Chapter 239: Do You Slack Off?

"Aaaah~" The scream echoed across the lakeshore.

Lu Xingzhou clutched his hand, hunched over, face contorting in pain.

Ye Tinglan brushed her hands as if they were dirty, utterly unfazed: "Just now, it was after I pinched you that you performed so well. According to your logic, this should also count as one of the conditions?"

"I…" Lu Xingzhou was both angry and amused: "You're not stupid when you should be, but suddenly become clever."

"No no, nothing compared to the Judge's flawless calculations." Ye Tinglan suddenly grabbed his collar: "If you sneakily feel me up again, I'll throw you in!"

"I was openly eating your tofu."

Ye Tinglan's phoenix eyes blazed with fury; she tugged slightly, trying to hurl him into the lake.

But their clothes were already torn from the spatial turbulence—this yank ripped a large swath clean off, exposing his muscular upper body.

Ye Tinglan instinctively turned her eyes away.

Lu Xingzhou closed his eyes: "I know I can't escape your claws. Go ahead."

Ye Tinglan snapped her head back, glanced him up and down, giving him the same cold, dismissive look as Long Qinghuang would give a stray dog.

Lu Xingzhou: "... You're also a dragon?"

Ye Tinglan had no idea what he meant, snapped back: "You're such a strange person—just now I thought you were reliable, and now you're acting like an idiot. What kind of time and place is this? Don't you have any sense of danger?"

Lu Xingzhou almost blurted out: "So does that mean I can flirt with you if we're somewhere else?" But he swallowed the words before they left his mouth.

This Mr. was actually a monk, a cultivator in seclusion, with the Dao name True Person Tinglan. Though he'd immersed himself deeply in the world, his austere, rigid nature was still obvious—he couldn't be teased too far, or his dignity would shatter. Their relationship hadn't reached that level... Even though they'd just rolled around together, his chest felt warmer than Guaimei's back then, yet he felt none of the fluttering, romantic heartbeat he'd had when rolling with Guaimei.

He steadied his mind and turned to the matter at hand: "If you don't throw me into the lake, there usually won't be any danger. But if you do, it's anyone's guess."

Ye Tinglan: "..."

"You've had more worldly experience than I have. Have you ever encountered a spatial rift before?"

"Yes, during my early trials. I entered an unknown secret realm, somewhat similar to this one. But back then, fierce beasts roamed immediately upon entry—it was extremely dangerous, unlike this peaceful place."

"How strongly correlated was the location of entry to the secret realm you entered?"

"Strongly correlated."

"Then my guess is probably right—this is still the bottom of the glacier, an ancient land buried beneath layers of ice." Lu Xingzhou said: "The good news is, if we can't find an exit, we can just blast upward—eventually we'll break through."

Ye Tinglan crossed her arms: "What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is, secret realms usually form because a treasure's energy isolates space. But if such a treasure were emitting that kind of energy—even if I'm weak and can't sense it—your strength should let you detect it... Yet your demeanor clearly shows you haven't sensed anything."

Ye Tinglan nodded.

If a treasure had isolated this space, she would have sensed its clear outward energy the moment she fell here. Even after a long time, if the energy had decayed, she'd still clearly perceive its residue. But there was nothing.

Precisely because she sensed no energy reaction at all, in the past Ye Tinglan would have immediately plunged into the lake to explore. But now, her first instinct was to have Lu Xingzhou analyze it, to hear his opinion.

"Treasures have formed spatial isolations before, but their energy vanished—there's only one possibility: someone took it away." Lu Xingzhou paced a few steps, gazing at the grass and flowers on the ground, deep in thought: "In the secret realm you entered before, were there any surviving beasts?"

"Yes."

"This place has grass and flowers—so theoretically, animals could exist too. But we haven't found any... I suspect animals are hibernating underwater, their qi undetectable due to their dormant state. The treasure is likely buried beneath the water—or even swallowed. We shouldn't rashly enter and disturb them."

Ye Tinglan turned to look at Lu Xingzhou's profile.

She had to admit—he was genuinely reliable. His analysis was almost certainly the truth.

No need to dive and investigate. No need to alarm the "landlord." He could avoid or resolve the problem with the most rational approach.

"So the so-called danger here won't activate unless we trigger it ourselves." Lu Xingzhou continued: "Now the problem is—how do we leave without disturbing the creatures here? I've never encountered spatial rifts—I can't analyze them. I'm relying on you."

Ye Tinglan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "You... didn't even entertain the thought of seeking treasure in this secret realm? You know a powerful treasure must be here, and you know I have the strength."

"... I don't live off my woman's power."

"You've lived off it plenty already."

"Hey, whether in the Underworld or the Heavenly March Sword Sect, I've earned my meals with my brain, okay?"

"You can earn mine with your brain too."

Lu Xingzhou shook his head: "I don't like fighting battles where I don't know the enemy. And you're still injured—I don't want you taking risks."

Ye Tinglan's expression turned slightly strange.

He clearly knew a powerful treasure lay before him, yet felt no greed at all—his only concern was her safety...

Though she'd stubbornly refused to admit she was the Heavenly Yao Holy Master for the sake of face, she knew he wasn't fooled. On the surface, she was the number one in the world; people usually treated the world's number one as invincible, as if no danger could touch them.

But she knew better.

First, "number one in the world" referred only to the Great Gan Empire, as the world was vast with other regions. Second, within the Heavenly Yao Sacred Land, there were reclusive elders she could not defeat. Third, in other realms, countless unknown experts existed—perhaps even true immortals. The beasts in ancient secret realms likely cultivated similarly, so she had no absolute certainty. Among all the people she had met over the years, only he had never placed her on a pedestal of absolute strength; instead, he always gave off a sense that she needed care and protection, not just now but long before, ever since the beginning. Even now that he knew her identity, his attitude had not changed.

That was how a man looked at a woman.

Rascal, I'm your teacher! What kind of education did the Underworld give you? Can you look at your own master like that?

Lu Xingzhou pulled a fresh set of clothes from his ring and draped them on himself. After a pause, he pulled out another outer robe and draped it over Ye Tinglan's shoulders.

Ye Tinglan blinked: "What are you doing?"

"Your back is torn in several places."

"I have clothes!"

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "Then change."

Only then did Ye Tinglan realize—she'd only brought female Daoist robes and women's dresses; she couldn't just drape them on like this. She'd have to remove her torn clothes and change. But where could she hide to change here?

Whereas Lu Xingzhou's large male robe could be thrown on without shame, covering every inch of her.

Ye Tinglan fell silent, tightening the robe around her. Lu Xingzhou's scent was so strong, it left her flustered. To throw it off? Then she'd be exposing herself. To keep wearing it? It felt even more intimate than exposing herself.

Watching her completely swallowed by his oversized robe, the usually cold, aloof True Person now looked absurdly endearing—Lu Xingzhou couldn't help smiling.

Ye Tinglan glared: "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing. Any ideas on locating the spatial rift?"

"Why? Are you in a hurry?"

Lu Xingzhou: "?"

What, you want to have a baby here? I have no objection.

"..." Ye Tinglan knew his question was strange. He turned his head and said, "I need to calculate; it might take some time. Don't rush. Sit aside and rest for a while."

Lu Xingzhou walked to the side, bent down to examine the flowers and grass on the ground around him, and pulled one up to sniff it lightly.

Ye Tinglan sat cross-legged nearby, pinching his fingers to calculate, yet his gaze unconsciously followed Lu Xingzhou. He asked casually, "What are you doing?"

Lu Xingzhou still smiled, the smile carrying a hint of "I truly can't do anything with you" helplessness: "Mr., I came with you for the Alchemist Trial. Shouldn't we study the medicinal properties of the flowers and grass here?"

Ye Tinglan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

So you and I came out to undergo the Alchemist Trial? If you hadn't said it, we would have forgotten.

I thought he wanted to explore information about the strange beasts here and the secret to getting out from the plants... Ever since we fell into this dark lakeside together, I feel my mind has been in chaos, and even my calculations are less efficient than usual.

Theoretically, exploring information about strange beasts from the local flora is meaningful; at least one can slightly infer their attributes. For instance, if most plants here are poisonous, the strange beast is likely of the poison attribute, but this does little to estimate the opponent's strength.

Lu Xingzhou examined several types of flowers and grass, his expression becoming somewhat strange: "Ever since my legs healed, things to treat legs have come pouring in."

Ye Tinglan glanced at him.

"Those that remove rot and generate flesh, crushed and applied directly, work very well." Lu Xingzhou said, "Should I apply some to your back, Mr., to prevent scarring?"

Ye Tinglan said irritably, "No need."

"But the effect is truly powerful, stronger than any similar healing medicine I've seen. If refined into a pill with proper auxiliary materials, I dare say even if the flesh and blood were shaved down to just bones, they could grow back."

A slight movement stirred in Ye Tinglan's heart: "Then let me test you. Judge from this what attribute the strange beast in the lake possesses."

Lu Xingzhou hesitated before saying, "I guess it is a type of snake. The mucus and saliva secreted from its body possess extremely strong corrosive properties."

"Hmm... It should be a subspecies, half-snake and half-jiao." Ye Tinglan sighed, "After you digested the Mohe Notes, your knowledge has become increasingly complete. I now find myself momentarily unsure what else I can teach you."

"It doesn't matter. When you can't think of what to teach me, just teach me alchemy practice, preferably the hand-over-hand kind."

"Is that the only thing on your mind?" Ye Tinglan was now immune to such small teasing, knowing that as long as he ignored Lu Xingzhou, the latter wouldn't push his luck: "Did Yuan Muyu teach you things hand-over-hand too? Since your hands are so idle, you can go fish."

Lu Xingzhou replied casually, "How did you know?"

"I was..." Ye Tinglan stopped halfway, then suddenly raised his voice, "What did you say?"

Lu Xingzhou was startled: "Keep it down, don't wake the strange beast at the bottom of the lake."

Ye Tinglan wanted to speak but held back.

How old were you when you were with Yuan Muyu? You were already fishing?

No, what exactly is your relationship with her?

While speaking, Ye Tinglan's slender fingers had been calculating. Now the result was out. Distracted by the result, he had no mind for this gossip: "Perhaps I must tell you some unfortunate news."

An ominous premonition rose in Lu Xingzhou's heart: "Don't tell me the exit path is at the bottom of the lake?"

Ye Tinglan smiled ambiguously: "You guessed right. Even if you don't want to provoke it, you must provoke it. Are you afraid?"

(End of this chapter)