107. Solicitation

Zhu Hongxu, who was about to be exhausted, still insisted on asking his men to come in to discuss matters. Qingling and his group, who should have left, stayed and rested in the yard next to this dilapidated courtyard - waiting for something to happen.

This alley was almost entirely occupied by Zhu Hongxu's people, so it was easy to clear out a yard. In the yard, there was an old banyan tree with tangled roots and lush branches and leaves. Qingling sat on a rattan chair under the tree reading a book. In the evening, the feminine middle-aged attendant beside Zhu Hongxu brought dinner and a small white porcelain box.

"This is the secret medicine of my master's family, called White Jade Dew. My master saw that the young master had a wound on his face, so he specially ordered me to bring it to you. As long as you use it, there will be no scar left!"

Even in this remote and small town, the food sent by the prince was not bad at all, especially because six of the ten dishes were vegetarian.

It was getting dark, and Qingling was still reading magic books while lying in his bedroom. Most of the ones he had read before were for self-defense, or some complicated and obscure ancient magic books. He even studied formations, but he only had a superficial understanding of them. Now, after studying them carefully, he realized that any magic spell could be used as a killing move.

Exorcising ghosts and killing people, extracting human souls alive, capturing souls and refining ghosts, in fact, no matter how they change, they all remain essentially the same.

Occasionally, when he saw something he didn't understand, Shang Changheng would be there to give instructions - most of the instructions were about how to kill people.

Qing Ling rubbed his eyes, put the book on the pillow, and lay on his side with his face up. He happened to meet the eyes of Shang Changheng who was sitting cross-legged on the bed. He smiled and said, "I am really becoming more and more like a wicked person..."

Even if you ignore his magic, he raised such a ferocious evil spirit, with negative energy all over his body, and he looked like an evil cultivator when he stood there.

"Evil ways are good too." When Shang Changheng wasn't smiling, his eyebrows and eyes looked even sharper. "Anything that can save your life is a good way. Evil spirits can't hurt you, and neither can people."

After a moment of calm gaze, Qingling averted his gaze without leaving a trace and said softly, "The debt owed to Heaven has increased."

"Don't be afraid." Shang Changheng's voice was very soft, and his eyes softened in an instant, "I'm here."

Qingling unconsciously looked over again, and suddenly stretched out his hand and touched Shang Changheng's hand placed on his knees. The two hands naturally intertwined their fingers, and Qingling just looked at the hands holding each other, as if there was an invisible red thread wrapped around them.

But Qingling still felt it was not enough.

He wanted more... He wanted a red thread to bind them together for life, and he wanted this marriage certificate to keep away the evil spirit from a thousand years ago for him, but Qingling himself knew that this was too greedy.

Not all couples in the world can live together until old age. His marriage with Shang Changheng seemed to have been stolen from a treacherous conspiracy.

He tugged at Shang Changheng's hand, his gentle eyes were filled with tenderness, and the layer of coldness that he had always been wearing was peeled off. The soft Qing Ling might not be the real him, but it was definitely what only Shang Changheng could see.

Shang Changheng understood his intention, leaned over, gently kissed Qingling's cheek, and called him in a low voice: "Qingling... my wife."

Qing Ling hooked his other hand around Shang Changheng's neck, revealing a thin, fair wrist from the sleeves of his light-colored shirt. As Shang Changheng stood up again, Qing Ling suddenly pushed him down and kissed him.

He was no longer the immature boy who would be at a loss when teased by Shang Changheng. He even learned to tease Shang Changheng actively, kissing him delicately and ambiguously, but still trembling with breath when he was finally let go. Shang Changheng just kissed his eyebrows and cheeks as if to comfort him.

"Changheng." His clear voice was filled with obvious joy, and Wenxiu's eyes and eyebrows were also smiling. He touched Xieshou's pale face with his pink fingertips and said softly, "Don't be afraid."

Don't be afraid, Changheng.

No matter how dark and cold this road is, I am willing to walk it with you. Even if you and I will eventually separate at the end of the road, as long as we have this moment - as long as we love each other at this moment, even if it is only for a moment, it will last forever.

.

Three days later, Zhu Hongxu finally recovered from the weakness that almost made him die at any time. He was about to set off for Dingzhou, and before leaving, he came to the yard to say goodbye to his savior.

"I noticed that the three of you seemed to be looking for something along the way." Zhu Hongxu was still polite, but his complexion was much better than a few days ago. "If there is anything I can help with, please tell me."

Miao Yuan and Zhu Lezhi avoided the court and hid in their rooms. Only Qing Ling, who had just gotten up from bed, met the prince of noble status. However, he got up in a hurry and even his hair was casually tied up with a wooden hairpin. It was obviously extremely impolite to entertain guests in such attire.

But Zhu Hongxu did not blame anyone.

Qing Ling didn't care. He was actually not fully awake yet. He lowered his eyes lazily and said softly, "When you see injustice, there is no need to thank me."

He had many reasons for saving Zhu Hongxu. This was a powerful prince, and saving him or not would be a big problem. However, someone had secretly changed his fate, and the one who did it was the Gu-raising Saint who had a mortal enemy with him. What's more, there was Zhu Lezhi's divination and the chaos in the Great Zhou Dynasty. So in Qingling's opinion, Zhu Hongxu was probably not destined to die.

But he never thought about asking for any reward, because no matter how noble Zhu Hongxu's status was, he could not give Qingling what he wanted.

Keeping a favor for the prince is more practical than asking for some gold, silver or jewelry.

Zhu Hongxu asked politely again: "Then I wonder what Mr. Qing's plans are for the future?"

This means that I have no intention of leaving honestly.

Qing Ling was silent for a while because of this sentence. His expression remained calm. He lowered his eyes and said softly: "In the future... I will naturally live the life of an ordinary citizen."

"Ordinary?" Zhu Hongxu asked slowly, "Master Qing, people like you... are not ordinary. I know people like you don't want to interfere in the affairs of the court, but since someone has broken the rules... Master Qing, why don't you also find a future for yourself?"

"The future of a cultivator is not in the secular world." Qing Ling still had that docile demeanor, but he seemed to be wrapped in invisible ice, tightly sealed to prevent others from prying, "——As for those who break the rules, they will naturally not be able to survive. I am waiting here now, isn't it just to eliminate this trouble?"

At this point, Zhu Hongxu understood what Qingling meant. Once he was bitten by a snake, how could he not worry about those people who knew evil magic? These people were like sharp knives, and if the knife was not in his own hands, it might become someone else's.

But before he could say anything else, the deceased husband of Young Master Qingling appeared quietly. The tall Shang Changheng stood behind Qingling, his hands on his shoulders, but his eyes were on Zhu Hongxu.

The expression on the evil, pale and handsome face was as cold as ice, and there was a sinister and violent look in his eyes. Even though he still maintained his appearance when he was alive and did not reveal his death, such a murderous and fierce gaze was still extremely oppressive.

Zhu Hongxu even forgot to breathe for a few moments.

He was born into a noble family, and the praise of being both civil and military was well-deserved. Even though he had to survive many dangerous situations in the past two years, his anger and rage far outweighed his fear. But at this moment - he met those evil eyes, which showed an undisguised cold and threatening look. Even the veteran generals in the court had never made him feel so frightened. The cold murderous intent overwhelmed him and imprisoned him.

It had nothing to do with whether it was evil or not, just because of this look, Zhu Hongxu avoided other people's sight for the first time in his life.

"You are lucky." Shang Changheng's tone was cold, even with a hint of sneer, "But the fate of the emperor is just a fate. Whether you can sit on that position is another matter. My wife shed blood to save you. I advise you to repay the favor. I don't care about the prince of the mortal world. If you want your Great Xia to be safe and stable, don't set your sights on other people's wives."

Zhu Hongxu was stunned.

It was true that no one had ever threatened him so openly, but what really surprised him was the last sentence.

He was really... confused, and he really wanted to ask, "No, are you serious?"

But Zhu Hongxu also understood that Qingling looked down upon fame, wealth and power. He had no worries about food and clothing and was capable, so why should he involve himself in the mundane affairs of swords and blood?

"Your Excellency... you misunderstood." The well-educated prince could only use this sentence to explain awkwardly. After a moment, he sighed, "But the third brother has such a talented person around him. I really... worry about it. What if they..."

"You are going to Ningzhou to provide disaster relief, far away from Mingyang. Even if they have any magic, they can't use it from such a distance, let alone a poisonous insect." Qingling said, "Before you were poisoned, didn't you notice anything unusual? I wonder who has the extra person around him?"

Zhu Hongxu smiled bitterly and said, "No, he and I are the only princes left by our father, and he has always been... That's all. At that time, I was fighting bandits in the mountains, and he sent someone to give me a peace button. Apart from that, there is nothing else."

"Oh, that's just like testing poison--" Qing Ling's voice suddenly paused, he suddenly remembered something.

The words that Aji said before he died that day seemed to echo in my ears again.

Seeing Qingling's face suddenly change, Zhu Hongxu became nervous again.

"No, no." Qing Ling raised his head, turned his head to look at Shang Changheng, and said, "There is more than one Alan by his side. At least the person who went into the mountain to pick up Alan also has some skills. If he doesn't use Gu this time but uses something else--"

"It's okay." Shang Changheng touched Qingling's warm face with the back of his palm, and then looked up at Zhu Hongxu, "Didn't you say that your brother was born weak and couldn't even get out of bed? The karma imposed on you because of the life exchange will now be repaid to him a hundredfold. That person is not far from death. The only way is to take the risk of stealing your life again, and ask the two outside to protect you, and then stay here as a substitute, they will definitely take the bait."

Zhu Hongxu suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and after thanking them, he did not stay any longer and went out to look for the two.

But when the servant closed the door, he caught a glimpse of the man and the ghost in the room looking at each other, and their eyes were full of tenderness and affection.