Chapter 121 Fengdu is difficult to enter, the next day is leisurely...
Compared to Qingyu and his group, Lin Fengdu was truly someone who had traveled all over the Nine Provinces.
He left Shengjing in his teens, without starting a family or establishing a career. As a member of the Lin family, he neither cultivated the art of speech nor the art of medicine. In his thirties, he traveled throughout the Nine Provinces with only a cat. Even the silver shop was a business he started after Fan Xiang was born.
His older brother and sister-in-law are both stubborn people, which makes Xiao Fanxiang suffer. As her uncle, it is only right that he should treat her better.
Unfortunately, the timing is inconvenient today. Lin Fengdu said he has some things to do in Xuzhou and has to leave immediately, so he probably won't be able to stay with Fan Xiang any longer.
Li Suheng was the same; he was still thinking about that batch of black iron. When he heard that Lin Fengdu was leaving, he didn't care about his nephew, his son, or even bother to teach his daughter. He simply picked up his bundle and prepared to leave with Lin Fengdu.
Everyone: "..."
They walked quickly, but Zhang Xuan seemed to remember something and hurriedly caught up with them.
Li Suheng: "What's wrong, nephew? You can't bear to part with your uncle!"
Zhang Xuan: "...No...Uncle, I wanted to ask, when Yunzhou said that the Frost Moon Blade could communicate between Yin and Yang...could it take us to Fengdu?"
Fengdu in Taishan is a wondrous place. Although it appears on the map, it is like the ancient desert of Xiliang, without a specific direction or location, making it a place that ordinary people cannot reach.
Li Suheng was taken aback by his words. The man first glanced at Lin Fengdu, who was coaxing the black cat not far away, and then asked Zhang Xuan, "What are you thinking about that place? It's a ghost town. How can anyone go there!"
Zhang Xuan frowned in confusion, "But isn't the Li family located near Mount Tai, where they have used their sword intent to resist this so-called Yin energy for generations...? Moreover, my uncle personally said that the Frost Moon Blade can connect Yin and Yang... and can understand the will of Heaven."
Li Suheng choked, then fell silent helplessly for a moment before whispering,
"Hey! Can't you just use those few words in your bento box as a gimmick to raise the price?!"
"no!"
Zhang Xuan was also very stubborn, and the young man said in a low voice, "Uncle, we really have to go to that place... If you don't tell us, we'll just ask other people... Please tell us how we can get there."
"Oh, why are you so stubborn, child?"
Li Suheng's brows furrowed deeply. He said, "That's Fengdu in Mount Tai! The place of ghost cultivators! Do you know that the souls of all the dead in this world will pass through there..."
"How many cultivators and demons in the Nine Provinces have gone astray because of matters of life and death, stubbornly trying to find some kind of soul... If it were so easy to find, wouldn't the world have been in chaos long ago!"
Zhang Xuan: "Uncle..."
"alright!"
Li Suheng waved his sleeve coldly, unlike his usual amiable demeanor, and even showing some anger.
Finally, he said to Zhang Xuan, "What Taishan Jun, what Fengdu, what the will of Heaven, it's all a lie!"
"If you want to go, you can, just slit your throat with a knife and you can go right now!"
After saying that, he turned and left with Lin Feng, leaving the young man standing there in a daze.
"What? You can only go if you're dead?!"
Inside the inn's upper room, Qingyu frowned and asked Zhang Xuan, "Did your uncle really say that?"
Zhang Xuan across from him picked up his chopsticks and put them down repeatedly, finally sighing helplessly, "I don't know... what it means, but that's about it."
Qin Tianshu, who was standing to the side, slowly ate his Huai Tao cold noodles, then put down his chopsticks and said to Zhang Xuan, "Yunzhou was saying that your knife..."
"I already said it,"
Zhang Xuan helplessly spread his hands, "But my uncle said that's just a gimmick to raise prices, it doesn't count..."
Qingyu: "...Then you should ask him to get your money back!"
Zhang Xuan: "!!!"
Wen Chuan smiled helplessly, and the young man said gently, "Let's get down to business. Is there really no other way to get to Fengdu?"
"Why!"
Qingyu leaned back, and the woman crossed her arms and looked up at the sky, saying, "If only I had called Xie Tongguang, he would definitely have a way."
Qin Tianshu: "It's useless. Even a psychic cultivator can't enter Fengdu, otherwise he would become a ghost cultivator."
Zhang Xuan: "That's still better than now..."
Cai Cai: "Coo coo coo auntie—"
"Hiss... Why is Fan Xiang lost in thought?" Qing Yu looked at her, "What's wrong?"
Lin Fanxiang snapped out of her reverie. The woman frowned, thought for a moment, and then asked thoughtfully, "Did Uncle's cat...meow?"
Everyone: "..."
What's the direction this topic is heading?
Hearing this, Zhang Xuan also found it strange, "I remember Uncle Lin's black cat, wasn't it a mute cat?"
Qin Tianshu thought for a moment, "It only meowed once, perhaps that cat just doesn't like to meow?"
It seems there was really only one cry, which was when it first came in. Otherwise, it just nestled in Lin Fengdu's arms without making a sound.
"Qingyu, do you know what that meow meant?"
Lin Fanxiang turned her head and asked Qingyu, and everyone looked at her.
Qingyu: "...This..."
Although she could communicate with beast demons, it was only with cats, dogs, and chickens. If you didn't listen carefully, you would just think they were making ordinary noises. In fact, the intonation of beasts is very difficult to distinguish. Only after staying for a long time could you understand a little bit of the other races...
Qingyu frowned as she recalled the moment the cat meowed, her face contorted in pain. Then she thought, "It just seemed like a normal meow?"
"It means it wanted to leave when it saw a lot of people, right? There's nothing strange about it. Besides, that cat doesn't have any special spirit, so it's normal for it to be shy around people... Fan Xiang, are you overthinking it?"
Lin Fanxiang smiled helplessly, "Maybe so, but I really didn't hear the cat meow, and it seems a bit strange to me."
Then she looked up at everyone and said, "Let's not talk about that anymore, let's talk about Fengdu."
"Who knows, once we get to Mount Tai, we might be able to enter naturally?"
Qingyu nodded in agreement with Fan Xiang's words, then looked at Zhang Xuan and asked, "Didn't you say that the Li family's ancestral home is near Mount Tai?"
Zhang Xuan: "Yes, I heard that my eldest cousin Li Ruoliang is now the housekeeper, my second cousin Li Ruozhen is traveling, and today my third cousin Li Ruojun and my youngest cousin Li Ruoxin are here."
"And that one in pink, her name is Lu Zhitao, from the Lu clan of Qingzhou... oh,"
Zhang Xuan looked at Qing Yu and said, "That's a family of array cultivators, but they haven't produced any famous array cultivators in the last two years, so they've declined."
...Qingyu picked up a spoon and scooped up a mouthful of the icy cold dumplings. The woman tasted it and said, "Hmm, this is quite delicious."
Wen Chuan lowered his eyes and smiled. The young man said gently, "Let's eat first. We'll stay in Xuzhou for two days to buy some things, and then head to Qingzhou the day after tomorrow."
The table is laden with delicious food: black glutinous rice, chilled glutinous rice balls made with soybeans and honey, glutinous rice dumplings, steamed river fish in lotus leaves, sea cucumber with wasabi, cold noodles made with locust leaves, and refreshing drinks such as bayberry and grape fritters—all perfect and delicious summer treats.
We were talking just now, and quite a few things on the table hadn't been touched.
Qin Tianshu snapped open his folding fan, and the scholar nodded leisurely. "Alright, I'll read more books about Mount Tai these next few days. Maybe I can find some clues."
Qingyu was already talking to Fanxiang about which type of water tasted best, while Zhang Xuan was still muttering, "It's better to wait a couple of days, so I don't run into Lu Zhitao again. She's so annoying."
The Li siblings and Lu Zhitao have just left, saying that things here are over and they're going straight back to Qingzhou. Li Ruoxin and Lu Zhitao also apologized to Fan Xiang. Li Ruoxin was alright; she seemed sincere, and her words were genuine... Oh, and at the end, the girl glared at Zhang Xuan, implying that since her cousin had apologized, her cousin should also apologize to her friend.
To be honest, Zhang Xuan really didn't want to pay attention to Lu Zhitao. He disliked her at first sight, otherwise he wouldn't have spoken to her like that.
Moreover, her apology to Qingyu and Fanxiang was indifferent, as if they owed her something. Especially when Qingyu held that fan, her arrogance and defiance were even more pronounced.
So Zhang Xuan finally followed Lu Zhitao's "attitude" and simply and arrogantly apologized for his rudeness, which was quite exaggerated and made people laugh and cry.
In the end, the boy bluntly told his younger cousin Li Ruoxin, "I don't like, care about, or understand your friend."
snort.
...
The next morning, at the inn.
The weather in June is really fickle. It rained a bit in the early morning, which made it a little cooler, but it got hot again when the sun came out.
Qingyu covered herself with a thin blanket, yawned, turned over, and went back to sleep.
Actually, I wasn't sleepy, but I felt like I hadn't slept well. The heavy rain in the early morning woke me up. Accompanied by the pattering rain, we were both very energetic and ended up playing around for a long time without realizing it. As a result, now that it's time to get up, we're feeling lazy.
"Ugh, it's so hot..."
Qingyu rolled around in the blankets, then threw them off and lay on the bed with her eyes closed, trying to wake up.
Not far away, Wen Chuan looked at Qing Yu, who was still kicking the blankets with her eyes closed on the bed, and smiled helplessly. The young man gently walked to the bedside, sat down, and called to her, "Qing Yu?"
"Um……"
Qingyu answered him. The woman, dressed in a thin undergarment, closed her eyes, turned her back to him, and seemed unwilling to get up.
Wen Chuan smiled, then leaned down and kissed Qing Yu's forehead. The young man continued talking and causing trouble—
"Who said they wanted to get up early this morning?"
"But you said I had to wake you up."
"Um?"
"Ah...hahaha, don't tickle me."
Qingyu grabbed his mischievous hand, the girl arched her back and laughed, then rolled over and thrashed about before finally opening her eyes amidst the chaos—
The young man leaned against the edge of the bed, looking down at her with a gentle smile in his eyes, his robes still bearing the wrinkles she had just made.
Qingyu smiled and then hooked her arms around his neck. She didn't get up, but pulled him down with her. The warm sunlight spread across the floor, and the couple became intimate on the couch.
"Why are you scratching me? Talk to me!"
She hugged his neck tightly. Wen Chuan closed his eyes and the young man tilted his head back helplessly. "This is not a reason for you to murder your husband."
"Hmph, you're getting off easy."
Qingyu smiled and then saw Wen Chuan lower his body slightly, kneeling on the bed. He chuckled softly, hooked his large hand around her waist, and lifted her up in one swift motion.
"Why,"
She called out, and Wen Chuan laughed, "Get up, or Cai Cai will come in and peck you if you keep being lazy."
"No, it's still early."
"Who was it that said last night that I should dress up nicely today, change clothes and do my makeup, and that you would be in a hurry if I didn't get up early?"
"Fine, you're disgusted with me now?"
"Tsk,"
"Hey—give me a good hug."
"good."
...
Qingyu rummaged through the wardrobe, taking a look at what she had in it for the summer...
"Hmm, this is..."
Qingyu pulled out a red dress from the deepest part of the room. She had bought it last year but hadn't worn it much. She thought about it and realized that it must have been in a painting in Danzhou when the dress was torn during a fight, which was why Qingyu hadn't worn it since.
Qingyu rummaged through the clothes, then examined them closely. "Sigh—"
"What's wrong?"
Wen Chuan's voice came from behind. Qing Yu smiled and shook her head, "It's nothing... Wen Chuan, did you... touch my clothes?"
Wen Chuan walked to her side, and the young man asked with some confusion, "I usually tidy up a lot, but I'm just organizing... is there something wrong?"
"No,"
Qingyu smiled and said, "I must have seen wrong... Are Xiao Zhang and the others downstairs?"
Wen Chuan smiled and said gently, "The Heavenly Book has been packed up and is having breakfast downstairs. Doctor Lin and Xiao Zhang haven't come out yet, and Xiao Zhang should have just woken up, so we'll have to wait."
When he knocked on the door, there were no footsteps inside, but the boy's sleepy voice was quite calm, "He's already up."
Wen Chuan: "...No rush, take your time."
...
Qingyu couldn't help but laugh. The woman casually picked out an amber-red dress. The light lining and thin red gauze were perfect for summer, and it looked good with her round fan.
She planned to wear this today, and with that thought, the woman turned and stared at Wen Chuan.
Wen Chuan smiled helplessly, then walked out of the inner room. Through a gauze curtain, the sunlight was hazy, and they chatted casually.
Qingyu: "We didn't explain clearly yesterday, what's that Miss Lu's name?"
Wen Chuan frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Lu Zhitao."
Qingyu nodded, then said, "I feel like this name sounds familiar..."
Wen Chuan: "Seeing Xuecheng, Wen Guhuai's wife... seems to also have the surname Lu."
They didn't know the girl's name, only that she hanged herself in her room after the incident... She was a highly skilled array cultivator, and it could even be said that without her, there would have been no demonic array that brought snow that day.
Qingyu lowered her eyes. The woman changed her clothes quietly. After a moment of silence, she said, "I heard that Miss Lu was originally a retainer of Wen Gu. Since that's the case, I suppose she and the Lu family of Qingzhou have no connection in the end."
Wen Chuan pursed his lips, and the young man smiled gently, "It's all in the past."
Behind every story lie many smaller stories, which they are unaware of and have no intention of knowing. Living their own lives well is the most important thing.
For example, today they are going to stroll around and shop in Xuzhou City, and tomorrow they will set off for Qingzhou to find the so-called Fengdu.
-----------------------
The author says: When the chrysanthemums bloom in autumn, Qingyu will come here again to bid farewell to the Demon-Suppressing Pavilion of yesteryear with a bouquet of chrysanthemums.
This ruthless pavilion master's original surname was Su, and he came from the Su clan of Xuzhou.
The timing wasn't right, so that scene wasn't included.
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