A Woodcutter

"Miss, honestly, there were no flaws in what you just said.✋👌  🐟🎉"

Seeing that his pondering was making the demoness impatient, and a fierce glint was beginning to shine in her eyes, Lu Chuan hurriedly put on a placating smile.

"No flaws?"

The demoness giggled at that, so Lu Chuan laughed along with her.

All of a sudden, the demoness's expression turned cold. She planted a foot on Lu Chuan's chest and snarled, "You little brat, you're still trying to pull a fast one on me at a time like this. If there were no flaws, why didn't you take the bait just now?"

Lu Chuan sighed inwardly. This woman's face really was like the June sky—it changed in a flash!

At the same time, he was frantic with worry. He knew that whether he talked or not, his final fate would be much the same.

Better to die sooner than later.

If he stalled until Shen Gongbao arrived, there might be a glimmer of hope. But Shen Gongbao still hadn't shown up, and Lu Chuan's hope was slowly turning to despair.

"Miss, miss... please don't get angry. Everything I said was true." As he tried to buy time, Lu Chuan also searched for a way to escape.

With a helpless look, he said, "Heaven and earth can bear witness. When I heard your heavenly voice just now, my soul nearly flew right out of me. How could I not want to come? It's just that someone keeps me in check, and I truly wouldn't dare."

The demoness was taken aback, then eyed him suspiciously. "Who?"

Normally, if she caught a person, she wouldn't bother with all this nonsense. She'd simply grab them and fill her belly.

But today, this brat had seen through her unfailing trick, which had never once failed before. How could she not be surprised?

That was why she hadn't killed him right away. She wanted to find out what flaw there was in her ploy.

Seeing that he had successfully caught her attention, Lu Chuan held his breath until his face reddened, then put on a bashful expression. "My wife."

"Who?"

The demoness froze, then widened her almond-shaped eyes and shouted.

Lu Chuan had spoken so softly that his voice was like the flutter of a mosquito's wings. She really hadn't heard him.

"My wife."

Lu Chuan raised his voice a little, then lowered it again, looking embarrassed. "She... she won't let me look at other women... even once..."

"You..."

The demoness shook her head in disappointment. "So you're a spineless henpecked husband. Wait, no..."

Suddenly, she cried out and sneered, "Didn't you just say you were born premature, and had been weak and deficient in yang energy since childhood? How did you end up married?"

Lu Chuan was speechless.

He hadn't expected the demoness to remember that detail. He hurriedly sighed and answered off the cuff, "My father and hers were old friends, so they arranged our marriage when we were children."

"I see."

The demoness nodded, half convinced. His explanation made sense, and there was nothing to pick apart.

"Miss, you have no idea how willful and unreasonable that girl is."

Lu Chuan began to complain. "Her father's a general, so she trained in martial arts with him from the time she was little. She beat me black and blue every day."

"Oh!"

The demoness gave a faint "Oh," then looked Lu Chuan up and down and smiled. "Are you really that afraid of her?"

The demoness's gaze made Lu Chuan's scalp go numb.

He knew that look all too well. It was the look of someone inspecting her food and deciding which part to eat first.

Since the demoness had asked about the flaw in her ploy, he knew she was now getting ready to eat.

But he wasn't dead yet. How could he just sit there and wait to die?

His rescue plan had started the moment he began answering the demoness. The things he said afterward might have seemed like idle chatter, but in truth, he was laying a trap for her and setting the stage for his next move.

Whether this works depends on what I do next.

Lu Chuan's eyes flickered. He chuckled, "Afraid of her? Heh, I'll tell you the truth, miss. I just let her have her way because I love her."

"Oh?"

The demoness said "Oh" again, but this time she meant something quite different.

"Love?"

The demoness looked at Lu Chuan in surprise. His face was full of bliss, but she didn't believe him. "She beats you, and you still love her? Are you sick?"

"Ever heard of 'a beating is affection, a scolding is love'?"

Lu Chuan said, "I'm telling you, it's not just me. I dare say there isn't a man in the world who wouldn't like her at first sight. My wife is as beautiful as a celestial maiden, with a face that could make fish sink and geese fall, the moon hide and flowers blush..."

He piled nearly every phrase he could think of for describing a beauty onto the imaginary wife he had made up.

As he spoke, he secretly watched the demoness's expression.

"Can someone that beautiful really exist in this world? I don't believe it."

The demoness was taken aback, and murmured to herself. Then she noticed Lu Chuan looking her over, so she flashed a seductive smile and asked softly, "Young master, how does your wife's beauty compare to mine?"

It worked!

Lu Chuan was overjoyed. From those words, he knew he had found a way to survive.

He pretended to carefully examine the demoness from head to toe, then nodded and shook his head, repeating the whole thing three times.

The demoness stamped her foot, growing impatient. "Say something! What do you mean by nodding and shaking your head, you little thief?"

Lu Chuan said solemnly, "Miss, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" the demoness snapped. "Keep stalling and I'll kill you with one sword strike!"

Lu Chuan hurriedly nodded, shrinking back. "Though your beauty is rare, both in heaven and on earth, you still fall... a little short of my wife."

"A little short?"

The demoness flew into a rage. Her hand shot out like lightning and grabbed Lu Chuan by the neck, lifting him up like a chick.

"Brat, what did you just say?"

The demoness sneered. "Do you believe I'll—"

Before she could finish, a gale swept over Lu Chuan's head, heading straight for the demoness.

Her expression changed drastically. She dropped Lu Chuan and sprang aside, while the gale swirled around him, keeping her from getting close.

"Which blind fool dares ruin my fun?"

The demoness glared at the gale and roared. A pair of fierce eyes suddenly lit up within it, glowing yellow, but the gale made no reply.

"Brat, who are you, really?"

Seeing the gale protect Lu Chuan, the demoness shouted at him.

Lu Chuan was just as bewildered by the gale. He didn't recognize it either.

"To answer you, miss, didn't I already say? I'm just a woodcutter."

The demoness flew into a rage. "You—"

"Roar!"

Before she could finish, a mighty tiger's roar rang in Lu Chuan's ears. The gale immediately surged toward the demoness.

The demoness twisted and transformed into a shadowy dragon, shooting into the sky and racing into the distance. The gale pursued close behind, chasing her through the air.

In the blink of an eye, the dragon's shadow and the gale vanished from sight.

The place fell silent once more.

"What was that gust of wind?"

Lu Chuan stared blankly in that direction. The change had come too fast.

Everything had been going according to his plan. Even the demoness grabbing him by the neck had been within his expectations, because he had successfully stirred up her curiosity and her competitive urge to compare beauties.

Next, he would have told the demoness that his wife was nearby.

After hearing that, she would definitely be unable to resist going to see.

It was no different from men who couldn't resist seeking her out after hearing her voice.

If the demoness heard that there was a woman far more beautiful than her, how could she resist wanting to see for herself?

But when she followed him, she wouldn't find another beauty waiting there. She'd find an old Daoist from the Yuxu Sect.

He just hadn't counted on a strange gust of wind suddenly appearing out of nowhere and throwing his entire plan into disarray.

Maybe another nearby demon had come to steal her food... Wait, another demon...

Lu Chuan thought to himself. Then it suddenly dawned on him: both demons were gone. If he didn't run now, when would he?

Lu Chuan sprang up and sprinted toward the ruined temple he remembered, leaving behind the firewood Shen Gongbao had told him to gather.

But he hadn't run far. As he rounded a bend, his vision suddenly went white, and his whole body felt as if it had slammed into a wall.

Bang!

Lu Chuan's head spun. He staggered backward several steps, then toppled over with a thud.