Chapter 49 He ran away again. Lu Qing and Luo Sen stood among a group of gods...

Lu Qing and Luo Sen stood alone in front of a group of Divine Palace disciples, feeling rather outnumbered and outmatched.

But one of them was practically strutting around with his tail between his legs, while the other wore a silly grin, looking utterly innocent. The disciples of the Divine Palace, aside from looking rather displeased, couldn't really do anything to these two shameless individuals.

Qi Ying said to the two of them, "Don't worry, we will find out what happened and we will definitely clear your names."

Qi Zhi sneered, knowing that if she couldn't take action, she couldn't possibly win an argument. So she simply walked away, sat down to rest, and tried to avoid seeing or being bothered.

Lu Qing nodded. "Please bring two robes. When we came here today, we didn't bring anything with us except what we were holding in our hands."

Qi Ying gave them two robes and then went to check on the poisoned fellow disciples.

Lawson continued to play the fool, running over to the fire of the Divine Palace disciples with a grin. Ignoring their cold faces and disdainful looks, he took some firewood and kindling, then skipped back and built a small fire to keep warm.

The two spoke in hushed tones.

Behind everyone's backs, Lawson praised her enthusiastically, "Auntie, I never knew you were so eloquent. I'm truly impressed."

Lu Qing smugly sniffed, "You know how good I used to be to you, right? But if I wanted to tear you to shreds, it would be a matter of time."

This kind of arrogant and overbearing attitude is really infuriating. Even Lawson, one of their own, can't stand it.

Lu Qing then changed the subject, raising her voice slightly, "However, one must consider the other party when it comes to arguing and reasoning. Today we encountered disciples of the Divine Palace, a reputable sect, who have the demeanor and are willing to patiently reason with me. That's why I dared to be bold, preferring to offend a gentleman rather than a petty person. If it had been someone from the Flame-Slaying Platform, we would have had no choice but to accept our defeat."

The voice wasn't loud, but the nearby disciples of the Divine Palace all heard it. They had initially held some grudges against her, but suddenly felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. First, she had thoroughly insulted them, and now she was subtly praising them. The feelings were utterly complex. Well, this girl was someone you couldn't afford to offend, couldn't fight, and couldn't win an argument with; it was best to stay away from her.

The disciples of the Divine Palace were given some antidote pills, and their symptoms quickly subsided, putting their lives out of danger. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Lu Qing watched from the side, losing all interest in further mocking Qi Zhi. She weighed the situation; if she provoked Qi Zhi now, he might really go berserk and attack. A young girl's revenge is never too late; why rush it?

Having howled so loudly and passionately for so long, they were inevitably thirsty, and coupled with all the running around during the day, they were now starving and really wanted something to eat and drink. However, their spirit pouches were hidden inside their clothes; taking them out now would only invite trouble. Lu Qing craned her neck and looked around. Most people in this temporary camp had already rested, and she wouldn't feel comfortable disturbing them. There were still people awake at the Flame-Slaying Platform, but she didn't want to get involved. It seemed she would have to bother the people from the Divine Palace again. Even with her thick skin, she felt a little embarrassed.

She nudged Lawson. "Do you have anything to drink?"

Lawson shook his head. "Don't make me go begging for food and drink from the Divine Palace disciples. That would be too embarrassing."

Lu Qing smacked her lips. "How about we go to the river and get some clean water?"

Lawson glared at her. "Don't you remember what happened by the river the other night? Were we looking for food, or were we delivering food to the monsters?"

Those eavesdropping behind couldn't help but laugh.

When Lu Qing turned around, she saw a person not far away with their head down, huddled in a ball, their body trembling uncontrollably.

Just as Lu Qing was about to say something, the man's companion suddenly raised his hand and tossed a package to them.

Lu Qing caught it immediately, opened the package and found a water bag and a packet of food inside.

Ah, this brother is so understanding. However, Lu Qing also understood that if those rogue cultivators got involved with her now, they would probably be targeted by the Flame-Slaying Platform. So she didn't go over, and whispered, "Thank you."

The man kept his head down, poking at the fire, and didn't react. The brim of his cloak was pulled low, completely obscuring his face.

Lawson uncorked the water pouch and habitually sniffed it. "Hmm?" He was somewhat incredulous, wondering if his nose was playing tricks on him. "Smell it."

Lawson pushed the water bag in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Lu Qing took a sniff and froze instantly.

The water smelled of Qingxin Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine). Even though she hadn't smelled this scent in a long time, she recognized it immediately.

When she was traveling the world with Wu Chen in a small boat, he would always add a calming pill to the fish porridge he cooked for her, just in case the fish had a fishy smell that she didn't like.

So...that person...

Lu Qing gripped the water pouch tightly, not daring to turn around, afraid that she would not be able to resist rushing over.

Suppressing her pounding heart, she took a sip of water from her water pouch.

The warm water flowed over her tongue, moistened her throat, and carried the taste of a calming pill, soothing her unease.

"What's wrong?" Lawson couldn't understand her expression. "Is something the problem?"

“No problem.” A sudden feeling of grievance rose in Lu Qing’s heart.

She wasn't afraid when she was dragged away by a demon, she wasn't afraid when Luo Du'an cleverly set up a pretext to imprison her, and she wasn't afraid when she confronted Qi Zhi head-on. But inexplicably, she now felt wronged.

"What's wrong? Are you going to cry?" Lawson asked when he saw her eyes suddenly redden.

"Who said that? I'm hungry. I not only want to tear him to pieces, I also want to pan-fry him and eat him." Lu Qing said viciously.

“Auntie, you’re not married yet, you need to control your temper.” Luo Sen shrank back slightly and sincerely advised, “Even if you’re going to throw a tantrum, you should wait until you’re married. By then, it’ll be too late for my uncle to regret it.”

The surrounding chuckles were like bubbles rising in a swamp.

Not far behind, Yu Jitang was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face. He pressed his stomach, which was throbbing from holding back his laughter, and said, "I'm laughing so hard, what good will it do you?"

Wu Chen said calmly, "This is called lovesickness, a longing that drives you mad. You have no one to care about you, so you wouldn't understand."

Yu Jitang felt that he was being looked down upon in every way.

Lu Qing didn't bother with those people. After finishing her meal and drink, she wrapped her outer robe around herself and went back to sleep.

Looking at her peacefully sleeping face, Wu Chen smiled contentedly.

As dawn broke again, everyone gradually woke up and discussed their next move.

The disciples of the Divine Palace who were poisoned have recovered, but they still need to rest for a day or two and cannot set off immediately.

Luo Du'an was unwilling to let Lu Qing and Luo Sen go so easily, and naturally refused to leave. He stayed under the guise of helping to protect them. This put the rogue cultivators in a dilemma. They had many concerns, and they didn't think they were powerful enough to help the disciples of the Divine Palace.

As a result, many independent cultivators left first.

Wu Chen and Yu Jitang were among the rogue cultivators, and if they stayed, they would be too conspicuous, so the two left quietly.

Lu Qing gritted her teeth in anger. Understanding was one thing, but to just leave so blatantly! She not only wanted to pan-fry him alive, but also wanted to chop him into mincemeat.

Qi Zhi wanted to leave, and Qi Ying had a fight with her behind everyone's back. Both of them looked unhappy, but Qi Zhi stayed in the end.

Lu Qing thought for a moment, then beckoned to Qi Ying, "Come and sit down, I have some questions to ask you."

Qi Ying had nothing else to do at the moment, so she came over and sat down. But after sitting down, she was stunned when she saw the water bag in Lu Qing's hand. "Where did this come from? I didn't see you carrying this water bag yesterday."

Lu Qing smiled and said, "Last night I was so thirsty that I wanted to ask you for a drink of water, but I was too embarrassed to bother you. The two fellow Daoists sitting behind us gave us a bag of food and drink. We wanted to return it to them this morning, but they had already left with those other rogue Daoist Daoists."

Qi Ying took the water pouch and examined it closely. He had prepared this water pouch himself for the master; how could he not recognize it? Moreover, the two people in it must be the master and the Divine Attendant Yu.

So, they saw everything that happened last night from beginning to end.

Sigh, now that you're here, why don't you take Qizhi back? This woman who's lost in her emotions is terrifying. Qizhi is now only focused on finding you, ignoring everything else. She's practically gone mad, completely different from the Qizhi on Nukun Peak.

Qi Ying was very distressed.

"I see we're about the same age, so I'll just call you Qiying. I hope you don't mind," Lu Qing said with a smile.

Qi Ying had no time to dwell on this.

“You know perfectly well that we didn’t poison your fellow disciples. Now Luo Du’an is talking about helping each other, but you probably know what he’s really up to. We don’t want to be a burden to you either, so we’ll leave with them in a bit to avoid dragging you down,” Lu Qing said in a low voice.

Qi Ying quickly stopped her, "Miss Qi, please don't do anything foolish. Right now, because we're here, Zhan Yan Tai can't openly do anything to you. If you really go with them, given their nature, who knows what terrible things they might do to you."

Lu Qing was somewhat "in a dilemma," saying, "If this continues, I'm afraid it will drag you down."

Qi Ying shook her head. "Their target isn't you, but your sister and brother-in-law. They'd rather mistake them than let them go. Dealing with demons is troublesome enough, but now everyone in the Western Wilderness is after the Spirit Fruit. The situation is too complicated. Until we find your sister and the others, it's safer for you to stay with me."

“But there are only a dozen of you, and most of you have been poisoned by Luo Du’an. Even if you turn against him, you won’t have the upper hand,” Lu Qing said truthfully.

Qi Ying was also in a dilemma.

The disciples of the Divine Palace were of limited strength, and most of them had been poisoned. Qi Zhi was completely disregarding the overall situation, so they couldn't do anything to the people from the Flame-Slaying Platform. Luo Du'an certainly wouldn't make things difficult for the Divine Palace disciples if they wanted to leave. However, he couldn't just stand by and watch the aunt and nephew fall into the hands of the Flame-Slaying Platform. If his master were here, he could rely on him. But his master had left quietly—what did that mean?

Qi Ying was at a loss for what to do.

Lu Qing smiled and said, "I do have an idea. Would you like to hear it?"

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Author's Note: Lu Qing: Yesterday he ran away with the monster, and today he actually ran away on his own. What use is he to me?

...

Tomorrow is the weekend, so I'll have a day off. Don't worry about me.