Chapter 52 Spring Mountain Sorrow
Shen Qingqiu said, "I saved you once, and you saved me once. We're even."
When he said "I saved you once," he meant that he stopped Gongyi Xiao from killing the snake man. Zhuzhilang shook his head, saying, "It's more than that. If it weren't for Master Shen, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to get close to the Sun and Moon Dew Flower Orchid even after several more years. How can you say we're even?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingqiu was delighted and said, "Alright, let's make a deal. Can't you just extract both of these things from my blood? Do you have to leave them inside?"
It's like having a parasite in your body, and the treatment for that parasite is to introduce another parasite to fight it. No matter how you look at it, the situation is only getting worse!
Zhu Zhilang said, "This is the first time I've used the Heavenly Demon Blood. I've never heard of any way to neutralize it before."
Well, once blood enters the body, it dissolves completely, so separating it again is indeed... impractical.
Zhu Zhilang said, "Although I cannot explain it, as long as my blood is also in Master Shen's body, that person's Heavenly Demon Blood will be unable to work. After going to the Demon Realm, it will not be able to track you, nor will it be able to torment you."
Stop.
Shen Qingqiu said, "Wait. When did I say I was going to the Demon Realm?"
Zhu Zhilang said, "I'll be there soon."
Shen Qingqiu observed his expression and said, "The 'repayment' you mentioned, you don't mean you want to take me to the Demon Realm, do you?"
Are you kidding him? What would he do in the Demon Realm? Resources are scarce, the culture and customs are incompatible, and he'd probably get sick from the change in environment.
And there's something even more worrying right now. He was so terrified by Luo Binghe's near-necrophiliac behavior that he acted rashly and had Liu Qingge take his original body away. What if Luo Binghe, in a fit of rage, wipes out the entire Cangqiong Mountain?!
He needed to go back and inform his fellow disciples first. Shen Qingqiu immediately threw off the covers, intending to run away, but as soon as he moved, he felt something slippery, sticky, cold, and soft crawl up his leg.
A turquoise snake slowly poked its head out from under the covers, hissing and flicking its bright red tongue at Shen Qingqiu.
The snake was about the thickness of three fingers and at first glance resembled the venomous bamboo viper from the human realm. Its eyes were extremely large, and its pupils were extremely small, making it a shocking sight in comparison. Shen Qingqiu, however, was not afraid of such soft-bodied creatures. He watched coldly, secretly gathering his strength in his hand, intending to crush it unexpectedly at its vital point. Suddenly, the green snake arched its body backward and opened its red mouth wide.
It was clearly just a snake, yet it emitted an extremely piercing scream, much like a human's voice. At the same time, countless dense green barbs, with bright red tips, burst out around its head like flowers, and its body swelled up several times its original size as if it had been inflated.
What was just a small and cute ornamental snake has now turned into a monster. The demonic species are indeed ferocious. Shen Qingqiu immediately abandoned the idea of touching it directly with his hands.
Zhu Zhilang poured a full cup of tea, placed it on the table, and said sincerely, "Why did you leave before I finished speaking, Immortal Master Shen? I truly wish to repay Bai Lulin for sparing my life and helping me."
Shen Qingqiu smirked: "You want me to go to the Demon Realm? If I don't go, you'll put this kind of thing on my bed as 'repayment'?"
Zhu Zhilang smiled and said, "Not just in bed."
Another small snake, about the thickness of a thumb, slid out from Shen Qingqiu's clothes.
The snake had been coiled inside his clothes, warmed by his body heat, and nestled comfortably. It hadn't moved an inch, and Shen Qingqiu hadn't even noticed its presence. Amidst the continuous hissing sounds, countless green snakes of varying sizes and thicknesses crawled out from under the bed like a flowing stream, covering the entire floor of the room.
Shen Qingqiu remained silent for a long while before asking, "The Snake Clan?"
Zhu Zhilang calmly replied, "My father is from the snake clan of the Southern Frontier."
No wonder he has that name.
The demon race places great importance on class and bloodline; commoners or demons of lowly blood are not allowed to use the title "Lord" after their names. Shen Qingqiu pondered that this character was a suffix representing status and class, much like the inviolable taboo of an emperor's name.
Luo Binghe's rise to power was somewhat fraught with difficulties because the other demon lords had reservations about his human-hybrid heritage. As for characters with names like "XX Lang," Luo Binghe killed many of them in the early stages of the demon realm dungeon. Therefore, Shen Qingqiu concluded that those with such names, if not all from slums, at least didn't come from privileged backgrounds.
Bamboo Branch Lang undoubtedly belongs to the Heavenly Demon bloodline, yet he cannot be called a ruler; the problem must lie with the half-blooded one.
The snake race lives and thrives in the southern border of the Demon Realm. Strictly speaking, they are still considered demons, but their true form is that of a giant snake, which they are born with. As they age and their cultivation increases, a very small number of them will gradually transform into human form and shed their scales. However, most of them remain in snake form throughout their lives.
Shen Qingqiu asked, "Who is your mother?"
Zhu Zhilang said, "My mother is the younger sister of Tianlang Jun."
Tianlang-jun's sister is practically a princess of the demon realm, so what was she thinking? Of all people, why did she have to have a child with a snake? That's just too disgusting!
Shen Qingqiu endured the two snakes slowly rubbing against his thighs and lower abdomen, and said, "So, you're Luo Binghe's cousin now?... I mean, can't you stop them from crawling into my... clothes?"
Zhu Zhilang said, "If we only consider seniority, that's certainly true. They seem to really like Master Chen, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Nobody believes you have no way!
Shen Qingqiu held back and asked, "Why are you in the Illusion Flower Palace?"
Zhu Zhilang was very patient and said, "I was originally going to handle some important business, but I didn't expect to see Master Shen."
Shen Qingqiu's heart skipped a beat: "Serious business? Is the serious business you're talking about related to Luo Binghe?"
Joining forces to dominate? Demons turning against each other? Or #a family reuniting after many years, embracing and weeping#?
This time, Zhuzhilang smiled but did not answer.
Shen Qingqiu said, "I'm afraid it's not such a touching and serious matter as recognizing relatives."
Zhu Zhilang calmly replied, "I am merely following Your Majesty's orders."
Shen Qingqiu asked, "Was your body created by the Sun and Moon Dew Flower?"
It's fine if he used it himself. But if the Sun and Moon Dew Flower wasn't for his own use, then it might have been used to shape Tianlang Jun's body. Tianlang Jun has been trapped under the mountain for so many years, barely clinging to life. His original body is probably already damaged. Once he sheds his skin, who knows what kind of storms will rage out first.
The butterfly effect is truly remarkable; it seems to have unleashed something extraordinary!
Receiving no response, Shen Qingqiu continued, "Is sending me to the Demon Realm also an order from your lord?"
Whenever the question of Tianlang Jun was raised, Zhuzhilang would remain silent, only offering a polite smile, which was incredibly infuriating, yet he remained impeccably courteous. Shen Qingqiu stopped pressing the matter. Seeing his displeasure, Zhuzhilang finally spoke, "Please rest well, Immortal Master Shen. If you need anything, please let me know, and I will certainly do my best to fulfill your request. At the latest, we will depart for the border region by tomorrow."
Shen Qingqiu asked, "Do you have money?"
Zhu Zhilang said, "Yes."
Shen Qingqiu: "Can I use it?"
Bamboo Branch: "Please make yourself at home."
Shen Qingqiu: "I want a woman."
Bamboo Branch Lang was stunned.
Shen Qingqiu repeated, "Didn't you say that if I need anything, I should just ask, please feel free to ask? I want women."
This was Shen Qingqiu's first time visiting a brothel.
Previously, as the peak master of Qingjing Peak, he respected his status and, despite his intense curiosity, refused to enter brothels. Now, however, he has the opportunity.
Zhu Zhilang sat motionless at the table, as immovable as Mount Tai. Shen Qingqiu was surrounded by a profusion of flowers, their fragrance filling the air.
Shen Qingqiu said, "What kind of look is that?"
Zhu Zhilang looked away and said, "I'm just... a little surprised. It's surprising that Master Shen would be interested in this place of pleasure."
Shen Qingqiu said, "You'll find out soon enough what I'm interested in."
Just then, a new songstress gracefully approached, carrying a pipa, and sat on a flower-covered stool, beginning to sing in a melodious voice.
Shen Qingqiu was originally paying attention to other things and had no interest in listening to the music, but after listening to a couple of lines, he suddenly felt that he had heard two very remarkable things and called out to stop, "Miss, what are you singing?"
The woman said sweetly, "I am singing the newly popular ballad 'Spring Mountain Sorrow'."
Shen Qingqiu said with a black line, "Wait a minute, I think I just heard you sing two names? Could you repeat them?"
The pipa player covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed, saying, "What's wrong with that? Sir, have you never heard of it before? The protagonists of 'Spring Mountain Sorrow' are Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe."
...
...
...
When the hell did this become a popular ballad?!
Takeshiro initially refused all service and sat quietly to the side, but unfortunately, the slight shrugging of his shoulders gave him away.
Shen Qingqiu said, "Uh...can I ask, what is this... Mountain Hatred, what story does it tell?"
Several women beside him chattered, "Sir, don't you know this? 'Spring Mountain Sorrow' tells the story of the poignant, forbidden love between Shen Qingqiu and his beloved disciple Luo Binghe..."
Shen Qingqiu remained frozen in place, listening intently from beginning to end.
To sum it up, it's basically a story about a shameless master and disciple who spend their days doing nothing but sex on some unknown mountain, and even when they go down the mountain to fight monsters, they still have sex. They resolve misunderstandings with sex, and they even have sex before they die and continue having sex after they die...
The pipa player sighed softly, plucked the strings with her fingertips, and said, "Unable to understand the other's feelings in life, yet sharing the same body in death, such deep affection is unparalleled in this world."
The women also sighed repeatedly, and some were even moved to tears.
Shen Qingqiu buried her head deeply in her palms.
Holy crap, isn't this just a pornographic film?!
Who wrote the ballad?!
What kind of mountain is Chunshan?!
Quiet Peak?!
Cangqiong Mountain?!
The Azure Sky Mountain Sect could wipe out your entire family in a heartbeat!
Why is it that gossip about them is spreading so widely, not only to the border regions, but even the lewd songs and ballads in the streets are using them as a topic of discussion, as if they were caught in bed with Luo Binghe in front of everyone!
Zhu Zhilang chuckled and turned around, saying, "Master Chen... are you interested in this... storytelling?"
Shen Qingqiu looked at him coldly. Zhuzhilang quickly straightened his expression, but still struggled to hold back, and changed his words, saying, "It's already dawn, Immortal Master Shen, it's time to set off."
Shen Qingqiu rubbed his forehead and said, "...Let's go, let's go."
Takeshiro seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. However, just as he was about to get up, he suddenly froze, sitting upright on the stool.
Shen Qingqiu noticed his expression, smiled, and asked, "What's wrong? Are you finally feeling unwell?"
He stood up, shook his clothes, and the green snake that had been clinging to him fell to the ground with a clatter, its yellow belly exposed.
The women in the hall screamed in surprise, and the pipa player threw her pipa away.
Zhuzhilang rubbed his forehead, propped himself up on the table, and stood up unsteadily. He stared at Shen Qingqiu, raised his right hand, and grabbed a handful of small snakes that had crawled out of his sleeve, but they were all wrapped around his fingers and posed no threat.
Zhu Zhilang shook his head and said in a low voice, "...realgar."
The entire brothel had unknowingly been immersed in the aroma of realgar wine.
Shen Qingqiu nodded and said, "The realgar wine, by the way, was all bought with your money."
The money comes from the sheep's back. He's pretending to be looking for a woman, but really looking for an accomplice.
Helpers don't necessarily have to be able to fly or teleport. The girl in the building took the money and secretly bought all the realgar wine in the town. She boiled it all over the place, all night long. It was impossible for the snake clan not to be stunned by the smoke.
Zhu Zhilang wasn't unprepared; he was only wary of Shen Qingqiu contacting other cultivators, but not of the girls in the brothels. In the end, he was careless.
When Takeshiro looked up, the whites of his eyes had turned gold, his pupils were visibly elongating and becoming pointed, and his face began to deform.
Shen Qingqiu quickly opened the door and asked the trembling flower girls huddled to the side, "Are you coming or not?"
The girls immediately rushed out, with the pipa player running last. Shen Qingqiu stuffed a bag of silver into her waistband as compensation for her pipa. He then closed the door behind him and turned back to find that where Zhuzhilang had been standing, a giant turquoise snake, large enough for three people to encircle, had coiled up.
The giant snake had a huge, triangular head with large, yellow, bell-shaped eyes and extremely thin slits in the pupils. It seemed drowsy, and its slender neck could not support the heavy snake head, drooping from time to time.
The realgar wine had an unexpected effect, actually causing Zhuzhilang to reveal his true form, which gave Shen Qingqiu a bit of a headache.
He picked up a folding fan that had been left behind, unfolded it, and shook it. The giant snake swam towards him, circled twice, seemingly trying to entangle him, but Shen Qingqiu easily jumped out.
The snake, writhing and twirling as if drunk, burst from the building and crashed into the middle of the street, startling passersby who screamed and scattered in panic. Shen Qingqiu jumped down after it, shouting, "It's no use coming out; the whole town reeks of realgar wine!"
The giant snake hissed and thrashed its tail on the road. Shen Qingqiu decided to lure it out of the dense crowds. He leaped onto the snake's head, and whenever it went the wrong way or was about to crash into pedestrians or houses, Shen Qingqiu would poke its head with his fan. The snake's scales were like armor, and it made a rumbling sound as it crawled on the ground. Shen Qingqiu often had to pour a lot of spiritual energy into his fan to change its direction. In this way, he barely managed to steer it out of town.
The girls in the building took the money and did their best in their work. They brewed so much realgar wine that the aroma was carried far and wide by the wind.
They finally arrived at the foot of a mountain, but the smell continued to waft down from the hillside. The giant snake was irritated by the smell and, after being poked and prodded by Shen Qingqiu all the way, was exhausted and could no longer climb.
Seeing that they were far from the town, Shen Qingqiu jumped down. The giant snake was weak and listless, its head drooping, coiled up like a winding mountain road.
Shen Qingqiu said, "Although I am very interested in filling the pit, I am not interested in immigrating to the Demon Realm, and I have more important matters to attend to right now. Since you cannot cure the Heavenly Demon Blood, there is no need for repayment. Goodbye, Xizhilang!"
Fearing the alcohol would wear off and the Bamboo Branch Man would revert to his original form and release a swarm of snakes to entangle him, he ran away as fast as he could. In the next, slightly larger city, he found a very reliable chain store and rented a flying sword.
Yes, you read that right, it is indeed rented, just like a taxi. You can rent the Legend of Sword and Fairy game! And the price is very fair and affordable!
In short, he still used Zhuzhilang's money. Shen Qingqiu put his hands together to thank the brother, and then flew towards the Cangqiong Mountain Sect on his sword.
In less than half a day, a verdant fairy mountain with twelve peaks of varying heights and undulating slopes appeared in the sea of clouds and mist.
Long time no see, Cangqiong Mountain.
Shen Qingqiu silently crossed out the two words "Chunshan" that had just popped into her mind.
Author's Note: Thank you to Hui Nantian, Dreaming Caterpillar Oo for the grenade, and to Ye Lian, Xi, orli, zzzsl, Zhi Wan Chang Yang, Wang Cheng, Hua Lian Mao, Fan Shu, lengliya, Su Xiao Su, Wu Yun Liao Rao, Guo Xiao Yuan, 16361353, Xiao Tian Mi, Fu Wang, Ci Nian Bi Shi, Zi Ye, Qing Shui De ky, Ke Ming, Bao Mi Bai, 2578429, San Chun Hui, Ying Zi, and Jin Mao Er Hai.
Gn's landmines
They're about to recognize each other!
Since it seems quite a few people have been asking about this, I'll say it here: yes, that strange thing is indeed the group name, you guys didn't look for the wrong one...
And then these are the illustrations drawn for this story by Lu Guang and Ling Xiaoyun o(*////▽////*)q They're fantastic! Thank you to these two lovely readers~
Bondage and wetness in the dark room! O(∩_∩)O~ Let me poke Luo Baozi's little cheeks~
Hmm, Hyoga's self-harm at the beginning of the last chapter... that was quite a shocking scene.
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