It was not until Yu Zhengzheng was invited to the City Lord's Mansion by Zhou Shen and her lips were bleeding from washing that she reluctantly stopped.
She pushed open the door, wiped the mouthwash from the corner of her mouth, and looked up to see Zhou Shen waiting outside the door.
Zhou Shen seemed a little worried: "Miss Yu, are you okay?"
Yu Zhengzheng didn't know whether to nod or shake her head.
She couldn't express her feelings in words, so she could only pull the corners of her mouth reluctantly and change the unpleasant topic: "Brother Zhou, aren't you going to Guixu Mountain? If you set off tomorrow, you may not be able to make it there."
Yes, Guixu Mountain is a certain distance away from the Chu State in the human world. Even if you fly there on a sword, it will take about an hour.
Zhou Shen smiled but did not respond. He looked up at the dim moonlight in the sky and said, "Walk with me."
Originally Zhou Shen wanted to rush to Guixu Mountain overnight, otherwise he would not have met her at the city gate.
But seeing that she had just kicked the snow dog away and looked like she had eaten shit, he had no choice but to take her and Rong Shang back to the City Lord's Mansion in Luancheng.
Although Zhou Shen didn't say it, Yu Zhengzheng understood it in her heart. She felt sorry and naturally couldn't refuse.
She glanced around. She was just cleaning up the house when she saw the culprit had disappeared without a trace. She didn't know where he had gone.
Not seeing Rong Shang, she did not go looking for him again. Even if Pei Qian returned to Guixu Mountain early, there would still be a few secret guards left by her side.
Pei Qian knew her very well, so he would have people keep an eye on Rong Shang without her having to remind him specifically.
Seeing that she did not refuse, Zhou Shen walked forward with his hands behind his back.
Yu Zhengzheng walked behind him, looking at his elongated shadow, and inexplicably felt a sense of loneliness.
Seven years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhou Shen is now 26 years old.
Over the years, she has not asked about Zhou Shen's private affairs, but men and women in the human world get married early, so Zhou Shen's children should be able to help with family matters by now.
Could it be that Zhou Shen is missing his wife
Yu Zhengzheng pondered for a while, then slowly said, "If Brother Zhou misses home, you can just deal with the apprenticeship test tomorrow casually."
She didn't want to accept a disciple anyway, and she agreed to let Pei Qian attend the apprenticeship ceremony just to find a reason to keep Rong Shang.
Zhou Shen paused, and turned aside: "My mother passed away due to illness two years ago, so why do I miss my family?"
Yu Zhengzheng was stunned: "I'm sorry, I didn't know Auntie..."
She had never paid attention to Zhou Shen. Even when Zhou Shen became the prime minister of Chu State, she only knew about it through Hengwu Immortal Lord because Hengwu Immortal Lord lived in Zhou Shen's old residence.
Zhou Shen was silent for a moment. After an unknown amount of time, he turned around and said, "Miss Yu, I have not married or had any children."
That year, I caught a glimpse of her true face by accident.
From that day on, no matter how beautiful or charming other women were, they could not catch his eyes.
The thing he felt most guilty about in his life was that, for his own selfish reasons, he was unable to let his mother see him get married and have children before she died.
Fortunately, his mother did not blame him for being unfilial, but encouraged him again and again, hoping that he could muster up the courage to find her and express his feelings.
Even if I am rejected harshly, I will have no regrets in this life.
Zhou Shen looked at her. The moonlight was dimly shining on her head, making her skin look white. Her cherry-red lips were gently bitten by her pearly teeth. Her pair of smoky brows seemed to be frowned, and she was so beautiful that it was beyond words.
Seeing her looking back at him, he quickly withdrew his gaze and clenched his arms hanging at his sides.
After an unknown amount of time, he slowly sighed, "Once you have seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; once you have seen Mount Wushan, all other clouds are but mounds."
After all, he didn't have the courage to say the four words "I like you", so he could only use this poem to express his feelings implicitly.
I just don't know if she can understand what he wants to express to her.
Yu Zhengzheng naturally understood.
She lowered her head, and it took a long time for her to calm down.
Ever since she traveled through the book, she had not been pursued by anyone. She had even forgotten what it felt like to be confessed to.
It's strange to say, she is obviously good-looking, but in the seven years she has been in Guixu Mountain, no man has ever liked her.
This dealt a heavy blow to her self-confidence for a time. After all, during the more than ten years that Rong Shang disguised himself as the eldest senior brother, the women who pursued him lined up from Penglai Mountain to Guixu Mountain.
If someone else confessed to her, she would probably regain her confidence and reject that person without hesitation.
But Zhou Shen waited for her for seven years. In ancient times, all mortals had short lives, and these seven years were just a blink of an eye for her, but for Zhou Shen, they were his entire youth.
Yu Zhengzheng thought for a moment and raised his head: "Brother Zhou, what does this poem mean? Why don't I see the mountains and the sea?"
Zhou Shen was stunned for a moment, then he smiled bitterly and shook his head: "It's getting late, Miss Yu, go to bed early, I still have to hurry to Guixu Mountain."
He bowed to her and said nothing inappropriate: "I hope we will say goodbye today and meet again in the future."
Yu Zhengzheng didn't say anything, just watched him turn around and leave.
She wanted to reject him but also had to take care of his self-esteem and face, so pretending not to understand was the most thoughtful way she could think of.
After Zhou Shen walked away, she glanced at the rockery not far away and asked, "Have you seen enough?"
The air was quiet for a moment, and a tall white shadow came out from behind the rockery: "Disciple made cold brew flower tea for the Immortal Venerable, would you like to use it to clear your mouth?"
When she heard him mention "clean mouth", she remembered that she had just kissed a dog that had eaten shit.
Her face turned dark: "When did you start eavesdropping?"
Rong Shang was holding a wooden tray and smiling faintly: "Since he recited poems."
For some reason, she felt guilty when she heard him say that: "I don't know what kind of poetry he was reciting, it was about mountains and seas, I didn't understand anything."
He said "Oh" nonchalantly, raised his dark eyes, and raised the corners of his lips: "This poem was written by Yuan Zhen. It means that after seeing the water of the vast ocean and the clouds of Wushan, the water and clouds elsewhere will no longer be uglier to your eyes."
Yu Zhengzheng was a little embarrassed. She had never expected that the real historical figure Yuan Zhen would appear in this melodramatic fictional novel.
Could it be that Yuan Zhen also traveled into the book
Without waiting for her to speak, Rong Shang said slowly: "If the Immortal Venerable goes after him now, maybe he can still catch up with him."
Yu Zhengzheng said without hesitation: "Why would I chase him?"
Rong Shang nodded slightly, his tone cold: "That's right, the Immortal Venerable will be able to see him again tomorrow, why bother chasing him again."
Yu Zhengzheng: “…”
For some reason, she always felt that there was a hint of jealousy in these words.
She leaned forward and asked softly, "Rong Shang?"
He took a step back, keeping a distance from her: "You have forgotten again, Immortal Venerable. My surname is Gang, and my name is Gang Lin."
Yu Zhengzheng sighed: "I'm sleepy."
Rong Shang raised his head and placed the celadon tea bowl in his hand next to her: "Disciple made some cold tea, would you like some, Immortal Lord?"
Yu Zhengzheng didn't want to drink tea, but he had already pushed the cup into her hand. She couldn't just throw the cup away without giving him face.
She held the teacup, lowered her head and sniffed the tea.
This is cold-brewed jasmine green tea. The tea soup is reddish-brown, with a hint of refreshing sweetness, mixed with the fragrance of green tea, and the taste is rich and long-lasting.
She took a sip of tea slowly. The tea was cold, but the teacup was still stained with his body temperature. She held it in her palm as if she was holding his hand.
Rong Shang smiled softly: "How does it taste?"
Yu Zhengzheng nodded: "Remember to make hot tea next time."
No matter how delicious the cold-brewed floral tea is, it is not affordable to drink in winter.
Rong Shang took the teacup she handed him, bent his thin knuckles slightly, and tapped the rim of the cup lightly: "Untimely tea is like an untimely person."
She was stunned for a moment: "What?"
Rong Shang suppressed his gaze and bowed his head slightly: "Pei Protector Daoxianzun has a cold body and should not eat cold food. I neglected this matter. I hope Xianzun will forgive me."
Yu Zhengzheng fell silent. She always felt that what he had just said was strange and indescribable.
Despite this, she was still certain that Rong Shang had not recovered his memory.
Otherwise, given his personality, how could he hide behind the rockery and listen obediently to Zhou Shen's confession to her
If he really recovered his memory, he would have broken Zhou Shen's neck long before Zhou Shen left here.
She was in a daze when she suddenly heard a loud noise in her ears.
When she looked up, she saw bright yellow fireworks rising into the dark night sky. After the warm yellow light disappeared briefly, brilliant fireworks exploded in the sky, and countless stars scattered down.
It’s great, it’s the New Year.
This year, she also has someone to accompany her.
Yu Zhengzheng raised her head and looked at Rong Shang: "Did that dog really eat shit?"
Rong Shang raised an eyebrow: "I forgot."
Seeing that she looked unhappy, he laughed softly and said, "Maybe I saw it wrong. How could there be shit outside the city gate?"
Yu Zhengzheng thought about it and felt that what he said made sense.
Although this was a good thing, her face couldn't help but darken.
If it weren't for what he said, she wouldn't have lost her composure in front of Zhou Shen and kicked the snow dog three meters away.
Zhou Shen kindly gave her a dog, but she kicked the dog away. Now when she thinks of Zhou Shen's helpless expression, she feels so embarrassed that she can dig out Red Wolf's three-story castle on the ground with her toes.
That would have been fine, but after arriving at the City Lord's Mansion, she washed her lips more than a dozen times and almost washed her lips to pieces.
She touched her red lips and couldn't help but take a breath.
It hurts so much.
Yu Zhengzheng raised her head and approached him step by step: "If you can't see clearly, then you are talking nonsense. You should at least compensate me."
Rong Shang was stunned: "How to compensate?"
She slowly stood on tiptoe, hooked her arms around his neck, tilted her neck back, and pressed her lips against the corner of his lips.
His body stiffened slightly, but he did not push her away.
She didn't go deep, but just gently stroked his lips, never too close.
His breathing gradually became heavier, and in the silent air, one could even clearly hear his disordered heartbeat.
The sound of night watchmen's gongs could be heard outside the mansion. On normal days, the gong would be struck every hour, but on New Year's Eve, the time of the night watchmen's gongs would be changed and they would only be struck once at three quarters past midnight.
The gong sounds were slow at first and fast at second. The night watchman shouted, "The end of the year has just arrived, and good fortune is coming to the east—"
Yu Zhengzheng raised the corners of his lips and chuckled: "Do you know what the first thing to do when celebrating the New Year in the world of immortal cultivation is?"
Rong Shang lowered his eyes, and his thick eyelashes trembled slightly: "Hmm?"
Looking at his slightly rolling Adam's apple, she licked her dry lips and said, "Let's fire the first shot of the New Year."