Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 502 You Can't Like Me
The pursuers also took a look at the pit. It was only about the size of two people hugging, and it was solid at the bottom. It wasn't very deep and couldn't hide anyone at all.

So where are the people?

Originally, this pit was very deep, leading directly to a spatial rift. However, Dugu Qingli was here.

As soon as he jumped down, he casually froze the ice above him, filling the hole with a lot of it, making it look like a shallow pit. No one thought of it that way, and they were all stunned.

How could someone who was perfectly healthy suddenly be gone? They've even stopped breathing.

"They're probably using escape techniques. Bombard them everywhere! They're injured, so their escape techniques can't go far!"

The ice surface was covered in colorful bombs, a truly beautiful sight. Jiang Yuan, watching from afar through the eyes of the mechanical man, was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

I was originally thinking about how to help them out, but I didn't expect them to save themselves without any help. As expected of Lu Xingzhou, he managed to escape from the jaws of death even with such injuries. So, my failed sneak attack wasn't my fault; it was just that my opponent was too cunning.

Look at these people, so stupid and furious, they're way more stupid than me. Compared to them, my retreat was pretty graceful! I only lost a tattered piece of cloth!

Since that's the case, waiting for them to recover from their injuries before coming out wouldn't be a backup plan, it would be a counterattack. Staying put and waiting should also allow us to provide some support.

"Bang!" Everything went black as the mechanical man died from an area-of-effect attack, a tragic sacrifice.

Jiang Yuan sniffled and secretly let one out.

The story goes that Jiang Duxu sent his granddaughter out of the capital because he didn't want her to hang out with Lu Xingzhou. But she ended up going so far, even abroad, and still inexplicably bumped into Lu Xingzhou and naturally decided to hang out with him. I wonder if Jiang Duxu would be furious if he found out.

In short, Lu Xingzhou was unaware of Jiang Yuan's existence at this moment. He and Dugu Qingli entered the spatial rift and went directly to the bottom of the water where the Xuan Snake had once slept.

At this point, the two were even struggling to swim. They barely managed to swim ashore, then rolled over and lay flat on the grassy bank without making a sound.

too tired.

After swimming, I was soaking wet. Normally, I would have dried or dried myself off by now, but I didn't even have the strength to do so, so I just let myself get completely soaked.

Lu Xingzhou barely managed to turn his head to glance at Dugu Qingli. The little white-haired girl's white hair was messily plastered to her forehead and temples. She was panting heavily, her high chest heaving with each breath. Her soaked clothes clung tightly to her body, making her look breathtakingly beautiful.

Lu Xingzhou took out another pill and handed it to her, but his hand couldn't reach her mouth.

Dugu Qingli turned her head and took the pill, but did not turn back. The two of them just stared at each other, something flickering in their eyes.

After a long while, Dugu Qingli asked, "How did you know there was a secret realm here? I didn't know either."

“Your fishing uncle and I happened to be here last time. There was a snake here before that we killed, and she took the snake’s body.”

"..." Dugu Qingli turned her head and lay down. So this is where you and your master had your affair, right?

After a long silence, Dugu Qingli suddenly asked in a low voice, "Why are you blocking my way?"

It's taken so long to ask this question. It feels like Little White Hair's database has been searching for this question ever since he blocked the attack, but there's no answer.

Lu Xingzhou found it somewhat amusing: "If I hadn't blocked it, you would have suffered extremely serious injuries, far more severe than what you're experiencing now."

Dugu Qingli continued to ask, "What I'm asking is, you could have used many other methods, why did you have to use your body to block it?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "You should be able to judge that that is the most prudent option."

"But you will get hurt because of it."

"Is it important?"

"What if you die?"

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

"What if I die?" Little White Hair still asked stubbornly.

Lu Xingzhou said helplessly, "In the heat of battle, you don't even think about such things. All you can think about is that you can't get hurt, and you just instinctively rush over."

Dugu Qingli fell silent.

Lu Xingzhou said, "Don't be touched, and don't keep saying I want to seduce you. Comrades help each other, and I would do the same even if you were a man."

Dugu Qingli knew this too. Even if he were a man, Lu Xingzhou would probably do the same thing. He couldn't bear to watch his brother be in danger.

That feeling was so strange, it was etched in my heart and I couldn't shake it off.

The memory of it is as vivid as the French kiss from back then and the time I smeared it on my face a while ago, ranking among the three most memorable scenes. The feelings these three scenes evoked were completely different, and no one else had ever given me these feelings.

Actually, there was a similar scene before, when Lu Xingzhou pushed her away in the palace courtyard and took the hit of the Taiyin True Fire himself. However, he was not injured in the end, so the impact was not as great as the scene of being injured and spitting blood, but it can prove that he has always done this.

He consistently placed her safety above his own.

Lu Xingzhou was saying, "Anyway, your master told you to come out with me, so I have to bring you back to her safe and sound, otherwise how can I explain it?"

Dugu Qingli finally asked the question that had been on her mind: "So, who are you in charge of, Dugu Qingli or Ye Tinglan?"

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at her again.

Dugu Qingli gazed at him silently, her blue eyes unfathomable, revealing nothing of her thoughts.

Lu Xingzhou finally took the question seriously. After thinking for a while, he hesitated before saying, "If I say it's Dugu Qingli, will you say I'm trying to seduce you again?"

Dugu Qingli said, "We'll discuss it after you've spoken."

Lu Xingzhou said with certainty, "You are my friend first, and only Ye Tinglan's disciple. So my primary responsibility is to Dugu Qingli."

Dugu Qingli pursed her lips, unable to discern her true feelings upon hearing the word "friend." Was this the answer she was looking for?
Human thought and emotions are difficult to understand, frustrating, and strange. They can easily throw Kenshin into a state of chaos.

Lu Xingzhou then added, "Besides, I also like you."

Dugu Qingli's eyes widened; the CPU had burned out again.

It's already chaotic enough, and you're adding to it.

Lu Xingzhou asked quite naturally, "Hey, you're always giving me the cold shoulder and finding fault with me. Is it because I offended you that time, or because of my relationship with your Fishing Uncle?"

Dugu Qingli remained expressionless: "Am I always giving you the cold shoulder?"

"Isn't it?"

"I'm like this to everyone."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

They've all learned to avoid the important issues and advance swiftly, who fed them to this extent?
“Anyway, you can’t like me,” said the white-haired boy.

"Why not?"

"Asking knowingly."

"I don't know," Lu Xingzhou said. "It's true that I'm engaged to your fishing uncle, but he's just your uncle, and we're not even close."

Dugu Qingli suddenly felt like laughing.

Lu Xingzhou said, "Hey, right, right, smile."

Dugu Qingli straightened her face: "You're crazy."

Lu Xingzhou snorted, stopped looking at her, and turned to lie down.

Dugu Qingli lay down and looked at the sky: "No wonder he was raised by my crazy uncle since childhood."

Lu Xingzhou: “?”

Why does everyone have to insult fish these days? What does Yuan Muyu have to do with you?
Dugu Qingli didn't know why she wanted to curse Yuan Muyu. Anyway, ever since she found out about Lu Xingzhou and her affair, she had no good feelings towards Yuan Muyu.

Is this the legendary situation where those who like Lu Xingzhou hate her more than Lu Xingzhou himself? Little White Hair couldn't figure it out, he just hated her. Judging by this relationship, Yuan Muyu was also his martial uncle, but not a close relative… Could Ye Zhuoyu be considered the same? Anyway, Ye Zhuoyu couldn't be found anywhere.

Upon thinking of this, Little White Hair's heart suddenly started pounding, and he didn't know where his mind was going.

After a long silence, Dugu Qingli finally managed to calm her chaotic emotions and asked, "Do you know who the ambush is?"

If Jiang Yuan heard their conversation, she'd probably start yelling at them. "You two have been talking nonsense until now. Who's the lunatic here?"

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment: "It's most likely the Ice Prison Sect, and less likely Si Han. We still need to verify."

Dugu Qingli said, "Why? Aren't they masked? Their techniques and spells are all over the place, making it impossible to judge. The key point is that they call me Little Snow Maiden... Even the Ice Prison Sect or Si Han wouldn't call me that, would they?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "Because they are masked, they are most likely acquaintances. Xiao Xue Nu is obviously deliberately misleading us with her name. Si Han lacks a motive, and the only one with a motive is the Ice Prison Sect. Of course, we also lack evidence and can only speculate. We have to go out and capture someone to verify it before we can confirm it."

Dugu Qingli said, "I once consulted you about whether the Ice Prison Sect was reliable, and you said it was mostly reliable."

“That’s only the most likely.” Lu Xingzhou sighed. “People’s thoughts change at different times. This earthquake, the emergence of the ancient ice city, and the strong connection with the Ice Demon are all factors. The Ice Prison Sect might be able to glean some inside information from it… and this inside information might change Ling Qixuan’s thoughts. There’s even a possibility that this whole event was caused by something Ling Qixuan did. Our stabilization of the space has ruined his plans.”

Dugu Qingli asked, "How badly are you injured?"

The implication is that Little White Hair wants to go out and kill someone.

Lu Xingzhou looked inside his body and felt a little embarrassed: "I'm not quite there yet. This injury will probably take a few days to heal. It's not like before where a little rest would be enough."

Dugu Qingli said, "Me too."

"?" Lu Xingzhou said angrily, "Then why did you ask? I thought you were almost better, so I was asking about my progress."

"I was just concerned about your injury, why are you interpreting it so deeply?"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Dugu Qingli said, "Are there any more effective pills? Let's speed things up. If it takes several days, everyone will have left, and where will we go to verify their effectiveness?"

"No. Injuries need to be healed. There's no such thing as a magic pill that can cure everything in one bite. If there were, it would have to be at the Formless level."

"And what about adding your clear water to cleanse the dust?"

"Then what about my injury?" Lu Xingzhou said irritably, "If you really want to speed things up, there is indeed a way, but you can't use it."

Dugu Qingli fell silent.

Of course she knew what the method was.

It's just a kiss... why can't it be used? It's not like we've never kissed before.

What's truly impossible is that you can't expect me to ask for it myself, can you?

How could you not have thought of all the implications I was implying?
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.: This is a supplement to yesterday's post.

(End of this chapter)