Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 546 People’s Heart
Lu Xingzhou naturally believed that the demon disciples who had fled into the cursed land over the years had basically become Mr. Ji's subordinates.

The source of top-grade dantian transplants like Hong Yin's must be this. Those powerful demonic cultivators who fled into the Cursed Lands who resisted were dissected for experiments, while the rest were undoubtedly subdued by Master Ji. Otherwise, where would there be any top-grade dantians available for transplantation?

The so-called "finding them and killing them" is also a family annihilation drama, but more importantly, it is to quickly find Mr. Ji's hiding place.

Otherwise, the Cursed Land is so vast that recklessly entering it could lead to no good.

Wei Miao agreed. Lu Xingzhou considered it carefully for a while and, having nothing else to do for the time being, went back to the house to find Dugu Qingli.

The little white-haired kitten, whose new orange hair had just broken, had been busy all morning and was now sound asleep, exhausted.

Lu Xingzhou sat down beside her, quietly gazing at her perfect face, as serene as a porcelain doll in her sleep.

It's so beautiful, I can't get enough of looking at it.

Don't assume everyone's a fan of white-haired characters; that's really just a two-dimensional thing. There aren't many people in the real world who can pull off a white-haired look, and those who can are all naturally beautiful. Dugu Qingli really does look a bit like someone from a two-dimensional world, like she stepped right out of a CG movie.

It can be said that Lu Xingzhou's possessiveness was most evident in his relationship with Dugu Qingli. As he himself said, he wanted her from the very first sight. However, due to his indifferent nature and his relationship with Ye Tinglan, he always felt that this dream was far away. But now that he had obtained her, it felt like a dream come true.

God knows what I was feeling all morning working on this; normally, it wouldn't even take all morning.

It was tough for the little white-haired boy on his first try.

Dugu Qingli opened her eyes groggily and met Lu Xingzhou's gaze as he looked at the priceless treasure.

“I’m not a dog,” said Little White Fur.

Lu Xingzhou laughed and leaned down to kiss him: "Don't you want to sleep a little longer?"

"I felt like someone was watching me, which woke me up."

"This intuition... I didn't dream this time?"

“I dreamt that the Ice Demon was very angry and called me a bastard. I told him that I am a swordsman, and he was so angry that he couldn’t even speak coherently.”

Lu Xingzhou chuckled: "What's it so angry about? Does it care whether the body is chaste or not when it possesses it in the future?"

Dugu Qingli tilted her head and thought for a moment: "Maybe it's imagining itself being dominated by a man and feeling angry. But what does it have to do with it? I told you not to worry, Xingzhou wouldn't even look at you, why bother imagining it? It just got angry and disappeared. That's the end of the dream."

Lu Xingzhou laughed out loud.

Dugu Qingli reached out and put her arms around his neck: "I'm in Huiyang... Just as we guessed before, I really need you by my side when I'm in Huiyang, otherwise it will be a calamity that I can't get through."

"now what?"

"Now I should be able to control my entry into the red-eyed form and retain some rationality. I should just use it as little as possible. Becoming a demon is really not a good thing; it actually made me want to kill you."

Lu Xingzhou asked, "So, in the current situation, are we afraid of running into Mr. Ji?"

Dugu Qingli thought for a moment: "I shouldn't be afraid anymore. Since I can control the demonic power myself, why should I be afraid of others mobilizing it?"

Lu Xingzhou breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."

"Ready to fight him?"

“Yes, we can’t wait for him to recover, otherwise he’ll be a Qian Yuan. Even if it’s not for the True Fire of the Sun, just to sever Maha’s arm, we must go to this cursed land.”

Dugu Qingli finally sat up: "Now?"

"There's no rush, the county is still making arrangements." Lu Xingzhou kissed her and then pressed her down: "The most important thing for us now is our wedding night."

"Hey, hey, hey..." Dugu Qingli pushed his shoulder in annoyance: "We're supposed to be having a wedding night? You should have taken a nap!"

"Isn't this still that day? So it's still the wedding night."

Dugu Qingli was stunned. Is that so?
It seems that the wedding day hadn't even passed yet; it was still their wedding night.

But it's only noon today. When are you going to finish?

The database doesn't have this section, so I don't know how to refute it. The clothes I just put on were stripped off again, and I got bitten on the hand and got punished again.

I didn't really want to argue, and I wanted to too... but it felt strange to come right after waking up.

Never mind, it feels so comfortable anyway.

A term popped up in the database: illicit love affair.

That's a pretty standard performance, isn't it... Qingli understands humans now.

Master also said that one should experience the ways of the world, but what's the point of observing human nature? Tianyao divination is indeed not a good skill.

Oh no, Master sent me to Xia Prefecture, which is why I ran into Lu Xingzhou... Tianyao Divination is a good skill.

But did Master ever foresee that her man would be stolen? Tianyao's divination proved otherwise...

Amidst a jumble of chaotic thoughts, Little White Hair twitched and disappeared.

Holding the imperial envoy's token, Jiang Yuan acted arrogantly in the county, arranging several vacant and key positions for her family members. She then skipped back to Chunshan Pavilion, intending to return the token to Lu Xingzhou.

We agreed to have lunch together to discuss what to do next.

As soon as I got outside, I heard dogs barking from inside.

Jiang Yuan, who was hopping around, stumbled and almost twisted her ankle.

Is this ever going to end?! What kind of nonsense is this?!
Jiang Yuan couldn't resist knocking on the door: "Dinner's ready."

Jiang Yuan thought Lu Xingzhou would back down after being yelled at, but to her horror, the war drums inside started beating again, and the guy seemed even more excited...

…………

Lunch was delayed until mid-afternoon. The meal was eaten at a restaurant in Chunshan County. It was just the three of them... no, just the adulterous couple and their guards. The three of them sat in the restaurant's main hall eating, while listening to the surrounding people's comments about the changes in Chunshan County.

The adulterous couple remained calm, while Jiang Yuan, with a sour face, poked and prodded at the rice with her chopsticks, almost turning it into a paste.

Dugu Qingli asked, "Does Miss Jiang like white paste?"

Jiang Yuan pushed the bowl a hundred and eight thousand miles away: "Isn't that what you like?"

Dugu Qingli didn't really like it either; the shadow on her face from back then still lingered. Fortunately, now that the stuff wasn't on her face anymore and had gone where it was supposed to go, she liked it much more.

Hearing this, he glanced at Jiang Yuan's face but didn't say anything.

Jiang Yuan said angrily, "Why are you looking at me?"

Dugu Qingli was comparing Jiang Yuan's skin tone and how well that thing suited her; would it look better on her face?

Then he realized that his thought process wasn't quite right, so he lowered his head and ate without saying a word.

Lu Xingzhou slowly slurped up a bowl of noodles: "I invited you to dinner, why are you still giving me that sour look..."

"Does this lady from Huiyang need to eat?"

"Didn't you shout at the door that you wanted me to treat you to a meal? Now that it's here, you're not happy about it."

Jiang Yuan was furious: "You said we'd talk over lunch, not what I wanted!"

"That was just a polite remark. Did you ever casually mention inviting someone to dinner later when you were chatting with them?"

Jiang Yuan was stunned.

So after all this, it turns out I'm the one begging for food?
Lu Xingzhou found her expression amusing and slowly picked up a slice of beef to gnaw on: "Speaking of which, I cultivate quickly, but I still haven't broken free from mortal habits. I always feel that people need to eat... But upon reflection, I realized that I could have stopped eating a long time ago."

Jiang Yuan said disdainfully, "You're over twenty and still haven't reached the highest rank? You call that fast cultivation?"

People around them were glancing at them.

What are you saying? Say it again?
Lu Xingzhou smiled brightly: "No matter how fast or slow... this earthy food is still delicious."

People just thought the young couple was talking nonsense and no one took it seriously. However, some of the other casual conversations in the restaurant reached the three of them's ears.

"Have you heard? Lord Lu rode alone into Chunshan, broke through Chunshan Pavilion, captured Prefect Hong, and his power shook the southeast."

"Prefect Hong was no good, he's dead now. But Master Zang is alright, he often sends people from Chunshan Pavilion to treat everyone's illnesses."

"That was to collect materials! Haven't you heard that Sect Master Zang dissected people alive, dug a mass grave in the back mountain, and had to use a caravan to transport the remains to the capital?"

"I've heard about it... You can really judge a book by its cover. Sect Leader Zang usually looks so dignified, but he's actually this kind of person."

“They’re not exactly virtuous in real life. They’ve done a lot of things like forcing women into prostitution. I have a relative whose family was ruined because someone took a fancy to his daughter.”

"Hey, speaking of which, are the brothels in our county still open?"

"It will most likely be shut down. I saw some fierce-looking men take over, I heard it's the Blood Refining Sect."

"We advise the Blood Refining Sect not to meddle in other people's business..."

The three of them ate their meal, listening to people's nonsensical comments, and their expressions varied.

Those who can come out to eat during this time of panic and city-wide purge are all living comfortably. They feel that the evil deeds committed by Zang Wanchun and Hong Yin are far removed from their own lives and have nothing to do with them.

On the contrary, the closure of brothels affected their interests.

Jiang Yuan looked angry, and Lu Xingzhou shook his head at her.

After all, the remains of their relatives in the mass grave, the families forced into prostitution and destroyed, were not them. When their consciousness opened and they heard more stories from the streets and alleys, they heard many families weeping and mourning, offering memorial tablets and worshipping "Lord Lu".

Lu Xingzhou felt somewhat unworthy of the honor, after all, his original intention in destroying Chunshan Pavilion was not for their sake.

One can clearly feel a powerful energy of popular support, which feeds back into one's cultivation, strengthening the inherent imperial aura. It was an unintentional act, yet it resonated with the will of the people.

Even the diners who were "not involved" sighed in the end: "We thought Lord Lu was just a young man with no experience, but we didn't expect him to be someone who can truly do things for the people."

Even if they think "don't meddle," deep down they still know right from wrong.

"Yes, I heard that it was only through the joint efforts of Lord Lu and the Imperial Advisor that the late emperor was able to sacrifice the rivers and mountains, otherwise we would have been in serious trouble."

"It's understandable that the late emperor wanted to be the strongest in the world, but what does Prefect Hong want? He's an official, why would he pursue something beyond the highest level and the Dao? He's just crazy, and he's made himself neither human nor ghost."

"Speaking of which, those who only care about their own cultivation are not suitable to be officials... The Imperial Preceptor is clear-headed. She is so capable, what can't she do if she wants to? But she knows how to restrain herself from getting involved in politics."

"How many noble scholars like the Imperial Preceptor can there be in the world..."

Dugu Qingli pursed her lips.

"And what about Lord Lu?"

"Putting aside everything else, just looking at how many wives Lord Lu has, you can tell he's not just focused on cultivation; he's got a human touch."

"If that's the case, then wouldn't the Sect of the Maidens of Joy be the most suitable for officials?"

"Lord Lu is far more ruthless than the Hehuan Sect of the Maidens. Have you heard? Lord Lu is bisexual and can even be seen embracing Young Master Jiang while fighting a war."

"How did you know?"

“Someone escaped from the battlefield in the suburbs and came back, but was later captured. During the interrogation, he said that I have a cousin who is a prison guard.”

Lu Xingzhou almost spit out his noodles, and Jiang Yuan snapped her chopsticks in half with a livid face.

(End of this chapter)