After days of hard travel, Lu Chen hadn’t had a good night’s sleep.
Now, at last, he felt at ease.
"Little Black, how do you feel about this place?"
He unslung his pack and let the black Jiao snake out from within.
"Sss..."
Little Black nodded and flicked its tongue to convey that the place was safe.
Mythical beasts possess innate intuition and an instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm, even more so than Lu Chen.
"Since that’s the case, tonight, I need to practice the Heaven-Breaking Spiritual Method properly. Continue to keep watch for me!"
Lu Chen patted Little Black on the head, then sat on the bed.
Meanwhile.
At the Polar Treasure Meeting, several Martial Artists of the Visceral Refinement Realm were each holding a piece of black scale.
"There’s no doubt, these are scales from a black Jiao snake."
During the day, their adherents had found these scales in the inn Lu Chen had stayed in, turned over from the bed.
"Within the Abyss, demonic beasts run rampant. As a creature full of spiritual intelligence, even a black Jiao snake would struggle to survive there."
"Therefore, this black Jiao snake did not come from the Abyss."
"The only place within our empire where black Jiao snakes exist is Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, near Yuzhou City!"
Through a series of clues, they immediately deduced the origin of the black Jiao snake.
As for Zhu Dazhuang’s death, they put it out of their minds.
In comparison, a Martial Artist of the Marrow Refinement Realm was simply no match for a black Jiao snake.
They also ascertained during their investigation that Zhu Dazhuang had come into conflict with someone over the black Jiao snake.
They presumed that was the cause of his death as well!
In reality, that was indeed the case; Zhu Dazhuang, having wanted to consume the demon pill of the black Jiao snake, would have faced an exorbitant cost through the Polar Treasure Meeting.
That is why he found Gou Fugui.
However, he hadn’t expected to actually come across one, and in his excitement, he lost all sense of propriety.
One of the Visceral Refinement Realm practitioners spoke, "The value of the black Jiao snake is extremely high, but unfortunately, currently within the imperial city, many have been sent to Yuzhou City to search for Lu Chen, leaving us with few capable people here."
"Why don’t we contact the Xu Family?"
"The branch head of Yuzhou City, Xu Yueru, has just died. It would be somewhat difficult for members of the Xu Family to look into a clueless situation."
"Though there aren’t many clues, in fact, based on what we currently know, it’s rather easy to determine. East of the imperial city, if not the Heavenly Book Academy, then it must be the Abyss. The Xu Family also has a legitimate daughter within the academy, just have her inquire whether anyone new has entered in these past few days."
"And if not?"
"If not... then they must have gone to the Abyss! It would be a good opportunity for us to venture into the Abyss too!"
Upon saying this, the eyes of the Martial Artist shone with a glint of excitement!
...
At daybreak, Lu Chen awoke.
After a night’s practice, Lu Chen felt refreshed, and his spiritual power had completely recovered. He had Little Black hide under the bed while he planned to practice his spear techniques in the small courtyard.
No sooner had he stepped out, than Yu Qingqing emerged from her own room, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
As she walked, she stretched her arms above her head, inadvertently revealing her exquisite figure.
"Yu Qingqing, good morning!"
Lu Chen greeted her with a smile.
Yu Qingqing paused mid-motion, suddenly remembering she wasn’t the only occupant of the small courtyard anymore!
"Lu Chen, why are you up so early?"
Yu Qingqing’s face tinted with a blush, unsure if she had inadvertently revealed too much in her thin clothes just now.
"The early bird catches the worm. I’m used to waking up early to practice martial arts, and the weather isn’t too hot yet," Lu Chen replied.
This was his habit of many years back at the Lu Family.
Yu Qingqing pursed her lips, then said, "The early bird might catch the worm, but the key question is whether you are the bird or the worm?"
Lu Chen was taken aback, not sure how to reply. Being a worm or a bird came down to strength.
Even if he were a worm for now,
he still needed to strive and cultivate in the safety of the moment.
The goal was to become a bird!
Now fully awake, Yu Qingqing remembered her promise to show Lu Chen around the Heavenly Book Academy today to help him become familiar with the surroundings.
"I’ll change clothes; just wait for me, I’ll be right out," she said.
Waiting for her took about the time it would take to burn through two sticks of incense.
Yu Qingqing had not only changed her clothes, but she also applied light makeup, enhancing her looks even further.
"What are you looking at? You’re staring as if you’ve never seen a woman before!" Seeing the look in Lu Chen’s eyes, Yu Qingqing felt secretly pleased, yet she spoke with feigned indignation.
Lu Chen, feeling awkward, then said, "If you’re leading the way, of course I have to look at you, don’t I? What if I get lost?"
"You don’t have to stare like that!" Yu Qingqing’s cheeks reddened as she turned and walked out of the small courtyard first, with Lu Chen quickly following.
As he lifted the wooden gate of the small courtyard, another figure blocked his path.
"Hey, Cyclops, did you do something to offend Qian Qian?"