Chapter 3 You make a lot of sense! You make a lot of sense!
Yu Jitang was now truly intrigued by the spectacle. He turned back, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Are you one of his people?"
Lu Qing nodded readily, "Yes, what's wrong?"
Yu Jitang looked Lu Qing over again.
Lu Qing was pretty enough, but to say she was stunningly beautiful would leave fish sinking or geese falling from the sky, or make the moon hide its face and flowers blush, was quite a stretch. Her face was round and chubby, her skin delicate and pink, with a rosy glow, and her eyes were particularly bright and lively. Looking at her was like seeing a crystal-clear lotus root starch dumpling served in an ice-cold bowl on a hot summer day.
It's pleasing to the eye no matter how you look at it.
However, in terms of looks, she couldn't even compare to the maids of the shrine.
Yu Jitang chuckled and, without explaining, said to Wu Chen, "Didn't you say you were going to treat me to dinner? I'll give you that face."
Wu Chen didn't react in any particular way, and said to the waiter, "Could you please bring another set of chopsticks and bowls, and two more dishes?"
Yu Jitang continued to stare at Lu Qing, "You're actually a woman!"
Lu Qing snorted, "If you can be a man, why can't I be a woman?"
Yu Jitang's main target of provocation was still Wu Chen, "What kind of taste do you have! You can actually like someone like that."
Wu Chen ignored him and served Lu Qing some food, saying, "You haven't had a good rest these past two days. Eat and get a good night's sleep."
Lu Qing resolutely refused to eat wild mushrooms, so Wu Chen had to replace them with other dishes.
Yu Jitang felt very strange. Although Wu Chen was a cunning and shrewd man who never showed his emotions, it was unprecedented for him to dote on a little girl like this.
This matter is suspicious to the core.
After finishing their meal, Wu Chen ignored Yu Jitang and took Lu Qing upstairs.
Yu Jitang quickly asked for the room next to theirs. As soon as he entered the room, he pressed himself against the wall and strained his ears to listen to what was happening next door.
Unfortunately, Wu Chen exchanged only a few words with Lu Qing before sitting down to meditate. Lu Qing fell asleep in the room shortly afterward.
What exactly is going on between these two?
As darkness fell and the town quieted down, Yu Jitang heard the door next door creak open. He immediately jumped out of bed and quietly followed the doorkeeper out.
Wu Chen borrowed a plain bamboo lantern from the innkeeper, carried it in his hand, and strolled out as if in a leisurely garden. Lu Qing skipped and hopped around him, sometimes in front, sometimes behind, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, just like a little deer that had just run out of the mountains and knew nothing of the dangers of the world.
Wu Chen's cultivation was far superior to Yu Jitang's, so Yu Jitang dared not get too close.
However, in the pitch-black night, the light from the bamboo lantern was quite noticeable. Yu Jitang trailed far behind the two.
Beyond the town's boundaries, further south lies a vast wilderness.
Wild grasses grew wildly, reaching waist-high, and the jagged, overgrown groves stretched out, their menacing shadows swaying erratically. Lu Qing had a feeling that something was lurking within them. She looked over cautiously, and suddenly heard the mournful cry of a crow.
A bead of cold sweat slid unusually smoothly from Lu Qing's temple down her neck. Lu Qing clung tightly to Wu Chen's sleeve, "I'm scared."
Wu Chen handed the bamboo lantern to Lu Qing and pulled her close, saying, "Here, take this."
There was a light ahead, and Wu Chen's warm chest behind her. Lu Qing's fear lessened somewhat. She mustered her courage and walked forward.
The small temple was built behind the wild woods, and even with Lu Qing raising the lantern, he could only vaguely see the shadow of the temple wall. It was indistinct and seemed to occupy quite a large area.
Lu Qing's legs began to weaken, and she whispered to Wu Chen, "Can you tell anything?"
Wu Chen took out a string of white jade bells from his sleeve, held them in mid-air, and gently shook them. A faint, delicate bell sound rang out, like shallow ripples spreading across the water's surface before gradually disappearing into nothingness.
Lu Qing listened intently, about to say, "Why is there no sound?", when suddenly, a clear echo of bells came from inside the temple.
Wu Chen frowned. "There's something in this temple."
"Huh?" Lu Qing stammered, "Then what do we do? Should we leave right away?"
"Now that we're here, we should at least find out what's going on."
"But can you beat them?"
"I don't know, we'll only know after we fight it," Wu Chen said, and stepped inside.
Lu Qing tugged at his sleeve tightly, "I'm scared, I don't want to go."
Wu Chen thought for a moment, "Alright. You wait for me here." He put the string of white jade bells on Lu Qing's wrist, "This has the effect of warding off evil spirits and protecting you. If anything happens, shake it while calling my name."
Lu Qing didn't know whether it would be safer to go in with him or stay outside. But looking at the gloomy, blurry shadow of the small temple, she really couldn't bring herself to take a step. "Then be careful, I'll wait for you here."
Wu Chen grunted in agreement, gripped his sword, and walked into the small temple.
Lu Qing tried her best to hold the bamboo lantern high, but the night was too dark and the light was too weak; she couldn't see anything beyond three steps. Wu Chen's tall and slender figure seemed to melt into the darkness within a few steps, leaving no trace.
Unable to see Wu Chen, Lu Qing shrank back slightly and slowly looked around.
But in just a short while, the surrounding darkness seemed to intensify. Something in the wild forest made strange noises, as if something was moving and slowly approaching Lu Qing.
Lu Qing suddenly swung the bamboo lantern over, but saw nothing. Was there nothing there, or did she simply not see anything?
Lu Qing slowly spun around in place, carrying the bamboo lantern, but no matter which direction she went, something seemed to be hiding in the darkness, as if it might pounce on her at any moment.
Cold sweat poured down her back, soaking her clothes. A gust of night wind made her sneeze.
Then, she heard a slurping sound as someone swallowed saliva.
"Who?" Lu Qing suddenly turned around, holding the lantern.
A woman with half her body standing prominently behind her.
"Ah~" Lu Qing only had time to shout before the half-woman suddenly pounced on her, pressing her face against hers and grabbing her arms tightly with both hands.
And out of Lu Qing's sight, she felt something cold and slippery roll up around her from the waist down. The cold friction against her legs made her feel stiffen and tremble.
In just two or three days, she had already experienced being face-to-face twice. She thought the first time was scary enough, but who knew this time was truly terrifying.
The half-woman was very strong, and the skin pressed against Lu Qing's face was cold and sinister. She stuck out her tongue and slowly licked Lu Qing, muttering to herself with satisfaction, "You taste really good."
"I'm a human being, you can't eat me," Lu Qing said in a trembling voice, uttering a meaningless statement.
The woman stepped back slightly, seemingly savoring Lu Qing's scent. "I eat people... um," she exclaimed with enjoyment, "You smell much better than those stinky men. Looks like I can eat more women in the future."
"Eating people is wrong." Cold sweat poured down her face, seeping into Lu Qing's round eyes, and she couldn't help but blink twice.
Perhaps it was because her blinking was particularly cute. The half-woman turned her head back to face her, meeting her gaze. Although her hands were still gripping Lu Qing's arms, she somehow managed to pull the handle of the bamboo lantern from Lu Qing's grasp and move the lantern onto their heads.
Lu Qing was terrified. By the light of the bamboo lantern, she could make out half of the woman's face. Her face was gaunt, her chin was pointed, and her narrow eyes had vertical pupils that reflected light in a yellowish, eerie way.
"Are you a demon?" Lu Qing forced herself to calm down.
The half-woman, inhaling her fragrance, looked as if her appetite had been whetted, and said, "Yes."
"I see you're half human too. Even if you're a demon, you should be a good one. Why do you eat people? Can't you eat something else?"
The half-woman laughed, revealing her gleaming white teeth, making her look even more terrifying. "What should I eat? Pheasants, rabbits, gophers? In my eyes, you humans are no different from them. I can eat them, so why can't I eat people?"
Lu Qing swallowed hard. "I actually think what you said makes a lot of sense."
The half-woman squinted her eyes. "Besides, humans are all bad; they say one thing and do another. They're even more despicable than us monsters. Next time you're reincarnated, don't be human; be a monster."
Lu Qing was somewhat unconvinced, "If being a demon is so good, why do you transform into half a woman and come out to scare people?"
The woman, who was only half-dead, thought for a moment and said, "You have a point."
When she stretched her neck, it had grown much longer.
Lu Qing stared in disbelief as the half-woman suddenly transformed into a giant python. The part of her body that was wrapped around her waist and below was the python's body, and the long, thin tail that was carrying the bamboo lantern was actually the python's tail.
The woman's body was completely transformed into a python's form, its neat and ferocious scales right before Lu Qing's eyes. The enormous python's head opened its blood-red maw and pounced down from mid-air.
Lu Qing only had time to shout in terror, "Wu Chen..."
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