19. Should I pursue dual cultivation or dual rest?
◎She wants to have a wedding ceremony with me? ◎
Yan Yunzhao's face flushed red, and he quickly waved his hands, "No, no!"
Lou Su opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, but after rehearsing a few words in his mind, he felt that what he said was inappropriate and did not know how to explain it. His ears turned red.
"That Miss Cui mistakenly thought it was a token of love from you, which is why I refused. I didn't mean to talk about you, I didn't mean to talk about you..."
Yan Yunzhao's voice grew softer and softer, as if those two words were burning hot to the touch, making them difficult to utter.
...
They thought that the matter would be over after that night, until the day when Yan Yunzhao went down the mountain to accompany Lou Su to the pharmacy to take his pulse during a quiet time at the shop.
Inside the pharmacy, the doctor, stroking his beard, took Lou Su's pulse and shook his head again.
"This young master's pulse is very healthy."
Yan Yunzhao sat to the side, sipping tea and resting his chin on his hand, not at all surprised by this conclusion. After all, the doctor had said the same thing on his previous visits seeking medical advice; the strange thing was that Lou Su looked rather weak.
"Then... is there any fertility problem?"
After Lou Su finished asking his question, the doctor put his arm around Lou Su's wrist and pondered for a few moments.
"No, young master is young and vigorous, at the peak of his energy..."
Yan Yunzhao almost choked on her tea. Her gaze wandered around the small clinic, but these words clearly drifted into her ears.
He was full of energy... which is not surprising, as Lou Su looked to be only in his early twenties, the time when his body was at its strongest.
Her mind uncontrollably recalled some unreliable pieces of popular knowledge, and her gaze slowly moved to his face.
The bridge of his nose is high and straight, and while it's well-proportioned, it's definitely not the small type. His lips are also very rosy, indicating strong kidney energy. Oh, and his hands…
Lou Su's hands have distinct knuckles and slender fingers, and he is usually quick and efficient at peeling beans.
Every single one of the points listed in the article matches, which shows that he...
After regaining her senses, Yan Yunzhao shook her head abruptly, putting the embarrassing comparison out of her mind. Pretending not to have heard what the doctor said, she calmly left the clinic.
Only Lou Su, with a smile on his lips, left a silver ingot for the doctor before stepping out the door.
...
Lou Su's arrival in Lixi Town was not a coincidence.
His illness worsened with age, and every five hundred years, the seal on his body would deepen by one layer. Now, he has lived for three thousand four hundred and ninety-one years, and he is about to reach the point where the seventh layer of the seal will deepen.
He cannot kill himself, and his illness is severe and difficult to alleviate. If he does not seek a solution soon, he may not be able to survive the sealing day nine years later.
"Wu Xiang... Go to the mortal realm, go to Da Qi, there is someone there who is your tribulation. If you do not overcome this tribulation, you may not survive the seventh seal."
An old, deep voice drifted from afar. Lou Su stood atop the cliff, where the waves roared and crashed against the rocky cliffs, and dark clouds rolled in as if to devour everything.
Caught beneath the waves was his grandfather, now barely clinging to life. The azure dragon's scales were festering and dull, its amber pupils now murky and murky.
Lou Su clenched his fists, his voice trembling as he said, "Grandfather... I can't save the clan even if I live, so why waste my life to prophesy for me?"
"Do not underestimate yourself. Remember what I told you: only you among the dragons can accomplish this. My days are numbered; my soul will soon be scattered. What you do afterward is for you to consider..."
Having said this, the Azure Dragon fell into a deep sleep. When it awoke again, it was unknown how many years had passed.
Lou Su's chest heaved violently as he suppressed the hatred in his heart. Now, only he and his grandfather remained of the Dragon Clan, dragging their wounded and ailing bodies to survive, all thanks to that demon.
Unfortunately, this is the mission of the entire clan as the core of the formation.
Four hundred years ago, when his grandfather used his primordial spirit to divine his destined person in the north using the dragon clan's prophetic arts, he immediately set off northward in search of them.
The North is the mortal realm. Along the way, he disguised himself as a merchant from the Western Regions, infiltrated a desert caravan, and witnessed how wealthy merchants navigated the marketplace and the political arena. He also witnessed how countless miners died under oppression, their bodies hastily buried with a handful of yellow earth. He also became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the new dynasty, witnessing how the previous emperor conquered the country on horseback, only to have his century-old legacy squandered by his descendants.
He had imagined what kind of person his grandfather's "destined one" was, but all he knew was that she was in the north and could save his life.
This long pursuit of four hundred years almost made him want to give up. With only nine years left, when he turned away from this place, wanting to find a secluded paradise to quietly await his death, he arrived at the border of the Great Qi Kingdom, in Lixi Town.
The slopes of Cuiliang Mountain were steep and slippery. After walking down the slope, Lou Suling's white silk clothes were covered in mud, making him look like a beggar. So he squatted down by the stream and used the flowing water to wipe his clothes.
Suddenly, Lou Su paused his hand in the stream, as he keenly sensed a familiar presence lingering there.
"It shouldn't be..."
Lou Su muttered to himself, getting up to investigate, but the closer he got, the more the aura clashed with the aura within him. Still weakened, he fainted.
When he woke up, he found himself lying in a wooden cabin, simply decorated but cozy. A ray of morning sunlight shone in through the window, falling on the girl who was sleeping by the bedside, casting a soft, fuzzy glow on her profile.
Somehow, from the first moment he saw her, he knew that she would be his "cure".
In this rare moment, Lou Su was able to let go of his complicated thoughts and peacefully enjoy the tranquility of the morning.
"Rongrong, don't tickle me..." the sleeping girl mumbled in her sleep, her figure lying by the bed gradually transforming into the shape of a blade of grass.
Lou Su stared at her curiously for a long time. In his more than three thousand years in the demon realm, this was the first time he had ever seen a commoner transform into a human.
Seeing the golden talisman wrapped around the girl's wrist, he understood where that mysterious power came from.
Lou Su's eyebrows curved into a smile. It turned out that the two things he was looking for were already here.
They have nine years to get to know each other; there's no rush.
The peaceful and tranquil days here even made Lou Su think, "Why not spend my whole life here?"
These days staying in small shops allowed Lou Su, who couldn't sleep at night, to finally get a good night's sleep. He, who never paid much attention to food, had sweet rice balls in fermented rice wine, glutinous rice dumplings with jujubes, and mushroom and shrimp porridge for breakfast, and stir-fried fish with vinegar, stewed chicken with matsutake mushrooms, and stewed beef brisket with fresh mushrooms for lunch... which made him miss the taste of the mortal world.
.
One day, after closing his shop, Yan Yunzhao mysteriously pulled Lou Su aside and held an "employee meeting".
After listening to her speak in a language he couldn't understand for a long time, Lou Su suddenly blurted out the words "dual cultivation".
Lou Su was startled as he was brewing tea, and the hot tea in the pot accidentally spilled onto his hand, causing a rash to break out.
Seeing this, Yan Yunzhao quickly ran to the kitchen to get him some ice, grabbed his fingers and placed the ice on them, blowing on them gently as he did so: "Oh dear, a two-day weekend is normal, Young Master Lou, don't worry. I promise to treat my employees well, and the two-day weekend every week will be strictly implemented!"
Lou Su raised an eyebrow. After spending the past two months together, he had thought Yan Yunzhao was a straightforward person who was single-mindedly focused on making money and cooking. He hadn't expected him to be so bold and unreserved in private.
Despite her impolite request, Lou Su couldn't get angry at all. However, since they had only known each other for two months, he wasn't without principles. He coughed lightly and refused her firmly.
“Miss Yun Zhao… this… is too early. We haven’t even had our wedding ceremony yet, so dual cultivation… is probably inappropriate.”
Even though he had lived for over three thousand years, Lou Su had no experience in matters of the heart. His ears were red, but he was trying hard to maintain a calm expression.
While Yan Yunzhao was busy treating the burn on his hand, she noticed that his ears, neck and face were red. She thought that she was not careful enough and that she had probably hurt the wound again. She put down the ice in her hand embarrassedly and scratched her head.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lou. I'm afraid of hurting you, and I have no experience in this area... You'd better do it yourself."
Upon hearing this, Lou Su's ears turned even redder, as if they were about to bleed. His face felt as hot as if it were on fire, and he awkwardly withdrew his hand.
Seeing that the arrogant Yan Yunzhao was still staring at him with concern, Lou Su felt even more uncomfortable.
"Ahem... Miss Yun, I'm going back to my room."
Lou Su clutched his scalded hands and burning cheeks, turned and went back into the house. He leaned against the door for a moment to calm himself, then plopped off his clothes and jumped into the bathtub.
There was no warm water in the bathtub, but Lou Su didn't need it. Dragons are naturally hot-bodied and skilled in fire magic, and since he was burning hot all over, steam soon rose from the bathtub.
He leaned against the bathtub, his cheeks flushed, his expression seemingly reluctant.
Not only have I been hiding my true identity here for so long, but I have also attracted people with ulterior motives, who may harm the owners of this small shop. How can I possibly consider getting married?
Recalling the light in Yan Yunzhao's eyes when he talked about dual cultivation, Lou Su frowned and lay back down in the bathtub.
Unexpectedly, after finishing the preparations for tomorrow's ingredients that night, Yan Yunzhao returned to his room and the first thing he said to Lou Su earnestly was, "Young Master Lou, the two-day weekend is for your own good. Sometimes you don't need to work so hard. Isn't it better to slack off and relax a bit?"
Lou Su calmly replied, "This is truly against etiquette. Moreover, I... suffer from a strange illness and am unable to accompany you for life. I urge you to reconsider."
Upon hearing this, Yan Yunzhao was also somewhat puzzled: "Unable to accompany me for a lifetime?"
"Young Master Lou, don't worry. I will definitely find a way to treat your illness. Since your illness is getting worse, you should make sure you get enough rest. Do you think two days off a week isn't enough? How about four days on and three days off?" Yan Yunzhao looked at Lou Su, who was leaning against the wall, with a sincere attitude.
Lou Su tugged at the blanket, finding it difficult to speak.
After a moment of inner struggle, he seemed to have made up his mind. He stood up and stood in front of Yan Yunzhao, leaning slightly down to look into her eyes, which seemed to be rippling with emotion, and said seriously, "Are you really... sure?"
He had long known that Yan Yunzhao was her destined one, and the dragon clan's prophecy would not be wrong; it was only a matter of time before the two of them were happily married.
However, Lou Su was a slow-to-warm-up person. He originally thought that he could stay by her side and let their relationship develop slowly, but since she was in such a hurry, then... it wouldn't be impossible to bring forward the wedding ceremony.
Yan Yunzhao looked up at Lou Su. His peach blossom eyes were gentle yet firm, and his breath brushed against her cheek. At this moment, she could smell the unique scent of pine trees on him. Yan Yunzhao's heart skipped a beat.
"What are you thinking! Don't you know how old you are?" Yan Yunzhao cursed himself inwardly, then shook his head violently.
"Of course! Ensuring at least three days of rest per week for employees who are sick is a fundamental part of our company culture!" Yan Yunzhao said firmly.
"This is... a double... weekend? The 'rest' in 'rest'?" Lou Su was speechless for a moment, stunned for a long time.
Seeing him looking down, seemingly lost in thought, Yan Yunzhao felt a little strange. She thought he was dissatisfied with the original two-day weekend arrangement, and then, with a knowing and unfathomable air, she patted his shoulder and said, "I understand, I understand everything."
Lou Su nodded casually in agreement, but for some reason, he felt a little disappointed.
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