Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 738 Did you really ever like me?

When Lu Chen arrived at Ji Qiuyu's room, he heard some strange noises coming from inside.

"Lu Chen... why didn't you tell me before you left?"

"At least leave a letter."

Upon hearing the sounds from inside the room, the maids at the door shook their heads and sighed repeatedly. In their view, Ji Qiuyu had suffered a shock, which was why she locked herself in her room all day, talking to herself.

However, at that moment, the two maids at the door noticed Lu Chen walking into the courtyard. Upon seeing Lu Chen, the two maids turned pale with fright.

"Ghost... ghost..."

Lu Chen immediately raised his hand and made a "shh" gesture.

At that moment, Ji Qiuyu's voice continued to come from inside the room, "Lu Chen, wait until you get back, I'll see how I deal with you!"

Hearing this, Lu Chen smiled, and then he said directly at the door, "I'm back. I want to see how the city lord plans to deal with me."

Inside the room, Ji Qiuyu, with her hair disheveled and dressed in white, lay on a soft couch. Upon hearing Lu Chen's voice, she suddenly looked up.

After regaining her senses, she immediately waved her hand, and the door to the room opened instantly, revealing Lu Chen to her.

Ji Qiuyu was stunned for a moment.

Seeing Ji Qiuyu with her hair disheveled, Lu Chen felt a pang of sadness. He hadn't expected that the self-destruction of his puppet would have such a strong impact on Ji Qiuyu. It seemed that Ji Qiuyu truly considered him her Daoist partner.

Lu Chen then said, "Qiu Yu, I'm sorry, there are some things I didn't tell you, and I made you worry."

At this point, Lu Chen waved his hand, signaling the two maids at the door to leave. The maids, naturally aware of the relationship between Lu Chen and Ji Qiuyu, tactfully left the courtyard.

Lu Chen continued walking into the room, but as soon as he entered, Ji Qiuyu suddenly said coldly, "Who are you?!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the sword beside Ji Qiuyu's bed flew out instantly, directly in front of Lu Chen, its tip pointing at Lu Chen's neck.

Although Ji Qiuyu kept thinking that Lu Chen was still alive, she knew deep down that Lu Chen had most likely self-destructed. The moment she saw Lu Chen, Ji Qiuyu regained her senses.

Before Lu Chen could answer, Ji Qiuyu spoke again: "What is your purpose in impersonating Lu Chen!"

Seeing Ji Qiuyu so vigilant, Lu Chen smiled with relief. "Qiuyu, I'm relieved to see you so cautious."

Ji Qiuyu said coldly, "Stop trying to get close to me. Answer my question immediately, or you're dead!"

Lu Chen continued, "That day, the assassin came to my room. My main body was cultivating and had let my guard down, so I didn't notice the assassin. By the time I came over, my puppet clone had already been pierced through. I had no choice but to self-destruct my puppet clone."

"To avoid making you worry, I sent this puppet clone to you immediately."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Ji Qiuyu was stunned for a moment.

Puppet... a puppet? ?

She had certainly heard about controlling puppets in battle, so she immediately understood what this meant. However, she couldn't believe that she had been stuck with a puppet all this time.

In an instant, Ji Qiuyu exuded murderous intent. "You mean, the Lu Chen of the past was just a puppet of yours?"

Lu Chen said, "You should have noticed that if it really was a cultivator who self-destructed, there would definitely be some corpse fragments or blood left at the scene."

Ji Qiuyu understood this, and that was why she still held a sliver of hope that Lu Chen was alive. However, she never expected that Lu Chen was actually a puppet.

Seeing that Ji Qiuyu's face was very ugly and she was staring at him fiercely, Lu Chen quickly continued, "Qiuyu, I'm really sorry. I didn't tell you clearly at the beginning that my main body is currently trapped in a certain place and cannot meet you, so I can only meet you in this way."

Ji Qiuyu continued to stare coldly at Lu Chen. Now she finally understood why Lu Chen had said he was practicing a certain cultivation technique and could not engage in matters of Daoist intimacy.

She also understood why she always felt something was off about Lu Chen's body whenever they kissed and hugged, and why she had never felt Lu Chen's heartbeat.

It turned out that the person she was kissing and hugging was not a real person, but a puppet. The thought that she had entrusted all her passion to a puppet made Ji Qiuyu feel extremely ashamed and angry.

Seeing that Ji Qiuyu did not speak, Lu Chen did not continue, but just looked into her eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Ji Qiuyu spoke again: "From this day forward, we are no longer Daoist partners!"

Ji Qiuyu naturally believed what Lu Chen said, but he simply couldn't accept that he was having a romantic relationship with a puppet.

After hearing Ji Qiuyu's words, Lu Chen sighed and said, "I understand. I will leave Black Moon City now and will never appear in front of you again."

After saying that, Lu Chen turned and left.

With so many wives and concubines and having dealt with women for so many years, Lu Chen naturally knew how to handle the current situation. He checked through the system and found that Ji Qiuyu's favorability towards him was still there. However, Ji Qiuyu felt deceived and was a little angry, which is why she said those words.

If he continues to pester her, it might actually lower Ji Qiuyu's opinion of him. Leaving now is the best option.

Of course, it's not a real departure.

Seeing Lu Chen's back, Ji Qiuyu was stunned for a moment. She really couldn't accept Lu Chen's "deception", but she only meant that they would no longer be Daoist partners. She didn't say that Lu Chen should leave Black Moon City!

Ji Qiuyu instantly realized that it was she who had kept Lu Chen there.

Now that she and Lu Chen have proposed ending their Daoist partnership, there is naturally no need for Lu Chen to stay in Black Moon City any longer, since she was the one who took the initiative, while Lu Chen was the one who was passive.

As Lu Chen's figure receded into the distance, Ji Qiuyu felt a sharp pain in her heart, an unbearable ache.

Although she couldn't accept such deception, Lu Chen saving her was a real event. If it weren't for Lu Chen, she would most likely have been devoured by the demons long ago.

Moreover, her feelings for Lu Chen were genuine. Even though he was just a puppet, she could feel the love that the person behind the puppet was conveying to her.

For a moment, Ji Qiuyu felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

Seeing that Lu Chen was about to walk out of the courtyard, Ji Qiuyu couldn't hold back any longer, "Wait..."

Lu Chen stopped walking, but did not turn around.

Ji Qiuyu asked, "Did you ever really like me?"

Lu Chen said without turning his head, "If you didn't like it, I wouldn't have agreed to let you stay in Black Moon City in the first place."

Ji Qiuyu said, "You really did have ulterior motives back then."

"But you shouldn't have lied to me."

Lu Chen said, "If I had told you from the beginning that I was a puppet, we might not have become Daoist partners."

(End of this chapter)