Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 424 What's so good about them?
The Central Ghost Emperor, Situ Yue, immediately stepped forward to support Yuan Muyu: "How are you?"

Yuan Muyu said in a low voice, "It's nothing, just a slight mishap in my cultivation."

Situ Yue helped her back to her dormitory: "You are at risk of going astray in your cultivation. You should focus on quiet cultivation first."

The "original shares" of the Yama Palace are not only Yuan Muyu and Lu Xingzhou Anuo, but also the Central Ghost Emperor Situ Yue. The "I have a friend" that Yuan Muyu mentioned back then was a woman.

Situ Yue possessed exceptional cultivation skills but spoke little, remaining silent and composed. The position of the Central Ghost Emperor was extremely important, primarily because he temporarily managed the core and oversaw the central authority when Yuan Muyu and Lu Xingzhou were absent, earning Yuan Muyu's utmost trust.

Lu Xingzhou didn't know their origins before, but now he naturally does. She should also be from the Immortal Sect in the Sea, and it's even possible that she came from the Tianyao Holy Land with Yuan Muyu.

Because of her quiet and reserved nature, and her low profile, Lu Xingzhou knew her earlier than Ji Wenchuan, but their relationship was not as good.

Of course, there was also a very important reason: at that time, Lu Xingzhou's heart was entirely with Yuan Muyu, and he was indifferent to other women. Their communication was only about business, so they could be described as not being close at all, just ordinary colleagues.

But she and Yuan Muyu could be considered best friends.

Yuan Muyu was helped to lean against the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused.

Situ Yue asked helplessly, "What exactly is going on? What message did that talisman send?"

“Xingzhou is getting married…” Yuan Muyu said numbly.

"With whom? Is it that Shen Tang? Ugh, I told you there was a problem back then, but you said no, that Shen Tang was just another Liu Yan'er! And now?"

"And four."

Situ Yue: "?"

After a long silence, Situ Yue asked incredulously, "Four...are they person names?"

"It's about quantity."

"That can't be right. Lu Xingzhou isn't that kind of person. Back then, he couldn't possibly have eyes for any other woman besides you. Oh, except for Anuo, that one doesn't count."

Yuan Muyu said, "Look, aren't you just as confident as I was back then?"

Situ Yue: "..."

That makes so much sense.

"But what does Lu Xingzhou's marriage have to do with you?" Situ Yue said, "Didn't you drive him away yourself?"

"I didn't chase him away, it just got out of hand in the heat of the moment..." Yuan Muyu, unusually weak, spoke with a hint of sadness: "Others may not know, but how could you not know..."

"But you didn't try to win him back, and you didn't even go looking for him afterwards. Didn't you think to yourself, 'Let it be,' as you know him? You don't think he'll come back after he goes out for a walk, do you?"

Yuan Muyu fell silent.

Even with all her confidence, she didn't think Lu Xingzhou would come back after a short stroll. She knew Lu Xingzhou quite well... She really felt that whatever, let it be.

In the period immediately after Lu Xingzhou left, I did feel a little relieved. The hesitation, entanglement, and unwillingness to face that I had been feeling before suddenly disappeared. As a result, my mind relaxed, my energy surged, and I was able to break through the super barrier.

In a sense, this verifies the correctness of the so-called "way to sever ties".

Unfortunately, the so-called "super grade" is nothing more than Huiyang. Even a small change could lead to a breakthrough, which doesn't necessarily mean it's truly correct. There are geniuses who have gone astray all the way to Taiqing; what is Huiyang compared to that?

As time passed, the longing only grew stronger, leading to his act of sneaking into Xiazhou to spy on her.

“Actually, whether it was a heated argument or not, the outcome would be the same,” Situ Yue said. “For the past year or two, you’ve been neglecting him, stripping him of his power, and refusing to treat his leg. How could he not know? He’s so proud and has never been the kind of person who can tolerate being wronged. He clearly already intended to leave. His final attempt to confess after he became an adult was to do so. The moment you rejected him, he was destined to leave, regardless of what you said.”

Yuan Muyu said in a low voice, "You also approved of those two years of mine."

Situ Yue didn't say anything.

Everyone has private interests.

The biggest beneficiary of stripping Lu Xingzhou of his power wasn't Tan Xinhong, but rather the Central Ghost Emperor herself. Of course, she approved of it, and even subtly encouraged it; what's there to say about that…

How could Lu Xingzhou not know? The so-called slanderers Lu Xingzhou mentioned included Situ Yue.

You, Yuan Muyu, know this, but ultimately the decision of what to do rests with you.

The so-called way to sever ties is just one aspect of various reasons.

You can see Lu Xingzhou's immense potential... Even though his cultivation is low and he's in a wheelchair, many people in the Underworld still only believe in him. Once he stands up and his cultivation rises, you fear you'll no longer be able to control him and he'll become the master.

Just look at the current situation to see how terrifying a Lu Xingzhou who has stood up can be. It hasn't been that long... Even if you believe he won't, you'll still be afraid that Ji Wenchuan and Dong Chengbi will drape a yellow robe over him.

The Yama Palace embodies your ideals and carries many responsibilities. You want to keep Lu Xingzhou under control to prevent unforeseen complications, at least until its purpose is fulfilled. Afterwards, you will heal his leg, guide him in his spiritual journey, and you might even give him the Yama Palace... But you haven't considered that he is an independent person with his own emotions and pursuits, not an appendage waiting for you to arrange his life.

You love him, but unfortunately, you two have never been on equal footing.

The path of severing ties amplifies this abnormality, forcing you to suppress your emotions and tell yourself you can't love, which only exacerbates this inequality. He loves you so much, yet you tell yourself you can't love him—what kind of logic is that...?

Unfortunately, some things cannot be suppressed.

Tan Xinhong and Ye Wufeng believed she truly didn't love him, which is why she died. Situ Yue, as her best friend, was familiar with Yuan Muyu's psychology, and women were far more knowledgeable about these kinds of things than novices like Ye Wufeng; she saw through them perfectly. A few casual words of encouragement were enough to make Yuan Muyu do some things herself, but she couldn't actually say anything bad about her—that would be a different story.

Yuan Muyu paused, lost in thought for a moment, and said, "I need to go to the capital."

Situ Yue said, "What are you going there for? Shouldn't your priority be to rest and recuperate? This qi deviation is no joke; it could damage your very foundation."

"Watch his wedding."

"...They're only engaged at most right now, it's a long way from them getting married. They might not even be married by next year, so what's the point of you going now?"

"Then I'll go take a look too."

"What are you looking at?"

"See what makes them good."

…………

Regardless of the various disturbances, Lu Xingzhou, who was dragged to the Star Gazing Platform by Ye Tinglan to demonstrate his verbal skills, later embraced his sweet and soft husband, and the two discussed matters concerning the Ancient Realm.

"You schemed all this time, but in the end you didn't give Jiang Yuan an answer. Isn't she still going to discuss marriage with Huo Xingyuan?" Ye Tinglan asked lazily, "Will it have any impact?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "Huo Xingyuan will be optimistic about the family relationship after I 'recognize my ancestors and return to the clan,' but Gu Zhanting will not think so blindly, so Jiang Yuan's matter is unlikely to happen."

"So you're just using her?"

“Not entirely. I still hope to get real information about the ancient world from her, and this kind of interaction requires friendly cooperation. There’s no benefit in falling out,” Lu Xingzhou said. “However, I never intended to use my marriage to achieve this goal. I’ve used her this time, so I will naturally give her an explanation.”

"What kind of explanation?"

"If Huo Xingyuan dies, will she still not get married?"

Ye Tinglan was startled: "You... you're already planning something like this? Are you confident? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Lu Xingzhou hugged her and kissed her: "Didn't you say that you would cover for me no matter what I did? That's enough."

"Hmph, I never said that."

"Okay, okay, my husband didn't say that, but my wife did."

Ye Tinglan laughed and reached out to scratch his chin: "Yuan Muyu and I had discussed this before, do you want to hear it?"

"Of course I need to. If I'm completely blind, it'll be very difficult for me to handle Jiang Yuan. If I have a certain level of understanding before I start playing against the Jiang family, the situation will be completely different."

In fact, the key word Ye Tinglan really thought was Yuan Muyu, but Lu Xingzhou didn't care at all, and she smiled to herself: "The news from Yuan Muyu's side is that the body-snatcher thinks the Ancient Realm is a prison or a place of exile."

Lu Xingzhou remained silent, lost in thought.

Ye Tinglan looked up at him and said, "Why do you seem so unsurprised?"

“I had a similar guess. Although Jiang Yuan kept saying that they came to assess the lower realm, I don’t think there’s any upper realm assessor who would be so aggrieved. It’s one thing if she wanted to get married, but that’s not the case. So I always felt that the ancient realm was not the powerful upper realm we imagined. They were more like refugees. The information from Yuan Muyu’s side confirmed my guess.”

Ye Tinglan pouted: "Doesn't that mean all the information we've been working on is less useful than a few words you exchange with Jiang Yuan?"

“How could that be? Having evidence is different from just guessing… For example, Gu Zhanting must have guessed the same thing, but he didn’t have concrete proof, so he didn’t dare to really expose the Jiang family. What if he guessed wrong? Wouldn’t the cooperation collapse completely? We are now truly ahead of Gu Zhanting.” Lu Xingzhou said, smiling as he got up and dressed: “Get ready for the Holy Lord’s high-class style. Soon you will be talking to Jiang Duxu. I suspect he is hiding a lot of strength.”

"How tall?"

“It will definitely not be lower than Zhao En’s, and may even be slightly higher.” Lu Xingzhou said, “Only in this way can we explain why he can leave Zhao En so easily. Zhao En went to great lengths to help him smuggle himself across the border, but he couldn’t do anything about it and was just a freebie. Zhao En is not just one person; he is the entire force of Jin Feng Island, and even they couldn’t suppress Jiang Duxu.”

Ye Tinglan narrowed her eyes.

At the summit of Zhao En Hui Yang.

To be taller than Zhao En, one must either be on the verge of reaching the Qian Yuan realm like her, or one must already be at the Qian Yuan realm.

Ye Tinglan pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Xingzhou, the matter of the Ancient Realm was originally something that Yuan Muyu and I were concerned about. Logically, it shouldn't have much to do with you, but I feel that your concern for it is a bit beyond expectations. Is it because of your Danxia Secret Realm?"

“To be precise, the person I’m really interested in is Zhao En,” Lu Xingzhou said. “He’s a monk and has a way of smuggling himself in… This must be closely related to Maha Qiang behind the Danxia Secret Realm, and may also be closely related to the Sacred Mountain of the Demon Realm. I’m not very interested in other secrets of the Ancient Realm, but Maha Qiang is someone I have a great karmic connection with, and I’m very interested in everything about him.”

Ye Tinglan nodded slightly: "Qingli is currently overseas and is responsible for tracking Zhao En's whereabouts. I will have her inform you of any news as soon as possible."

Lu Xingzhou blinked.

"what happened?"

"It's nothing." Lu Xingzhou felt a little guilty. What would Xiaobai Mao think if she knew that her master had married him under the identity of Ye Zhuoyu?

Ye Tinglan still didn't feel that her disciple and Lu Xingzhou had any emotional entanglement. She was still saying seriously, "I don't know how you got to the second rank... Anyway, with your current level of divine sense, you should be able to actively connect to the communication jade talisman's array and call for people from the sect. Of course, contact me more often, and don't contact Qingli unless necessary."

Lu Xingzhou was quite pleased: "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Ye Tinglan pursed her lips and didn't say anything more. It seemed that Lu Xingzhou hadn't even thought about it; if he could actively call someone, Yuan Muyu was also among the people he could call.

(End of this chapter)