Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 448 Crusade
This is truly Shen Tang's greatest pain. If she hadn't been worried about Gu Zhanting finding out and causing harm to Lu Xingzhou, she would have done everything long ago. How could she have waited until now to meet the mother dragon?
If things had gone well, they would have had children by now.

It's infuriating to be suppressed by someone in this mess.

Before Shen Tang could come up with a solution, Yuan Muyu spoke up: "Does Your Majesty really intend to use this method to sort?"

Long Qinghuang crossed her arms: "Otherwise what?"

Yuan Muyu said expressionlessly, "As far as I know, Xingzhou has already had a relationship with that Miss Pei... If we have to use this method, then Your Majesty may have to be prepared to respectfully call her 'sister' and offer her a cup of tea whenever you see her in the future. Oh, by the way, Miss Pei is nineteen years old this year."

Long Qinghuang's smile vanished.

Shen Tang also turned to look at Yuan Muyu. The little fish-catching girl is really not pretending anymore...

Yuan Muyu wasn't sure if she was pretending or not, but her expression remained wooden: "If I'm not mistaken, a certain Imperial Advisor also did that. Your Majesty..."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Long Qinghuang exclaimed angrily, "How could that old-fashioned Taoist nun Ye Tinglan really be looking for a man? Didn't Xingzhou say that she was just Master's disciple?"

This time, Shen Tang looked at Long Qinghuang with a hint of sympathy.

Disciple, do you really believe such nonsense from men? Just like how others only believe you because they value Lu Xingzhou's abilities?
However, while others might say such things without concrete evidence, the speaker was Yuan Muyu. Long Qinghuang, who had witnessed the entire competition in the sea, knew perfectly well who she was and what her relationship with Ye Tinglan was—it was practically irrefutable proof. She instantly erupted in fury: "Ye Tinglan! How dare you!"

Yuan Muyu: "?"

Being love-struck is truly amazing. You shouldn't blame Xingzhou for deceiving you, but you should blame Ye Tinglan instead.
Yes, that's strange, that's right.

For a moment, no one mentioned the ridiculous matter of who should call her "sister" anymore... Even if Long Qinghuang were beaten to death, she couldn't stand having to call her mortal enemy Ye Tinglan "sister" in the future, and having some money-losing brat who hadn't even grown his hair yet.

If we don't follow this order, should we calculate based on who enters first?
Seeing Shen Tang's calm and composed demeanor makes me angry.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Yuan Muyu pursed her lips again and again. Actually, she still had something to say... I was here first.

But after stammering for a long time, he couldn't bring himself to say it. His previous output ability was gone, and his expression became even more ashen.

No, it's nothing.

What am I doing here...? Does their commotion have anything to do with me...?

For a moment, I felt utterly hopeless, and the dazed state I had been in returned to me. I walked alone into the street, my steps faltering once more.

Long Qinghuang was stunned for a moment, then asked Shen Tang in a low voice, "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know," Shen Tang replied softly. "She's always been like this since we met, always looking preoccupied."

Long Qinghuang found this rather strange. How could someone as arrogant as Yan Jun be like this? Considering her injured state, it seemed as if she had gone mad.

What kind of mental state caused this to go so far as to become possessed by demons and even become mentally impaired?

As the ruler of the demon realm, Long Qinghuang was not as quick-witted as Lu Xingzhou, but she was still sharp enough. Connecting their entanglements, she immediately thought that it might be because she knew that Lu Xingzhou was getting married.

Long Qinghuang suddenly laughed. Didn't you drive Lu Xingzhou away? So you're so reluctant to let him go? So the reason you came to beat me up like a madman at sea was because you were so jealous!
That's hilarious!

I like him so much, I don't even consider myself to be obsessed with him just because I heard he got married, but I still want to keep him in the harem forever and not let him go anywhere else. If Xingzhou hadn't insisted on leaving, do you think I would have let him go? You like him to the point of being obsessed and you actually want to drive him away? What were you thinking? Is your brain made of swill?

Long Qinghuang was overjoyed. She glanced at Shen Tang and thought to herself, "Quickly thank Lord Yan, or you won't get a share either."

Shen Tang had no idea what she was thinking. She still had to care about her "sisters," so she stepped forward to help Yuan Muyu up and whispered, "What happened to your injury? Why don't we stop shopping and go back to rest?"

Yuan Muyu turned to look at her: "Why do you care about me?"

"Why wouldn't I care about you? No matter how jealous or annoyed you are, you should know what's important." Shen Tang helped her back in an annoyed tone: "You know more about Pei Chuyun and the Imperial Advisor than I do. Now you're not pretending anymore? Okay, stop being so stubborn and get some rest."

Yuan Muyu suddenly felt like laughing, but couldn't manage it.

Long Qinghuang strolled leisurely beside her: "She doesn't need anyone to help her in her condition, it's not that serious."

Shen Tang said, "Is there a problem with your cultivation? We don't have any alchemists with us. Could Your Majesty please send a few physicians to take a look?" Long Qinghuang nodded, "Sure. I've already sent a telepathic message."

Shen Tang said, "Thanks."

"You're going to thank me for her?" Long Qinghuang almost laughed: "I think you should thank her instead."

Shen Tang: “?”

The three of them finally stopped shopping and went back to the courtyard to rest.

Long Qinghuang leaned back in her chair, leisurely sipping her tea. Her beautiful eyes occasionally glanced at Yuan Muyu, who was lost in thought. Suddenly, she asked Shen Tang, "Hey, I overheard quite a bit of your casual conversation on the way here. There's something I'd like to ask you."

Shen Tang said, "Please speak."

"When Xingzhou was a guest retainer of yours, you two had already established a relationship, right?"

"Ah."

"Then why did you only give him a guest advisor position, which has no real power, instead of a more important, substantive post to bind him to something?" Long Qinghuang said, "Don't say things like he would help you regardless of whether he had a position or not... For Xingzhou, being driven out of the Underworld meant he felt very insecure and lacked a sense of security. Logically, he would need that kind of peace of mind. The so-called guest advisor position is too superficial, as if he could leave at any time. That's not what he should want, is it?"

Shen Tang said, "But he was never my subordinate. When we first met, I sincerely invited him to be the head of the Pill Hall, but he refused. Later, we started working together. Sect matters can't be handled like those shops with partners, otherwise he should have been a partner. After thinking it over, the title of guest elder was more suitable. Hmm... At that time, he really didn't feel secure and preferred to just be a landlord. The so-called landlord means that the place belongs to him, and if he leaves, only we can leave."

Yuan Muyu bit her lower lip.

Long Qinghuang said leisurely, "A sensitive and heartbroken boat... How interesting. I wish I had met her back then. It's so cute to think about."

Shen Tang rolled her eyes in annoyance: "What good thing is that? It's good that you've come out of this now. I really don't know what Yama is thinking. Later, I learned about their relationship and I feel that he and Yama should be considered partners. Even if he is subordinate to Yama, he is definitely the deputy head of the Yama Palace."

Long Qinghuang glanced at Yuan Muyu without changing her expression: "It's normal... When I unified the Demon Realm, many tribes were only considered partners or allies. In the end, there always had to be a hierarchy. You can't really say partners like in a shop. Even among partners, there's a hierarchy, isn't there? If there were truly two equally powerful figures, they might have to be killed. I don't think what Yama King did is anything special; it's just ordinary power struggles."

Shen Tang sighed: "I feel the same way. They were raised from a young age, and yet they still act like this... Yama is just like my father..."

Yuan Muyu blurted out, "No!"

"Hmm?" Both women turned to stare at her.

Yuan Muyu's lips moved for a moment, then she said in a low voice, "It's okay, you guys talk. I don't know anything about their business."

Shen Tang didn't think much of it and continued the conversation: "When I first learned about this, I felt that Xingzhou and I were so alike. We were both disowned, betrayed by our families, and in every way, we were like each other. It was like seeing another version of myself. At that time, I had Qingli by my side to help me. Qingli was quite interesting and made me feel a bit better. Xingzhou also benefited from having Anuo."

Betrayal within family ties.

Yuan Muyu gripped the armrest of the chair tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Long Qinghuang looked at her legs: "You've been standing the whole time, are you giving up the pretense?"

"I've never been very good at pretending. I would unconsciously stand up from time to time... Now that I'm in the Demon Realm, where the sky is high and the sea is wide, I don't want to pretend anymore. I can only hope that my father is too busy and hasn't paid much attention to me." Shen Tang said helplessly, "I know I haven't acted well, but who can sit in a wheelchair forever?"

He paused, then his anger flared again: "I can't even endure a year or two like this, I really don't know how Xingzhou managed to survive ten years. Yan Jun has enough resources and his alchemy skills are not bad either, he could have cured Xingzhou completely, but he just let it go like this."

Long Qinghuang said calmly, "It might not just be that they let it go, but they also sabotaged it and forbade others to help Xingzhou. Otherwise, Xingzhou would have considerable power in the Yama Palace and should have been able to obtain resources on his own."

Shen Tang said, "That should be the case; only that makes sense. But why would Yan Jun do this, just for the sake of power? Xing Zhou doesn't care about those things at all; doesn't she understand that after ten years?"

Long Qinghuang said calmly, "Some things, if you don't experience them yourself, you naturally can't feel the hardship and pain. Instead, you feel like you've gotten used to it. He's been sitting here for ten years already, so what's wrong with him continuing to sit here? Isn't that right?"

"Heaven knows what this kind of person is thinking," Shen Tang said coldly. "Anyway, in my heart, she is just as cold-hearted as my father. If I ever meet her again, I will definitely demand an explanation for Xingzhou."

"Me too." Long Qinghuang smiled and turned to Yuan Muyu: "And you, little sister?"

(End of this chapter)