Chapter 12: Jing Ru

"I was serious...why are you laughing like that?" Yi Chen couldn’t help but frown when he saw Feng Yu laughing like that.

Hearing this, the amusement in Feng Yu’s eyes only increased, and so did her laughter.

"What about you then? What are your likes and dislikes?" Yi Chen counter-questioned with a snort when Feng Yu had finally calmed down.

"Me? Uhmm...It would be gardening and painting. I have a small garden in my courtyard filled with jasmine and lilies. It was actually because of my desire to capture these flowers’ beauty on paper that I also picked up painting later on..."

Feng Yu answered with a bright expression as her gaze fell on the beautiful flowers that were resting on the pond’s surface.

Yi Chen had asked this question to make fun of her just the way she had done earlier, but after hearing them, he couldn’t help but feel stumped.

’Her likes are really impressive and productive, unlike mine...’ he thought to himself, but not willing to give up, he further asked.

"I see, so what about your dislikes then?"

"My dislikes..." The brightness in Feng Yu’s eyes faded the next moment, and a shade of sorrow took over it.

A part of her wanted to avoid this question, but another part didn’t want to tell a lie to Yi Chen. In the end, the latter won.

"...It’s going outside the residence. I don’t like being glanced at by other people...the sense of disgust in their eyes when they look at me, it’s stifling..."

’Shit...’ Seeing that he had asked something he shouldn’t have, Yi Chen immediately tried to correct the situation.

"Don’t worry!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm and said while pointing his thumb towards himself, "Even if the whole world treats you like that, my eyes will always carry the same warmth for you as they do now."

A confident expression formed on Yi Chen’s face when he finished, as a particular string of thought rang in his mind, ’It’s good that my friends aren’t in this world...I can clearly imagine their cringed faces right now,’

However, his words seemed to have done their work.

’This...’ A warm smile formed on Feng Yu’s face when she heard his words. Looking at his confident smile, a sense of ease grew in her heart, and she responded with a meek nod, "T-Thank you,"

"O-Oh..Yes," A bit taken aback by the sudden change in her disposition, Yi Chen responded awkwardly before asking her a few miscellaneous questions to change the atmosphere.

A short while later, they were back in the carriage and heading back.

Just like before, Yi Chen devoted himself to understanding the concepts of the book during the journey.

Meanwhile, Feng Yu enjoyed the passing scenery outside the window while glancing at Yi Chen from time to time with a subtle smile on her face.

Neeehh!

All of a sudden, the horses neighed, and the carriage came to a halt. Taken by surprise, Feng Yu’s figure flung forward and almost hit the ground when Yi Chen’s arms saved her from the fall.

Feeling Yi Chen’s arm brush against her chest, Feng Yu’s entire face turned red.

"I-I’m sorry," Yi Chen immediately changed his arm’s position and helped her back to the seat.

"I-It’s alright...you only wanted to help..." Feng Yu stated, although still very embarrassed.

’Bloody hell! These situations looked so good to watch and read in those shows and novels, but now all I feel is embarrassment,’ Yi Chen cursed in his mind as he sat back on his seat, not daring to meet Feng Yu’s eyes.

"Miss...there seems to be someone lying on the path," the coachman’s voice came the next moment.

Finding someone to direct his frustration towards, Yi Chen immediately cursed, "Just which bastard would lie in front of the path!"

With that said, he got out of the carriage to give that person a dose of his frustration, but froze the very moment his eyes fell upon the individual.

An elderly woman dressed in black and red tattered hanfu was lying in the middle of the dirt road with no care for the world. Even though she was unconscious, her being exuded an aura that demanded respect.

That’s how it looked to a normal individual. However, to Yi Chen, it was not limited to this.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Name: Jing Ru

Age: 2978 years

Cultivation: ??? (Insufficient Level)

Strength: ??? (Insufficient Level)

Extra:

Came from a Higher Realm. You’d better not provoke her.

++++++++++++++++++++++++

’!!!’

Yi Chen’s frustration evaporated like water the very next moment when he saw the extra information given in the status panel.

’I almost got myself killed...’ Yi Chen shuddered in thought. If not for his ability, he would have been done for.

’I never thought that this ability would be of such great help...’ Yi Chen sighed in relief while thanking the purple orb for giving him something like that.

By now, Feng Yu has also come out of the carriage and was looking at the elderly woman who was lying in front of them. From the material of her clothes, she could guess that the woman came from a good household.

Sensing this, she walked forward to check up on her.

"Yu’er, I think you should let the coachman do it..." Yi Chen said with caution in his voice.

"She’s just an old lady, there’s nothing to worry about," Sensing the worry in his voice, Feng Yu mentioned with a smile.

’It’s exactly because she’s not just an old lady that I’m warning you...’ Yi Chen complained in his mind, but he couldn’t explain that to her.

As a result, Yi Chen walked along with her to the old lady.

’If something goes wrong, I’ll immediately grab her and escape,’ he thought to himself as the two soon reached near the old lady.

Now that they were closer, they couldn’t help but frown. Her robes were torn in many places, and the layer of sweat and dirt covering her immaculate face told them that she had been through a lot.

"Strange...there are no wounds," Feng Yu thought out loud in confusion. Although the old lady’s clothes were in tatters, there were no signs of injuries on her body.

However, unlike her, Yi Chen was a lot less confused and was busy analysing the situation, ’Isn’t this a typical battle scene aftermath...she must have fought some powerful foes, escaped with some secret treasure and somehow ended up here...’

It was at that time that Feng Yu lightly shook the old lady and tried to wake her up.

"Excuse me, Madam,"

However, no response came from the other side. She shook her a few more times but was met with no response.

"It looks like she’s in an unconscious state," Feng Yu finally said after checking the old lady’s breathing.

"Let’s take her to the residence. We can figure things out later," Yi Chen mentioned. By now, his initial fear had died down, and what he saw was an opportunity.

An opportunity to get stronger!

’If she’s a strong cultivator, then won’t she have various secret martial arts techniques? Heck, she might even make me her disciple if she finds me good enough!’ Yi Chen thought in excitement.

"Let’s do that then," Feng Yu agreed, not knowing how this trivial decision was going to bring massive changes to her life.