The Dragon Girl was also sowhat puzzled and asked in astonishnt, "General, why would you suddenly bring up Buddhism?"
Sha Chen replied, "It’s nothing. I just want to tell you that if you continue like this, your ultimate destiny may very well be with Buddhism."
The Dragon Girl exclaid in shock, "Impossible! I don’t want that."
Sha Chen said with a smile, "Firstly, you have a strong temper, and Wu Qu Xing is violent and unpredictable. The two of you are like fire and water, bound to have conflicts."
The Dragon Girl nodded in agreent. That was sothing she concurred with.
She, a prestigious Dragon Girl, how could she possibly be content to be bullied by soone else, let alone suffer dostic abuse?
Sha Chen then described to her several possible scenarios that might occur should she marry into the household of Wu Qu Xing, blending in so actual situations as well.
The Dragon Girl nodded frequently, deeply convinced.
Sha Chen continued, "In that case, you will have nowhere to turn. You will be hunted by the Heavenly Court, abandoned by the Dragon Clan, holess, and ultimately driven into a corner."
His words had already made the Dragon Girl unable to hold back her tears. It was as if she could already see her tragic future.
Sha Chen added, "In the end, Buddhism will appear to convert you, take you into their fold, and enlist you under their command."
He shook his head and sighed, "From then on, you would live in seclusion, estranged from your holand, without freedom."
THUMP.
The Dragon Girl once again knelt before Sha Chen, weeping bitterly. "General, save , save ! I don’t want it to be like that! I don’t want to join Buddhism, I don’t want to betray the Dragon Clan! I don’t want to, I really don’t..."
Then followed a long bout of sobbing, with tears streaming down her face.
Sha Chen smiled slightly, having anticipated this outco.
Without reaching the depths of despair, who can truly feel the pain? Joining Buddhism is rely a ans of escaping reality, after all. If it really ca down to the last step, it’s likely that nothing Sha Chen said could prevent the Dragon Girl from joining Buddhism. For those in despair, that indeed is a place of refuge. However, so have ulterior motives. They want to exploit those in despair to consolidate their own positions.
Sha Chen did not wish to let others have their way, as there were also those who wished to see him in despair and drag him into their own ranks.
But he did not want to join them. He only wanted to live idly, to stay safe at ho. The outside world was too safe for his liking, and joining Buddhism also involved fighting, striving for power, and being at others’ beck and call. He wouldn’t have his freedom. Sha Chen did not like that.
He stepped forward to lift the Dragon Girl to her feet and said, "You are a pitiable person; I also do not wish to see your future turn so miserable."
The Dragon Girl, with tears in her eyes, said, "General, save . I will be forever grateful and will surely repay you handsoly."
Sha Chen nodded and said, "I can tell, your family is quite wealthy."
He then said, "Solving your problem isn’t difficult, but it’s not easy either. It depends on whether you can endure loneliness and maintain a simple life."
The Dragon Girl asked in bewildernt, "You want to beco a nun directly?"
Sha Chen’s cheek twitched. In a way, it did seem sowhat similar. But that was not the case.
He explained, "What I an is, you should stay here for a while to lay low until the outside commotion dies down, and then you can leave."
The Dragon Girl nodded, finding it reasonable. Her escape from the marriage was, after all, to avoid the spotlight.
But was it really that simple?
Sha Chen seed to read her mind and smiled. "Don’t overthink it; it really is that simple."
"However, hiding here is different from hiding outside. Out there, you could be caught and taken back at any ti, because it’s difficult for you to truly escape from the control of those with Great Divine Power."
The Dragon Girl nodded. Although she was powerful, having reached the level of a Greater Primordial Golden Immortal, if the Heavenly Court or the Dragon Clan wanted to find her, there were plenty who would help. Her escape from marriage was, in reality, only wishful thinking.
"Won’t I be caught and taken back if I hide here?" The Dragon Girl frowned, sowhat incredulous.
Sha Chen laughed and said, "When you were outside, did you know the situation here?"
The Dragon Girl shook her head.
Sha Chen continued, "To put it bluntly, apart from Saints, no one knows what’s happening in here."
The Dragon Girl was overwheld with surprise and shock. Excitent followed.
If that were the case, it would indeed be a foolproof plan.
Sha Chen went on, "But let say this first, living here requires a fee, and we’ll go by the price we ntioned earlier."
Money was still necessary, after all.
The Dragon Girl, looking pitiable, said, "General, can’t you take pity on ?"
Sha Chen replied, "I think it’s you who should take pity on . I’m taking a big risk by sheltering you."
The Dragon Girl initially wanted to bargain, but after so thought, she felt that it would be quite unfair to Sha Chen. In fact, she considered offering Sha Chen more, as she did feel rather burdenso to him.
But Sha Chen, mistaking her intention to bargain, repeatedly insisted that the price could not be changed, as it was already agreed upon and there must be contract integrity.
The Dragon Girl said, "I actually wanted to increase your paynt, General, since I indeed have troubled you, but since you insist on no change, let’s leave it be."
Sha Chen paused, blinking.
He had acted too rashly.
「Subsequently, the Dragon Girl settled down at the Flowing Sand River.」
Sha Chen allocated a palace to her where she took residence, and she was not to easily co to his territory and disturb him.
Initially, the Dragon Girl still worried that Sha Chen might try to sneak in at night, so she secretly gripped her treasured sword as she slept. But after half a month, Sha Chen remained unmoved, imrsed in cultivation. Except for the occasional al, he hardly called for her. And even the als were very infrequent.
Ultimately, the Dragon Girl confird that she was being overly sentintal; Sha Chen truly had no interest in her. With a sigh of relief in her heart, she couldn’t help but curse under her breath.
What kind of man is he?
However, because of this, she was able to put her mind at ease and focus on cultivation, improving herself while living there. The only way for her to improve was to consu cultivation resources and then sleep to enhance her powers; there was no other good thod.
Improving through sleep felt fine at first, but as ti passed, even a mber of the Dragon Clan who could withstand solitude began to feel restless. After all, this place was deathly silent and deserted; the highlight of each month was being called to eat by Sha Chen. Moreover, Sha Chen cooked while she was fast asleep to avoid disturbing her, which ant she felt even less involved. The boredom and solitude grew even more pronounced.
The Dragon Girl couldn’t understand how she, a Dragon Girl, couldn’t stand this life, yet Sha Chen, a grown man, could bear it. After witnessing how Sha Chen lived as a recluse, she was convinced that this man could endure it.
He was practically a demon.
Sha Chen was unfazed by this lifestyle and seed even happier than before.
Because now, soone was cultivating with him, and he didn’t even have to share his cultivation resources. Having soone live with him ant receiving cultivation resources while getting paid for the occasional al. No disturbances and extra money to boot. He was making a killing. He wished more people like this would co—of course, under the condition that they posed no threat and had deep pockets to afford the rent. If it were freeloaders like Zhu Bajie or the Black Bear Spirit, he would eagerly use a broom to chase them away. Lady Di Yong, the Spider Spirit, and the Jade Rabbit were a different matter; they brought mixed feelings to him. They paid, but not rent.
「On this particular day, Sha Chen was cultivating.」
He hadn’t received the Tao Te Ching yet, as the crisis concerning the Dragon Girl had not been resolved.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and said, "What’s the matter? Didn’t we agree not to disturb each other? You’re crossing the line."
Standing before him was the Dragon Girl, staring curiously at Sha Chen.
Upon hearing him, she said, "General, I want to know, can you really bear such solitude? Don’t you want to go out and explore the fascinating world beyond?"
Sha Chen imdiately beca alert.
Had she been taken in as a disciple by Guanyin and co here to disrupt his spiritual state?!
He quickly replied, "No, I don’t want to."
The Dragon Girl asked, "But why not?"
Sha Chen answered, "I like staying at ho; it’s too dangerous out there."
The Dragon Girl found this exasperating and said, "It’s not dangerous out there at all. The seas are free oceans, and the sea creatures are very friendly; they greet when they see ."
Her eyes filled with longing and mories as she continued, "When people on land see , they can’t take their eyes off . There are arrays of commodities, countless delicacies, beautiful people, lovely flowers, enchanting songs..."
She seed to be painting a beautiful picture for Sha Chen of just how charming the outside world was.
But the more Sha Chen heard, the deeper he frowned, replying, "That’s enough, stop. All of what you’ve described is just fleeting."
"Can’t we make different kinds of delicious dishes here? Aren’t the flowers and plants in the fields also beautiful? If you want to see good-looking people, I am more handso than Pan An after I shave. What noisy songs can compare with the pleasant sound of mana coursing through one’s body?"
The Dragon Girl rolled her eyes at his words, thinking he truly had no sense of romance.
Sha Chen said, "Alright, alright, go back to sleep and focus on improving your cultivation, which is what truly matters."
"I don’t want to go back; it’s too boring to sleep alone," the Dragon Girl pouted and refused.
Sha Chen responded, "Bored by yourself? Then I’ll find soone to keep you company."
He then got up and went into the side room to look for sothing.
The Dragon Girl imdiately beca alard and hurriedly said, "Don’t ss around! No matter how bored I am alone, I won’t share a bed with you."
Sha Chen ca out of the side room with a giant stuffed pillow in his hands and tossed it to her, saying, "Here’s a doll for you to hug in bed so you won’t be bored."
He then added, "Even if you wanted to share a bed with , I wouldn’t be willing."
The Dragon Girl awkwardly caught it and sniffed it, detecting the scent of a woman, which made her imdiately suspicious.
"Whose is this?" she asked sharply, full of jealousy.
Sha Chen replied, "It belonged to my sister."
He didn’t say much more, but the Dragon Girl’s gaze deepened with suspicion. Even she had not realized why she cared about these details.
The Dragon Girl continued, "I don’t need a doll to sleep with. I want soone to talk to."
Sha Chen said, "That’s simple. Go ahead."
The Dragon Girl looked puzzled. "What should I say?"
Sha Chen was just as bewildered. "How should I know what you want to talk about? You said you wanted soone to talk to, right? I’ll keep you company."
Then, they stared at each other. The awkward silence that followed was so thick you could have dug another Flowing Sand River with your toes.
Completely defeated, the Dragon Girl had nothing to say to such a dense man.
She then said, "Never mind, so other ti."
Sha Chen responded, "Fine."
The Dragon Girl frowned. Sha Chen then said, "Look, you don’t want to sleep, but you can’t neglect improving your cultivation either. Why not cultivate with ?"
The Dragon Girl said resignedly, "I am from the Dragon Clan; it’s not the sa. We cultivate our physical bodies."
Sha Chen replied, "I’ll teach you a thod to enhance the physical body."
With a laugh and a shake of her head, the Dragon Girl said, "I appreciate the gesture, but you can’t help . I am a true dragon, and besides the Dragon Clan’s cultivation techniques, nothing else works, and how could you possibly possess techniques of the Dragon Clan— Gasp! Are you really using the True Dragon Body Forging Technique!?"
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