Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 432 Do you regret it?
In Yuan Muyu's heart, there was always a story of defeating her sister—or rather, an obsession sparked by a rivalry, an obsession that influenced her entire life.

This includes running away from home, first meeting Lu Xingzhou, establishing a power base, and that power base is all about killing and violence... it all started from here.

The Yama Palace embodies her significance, not power... ultimately it is related to this Daoist struggle.

The reason for suppressing Lu Xingzhou can be found here.

She used to think that Ye Tinglan was using her similar appearance to seduce Lu Xingzhou, and that her only purpose was to hurt her.

Of course, we know that's not the case now.

But the more it seemed otherwise, the more Yuan Muyu couldn't understand it. She really couldn't understand why Ye Tinglan would be like this. This shouldn't be happening.

Regardless, I'll get my revenge for the time I was humiliated by my sister and brother-in-law. Perhaps the only benefit of this heartbroken attempt to "help with the marriage proposal" is that I can gain the upper hand over my sister?
Ye Tinglan glared at her younger sister for a while, then suddenly smiled: "Please give me more guidance in the future, sister-in-law."

Yuan Muyu: "...If I don't agree, you can't get married. Your sister-in-law called you too early."

“Useless Fuyao, we are not their court officials, we are just a secluded immortal sect, we don’t have so many formalities. Your marriage proposal only needs to deal with the Pei and Sheng families, Ye Zhuoyu’s side doesn’t need to, and neither does Shen Tang. As the sect leader of Tianyao, I, Ye Tinglan, approve of the marriage between my disciple Ye Zhuoyu and Lu Xingzhou, that’s enough.”

Yuan Muyu lost all face and finally exploded in anger: "Ye Tinglan!"

“You said you’re angry, but it doesn’t really cause any waves of emotion, so why bother?” Ye Tinglan sighed and looked at her with a very maternal gaze: “You’re a powerful figure in your own right, and after all these years, you still have the temper of a child.”

Yuan Muyu took a few deep breaths and sneered, "Sect weddings are held within the sect, and there's a simple ceremony. After all, it's a major life event, not something shameful. Which Ye Zhuoyu do you want to marry? Or will you personally participate?"

Ye Tinglan finally fell silent.

"So, in reality, it's something you can't show to anyone, is that right?" Yuan Muyu plopped down in front of her: "For this shameful relationship, you don't even care about the Immortal Realm?"

Ye Tinglan remained silent.

Yuan Muyu said, "Since you can even abandon the Great Dao, why can't you save face?"

Ye Tinglan finally answered, "Perhaps because I'm your older sister."

Yuan Muyu: "?"

“We have something in common at heart, we share the same awkwardness,” Ye Tinglan said calmly. “I am bound by something, and so are you, although what binds us may not be the same… but I am trying to break free step by step. Whether I succeed in the end or not, at least I have thought about it and tried. What about you?”

This time, it was Yuan Muyu's turn to remain silent.

Ye Tinglan changed the subject: "Do you know who the old man I spoke with today was?"

Yuan Muyu said, "There can't be such a newly emerged powerhouse within the known scope... Either he's from some unknown place beyond the distant seas, or he can only be a visitor from the ancient realm. Presumably, he's a visitor from the ancient realm?"

"Yes." Ye Tinglan said, "I exchanged some information with him, but I won't tell you most of it, since we're not on the same side now... But there's one thing you absolutely need to know."

"what?"

"He believes that the heavenly tribulation was tampered with, and I'm sure you know what that means."

Yuan Muyu stared at her with cold, sharp eyes, his murderous aura soaring to the sky.

A sudden gust of cold wind arose from the once ethereal and divine observatory, as if the entire environment had turned dark, like Hades emerging from the abyss.

The Taoist priests in the distance all shuddered, their hearts pounding with anxiety.

It's said that Yama King only broke through to the Super Grade a little over a year ago... When he came in just now, his steps seemed unsteady, and he even seemed to be injured... How can he be so strong?

No one could perceive that this person's foundation was the same as their Holy Lord's—the Heavenly Jade Profound Moon Dharma. Even a genius like Yuan Muyu could reverse the nature of his own fundamental Dharma.

Ye Tinglan sighed inwardly. She never doubted that her younger sister's talent in cultivation surpassed her own: "Suppress your temper. You've encountered a slight mishap in your cultivation, so your mood shouldn't fluctuate too much. Hmm... Fortunately, you used a very suitable pill, otherwise your qi and blood would have been disordered just now."

Yuan Muyu said coldly, "If you have any relevant information, tell me immediately."

"Will do."

The two sisters looked at each other in silence, not having much to say.

If we say something sensitive, it might lead to an argument.

After a long while, Yuan Muyu stood up wearily: "Since Ye Zhuoyu doesn't need me to propose marriage, then I'll take my leave."

Ye Tinglan watched silently as her younger sister staggered down the steps. When she was halfway down, she suddenly asked, "Do you... have any regrets?"

Yuan Muyu paused slightly, but did not answer the question, and continued walking away.

She didn't know which point her sister was asking... whether she meant since she left home, or Lu Xingzhou.

The former has no regrets to this day, the latter...

She slowly walked out of the park, gazing at the setting sun, which was already dipping in the west, and remained motionless for a long time.

Ah Nuo, who had been pretending to be invisible and watching the show, finally tugged at her sleeve: "Sister Yu, let's go back and eat."

…………

Back at the Lu residence, the lights were on, and the aroma of food wafted from the banquet hall, where everyone was already waiting for the meal to begin.

Sheng Yuanyao's voice was chattering: "Honey, you have to save me! Old Sheng is going to beat me to death..."

What did you do to upset him this time?

"Your sister complained that we kissed at Dan Academy."

"Hey, we're getting married soon, why worry about all that?"

"No, how could the mighty King Yama be gossiping... uh..." Sheng Yuanyao swallowed her words halfway through. Yuan Muyu, wearing a mask, stood at the entrance of the hall, staring intently at her; his appearance was quite eerie. A'nuo slipped in: "Sister Yao, won't your father send someone to arrest you?"

“The invitations have all been changed. What’s wrong with coming to my fiancé’s house for a meal?” Sheng Yuanyao said matter-of-factly, “My mother didn’t say anything today.”

Madam Sheng not only didn't say anything, but also stopped Old Sheng for her, telling her to run away quickly and preferably use the excuse that Old Sheng was going to hit someone to hide in the Lu residence and not come back.

Old Sheng is still not as good at domestic power struggles as his wife.

What kind of time is this to be concerned about saving face? Soon, four sisters will be vying for your favor. If you don't strengthen your bond now, when will you? It would be smarter to get things done before everyone else, right?
Madam Sheng thought that Pei Chuyun was raised with strict discipline and would never be able to get ahead in such matters. Shen Tang was far away, and no one knew where he was catching fish. Her daughter had a huge advantage in getting ahead!

Who would have thought that the one with the strictest upbringing would be the first to eat, completely too lazy to even think about such trivial matters... It's pointless!
Yuan Muyu finally strolled into the hall and casually sat down in the lower guest seat, next to A Nuo: "If I don't gossip, how do you have such a good excuse to run out and find a man?"

Sheng Yuanyao was stunned for a moment, and Lu Xingzhou glanced at her sideways.

How come this fish has become smarter? I never noticed before...

Ah Nuo thought to herself, "You should have known better before. You understood Sister Yu's little devilish nature so well back then. Situ Yue was under strict guard at that time."

All gone...

Yuan Muyu looked at the food on the table in silence for a while, then slowly said, "You guys eat."

After saying that, she got up and went straight back to her guest room.

Sheng Yuanyao whispered, "Is the King of Hell really like this, so unpredictable?"

"As expected?"

"Hmm, more or less. I just didn't expect that the King of Hell would actually be willing to help you with something as trivial as proposing marriage. Wouldn't someone like her find such mundane family matters quite boring?"

Lu Xingzhou turned to look outside the hall and said in a low voice, "I was surprised too."

"So why doesn't she eat?"

"Wearing a mask is inconvenient."

"You can pick them, I'm not an outsider."

Lu Xingzhou didn't answer for a moment, and A Nuo poked at her rice bowl and muttered, "I think it's because you're not an outsider."

Sheng Yuanyao's eyes were swollen; she had no idea what the child was talking about.

Forget it, if I can't figure it out, I won't think about it. Anyway, Yama will be back soon, and we won't see each other much. Sheng Yuanyao quickly shook off her thoughts and said with a smile, "Hey, Old Sheng asked me to ask you for advice before, but I forgot."

"what's up?"

"That 'Heroes Ranking' is no longer read by anyone. They asked if you have any ideas on how to revive it." Sheng Yuanyao briefly recounted what the editor-in-chief had told her.

Lu Xingzhou listened silently, then shook his head: "It's pointless. This situation is too deep to be reversed. If the Demon Suppression Division doesn't have to use this to generate revenue, my suggestion is to stop publishing external publications and only publish one internal publication to collect intelligence on the battle situation from all sides for our own analysis and reference. In fact, the public will trust the credibility of such internal publications more, and they might even deliberately try to find out the rankings given by your internal staff."

“Revenue generation doesn’t really rely on this…” Sheng Yuanyao sighed, “Even you can’t do anything about it…”

"Because this matter is essentially a change in the entire social atmosphere of the Great Qian Dynasty. People's desire to conceal their strength has surpassed the effect of propaganda, which is something the Demon Suppression Division cannot reverse." Lu Xingzhou laughed, "What, you're reluctant to let it go?"

"Yes, after all, I did the job of editor-in-chief, so I have some feelings for it. Besides, it's quite fun to openly spy on other people's information through this publication."

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment and said, "If it really comes down to it, I'll think of something else, but I might not be able to come up with a solution right away."

Sheng Yuanyao said happily, "As long as you are willing to use your brain, there will definitely be a way."

"You trust me that much?"

"Of course, how could I not believe in my husband's abilities?"

Anuo's face was all scrunched up. She never expected that Sister Yao would be so... direct after getting engaged.

Do you want to see what you were like back when you were still stubbornly insisting you were brothers? Now, Ah Nuo only regrets not recording it.

Lu Xingzhou was saying, "They have the skills, but without enough incentives, their brains are stuck."

Sheng Yuanyao asked, "What kind of incentive do you want?"

Lu Xingzhou pointed to his face: "This."

Sheng Yuanyao glanced around furtively. The servants had long since left, and the frightening Yama sister was nowhere to be seen either. All that was left watching the show was Anuo and a pig.

She quickly leaned in and pecked her lips: "Then let's give her some encouragement."

Lu Xingzhou pulled her into his arms and sat her down: "That's not enough..."

"Eh? Eh? Eh?" Sheng Yuanyao pushed against his chest, a little flustered: "Anuo is still here."

Ah Nuo hung her head, picked up the pig, and was about to leave.

But then Lu Xingzhou picked up Sheng Yuanyao and dashed out from the back: "Then let's go back inside and talk slowly."

Ah Nuo doesn't have to walk anymore... but suddenly she feels that it would be better if she walked herself.

At least in the restaurant, even if those two are being all lovey-dovey, nothing serious will happen, but back in the room, it's hard to say...

Sister Fish is here today! Master, are you going to kill her?

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.

P.S.: It's past midnight, please vote with your monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)