed quite a bit… The stuff isn’t as good as expected, which is the main reason why it was eventually abandoned.”

Dugu Qingli said in a low voice, "Building such an altar is a waste of manpower and resources. If it doesn't work after one use, it should be abandoned immediately..."

The Imperial Supreme Scripture was indeed not a good cultivation method.

Lu Xingzhou, however, was not thinking about that; his expression was unreadable.

This witchcraft should have been more effective. The emperor must have investigated it, but the investigators, whether intentionally or not, did not tell the truth, leading the emperor to believe that it was ineffective, and thus it was abandoned.

Since Madam Ye knew about this matter, Lu Xingzhou felt it was most likely related to her, that she had interfered and blocked it, resulting in the outcome. It was also very possible that Huo Heng was involved, perhaps using slightly inferior materials, making Madam Ye's interference and blocking easier and more seamless.

If, in order to file a complaint against Huo Heng, this matter were reported to the emperor, even if the matter of Madam Ye was concealed and only Huo Heng was highlighted for using substandard products, what consequences would that cause?
Huo Heng should certainly be recorded in the emperor's little book, but the altar should be reopened.

If a demon is sacrificed now, then humans will inevitably be sacrificed later.

This matter cannot be revealed.

After a long while, Lu Xingzhou said in a low voice, "We can't reveal it." Dugu Qingli turned to look at him.

She was well aware of Lu Xingzhou's obsession with taking revenge on the Huo family, but she gave up the opportunity when it was right in front of her.

"Aren't you going to seek revenge?"

“There are many ways to get revenge, it’s not like this is the only way. Is it really worth it?” Lu Xingzhou laughed casually and straightened up. “Besides, this isn’t a big case. It’s not worth it.”

A hint of appreciation flashed in Dugu Qingli's eyes, but she didn't say much. Instead, she changed the subject: "There has never been a tradition of escorting demons to the capital for imprisonment; they are always executed on the spot. Therefore, there shouldn't be any demons in the capital. Where these demons came from is also a question. Do you want to investigate?"

“Let’s not investigate anymore. There are only a few sources.” Lu Xingzhou laughed: “Back then, the prefects were all cunning. Did they really think the emperor didn’t know? I’m too lazy to guess what he was thinking… With your master around, she doesn’t say anything. Why should we interfere? If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up.”

There was a hint of dissatisfaction with the Imperial Preceptor in those words, which Dugu Qingli noticed, and she felt somewhat embarrassed: "Master... has it tough too."

"I know, I don't blame her."

"Then..." Dugu Qingli lowered her eyes, "I'm leaving?"

Lu Xingzhou cut off a tuft of hair and handed it over: "This one is shinier, change it, throw away the old one."

"What's the point of whether it's shiny or not? Why would I collect your hair?"

"Then why weren't the previous ones thrown away?"

Dugu Qingli quickly discarded those things from before.

Lu Xingzhou reacted as if he had seen a fire startled; he rushed over and stomped on the flames several times, turning them into ashes.

Dugu Qingli: "..."

"Take it." Lu Xingzhou shoved the new hair into her hand without saying a word.

"I do not want."

"Look, I have everything you have, so it's only fair that you have something of mine too, right?"

The human and the machine fell into thought.

"As you said, this journey is thousands of miles long, and we may never meet again. When friends part, they always want to leave some kind of memento, just like having friends who have been through thick and thin with them, right?"

Dugu Qingli wanted to refuse, but suddenly remembered her master's words: "Go with the flow, that is the way."

What is nature?

I wanted to say goodbye to him, so I came.

Do I want to keep it as a memento? Yes.

That's it.

So in the end, he said nothing and silently took the tuft of hair.

But do I want to have a deeper relationship with him?

I didn't really want to.

Although he thought the little white-haired boy was very handsome, and I also thought he was very handsome... there are many things in the world that are more important than being good-looking, aren't there?

Dugu Qingli gathered her hair and finally said, "Since you don't want any further developments in this matter, I should go on my mission. Until we meet again."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Lu Xingzhou behind her remained silent, and Dugu Qingli suddenly felt relaxed, finding this state quite comfortable.

Master was right after all. We should just let things take their course. If we meet again next time, perhaps we won't need to be so tense like we were today...

Lu Xingzhou watched her figure disappear without saying anything more.

There are too many things to deal with right now, whether it's family feuds, official business, endless emotional entanglements, or the dangerous missions people are about to embark on... It's not a good time to stir things up.

There are many things in the world more important than white hair and blue eyes.

Lu Xingzhou looked down at the beating heart on the ground, then suddenly reached out and beckoned.

The black flames of the soul banner burned silently, completely destroying the heart pattern.

Then they returned to the outside of the altar and leisurely led Anuo back to the capital.

"So you gave up?" Ye Tinglan was still sitting in her office drinking tea, as if she had been waiting for him.

Lu Xingzhou said calmly, "Isn't this the result you wanted to see, sir?"

"I only want to see your own choices."

"Actually, there's no need for a test; this is the only choice I would make," Lu Xingzhou said calmly. "It's just that I have some regrets."

"Is it a pity we couldn't use this to deal with Huo Heng?"

“No, the regret is that I thought I had received help and guidance, but it turned out to be just a boring test.” Lu Xingzhou smiled: “Sheng Yuanyao said that the Imperial Advisor once cast a divination for me, saying that there would be no Yu if I tried to catch a deer… Now it seems that it has indeed come true. Even the teacher I studied under was unwilling to take the position of Yu official, so it seems that I am destined not to find it.”

Ye Tinglan was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "The hexagram is only a temporary sign, not something that remains unchanged. A wise person is constantly striving, and eventually he may leap from the abyss."

"Sir, you also understand divination?"

"Understood."

"When will this state of peace and security change for me?"

Ye Tinglan smiled slightly: "Perhaps... now?"

(End of this chapter)