Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 234 She Cares About Me
The teasing was the same as before, and they got even closer than last time.

The woman was very tall, only half a head shorter than Lu Xingzhou. With her chin tilted up and her pretty face slightly raised, she looked like she could kiss him at any moment.

Her lips were slightly full, and though they weren't rouged, they were a vibrant red, making her look incredibly sexy and alluring.

But Lu Xingzhou felt no romantic feelings whatsoever; the fear of dying at any moment returned to his heart.

This time, getting it wrong is a real disaster; no matter how good-looking you are, it won't matter.

At this moment, Lu Xingzhou's mind was clearer than ever before. His thoughts raced, and he considered many things: "I think... your judgment may be wrong."

Long Qinghuang was quite surprised by his answer, never expecting it to be like this: "How do you know?"

“I agree that it is highly likely a trap aimed at you, but it may not be only aimed at you,” Lu Xingzhou said. “As Your Majesty also knows, one of the five Ghost Emperors of the Yama Palace has also come.”

"so what?"

"If the Ghost Emperor confirms the dragon bone is genuine, will he notify Yama?" Lu Xingzhou asked. "And if Yama's intelligence network can know about things so far in the future, what about the Tianyao Holy Land, which has an even stronger reach? Do they know?"

Long Qinghuang said, "You mean this place will become a chaotic situation involving multiple parties? Why don't you think this situation was set up by the Tianyao Holy Land?"

"Because Tianyao Holy Land and Yama Palace are opposing forces... At the end of the year before last, Tianyao Holy Land surrounded Yama and several people were injured by her."

Long Qinghuang said thoughtfully, "Continue."

"Assuming it was Tianyao Holy Land that set this up, they shouldn't have brought both the Demon Emperor and Yama, their two rivals, together. They're too difficult to control, and the chances of it going wrong are too high. If it were me who orchestrated it, I would have sent people to cut off the channels for transmitting information to other forces, win over allies, and focus solely on His Majesty. The success rate would be much higher. Why spread the news all over the world and attract all sorts of messy forces like the Yama Palace?"

Long Qinghuang's expression turned serious: "What you said makes sense; it doesn't seem like something the Tianyao Holy Land was behind. But is it possible that it was done to make it seem more real?"

“It’s not worth it, no way,” Lu Xingzhou said. “Right now it’s hard for me to tell what the other party is up to, but could Your Majesty be a little more patient and investigate one more thing? Perhaps that will verify it.”

"You said."

"Investigate whether any first-rank forces from the Tian Shuang Kingdom have appeared in the glacier." Lu Xingzhou said decisively, "If the Tian Shuang Kingdom, which is the closest, has no powerful figures appearing, then I am seventy or eighty percent certain that the Tian Shuang Kingdom is setting a trap to lure His Majesty and the Tian Yao Holy Lord into another battle, while weakening the power of the Great Qian and the Demon Realm."

Long Qinghuang pursed her red lips, having to admit that his analysis made sense.

Only in this situation can we explain why it doesn't matter if powerful forces like the Yama Palace are attracted, as long as the Tian Shuang Kingdom doesn't come. Either they preserve their strength and don't show up at all, or they lie in wait in the shadows, hoping to reap more benefits after the Great Qian and the Demon Emperor have become locked in a fierce battle.

To verify this judgment, we only need to verify whether the Tian Shuang Kingdom's forces are present.

However, this is not easy to verify... Long Qinghuang's divine sense covers the area and can probe freely, but cultivators are not inanimate objects. If they are prepared in advance, they will have plenty of ways to block distant divine sense probes.

Lu Xingzhou said cautiously, "Actually, I have a very direct method, Your Majesty, would you like to try it..."

"Ok?"

"Just go straight back to the Demon Realm."

If you just sit idly by enough, then nobody can take advantage of you.

Long Qinghuang smiled and shook her head: "If it really is an ancient dragon bone, I am determined to get it and cannot pretend that it didn't exist."

Lu Xingzhou fell silent, a hint of regret in his expression.

Long Qinghuang said, "As for you, why would you make such a proposal? Aren't you afraid I'll really take you back directly?"

Lu Xingzhou was silent.

He knew that Long Qinghuang would not give up; this proposal was actually for the sake of Tianyao Holy Land and Madam Ye.

Tianyao Holy Land is, after all, the little white-haired girl's home, so it would be best if they could escape this predicament. Madam Ye has most likely heard about the dragon bone and is currently investigating its core. She is ultimately only a first-grade cultivator; rashly intervening in such a battle between higher-grade beings would lead to trouble.

If the core demon emperor of this storm has left, then naturally nothing will happen.

Compared to this happy ending, being captured and sent to the demon realm to grind steel wool is no big deal, since it won't break her defenses anyway.

Unfortunately, Long Qinghuang obviously wouldn't give up easily... so we should find a way to notify Tianyao Holy Land.

Lu Xingzhou's silence was clearly misunderstood by Long Qinghuang, who smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not that easy to deal with. With your analysis, I have a much better understanding of the situation. We'll see who comes out on top."

The question I asked him before, "If humans want to kill me, what will you, Chen Yu, do?" has already been answered.

He was worried about his safety. Lu Xingzhou wore an air of melancholy, like an actor in a play, and said in a low voice, "If His Majesty insists on going... and a battle of the highest rank really breaks out, my cultivation level is simply not enough to withstand it, and I would also cause His Majesty to be distracted in taking care of me. It would be better to leave me outside, and if you really manage to obtain the Dragon Bone, you can come back to find me."

In truth, Long Qinghuang didn't think much of going back to find Lu Xingzhou. Teasing the little beauty was enough; why would she actually try to figure out how to break through his defenses? He couldn't break through them anyway.

But seeing the young man's melancholy expression, as if he was very reluctant to part with her, it perfectly matched what A-Tuan had said, "He actually has feelings for you." Long Qinghuang actually started to think about coming back to find him later, and patted his handsome face with a smile: "Then you wait here, don't run around."

After saying that, he disappeared without a trace.

Lu Xingzhou let out a long sigh of relief, only to find himself drenched in cold sweat.

They actually escaped the hostage situation just like that...

Don't be fooled by the seemingly romantic and ambiguous atmosphere, and the seemingly lovey-dovey topics; in reality, every moment is a dance on a knife's edge. The Demon Queen is, after all, the Demon Queen. If she feels even for a moment that you are against her, she will turn on you in the blink of an eye, no matter how beautiful you are.

Previously, their attempt to take him to the center of the glacier was a complete disregard for his life. Regardless of whether there were traps or not, in such a high-level chaotic situation, if Lu Xingzhou, a mere fourth-rank cultivator, were to get involved, he would be severely injured, if not killed. Only now have they exchanged goodwill for goodwill, agreeing to keep him here, showing they've begun to care about his safety.

Although Lu Xingzhou's goodwill was mostly directed at Tianyao Holy Land and Madam Ye, he did indeed help Long Qinghuang quite a bit... Lu Xingzhou doesn't even know if he can be considered a traitor.

In any case, as long as she doesn't follow him around and focuses her energy on finding out if there are any powerful figures from the Tian Shuang Kingdom, then Lu Xingzhou has more options.

Lu Xingzhou quickly took out a firework from his ring and lit it. With a "whoosh," a plume of black smoke shot straight into the sky.

A short while later, a figure flashed by.

Ji Wenchuan's familiar voice rang out: "Holy crap, it really is you! How dare you come to a place like this? Are you out of your mind? Hey... Ah Nuo, let Uncle give you a hug~ It's strange, how come you're still such a little kid after two years?"

Ah Nuo backed away in disgust: "No way, you stink."

"Hey you little brat, everyone except your master is stinky, right?"

"No, that won't happen. If it's an older sister, she smells wonderful, but if it's a man, he smells terrible."

Ji Wenchuan: "..."

Lu Xingzhou strode forward and hugged Ji Wenchuan, then whispered, "This isn't the time for idle chatter. You didn't tell Yan Jun about what happened here, did you?"

"No, the situation here is strange. I don't think it's good for Yama to get involved. Even if dragon bones are active, they'll only be a source of ecstasy for the Yin Corpse Sect. They're not really a good fit for us, and we're not that determined to get them."

This is pure instinct—seeking advantage and avoiding harm. Lu Xingzhou felt even more relaxed: "It's good that she didn't come. If she had gotten involved in this matter, it would have been a complete mess."

"Don't you want to see her?"

"No. Why would I think about her? Are there no other women in the world?"

"You... never mind." Ji Wenchuan said, "Anyway, since you're here, I know I don't need to use my brain. So, what's going on?"

"I just want to confirm one thing... You've been exploring here for a day now, haven't you? Have you encountered any powerful figures from the Frost Kingdom?"

"No. It's such a big place, it's hard to run into anyone."

"No, the location where the dragon bone fragments were unearthed is clear. Anyone who goes there to investigate has a high probability of encountering them, and there should have been multiple conflicts before you arrived. So, did you see any signs of fighting over there?"

Ji Wenchuan paused for a moment: "There are signs of digging, but no signs of a battle. Now that you mention it, something does seem a bit off."

“There’s something fishy going on here. The dragon bone might not even exist. Although I don’t know where those fragments came from either.” Lu Xingzhou said urgently, “I can’t get into the center of the glacier, but you can. Help me sneak in and take a look. If you find anyone from the Tianyao Holy Land, please send them a message.”

"Hey, if the Tianyao Holy Land really has an ambush inside, are you asking me to go and die?"

“Isn’t this a letter? Even in wartime, you don’t kill the messenger.” Lu Xingzhou quickly wrote a letter and stuffed it into Ji Wenchuan’s collar: “Besides, this is my letter. My mentor is probably with the Tianyao Holy Land now. Tell her that if she keeps thinking about the dragon bone, I will put her veil up for public auction.”

"...Are you sure this kind of threat is directed at your mentor, and not your lover?"

"Why are you talking so much? It's extremely urgent."

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: That stupid Writers' Association is a complete waste of my time.

(End of this chapter)