Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 261 Has the world gone mad?
Ye Tinglan dragged Lu Xingzhou into the courtyard and pinned the young man against the wall.

Seeing the man's expression of bearing humiliation and hardship, as if he were a virtuous young man being forced, Ye Tinglan couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you pretending for? You're obviously a pervert."

Compared to Yuan Muyu back then, Yuan Muyu truly didn't realize that this little man, who seemed to be teased, was actually a lecherous opportunist. But Ye Tinglan knew perfectly well from beginning to end that all his vulnerability was just him taking advantage of others.

Those eyes, seemingly filled with "fear," kept glancing at her red lips, revealing more than just a desire to be kissed; they clearly concealed a burning desire to viciously devour them. Lu Xingzhou did not refute the accusation that he was "obsessed with lust."

Ye Tinglan felt that her teasing was like playing with fire, but she was addicted to it.

She tiptoed slightly, leaned close to the man's ear again, and whispered softly, "If you get better soon, you'll get a bigger reward, sir. If you keep pretending you can't even hold your rice bowl properly, then I'll..."

I was going to say something, but I didn't say anything for a long time.

Ye Tinglan herself didn't know whether she hoped he would get better soon or wished he would remain weak for a few more days.

Seeing his ears turn bright red from her whisper in his ear, she unconsciously touched them lightly. Feeling the man's muscles tense up quickly, Ye Tinglan smiled and her eyes crinkled.

The man's hand unconsciously wrapped around her waist again, but Ye Tinglan easily turned around and broke free, smiling as she said, "I'll go cook some porridge first. You study hard, and I'll test you on the third section of the Metal and Stone Method when I get back."

Lu Xingzhou watched her beautiful figure disappear around the corner, then slumped his shoulders and hunched over as he moved to the stone table in the courtyard.

A woman who has fully matured, once she lets go of her inner shackles, can be truly captivating...

Lu Xingzhou took out the book and started reading, but his mind was wandering; he couldn't concentrate on studying at all. If this was the teacher's way of urging students to study, then it had failed miserably.

During these few days of living together, there was another unusual tenderness.

Lu Xingzhou's three meals a day were mostly prepared by Ye Tinglan herself, such as the porridge on the first day.

On the first day, I just felt bad that he was injured and unable to move because of me, and I didn't have anything to give back. There was no need for the inn to handle the food; I could make it myself and add some medicine.

He's an alchemist after all.

Although she said that there would be no more porridge that day and that she should buy simple things like sweet potato buns, she didn't actually do it and Ye Tinglan continued to cook porridge.

After all, it can be used to make medicinal cuisine, which sweet potatoes can't compare to.

Since porridge has been cooked, it's quite normal for someone to pretend they can't lift it and have their husband feed them. One is clearly pretending, and the other knows perfectly well that they're pretending, but they still take turns feeding each other, making it sickeningly sweet.

After he started kissing her, he stopped pretending and started feeding her while she leaned on his shoulder instead of face to face.

It seems that calling out "Mother" back then wasn't in vain... Lu Xingzhou recalled that it was A'nuo who called her "Mother" first. If A'nuo were here, she would have been making a lot of sarcastic remarks in this situation.

But this state was too gentle, and Lu Xingzhou was so captivated by it that he was happy to be teased even if it meant more.

I bought some simple herbs to replenish qi and blood when I went out earlier, but the Holy Lord doesn't carry such basic ones. Right now, Ye Tinglan has gone into the inn's kitchen, pondering what kind of medicinal porridge to cook for the man today.

Lu Xingzhou sat in the courtyard reading a book, but what he was really looking forward to was how to lean against something later.

In the past few days, no matter how much she pretended to be weak, she could only lean on his shoulder. The man's heart was itching, and he kept thinking about taking it a step further, whether he could lean into that soft embrace... But the man never took that step.

Just like how she has always only been willing to kiss the cheek as if it were a child, she has never succeeded in replicating the mouth-to-mouth kiss she gave the medicine when she was first injured.

The progress is still a little behind.

The current template is ultimately just the gentleman taking care of the younger man; something's missing. No matter how much she loosens her stance, it doesn't mean she has to be shameless with a man. For Ye Tinglan, the current situation is already shameless enough…

Just as his thoughts were wandering, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Lu Xingzhou was taken aback. In the past few days of seclusion, Ye Tinglan hadn't told Su Yuan the specific address, so why were people still coming to his door?
He took the book to the door, peeked through the crack, and his heart skipped a beat; he almost dropped the book.

How did Little White Hair find his way here?

What's the point of planning anything now? If he doesn't turn the newly ripened gentleman back into his original stern-faced saint, I'll be burning incense in gratitude.

The knocking grew more urgent, and he felt as if he was about to be kicked in if he kept it closed any longer… Lu Xingzhou, clenching his fists to keep his composure, opened the door with a look of surprise and delight: “Qingli, what are you doing here?”

"It really is you. I thought I was seeing things." Dugu Qingli entered the room, turned her head left and right, and didn't see anyone else. "It seemed like someone was with you just now?"

Lu Xingzhou was covered in sweat: "Um... um, yes..."

"Who is it?" Dugu Qingli couldn't believe it was her master, preferring to think she was seeing things.

"Yes... she is your master's sister, and also your junior sister."

Dugu Qingli was stunned. She had cultivated on the glacier since childhood and rarely came into contact with the affairs of the Tianyao Holy Land. She had heard that her master had a younger sister, but she had never seen her, and no one had ever told her that she was Yama.

In fact, very few people knew that Yan Jun was the Holy Lord's sister; it was a secret, a scandal within Tianyao, and only a very small number of high-ranking officials knew. This answer relieved Dugu Qingli considerably. It seemed that she hadn't been entirely mistaken earlier; it was normal for the other person to resemble her master.

But despite feeling relaxed, I wasn't in a good mood for some reason.

Little White Hair sat on the stone table with a stiff face and said expressionlessly, "So it was her... No wonder she was said to have left Tianyao Holy Land. Tianyao Holy Land doesn't have such a self-disciplined woman."

Lu Xingzhou was sweating profusely.

Little white hair, you're very brave...

"Um, what exactly did you see? Although I am pursuing your martial uncle, I still try to keep my feelings within the bounds of propriety."

"Is that so?" Dugu Qingli looked Lu Xingzhou up and down with distrustful eyes, and after a long while she finally managed to say, "I know you're a womanizer and unreliable, but isn't this going a bit too far?"

"W-How could this be so excessive..."

"You and Shen Tang broke up not long before you were hugging Pei Chuyun, and not long after that you were flirting with my martial uncle. Are you that desperate for women?"

Actually, that's not what Dugu Qingli really wanted to say.

You tried to seduce me when you were still with Shen Tang. Now that you've already seduced me, how come you're also trying to seduce my martial uncle?
Isn't the generational hierarchy messed up?
Oh wait, I didn't agree, we're just friends? So it's not a mess?
How did someone who once pursued you become an elder?

The little white hair was in a daze, the CPU was churning and in a mess, unaware that its criticism of "being so desperate for women" had gone beyond the bounds of a friend's criticism, and was more like jealousy.

Lu Xingzhou said, "Love arises without warning, and no one can stop the heart from falling in love... Besides, this is a matter between two people. If your martial uncle doesn't like me, what can I do on my own? Just like you..."

When she spoke the last few words, her tone was rather downcast, making it seem as if Dugu Qingli was heartless and had wronged him.

Little White Hair had some other thoughts on this... Could it be that he had failed in his pursuit of him, so he turned to his martial uncle for comfort?

Then one's sin would be immense.

Thinking of this, Dugu Qingli remained expressionless: "Anyway, I will truthfully report what I have seen and heard here to my master. Whether my uncle can be with you or not is my master's decision."

Lu Xingzhou: "...You can't break up a couple, Little White Hair. That's unethical."

Dugu Qingli said with a straight face, "Tianyao Holy Land is number one in reputation."

Lu Xingzhou really didn't know how to answer, so he could only say, "Then go ahead and complain... I believe your master is a reasonable person..."

The two of them looked at each other, their minds completely blank, and remained silent for a long time.

"Xingzhou, porridge..." Ye Tinglan came out from around the corner happily, carrying porridge. But when she saw the scene in the courtyard, her words caught in her throat, and she almost dropped the porridge. She stood there dumbfounded: "Porridge..."

Dugu Qingli glanced over with disdain. Calling him Xingzhou wasn't cheesy enough, she thought, "Now you're calling him Zhouzhou too..."

Upon seeing it, I was struck dumb, almost petrified.

Are you sure this is my master's sister or junior sister, and not my master himself?
No, absolutely not! My master would never live with a man!
She even cooked porridge for the man! She happily called for him to try it!
Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were watery.

Either the world has gone mad, or I have gone mad.

Lu Xingzhou hurriedly got up and went to greet her, taking the porridge that Ye Tinglan was trembling from: "That is your senior sister's disciple, Dugu Qingli. You have been away from Tianyao Holy Land for a long time, have you not seen her before?"

"Ah? Ah? Oh..." Ye Tinglan's mind raced, and she came to her senses. She took a deep breath and smiled kindly. "This is Qingli. I've heard of her... I've heard of her. Oh, what a beautiful young lady. Qingli, would you like some porridge?"

Lu Xingzhou placed the porridge on the stone table: "Try your martial uncle's cooking? It's pretty good."

Dugu Qingli seemed to wake from a dream, her suspicious gaze shifting back and forth between "Master Uncle" and Lu Xingzhou, but her body stood up completely instinctively and performed a disciple's salute: "Disciple Qingli greets Master...Master Uncle."

Ye Tinglan kindly helped her up: "No need for formalities. Well, it's our first meeting, so I don't have any gifts. This Xuanbing Bihuo Fruit is something I obtained by chance in Dongyue Hanchuan, so I'll give it to Qingli."

Dugu Qingli: "..."

The sound, the scent, the feel of these hands.

Don't overthink it, don't overthink it.

She took the fruit as if in a daze, muttering unconsciously, "I've heard that Master has a younger sister, but I never imagined she looked so much like her..."

Ye Tinglan let out a long sigh: "It's normal, it's normal. Qingli, please sit down..."

Dugu Qingli couldn't hold back any longer and finally blurted out, "But Martial Aunt, what's so good about this man? He has a lover, you know that. What do you like about him?"

Ye Tinglan's smile froze on her face, while Lu Xingzhou's hands were covered in sweat. The two of them were now thinking very similarly, both wanting to curl up the little white-haired boy into a ball and throw him out.

(End of this chapter)