Lu Xingzhou leaned back as she stared at him. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Sheng Yuanyao tugged at his collar and shook him. “Speak! What’s going on with you and the Demon Empress? And the Holy Master… isn’t the Holy Master the Imperial Advisor? You, you, you…”

“No, listen to me…”

“How did your taste change like this? They’re all so old…” Sheng Yuanyao shook him, exasperated. “Did Shen Tang and Pei Chuyun not satisfy you, making you repressed?”

Lu Xingzhou was shaken speechless by her.

Sheng Yuanyao said indignantly, “And the Imperial Advisor! When I met her, I held her in such high esteem. Who was that ascetic, repressed look for? She acted so well, huh?”

She mimicked Ye Tinglan’s tone when she consulted her back then: “Yuanyao is familiar with this… Lu Xingzhou? Could you tell me about his situation? – This person sounds interesting, I’d like to meet him in person. Huh? You met him in bed? Where did you meet him? Show me!”

Lu Xingzhou finally grabbed her hand. If he didn’t, she might actually tear him open and “see” him.

Sheng Yuanyao struggled for a moment, finding she couldn’t match Lu Xingzhou’s strength. Instead, in her struggle, he pulled her into an embrace.

Lu Xingzhou held both her wrists with one hand, and with the other, he began unbuckling her armor. “How about we let your brother see first… What are you doing still wearing such hard armor after the battle’s over?”

Sheng Yuanyao struggled. “It’s precisely so some people can’t easily touch me.”

Her struggles were futile. Before long, her armor was unbuckled. Sheng Yuanyao grumbled, but her body cooperated as he removed the armor, which clanged as it hit the ground.

Inside, she wore a pure white cotton undergarment. This time, holding her finally felt soft and pleasant.

She was ready to let him enjoy holding her, but then she saw his hand reaching to continue undressing her. Sheng Yuanyao finally couldn’t hold back. With a mix of exasperation and amusement, she pressed her hand to her chest. “Hey, I’m your brother, not your wife. What are you doing?”

“You said you’d help me feel good, aren’t you going to help me feel good too?”

“Get lost!” Sheng Yuanyao said angrily. “Don’t try to change the subject with that trick. I’m asking you about those two old women!”

You already said you’re my brother, not my wife, so what women I’m with has nothing to do with you… Lu Xingzhou stifled the thought, deciding not to say something so provocative. He simply said, “You’re right, I’m repressed. So, as my brother, shouldn’t you help release this repression?”

Sheng Yuanyao was stunned. Her mind was blank for several seconds before she could form a thought. “Hey, how did you become like this? Are you really that repressed?”

Lu Xingzhou struggled to suppress a laugh.

Only then did Sheng Yuanyao realize that while his hands seemed to be touching randomly, a subtle stream of water spiritual energy had infused her body at some point, helping to heal her lingering internal injuries from the past few days.

For instance, where his hand rested on the ‘mountain valley plain’ (her chest area), that was the Shanzhong acupuncture point. The water spiritual energy permeating her Shanzhong made Sheng Yuanyao let out a soft moan of comfort.

It was fortunate that no one else was listening at the moment, otherwise, what these two were doing inside the City Lord’s Mansion would be hard to explain… Actually, it wouldn’t make a difference whether anyone heard or not. The sun had set, and these two were hiding in the City Lord’s Mansion. Was there any need to ask what they were doing? It was probably already widely rumored in Guiyuan City that General Sheng, who had recently commanded respect with her heroic presence, was now being “sauced and brewed” by a newly arrived wild man.

Sheng Yuanyao had never imagined herself becoming the subject of gossip. Feeling Lu Xingzhou’s treatment, she was quite pleased. “Not bad, you’ve got some skills. You didn’t waste your time learning with your teacher all these days.”

You just scolded the teacher for acting too well.

Lu Xingzhou chuckled inwardly, but still said, “Technique is technique, and it still needs to be combined with medicine. You’re covered in blood, go wash up. I’ll refine a specific pill for you.”

“Does it have to be so troublesome?”

“Am I the alchemist or are you? If your internal injuries continue to accumulate, you can forget about breaking through in this life.” Lu Xingzhou playfully slapped her bottom. “Go, go, go. Wash or don’t wash, just don’t disturb me while I’m refining pills.”

“Refine pills then, why are you chasing me off to wash up? You just think I’m dirty!”

“It’s easy to prove I don’t mind.” Lu Xingzhou, without a word, reached his hand inside her clothes and grasped her breast. “See?”

“Get lost, you pervert!” This time, it was Sheng Yuanyao who couldn’t hold back. She quickly stood up, stumbled out, and dashed into the room next door.

Lu Xingzhou smiled and shook his head. He took out an alchemy furnace from his ring, set it on the ground, and began refining pills.

Some things truly couldn’t be achieved by mere techniques. Even the supposed divine cultivation technique of dual cultivation, which he had tried just now by transferring Qi, had minimal effect on Sheng Yuanyao’s condition. Proper medicine was still necessary.

So it was quite normal that Gu Zhanting’s injuries hadn’t healed in ten years… Otherwise, if dual cultivation were truly that powerful, with so many concubines in his harem, wouldn’t finding a powerful dual cultivation technique mean no injuries whatsoever?

As he refined the pill, watching the furnace flames flicker, Lu Xingzhou’s mind wandered a little.

This “alchemy trial” with Ye Tinglan hadn’t really advanced his alchemy much; he’d mostly been led down unorthodox paths. Ye Tinglan felt quite guilty, thinking she hadn’t fulfilled her duty as a teacher.

But facts proved that his alchemy had actually improved significantly without him realizing it.

For instance, injuries like Gui Mei’s, accumulated from a third-rank demon general, with rampant demonic energy within, were not something an ordinary person could diagnose. Previously, he could at most detect internal injuries, but the specific details were hard to ascertain. Now, a simple pulse reading revealed everything, and he instantly knew what kind of pills to pair.

Mainly, it was because Ye Tinglan had forced him to memorize so many alchemy texts from Tianyao Holy Land for days. Unlike his previous self-study from notes, while he memorized these texts, the teacher would also point out difficulties. Although it was only theoretical teaching and lacked practical experience, Lu Xingzhou was a genius, and when a genius grasps something, he truly grasps it.

Purely in terms of alchemy, he could probably be rated as a second-rank alchemist now.

This was extremely rare throughout the entire Da Gan. A first-rank alchemist was even rarer than a first-rank expert. In all of Da Gan, there was the head of Chunshan Pavilion, among others. In the capital alone, there were only four known: the Dean of the Alchemy Academy, the Dean of the Imperial Medical Academy, a certain teacher Ye Zhuoyu, and Su Yuan, who succeeded her as Imperial Advisor. The latter two weren’t even entirely people of Da Gan.

There should be one more secretly, privately cultivated by the Huo family, possibly Huo Liancheng himself.

With first-rank alchemists being so rare, second-rank alchemists were already qualified to be teachers at the Alchemy Academy. Meng Li, likely an outstanding individual at that level, could even be the second-in-command of the Alchemy Academy. Lu Xingzhou, having been a student for less than half a year, was already second-rank. That is, his “clinical experience” was inferior to those second-rank teachers, but his academic knowledge was already close.

Of course, a lack of experience was quite critical in this profession, so whether he could truly be considered second-rank was still debatable. If the assessment standards weren’t too strict, he might barely be able to get a certification.

Regardless, Ye Tinglan’s contribution was immense, far from her own belief that she hadn’t fulfilled her responsibility.

The pill was subtly emitting a medicinal fragrance. From next door, a faint sound of water indicated Sheng Yuanyao was bathing.

How long does it take to refine a pill? This person still wasn’t done washing.

The duration of a woman’s bath was, in both worlds, utterly astonishing.

Never mind, there were still plenty of medicinal ingredients stocked. He might as well refine a third-rank Breakthrough Pill for her. He felt she was just about ready for it.

Little did he know, Sheng Yuanyao wasn’t usually so slow when bathing; she was often more efficient than boys. But this time, she was unconsciously scrubbing herself, her mind wandering, lost in thought.

He said they were brothers, not his woman… So why was she so furiously jealous about his new rumored affairs?

Was it her place to be jealous?

Perhaps it was because… she thought she was catching up to Pei Chuyun and the others, but suddenly looking back, ahead wasn’t just an elite leader, but a terrifying emperor whose peak she might never reach.

That instant almost shattered Sheng Yuanyao’s drive to catch up.

It wasn’t until she soaked in the water and cooled down that she slowly remembered that perhaps the person who should feel terrified first wasn’t herself, but Shen Tang.

Conversely, her own previously perceived backward level, in the face of such a terrifying gap, suddenly put her on par with the others at the table. If they were all dozens of points apart, did her one or two point difference even matter?

Sheng Yuanyao immediately cheered up, humming a tune as she bathed.

Some things aren’t just about how you think, but how the other person thinks, right?

A thousand li away, a divine soldier descends from the sky, hehe.

Even if they were just brothers, it was worth it.

That pervert, his hands touching all over… even though she was the one who initiated kissing him…

Sheng Yuanyao’s apricot eyes grew hazy, and she unconsciously tightened her legs.

By the time she realized what she was thinking, the hot water had already turned cold.

On the other side, Lu Xingzhou was almost done refining the second pill. Listening closely, there was no longer any sound from Sheng Yuanyao’s side, not even the sound of water. He couldn’t help but become cautious. This duration was a bit too long. Could she have fainted in the water?

Given her injuries, it was possible.

Lu Xingzhou couldn’t sit still. He got up to check on her.

Anyway, even if he saw something he shouldn’t, it wasn’t a big deal; he had seen it before.

“What’s your situat—” As he pushed the door open, he saw Sheng Yuanyao stepping out of the tub with long strides, her wet form revealing everything.

This, he truly hadn’t seen before.

Sheng Yuanyao froze, staring at him expressionlessly, her mind actually blank.

The air was silent for a moment. Lu Xingzhou silently closed the door and retreated, sitting back in front of the alchemy furnace with his hands clasped, unmoving.

After quite a while longer, by which time the Breakthrough Pill was already finished, the door creaked open, and Sheng Yuanyao slipped in like a thief.

She looked like a little thief, her cheeks flushed, wet long hair casually draped, exuding a fresh scent of post-bath cleanliness.

She wore a loose silk nightgown… it felt like something a female member of the City Lord’s Mansion would use.

The little female thief swiftly sat beside him, as if the previous awkwardness had never happened. She elbowed him. “What good pill did you refine? Let me see.”

She could pretend it didn’t happen, but a man couldn’t.

After a beauty’s bath, the fresh scent was right beside him, lingering at his nostrils. The scene from earlier kept flashing through his mind. Lu Xingzhou instinctively swallowed, staring at the alchemy furnace for a long time, not daring to turn his head.

“Such a demeanor.” Sheng Yuanyao scornfully glanced at him. “What were you doing just now? Stealing a glimpse and then running away again?”

Lu Xingzhou mumbled, “You were taking so long, I suspected something was wrong, so I went to check.”

Sheng Yuanyao completely guessed the reason and was actually quite pleased, though her expression was a half-smile. “Whether something was wrong with me or not, I was still bathing. Did you just walk in like that?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures…” Lu Xingzhou was still looking at the alchemy furnace.

“Does it look good?”

“It looks good.”

“Do you want to see more?”

Lu Xingzhou finally turned his head to look at her.

*Thud!* A fist landed squarely on his forehead. “Look, look, look! Won’t kill you with looking! Haven’t you ever seen a woman?”

Lu Xingzhou grabbed her wrist and chuckled. “If I said I haven’t, shouldn’t my brother be righteous and help me broaden my horizons?”

“Is that so?” Sheng Yuanyao nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately, you’ve seen many, and it’s me who truly hasn’t broadened my horizons. Since Young Master Lu is so righteous, why don’t you undress and let your brother broaden his horizons?”