Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 233 You Can't Break My Defense
I wonder what Long Qinghuang was thinking at that last moment. Lu Xingzhou dares to say that this demon queen seems to have really been attracted to him and wanted to take him back as a concubine.

For those in power, it's perfectly normal, like a male emperor taking a fancy to a beautiful woman from the common people during his travels—it's exactly the same thing; he just takes her back to play with her. Especially when demons abduct humans, do they even need a reason?

There's nothing you can do about being handsome.

The outcome is similar to that of a commoner's angry denunciation of an emperor who was lustful and bullied the weak. Since the matter has been brought to this point, the emperor, with his pride, will at least pretend, "I'm not that shallow." Anyway, there are important matters to attend to now, and it's not the right time, so it's better to put it aside for now and keep him around for a while.

It seems my life isn't in danger, and in this situation, the other party usually won't easily harbor murderous intent. If it were a male emperor, he might even be adoring a beautiful woman, but unfortunately, this is a female dragon, so it becomes "giving you the opportunity to woo me."

Lu Xingzhou was truly at his wit's end.

If this trend continues and Mr. Ye doesn't come to the rescue, won't we really be taken back? We need to think of a way to escape.

The only consolation is that this woman is most likely a virgin. Otherwise, if she were an empress with thousands of male consorts, she certainly wouldn't have stopped at mere teasing like lifting her chin with her finger... So even if she did take her back and force herself on her, it doesn't seem like she'd really lose out...

He was filled with worries, while Long Qinghuang didn't dwell on the conversation at all. Essentially, she'd just seen an interesting toy, which was why she wasn't making a fuss. Rather than being interested in Lu Xingzhou, she was currently more interested in A'nuo.

At this moment, Long Qinghuang was holding Anuo's hand kindly as they walked and chatted: "I haven't asked you your name yet, little sister?"

Ah Nuo said, "My name is Ah Tuan."

"A-Tuan..." Long Qinghuang asked thoughtfully, "What kind of martial arts do you practice?"

Ah Nuo scratched his head: "The body-strengthening method I practice is called 'Mountain-Opening Skill'... It's of a decent grade."

"Mountain-Splitting Skill? What is that?" Long Qinghuang asked curiously, "Your brother practices a top-grade skill, which is much better than this. Why doesn't he teach it to you?"

Ah Nuo said, "My physique is special. I can't retain 'qi' very well. All the energy is converted into physical strength, so I'm more suitable to practice body tempering techniques. My master... my brother wanted to teach me that set of techniques after he got it, but I can't learn it."

Long Qinghuang frowned slightly, looking at A Nuo with a puzzled expression.

Upon first meeting, I felt a strange sense of familiarity with Anuo, but the observations didn't suggest she was a demon transformed into a human, so I couldn't make a judgment for the time being. Hearing this made it even stranger. Anuo's description sounded like a talent of the demon race. Most demons rely heavily on their physical strength. Although some races, like the fox clan, focus on magic, most cultivate their physical strength.

Or to put it another way, many human body-tempering methods are based on demon cultivation methods. That's why when Xu Bingkun, the city lord of Xiazhou, encountered a bottleneck, he tried to break through by practicing demon cultivation methods.

Ah Nuo's situation resembles that of a demon, yet she possesses no demonic aura whatsoever. Even with her level of observation, her true form cannot be discerned, which is not the behavior of a demon.

However, there are many strange and unusual innate physiques in the world. It is said that the current direct descendant of the Tianyao Holy Land possesses the Ice Soul Sword Physique, which is quite different from ordinary people. No matter how arrogant Long Qinghuang is, she would not believe that she can recognize all the special creations in the world. She can only keep her confusion to herself to avoid misjudging and losing face.

She thought for a moment, then suddenly cast a spell to block Lu Xingzhou from eavesdropping behind her, and asked in a low voice, "A-Tuan, have you ever thought that you are very suitable for learning the methods of demon cultivation?"

Ah Nu shook her head like a rattle: "I won't learn it. I still want to live in a human country. What if I grow a lot of fur from practicing?"

"Why do you insist on staying in a human country? The demon realm is not a wild and untamed place."

Ah Nuo still shook her head: "But you can't be covered in fur."

"Who said that learning demon cultivation will result in being covered in hair?"

"I've seen all of these before..."

"That's because the methods of different races are different, and what high-level demonic arts can they learn?" Long Qinghuang said disdainfully, "If you learn from me, I guarantee that not only will you not grow hair, but you will also become incredibly strong."

Ah Nuo looked rather uninterested.

Long Qinghuang said, "It can also make you taller and improve your figure."

Anuo's eyes lit up, and she turned to look at Long Qinghuang.

Her tall figure, imposing chest, and slender waist were incredibly convincing...

In terms of size, she might be comparable to Mr. Ye; but in terms of height, this Sister Long is the tallest sister I've ever seen, and she exudes a strong sense of presence.

Ah Nuo touched her index fingers together, wondering if she could grow that tall in the future.
Half convinced, she cautiously asked, "What are your conditions, sister? Do you want my brother to warm your bed?"

Long Qinghuang didn't deny it, and said with a smile, "Are you willing?"

Ah Nuo muttered, "What's the use of me being willing or not..."

"Do you think your brother would agree? Look at his serious and upright appearance."

Ah Nuo: “…”

Died young.

Who are you calling serious?
“My brother is a scholar, very cultured.” Ah Nuo lowered her voice and whispered, “Does sister know what a scholar is? It’s someone who, even if he’s very fond of someone, still has to be righteous and moral, not look at what is improper, not be corrupted by wealth, and not be subservient to others… If you don’t believe me, secretly look at him now, he’ll definitely be staring at you in a daze.”

Even without Anuo saying it, Long Qinghuang's consciousness had never left Lu Xingzhou; he was indeed staring intently at his own back.

"So this is infatuation?" Long Qinghuang preferred to believe that the man was thinking about how to escape.

Of course, her guess was correct.

Anuo asked, "Sister, do ordinary people care what you wear?" Long Qinghuang was taken aback. Wasn't it because gold jewelry made it easy for people to guess her identity, so she had to keep a low profile?

Ah Nuo sighed: "It's obvious that men are just using this as an excuse to see the girls they like dressed in a way that suits their tastes. Otherwise, who cares what anyone wears... My brother has never cared about what I wear all these years."

Long Qinghuang: "..."

"These hypocritical scholars just want a way out. What mutual affection? If things really went wrong, would they dare not take responsibility?"

“No…” Long Qinghuang asked with a strange expression, “How old are you?”

Anuo covered her little mouth.

Long Qinghuang grabbed Anuo's ear: "Little thing, you're helping your brother seduce women, aren't you?"

Ah Nu struggled, "That's because my brother likes my sister too much and forced me to help him..."

Lu Xingzhou was blocked and couldn't hear what they were saying at all. He was initially quite at ease with their conversation; anyone who treated A Nuo like a child would make a fatal mistake of underestimating her. Who knew if this tigress might stumble on A Nuo...

Seeing that things were going so well and suddenly they started pulling each other's ears, she quickly stepped forward and interjected, "Hey, hey... how did my sister offend His Majesty..."

Long Qinghuang released A'nuo, looked Lu Xingzhou up and down, and gave him a look of disdain as if he were a greyhound: "Considering you have some sense, I'll let bygones be bygones with your hypocritical little schemes. But I need to tell you a cruel truth..."

Lu Xingzhou was completely bewildered. What was this all about?
Then Long Qinghuang continued, "The strength of a dragon's physical body is beyond your comprehension; you cannot even break through my defenses."

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

When did I say I was going to break your defenses...? Wait, considering the context and the way you're looking at that greyhound, is the "breaking your defenses" you're talking about the same kind of breaking your defenses that I understand?
No, we've come to this point, and you're not angry?

How did Ah Nuo manage to do that?
Lu Xingzhou glared fiercely at A Nuo, who covered her mouth, blinked her big eyes, and cautiously backed away.

The master and apprentice had so much experience working together that Lu Xingzhou would never undermine A Nuo. Even if he didn't know what had happened, he could easily play along vaguely: "Even if you like Sister Long a lot, you can't just sell out your brother."

Long Qinghuang patted his shoulder: "Alright, stop being stubborn. We're almost there. If you can help me with the work, I might give you something in return."

"..." Lu Xingzhou looked up and saw that everyone was walking, not very fast. This place was clearly still on the edge of the Frozen Moon River, how could it be the location where the original owner found the dragon bone fragments? Is this what they call a place?
But then he quickly realized, "Does Your Majesty think that the location the original owner took Hanlan Sect to see wasn't the actual place where the dragon bones were unearthed?"

Long Qinghuang said calmly, "A radius of a thousand miles may seem large to others, but it's not that big to me. The entire Frozen Moon Cold River is actually under my perception, but only the remains of the corpses in the place where you and I first met have a trace of dragon blood... Otherwise, why do you think I would be there?"

Lu Xingzhou thought about it seriously for a moment, his expression turning somewhat grave: "How much of a sensory experience can the ice layer block?"

"The outer ice layer is almost meaningless to me; I can even see the deepest water. But the closer I get to the core, the different the quality of the ice becomes, and the shallower the range of perception." Long Qinghuang tossed the map jade slip in her hand: "Guess where the original owner found the dragon bones?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "The original owner was easily controlled by the Hanlan Sect, so he must not be very strong. It is said that the closer you get to the core, the more ferocious the wind blades and frost swords become. I can't get very far, so I reckon he can't get close to the center either, at most he'll be on the outer ring."

“That’s right. The original owner found the dragon bones far from the center of the glacier. If it were that location, my divine sense would have probed very deep, but there was nothing there.”

"Therefore, Your Majesty traveled slowly, seemingly chatting idly, but in reality, you were distracted by scanning the bottom of the ice layer thousands of miles away."

Long Qinghuang tilted her head and smiled slightly: "You're very smart."

Lu Xingzhou said, "If bone fragments are exposed above the ice, it means the entire skeleton is almost exposed and cannot be very deep. So either the dragon bones have been taken away, or they are only in the very center of the ice. This is why His Majesty needs me. If they are in the shallow center, buried so shallowly, no one can determine the age of the dragon bones. They might be very new. So he wants me to make a rough judgment based on the surrounding plants."

Long Qinghuang smiled and said, "Not bad."

Lu Xingzhou said, "So Your Majesty already guessed that the dragon bone was in the center, and didn't even need to go to the city to ask. You could have just gone straight to the core. Why did you waste time accompanying me to Hanlan City?"

Long Qinghuang put away her smile and said calmly, "The reason I agreed to go to the city with you to ask questions is not to determine the location of the dragon bone, but to determine how this information was spread and who had those fragments before."

Lu Xingzhou nodded: "His Majesty suspects that this matter is a trap set for you."

"Hmm... The fragment is in the hands of the successful bidder. What has he been doing all these days?" Long Qinghuang said leisurely, "And, there is also an invisible person involved in this matter."

Lu Xingzhou continued, "At the auction, there are people bidding against the successful bidder. It's only when someone bids that the dragon bone's activity attracts attention and spreads like wildfire… It seems reasonable, but what if this is all a performance? In this desolate border town, those who know their stuff just bump into each other…"

"That was to get the message to my ears in a plausible way. Why would fragments of the dragon bone from the central ice layer end up on the outer edge and be picked up by someone? That's a strange coincidence in itself." Long Qinghuang sneered, "They know that my divine sense cannot penetrate the center of the glacier and that I must go in to investigate in person, so they can set up a trap to slay the dragon."

Lu Xingzhou glanced at Long Qinghuang, his expression somewhat complicated.

This could indeed be a scheme orchestrated by humans to control the Demon Emperor. Humans' suggestion to question the Demon Emperor in Hanlan City ironically made the Demon Emperor realize she had betrayed her own kind. However, this Demon Emperor, while arrogant, was not reckless. From the beginning, she had been subtly probing and considering the situation. Even without human intervention, she would most likely have seen through the scheme anyway.

This is the Dragon Emperor, whose might surpasses all demons.

They may not have much experience in romantic relationships, but they are certainly not lacking in wisdom in other areas.

Long Qinghuang reached out and lifted Lu Xingzhou's chin, smiling seductively: "You humans want to kill me, so what do you, Chen Yu, plan to do?"

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.

P.S.: There's a writers' association meeting this afternoon, so the next update will be quite late.

(End of this chapter)