Outside the ruined temple, rain came down in torrents.
Inside, Li Feiyu had been waiting to see how Lu Changsheng would deal with Qu Zhenzhen. At those words, he froze.
He stared at Lu Changsheng in astonishment.
He had never expected Lu Changsheng to suddenly say something so shameless.
Love at first sight?
Spending the rest of their lives hand in hand?
You call this love at first sight?
You're obviously lusting after her body-and her Spiritual Root!
Still, he certainly would not undermine his good friend.
He also knew that his good friend had no particularly lofty ambitions in life.
All he wanted was a peaceful life, a bevy of wives and concubines, a house full of children and grandchildren, and a few more children with Spiritual Roots.
The girl before them was quite pretty, possessed a Spiritual Root, and had nowhere to go, with no idea how to settle down.
So there was nothing particularly wrong with Lu Changsheng making such a proposal. It was perfectly reasonable.
After all, children born to a woman with a Spiritual Root were far more likely to possess Spiritual Roots themselves.
In his opinion, given Lu Changsheng's current circumstances, finding a few "fairies" with Spiritual Roots to bear his children would not be easy, even if he was a Talisman Master.
That was because pregnancy and childbirth seriously interfered with a female cultivator's cultivation.
Thus, many female cultivators were reluctant to become pregnant and have children, even if they were willing to become someone's Dao companion.
"Ah..."
Qu Zhenzhen was also stunned by Lu Changsheng's words, unable to quite take them in.
With tears still brimming in her eyes, she stared blankly at the handsome, refined features and tall, slender figure of Lu Changsheng before her.
The next instant, a blush swept across her fair, soft cheeks, which still carried a little baby fat.
Th-this...
This young hero was far too explicit!
Sure, plenty of plays and stories said that a life-saving kindness could only be repaid by offering oneself in marriage, but wasn't this far too direct?
She didn't even know his name.
Besides, wasn't she supposed to be the one to bring up something like this?
For a moment, Qu Zhenzhen's head spun, leaving her utterly bewildered.
Meeting Lu Changsheng's gentle gaze, Qu Zhenzhen felt her heart flutter and hurriedly lowered her blushing face.
"There's no hurry. You can think it over carefully and give me an answer before dawn."
Seeing the girl's shy reaction, Lu Changsheng was in no rush and said as much.
As he spoke, he took out a Clean-Clothes Talisman and activated it on her.
Her soaking pink dress was immediately dried and cleaned.
Naturally, this was a little calculated gesture.
He was using a spell to show off a bit.
Though he had a moral bottom line and would not force anyone, that line was not particularly high and could be adjusted flexibly.
Besides, in Lu Changsheng's view, showing off a little to attract a girl was perfectly normal. It hardly amounted to moral depravity.
"This..."
"You're immortals?!"
Seeing Lu Changsheng take out a talisman and make her clothes clean and neat with a passing breeze, Qu Zhenzhen's little face filled with astonishment.
She also recalled how Li Feiyu had reduced the old man to ashes with a single palm strike. At the time, she had assumed it was some martial arts technique and had not thought much of it.
Now it seemed that it had been an immortal's technique all along.
Under the girl's astonished gaze, Lu Changsheng smiled faintly and said gently, "We're immortal cultivators-the 'immortals' you usually hear about."
"Immortal cultivators?"
At those words, a hint of confusion appeared in Qu Zhenzhen's large, bright eyes.
"That's right. Anyone with a Spiritual Root can cultivate and become an immortal cultivator."
"That old man wanted to offer you to an immortal cultivator as a concubine precisely because you have a Spiritual Root."
Lu Changsheng nodded as he explained.
"So I was the one who got Father and Mother killed."
At those words, the girl immediately burst into tears again.
After crying for a while, Qu Zhenzhen raised her head and looked at Lu Changsheng with reddened eyes and a tear-streaked face. "Benefactor, I have no way to repay your great kindness. I'm willing to offer myself in marriage and become your wife."
Beside them, Li Feiyu said nothing, merely watching quietly as Lu Changsheng conned the young girl.
"Are you sure you've thought it through?"
Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow at her words.
He guessed that Qu Zhenzhen's agreement was partly because he was an immortal cultivator, and she hoped he would help her take revenge or something of the sort.
Still, an immortal cultivator who had people abduct others in the mortal world probably could not be all that formidable.
If Qu Zhenzhen became the mother of his children, Lu Changsheng would be willing to help her take revenge once his cultivation had risen sufficiently.
"I've thought it through."
Qu Zhenzhen pressed her pink lips together, mustered her courage, and said this while looking at Lu Changsheng.
But after meeting his eyes for a moment, her fair little face involuntarily flushed, the rosy color spreading all the way to her earlobes.
After meeting the girl's reddened eyes, in which the tears had only just dried, Lu Changsheng nodded. "All right. In that case, come back with me tomorrow. Oh, my name is Lu Changsheng."
Then Lu Changsheng took out a Spirit Contract and used it as a marriage agreement to establish his engagement with Qu Zhenzhen.
He had obtained it earlier from the Storage Bags of the three bandit cultivators on Ox-Head Mountain.
It had a simple binding effect.
Anyone who violated it would suffer some backlash and become more susceptible to inner demons during future cultivation.
To be honest, it did have an effect, but not a particularly strong one. It was better than nothing.
Afterward, Lu Changsheng briefly told Qu Zhenzhen about his circumstances and some basic knowledge of cultivation.
During their conversation, he also asked how the old man had known she possessed a Spiritual Root.
Qu Zhenzhen herself did not know.
Later, however, Lu Changsheng found a Spirit-Communing Stone among the old man's belongings.
It was a spiritual object that could detect whether someone possessed a Spiritual Root.
When brought near someone with a Spiritual Root, the stone would glow faintly.
This also explained to Lu Changsheng and Li Feiyu how the old man had known that Qu Zhenzhen possessed a Spiritual Root.
The old man had probably been working for some "Corrupt Cultivator."
In the mortal world, some immortal cultivators gave up cultivation because their aptitude, age, injuries, or various other circumstances convinced them that they had no hope of progressing.
Instead, they pursued a life of pleasure, wealth, and worldly power.
Cultivators of this sort were called "Corrupt Cultivators."
The most common practice among Corrupt Cultivators was to use their power to have others find women with Spiritual Roots for them, so they could spread their branches and leaves.
After all, once their own hopes of cultivation were gone, they naturally placed their dreams of cultivation upon the next generation of children.
And so it went.
The following day, Qu Zhenzhen joined Lu Changsheng and Li Feiyu on their return journey.
Qu Zhenzhen shared a mount with Lu Changsheng.
She sat in front on the Spirit Steed, holding the Nine Nether Mastiff, while Lu Changsheng reached around her with both arms to hold the reins.
Qu Zhenzhen's face was slightly flushed, but she was not overly shy.
After all, Lu Changsheng was now her future husband, so a little intimacy like this was only natural.
Considering that the old man had intended to offer Qu Zhenzhen to an immortal cultivator, Lu Changsheng worried about inviting trouble. He and Li Feiyu therefore quickened their pace and remained vigilant throughout the journey.
However, it proved to be a false alarm, and they encountered no danger along the way.
Seven days later, the three people and one beast returned safely to Green Bamboo Mountain.
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