Chapter 112: How Can a Demon Girl Be So Artsy?

The New Year has just passed; the assessment time at the Alchemy Academy is not this early.

Lu Xingzhou's journey to the capital was not as hurriedly flying as when he came to Menggui City; he leisurely enjoyed the scenery along the way, entering every city he passed.

If it weren't for the matter of Huo Lu, by now he should still be in Shen Tang's fragrant and soft bed, planning to leave at least next month...

Since he had already come out, he naturally wouldn't run back. Lu Xingzhou, A'nuo, and Pei Chuyun were all people who rarely traveled; usually, whenever they went out, there was a mission, and they moved with haste. It was quite a rare and not-easy experience to relax one's heart purely for sightseeing.

"I was wrong..." Standing before a great waterfall, watching the magnificent and spectacular torrent plunge down three thousand feet, Lu Xingzhou stamped his foot and sighed: "Menggui City was said to have many scenic spots, but I was tricked by a fool into visiting a temple, saw nothing else, and left the next day... I could have perfectly well not rushed to leave..."

Pei Chuyun looked at the waterfall with a surprised expression, too lazy to even pay him any mind: "Did I tell you to leave? Never mind the rest; even regarding the temple visit, you only saw one hall. Even staying overnight to watch the mountain temple's moonlight was full of calculations. It's all your own problem."

"If I weren't full of calculations, I would have died long ago; I might even have died at your hands."

"Then keep calculating slowly; calculate a little less, lest you die at my hands again."

Lu Xingzhou didn't take the bait: "It's said Huo Lu bought a courtesan; I haven't even gone to see what she looks like. Does hiring her to sing a song count as cheating on Huo Lu?"

"You can still go see the courtesan now; no one is stopping you."

Lu Xingzhou just stared at her profile.

Pei Chuyun glanced sideways at him.

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "Besides cheating on Huo Lu, a courtesan is definitely not as good-looking as the Holy Maiden of the Union of Joy anyway; I'd be a fool to go see her."

"What's the use?" Pei Chuyun sneered: "No matter how good-looking she is, some people besides making a move dare do nothing. Useless."

"I clearly used my mouth."

Pei Chuyun: "Hmph."

Lu Xingzhou felt somewhat embarrassed; now that her cultivation was sealed, he really didn't dare use his mouth again.

Let alone using his mouth; actually, even without her cultivation sealed, he didn't dare make a move much... Back then when she hunted the wheelchair-bound person for the second time, he had to rely on the wheelchair's protective barrier for isolation from start to finish; otherwise, the allure technique would invade his body just like that day with the little Bai Mao, resulting in a gruesome sight.

Although now Pei Chuyun initiating an attack on him shouldn't happen, if he provoked death and got messed up by her, he couldn't blame anyone; her not initiating an attack on you doesn't mean you can touch her however you like.

Sensing Lu Xingzhou's slight frustration, Pei Chuyun, knowing exactly what the man was thinking, felt her mood inexplicably improve; she deliberately puffed out her chest toward him: "Hey, does it look good?"

Lu Xingzhou pulled out that child's bellyband: "It looks good."

Pei Chuyun's face turned black.

A'nuo quietly shifted three feet to the side to avoid being reminded of who the instigator was and getting beaten for no reason.

Lu Xingzhou calmly put away the bellyband: "Um, how about we discuss an academic question?"

"What question?"

"Dual cultivation techniques."

Pei Chuyun smiled ambiguously: "Really want to solve the problem from the level of techniques? Don't dream about it."

"I don't plan to solve your Nühe Union of Joy's problem; can I solve my own problem? I have a wife; is it strange to study dual cultivation?"

Pei Chuyun's smile vanished; she didn't even know why. After a long while, she sneered: "What kind of wife do you have? Is there parental order? Is there a matchmaker's word? Did you bow at the altar? Was the wine served? Just because you say 'wife'? Unsanctioned cohabitation; what's the difference between that and our Nühe demonic cultivators?"

Facing a long string of questions, Lu Xingzhou answered with only five words: "I am a demonic cultivator too."

Pei Chuyun: "... We don't study dual cultivation; we only study essence extraction."

"Why must it be essence extraction? Although dual cultivation's effect is a bit slower, it belongs to the Great Dao and has no side effects. Essence extraction looks like it advances quickly in the short term, but in reality, there are many improper aspects that are well-known; even Infant Ghosts have abandoned it."

Pei Chuyun fell silent for a moment, then slowly said: "With essence extraction, you just need to snatch the pill from the cauldron's body and it's done... With dual cultivation, you need to transfer what's inside your body over, then have the other party return it, thus constantly shuttling back and forth."

"Yeah, so what?"

"What if he doesn't return it?"

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment, suddenly having no words to counter.

Pei Chuyun said coldly: "We never place hope in this; we only pursue what we can control. So you asking me to discuss dual cultivation techniques is asking the wrong person; I don't know how."

This isn't a technique problem; it's a trust problem.

Therefore, dual cultivation has always been something done between lovers; once betrayal occurs, it collapses.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou's silent expression, Pei Chuyun suddenly smiled again: "Actually, to deal with your Nühe Union of Joy, you don't necessarily need to study techniques; there's an even simpler and more brutal way."

Lu Xingzhou said: "Cultivation suppression?"

"Yeah. But how much suppression is needed to suppress it? Oh, it's so hard to guess." Pei Chuyun stretched lazily and said with a grin: "Anyway, a certain sixth-grade dead cripple shouldn't even hope for it."

Lu Xingzhou said with a stern face: "I said I don't plan to solve your Nühe Union of Joy's problem."

"Hmph." Pei Chuyun rolled her eyes, moved closer: "Judge, you are ultimately a bit different from others. If you want to relive last night's old dream, I can give you a chance, you know."

Lu Xingzhou stepped back calmly: "If I really wanted to relive the old dream, designing to capture you again would be enough; it's not that hard."

Pei Chuyun ground her teeth.

Of course, she was still trying to poach him; more intense methods weren't used now; she wondered if pure female allure could be tried. Lu Xingzhou's willpower was very strong; even after last night's events, he could actually hold her and fall asleep, leaving Pei Chuyun with little confidence.

However, the little demon girl knew what men wanted: "Even if you capture me again, you still dare not do what you want to do... but if I volunteer, then it's okay..."

Lu Xingzhou smiled ambiguously: "How do you volunteer?"

"You join my sect, become one of us; then the women within the sect are free to mingle, no one will be the least bit shy, and no one will blindly extract essence; guaranteed to feel like entering a fairyland."

"Is that so? Then kiss me first; let's see your strength."

Pei Chuyun: "?"

"See, you're not even willing to do this; no matter how much you brag, isn't it just trying to get something for nothing? Do I look like a fool to you?"

Pei Chuyun got angry: "Then you didn't give anything first and still demanded a kiss; aren't you the one trying to get something for nothing?"

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "Then what do you want?"

Pei Chuyun wanted nothing. Actually, even regarding "poaching," when she verbally said "join my sect," she had no intention in her heart of poaching a strategist for the Nühe Union of Joy; she wanted a strategist of her own.

That is, she only wanted Lu Xingzhou himself.

How to say that? If she said it, Lu Xingzhou wouldn't pay attention anyway.

Pei Chuyun rolled her eyes, saw the waterfall nearby, and said with a grin: "This waterfall is magnificent; fine rain brushes the face, full of poetic sentiment. If Young Master Lu can compose a poem that satisfies me, I will actively give a kiss."

Lu Xingzhou fell silent for a moment: "Better not."

Pei Chuyun paused, actually if Lu Xingzhou could just fake a poem, she would kiss him, meaning if he could meet other conditions he could get more. Logically, Lu Xingzhou shouldn't fail to see this small hint; judging by that day's "The human world still has unsummoned souls," faking a poem shouldn't be hard for him, so why did he refuse?

Yet she heard Lu Xingzhou say earnestly, "Some poems are too terrifying; once they appear, all waterfall poems in the world will pale in comparison, leaving everyone with only one line in their minds when they think of waterfalls... such a thing isn't too good..."

Pei Chuyun glanced at him with a bad temper, "So you can brag too."

"This is true..." If it were about other scenery, Lu Xingzhou could still remember many poems, but once waterfalls were mentioned, he was done for; his mind held only one line, and he believed most Chinese folks were the same.

This is what the power of the Poet Immortal is.

Pei Chuyun rolled her eyes, "Forget about making other poems pale in comparison; if you can truly create a poem that makes me convinced, I will let you seal your cultivation tonight and relive old dreams."

"Forget it, no need." Lu Xingzhou took out paper and brush, scribbled two lines, and handed them to her, "Keep it for fun."

Pei Chuyun pouted, took it, and glanced casually.

The next moment, she was like someone whose acupoints had been sealed, unable to move a muscle.

Lu Xingzhou turned, holding A-Nuo's hand, and leisurely descended the mountain, "Let's go, entering the city ahead will take quite a while; don't miss dinner."

Only after the master and disciple had walked far away did Pei Chuyun suddenly snap out of it, clutching that paper tightly as she panted and chased after them, "Wait for me~"

Until they entered the city and sat in the courtyard of the inn to eat, Pei Chuyun still felt somewhat dazed in her heart.

She felt she was done for too; in the future, when talking about waterfalls, her mind would probably hold only this one line...

"What's wrong?" Lu Xingzhou tapped his chopsticks, "Why keep stealing glances at me while eating?"

"Huh?" Pei Chuyun lowered her head and shoveled rice.

She wasn't looking at Lu Xingzhou; she was completely spacing out.

Lu Xingzhou scolded A-Nuo with a bad temper, "See that? When you grow up, you can do anything, just don't be a pretentious girl; it's too stupid."

A-Nuo wanted to laugh.

Actually, Sister Yu is quite pretentious sometimes; the few poems you wrote for Sister Yu, she sits by the window at midnight with her chin in her hand, reading them endlessly; do you know that yourself?

The funny thing is, these are all Demon Path women; as for Righteous Path ones, like Little Bai Mao or Little Bai Mao, if you give her a poem, she probably won't know what you're saying, maybe trying hard to analyze if there are some sword technique secrets hidden inside.

Maybe she could even realize a sword technique from "A torrent plunges down three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way falls from the highest heavens"...

The meal ended with Pei Chuyun's sleepwalking-like performance; Lu Xingzhou was too lazy to pay attention to her and went up the small tower himself, standing by the window to watch the moon.

After the meal, a light rain began, fine hair-like strands brushing the face, very comfortable; the air grew fresher, yet the moonlight seemed covered by a layer of gauze, hazy and unclear.

Lu Xingzhou thought that if Pei Chuyun were here pushing open the window to gaze at the moon, she might be in a poetic mood again.

Actually, Lu Xingzhou himself is quite pretentious; anyone who can read things like "Fire dragons embroidered with patterns, waterweed and tassels with sharp edges" can't be called non-pretentious... It's just that in those past years, trapped in a wheelchair, confined within the Hall of Yama, his heart full of resentment and gloom, even if he had poems, they were of the melancholy kind; he had no mood to appreciate any poetic sentiment.

He never expected his poetic sentiment to be stirred up by a Hehuan Demoness; one has to say it's a miracle.

"Knock knock~" A knocking sound suddenly rang out.

Before Lu Xingzhou could speak, the door was pushed open, and Pei Chuyun walked in with her head hanging low.

Lu Xingzhou turned his head strangely to look at her, "What's wrong?"

Pei Chuyun stood before him, dejected, "I can't think of a better waterfall poem than that one. Seal my acupoints; I accept the bet's outcome."

Lu Xingzhou almost laughed out loud, "I already said no need... In such a matter, my victory would be unfair."

(End of this chapter)