Chapter 84: I Am Also Doing This For The First Time

A guesthouse in the commandery.

Shen Tang stood by the window inside the room, quietly watching the dust and smoke in the direction of the Incense-Burning Tower in the distance; it was the lingering smoke from the beacon fire that had been reduced to ruins, still drifting.

At the other end of the city, the Commandery Governor's residence was also a pile of ruins, and throughout the night the people of Dongjiang Commandery were in a state of panic.

As the instigators of these two events, they carried their fully packed bags, quietly looking down from above.

"What are you thinking?" Lu Xingzhou, who had left his wheelchair behind her, embraced her from behind and stood by the window with her to watch.

Being embraced like this by him, Shen Tang's body stiffened slightly; she couldn't quite figure out in her heart when their relationship had become so natural that one could just hug whenever one wanted.

But it was indeed she who had invited him into the room to "talk"... on this night in the guesthouse, with only a man and a woman present.

"You..." Shen Tang said with some difficulty: "Why did you just hug me like that..."

Lu Xingzhou's voice came right to her ear: "Doesn't today's situation deserve a reward?"

Shen Tang scolded: "But that doesn't mean taking without asking!"

Even though she said that, her body's stiffness truly softened, as if finding an excuse for herself was enough.

Sensing the change in her body, Lu Xingzhou continued whispering in her ear: "For someone like me in the Demonic Path, isn't taking without asking just what we do?"

"You..." Shen Tang bit her lower lip: "You weren't like this before... now you think I'm easy to bully, right?"

"Before... before my legs were cured, I didn't have the mood to think of anything else."

Shen Tang said angrily: "I shouldn't have helped cure your legs!"

Lu Xingzhou fell silent.

Shen Tang keenly realized this remark seemed a bit different for him, so her tone softened: "Actually, speaking of helping you, I didn't contribute much... cracking the secret realm relied mainly on yourself, and refining the bones was completely operated by you."

Lu Xingzhou didn't take up that thread, instead shifting the topic: "You called me in; what did you want to discuss?"

Shen Tang said: "I wanted to ask you... today when you gave me the pills and let me show favor to Zhang Shaoyou and the others, was it to avoid suspicion?"

"There wasn't really any suspicion to avoid, but it was necessary to highlight you... after all, you are the Sect Master."

"And you will eventually leave?"

Lu Xingzhou did not answer.

Shen Tang pressed on: "Even if we are like this now?"

"Like this?" Lu Xingzhou turned his head slightly and kissed her cheek: "Like this?"

Shen Tang's breathing became coarse and heavy, and her body tensed slightly, as if wanting to break free.

But she heard Lu Xingzhou speaking indistinctly: "It's not because I want to leave, but because I feel I shouldn't overshadow the host. Some of my previous behaviors... perhaps weren't very good. They might make others murmur in their hearts, which would be detrimental to your authority; in the future, I will pay more attention to this aspect."

Shen Tang's struggling strength instantly dissipated; she leaned softly against his chest, closed her eyes, and let him kiss her.

As a Princess, she naturally understood such matters very well. Before, she didn't care, simply because she doted on him, but deep down she certainly knew it wasn't good.

But there was no need for her to deliberate and bring these things up to him; he had already realized it himself and intended to restrain himself.

Just on this point alone, Shen Tang wanted to reward him even more.

In a daze, she felt her chin turned slightly by him, and then his lips moved from her cheek to the corner of her mouth.

Shen Tang was startled in her heart; before she could react, her red lips were completely covered.

Shen Tang's eyes widened, her mind exploded with a boom, and everything went blank.

Little did she know that at this moment Lu Xingzhou's own mind was quite empty too; his heart beat extremely fast, and for a moment he didn't even know what he was thinking.

This was also his first kiss in this world.

For a moment, he was so nervous like a complete novice with absolutely no experience; let alone the little experience long forgotten from his previous life, even the countless movies he had watched were almost forgotten. He only felt her lips were so soft, so comfortable, and a little sweet... knowing nothing else...

Not knowing how much time had passed, perhaps just an instant, Shen Tang suddenly came to her senses; her elbow instinctively pushed backward, and her body instinctively turned, breaking free from his embrace.

Lu Xingzhou also came to his senses; Shen Tang stepped back half a pace, supported herself with both hands on the windowsill, and faced him, speaking nervously: "You... you..."

Those red lips, just kissed, were gorgeous and dripping with moisture.

Lu Xingzhou raised his hand to signal he would not advance, instead stepping back a few paces and sitting back in his wheelchair.

Shen Tang finally breathed a sigh of relief, bit her lower lip, looked at him for a long while, and said in a low voice: "Satisfied? Did you satisfy your demonic cultivator's romantic desires?"

Lu Xingzhou lowered his eyelids, looking at the tips of his shoes: "I... am also experiencing this for the first time."

He didn't see the joy that bloomed in Shen Tang's eyes for an instant, like there was light.

Then the light dimmed somewhat, and she said in a low voice: "Xingzhou... I might... be unable to respond to you in that way."

Lu Xingzhou raised his head to look at her.

"Imperial matters are ultimately different from the Jianghu, and also different from the Immortal Sects. If I truly intend to pursue that goal, there absolutely must be no scandal before marriage; once people notice, that path would be cut in half. Add to that my father's attitude, and the other half is gone too, and it would harm you as well."

Lu Xingzhou was stunned for a moment, his expression somewhat strange.

To be honest, he really hadn't thought about things like getting into bed... his intimacy with Shen Tang could be entirely attributed to mutual attraction and acting on impulse; he hadn't thought of anything deeper, otherwise his hands wouldn't have been so proper just now, not touching anything improperly.

But it seemed Shen Tang was the one who had considered it... Yes, in her heart she thought he was a demonic cultivator and a demon, so she must be more indulgent in these matters; she might not even know how many people he had played with, and might even suspect he was a demon intentionally playing with her?

Heh, women.

Shen Tang had no idea what he was thinking; seeing his dazed look, she thought he was quite struck.

She walked over slowly, leaned down voluntarily, and kissed his cheek, saying softly: "You said, I once said we would stand up together, and you took those words very seriously... so now I say, not only must we stand up together, but we must also stand side by side, hand in hand, standing together at the peak of Great Qian, okay?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "Okay."

These words were practically no different from a pledge of love; from Lu Xingzhou's modern perspective, starting now she could already be considered his girlfriend. After Shen Tang finished speaking, her face was also burning hot; looking at Lu Xingzhou's smile, she felt her heartbeat quicken the longer she looked, feeling she couldn't stay any longer, and turned to leave.

Just as she turned around, her hand was grabbed.

Lu Xingzhou exerted a slight force; Shen Tang was unwilling to struggle against him, helplessly fell back, and was pulled to sit sideways on his lap.

Shen Tang pushed his shoulders with some anger: "What are you doing again?"

Lu Xingzhou found it truly amusing: "Sect Master, this is your room; where are you going?"

Shen Tang: "... The guesthouse room is for anyone to stay; I'll give it to you."

Lu Xingzhou stood up holding her horizontally, turned and walked toward the bed, gently laid her down, and then leaned over to kiss her lips once more: "Goodnight, my Princess."

The second time their lips met, neither felt that blank, dazed sensation from before; only a sweet taste spread.

Shen Tang's eyes were like water as she gazed at him softly, saying in a low voice, "Goodnight."

Watching Lu Xingzhou sit back in his wheelchair and leave, Shen Tang bit her lower lip, dazed, and after an unknown duration, suddenly laughed for no reason.

Then she lay on her pillow, pulled the corner of the quilt over her head.

…………

Early the next morning, while several parties were still savoring the emotions of the previous night, Dongjiang Commandery exploded first.

After a night of discussion, Wan Cheng, Tu Yugu, and others finally gave their final conclusion—

Commandery Vice-Administrator Mu Feng was a demon who had been lying in wait for a long time; taking advantage of the Commandery Governor's banquet, he conspired with some traitors from the Incense-Burning Tower to instigate a rebellion, causing the deaths of more than ten officials in the commandery, from the Governor downward. Fortunately, Princess Sheng Yuanyao of Xiazhoucheng was present, led the Xiazhou forces to barely hold off the rebels, and held out until the Commandery Demon Suppression Office and the stationed troops arrived, sweeping up all the rebels.

In fact, it was precisely because City Lord Sheng was investigating the original Xiazhou demon case that she followed the trail to Commandery Vice-Administrator Mu Feng, allowing her to respond in time; this merit was immense.

Regrettably, Hao Jingchuan, the good Governor of Dongjiang, who had barely held on until the army arrived, did not survive at the very moment rescue was at hand.

Unfortunately, there was no clear evidence regarding the Incense-Burning Tower's betrayal, so the commandery still needed to investigate. However, this matter angered various immortal sects; that very night, the Tianxing Sword Sect and the Dongjiang Gang avenged the Governor, swiftly attacked the Incense-Burning Tower, slaughtered all its members, and burned it to the ground.

The story connected to the original Xiazhou demon case, with a complete beginning and end; plus, the Governor's earlier statement that "the Incense-Burning Tower has rebelled" had spread for ten li, heard by too many people, so this plot would hold up anywhere it was told.

Once the news broke, it shocked Dongjiang, then rapidly spread throughout the world.

Previously, it was one thing for the City Lord of Xiazhou to raise demons, but now even the Commandery Vice-Administrator himself was simply a demon, truly making Dongjiang Commandery famous. The Demon Suppression Office and the army joined hands to launch a massive investigation across Dongjiang Commandery, sparing not even the subordinate counties, checking every single bureaucrat.

Yet the reaction throughout the world to the matter of demons was rather flat, as if various regions intentionally suppressed this heat; the focus of attention for all factions was mainly on—the Tianxing Sword Sect trampling the Incense-Burning Tower.

When many first heard this news, they thought the speaker had it backwards; shouldn't it be the Incense-Burning Tower trampling the Tianxing Sword Sect?

The strength of the two sides was simply not on the same level, you know? Even adding the Dongjiang Gang, there was no reason they could trample the Incense-Burning Tower in a single night...

After triple-checking and confirming the news was true, all sides were utterly shocked, simply unable to imagine how it was done. After deducing for a long time, they could only conclude that the Demon Suppression Office and the army must have secretly intervened to assist; otherwise, it couldn't be explained. Since they couldn't find evidence of the Incense-Burning Tower's betrayal, they could only secretly aid the Tianxing Sword Sect under the pretext of a sect conflict, which was very reasonable.

No matter how people tried to guess the credit for external forces, it did not hinder the Tianxing Sword Sect from rising overnight in Dongjiang, becoming a powerful sect worthy of mention throughout the entire great prefecture, with no one daring to view them as a fallen household anymore.

Gu Zhanting stood with his hands behind his back in the Imperial Study, looking at the report and sighing: "Tang's temperament seems to have changed; before, she was very calm and gentle, kind to others, and would not be so sharp and conspicuous."

The eunuchs on either side smiled apologetically: "This is one time, that is another; the Princess probably intends to use her authority to suppress all directions, to avoid endless trouble."

"That is true; even the sect founding ceremony dared to be challenged... Now, surely no one dares?" Gu Zhanting smiled: "My Phoenix indeed shines as the most brilliant light wherever she goes."

In the south, Miaoyin Mountain.

Yuan Muyu leaned against a soft couch, holding a scroll of the "New Talents List" in his hand, listening to a subordinate's report: "The Tianxing Sword Sect, in the manner of a stray dog, fled far from Xiazhou, yet rose with incredible speed, destroying the third-grade sect Incense-Burning Tower within a mere two months... truly shocking."

Yuan Muyu's gaze fell upon two names on the New Talents List.

New Talent Thirty, Sect Master of the Tianxing Sword Sect, Shen Tang; on the supplementary Alchemist List, New Talent Thirty-Eight, Guest Elder of the Tianxing Sword Sect, Lu Xingzhou.

Yuan Muyu closed his eyes and said indifferently: "Since he is helping the Tianxing Sword Sect... then no matter how the Tianxing Sword Sect rises, I will not be surprised; what is there to be shocked about?"

The subordinate whispered a slander: "It is said that Shen Tang is a beauty; the Adjudicator is just..."

Yuan Muyu was very calm: "You are overthinking it; that is impossible. Before, Liu Yan'er was also considered a beauty in the eyes of ordinary people... How could Xingzhou possibly look favorably upon such mediocrity? The position of Guest Elder proves everything; he simply would not be willing to truly join the ranks. If I am not mistaken, Xingzhou will leave Xiazhou soon after finishing this matter."

The subordinate hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping. Uttering a slander was one thing, but he did not dare to truly contradict the Yama Lord, so he could only retreat with submissive nods.

At the very moment Yuan Muyu spoke these words, on the official road returning from Dongjiang to Xiazhou, Lu Xingzhou and Shen Tang rode in the carriage together again. This time sitting side by side, Shen Tang nestled in Lu Xingzhou's shoulder; Lu Xingzhou lowered his head to kiss, Shen Tang yielded softly, and fragrance bloomed all the way.

————

PS: There is one at 0 o'clock today. Begging for monthly tickets~

(End of this chapter)