Chapter 38: At Ease Outside

Shen Tang herself hadn't realized that the frequency with which she ran over to Lu Xingzhou's place had become so high that Miss Qingli was too lazy to pay her any attention, and so high that Tang Yunzhong and other loyal elders watched with a belly full of speechlessness.

Facing the death of Huo Yu, the City Lord, and Liu Qingcang, and the dramatic upheaval in Xiazhou, every other faction was rushing to hold emergency meetings to discuss their next moves; yet here, not even a single sect meeting had been convened.

It was as if these matters had nothing to do with them... Heaven knows these matters were exactly where they were the protagonists!

Saying she was treating her leg in the morning was one thing, but staying at Lu Xingzhou's place all afternoon, and still wanting to go there tonight!

Thinking of this, Shen Tang felt a bit embarrassed and wheeled her chair away as if fleeing for her life: "Then tomorrow, ask tomorrow."

Back in her private chamber, Shen Tang threw herself onto the bed with a "Bang," touching her burning cheeks with both hands, murmuring to herself: "Shen Tang, oh Shen Tang, what are you doing..."

When a piece of underwear was thrown onto the bed by her, it fluttered in the air from the impact, then slowly drifted back down, landing over her head.

"..." Shen Tang yanked the underwear off, gritting her teeth: "Are you forcing me to find a maid to clean up? I don't want to find one."

She had too many secrets; it was hard to recruit a personal maid on short notice, and she dared not trust anyone.

With her legs being inconvenient, sometimes even Miss Qingli had to reluctantly act as half a maid, which was quite unfair to Qingli.

But fortunately, her legs would be healed soon... Would Lu Xingzhou come early tomorrow morning to treat her legs?

... Why was she thinking of him again?

Shen Tang angrily threw the underwear far away.

Just as Miss Qingli pushed the door open, she saw something flying toward her; with a "Swish," she drew her sword, and the underwear was reduced to shreds, drifting aimlessly.

"Why throw this thing away?" Miss Qingli was very puzzled: "I saw Lu Xingzhou liked it very much; yesterday his eyes were fixed on it for at least several breaths."

Shen Tang glanced at her: "The time his eyes spend fixed on your body is far more than that... How about you wear that another day and see if he gets even happier?"

Miss Qingli was shocked: "That's actually not a large handkerchief? It's something to wear? How can this be worn? It only covers a small part of the body!"

Shen Tang blinked: "Do you want to try it? It's actually very comfortable, definitely more comfortable than your chest-binding cloth."

Miss Qingli thought deeply: "Wearing something like this must be inconvenient for wielding a sword; is this the reason you cultivate the Imperial Extreme Shocking World Scripture?"

Lu Xingzhou just likes this kind of thing? Shen Tang's face fell: "Get out, I want to bathe."

Miss Qingli was very serious: "Sorry, Lu Xingzhou said you cannot touch water; I came specifically to remind you of this."

Shen Tang buried her head in the pillow, unable to make another sound.

Early the next morning, Lu Xingzhou stepped into Shen Tang's courtyard but did not see the two women eating breakfast.

He knocked on Shen Tang's door in confusion, and a muffled voice came from inside: "It's not locked, come in."

Lu Xingzhou pushed the door open and saw Shen Tang leaning against the bed as if her life held no joy.

She hadn't bathed, and with no maid to help wipe her body, what if she got smelly...

"What's wrong?" Lu Xingzhou looked around: "Where is Qingli?"

Shen Tang blurted out: "Are you here to treat her legs?"

"Uh..." I haven't seen you have any objections before...

Lu Xingzhou also knew better than to argue with women; he still approached the bedside with a slight smile and placed a pill on the nightstand: "There, the pill from yesterday has been refined, completing what you needed last."

Shen Tang's little grievances, from who knows where, instantly vanished completely; she finally turned her head to look at his profile and said softly: "Thank you. And... what about your own?"

"I already have some leads. I will study them slowly when I have time today; for now, let me change your medicine." Lu Xingzhou slid to her legs and very skillfully lifted her skirt.

His gaze accidentally swept over her socks, discovering she had actually changed into a different pair, and he couldn't help but smile.

Shen Tang noticed his gaze, and her face turned a bit red. Of course her feet were washed; did you think I was afraid you'd be offended by the smell...

Thinking that changing the medicine today would be enough, Lu Xingzhou still pinched her legs a couple of times: "Do you feel anything?"

Shen Tang actually felt he was being a bit intentional, but she had no proof, so she could only answer gloomily: "Yes."

Not only did she feel it, but the reaction was more intense than before; she could very clearly feel the warmth of his palm and the rough texture, like an electric shock, making her whole body go numb.

"Recovery is going well." Lu Xingzhou didn't touch her any more; he slowly and deliberately unwound the bandages, carefully scraped off the remaining ointment, and applied a fresh layer for her.

Shen Tang stared fixedly at his gentle and focused expression for a long time before suddenly asking: "It is said that Liu Yan'er might sell the Danxia Gang; should we buy it?"

"Sell... where is she going?"

"It is said that Bai Chi will take her to the Incense Tower."

Lu Xingzhou paused for a moment, thinking for a while: "If she plans to go to the Incense Tower, then she shouldn't sell it. Holding onto the Medicine Mountain gives her a say in the Incense Tower in the future; once sold, her status in the Incense Tower would be worse than a maid's."

Shen Tang suddenly realized: "Exactly, this is why Bai Chi is urging her to sell her assets; in reality, what he truly wants to buy is the Incense Tower. This must be Bai Chi's condition for returning to the sect; otherwise, there is no reason for someone who has already left the sect to return."

Lu Xingzhou nodded: "But if Liu Yan'er keeps holding onto her assets, and she has no capable people around her, sooner or later she will be killed and her assets seized. If I were her, my first choice would be to sell at a low price to someone else, take the money, move to another place, and live a simple life as a wealthy woman. I just don't know if she is sharp enough..."

Shen Tang smiled: "She certainly doesn't have that wisdom, but we can explain the pros and cons; why can't we be the ones buying the mountain at a low price? Even if Liu Yan'er is stupid, she wouldn't truly entrust her future to a man of the flower willow; she is just at a loss right now; if someone points the way, she should be able to understand."

Lu Xingzhou finished changing the medicine and tied a very pretty bow: "Buying the mountain might mean having a conflict with the Incense Tower."

Shen Tang said: "You only need to say whether you will buy it or not."

"Buy." Lu Xingzhou said casually: "But not to make it a Medicine Mountain; if you want to grow your own medicine, you can just develop part of it as a medicine garden; most of the area can serve as Sword Sect territory. With swords emerging from Danxia, wouldn't that be more comfortable than the current layout of this small martial arts hall? Besides, Danxia Mountain likely has some secrets; if we really buy it, we can explore it slowly..."

"Oh, you are the original owner." Shen Tang laughed: "When you were coaxing me to rent the house, you said that was the direction for expansion."

"When I said that back then, it also included the Huo Residence; the Huo Residence has a back mountain connected to Danxia Mountain. That would truly have the flavor of a continuous range of mountains with swords emerging from each peak; the fields below the mountain could all be sect assets, displaying a magnificent atmosphere." Lu Xingzhou pondered: "Now I don't know what the Huo family thinks; that old residence has already become a house of great misfortune; I don't know if there is a possibility they have disposed of it; if so, we could really acquire it."

Shen Tang said: "Are you thinking the remnants of the Tianxing Sword Sect are too vigorous? We only have this few people..."

"First, to revive the sect you definitely need to recruit many people; second, you definitely have more than just these few people in your hands." Lu Xingzhou sighed: "To this day, you should explain your secrets to me clearly; otherwise, it is hard to make any plans, and empty talk is useless."

Shen Tang fell silent for a moment, then said softly: "How much have you guessed?"

Lu Xingzhou said: "I originally suspected you were the missing Princess, but I couldn't figure out many key points. If you were the Princess, Huo Yu and Sheng Yuanyao should not be unfamiliar with you, and your identity as Shen Tang is recognized by everyone in the Tianxing Sword Sect... Unless you were wearing a human-skin mask, but I don't feel that you are."

Shen Tang rarely showed a mischievous smile: "I have been cultivating in the Tianxing Sword Sect since childhood; Shen is my mother's surname, and my master is my own maternal uncle. If not for this royal in-law relationship, how could the Tianxing Sword Sect have become the Royal Merchant? However, the people of the Tianxing Sword Sect do not know I am the Princess; they think I am just a disciple they have watched grow up since childhood."

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

"My mother was just an ordinary concubine; I lived very cautiously since childhood. If you are truly Huo Shang, then we have one more thing in common." Shen Tang smiled: "However, I am the eldest daughter; when I was born, the Emperor actually liked me quite a bit and bestowed royal martial arts on me without holding back. But most of the time I was still in the Tianxing Sword Sect, rarely returning to the capital; it is not strange that Sheng Yuanyao doesn't know me... I have seen her, though; back then she was fourteen or fifteen, sneaking behind the banquet hall of someone's Hou Fu just to eavesdrop on a secret about a wife having an affair, ha..."

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but laugh: "What about the Huo family?"

"The Huo family's favor was not as high as people imagine... Grand Preceptor Huo did not know who Shen Tang was; I had seen them in the identity of Princess Gu Yitang. Huo Yu has seen me; unfortunately, this time Huo Yu was so tormented by you that he never got to see me, was he?"

Lu Xingzhou thought that Huo Yu really had not seen Shen Tang this time and couldn't help but laugh: "You have long used an alias outside; is this hiding your light?"

"Yes. When I was very young, the Imperial Preceptor gave me a prophecy: 'Safe while abroad.' Father still respects the Imperial Preceptor's opinions very much, so he sent me to the Heaven-Walking Sword Sect, allowing me to use an alias, which counts as a form of protection... but I still hope you call me Shen Tang."

"Of course... I also can't get used to other names." Lu Xingzhou asked: "Then your mother..."

"She passed away the year before last, said to be from illness." Shen Tang sneered: "I don't know if there's any ghost in that either."

Comparing it to the judgment at that time regarding Huo Shang's untimely death, concubines certainly shouldn't have died in their prime; the probability of a ghost was high. It was just a pity that Shen Tang had no way to investigate such matters.

Lu Xingzhou's gaze fell on her legs: "So your legs..."

"A very cliché political struggle." Shen Tang said calmly: "Father fought the Demon Emperor a few years ago, and both sides suffered heavy losses; his body has been failing more and more. The struggle for the Crown Prince has been quite fierce these past few years. You know, women in our dynasty can become Emperor. As the eldest daughter, I naturally became a thorn in the eyes of some people."

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but say: "You are not the legitimate daughter born of the Empress, and you have been away for a long time since childhood. A huge number of officials do not know you; you can be said to have almost no political capital. What threat could you possibly pose?"

"There is." Shen Tang smiled charmingly: "Because the Imperial Princes are too useless... Do you know my cultivation level?"

Lu Xingzhou fell silent for a moment: "Fourth Rank."

"But the highest among them is only Fifth Rank." Shen Tang said calmly: "In an era of cultivation, strength is the greatest political capital. Although Father never intended to pass the throne to me, some people were afraid. When people are afraid, they will want to weaken my power, and the best option is to kill me... So, when my master and I were delivering goods to the capital, we were ambushed. At the same time, the sect mountain gate far away in Yongzhou was also attacked. To this day, I do not know which younger brother did it, or perhaps... Father did it himself."

I should probably mention that many old friends say that female-oriented frequencies are actually just playing with memes and joking, and I feel some brothers have been led astray by the rhythm.

Although I read female-oriented frequencies, I also complain and even wrote satirical short essays, but my normal writing has absolutely nothing to do with that thing. For example, the opening plot of the Danxia Gang is a classic case of laying off staff until you hit a major artery; when male-oriented frequencies like "The King's Avatar" played this game, the female-oriented style didn't even know where it was yet. If you say it has a bit of a short drama flavor, that's passable; such things are indeed quite suitable for adaptation.

For another example, the one where the male lead leaves Yuan Muyu is the most typical male-oriented tug-of-war between a yandere and a tsundere, plus the Ji Cha ancestral abuse of the first love; what does this have to do with female-oriented frequencies? When male-oriented frequencies had yandere chainsaw anime, female-oriented frequencies didn't even exist in the world yet. Really, don't get the rhythm twisted and see female-oriented frequencies in everything; how could I possibly use those things myself when I criticize and complain about them every day?

At first, when everyone was joking, I was still laughing, but later I felt something was off; even when a demoness teases a little brother, people suspect it's female-oriented frequency, which feels quite inexplicable. This wind must be stopped, otherwise I'm afraid that even if I write about a legitimate daughter, someone will say it's female-oriented frequency... Yes, that's right, my heart skipped a beat when I wrote that word...

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(End of this chapter)