Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 359 Tonight has just begun

After Lu Xingzhou said those words, Long Qinghuang became very quiet.

She stared intently at Lu Xingzhou, her mouth still unconsciously eating, her cheeks twitching.

Perhaps she had the same experience as Lu Xingzhou, and felt that the person in front of her was much more real.

They had very little interaction before, and what they had gained was only a rough impression. The one with whom they had the most interaction was Dongyue Hanchuan. Lu Xingzhou and his apprentice were essentially prisoners, deliberately trying to please her. At least half of their behavior was fake, and their so-called "admiration" was mostly fake as well.

Aside from knowing that this man was handsome and intelligent, Long Qinghuang didn't really know him.

What does he like and dislike? What are his ideals and what does he want to do?
I know nothing about it.

At that moment, she saw the tenderness in Lu Xingzhou's eyes, a tenderness and appreciation that was more evident in them than in his previous affectionate gaze.

Long Qinghuang was also clever; at least she knew what Lu Xingzhou liked.

He admires civilized countries and magnanimous leaders.

I like the woman in front of me to show her real life, and I can recall how she was a gluttonous young girl eight hundred years ago, rather than a distant emperor who holds life and death power on the throne.

So all that scheming over a man was ridiculous. Stealing someone you didn't even know.

Long Qinghuang suddenly chuckled, laughing at her own inexplicable obsession. Then she swallowed the food in her mouth and muttered, "The taste has changed a bit."

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "It's still very delicious. What is this? Don't tell me it's ambergris."

Long Qinghuang smiled enigmatically: "The dragon's saliva is right here. Want to try it and see if it smells good?"

Lu Xingzhou's heart skipped a beat.

Mom, this woman is flirting with me.

Long Qinghuang didn't continue teasing, but just smiled and said, "It's just the meat of a kind of shrimp from the sea. The easternmost part of the Demon Realm is also near the sea, but the journey is long and transportation is inconvenient. This is all transported back and forth by flying demons. You should eat more."

Lu Xingzhou said, "This was originally just Dragon City, not Demon City for all demons, right? It's inhabited by dragons."

"Yes, it was only after unifying the demon realm that it expanded into the demon capital."

"So, the traditional diet of dragons is still fish and shrimp... therefore, dragons are essentially aquatic beings?"

“Initially, yes.” Long Qinghuang smiled faintly: “Dragons bring rain and clouds, so they are naturally aquatic creatures.”

Lu Xingzhou felt that her words were becoming more and more flirtatious, and where did her girlishness go? Why did she become so mature and sophisticated all of a sudden?

"Although I still retain my innate water elemental ability, we separated from the sea dragons a long time ago... Many of our clansmen are no longer associated with water elemental abilities; most are now fire dragons or earth dragons."

Why did this split occur?

"There's nothing special about it; it's just natural evolution based on the environment. Just like you humans, those who make a living in the mountains and those who make a living at sea, if you insist on dividing them into different groups, it's not a big problem."

Lu Xingzhou nodded.

"When dragons first roamed the world, they were highly respected and revered by humans. Many of you humans still identify yourselves as dragons, don't you?"

"Yes. Hmm... why did they stop communicating later, and even label each other as demons?"

"If I said that humans provoked us first, would you believe me?"

Lu Xingzhou paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I would like to hear the details."

“When human cultivators become powerful, they have many ideas… For example, some people want to eat dragon liver and phoenix marrow, and some people want to tame dragons…” Long Qinghuang said leisurely, “I wonder if there is one sitting in front of me.”

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

"Let's leave aside the matter of eating dragon liver and using dragon tendons; only a few would actually do that. As for taming dragons... we really don't care about such ideas, as long as they can actually do it." Long Qinghuang casually ate her food, saying calmly, "The strong rule the weak; it's the way of nature. Humans can tame horses as mounts, so naturally they can also target stronger dragons, provided you're stronger than me, overwhelmingly stronger, so strong that the dragon knows resistance is futile. Frankly speaking, it's the same for people of the same race; plenty of people are willing to be someone's dog. What's the difference?"

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment: "It seems to be fine."

"So it wouldn't have been a problem for me to arrest you; you're too weak right now."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Long Qinghuang said slowly, "The reason I am willing to give you respect is because strength is not simply about power; wisdom is also a kind of power. Since I need to rely on it, I naturally cannot treat you as a toy. Your respect is something you have earned yourself, and it is only right and proper."

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but say, "What if I'm stronger than you..."

Long Qinghuang smiled and said, "You can use me as a mount, but do you have that ability?"

Lu Xingzhou stopped talking.

Long Qinghuang didn't continue arguing there, but instead returned to the original topic: "Although we agree with obeying the strong, we at least have to fight to know. Unfortunately, humans can't conquer us... and in the end, we become separated into humans and demons."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Since you think that way, why haven't you considered conquering humanity?"

“Not at first. Because at first we thought humans were the strongest... All demons, after awakening their spirits, face the hurdle of transforming into human form, which made us instinctively think that humans are the strongest race in this world. And that's pretty much true. Although humans are inherently weak, their cultivation speed far surpasses that of other races, which is somewhat of a natural advantage... Unfortunately, after the battle started, we found that they were just so-so.”

"So it's you who have demystified humanity." "Yes, so humanity is just one of the myriad races, nothing special. After I unify the Demon Realm, the humans within my territory will just be one of my subjects, no different from other races, not worthy of high regard, nor needing to be mistreated. I will adopt human suggestions regarding civilization planning, but everything else will be the same." As Long Qinghuang spoke, her expression became serious: "After I destroy the Great Qian, it will be the same... so you don't need to worry."

Why destroy the Great Qian Dynasty?

"What kind of talk is this? How can I tolerate others snoring beside my bed? Now that I have unified the Demon Realm, why can't I unify the entire world? Ask Gu Zhanting, if he could, wouldn't he want to destroy the Demon Realm and become the greatest overlord of all time?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled and placed a piece of food into Long Qinghuang's bowl: "I understand. Eat."

Long Qinghuang asked in surprise, "Your attitude...does it mean you agree with my point of view?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "From an outsider's perspective, there's no problem at all. Besides, I'm not here to judge right or wrong."

"what is that?"

"Officially, I am an envoy, and it is my duty to understand the Demon Realm. Personally... I want to understand you."

Long Qinghuang didn't know how to feel after hearing these words. She ate her food with a bitter taste and after a long while, she said, "You should still consider yourself an envoy."

Lu Xingzhou said, "As you said... you can conquer me, as long as you can."

Long Qinghuang fell silent, seemingly lost in thought.

Lu Xingzhou said, "These are your thoughts. Other races don't think so, do they?"

Long Qinghuang scoffed, "What right do a bunch of conquered people have to let their thoughts dictate their lives?"

"So... do all the dragons share your thoughts?"

Long Qinghuang was about to blurt out "yes" when she suddenly remembered the traitor and swallowed her words back, hesitatingly saying, "It should be. We're both dragons, so our thoughts should be similar."

“We’re all human. Gu Zhanting and I don’t even work together. Where does your confidence come from?” Lu Xingzhou sighed. “I understand these things, not just in terms of public and private matters, but also in the more important third point. Don’t you know about it?”

Long Qinghuang's heart stirred.

Yes, he knew all this because he wanted to find the root of the problem—the mole.

While you're trying to persuade him to agree with you using various ideas, what he's really thinking about is helping you solve your problems, and the questions he asks are all meaningful.

Long Qinghuang felt a gentle tingle in her heart, and she was speechless for a long time.

Lu Xingzhou switched to telepathy: "Since the mole is a high-ranking official who can directly cooperate with Gu Zhanting, there are only two possibilities: either he is simply power-hungry and wants to usurp the throne, or he has an ideological conflict with you. The former is actually harder to find, while the latter usually leaves some clues. When you get back tonight, also consider whether the people around you have occasionally shown any ideological inclinations. In addition, make a list of all your suspects and give me detailed biographical information for each person."

Long Qinghuang looked at him for a long time, her eyes softening more than ever before: "Okay."

Lu Xingzhou put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth: "Delicious. Pack one up and take it back to Anuo, otherwise she'll bite me to death."

Long Qinghuang smiled, her eyes crinkling: "You're really good to the child."

For some reason, I started thinking about having a few little dragons in the future. I wonder if he would spoil them as much as he spoils Ah Nuo, always thinking about bringing them a portion of food when he goes out to eat. He would definitely be a good father.

There's nothing wrong with that idea, right? They all want to keep him as empress, what else would it be for if not to have children?
But you can't say that out loud, so you just say, "Are you full? You didn't eat much."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Don't eat too much. Leave some room so we can try other snacks later."

Seeing that he wasn't in a hurry to go back and even wanted to keep his belly to continue shopping with her, Long Qinghuang was a little happy and still said, "Okay."

The two ordered a takeout meal, and Long Qinghuang summoned a guard to deliver it to Anuo in the palace immediately. The two then left the restaurant. Actually, Long Qinghuang was quite disappointed with the food at the restaurant tonight; it didn't taste the same as before, and she herself admitted she hadn't eaten much.

But for some reason, this meal tasted especially delicious.

Before I knew it, he had taken my hand again.

Long Qinghuang knew perfectly well that he was intentionally taking advantage of her, but she glanced at him sideways and couldn't help but smile when she saw his serious and aloof demeanor.

The hand was never pulled back.

It's really strange. Do I want him to be my empress or concubine, or does he like me and want to take advantage of me?

If both parties are willing, it should be a two-way journey, right? But it feels like nothing has even started yet.

Hmm... no, that's not right either, tonight has just begun.

"Bang!" Fireworks shot into the sky in the distance, and stars fell like rain, a truly beautiful sight.

Lu Xingzhou stopped in surprise: "Is today some kind of festival for the demon race?"

"No," Long Qinghuang said with a smile, "It's probably because people know an envoy has arrived and are spontaneously welcoming him."

Lu Xingzhou laughed and said, "Then I would rather think that people know this place is for a rendezvous at dusk and spontaneously create the atmosphere."

Spontaneous my foot... The guards setting off fireworks have no idea what they're doing. Their colleagues are delivering food to the kids while they're hiding far away setting off fireworks—is this what the Dragon Emperor's most elite guards are supposed to be doing? Even storming the Qian Emperor's palace would be more respectable than this kind of work!

(End of this chapter)