Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 252 Planning for You
P.S.: I fell asleep yesterday afternoon and woke up in the middle of the night. I didn't even have time to ask for leave. Sorry, I'll try my best to make up for it with extra chapters today.

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.

Ye Tinglan put away the communication jade talisman, feeling refreshed.

For so many years, I've tried to contact my sister, but she always rejects my calls, which has made me so angry that my breasts are blocked.

We finally have a chance to refuse, I hope my sister's breasts are okay.

Both sisters were quite strange. They could have completely removed the preset connections within the jade talisman and "blocked" each other entirely, but neither of them actually blocked the other when they refused to receive messages. Especially Yuan Muyu back then, who clearly ran away from home and completely cut ties, not receiving any messages from her sister and often opposing her, yet she still maintained the information connection. It's unclear what she was thinking.

This time, after being "hung up," Yuan Muyu could have continued to call back, but she could only rage helplessly at home, knowing that calling back would only bring her further humiliation.

Ye Tinglan was an upright and reserved person, a gentleman who could be easily deceived, but that wasn't necessarily true between sisters. Only Yuan Muyu knew that this older sister had been quite clever since childhood. When they were little, the two sisters often fought over things and pulled each other's hair. Heaven knows why she grew up to be the domineering older sister who acted like a mother, which was annoying to look at.

Look how precise the timing of this hang-up was! She knew exactly when the other party was most annoyed, and her words were incredibly tactful. Is this the Ye Tinglan that others know?

That facade you put on is just for show! Hypocritical!

Over there, Ye Tinglan comfortably put away the jade talisman, casually picked up the sweet wine on the table, took a sip, and felt a refreshing sensation.

Lu Xingzhou asked, "Have you finished your conversation with Elder Su?"

"Hmm." Ye Tinglan leaned back comfortably in her chair, her eyes subconsciously avoiding Lu Xingzhou's gaze, and said with her eyes lowered, "I gave some extra instructions..."

Thinking to himself, Elder Su is quite shrewd. He was the one who said that poaching Lu Xingzhou would infuriate the King of Hell. Hmm…

So I was indeed talking to Elder Su just now, there's nothing wrong with that.

Lu Xingzhou asked, "Is this communication jade talisman universally applicable? Does it not affect communication if it's not a technique from the Tianyao Holy Land?"

Ye Tinglan glanced at him: "What? Don't you Yama's Palace use this method for information transmission?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "The Yama Palace does indeed have this kind of thing, but the requirements are quite high. Even third-rank officials can't use it, second-rank officials can barely manage, and only first-rank officials can use it smoothly. Previously, third-rank officials in the Yama Palace used this kind of thing among themselves, but I can't. Ordinary disciples still use paper cranes to send messages, which is not real-time enough and is easily intercepted."

Ye Tinglan said, "This is no different from Tianyao Holy Land. Yuan Muyu simply copied our system. This is something that uses divine sense to communicate. Although the third rank has divine sense, it is too weak. Only the first rank can communicate smoothly. Are you asking this because you plan to get one for yourself? No, you can't use it."

"But at least a third-grade rank is acceptable, right?"

"Correct."

"I'll be almost there too. Wasn't the time you taught me alchemy to train my spiritual sense? Could you give me one too, so I can see if I can receive it?"

Ye Tinglan hesitated.

Such long-distance communication is not something an individual can achieve with just their divine sense; even a superior level of divine sense doesn't have such a wide range. This effect is actually achieved through the operation of a sect's grand formation. Each person leaves a pre-existing imprint of their divine sense within the formation, which then circulates through it.

If we were to create one for Lu Xingzhou, we would have to imprint his divine sense into the sect's grand formation, but that qualification is reserved for core members of the Tianyao Holy Land.

The "teacher-student relationship" between me and him is completely different from that concept... Including him in the core of Tianyao is not in accordance with regulations, and I can't just do whatever I want.

Unless they really take him under their wing... Ye Tinglan was genuinely tempted by this thought. Lu Xingzhou was definitely a talent that Tianyao Holy Land should recruit. He could also infuriate Yuan Muyu and make him give up his malicious thoughts of touching his master.

But for some reason, Ye Tinglan subconsciously felt a bit resistant.

A voice immediately told me that he wouldn't agree.

Ye Tinglan finally spoke slowly: "If you want this, you must become my disciple. Are you willing?"

As expected, Lu Xingzhou immediately replied, "No way."

Ye Tinglan lowered her eyes and drank water: "What, has my Tianyao Holy Land disgraced you?"

"Um, sir, you must have some elders with you, could you please ask them to take me in..."

Upon hearing this, Sima Zhao's intentions were all too obvious. Ye Tinglan threw the water cup away and said, "Get out."

The water that was splashed reached Lu Xingzhou's face, but he used his magic to catch it, preventing it from splashing onto his face. Instead, it all went into Lu Xingzhou's cup.

Lu Xingzhou leisurely drank his water: "Thank you for your appreciation, sir."

Ye Tinglan remembered that back in the Dan Academy, this guy had said he wanted to drink her water, and now it had become a formality. Ye Tinglan was both annoyed and amused: "Aren't you disgusting?"

"No, no." Lu Xingzhou ingratiatingly placed a piece of meat into Ye Tinglan's bowl: "Sir, you were on the phone and didn't eat anything. Try this, it's quite good."

“I told you I have no appetite.” “But when Ah Nuo offered you food a few times before, you didn’t refuse, did you? Cultivators are supposed to do whatever they want, so why would they refuse to eat?”

"Because that was given to me by Anuo, and this was picked up by you."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Ye Tinglan picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and ate it with relish: "If you want a communication jade talisman, I can make one for you personally. As long as someone imprints their divine sense on you beforehand, you can communicate with each other through divine sense in the future, but the distance cannot be too far. The specific distance depends on the strength of the person transmitting the message."

Lu Xingzhou quickly replied, "That's perfect."

Ye Tinglan pinched a jade talisman and altered its internal structure. Glancing sideways at Lu Xingzhou's expectant expression, she couldn't help but ask, "Didn't Yuan Muyu secretly make one for you back then?"

Lu Xingzhou was dumbfounded by the question: "No, you just said that you need to be at least a third-rank official to accept this. What was the use of making this for me back then?"

Ye Tinglan immediately realized she had spoken out of turn, wondering why she had asked such a question when she was already full. She quickly tossed the jade talisman over: "I have imprinted my divine sense on it, so I can use this to find you in the future."

It inexplicably became a tool for one-way communication with him, almost like secretly raising a puppy. Seeing Lu Xingzhou studying the jade talisman with a silly grin, Ye Tinglan ate the exotic beast meat with annoyance and casually asked, "I wanted to ask you something before, why didn't you let Si Han directly list Tianyao Holy Land as a Holy Land of Tianshuang Kingdom?"

"Two questions." Lu Xingzhou put away the jade talisman and smiled. "First of all, you haven't reached the point where you should openly turn against Gu Zhanting."

"And then?"

"Secondly, whether or not it is a holy land is something that Si Han should beg us to become, not something we should be eager to claim ourselves."

Ye Tinglan pondered for a moment, then nodded: "What do you think about the aftermath of this matter?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "In terms of the big picture, I actually agree with what you said. We need Si Han to unite the power of Tian Shuang Kingdom. A disorganized Tian Shuang Kingdom can easily become fertile ground for the rampant demon race, and it can also easily become a breeding ground for Gu Zhanting to cultivate additional forces, which is detrimental to Tian Yao Holy Land... But as for Si Han, we cannot rely solely on favors or ties, nor can we simply restrain him. We need to make him realize that there are benefits to following us."

"How to do it?"

"First, we need to set the goal of becoming the second Great Qian in front of him. He can only achieve this goal with our full support. Once we lose our support, let alone becoming the Great Qian, even the internal Listening Snow Pavilion will be enough to give him trouble."

Ye Tinglan remained silent.

Lu Xingzhou asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"If the Tianshuang Kingdom is poised to become the second Daqian Kingdom, could it lead to a conflict between the Tianshuang Kingdom and Daqian Kingdom that will never end?"

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her.

Ye Tinglan asked with a stern face, "What?"

"Yes." Lu Xingzhou said calmly, "But wouldn't that further highlight the value of the Holy Land? Gu Zhanting doesn't dare to turn against you now because of the demon race... But the demon race problem will have to be solved sooner or later. Have you thought about how the Tianyao Holy Land will conduct itself after it's solved? I dare say that, based on the signs Gu Zhanting is showing now, the day the demon race collapses will be the day the Great Qian sharpens its knives on the Tianyao Holy Land."

Ye Tinglan was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Supporting foreign enemies... could lead to rivers of blood if things go wrong."

"To be responsible, regardless of how well it's handled, conflict is inevitable," Lu Xingzhou said calmly. "But I'm planning for you. What does it matter to me if others bleed?"

Ye Tinglan looked up at him, her feelings somewhat complicated.

It clearly goes against some people's values, but I have to admit, it's kind of satisfying to listen to.

Like those fantasies in folk tales, "For you, what does it matter if I betray the world?" Upon closer inspection, it's morally reprehensible, but for the person involved, it can genuinely melt their heart. He hasn't reached that level yet, but he can understand the feelings Yuan Muyu and Shen Tang must have had back then and now.

"Furthermore, I think you should change your perspective on what constitutes an external enemy. The Holy Lord of Tianyao is not a subject of the Great Qian Dynasty, nor does he receive a single grain of rice from him. On the contrary, he has always been protecting the Great Qian Dynasty. So, who is the internal and who is the external enemy? The Tianyao Holy Land is the internal enemy to you, and everything else is external."

"And what about you? Aren't you a subject of the Great Qian Dynasty?"

"All I know is that the blood feud of my family was committed by the Grand Tutor of the Great Qian Dynasty. My lover had his leg broken by the Emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty."

Ye Tinglan: "..."

Could you please keep your voice down when you talk about your lover? The waiter's gaze towards me when he came in just now seems a bit off.

Am I the other woman?
Lu Xingzhou waited a moment, until the waiter who had served the dishes left again, before saying, "For the Tianyao Holy Land, to stand above all other nations, to hold the reins of power, and to mediate disputes is the result that a Holy Lord should pursue. Instead, you spend your days holed up in the Great Qian as a national advisor, thinking about how to restrain the Qian Emperor and how to protect the people's livelihood. You're so preoccupied with your own worries. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

Ye Tinglan glared at him, and Lu Xingzhou immediately raised his hands in surrender: "Ah, sorry, I misspoke. The Imperial Advisor is your senior sister, and you're just a teacher. Anyway, the meaning is the same. Go back and tell your senior sister not to be foolish. If you really lack vision and perspective, then why not follow the example of King Yama and kill a bunch of people? Maybe that will help you achieve some of your ideals."

Ye Tinglan slammed her hand on the table: "If you miss Yama so much, why don't you go back to the Yama Palace? Why are you sticking around me like a leech? Is it because I look like her!"

Lu Xingzhou dropped his chopsticks, dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)