The Long Journey to Immortality

Having gained Han Lu's approval, Wen Erya temporarily put aside her unpleasant mood from earlier.

"It's a good idea, but don't let anything slip later. Remember to question Xiao Ran in your own name, or you might make things worse."

Upon hearing Wen Erya's words, Han Lu already knew the true choice Wen Erya had made in her heart.

She didn't point it out, but simply promised, "I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

After some twists and turns, Han Lu and Wen Erya finally left the hotel where Han Lu had been staying for the past few days, and flew at low altitude to the No. 2 courtyard of the Tianzi section of the Ranshan Immortal Residence.

At this moment, Xiao Ran, who had drunk quite a bit of wine at the wedding banquet, was struggling with his "alcohol addiction".

He held a gourd containing an alcohol substitute in his right hand the whole time.

His left hand was flipping through a miscellaneous book about the history of the East China Sea.

He used this to pass the time, waiting for Han Lu and Wen Erya to return.

At that moment, he was completely unaware that an unexpected test was about to befall him.

Hearing a sound outside, Xiao Ran looked up from the miscellaneous books in his hands and saw Han Lu and Wen Erya walking hand in hand.

"Why are you so slow? Is it because Han Lu lives in a very remote place?" Xiao Ran asked casually, estimating the time it would take for the two to travel there and back.

Han Lu replied, "I just had a private chat with my senior sister for a while, which took up a little time."

"By the way," Han Lu got straight to the point, not wasting any time, "Xiao Ran, I have a few questions I want to ask you. As long as you answer them to my satisfaction, I will fully support your relationship with my senior sister."

"What's the problem?" Xiao Ran closed his book and sat up straight.

Chapter 1040 A Strange Trial

"Xiao Ran, I just want to ask you, what kind of wedding do you plan to give your senior sister in the future?" Han Lu asked the first question.

Having just attended a wedding, Xiao Ran had actually thought about this question before, so he answered it with ease and fluency.

In Xiao Ran's description, a wedding that is not extravagant but is absolutely full of sincerity and happiness is beginning to take shape.

Wen Erya, standing to the side, seemed to have temporarily forgotten the "testing plan" she and Han Lu had devised, and was immersed in the beautiful future that Xiao Ran had woven for her.

The best way to downplay an important issue and make it go unnoticed is to mix it with countless unimportant issues, using it as a cover and a bodyguard.

Therefore, at this time, Han Lu did not directly present the challenging test she and Wen Erya had prepared, but instead laid a lot of groundwork to confuse Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran had always wanted to gain the support of Han Lu, Wen Er Ya's best friend and confidante, so he didn't think much of it.

Han Lu was quite satisfied with Xiao Ran's answer to this "minor question" and praised him a couple of times. In order to ensure that the answer was "genuine," she continued to ask questions.

"Xiao Ran, tell me what qualities you admire in my senior sister, and what aspects of yourself attract you to her."

"Xiao Ran, can you promise to quit drinking after you get together with my senior sister? Only one drink a month?"

……

One by one, seemingly reasonable questions were posed by Han Lu.

He basically answered whatever Han Lu asked, without paying any attention to the potential "traps" that might exist.

To make the transition less abrupt, Han Lu began to raise some "hypothetical" questions.

Just like testing Lü Zhi in a dream world, only this time, Han Lu simply described a story in words, and Xiao Ran had to answer verbally and make a choice.

Faced with these strange questions, Xiao Ran's answers were not as decisive and resolute as before; instead, he needed to think for a moment before giving an answer.

Obviously, it is very difficult to determine whether the answer is true or false.

However, Han Lu didn't particularly care about the "truthfulness" or "falsehood" of these answers. He believed that Xiao Ran could make the right choice when he was sober, and even if it wasn't his first instinct, it was enough as long as it was correct.

Wen Erya's thoughts were similar to Han Lu's.

Wen Erya was very satisfied with the progress of the plan.

If it weren't for the fact that "the question about the child that Xiao Ran also doesn't know" was too important, Wen Erya would have felt that this plan could have ended in victory even with just these answers.

After laying the groundwork and even coming up with two "hypothetical questions" as a conclusion, Han Lu finally posed the question she had been holding back for a long time.

“Xiao Ran, let me give you another example,” Han Lu had already used this as an opening to ask several questions, “If in the future, fifty years after you and your senior sister are married, one day, a cultivator claiming to be your senior sister’s child comes to your door, how would you deal with it?”

"Oh, by the way, I should add that my senior sister knew nothing about the existence of this child and did not deceive you."

Xiao Ran suddenly questioned the question, "Huh? How could such a thing possibly happen?"

"Why wouldn't it happen?" Han Lu retorted.

Xiao Ran explained his confusion, "If Er Ya has a child outside, how could she not know? It's more possible that I have a child outside and I wouldn't know."

Noticing the change in expression on Wen Erya and Han Lu's faces, Xiao Ran misunderstood and quickly explained, "Hey, I was just saying maybe, and I don't have any children outside."

Han Lu and Wen Erya breathed a sigh of relief.

In just three breaths, Han Lu came up with a way to complete the question: "Perhaps it is a child born from the practice of some kind of secret technique or supernatural power? In any case, there is such a child coming to find you."

"Now that you know, and you've run into them, how will you treat Er Ya and her child?"

Han Lu looked at Xiao Ran and urged, "Answer quickly, don't worry about whether it's reasonable or not."

Perhaps because there were loopholes in his previous statements, Xiao Ran felt somewhat "in the wrong" and stopped worrying about whether it made sense.

After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Ran replied.

"After all, there's nothing to hide. Er Ya must be even more surprised and astonished than I am by this."

"I will comfort Er Ya first, and then make a decision based on her decision."

"If she acknowledges the child, then I'll consider it a blessing to have many children."

"If she doesn't acknowledge it, then I will protect Er Ya and keep this child who has approached my life with unknown intentions away from us."

“In that case…” Xiao Ran added a few more words, “Although it can’t be considered a perfect solution, at least it can make things a little easier for me, Er Ya, and my child.”

Such a strange event occurred, and in the rush, Xiao Ran was unable to provide a satisfactory answer to all parties.

He simply stuck to his usual style of doing things, insisting on giving a "gentle and refined" answer as always.

Upon hearing this answer, Han Lu calmly transmitted her voice to Wen Erya and asked, "Senior Sister, how is it?"

After a moment, Wen Erya replied, "It's alright, I know what I'm doing."

This answer was lukewarm, but since she wasn't involved, Han Lu naturally couldn't offer any valuable advice on the matter.

Feeling somewhat powerless, Han Lu comforted herself, saying, "Anyway, it's good that I completed the task my senior sister gave me."

"This is a low-probability event no matter how you look at it."

"Perhaps, after spending thirty or forty years with Xiao Ran, or after having children, Senior Sister will have new thoughts and insights about this matter."

"Let's take it one step at a time."

Relieved, Han Lu showed no sign of distress and continued to treat this crucial issue as a "confusion item".

With excellent acting skills and ample foreshadowing, Xiao Ran had no doubt that this "fake" problem might actually be real.

Finally, Han Lu ended her "interrogation" of Xiao Ran, the "heartless man," with two slightly easier-to-answer emotional questions.

"Han Lu, how did it go?" Xiao Ran was a little nervous, hoping to hear a good result from Han Lu.

Han Lu didn't tease Xiao Ran anymore and said directly, "Not bad, at least for now I support you being with your senior sister."

Before Xiao Ran could even feel happy, Han Lu warned him sternly, "However, if I find out that you have done anything to offend Senior Sister or make her sad, even if you hide in the East China Sea, I will still drag you here to apologize to Senior Sister."

"No, no, it won't happen," Xiao Ran assured him repeatedly.

Wen Erya, who was standing to the side, also spoke up for Xiao Ran, "Junior sister, Xiao Ran is very good to me, he would never make me angry for no reason."

Husband and wife in perfect harmony, "colluding in evil deeds," Han Lu could only end this "interrogation," the outcome of which had already been decided, with a smile.

Chapter 1041 Divination Talent, A Sigh

With this matter settled, the three old friends began to enjoy tea and reminisce.

With Han Lu around, Wen Erya and Xiao Ran, whose relationship had become "close" over the years, were somewhat more restrained.

When the three of them sat around the table, Wen Erya was sandwiched between Xiao Ran and Han Lu, and even a little close to Han Lu.

The conversation focused more on Han Lu.

Having not seen each other for a long time, and having spent another fifteen years in the wilderness, Han Lu certainly had a lot of new things to talk about with her two friends.

This kind of scene has happened countless times, and Han Lu, who is good at storytelling, is very familiar with it.

When the topic of the Hundred Birds Gathering came up, Xiao Ran and Wen Erya were full of curiosity, asking all sorts of questions.

When the story of Quexin and Haozun's marriage, arranged by Han Lu, was told, the two listened very attentively, as if they wanted to learn some "advanced international experience" from it.

However, what intrigued the two most was Han Lu's experience of learning astrology from senior Hao Cuixing.

Of course, Han Lu slightly changed the reason for learning astrology.

The "Eastern World" remains a closely guarded secret. Han Lu doesn't think it's appropriate for her two friends to know about it now, nor does she have the right to do so.

Upon first hearing of such a bizarre divination technique, Wen Erya, who had inherited some of Wang Han's divination skills, immediately inquired about how to cultivate "astrology".

Back when she was practicing astrology, Han Lu had the idea of ​​passing on this wonderful divination method to Wen Erya.

Now that Wen Erya has taken the initiative to learn, she naturally won't refuse. She proactively shared her limited knowledge with Wen Erya, imparting the knowledge she had gained from Senior Hao Cuixing.

Xiao Ran also joined in the fun and listened for a while, but because he didn't understand divination at all, he couldn't grasp the point.

After explaining the general logic of "astrology", Han Lu taught Wen Erya the "Heavenly Connection Technique".

“Senior sister, by practicing this technique and entering a meditative state, you can try to communicate with the stars in the sky.”

"Only by successfully establishing a connection with the stars at a certain moment can one truly use astrology for divination."

"If you successfully enter the sect, then I will teach you the 'Star Language' that Senior Hao Cuixing taught me."

Compared to "The Art of Heavenly Connection," "The Language of Stars" is more complex and difficult to learn. Therefore, Han Lu divided her "course" into two parts and did not rush to tell Wen Erya all the information about astrology.

The technique was simple, and Wen Erya, being a genius slightly inferior to Han Lu, naturally mastered it in the blink of an eye.

After obtaining Han Lu and Xiao Ran's consent, Wen Erya closed her eyes in front of them and tried to activate the "Heavenly Connection Technique" to see if she could strike it lucky and encounter a star that would "stick" to her.

It must be said that Wen Erya's talent in divination far surpasses that of Han Lu.

No more than a hundred breaths later, Wen Erya opened her eyes again.