Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 377 The Forgotten Mission
Long Qinghuang's burgeoning passion vanished with a single sentence, her expression turning stern: "Are you sure?"

"It's pretty close," Lu Xingzhou said. "Have you ever thought about why some things seem so similar..."

"Which?"

“For example, the old turtle can have so many illegitimate children with other groups; for example, the aphrodisiac and wildness-inducing effects of that valley; and for example…” Lu Xingzhou said word by word: “Your birth into human form, the spiritual awakening of the sacred mountain into demons.”

Long Qinghuang's expression grew increasingly grim, and she remained silent in thought.

really……

A single similarity could be attributed to coincidence. For example, the function of the valley could be achieved by many magical techniques, and it may not necessarily be related to dragons.

But what if there are multiple similar items?

Especially the matter of the old turtle's illegitimate child, which was only recently discovered... no one had noticed this problem before. When this problem is considered together with several other similarities, it seems that there are problems everywhere. Why are some of the Holy Mountain's behaviors so similar to the inherent behaviors of the dragon race itself?

If even the so-called awakening of spirits to become demons and the origin of demonic earth veins are stolen from the dragon race, then this is too ironic.

"Why was I so certain I could solve your problems when I first arrived? It's not because I'm particularly smart," Lu Xingzhou said earnestly. "It's because I can observe your qi and see that your problems are related to your qi channels. I can now basically determine that this is caused by some kind of plundering and transfer, and that it has been affecting your bodies over time."

Aura observation is a technique unique to both Buddhism and Taoism. Not only do dragons not know it, but even non-Buddhist and non-Taoist human cultivators do not know it either.

Long Qinghuang paced back and forth a few steps, then whispered, "Is there a way to solve this?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "We must enter the core area to find out what the medium for the spell is, otherwise it cannot be reversed. In addition, your bodies have indeed been affected, so even if the matter is resolved, you will still need to take medicine to recuperate."

Attacking the Holy Mountain... The concept flashed through Long Qinghuang's mind, but she still felt a headache coming on.

In terms of pure ability, she is confident.

However, the political implications are very troublesome.

At this moment, we must be even more grateful for Lu Xingzhou and A Nuo's antics yesterday, which brought the issue of Pudu's woman to a close. This matter will quickly spread throughout the various races of the demon realm in the coming days, and will likely shake the beliefs of some of them.

Otherwise, internal strife between the Demon Emperor and the Holy Mountain could lead to the division of the Demon Realm. Right now, it seems there's still a possibility of a more stable operation.

“I still have some ideas on how to handle the other matters, but the problem now is…” Long Qinghuang continued pacing a few more steps: “If I must break with the Holy Mountain, I must first find the traitor within, otherwise, with collusion from within and without, the Demon Realm will be in turmoil. And if your Great Qian intervenes…”

She smiled and said, "I might be able to flee after the fall of my country, and you can capture me and tame me."

Lu Xingzhou rubbed her head.

Long Qinghuang was caught off guard and was startled when she was suddenly rubbed.

For nearly a thousand years, no one has dared to rub her head!
Lu Xingzhou seemed oblivious to her astonishment, his expression gentle: "I will help you."

Long Qinghuang stared blankly into his eyes, unable to express her emotions at that moment.

She slowly rested her head against Lu Xingzhou's chest and whispered, "I'll be grateful you're not lying to me."

Even so, Long Qinghuang knew in her heart that Lu Xingzhou hadn't really lied to her about anything; at most, he just wanted to run away.

His heart is not here.

However, compared to other people in the Demon Realm, Lu Xingzhou would only choose to support Long Qinghuang.

It wasn't just because of personal feelings, but also because Long Qinghuang had always treated all humans equally, and it was hard to say who else would have taken her place.

Lu Xingzhou whispered in his ear, "I only want to seduce you."

Although Long Qinghuang was in no mood for it, she still answered, "Then come and get it."

Lu Xingzhou smiled and patted her head again.

Long Qinghuang looked up angrily: "Why do you keep touching my head today?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "I was wondering why you don't have dragon horns. It has nothing to do with age, right? I think the Sea Dragon King, who is quite old, has them."

Long Qinghuang was speechless: "Just because of this?"

Lu Xingzhou laughed, not just because of that, but because he felt that Long Qinghuang looked like a helpless little beast at that moment.

In reality, this impression was an illusion. Long Qinghuang was simply unable to determine who the traitor was, making her appear isolated and helpless, unsure which of her clansmen she could trust. But in truth, there were only one or two traitors. Once identified, the other clansmen remained her loyal arms. She was still the Demon Emperor, wielding the strongest power in the Demon Realm, and certainly not some lonely little beast abandoned by all.

If this illusion were spoken aloud, Long Qinghuang would most likely laugh at it.

Long Qinghuang tilted her head and looked at him for a while, seemingly seeing through his inner thoughts. She smiled slightly and rested her forehead against his chest again: "Before I unified the Demon Realm, I did not hide my dragon horns; back then, I was the Dragon Emperor. After unifying the Demon Realm, in order to show that all races were equal, I deliberately hid my dragon horns and did not highlight my racial attributes. Of course, in reality, that was just for show; true equality is not reflected by such a small matter... And the Dragon Clan, as my own race, cannot truly be equal to others. I know what my fundamental base is."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Then... show me a dragon horn?"

Two dragon horns slowly grew from Long Qinghuang's head.

Lu Xingzhou leaned back to examine it closely, blinking his eyes repeatedly.

"What?" Long Qinghuang asked with a stern face. "Ugly?" Lu Xingzhou's eyes were clearly shining with the light of admiring a cute creature, and he reached out to touch it.

Long Qinghuang stopped his hand, a half-smile on her face: "Our horns... cannot be touched casually. It's a very serious offense."

Lu Xingzhou asked in a low voice, "Then... should we allow it to be violated?"

Long Qinghuang bit her lower lip, giving him a wistful yet resentful glance before her hand, which had been blocking her, finally softened.

Lu Xingzhou knew what she meant and touched her without saying a word.

Long Qinghuang trembled slightly, and her eyes showed a hint of grievance as she looked at him.

Although this is not actually a sensitive X-organ, the symbolic meaning is clear: touching it indiscriminately is indeed an extremely serious offense.

When a dragon is willing to let you hold its horns and play with it, then taming the dragon can already be declared half successful. Long Qinghuang herself knew what this meant, but this stinky man was playing with it as happily as a child seeing a favorite toy.

Where are you, Ah Nuo? You're still speeding along riding a pig.

But from another perspective, it is indeed true affection; Long Qinghuang could see the fondness in his eyes.

You liked this, you should have said so earlier...

Just then, Xiao Kui's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... They sent someone to report that the Great Qian envoy has arrived."

Long Qinghuang almost said that the envoy was right there, but then she remembered that there was actually a whole delegation, including a female deputy envoy. Her good mood vanished instantly, and she glared at Lu Xingzhou angrily: "Let's go see your delegation. I'll also meet Long Lie and the others who have returned."

Lu Xingzhou said, "You... should be careful when you talk to them."

This was exactly what gave Long Qinghuang a headache. She knew that most of her people were reliable, but the presence of a single bad apple made it difficult to trust anyone, which was truly distressing. Under this effect, the only person she could trust was Lu Xingzhou, whom she had "kidnapped," which was undeniably ironic.

It was as if by divine intervention that he and I grew closer and closer.

"Actually, I initially contacted you just to get your advice on finding the mole, but now the investigation is getting bigger and bigger, and we still haven't found a single clue about the mole." Long Qinghuang said, finding it amusing herself, "Did you do this on purpose?"

Lu Xingzhou laughed as well, saying, "I believe His Majesty has already covered the entire city with his divine sense, watching who is communicating with the Holy Mountain. However, if they also have communication artifacts to secretly contact each other, it will be difficult to detect them. We need to add some more layers."

"How to add it?"

"I have some ideas, but I'll discuss them with my delegation later."

The delegation consisted of several hundred people, including a few civil officials specially appointed by Gu Zhanting to handle negotiations and case files. The rest were hastily assembled from the border towns, with low-ranking officials, some even just clerks. They were no match for Baron Lu Xingzhou, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Rites, let alone the likes of General Sheng Yuanyao, whose mere glare would make them tremble. They were utterly ineffective in monitoring or restraining Lu Xingzhou; the delegation essentially left him in complete control.

The hundreds of guards accompanying the group were comrades-in-arms who had fought alongside Sheng Yuanyao in Guiyuan City and had been tested by blood and fire. Although they had only known each other for three days, they were more trustworthy than the elite troops of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The delegation entered the city of Yaodu and, surrounded by the city's residents, made their way to the Honglu Temple.

Sheng Yuanyao was astonished when she entered the city, because there were so many humans there.

When humans saw them, some were curious, some were friendly, and a few were even a little hostile. In short, none of them showed any enthusiasm or eagerness to welcome the king's army, which surprised and frustrated Sheng Yuanyao.

It feels like the people here completely consider themselves to be from the Demon Capital, and have nothing to do with the Great Qian Dynasty. Some of my preconceived notions before coming here were a bit wishful thinking.

The city of Yaodu was extremely prosperous, and its scale had already shocked Lu Xingzhou. Lu Xingzhou had seen big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and he was still shocked. The country bumpkin Sheng Yuanyao was even more dejected, feeling that her own capital city had been surpassed and that her glory as the Lord of the Capital was about to be destroyed.

I thought their etiquette was so crude that they didn't even have an office to receive envoys, but it turns out they did have the Court of State Ceremonies.

Although it was only recently established, Sheng Yuanyao was unaware of this. Upon entering, she discovered that it was fully equipped and had more staff than the Honglu Temple of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Si Qing was a fox spirit man, so handsome that he attracted many admirers. It was unclear whether Long Qinghuang had chosen him to deal with Sheng Yuanyao, but Sheng Yuanyao found him too "handsome" and thought that men shouldn't be like that.

Lu Xingzhou is also very handsome, but in a refined and elegant way, not the effeminate kind.

"My name is Xiao Liang, and I am honored to serve as the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies." The Minister of Ceremonies said with a smile, "We have been waiting for the envoy of the Great Qian Dynasty for many days. Since the envoy has just arrived, why don't you make some arrangements?"

Sheng Yuanyao said, "The envoy has arrived ahead of schedule. Where is he staying? We can go find him."

Xiao Liang's smile turned very strange. "You're leading troops to find him? The human delegation is attacking the palace!"
"Say something! Aren't foxes known for their eloquence?" Sheng Yuanyao asked, quite puzzled.

Xiao Liang said helplessly, "Your Excellency is staying in... the Empress's palace. It may not be very convenient for us to meet."

Sheng Yuanyao's willow-leaf eyebrows stood on end.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door, and a little girl riding a big white pig rushed in: "Sister Yao, Sister Yao, how did you know I have a pig?"

Sheng Yuanyao covered her forehead.

Lu Xingzhou followed him in with a smile: "Little fox, don't talk nonsense. It's not hard to meet."

Sheng Yuanyao sighed and stepped forward to pat Lu Xingzhou on the shoulder: "You're living the high life in the Demon Capital while your brothers are left to starve on the road. Is this how you act as a 'good envoy'?"

Long Qinghuang looked at the hand that was patting Lu Xingzhou's shoulder, her lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

(End of this chapter)