Mountain and River Festival

Who does Chapter 521 correspond to?
Ji Wenchuan grinned.

He wasn't particularly fond of vying for power, but he wasn't exactly a detached, good-natured person either. Given the opportunity, who would refuse it?
Power is not only power, but also represents resources, which are more important than anything else for practitioners.

"I understand." Ji Wenchuan sipped his wine leisurely and smiled, "If you support me, then I'll probably cause her some trouble, regardless of whether she really has a problem or not."

Lu Xingzhou was speechless: "What does this have to do with whether I support it or not? Even back then, I didn't have much power, let alone now."

Ji Wenchuan blinked: "It's possible now, but it was useless back then. Now you can directly command the Western Ghost Emperor, Old Man Yin Feng. Back then, who could you command? Only me, the sucker."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

"Everyone's not stupid; they're all watching Yan Jun's attitude. Besides, Dong Chengbi and Yan Li have connections with you." Ji Wenchuan didn't bother to consider whether Yan Jun was even listening, and spoke more bluntly: "Speaking of which, if Situ Yue doesn't have any other problems and it's just a normal power struggle to exclude you, how do you plan to retaliate? Make her kneel on the bed?"

Lu Xingzhou: "So, this is the kind of person you see me as now?"

Ji Wenchuan was certain: "Yes."

Lu Xingzhou drank his wine with a wry smile: "Come on, I'm still very picky. That woman is only passable in appearance, not good enough for me."

"That's because you have high standards. There are quite a few people in the Underworld who fawn over her like goddesses."

"To be honest, if you've mastered the Cloud Ascension technique, it can improve your skin and temperament quite a bit. If it's only passable, then it's a failure. It means your natural features are just average. The Yama Palace is too oppressive, after all, there aren't many women there... well, not many people can see the Yama King's true face either. Otherwise, compared to that, most people wouldn't be swooning over Situ."

Ji Wenchuan laughed: "So you really think Yan Jun is handsome."

Lu Xingzhou lowered his head and drank: "We have to respect the facts."

"I was just saying you had high standards, but it seems I overestimated you. Even before I cultivated the Way of Severing Emotions, I wouldn't have bothered to look at someone who can't distinguish right from wrong. Situ may be ordinary, but she's still a normal woman, right?"

Lu Xingzhou once again felt that Ji Wenchuan would die.

"This is really strange. How did our conversation turn out like this?" Ji Wenchuan suddenly began to doubt himself. "We're all cultivators aiming for the Radiant Sun realm, and we're talking about this kind of thing? Is there something wrong with you or me?"

Lu Xingzhou chuckled: "Believe me, as long as you're still human, it's not surprising to talk about these things. What's truly ironic is that the Frost Origin desires to be human, while humans always try to train themselves to be inhuman."

Ji Wenchuan paused, his expression momentarily dazed, before turning serious.

Lu Xingzhou took out a bottle of pills and handed it to him: "Two Super Grade Breakthrough Pills. Be careful, you're not at the critical point yet, so don't use them in a hurry."

Ji Wenchuan snapped out of his daze and said without any hesitation, "Thanks."

Lu Xingzhou patted him on the shoulder: "Old Ji, we should both be grateful that even after cultivating to this level, there are still people in the world with whom we can chat about these meaningless things."

Ji Wenchuan smiled slightly: "That makes sense."

"My next trip will be to the south."

"Could it be that he wants to go back to Miaoyin Mountain for a visit?"

“What are you thinking? The South is so big.” Lu Xingzhou sighed. “I had an official mission when I left the capital. Even if it was just to get by, I had to do some things. Besides, it wasn’t just to get by. I did have some things to investigate.”

"Understood." Ji Wenchuan handed over a jade slip: "This is the formation diagram of our Mountain and River Blood Slaughter Formation, as well as some major county and sect data that we investigated regarding this matter."

Lu Xingzhou took it, feeling a little impressed. Look at that, that's what tacit understanding is all about.

Ji Wenchuan poured more wine. When the wine pot was empty, he didn't dwell on it and stood up with a smile: "It's getting late, so let's call it a day. To be honest, after all these years, it's really not easy to see you come back to life."

…………

After seeing Ji Wenchuan off, Lu Xingzhou had a good sleep and planned to go to the side to have breakfast with Dugu Qingli.

As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, he saw Yuan Muyu sitting in a wheelchair, making a gesture as if she was about to knock on the door, but she withdrew her hand when she saw Lu Xingzhou come out.

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment. His first thought was, "Is Lao Ji still alive?" His second thought was, "Good morning."

Yuan Muyu said, "Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat? You and Ji Wenchuan can chat until midnight."

Lu Xingzhou asked cautiously, "You heard that?"

"No," Yuan Muyu sighed. "Nobody likes being eavesdropped on. Don't you know how afraid I am of offending you right now?"

Lu Xingzhou didn't know how to respond to this humble fish, so he could only say, "Come in and sit down."

Seeing Yuan Muyu pushing her wheelchair herself, Lu Xingzhou simply went behind her and pushed her in: "Why bother?"

Yuan Muyu suddenly laughed: "If I can let you give me a push, then it's not a loss."

Lu Xingzhou instinctively wanted to joke about "Old Lu pushing the cart," but then realized that they were no longer in a relationship where they could make crude jokes, so he swallowed his words and said instead, "You've been pushing me for so many years, and I'm only doing this once." The two fell silent.

The habits remain, but things have changed.

The jokes we used to make freely, we now have to think about before we even have a conversation, deciding which words are appropriate and which aren't.

Both.

Upon reaching the stone table in the courtyard, there was still leftover wine on it, and the snacks hadn't been cleared away. Lu Xingzhou waved his hand somewhat awkwardly, and gentle ripples of water swept across the surface, leaving it spotless.

Yuan Muyu stared intently, then whispered, "Your control over magic is really strong now..."

"It's not enough yet, so we need to go out and gain experience."

Both of them simultaneously recalled the words, "You are my strategist; I don't need you to go out and kill people."

Times have changed, and the current strategist's cultivation is almost on par with that of Yama, the King of Hell, when he uttered those words.

Lu Xingzhou added absentmindedly, "My current cultivation level is about the same as yours back then, but I always feel that I am much weaker than you were when we started cultivating together. Back then, you had a strong sense of pressure when you stood in front of others, but I couldn't."

Yuan Muyu smiled slightly: "Firstly, our cultivation methods are different. My method is about life and death, while yours is about harmony. Secondly, the time is too short. After all, I have been practicing for decades."

Looking at her smiling face, Lu Xingzhou always found it hard to equate this charming little fish with an old lady.

He called her "older sister," but in many situations, he subconsciously treated her like a younger sister. This was especially evident when she acted like a spoiled, immature girl.

But now she seems to have matured a lot, and many things are hidden in her eyes, making them difficult to see clearly.

That day, he refused her offer of himself completely naked, even after she had licked her lips. It was probably the biggest humiliation and blow in Yuan Muyu's life, and she seemed to have grown up a lot overnight.

Because of what happened that day, the atmosphere between the two is always awkward now.

Who can pretend nothing happened?
Compared to the casual chat with Ji Wenchuan last night, this kind of communication is obviously much more tiring.

Yuan Muyu seemed to know Lu Xingzhou's thoughts. She lowered her eyes slightly and said in a low voice, "Yesterday I asked for the Charming Maiden Mystic Art and said I would talk to you today."

Lu Xingzhou said "hmm".

Yuan Muyu said, "The Mysterious Art of the Charming Maiden is derived from the Daoist scripture of the ultimate meaning of Yin and Yang. The Mysterious Maiden has already made this clear to me."

Lu Xingzhou paused, thinking back to what he had asked her yesterday: why did the Ice Prison Sect ally with the Ice Demon, and why did the Hehuan Alliance ally with the Maidens of Harmony have such a purpose?
Could it be for his martial arts technique?
Yuan Muyu said, "Back then, when we allied with the Charming Maidens and Joyful Union Sect, it wasn't for their cultivation techniques, but because they had a lot of hidden power that would benefit the blueprint. Besides, at that time... I wasn't very familiar with your cultivation techniques either."

Lu Xingzhou breathed a sigh of relief: "So, something was discovered later?"

“Until that day…” Yuan Muyu tilted her head slightly: “On the day I did that with you, I noticed the nature of your cultivation technique… and then I felt that it was somewhat similar to the Charming Maiden Mystic Art.”

“Um… my cultivation method also includes Great Joy and Bliss, which is also in this direction.”

"Great Joy and Bliss may also be a derivative of the Yin-Yang Ultimate Meaning, and share the same origin as the Charming Maiden Mystic Art. One leads to the Buddhist branch, and the other leads to the Taoist branch. If you have Great Joy and Bliss, and if you also understand the Charming Maiden Mystic Art, you may be able to deduce the complete Yin-Yang Ultimate Meaning by combining the two."

Lu Xingzhou's heart skipped a beat: "So you want the Charming Maiden Technique because..."

“Well, this is to help you deduce the complete manual of the Charming Maiden Mystic Art.” Yuan Muyu handed over the jade slip: “Except for the method of manifesting the body, which I haven’t figured out yet, the other core methods should all be here… You have Great Joy and Bliss, so combine them and take a look.”

Lu Xingzhou stared at her blankly.

“I said I would start considering… what you want.” Yuan Muyu met his gaze calmly and said, “Then I discovered that this doesn’t conflict with my cultivation at all; in fact, as I did it, my heart became more peaceful. So I knew…”

"Know what?"

"I really like you, it's not that I miss the you from the past."

Lu Xingzhou pursed his lips, unable to respond.

Just last night she was telling Ji Wenchuan she didn't believe him, and today she's confessed her feelings so directly.

“You don’t need to believe me, and you don’t need to respond.” Yuan Muyu turned and left, wheeling her wheelchair. “I’m just doing what I want to do.”

Dugu Qingli's white head peeked out from outside the door.

Yuan Muyu: "..."

What seemed normal just now suddenly feels incredibly shameful, like a mistress trying to take advantage of someone else's vulnerability.

(End of this chapter)