Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 75 Reward
Shen Tang was dumbfounded.

When other people's legs heal, the first thing they do is use it to sabotage their opponents. Is this the first thing you do after your legs heal?
No, his leg isn't fully healed; he can only walk slowly and can't move around much... What on earth is he trying to do...?

While Shen Tang was lost in thought, Lu Xingzhou gently pulled her up, so they were standing face to face.

Seeing Shen Tang's bewildered expression, Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh and leaned close to her ear: "What's wrong, sister? Have you forgotten that you can stand too?"

The man leaned in close, his breath tickling her. Shen Tang, who thought she was used to the intimacy between the two, instinctively shrank back, her face quickly turning blush.

Even her voice unconsciously became weak and feeble: "What...what exactly do you want to do..."

Lu Xingzhou didn't press his advantage, but simply wrapped his arms around her waist and gently hugged her: "You said... you'd wait for me to stand up together. I don't want any other reward, just give me a hug... not some leg treatment, just a hug..."

Shen Tang quieted down.

The two had already shared far too many hugs, whether intentional or not; if this was a reward, it was practically nothing.

But for some reason, yesterday when he almost fell and they hugged each other, neither of them felt anything. But today, just standing quietly and gently embracing each other, his heart rate spiked and beat faster and faster.

Shen Tang herself had almost forgotten when she had said she would wait for him to stand up together, and she had never thought about what those words meant to him. Yet, she could sense the tranquility in his heart, as if he had completely let go of some obsession…

Her hands, which were hanging at her sides, moved slightly, and she slowly wrapped them around his waist, whispering, "Is this the only way to make the reward complete?"

Lu Xingzhou didn't speak, but simply held her quietly, feeling the rhythm of her heartbeat.

Shen Tang gently rested her forehead on his shoulder, as if whispering, "Xingzhou, do you know... the day you first met me, I was sitting on the edge of a cliff..."

Lu Xingzhou hummed in response: "What?"

"You and Anu thought I was going to commit suicide and tried to stop me, but later realized it was a misunderstanding," Shen Tang said in a low voice. "Actually, you are both extraordinary people; your intuition is frighteningly accurate. The fact that you both sensed my intention to commit suicide at the same time might not necessarily be a misunderstanding..."

Lu Xingzhou remained silent. What he said was true; both he and A'nuo's intuitions were accurate. One person's feeling might be wrong, but for both master and disciple to simultaneously feel that she had a suicidal tendency, then it was probably true. At least at that time, her silhouette looked extremely desolate and forlorn.

"That period was the lowest point in my life. I doubted the meaning of my existence countless times. Sitting on the edge of the cliff watching the clouds drift by, I would often have the thought that if I fell, it would be the end of everything."

Lu Xingzhou finally spoke: "You mustn't think like that again..."

“But ever since I met you, I’ve never thought like that again,” Shen Tang said softly. “People only feel that way when they are in despair. If there is still a glimmer of hope, no one wants to think like that. And with you, there is hope.”

As she spoke, as if she had made up her mind, she suddenly tilted her head up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

She then quickly pushed it away, took a half step back, and smiled sweetly: "That reward is too light. This is the real reward... This is all you can get. Don't be greedy."

Seeing the nervousness hidden in her smile, Lu Xingzhou took half a step forward.

The domineering Shen Tang in battle was actually frightened by this tiny half-step, hooked onto his wheelchair, and sat down in a tumble.

Lu Xingzhou leaned down and gently pecked her forehead: "According to your theory, this is the complete picture..."

He quickly straightened up and smiled, "This time it wasn't a sneak attack."

Shen Tang's face was as radiant as a sunset, her lips were slightly pouting, and her eyes were full of shyness, annoyance, and reproach.

Lu Xingzhou sat back in his wheelchair, turned around and went out: "It's almost dawn... Take a good rest. After lunch, we'll set off for the county, sneaking in under the guise of the city lord's attendant... If we find the time right after reconnaissance, tonight will be the time to launch a counterattack on Fenxiang Tower."

Shen Tang was stunned: "So fast? Your leg isn't even fully healed yet..."

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. The Incense Burning Pavilion didn't expect us to arrive so quickly. We shouldn't wait until they've made their preparations, which would only increase the difficulty. As for my leg..." Lu Xingzhou slid to the door and chuckled, "Who knows, there might be some surprises later."

The door opened, and as if anticipating something, the hand reached out and grabbed Ah Nuo, who was about to fall in, pulling her into his arms and leaving like a ball.

You can still faintly hear his grumbling as he walks away: "All you do is eavesdrop, all you do is eavesdrop. Is that all you're good at using your talent for cultivation?"

Anuo responded confidently: "If you ask Sister Yuanyao, she'll tell you that cultivation is for this purpose!"

"Oh ho, you're already Sister Yuan Yao now?"

"At least Sister Yuanyao would actually rub a face she liked, unlike some people who clearly liked it to death but didn't dare to touch it."

"I kissed someone today..."

“Eh~ tell me more…”

"Go away, you little kid."

Shen Tang's cheeks burned, feeling as if they were on fire. Dugu Qingli stood before her expressionlessly. Shen Tang seemed hesitant to look at her, and murmured softly, "Qingli, I..."

Then, not knowing what to say, she shut her mouth again. Could it be that I actually like him now, but he likes you, and I'm stealing your man? That doesn't make sense; I came first, and you even told me to try to become the one in his heart.

Dugu Qingli didn't know why, even though she had been quite fond of the couple before, she now felt strangely unhappy. But she didn't say anything, only keeping a straight face and saying, "He's much calmer than you. He knows there's important business at hand right now, and he's gone out to find Sheng Yuanyao. Only you're blushing at a time like this. Take it easy, I'm responsible for your safety, don't ruin my mission!"

Translation: Avoid excessive physical intimacy with men.

Shen Tang regained some of her senses and, looking at Dugu Qingli's cold face, cautiously asked, "Qingli, what would the Imperial Advisor do if he knew you had an affair with a demonic man?"

Dugu Qingli's eyes widened: "How dare you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?"

"I mean, if, if..."

"I don't know, I've never seen Master face something like this before. But Master seems to attach particular importance to the Yama Palace..." Dugu Qingli said, somewhat puzzled, "Master has exterminated so many demonic cultivators, but I've never seen him treat the Yama Palace like this before, it's quite strange... Also, some of Lu Xingzhou's techniques..."

Shen Tang hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself. She really wanted to, "I was just using an analogy—if you were with a man from the demonic path, I didn't say it was Lu Xingzhou… You're quite quick to draw your own conclusions, and you've gone on to elaborate even further…"

She sighed: "You don't know what the Imperial Advisor is like, but I know what my father is like..."

Dugu Qingli now understood why she insisted on asking "if"—it turned out she was afraid of resistance from her family and wanted to get their opinions.

I not only protect you, but I also stand guard for you when you kiss, and in the end, I'll give you advice, right?
Dugu Qingli coldly said, "Once a swordsman draws his sword, he never returns. Why bother with so many twists and turns? The Imperial Extreme World-Shaking Scripture is indeed not a good technique."

Shen Tang: "..."

"Rest now. We both suffered some internal injuries from today's battle against a third-rank expert. We should recover to our best condition as soon as possible." Dugu Qingli said calmly, "A third-rank expert, indeed remarkable."

It's truly remarkable. With cultivation techniques of such high quality as Shen Tang and Dugu Qingli, and his own unparalleled talent, challenging opponents of higher levels is commonplace for him. He can often defeat opponents of a higher level on his own, and even if he can't defeat them, he can retreat unscathed without flinching.

The concepts of demons and corpse puppets are different, so we'll leave them aside for now. Tonight, facing Zhu Lianfeng might be the first time in their lives that they've teamed up to challenge an opponent of a higher level, yet even working together, they couldn't gain the slightest advantage. If their opponent hadn't underestimated Lu Xingzhou's black flames, they might not have won this battle.

Even if they won, the opponent could fly, and they couldn't catch up... In the end, it was Zhang Shaoyou's Hundred-Mile Flying Sword that killed the opponent. Even without Zhang Shaoyou, they would have had to use Shen Qi; they couldn't have killed him on their own.

The hurdle of reaching the third rank is indeed extraordinary.

Shen Tang pondered and said, "On the surface, Zhu Lianfeng and Zhang Shaoyou, as the first and second protectors, are the two strongest protectors in the Burning Incense Pavilion who can fight. The third-rank protectors left behind are not at their level. But as a third-rank sect with a long history, it often hides old monsters who are in seclusion."

Dugu Qingli nodded. She understood this very well. There were many reclusive old monsters in the Tianyao Holy Land who only sought to break through their limits. It wasn't just her master, a super-grade expert, who was suppressing the world.

However, by conventional standards, the highest rank is still only third grade. To enhance their reputation, sects will flaunt any second-grade expert they have, as the prestige of a second-grade sect far surpasses that of a third-grade one, and the benefits to the sect's development are self-evident. No one would hide a second-grade expert just to plot against others; it's not worth the risk.

That means there should be some old monsters at the upper level of the third rank, or near the second rank; it's unknown how many there are.

In addition, although the remaining members of the Incense Burning Pavilion are all alchemists, their combat abilities are indeed quite comical, but their levels are what they are, so they cannot be ignored. A few talismans they can casually cast can be very troublesome.

In addition to the mountain-protecting formation... so even with the addition of Zhang Shaoyou and others, this counterattack might still be unwinnable.

We'll have to observe further before drawing conclusions. If it turns out we can't win, we don't necessarily have to fight. In any case, Fenxiang Tower is severely weakened, and Lu Xingzhou will naturally have many ways to slowly wear it down.

Well, Lu Xingzhou is here anyway. Shen Tang realized she didn't need to think about anything; she could just close her eyes, recover from her injuries, and be in top condition for the next battle...

At this moment, Lu Xingzhou was still in the Demon Suppression Division's office.

It was already dawn, but Sheng Yuanyao hadn't slept all night, focusing on this battle.

Zhu Lianfeng's body lay in the main hall of the Demon Suppression Division. Sheng Yuanyao paced back and forth with her hands behind her back, her expression very strange: "You really won, with zero casualties and no massacre?"

"Yes." Lu Xingzhou smiled broadly, appearing to be in a good mood, whether from winning the battle or from reuniting with loved ones, it was unclear: "Since the City Lord doesn't want me to be too ruthless, I must give him that face."

Sheng Yuanyao's eyes softened considerably, and she said in a low voice, "Thank you."

Anuo turned her head away, unable to bear looking directly at the camera.

Lu Xingzhou said, "We'll go to the prefecture today. Is the city lord ready?"

Sheng Yuanyao looked intently into Lu Xingzhou's eyes: "I hope that your so-called help in investigating the demon case is based on real clues, and not just using the city lord's guard as a pretext to infiltrate Dongjiang County."

“I need to verify the clues as well, so I can’t speak blindly now…” Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, “If the prefect is hosting a banquet for the city lord tonight, would the city lord mind bringing an extra guard?”

(End of this chapter)