Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 340 Let the brothers broaden their horizons

P.S.: I fell asleep again yesterday afternoon and woke up late at night. I didn't even have time to ask for leave, so I'm making up for it 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.

Lu Xingzhou leaned back, feeling her gaze on him: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sheng Yuanyao grabbed his collar and shook him: "Tell me! What's going on with the Demon Emperor? And the Holy Lord... Isn't the Holy Lord the Imperial Advisor? You, you, you..."

"No, listen to me..."

"What happened to your tastes? They're all so old..." Sheng Yuanyao shook her head in exasperation. "Is it because Shen Tang and Pei Chuyun couldn't satisfy you, making you feel repressed?"

Lu Xingzhou was so shaken by her that he couldn't speak.

Sheng Yuanyao said indignantly, "And the Imperial Advisor, when I met her I looked up to her with great awe, but who was she trying to impress with that ascetic and repressed look on her face? She really put on a good show, huh?"

She mimicked the tone of Ye Tinglan's inquiry: "Yuan Yao, are you familiar with this... Lu Xingzhou? Could you tell me about his situation? — He sounds interesting; I'd like to meet him in person sometime. Ah? Meet him in bed? Where? Let me see him?"

Lu Xingzhou finally pressed down on her hand; if he didn't, she would really tear it apart.

Sheng Yuanyao struggled for a moment, but found that she couldn't hold Lu Xingzhou down. Instead, she was pulled into his arms during the struggle.

Lu Xingzhou grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and used the other to remove her armor: "Why don't you let your brothers see this first... What are you planning to do wearing such heavy armor after the battle is over..."

Sheng Yuanyao struggled: "It's so that some people won't be able to touch me."

Her struggles were futile, and soon her armor was removed. Sheng Yuanyao cursed, but her body cooperated with him as he removed the armor, which was then thrown to the ground with a thud.

Inside was a pure white cotton undergarment, which was finally soft and cuddly to hold, and felt much better to the touch.

She had originally planned to let him hold her and enjoy himself, but when she saw him trying to take her clothes off again, Sheng Yuanyao finally couldn't hold back anymore. She pressed down on his collar, both amused and annoyed, and said, "Hey, I'm your brother, not your wife. What are you doing?"

"You've already made me help you have sex, won't you help me have sex too?"

"Get lost!" Sheng Yuanyao said angrily. "Don't try to change the subject with that trick. I'm asking you two old women!"

You said you're my brother, not my wife, so what does it matter to you what kind of woman I'm with... Lu Xingzhou hesitated for a moment, but still didn't say anything that would be courting death. He simply said, "You're right, I'm feeling repressed, so as a brother, shouldn't I help you release that repression?"

Sheng Yuanyao was stunned, her mind blank for several seconds before she regained her senses: "Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you really feeling repressed?"

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but chuckle.

Sheng Yuanyao then realized that although his hands seemed to be groping randomly, they had actually been infiltrating her body with traces of watery energy, which was healing the hidden injuries she had sustained over the past few days.

For example, the plain below the mountain that his hand was currently covering was the Tanzhong acupoint. The watery energy seeped into the Tanzhong acupoint, making Sheng Yuanyao feel so comfortable that she let out a soft hum.

Fortunately, no one else was listening at this moment, otherwise it would be hard to say what the two of them were doing in the city lord's mansion... Actually, it didn't matter whether anyone heard or not. The sun had already set, and the two of them were hiding in the city lord's mansion. What were they doing? It was obvious that the gossip in Guiyuan City had spread by now—the recently respected and dashing General Sheng was being slept with by a newly arrived wild man.

Sheng Yuanyao never imagined that she would become a melon. Feeling Lu Xingzhou's treatment, she was quite pleased: "Not bad, you've got a good touch. I haven't learned anything from going out with your husband these days."

You were just scolding the gentleman; you were really good at pretending.

Lu Xingzhou found it amusing, but still said, "Spells are spells, but they still need to be used in conjunction with medicine. You're covered in blood, go wash up, and I'll concoct a suitable pill for you."

"Is it really necessary to go through all that trouble?"

"I'm an alchemist, and you're an alchemist? If this hidden injury continues to accumulate, you'll never be able to break through in this lifetime." Lu Xingzhou slapped her butt in annoyance: "Go away, go away, wash or don't wash, don't disturb my alchemy."

"Fine, I'll refine pills then. Why are you making me take a bath? You just think I'm dirty!"

"I'll prove it's not too difficult." Without another word, Lu Xingzhou reached into his clothes and grabbed the ball: "Look."

"Get out of here, you filthy scoundrel!" This time, it was Sheng Yuanyao's turn to lose her temper. She quickly stood up, stumbled out the door, and went to the neighbor's.

Lu Xingzhou chuckled and shook his head, then took out the alchemy furnace from his ring, placed it on the ground, and began refining pills.

Some things simply cannot be accomplished through magic. Even the supposedly divine dual cultivation technique, which he had just tried to cultivate by transferring qi, had little effect on Sheng Yuanyao's condition. Appropriate medicine was still necessary.

So it's normal that Gu Zhanting's injury won't heal for ten years... Otherwise, if dual cultivation were really that powerful, with so many beauties in his harem, wouldn't he be able to find a powerful dual cultivation technique and be free from any injuries?

While refining pills, Lu Xingzhou was a little distracted as he watched the flickering fire in the furnace.

This time, following Ye Tinglan for the "alchemy trial," I didn't make much progress in alchemy and ended up going down some unorthodox paths. Ye Tinglan felt quite guilty, feeling that he hadn't fulfilled his responsibilities as a teacher.

But as it turns out, alchemy has made great progress without anyone realizing it.

For example, Gua Mei's injuries are the result of accumulated damage inflicted by a third-rank demon general. The internal demonic energy is rampant, making it impossible for an ordinary person to diagnose. Previously, at most, one could diagnose hidden injuries, but it was difficult to determine the specific details. Now, a single pulse diagnosis is enough to understand the situation. And the appropriate remedies are instantly clear in my mind.

The main reason was that Ye Tinglan forced him to memorize so many alchemical texts from the Tianyao Holy Land. Unlike his previous self-study notes, these texts had the teacher providing guidance on difficult points while he memorized them. Although it was only theoretical instruction and didn't provide practical training, Lu Xingzhou was talented enough; a genius is one who learns.

Judging solely from the art of alchemy, I estimate he could be rated as a second-grade expert.

This is extremely rare even across the entire Great Qian Dynasty. You must know that a first-grade alchemist is even rarer than a first-grade expert. In the entire Great Qian Dynasty, there are also the Pavilion Master of Spring Mountain Pavilion, and just in the capital alone, there are four publicly known alchemists: the Dean of the Alchemy Academy, the Dean of the Imperial Medical Academy, Mr. Ye Zhuoyu, and Su Yuan, who succeeded her as the Imperial Preceptor. Among them, the latter two are not even entirely considered to be from the Great Qian Dynasty.

There should be another one secretly, someone kept by the Huo family, possibly Huo Liancheng himself.

Given the scarcity of first-grade alchemists, second-grade alchemists are already qualified to be instructors at the Alchemy Academy. Meng Li is probably among the best of the best at this level, and he's already qualified to be the second-in-command at the Alchemy Academy. Lu Xingzhou, on the other hand, has only been a student for less than half a year, yet he's already at the second grade. This means that while his "clinical experience" is not as good as those second-grade instructors, his academic knowledge is already close.

Of course, a lack of experience is quite detrimental in this line of work, and whether she truly qualifies as a second-rank official is still debatable. If the evaluation criteria weren't so stringent, she should be able to barely obtain a certification badge. In any case, Ye Tinglan's contribution is undeniable, and it's certainly not a case of her failing to fulfill her responsibilities as she claims.

The medicinal pills were already emitting a faint fragrance, and there was a slight sound of water coming from next door; Sheng Yuanyao was taking a bath.

How long does it take to refine pills? This guy hasn't even finished washing yet.

The length of time a woman takes to bathe is astonishing in both worlds.

Well, there are still plenty of medicinal herbs on hand, so I'll just refine a Grade 3 Breakthrough Pill for her. I feel like she's almost there.

Little did anyone know that Sheng Yuanyao was never this slow when taking a bath; she was often more efficient than most boys. But this time, she was unconsciously scrubbing herself, her mind wandering elsewhere, completely lost in thought.

I've already said we're brothers, not his woman... so why are you so furious and jealous about his new scandal?
Is it my place to be jealous...?

Perhaps it was because... they thought they were about to catch up with Pei Chuyun and the others, but when they looked back, what lay ahead was not an elite leader, but a terrifying emperor whose power seemed endless.

That moment almost shattered Sheng Yuanyao's burning passion for pursuing her goals.

It wasn't until she cooled down in the water that she slowly realized that the person who should have been terrified first wasn't herself, but Shen Tang.

On the contrary, the level I previously thought was lagging behind suddenly seemed like I could sit at the same table as the others in the face of such a terrifying gap. With others lagging by tens of points, did my one or two points really matter?

Sheng Yuanyao immediately cheered and even hummed a little tune while taking a bath.

Some things aren't just about what you think; you have to see what the other person is thinking, right?

From this distant land, divine soldiers descended from the heavens, hehe.

Even if they're just brothers, it's worth it.

That scoundrel, his hands were groping me... even though I was the one who kissed him first...

Sheng Yuanyao's almond-shaped eyes became glazed over, and she unconsciously squeezed her legs together.

By the time I realized what I was thinking, the hot water had already gone cold.

Lu Xingzhou had almost finished refining the second pill when he listened intently. However, there was no sound from Sheng Yuanyao's side, not even the sound of water. He couldn't help but become cautious. This was a bit unusual. Could she have fainted in the water?

Her injury is somewhat likely.

Lu Xingzhou couldn't sit still any longer, so he got up and went to check on the situation.

Anyway, it's not a big deal if I see things I shouldn't have seen, it's not like I haven't seen them before.

"What are you talking about..." As soon as the door was pushed open, Sheng Yuanyao stepped out of the tub with her long legs, revealing the hidden cave within the dripping water.

I've never seen this before.

Sheng Yuanyao froze, staring at him expressionlessly, her mind completely blank.

The air was quiet for a moment. Lu Xingzhou closed the door without a word, went back inside, and sat motionless in front of the alchemy furnace with his hands clasped in his hands.

After a while, when all the breakthrough pills were ready, the door creaked open and Sheng Yuanyao slipped in like a thief.

Look at that thieving little face, her cheeks still flushed, her long, wet hair casually draped over her shoulders, and her whole body exuding the fresh scent of a post-bath.

She was wearing a loose-fitting silk nightgown...it felt like something a woman in the city lord's mansion would wear.

The young female thief scurried to sit down next to him, as if the awkwardness from before had never happened, and nudged him with her elbows: "What kind of good pills did you refine? Let me see them."

She can pretend it never happened, but men can't.

After the beauty's bath, her delicate fragrance lingered close at hand, filling his nostrils. The scene from earlier kept flashing through his mind, and Lu Xingzhou unconsciously swallowed hard, staring at the alchemy furnace for a long time without daring to turn his head.

"What a disgrace." Sheng Yuanyao glanced at him disdainfully. "What were you doing here just now? You were stealing a kiss, why did you run off again?"

Lu Xingzhou said in a muffled voice, "I've been watching you for so long, I suspect something's wrong, so I'm going to go check on you."

Sheng Yuanyao could completely guess the reason, and she was actually quite happy inside, but on the surface she had a half-smile: "Whether I have any problems or not, it's only during the bath, and you just casually walk in like that?"

"In urgent situations, one must act expediently..." Lu Xingzhou was still looking at the alchemy furnace.

"Does it look good?"

"nice."

"Do you still want to watch?"

Lu Xingzhou finally turned his head to look at her.

With a loud thud, a fist slammed into his forehead: "Look, look! You're not going to die from this, have you never seen a woman before!"

Lu Xingzhou grabbed her wrist and laughed, "If I say I've never seen it before, shouldn't you be a brother and help me broaden my horizons?"

"Is that so?" Sheng Yuanyao nodded seriously. "It's a pity you've seen a lot, but I'm the one who's truly ignorant. Since Young Master Lu is so loyal, why don't you take off your clothes and let your brother broaden his horizons?"

(End of this chapter)