Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 430 He's More Like a Heartbreaker

Yuan Muyu remained silent for a long, long time before slowly saying, "It has to be me? What if I'm not in the capital? Would you send someone to look for me?"

The implication is that you are deliberately humiliating me.

Lu Xingzhou said, "Mount Miaoyin is so far away, I originally wouldn't have considered it... I've already contacted the headmaster of the Pill Academy, the instructor, and the anonymous master of the Tianyao Holy Land, but unfortunately they either had other commitments or refused. If my sister hadn't come to the capital, I might have tried to send a message to Mount Miaoyin for help... Anyway, I should inform my sister about my marriage."

Yuan Muyu knew what he was talking about; she had been watching the whole thing.

But I never imagined that the "search for elders" process I was watching would ultimately lead to me being the only one to choose.

Yet it is indeed so reasonable.

She took a deep breath and still asked, "If you really are my older sister, shouldn't you have told me about the marriage as soon as possible?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "Because of my past delusions, I'm afraid this might be seen as boasting, which isn't very appropriate. Anyway, the Yama Palace Capital Branch will always exist, and people will talk about it."

“Lu Xingzhou…” Yuan Muyu smiled, but her voice was devoid of any mirth: “You really are considerate in every way. Even if you don’t actually want to contact him at all, you can still make it sound plausible, and make me think you’re quite thoughtful, right?”

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "Sister, you're overthinking it."

Yuan Muyu looked into his eyes. Back then, Lu Xingzhou helped her clean up the mess, and Yuan Muyu knew this guy's emotional intelligence and ability to smooth things over. Even though you knew he was making excuses, you didn't feel that kind of annoying feeling from forced excuses. You could always feel that it was true, and he could often cover up some of her messes very well.

I can easily soothe others, but I never expected that this ability would be so unbearable when used against me.

Perhaps it's because we know each other too well.

Or perhaps it's because they were standing on the opposite side.

“Okay,” Yuan Muyu suddenly said.

Lu Xingzhou, however, didn't react immediately: "Huh?"

“I said yes.” Yuan Muyu seemed to have come to a realization and appeared relaxed: “Since you still have something you are willing to ask your sister for help with, your sister will naturally help you, and there is no need for many reasons.”

Lu Xingzhou said, "Then thank you, sister."

Yuan Muyu suddenly asked, "Anything else?"

"Hmm?" Lu Xingzhou said, "Sister wants to meet them? Then come with me to the Guest House, and I'll introduce them properly..."

“No,” Yuan Muyu said coldly. “I’ve come to the capital to help with my brother’s marriage, yet you haven’t even thought of inviting your sister to come home and stay? Wasn’t Anuo raised by me since she was a child? Shouldn’t I see her?”

Lu Xingzhou nodded and said, "That's true. Then come with me, sister."

The two walked one after the other through the streets of the capital. Yuan Muyu watched Lu Xingzhou's strode forward, her mind blank.

He has truly let go. Judging from his completely indifferent attitude towards where she lives, he probably doesn't think of her, Yuan Muyu, in any aspect of his daily life. Even her pale face and the bloodstains on her lips are things he hasn't asked about; he doesn't care at all.

I don't mind if they want to stay at my home; they can stay if they want, and I'll treat them like any other guest without any ripples.

If we're talking about severing ties, it feels like he's the one who has broken off all emotional ties.

On the contrary, it was something I kept thinking about and never stopped thinking about.

Ironic.

"Master, who is this...?" The butler stared warily at the young girl Lu Xingzhou had brought back, secretly wondering whether he should inform Miss Pei.

"My sister." Lu Xingzhou casually ordered, "Prepare the best guest room, and call Anuo out while you're at it."

Actually, there was no need to shout. Yuan Muyu had already seen A Nuo cautiously peeking her little head out from behind the corridor not far away, with a pig's head sticking out of her arms.

Yuan Muyu waved his hand expressionlessly: "Why are you hiding there? Do you think I'm going to eat you?"

With a forced smile, Ah Nuo shuffled out and cautiously approached, saying, "Sister Yu~"

Yuan Muyu pinched A Nuo's face: "You little ingrate."

The tone of his voice made it unclear whether he was referring to Ah Nuo or making a veiled criticism.

Lu Xingzhou just smiled and said, "Anuo, please treat Sister Yu well. I'm going back to the yamen now. Steward Pei, tell the kitchen to prepare some home-style dishes today."

Watching Lu Xingzhou leave so gracefully, Yuan Muyu's grip on A Nuo's hand weakened, and she soon fell silent.

That's really something, isn't it?

Ah Nuo carefully observed her complexion: "Sister Yu, are you injured? I have some medicine..."

See, even Ah Nuo cares.

Yuan Muyu felt a little better. No matter what, she had indeed raised Anuo from infancy. The process of raising Anuo with Lu Xingzhou was just like that of a young couple. Changing diapers and feeding rice cereal were things that Lu Xingzhou, who was also disabled and inconvenient at the time, did very well. However, it was usually Yuan Muyu who did the work.

At that time, Situ Yue wanted to help take care of the child, but she wasn't very willing.

This little ingrate is closer to Lu Xingzhou; after the divorce and separation, he only wants to stay with his father, which is understandable. Lu Xingzhou, with his broken leg, spends most of his time in the underworld, taking care of the child for extended periods. She often goes out to work, so they see each other relatively little… but no matter what, she is undeniably in the role of a mother. “I don’t need your medicine.” Yuan Muyu stopped A Nuo from reaching for the pills, her gaze falling on the little pig: “This spirit beast is interesting… what’s its name?”

Anuo's eyes darted around: "Its name is Zhouzhou."

"...Doesn't your master punish you?"

"Master doesn't care."

Yuan Muyu liked the name very much. Despite her injuries, she didn't take any medicine. Instead, she squatted down, took out a pill, and fed it to the pig: "Zhouzhou, eat."

Watching the little pig gulp down its medicine, Yuan Muyu's eyes widened in surprise.

It was just like when Lu Xingzhou was still a child, sitting in a wheelchair being fed pills by her.

For some reason, my nose suddenly felt a little sore.

I didn't even feel this way when I saw Lu Xingzhou kissing other women.

"Sister Yu." Anuo handed over a pill: "Your cultivation has gone a bit astray, and your qi and blood are in disarray. This pill is very effective, you should try it."

Yuan Muyu took a few deep breaths, trying to keep her voice calm: "What, your alchemy skills have surpassed Sister Yu's now?"

Ah Nu tilted her head and thought for a moment: "That's possible, after all, Sister Yu doesn't usually pay much attention to alchemy."

The Ye sisters studied the same things when they were young, but gradually went down different paths. Ye Tinglan was a typical Taoist practitioner, dabbling in alchemy, talisman making, astrology, and qi observation, while Yuan Muyu turned to more direct and ruthless killing techniques. Although their alchemy and weapon-making skills were quite solid, they might not be able to compare with those who had truly mastered these arts.

Seeing that even Ah Nuo dared to say that he was better at alchemy than her, Yuan Muyu felt a sense of loss and regret.

As for whether the student has surpassed the master, that's not important. Yuan Muyu indeed ate the pill given by Anuo and rubbed her head: "Your master actually doesn't really like alchemy. She learned it before only because... well, now that's all right, has this profession been completely handed over to you?"

Ah Nuo thought for a moment: "Master had this idea earlier, but then he stopped mentioning it for some reason. Back in the demon race, even though I could refine all those pills, Master still refined a lot of them himself, and he personally figured out how to prepare the medicines."

Yuan Muyu asked with a straight face, "Is it because of the Demon Emperor?"

Anu shook her head: "That shouldn't be it. I feel that Master still wants to continue honing his alchemy skills. Maybe he doesn't want to abandon what he has learned for so long."

Yuan Muyu stared blankly, lost in thought.

Ah Nuo carefully hugged the pig and backed away, wondering if Sister Yu had misunderstood something again.

Could it be that she doesn't want to discard what she taught? No way, your master has discarded countless things you taught. Why not discard alchemy? Perhaps it has more to do with Mr. Ye…

Ah Nuo herself was unaware that Lu Xingzhou was still pondering the main significance of alchemy for her sake.

If Anuo is a pill, then the imbalance in her blood must probably be resolved by studying alchemy.

No matter what, Yuan Muyu had never wronged her, Anuo, so Anuo couldn't bring herself to say anything hurtful. She sighed and said, "Sister isn't feeling well. Shall I take you to rest?"

“No need.” Yuan Muyu smiled. “Since I promised Xingzhou I would do something for him as an elder, then I will do it.”

She patted the piglet "Zhouzhou's" head and stood up: "I'm going to the Pei family's house. Do you want to come along?"

Of course Ah Nuo is going! If she doesn't go, she'll have wasted all that time hanging out with Sister Yao.

Yuan Muyu took a deep breath and put on the Yama King mask.

"Miss, Miss!" A short while later, a servant from the Pei family rushed into the office of the Chief Clerk of the Guest House, panting: "Lord Yama of the Underworld has come to propose marriage on behalf of Physician Lu."

Pei Chuyun was writing a report when she heard this, her hand trembled, and a blob of ink spilled out.

The officials of the Ministry of Personnel heard this and all looked strange, whispering among themselves.

The number one demonic master of the Great Qian Dynasty openly entered the Prime Minister's residence to discuss marriage...

This whole thing is already ridiculous... What's even more ridiculous is that Yama has to go to the head of the Demon Suppression Division's house afterwards, right?
How could this country...?

Also, how did the Imperial Advisor react?

That said, putting aside the absurdity of this opposition, in terms of status alone, he has far more prestige than Meng Li. After all, Yama is a rare, top-tier being in this world, and the Yama Palace is the number one demonic force in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Pei Chuyun felt a strange emotion rising in her heart. Just now Lu Xingzhou said he was going to find the Minister, but why did the King of Hell come instead?
She rushed out of the office and went to Lu Xingzhou's place next door to ask, "Did you know that Lord Yan went to propose marriage?"

Lu Xingzhou looked up from a stack of documents and smiled, "She doesn't represent the underworld, but the elders who raised me... It's only natural, so don't overthink it."

"No, I don't care what others think, as long as someone proposes marriage!" Pei Chuyun said anxiously, "Will the King of Hell properly discuss marriage? Won't he cause trouble?"

Lu Xingzhou said calmly, "She won't."

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.

PS: Requesting guaranteed monthly votes on the 15th. There will be three chapters today.

(End of this chapter)