Chapter 15 Lu Qing, having been caught red-handed copying books, dared not cause any more trouble…

Having been caught red-handed, Lu Qing dared not cause any more trouble, so she simply covered her head and pretended to be asleep, hoping to avoid Wu Chen settling scores with her. However, after eating and drinking her fill, she soaked in the bathtub for quite a while. By the time Wu Chen came out, she was already fast asleep, wrapped in her blanket.

Wu Chen, dressed in full protective clothing, stood by the bed, looking at her helplessly. In the end, he chose to meditate until dawn.

When Lu Qing woke up early in the morning, she saw Wu Chen's newly written "Purifying Heart Mantra" on her pillow. After washing up, before she even had breakfast, Wu Chen punished her by making her copy the "Purifying Heart Mantra" three times and confiscated all her storybooks.

Lu Qing felt guilty and, hoping to salvage the storybooks with her good behavior, obediently went to copy them.

Wu Chen instructed the waiter to bring breakfast to his room, then stood at the window and quietly looked down.

As Lu Qing wrote with great speed, she secretly glanced at Wu Chen. She thought to herself, "What a stingy person! It won't hurt her to be looked at a few times, yet she's punishing me by making me copy books. Humph..." She kept muttering to herself.

Even with her back turned, Wu Chen could sense her absent-mindedness. "If there are any mistakes, you'll have to copy it all over again."

"Ah!" Lu Qing hurriedly looked down at what she had written. Oh dear, she copied the wrong line; no wonder the beginning and end didn't make sense. She had no choice but to calm down, read the "Purifying Heart Mantra" from beginning to end, memorize it, and then quickly began to write it down from memory.

This speed is indeed much faster than copying a book.

She quickly handed a stack of papers to Wu Chen.

Wu Chen curiously flipped through a few pages. Although the handwriting was worse than a dog's scribbles, there were no mistakes. He didn't speak, but silently watched Lu Qing.

Lu Qing, who had been scratching her head in frustration, became deflated under his gaze and hung her head, saying, "I was wrong, I won't do it again next time."

Wu Chen rolled up the copied "Heart-Cleansing Mantra" and tapped her on the forehead. "How can you believe the things in those storybooks? They are just plots made up by scholars and writers. If you follow them exactly, you will suffer immediately. From today onwards, read the classics I gave you for half an hour every night. If you don't understand anything, come and ask me."

When Wu Chen had a stern face, his imposing presence was too overwhelming. Lu Qing instinctively felt that she shouldn't mess with him, so she nodded repeatedly, "Definitely, definitely."

Wu Chen thought to himself, "It would be strange if this little rascal knew 'certainly'." But since she was behaving well at the moment, Wu Chen let her off the hook. "Wash your hands and go have breakfast."

Lu Qing quickly tried to slip away. But after taking only a couple of steps, she turned back, leaned close to Wu Chen, and looked down at him. "Hey, what are you doing staring at Bai Xiang Pavilion so early in the morning? Do you want to go?"

The last "go" even had a different tone.

Wu Chen smacked her several times in annoyance, "If you keep talking nonsense, copy the 'Book of Rites' ten times."

Although the "Book of Rites" sounded terrifying, Lu Qing still refused to leave, saying, "Then why were you staring at Bai Xiang Pavilion all morning?"

"If you want to know the answer, copy the 'Book of Rites' once," Wu Chen tricked her.

Lu Qing nodded without hesitation.

"I'm waiting for the firewood delivery person."

Ah, right. How come she didn't think of that? Lu Qing thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed again, "You need to have the 'Book of Etiquette' for me to copy it, right?"

The "Heart-Cleansing Mantra" wasn't long; it was written by Wu Chenxian. She didn't believe he could still carry that "Gift Scroll" with him at all times.

"That little rascal!" Wu Chen smiled. "It's alright, I'll tell you what to write."

Lu Qing went to eat breakfast dejectedly. After breakfast, Wu Chen really didn't go out. He brewed a pot of tea and sat by the window, telling her to write down each sentence as she spoke.

Lu Qinghen gritted his teeth in hatred, yet he was helpless.

Around noon, a woodcutter carrying a heavy load of firewood turned into the back alley of Baixiang Pavilion.

Wu Chen put down his teacup, stood up, straightened his clothes slightly, put on his Taiyi sword, and said to Lu Qing, "Let's go."

Lu Qing was overjoyed, dropped his brush, and followed Wu Chen like a tail.

The two waited by the street, and sure enough, after a short while, the woodcutter emerged from the alley with his empty carrying pole.

Wu Chen didn't speak, but followed behind him. Only after they left the town did he call out to the woodcutter.

He was amiable and generous. The woodcutter not only told them where the firewood came from, but also personally led them there. "Young master," he said, "the firewood I delivered to Baixiang Pavilion the other day came from here. It's deep in a valley connected to a sheer cliff, above which is Wanlian Peak, where the Sword Forging Manor forges weapons. But the old folks say there are evil spirits in this valley, and once you go in, you can't come out. So, if it hadn't rained a few days ago and the firewood in other places hadn't been damp, I wouldn't have come here to cut firewood. I only dare to go this far; we never dare to go any further in."

Lu Qing asked curiously, "Since there are evil spirits, and the Sword Forging Manor is right above them, why don't they take action?"

The woodcutter smiled wryly, "It's nothing serious. As long as we don't go in, nothing will happen. So nobody cares."

Wu Chen thanked him and told him to leave on his own.

Wu Chen broke off a branch and lit it with a tinderbox. Lu Qing smelled it and said, "It smells so good. Why didn't I think to bring a steamed bun to roast? It would taste delicious."

The shaman extinguished the branch, and said, "Get to work."

Lu Qing didn't understand at first, but when she saw Wu Chen's gaze fall on her wrist, she suddenly realized and picked up the white jade bell to shake it gently. Sure enough, the white jade bell wouldn't ring unless Wu Chen's name was called.

Lu Qing then began chanting Wu Chen's name repeatedly, as if reciting scriptures in a fancy way.

Whether in the shrine or outside, everyone addressed Wu Chen as "Sir" or "Young Master." Aside from Yu Jitang, that hothead, very few dared to call him by his given name directly. To be addressed by his name in such varied tones… for some reason, a smile crept onto Wu Chen's lips.

Bai Yuling's voice drifted through the valley, but they waited for a long time without receiving a reply.

"Huh, there are no demons. Right, it means there are no demons, right?" Lu Qing first looked at Wu Chen to confirm, then looked at the surrounding trees, broke off a few sticks and lit them; they all had an enticing fragrance. "That's strange. They're all ordinary trees, so where is this fragrance coming from? Could it be that the soil is different?"

Wu Chen looked into the depths of the valley. "Let's go in and take a look."

This valley hadn't been visited for countless years; the ground was covered in decaying branches, leaves, and grayish-black dust. Wu Chen walked ahead of Lu Qing, carefully observing their surroundings. But there was nothing unusual in the places they passed through.

Wu Chen had considered many possibilities, but they were all overturned during the investigation.

This is really strange. There's no earth energy or spiritual veins, so what's with the strange fragrance of these plants? Could it be that Lu Qing has a problem with his nose?

"Forget it, since we can't find the reason, let's go back." Wu Chen straightened up and said to Lu Qing.

Lu Qing nodded. "Okay."

The two turned around and were instantly stunned. When they came, Wu Shen had clearly used the Taiyi Sword to cut a path, but now it was gone.

Lu Qing was about to run back when Wu Chen grabbed her arm. He looked around warily but saw no signs of demons.

"What's going on?" Lu Qing was a little scared and moved closer to him.

Wu Chen said to her, "Hold me tight." Then he put his arm around her waist and jumped onto the Taiyi Sword.

The Taiyi Sword carried the two of them as it slowly rose into the air.

Lu Qing looked down at her feet and clicked her tongue, "What's this?"

"Sword control technique," Wu Chen explained.

They thought they could look back at the path they came from once they crossed the treetops. But the higher they went, the thicker the gloomy atmosphere became, as if they were trapped in a fog, unable to see anything.

Wu Chen frowned slightly, but suddenly, the hand around Lu Qing's waist felt something strange. He looked down and saw that Lu Qing was already in tears, tears streaming down her face, one after another falling from her chin and dripping onto the back of his hand.

Wu Chen had no choice but to slowly descend to the ground. "What happened to you?"

Lu Qing cried so hard she almost choked up, "I don't know, I just feel sad, angry and desperate."

This Lu Qing was just like the one he had seen before in Fei Mu. Wu Chen reached out and wiped away her tears. "What exactly happened?"

"I don't know either." Lu Qing looked up at him, her eyes filled with intense emotions, which made his heart ache and he was slightly lost in thought.

Just then, Lu Qing's eyes suddenly widened, and her hands, which were still wrapped around his waist, suddenly tightened, pulling Wu Chen away. A wisp of gray smoke struck Lu Qing's right shoulder.

Lu Qing jolted violently, her arms around Wu Chen's waist loosened weakly, and she collapsed to the ground.

Wu Chen's mind went blank for a moment, and he instinctively pulled Lu Qing into his arms. The two lost their balance and fell off the Taiyi Sword, which transformed into a streak of light, quickly circling around them.

Fortunately, the distance from the ground was not far, and Wu landed steadily on the ground.

He held Lu Qing in his arms and reached out to check her breathing and pulse. Fortunately, it was just a little erratic and nothing serious. Wu Shen breathed a sigh of relief, "Lu Qing, Lu Qing."

Lu Qing suddenly opened her eyes and unconsciously looked up at the sky.

Sky?

Wu Chen followed her gaze upwards, where there was nothing but cliffs and precipices...