Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 520 Night Talk
Lu Xingzhou looked down at Dugu Qingli's clean and pure blue eyes.

That was her way of asking the most beautiful love question—"My heart is willing to follow you, can you shine on me forever?"

Looking into those clear, glassy eyes, Lu Xingzhou felt unworthy, especially after he had just acted possessively towards Jiang Yuan in front of her.

Perhaps that's why she asked the second half of the question.

Lu Xingzhou gently reached out and hugged her, lowered his head and kissed her forehead, then continued downwards.

Dugu Qingli closed her eyes and felt a kiss on her eyelids.

Little White Hair was a little confused—kissing the forehead could make him feel his affection, kissing the lips could make him feel his desire, but what did kissing the eyelids mean?
It seems like she likes it too.

It's strange how a kiss can convey so many emotions.

Seeing the little white-haired girl's bewildered expression, Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly and took her hand again: "As long as I live."

Dugu Qingli thought for a moment before realizing that he was responding to the second half of her sentence, whether it was eternal.

As long as he lives.

That's good, he won't die.

The girl held his broad, warm hand, following closely beside him. In her other hand, she held the ice flower he had just casually picked, feeling that her gait was strange, as if she were walking with her hands and feet moving in unison.

So this is what romantic moments under the moon are like; they can make you forget how to walk.

But the flower was clearly in his hand.

But gradually, the initial panic of moving in unison subsided, and things became smoother and more peaceful. The girl looked down at their footsteps, stepping out with their right foot together, then their left, leaving neat, rustling footprints in the thin snow of the mountainside. It looked so orderly and fun.

The footprints are uneven, one big and one small. It would be better if his feet were a little smaller.

The moon was in front, and the shadow was behind. Looking back, even though the height difference wasn't that much, the shadow made the difference seem huge, making him look like a giant, which gave him a great sense of security.

Yes, as long as he lives, Qingli will not be alone.

Someone will push you away from the flames, and someone will stand in front of you under the icy fist.

My master's gaze drifted further and further away, until I could barely remember... What does it have to do with her? I was here first.

The two remained silent the entire way, yet both thoroughly enjoyed the tranquility of their moonlit stroll. The young woman's thoughts were racing, a trait she hadn't experienced during her cultivation, but within this racingness lay a profound peace and magnanimity, as many things that had once lingered in her heart simply faded away.

"Lu Xingzhou..." Dugu Qingli suddenly called out softly again, startling the moonlight.

Lu Xingzhou also enjoyed the quiet walk with her, feeling very relaxed, and responded with an "Mmm" upon hearing this.

The girl's cool voice carried a hint of coquettishness: "If you don't need her protection, I will protect you."

Lu Xingzhou: "...Okay."

"I...I'm going to cultivate now, don't take me to your room."

“...I didn’t intend to take you inside. In fact, I didn’t arrange the rooms here; Si Han was in charge of it.”

Ahead lay a row of inns, and Si Han's men were already positioned outside, ready to guide them to their assigned rooms for rest. Dugu Qingli didn't know why she suddenly felt the urge to sleep together; perhaps it was because she had become too accustomed to it during her time in the Xuan Snake Secret Realm.

But it's not good to continue sleeping together like this after we've come out... First of all, it will be known to our master.

"I need to think about it first, what if Master finds out..." the girl said.

Lu Xingzhou knew he also had to face Ye Tinglan's anger: "I will talk to her about this."

"Don't say it yet, I will. I have a reason."

Lu Xingzhou was charmed by her and didn't answer for a moment.

But what kind of logic do you have? The logic of who came first? Or the logic of "I'm just fighting with my uncle who I don't know well for a man, not with my master"? Lu Xingzhou imagined it for a moment and felt that if the little white hair seriously said these kinds of logics, she would probably be beaten to death by her master.

It seems that only Lord Lu can truly persuade us with his sweet words; that's the only way to really get to the bottom of this...

"My lord." The man arranged by Si Han stepped forward, bowing and scraping: "The guesthouse is ready. Please follow me."

Dugu Qingli said, "There are two rooms, don't get it wrong."

The other person glanced at the Ice Flower in her hand, coughed, and said, "Of course, the two of you are completely innocent, how could you be in the same room?"

Dugu Qingli followed her subordinate with great satisfaction. After a few steps, she turned back, raised the flower in her hand, and shook it: "Lu Xingzhou, I really like this flower. I won't let it die."

Si Han's subordinates hung their heads, barely daring to listen. His left and right brains were already clashing after just two sentences; did they even intend to cover it up?
Lu Xingzhou waved his hand: "Get some rest, see you tomorrow."

After watching the little white-haired boy enter the guest courtyard, Lu Xingzhou followed his subordinate to his own courtyard, which was actually next door, in a good mood.

The subordinate bowed and scraped: "The bedding inside has been completely replaced, so please use it with peace of mind, Your Highness."

Lu Xingzhou asked, "Have the people from the Underworld and Miss Jiang been settled?"

“They’ve all been settled.”

"The King of Hell hasn't left?"

"She hasn't left; she's resting there. Is the Marquis looking for her?"

"No need." Lu Xingzhou just found it strange that Yuan Muyu was actually staying here. The person he really wanted to see was Ji Wenchuan: "Please invite the Eastern Ghost Emperor over for a chat. It's been a long time since I had a drink with him."

"Here you are." Ji Wenchuan's voice came from above, and in a flash, he appeared in front of them.

"I've been waiting for you to come back." Ji Wenchuan smiled and took out several bottles of wine, and even some special snacks from the Ice Prison Sect, and set them on the table.

There's no snow today, and the moon and stars are few, making it a perfect day for drinking and chatting outdoors.

It was a bit cold.

Ji Wenchuan poured Lu Xingzhou a glass of wine and said with a smile, "In the past, you would be wrapped up tightly when you went out in this kind of weather, let alone drink outdoors. Even if I wanted to invite you to drink, Yan Jun would scold me... uh."

Lu Xingzhou raised his glass and clinked it with his, then laughed and said, "Why are you talking about her? It's a rare reunion for us brothers, don't we have anything to say?"

"How dare you? We met during the Bone Dragon incident, and you only cared about Ye Tinglan, even stuffing A Nuo into my bag to take away."

"...That time the situation was special. Tinglan and I went south to Shadowmoon City for some business. Besides, didn't I give you a bone dragon for free? Isn't that enough to make you happy?"

"Hey, Tinglan." Ji Wenchuan pointed to the next room: "Then who is she?"

Lu Xingzhou drank in silence.

"What happened to you?" Ji Wenchuan said with exasperation, "You used to be such an honest young man taking care of kids. A gentle breeze is a hero's grave; women only slow down your ability to draw your sword."

"Tsk, Yama has been brainwashed by you guys, hasn't he?"

"Who can brainwash her? Don't you know how stubborn she is? You couldn't even change her mind, so what about us? We're the ones who got brainwashed by her. Uh, wait, which bastard just said, 'Why talk about her? We brothers have nothing to say'?"

Lu Xingzhou paused for a moment, shook his head, and snatched the wine pot to refill his cup: "Fine, there's no way around it."

Yes, for those who have occupied the first half of their lives, how can they avoid the topic when facing mutual friends?

Ji Wenchuan picked up a popsicle and popped it into his mouth: "If we can't get around it, let's not. Let's talk about it. She's in a wheelchair every day now, saying she's experiencing what you used to do. I think she really knows she was wrong. What do you think?"

Ji Wenchuan absolutely couldn't say that he was still cursing Lu Xingzhou behind his back, as he always felt that his conversation with Lu Xingzhou was being eavesdropped on, so he decided to say something nice instead.

In fact, Yuan Muyu had been observing Lu Xingzhou and Dugu Qingli's quiet walk with her divine sense the whole time, listening to the girl's innocent and pure words. However, she cut off her divine sense after Dugu Qingli entered the guest courtyard, and she did not listen to the conversation between the two men.

To covet those things is to crave the happiness that one should rightfully possess.

As for conversations between men, there should still be some boundaries.

She was never the kind of boss who liked to control everything about her subordinates; in fact, it was the other way around. She didn't like to meddle in other people's private affairs... even though she knew that Ji Wenchuan and Lu Xingzhou's conversation would involve a lot about her.

Yuan Muyu sat quietly on the cliff edge for a while, then wheeled herself back to her own guesthouse and took out the copy of the Charming Maiden Mystic Art to study.

When the Soul-Searching Mystic Maiden was distracted, even though the Mystic Maiden quickly dissipated her soul, Yuan Muyu still managed to capture a bit of the core of the Mystic Maiden's Art of Seduction. With this technique, she wanted to try to deduce the entire manual.

If one can use the complete manual of the "Charming Maiden Mystic Art" to reverse-engineer the Yin-Yang Ultimate Daoist cultivation section... that would be the foundation for the journey.

Facing Ji Wenchuan's question, "What do you think?", Lu Xingzhou sipped his wine quietly for a long time before finally saying, "To be honest, I really did think she didn't love me. You know how she treated me. How could someone who likes you act like that?"

"No, I don't know how to act when I like someone."

"...I wouldn't do that to a friend, you know that, right?"

"That's true," Ji Wenchuan sighed, "but what about now?"

"I'm a bit confused right now, but overall I still don't trust her... After all, I never believe in that weird, brain-dead logic of someone who didn't love someone before but suddenly falls in love after leaving. I don't have that much free time to analyze what she's thinking."

"What if she's just mentally challenged?"

Lu Xingzhou: "...Are you out of your mind?"

Ji Wenchuan shrank his neck, glanced around, and finally gave up: "Sigh, whatever, some things are hard to keep bottled up for too long."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Ji Wenchuan said, "Although I don't understand your love affairs, to be honest, a few years ago I really thought you two were a couple. That sweet, affectionate way of being couldn't be faked. I really don't believe you didn't love each other. Maybe you just went astray later... But she's arrogant and stubborn, so it's hard to judge what she does..."

Lu Xingzhou said, "So you're advising for reconciliation? I've always heard that brothers advise separation..."

"It's not about trying to reconcile us. If I were in her shoes, I would have turned on her too. How could I possibly advise you?" Ji Wenchuan said. "I'm just suggesting that you take a closer look and not jump to conclusions about whether you love her or not. She used to be arrogant and stubborn, and now she regrets it so much that she's stuck in a wheelchair every day. I don't want you to repeat her mistakes and end up regretting it."

Lu Xingzhou nodded and raised his glass in a toast: "Let's drink."

The two drank another cup, and Lu Xingzhou wiped his mouth, then hesitated before saying, "Old Ji..."

"Ok?"

"If you have the time, keep an eye on Situ Yue."

"What?" Ji Wenchuan's eyes sharpened. "You suspect she has a problem?"

“A little, but it’s just suspicion, no evidence. You know she’s been secretly targeting me before, so if I say anything, it would seem like I’m taking revenge or being biased. There’s really nothing to say. But you should keep an eye on things in private, just in case.” Lu Xingzhou’s eyes were deep and unfathomable: “Anyway, for you, targeting her is perfectly normal, it’s just internal power struggles.”

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.

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