Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 11 A bad start
Time passed quickly, and the people from Tianxing Sword Sect had been here for three days.

Aside from having large quantities of Hanying Grass delivered in batches, Shen Tang had been so busy over the past three days that she hadn't had time to talk to Lu Xingzhou. She allocated housing, divided the halls, arranged equipment, and supervised the disciples' training. Within three days, the remnants of the Sword Sect, which had been on the verge of collapse, had visibly regained some semblance of order under her management.

Lu Xingzhou leisurely made elixirs, talismans, and practiced without leaving his house.

What's strange is that the Hanying grass he used to refine the elixir was not the one that Shen Tang had specially obtained. The Hanying grass was piled up like a mountain in the warehouse and had never been moved.

Ah Nuo came back from the warehouse taking inventory and said with a smile, "Sister Shen Tang is very kind in giving back. There are so many Han Ying grasses... There aren't many people growing this stuff. I'm afraid Xiazhou will almost buy them all."

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly: "How much effort she puts in will give her the same reward."

Ah Nuo leaned over the window, chin in hand, watching the distant square where swordsmen were performing martial arts exercises. He sighed, "It's fascinating to hear about other people's swordsmen performing in different peaks. But here, we're so crowded in the martial arts arena, it feels like a small martial arts gym."

“Some remnants are just small martial arts schools.”

"But there are some very strong ones among them, right?" An Nuo hesitated. "These past few days, I've seen several people with very strong auras, some of them are at the fifth level. If they were to surround me, even I might not be able to withstand them."

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her, and An Nuo realized that she had said something wrong and kept silent.

Lu Xingzhou simply said, "Have you ever thought about this? These people are so strong, but Shen Tang looks so weak and broken. Why don't they just capture her and force her to reveal the Imperial Merchants' channels? Instead, they want to play a game with her?"

Anuo thought for a moment and said, "Is it because she is stronger?"

"Well... we know how to conceal our aura, and others certainly know how to do it too. It's not uncommon. Shen Tang is disabled because of her broken leg, otherwise her strength would be much greater than others, and she would be able to protect herself even now. Plus, there are people who are loyal to her, so those with ulterior motives wouldn't dare act rashly."

Lu Xingzhou paused and smiled, "Besides, she is very similar to me in one aspect."

Ah Nuo: “Ah?”

"She's like me, she's on the outside looking in, but her real trump card is the people around her."

Anuo straightened her non-existent chest.

No one would have thought that, in terms of fighting ability alone, the apprentice is actually better than the master.

"Master, what you mean is that the white-haired sister is actually stronger than Sister Shen Tang?"

"Hmm... She couldn't possibly be a maid. No matter what kind of cultivation technique she practiced, to be able to transform someone into someone with white hair and blue eyes, it definitely wasn't something a low-level cultivator could do. It could only be some kind of cultivation technique that had been cultivated to an extremely advanced level. At least during the Danxia Gang drama, Qingli was spying on them, but even you didn't notice. Therefore, at the moment when Shen Tang's leg was broken, Qingli was very likely stronger than her."

Anuo's straight chest suddenly collapsed.

So, that white-haired sister might be stronger than An Nuo...

Everyone just chatted with Shen Tang Qingli for a few words, so how could the master make so many judgments...

"Then the question arises..." Lu Xingzhou smiled faintly, "Now that Qingli is gone, Shen Tang alone is enough to compete with others. If Shen Tang and Qingli were to join forces, they would completely dominate the entire scene. How could those people have the guts to even dare to plot against her? Furthermore, Qingli's style of painting is off-putting..."

Ah Nuo was a little smarter: "Master is saying that Qingli is not from the Tianxing Sword Sect, and those people don't understand Qingli's strength at all. That's why Master felt it was strange before."

Lu Xingzhou was very pleased: "Finally, you have grown some brains."

Anuo pouted and didn't want to talk much.

She knew that her master had been trying to teach her to think more so that she could stand on her own in the future. But Anuo didn't want to stand on her own because that would mean leaving her master.

If Anuo passes away, what will Master do when he is left alone in a wheelchair?

It makes me sad just thinking about that scene.

Anyway, An Nuo is still young and it’s too early for him to start his career, so why should he think about things so far ahead…

As the master and disciple talked, Lu Xingzhou's newly refined pills emerged from the furnace. He put away the new pills, counted them together with the ones he had refined the previous two days, and said with a smile, "That's enough. Let's go out and inspect our territory."

Anuo pushed the wheelchair out happily. She was tired of staying in the house to make elixirs these days.

At this moment, in the Tianxing Sword Sect… no, in the meeting hall of the Shen's Trading Company's main hall, someone was challenging Shen Tang: "Young Sect Master, you said we could hire an alchemist to make pills and gain a foothold in Xiazhou, and we believed you. But less than a day after arriving, the alchemist was kidnapped. Abducted, that's fine, but you didn't capture the traitor to establish your authority, and you didn't hire anyone else…"

Someone else continued, "Elder Sun said the other day that this was a sign of the Young Sect Master's lack of ability and slow response. And you guys defended her, saying we had a new idea and we should give it a try. And what's going on now? What's the result?"

Lu Xingzhou's idea convinced many of the Tianxing Sword Sect's elders and deacons that day, and they all agreed it was worth a try, suppressing some of the skepticism. Over the past three days, the Tianxing Sword Sect's members worked tirelessly to create a batch of special sword talismans, which, when kept in the arms for a long time, could slowly help purify and expel the poison. They had initially thought they could sell them quickly, but reality proved far from ideal.

The people of Xiazhou didn't feel they needed this consumption at all. After selling it all day long, they only sold a pitiful three or five of the thousands of talismans.

"We do not discriminate against you even though you are disabled with a broken leg. We still respect you as our leader and hope you can recover soon. But the Tianxing Sword Sect is already on the verge of extinction and cannot be led by a leader who has no administrative ability. Otherwise, it will perish sooner or later. Young Master, can you understand what we mean?" Master and disciple Lu Xingzhou staggered past outside. Although they were quite far away, the voices from inside could still reach their ears.

Ah Nuo grumbled quietly, "The revival of this broken sect these past few days is all thanks to Sister Shen. She pushes herself around in a wheelchair, and it makes me sad to see her. But I haven't seen these people do anything, and yet they still have the nerve to say she's incompetent."

Lu Xingzhou smiled without saying anything. He just chose a location on the ground and instructed Anuo to dig a hole and bury the pills he had just refined.

Inside, Shen Tang looked coldly at the people who spoke out and sneered in his heart.

Bai Chi had just arrived in Xiazhou when the news leaked out and he was poached. She knew there must be someone inside. This traitor wasn't a traitor, but was clearly trying to seize power and hinder her, the clan leader. There were probably many such people, but Shen Tang couldn't identify them all.

Many people have already spoken out against Bai Chi's failure to capture and kill him, and his inability to recruit a new alchemist to replace him, but this judgment is inaccurate. Some people appear to be speaking for her, but are they actually trying to further embarrass her and make her recovery even more difficult? Some people appear to be criticizing her, but are they actually genuinely concerned about the sect's interests?
So, these past few days, she'd been busy with household chores, handing out the responsibilities of sword talisman production and sales to others, just to see how they would react. Whether or not the sword talisman sales could make a splash was another matter; the real question was who was truly dedicated and who was just going through the motions.

To know what people are thinking, don’t look at what they say, just look at what they do.

Through observations over the past few days, it turned out that one-third of the former Sword Sect's senior leaders did not want to be the Sect Leader.

A little more than I had originally imagined, but not beyond my comprehension.

As he was observing with a cold eye, someone else said, "Besides, Lu Xingzhou is just an alchemist. What good ideas can he offer for the sect's development? It's ridiculous that the young sect leader actually believed such a young man with no talent for words. Could it be that he was just attracted by his good looks..."

Shen Tang, who had remained indifferent to the attacks, finally spoke up. "Lu Xingzhou merely proposed an idea. Whether or not to adopt it is our collective decision. What does it have to do with him? Blaming others for the slightest setback? Is this Elder Sun's responsibility as a swordsman?"

Outside the house, Lu Xingzhou was constructing a formation. He looked up when he heard this, his eyes a little dazed.

Elder Sun sneered, "You're going to protect me already? Well, speaking of responsibility, with all the recent chaos, where is the responsibility of the Young Sect Master as a swordsman?"

Shen Tang said coldly, "You all criticize me for being clueless, but I think it's you who are clueless. You can't even handle something as simple as selling sword talismans."

This time, it wasn't just Elder Sun who laughed out loud. Several other opponents laughed in anger. "Master, do you know what you're talking about? Simple? Why don't you try it yourself?"

"You don't recognize it?" Shen Tang said calmly, "How about we make a pact? I'll take personal responsibility for this matter. If I can't break the deadlock, I'll step down and let someone else take over. On the other hand, if I can break the deadlock, who should step down and let someone else take over?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was shocked, and then some people were ecstatic.

Saying such words in front of all the sect's leaders meant there was no way back, no way out. This woman was young after all, and she was so vulnerable to provocation!

Elder Sun immediately said, "If the Sect Master can truly resolve the situation, then naturally we will step down and let someone more capable do so. But the Sect Master must set a date. It can't be a year or two later, can it?"

Shen Tang said calmly: "You used it for three days, so I will use it for three days too."

"Once the words are spoken..."

"It's hard to chase a horse."

A loyal elder who stood on her side paused and said, "Sect Master, you..."

Shen Tang shook his head and said calmly, "There has to be something that convinces everyone, so let's see this time. If not, I can't do it myself."

After saying this, he pushed his wheelchair to the door without paying attention to the different expressions in the hall.

Just as I was about to push open the door, I was suddenly startled.

She felt a faint heat emanating from deep within the earth's veins, spreading over her calves and knees, and her broken legs felt as if they were being nourished.

Although it is very mild and of no direct use in treatment, if you remain in this state for a long time, you should have a better chance of recovery in the future.

This is the special spiritual energy that I felt at the Huo residence before. How come I can feel it here too?

Shen Tang suddenly opened the door and saw Lu Xingzhou holding up a spell in his hand not far ahead.

Spiritual energy flowed in the void, and Shen Tang could feel the lines of a formation moving through the house.

Shen Tang figured out the purpose of this formation - it was used to steal spiritual energy from the Huo residence. At the same time, with the addition of Lu Xingzhou's unique ingenuity as an alchemist, it also had the effect of nourishing and warming the body, like taking a hot spring bath.

This formation is of very high attainment... Combined with his alchemy skills, the level of "skill" mastered by this person is far superior to his own practice. Why is that?

"You paid extra for this spiritual energy when you rented the room." Lu Xingzhou smiled gently as she looked him over. "This is the service you deserve."

Shen Tang also smiled: "In that case, since you came up with this idea, shouldn't you also be responsible for the entire process?"

(End of this chapter)