Chapter 261: Lu Qing's Strange Behavior

Chapter 261: Lu Qing's Strange Behavior

June 25, 2024

"Old Zheng!"

The sight of the gray-robed hulk writhing in pain on the ground shocked not only the young girl but left the red-clad woman and the slender man utterly astonished.

They couldn't fathom how a mere passerby had bested a man with a perfect Physique Realm cultivation.

More importantly, they hadn't even seen how Lu Qing had moved to attack.

In the blink of an eye, the gray-robed man was on the ground, his limbs useless.

The two trembled as they looked at Lu Qing, now aware that they had grossly underestimated him.

This seemingly weak young man was actually a beast in disguise, his true strength far beyond their imagination.

Lu Qing turned his head toward them.

"Young hero..."

The hearts of the red-clad woman and her companion trembled, and they wanted to beg for mercy. But before they could, several piercing sounds rang out.

Sudden agony shot through their limbs, and their bodies crumpled to the ground, rolling and screaming in pain.

Unbeknownst to them, Lu Qing had used stones to shatter their joints in an instant.

"Be quiet."

His indifferent voice caused the red-clad woman and her companions, who were still screaming, to stiffen. They dared not make another sound, biting their teeth to endure the pain instead.

"Alright, you can continue now. Why were they trying to harm you?" Lu Qing asked, turning to the stunned young girl.

Feeling Lu Qing's calm gaze, the girl snapped back to her senses.

She glanced at the red-clad woman, who had been arrogant just moments ago but now lay on the ground like a dead dog, her face filled with fear. The girl realized that she had indeed found her savior.

"Young Master, these three wanted to kill me to take the Xuanxin Sect token," the girl explained.

"What's so special about the Xuanxin Sect token?" Lu Qing asked, intrigued.

"The Xuanxin Sect token I have was bought by my father at a high price. With this token, one can attend the Xuanxin Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony held once every three years.

These three wanted to take the token to replace me and attend the ceremony in my place."

Lu Qing's curiosity grew. "The recruitment of disciples is no small matter. Does the Xuanxin Sect have no precautions in place? Can just anyone attend?"

The girl sighed helplessly. "It's supposed to be like that, but my father wanted to save money, so he bought a cheaper, unnamed quota.

This quota only comes with one token, and anyone holding it can go to the Xuanxin Sect and qualify for the disciple recruitment ceremony. The sect doesn't inquire about the token's origin."

"..."

Lu Qing felt a strange sense of unease.

From what he had heard, the so-called disciple recruitment ceremony of the Xuanxin Sect didn't seem very aboveboard.

It seemed less about recruiting disciples and more like a money-making scheme.

"If this quota is so important, why did your father let you travel with these three?" Lu Qing continued his interrogation.

"Who would have thought that they would be so deceitful!" The girl was indignant, her eyes flashing with anger as she glared at the red-clad woman and her companions.

"These three have received my father's kindness in the past, and they always treated him with respect in the city. They even called each other brothers.

Who knew that they had already set their eyes on my token? As soon as we left the valley, they forced me to hand it over and even... even tried to..."

The girl's face flushed, and despite her anger, she couldn't bring herself to utter those vile words.

But anyone could guess what she was alluding to.

"Do you three have any last words?" Lu Qing asked, turning to the red-clad woman and her companions.

Hearing this, they paled in fear and begged for mercy. "Young hero, we know we were wrong. Please show us mercy, and we promise never to dare..."

However, before they could finish their plea, Lu Qing shot out three stones.

The piercing sound of tearing air was heard, and the three froze, a bloody hole appearing in their foreheads. Their eyes lost focus, and their bodies became still.

"I didn't expect to start killing again as soon as I arrived in Zhongzhou," Lu Qing sighed, shaking his head. "Ma Ye, throw these corpses off the cliff."

He then looked at the girl. "Hu Cuilian, can you walk?"

Jolted out of her stunned state by Lu Qing's decisiveness and ruthlessness, the girl snapped back to attention.

She looked at her legs and hesitated. "My legs... that evil woman whipped them with a whip, and I think they're broken."

"Let me take a look." Lu Qing didn't hesitate upon hearing this and reached out to place his hand on the girl's leg. "Indeed, your shinbone is fractured."

Not only was the bone fractured, but her leg was also a bloody mess.

It was impressive that the girl hadn't fainted from the pain.

"Miss Hu, we have medicine in the carriage. I'll set your leg first, and then apply the medicine."

"Mm..."

The girl's face turned red, and she meekly responded.

This was because her current state was rather embarrassing, with her clothes in disarray and her appearance less than dignified.

"Zian, bring the medicine box."

However, Lu Qing didn't seem to mind the girl's disheveled state and instead called out to the back, beginning to set her bone.

With Lu Qing's martial arts cultivation and his understanding of the human skeletal structure, setting a broken leg was a simple task.

Moreover, the girl's leg bone was only fractured in two places without any shattered fragments, making the treatment even easier.

By the time Wei Zian brought the medicine box, Lu Qing had already perfectly set the bone.

What surprised the girl was that Lu Qing's movements were incredibly gentle, and she barely felt any pain.

Next, Lu Qing used a wooden board to immobilize the girl's leg bone before applying the medicine to the bloody mess on her leg.

"Ouch!"

The girl couldn't help but wince as the medicine touched her wound.

"Endure it for a moment. The pain will lessen soon," Lu Qing consoled.

"Sir, will my leg have a big scar?"

The girl looked at the bloody mess on her leg and finally asked the question that had been on her mind.

"Do you mind the scar?" Lu Qing asked.

"No, it's already a blessing that I'm alive thanks to you. How dare I ask for more?"

The girl shook her head, but the disappointment in her eyes was undeniable.

Lu Qing thought for a moment and said, "If you want to avoid scarring, there is a way, but it's a bit troublesome."

"Sir, do you have a way?" The girl looked up, her eyes sparkling with hope.

"Yes, but we'll need to prepare different medicine, so you'll have to wait a while."

"Thank you, sir!"

The girl was deeply grateful, and like any young girl, she desired to be beautiful. She had thought there was no way to avoid scarring, so she was naturally delighted to hear that it was possible.

"It's done."

Meanwhile, Ma Gu had finished disposing of the three corpses by throwing them off the cliff and returned.

"Miss Hu, what are your plans? Would you like us to take you back to Qinglong City?" Lu Qing asked.

"I can't go back." The girl shook her head. "The Qinglong Pass only opens once every seven days. Unless there's a major incident, the pass will not be opened before then. Now that the pass is closed, even if I go back, I won't be able to enter the city for another seven days."

Lu Qing recalled the massive pass that required dozens of Jin-Bone Realm warriors to open.

He knew that it was unlikely for the pass to be opened just for the girl, given her identity.

However, they couldn't afford to wait here with her for seven days.

Could this be what they called fate?

A strange expression appeared in Lu Qing's eyes, and a hint of interest flashed across his face.

"In that case, Miss Hu, if you don't mind, why don't you join us on our journey? It will be safer for you, and we can look after each other."

The girl had been worried that Lu Qing and his companions would leave her here, so she was overjoyed to hear his suggestion. She immediately nodded, "Thank you, sir!"

"Alright, let's continue our journey then. Miss Hu, pardon the intrusion."

Lu Qing bent down and gently picked up the girl, heading toward the carriage.

"Master, this young lady's leg is injured, and she can't walk. There's no one else around, so it's not safe to leave her here. I think we should temporarily travel together."

Upon reaching the carriage, Lu Qing explained.

"That's fine. We can make some space."

The old doctor had also heard what had happened outside and agreed without objection.

The girl blushed as she was carried into the carriage by Lu Qing and placed in the innermost spot. Wei Zian also climbed into the carriage.

Fortunately, their carriage was spacious enough to accommodate everyone.

"Ma Ye, let's go. Drive as fast as you can, and try to find a town to stay for the night before dark."

Once everyone was settled, Lu Qing instructed.

Drive as fast as you can?

Ma Gu was initially taken aback by Lu Qing's words, but he soon understood what Lu Qing meant as he sensed the peculiar aura rippling around them.

He felt a surge of excitement and cracked the whip.

The two horses pulling the carriage seemed to sense something as well, and their eyes gleamed with excitement. They neighed and began to run forward.

As expected, with the movement of the carriage, the familiar azure airflow that they had grown accustomed to these past few days suddenly appeared, enveloping the entire carriage.

After so much practice, Ma Gu naturally wouldn't exhibit the same lack of control over their speed as before.

Under his manipulation, the carriage slowly accelerated. After more than a dozen breaths, it gradually reached high speed and, protected by the azure airflow, began to rush forward at an incredible pace.

And all of this was done in complete silence, with the passengers in the carriage barely feeling any change in speed.

The young girl was even more unaware of what was happening outside, although she was somewhat surprised that Lu Qing's carriage was much smoother than she expected, with barely any bumps.

However, her thoughts were not focused on that at the moment.

Instead, her mind was still reeling from the embarrassment of being carried onto the carriage by Lu Qing earlier.

Unfortunately for her, the carriage was now quiet, making her feel even more awkward.

"By the way, Miss Hu, we haven't had the pleasure of asking for your name yet."

Noticing the young girl's embarrassment, Lu Qing casually brought up a topic to divert her attention.

"Aren't you acquainted with my father?" The young girl was slightly taken aback.

"We only met your father once when we entered the city, so we can't claim to be familiar with him." Lu Qing smiled.

"Doctor Lu Qing, is this young lady the daughter of the city guard who collected the entrance fee from us?"

At this moment, Wei Zian also realized what was going on.

"So, you and my father aren't acquainted?"

The young girl understood.

She had been wondering how her father knew someone as formidable as Lu Qing, and she had never heard of him before.

Turns out he was just a stranger, and they had no connection to her family at all.

This realization made the young girl even more grateful.

Despite being strangers, Lu Qing had still come to her rescue, and this debt of gratitude felt even heavier.

She couldn't help but thank him again, "Thank you, sir, for coming to my rescue just now. If it weren't for you, I would probably have..."

"Hehe, meeting is fate, Miss Hu. The fact that you encountered us is a form of fate, so there's no need to be so polite." Lu Qing casually waved off her gratitude.

"My name is Zezhi," the young girl said softly, her face reddening.

"Zezhi?" Lu Qing was puzzled. "Earlier at Qinglong Pass, didn't your father call you Xiaolian?"

"So, you were there too, sir?" Hu Zezhi was surprised.

"Oh, I happened to overhear your conversation with your father when we were crossing the bridge. I hope you don't mind," Lu Qing explained.

"How could I?"

Hu Zezhi shook her head. If Lu Qing hadn't overheard that conversation, she would probably be dead by now.

She glanced at Lu Qing and lowered her head, "Xiaolian is my nickname. My father has always called me that."

"I see." Lu Qing suddenly realized, "By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Lu Qing, and this is my master, Doctor Chen. This is my sister, Xiaoyan, and this is Wei Zian, the young master of the Wei family."

Hearing Lu Qing's formal introduction, the young girl was surprised, but the old doctor was even more puzzled, finally sensing something unusual.

"Nice to meet you all," Hu Zezhi said politely, her family upbringing evidently quite good. Despite her injured leg, she gracefully bowed.

"No need to stand on ceremony."

The old doctor smiled slightly, his curiosity about the situation growing.

"Miss Hu, does your leg hurt?"

At this moment, Xiaoyan looked at Hu Zezhi's injured leg with concern and asked gently.

"It hurts a little, but after applying the medicine, it doesn't hurt as much," Hu Zezhi replied, looking at Xiaoyan's concerned expression.

"Mm-hmm, with Brother Lu here, your sister will get better soon. Brother Lu and Grandpa Chen are both amazing doctors, so you'll definitely be fine soon!" Xiaoyan assured her confidently.

"Thank you."

Hu Zezhi's face lit up with a smile, and the handsome young girl's smile made Xiaoyan stare in awe.

"Miss Hu, you're so pretty!" Xiaoyan exclaimed.

Hu Zezhi's face reddened, and she couldn't help but say, "You're so cute, much prettier than me."

"Really? Then will I be as beautiful as you when I grow up?"

The little girl was delighted to hear this.

"Definitely!" Hu Zezhi nodded firmly.

She wasn't just being polite.

Xiaoyan's delicate and beautiful appearance clearly marked her as a future beauty.

Seeing the two of them complimenting each other, Lu Qing couldn't help but shake his head and smile.

Just then, a voice sounded in his mind: "Ah Qing, what's going on? Why are you acting so strangely towards this young lady?"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end