Chapter 268: If There Were Ratings for Mooching Off Rich Women

Lu Xingzhou collected several bottles of snake blood. Ye Tinglan, with a scowl, put the entire snake into her ring, leaving him wondering how large its spatial capacity was.

Neither of them spoke during the blood collection process; they looked exactly like a young couple having an argument.

Regardless of who was scowling, as long as that scowl was on a face wearing a man's outer robe, they resembled a young couple.

"Now what?" Ye Tinglan asked, her face expressionless after putting away the snake's corpse. "What's the next step?"

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her, amused.

Normally, this Saint Lord made all the decisions wherever she went, yet now she wasn't using her brain at all, subconsciously asking him what to do next.

"Previously, we didn't go into the water because we didn't want to enter its home territory," he explained. "This water is likely corrosive, and fighting in such a place would be disadvantageous. But now that the snake is dead, this bit of underwater work is nothing for you. Just go down, and it'll be done."

"That's it?"

"That's it. What else did you expect?"

"I thought Lord Judge would have some brilliant strategy," she scoffed. "Turns out it's just something anyone could think of."

Lu Xingzhou was truly dumbfounded. "No matter how many ideas I have," he said, "some things are just fundamental, like eating when you're supposed to eat, or walking when you're supposed to walk. What unique innovations could I possibly come up with for such obvious matters?"

"Can't you also use a wheelchair?"

"Alright, alright, I'll use my wheelchair for you to see," Lu Xingzhou conceded. He sat in his wheelchair, activated his protective shield, and dived straight into the water.

Ye Tinglan grumbled and cursed under her breath, but in reality, she was still very worried about his safety diving alone, so she quickly followed him down.

Aside from the water's corrosive and slightly toxic properties, there were no other unusual features. Not to mention fish or shrimp, even microorganisms were absent. It seemed the Black Serpent had been ravenous after spending so many years alone in this secret realm.

Ye Tinglan sensed the toxins in the water and detected components from Lu Xingzhou's poison pellet. Her face taut, she said, "You said poisoning someone was like farting indoors."

Lu Xingzhou casually replied, "Yeah, why?"

"So, does this mean you're farting under the covers and then sticking your head into it?"

Lu Xingzhou was dumbfounded. "No, you can't be my husband," he exclaimed. "Tell me, who are you impersonating?"

"Yuan Muyu is impersonating me."

"..." If it were her, she really might say something like that.

But then again, this "husband" seemed much more concerned about Yuan Muyu than he'd imagined...

"Tell me, what's your relationship with Yuan Muyu?" Ye Tinglan finally couldn't resist asking.

Lu Xingzhou was silent for a moment, then said softly, "She was once half of my world... the other half was Ah Nuo."

"Quite devoted, aren't you?" Ye Tinglan sneered.

Lu Xingzhou considered her perspective. A punk drove a flashy wheelchair and took away her sister, transforming a perfectly normal girl into a rebellious "spiritual sister," then turned around and wanted to pick him up too. Was there anything more infuriating in the world?

"But in reality..." Lu Xingzhou pondered for a moment, then said, "She and I were never together. And who I pursued later had nothing to do with her."

Ye Tinglan turned and glanced at him. Finally, she didn't press the matter further.

At least it wasn't "that kind of thing" with her sister, so it felt relatively less disgusting. And since they never started anything, it couldn't really be considered "stealing"...

Damn, why was she thinking about this? She wasn't going to be with him anyway!

While lost in thought, the two of them dived to the bottom of the lake.

At the bottom of the lake, there were clear traces of where the Black Serpent had coiled, along with some bone fragments.

Lu Xingzhou dug down and collected the larger bone fragments to save for future study. Ye Tinglan paid him no mind, occupying herself with precisely calculating the location of the spatial rift.

Not until he truly found the location did Lu Xingzhou realize why the Black Serpent couldn't get out.

This was likely the spatial distortion caused by the Immortal Pearl falling to the ground and the resulting unique energy fluctuations from the pearl. Thus, its size was merely that of the pit formed by the pearl hitting the ground, basically only slightly wider than what one person could pass through. The enormous Black Serpent would have difficulty even getting a scale through.

But now, a problem arose. With such a small hole, how could two people pass through?

A certain "burden" absolutely did not possess the ability to independently traverse space; he had to be carried...

The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a long time. Finally, Ye Tinglan, her face taut, said, "Put away your wheelchair."

Lu Xingzhou obediently put away his wheelchair. The energy shield he generated himself was far less durable and long-lasting than Ye Tinglan's. The moment the wheelchair's water-repelling shield was withdrawn, he instantly became soaked at the bottom of the water.

Ye Tinglan glanced at him with distaste. "Come here."

Lu Xingzhou obediently swam over.

Ye Tinglan, expressionless, embraced him. The two of them were pressed tightly together, face to face.

Lu Xingzhou held his breath, unable to speak underwater, honestly feeling the warmth of the mature woman's chest.

It was clearly more turbulent than usual, showing that her heart wasn't as calm as her expression suggested.

Ye Tinglan was practically fuming internally. One moment she was thinking about how to keep her distance from him in the future, the next she had to hug him so closely. What kind of ridiculous place was this? It was almost as if the Heavenly Dao was deliberately trying to trip her up.

Ye Tinglan, still fuming, hugged him and leaped. The two, tightly embraced, entered the spatial rift.

The Saint Lord of Tianyao had been missing for almost an entire night. She had gone in at dusk, and now it was nearly dawn.

Nights in the glacier were longer than elsewhere. This good night shouldn't have been too short, should it...?

Yet, the people of Tianyao Holy Land had spread out across the glacier to search, but after searching all night, they still couldn't find a trace of her.

Of course, no one was really looking diligently. If the Sect Master really was "doing things" with the "little puppy," and you, being inconsiderate, found them, did you want to die?

It was just one night. The people of Tianyao Holy Land declared their emotions stable.

Elder Su Yuan was aimlessly wandering in the southern part of the glacier, also keeping an eye on the movements of the Tian Frost Kingdom. He wondered what changes Si Han's return would bring.

If a major situation really developed, with the Saint Lord absent, who would make the decisions...?

The Saint Lord had been cultivating in seclusion for so many years; why had she suddenly taken a fancy to a "little puppy" at this juncture? How strange.

Just as he was worrying, a tremor occurred far beneath the ground, as if a strange beast was emerging from the ice.

Su Yuan's heart sank. This glacier had truly been restless recently. What kind of strange beast was it now?

He was skilled and bold, and flew directly to investigate.

In front, the ground rumbled, and the ice surface swelled and cracked. Soon after, with a "bang," a large bulge emerged, followed by a "whoosh" as a man and woman, tightly embracing, leaped out.

The ice was shattered by the woman.

But the woman was wearing men's clothes.

Seeing the woman's face, Su Yuan lost his ability to think, floating bewildered in mid-air, at a loss.

"Elder Su," the woman said, releasing the man from her embrace, her expression calm. "Where on the glacier is this?"

Su Yuan revived a little. "The southern edge," he said, "below which is the territory of the Hanlan Sect."

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

Why here again...?

"So far..." Ye Tinglan pondered for a moment, then asked, "Then why are you here?"

"To... to look for the Sect Master," Su Yuan whispered. "Also to patrol the southern edge and see if Si Han has made any moves."

"What is there to look for me for!" Ye Tinglan's voice grew louder. "Could something happen to me? Meddling!"

Su Yuan lowered his head, stole a glance at the clothes the Sect Master was wearing, then lowered his gaze again, hiding his expression of disbelief.

"Um..." Lu Xingzhou interjected, "Where's my Ah Nuo?"

To dare to interrupt directly when the Sect Master was furious... Su Yuan stole another glance at Ye Tinglan, and Ye Tinglan actually showed no reaction.

Su Yuan's heart trembled. He quickly said, "Miss Lu is with Ji Wenchuan, waiting at the original spot where you two disappeared. Miss Lu said that as soon as Young Master Lu returns, he would surely go back to that spot to find her, so there was no need to search everywhere."

"So, you've lived all these years and still aren't as perceptive as a little girl?" Ye Tinglan was livid.

What was there to search for? Couldn't they just honestly wait where they were? Wouldn't they go find them once they emerged? Now she had been seen embracing a man while wearing men's clothes! Ye Tinglan could practically die from anger.

"Weren't we just concerned about you...?" Su Yuan said with a forced smile. "Um, Sect Master, shall we go now?"

Ye Tinglan angrily said, "How can I go in this state? Go tell them all to gather their teams and return to the sect. This Saint has other important matters to attend to in the Tian Frost Kingdom and will return soon."

In reality, she had no "important matters" to attend to in the Tian Frost Kingdom; at most, she needed to find a place to change clothes. Of course, she couldn't say that directly; she would lose all face.

Lu Xingzhou also thought there was no need to bring Ah Nuo for this matter, as with Ji Wenchuan there, he was very confident about her safety. So he said, "Also, please relay to Ah Nuo and Old Ji that I'll go to the Tian Frost Kingdom and be back shortly. Please have Old Ji take Ah Nuo to Xiazhou first, and let Ah Nuo entertain her Uncle Ji."

Su Yuan had a belly full of complaints. A shameless pair, one abandoning the sect, the other abandoning a friend and a disciple. Weren't they tired of sticking together for a whole night already?

Of course, he dared not show it on his face and could only force a smile. "Alright," he said, "I'll go notify them right away."

Su Yuan slipped away with a whoosh. The shameless pair remained there, watching him disappear into the distance. Only then did Ye Tinglan grind her teeth. "This is all your fault!" she fumed. "How can I face anyone now?"

"To be fair..." Lu Xingzhou said, looking up at the sky. "Your clothes being torn isn't my fault. If anything, I helped cover your exposed skin..." *It would be great if they were seen in this state*, he thought. *As long as others thought they were a couple, the probability of them actually becoming a couple would greatly increase.*

Anyway, his pursuit of her was now out in the open. A dead pig doesn't fear boiling water.

How could Ye Tinglan not see through the man's little schemes? But she couldn't do anything about him. She could only grit her teeth, fiercely grabbed him, and dashed like lightning towards Hanlan City.

Hanlan City, clothing store.

The shopkeeper and nearby neighbors saw the two appear, their eyes all widened like brass bells.

This man had fought here yesterday morning; everyone remembered it vividly.

This man had just the morning before brought a dazzling, mature beauty here to buy clothes, and the very next morning, he came back here with another mature beauty to buy clothes. Both "sisters" were so beautiful and had such strong presences.

The way he lived off women was astonishing, enough to shock gods and ghosts. His skill must be top-tier, right?

"What, do their gazes mean they recognize you?" Ye Tinglan asked coldly.

Someone outside the door, hidden in the crowd, spoke up: "Beautiful lady, don't be fooled by this scum. He was just here yesterday, accompanying another beauty to buy clothes. If you don't believe me, look, there are only a few scattered items left in the store; all the clothes were bought by yesterday's beauty. The shopkeeper hasn't even had time to restock."

Facing Ye Tinglan's murderous gaze, Lu Xingzhou was drenched in cold sweat.