Hearing this, not only Su Zhen was dumbfounded, but a strange look also flashed across Su Qingxue's pretty face.
As one of the top beauties in Lvteng City, Su Qingxue had men lining up around the city who dreamed of marrying her.
Thinking of this, Su Qingxue could not help feeling somewhat annoyed, her cold and pretty face frosting over.
Su Zhen stood there in a daze for a moment. Recovering his senses, he hurriedly asked, "Lin Chuan, why is that?"
Lin Chuan's eyes were exceptionally clear and pure, like an ancient, undisturbed deep pool, crystal-clear to the bottom.
"Uncle Su, to tell you the truth, my trip down the mountain is precisely to cancel the engagement. Those who practice Daoism must not be tainted by worldly attachments; my aspiration is to inherit the Daoist scriptures. Let us drop the matter of the marriage, and I hope Uncle Su will understand."
Although he had come down the mountain to help the nine fated women survive their predestined tribulations, it would be best if he could take this opportunity to cancel the engagement.
Since this concerned his ability to advance further in his cultivation, he could not afford to take the matter lightly.
At this moment, Su Qingxue also nodded, her cold and delicate face full of annoyance. "Dad, I want to make my own decisions about my marriage! If anyone is going to call off the engagement, it should be me!"
"Nonsense! Dad is doing this for your own good. You don't understand now, but you will later!" Su Zhen scolded with a straight face, then turned to Lin Chuan with a warm and amiable expression.
"Lin Chuan, it's a good thing that you are devoted to the Dao, but marriage is a major event in life. I won't ask you to marry Qingxue right away. You young people just need to spend more time together and feelings will naturally develop. Don't you agree?"
Hearing this, Su Qingxue gave Lin Chuan a surprised look. For as long as she could remember, she had never heard her usually strong and steady father say such a thing. What on earth was the background of this handsome young man wearing a Daoist robe and a hair bun?
Just as Su Qingxue was wondering about Lin Chuan's background, Lin Chuan shook his head. "Uncle Su, my mind is made up. There's no need to try to persuade me further."
Su Zhen knew that if he just spoke like this, Lin Chuan definitely wouldn't change his mind. The boy had never been down the mountain, was simple-natured, and knew nothing of the world. Perhaps he needed to try a different approach.
Thinking of this, Su Zhen chuckled. "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Let's not speak of this for now. First, let Qingxue show you to your room. From today onwards, you will stay here."
With that, Su Zhen gave Su Qingxue a wink.
Although Su Qingxue was somewhat displeased that her father was letting a complete stranger stay in their home, she still stood up and said to Lin Chuan, "Follow me."
"Really? Haha!"
Overjoyed, Lin Chuan thought that such a big and beautiful house must certainly be much more comfortable to live in than the drafty, dilapidated shack on the mountain.
All the way down the mountain to Lvteng City, whenever he was hungry he picked wild fruits or caught wild chickens, whenever he was thirsty he drank morning dew, and he slept in the trees and on the ground.
If he hadn't happened to run into a kind watermelon vendor halfway, he probably would have needed another ten days to half a month to reach Lvteng City.
With that, Su Qingxue led Lin Chuan out of the study.
Walking down the villa's corridor, Lin Chuan looked around in curiosity. This was a villa of ultra-modern design, decorated to the absolute height of luxury.
The first floor featured an exceptionally spacious living room furnished with a massive leather sofa. Aside from the sofa, there was also a pool table, a bar counter, and a wine cabinet behind the bar.
There was even an indoor swimming pool, right next to which was a hot spring tub.
Aside from extreme luxury, Lin Chuan could not think of any other word to describe this villa.
Looking around like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, Lin Chuan maintained a childlike curiosity about everything.
Su Qingxue, meanwhile, was secretly sizing up Lin Chuan, wondering to herself what his background could be.
To be honest, her first impression of Lin Chuan wasn't bad. Although he wore a Daoist robe and a hair bun like someone out of ancient times, he had a tall, slender figure and was very good-looking.
The washed-white Daoist robe on him actually gave off an ethereal, otherworldly vibe.
Most importantly, Lin Chuan's eyes were clear and pure, which was what made her feel most at ease.
There were no wicked intentions or desires in the way Lin Chuan looked at her; she had never seen a man look at her with such clarity in his eyes.
Besides, although her consciousness had been hazy when she was unconscious earlier, Lin Chuan hadn't taken advantage of her or touched her inappropriately—anyone else would probably have pounced on her long ago.
Thinking of this, Su Qingxue could not help asking, "Lin Chuan, are you really a Daoist priest on the mountain?"
Lin Chuan nodded. "That's right. If my masters hadn't insisted that I come down, I wouldn't have come down at all."
"Why did they make you come down?"
"To help you survive your predestined tribulation."
Su Qingxue: "......"
Su Qingxue could tell that Lin Chuan must have practiced Daoism on the mountain until his brain went mushy. In today's society, who still believed in fate and destiny?
She shook her head, quickened her pace to walk ahead of Lin Chuan, and stopped walking side by side with him.
It was morning and the lighting was bright. Su Qingxue was wearing a rather tight red dress and black silk high heels.
At a single glance, Lin Chuan could see the voluptuous curves of Su Qingxue hidden beneath the thin fabric swaying from side to side. It made his heart flutter, nearly causing him to lose his Daoist state of mind.
He hurriedly recited the Cleansing Heart Incantation a few times to suppress the restlessness in his heart, but didn't dare look at Su Qingxue again.
"Indeed! Women in the lower world are tigers! The great monk at Dafu Temple said that a woman at thirty is like a wolf, at forty like a tiger, at fifty can suck the earth dry just sitting on it, and at sixty can ride and dance well—not a single word of it is false."
The two of them walked through a long corridor and arrived at the innermost room on the second floor of the villa.
After giving Lin Chuan a few brief instructions, Su Qingxue was just about to leave when she witnessed a sight that left her dumbfounded.
She saw Lin Chuan lying on the soft, large bed, a look of grief and indignation on his face.
"This bed is so soft! How is one supposed to cultivate while sleeping on such a soft bed? Don't even think about destroying my Daoist heart!"
With that, Lin Chuan sprang up from the bed with a bounce, carried the room's table onto the bed, and lay down to sleep right on top of the table.
"You......"
Su Qingxue parted her lips, wanting to say something, but ultimately said nothing and walked straight out. She needed to take a shower and forget about all the vexing troubles of today!
After Su Qingxue left, Lin Chuan nodded in satisfaction, then his brow furrowed.
"My masters said that this Su Qingxue will face a predestined tribulation, and only by helping her survive it can I deepen my comprehension of the cultivation techniques. I wonder what kind of tribulation she has to face."
Lin Chuan extended his right hand, pressing his thumb against his other four fingers, but his frown only deepened.
He found himself unable to enter the state of divination and cartomancy; his mind was an absolute blank.
What was going on here?
Ever since he could remember, he had never experienced such a situation.
"A mind like a clear mirror, embracing the primal and guarding the One, impervious to all evils......"
Lin Chuan silently recited the Daoist mental formula for clearing the heart and mind, trying to force himself into a state of meditation.
Yet, what surfaced in his mind was not the scriptures of usual days, but rather Su Qingxue's swaying, graceful figure from just moments before.
Su Qingxue's charming and beautiful face, her snow-white and smooth breasts, her slender and round thighs, and her full, plump buttocks flashed past like a revolving lantern.
Lin Chuan could not help feeling panicked. Before he had even helped Su Qingxue survive her tribulation, he was already falling into inner demons—how could that do?
At eighteen years of age, having lived on Qingliang Mountain for eighteen years, this was the first time he had ever sensed the existence of inner demons.
His original mind was as pure as a maiden's; he had never been down the mountain, yet in less than ten days he had been tainted by the distracting thoughts of the mortal world.
"I am a peerless genius of Qingliang Mountain, seen once in ten thousand years! Mere inner demons are nothing to speak of!"
Lin Chuan took a deep breath, his gaze resolute, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and began to battle the distracting thoughts in his mind.
His inner self was like a clear lake, and the distracting thoughts were merely garbage floating on the water's surface; clearing them out was not difficult.
After a long while, he let out a long breath and broke into a smile.
He had finally severed his inner demons. Now he had returned to that clear state of mind, free from all distractions.
However, a layer of black, foul-smelling sludge had appeared all over his body. Seeing this, Lin Chuan instead heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
"The Five Decays of Heaven and Man, the Nine Transformations of the Transforming Dragon—this is already the seventh marrow-cleansing! I didn't expect that severing my inner demons would actually cause my cultivation to break through!"
Overjoyed by this unexpected harvest, Lin Chuan felt an urge to rush back up to Qingliang Mountain immediately to tell his masters that he had broken through to yet another minor realm.
Dancing with joy, Lin Chuan took another set of Daoist robes from his luggage and headed toward the bathroom.
As he reached the corner, Lin Chuan's ears twitched, and he suddenly heard a faint rustling sound.
The sound was coming from the innermost room around the corner.
"Could there be evildoers? Could this be Su Qingxue's predestined tribulation?"
At this thought, Lin Chuan's expression turned icy. What kind of petty scoundrels dared to act presumptuously in front of him?
With a flash of movement, stepping on lotus flowers, he instantly arrived in front of a glass window at the end of the corridor.
Lin Chuan grabbed the handle of the sliding door and gave it a slight, forceful tug.
With a deafening crash, the entire glass door was yanked right off by Lin Chuan.
Yet, behind the door was not the imagined evildoer, but Su Qingxue, who was in the middle of taking a shower and was now staring at Lin Chuan in utter shock.
Coming into Lin Chuan's view was a tender, white back—slender and alluring, as smooth and fair as a little lamb.
At that moment, she was completely naked, her long hair tied up and secured at the back of her head with a white hair ribbon.
Because her back was turned to Lin Chuan, her front could not be seen, but even so, those full, plump, blood-pumping buttocks, straight and slender white legs, and a willow waist as thin as an A4 sheet of paper instantly formed the most stunning scenery imaginable.
Silence.
Dead silence.
Five seconds later.
A high-pitched scream, piercing enough to shatter human eardrums, suddenly erupted from behind the glass door!