The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 23, Unable to Bear This Injustice

Looking at Lu Chen's smiling face.

Huang Rong pursed her pink lips, then suddenly rushed to him, saying with a mixture of worry and annoyance:

"You idiot, why didn't you wake me up the moment my father arrived? Why did you have to be so reckless and fight with someone hand-to-hand? You've only been practicing martial arts for a little over a month, and you've only sparred with wooden weapons. You've never actually fought with real swords. Swords have no eyes; what if you got slashed?"

"I wasn't hit, was I? Besides, my swordsmanship was taught to me by you, Rong'er. You should have some confidence in me and in yourself, right?"

Lu Chen smiled and gazed into her eyes:

"Most importantly, the martial world is indeed treacherous. If I don't demonstrate the abilities that Senior Huang can trust, how could he allow you to accompany me on my adventures? He might just take you back. Although I'm not afraid to travel the martial world alone, I still hope to travel with Rong'er."

"..."

Huang Rong gave a soft hum, feeling secretly pleased, but on the surface she put on a haughty expression:
"You're such a smooth talker, always trying to make me happy."

Lu Chen nodded:
"Yes, I just want to make you happy."

Having been single in both lifetimes, Lu Chen felt that he had finally seen the light tonight.

"Who needs you to coax me? I'm not a child anymore."

Huang Rong made a cute and playful face at him, then complained about her father again:

"My father is really outrageous. He pretends to be less wary of me, but he's actually still secretly watching me. Humph, he plays such tricks on his daughter. I haven't even held a grudge against him for yelling at me on Peach Blossom Island the other day, and I've been so nice to him these past few days..."

Lu Chen chuckled to himself, thinking to himself, "Aren't you just playing tricks on him too?"

It's just that Master Rong's cleverness and wit were no match for the more cunning and shrewd Master Huang.

Huang Rong puffed out her rosy cheeks, put her hands on her hips, and pretended to be annoyed:
"what are you laughing at?"

Lu Chen shook his head: "I wasn't laughing at anything."

“You smiled, I saw it.”

"Yes, I'm laughing happily."

"Why are you happy for no reason?"

"The thought of traveling the world with you, Rong'er, makes me so happy that I can't help but smile."

"Really?"

"real."

"You know the truth."

Huang Rong smiled, grabbed his hand again, and led him towards the cave.

"You must be exhausted after such a life-or-death battle. Don't stay out here in the cold, go inside and get some rest."

"This cave is too small..."

"The disciples of the Eastern Heretic are not bound by formalities. Father has already given permission for us to roam the world together, so what are you still hesitating for? Go inside and rest assured, I'll keep watch tonight..."

That night, Lu Chen slept exceptionally well.

When he woke up, he noticed something was wrong. He sat up and saw that Rong'er was sleeping soundly with his lap as a pillow.

At this time of day, he would usually be up practicing his sword, but looking at Rong'er's sweet and obedient sleeping face, he couldn't bear to ruin this beautiful moment. So he sat quietly, looking at her pretty face, counting her long, curled eyelashes for a while, and then lay back down, closing his eyes to comprehend the sword intent imprint.

After an unknown amount of time, Huang Rong's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she finally fell asleep.

She opened her eyes and found herself resting her head on Lu Chen's lap. Her pretty face flushed slightly. She glanced at Lu Chen and saw that he was still "sound asleep." She playfully stuck out her tongue, quickly got up, and tiptoed out.

Emerging from the cave, she stretched comfortably in the fresh morning breeze, washed her face by the stream, and then called out back into the cave:

"Get up! The sun's already high in the sky, time to get up, wash up, and practice your skills!"

Having spent the morning comprehending the sword intent imprint, Lu Chen opened his eyes and sat up. Looking at the delicate girl in white robes fluttering in the morning light outside the cave, a bright smile appeared on his face.

……

Having obtained Huang Yaoshi's permission, the two no longer needed to sneak around and travel openly northwards.

While traveling, one can practice lightness skills; when tired, one can stop to rest and practice swordsmanship. At night, one can stay at inns or guesthouses, or find a house in the countryside to stay in. If one cannot find a place to stay, one can find a small temple in the mountains or camp by a river or stream.

Both of them possessed the skill of lightness and agility, so even without any means of transportation, they could travel extremely fast. In just seven or eight days, they had crossed the Yangtze River and arrived at the banks of the Han River.

That evening, the two set up camp on the banks of the Han River, by a mountain stream that flows into the river.

Unable to find a suitable cave, Lu Chen cut down bamboo and timber to build a suspended wooden bed on a horizontal branch of a large tree, about ten feet off the ground. While he bound the bamboo and timber together with vines, Huang Rong fished and caught shrimp by the stream, preparing dinner.

It took more than half an hour to set up a simple suspended wooden bed. Huang Rong had also almost finished preparing dinner. The two of them ate a hearty meal and then sat by the stream chatting to digest their food.

Huang Rong took off her shoes and socks, revealing her two crystal-clear, exquisite feet. She rolled up her trouser legs, exposing her two straight, slender, and snow-white calves, and immersed her feet in the clear stream, kicking and splashing the water with contentment.

Lu Chen sat beside her, vividly recounting the story of Sun Wukong's havoc in the Heavenly Palace. Huang Rong listened with great interest, and when she heard that Sun Wukong had jumped out of Laozi's alchemy furnace, kicked it over, causing Laozi to stumble, and then charged all the way to the Lingxiao Palace, she excitedly kicked her little foot, splashing a large spray of water that landed all over Lu Chen's face.

"..."

Lu Chen wiped the water off his face and looked at Huang Rong speechlessly.

Huang Rong stuck out her tongue shyly, smiled playfully, and shook his arm to urge him on:
"And then? What happened next? Keep telling the story!"

Lu Chen cleared his throat and continued speaking.

Upon hearing that Sun Wukong had lost the duel and was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain by Buddha, with a Buddhist inscription placed on his body to prevent him from overturning the mountain and escaping, Huang Rong's mood immediately soured. She pouted and said dejectedly:
"This ending is so boring! The mighty Monkey King has ended up like this. It's no fun at all. Lu Chen, you'd better change it to a good ending."

Lu Chen shrugged:
"That's how the story ends here, and besides, this isn't the end; there's more to come..."

Huang Rong frowned, looking very unhappy.
"No, I can't listen to the rest of the story. I can't stand this injustice, not even the Monkey King could. Lu Chen, are you going to change it or not?"

Lu Chen was somewhat embarrassed:

"If this part is changed, the rest of the story will..."

"Just change it..."

Huang Rong shook his arm with both hands and started to act coquettishly.

That soft, sweet voice, that intoxicating, subtle fragrance, and the strange sensation of her budding bosom occasionally brushing against his forearm as she swayed his arm—all sent a shiver down Lu Chen's spine, his blood surging. He quickly said:
“Rong’er, stop shaking me, I’ll change it right away, let me think…” At this moment, a black-clad swordsman appeared at the foot of Five Elements Mountain, raised his hand and unleashed a sword light, instantly splitting Five Elements Mountain in two. The Great Sage Equaling Heaven was overjoyed, soared into the sky, and laughed at the black-clad swordsman: “I am deeply grateful for your rescue. Why don’t we rebel against Heaven together, seize the Jade Emperor’s throne, I will become the Jade Emperor, and you will become the Dao Ancestor…”

"Hey, where did that black-clad swordsman come from? He wasn't here before!"

"Well, since you asked me to change the plot, Rong'er, I have no choice but to personally get involved in the story..."

"..."

Huang Rong blinked:

"So you're the black-clad swordsman?"

"good."

"Can you split the Five Finger Mountain of the Buddha with a single sword strike?"

"I can do it in the story."

Huang Rong chuckled, "That's quite a boast!"

Lu Chen laughed, "Anyway, it's just a story, I can make it up however I want."

"What about me? You've already entered the story, so I have to go too!"

"You... well, Rong'er, you're in the story too. It's said that the Monkey King and the black-clad swordsman joined forces to storm the Heavenly Court. Just as the Buddha was about to unleash his Buddha Palm to suppress them, suddenly a mystical light descended from the heavens, and a fairy in white robes, her hair bound with golden rings, gracefully descended. With a flick of her finger, countless divine lightning bolts erupted, crashing down upon the Buddha..."

"Ha, I've made my entrance!"

"That's right, the fairy in white is Rong'er..."

Lu Chen no longer cared about rationality. Since Rong'er couldn't stand the injustice of the Monkey King being imprisoned under the Five Finger Mountain and insisted on being included in the story, he could only start making up nonsense. Even so, Rong'er listened with great interest.

Before we knew it, the story became increasingly absurd, eventually having nothing to do with Journey to the West anymore. It turned into the Monkey King sweeping through the Heavenly Court, battling the Jade Emperor, Lu Chen and Rong'er fighting together against Buddha, and his power overwhelming Mount Ling...

"If you want to know what happened next time, let's listen to the explanation!"

After a wild and imaginative tale, Lu Chen decisively ended today's story.

Rong'er still looked like she hadn't had enough:

"That's how stories are supposed to go, right? They can't be wronged. Hmm, we'll continue tomorrow."

"..."

Lu Chen was speechless; he really couldn't make up any more stories!

For the next few days, the two continued to travel at sunrise and rest at sunset, enjoying a pleasant and leisurely journey, and before they knew it, they had arrived in Xiangyang.

Next, we need to find the "Bodhi Serpent" that can help people increase their power.

(End of this chapter)