Chapter 7 Men are all bad! Men are all bad! ...

“Even the smallest cultivation family occupies a large area, and the gatehouse is just a kind of mountain gate. In fact, you may have to walk a long way to reach the real gate,” Wu Chen explained.

Looking ahead, Lu Qing could only vaguely see a path formed by the high-hanging lanterns, winding its way forward. The moonlight was hazy, the shadows flickering, creating a beautiful and ethereal scene. "Shall we go there? Or should we find another place to walk?"

Wu Chen gently squeezed the back of her hand. "It's okay, I'm here. You can go and take a look if you want. We just won't disturb them."

Lu Qing's eyes crinkled into crescent moons as she smiled sweetly, "Wu Chen, you're so good to me."

Wu Chen smiled and looked ahead, about to take another step forward, when he heard Lu Qing continue, "You're so good to me, I must be even more considerate and sensible, and I will never cause you any trouble. We won't go to Tan Family Village."

Wu Shen paused, turning back to look at Lu Qing with some surprise.

Lu Qing's expression was earnest and obedient, his eyes frank and straightforward, like a child eager to please him.

Wu Chen took a deep breath and asked with a smile, "Are you really not going to go and take a look ahead?"

Lu Qing shook her head vigorously, "I understood everything you just said. Everyone's here for the Spirit Fruit, and Tan Family Village is definitely the center of all sorts of trouble right now. You already said you wanted to change your route, so why would I cause you any more trouble? If you want to take a walk, there's nowhere else to go!"

Wu stared at her intently for a moment before smiling and saying, "Okay, then let's go for a walk somewhere else."

Wu Chen took her hand and led her away from the gatehouse, heading towards another street.

Since they hadn't actually entered the Tan Family Village area, their walk to digest their food was rather uneventful. Upon returning to the inn, the lobby had been completely transformed, now resplendent and extravagantly luxurious. The original innkeeper and staff were gone; only Jin Hua's maids and guards remained downstairs.

Lu Qing wasn't intimidated by their transformation of the place. She gestured to her maids, "Where are my storybooks? Where did you put them?"

A maidservant quickly came forward to reply, "Place it next to the dressing table in the room, young lady."

Lu Qing didn't care about the dressing table, as long as the storybooks weren't lost.

Back in her room, a maidservant came to help Lu Qing with her washing and grooming. She was also given brand new undergarments.

Lu Qing didn't refuse. It was the first time she had worn such a pink undergarment, and she thought it looked pretty good. She found a storybook and then let them leave.

Wu Chen refused Jin Hua's maid and went to change his clothes on the other side. When he came back after changing, he saw Lu Qing had placed the palace lantern on the small table beside the bed and was lying on the edge of the bed reading a storybook. Her two white feet were swinging back and forth, and her pink silk trousers hung down to her knees.

He looked at Lu Qing, his brows furrowed, standing by the screen, somewhat caught in a dilemma.

However, Lu Qing was so engrossed in the exciting parts of the storybook that she was completely absorbed, her little face beaming with excitement, unable to tear herself away, and she didn't even notice Wu Chen's presence.

Wu Chen's gaze fell on her vivid little face illuminated by the light.

To be fair, Lu Qing didn't have a striking appearance that would immediately catch the eye. But her features were very pleasing to the eye. Even with Wu Chen's scrutinizing and distant attitude, her eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips were all perfectly proportioned, especially her crystal-clear eyes, which shone like glass under the palace lanterns.

Pure as unpolished jade, its serene beauty reveals the brilliance of stars.

Wu Chen made this assessment in his heart. For the first time in his life, he began to waver in his decision. Wu Chen reached up and rubbed his temples hard. That hasty, impulsive idea now seemed like a bad one.

He walked to the bedside, sat down slowly, and said to Lu Qing, "It's getting late, go to sleep early."

Lu Qing didn't turn her head, and hummed twice, as if she was being coquettish, "No, I can't sleep if I don't finish reading this book. You go to sleep first."

Wu Chen felt a sense of relief, walked around Lu Qing, and lay down on the inside of the bed. "Then you can go to sleep after you finish reading this book."

Lu Qing hummed twice in response.

Wu Chen covered himself with the blanket, placed his hands neatly on his abdomen, and closed his eyes to rest. But after a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked in Lu Qing's direction.

But Lu Qingzheng was watching with a smile on his face, completely ignoring him. Wu Chen silently breathed a sigh of relief and really went to sleep.

After he fell asleep, Lu Qing took advantage of a moment while turning the page to quickly glance back at him.

fraud!

Just as the book says, men are all bad.

She kept muttering to herself.

What?! She's his woman?!

Like in the books, doing this and that in bed, that's what it means to be his! They haven't even held hands, and she only let him carry her for a few days, and she's already his? If she rode a horse for a few days, would she become the horse's person?

You can't fool demons!

He doesn't know his own taste!

He didn't know his own origins!

She couldn't remember anything, but even if she pretended to be clueless, she could sense that something was amiss.

And tonight, he deliberately overfed her, then took her for a walk, and deliberately walked to the entrance of Tanjiazhuang. What was he planning? Was he going to use her as a cover again?

Hmph, you think I'll bite just because you set out bait? The girl just won't play along, she just won't go in, what can you do about it?

Lu Qing withdrew her gaze and continued reading the storybook with a smile.

You really think you can fool me just because I can't remember anything? Haha, if we really had a past, that would be fine, but if I find out you're lying to me, hmph, you just wait!

Lu Qing finished reading the storybook and tossed it aside. Thinking about the plot, she found it all quite unbelievable. She lost all interest in staying up all night to read.

The same book can evoke a hundred different opinions from a hundred different people.

The storybook described countless women rushing headlong into the arms of a powerful man, and in her eyes, what difference was there between them and the maids in Jinhua downstairs? And that powerful man in the storybook, while spouting tales of deep affection and loyalty, kept seducing new women. What kind of deep affection and loyalty was that?!

Others read storybooks for sheer enjoyment. But Lu Qing, after reading several, began to ponder why. Ultimately, in this world, whoever has the ability calls the shots.

However, those men were after women's beauty, while women sought status and security. But she was self-aware; even the maids in Jinhua were more beautiful and pitiful than her.

So what exactly does Wu Chen want to get from her?

Lu Qing scratched his head, unable to figure it out for a moment.

However, what Wu Chen wants is his business; whether he gives it to her or not is his own business.

Lu Qing's eyes darted around, she turned over, stared at Wu Chen's profile, and chuckled. Then, without any hesitation, she pulled the blanket that Wu Chen had warmed up over her, covered herself with it, closed her eyes, yawned, and started to sleep.

Wu was half asleep when she felt a chill on her body. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Lu Qing had wrapped herself in the entire bright red silk quilt, her rosy little face buried in a pile of brocade, fast asleep.

Wu Chen sighed silently and pulled her over, blanket and all.

While fast asleep, Lu Qing was unhappy that her blanket had been taken away, so she turned over and hugged him as if he were her blanket.

Wu Chen stiffened, glanced at Lu Qing's innocent and fearless round face, and sighed silently again. He pulled the blanket over them both and let her be.

When Lu woke up in the morning, Wu Chen had already gotten up.

After washing up and changing her clothes, Lu went downstairs to find him.

Wu Chen and the other two were sitting downstairs talking. There were side dishes on the table, but they hadn't been eaten yet, clearly waiting for her.

Lu Qing hopped down and said, "Hello everyone."

Jin Hua glanced at her and asked politely, "Miss Lu Qing, do you not like those women's clothes?"

Lu Qing smiled as she recalled the large pile of clothes that the maids had encountered earlier. "Young Master Jin, you're too kind. It's more comfortable to dress like this when you're traveling."

Wu Chen nodded and said to Jin Hua, "Thank you for your kind offer, Young Master Jin, but it's not necessary."

Jinhua didn't dwell on the matter. She gestured for the maid to serve breakfast.

Breakfast was exquisite and plentiful, but the four of them couldn't even finish half of it. After the meal, the maids quietly came in to remove the food and served tea.

Wu Chen picked up his teacup and said to Jin Hua, "Thank you for your hospitality, Young Master Jin. We will be setting off soon, so we will bid you farewell here."

Yu Jitang was surprised that he left so suddenly; this was not Wu Chen's usual style. "That's a fruit of spiritual communication; are you really not going to see it?"

Wu Chen smiled and said, "You can go. Lu Qing and I have other things to do."

"What could you possibly want?" Yu Jitang frowned, his gaze falling on Lu Qing. "Could it be that you want to treat her illness?"

"You're the one who's sick! You're brainless!" Lu Qing glared at him.

Yu Jitang immediately turned his face away, "Fine, with me here, it doesn't matter whether you go or not."

Wu Chen smiled and didn't argue with him.

Just then, a guard from Jinhua rushed into the hall, saying, "Young Master, something has happened at Tan Family Village."

"Something happened?" Jinhua turned around. "What's wrong?"

"The Tan family village was massacred. Not a single person was left alive, from top to bottom."

"What?" Jin Hua was so shocked that his face changed. He didn't care about the life or death of the people in Tanjiazhuang, but if they were dead, where would he find clues about the Spirit Fruit?

Wu Chen was also surprised. "Last night when we went for a walk, we saw that Tan Family Village was quite magnificent, and everything seemed normal. Such a large village with a large population. Who could have slaughtered such a family so silently?" He looked down at Lu Qing and said, "This is no small matter. Let's stay here for now and go take a look."

"If you hadn't stayed out last night and hadn't fought with me for the blanket all night, I would have suspected you were the one who killed him!" Lu Qing thought to herself, while nodding obediently, "I'll listen to you."

A note from the author:

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