Chapter 237: Chapter 236: No Faults to Find

After five days and nights of travel, Wu Chen and Sun Yuting finally reached the borders of Cold Rain City’s territory.

Looking out from a distance, they saw a landscape of mountains and rivers shrouded in a rising mist.

They had arrived early in the morning, and golden rays of light pierced through the clouds, their glow outlining the cascading silhouettes of the distant mountains.

Below, wisps of cooking smoke curled into the air, and the sounds of crowing roosters and barking dogs rose and fell in a scene of perfect tranquility.

The sight was incredibly pleasant and soothing.

Gazing at the view for a moment, Wu Chen stretched to ward off the fatigue from their long journey and said with a smile:

"A scene like this makes one want to compose a poem."

Hearing this, the weariness on Sun Yuting’s face, who had rarely rested along the way, instantly vanished.

Her interest was piqued, and she looked at Wu Chen with sparkling eyes:

"You can compose poetry?"

"Of course."

After spending four or five days together, Wu Chen had gradually become more talkative with her. Moreover, she had boiled water and cooked their meals along the way, showing none of the arrogance expected of a member of the Royal family. This experience had naturally brought them closer.

"Quick, let this Captain hear it!" Sun Yuting’s interest grew even stronger.

After all, to be able to recite poetry, even if not at the level of a literary master, one had to be well-versed in the classics, both ancient and modern, to make such a bold claim.

Otherwise, one would just end up a laughingstock.

"The poem is titled ’Mountain’." Wu Chen gazed at the mountain range and announced the title first.

Sun Yuting grew impatient and urged, "Get to the main part!"

Wu Chen cleared his throat, his expression turning solemn as he began:

"Mountain!"

"Mountain, mountain, mountain, mountain, mountain,"

"There are mountains everywhere."

"A mountain to the left,"

"A mountain to the right."

"Still a mountain up ahead,"

"And behind me, what do you guess?"

The corner of Sun Yuting’s mouth twitched. Her mind was too shocked to process it, and she replied numbly, "What?"

"Silly!"

Wu Chen shook his head in exasperation. "Of course it’s a mountain, too!"

The twitching at the corner of Sun Yuting’s mouth grew more intense, and her delicate face even began to wrinkle slightly.

’You call this a poem?’

’Does this even deserve to be called a poem?’

She shook her head. ’I guess no one can be perfect. Having strength and good looks is enough. I’ll just have to put up with the rest.’

Having recited his doggerel and noticing the young woman’s disappointment, Wu Chen didn’t feel particularly embarrassed.

Of course, he could have easily recited a few famous lines, like "Its torrent dashes down three thousand feet from high, as if the Silver River were falling from the sky."

Or perhaps, "Far up the cold mountain, the stone path is steep; where white clouds arise, there are houses to be seen."

Or even, "Fear not the floating clouds that block your sight, for you are already at the highest height."

But all of those belonged to others, not to him.

Only the one he had just recited was truly his own work!

"Actually, if you think about it, it’s quite interesting."

The two rested for a short while, taking pills and meditating for about fifteen minutes. Once their breathing was smooth and most of their energy was restored, the young woman suddenly blurted this out.

It seemed that although she had looked down on the poem, she had been mulling it over in her mind while she was meditating.

She said with a smile:

"The whole poem is simple and unadorned, the words are solid, and for this place, it’s actually quite fitting. It’s hard to find any real fault with it."

Wu Chen nodded and gave Sun Yuting a thumbs-up. "I knew you had good taste, Miss Sun! A true connoisseur!"

"You smooth-talker!" Sun Yuting naturally noticed that Wu Chen’s attitude toward her was no longer as stiff as before. She feigned annoyance, but she had to admit... it felt nice.

After exchanging a few more jokes, the two led their horses and continued along the small path.

They walked for a long time until the sky was bright. Wu Chen glanced around at the mountains, then stopped.

"Miss Sun, what do you think about delaying our visit to the Cold Rain City Demon Suppression Bureau for a few days?"

"Delay it?"

Sun Yuting thought for a moment and quickly understood Wu Chen’s meaning:

"You’re saying we should prepare for the worst-case scenario—assume the Cold Rain City Demon Suppression Bureau and City Defense Department are behind this. We’ll investigate secretly to catch them off guard, making it easier to get to the bottom of everything!"

Wu Chen nodded. "After all, even though it’s still the Demon Suppression Bureau, we’re ultimately strangers in a strange land. Besides, in a remote place like Cold Rain City, the heavens are high and the emperor is far away. There’s no guarantee what the Demon Suppression Bureau and City Defense Department have become."

Hearing this, Sun Yuting also fell into deep thought.

What Wu Chen said was highly possible. If Cold Rain City was colluding with the Blood Slaughter Sect or flirting with some other Demon Path, the two of them showing up would be like walking right into a trap.

It wasn’t even out of the question that they could be refined into potent elixirs.

At that point, Cold Rain City could simply send a carrier pigeon, adamantly claiming that no one from the Cangwu City Demon Suppression Bureau ever arrived. By the time Cangwu City sent more people, they would likely meet the same fate.

"Before we left, I sent a carrier pigeon to Cold Rain City, stating that reinforcements from Cangwu City would arrive within a month."

Sun Yuting said, "We’ve already spent five days on the road. From here, it would take about four or five days of hard riding to get back to Cangwu City."

"By that calculation, we have about twenty days to search for clues about the missing townspeople outside the city. That’s plenty of time."

After all, they had only sent a young man from the Cangwu City Demon Suppression Bureau this time.

If it had been any other Cloud Pattern Captain, they would most likely have been busy with other matters. They would have had to wait ten to fifteen days for that person to be free, then add a few more days for the journey to Cold Rain City. All told, it would have taken nearly a month anyway.

As for traveling to the distant Cold Rain City with someone less powerful, Sun Yuting would be lying if she said she wasn’t afraid.

Wu Chen nodded. "Alright. Then let’s keep moving forward toward Cold Rain City, but we’ll stick to the villages and towns along the way. We can see if we can find any traces of the missing people."

Sun Yuting knew there was nothing wrong with following Wu Chen’s plan, especially since his strength far surpassed others in the Leakless Realm.

"From now on, you can take the lead."

She said, "If anything happens, I’ll follow your orders."

"If it comes to a fight, I’ll cover you."

Wu Chen nodded with a light smile. "I’ll be counting on you then, Miss Sun."

He wasn’t looking down on Sun Yuting’s offer to cover him. After all, she came from the Royal family, had dared to join the Demon Suppression Bureau, and was willing to face danger. She surely had some life-saving trump cards up her sleeve.

She couldn’t be underestimated.

’But I probably won’t need you to cover me...’

As the two continued on their way, Wu Chen took the opportunity to look at his panel:

[Deep Red Host] Wu Chen

[Martial Arts Realm] Armor Forging Realm, First Layer

[Martial Arts & Cultivation Techniques] ’Vein-Cutting Dragon-Catching Hand · Treasured’ ’Mountain-Shattering Steps · Treasured’ ’Mountain-Breaking Saber · Treasured’ ’Cold Qi Body Refining Skill · Treasured’...

After he had looked over the Leakless Realm Martial Arts that Sun Yuting had given him as an advance,

Wu Chen’s realm had advanced from the Ninth Layer of the Leakless Realm to the First Layer of the Armor Forging Realm the very next day.

The aura within his body had also grown much denser.

’I guess I’ve finally joined the ranks of the Grandmasters. If we run into any real crisis on this trip, protecting one young woman shouldn’t be a problem.’

Wu Chen chuckled to himself. ’If it’s just some ordinary martial artists causing trouble in Cold Rain City, I should be able to end the fight before she even has time to react.’

’Why bother with something as troublesome as having her cover me...’

A smile crept onto Wu Chen’s lips. The steady and solid advancement of his realm gave him a great sense of security.

They walked until dusk, stopping before a small village.

The village was situated on a flat patch of land at the foot of a mountain. With about seventy or eighty households, it was the largest of the three or four villages they had passed along the way.

The courtyard walls of every home were built from foot-long mountain stones, standing seven or eight feet high and looking quite sturdy.

"Shall we stay in this village for the night?" Wu Chen looked to Sun Yuting, seeking her opinion.

Sun Yuting nodded. "I already said you’re in charge. I’ll follow your lead."

Wu Chen nodded. Hearing a sincere response instead of a dismissive "whatever," his favorable impression of her grew even stronger.

"Alright, let’s wander around a bit and see if we can find a suitable household."

The two began to wander through the village. After making a circuit, they found a courtyard that didn’t quite fit in.

While the other houses had stone walls, this one had a thorny bamboo fence.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.