Heaven’s Shadow

As the stone door moved aside, a beautiful figure emerged from the heavy shadows—Su Qingjun. Seeing Su Biao still kneeling outside the cave entrance, her face showed surprise as she asked, “Su Biao, what are you doing?”

“Elder Sister, Qingjun, save me!” Su Biao rushed forward, reaching out to grab Su Qingjun’s feet.

From a distance, Lu Chen’s interest was piqued. He wondered if there was something strange between these two and couldn’t help but take a couple of steps closer.

However, Su Qingjun swiftly dodged Su Biao’s embrace, her expression turning slightly stern. “Sixth Brother, what are you doing?”

Su Biao was startled, as if he just realized his behavior was a bit reckless. He quickly shook his head and said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Sister Jun. Please don’t be angry. I really have an urgent matter.”

Su Qingjun snorted and her expression softened slightly. “What’s the matter? Tell me.” After a pause, she walked over and pulled him up, saying, “Get up and speak. A grown man shouldn’t be kneeling on the ground all the time.”

Su Biao stood up, his face filled with urgency. He grabbed Su Qingjun’s hand and said, “Sister Jun, can you lend me two thousand spirit stones?”

Su Qingjun’s expression changed. “So much? What do you need it for?”

Su Biao hesitated, looking awkward. He stammered that he had an urgent need but couldn’t clearly explain the reason. He just kept saying, “I need it urgently. Just lend me the money first, okay?”

Lu Chen, sitting at the edge of the field, found this interesting. He took a sip of spring water from the bucket, enjoying its sweetness and thinking it felt like sipping tea and watching a show. He murmured to himself, “Asking for two thousand right off the bat. Truly a wealthy family!”

Su Qingjun questioned him for a while, but since Su Biao refused to explain clearly, she seemed a bit annoyed. She glared at him and said, “Tell me clearly what’s going on. Otherwise, why should I give you so much money?”

Su Biao, looking distressed, said, “Sister Jun, you know that our Su family has over a hundred disciples practicing in Kunlun Sect, but more than half of the annual financial support goes to you. If I don’t ask you, who else can I borrow from?”

Su Qingjun’s face slightly changed, but she sighed and seemed to show some apology. From a distance, Lu Chen was astonished and thought, “Wow, that’s some serious favoritism…”

After a moment, Su Qingjun said, “Sixth Brother, you should tell me the reason. If you really need my help, I’ll assist you.”

Su Biao hesitated, then leaned forward and whispered a few words to Su Qingjun.

Lu Chen couldn’t hear the crucial part clearly and felt irritated. He angrily drank a spoonful of water, thinking that if someone was so cautious in such a secluded place, it must be something embarrassing.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he suddenly heard a severe coughing sound coming from a place about ten yards away.

Su Qingjun and Su Biao turned their heads simultaneously. They saw Lu Chen, concealed by the ancient trees and rocks on the edge of the spiritual field, coughing and appearing to have choked on water or struggling to suppress laughter, with a look of pain on his face.

“Who’s there? How dare you!” Su Biao leaped up angrily, pointing at Lu Chen and shouting, “Who’s this brat sneaking around Feiyan Platform?” Then his expression changed abruptly as he added, “You scoundrel, are you trying to take advantage of Sister Jun’s beauty with evil intentions? Bah! I’ll beat you today and throw you off this mountain…”

Lu Chen continued coughing and waved his hand, shaking his head with a peculiar expression.

Su Biao, enraged and about to charge at Lu Chen, was stopped by Su Qingjun. “Enough!”

Su Biao stopped in his tracks and looked back at her. Su Qingjun coldly said, “He’s a servant disciple from Baicao Hall. He’s here to help me and will be staying here for a while.”

Su Biao was taken aback and looked awkward. He saw that Lu Chen had already disappeared from the field, likely having left to avoid causing trouble, not wanting to embarrass Su Qingjun.

Su Qingjun glanced at the field, her clear eyes showing no unusual emotion but with a hint of relief. Su Biao, seeing that no one was around, rushed back to Su Qingjun, begging and performing various gestures of respect. He even attempted to kneel, which frightened Su Qingjun, who then pulled him up and scolded him. Despite the scolding, Su Biao seemed undeterred and continued to pester Su Qingjun.

After a long time of scolding and arguing, Su Qingjun, seemingly helpless, eventually handed Su Biao something and waved him away. Su Biao, delighted, left happily.

**Chapter 147: A Little Money to Feed the Dog**

After watching Su Biao’s figure vanish into the distance through the crack in the straw hut’s window, Lu Chen lay down, propping his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling. After a moment, his smile gradually faded as he seemed to ponder something deeply and sighed softly.

“Why are you sighing?”

Suddenly, Su Qingjun’s voice came from outside the hut. Lu Chen got up and went to open the door. Sure enough, Su Qingjun was standing outside, her bright eyes looking at Lu Chen. Lu Chen smiled and said, “You eavesdropped too?”

“I didn’t eavesdrop,” Su Qingjun replied. “I was coming to ask you something, but after reaching the Golden Core stage, my hearing is so sharp that I could hear your voice from outside.”

“…” Lu Chen glanced at her, forced a wry smile, and nodded. “Alright.”

Su Qingjun looked at him and asked, “Did you see everything that just happened?”

Lu Chen hesitated and said, “I heard it. Young Master Su didn’t notice I was here, so he spoke and acted without restraint.”

Su Qingjun frowned slightly and said, “Can you not speak of this to anyone? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good for Sixth Brother’s reputation.”

Lu Chen nodded. “Of course. I won’t mention it to anyone.”

“Good,” Su Qingjun seemed to believe him and turned to leave. But halfway through, she suddenly stopped and looked at Lu Chen, asking, “Were you laughing at him when you coughed?”

Lu Chen immediately shook his head. “No, I choked on the water…”

Su Qingjun fixed her gaze on him.

Lu Chen, at a loss, shrugged and said, “Alright, I did find it a bit amusing. I didn’t expect someone from the Su family, a figure like Young Master Su, would fall for such a woman and be so desperate.”

Su Qingjun seemed to agree, shaking her head slightly and sighing. “You also think that kind of woman is incapable of true love, right?”

Lu Chen suddenly fell silent, not speaking for a long time. Su Qingjun initially just made a comment and didn’t think much of it, planning to leave after speaking. However, Lu Chen’s reaction was somewhat unusual, prompting her to look at him again. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Chen sighed softly and said, “I think it’s not entirely true.”

Su Qingjun raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

“Women of the world have their own emotions and desires. Although I can’t be certain, I think that perhaps, at some point, those women might have had some genuine feelings for someone.”

Su Qingjun gave him a deep look, a trace of unusual expression crossing her face. “I didn’t expect you to view those women in this way.”

“Those women?” Lu Chen smiled and stood there, meeting Su Qingjun’s suddenly cold gaze, without showing any sign of retreat or fear.

Su Qingjun seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further. She turned and began walking toward the cave. But after a few steps, she suddenly heard Lu Chen say from behind, “No matter how you think about it, and you indeed have the right to look down on those women, I still want to say that although those women are lowly, they are still human and can have genuine feelings.”

Su Qingjun did not turn around, so Lu Chen couldn’t see her current expression or whether she was upset by his somewhat presumptuous words. After a while, Su Qingjun spoke calmly, with little fluctuation in her voice, and asked, “Have you ever seen genuine feelings in such women?”

“I have,” Lu Chen replied.

Su Qingjun was silent for a moment. “Very well.”

With that, she continued walking forward. Lu Chen looked at her retreating figure and suddenly raised his voice, “Also, while I believe there can be genuine feelings in such women, it is still very rare.”

“Whether Young Master Su is lucky enough to meet such a woman with genuine feelings is highly questionable.”

“And even if she has genuine feelings, whether it is directed at your brother is hard to say.”

Su Qingjun snorted and stopped again, turning around with a slightly displeased expression. She stared at Lu Chen and said, “After all this talking, what exactly are you trying to say?”

Lu Chen said, “What I mean is, encountering genuine feelings is incredibly rare. Why not try to get that two thousand spirit stones back?”

Su Qingjun looked at him and, after a moment, said淡淡地道, “I won’t pursue it.”

“Why not?” Lu Chen asked.

Su Qingjun said, “I want to eat eagle fruit and can’t go down the mountain.”

“Hmm… that’s a pity,” Lu Chen responded.

Su Qingjun said, “It’s nothing. Just a small amount of money. Consider it feeding the dog.”

Lu Chen: “……”