Chapter 154: This Peach Blossom Luck is Really Punishing!

“Phew, it seems everything’s fine now.”

On the peak, Lu Changsheng opened his eyes, exhaled lightly, and the two mid-Tier Spirit Stones in his hand turned to dust.

He had been on this mountain for more than half a month.

During this time, except for a few wild beasts delivering meals, no one came looking for him.

Therefore, Lu Changsheng was ready to return.

After all, if someone really had means, half a month would be enough to find him.

Since no one came, it also indicated everything was fine.

Stepping out of the cave, Lu Changsheng released the Iron Feather Eagle, just about to take off when he saw flames soaring from a small village at the foot of the mountain.

“Hmm, what’s happening? Bandits?”

Lu Changsheng frowned slightly, looking carefully, and vaguely heard cries.

Seeing this, he retrieved the Iron Feather Eagle into the Spirit Pet Bag and turned into a streak of light to check it out.

Although he wasn’t someone who meddled in others’ affairs,

In such a situation, it looked like mountain bandits were looting and killing.

He had heard of these things in his youth before awakening his memories.

Having encountered it now, he would lend a hand if he could.

After all, being born as a human, one should have basic morals.

One shouldn’t become arrogant and ignore the lives of common people after cultivating for a few years.

“Swoosh!”

Lu Changsheng turned into a streak of light and quickly headed towards the village.

Before getting close, he saw a group of bandits in black outfits on horseback slaughtering villagers, the air filled with their cries.

“Horse bandits.”

Lu Changsheng’s expression turned stern.

Horse bandits were more detestable than ordinary mountain bandits.

They had horses, moving like phantoms.

Ordinary mountain bandits would just slightly plunder nearby villages and leave.

They followed a path of sustained raiding.

But when horse bandits plundered, it was entirely based on their whims.

Slaughtering a village was often the case.

“Audacious bandits, slaughtering innocents, prepare to die!”

Lu Changsheng shouted from the sky.

With spiritual energy enhancing his voice, it boomed like thunder across the entire village.

“Oh no, it’s an immortal master! Everyone retreat quickly!”

A one-eyed strong man, tall and fierce with a nine-ring broadsword, was scared witless, shouting loudly upon hearing the deafening voice.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw a deadly-white Flying Sword coming straight at him.

In the next moment,

“Pff!”

A head flew off, blood spraying!

The other horse bandits stopped burning, killing, and plundering, their faces filled with terror.

They immediately looked panicked, fleeing like dogs without a home.

“It’s an immortal! It’s an immortal!”

“It’s an immortal! I heard my grandpa say before; legends say immortals can fly on the wind—a fairy has come to save us.”

“Wahhh, help us, immortal!”

The remaining villagers grabbed onto the voice as if it were a lifeline.

Looking at Lu Changsheng in the sky, they prostrated and saluted.

“Pff! Pff! Pff!—”

Lu Changsheng, in a billowing Robe, stood in mid-air, expressionless. The deadly-white Flying Sword flew like a roaming dragon, its sword energy crisscrossing as it dispatched each bandit.

The once arrogant bandits, who were slaughtering villagers, fell like chickens awaiting slaughter under Lu Changsheng’s Flying Sword, perishing as soon as sword energy reached them.

“We are ignorant Blood Cloud Bandits; we didn’t know an immortal master was passing by. We wish to leave; we humbly ask the immortal to spare us!”

“Have mercy, immortal!”

“Please spare us!”

These horse bandits knew that an immortal master like Lu Changsheng was beyond what ordinary mortals could resist, begging loudly for mercy.

But Lu Changsheng showed no mercy.

If he hadn’t happened to pass by today, who knows how many the Blood Cloud Bandits would have killed.

At least this village would’ve been obliterated.

Seeing Lu Changsheng slaughter the bandits, the other villagers felt exhilarated yet also somewhat frightened and awed.

Although these bandits deserved death,

Lu Changsheng’s expressionless killing, like cutting through grass, shocked them.

They couldn’t help but both revere and fear this ‘immortal master.’

After a moment, Lu Changsheng had killed all the horse bandits.

Seeing the burning flames in the village, he waved his hand.

Suddenly, spiritual energy spread from him like a hurricane, extinguishing the raging flames.

He then healed some injured villagers.

“Thank you, immortal! Thank you, great immortal!”

“Thank you, immortal. I will repay this kindness with my life!”

“Thank you, great immortal. I will set up a shrine at home to pray for your safety!”

The villagers bowed to Lu Changsheng in gratitude.

They knew their own capabilities.

And were aware they couldn’t help Lu Changsheng.

So they expressed their gratitude in the most sincere way they knew.

“Alas.”

Seeing many thatched huts burnt and the dead bodies, Lu Changsheng sighed.

Even after years of cultivating and many experiences, his heart had become much more indifferent than it once was.

But seeing this scene still left him with a heavy heart.

Whether in the cultivation world or the mundane world, those at the bottom always suffered the most.

It also made him grateful again for having obtained the chance to cultivate and come this far.

“Hmm?”

As Lu Changsheng finished healing and prepared to leave, he noticed a little girl among the kneeling crowd looking at him.

The girl was about ten years old.

Her face was a bit dirty, and she wore a tattered gray hemp dress.

Yet Lu Changsheng inexplicably felt a strange allure from this little girl.

This bizarre feeling made him pause.

As a man well-traveled and experienced, Lu Changsheng was confident in his temperament around women.

He definitely didn’t believe he’d have thoughts about a little girl.

Especially such a dirty little girl.

“This little girl has an issue!”

Lu Changsheng scrutinized the girl closely.

He immediately noticed that under the tattered gray dress, her neck and wrists grew white scales resembling fish or snake scales.

“A half-demon?”

Seeing the scales, Lu Changsheng raised an eyebrow.

Yet he didn’t sense any demonic aura from the little girl.

He performed the Spirit Eye Technique, looking at the girl.

He saw faint spiritual energy surrounding her, indicating she had a Spirit Root.

“There’s certainly something suspicious.”

At this moment, Lu Changsheng became even more aware that this girl was unusual.

Having broken through Foundation Establishment now, he had shed his mortal frame; his spiritual awareness and senses were enhanced.

Even without using the Spirit Eye Technique, he could tell if someone had a Spirit Root.

But he hadn’t noticed a Spirit Root in the girl earlier.

Only after using the Spirit Eye Technique did he see she possessed one.

“Could it be some special constitution?”

Lu Changsheng pondered while scrutinizing the girl.

The little girl seemed to sense Lu Changsheng’s gaze and shrunk back, frightened.

“Immortal master, surely this monster attracted the bandits!”

A villager, noticing Lu Changsheng’s focus on the girl, spoke out.

“That’s right, she’s a jinx.”

“It’s because of this monster our village is nearly destroyed!”

“We ask the immortal to eliminate this monster!”

Some villagers joined in.

The girl trembled in fear, tears welling up.

“Don’t cry, dear, don’t cry.”

Nearby, an elderly woman with gray hair, wearing a gray hemp dress, held the girl, comforting her.

“Madam Zhao, this monster is a jinx, and it’s because you took her in that your son and daughter-in-law never returned from work.”

A villager shouted.

The words made the elderly woman’s body stiffen.

“What is with this girl?”

Lu Changsheng gently raised his hand and asked in a calm tone.

He noticed the girl’s peculiarity.

But couldn’t discern the exact problem.

Hearing the villagers, it seemed they already knew this girl was unusual.

“Reporting to the immortal, this monster is Xu Er’s daughter.”

“Xu Er was a famous hunter in our village, but ever since this monster was born, his life has been miserable.”

“First, his wife died during childbirth, losing both the baby and her.”

“A few years later, Xu Er himself didn’t return from hunting.”

“Madam Zhao took her in out of pity, but at seven or eight years old, scales like a snake’s grew on her; if that’s not a monster, then what is.”

“And after Madam Zhao took in the monster, her son and daughter-in-law went to the city for work and never returned.”

“Now our village was fine and has been attacked by bandits; it must be this jinx’s fault.”

A few villagers spoke.

“A jinx, a monster.”

Lu Changsheng remained noncommittal about the ‘monster’ part.

Indeed the girl’s condition was strange.

But calling her a jinx, Lu Changsheng didn’t agree.

In this era, especially among the poor, childbirth poses high risks.

And there are significant dangers in hunting or working away from home.

“What’s your name, would you like to leave with me?”

Lu Changsheng looked at the girl, speaking gently.

He saw there was something extraordinary about the girl.

Since the village couldn’t accept her, why not take her away.

To see what her condition truly was.

Whether she had some unique constitution or whatnot.

The girl looked blankly at Lu Changsheng’s words.

Feeling an unprecedented warmth and peace from the young man before her.

It was an aura, a feeling.

Like basking in a spring breeze, drawing close instinctively, feeling amiable.

She didn’t answer.

Just timidly looked at the old woman beside her.

“Immortal master, the girl is very well-behaved, not a monster.”

Madam Zhao, assuming Lu Changsheng intended to slay a demon, cautiously defended.

She knew the girl had issues.

But after years together, she treated the child as her granddaughter.

Not only obedient, but the girl also helped with farm work, washing, and cooking.

Even when bullied by other children, she held it in, never telling her, making Madam Zhao fond.

As for her son and daughter-in-law, while she felt heartache, it was not uncommon for people to leave for work and not return.

So she didn’t entirely blame the child.

“Ha ha, I see this child has a destiny for cultivation, so I thought of taking her away.”

Lu Changsheng chuckled lightly.

“Destined!”

“What, this… girl has a destiny for cultivation.”

“Immortal master, are you mistaken?”

The other villagers were shocked, their voices filled with envy.

“Child, quickly agree to the immortal!”

Madam Zhao urged the girl upon hearing Lu Changsheng’s words.

“But I’m a monster.”

The girl whispered.

She wasn’t unwilling to leave with Lu Changsheng.

But she also felt she was a monster, fearing trouble, feeling anxious.

“I said you’re not a monster. Would you like to go with me?”

Lu Changsheng continued.

“If the girl is willing to follow the immortal.”

Seeing the grandmother’s urging and Lu Changsheng’s words, the girl immediately nodded shyly.

Then, speaking expectantly, her voice slightly trembling, “Immortal, can you take grandma along too?”

“Of course, your filial heart is commendable.”

Lu Changsheng smiled and nodded.

The girl wanted to go with him, and taking an old woman wouldn’t be a problem.

It wasn’t much trouble.

He didn’t plan to take her to Qingzhu Mountain.

Instead, he intended to settle her in Ruyi County.

“Many thanks, immortal!”

“Many thanks, great immortal!”

The girl was pleasantly surprised.

Not expecting Lu Changsheng to agree so readily.

She had been hesitating because she couldn’t leave Madam Zhao.

Madam Zhao was also delighted and grateful.

Her husband had passed away; her son and daughter-in-law hadn’t returned. Now having such fortune, she was willing.

“Then let’s go.”

With an old and a young, Lu Changsheng said no more.

He patted the Storage Bag, and a Spirit Boat appeared.

He had two Spirit Boats.

But usually felt it stood out, wasting Spirit Stones.

Plus, it was stolen goods, so he rarely used it.

Now with two extra people, the Iron Feather Eagle wasn’t convenient, so he used the Spirit Boat.

With a wave of his sleeve, the two landed on the Spirit Boat.

Then under the villagers’ blessings, the Spirit Boat soared into the sky, turning into a streak of light toward Ruyi County.

At that moment, Lu Changsheng sensed the Peach Blossom Gu gaining a hint of peach blossom luck.

Indicating that taking in this girl counted as peach blossom luck.

“This counts as peach blossom luck; this is really punishing.”

“Is this the mysterious and profound destiny?”

“Due to my abundant peach blossom luck, I ended up resting in this mountain for half a month, happening to run into this, and meeting this girl?”

Lu Changsheng thought to himself.

Ever since acquiring the Peach Blossom Gu, whenever such things happened, Lu Changsheng wondered if it was related to the Peach Blossom Gu, if it was peach blossom luck.

Now seeing the Peach Blossom Gu absorbing the luck, he confirmed it was peach blossom luck.

Especially just now, if not for the inexplicable allure from the girl and noticing her peculiarity, he wouldn’t have paid attention.

Lu Changsheng looked at the soft, shy girl and warmly asked, “Little girl, you haven’t told me your name yet.”

“I’m called Little Girl.”

The girl said.

“Immortal master, she has no name; she’s just called Little Girl.”

Madam Zhao spoke cautiously.

“No name.”

Lu Changsheng was slightly surprised.

Remembering in rural areas, people waited until age to give proper names.

And many girls didn’t even have humble names.

“In that case, how about I give you a name?”

Lu Changsheng smiled at the girl.

“Little girl, quickly agree and thank the immortal master for the name.”

Madam Zhao urged the girl immediately.

“Thank you, immortal master.”

The girl expressed happiness and anticipation upon hearing this.

The other kids in the village all had names, but she didn’t.

Sometimes she wanted a name too.

“From now on, your name is ‘Bai Ling’—white spirit. What do you think?”

Lu Changsheng said, looking at the white scales on the girl’s wrist.

“Bai Ling, Little Girl, you’re Bai Ling now. Thank the immortal master.”

Madam Zhao urged again.

“Bai Ling thanks the immortal master.”

The girl repeated the name twice, joyfully.

Lu Changsheng chuckled, then waved his sleeve.

A gentle breeze blew.

“Whish—”

The dirt on Bai Ling’s face washed away like a clear spring, leaving it clean and fair.

Her features exquisite, her eyes clear.

Her skin particularly fair and delicate, like a porcelain doll.

Although still in old gray clothes, she looked entirely different, not like a village girl.

“Immortal master.”

Bai Ling looked at her hand, touched her red cheeks, feeling shy.

Since seven, when scales appeared, she noticed her skin became fairer.

Her appearance grew prettier.

But Madam Zhao said it was bad, and covered her in dirt.

So with the dirt gone, revealing her true looks, she felt unused to it, shy.

Madam Zhao was stunned seeing this.

She knew Bai Ling looked good, her skin better than city girls’.

So she covered her in dirt daily.

Almost forgetting Bai Ling’s natural beauty.

Seeing this, she thought no wonder the immortal master noticed her.

“Don’t worry, no need to hide before me anymore.”

Lu Changsheng patted her head, smiling.

Though a little girl, everyone loves beauty.

Surely she didn’t like her face covered in dirt all the time.

“Mmm, Bai Ling listens to the immortal master.”

Bai Ling nodded obediently.

Her big eyes filled with joy.

Just as Lu Changsheng guessed, she didn’t like dirt on her face.

Who doesn’t love beauty?

“Buzz!”

Lu Changsheng patted the Storage Bag, and exquisite dresses appeared.

“Which one do you like?”

Lu Changsheng smiled.

While shopping in Qingyun Market Town, he bought around thirty sets of magical clothes for his children.

Having found a cute girl, he wouldn’t hold back on gifting clothes, planning to dress her beautifully.

After all, wouldn’t he offer benefits to those around him?

“Is the immortal giving me one?”

Seeing the colorful, exquisite dresses, Bai Ling’s eyes widened.

She had never seen such beautiful clothes.

She couldn’t describe them, utterly dazzled.

“Why is the immortal so good to me?”

Her eyes suddenly welled up.

Apart from Madam Zhao, no one had been so kind to her.

Just meeting, she got a name and was gifted precious clothes, making her head spin, shy to accept.

“You agreed to come with me; I should treat you well.”

Lu Changsheng replied, smiling and ruffling her hair.

Then gently said, “You can call me brother.”

“Brother.”

Bai Ling paused, feeling a strange stirring inside.

Then bit her lip shyly, “Brother.”

“Haha, good, so pick one.”

Lu Changsheng ruffled her hair, smiling.

Bai Ling looked at them, finally choosing a white dress.

Because she never wore such clean clothes.

The brother said she wouldn’t be dirty anymore, so she wanted to stay clean.

Madam Zhao watched, feeling blessed for the child and her future happiness.