Chapter 38: Defiance (Part 2)

As they were about to leave, Lu Nanzhi took out a bag of spirit stones and offered it with both hands.


"Tonight's intrusion was quite improper, and it caused Elder Tao some expenses. Please accept these spirit stones as a token of our gratitude."


Tao Fengnian didn't extend his hand, and Jiang Yuebai's face fell.


"Lu Nanzhi, are you treating me this way? Or do you look down on me?"


"I don't mean to, it's just that I... I ate too much."


"Put the spirit stones away and leave. Stop with the unnecessary talk!"


They passed through the mountainous path and reached the riverbank where the bamboo raft was anchored. Jiang Yuebai didn't say a word to Lu Nanzhi. Xie Jingshan, standing by, dared not utter a sound.


Jiang Yuebai jumped off the bamboo raft, and Lu Nanzhi felt flustered. "Junior Sister Yuebai, I didn't mean it like that."


Jiang Yuebai turned around. "Then how did you mean it? Why did Xie Jingshan not give me any spirit stones, but you wanted to?"


Lu Nanzhi stood on the bamboo raft, earnestly explaining, "In the Lu family's rules, when gentlemen make friends, they should show respect without overstepping, be polite but not excessive."


Upon hearing this, Xie Jingshan sighed in disbelief.


Jiang Yuebai was irritated and said, "Aren't you tired of adhering to all these rules and etiquette from the Lu family when you're on the path of defiance?"


"Defiance... path..." Lu Nanzhi's pupils trembled slightly.


Taking advantage of Lu Nanzhi's daze, Jiang Yuebai suddenly stomped on the bamboo raft.


Splash!


Lu Nanzhi plunged into the icy creek. "Junior Sister Yuebai, you..."


Thud!


Mud splattered all over Lu Nanzhi's chest, staining her white clothes in disarray.


Lu Nanzhi was stunned. In the past, she had been careful and neat, never getting dirty. She thought she had a natural penchant for cleanliness, but now, her clothes were muddy, and she felt nothing.


Seeing this, Xie Jingshan, who had always known the well-mannered Lu clan members, was shocked. When had they ever looked so disheveled?


Jiang Yuebai held a lump of mud and grinned, "Did you never get this dirty when you were little? Let me tell you, mud isn't just for fun; it can be used to cultivate techniques."


Xie Jingshan's eyes lit up. "How can mud be used to cultivate techniques?"


Another lump of mud was thrown, and Lu Nanzhi didn't try to block it.


"When you pull Lu Nanzhi's hairband, I'll tell you," Jiang Yuebai grinned mischievously.


Xie Jingshan, emboldened, started to form hand seals, and a flame shot towards Lu Nanzhi's white headband.


With attacks from both sides, Lu Nanzhi suddenly smiled.

Indeed, she didn't want to follow the arrangements of the Lu clan, and she didn't want to tread the same path as her mother. Isn't that defiance?


Compared to the path of slaughter, she preferred the word "defiance." It felt satisfyingly wicked in her heart.


If she wanted to defy, then she would defy to the end!


Splash!


Lu Nanzhi waved her hand, causing water to surge and extinguish the flames, splashing fiercely onto Jiang Yuebai.


It was like a bucket of water splashing onto her face, and Jiang Yuebai closed her eyes and stood there, drenched, looking like a stunned chicken.


"Haha, serves you right!" Xie Jingshan mercilessly mocked.


An even larger stream of water poured down from above, and Xie Jingshan's laughter abruptly stopped, feeling a bone-chilling coldness.


Lu Nanzhi had a smile on her lips, and her chin was slightly raised as she stood confidently in the stream, soaking wet.


"Xie Jingshan, you actually laughed at me!"


Jiang Yuebai, frustrated and furious, performed her Earthquake technique. The ground beneath Xie Jingshan's feet loosened, causing him to stumble and fall into the stream


"Lu Nanzhi, get him!"


Jiang Yuebai scooped up two clumps of mud and threw them with all her strength at Xie Jingshan, who was floundering in the water, becoming covered in mud.


"You two are going too far!"


Lu Nanzhi, with a blossoming smile, leaped onto the shore and started scooping up mud, flinging it wildly.


Jiang Yuebai and Lu Nanzhi smiled at each other and simultaneously threw mud at each other, without any restraint, indulging in their natural instincts.


Laughter echoed like silver bells, ringing out for miles.


Childhood friendships, uncomplicated by external influences.


After a round of playful antics, all three of them were covered in mud, looking like they had just had a fight.


Mud and defiance had intertwined, and Lu Nanzhi, soaked in mud, threw all her equipment from earlier into the creek.


"From now on, I won't follow the rules of the Lu clan. I'll act according to my own heart!"


With her thoughts clear and her mind at ease, Lu Nanzhi removed her hairband, breaking the rule of not revealing her hair in front of others.


"Lu Nanzhi, actually, I had ulterior motives just now."


Jiang Yuebai suddenly spoke, and Lu Nanzhi looked over.


"You were acting all high and mighty, and I couldn't reach you because I have short arms. My neck hurt from looking up at you, so I wanted to pull you down. We're all covered in mud now, so no one is nobler than anyone else."


Lu Nanzhi smiled and wiped mud on Jiang Yuebai's face, who responded with a cheeky grin, splattering her back.


Xie Jingshan rolled his eyes. "You two are so childish!"


As he spoke, four handfuls of mud flew towards him.


Xie Jingshan: ...


The mud flew, and the starlight filled the sky.


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