Daughter of the Lu Clan

Azure Cliff Bandit Fortress was not large; there were only around thirty people in total. Building it too large would only become a burden.

It could always be expanded once there were more people in the future.

After searching around, they did not find much.

Until Da Bao suddenly paused, as if he had sensed something. He overturned a pile of clutter, revealing the entrance to a cellar.

After a brief look, Chu Danqing could tell that the traces were fresh.

"Locked from inside." Da Bao tried to open it, only to find that he could not open the cellar door.

A ferocious gleam immediately flared in his eyes. Empowered by Rending Claws, he continuously clawed and tore at the entire cellar door.

Before long, the cellar door shattered, and Da Bao rushed inside.

Sounds of fighting came from the cellar. After roughly ten seconds, Da Bao climbed back out, gripping one person in each hand.

They were a young man and a young woman.

"What's going on with you two?" Chu Danqing asked.

The man's face was filled with terror, and obvious claw wounds covered his body. Da Bao had clearly injured him.

The woman, on the other hand, remained calm. Aside from being somewhat dirty, her clothes and accessories showed that she was not a girl from an ordinary household.

"He hit me." Da Bao tossed the man onto the ground and said unhappily.

The woman was still being held in his hand.

"The eldest daughter of the Lu Clan of Yangxian County, Lu Qiaoyun." The woman spoke first, then turned her gaze to the man. "As for him, he is merely a heartless fool blinded by profit."

Hearing that, Chu Danqing felt that there might be some melodramatic affair behind this.

Then he asked, "So what is his relationship with the bandits of this fortress?"

The Lu Clan should be the aristocratic Lu Clan among the three factions, but Chu Danqing was not particularly interested.

He actually wanted to join either the government offices or the Way of Peace.

As an outsider with a different surname, entering a force held together by blood and kinship would not leave much room for advancement.

"Probably their dog-headed strategist," Lu Qiaoyun gave as her description.

"Bitch!" the man cursed. "You are clearly the wife of the Azure Cliff bandits' chief! How dare you falsely accuse me?"

"Brave sir, do not listen to his pack of nonsense. I was a hostage they kidnapped."

Chu Danqing did not take either side's word for it. Instead, he chose to use the Scrutiny Technique.

He targeted the man, for no other reason than that he had hit Da Bao.

Green Cliff Second-in-Command

"Da Bao, kill him." Chu Danqing did not even look at the information below. The name had already appeared; who was right and who was wrong was obvious.

With Chu Danqing's order, Da Bao killed the man outright. An Excellent Grade treasure chest then appeared.

Da Bao picked it up and handed it straight to Chu Danqing.

Chu Danqing did not open it. He stuffed it into the Storage Space, intending to open it when the time was right. There were still outsiders present.

"Perfect. I'm heading to Yangxian County too, so I'll escort you home on the way," Chu Danqing said.

But Lu Qiaoyun gently shook her head. "I won't be going back."

As she spoke, her tone carried a hint of self-mockery. "If I return in such a disheveled state, I will only disgrace the Lu Clan. It would be better to end it all."

At first, Chu Danqing did not understand. What was so disgraceful about being kidnapped?

But he quickly realized that this was not a modern world, but an ancient feudal society.

When a woman was abducted, the first thing people likely considered was not whether she was a victim, but whether her chastity had been compromised.

This was not merely her personal problem; it was also a matter of the family's reputation.

Chu Danqing wanted to comfort her with the saying that a miserable life was still better than a good death, but a tongue had no bones and could still kill.

Such was the world; it could not be changed by human effort.

"When were you abducted?" Chu Danqing asked. If it had not been long, there might still be room to salvage things.

Chu Danqing thought that if he could save a life, then he should save one.

"I was not abducted. I eloped with him of my own accord. Only afterward did I learn that he merely coveted the Lu Clan's wealth." Lu Qiaoyun only hated that she had failed to recognize his true nature.

"???" Chu Danqing's face was full of confusion. So she had been love-brained?

Judging by her appearance, she should have come to her senses. As for how long that would last, Chu Danqing did not know.

He only knew one thing: after saving her, he should stay far away from her.

Saving someone and keeping his distance from them did not conflict.

"Actually, I'm not interested in your love, hatred, and tangled affairs."

"Dying may indeed be easy for you, but have you thought of your parents? They painstakingly raised you. If you die, what will they do?"

"Only by living can you—"

Chu Danqing began playing the emotional card, and conflict appeared on Lu Qiaoyun's face.

"I was tricked here early this morning. I only look disheveled, and anyone could tell at a glance. It truly is..." As Lu Qiaoyun spoke, she saw Chu Danqing pull out a square iron box from nowhere.

He then took out a pile of things she did not recognize.

"Change into Da Bao's clothes first. Take yours off, and I'll wash and dry them for you. It'll take half an hour at most—one quarter of a shichen." Chu Danqing knew that one shichen was two hours, but he had no idea how to describe half an hour.

As for the large iron box Lu Qiaoyun saw, it was a small washing machine, along with a generator and other things.

His Storage Space was not small, and he had not had much to store in it, so he had placed quite a few daily necessities, food, fresh water, and so on inside.

"Who is Da Bao?" Lu Qiaoyun's doubtful gaze fell upon the unbelievably large clothes, then shifted toward the burly monster beside Chu Danqing.

"Him. You definitely wouldn't want mine. Da Bao is only five, and these clothes are brand new, never worn before, so you don't need to worry about so much," Chu Danqing explained.

Da Bao disliked clothes because they affected his fighting. Fur was enough for him, but Chu Danqing had still prepared some for him.

Lu Qiaoyun was dumbfounded upon hearing the words "five years old." Could he possibly be five???

"Then thank you, Da Bao." Lu Qiaoyun found a room, changed out of her clothes, and stuffed the ones she had taken off into the washing machine.

Da Bao silently turned the hand-crank generator, while Chu Danqing poured in laundry detergent. It washed and dried in one go.

As for water, there was plenty in the fortress, so there was no need to worry.

"Sir is truly an extraordinary man. With heavy snow sealing heaven and earth, why have you suddenly chosen to head to Yangxian County?" Seeing the atmosphere becoming somewhat stagnant, Lu Qiaoyun spoke first to liven things up, while also probing Chu Danqing's intentions.

"I'm looking to earn a living." After answering according to his identity, Chu Danqing combined it with his actual circumstances. "Da Bao was born deficient and needs all kinds of heavenly treasures."

"I am merely a Wandering Taoist who knows a few superficial tricks. It is enough to scrape by, but raising Da Bao is quite difficult."

"Therefore, I can only wander from place to place. I previously heard of Yangxian County, which is why I came here."

At this point, Chu Danqing understood the principle of stopping at a taste, so he changed the subject. "What about you? How will you explain things when you return?"

"I originally had a reason full of holes, but now I have a better one."

"A remarkable person like you, sir—I came to invite you into the Lu residence as an Attendant of the Lu Clan. That would be perfectly reasonable," Lu Qiaoyun said.