Chapter 93: The Little Demon Girl Breaks Into Danxia Mountain

"Do you really have a problem?"

"...'It starts from the feet' was your own words."

"I'm not talking about that; I mean, why has it taken so long! My feet are sore."

When A Nuo returned, she heard such a conversation outside the door and was too frightened to enter.

Little Bun didn't know what "starts from the feet" meant, but the coquetry and charm in Shen Tang's voice made one's heart tremble with fear, as if she had been kissed into oxygen deprivation and fainted.

After all, neither of them had reached the top three grades; they hadn't yet attained the state where their own pores circulated with heaven and earth, so they still needed to breathe.

But then again, what level of conflict could make a fourth-grade Wu Xiu like Shen Tang's feet tired? Could it really be because the Imperial Ultimate Shocking World Sutra was too weak?

A Nuo scratched her head, squatted outside the door hugging her knees, and rested her chin on her knees in a daze.

Inside, Lu Xingzhou made a very strange sound, and Shen Tang's voice came again, inexplicably furious: "So disgusting... how am I supposed to walk?"

Lu Xingzhou's voice seemed to tremble slightly; he smiled apologetically and said, "Your subordinate is washing the Sect Master's feet."

A Nuo shivered; she was certain this was the first time in her life she had heard her master make such a sycophantic statement. Even when facing Sister Yu, her master had been very calm. Was this master possessed by someone now...

Footsteps sounded; A Nuo moved aside a bit, the door beside her opened, and Lu Xingzhou carried Shen Tang out in his arms.

A Nuo quickly turned her head away; it was simply too unbearable to watch.

The normally dignified Sect Master also seemed possessed, lying limp and soft in the man's arms. Her clothes being open was one thing, but they had been stripped from her shoulders down to her elbows, revealing a patch of snow-white skin above, while a small belly band in front covered absolutely nothing, leaving everything exposed to the wind.

From the side, A Nuo could even see something bouncing, trembling up and down, just like the rubber ball she had fought other children for in the city earlier.

As for what caused the need to wash feet...

A Nuo swayed; she hadn't seen clearly before the two of them were already sitting by the pool, still holding each other.

A Nuo leaned over and saw something white flowing down the mountain along the water, following a gap deliberately opened at the pool's edge, swirling as it descended.

I wonder if anyone down the mountain drinks this water... A Nuo clasped her hands and prayed for the other person.

"No, A Nuo, why are you here?" Over there, they were washing feet in an intimate manner; only when the feet were almost clean did the two realize someone was sitting behind them hugging their knees and watching.

Shen Tang was frightened and immediately left Lu Xingzhou's embrace, fumbling to put her clothes on.

A Nuo secretly pouted; with such alertness, she was still a Judge, still a Sect Master. If a real assassin had come, you two would both be dead.

This family would fall apart without A Nuo.

On her face, however, was a flattering smile; she held out a handful of candy: "People in the city were throwing candy at a wedding; I grabbed a lot. Does Master's Wife want some?"

The words "Master's Wife" made Shen Tang, who had been panicking, overjoyed: "A Nuo is so good."

Saying this, she took out a large gold ingot: "This is New Year's money."

With a "whoosh," A Nuo's movement was as swift as lightning; Shen Tang hadn't even reacted before the ingot was gone.

"..." Lu Xingzhou fiercely signaled A Nuo with his eyes. Having received a benefit, A Nuo no longer acted cute; she happily held the ingot and ran off.

The young couple exchanged a glance and both smiled; the previous romance and awkwardness finally dissipated, and they returned to normal interaction. Shen Tang faced the clear pool water to tidy her messy hair, while Lu Xingzhou combed it for her from behind, smiling embarrassedly: "Um, for the past year, the two of us, master and disciple, were desperately poor."

Shen Tang laughed: "A Nuo is hard to raise. Even if you are capable of earning money alone, it's hard to fill this bottomless pit. I've never seen a child raised on pills before."

Lu Xingzhou felt the same; not only was she raised on pills, but as her cultivation rose, the grade of pills she needed to consume also increased; ordinary people truly couldn't afford to raise her. He, Lu Xingzhou, was already quite resourceful, which was why he hadn't cut off the supply during that previous year.

Shen Tang said: "A Nuo's situation must be special; haven't you tried to investigate?"

Actually, to this day, Lu Xingzhou suspected in his heart that A Nuo herself was a pill, jumping out along with that pill furnace... or rather, it should be said that because A Nuo ran away, she took the pill furnace out with her.

But the main problem was that no matter how they examined her, she was human; even Yuan Muyu's investigation back then yielded the same result. No one could obtain definitive evidence, so it could only remain a hypothesis for now.

If even Yuan Muyu's strength was insufficient to analyze it, who could? Gu Zhanting? Ye Tinglan?

It was uncontrollable; what if they really found something? That would ruin A Nuo.

"Why not just be ignorant?" Lu Xingzhou stretched and laughed: "Regardless of A Nuo's origins, she is my kin, the one I rely on to survive."

Shen Tang felt it wasn't just a matter of relying on each other to survive... Lu Xingzhou's childhood experiences made it easy for him to turn black and become a demon; the reason his conscience hadn't been extinguished had a lot to do with raising such a cute child. Without A Nuo, Lu Xingzhou now would absolutely not have this temperament.

In that case, everyone should thank A Nuo first.

While they spoke, her hair was combed; Lu Xingzhou, like a magician, pulled out a jade hairpin and inserted it for her.

Shen Tang watched his movements and the jade hairpin reflected in the pool water; she seemed to see her own gaze in the water, full and rippling, just like the pool water itself.

"For so long, you've never given me anything; why suddenly give something today?" Shen Tang lightly spat: "Could it be because of 'It starts from the feet'?"

"How could that be? When I bought the hairpin, could I have guessed this?" Lu Xingzhou turned her around, leaned back to examine her for a while, and said seriously: "I have no experience; I momentarily forgot about the matter of giving gifts... A few days ago, I remembered the New Year was coming, so I went to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion and bid on one. This hairpin can resist spiritual soul impacts and has strong resistance to mind-bewitching arts. Now that we have conflicts with the Chavirgini Harmony Sect, this suits you well."

Shen Tang smiled slightly.

Whether the magical treasure's effects were suitable or not actually didn't matter; the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion in Xiazhou wouldn't have any high-grade magical treasures to speak of. But even if this were just an ordinary jade hairpin, it could still make one happy to the heart.

She wanted to laugh at Lu Xingzhou; saying "So beautiful" at a time like this would be far more touching than seriously introducing the magical treasure's effects, but he really seemed to have no experience in this area, appearing somewhat green.

So how the two of them had become what they were now, if one tried to sort it out in detail, it was unclear; it seemed they had naturally walked together.

Leaving aside the dog and woman here being sickeningly sweet without end, over there, A Nuo, having taken the ingot early on, hopped down the mountain along the stream, planning to go into the city again to find some things.

Halfway up the mountain, she suddenly paused; a plainly dressed common woman was wandering aimlessly in the mountains, seemingly lost.

A Nuo knew this wasn't being lost; this mountain had a confusion array set up by her master, and if one entered the area by flying, they would suffer an extremely fierce array attack. Otherwise, how would they have dared to hide alone on the mountain with the near-zero alertness they had while being sickeningly sweet...

The ground wasn't set with attacks for fear that ordinary cultivators from Xiazhou might accidentally enter; using a confusion array would prevent accidental injury. However, everyone in Xiazhou knew this was the territory of the Tianxing Sword Sect, so generally no one dared to wander in. For the past few months, no one had accidentally entered and gotten lost.

This woman indeed had some faint cultivation, looking like eighth or ninth grade... was she an ordinary cultivator?

Seeing a child standing by the stream looking at her, the woman quickly noticed and waved from far away: "Little sister, I seem to be lost; do you know how to go up the mountain?"

"Go up the mountain?" A Nuo asked in surprise: "This is private land; what are you going up there for?"

The woman ran over panting, bent over painfully supporting her knees to catch her breath: "I, I can't walk anymore; little sister, do you have water?"

"No." A Nuo rolled her eyes, moved aside: "Isn't there stream water right here?"

The woman hesitated: "I heard this is a private spiritual spring; will something happen if I drink it randomly?"

"Nothing will happen." A Nuo said with a smile: "I'll treat you."

The woman gratefully thanked her, squatted down, scooped up water, and drank fiercely; she looked truly thirsty from wandering around here for so long.

A Nuo stood with her arms crossed at the side and back, observing intently; her sharp eyes saw that the thing her master had just washed off the stepmother's feet was drifting right past. Whether the woman was just pretending to be thirsty and drinking fiercely to show A Nuo, or really was, in a moment of inattention, she actually drank that thing in.

"Ugh... pfft pfft pfft..." The woman nearly vomited: "What is this thing?"

"Ah, it must be caused by the Qi condensing into a solid state. Sister, you are truly lucky."

The woman: "..."

A'nuo smiled brightly: "So what did Sister come up the mountain for?"

The woman took a deep breath, her expression melancholy: "My mother has contracted a strange illness. I heard that Mr. Lu, the alchemist on the New Talents List, lives here, so I came specifically to seek help."

"Why not go find Chen Zhangsi, the Director of the Alchemy Department? My master often goes to consult him."

"Director Chen rarely treats patients. Otherwise, with his reputation, the line of people seeking medical help would stretch until next year, and I would never get a turn."

"Others cannot cure it?"

"They cannot cure it. I truly had no choice but to come and disturb Mr. Lu." The woman said anxiously: "Little sister, are you Mr. Lu's disciple? Could you help pass on a message?"

A'nuo patted her round chin and smiled honestly: "Of course."

Having spoken, she did not go down the mountain but hopped back up: "Follow me, and don't go more than five steps behind."

The woman obediently followed behind, watching A'nuo sway left and right. The confusing array, which should have been very troublesome, seemed to have no effect at all, looking as if they were simply walking up along the stream.

A look of wonder flickered in the woman's eyes.

"Lu Xingzhou's cultivation is average, but his mastery of arrays is truly brilliant. I actually cannot break this confusing array. Fortunately, the little girl is easy to fool; I will remember her footfalls, and this array can be analyzed."

"Sister." A'nuo said from ahead: "My name is A'nuo. I forgot to ask your name."

The woman said cautiously: "I, a commoner, bear the surname Huo. My humble name would disgrace your ears."

Huo is a major surname in Xiazhou; randomly choosing this surname was the best way to avoid suspicion. Little did she know that A'nuo, ahead, blinked her eyes: Sister Pei, you are so eager to enter my master's household, but you must see if I, A'nuo, agree.

Pei Chuyun did not know how she had been exposed, but the further she walked, the more something felt wrong. She felt as though she had been walking for a long time, yet the mountain scenery had not changed. This mountain was not particularly high; she had already walked half of it before. Would it really take this long to continue climbing?

"Little sister, did we take a wrong turn?" Pei Chuyun grew somewhat alert and asked cautiously.

"It's a confusing array; it's naturally meant to take a longer route." A'nuo waved her hand: "Look, we are almost there, aren't we?"

Pei Chuyun looked up and gazed into the distance, and indeed saw the faint outline of a building corner. Her heart relaxed slightly, and she quickened her pace to follow.

The building gradually revealed its full form, yet it was a solemn and dignified hall. Pei Chuyun was somewhat surprised; had she not heard that Lu Xingzhou and his disciple lived alone on a mountain peak? Why would they need such a large hall?

As they drew near, the characters on the hall's plaque finally came into view, bearing three large characters: "Sword Edge Hall".

A'nuo suddenly lunged forward: "Grandpa Zhang, come out and fight the monster!"

"Whoosh!" A third-grade sword Qi suddenly erupted from the hall, accompanied by the cold voice of Zhang Shaoyou, the Head of Sword Edge Hall: "Which high expert dares to invade our Tianxing Sword Sect!"

Pei Chuyun flashed away to flee, but shadows flickered all around; she was already surrounded by a sword formation.

Pei Chuyun finally had to admit that she, who was accustomed to deceiving others, had this time been deceived by a child.

The reason they had walked so far was not because the confusing array took a detour, but because they had arrived at another mountain peak, delivered directly to the entrance of the Sword Edge Hall, the strongest hall of the Tianxing Sword Sect!

(End of this chapter)