Chapter 2 Yes, I wanted to take advantage of your situation, but I was afraid you wouldn't agree to my actions towards you...
Li Chen glanced at him, clearly displeased that he was treating her like a criminal. However, given Shen Zhengyuan's current distrust of her, it was normal for him to want to test her background. After all, if it were her, she would also want to test the other party's background.
However, he is still too young. According to the ages she knows, Shen Zhengyuan should not be twenty yet. It is normal for him to be a little naive at such a young age.
“Oh, is that so? I have a friend who suffered an injury like yours. As a friend, I naturally had to care about her well-being, so in order to heal her, I went around seeking out masters to learn various skills. After learning some things in the Zen meditation world, I went to the alchemy world and learned these techniques.” Li Chen said, “You see, learning a variety of things has its advantages; isn’t this what helped you?”
Shen Zhengyuan sneered, "How come I didn't know that the Zen cultivation world and the alchemy world would pass on such secret techniques to outsiders?"
Li Chen smiled and said, "You are still young and there are many things you don't know. You don't need to test me. I genuinely want to save you, and I'm not after your secret techniques and magical artifacts. I have no interest in those things."
"What you need to focus on now is your spiritual meridians. My methods alone are not enough. If you don't want to become a cripple in the future, you have to find the thousand-year-old snow lotus to rebuild your spiritual meridians. Otherwise, if you encounter any problems in the future and have to force yourself to use spiritual power, although you can still use it, each use will be a drain on your body. You don't want to die young, do you?"
She had learned quite a bit about the thousand-year-old snow lotus before, and the earliest record she had was about Shen Zhengyuan.
Before she arrived at this place, the information she knew was that several hundred years ago, Shen Zhengyuan seemed to have suffered some kind of injury and needed to use the thousand-year-old snow lotus.
At that time, he was the only one left in the world of magic cultivation. So he climbed the Snowy Mountain, which was rich in spiritual energy and nurtured snow lotuses, and found a thousand-year-old snow lotus. After consuming it, he began to study various secret techniques. After mastering all the secret techniques, he began to rebuild the world of magic cultivation.
If Shen Zhengyuan hadn't met her, probably no one would have healed him. Otherwise, the records wouldn't have noted that it took him a full five years. Although this part of history was glossed over, only Shen Zhengyuan himself knew how he had fared during those five years. Li Chen guessed that he hadn't had a very comfortable time during those five years.
Based on the current distance, it would take them less than three years to walk there step by step. If they had any magical artifacts to travel with, even if no one helped treat Shen Zhengyuan's injuries, it would only take a year at most. So what exactly did Shen Zhengyuan encounter that made it take five years?
However, that's not the most important thing right now. The most important thing is that she doesn't know in which corner of the Snowy Mountain Shen Zhengyuan found the thousand-year-old snow lotus, according to the records.
Snowy Mountain is not only vast in area, but it is also home to snow demons and snow wolves that prey on people. Ordinary people dare not approach it, and those with average cultivation levels also dare not go there easily. So how are these two good-for-nothings supposed to get up the mountain?
Will it be helpful to kowtow at the foot of the mountain and pray for the mountain god to appear?
Also, does that place really have a mountain god?
Just as Li Chen was deep in thought, Shen Zhengyuan suddenly spoke up: "The alchemy world went into seclusion more than ten years ago due to heavy casualties. Did you go to the alchemy world more than ten years ago?"
Li Chen finally came to his senses, continued fanning himself, and casually said, "Yeah, that's right."
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard the person opposite her chuckle. When she looked up, she saw Shen Zhengyuan staring at her and saying very seriously, "The alchemy world went into seclusion two years ago."
"Nothing happened more than ten years ago. In fact, because of the many casualties in the world, ninety percent of the disciples in the alchemy world went down the mountain to save people, leaving only ten percent to guard the sect. You say you have been to the alchemy world, but you don't even know this. You are clearly lying."
"Oh, I didn't quite catch what you said, I just gave a casual reply," Li Chen replied readily. "Of course I know what you're talking about."
Shen Zhengyuan said, "Really? But what I just said was a lie, what I said before was the truth."
Li Chenjin: "..."
She fanned herself listlessly, gazing at the person opposite her, muttering to herself, "So she was smart all along..."
Li Chenjin's voice was so soft that Shen Zhengyuan couldn't even hear what she was muttering before he heard her say softly, "I did lie to you, but none of that matters. You just need to know that I genuinely wanted to cure you."
Shen Zhengyuan said, "You mean, someone like you, who is full of lies, cunning and unpredictable, and who is a complete stranger to me, and who tried to sever my tendons as soon as we met, genuinely wants to cure me?"
Li Chenjin smiled slightly, "There's no need to say such harsh things. I apologize to you, but I am indeed a kind-hearted person. If you don't believe me, you can keep an eye on me and you'll know whether what I said is true or false."
"I know you're worried that I might be plotting something against you, but you can rest assured that while I may have some plans, they will absolutely not endanger your life."
“If you want a magic weapon, I can give you another one, enough to ensure your lifelong safety, and you don’t need to follow me anymore,” Shen Zhengyuan said. “A thousand-year-old snow lotus is rare, and it’s not guaranteed that you can find one. Moreover, there are many snow demons lurking on the mountain. If you insist on following me, you will only lose your life. You might as well quit while you’re ahead.”
"You've already given me one magic weapon, and now you're willing to give me another. It's clear you're a kind-hearted person, truly teachable." Li Chen said with a very pleasant tone and a smile. "I also want to know when to stop, but I'm very curious about this Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. I imagine any healer would want to see it, and I'm no exception. So, you can't ask me to leave now. I won't leave until I see what the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus looks like."
Shen Zhengyuan slowly said, "So your real purpose in doing all this is for the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus. You want to obtain it through me and then steal it away, right?"
"Do I look like such a wicked person?" Li Chen sighed. "I have never thought of it that way, and I will not compete with you for it. Think about it, the snow mountain is difficult to travel, and you are injured. You will be in pain all over when the cold wind blows. Who knows, I might have to help you get the snow lotus in the end."
She was telling the truth, but Shen Zhengyuan simply didn't believe her. Although she didn't say anything more, during the time she stayed in the leaky house to recover, Shen Zhengyuan tried to avoid her several times.
From morning till night, from night till morning, as long as he felt it was an opportunity, he would run out without hesitation, regardless of whether it was windy or rainy outside. It was as if even if there were a sea of fire or a mountain of knives outside, it would be a hundred times better than this leaky and windproof place.
Fortunately, Li Chenjin's greatest skill is finding and tracking people. He often discovers that Shen Zhengyuan has run away again in the first instance, and then leisurely goes out to follow the traces to find him.
The furthest Shen Zhengyuan ever ran was right out of the ruined town. Unfortunately, he only stopped to catch his breath, and when he turned around, he saw someone standing not far behind him.
Li Chen didn't know how long he had been following him, but he wasn't angry when he saw him run away. In fact, when Li Chen looked at him, he raised his hand and waved to him with a smile. Then, as if they had met by chance, he said, "What a coincidence, Cultivator Chen, you also take this path."
Shen Zhengyuan: "..."
After being captured and brought back again, Shen Zhengyuan felt for the first time that he actually wanted to kill someone.
He hated many people and thought many people deserved to die, but never before had he felt that a seemingly harmless person was so deserving of death.
He couldn't figure out what Li Chenjin was up to or what he was plotting. He only knew that he couldn't resist him with his current strength, so he could only stay aside with a cold face every day, treating Li Chenjin as if he were invisible.
Li Chenjin naturally saw his silent resistance, but the way he resisted was really funny. He just stayed on the side like a puppet every day, not helping with anything, not doing anything, not saying anything, and not responding when called. He wouldn't even hand him a bowl, like an old man who was half-paralyzed.
Fortunately, she was used to living alone and could do many things without anyone else. Even when Shen Zhengyuan was so angry that his face turned red, she could hum a little tune and intentionally or unintentionally wander in front of Shen Zhengyuan, looking like nothing was wrong and not affected by Shen Zhengyuan at all. On the contrary, she made Shen Zhengyuan so angry that he almost vomited blood.
Once she saw that Shen Zhengyuan had recovered enough, she packed some luggage, some dry food and a change of clothes, and urged Shen Zhengyuan to hurry on his way.
Shen Zhengyuan: "..."
He silently watched the person who had already reached the door.
The sun was shining brightly, casting a warm glow on her. Her clothes were mostly in very light colors, which made her look like a flower blooming in this town that resembled ruins.
She didn't seem to care much about dressing up; her long hair was simply held up with a wooden hairpin, which he had seen her carve herself out of boredom just the other day.
Although she seemed to pay little attention to her appearance, during her four or five days there, she meticulously groomed herself, keeping herself spotless from head to toe, while he…
He was still wearing the same dirty clothes that were stained with blood from before...
He had seen many wicked people before, but few were like her, who appeared harmless but were actually extremely wicked.
He naturally didn't want to go with her, but he had no choice. If he didn't go, this madwoman would sharpen her knives on his tendons and limbs, eventually forcing him to go with her.
The two traveled for five days, one after the other. During those five days, he was always looking for an opportunity to escape, but without exception, he was caught by Li Chenjin. Moreover, she caught him effortlessly, as if she knew where he was going all along. Strangely, he even suspected that she had left some kind of magical artifact on him that could track his location.
The two spent a few more days like this until they stopped to rest on the road. Shen Zhengyuan sat to the side and looked at her for a long time before he couldn't help but say, "Why do you insist on clinging to me? I won't give you any more magic weapons."
“How can this be called entanglement? Look, you're looking for the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, and so am I. We're just passing by.” Li Chen said gently, “Cultivator Chen, are you hungry?”
Shen Zhengyuan was already thinking about how to respond to Li Chenjin's twisted logic when she unexpectedly changed the subject to "Are you hungry?", which left him stunned.
His spiritual veins are now severed, and he cannot use his spiritual power. Therefore, he is unable to abstain from grains. As a result, he is now just like an ordinary person who has not cultivated. He will be hungry and thirsty, and he needs to eat three meals a day and sleep.
They had been traveling and were now resting when it was noon, lunchtime. He was naturally hungry, but he couldn't understand why she had suddenly brought up this topic.
"Don't pretend you're not hungry, I can hear your stomach growling." Li Chen smiled at him. "Go, pick up a few branches that you think are handy. I can't always be the one taking care of you while you do nothing, can I? Cultivator Shen, living off a woman isn't a good habit."
Shen Zhengyuan's face turned red with anger, but he couldn't be tough right now. He could only glare at her fiercely, snort coldly, and go find tree branches as she had instructed.
After he had carefully selected some branches that he thought were suitable, he saw Li Chenjin accept them with a satisfied expression before he realized what he had done.
He had already left, yet he didn't take the opportunity to escape. Instead, he actually did as she instructed and brought back some branches. Has he gone mad too?!
While he was doubting himself, Li Chenjin had already tidied up the branches, tied them with a line he had gotten from somewhere, and was now sitting cross-legged by the river fishing.
However, without bait, it was impossible to catch any fish. The more Shen Zhengyuan looked at her, the more he thought she was crazy. But unexpectedly, the branch in her hand suddenly flew out and pierced the body of a fish.
“Look, you can catch fish even without bait.” Li Chenjin maintained a calm and reserved smile. “This fish is quite big; it should be enough for you to eat.”
Shen Zhengyuan: "...This was clearly stabbed by you."
Li Chen asked, "Then what was I doing sitting by the river just now?"
Shen Zhengyuan frowned. "Fishing?"
“Yes, fishing.” Li Chen smiled slightly. “Cultivator Shen, look how hungry you are! You said I was fishing, why did you try to argue with me before? Come, come, to prevent you from fainting from hunger, you can handle the fish. It’s always faster for two people to do things than for me to do them alone, isn’t it?”
Shen Zhengyuan: "..."
He shut up, silently accepted the fish Li Chenjin handed him, and walked to the side.
He couldn't figure out Li Chenjin's intentions, nor could he see through her actions, but every word and every move she made must have a purpose. Her words just now were definitely meant to hook him, a fish that could be caught even without bait. Now that he thought about it, it seemed to be talking about him...
After Li Chenjin "caught" another fish, Shen Zhengyuan cleaned the fish and then lit a campfire to grill it.
He didn't know her background, or even her name, but judging from her current behavior, he could tell that she was quite skilled, like someone who often travels around the country and has to acquire more skills to make a living, rather than a doctor.
Since she didn't ask about his background, he didn't ask about hers either, treating her as a stranger he neither knew nor would ever know.
Anyway, he will leave someday. He is not the kind of person who will submit to others and be at their mercy. Once his spiritual veins are restored, he will surely avenge his current imprisonment.
While he was pondering, Li Chen handed him the grilled fish. Once the fish was warm enough to eat, Shen Zhengyuan took big bites.
As he ate the grilled fish in his hand, he kept staring in Li Chenjin's direction. The more he looked, the harder he bit, as if he wasn't eating grilled fish, but rather her, or every enemy he could think of.
Li Chenjin had finished grilling the fish and was slowly tearing the fish meat apart, completely ignoring Shen Zhengyuan's gaze.
After she swallowed a bite of grilled fish, she slowly said, "Young man, keeping things bottled up inside isn't good for your health. If you have any grudges or resentments, you can tell me. Although I may not be able to help you get revenge, it's always more comfortable to talk about it than to suffer alone."
Shen Zhengyuan naturally wouldn't reply to her. Putting aside the fact that they no longer had any friendship, Li Chenjin was already considered an enemy to him, so he naturally wouldn't tell his innermost thoughts to an enemy and a stranger.
He remained silent, and Li Chen did not mind, continuing to eat the grilled fish in his hand slowly and deliberately.
After she finished eating what she was holding, she stood up, dusted herself off, and prepared to continue her journey. Suddenly, the person sitting with his back to her collapsed to the ground, coughed up blood, closed his eyes, and fell silent.
Li Chen was taken aback by this sudden turn of events. He immediately forgot about cleaning up the fire on the ground and hurriedly went to Shen Zhengyuan's side to pat his face. "Cultivator Shen? Hey? Shen what? Shen Zhengyuan?"
Seeing that he showed no reaction, she immediately checked his pulse. The more she checked, the more her brows furrowed. "This is really strange... I didn't poison him... My cooking skills are passable... How can he be poisoned by this pulse..."
Just as she was about to carry the person on her back, the person who had been unconscious suddenly opened their eyes.
Their eyes met, and then she heard Shen Zhengyuan say, "You know my name. At the beach, I vaguely heard someone calling my name. I thought it was a dream, but you did call my name just now, so you knew me from the beginning. Who are you?"
Li Chen looked into Shen Zhengyuan's eyes. Although she still disliked the person in front of her, she had to admit that his eyes were really beautiful. "So you were just bluffing me."
"I don't know how you did it, but I advise you to cherish your health. Otherwise, once your health collapses, it will be extremely difficult to recover."
“From the very beginning, I sensed something was off about you. I was clearly dressed in the robes of a sword cultivator, yet you knew I was a magic cultivator the moment you saw me. So you recognize me, but I've never seen you before. Who are you?” Shen Zhengyuan said, enunciating each word clearly. “You don’t need to lie to me. Since entering the magic cultivator world, I’ve never left the mountain. When you met me, it was my first time descending. You’re not a magic cultivator, yet you know so much about it. What is your purpose?”
Li Chen listened to Shen Zhengyuan's long string of words and couldn't help but click his tongue.
The matter of the disciples' robes in the cultivation world was truly outside her knowledge. After all, this was several hundred years ago, and the cultivation world now was very different from the cultivation world several hundred years later. Not to mention what the disciples' robes looked like now, she couldn't even answer if asked what the popular storybooks were about.
Although she could get away with joking around, given the current situation, Shen Zhengyuan was very wary of her. If she continued to joke around now, it would only deepen Shen Zhengyuan's suspicion and distrust of her, which would not be conducive to their future relationship.
What if they encounter some extraordinary event on the road before they get to know each other, causing Shen Zhengyuan's injuries to suddenly heal, and he kills her in a fit of rage? That would be a huge loss.
It was also her fault for being a little careless, thinking that people who hadn't aged yet from hundreds of years ago would be easy to fool. Little did she know that he was not only hard to fool when he was old, but also hard to fool when he was young.
The only good thing is that he's at an age where he can't hold back his feelings, so he's relatively easy to deal with.
Otherwise, if he were older and had learned to be patient and bide his time, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, waiting for its prey to relax before unleashing its fangs to take its life, she would have to sleep with one eye open and one eye closed.
“Alright, since you’ve come this far, it means you’ve been thinking about these questions all this time. If I don’t answer you now, I’m afraid you won’t be able to sleep well at night. So I’ll tell you the truth.” Li Chenjin replied, “You’re right, I do know you, and I’ve known for a long time that you are a disciple of the Dharma Cultivation Realm.”
"Then what is your purpose? Do you want the magical treasures I possess, or the secret techniques of the cultivation world?" he asked in a low voice.
When Shen Zhengyuan asked this question, he was also filled with trepidation.
He knew he shouldn't have asked the question so hastily, but he couldn't see the person in front of him at all.
The more unclear things became, the more desperate he became to know her purpose. Otherwise, he would be restless every day, feeling as if a sharp sword was hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.
While he was feeling uneasy, he also hoped that Li Chen would reveal her purpose so that he wouldn't have to guess every day. If she just wanted the magic weapon, he would give it to her now. As long as he could get rid of her, he could even teach her some self-defense techniques.
However, those secret techniques passed down through the ages in the cultivation world are not an option. If she is after those secret techniques, he will not give them to her even if he destroys them. This is the only solution he can think of, since he is no match for her if it comes down to brute force.
No one knew her true identity, but her strength was astonishing; she could lift him up with one hand effortlessly, and she didn't seem to have any heart condition at all...
"Believe it or not, I have no interest in your magical treasures or secret techniques," Li Chen said bluntly. "Didn't I already say that we can look after each other? Since we're both going to find the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus anyway, it's on our way, isn't it?"
Shen Zhengyuan chuckled, clearly not believing her explanation. "If you really wanted to look after each other, you shouldn't have come to me. Your medical skills seem good, but you should know that before my spiritual veins are repaired, I'm practically a cripple. I might even hold you back if I encounter danger. So how can you talk about looking after each other?"
"You don't need to play games with me now, just tell me your purpose. After all, you did help me, so it's fine to give you all those magical treasures."
Anyway, now that he's given the item to her, he can take it back once his spiritual veins are repaired...
Li Chen smiled and said, "I didn't come for your magic weapon... but do you really want to know what I came for?"
"Speak freely," Shen Zhengyuan said.
“Alright, then I’ll be frank.” Li Chen looked at him gently and said slowly, “I’m not interested in those magical treasures and secret techniques. I’m not interested in those things, and I don’t have any talent for them. What I’m interested in… is you.”
"What?!" His previously calm expression shattered abruptly. Upon hearing Li Chenjin's words, he couldn't help but blurt out, "So, the reason you wanted to sever my ties in the first place... was to turn me into your slave?!"
Li Chenjin: "..."
She touched her nose, never expecting that she could make up such a story.
Actually, she hadn't finished her prepared statement yet, and she didn't know how to make up a believable story. Fortunately, Shen Zhengyuan's question helped her smooth things over.
Although admitting it would be very bad for her reputation, it's inevitable that someone in the entertainment industry will have some unrealistic bad reputation.
"Ah...yes, that's what I was thinking." Li Chen smiled slightly. "I fell in love with you at first sight. I was afraid you wouldn't agree to me taking advantage of you, so I wanted to take advantage of you while you were unconscious. But I didn't expect you to wake up just as we were about to do it. I felt guilty and couldn't help but say some nonsense."
Shen Zhengyuan slowly lowered his head, frowning, trying to analyze how much of her words were true and how much were false. "You...you wanted to take advantage of someone's vulnerability...and there were so many opportunities afterward, why didn't you do anything?"
Li Chen shook his head. "Look, I suddenly had a change of heart and didn't want to force myself on you, and you're already suspicious. Of course, I wanted to do something, but you looked so helpless. I was afraid that if I did something I shouldn't have, I might accidentally kill you, so I... didn't do it for now."
"So you...you want to stay with me because...because you want to wait until I recover, and then, Ba Wang...you..." he murmured, "How could there be...how could there be someone like you in this world..."
He mumbled so softly that she couldn't hear some of what he said, but those things were obviously not good, so she didn't bother to investigate. She just smiled and watched the man in front of her who was caught up in self-doubt, finding it quite amusing.
"Ah...you're right. What I'm thinking is to heal you first, and then do something with you. Ideally, we'd develop feelings for each other on the way. If that doesn't happen, I can use the debt of saving your life to coerce you into having a one-night stand with me. You won't lose out, will you?" Li Chen asked.
Shen Zhengyuan stared at her for a long time before he seemed to suddenly come back to his senses. His eyes widened, flashing with shame, dissatisfaction and anger, as if he wanted to fight her right there and then.
But of course he wouldn't lay a hand on her. Not only did he never hit women, but even if he did, he would be no match for her. He also had no inclination to invite trouble or humiliation upon himself. Therefore, he could only forcefully suppress his anger, turning his face, which was already pale due to internal injuries, red.
"You...absurd, utterly ridiculous!" Shen Zhengyuan quickly took several steps back, creating distance between himself and her, then pointed at her and angrily rebuked, "How could you say such a thing?!"
"Hey, wasn't it you who insisted on asking me? I told you the truth, and instead of thanking me, you're turning around and accusing me?" Li Chen asked curiously. "Look, I originally wanted to take things slowly with you, but you didn't want that. You insisted on digging deep. Could it be... could it be that you've actually fallen for me at first sight, and you just want to use this opportunity to get me to confess my feelings first, so you can have a fleeting affair with me?"
"Shut up! How...how could you say such a thing?! You! You!! Stop talking!!!" Shen Zhengyuan exclaimed.
After saying this, Shen Zhengyuan seemed afraid of hearing anything more outrageous from her, and ran off in one direction without looking back, as if he couldn't wait to get rid of her right now.
Watching Shen Zhengyuan's flustered departure, Li Chen lowered his head and touched his nose, a smile still lingering on his lips.
Her fabricated words were all based on the questions he asked. How could he dare to think that way? She went along with it, confirming his thoughts, and yet he was so terrified?
Since Li Chenjin's words sounded so true, Shen Zhengyuan began to believe her. He didn't dare to talk to her or ask her anything on the way back, treating her as if she were invisible air, as if that would calm his mind.
Even so, every time she saw Li Chenjin's face or met her gaze, her face would suddenly turn red. Before she could even speak, she would point at her and hurriedly shout "Shut up!" which looked quite amusing.
It's true that no matter what it is, it's more fun when you're young.
The days that followed were much the same as before. Shen Zhengyuan continued to look for opportunities to escape, but as expected, he was caught by Li Chenjin and brought back to continue his journey.
And so it went, day after day, until finally, after another five days, they arrived at the next town.
When they arrived at this place, it was already dusk. The sky above them was a warm orange hue, and the setting sun, like a golden disc peeking out, hung quietly on the horizon, giving the world a serene beauty that made one want to brew a cup of hot tea or a pot of sake, sit on a high place, and quietly watch the sunset.
Unfortunately, when she turned her gaze from the horizon back to her eyes, she instantly lost the desire to watch the sunset.
The town is much smaller than the previous town, but the buildings here are in much better condition; at least most of the houses here don't look like they leak wind and rain.
There were far fewer people here than in the previous place, but the situation was similar. Fortunately, although the people here didn't look very energetic, some had set up shops or roadside stalls, so there was food and drink available, saving them the trouble of cooking.
Her gaze fell on a stall selling sesame cakes, and she nudged Shen Zhengyuan with her elbow, saying, "Go and buy a few cakes."
Shen Zhengyuan glanced at her, and unsurprisingly ignored her, treating her words as mere background noise.
Li Chenjin wasn't angry at all. He just raised an eyebrow and suppressed a laugh, saying, "Hurry up, or I'll get so hungry I might molest you. You don't want me to molest you in broad daylight, do you?"
Shen Zhengyuan's eyes showed resentment, but in the end he still walked up to the vendor, bought a few sesame cakes, and handed one to Li Chenjin when he returned.
Li Chen took the sesame seed cake and took a bite. When he looked at Shen Zhengyuan, Shen Zhengyuan was already taking big bites, clearly very hungry.
This makes sense, since they hadn't had much to eat on their way to this town, going hungry for a long time. So, suddenly eating freshly baked hot sesame cakes was like a delicacy.
After finishing the sesame seed cake, Li Chen said, "Alright. You don't have to be so wary of me all the time. I admit that what I said before was a bit absurd, and I apologize to you. From now on, I will never force myself on you, so you can rest assured."
Shen Zhengyuan's face showed a slight displeasure as he said sternly, "Shut up!"
"Look at you, can't I even properly apologize to you?" Li Chen said. "I'm telling the truth, I'm sincerely apologizing to you. Also, don't always run off to different places out of the blue. It's very difficult for me to find you. My health is really not good. If my heart condition were to relapse, it could be fatal."
Shen Zhengyuan retorted sharply, "Who cares about your apology? If you're sincere, you should part ways with me now instead of clinging to me like this."
"What are you talking about?" Li Chen spread his hands helplessly. "Although I sincerely apologized to you, I didn't say I wouldn't bother you. Think about it carefully. I'm still a living person. It's better for a living person to bother you than for some ghost or monster to bother you, right?"
"Look, if you really run away, and I accidentally have a relapse of my heart disease and become a ghost, wouldn't it be even scarier for me to come back and haunt you like this now? Cultivator Shen, you don't want to have a love affair between a human and a ghost with me, do you?"
Shen Zhengyuan said coldly, "You...you're a young lady, why do you say such...inappropriate things..."
"The one I love is right in front of me, what need is there for propriety?" Li Chen asked. "Can't you really see that I'm sincere? Look, I've healed your wounds, accompanied you on your journey, and even gone to search for that thousand-year-old snow lotus with you. Once we find it, I won't even take a single petal; I'll give it all to you. See, where can you find another person as good as me?"
Shen Zhengyuan frowned at her words and was about to retort when she continued, "You don't need to be upset. I really won't force you. Even if you still don't like me after finding the Snow Lotus, it's fine. Relationships between people should be based on mutual affection. I don't really like forced relationships. Besides, once your spiritual veins are repaired, I probably won't be able to force you."
"Look, you're not losing out either way. All I want to do now is see what the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus looks like. Just consider me your friend and take me to broaden my horizons, okay? Anyway, you won't lose out by taking me along. If I'm not there, who will help stabilize your injuries?"
What Li Chen said made sense, and he really couldn't get rid of her right now. After thinking it over, he had no choice but to agree first: "You can take me with you, but you can't say those kinds of things again."
"What language?" Li Chen asked.
Anyone with eyes could see that she was asking a question she already knew the answer to. Shen Zhengyuan was immediately furious and about to explode when Li Chenjin said, "Alright, don't be angry. I just wanted to crack a joke and ease the tension between us. I promise I won't say I love you anymore, okay?"
Shen Zhengyuan: "...Are you serious?"
“Of course it’s true, and I’m not one to lie.” Li Chenjin said with a cheerful smile, “What I said before was also true. Once you’ve recovered and I’ve seen what the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus looks like, I will leave when it’s time to leave. I won’t cling to you.”
"...If what you say is true, it's fine for you to follow me." Shen Zhengyuan said, "I am the only one left in the world of magic cultivation. If you are interested in magic in the future, you can rebuild the world of magic cultivation with me. I will also teach you some simple magic and formations."
Li Chen raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, seemingly surprised that Shen Zhengyuan would say such a thing.
He clearly still disliked her, yet he proposed that she join him in rebuilding the Dharma cultivation world. This should be the most important thing to him, yet he was willing to bring along an outsider like her. It seems that her care for him during this period was not entirely in vain.
Of course, it's also possible that all of Shen Zhengyuan's fellow disciples have died, and the only one he can somewhat recognize now is her.
This town was similar to the previous one. After resting for two days, they bought some dry food and continued on their way.
She knew the general direction of Xuemang Mountain. Over the past few hundred years, buildings may have changed, but the mountains and rivers have remained largely the same. Therefore, after obtaining the map, she could roughly tell how to take the shortest route at a glance.
She knew, and Shen Zhengyuan naturally knew as well.
Given the current distance, it would take them at least three years to travel. Therefore, she wanted him to create a magical artifact that could carry people on their journey several times, but she couldn't bring herself to ask it each time.
If she were to bring it up, Shen Zhengyuan would inevitably start to doubt this and that again. Besides, even if she urged him, the magical artifact wouldn't listen to her. Those magical artifacts only listen to their masters. Therefore, if Shen Zhengyuan didn't want to, no matter how much she urged him, it would be useless. It would be better to wait until he couldn't stand it anymore on his own.
As Li Chen continued his journey, calculating when he would reach the next town, what appeared before him, even before the next town, was a red fox with a broken leg lying by the roadside.
A note from the author:
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