Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 94 If you were to go to Beijing
Fortunately, Pei Chuyun reacted very quickly. As soon as the sword energy was released, she dodged backward. The surrounding sword formation failed to surround her, and she managed to escape outside the formation during the gap in the encirclement.

A mimosa flower quietly bloomed in front of him, and Zhang Shaoyou's sword energy pierced it, exploding with a bang, and pink smoke instantly dissipated.

Zhang Shaoyou appeared in the arena to disperse the smoke, but Pei Chuyun was nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Shaoyou sensed it and was extremely shocked: "How did it lose its aura? How could it run so fast?"

Ah Nuo sighed beside her: "Master said that even though Sister Qing Li's sword had pierced her back before, she was still able to disappear in an instant. Either she has some kind of secret escape technique, or she has a teleportation magic weapon."

Zhang Shaoyou felt somewhat ashamed and cupped his hands, saying, "I'm ashamed, Miss Nuo. It's our incompetence. We'll split up and go after them now."

Ah Nu blinked. "Your attitude towards me is so strange... Why are you calling me 'Miss'?"

The sect leader's stepdaughter, so you call her "Miss"? Is that what it means?

So, even though everyone didn't say it, they all secretly regarded Master as the sect leader's husband. Weren't Master and Mistress just playing the clowns on stage when they put on such a serious act in front of others?

“There’s no need to chase after him.” Anu shook her head: “Master should have known that the formation was triggered just now. He should have set up something behind it. If he does it well, he can block it. If he can’t block it, no one can be blamed. If someone has a teleportation magic weapon that can get them directly into the city, then there’s nothing anyone can do.”

Zhang Shaoyou hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped. Even so, everyone could cast a net together to chase them, so why not?
"Goodbye, Grandpa Zhang." Anu waved and ran off in a flash.

Of course not. What if Master is doing something inappropriate to the little demoness? It would be terrible if you saw it.

Lu Xingzhou did indeed set up a trap outside the mountain, but unfortunately, he couldn't block it, so he couldn't do anything.

As the most promising genius of this generation in the Joyful Union Sect, the sect's leaders, whatever their true intentions, would not want her to perish easily or be captured by anyone. The strongest life-saving artifact they gave her was indeed a teleportation-type treasure, a rare find in the entire world.

"Whoosh!" In an instant, Pei Chuyun suddenly appeared in the inn in the city, leaning on the bed and panting heavily. The mist of mimosa flowers could not completely block the sword energy, and the overflowing sword energy still tore the clothes of the commoner girl on her body to shreds, revealing her bare skin all around.

Fortunately, the mist from the mimosa flowers obscured the view, so no one could see anything...

“The Ghost Child of the Underworld, it’s her, isn’t it…” Pei Chuyun gritted her teeth: “Like master, like disciple. How can such a young child be so insidious!”

She forgot that, in terms of debut time, Anuo was definitely her senior in the world of demonic cultivation.

All I can say is that Ah Nuo's round and chubby appearance is so deceptive. Looking at her face, you can hardly associate her with the evil title of "ghost child". Only after being tricked will you realize that she is a senior!
She had been recovering from her injuries for a while, and after she came out, she started plotting how to trick Lu Xingzhou. She had been wandering around here for several days, but Lu Xingzhou was staying at home as if he were in seclusion, hardly ever going out, making it very difficult to catch him alone.

The mountain also has an illusion array that cannot be broken, making it impossible to sneak up.

After staking out for several days, Pei Chuyun finally saw Anuo go down the mountain to the city for fun. She followed her for an hour and then went up the mountain with her.

As it turned out, the maze was difficult to navigate, and before she knew it, Ah Nuo had vanished without a trace. Alone in the mountains, she was dumbfounded and lost...

Just as she was having a headache, she saw Ah Nuo running down again with a gold ingot in her hands. Pei Chuyun then changed into a commoner's dress and slightly altered her appearance, trying to trick the child into taking her upstairs.

As a result, they were led into a trap. Not only did their attempt to solve the maze fail, but their teleportation artifact, which they had finally managed to cool down, became unusable again in the short term.

The problem is that Pei Chuyun still can't figure out where she slipped up. How did the Ghost Child recognize her as an enemy? Even if she saw her portrait, her appearance and demeanor had already changed.

"We have to think of another way..." Pei Chuyun gritted her teeth: "I refuse to believe it..."

Although she couldn't break the maze, having followed Anuo for so long, she had gained some experience. Pei Chuyun pulled out a formation plate and began to simulate it, trying to figure out how to break the formation.

Her skill in formations is quite impressive! With this experience, she still has a chance!

Meanwhile, Lu Xingzhou and his group were observing the location where Pei Chuyun had disappeared, investigating the flow of energy.

Lu Xingzhou examined it for a long time and frowned slightly: "I didn't have a chance to think about it carefully last time... This sudden burst and disappearance of spiritual energy, and the fact that the spiritual energy can hardly be traced, means that it is not an escape in a certain direction, but a teleportation-type treasure."

Shen Tang said, "Generally speaking, these kinds of treasures have limitations and cannot be used continuously. The next time you can use them, it will take at least three days, and sometimes as long as ten days. The exact time depends on the distance they are moved."

“Even if the distance is short, it’s not difficult to get from this mountain to the city. After all, this is just a mountain in the suburbs, not too far away.” Lu Xingzhou pondered, “In other words, if we want to capture this guy, we must take advantage of the short-term inaccessibility of her treasure, otherwise no matter how many times we try to capture her, it will be useless.”

Everyone nodded in agreement; that made sense. But how could they capture the demoness if they couldn't find her?
She's no match for the large force of the Incense Burning Pavilion back then; hiding on her own would be far too easy. And now, the City Lord of Xia Prefecture and the Commander of the Demon Suppression Division are no longer Sheng Yuanyao, so getting official help for this is unrealistic.

Lu Xingzhou asked A Nuo, "A Nuo, how did you recognize her?"

“I didn’t recognize her at first.” Anu squatted to the side eating candy. “She really looked like a simple and harmless country girl, and her anxiety for her mother’s treatment was so touching… I just offered her some spiritual spring water. If an ordinary eighth or ninth-grade cultivator in Xiazhou suddenly drank such spiritually rich water, they would feel like they were intoxicated by oxygen. She drank it in big gulps, so it’s obvious that she drinks it often.”

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "She went to great lengths to pretend to be anxiously thirsty to fool Anuo..."

Ah Nuo chuckled, "It's not small at all. She even drank what Master washed off Master's wife's feet..."

Shen Tang: "?" Lu Xingzhou: "..."

Oh no, the first person to have that stuff injected into her body was Pei Chuyun.

Zhang Shaoyou looked up at the sky.

If your master can wash the sect leader's feet, then why pretend that "Elder Lu has something to discuss" at the ceremony, like how to wash feet?

Lu Xingzhou awkwardly changed the subject: "Since she wants to get revenge on me, why don't we devise a plan to lure her out?"

Shen Tang immediately objected: "No, it's too dangerous. She's a fourth-grade cultivator. If she suddenly attacks, we won't be able to come to her rescue if we're too far away."

“There’s no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. Does that mean I can’t go out alone anymore? There will always be some risks. Let’s figure out how to resolve this first.” Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment and then smiled. “Her attitude doesn’t seem like she wants to kill me, otherwise she wouldn’t have been acting alone all this time. According to the custom of the Charming Maidens’ Joyful Union Sect, she probably wants me to fall at her feet…”

Shen Tang immediately exploded: "She dares!"

Lu Xingzhou stroked her hair, as if soothing a cat with its fur standing on end: "Tomorrow morning, I'll go to pay my respects to Manager Chen. You all set up a trap beforehand and see if she'll fall into it."

…………

In the past few months, Lu Xingzhou has frequently visited Chen Jinnian, the head of the Pill Refining Department.

In this wretched place of Xiazhou, there weren't many people he respected. After Sheng Yuanyao left, Chen Jinnian was probably the only one left. The old man was incredibly experienced, and he often made Lu Xingzhou realize that the grade of alchemy didn't represent everything.

Just like how he is now actually a sixth-grade alchemist, theoretically at the same level as Chen Jinnian, but in reality, when the two discuss medical theory, pharmacology, and their knowledge of difficult and complicated diseases, Lu Xingzhou still feels that he is completely outclassed by Chen Jinnian.

So I would often go to them for advice and consultation, and I felt that I benefited a lot from it.

If I can reach the fifth rank in alchemy in the future, my exchanges with Chen Jinnian over the past few days will have played a significant role.

In fact, Chen Jinnian shared a similar view, believing that experience alone could not represent everything. Since obtaining Maha's alchemy notes, Lu Xingzhou's knowledge had become increasingly profound. He was also exceptionally intelligent, capable of drawing inferences from one instance to another, and often offered insightful perspectives that Chen Jinnian had never considered before. The two could be considered both teacher and friend, and got along very well.

If we're talking about paying New Year's visits, then of course we should visit such a good teacher and helpful friend.

This time, however, he wanted to go fishing, so he didn't ask Ah Nuo to push his wheelchair and went rowing himself.

Chen Jinnian was very pleased to see Lu Xingzhou visit and welcomed him into his courtyard: "Xingzhou, it's been a while since you've come?"

“I was practicing martial arts the other day.” Lu Xingzhou handed a case of wine to the old man: “This is brewed with the spiritual spring water from my mountain. It is quite beneficial to drink, but it is new wine and the taste may not be mellow enough.”

"Ha, Xingzhou knows about wine too? And can even brew his own!" Chen Jinnian was very pleased and quickly instructed his servants, "Go and bury this wine under the tree in the backyard. In a few years, it will be a treasure. Also, dig up the old wine I buried before; we'll use it to entertain our guests today!"

"Hey, don't bother digging up the wine, I just came to wish you a Happy New Year." Lu Xingzhou said with a smile, "And while I'm at it, is there any progress on that pill that Manager Chen was working on before?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jinnian's face lit up with excitement: "You were right before. There's no need to force yourself to take the Huo family's pills. The right way is to learn from their medicinal principles and create your own pills. I've come up with a formula these past few days. Take a look."

Lu Xingzhou took the prescription and pondered it for a moment, then thought to himself, "A good pill."

If we consider the Huo family's elixir as a kind of "miracle pill," capable of reviving the dead and healing broken bones, that's too vague a concept; it's certainly beyond the reach of most people at their current level. Furthermore, human ailments and injuries are incredibly diverse, and it's highly unlikely that a single elixir could completely cure them all.

The Huo family's pill was probably something Lu Xingzhou had placed too high an expectation on. For example, the previous pill, even if it could revive someone on the verge of death, it might not necessarily restore Lu Xingzhou's leg, which had been deformed for many years. It was just a beautiful vision, and upon closer examination, it was not realistic.

If we focus our research on one particular area and develop a medicine specifically for a certain type of injury, we can probably achieve a more reasonable outcome.

If Chen Jinnian's pill formula is successfully refined, it should be able to "quickly save the heart." If someone's heart suddenly stops, whether due to illness or injury, as long as the heart is not damaged, this pill should be able to pull them back from the brink of death. Its effect is a hundred times stronger than modern nitroglycerin pills, making it a highly effective and targeted pill formula.

Those who are truly dedicated to medical research have a different focus than those like Fenxianglou or Lu Xingzhou who practice alchemy solely for spiritual cultivation.

Lu Xingzhou bowed with a sigh: "With the production of this elixir, Manager Chen has performed immeasurable merit."

"We really have to thank Xingzhou for his advice." Chen Jinnian was very pleased: "Xingzhou also thinks there's nothing wrong with this prescription?"

"It will definitely succeed." Lu Xingzhou said with certainty, "Once this pill is refined, Manager Chen should also be promoted to the fifth rank, and can he be promoted to the county magistrate?"

“It should be possible.” Chen Jinnian stroked his beard and smiled. “Speaking of which, I also have something to ask you… I mentioned before that you should go to the prefecture for further studies, but you didn’t seem very interested. Now I also think that probably no one in the prefecture is really qualified to teach you. But what if there are quotas in the prefecture to recommend you to study at the Imperial Academy in the capital? What do you think?”

Lu Xingzhou's heart stirred, and he became somewhat lost in thought.

(End of this chapter)