Chapter 121: Today's Smile Is the Most Beautiful

Pei Chuyun had been following Lu Xingzhou for some time now, and her impression of him had been completely overturned.

Previously, due to limited information, she always thought that Lu Xingzhou was already twenty years old, with a cultivation of only the sixth rank. He must have spent a lot of time on the administrative affairs of Yanluo Hall, rarely cultivating, and his strength was probably similar to other alchemists at his level... This mistaken understanding made her pay a heavy price.

Now she discovered that Lu Xingzhou had almost no free time every day. Apart from necessary social interactions, he didn't go out; he was either contemplating cultivation or studying alchemy, living exactly like a cultivation fanatic.

His family's child, A Nuo, was also like this, staying indoors cultivating every day. Acting cute was just a side job; the ghost child was her true self. Even when outside, A Nuo was actually very quiet most of the time.

The short period on the way to the capital was Pei Chuyun's first time traveling through mountains and waters, and similarly, it was also Lu Xingzhou and his disciple's first time. No one wasted time on playing.

If there were any idle matters, perhaps it was only when he was flirting with girls and not attending to proper business. But his so-called flirting with girls, Pei Chuyun was very clear, was not genuine, at least not towards her, Pei Chuyun. Even the few sentences he just spoke, she didn't know how much contained human calculations and how much was sincere.

Pei Chuyun felt a bit like laughing. Last night, she was disappointed that he didn't believe her, but in reality, she had never truly trusted him either. They were even.

To put it plainly, Pei Chuyun herself didn't fully trust herself. Maybe at that moment, she was emotionally impulsive and willing to be intimate with him, but what about afterward? While doing it, would she feel that the opportunity was too good and want to use Shennu Xuan Gong to control him? Pei Chuyun couldn't guarantee it herself. His caution was appropriate.

Pei Chuyun sighed, got up to get dressed, and brewed a cup of tea for Lu Xingzhou, who was immersed in alchemy.

Lu Xingzhou was somewhat surprised by her attitude and looked at her strangely.

"What are you looking at? If you're not drinking, then forget it," Pei Chuyun rolled her eyes at him and sat to the side, propping her chin.

"Drink, A Ruo's loving tea, why wouldn't I drink?"

"You..." Pei Chuyun tsked. "I really don't know which sentence you say is sincere and which is deceitful."

Lu Xingzhou smiled, "Mutual."

Pei Chuyun said sarcastically, "Your self-control is so good, you're quite suitable to be a monk."

Lu Xingzhou said sincerely, "This is mutual. Your self-control is actually better than mine. If I become a monk, how about you accompany me as a nun next door?"

"Why would I want to accompany you? Who are you?"

"I am your young master, A Ruo, the little maidservant."

Pei Chuyun flew up with a kick, which Lu Xingzhou casually caught. She was wearing the embroidered shoe he had returned to her. Lu Xingzhou casually took it off and threw it to the side, holding her small foot in one hand while still looking at his book with the other.

Even though she was being casually taken advantage of, Pei Chuyun still really wanted to laugh, "Shen Tang hasn't said it, but you're really not normal..."

"I thought for the Hehuan Saintess, this level was at the low end of understanding."

Pei Chuyun's small foot moved slightly, her toes gently poking his palm. "Is this a bit more high-end?"

Lu Xingzhou's eyes bulged. "Demoness, I'm reading. I don't want you to ruin my cultivation."

Pei Chuyun's big toe poked him again. "Don't you know that I'm actually still your enemy? Keeping an enemy by your side is bound to have a bad end. Ruining your cultivation is basic."

Lu Xingzhou found it genuinely funny. "You really can't stand to see me do well, can you?"

Pei Chuyun propped her chin and said, "Anyway, you said that after tonight, we go our separate ways. No matter how much I disturb your cultivation, it's only for today alone, it won't affect anything... How about you accompany me out to stroll around the capital?"

For some reason, Lu Xingzhou always found a feeling of a spoiled little girlfriend from this person. He deliberately said, "If you want me to give up cultivation to accompany you, you have to offer some kind of reward, right?"

Pei Chuyun bit her lower lip, her charming eyes like silk. "If you're willing... If you hold back again tonight, I'll help it release."

Lu Xingzhou immediately put away the jade slip. "Let's go."

Pei Chuyun giggled, "Men."

Lu Xingzhou let the mockery pass without a sound. The reason he couldn't simply solve the problem through pure methods was that this kind of thing required the other party to be proactive. You couldn't just grab her hand or foot and do it yourself, right? What if she burst out laughing, how embarrassing would that be? If the little demoness was willing to be proactive, then even cultivation research wasn't that essential...

The two of them called for A Nuo, who joyfully pushed the wheelchair and was out the door in a flash.

Pei Chuyun walked beside them and leisurely sighed, "Look at you as a master, you've suppressed this child into what kind of state."

Lu Xingzhou said, "You talk as if your relationship with A Nuo is very good. You can count for yourself how many times you've fought along the way, can't you?"

"That's one thing and this is another!"

A Nuo said, "Master didn't restrict me from going out, I just didn't go out myself."

"Ah, you little ghost! I'm helping you speak! If you don't go out yourself, then why are you so happy to go out now?"

"Because going out by myself is different from going out with Master."

Pei Chuyun was slightly stunned, unable to say anything. She could also go out by herself, so why did she have to find Lu Xingzhou to accompany her? It was the same.

Thinking this way, she suddenly felt that A Nuo's round face was like a lantern. Pei Chuyun bent down, her words full of charm, "A Nuo, it's still good for you to focus on cultivation at such a young age, or you can go back. Let older sister do the tiring work of pushing the wheelchair."

A Nuo looked at her disdainfully. "Sister, you should go perform on stage..."

Pei Chuyun clenched her pink fist and fiercely gestured towards her. A Nuo wasn't afraid of her. She "humphed" and turned her head away.

They said they were going to stroll the streets, but Pei Chuyun wasn't like ordinary women who enjoyed shopping. She had access to all resources in her sect; she had whatever she wanted. She truly had no interest in jewelry, ornaments, clothes, and such. What might pique her interest were heavenly materials and earthly treasures, but you couldn't find those by strolling the streets.

The result was A Nuo stealing the show completely, running towards the stalls to eat whatever she saw. Pei Chuyun watched from behind, pursing her lips.

Lu Xingzhou couldn't help but ask, "You suggested strolling the streets, why are you so disinterested? You only bought a poetry collection back then."

"I don't know," Pei Chuyun said softly. "I never felt like I wanted to stroll the streets either."

"Then today is..."

Pei Chuyun absent-mindedly watched A Nuo tiptoeing to place copper coins on the counter, her cute appearance, and suddenly smiled. "The day you caught me, you said I was the first to show you goodwill."

"Yes."

"I thought about it for a long time later, but I couldn't figure out where my goodwill came from. At that time, I clearly hated you to death..." Pei Chuyun sighed. "Thinking and thinking, perhaps it's because I watched you and A Nuo happily strolling the streets that day. Perhaps that is the dream I have expected since I was young but have never been able to realize."

Lu Xingzhou was slightly startled, then nodded. Indeed, it was similar to Shen Tang; lacking fatherly love, seeing such parent-child scenes was particularly moving. Speaking of which, having a cute child seemed like a weapon for picking up girls, similar to having a cat at home that can do backflips...

"You both envy A Nuo, so why don't you act like A Nuo?" Lu Xingzhou smiled gently. "I see that you also love to eat sweets and aren't afraid of getting fat. Just happily go buy and eat... Could it be that you've cultivated for too long, and are bound by your Saintess identity, so you can no longer find the appearance of happiness?"

Pei Chuyun pointed at her own nose. "I'm an adult, how can I run around blindly like her?"

"You're only an eighteen-year-old girl, you have the power to run wildly on the street."

"Tch, you talk as if you're very old." Saying so, Pei Chuyun looked around and saw that many girls were indeed laughing and playing loudly on the street, shouting loudly at the stalls towards the bosses, "Boss, boss, I want this!"

A Nuo's head popped out from between the waists of two girls. "I want some too, two strings of candied haws."

Pei Chuyun ran over angrily and grabbed A Nuo, lifting her up. "Why two strings?" Then she turned her head and shouted towards the boss, "I want three strings!"

Indeed, no one on the street felt that she was doing anything improper. There was no need to maintain a composed face and a shallow smile like in the sect, no need to put on that hypocritical charm like when facing enemies outside. She was just a little maidservant from a family out playing, and she had the power to run wildly on the street. She could fight with A Nuo for food and compete with other girls for orders.

Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair had no one pushing it; he rowed it himself, following behind, always with a faint smile on his face. Pei Chuyun inadvertently turned her head and saw him, her face a little flushed, but she "humphed" again and continued to chase A Nuo. "Little brat, don't run! This osmanthus cake is mine. You bought glutinous rice cakes. You ate them all in one bite and then came to steal mine. Stop right there!"

A Nuo covered her bag and ran. "You can buy more, it's not like you don't have money..."

"Dead fat girl, why don't I support you to death!"

Lu Xingzhou followed behind with a smile. Suddenly, a talisman appeared in his hand, but he didn't burn it. It was a ghost-expelling talisman.

On the windowsill of a building upstairs, a pair of sinister eyes like venomous snakes disappeared behind the window. Turning the corner, they happened to meet a team of Zhenmo Si patrolling the city. Lu Xingzhou rowed his wheelchair past and silently transmitted a sentence: "Trouble to notify Miss Sheng. Ye Wufeng is indeed still in the capital. You must strengthen your guard... If you want to act, be sure to find me. Do not act alone."

The Zhenmo Si leader's expression was solemn.

Lu Xingzhou smiled and continued to chase after his maidservant and child. Ying Shuang was right... These people like Ye Wufeng really seem to dare not move against him. Is Yan Jun's attitude hard to gauge? It's really interesting. Those people in Yanluo Hall wished he was dead, but now that he's actually gone, they don't dare to move... He used a talisman to scold him as a ghost and told him to quickly get out, but he actually endured it. He's been alone from earlier until now...

But it also means that the possibility of him venting his anger on others has increased. He hoped that Gua Mei would keep his reminder from that day in mind and not take it lightly, still go hunting chickens, riding horses, or whatever... Gua Mei should reasonably listen to his advice, but the level of importance might not be sufficient, after all, this is the capital! She might think she has laid enough heavenly nets or something and want to capture and hunt. But Ye Wufeng is a very dangerous person. Without enough understanding, she might capsize... Even Lu Xingzhou himself, not having seen him for a year and a half, didn't dare to affirm how much Ye Wufeng had grown, or if his past understanding was sufficient. Moreover, there were other people from Yanluo Hall in the capital, and Lu Xingzhou didn't know which ones were Ye Wufeng's people, making it difficult to find them.

While pondering, Pei Chuyun and A Nuo ran back, still fighting and playing.

Pei Chuyun smilingly grabbed a candied haw and stuffed it into Lu Xingzhou's mouth. "Here, don't say we didn't remember you."

Lu Xingzhou took a bite, tilted his head, looked at Pei Chuyun's smiling face, and laughed. "Knowing you these days, perhaps your smile today is the most beautiful." The little demoness was perhaps afraid of accidentally injuring passersby if she used her power casually, so she hid all her power. As a result, she was a little sweaty from running around so much. Her hair was slightly messy and stuck to her temples, her face was red and puffy, and her eyebrows and eyes were full of the youthfulness that belonged to a little maidservant. Her daily charm and teasing seemed to disappear in a flash, as if it was only in dreams.