When Pei Rumo heard the words of the soldiers, he could understand the indignant intent in their hearts. After all, this journey was long and exhausting, it was also filled with hards.h.i.+ps. But all the incidents must not be entirely blamed on a young lady like Bai Luochu. As such, Pei Rumo was preparing to berate them.
Within the fog, spiritual energy senses seemed even more acute. Bai Luochu was just beside Pei Rumo and naturally noticed Pei Rumo"s subtle movements, thus, she stopped him.
"Just let them speak. It has been a long time since we entered the fog and I was the one who caused the delay. It is natural for them to feel resentful. Not as if I will lose a few pieces of flesh."
Bai Luochu was light with her words but Pei Rumo was still heartbroken that Bai Luochu had to suffer such criticisms. He was the one who insisted on marching off immediately after the rain and he was also the one that didn"t notice any anomaly after extracting the beast essences. In the end, the one who suffered the consequences was the person that he treasured the most. Pei Rumo was truly brokenhearted and ashamed
However, Bai Luochu was already used to such treatment. This world already had much higher demands towards women. During her previous life, she had exceptional strength and with the t.i.tle of the Dual Absolute of Medicine and Poison, she had been addressed as the evil dao witch since a young age, causing her to be the target of criticisms behind her back. There were people who said she had shamelessly hooked up with a man at a young age. There were also some that said she was actually a demoness that had lived for a long time and relied on the consumption of men"s vitality and yang aura to maintain her youth. When she was young, she didn"t understand the meanings of the criticism and went to ask her master. Her master merely said that it was just mere tricks coming from the weaklings.
After she grew up, there were times when there were disputes and she would fight with others. Due to all the limelight and commotion, she had been listed in the wanted list of the various great immortal sects. But as time elapsed, Bai Luochu realized that no one could do a thing to her, thus, she lost interest. Bai Luochu felt that what her master said was right. She had already reached an untouchable level of strength and felt that the world was extremely dull. For ordinary humans, they definitely felt that life was not worth living. It was no wonder they mocked her for entertainment.
Since then, Bai Luochu never bothered when anyone spoke ill of her. She allowed them to act as they pleased since they were the ones struggling with life. They probably felt that life was too long and painful. As for someone like Bai Luochu, she would rather live her days carefree and unhindered.
Pei Rumo obviously didn"t know of Bai Luochu"s experiences. In his eyes, she was an orphan of the general"s residence. She had been bullied since a young age and she relied on her abilities to strive for a bright future. In his eyes, she was the most perfect woman. No matter what, he couldn"t allow his subordinates to badmouth her in front of him.
Even though Bai Luochu said that it wasn"t necessary for Pei Rumo to speak out for her, Pei Rumo still wasn"t able to tolerate their insults, “I see all of you are exceptional individuals!”
This fog might have blocked the vision but it wasn"t able to isolate voices. Everyone heard their Commander in Chief speaking and instantly stopped talking.
After hearing everyone keeping quiet, Pei Rumo said, “Previously, when there was a huge downpour, Divine Physician Bai reminded me that landslides would frequently occur around the cliff. She asked me to wait a few days before marching out after the rain, but I didn"t listen to her. Even though she didn"t disobey my command, she brought all the elixirs in case anything happened to us. If she didn"t think of doing so, I might already have died when we landed below. The beast essences were extracted by me but I didn"t notice any anomaly. It was Divine Physician Bai who noticed it and informed me. She might have been a little late, but in the end, she exhausted all her spiritual energy to kill all the demonic beasts. She saved my life before saving all of you. Does she need to endure your criticisms just because she is a woman?!”
Pei Rumo"s words were like the sudden clap of thunder that instantly struck at those soldiers whose tongues were wagging.
Bai Luochu was startled as she had already been numbed by the amount of insults thrown her way since her previous life. This was the first time someone had stood up for her. In her previous life, Lu Wenshu would only tell her to not bother with such people. Now, Pei Rumo was actually speaking out for her!
Pei Rumo patted Bai Luochu"s shoulders in an attempt to console her. The corner of Bai Luochu"s mouth curled upwards as she didn"t expect the person willing to speak out for her to be the person who had been constantly making use of her. She felt that there might be a day when they actually became good friends.
Since Pei Rumo had already shown some signs of anger, he had to placate his troops in case they became rowdy again.
“Listen up...” Before Pei Rumo could finish speaking, Bai Luochu interrupted him and addressed the army.
“This journey has been long and exhausting. Everyone is ought to be angry as I have delayed the schedule. I am also able to accept everyone"s anger and resentment. Whatever the case, we need to do what we need to do. Right now, our main goal is to enter the Desolate Region. The sooner the enter, the higher our chance of success.”
No one responded after Bai Luochu finished speaking. She paused for a moment before continuing, “I know that many people are dissatisfied with my presence. If you have any grievances, please speak up now. If anyone is too embarra.s.sed to speak up, I shall promise you one thing. I know that everyone camps outdoors during campaigns. I also know that many of you suffer from long term injuries. Right now, I shall make a promise to set a date to treat everyone after getting back. I will also deliver spirit elixirs and precious herbs to the military as long as we return to the imperial court after a victorious campaign. Is everyone satisfied by my arrangements?”
Originally, everyone was just voicing their complaints after enduing a long journey. They were also grumbling as their Commander in Chief was siding with an "outsider" instead of them. However, they realized that Bai Luochu was actually on their side after hearing what she said and even though they might not be happy with her presence, they knew they shouldn"t scold her anymore. Everyone fell silent as they continued their journey to the Desolate Region.