NOVEL NEXT Chapter 154: This Romantic Luck is Really Ridiculous!
Chapter 154: This Romantic Luck is Really Ridiculous!
“Ah, it looks like everything is fine now.”
On the mountain peak, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes, let out a gentle sigh, and crushed the two medium-grade spirit stones in his hand into powder.
He had been staying on this mountain for over half a month.
During this time, except for a few wild beasts that came to deliver food, no one had come to find him.
So Lu Changsheng was preparing to leave.
After all, if the other party had the means, half a month would be enough time to find him.
The fact that no one had come to find him for so long meant that everything was fine.
As he walked out of the cave, Lu Changsheng released his steel-feathered eagle, ready to take flight, when he saw a small village at the foot of the mountain, with flames soaring into the sky.
“Hmm, what’s happening here? Bandits?”
Lu Changsheng’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as he gazed intently, faintly hearing cries and wails.
Seeing this, he recalled his steel-feathered eagle and transformed into a streak of light to investigate.
Although he wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs, this situation seemed to be a case of bandits raiding the village, burning and killing.
He had heard of such things when he was young, before he awakened to his memories.
Now that he had encountered it, he might as well lend a hand.
After all, as a human being, he had basic morals.
He wouldn’t become arrogant and ignore the plight of ordinary people just because he had cultivated for a few years.
“Whoosh!”
Lu Changsheng transformed into a beam of light and flew quickly towards the village.
Before he even got close, he saw a group of black-clad, horse-riding bandits slaughtering the villagers, with cries and wails filling the air.
“Ah, horse bandits.”
Lu Changsheng’s expression turned stern.
Horse bandits were even more despicable than ordinary mountain bandits.
They had horses, making them come and go without a trace.
That’s why ordinary mountain bandits would only plunder the surrounding villages briefly before leaving.
It was a gradual process.
But horse bandits were different, and their raids were completely unpredictable. Village massacres were a common occurrence.
“You dare to slaughter innocent people, you’ll pay with your life!”
Lu Changsheng shouted loudly in mid-air.
His voice, amplified by his spiritual power, thundered like a drumbeat, echoing throughout the village.
“Oh no, it’s a cultivator! Everyone, retreat quickly!”
A tall, muscular, and fierce-looking man with a missing eye, holding a nine-ring broadsword, was terrified by the deafening sound and shouted loudly.
However, before he could finish speaking, a Forest White Flying Sword flew straight towards him.
The next moment…
“Thud!”
The man’s head flew off, and blood splattered everywhere!
The other horse bandits, who were still burning and killing, were also terrified upon hearing Lu Changsheng’s shout.
They panicked and fled in all directions, like dogs that had lost their homes.
“It’s a cultivator! It’s a cultivator!”
“I heard my grandfather talk about it before. Legend has it that cultivators can fly with the wind… It’s a cultivator who has come to save us!”
“Waaah, the cultivator is saving us!”
The remaining villagers, who had heard Lu Changsheng’s shout, were like drowning people grasping for a lifeline.
They looked up at Lu Changsheng in the air, shouting and kneeling in worship.
“Pfft! Pfft! Pfft—”
Lu Changsheng, wearing a fluttering white robe, stood upright in mid-air, his face expressionless. His Forest White Flying Sword danced like a dragon, its sword aura sweeping across, beheading a horse bandit.
The horse bandits, who had been brutal and domineering, killing villagers without mercy, were now like chickens waiting to be slaughtered under Lu Changsheng’s flying sword.
“We, the Blood Cloud Thieves, didn’t know that a cultivator was passing by. We’re willing to leave and beg for mercy!”
“Mercy, oh mercy!”
The horse bandits knew that they couldn’t resist the cultivator’s abilities, so they begged for mercy loudly.
But Lu Changsheng showed no mercy.
If he hadn’t happened to pass by, who knows how many people the Blood Cloud Thieves would have killed?
At least this village would have been doomed.
The villagers watched as Lu Changsheng killed the horse bandits, feeling a mix of excitement and fear, their scalps tingling.
Although the horse bandits deserved to die a thousand times over,
Lu Changsheng’s expressionless face, his calm and collected demeanor, and his sword rising and falling like a harvesting scythe, killing the horse bandits one by one, still shocked them.
They couldn’t help but feel both respect and fear towards this ‘cultivator’.
A moment later, Lu Changsheng had killed nearly all the horse bandits.
Looking at the burning flames in the village, he waved his hand again.
Instantly, his spiritual power spread out like a hurricane, extinguishing the raging flames.
After that, he helped treat some injured villagers.
“Thank you, cultivator! Thank you, noble cultivator!”
“Thank you, cultivator! I, an old man, will definitely repay your kindness!”
“Thank you, noble cultivator! I will build a shrine in my home to pray for your safety!”
The villagers knelt down to thank Lu Changsheng, each expressing their gratitude in their own way.
They knew that they couldn’t repay Lu Changsheng, so they could only show their appreciation in the simplest way.
“Alas.”
Lu Changsheng sighed, looking at the many burned-down houses and corpses, his heart heavy with emotion.
Even after cultivating for so many years and experiencing many things, his heart was still affected by such scenes.
No matter whether it was in the cultivation world or the mortal world, those at the bottom always suffered the most.
This made him grateful once again for obtaining the opportunity to cultivate and reach this point.
“Hmm?”
Just as Lu Changsheng finished saving the people and was about to leave, he noticed a little girl among the crowd of people kneeling towards him.
The girl was around ten years old, with a dirty face and wearing a tattered gray robe.
However, from this little girl, Lu Changsheng unexpectedly felt a strange, unusual attraction.
This inexplicable feeling made Lu Changsheng’s heart skip a beat.
As a man who had experienced countless battles and had a strong sense of self-confidence, Lu Changsheng didn’t believe he would have thoughts about a little girl.
Especially not a dirty little girl like this.
“There’s something wrong with this little girl!”
Lu Changsheng examined the little girl carefully.
He immediately discovered that under her tattered gray robe, on her neck and wrists, there were some white, fish-scale-like scales growing.
“A half-demon?”
Lu Changsheng’s eyebrows rose as he looked at the scales.
However, he didn’t sense any demonic energy from the little girl.
He used his spiritual eye technique to examine the little girl more closely.
As Lu Changsheng gazed at the little girl, he noticed a faint aura of spiritual energy surrounding her, indicating that she possessed a Spirit Root.
“There’s definitely something wrong,” he thought to himself.
At this moment, Lu Changsheng became even more aware that this little girl had a problem.
Having recently broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, he had transcended his mortal body, and his spiritual senses had been enhanced. Even without using his spiritual eye technique, he should have been able to detect whether someone had a Spirit Root or not.
However, he hadn’t detected anything unusual about the little girl earlier.
It was only after using his spiritual eye technique that he discovered she possessed a Spirit Root.
“Could it be some kind of special physique?” Lu Changsheng wondered to himself.
The little girl seemed to sense Lu Changsheng’s gaze and shrank back in fear, her small body trembling.
“It’s definitely this monster that’s brought disaster to our village!” a villager exclaimed.
“She’s a jinx!” another villager chimed in.
“It’s because of this monster that our village has been plagued by misfortune!”
“Please, immortal, eliminate this monster for us!”
Several villagers echoed the sentiment.
The little girl, hearing these words, began to tremble with fear, her eyes welling up with tears.
“Don’t cry, little one, don’t cry,” an old woman with gray hair and a gray robe comforted the little girl.
But then, another villager spoke up, “Zhao, this monster is a jinx, and it’s because you took her in that your son and daughter-in-law never returned from their trip to the city.”
The old woman’s body stiffened at these words.
“What’s going on with this little girl?” Lu Changsheng asked calmly, his eyes fixed on the little girl.
He could sense that there was something wrong with her, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
As he listened to the villagers’ words, it seemed that everyone in the village knew that this little girl was problematic.
“Immortal, this monster is Xu Er’s daughter,” one of the villagers explained.
“Xu Er was a famous hunter in our village, but after giving birth to this monster, his life took a turn for the worse.”
“First, his wife died in childbirth, and then Xu Er himself disappeared during a hunting trip.”
“Zhao took pity on her and adopted her, but when she was around seven or eight years old, scales started growing on her body, just like a snake’s scales. What else could she be but a monster?”
“And after Zhao took her in, her son and daughter-in-law went to work in the city and never returned.”
“Now our village is plagued by bandits, and it’s all because of this jinx!”
Several villagers chimed in, “Disaster star, monster!”
Lu Changsheng couldn’t deny the fact that the girl was indeed unusual.
But as for being a disaster star, Lu Changsheng wasn’t convinced.
In this era, especially for poor families, having children was a significant risk.
Going into the mountains to hunt and working outside the village also came with risks.
“What’s your name, and are you willing to leave with me?” Lu Changsheng asked the little girl in a gentle tone.
He sensed that this girl was not ordinary and had some issues.
Since the village couldn’t accommodate her, it would be better to take her in and raise her himself.
He wanted to investigate what was going on with this little girl.
Was she born with a special physique, or what was the situation?
The little girl was taken aback by Lu Changsheng’s words.
From the young man in front of her, she felt a warmth and sense of security that she had never experienced before.
It was an aura and a feeling that made her want to get closer, filling her heart with good feelings.
She didn’t respond.
Instead, she looked timidly at her grandmother beside her.
“Immortal, she’s a good girl, not a monster,” Grandmother Zhao said, thinking that Lu Changsheng wanted to eliminate the monster.
She knew the little girl had problems, but after so many years of living together, she had come to regard the little girl as her own granddaughter.
Not only was she obedient and helpful, but she would also take the initiative to do farm work, wash clothes, and cook.
Whenever she was bullied by other kids, she would silently endure it, not telling her grandmother, which made her heart ache.
As for her son and daughter-in-law, although she was saddened by their departure, she knew that every year, some villagers would leave to work in the city, and some never returned.
So, she didn’t blame the child entirely.
“Hehe, I think this child has a spiritual affinity, so I’m thinking of taking her with me,” Lu Changsheng said with a gentle smile.
“Spiritual affinity!”
“What, this monster of a girl has spiritual affinity?”
“Immortal, you must be mistaken,” the villagers exclaimed in surprise, their voices filled with envy.
“Girl, hurry up and respond to the immortal!”
Grandmother Zhao, upon hearing that the little girl had spiritual affinity, hastily urged the little girl to respond to Lu Changsheng.
“I’m a monster,” the little girl said in a low voice.
She wasn’t unwilling to leave with Lu Changsheng, but she felt that she was a monster, and that she would bring trouble, which made her hesitant.
“I’ve said it before, you’re not a monster. Are you willing to leave with me?” Lu Changsheng asked again.
“I’m willing to leave with the immortal,” the little girl said, looking up at her grandmother, who was urging her to respond.
After finishing her sentence, she looked up at Lu Changsheng with an expectant gaze and a slightly trembling voice, “Immortal, can you take my grandmother with us too?”
“Not a problem, filial piety is commendable, of course I can,” Lu Changsheng smiled and nodded.
The little girl was willing to leave with him, and bringing an old woman along wouldn’t be a big deal.
He wasn’t planning to take the little girl to Qingzhu Mountain anyway.
Instead, he intended to settle her in Ruyi Region first.
“Thank you, immortal!” the little girl exclaimed in surprise.
“Thank you, immortal!” she repeated, her voice filled with joy.
She hadn’t expected Lu Changsheng to agree so readily.
After all, she had been worried about leaving her grandmother behind.
Grandmother Zhao was also overjoyed and grateful.
Her husband had passed away, and her son and daughter-in-law had never returned, but now, with this opportunity to leave with the immortal, she was more than willing.
“Since that’s the case, let’s go,” Lu Changsheng said, not wanting to waste any more time.
With a flick of his sleeve, a spiritual boat appeared.
He had two spiritual boats, but he rarely used them because they were conspicuous and wasted spirit stones.
Besides, they were stolen goods, so he didn’t use them often.
Now, with two more people, the steel-feathered eagle wouldn’t be convenient, so he used the spiritual boat instead.
With a wave of his sleeve, the two of them floated onto the boat.
As the villagers bid them farewell, Lu Changsheng steered the spiritual boat, and it soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of light that flew towards Ruyi Region.
At this moment, Lu Changsheng sensed that Peach Blossom Gu had gained a Romantic Luck aura.
This meant that taking in this little girl would also bring him Romantic Luck.
“This is also Romantic Luck, this is really ridiculous.”
“Could this be the mysterious fate that is hard to comprehend?”
“I was very lucky to have Romantic Luck, which led me to rest in this mountain for half a month, and just happened to encounter such an incident and meet this little girl?”
Lu Changsheng thought to himself.
Ever since he had obtained the Peach Blossom Gu, Lu Changsheng would think to himself whenever he encountered such situations, wondering if it was related to the Peach Blossom Gu Romantic Luck.
Now, seeing the Peach Blossom Gu’s Romantic Luck, he was convinced that this was indeed Romantic Luck.
Especially just now, if he hadn’t felt a strange allure from the little girl, he wouldn’t have noticed her at all.
Lu Changsheng looked at the timid little girl beside him and asked gently, “Little one, you haven’t told me your name yet, have you?”
“I’m just called Little Girl,” the little girl replied.
“Ah, she doesn’t have a name, she’s just called Little Girl,” Zhao Baozhu said cautiously.
“No name?” Lu Changsheng was taken aback upon hearing this.
He recalled that in rural areas, children were often given a temporary name, and only received a formal name later in life. Many girls didn’t even have a temporary name.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll give you a name. How about that?” Lu Changsheng smiled at the little girl.
“Little Girl, don’t you hurry up and thank the immortal for bestowing a name upon you?” Zhao Baozhu urged the little girl.
“Thank you, immortal,” the little girl said, her face lighting up with hope.
The other children in the village all had names, but she had never had one. Sometimes she had also wished for a name.
“From now on, you’ll be called ‘Bai Ling’. The ‘Bai’ in white, and the ‘Ling’ in spirit, how about that?” Lu Changsheng said, looking at the white scales on the little girl’s wrist.
“Bai Ling, Little Girl, you’ll be called Bai Ling from now on. Don’t you thank the immortal?” Zhao Baozhu said to the little girl again.
“Thank you, immortal,” the little girl said, repeating her new name twice, her face filled with joy.
Lu Changsheng chuckled and waved his sleeve, and a gentle breeze blew by.
“Whoosh—”
Bai Ling’s face was as white as jade, as if it had been washed clean by a clear spring. Her features were delicate, with distinct black and white pupils. Her skin was particularly white and smooth, like a porcelain doll.
Although she was still wearing the same tattered gray clothes, she looked like a completely different person, no longer like a village girl.
“Immortal,” Bai Ling said, looking at her hands and then touching her flushed cheeks, feeling a bit shy.
When she was seven, scales started growing on her body, and she discovered that her skin was becoming increasingly white and smooth. Her appearance was also becoming more and more beautiful.
But her grandmother said it wasn’t good, and always covered her up with mud. So now that the mud was gone, revealing her true appearance, she felt a bit uncomfortable and shy.
Zhao Baozhu was also surprised by this scene. She had always known that Bai Ling was beautiful, especially her skin, which was unlike that of a village girl, even better than a city miss. So she would always apply mud to her face.
As a result, she had almost forgotten Bai Ling’s natural beauty.
Now, seeing her like this, she couldn’t help but think that it was no wonder Lu Changsheng had taken a liking to her.
“Don’t worry, from now on, you don’t need to cover up in front of me,” Lu Changsheng said, stroking her head and smiling.
Although she was just a little girl, everyone has a desire to be beautiful. She probably didn’t like having mud on her face all the time either.
“Yes, yes, I’ll listen to the immortal,” Bai Ling nodded obediently, her big eyes shining with joy.
Just as Lu Changsheng had guessed, she didn’t like having mud on her face every day. Which girl doesn’t love beauty?
“Hmm!”
At this moment, Lu Changsheng patted his storage bag, and suddenly, several exquisite and beautiful dresses appeared.
“Which one do you like?” Lu Changsheng asked, smiling.
He had bought several dozen sets of spiritual robes for his own children when he was in Blue Cloud Market Town. Now that he had picked up this lovely little girl, he wouldn’t be stingy with a set of spiritual robes. He wanted to dress her up beautifully.
Besides, since I have this person by my side, shouldn’t I give her some benefits?
“Immortal, are these for me?”
Bai Ling looked at the colorful, exquisite, and beautiful dresses in front of her, her eyes widening in surprise.
She had never seen such beautiful clothes since she was a child. She didn’t know how to describe them, and her eyes were dazzled.
“Immortal, why are you so good to me?”
Her eyes suddenly became moist.
From a young age, aside from Granny Zhao, he was the first person to be so kind to her.
Just after meeting, not only did he give her a name, but he also gave her such a precious and beautiful dress, making her feel dizzy and embarrassed to accept.
“You’re willing to follow me, so I naturally want to be good to you.”
Lu Changsheng heard this and smiled, ruffling her hair.
Then, he spoke in a gentle voice, “From now on, just call me Brother.”
“Brother.”
Bai Ling heard this and was taken aback, feeling an inexplicable flutter in her heart.
She then pursed her lips, looking a bit shy, and called out, “Brother.”
“Haha, great, so choose one then.”
Lu Changsheng heard this and chuckled, ruffling her hair again.
Bai Ling looked around and finally chose a white dress.
Because she had never worn such a clean and beautiful dress before.
Brother also said that from now on, she wouldn’t need to be dirty and messy, so she wanted to stay clean and tidy all the time.
Granny Zhao, who was standing aside, also felt a surge of emotions, feeling happy for the child’s future.