The Monster's Schemes Run Deep

If one were to ask what held the greatest appeal for Lu Chuan in this world, it would undoubtedly be these immortal cultivation techniques.

The final words Shen Gongbao had spoken just moments ago stirred a sense of excitement in him no less intense than that of a traveler dying of thirst in the desert who suddenly catches sight of a lush oasis in the distance.

Lu Chuan went out to gather firewood, his heart brimming with joy.

Once Lu Chuan had departed, Shen Gongbao glanced at the statue that had snapped in two. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes before he shook his head, sat cross-legged, and slowly closed his eyes. "Go!"

As the words left his lips, a gust of wind whistled out from the temple and sped off into the distance.

There were a few trees surrounding the dilapidated temple.

However, as it was neither autumn nor winter, finding dry branches to use as firewood was no easy task.

Lu Chuan worked diligently, braving the moonlight as he wandered further and further away, until he had unknowingly strayed quite a distance from the ruined temple.

By the time he had finally gathered a large bundle of dry branches and felt it was time to return, he stood up to leave only to realize that the temple was no longer in sight.

He turned to look around, but aside from the rustling of leaves in the night breeze, there was not a ghost of a soul to be seen.

"Oh no, I've gone a bit too far."

Lu Chuan felt a tightening in his chest and muttered, "It's unsettling to be out in this wilderness in the dead of night. It's not safe; I'd better find my way back to the temple quickly."

At the very least, Shen Gongbao was there.

Although Lu Chuan's impression of his master was still stuck on the image of the petty, trouble-making villain from his past memories, he could not deny that his master's abilities were truly extraordinary.

Staying by his side, at the very least, meant he would be safe.

Lu Chuan identified the direction from which he had come, hoisted the bundle of firewood secured with vines onto his back, and began to stride back toward the temple under the moonlight.

Swish, swish, swish...

His shadow stretched long under the moon, and in the silent night sky, only the sound of his own footsteps could be heard.

Splash!

But he hadn't gone far when he suddenly heard another sound, as if something had fallen into the water.

In the stillness of the night, he heard it with perfect clarity.

Lu Chuan stopped in his tracks and looked around in surprise. Seeing only trees, he couldn't help but wonder, "Is there water around here?"

"Help! Help! Is there anyone who can save me?"

Immediately following, a woman's cry for help rang out abruptly.

The voice was crisp and pleasant, sounding like that of a young girl.

Yet, at this moment, that beautiful voice was laced with an indescribable panic, helplessness, and despair.

Beyond the cries, there was the sound of splashing water as someone struggled.

It reached Lu Chuan's ears clearly, and the source did not seem far away.

Lu Chuan called out, "Miss, what happened to you?"

"Brave soul... please, come and save me!"

The voice was filled with surprise upon hearing him, and she shouted to Lu Chuan for help.

Lu Chuan hesitated and asked, "Who are you?"

"This young woman is the daughter of a wealthy man in Chaoge City... I went out of the city to enjoy the sights today, but I didn't expect... to miss the time and be unable to re-enter the city."

The woman seemed to be struggling desperately in the water, her voice intermittent and accompanied by the sound of splashing.

"While looking for a place to stay, I accidentally fell into this lake. My family has vast wealth; if you... can save my life, I am willing to serve you like a beast of burden to repay you... My father will surely reward you handsomely."

"As for the reward... never mind that. Money is merely an external possession; saving you is a matter of duty."

Lu Chuan thought for a moment and said, "Miss, please tell me your location immediately, and I will come to save you at once."

"To the west... in a lake..."

The woman's voice grew fainter: "Please, brave soul... hurry, I cannot hold on... much longer..."

"Very well, please wait a moment, Miss."

Lu Chuan said loudly. Once he finished, he glanced toward the west, then lightened his footsteps and quietly headed east.

"Thank you... young master..."

"Don't mention it, don't mention it."

Lu Chuan replied with an honest, simple-minded smile. Once he had walked a short distance away, he didn't look back and took off running at full speed.

"Brave soul, I cannot hold on much longer?"

"Brave soul, are you almost here?"

"Brave soul, brave soul..."

The voice waited for a moment, but when no sign of Lu Chuan appeared, she called out repeatedly to ask.

He asked three times in a row, but this time, there was no answer from Lu Chuan.

"Not good, you wretched little thief..."

The next moment, a furious roar erupted, followed by a thunderous bang. A column of water, over ten zhang high, surged up from the distance behind Lu Chuan.

Splash!

As the lake water cascaded back down, a beautiful woman in a long dress appeared in mid-air.

ROAR!

Immediately after, the woman threw her head back and let out a long cry, her body twisting as she transformed into a dragon-shaped phantom, ten meters long.

Her savage, palm-sized dragon eyes scanned the surroundings, spotting Lu Chuan sprinting for his life to the east. With another roar, she whipped her tail and streaked toward the east in hot pursuit.

"Mother of mercy, it's a real monster!"

Lu Chuan heard the deafening sound and looked back, catching the sight of the woman in mid-air transforming into a hideous dragon. His eyes went wide with shock.

Without a word, he turned and bolted.

But the dragon phantom was massive, over ten meters long, and its speed was far from slow. With a few twists of its body in the air, it caught up.

The dragon phantom cursed as it chased him: "You faithless little thief, you are detestable! You promised to save me, so why did you trick me and run off on your own?"

"My lady, please forgive me! This humble scholar is young and frail, a landlubber who can't even swim—I couldn't possibly have saved you..."

Lu Chuan shouted without looking back, his heart pounding in terror: "That is why I was heading off to fetch reinforcements! There are strong men not far ahead who can save you. Who would have thought you'd break free on your own? How joyous, truly, how joyous!"

"Heh!"

The dragon phantom was so angry she laughed. She had already revealed her true form, yet this brat was still spouting nonsense, calling her 'my lady' so smoothly. He was truly...

A glib-tongued rascal.

"So, you're saying you were actually being kind?"

"Naturally."

Seeing that she had caught up to Lu Chuan, the dragon phantom decided there was no rush to snatch him.

With a flash of light, she transformed back into a beautiful woman, flying leisurely in the air behind Lu Chuan. She watched him sprint with a playful, mocking smile, much like a cat toying with a mouse.

A moment later.

Lu Chuan was drenched in sweat, gasping for air.

"Are you tired, young master?"

"Tired!"

"If you're tired, why not stop and rest?"

"Night running is good for the physique," Lu Chuan replied with a dry laugh.

In this situation, did he dare stop?

"Good for the physique, is it? Heh, brat, let's stop the charade."

The woman sneered at this and said, "I'll give you one chance: kneel down and kowtow to beg for mercy right now, and perhaps I'll grant you a chance to live. Otherwise... heh heh!"

THUD!

Before she could finish, Lu Chuan, stumbling in his panic, tripped over something and face-planted into the dirt.

"Such an obedient little fellow, offering a grand kowtow before I even finished speaking," the demoness paused, then broke into a series of giggles.

I'll kowtow to your grandmother!

Dazed and disoriented, Lu Chuan scrambled up from the ground, cursing inwardly. Even with the moonlight, it was still night; how was he supposed to see the path clearly while running like this?

He reached out and touched what had tripped him: a tree root protruding from the ground.

WHOOSH!

The demoness, her white robes fluttering, drifted down from the air like a fairy under the moonlight, walking toward him step by step.

Lu Chuan gave a bitter smile and simply sat down on the tree root, leaning against the trunk to catch his breath.

"Run, why don't you run anymore?" the demoness sneered.

"My lady, please... stop chasing me. I am a Daoist, and those who have taken vows cannot marry."

Lu Chuan gasped for air, smiling bitterly: "I can only say that we have the fate to meet but not the fortune to be together. We met at the wrong time and place..."

"Met what?"

The demoness arrived right in front of Lu Chuan and sneered: "You little brat, your lust has clouded your mind and you have quite the nerve. Even at death's door, you still dare to take liberties with this lady."

Seeing she was a demoness and recalling various racy legends about such creatures, Lu Chuan quickly straightened his expression: "My lady, this humble scholar has more to say."

The demoness asked: "What do you want to say?"

Lu Chuan hesitated for a moment, then stammered: "To tell you the truth, my lady... I was a premature baby. I've been weak and deficient in kidney essence since childhood. The doctor said I wouldn't live past twenty..."

"Was that doctor a fortune-teller before he became a physician?"

The demoness giggled again.

Lu Chuan was slightly stunned: "Why?"

The female demon's coquettish laughter instantly turned into a cold sneer, and she said grimly: "Because what he said was spot on."

Lu Chuan: "..."

At this moment, he couldn't help but want to curse. I've been stalling for so long, Shen Gongbao, why haven't you come to save your disciple yet?

"Right, let me ask you one more thing. What loopholes did you find in my words just now?"

Suddenly, the female demon asked curiously: "My methods have always been foolproof and have never failed before. How could a wet-behind-the-ears brat like you spot the flaws today?"

Lu Chuan said in astonishment: "Why are you asking this? Even if there were loopholes, I still couldn't escape from your grasp, could I?"

"But food that delivers itself is always less trouble than having to go through the effort of catching it, isn't it?"

As the female demon spoke, her smiling face suddenly turned cold, and she said grimly: "I told you to speak, so speak, or I'll eat you right now."

Lu Chuan: "..."

To be honest, from the perspective of his past life, this female demon's routine was already approaching perfection.

She claimed to be the daughter of a wealthy family in Chaoge City, and because she had been having too much fun playing outside the city today, she had forgotten the time and couldn't enter the city gates. There was no fault to be found in that.

Furthermore, the voice she emitted was extremely pleasant.

Any man who heard a woman with such a pleasant voice would be unable to stop himself from wanting to see the person behind it.

Just look, in her few short sentences, the temptations of wealth and beauty were both included. How many men could encounter such a trap and not fall for it?

Lu Chuan didn't fall for it, firstly because the timing was wrong.

It was the dead of night and eerie; why would a young lady not be sleeping and instead be at the lakeside? Looking for a soul?

Also, she was still rambling on after falling into the water, introducing herself for ages. Although she had pointed out the temptations of wealth and beauty, no normal person would have the energy to say all that after falling into the water.

If she had climbed out and offered herself in marriage, it wouldn't have been strange, but to be dawdling in the water saying all this...

Drawing a snake and adding feet!

Furthermore, Lu Chuan had been influenced by the many routines of demons harming people in A Chinese Ghost Story and the like. He always felt that when such things appeared in the dead of night, it was eerie, and it was better to mind his own business.

However, although he hadn't fallen for the trap, the problem now was that he...

Couldn't outrun this demon!