Chapter 16 The surrounding illusions had somehow dissipated...

The surrounding illusions had dissipated at some point, revealing the path they had come from.

Wu Chen didn't bother to investigate further. He carried Lu Qing and quickly followed the path they had come from, leaving the valley. But when he reached the valley entrance and looked back, the valley was completely silent, as if nothing had happened.

Wu Chen had no choice but to carry Lu Qing back to the inn.

On the way back, Lu Qing fell into a deep sleep again, and even when Wu Chen put her on the bed, she did not wake up.

Wu steadied himself and began to examine her injuries. The gray mist had originally been aimed at his heart. However, Lu Qing was much shorter than him, so the mist struck her shoulder instead. But her clothes were not torn at all.

Wu Chen hesitated for a moment, then reached out and unbuttoned Lu Qing's collar. Her snow-white skin was slowly revealed from the loosened collar. Wu Chen's hand, which was holding her collar, paused slightly. He closed his eyes briefly and then pulled the collar down to her shoulders.

Lu Qing had a gray mark on her shoulder; if it weren't for the unusual color, it would have looked like a common bruise.

Wu Chen reached out and touched it, but apart from the delicate texture, it was nothing different. He had no choice but to apply a healing and detoxifying ointment first and then bandage Lu Qing's wound.

The commotion was quite significant, but Lu Qing still did not wake up.

Wu Chen placed his finger between her eyebrows, intuitively sensing the surging and fluctuating spiritual energy within her.

Spiritual energy? Half a month ago, when he checked on Lu Qing, she only had a little bit of innate spiritual energy in her body. Could it be that she could improve so quickly just by cutting corners in her meditation over the past half month? And where did that gray energy go?

Wu Chen searched everywhere but found nothing, so he could only help her regulate her qi and then dissolve a few spiritual herbs in water and feed them to her.

Lu Qing slept soundly through the night before waking up. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Wu Chen sitting by the bed, fast asleep against the bed frame. For some reason, she felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart, and before she could even react, tears began to stream down her face.

Hearing her sob, Wu Chen instantly snapped out of it. "How are you? Are you feeling unwell?"

Lu Qing kept crying, "I don't know, I'm just very sad, frustrated, and want to hit someone." More accurately, she wanted to kill someone.

Wu Chen carefully examined her. "You seem to be alright for now. Besides feeling down and wanting to cry, do you have any other feelings?"

Lu Qing was sobbing that she hiccuped. "No, apart from feeling sad, I don't feel anything else."

Wu Chen glanced at her shoulder, hesitated, and finally changed the subject, "When you were in Tan Family Village, you were also crying nonstop. Did something similar happen then or yesterday?"

Although Lu Qing was crying in a daze, her mind was still clear. "When I was in Tan Family Village, I met a woman. She said she was Tan Ruan's wife, but she was deceived by Tan Ruan and imprisoned in that tree by the Tan family. They would cut open her skin and take her blood when needed, and she suffered all kinds of torture and humiliation. That's why she made a pact with the demon and asked the demon to help her take revenge."

Wu Chen immediately grasped the key point: "What's so special about her blood? She's made a pact with demons; what do the demons gain from that?"

Tan Ruan lived over two thousand years ago, meaning that woman endured a long and humiliating period imprisoned within the Scarlet Wood. A person who could neither live nor die could not have formed a pact with demons through sheer power. Wu Chen recalled the bloody and cruel scene he witnessed after using the Clarity Technique.

Lu Qing looked at him but did not answer.

Wu Chen's mood was somewhat heavy. "What's her name? What's her identity?"

Lu Qing shook her head. "She said those things are no longer important."

"So, did you see anything in the valley yesterday?"

Lu Qing shook her head. "At first, when you were leading me upwards, my mood grew increasingly sad. My state of mind was somewhat similar to that in Tan Family Village. Later, I even had the urge to destroy everything. Just then, the mist condensed and rushed towards you..."

Wu Chen felt a little breathless. "Why...why did you save me?"

She knew perfectly well that she was hiding things from him and wasn't a person who was true to himself.

Lu Qing wiped away her tears, which wouldn't stop flowing, with a hint of disgust. She'd acted quickly; if she'd known the ash would hit her, she definitely wouldn't have done it. But since she'd already shielded him from the attack, wouldn't it be a waste not to repay the favor?

Let her think about what those men and women who made vows of eternal love to Fei Mu had said. Discard the dross, keep the essence, and slightly modify it. Lu Qing, tears welling in her eyes, gazed at Wu Chen, "As long as it's for you, I'm willing to give you everything."

Wu Chen was almost stunned into losing his composure by these words. Wasn't everything he had done from the beginning just to make Lu Qing devoted to him and give him the opportunity to uncover her secrets? But why did he show no sense of relief or smugness when Lu Qing said such a thing?

He stared at Lu Qing, and Lu Qing's big, watery eyes started to cross as she stared at him for a while.

Wu Chen lowered his head, chuckled, and flicked her head, "You naughty girl, I'll teach you to talk nonsense again."

Lu Qing immediately covered her head and burst into tears.

Wu Chen handed her a handkerchief. "Cry slowly, don't hurt your eyes. I'll go and have them bring in some food."

Lu Qing muttered, "Heartless."

Wu Chen didn't turn around or stop walking. Only when he stepped out of the room did he realize how erratic his heart was. He closed his eyes and stood still for a while. He had never felt this emotion before; it was unfamiliar yet intense, undeniable, and difficult to control.

This was not the emotion that Wu Chen, the divine servant of the Divine Palace, should have. Wu Chen slowly opened his eyes, then abruptly closed them again.

"Hey, it's you again?" someone downstairs yelled at him.

Wu Chen looked up and saw that it was Yu Jitang. He was surprised. Yu Jitang had gone to Tan Family Village for the Spirit Fruit, and then said he had important business. Although Yu Jitang hadn't said it, he could guess that this important business was most likely related to the Spirit Fruit. Now that Yu Jitang was here, could it be that the Sword Forging Manor really also had the Spirit Fruit?

"How did you end up here?" Wu Shen asked curiously.

Yu Jitang rushed up in a few steps. "I'll ask you first. What are you doing here? Where's Lu Qing?" He looked into the room.

Wu Chen raised an eyebrow. "Tell me why you're here, and then I'll tell you why we're here."

"Hey, you," Yu Jitang sneered, "I'm too lazy to listen even if you want to talk." With that, he turned to go into the room to find Lu Qing.

Wu Chen grabbed his collar. "Men and women shouldn't touch each other. What are you doing running into her room so early in the morning?"

What do you mean he ran into the girl's room? Wu Chen just came out of there.

Yu Jitang was about to argue with him, but Wu Chen turned around, closed the door, went downstairs to order breakfast, and then returned. Reaching the door, he calmly asked, "Is there anything else?"

Yu Jitang almost exploded, "I have nothing to do with you, I'm going to find Lu Qing."

“She’s not up yet, it’s not convenient right now.” Wu Chen pushed open the door, went in, then turned around and calmly closed the door, despite Yu Jitang’s obviously frightened expression.

Yu Jitang looked like a frightened child.

What did I hear?

They still haven't gotten up. What did they do last night?

While it's not uncommon for lovers to be affectionate, who is Wu Chen? He's a moral exemplar and a model of virtue within the Divine Palace. Ever since he met Wu Chen, the most frequent thing he's heard is, "Look at Wu Chen...you should learn from Wu Chen...if you were even a fraction as good as Wu Chen..."

Why did this hypocrite, who never showed any flaws, suddenly become such a lecherous glutton, to the point of being indiscriminate in his lust?

Yu Jitang was so terrified that he took root in front of their guest room door.

"Guest, where are you going? Or I can show you the way. Guest? Please step aside, I have to deliver breakfast to the guests inside." The waiter looked at Yu Jitang, who was standing in front of the guest room door, with a wry smile.

Yu Jitang was brought back to his senses by the waiter. He took the food box from the waiter's hand and said, "You, tell him to open the door."

Wu Chen had actually overheard the conversation outside from inside. He reluctantly opened the door and said, "Come in."

Yu Jitang carried the food box into the guest room and subconsciously looked for Lu Qing.

Lu Qing was lying on her back on the bed, silently shedding tears, feeling utterly hopeless.

"What exactly did you do to her?" Yu Jitang asked, his voice trembling.

Wu Chen rubbed his temples, took the food box from his hand, and, too lazy to explain, said to Lu Qing, "Get up and have breakfast."

Lu Qing jumped up and ran to the table to sit cross-legged.

Yu Jitang was exasperated. "Lu Qing, what did he do to you? Tell me, and I'll stand up for you."

Lu Qing looked at him, but the tears just wouldn't stop.

Yu Jitang glared fiercely at Wu Chen, "I used to think you were just insidious, but now I realize you're insidious and shameless! You beast!"

Lu Qing took the hot handkerchief Wu Chen handed her and covered her eyes. "Don't misunderstand, there's something wrong with my eyes. They've been watering non-stop. It has nothing to do with Wu Chen."

Yu Jitang looked at her in astonishment, examining her eyes closely. He found that Lu Qing didn't seem to be in any real sorrow; she just kept crying. Yet, this side of Lu Qing, like a little spring doll, was exceptionally endearing. "He really didn't do anything?"

Lu Qing shook her head, "I really didn't do anything."

Yu Jitang glanced at Wu Chen and thought to himself, "He's not even as good as a beast."

Lu Qing was quite happy to see Yu Jitang. "Didn't you have something to do? Why are you here?"

Yu Jitang: "My elders want me to go to the Sword Forging Manor to take care of some things. And you guys, weren't you going to see a doctor? Tsk tsk, old illness not cured, and now new one added, what's wrong with you?"

Lu Qing also cried for a long time, and the inexplicable frustration in her heart was relieved a lot. With Yu Jitang's interruption, the tears gradually stopped. "You're the one who's sick!"

“It’s not good to ignore your illness and avoid seeking medical treatment. Why don’t you go to Medicine King Valley and ask the Medicine King to take a look?” Yu Jitang sincerely suggested.

Wu Chen placed the breakfast items from the food box onto the table one by one. "Let's eat breakfast first. We'll be going to the Sword Forging Manor later."

"What are you doing there?" Yu Jitang frowned. Could it be that Wu Chen had secretly received a message?

Wu Chen glanced at him indifferently, as if he could see through all his guilt. "Lu Qing doesn't have a suitable weapon, so I went to the Sword Forging Manor to see if I could forge a handy weapon for her."

Lu Qing: Huh, when did this happen? What an unexpected surprise?

Wu Chen glanced at her calmly.

Lu Qing: Tch, I knew it, he's using himself as a cover again.

A note from the author:

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