The sun was blazing brightly in Penglai Mountain. The fiery red crow and the "囍" characters posted everywhere gave people an inexplicable feeling of oppression.
Pedestrians were walking hurriedly on the street, and the shops on both sides had closed their doors tightly. Only two or three shops had their doors half-closed. There was an eerie silence in the entire inner city.
Someone pushed open the door of a pastry shop, and the door creaked, seemingly inadvertently breaking the tranquility of the inner city of Penglai Mountain.
The dark-skinned middle-aged man waved his hand at the woman beside him: "Poor... well, I'm old and don't like sweet cakes."
The woman glanced at him and said to the shopkeeper, "Give me six taels of Yunpian cake, and he will pay."
man:"… "
The spiritual stones on him were saved thousands of years ago. He had never used them and was going to take them into the grave. But she had remembered it when he just mentioned it casually.
Although he thought so in his heart, he still took out the spirit stones obediently. When he handed them to the shopkeeper, he turned around and asked her, "Miss Yu, do you want to buy more? I still have a lot of spirit stones left."
Yu Zhengzheng, who was asked the question, shook his head twice and said, "Brother Jia, six taels is not a small amount. I can't finish it by myself."
Lu Renjia felt helpless. He didn't know why, although his last name was Lu, she always called him Brother Jia.
Besides, he is 10,000 to 20,000 years older than her and is about to step into the coffin. She should call him uncle.
However, he had been a monk for many years and had long since become indifferent to the world. Naturally, he would not care so much about a little girl like her.
When Yu Zhengzheng took the Yunpian cake handed to her by the shopkeeper, she found that the amount given to her was six taels more. She was stunned for a moment, and when she looked up, she realized that the shopkeeper was smiling at her.
She was a little embarrassed: "This cloud cake..."
The shopkeeper interrupted her: "The rest are given away as gifts. Not many people buy them anyway."
Her favorite dish is the Yunpian Cake from this shop, but this shop is a century-old brand. The Yunpian Cake is delicious, but it is too expensive for her.
So even though she loved to eat it, she could only buy it once every six months, and each time she bought six taels, which was just enough to satisfy her craving and was within her budget.
Yu Zhengzheng didn't come very often, only about ten times in total, but the shopkeeper remembered this little girl who came once every six months and only bought six taels of Yunpian cake each time.
Seeing that she was still hesitating, the shopkeeper said, "You should leave quickly. My shop will be closed soon."
Yu Zhengzheng didn't know that the shopkeeper knew her. After all, the business in this store was booming, and she had only been here twice in a year. Today she had specially disguised herself.
But after hearing what the shopkeeper said, she didn't stand there stupidly anymore. After thanking the shopkeeper, she took the cloud cake and left with Lu Renjia.
She knew that Immortal Lord Heng Wu would come to this pastry shop soon, and the owner was in a hurry to send her away because he was afraid that she would get into trouble.
Today is her eighth day in Penglai Mountain. Every day she pays close attention to the developments in the inner city and the actions of Immortal Lord Hengwu.
Immortal Lord Hengwu ordered most of the shops to be closed. Perhaps because of the scenery, he left some shops selling delicious snacks open.
This pastry shop is one of them. He comes here almost every afternoon to buy food for Shanshui.
Walking in the sun, Yu Zhengzheng looked at the crooked wig on Lu Renjia's head and couldn't help laughing out loud.
That day, before dawn, she secretly left the suburban area while Rong Shang was sleeping, and returned to Honglian Temple to find Lu Renjia.
Lu Renjia likes Xue Xi, and Xiao Yuqing is the mastermind behind Xue Xi's murder.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Lu Renjia is good at medicine. If he is kept by her side, he can naturally help her relieve the poison in her body.
Lu Renjia seemed to have expected her to come back. He had already packed his luggage thoughtfully and even bought himself a wig to wear on his head.
He was so sure that she would return to Honglian Temple to find him, not only because he was sure of her feelings for Rong Shang, but also because he saw the toxicity hidden in her body.
Yu Zhengzheng originally didn't want to get involved in these messes anymore, but she naturally thought of everything that could be considered.
Xiao Yuqing asked Xiang Feng to chase her to Honglian Temple. His real purpose was not to seize Rong Shang's soul, but to consume her spiritual power so that the poison in her body would relapse in advance in front of Rong Shang.
Xiao Yuqing was making a bet with Rong. He wanted to bet whether Rong could remain calm and composed after seeing her appearance when the poison took effect.
According to Rong Shang's crazy personality, even if he knew that Xiao Yuqing had set a trap on Penglai Mountain, he would break in without hesitation.
This is a dead end for Rong Shang.
She didn't want him to die, so she ran away.
She left a letter for Rong Shang, telling him that she wanted to travel around the beautiful world before she died.
The anklet that Rong Shang tied on her foot seemed to have lost its effect due to the absence of his soul, so he had no idea where she had gone.
If nothing unexpected happens, Rong Shang is still looking for her in the human world.
If he could hold on for two more days, after the wedding of Immortal Lord Hengwu, the trap and conspiracy set by Xiao Yuqing would be broken, and he would be safe.
While she was thinking, Lu Renjia pulled her into the alley. Before she could react, she heard a loud shout from outside the alley: "The Emperor of Heaven has arrived, everyone should retreat—"
She stuck half of her head out and vaguely saw a man in red sitting on a white sedan chair.
Although it was just a silhouette from behind, she still recognized that it was the Emperor of Heaven. She also wondered who was getting married, and why he was wearing such a flashy red outfit, he might be here to ruin the party.
Originally, Immortal Lord Hengwu had a grudge against the Emperor of Heaven, and he would never allow the Emperor of Heaven to come to his wedding to disrupt it.
But this hasty marriage was obviously a trap he set for Rong Shangxia in order to cooperate with Xiao Yuqing.
Inviting the Emperor of Heaven to Mount Penglai was just to ensure that nothing could go wrong and to defeat Rong Shang with the help of both inside and outside forces.
It’s a pity that Xiao Yuqing thought his plan was perfect, but he didn’t know that the relationship between him and the Emperor of Heaven was not unbreakable.
The Emperor of Heaven was willing to get involved in this mess, naturally not because of the relationship between the Queen Mother and Xiao Yuqing, but because he also wanted to accommodate the soul.
The Emperor of Heaven had two sons, one was the Immortal Lord Hengwu and the other was the Immortal Lord Hengyang. While trying to get rid of the evil beast, the Immortal Lord Hengyang was seriously injured by the evil beast and is about to die.
The only way for the Emperor of Heaven to save the Immortal Lord Hengyang is to seize Rong Shang's soul and make elixir.
In the final analysis, no matter whether it was Immortal Lord Hengwu, Xiang Feng, Xiao Yuqing or the Emperor of Heaven, they all gathered at Mount Penglai for Rong Shang's soul.
Yu Zhengzheng couldn't help but sigh. If it weren't for Rong Shang seeking his own death and insisting on playing that self-torture trick on the cliff of Qingcheng Mountain, he wouldn't have ended up in such a passive situation now.
As she was thinking, she felt a tightness in her chest, and from time to time there was a stabbing pain like a needle. She took out the cloud cake and handed it to Lu Renjia: "Do you think there is anything wrong with this cake?"
Lu Renjia pinched the cake powder twice, put it between his nose and sniffed it twice, then shook his head: "No problem."
Yu Zhengzheng nodded. Perhaps she was being too cautious and was always doubtful before doing anything.
But now is a special period, if she is not careful, she can easily be framed.
She put the cloud cake between her teeth and took a light bite.
The milky white cloud cake was sweet, delicate, fragrant and delicious. She didn’t know if it was a psychological effect, but the sweet taste seeped into her throat and relieved some of her discomfort.
Lu Renjia looked carefully outside the alley and whispered, "The Emperor of Heaven brought more than just these people. I can sense their presence. There must be at least tens of thousands of Heavenly Soldiers on standby outside the city."
Yu Zhengzheng was not surprised. Since the Emperor of Heaven had come, he could not return empty-handed. In this case, he had to be fully prepared.
She was not too anxious. After all, as long as Rong couldn't get in, it would be in vain no matter how many people the Emperor of Heaven ambushed.
She picked up a piece of cloud cake and held it to him: "Want to try it?"
Lu Renjia lowered his eyes and saw the cloud cake handed to him, and was a little dazed.
Xue Xi also loves these sweets. Every year when he burns paper for her, he would put out two plates of cakes. I don’t know if she ever eats any of them.
Speaking of which, Yu Zhengzheng and Xue Xi have somewhat similar personalities. Even though they have both been poisoned, they still remain optimistic.
Seeing his dazed look, Yu Zhengzheng called out softly, "Brother Jia, what are you thinking about?"
Lu Renjia was stunned for a moment, then slowly replied, "Nothing, I'm just getting old, and I always like to reminisce about the past."
After saying that, he took the cloud cake, put it in his mouth and took a bite.
It was indeed something little girls would love to eat, and it was so sweet that it made his throat choke. Despite this, he ate the entire piece of cloud cake carefully.
Lu Renjia murmured softly, "How sweet."
Yu Zhengzheng smiled and said, "It's right to eat sweet food. Life is so bitter, so of course we need to eat something sweet to replenish our body."
This time, Lu Renjia didn't say anything, but his dark face was also infected by her smile and showed a faint smile.
By the time the Emperor of Heaven's mighty army faded away, Yu Zhengzheng had finished eating the remaining cloud cakes, and she and Lu Renjia returned to their temporary residence.
As soon as they got back, they sat down face to face. Yu Zhengzheng placed her slender fingertips on his brow, and a dark green light leaked out from her fingertips and slowly merged into his brow.
If Lu Renjia had not met Yu Zhengzheng, he would have only one or two months left to live.
He was a cultivator with wood spiritual roots in the fusion stage. If it weren't for the dragon-slaying incident, he might have been promoted to the Mahayana stage long ago, and after practicing for another thousand or eight hundred years, he would be able to transcend the calamity and ascend to heaven.
But as all the plants and trees withered, his spiritual power was also consumed, and he gradually became a mortal, and had to experience birth, aging, sickness and death.
But he never bore a grudge against Rong Shang. Wasn't death a relief for him
It was because of his timid and cowardly character that he had to watch Xue Xi's life slip away.
Originally, he could have saved Xue Xi at the cost of his own life, but when he was really facing death, he backed off and missed the best opportunity to save Xue Xi.
Even after that, he did not have the courage to expose what Xiao Bichi had done, because he knew that he could not compete with the largest sect in the world of immortal cultivation, and no one would believe what he said.
Over the years, he has been saving lives and healing the wounded, but the scene before Xue Xi's death was like a nightmare that tightly strangled his neck and made it difficult for him to breathe.
His life was hopeless, but when he saw Yu Zhengzheng trying her best to fight against fate for her lover, he seemed to have some desire to live again.
More importantly, he wanted to know what her choice was.
Yes, Yu Zhengzheng can not only control the attack and defense of plants and trees in the six realms, but also has a healing wood spirit root that only appears once in hundreds of thousands of years.
The fruits of her spiritual herb are red and green, which means that she possesses two rare spiritual powers at the same time.
Not only had he never seen a genius-level cultivator with wood spiritual roots like her, but he was afraid that no one in the six realms had ever seen a cultivator with wood spiritual roots of her level since Pangu created the world.
Besides being shocked, he suddenly realized that Yu Zhengzheng, like him, could use his spiritual power to heal the dying and the wounded, and could also exchange his life to save the souls of those who had been torn apart.
In fact, the Yunpian cake that Yu Zhengzheng had just eaten was problematic. Someone had added a medicinal ingredient to the cake, which would accelerate the fermentation of the poison in her body.
But he and Xiao Yuqing were not in the same group. Just as she expected, he hated Xiao Yuqing very much.
The reason why he didn't tell the truth was because he wanted to see whether Rong Shang would accept this death agreement for her.
Also, if Rong Shang died in front of her, would she exchange her life for Rong Shang's
Lu Renjia was eager to know whether everyone would choose to retreat like him when faced with a life-and-death situation.
Feeling the spiritual energy filling his body, he slowly opened his eyes, with a hint of guilt that was barely perceptible in his eyes.
He lowered his head, not daring to look her in the eye: "Thank you."
Yu Zhengzheng smiled and said, "I should be the one to thank you. Thanks to your great medical skills, I was able to sleep well at night these past few days."
In fact, Lu Renjia not only helped her relieve the du's-u in her body, but after he learned that her spiritual grass was of two colors, he did his best to teach her how to use spiritual power to cure diseases and save lives.
He was truly unreserved and did not hide anything from her, even giving her a lost collection of medical books from the world of immortal cultivation.
In just a few days, her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, and she was about to break through the Golden Core Stage and enter the Nascent Soul Stage.
Giving him some spiritual power would be a way of repaying him for his careful teaching over the past few days.
Lu Renjia naturally didn't dare to thank him immediately. He was about to say something when he heard Yu Zhengzheng say, "If I don't come back tonight, you'd better flee from here."
He was stunned for a moment: "You want to go to Zhanlu Palace?"
Zhanlu Palace was originally where the leader lived. Now the leader is half-dead, the entire Penglai Mountain has been occupied by evil cultivators, and Zhanlu Palace has naturally been requisitioned by Immortal Lord Hengwu.
Yu Zhengzheng didn't say much to Lu Renjia. She just gave him a few instructions and then took a winding path and entered the Zhanlu Palace.
Although the past was hard to recall, Zhanlu Palace was where she had lived for more than ten years, so she was naturally more familiar with it than anyone else.
In less than two days, Shanshui would be getting married in her wedding dress, so she wanted to go see Shanshui first.
She had already figured out the daily schedule of Immortal Lord Hengwu. At this hour, he should have gone out to buy food for Shanshui, so she didn't have to worry about running into him in the hall.
Zhanlu Palace is not too big, there are five palaces and courtyards in total. The largest palace is the residence of the scumbag father and Madam Lu. Given the temperament of Immortal Lord Hengwu, he would probably dislike the unlucky atmosphere of that residence.
If the palace was too small, he would feel that the mountains and rivers were unfairly neglected, so he only needed to eliminate a few options and he could easily guess where the mountains and rivers were.
The mountains and rivers should be where she lived. The place where she used to live was clean and secluded, not too big or too small, just the right size.
After Yu Zhengzheng entered the Zhanlu Palace through the dog hole, he did not rush to look for Shanshui, but first went to the maid's room and stole a servant's clothing.
After she changed into a maid's dress, tied her long black hair into two buns, and disguised herself carefully, she pulled two bunches of weeds from the yard before leaving.
The place where she lived was right next to her scumbag father’s palace, and this was also what Madam Lu was planning.
After the scumbag father killed his wife to prove his truth, Madam Lu took the position right after. This inevitably led to gossip. In order to shut others up, Madam Lu put in a lot of effort to pretend to be nice.
When others saw that she lived in a palace right next to her scumbag father, while Yu Jiangjiang was thrown to live far away, and Madam Lu treated her better than her own blood, her despicable reputation was immediately reversed.
When Yu Zhengzheng thought of Madam Lu, she felt nauseous. She quickened her pace and walked towards the palace where she had lived.
As expected, there were the most demon cultivators outside her palace. Before she could enter, she was stopped by swords: "Who are you?!"
Yu Zhengzheng was neither humble nor arrogant, and lowered her head slightly: "I am ordered by the Demon Lord to bring the specialty food of Penglai Mountain to Madam."
As she spoke, she shook the weeds in her hand, as if to prove something.
When the demon cultivator heard this, he did not doubt it. In the past two days, their Demon Lord seemed to be possessed by a demon. He brought in strange and bizarre foods into the house every day, and the house was almost full of them.
The sword fell, and the demon cultivator said impatiently: "Go quickly and come back quickly, don't disturb the lady's peace."
Yu Zhengzheng readily agreed and walked into the hall with his head down.
The windows in the hall were closed tightly, and no light could get in, making the whole room seem dead silent.
After Yu Zhengzheng entered, he looked around but could not find any trace of mountains or rivers.
She thought about it, walked towards the inner hall, and finally saw Shanshui curled up on the bed.
Shanshui was wearing a wedding dress, the bright red color was a bit dazzling. She was stunned for a moment, and Shanshui's hoarse voice rang in her ears: "Immortal Lord, I'm not hungry, you can go out."
Yu Zhengzheng walked to the side of the couch, she slowly squatted down, and gently placed her palm on Shanshui's arm: "Shanshui, it's me."
She felt Shanshui's body tremble twice, and then he stiffened and sat up tremblingly: "Miss Zhengzheng... why are you here?"
Shanshui's eyes turned slightly red and he subconsciously threw himself into her arms.
But before he could hug her, Shanshui pushed her away again with a struggling look on his face: "Go quickly, when the Immortal Lord comes back, he will catch you."
Yu Zhengzheng didn't say anything. She stared blankly at the skinny Shanshui. Her dry lips trembled twice, and her eyes were full of disbelief.
It's only been half a month since we last met, but Shanshui has become so thin that she is no longer in human form. She no longer looks as plump and round as when we first met.
What exactly did the mountains and rivers experience
Yu Zhengzheng did not leave. She asked in a low voice, "He treats you badly?"
Shanshui shook his head: "He treats me very well."
"and you… "
She couldn't ask the following questions.
If it was so great, how come the landscape became what it is now
Yu Zhengzheng thought for a moment and said, "Tonight at midnight, find an excuse to go out, and I will find a way to pick you up."
Shanshui was stunned for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "Miss Zhengzheng, I won't leave."
She was also stunned: "You want to marry Immortal Lord Hengwu?"
Shanshui said truthfully: "I don't want to."
Yu Zhengzheng was a little puzzled: "If that's the case, why don't you leave?"
Shanshui didn't say anything, just smiled.
What difference does it make to her now whether she leaves or not
In this big world, where is her home
Her home was long gone, burned to the ground in a fire.
Shanshui stretched out his cool little hand and held Yu Zhengzheng's hand: "Will you come on my wedding day?"
Yu Zhengzheng was silent for a moment, and finally nodded: "Yes."
Even if she just wanted to take a look from a distance, she would go.
"Miss Zhengzheng, I mean, if, if I die one day... You know, no matter if it's a fairy or a human, everyone will die."
Shanshui paused for a moment and continued, "Burn my body with fire and scatter my ashes on the steps of the Holy Spring."
Holy Spring Steps was where they met, and she hoped that her life could end there.
When Yu Zhengzheng heard her say this, she inexplicably had a bad feeling in her heart: "Bah! What nonsense are you talking about? You won't die."
Shanshui saw Yu Zhengzheng's frowned expression and couldn't help laughing: "I was just saying it casually."
She calculated the time and urged, "Miss Zhengzheng, he should be back soon. You should leave here quickly. We will be able to meet again in two days."
Yu Zhengzheng also knew that it was not advisable to stay here for a long time. She gave Shanshui a few more instructions and then walked out reluctantly.
She wanted to return along the same route, but when she passed by her scumbag father's palace, she heard a man's voice faintly coming from the palace.
The scumbag dad was paralyzed on one side and couldn't speak. It was obvious that the man speaking in the hall was not the scumbag dad.
Could it be that Mrs. Lu couldn't wait to cheat on her scumbag father
Yu Zhengzheng smacked her lips. Her scumbag father was still lying in the room. Mrs. Lu was really having too much fun.
She couldn't help but move closer, squatting not far from the door and putting her ear upwards.
This time she heard the voices in the room clearly. A familiar male voice sounded, and it turned out to be the voice of Xiao Yuqing, the green tea girl.
He just said, "Mother, where did my sister go again? Didn't I tell you that there are barriers set up everywhere in Penglai Mountain? Don't let her run around for the next two days."
Mrs. Lu was somewhat helpless: "Jiang'er has always been disobedient. When she comes back today, I will definitely teach her a lesson."
Yu Zhengzheng was shocked by the name Xiao Yuqing called her.
Mother? Sister
Mrs. Lu is Xiao Yuqing's mother, and Yu Jiangjiang is Xiao Yuqing's sister
So Madam Lu is actually the concubine of the Third Prince of Donghuang
No wonder Xiao Yuqing is so nice to Yu Jiangjiang, it turns out that Yu Jiangjiang is his sister? !
If this is the truth, then didn't she and Rong Shang have been abused by the same woman, having miserable childhoods and almost falling into the arms of the King of Hell
Yu Zhengzheng didn't have time to digest this fact.
Because when she turned around, she saw the "sister" that Xiao Yuqing had mentioned running away, stepping into the courtyard gate. After meeting her eyes, she let out a piercing scream: "Mother—"