Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 168 Staying Overnight
From that day on, Pei Xia's expression was always a little off whenever she saw Han Youzhi.

It wasn't the kind of butterflies-in-your-mouth feeling you get when you meet someone you like during adolescence, but rather a kind of hesitation somewhere between "Is this woman crazy?" and "Is she fucking messing with me?"

Five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Ye Luyi burned Cheng Zhatu's body and put his square-faced superior into a small box, which he would take out and worship every day.

Sometimes, Pei Xia would happen to see them and would also offer a prayer.

During the fierce battle against the giant spider in the underground palace, this square-faced man fought back desperately, buying crucial time for everyone, making him a benefactor.

As for why it happened in the underground palace and why there was such a fierce battle, don't worry about that for now.

The rest of the time, Ye Lu was practicing his swordsmanship.

This trip to the underground palace made the young man deeply aware of his own powerlessness. Those titles of genius who had been proficient in the mortal world in his youth now seemed like a joke to him.

There's nothing wrong with that. Kyushu is still Kyushu. It has the joy of galloping through the world and the freedom of wandering the martial arts world, but it also has cruelty, treachery, bloodshed, and sacrifice.

Pei Xia herself also needs to refine the spiritual power within her inner cauldron, striving to reach the Profound Realm as soon as possible. Occasionally, when she encounters Ye Lu, she will also give him a few pointers.

The young man was able to comprehend sword energy on his own, which shows his exceptional talent. It was indeed easier for Pei Xia to teach him than to teach his elder brother, or even to teach Xie.

Han Youzhi still acts mysteriously every day, sometimes staying in the room for most of the day, and no one knows what she's tinkering with.

The good news is that the stench in the village lake has noticeably faded over the past five days.

It seems that Dugu Nong has indeed kept his promise and has voluntarily moved away from the main river channel upstream.

Pei Xia couldn't help but sigh, "The Fountain of Longevity, which grants long life, is gone just like that."

However, Dugu Nong's keeping of his promise made the Glazed Immortal Elixir he left for Pei Xia seem more credible.

Pei Xia began to conduct some small experiments.

He first took advantage of the villagers being out working and secretly went to hug one of their dogs.

Then, he shaved a bald patch off Wangcai's head, held his breath, and carefully took out a tiny bit of the Glazed Immortal Elixir, smearing it on Wangcai's dog head.

The next day, the whole village was buzzing with the news that someone had raised a lion.

Pei Xiasheng stayed for two more days to make sure that Wangcai didn't die on the spot after the hair growth, before he felt at ease and gently pinched the bald spot in the middle of Lu Li's head.

When it was time to set off, both Han Youzhi and Ye Lu looked at her with shock in their eyes.

"You, you hair..." Han Youzhi pointed at the tall, fluffy ball of hair in the middle of Lu Li's head.

Lu Li rolled her eyes: "I'm just a kid, still growing, so it's normal for my hair to be a little long."

After saying that, she kicked Pei Xia.

Pei Xia waved her hand reassuringly, "Let's see how things go. Don't rush to trim it, in case something unexpected happens."

After all, it involved the use of "medicine".

And so, the four of them finally left the mountain village and set off again.

The village had limited resources and couldn't provide them with horses, so the village chief could only prepare a few extra steamed buns for them to eat on their journey.

With their physical strength, as long as they don't lose their way, walking out of the mountains won't be difficult. Pei Xia just feels a little sorry for his Cloud-Treading Black horse.

As instructed by the village chief, if we didn't take that secluded mountain path, we would have to head straight southeast to cross the barren mountains.

The four of them traveled without rest until evening, when they finally set up a campfire to rest. After eating some dry rations and some wild fruit that Pei Xia had picked along the way, Ye Lu chewed on his food and looked at Pei Xia: "Where do you plan to go after we leave the mountains?"

"Heading to Maizhou," Pei Xia didn't bother to hide anything from Ye Lu, "My original plan was to go to the Liancheng Fire Vein. I'll set sail from Youzhou port, stop in Maizhou first, and..."

He didn't mention Dugu Nong's request, but looked up at Han Youzhi and said, "Weishan was originally a small sect in Dongzhou. My master and mistress might be there too. If we can find them by chance, the restrictions on Old Han can be removed sooner."

Han nodded vigorously, "At least you have a conscience!"

Ye Lu lowered his eyelids slightly: "Then it seems we'll stay here together."

The Northern Barbarians, the Heishi, are everywhere, especially now that there is war in Youzhou. Even in small county towns, there are secret agents in charge.

Ye Lu must report the matter of the prefect Zhu's dereliction of duty that caused significant losses immediately. Cheng Zhatu's ashes must also be brought back to Hanzhou, and parting ways is inevitable.

Pei Xia didn't have any deep feelings for Ye Lu, but whether it was their first meeting in Beishi City or their joint battle in the underground palace, he had developed a certain fondness for the young man.

He reached out and patted Ye Lu on the shoulder, but didn't say anything to say goodbye. He just mentioned, "Xu Shangxin is currently cultivating at the Lingxiao Sword Sect. They are close to Tiequan Pass and may be affected. If you are able to help her in the future, you can do so."

The second half of the sentence is unnecessary. To Ye Lu, Xu Shangxin was a young lady he had served for many years, and he had a deep affection for her.

On the contrary, Han Youzhi, while warming himself by the fire with his arms outstretched, said in a bad tone: "If you ask me, you'd better quit your jobs in the Golden Tent as soon as possible. I've come to understand that none of the people in power in the court are easy to serve. If you're incompetent, they despise you; if you're capable, they suspect you; if you slack off, they think you're just occupying a position. They'll do everything they can to get rid of you..."

She gave a cold laugh, her face mocking herself.

If it weren't for Luo Xian's desire to completely control the Holy Palace, she would still be happily raising rabbits in the Bronze Palace on Luo Shen Peak, and wouldn't be in all this trouble now.

The three adults each sighed, one for themselves, the other for others.

Only Pear, she had nothing to say, squatted by the fire, constantly stroking the fuzzy ball on her head that looked like it had been soaked in water.

The next day, the group extinguished the fire and continued their journey southeast.

Around noon, they could already glimpse a wide road on the other side from the mountainside. Even if it wasn't an official road, it should be close to human habitation.

So we added some more walking, and finally got onto the main road before dark.

Judging from the traces on the road, there must have been carriages and horses passing by that day, indicating that this was not a deserted road. Despite Pear's reluctant whimpers, the four of them walked a little further into the night under the moonlight.

Good luck! There are some scattered lights ahead, so we must have arrived at a human village.

Because it is relatively remote, the village is not big and there are not many people. Each household has a small courtyard, and many of the lights are already off.

Pei Xia knocked on several doors and asked if she could stay the night.

But when the villagers saw that he was young and strong, they all shook their heads in fear and refused to agree.

After much pleading and persuasion, and by bringing them some dry bread, they finally agreed to let them stay overnight in the courtyard.

A yard is fine, at least it provides some shelter from the wind.

He found a clean corner by the courtyard wall, casually gathered some dry grass and laid it on the ground, ready to rest.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy horse hooves came from the other end of the main road in the village.

Ye Lu looked up warily and saw five horses galloping towards him.

It was only early night, and many people had just closed their doors and were still awake. The sound of horses' hooves quickly startled many villagers, who peeked out to look.

The first of the five riders was a handsome young man. He clasped his hands in a fist and called out to the surrounding people, "He Chen of the He family of Aocheng, we would like to trouble you all by asking to stay overnight in your esteemed place. We are willing to give you ten taels of silver. I wonder which fellow villager would be willing to do us a favor?"

(End of this chapter)