Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 263 White Feathers Floating on Green Water

Since this involves the mystery of Xiaobai Mao's background, Lu Xingzhou, as a friend, also had to stand up for himself: "Do you want me to help you find clues?"

Ye Tinglan glared at him: "Are you healed yet? Can you even muster the strength now? Trying to be a hero!"

Lu Xingzhou felt it over and found that the state of complete weakness he had experienced a few days ago had improved a lot. He could walk and jump normally, but he was a bit listless and lacked energy when it came to gathering his true qi and magic power.

The wound to the soul is indeed the most troublesome type of injury. It looks like nothing's wrong, but my current strength is no different from that of an ordinary person.

Fortunately, I was by the side of the world's number one, so I never felt insecure even when I was weak.

But after these few days of rest, at least I no longer feel the prickling sensation or dizziness when I'm thinking. He then said, "I can help come up with ideas."

“No need…” Dugu Qingli said blankly, “Since you are injured, you should rest well. Coming to Tianshuang Kingdom was originally for my training, and I didn’t plan to ask anyone for help. Otherwise, with my master…uncle here to help, I wouldn’t have to do anything.”

Lu Xingzhou thought to himself, "Your martial uncle might not really want to help you right now. It's more important for you to get away as soon as possible."

Seeing that Ye Tinglan remained unmoved, Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment and then said, "Sir, you can go and find Si Han."

Ye Tinglan asked, "Why are you looking for him?"

"The Ice Prison Sect's current situation doesn't necessarily mean they're enemies. If Si Han can act as a go-between, we might be able to cooperate."

Ye Tinglan paused, exchanged a glance with her disciple, and remained silent.

They had never considered cooperating with demonic sects; only this stinking demonic disciple could think of it so logically.

Ye Tinglan even wondered if Lu Xingzhou didn't want to clash with the Ice Prison Sect because the Ice Prison Sect and the Yama Palace were allies.

Thinking of this, she even felt a little sour, and said coldly, "Then why bother with Si Han acting as matchmaker? Why don't the judges of the Underworld just come to us directly?"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Sir, have you forgotten that your current persona is Yuan Muyu? Shouldn't it be Lord Yama personally coming to your door?
As expected, fish only have a seven-second memory; even Sister Fish is a fish.

"I'm not the judge anymore, I'm afraid I won't have that kind of face." As Lu Xingzhou spoke, he secretly reached his hand under the table and squeezed Ye Tinglan's small hand, signaling her not to forget the role she was playing.

Ye Tinglan's eyes widened, and she glanced at her disciple in a panic. Her heart was pounding, and she quickly pulled her hand back.

Just that one moment made my heart almost jump out of my throat.

Too stimulating.

Dugu Qingli sat upright, her eyes slightly lowered, as if she hadn't seen anything: "You don't need to come to my door. I'll go see the Lord of Si myself. You two don't need to worry about whether or not to help me. It's more important to recover from your injuries."

Seeing her disciple's blank expression, Ye Tinglan felt it would be best to send her away as soon as possible, so she stood up and said, "I'll see you off."

Lu Xingzhou suppressed his curiosity and wisely did not follow.

The master and apprentice strolled side by side through the streets of the small town, and the atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment, with neither of them speaking first.

In fact, Ye Tinglan knew that she couldn't hide it from her disciple, but being caught red-handed by her disciple was too embarrassing, so she had to find a way to get out of it.

Although Dugu Qingli is not very worldly-wise, which often requires her to use formulaic concepts to understand the world, her sword heart is clear and her mind is pure; it's not easy to hide anything from her. Besides, with her master standing right in front of her, without any disguise, how stupid would she have to be to not recognize her master?

If it were someone as shrewd as Lu Xingzhou, he wouldn't have shown that stubborn, unwavering determination to get to the bottom of things in the first half; he would have simply cooperated with the performance with a smile. But for Dugu Qingli, she would have had to hit a wall several times before she would calm down.

But eventually she calmed down and tacitly accepted that "this is my martial uncle"... which means she should have understood.

In this world, one experience can be as valuable as a year of trials.

The two walked in silence for a long time before Ye Tinglan finally broke the silence: "Qingli..."

Dugu Qingli whispered, "Does he know?"

Ye Tinglan knew what she was asking so abruptly.

If Lu Xingzhou knew her identity as the Holy Master of Tianyao, and still managed to have a conversation with her, that would be too shocking... Besides, he is Qingli's friend, and having designs on his friend's master would probably make Qingli have a bad impression of Lu Xingzhou.

Ye Tinglan thought for a moment, realizing that Lu Xingzhou was indeed unaware when he made the decision, and said, "He didn't know, he thought it was a teacher from the Dan Academy."

He paused, then added, "I have never admitted it either."

Dugu Qingli's expression visibly relaxed, her tense shoulders slumped, and she said in a low voice, "That's good. Master can loosen the shackles that were imposed on him for no reason and face his own heart. Perhaps one day in the future, he will be able to glimpse the formless."

Ye Tinglan smiled and said, "You're lecturing me now? What do you know about the Formless Realm?"

Dugu Qingli curled her lips: "We are cultivators, so this is what we should be focusing on."

“The Formless Realm is too far away, but Master’s Qian Yuan Great Barrier has indeed shown some signs of loosening.” Ye Tinglan sighed, “These past years… I’ve been imprisoning myself. Perhaps back then… she was right.”

Dugu Qingli turned to look at her master and felt that her master's beauty index was a bit too high, breathtakingly beautiful.

Even the little white-haired boy, who had long been regarded as a monster, felt a little ashamed and subconsciously said, "Master, you are so beautiful, no wonder he was moved."

As soon as the words left my mouth, a strange pang of sadness welled up inside me. He had originally said I was pretty.

Now that he's with his master, he secretly touches his hand in front of me, and I have to smile and offer my blessings. It's like white feathers floating on green water.

The speaker was sarcastic, and the listener wasn't comfortable either. Even Ye Tinglan, who had recently become thick-skinned, couldn't handle the words. Instead, she habitually uttered a paternalistic sermon: "Appearance is nothing but a shell. Cultivators should avoid being obsessed with appearances."

Dugu Qingli said expressionlessly, "I used to believe it, but I don't anymore."

Ye Tinglan: "?"

Dugu Qingli said, "Isn't Master's relationship with Lu Xingzhou due to his good looks?"

Ye Tinglan opened her mouth, but had no answer.

Although it was mainly because of his interesting personality... no matter how handsome Lu Xingzhou was, he was initially treated as an entry point to deal with the Underworld, and it was only through a series of developments that the relationship became what it is now. But it is undeniable that Lu Xingzhou's appearance still has a huge natural advantage. As for whether it is from the outside in or from the inside out, it is now difficult to say.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "It's because he is Lu Xingzhou."

Dugu Qingli was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Does Master really like him that much?"

Ye Tinglan said, "Actually, it's not..."

“No need to be embarrassed, Master is a woman too.” Dugu Qingli muttered, “But it’s agreed that we address each other by our own titles, otherwise I really don’t know how to address him. It’s really unfair to lower his seniority for no reason…”

Ye Tinglan: "..."

No, it's hard to explain.

My liking isn't that kind of liking... at least not to the point where you need to call me "auntie"!
But it seems... to outsiders, there really is no difference. Even if you desperately try to explain, you'll mostly just get an "oh," followed by a strange sidelong glance. It's still hard to keep up that look from your apprentice...

Ye Tinglan suddenly became lost in thought.

If Qingli's sword heart is clear and her mind is as pure as ice, then isn't it herself who is unaware of the situation?

When facing one's inner self, how many people can truly see their own heart clearly?

Dugu Qingli smiled playfully, a rare sight for her: "Master, there's no need to see me off. Just relax and enjoy your honeymoon. Even if Shen Tang is my friend, I'll still side with my master in this matter!"

Ye Tinglan couldn't refute it and watched helplessly as her disciple flew away on his sword.

Ye Tinglan looked up and watched the direction her disciple had disappeared, feeling a strange sensation in her heart.

What should have been an extremely awkward situation... turned out to be met with blessings and encouragement from my apprentice. It seems that all those things I should have been struggling with, avoiding, and guarding against were just self-imposed limitations, easily shattered and unnoticed by anyone.

That makes sense. From the rumors of "the Demon Emperor and the Holy Lord of Tianyao fighting over a man" to the way Elder Su and Si Han looked at their male concubines, besides giving people something to talk about over tea, does anyone think this is wrong?
Maybe not.

To put it bluntly, if Long Qinghuang really took a male concubine home to keep, would I say she was wrong?
It seems not.

So, what I'm trapped in this life is nothing more than a prison that doesn't exist?

Despite decades of arduous practice, he was still not as accomplished as Qingli.

Ye Tinglan suddenly felt like laughing, then laughed self-deprecatingly, shook her head, and turned back to the courtyard.

Lu Xingzhou was pacing back and forth anxiously. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her return and hurriedly went to greet her: "Qingli... I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Ye Tinglan chuckled, speechless: "What can she do to me? Has she gone too far?"

Lu Xingzhou breathed a sigh of relief and said nothing more.

Ye Tinglan glanced at him. This guy usually tried every trick in the book to take advantage of others, but now he'd calmed down. Qingli's discovery didn't seem to affect him, but rather it did.

Ye Tinglan had no idea that it was because Lu Xingzhou felt that there was no future for him and Xiaobai Mao, and he felt disappointed. She thought he was worried about his image in his disciple's eyes, so she comforted him instead: "In Qingli's eyes, I am Yuan Muyu. If you have any grievances, take them out on Yuan Muyu."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

"Besides, Qingli is a natural-born swordsman and doesn't care much about these kinds of things. She was just discussing cultivation with me." Ye Tinglan said, "Her behavior just now actually showed that she cares more than expected. It seems that you, as her friend, are quite important to her."

Lu Xingzhou still couldn't speak.

Is it because of friends...?

The enchanting beauty of the Maha Secret Realm and the entanglement within the Yuan Magnetic Cave flashed through his mind once more. Lu Xingzhou had no idea what Little White Hair's mood was like just now, but of the three, he seemed to be the most confused, far from his usual eloquent self.

I wonder how everyone will feel when they see Little White Hair again.

"What are you standing there for?" Ye Tinglan tapped the table with a stern face. "I kindly made you some porridge, and you only ate a few bites. Now it's cold. If you're so capable, then don't eat it. I won't make it for you again!"

Seeing that she seemed completely unaffected, Lu Xingzhou finally came to his senses and smiled, "Even if the porridge that you cooked is cold or frozen, I will still eat it all."

(End of this chapter)