Chapter 11 A Dilemma A Dilemma

Without warning, with a soft clang, Wu Chen's sword was drawn. He slowly pulled out the sword and walked forward.

Xiu glanced at him indifferently, then turned back to look at Lu Qing. "It seems today is not a good time to form a bond. Since you haven't decided yet, take your time to think about it. I'll come find you again later."

He turned and walked towards the crimson tree. His tall figure gradually transformed into a gigantic beast shape within the red mist, then pounced on the tree...

Yu Jitang did not use the Insight Technique. He felt that such a spell consumed a great deal of spiritual energy, and that having Wu Chen perform it and perceive danger was sufficient. If anything went wrong, he could use it himself later.

Therefore, he did not see the demons or Lu Qing, but only the tall redwood that instantly burst into flames, the fire turning into a hurricane that swept through the crimson blossoms and soared straight into the sky. The scene was so magnificent that it moved everyone present.

In Wu Chen's eyes, the crimson tree had been completely torn apart by the demons, and all the crimson mist had been sucked into their mouths. Greedy and pleasurable sounds rose and fell, and Lu Qing's figure gradually blurred and finally disappeared.

Wu Chen ignored the demons and turned to rush down the mountain.

Yu Jitang was startled, thinking he had discovered something, and hurriedly ran after him. But he saw Wu Chen simply go to find Lu Qing and hold her in his arms, examining her closely. Yu Jitang was nearly furious. "How come I never realized you were such a lustful person? Oh, no, I misspoke. She doesn't even have lust."

Yu Jitang hurriedly ran back, hoping to find some useful clues before the scarlet tree burned out completely.

Wu Chen held Lu Qing tightly in his arms, pressing two fingers between her brows until he was sure she was alright, before finally letting out a sigh of relief. When he looked back at the mountaintop, the crimson giant tree was completely gone, with only a faint wisp of crimson smoke remaining in the air, but a gust of wind swept it away without a trace.

Wu Chen watched quietly for a while, feeling lost, but finally turned his gaze to Lu Qing's face, picked her up, and walked towards the inn at the foot of the mountain.

The people from Zhan Yantai and Jin Manlou passed by him and ran towards the top of the mountain. But when they got there, they only saw a huge pit. From its shape, they could tell that a tall tree had once stood there.

Luo Dushou and Jin Hua both looked extremely grim. The tree's disappearance was so mysterious; it was most likely related to the Spirit Fruit. At their level, who cared about the worldly possessions left by the Tan family? To have missed such a treasure was truly heartbreaking.

Seeing Yu Jitang there, but not Wu Chen, Jin Hua immediately asked, "Where did Young Master Wu go?"

Yu Jitang rolled his eyes. "He's only thinking about that lotus root starch ball right now, he doesn't have any time to care about anything else."

"What?"

"He took Lu Qing down the mountain," Yu Jitang sneered. The Spirit Fruit was such an important thing, and this guy didn't even know to stay and help him.

Luo Dushou, however, became increasingly suspicious. He couldn't believe that with the Fruit of Spiritual Communication in front of him, anyone could ignore it to such an extent. "In that case, I'd better go and see Young Master Wu. Perhaps he has something urgent to attend to."

Zhan Yantai and Jin Manlou left a considerable number of people here to continue the search. Luo Dushou, Jin Hua, and Yu Jitang hurriedly went down the mountain to the inn.

Wu Chen had already carried Lu Qing back here. On the way back, Lu Qing remained unconscious, but tears streamed down her face, soaking Wu Chen's sleeves.

Wu Chen refused the service from the Jin Hua maids, closed the door, and placed Lu Qing on the bed.

"Lu Qing, Lu Qing, wake up." Wu Chen sat by the bed, calling her name softly over and over again.

Lu Qing groggily opened her eyes and looked at him blankly, "Wu Chen?"

Wu Chen felt a slight sense of relief. "It's me. What's wrong?"

Such a handsome face, such gentle words, such considerate manners. A vague memory seemed to flash through Lu Qing's mind, where another man's face existed, both unfamiliar and vaguely familiar, equally considerate.

Lu Qing was immediately jolted awake, and a clear sense of wariness appeared in her eyes as she looked at Wu Chen.

Wu Chen's heart sank slightly. The scene before the crimson giant tree must have had a cause. He was about to say something when he heard noises downstairs. He immediately leaned down and whispered in Lu Qing's ear in an unusually intimate manner, "Just say you were asleep and didn't know anything."

The door was pushed open with a bang, and Luo Dushou stepped in first. But none of the three expected that Wu Chen was practically on top of Lu Qing. Such an intimate posture made even the guilty Luo Dushou cough awkwardly.

Wu Chen slowly sat up and covered Lu Qing with the blanket. A hint of anger flickered in his eyes. "What urgent matter brings you three here?"

Yu Jitang was also surprised to witness him being so intimate with Lu Qing. Without saying a word, he left.

Wu Chen said to Luo Dushou with a sarcastic tone, "Senior Luo?"

Luo Dushou, thick-skinned and ruthless, laughed and said, "We heard that you came down the mountain in a hurry and thought you had encountered some emergency, so we came here to see if there was anything we could do to help."

Wu Chen didn't rush to turn hostile. He walked up to him, raised his hand, and said, "Let's talk downstairs."

Luo Dushou glanced at Lu Qing, "Is Miss Lu alright?"

Wu Chen nodded. "She's never seen anything like this before, and she's been frightened and feels unwell."

So that's how it is. Luo Dushou was half-believing and half-doubting, but he remembered that Lu Qing had vomited violently after seeing the corpse this morning and was later made to rest. It wouldn't be surprising if she had really fallen ill from fright. "Indeed, we were careless."

After saying that, he left the room. The four of them sat down downstairs.

Before they could ask, Wu Chen said, "Just now, Ji Tang and I reached the top of the mountain and saw many demons..."

"What?" Luo Dushou and Jin Hua both tensed up.

Yu Jitang regretted it, "No wonder there was such a strong demonic aura."

Wu Chen stretched out his hand, showing them the scars on his fingertips.

Luo Dushou and Jin Hua were both well-informed people who had long heard of the Divine Palace's Clarity Technique. Seeing the scar on his fingertip, they knew that what he said was probably true.

“One of the demons had already taken human form, with a long sword at his waist. But I only saw his back. I don’t know what he did, but the big tree burst into flames. I was worried that Lu Qing would be injured by the demons down there alone, so I left immediately. You know more about what happened down there than I do.” Wu Chen finished speaking and looked at Luo Dushou with unwavering gaze.

Luo Dushou pondered this. He had received information that the Tan family did indeed possess a Spirit Fruit, but its exact location remained unknown. Moreover, legend had it that the demons of the Western Abyss highly valued Spirit Fruits. If they too had come to the mortal realm to search for it, then the Tan family's Spirit Fruit had most likely already fallen into the hands of the demons.

Luo Dushou felt regretful. In the past, Shuoming Jun Zou Yubo established a divine palace and became the number one cultivator because he obtained a spiritual fruit. If he could obtain a spiritual fruit, why would he not be able to crush the divine palace and become the number one cultivator in the present day?

Unfortunately, due to the interference of demons, he missed out on the fruit of spiritual communication. How could Luo Dushou give up?

Since we can't get any more information from Wu Chen, just as he said, there might still be bloodlines of the Tan family wandering outside, and perhaps we can get more clues from them.

Luo Dushou then said, "Since the murderer may be a demon, there is nothing we can do for the time being. However, Tan Family Village is currently without a master. I will help take care of these properties, and if any descendants of the Tan family return, I will return them to them in full. I also ask the three of you to be my witnesses."

Jin Hua cursed inwardly, "You steal someone's property, lure them in, and then try to gain fame? You're shameless!" He added, "I'm willing to contribute my meager strength to Senior Luo's chivalrous act."

However, Wu Chen and Yu Jitang had absolutely no interest in this matter and did not want to get involved. "Then I'll have to trouble you two." Wu Chen bowed to them and went straight back to his room.

Lu Qing remained lying in bed, seemingly asleep but not quite, breathing rapidly, her eyes darting restlessly beneath her eyelids, as if disturbed by a nightmare.

Wu Chen reached out and touched between her eyebrows, channeling a soothing spiritual energy into her. Lu Qing slowly relaxed.

Wu Chen gently rubbed her brows with his fingers, smoothing out her slight frown. But the anxiety that had faded from Lu Qing's brows crept onto his own.

Could that enormous redwood truly be a spirit tree? Where have all those countless demons gone? What harm will they cause to the human world? And what is the origin of that demon who can now transform into a human? What does he intend to do to Lu Qing?

Wu Chen's slender fingers traced across Lu Qing's brow, past her brow peak, and landed on her temple.

Why was Lu Qing wary of him? What did that demon say to her?

What was once a temporary expedient has now become a shackle binding him. If he speaks up, Lu Qing will suspect him; if he doesn't, some things will be impossible to explain.

Indeed, they are caught in a dilemma.

A note from the author:

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