Chapter 45: Soft Jade and Warm Fragrance

Once the secret room's location is confirmed, finding the entrance is easy.

The mechanisms of secret rooms are limited to just a few types; anyway, with no one disturbing us, trying slowly will eventually reveal it.

Before long, Lu Xingzhou rotated a vase, and a crack split open behind the bookshelf, revealing a downward staircase.

"Truly uncreative," Lu Xingzhou said helplessly, looking at the stairs; the wheelchair is inconvenient here, and even in his own house, the threshold had to be removed, let alone stairs.

A Nuo bared her neat eight white teeth: "It's fine; at least this passage is wide enough..."

The next second, she lifted the wheelchair with one hand and rushed down the stairs with her master in tow.

Upon reaching the secret room, she set the wheelchair down, rushed to the potted plant, took out a Water-Controlling Talisman, and splashed water on the flower to save its life.

The flower's earlier plea for help had been too pitiful...

Lu Xingzhou rummaged through the shelves in the secret room; the room was not small, but most shelves were empty. This place indeed stored the Huo family's cultivation classics and treasures, which had long been taken away.

Judging from these emptied shelves, there were indeed many classics... With so many classics, it is no wonder the descendants could not fully understand them all. Lu Xingzhou dared to bet that among them must be records concerning the terrain of this place; unfortunately, the Huo family descendants were unworthy and likely failed to notice them.

What remained and was not taken away, Lu Xingzhou flipped through; they were basically sword scriptures and techniques obtained through relatively low-end means like exploiting the countryside, of low grade and miscellaneous, lacking the necessity to be taken to the Capital.

His hand lingered on a secret manual of archery... Hatred flickered in his eyes.

This belonged to his family.

Items seized from others whose doors were broken and households destroyed were, to the Huo family, merely things carelessly thrown onto the secret manual shelves, too useless even to bother taking away, and they probably hadn't even bothered to flip through them.

Lu Xingzhou silently opened it, looking at the techniques he had known since childhood but now had no conditions to use, his expression complex.

Among them were many small notes and insights written by this body's father; although, viewed with current knowledge, the understanding was relatively primitive, Lu Xingzhou read them very carefully.

Flipping through to the later pages, these words appeared: "Our techniques are ultimately inferior; in the future, Qing'er must not be trapped here. We, the Huo surname, have lived in Danxia for generations; with the Grand Tutor Huo's family, we should have been one family very long ago. Our cultivation method should be a fragment or a side branch of the Huo family's. If we could obtain the main lineage's cultivation of the Huo family, that would be Qing'er's path in the future; I wonder if there will be an opportunity in the future..."

"Actually, if one could walk out of the mountains and seek to join a great immortal sect outside, that would be best... But the ancestral dragon and tiger embrace, the mountain shape like a furnace, the sun rising from within, like the elixir completing nine transformations, is the work of creation... Creation, who knows if it is destined for us, or perhaps lies with Qing'er?"

Lu Xingzhou stroked these words with his fingers, pondering for a long time.

Who would have thought the Huo family could not find the record, yet it appeared in their own family classics, though somewhat vague. This vagueness should have nothing to do with his father; it was inherited this way. It seems the Huo family should also have known these few lines; at least the previous generations definitely knew them, but failed to decipher anything, finally giving up the search.

This mountain shape, not to speak of Taiji, but like a furnace...

The sun rises from within, like the elixir completing nine transformations, is the work of creation.

On the surface, solving the secret of this place should be related to time; precisely at sunrise, the sun rises from the mountain hollow, just like an elixir rising from a furnace.

But at what position must one observe this phenomenon to count? Standing at different angles to view the mountain and the sun, the observed scene will certainly differ; solving this secret is mostly related to the observation position.

If it were this simple, the Huo family should have solved it long ago... They could have sent countless people to observe at different positions and chosen the most appropriate point.

So what condition is still missing?

Additionally... Could this secret have already been lost when the alchemical furnace appeared back then, making further investigation meaningless? That is why the Huo family left so decisively.

Lu Xingzhou pondered for a long time, reaching no conclusion yet. He closed the book, tucked it into his robes, searched the secret room one last time, and found nothing more.

A Nuo also searched nearby for a long time, found nothing, and looked at Lu Xingzhou with some worry: "Master..."

"Ah?" Lu Xingzhou came to his senses, smiled, and rubbed her small face: "Having gained something is already very happy; the happiest thing is that this comes from my own family's learning, unrelated to the Huo family. Let's go; take the ordinary classics here, the Tianxing Sword Sect will need them."

While packing up, A Nuo asked with some nervousness: "Master, will you treat your legs tonight? I'm afraid I'm not quite up to it..."

Lu Xingzhou sighed: "You are the one with the best alchemist talent, not me; why act as timid as a bun?"

"Because... that is treating Master's legs."

"Don't be afraid; even if A Nuo just blows on them, Master's legs will improve by three parts."

A Nuo became happy again, quickly packed everything, and carried the wheelchair out.

Early the next morning, Lu Xingzhou went as usual to change Shen Tang's medicine.

The commotion in the Capital, once reflected back in Xiazhou, easily took several days; the treatment has now reached the tenth day.

Theoretically, the final day.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou enter, Shen Tang's expression showed a barely contained little excitement.

Lu Xingzhou felt he didn't know if her reaction was because she could stand up, or because she could finally take a bath.

Actually, Lu Xingzhou found it hard to understand why these women were so conflicted about this; Shen Tang is a fourth-grade cultivator; even if she cannot yet fly through the sky or dive into the earth, at least remaining unstained by dust and pure and clean is no problem; after all these days, she is still fragrant.

Besides, it is early winter now; snow will fall in a few days, not midsummer.

Lu Xingzhou sat beside her to remove her medicine, asking casually: "Have the preparations for the Flying Sword and the Grand Ceremony been made?"

"Mm, orders have already been given. Everyone's expectation for doing this is higher than the enthusiasm for the previous Purification Sword Talisman."

"That is natural; the style is different."

"Then... how is your own treatment going?"

"A Nuo helped unblock my meridians and applied the ointment; her skill is very high." Lu Xingzhou felt a bit annoyed: "On the first day, you could already faintly feel something, but on my first day, it was as if I received no treatment at all; not a single reaction."

Shen Tang paused, her first thought being: since A Nuo's skill is so high, why wasn't she the one to treat me, but instead you to touch?

You stinky man, you did this on purpose, right?

But she ultimately didn't ask, saying instead: "Take it slowly; now our conditions have improved; sooner or later, it will work."

"Mm." After changing Shen Tang's medicine, seeing her swallow the last internal pill, Lu Xingzhou asked cautiously: "This pill was refined by me based on that fruit; it is different from the previous nine. How do you feel after taking it?"

Shen Tang tried circulating qi through her lower leg and was very surprised: "The medicinal effect is similar, but your pill is of higher quality than theirs... Based on my own feeling, this leg is already greatly healed; the qi flow is smooth, and I can no longer feel any obstruction."

"Try lifting your leg yourself?"

Shen Tang slowly tried, her beautiful foot lifting slightly.

Du Gu Qingli watched with wide eyes nearby, feeling a little nervous in her heart.

That jade foot actually slowly lifted, rising several inches off the bed.

Shen Tang felt some weakness but refused to give up, gritting her teeth to lift it again. As a result, a wave of soreness and softness struck, she lost her strength, and it fell back down again.

Lu Xingzhou quickly caught it.

Du Gu Qingli stretched her neck, watching the man hold Shen Tang's lower leg, feeling as if the air had frozen in place.

Shen Tang's face flushed all the way down to her neck: "Let, let me down."

Though her strength was insufficient, her tactile sensation had truly fully recovered; the moment his large hand scooped her up, her whole body tingled as if struck by electricity.

Clearly, for so many days, being touched every day, she had thought she would grow accustomed to it as if her left hand touched her right; she never expected that once her sensation fully returned, it would still be so embarrassing.

Lu Xingzhou coughed dryly, set her down, and even asked with a straight face: "How does the touch feel?"

Shen Tang felt both ashamed and indignant; did he want her to say how it felt like electricity, how slightly it itched, how her heart raced?

After holding back for a long while, she said resentfully: "Normal sensation."

Lu Xingzhou reached out and pressed on the bend of her knee, helping her bend and straighten her leg repeatedly several times to sense her condition; finally, he turned to the lone Du Gu Qingli beside him: "You support her to stand up, try walking a few steps slowly, be careful."

Having spoken, he did not wait for a reply, turned on his own, and pushed the wheelchair out the door.

The two women watched his back leave with strange looks; Shen Tang reached out to touch the bend of her knee where the man had pressed, and asked in a low voice: "Why does he seem to be avoiding us today?"

Du Gu Qingli felt she knew a little, yet also seemed not to know, so she said with a stern face: "What does it have to do with me? Do you want to stand up or not?"

"Yes."

Du Gu Qingli lifted her up, helped her put on her shoes, and tried walking slowly.

Although most of her strength leaned on Du Gu Qingli, she could indeed walk, albeit with great difficulty.

The feelings and joy in Shen Tang's heart were truly beyond description; after a long while, she bit her lower lip and said: "Qingli... thank you."

Du Gu Qingli, expressionless: "I think what you want to thank is not me."

"No, no." Shen Tang smiled apologetically: "If not for Qingli's constant help, I could not have lasted until today."

Du Gu Qingli thought this statement was far too false, had no patience to argue, and supported her all the way slowly to the courtyard.

Lu Xingzhou sat outside, silently watching the way they walked out; although there was some indescribable retreat in his heart, in his eyes there was also gratification. Seeing her stand up often made him see himself, as if more than half of his hopes of so many years had been fulfilled.

Du Gu Qingli instinctively supported Shen Tang and walked toward his direction; mainly, she felt that between the gazes of these two there seemed to be a thread, and not helping them get closer felt somewhat sinful.

In fact, Shen Tang was already very tired from walking these few steps, barely able to move, but looking at Lu Xingzhou's eyes, as if saying "help me back" yet unable to speak it, she could only grit her teeth and persist.

As a result, before she even reached Lu Xingzhou, her legs gave out completely, and she fell straight down.

With Du Gu Qingli right beside her, there was no need to worry at all, yet Lu Xingzhou still instinctively slapped the armrest, and the wheelchair shot forward.

Du Gu Qingli had intended to steady her, but seeing this behavior, she simply let go. Shen Tang turned her head to look at her in disbelief, and with a "plop" fell into Lu Xingzhou's arms.

Soft jade and warm fragrance filled his embrace; Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment, and Shen Tang's mind was left completely blank.

The north wind brushed past, lifting a few fallen leaves in the courtyard, causing the tips of their hair to flutter lightly; the scene was quite beautiful. Du Gu Qingli clapped her hands, turned, and walked away.

Lu Xingzhou: "?"

This Bai Mao, you leave and what do I do? I can't just drop her, can I!

Recommending "Master, Listen to My Explanation First":

"What you mean is, although you were forced to become a spy, you still wholeheartedly serve my Yu Huan Sect?"

Facing the master's half-smiling, half-serious gaze, Lu Qingyuan raised four fingers: "Heaven and Earth bear witness! This disciple has not the slightest thought of deceiving the master or destroying the ancestral lineage; it was all that Noble Consort pressing hard... the causes and effects, please let the master listen to my explanation carefully..."

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"What you mean is... last night you went nowhere, and honestly and properly practiced the cultivation method all night?"

Lu Qingyuan stood with his back straight: "That is the truth..."

"Is that so... I was wondering why your body carried that Noble Consort's rouge and perfume scent?" The master sneered again, "So it was that Noble Consort pressing hard?!"

Lu Qingyuan broke out in cold sweat, raising both hands high: "Master, please listen to my explanation first..."

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(End of this chapter)