Heaven rewards diligence, but there are always fairies plotting against me.

Chu Chang handed the spoils of war, Song Qing's storage bag, and the high-grade spirit sword to Xu Shuang and Lin Ruoxue respectively, his expression calm, and he smiled slightly, saying, "Thank you for your help, these are for you."

The two women were slightly taken aback.

As a senior member of the Enforcement Hall, Song Qing must have a lot of good stuff on him.

This top-grade spirit sword was incredibly valuable, yet Chu Chang gave it away without even blinking an eye.

Xu Shuang didn't mince words and generously accepted the storage bag. She looked at Chu Chang with her beautiful eyes and said with admiration, "Your strength is much greater than I imagined. Even if I had taken that blow head-on, I would have been badly injured."

Lin Ruoxue took the high-grade spirit sword, her cold gaze falling on Chu Chang, and said in a complicated tone, "You've improved very quickly. To be honest, even without the two of us, you could have dealt with him just now. That strange short blade... is very strong."

Sensing the probing and apprehension in the two women's words, Chu Chang remained composed and smiled, "Senior Sisters are joking. Song Qing is, after all, an inner disciple, with countless tricks and trump cards up his sleeve. If you two hadn't taken the initiative to deplete most of his true energy and break through his psychological defenses, how could I have succeeded so easily? I merely got lucky."

These humble and appropriate words immediately eased the tense atmosphere considerably.

Xu Shuang was pleased and patted him on the shoulder, instructing him, "Alright, Song Qing is dead. I will take care of cleaning up the traces here and will not implicate you. However, your weapon is too malevolent; it's best to use it sparingly within the sect in the future."

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister. I understand." Chu Chang clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Xu Shuang nodded, then transformed into a streak of light and returned towards the sect. She needed to erase any clues about Song Qing's whereabouts.

Chu Chang, who remained where he was, prepared to continue his journey to Black Wind Valley to complete the mission of capturing the traitor Zhao Meng.

He had just turned around when he discovered that Lin Ruoxue had no intention of leaving; instead, she silently followed beside him.

Chu Chang looked at her with some surprise: "Senior Sister Ruoxue, what's going on?"

Lin Ruoxue slung her longsword behind her back, her expression still somewhat cold, but a barely perceptible glint of something else flashed in her beautiful eyes: "I've recently encountered a bottleneck in my cultivation, and I happen to have nothing to do at the sect. You're going to Black Wind Valley, and you might encounter demonic cultivators along the way. I'll accompany you, so it'll be good to have someone to look after you."

Lin Ruoxue is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. During these days of cultivation together, she has developed an inexplicable feeling for Chu Chang.

Now that she has the opportunity to be alone, she naturally doesn't want to miss it.

Chu Chang's heart stirred slightly. Looking at this elegant and refined ice queen, he had no reason to refuse. He nodded and smiled, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Sister."

Seeing the two of them, Xu Shuang's expression turned strange.

Why do these two seem so close?

…………

…………

…………

The two sped along, heading towards Black Wind Valley.

As night fell, darkness descended, and a solitary moon hung on the treetops.

Even martial artists feel a bit tired after a whole day of running around.

When they passed through a bustling town called "Qingshi Town", Chu Chang suggested that they stay there for the night.

Upon entering an elegantly decorated inn in town, Chu Chang, thinking that the relationship between the two had grown considerably along the way, was about to ask the innkeeper for a superior room when Lin Ruoxue spoke first, her clear, cold voice ringing out in the lobby: "Innkeeper, I'd like two adjacent superior rooms."

Chu swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and gave Lin Ruoxue a speechless look.

A slight blush rose on Lin Ruoxue's cheeks, but it was quickly concealed by her indifferent expression.

After paying for the room, the two sat down in a private booth by the window on the second floor and ordered a few exquisite side dishes.

Seeing Lin Ruoxue sitting upright, as if afraid others would notice something amiss, Chu Chang found it somewhat amusing and asked in a low voice, "Senior Sister Ruoxue, wouldn't it be enough for us to share a room? Isn't this a bit wasteful?"

Lin Ruoxue paused slightly in the hand holding the teacup.

She glanced at the few figures dressed in various sect attire occasionally passing by on the street outside the window, then turned her head and gave Chu Chang a helpless glare.

"Don't overthink it," Lin Ruoxue sighed softly, explaining, "This place is the only way to Black Wind Valley and the border of the Demonic Path, and it gathers many disciples from various sects, including many outer and inner disciples of our Divine Sword Sect. If acquaintances see the two of us coming and going together, or even... even sharing a room, and it gets back to the sect, who knows what nasty things they'll say. It wouldn't be good if they saw us."

After hearing this, Chu Chang suddenly realized what was going on.

Lin Ruoxue was, after all, the goddess in the hearts of countless male disciples in the sect, and her reputation was extremely high.

As she was still only a trainee disciple, any rumors that spread would indeed cause her considerable trouble.

"So, Senior Sister was protecting my reputation," Chu Chang teased deliberately.

"You smooth talker, hurry up and eat your food." Lin Ruoxue snorted lightly, concealing her inner panic, and took a sip of tea.

As night fell, the moon shone coolly like water.

In the next room, Lin Ruoxue was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her hands clasped together and placed on her lower abdomen.

She took a deep breath, and the "Ice Skin Jade Bone Technique" within her body began to circulate. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the surrounding void began to slowly converge towards her, transforming into wisps of cool silk threads that flowed into her meridians through her breath and pores.

As a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm, each breakthrough requires accumulating a massive amount of true essence.

Lin Ruoxue circulated her energy through the Small Heavenly Circuit, attempting to compress and purify the spiritual energy before finally channeling it into her dantian.

However, perhaps the bloody scene of killing Song Qing during the day had unsettled her, or perhaps some inexplicable thought was at play, but her cultivation tonight felt exceptionally sluggish. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was circulating extremely slowly in her meridians, even feeling somewhat depleted.

After circulating the energy for three full cycles, the true essence within his body only increased by a trace.

"call……"

Lin Ruoxue slowly opened her beautiful eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and a trace of helplessness flashed across her cool and pretty face.

While this cultivation speed is considered genius-level within the sect, it is indeed somewhat slower compared to Chu Chang's monstrous breakthrough speed.

She rubbed her temples in frustration and turned to look out the window.

It was already late at night, and the noise inside the inn had long since subsided, with the entire town of Qing Shi asleep.

Lin Ruoxue bit her red lips, her gaze involuntarily falling on the wall that was only one wall away from Chu Chang.

After hesitating in bed for a long time, she finally seemed to have made up her mind. She quietly gathered a wisp of true energy, transformed it into a thin thread, and transmitted her voice through the wall to the next room: "Are you asleep?"

In the next room, Chu Chang was also meditating with his eyes closed.

Hearing that clear, slightly trembling voice, he slowly opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips. He also sent a wisp of his divine sense through the wall, replying, "Senior Sister, is something wrong?"

"I can't sleep."

Soon, Lin Ruoxue's faint voice came from next door. Unlike her usual aloofness in front of her senior sister, her tone now carried a hint of girlish weakness and boredom.

"Since you can't sleep, why don't you meditate and cultivate? Cultivation is the best way to kill time," Chu Chang teased.

"I can't calm my mind tonight, and my cultivation is progressing very slowly." Lin Ruoxue sighed softly, her voice carrying a hint of resentment. "Every time I close my eyes, the image of Song Qing dying during the day, and... and that knife you stabbed, keeps flashing through my mind. And you, so heartless, are still able to sleep now."

Chu Chang chuckled and continued telepathically, "The path of martial arts is one of fierce competition. Song Qing brought about his own destruction, so Senior Sister need not worry. As for my strike... it was merely a desperate act of self-defense. If Senior Sister is afraid, perhaps I should throw away that treacherous weapon?"

"Nonsense, that was your trump card, why throw it away?" Lin Ruoxue said coquettishly, then her voice lowered again, "...I feel a bit cold being alone in this empty room. The soundproofing here doesn't seem to be very good either; I heard some strange noises outside just now."

Chu Chang understood immediately.

The town of Qing Shi is a melting pot of all sorts of people, and I did see a few suspicious-looking martial artists downstairs just now.

Although Lin Ruoxue is very strong, she is still just a young woman. In this environment, she is bound to be wary and have some unusual initiative.

"Senior Sister, the array formation in this inn is rudimentary and not very safe." Chu Chang's tone became more serious, and he hinted with a smile, "If you feel cold or uneasy being alone, my room is warm, and I happen to have some questions about the circulation of true essence, which I would like to ask you in person."

On the other side of the wall, Lin Ruoxue's pretty face turned bright red when she heard the words "ask for advice in person".

She inwardly cursed Chu Changming for asking a question he already knew the answer to, but the thought of being able to stay under the same roof as him instantly dispelled that inexplicable loneliness and anxiety.

"Then...you unlock the door, I'll come over." Lin Ruoxue's voice was almost inaudible; if Chu Chang hadn't had such strong spiritual sense, he would have almost missed it.

Hearing the faint sounds coming from next door, Chu Chang smiled slightly.