Chapter 14 The girl, speaking sweet words to Lu Qing, giggled sweetly...

The girl talking to Lu Qing had a sweet laugh that was almost dripping with honey.

Wu Chen couldn't help but reach up and press his temples.

The girl beside him jokingly asked, "Young master, is this your friend's first time here? If so, he's truly gifted!"

No, this should absolutely not be included in her talents!

Wu silently took a breath, reached out and knocked on the door, then went inside.

Lu Qing was sitting at a corner of the large counter in the middle of the kitchen, and the girl sitting in front of her was laughing hysterically. Seeing Wu Chen enter, the girl's smile widened, "This brother is so handsome!"

Wu Chen looked at Lu Qing helplessly, "Let's go, didn't you say you wanted to eat something delicious?"

"I came here to eat well!" Lu Qing looked at him, puzzled.

The two girls covered their mouths and laughed, "Young master, our Bai Xiang Pavilion has plenty of delicious food for you to enjoy."

Wu Chen couldn't bear it any longer, so he took out two small silver ingots and gave them to them, saying, "I'm sorry, it was my friend who was impetuous. These are my apologies, and I dare not take up any more of your time."

The two girls sensed his refusal, but even the most handsome young man couldn't outshine money. They happily accepted the money and left.

Wu Shen was about to speak.

Lu Qing's eyes darted over him, and she giggled, mimicking the girl's tone, "This~brother~ hahaha."

"Let's start eating wild mushrooms from tomorrow," Wu said, his face darkening as he looked at her.

Lu Qing immediately fell silent.

“Come with me.” Wu Chen turned to leave, but Lu Qing grabbed his sleeve. “Wait a minute. I came in because I smelled the fragrance.”

"Didn't you dislike those scents?" Wu Chen thought of the perfume maid in Jinhua.

Lu Qing nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I really don't like those messy smells from before, but didn't you smell this? It smells really good."

"What smells good?"

"I don't know either. I smelled it as soon as I got to the dock. The aroma was coming from here." Seeing him stop, Lu Qing quickly started sniffing around the kitchen. After searching for a while, she finally found the stove behind the stove.

The fire in the stove had lost its momentum, leaving only a few scattered dark red spots.

Lu Qing sniffed. "It must have been coming from here. But it's burned to ashes, so it doesn't smell anymore."

That's easy.

Wu Chen took some firewood from the dry wood leaning against the wall, threw it in, and stirred it slightly. The fire suddenly burst into flames.

Lu Qing leaned closer. "Mmm, that's the smell. Can you smell it?"

Wu Chen pulled out a burning twig, brought it close, and sniffed it. It was just a piece of firewood with no strange smell. He poured a ladle of water on it, and the fire immediately went out. "Is that what you smelled?"

"Mmm." Lu Qing took two deep breaths. "It smells so good."

Wu Chen thought for a moment, "Does it taste the same as the Scarlet Wood from Tan Family Village?"

Lu Qing shook her head. "I don't know."

Wu Chen thought back carefully and realized that he hadn't noticed the scent of the scarlet tree at the time. However, since he didn't sense any similarity between the two, it was possible that he was overthinking it.

"Oh dear!" A cook rushed in, flustered. "What are you two doing? Why is the pot burning so dry? It's even smoking!"

She quickly scooped water and poured it in.

Wu Chen took out a small piece of silver and gave it to her. "Excuse me, we'd like to make something to eat ourselves, so..."

The cook chuckled dryly as she accepted the silver, thinking to herself, "These two look quite handsome, but are they not quite right in the head? Why are they coming to Baixiang Pavilion and heading straight into the kitchen instead of the front?" "What would you like to eat, guests? I'll make it for you right away."

The cold water splashed onto the hot pan, releasing an unpleasant fishy and oily smell.

Lu Qing was choked by the strange smell and couldn't stand it any longer, so she quickly ran outside.

Wu Chen hurriedly chased after her, grabbed her, and carried her over the wall out of Baixiang Pavilion.

Before he could speak, Lu Qing pulled him a good distance away, rubbed her nose vigorously, and felt better. Looking back at Wu Chen, she saw that his usually gentle face was devoid of any smile, and he looked like a storm was brewing.

Lu Qing blinked, then quickly clutched her stomach pitifully, "I'm so hungry."

Wu Chen sneered, said nothing, and walked past her. But after only a couple of steps, he turned back, grabbed her hand, and continued forward.

The momentum immediately diminished by 90%.

Lu Qing, always eager to take advantage of any opportunity, immediately grabbed his hand and shook it from side to side, "I'm so hungry, so hungry. I want to eat something delicious..."

Wu Chen ignored her.

Upon arriving at an inn, Wu Chen ordered a superior room and scolded her with a stern face, "You're really bold, daring to wander into a place like that."

"Is there anything there? Why can't we go in?" Lu Qing asked curiously.

Wu Chen could only say, "That place is a brothel, and no woman wants to stay there, but she has no choice but to stay there in order to survive."

"But they all seem pretty happy to me?"

“Because they have to laugh. In this world, some tears can only be shed with laughter.” Wu Chen sighed. “Don’t be reckless in the future, or you might see something disgusting and start vomiting again.”

Lu Qing immediately thought of the corpses of the women in Tanjiazhuang, her face scrunched up, "I suddenly don't want to eat anymore."

Before long, the little girl who "didn't want to eat" pounced on the table and ate with complete absorption.

Wu Chen reminded her, "Be careful not to overeat again."

Lu Qing mumbled indistinctly, "Looks like you don't have anywhere you want to go tonight."

Wu Chen understood, but felt no remorse whatsoever. Instead, he reached out and flicked her forehead, saying, "You're not allowed to talk while eating."

Lu Qing wanted to bite him, but couldn't bear to part with the meat in her mouth, so she had to give up.

After the meal, Lu Qing took a bath in her room while Wu Chen stood guard outside. They could hear two guests downstairs talking quietly.

The old man asked the middle-aged man, "What have you prepared?"

The middle-aged man named seven or eight gifts, all of which were rare and precious items.

The old man was somewhat worried. "Although these gifts are already quite generous, the prices at the Sword Forging Manor are getting higher and higher these days. I don't know if I can persuade them to agree to forge a weapon with a spirit for you."

"Second Uncle, what's going on with this Sword Forging Manor? They used to produce several divine weapons every year. The prices were high, but never this outrageously expensive. I heard that the Qian family practically used all their resources to pay the Sword Forging Manor, but the final product had very weak spiritual energy and wasn't worth it at all. I'm just worried that all these things I've accumulated with great difficulty will be wasted if I'm not satisfied with the final product."

The old man comforted him, "After all, Sword Forging Manor is a first-class sword-making family, having forged countless famous weapons. Although they have produced fewer swords in recent years, there are not many cases like the Qian family's. Besides, didn't Sword Forging Manor later say that they would take back the sword and return the Qian family's belongings? It's just that the Qian family didn't agree. In the end, it's hard to find another Sword Forging Manor in this world."

Wu Chen leaned against the pillar, listening silently, his head bowed in deep thought.

Indeed, there are many divine weapons in this world, all possessing their own spirits. His accessory, the Taiyi Sword, often warns him of danger. When he travels through famous mountains and rivers, encountering places of exceptional beauty, it rings out in its sheath, as if cheering with joy. Therefore, even without companionship, he never feels lonely.

However, the Taiyi Sword was forged from a naturally formed sword embryo obtained from a treasure land. Naturally formed sword embryos have their own innate spiritual seeds, so it is not surprising that the sword has a spirit.

Other renowned craftsmen also had their own unique circumstances. But it's truly rare to find a place like the Sword Forging Manor where every masterpiece possesses a spirit. He hadn't thought about it deeply before, but now he realized that the secret was probably more complex than just superior craftsmanship.

"Hey, what are you daydreaming about!" Lu Qing patted him on the back.

Wu Chen turned around and saw her standing prettily in front of him, her clothes still damp. "Finished washing."

"Okay. I've had the water changed, you can go take a shower now." She said, turning to go downstairs.

Wu Chen grabbed her and pulled her back. "Where are you going in the middle of the night?"

"Are you taking a shower? I'll make room for you." Lu Qing asked, puzzled.

It's true that we should avoid her, but with her curious nature and willingness to venture anywhere, she might cause trouble in just a short while.

Wu Chen dragged her into the room, pressed her down on the bed, lowered the bed curtains, and took out two Taoist books from his spirit pouch. "You sit here and read the books properly. You are not allowed to run around or peek."

After saying that, he flicked her forehead, and Lu Qing fell onto the bed with a thud.

Wu Chen was amused by her exaggerated manner, closed the bed curtains, and went behind the screen to take a bath.

Lu Qing rolled over on the bed, grabbed the two Taoist books, and flipped through a couple of pages. The words and phrases were obscure and difficult to understand.

Lu Qing read one page and felt so frustrated she wanted to bang her head on the ground. So she took out two storybooks from her sachet by the bedside and began reading them with great interest.

The storybook was telling the tale of a young master making a vow to a young lady: "...If we were trees, we would be intertwined; if we were birds, we would be water nymphs; if we were fish, we would be a pair of flounders; if we were flowers, we would be two heads side by side..."

Lu Qing only understood half of what she read, thinking to herself how strange these people were, choosing not to be human at all instead of being human. She read it aloud twice before continuing to read.

Wu Chen sat in the bathtub, and when he heard her talking to herself in the tent, he couldn't help but rub his forehead. "What kind of weird book are you reading now?"

Lu Qing opened the book and asked, "Do you want to read 'The Jade Picking Chronicles'?"

Wu Chen sighed, thinking that he would definitely have to thoroughly search her spirit pouch later and confiscate all those messy storybooks.

Just as he sighed, the plot of *The Jade Picking Chronicles* had progressed to the scene of the young lady emerging from her bath. The series of parallel sentences was truly captivating; Lu Qing read with great interest, thinking to herself: A beauty emerging from her bath is so beautiful, I wonder if it's real or not. Wait, doesn't she have one right here in her room? Although Wu Chen is a man, he's handsome, probably no less so than that beauty.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Lu Qing put down the storybook in her hand, pried open a gap in the bed curtain, and peered out.

Although Wu Chen was taking a bath, he had been half-attending to her. When he suddenly heard her stop moving, he turned around warily. Through the gap in the screen, he saw that the bed curtains were parted by a not-so-narrow slit, and in the middle was a pair of bright, gleaming eyes.

Wu Chen flicked his finger, and a drop of water from his fingertip passed precisely through the gap in the screen, landing above Lu Qing's eyebrow.

"Ouch!" Lu Qing cried out, clutching her head, too afraid to look any longer.

Wu Chen turned around, his expression a half-smile. He made Lu Qing dare not peek anymore, so he leaned against the tub to rest for a moment. But after only a few breaths, he couldn't help but laugh silently.