Chapter 254: Eating Soft Rice

Seeing Long Qinghuang in this succubus-like state, Lu Xingzhou suddenly recalled the rumor that "dragons are inherently lecherous."

Regardless of whether dragons are truly lecherous, from a medicinal perspective, many alchemy texts record that the blood of various dragon species has aphrodisiac effects. Therefore, the natural scent emanating from her body might inherently possess an aphrodisiac or alluring quality.

Hence, Qinghuang.

Her previous shimmering golden attire perhaps provided too much protection, shielding much of this effect. Now that she had changed into ordinary clothes, the effect was fully apparent.

Lu Xingzhou was still the first to react, stepping in front of Long Qinghuang before she could make a move, and coldly addressed the approaching individuals: "Hanlan Sect?"

Long Qinghuang, who had been about to act, paused and, with interest, folded her arms to watch Lu Xingzhou's performance.

The leading middle-aged man in brocade robes snapped out of his daze and bellowed, "This witch murdered my son for no reason and is now flaunting herself here! Seize her and take her back for judgment!"

Before his words had even finished, a shoe sole rapidly expanded before his eyes. The middle-aged man in brocade robes, having just emerged from his stupor, was momentarily disoriented and failed to dodge. He was solidly kicked.

With a "thud," he was sent flying out of the shop, landed on the street, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and lost the ability to fight.

A group of people immediately surrounded Lu Xingzhou, asking, "You are merely a fourth-rank cultivator, why must you antagonize our Hanlan Sect for this witch?"

Lu Xingzhou inwardly sighed, "I am saving you all."

"If I knock you out, perhaps this harbinger of doom won't kill anyone. If she truly makes a move herself, all of you will be reduced to dust, and innocent bystanders nearby might also be affected."

Of course, what he could only say aloud was: "She is my companion. If I don't protect her, should I protect strangers instead?"

Ah Nuo secretly glanced at Long Qinghuang. Long Qinghuang stood there, arms folded, expressionless.

Outsiders couldn't discern Long Qinghuang's strength at all, so how could they allow a mere fourth-rank cultivator like Lu Xingzhou to act arrogantly here? They instantly swarmed him.

Long Qinghuang tilted her head slightly, watching Lu Xingzhou weave through the crowd.

Although the attackers were all middle-rank cultivators (middle three ranks), with several individuals at the same fourth rank as Lu Xingzhou, this fellow fought against many with surprising ease, moving through the crowd as if strolling in a garden. Every punch landed, every kick found its mark, making it a truly delightful sight to behold.

Long Qinghuang could tell this was a very typical Taoist footwork, evolving from Tai Chi and Bagua, likely originating from a very orthodox Taoist sect. The Heavenly Jade Holy Land had similar footwork, but it differed from his, suggesting it was not from the same source.

Yuan Muyu taught Lu Xingzhou countless combat techniques, but not footwork... Back then, Lu Xingzhou was lame. This set of footwork came with the Yin-Yang Extreme Will Art, and its application was not limited to ground combat; its variations would be even greater in aerial combat.

As for his punching and kicking, they were also part of the Yin-Yang Extreme Will Art. The kind of insidious and surprise attack methods Yuan Muyu taught, Lu Xingzhou now used less and less.

It was becoming increasingly difficult for outsiders to discern his connection to the Yama Palace from his combat performance, and even harder for others, like Little White Hair in their initial encounter, to feel a connection to the Heavenly Jade Holy Land from him.

Furthermore, his internal energy circulation pattern was very interesting... absorbing the opponent's attacks and fully reflecting them back. This was virtually invincible in group battles among cultivators of similar or lower cultivation levels.

"A super-grade cultivation method, without a doubt... Interesting," Long Qinghuang found it amusing. "To think I'd casually run into someone so extraordinary."

"Bang bang bang!" In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, everyone was kicked out of the shop.

Lu Xingzhou stepped out of the shop. On the street, people lay scattered everywhere. They looked at Lu Xingzhou's figure with some fear, asking, "Who... who are you, sir? Do you dare leave your name?"

"What, so I can leave my name for you to get revenge?" Lu Xingzhou stomped on someone's chest and coldly asked, "Do you want to live or die?"

The person being stomped on quickly said, "Of course, I want to live, senior. Please spare my life."

He had actually mistaken Lu Xingzhou for an old senior with a youthful appearance...

Lu Xingzhou said, "I have some questions. Whoever knows the most complete details will live."

"Senior, please command, this junior will certainly tell you everything I know!"

"Was the matter of the dragon bone fragments from Frozen Moon Cold River spread from Hanlan City?"

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Long Qinghuang's lips.

This person actually still remembered that they came to Hanlan City not just to change clothes, but to inquire about something.

The person being stomped on paused, but another person nearby quickly blurted out an answer: "I know this matter most clearly; I've been following it from start to finish!"

Lu Xingzhou grabbed that person and called out to Long Qinghuang and Ah Nuo, "Let's go."

Then he vanished like the wind.

Long Qinghuang looked at the groaning Hanlan Sect disciples scattered on the ground and finally burst into laughter. "Such a smooth performance, trying to make me follow along naturally and forget about killing. Little sister, your brother is very interesting. I heard Spring Mountain Pavilion is a renowned righteous sect, and it seems to be true."

Master probably wouldn't have imagined half a year ago that he would one day be considered a righteous cultivator... Ah Nuo pressed her palms together, hoping Spring Mountain Pavilion would be alright in the future.

However, this was the first time someone had referred to Master as her brother. The feeling was quite novel, and Ah Nuo didn't refute it. After all, having a young disciple was already a distinguishing mark for Lu Xingzhou, and calling her a disciple seemed like it could easily expose Lu Xingzhou's identity...

Long Qinghuang, smiling, picked up Ah Nuo. "Never mind. Seeing how hard he performed, I'll give him some face. These people's lives are temporarily spared. Let's go."

Her voice still lingered, but she had vanished. No one on the entire street even saw how the woman disappeared. Only a lingering fragrance proved her former presence, as if it had been a dream.

On a small hill more than ten li outside the city, all the vegetation was covered in frost.

Lu Xingzhou put the person down and sighed. "Whatever my companion asks you later, answer it. Do not try to prevaricate. If you make her unhappy, not even gods can save you."

The person offered a fawning smile. "Understood, understood. I'll certainly satisfy your esteemed wife."

Lu Xingzhou: "?"

Before he could say anything, Long Qinghuang appeared with Ah Nuo.

Lu Xingzhou broke into a cold sweat, unsure if Long Qinghuang had heard that remark.

He had told her that a single man and woman with a child would affect their reputation. "I warned you, don't blame me for this..."

Long Qinghuang had actually heard it but didn't care. She looked around; there was no place to sit. Long Qinghuang waved her hand casually, slicing off the top of a nearby rock as if cutting tofu, and sat down leisurely. "Speak. What do you know?"

The person stared at the rock's cut surface as if he had seen a ghost. Cutting rock was easy; many could do it. But doing it as effortlessly as spreading tofu, he had never seen in his life.

Originally, seeing Lu Xingzhou's strength, he had thought the man was the head of this family of three. Now, seeing this, he realized Lu Xingzhou was actually a kept man.

"The dragon bone fragment was found by an itinerant cultivator exploring the Frozen Moon Cold River. He took it to a herbal shop in the city for appraisal, where alchemists identified it as dragon bone. Dragon bone is rare; even ordinary dragon bone is worth auctioning, so the person took it to an auction house. During the auction, some knowledgeable bidders kept raising the price to an absurd degree, attracting attention. Only then did people realize the dragon bone was actually still active. With this public exposure, the news immediately spread like wildfire; it was impossible to cover it up."

"And then? Who bid for the dragon bone?"

"To be honest, the auction house belongs to our Hanlan Sect. The successful bidder was an unfamiliar outsider. When we learned how special this dragon bone was, we originally intended to keep it and not give it to the outsider. But who knew that outsider was so strong? He just snatched it and left, even injuring several people."

Lu Xingzhou: "...Have you investigated who that outsider was?"

"No... In the end, we only found the original owner of the item, and asked him to take us to where he found the dragon bone. But when we got there, we found nothing. The sect leader suspected the owner was deceiving us and simply performed a soul search... It turned out the owner really wasn't lying; he just got lucky and found it, without even knowing where it came from. The soul search instead left him imbecilic, and there were no other clues. The sect leader searched for several days with his people but found nothing, so he could only return in disappointment."

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at Long Qinghuang.

If the process was truly this simple, then there wasn't much else to ask about. They would just have to see for themselves.

Long Qinghuang frowned in thought and only after a while said, "He isn't lying; the process must have been that ordinary."

The ordinary process didn't matter. The fact that he wasn't lying at least proved that the active dragon bone did exist and wasn't a smokescreen.

Long Qinghuang thought for a moment and then asked another question: "So, on what basis did you determine it was an ancient dragon bone, rather than one frozen within the last few millennia?"

The person was dumbfounded. "Huh? Aren't there no dragons anymore? Naturally, it could only be from ancient times."

Lu Xingzhou found it amusing. Most people really didn't know what the Demon Empress's true form was. After all, the cultivation level gap was quite significant. He himself had only recently heard it from Mr. Ye. When he saw the dragon and tiger bones in the Danxia Secret Realm previously, he also thought such things no longer existed. The interaction between the Skyfrost Kingdom and the demon race was even less than with the Great Qian, so their knowledge was even more incomplete than his.

But now that he knew the Demon Empress was a dragon, it was highly probable that other dragons still existed, perhaps even ones the Demon Empress herself wasn't aware of. It wouldn't be surprising at all for a dragon to have died here within the last few millennia.

So, while the dragon bone existed, its "ancient" status was questionable. It was merely an assumption by the ignorant.

Long Qinghuang had precisely captured him to determine the age of the bones. In other words, returning to Hanlan City to change clothes and gather information, a series of fierce actions, had actually served no purpose. They still had to proceed as they originally intended.

It did, however, buy them time to wait for Mr. Ye to come to their rescue.

Long Qinghuang pondered for a while longer, then asked, "Since the matter of the dragon bone has already spread widely, why haven't there been a noticeable increase in people coming here recently?"

The person shook his head. "Actually, there have been, but everyone knows their place. Those interested in this item are all top-tier experts; those without ability shouldn't go just to throw their lives away. So, most of those who came are first-rank experts or even super-grade ones. How many of those can there be? The Frozen Moon Cold River is so vast that a few experts entering are like a drop in the ocean; you won't notice an increase."

After speaking, he glanced at the "family of three," implying that they, with their family in tow, should give up. The man was still only fourth-rank and a kept man.

Lu Xingzhou's expression remained neutral. Long Qinghuang let out a soundless laugh.

Lu Xingzhou tried to save face: "You haven't seen them, so how do you know they're here?"

The person said: "Just half a day before you came to ask, a masked man came. His demonic aura was incredibly terrifying; I thought I was going to die... But he thought my answer was complete and rewarded me with a spirit stone."

Lu Xingzhou's heart stirred slightly.

Deep demonic aura, powerful, yet generous.

Could it be Ji Wenchuan had arrived?

Long Qinghuang clearly didn't care about the masked man with the demonic aura. She casually tossed out a jade slip. "This is a map of Frozen Moon Cold River. Mark the spot where the original owner found the dragon bone for me, then you can leave."

The person hastily marked a circle and backed away, bowing and scraping. "I wish the three of you success in your endeavors."

Watching the person flee like the wind, Lu Xingzhou waited for a while before slowly saying, "I thought you would silence him."

Long Qinghuang said indifferently, "There's no point. Even if this person tells others that a man and a woman with a child came to ask him questions, who could possibly know it was me from such vague information? However, the masked man with the demonic aura's information is very clear. He sounds like one of the Five Ghost Emperors of Yama Palace. The fact that he didn't silence him is truly soft-hearted."

If it was Old Ji, it wasn't soft-heartedness. Rather, Old Ji's nature was rough and easygoing; he wouldn't dwell on things too much. Lu Xingzhou had covered for him countless times.

These words, however, made Lu Xingzhou's impression of Long Qinghuang improve significantly.

He had thought all demons were brutal, let alone the Demon Empress... But after interacting with her, he realized that as long as she wasn't provoked, she genuinely wouldn't casually kill. She even considered whether there was any meaning to it.

But if she was provoked, even the slightest transgression would likely cost one their life. The Dragon Empress's majesty brooked no challenge.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard Long Qinghuang say, "Now, it's time to talk about our problem."

Lu Xingzhou instinctively took half a step back. "What problem do we have?"

Long Qinghuang said leisurely, "Originally, there wouldn't be any 'reputation' problem as you call it... But what's the meaning of you acting like you're fighting for your woman?"