Chapter 284: This World Has Gone Mad?

Night Tinglan dragged Lu Xingzhou into the courtyard and immediately pinned the young man against the wall. Seeing the man's long-suffering expression, as if he were an innocent young man being forced, Night Tinglan couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you pretending for? You're clearly lustful as hell."

Unlike Yuan Muyu back then, who truly didn't realize this young man was pretending to be teased while actually being lecherous and taking advantage, Night Tinglan knew full well from beginning to end that all his feigned weakness was just a ploy to gain benefits. His eyes, seemingly "startled," were actually constantly glancing at her red lips. It wasn't just anticipation for a kiss; it was clearly a fervent desire to devour them. Lu Xingzhou didn't refute the accusation of being "lustful as hell."

Night Tinglan felt her teasing was playing with fire, yet it was addictive. She tiptoed slightly and leaned close to his ear again, whispering softly, "Get well soon, and this teacher will give you more rewards. If you keep pretending you can't even hold a rice bowl day after day, then I'll..." She didn't say what she'd do, remaining silent for a long moment. Night Tinglan herself didn't know whether she wanted him to recover quickly or stay weak for a few more days.

Seeing his ears turn rapidly red from her whispered words, she unconsciously touched them lightly. Feeling the man's muscles tense up quickly in response, Night Tinglan's eyes curved into a smile. The man's hands unconsciously wrapped around her waist again. With a gentle twist, Night Tinglan broke free, smiling, "I'll go make some porridge first. You study properly. When I come back, I'll test you on the third section of the Method of Inscriptions."

Lu Xingzhou watched her graceful figure disappear around the corner, then slumped his shoulders and hunched over to the stone table in the courtyard. A mature woman, once she sheds her inner inhibitions, can truly be deadly...

Lu Xingzhou took out his alchemy book and pretended to read, but his mind was wandering, unable to focus on studying. If this was a tactic by his teacher to motivate him, it had clearly failed.

Speaking of these few days living together, there was another very unique tenderness. Most of Lu Xingzhou's three daily meals were personally prepared by Night Tinglan, such as the porridge on the first day. On the first day, she simply felt guilty that he was injured and unable to move because of her, and she had nothing else to give back. There was no need to let the inn handle his food; she could also add some medicinal ingredients if she cooked it herself. After all, she was an alchemist.

Although that day she had declared there would be no more porridge and that he should buy simple things like sweet potato buns, she didn't actually follow through. Night Tinglan still continued to make porridge. After all, medicinal porridges were incomparable to sweet potatoes. Since she made the porridge, it was only natural for someone to pretend they couldn't hold it and ask the teacher to feed them. One was clearly faking it, and the other knew he was faking it, but they still spoon-fed each other, becoming sickeningly sweet. After she started proactively kissing him, the pretense dropped even further. Instead of feeding him face-to-face, it became him leaning against her shoulder while she fed him.

That initial "Mama" he had called didn't seem to have been for nothing... Lu Xingzhou remembered that Ah Nuo had called her "Mama" first. If Ah Nuo were here, her little mouth would probably be spitting out countless complaints about this scene. But this situation was too tender; Lu Xingzhou was deeply immersed and wouldn't mind being ridiculed for it.

When she went out earlier, she bought some simple herbs to replenish qi and blood. The Saint Lord wouldn't carry such low-grade items. Now, Night Tinglan was in the inn kitchen, pondering what kind of medicinal porridge to make for the man today. Lu Xingzhou sat in the courtyard reading, but what he was actually looking forward to was how he could lean on her later.

Even with all his feigned weakness in the past few days, he could only lean on her shoulder. The man's heart was itching, constantly wondering if he could go a step further, if he could lean into her soft embrace... The teacher had never allowed that step. Just as she had only ever been willing to kiss his cheek, like she would a child, he had wanted to replicate the mouth-to-mouth feeding when she gave him the elixir right after his injury, but it had never succeeded in all these days. The progress was still a bit slow. Ultimately, the current dynamic was just the teacher taking care of a little puppy; something was still missing. No matter how much she let go of her reserved identity, it didn't mean she had to be completely shameless with a man. The current situation was already quite audacious for Night Tinglan...

While his thoughts drifted, there was a knock on the courtyard gate. Lu Xingzhou froze. They had been secluded for the past few days; Night Tinglan hadn't told Su Yuan their exact location, so how could someone be knocking at their door? He took his alchemy book to the door, peeked through the crack, and his heart leaped, almost dropping the book.

'How did the little white-haired girl find this place?'

'How could he possibly plan to lean into her embrace now? He'd be burning incense if he could just stop the newly softened teacher from reverting to her stern Saint Lord persona.'

The knocking grew more insistent, as if the door would be kicked in if he kept it closed... Lu Xingzhou, clenching his fists with cold sweat, composed himself and opened the door with a surprised expression: "Qingli, what are you doing here?"

"It really is you. I thought I was mistaken earlier." Dugu Qingli entered, turning her head left and right, not seeing anyone else. "Was someone with you just now?"

Lu Xingzhou was sweating profusely: "Uh... yes, there was..."

"Who was it?" Dugu Qingli couldn't believe it was her master; she'd rather think she was mistaken and seeing things.

"It's... your master's younger sister, also a junior sister."

Dugu Qingli froze. She had cultivated in the Glacier from a young age and rarely dealt with internal matters of the Heavenly Jade Holy Land. She had heard her master had a sister but had never met her, nor had anyone told her that person was the King of Hell. In fact, very few people knew that the King of Hell was the Saint Lord's sister. This was a secret, considered a scandal of Heavenly Jade, known only to a very small number of high-ranking individuals.

This answer greatly relieved Dugu Qingli. It seemed she hadn't been completely mistaken earlier; it was normal for someone to resemble her master. But despite the relief, her mood was somehow not very good. The little white-haired girl sat stiffly at the stone table, stating expressionlessly, "So it was her... No wonder it's said she left the Heavenly Jade Holy Land. Our Heavenly Jade Holy Land doesn't have such self-degrading women."

Lu Xingzhou's cold sweat wouldn't stop. 'Little white-haired girl, you're quite bold...'

"Um, what exactly did you see? Although I am pursuing your grand-master, it's still within the bounds of propriety."

"Is that so?" Dugu Qingli eyed Lu Xingzhou up and down with distrust, finally blurting out after a moment, "I know you're a fickle and unreliable person, but isn't this a bit too much?"

"H-how is it too much..."

"You broke up with Shen Tang not long ago and were embracing Pei Chuyun. Then you broke up with Pei Chuyun not long ago and now you're flirting with my grand-master. Are you really that desperate for women?"

What Dugu Qingli actually wanted to say wasn't this. 'You tried to flirt with me even when you were still with Shen Tang, and since you flirted with me, how can you flirt with my grand-master too?' 'Isn't the hierarchy all messed up?' 'Oh wait, I didn't agree, we're just friends? So it's not messed up?' 'But how did someone who pursued me become an elder?' The little white-haired girl's mind was crashing, her CPU a chaotic mess, not realizing that her criticism of "so desperate for women" had crossed the line for a friend's comment and sounded more like jealousy.

Lu Xingzhou said, "Love arises unexpectedly; no one can stop a heart from falling in love... Besides, this is between two people. If your grand-master didn't like me, what could I do on my own? Just like with you..." As he spoke the last few words, his tone was quite low, making it seem as if Dugu Qingli was hard-hearted and had wronged him.

The little white-haired girl heard this and had a different thought... 'Could it be that his pursuit of me failed, so he turned to my grand-master for comfort?' 'If so, my sin would be great.' Thinking this, Dugu Qingli stated expressionlessly, "Anyway, I will report what I've seen here truthfully to Master. Whether Grand-master can be with you, my Master will decide."

Lu Xingzhou: "...You can't break up a loving couple, little white-haired girl; that's unethical."

Dugu Qingli said with a stiff face, "The reputation of Heavenly Jade Holy Land comes first."

Lu Xingzhou truly didn't know how to respond, so he just said, "Then go ahead and report me... I believe your master is a reasonable person..." They looked at each other, both with confused minds, and there was no sound for a long time.

"Xingzhou, the porri—" Night Tinglan came around the corner, happily carrying the porridge. The moment she saw the scene in the courtyard, her words caught in her throat, almost dropping the bowl. She stood there, dumbfounded: "The porri—"

Dugu Qingli glanced over with disdain, thinking, 'Calling him Xingzhou isn't mushy enough, now it's "Zhouzhou"?' But the moment she looked, she was struck as if by lightning, almost turning to stone. 'Are you sure this is my master's sister, my junior sister, and not my master herself?' 'No, absolutely not. My master would never live with a man!' 'And make porridge for a man! Happily calling him to taste it!' 'Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes glistening.' 'Either the world has gone mad, or I have.'

Lu Xingzhou quickly rose to meet her, taking the trembling porridge from Night Tinglan. "That's Dugu Qingli, your senior sister's disciple. You've been away from Heavenly Jade Holy Land for a long time, haven't you met her?"

"Ah? Ah? Oh..." Night Tinglan's mind raced, coming back to life. She took a deep breath and showed a benevolent smile: "So this is Qingli. I've heard... I've heard about you. Oh my, what a beautiful young lady. Qingli, would you like some porridge?"

Lu Xingzhou placed the porridge on the stone table: "Want to try your grand-master's cooking? It's quite good."

Dugu Qingli snapped out of her daze, her suspicious gaze flitting between "Grand-master" and Lu Xingzhou. Her body, however, instinctively stood up and performed a disciple's bow: "Disciple Qingli greets Grand... Master."

Night Tinglan kindly helped her up: "No need for formalities, no need. Well, it's our first meeting, and I don't have a greeting gift. This Profound Ice Azure Fire Fruit was something I unexpectedly found in the Frozen Moon Glacier, so I'll give it to Qingli."

Dugu Qingli: "..."

'This voice, this scent, the touch of this hand.' 'Don't think too much, don't think too much.' She took the fruit as if in a trance, muttering unconsciously, "I heard Master has a sister, but I never imagined she'd look so much alike..."

Night Tinglan let out a long breath: "It's normal, perfectly normal. Qingli, please sit..."

Dugu Qingli couldn't hold it in any longer and finally blurted out, "But Grand-master, what's so good about this man? Do you know he has a lover? What do you even like about him?"

Night Tinglan's smile froze on her face. Lu Xingzhou was covered in sweat. At this moment, the thoughts of the illicit couple were remarkably similar: they both just wanted to roll the little white-haired girl into a ball and throw her out.