Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 283 Blood of the Beast
Afterwards, Lu Xingzhou actually fell asleep.

Ye Tinglan was still studying the sticky stuff on her hands with great interest when she turned her head and saw that the man had fallen asleep. She was quite surprised and reached out to take his pulse.

His expression quickly turned strange.

Lu Xingzhou's experience was a relaxation of mind after the completion and conclusion of a certain "grand ambition," which in a sense was also a form of spiritual practice.

For example, some alchemists set themselves an extremely difficult goal of producing pills, and they would spend ten years working towards this goal. When the pills were finally produced, the moment of achievement was more fulfilling for their cultivation progress than the pill-making process itself.

Lu Xingzhou is in this state right now. When he wakes up, he will really be at the critical juncture of the third rank.

But his "small goal" was not the "going out for trials" or "breaking through to the third rank" that he originally thought.

Instead, it's "Mr. Get".

Damn you.

The Holy Lord muttered a curse he'd never uttered in a century, clenching his fist as if he wanted to punch someone.

But just as the fist was about to touch his cheek, Ye Tinglan laughed out loud, and the fist turned into a caress.

"You haven't even gotten it yet, and you're already saying it's done?" Ye Tinglan's eyes flickered, and she muttered to herself, "That's pathetic."

He didn't get anything, neither physically nor in terms of his public identity.

But older women know the boundaries in a man's heart.

If you're willing in your heart, it seems like you've already won a man's heart; whether he actually does it or not doesn't seem to matter that much.

This is a man who cares about you emotionally; as for those who are only after your body, that's a different story.

Unwittingly, he had once again revealed his true feelings to her, leaving Ye Tinglan both amused and exasperated.

But then he remembered that his criteria for judgment seemed to apply to more than just himself.

Shen Tang probably didn't give it to him, but they seemed to have already tacitly agreed that they were a couple.

Ye Tinglan's expression immediately darkened. She stood up and went to the edge of the cabin, watching the ever-changing sky in the darkness.

The imperial carriage is currently traveling towards Xia Prefecture, and Ye Tinglan knows that Lu Xingzhou will definitely pick up A'nuo after he finishes his business. She forgot that going to Xia Prefecture is also for Lu Xingzhou to see Shen Tang… she's essentially sending a man to meet his love rival.

What should I do after I see it...?

There's still room for debate about who came first, but you, Shen Tang, didn't have any arranged marriage or parental consent. I don't need those things. I win!
But the biggest problem is that Shen Tang is probably really aiming to marry Lu Xingzhou, but Ye Tinglan repeatedly asked her own heart and found that marriage was not an option, she had never even thought about it.

That's it, from this perspective it's all over. How can I have the confidence to see Shen Tang now? I've really become a mistress, sitting at the same table as Pei Chuyun.

How did things end up like this...?

Ye Tinglan angrily scratched her hair, making her carefully styled hair a mess.

Thankfully, she didn't give herself to him in a moment of passion, so there's still room for maneuver... Looking back now, her apprentice's earnest advice to "be more reserved" was quite timely. If she hadn't been reserved, things would have fallen apart even more.

Qingli's stern face is quite suitable for being a discipline inspection inspector... I'll ask my apprentice to remind me more often in the future not to act impulsively.

Turning her head to look at Lu Xingzhou, who seemed to be waking up soon, Ye Tinglan thought for a moment, took off her tattered robes, and changed back into Madam Ye's clothes.

Lu Xingzhou opened his eyes as soon as he finished changing, feeling a little dazed, unsure how he had fallen asleep. Seeing Ye Tinglan had changed back into Madam Ye's attire, he wondered if he had just had a dream.

Ye Tinglan sat down on the edge of the bed, checked his pulse again, and said sternly, "This trial didn't improve your alchemy skills much, but it did raise your cultivation to the third rank. Do you have any plans for how to break through?"

Lu Xingzhou asked, "What suggestions do you have, sir?"

Ye Tinglan glanced at him sideways: "Not the madam anymore?"

"Huh?" Lu Xingzhou didn't have any particular attachment to the titles "Mr." and "Mrs." He addressed them casually, as it was more natural to use "Mr." in the context of seeking advice. He didn't expect her to have any objections...

Ye Tinglan said with a straight face, "Is it because we're almost at Xiazhou, and you want to put on an act in front of Shen Tang?"

"What is this...?" Lu Xingzhou hugged her, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Sometimes you don't have to talk nonsense with a woman; a hug and a kiss can solve all the problems.

Ye Tinglan struggled a few times but couldn't break free, so she obediently accepted the kiss and went limp when the kiss was released.

Lu Xingzhou then asked again, "What suggestions do you have, sir?"

“You treat Mr. like this…” Lu Xingzhou’s large hand reached inside his clothes: “Yes, because he is Mr., this is what makes it so tempting.”

This time, Ye Tinglan couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed his strange hand with one hand: "If you really want me to give advice, I'm afraid you won't like to hear it."

"Hmm? Any suggestions?"

“If you want to cultivate, you have to venture out on your own. Staying by my side deprives you of all pressure, which is detrimental to your personal cultivation. It’s the same with following Yuan Muyu and Shen Tang; you’re always in the role of an assistant, without the motivation and pressure to move forward on your own.” Ye Tinglan’s expression became serious: “If I let you venture out on your own, without even taking A Nuo with you, would you like to hear that? As for where to go and what to do for cultivation, that’s secondary.”

This is probably something Ah Nuo would dislike hearing even more.

Lu Xingzhou had actually thought about it before, but he couldn't bear to part with Anuo. Even now, he hesitated and couldn't let go.

This trip to the Frost Kingdom has been the longest time I've ever been apart from Anuo... Could this be considered a rehearsal for both of us to accept it? But I miss Anuo so much.

After hesitating for a long time, Lu Xingzhou still found it difficult to make a decision, and could only say, "Let's see about it later..."

Ye Tinglan knew he couldn't make that decision, so she sighed and said, "As for the third rank, it's not too difficult for you. Even taking you to the secret realm of Tianyao Holy Land for secluded cultivation should help you break through. The main thing is the future. Have you thought about what to do?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "The secret place of Tianyao Holy Land... can you take me there? Hmm, if possible, please imprint my divine sense on the communication array so it will be easier to find you and Qingli in the future."

Ye Tinglan had previously refused the offer, but after thinking about it, he felt that Qingli was facing some troublesome matters and that it was more important for Qingli to be able to consult him at any time. So he nodded and said, "Alright, so should we go to Xiazhou now or go straight back to Tianyao Holy Land?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled ingratiatingly: "Xiazhou."

Ye Tinglan glared at him, annoyed.

Lu Xingzhou hurriedly looked for something to change the subject: "Oh, right..."

He took out the frozen blood that Ling Qixuan had given him: "Since we have nothing else to do, let's think about this? Maybe the opportunity to break through lies here?"

Ye Tinglan didn't dwell on it. After all, that stinky man wasn't her true disciple. She couldn't arrange his path herself; she could only offer suggestions. Ultimately, the decision was up to him.

He took the frozen blood and examined it closely for a moment, his expression somewhat surprised: "This is definitely not human blood, it's the blood of a strange beast. But because we've encountered too few ancient beast samples, we can't determine what kind of beast it is right now."

"What's the effect?"

"It contains an extremely large amount of energy, quite like the saying 'one blood, one world.' I can't think of a suitable place for you right now, but it's very suitable for the demon race. It has an excellent effect on their breakthroughs and bloodline evolution. If it's combined with alchemy, the effect might be even more unimaginable. You must keep it safe and not let the demon race know that you have such a thing."

Lu Xingzhou was a little disappointed. He had originally planned to use it for his breakthrough, but it seemed he wouldn't be able to get it now. But no matter what, it was obviously a good item. The fact that Ye Tinglan used such a cautious and praising tone meant that its quality was probably top-grade. Ling Qixuan had really made a huge mistake by throwing away this blind box.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to give it to Ye Tinglan: "Since it is such a precious thing, it would be a waste for me, a mere fourth-grade one, to keep it. It is more valuable to your level, so I might as well give it to you."

Ye Tinglan paused, her eyes curving into crescents: "How could my Tianyao Holy Land lack something of this caliber? You should keep it."

She was overjoyed. This was clearly a priceless item, but her husband gave it to her without hesitation because it was more useful to her. It truly felt like they were one as husband and wife.

"Your luck is a bit strange, or rather, it's because you always manage to make the most of the resources you have. For example, you obtained poisonous herbs from the Incense Burning Pavilion, which are normally useless, but you managed to use them in the Battle of the Xuan Snake. Keeping such things on you might prove unexpectedly valuable someday." Ye Tinglan smiled and stuffed the frozen blood back into Lu Xingzhou's hand, adding, "Besides, having it on you has its own purpose..."

"what?"

"If you are threatened by a strange beast, carrying this item might be able to mitigate a lot of its effects, and could be considered a form of self-defense?"

Lu Xingzhou immediately thought of Long Qinghuang's gaze, shuddered, and quickly put it away: "Then I'll take it with me."

As the words were spoken, the first rays of sunlight appeared outside the porthole.

Daylight broke...

The climate also changed from the cold of Tianshuang Kingdom to increasingly hot, until now people realized that it was the sweltering heat of early July.

It's been more than two months since I left Beijing... Daqian is the hottest time of the dog days of summer.

Having just come from a cold country, it felt like I went from winter to summer in just a few hours; the experience was quite strange.

What was even stranger was Ye Tinglan's expression.

The mountains of Xiazhou were already in sight, and one could even see the sword energy soaring into the sky brought by the morning lessons of the Tianxing Sword Sect disciples.

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.: What I supposedly had to do today wasn't really anything serious; I just had a headache all day, probably from the air conditioning. That's all for today, I'll get some rest and see how it goes.

(End of this chapter)