He looked back and saw a horse catching up from behind the caravan, with a young woman in white sitting on its back.
This woman was extraordinarily beautiful, even more so than Li Ruyu, but she possessed not the typical beauty but a striking, dashing air.
In her hand was a wine flask, and a longsword hung by the horse; her hair was tied into a long ponytail, fluttering in the wind as she rode, creating a vibrant and carefree scene in the setting sun.
This picture caused Fang Zhou to become momentarily distracted, and the woman in white rode up to him, gave a cheerful whistle in his direction.
Fang Zhou snapped back to reality, immediately realizing he was being flirted with.
The woman in white playfully shook her wine flask towards Fang Zhou and teased, "Young man, why do you look so lonesomely bored? How about joining me for a drink? My treat."
Damn your lonesome boredom!
Fang Zhou shook his head and responded, "Thanks, but I don't like drinking."
The woman in white laughed again, "Why not? Are you afraid of throwing up? Don't worry, I never throw up no matter how much I drink. Of course, if it's somewhere else, that's none of my business, haha."
Fang Zhou's face turned dark, thinking to himself that she was also a hooligan, making bawdy jokes right off the bat.
At this moment, the disciples from the Xuanji Sect ahead finally noticed the commotion and called out, "What's going on?"
Li Ruyu from the front immediately turned her horse around and came galloping over, staring solemnly at the woman in white; Fang Zhou had never seen her with such a serious expression before.
Li Ruyu greeted the woman in white with a bow, "We are disciples of the Xuanji Sect, may I ask why you are here?"
The woman in white waved her hand dismissively, "Nothing much, just chatting with this young man for a bit."
Li Ruyu looked displeased, "Please respect yourself and refrain from harassing male companions of the Xuanji Sect."
Fang Zhou's face darkened again. Male companions? FML!!
"My apologies for that, excuse me," the woman in white said seemingly courteously, yet without a hint of embarrassment. She spurred her horse gently and swiftly overtook the caravan, moving ahead.
Fang Zhou clearly saw the woman in white give him a wink before she departed.
Once the woman in white left, Li Ruyu turned back to Fang Zhou and warned, "These are dangerous times, junior brother. Do not show off your presence to avoid attracting the bad intentions of evildoers."
Fang Zhou felt a flame of annoyance surge up, thinking to himself, are you implying that I'm inviting trouble?
Besides, you're calling others evildoers? I think you're the biggest one.
It's infuriating.
"Understood, Senior Sister."
Fang Zhou replied with a smile, feeling as if his acting skills were on par with winning an Oscar.
He then asked, "Senior Sister, was that woman in white very formidable?"
Li Ruyu shook her head, "It's hard to say. In the future, if we encounter such individuals, we should avoid provoking them."
The incident was just a minor interruption, and the group continued onward.
The sun set, and evening came; the caravan arrived at the base of a mountain and stopped in front of a dilapidated Mountain God Temple to spend the night.
The door of the Mountain God Temple was rotten. The carriages were left outside, while the horses were led inside the temple.
The Mountain God Temple was somewhat deserted, with overgrown weeds in corners. It wasn't very spacious; the main hall was separated from the entrance by a courtyard. Inside the main hall, there was a Mountain God Statue with an indistinct face, and the murals on both sides were flaking and faded.
Scorched pieces of wood from campfires littered the ground in front of the shrine, presumably from past travelers.
A few disciples from the Xuanji Sect started to busy themselves, making a fire and boiling water for dinner, which consisted of dried food and some wild game they had caught on the way.
These disciples were just ordinary members of the Xuanji Sect, their status nowhere near that of Li Ruyu, thus they were responsible for such miscellaneous tasks along the journey.
Li Ruyu wasn't idle either, she took a charcoal stick and drew several hidden exorcism charms and alert measures around the Mountain God Temple. Staying overnight in the wilderness necessitated such precautions, or else lonely ghosts and wild spirits might take advantage of the darkness to encroach.
After finishing, Li Ruyu and several fellow disciples of the Xuanji Sect gathered to share their cultivation experiences and insights, mostly them asking and Li Ruyu answering, since she was at the Foundation Establishment Realm while the rest were only at the Qi Refinement Realm.
Fang Zhou didn't join them but stayed alone in a side hall, which was clean despite a hole in the wall that was covered with thatch to keep out the wind.
Inside the side hall, there was also a damaged deity statue with a dog's head lying on the ground.
Before long, Li Ruyu brought food to the side hall and set it down, not leaving immediately.
Under her blatant ogling, Fang Zhou felt his appetite wane, and he only ate a few bites before stopping.
"Junior brother, why are you eating so little?"
"Heh, not hungry."
Li Ruyu naturally and skillfully took Fang Zhou's hand and said affectionately, "Junior brother, you must take good care of yourself. If you're weary, your Senior Sister will feel heartache."
Fang Zhou felt goosebumps all over his body; he withdrew his hand, feeling awkward, "I'll be careful, Senior Sister."
Li Ruyu leaned closer to Fang Zhou, their faces nearly touching, "Junior Brother, how are you going to repay me for my kindness towards you?"
Fang Zhou hurriedly stepped back, "In the future, if Senior Sister needs anything, just say the word, and I won't hesitate to help."
Li Ruyu chuckled softly, "I need your help right now, Junior Brother."
Fang Zhou forced a smile, "With what?"
Damn, she's not going to ask me to help her relieve it, is she?
Li Ruyu licked her lips with her red tongue, her gaze fixated on Fang Zhou, "I encountered some complications during my cultivation, and now there's a flaming energy within my body, can you help me get rid of it?"
Fang Zhou was shocked; he didn't expect Li Ruyu to be so blunt.
[New quest triggered]
[Difficulty: Normal]
[Reward: 4x Manliness points, 1x blue card]
[Failure: Lose Virginity]
Fang Zhou didn't expect to trigger a new quest at this time; he didn't get a chance to look closely because Li Ruyu already lunged at him with open arms.
Fang Zhou quickly dodged to the side, shouting loudly, "Senior Sister Li, please have some self-respect, our Master wouldn't want to see you act like this towards me!"
Hearing Fang Zhou bring up their Master, Li Ruyu hesitated slightly.
She stood up, straightened her clothes, and said, "Junior Brother is right, I was reckless. I hope you won't tell our Master about this. You should rest early as well, we have to get up early tomorrow."
After saying that, Li Ruyu gave Fang Zhou a deep look, with a mysterious smile, she turned around and left the side hall.
Fang Zhou breathed a sigh of relief; the thing he had been worried about ultimately happened—the crazy woman really wanted to force herself on him, but why did she back off so easily?
The newly triggered quest also didn't indicate success; if the difficulty of this quest was normal and the last one was easy, it didn't make sense for normal to be easier than easy.
Fang Zhou thought for a moment and broke out in a cold sweat.
Motherfucker, this crazy woman will surely come back tonight, mentioning her Master's name won't scare her at all.
Should I run?
Fang Zhou considered it for a moment, hesitating. Not to mention being in the middle of nowhere, he couldn't outrun Li Ruyu. Besides, Li Yuyu had already set up an alarm outside the temple; any attempt to flee would definitely get noticed.
Time ticked by second by second; Fang Zhou thought about strategies but couldn't come up with any countermeasures. He just felt his body getting hotter, beginning to sweat.
His consciousness also became somewhat dull, as sleepiness washed over him like a tidal wave.
But he quickly realized something was not right; his spirit had been strengthened, and after spending the whole day in a carriage, there was no reason for him to be this exhausted.
He bit down hard on his tongue, using pain to fight the drowsiness.
After enduring for at least an hour, Fang Zhou felt the sleepiness gradually recede.
But immediately after, his skin turned red and burning hot.
"Could it be... was there something in the food I ate tonight?"
"Yes!"
Li Ruyu's voice suddenly came from outside the side hall, startling Fang Zhou.
He quickly turned his head and saw Li Ruyu walking in from outside the hall.
She was only draped in a thin layer of gauze, and under the gauze, she wore nothing, giving Fang Zhou a clear view of everything.
"What did you put in it?"
"It's an aphrodisiac. I spiked it with an aphrodisiac," she said.
Li Ruyu walked toward Fang Zhou step by step, with a triumphant smile on her face.
Fang Zhou stepped back inch by inch, "Don't come any closer, or I'll scream."
Li Ruyu laughed, "Go ahead and scream. No one will come to your rescue even if you scream your throat sore."
Damn, I don't want to play out this cliché scenario at all.
Fang Zhou cursed silently, but he knew that Li Ruyu was confident without fear; they were in the wilderness with no outsiders around, and those Xuanji Sect disciples outside were all Li Ruyu's sycophants, even less likely to come to his aid.
Li Ruyu approached Fang Zhou, her eyes red, breathing heavily, "I didn't want to resort to this, Junior Brother, you forced me. But no matter, after tonight, you'll be mine, and you'll definitely forgive me."