Chapter 84: Sleeping in the Same Bed

The so-called "after the New Year" was effectively now.

The two returned to the mountain to make some preparations. On the fourth day of the first lunar month, they heard the news that Chen Jin had gone to the prefecture and successfully promoted himself by refining the Heart-Saving Pill.

The first thing Chen Jin did after his promotion was to recommend candidates for the summer enrollment at the Capital Alchemy Academy, as requested by his superiors.

The old man first wrote the recommendation document for Xiazhou while in his position at the Xiazhou Alchemy Department, and then approved his own document when he reached the prefecture. It was a rare experience in his life, and he found it quite amusing.

Then, after the prefecture screened the lists from various counties, the confirmed candidate to be reported was Lu Xingzhou.

This really wasn't pulling strings. Chen Jin knew deeply that Lu Xingzhou’s alchemy level was already Fifth Grade; apart from lacking experience, he was at the same level as himself. If they compared the purity of refined pills alone, he might even be blown out of the water by Lu Xingzhou.

In the entire Dongjiang Prefecture, including the prefecture seat Dongjiang, there were eight counties. The highest-ranked person reported by the other seven counties was Seventh Grade; what could they compare with Lu Xingzhou? He wasn't a character from the same dimension...

There wasn't even a need to hold a screening competition within the prefecture. Just the fact that Lu Xingzhou was Sixth Grade on the Alchemy Newcomer List was enough to shut everyone up; a competition would instead be like bullying children.

The official letter recommending Lu Xingzhou to the Capital Alchemy Academy was delivered to the Profound Heaven Sect on the evening of the sixth day of the first lunar month; the efficiency was incomparable.

Lu Xingzhou received the letter and remained silent for a long time.

Once this item arrived, it meant he was really going to leave.

Shen Tang, who had been pretending in front of others that "meeting Elder Lu alone isn't that frequent," stopped pretending these past few days and stuck to Lu Xingzhou’s room every day. Seeing Lu Xingzhou staring blankly at the letter, she reached out, took it, and helped Lu Xingzhou stuff it into his ring to pack: "Alright, you must pass the entrance examination; don't let down Elder Chen’s good intentions."

Lu Xingzhou came back to his senses and smiled: "There are many excellent people in the world; I don't necessarily have to be stronger than the heroes from other places."

"I don't believe that. You aren't just at the level of the 38th Newcomer. If peers could all be stronger than you, then the Newcomer List might as well not be held."

"Gua Mei and the others have insufficient information, and many were missed when listing. Moreover, there is a lag... Eh, I think this thing is poorly done. In the future, when you have authority, how about we create a more real-time list to play with?"

Shen Tang laughed: "Seeing that you still have this mindset, I can rest easy."

"What are you talking about? Even when I was most full of revenge before, you didn't see me being tense."

"That's true, back then you still had the heart to appreciate Qingli’s beauty."

"..." Lu Xingzhou decisively didn't argue this point, hugged her, and whispered: "The reason I feel depressed, you know, isn't because I'm worried about those things, but because I'm about to part with you."

Both had the same thoughts, and both felt exceptionally stifled inside.

Shen Tang had never thought in her life that she would feel so uncomfortable just because of a short separation from a man, especially when his destination was her hometown, and he wouldn't need long to return after being gilded—it wasn't a long-term separation that would make it hard to meet again.

Lu Xingzhou was the same; he didn't have this feeling when leaving Yuan Muyu... Back then, he thought more in his heart: "Since you have no heart, I shall rest; the spring breeze and you are all passersby."

But at this moment, thousands of thoughts were in his heart, and it was quite difficult to express them accurately.

In the end, thousands of words turned into one sentence: "Tonight... don't leave, okay?"

Shen Tang looked up at him. There was no desire in his eyes like there had been during their intimate moments these past few days; instead, there was a bit of stubbornness.

She smiled slightly and whispered: "Okay."

The two naturally hugged and lay on the bed, sleeping in their clothes.

The candle on the table was not extinguished. Shen Tang leaned into Lu Xingzhou’s shoulder, watching his profile in the flickering candlelight.

Lu Xingzhou turned his head, pecked her lips lightly, and whispered: "Good night, my princess."

"Not good night," Shen Tang said. "You're usually so lecherous, kissing and touching, why are you pretending to be a gentleman today?"

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

Shen Tang pouted: "Kiss me."

Lu Xingzhou laughed, turned over, and covered her, kissing her deeply.

Shen Tang parted her teeth slightly to welcome him, closed her eyes, and hugged his neck tightly.

The mountain wind blew, and the candle finally went out.

The temperature in the room became even hotter.

"Sometimes I think... forget about those things, it was me who seduced you..." In the darkness, Shen Tang’s low panting came.

"Don't." Lu Xingzhou stopped his movements and hugged her back into his shoulder: "I came to help Princess achieve her goals, not to destroy Princess."

Shen Tang gave a soft "Hmm" and very proactively reached her slender hand down, not letting him hold it in.

Lu Xingzhou didn't stop her this time, just whispered: "This time I go to the capital, I won't be too entangled in the matter of revenge. I know that with my current strength, wanting to topple the Huo family is too much of a pipe dream. If I can cause them some trouble, I will; if I can't, so be it. My main focus is the Golden Body of the Alchemy Academy, as well as basic official communication... to lay a foundation for your and my future."

Shen Tang kissed his ear and said softly: "I believe you."

She paused, then said as if it were hard to speak: "If there is anything outside... do what you have to do, don't worry about me. I, I don't mind."

These words were hard to understand; in fact, they specifically referred to Sheng Yuanyao. Shen Tang ultimately felt that the two might not be so innocent, and she felt that the Sheng family could help Lu Xingzhou a lot, so it wasn't the time to be jealous.

Lu Xingzhou sighed and leaned down to kiss her lips again.

…………

The next morning, the two opened their eyes from their deep sleep almost at the same time.

The first thing they saw were each other’s smiling eyes, and they spoke at the same time: "Morning."

The so-called "sleeping in clothes" was self-deception. Looking at each other now, they were both stripped almost like white sheep, hugging each other tightly.

But the two didn't feel even a hint of shyness. Shen Tang sat up naturally, tidied her crooked bellyband, and put on her outer garment.

Lu Xingzhou insisted on sleeping with her before leaving, and she understood the meaning. But when they truly hugged and slept together, and woke up together, that feeling of belonging to each other as husband and wife was not something one could fully experience just by thinking about it beforehand.

It seemed that the depression in both their hearts last night had dissipated at this moment, leaving only sweetness and naturalness.

Lu Xingzhou put on his outer garment, picked up Shen Tang who was about to get out of bed, placed her at the table, and then, as if by magic, took out a mirror and placed it on the table, taking out a comb to comb her hair.

Shen Tang found it funny looking in the mirror. This mirror was a magic treasure, used to reflect some spells, and he was using it to comb his wife’s hair. She wondered if the magic treasure would cry if it had a spirit.

Regardless of whether the magic treasure would cry, Shen Tang just wanted to laugh. The person in the mirror had a sweet smile, rosy cheeks, and the astonishing charm and mature style in her apricot eyes; she feared that if she were the self from a few months ago, she wouldn't dare to recognize that it was herself.

Seeing Lu Xingzhou behind her in the mirror, his gentle and serious combing, not to mention others, even A-Nuo, who lived with them, had almost run out of words to complain about these days.

Until her hair was combed and the jade hairpin was inserted, the two stood up hand in hand and naturally went outside the courtyard to eat breakfast.

A-Nuo squatted on the side holding a basin, digging away, her dark eyes watching the pair’s performance today, feeling a bit strange.

She thought they were leaving, so they would be sullen or even crying, but she didn't expect them to be all smiles and very natural.

After finishing breakfast, Shen Tang asked seemingly unintentionally: "Leaving now?"

Lu Xingzhou gave a "Hmm."

Shen Tang stood up and tidied his collar again, saying softly: "Don't separate from A-Nuo on the road, and don't always think about fishing for Pei Chuyun yourself... If you can ignore her, then ignore her, just head straight to Menggui City to avoid extra trouble."

"I know," Lu Xingzhou smiled. "I'll come back when I'm free; I hope the Profound Heaven Sect will be full of talent by then."

"It will be."

A-Nuo widened her eyes, unable to imagine how the farewell between these two could be so light and breezy. What was the logic here? Weren't you two so clingy that you wished you could be rubbed into one person?

"Let's go," Lu Xingzhou picked up A-Nuo: "To avoid being targeted by Pei Chuyun, we'll fly directly."

A-Nuo slid out a pancake, which turned into a round flying disc in the air.

The flying disc emitted a strong magnetic field, causing Lu Xingzhou’s wheelchair to spin around everywhere.

These days, she had been refining her iron pancake and mixing it with meta-magnetism, and she had also succeeded.

Lu Xingzhou said irritably, picking A-Nuo up into his arms: "Master will hold you and fly; put that pancake away first."

A-Nuo put away the flying disc with a "whoosh," snuggling happily in her master’s arms, waving at Shen Tang: "Goodbye, Mistress."

Shen Tang suspected that the little girl deliberately brought out the iron pancake just to be held by her master, but she had no evidence. Seeing her cute and lovely farewell, she forced a smile: "Goodbye, A-Nuo."

Lu Xingzhou looked at her deeply and whispered: "We're leaving."

Shen Tang smiled slightly: "Take care on the road."

The wheelchair flew into the sky and soon headed east.

Shen Tang stood on the cliff watching them off, and remained motionless for a long time until the wheelchair disappeared into the horizon and could no longer be seen.

After a long time, a disciple rushed over: "Sect Master, Elder Tang and the others are waiting for you to hold a meeting..."

"Hmm." Shen Tang finally turned her wheelchair down the mountain: "Pass down the order, the quota for spirit stones and elixirs for the whole sect will be doubled for the next year. I want him to see the most prosperous and strong sect when he returns next time."

High in the sky somewhere, Pei Chuyun stroked her chin, watching the stream of light from the flying wheelchair, and quietly followed.

She had been studying the formation of Mount Lingquan for these days and had at least figured out the range of the formation’s attacks in the air, so she hung far outside the range to peek at Lu Xingzhou’s movements, having already peeked for several days.

Seeing Shen Tang enter Lu Xingzhou’s room and not come out all night, Pei Chuyun curled her lips, feeling a bit of contempt: "And you said our Enchantress Joy Sect is slutty; your Profound Heaven Sect Sect Master is no less so. Talking about being an upright swordsman, how come you’re living in a man’s room and acting shamelessly before marriage?"

Before she finished her contempt, she saw Lu Xingzhou driving the wheelchair and holding the child, traveling far away alone.

Pei Chuyun never expected that the opportunity for Lu Xingzhou to travel alone, which she had been squatting for so long, would suddenly appear, and she almost didn't react. After realizing it, she was overjoyed and chased after him.

Without the protection of the Profound Heaven Sect, I don't believe I can't handle you, a stinky man and a child!

Eating my tofu, stealing my shoes, shaving my... go to hell!

————

ps: The sales of "Mountain and River Sacrifice" are getting better and better, kiss~