Chapter 5 Why is it you again? Why is it you again?
Back at the inn, Wu Chen asked the innkeeper to boil water so that the two of them could take a bath.
Wearing her undergarments and with her hair down, Lu Qing lay on the table waiting for Wu Chen to return. She was exhausted after tossing and turning half the night in fear and trembling. In her hazy, half-awake state, she seemed to see the python demon.
The python demon, with a ferocious expression, approached her and said in a vicious voice, "Humans are all bad."
"Ah~" Lu Qing screamed and woke up in fright.
Wu Chen, who was drying her hair, quickly let go of her hand. "What's wrong?"
Lu Qing, still shaken, turned to look at him. "I... I dreamt about that python demon."
Wu Chen gave an "oh," then changed to a dry towel and continued drying her hair. His long, strong hands moved through her cool, supple hair, massaging her head with varying pressure. "Why are you still thinking about it? Are you scared?"
Lu Qing touched her chest. "It told me that no one is a good person."
Wu Chen's hand paused slightly. "When did you say that?"
“While I was waiting for you outside the temple, she wanted to eat what I had mentioned before.”
"You heard her speak to you?" Wu Chen was silent for a moment, then chuckled softly. "Ordinary demons can't speak human language. Since this one can, it must be quite powerful. But don't be bewitched by it. These two python demons occupy that small temple and have harmed countless innocent lives. I was careless today; I shouldn't have left you alone outside."
Speaking of this, Lu Qing suddenly remembered something, took the white jade bell off her arm, and returned it to him, saying, "Here you go."
Wu Chen took her hand and tied the white jade bell to her wrist. "Since I've given it to you, take it with you and don't forget it no matter where you go."
Lu Qing raised her arm and looked at the white jade bell. The candlelight illuminated the bell, making it seem as if smoke and mist were flowing within, both ancient and vivid. She liked it very much. "Alright, I'll accept it. I'll give you something better when I find something nice in the future."
Wu Chen dried her hair. "Alright, go to sleep now. Tomorrow morning, the townspeople will inevitably be frightened, and you won't be able to sleep in."
"That's right." Lu Qing lay down on the bed, hugged the blanket, and turned to ask Wu Chen, "Aren't you going to sleep?"
Wu Chen spread his sleeves and sat cross-legged on the low couch next to him. "I recover faster by meditating." After saying that, he made a hand seal and began to meditate with his eyes closed.
Lu Qing lay on the quilt, quietly watching him for a while, then made a face, chuckled, turned over, covered herself with the quilt, and went to sleep.
The next morning, the townspeople who noticed the strange occurrence began to bang their gongs loudly, shouting that two python demons had been slain in the small temple, and the news spread like wildfire.
Hearing the commotion outside getting closer and closer to the inn, Wu Chen asked Lu Qing, who was munching on a steamed bun, "Should we leave now?"
"Aren't we going to wait for their thanks?" Lu Qing asked, her words muffled.
Wu Chen handed her a bowl of thin porridge, "No need. Exorcising demons and purifying the environment is what the disciples of the Divine Palace should do."
Lu Qing thought for a moment, then said with some regret, "I thought they would give you some silver."
Wu Chen patted her head. "Don't be naughty. I have enough money for you."
"Alright." Lu Qing tilted her head back and gulped down the entire bowl of thin porridge. "Let's go."
Wu Chen placed some loose silver on the table, pulled Lu Qing to her feet, opened the window, put an arm around Lu Qing's waist, and the two of them lightly leaped out. While the people were all crowding into the main street, the two of them quietly left from behind.
Once outside the town, some curious villagers peeked into the woods.
Lu Qing exclaimed, "Did you forget to tell us to burn the python demon's corpse?"
Wu Chen looked down at her and said, "It's alright. I already spoke to the innkeeper last night."
"I didn't expect you to be so meticulous," Lu Qing said with a smile. "By the way, where are we going next?"
“I’ve been out for so long, I need to send a message to the Divine Palace, but this place is remote and there are no messengers from the Divine Palace. I have no choice but to find a cultivator’s family and ask them to help me send a message. So we’re heading to Tan Family Village in Qingling Ferry now,” Wu Chen explained.
Lu Qing had just picked a handful of foxtail grass from the roadside and was haphazardly weaving it in her hands when she suddenly said, "Why don't you let Yu Jitang help you deliver the message? Isn't he also a member of the Divine Palace?"
Wu Chen paused for a moment, "He must have something to do in such a remote place. I don't want to cause him any trouble."
"Is this place very remote? Then how did we end up here?" Lu Qing suddenly turned around and looked at him.
Wu Chen raised an eyebrow and curled his lips into a smile. "You'll know when you remember."
"Ugh, you're so annoying. You always make me think for myself, but I can't remember anything except my name." Lu Qing's eyebrows furrowed. "If I never remember, are you just going to never tell me?"
Wu Chen gazed at her, his eyes full of amusement. "So what?"
"Hmph." Lu Qing was so angry that she went around behind him and suddenly pounced on him. "I'm angry, carry me on your back."
"Okay." Wu Chen supported her legs and carried her steadily on his back. He walked forward at a leisurely pace.
Lu Qing lay on his back, sometimes touching his eyelashes with her hand, sometimes brushing his neck with a foxtail grass, but no matter how much she teased him, Wu Chen always said in a doting yet helpless tone, "Stop teasing me."
Lu Qing finally gave up, saying, "How can you have such a good temper?"
Wu Chen lowered his head and smiled, his profile as handsome as if it were meticulously drawn with a fine brush.
Lu Qing was stunned for a moment. When she came to her senses, she didn't feel shy at all. Instead, she cheered, hugged his neck, and exclaimed, "How can you be so handsome..." She pressed her cheek against Wu Chen's temple and rubbed it against him a couple of times.
Wu Chen was taken aback by her sudden intimate gesture. "Stop fooling around, or I won't carry your back anymore."
Lu Qing chuckled.
The wilderness trails were somewhat interesting at first, but after a while, everything looked pretty much the same. Bored and sleepy, Lu Qing fell asleep on Wu Chen's back.
Listening to her long, deep breaths, the gentle expression on Wu Chen's face gradually disappeared, replaced by calmness and even a hint of indifference, a stark contrast to his earlier demeanor. He calmly glanced ahead and continued forward.
Around sunset, they arrived at Qingling Ferry.
Although this place is called Qingling Ferry, it is not an ordinary ferry crossing for pedestrians. The river here is wide, and merchant ships come and go in an endless stream. The town here is more than ten times larger than the town where we stayed yesterday. Not to mention Tanjiazhuang, which is located on the hills outside the town.
Since his time was up, Wu Chen found a clean and spacious inn to stay in, and again only booked one room. He was by nature fond of cleanliness and could not tolerate dirt and disorder. After checking in, the arrangement was still to take a bath first, and then go down to eat.
After taking a bath, Lu Qing refused to stay in the room, so she casually tied up her wet hair and went out first.
This inn was not only more spacious and refined than the one from last night, but the lobby also had quite a few things to amuse herself with. Lu Qing didn't understand how to play those things, but she noticed there were quite a few storybooks nearby. Some were unofficial histories, others were romantic tales, all illustrated and quite interesting.
Lu Qing moved a stack of books to the table and began to read them. The stories were about chivalrous heroes and beautiful women, some using blunt and vulgar language, but others were witty and elegant. Lu Qing was so engrossed in reading that she didn't even notice someone walking up to her table, resting her chin on her hand, thoroughly enjoying herself.
"Hey, hey, hey, didn't you hear me talking to you?" Someone reached out and snatched the book from in front of her.
Lu Qing looked up in surprise.
Yu Jitang stood in front of her, hands on his hips and glaring.
"Why is it you again?" Lu Qing chuckled.
"What do you mean, 'It's me again'?" Yu Jitang was exasperated. "You two ran away, leaving me all alone here. Do you know how pathetic I was this morning?" He was harassed by those women, and one of them even tried to touch him and set him up as a matchmaker! Seriously! Did he, a dignified divine servant, need such wild romances?!
"We killed the python demon together, and the credit should go to you, yet you still complain! You're the one who's being unreasonable!" Lu Qing snorted.
"Who cares!" Yu Jitang glared at her. "Besides, am I the kind of person who steals credit?" He took out a money pouch from his pocket and threw it in front of Lu Qing. "Here, these are the villagers' thank-you gifts. I never accept them, and Wu Chen probably won't either. But I included yours. Here, I didn't take advantage of you at all."
"Hey, good bro." Lu Qing yanked open the bag and looked inside. "Hehe, surprisingly quite a lot." She happily tossed the money bag into the pouch at her waist. "Next time you need a job like this, just let me know!"
"Huh? Didn't you come here for Tan Family Village?" Yu Jitang asked, puzzled.
Lu Qing reached out and grabbed the storybook he had taken. "Tan Family Village? What happened there?"
"Why are you here?" Wu Chen came to the table.
Lu Qing, with her sharp nose, immediately felt a refreshing scent of soap pods after a bath. She took two deep sniffs and then said seriously to Yu Jitang, "You stink."
Praising one person only leads to putting down another. Yu Jitang almost wanted to slam his fist on the table. He'd been cornered early that morning and then traveled all day; it was unusual for him to smell slightly sweaty. Instead of confronting Lu Qing, he glared at Wu Chen, "Truly, one is influenced by one's company!"
Wu Chen spread his hands innocently, "What did I do this time?"
Yu Jitang only wanted to fight him, not talk to him.
Just then, a series of orderly footsteps came from outside.
All three had very sharp hearing, and they all turned to look outside.
Two groups of men dressed in golden outfits led the way into the inn, then lined up in neat rows, facing each other and creating a passageway. Their golden crowns, robes, and even boots were embroidered with gold thread, dazzling and imposing under the candlelight of the hall, almost blindingly so.
Lu Qing had never seen anything like this before and was taken aback. "What's going on? Are we going to fight?"
Her several golden-clad guards heard this and glared at her fiercely.
Lu Qing pouted and made a fierce expression as she retorted.
Just then, a fragrant breeze wafted in, and another group of maids entered through the door. They wore identical pink silk skirts, their faces veiled with light gauze, and each of them was roughly the same size, only the things they carried differed.
Lu Qing didn't understand the purpose of most of the things, but the first maid carried a hollowed-out gold and jade incense ball, and wisps of smoke drifted in the air with her light steps.
The aroma filled the entire hall.
Lu Qing's nose was too sensitive to resist, and she kept chirping enthusiastically.
Wu Chen quickly poured the tea onto a handkerchief, then covered her mouth and nose, gently patting her back with one hand.
Yu Jitang was even more direct, throwing a cup full of tea at him. The imposing incense hissed and released white smoke.
The maid's haughty and indifferent gaze suddenly sharpened, and in the direction her gaze fell, all the men in tight-fitting clothes drew their swords in unison, aiming them at Wu Chen and his group's table...
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