Chapter 54: The Stone Lions are the ones who are willing to go both ways. ...

(Fifty-four)

Fangcao City.

The dilapidated old house was covered with thick dust. The wooden racks used to dry medicinal herbs in the courtyard were tilted, overgrown with weeds and covered with spider webs.

A ray of sunlight filtered through the broken wooden window, and golden dust particles floated in the air, sweeping away the dampness and darkness in the house.

On the soft couch, the woman's silky black hair hung down, as if she was sleeping soundly.

Two little gray-yellow sparrows flew over, landed their claws on the window frame, and began chirping.

So noisy.

The sunlight shines into my eyes, making them look bright red.

Li Shanglu frowned slightly, slowly opened her eyes, and propped herself up to sit up from the couch. However, when she saw everything in front of her clearly, she was suddenly stunned.

This is her home.

When I pushed open the creaking door, dust flew everywhere.

She covered her mouth and nose, frowned and looked, and sure enough, she saw her hometown where she had lived for eighteen years.

Since she got married, she only took her parents' tablets with her and never came back. At that time, she always felt that as long as she didn't come back, her parents would still be alive.

The courtyard was littered with wooden boxes and trailers filled with medicinal herbs. Li Hanye had once relied on a small trailer like this one, traveling back and forth between the country to buy and sell medicine, gradually building up his business. But now it was completely empty, the wood rotten and broken, the wheels rusted and difficult to move.

The heavens actually sent her back to her birthplace after her body was reshaped, as if she had truly been reborn.

But, has it really been five years now?

Didn’t Shen Changyi raise the children alone for five years? Could he take good care of the two cubs when they were still breastfeeding?

Besides, she was taken away by Tiandao so suddenly, wouldn't Shen Changyi think she was dead?

...That idiot might really think so.

Thinking of this, Li Shanglu's heart sank suddenly. She had no intention of staying any longer. She had to go back and take a look.

However, although Li Shanglu had magical powers, she had never learned any spells. If she had known this, she would have asked Shen Changyi to teach her the art of earth escape. She was already a master of the Nascent Soul stage, but she still had to ask for directions all the way back. How ridiculous.

When you push open the door, you will see the Shen family right in front of you.

The house was originally bought by my parents as a warehouse to store medicinal herbs. Later, in order to help the Shen family, they converted it into a house that could be lived in, so it was a little smaller.

The two families would meet each other every morning when they went out, and Shen's father and mother would also help them sell medicinal herbs and move goods. In fact, they were no different from a family.

At that time, Shen Changyi would sit on the small stone steps at the door every day waiting for her to go out. Sometimes when Li Shanglu got up late, Li Hanye would tease her and say,

"Are you still sleeping, Shanglu? The stone lions at the door of our house are almost covered in dust."

Thinking of this, Li Shanglu couldn't help but chuckle.

He has been so stupid since childhood, and he is still asked to take care of the children... She became even more worried. She was really afraid that Shen Changyi would raise two little pieces of wood for her. With three pieces of wood for a family of four, how could they live?

Li Shanglu followed his memory and headed towards the outside of the city. Fangcao City was too remote, and the people here probably didn't know what the Mingzhou Sect was. As for the demon cultivators, the people only knew that they were monsters that could kill people.

If she wanted to ask for directions, she would have to walk another hundred miles to a wealthier city. Fortunately, after her cultivation, she did not get tired easily when traveling.

On the long street, you can occasionally see children chasing and playing as they pass by, just like Li Shanglu when he was a child.

In the chaotic times back then, the evil cultivators were rampant and people were dying every day. Those who could escape had already escaped. But now, young people and children can be seen on the streets. It seems that those cultivators and Shen Changyi have indeed made a lot of efforts over the years and successfully suppressed the evil cultivators.

After walking for a whole day until dusk, we finally saw the city.

This city is slightly smaller than the previous city, but it is about the size of three Fangcao cities.

Li Shanglu walked into a restaurant to ask for directions.

"Ming Zhou Sect? I'm not sure. The nearest sect seems to be called Taiyin Mountain, but it's still a few hundred miles away." The waiter looked Li Shanglu up and down for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked, "Are you a cultivator from a sect?"

She nodded.

The waiter said excitedly, as if he had seen a savior, "Master Monk, please help me exorcise the demon. People have been dying in the city every day lately. It must be the demon causing trouble in secret!"

Exorcist?

Li Shanglu had never accepted the sect's demon-eliminating mission. The only time he really dealt with demon cultivators was in the secret realm of the sect's competition.

Her eyes darkened, but she still shook her head.

The most urgent thing is to return to Mingzhou Sect as soon as possible. She has no experience in exorcising demons, so she should leave it to others.

A look of disappointment appeared on the waiter's face. As Li Shanglu was a customer, he couldn't ask for anything more. He could only reluctantly point her in the right direction and respectfully see her off.

After leaving the inn, the further Li Shanglu walked towards the city center, the more he could feel an uncomfortable atmosphere.

She didn't know that it was the demonic energy of a demon cultivator, she only knew that the breath made her feel uncomfortable all over and her chest felt a little stuffy.

At night, Li Shanglu sat on the street and ate some dry food casually.

Although I'm not hungry, I always feel uncomfortable if I don't eat something.

The sky above the city was covered with dark clouds. It was summer, and the only sound in the silent night was the low chirping of insects and birds.

It’s really troublesome not knowing the way. I don’t know how long it will take to return to Mingzhou Sect.

Li Shanglu took two bites of the pancake when he suddenly heard a woman's cry for help coming from the end of the alley not far away.

"Help……"

She paused slightly and hesitated as she took out the short bow from her storage ring.

The closer he got, the stronger the disgusting smell became, and sweat broke out on Li Shanglu's palm as he gripped the short bow.

However, when she walked into the alley, the only person left was the woman asking for help.

"What's wrong with you?" Li Shanglu frowned and looked at her, wanting to help her up from the ground, but she seemed to have lost her soul and looked at her blankly.

Helplessly, Li Shanglu patted her face and said in a deep voice, "Wake up, what happened?"

Dark clouds covered the moon and the sky was too dark. Li Shanglu patted her a few times but she still didn't respond. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong. He lowered his eyes to look and his breathing stopped.

Her lower abdomen had been hollowed out.

Li Shanglu had never seen such a bloody scene. Her hair stood on end and she couldn't help wanting to vomit. Suddenly, she saw a standing figure printed on the wall in front of her. Her heart beat fast and she quickly drew her bow and arrow. Before she could turn around, she was pulled into the arms of a hand.

"You're back."

It was a familiar voice, yet it was tainted with a strong smell of blood.

Li Shanglu leaned on his shoulder in a daze, and looked up at the pair of eyes as calm as water in confusion. It was actually Shen Changyi.

How is that possible?

"Why are you here?"

The other person lowered his eyes to look at her, lifted the head in his palm, and said in a very calm voice, "There was danger just now, I came to protect you."

Only then did Li Shanglu realize that he was holding the head of a demon cultivator in his hand. He had already wanted to vomit, and now he almost couldn't hold it back.

"Throw it away!" She covered her lips, almost holding it back, and glared at him, "Who told you to go out and fight demons? Who's taking care of the child?"

He was silent for a moment, his tone like he was complaining, and he muttered in a low voice, "Chen Changyi, don't let me get close to the child."

Li Shanglu was stunned for a moment, then put his hand on his forehead, "What nonsense are you talking about? Aren't you Shen Changyi?"

How come you've become a fool after not seeing you for five years?

The other person slowly raised his eyes to look at her and said calmly, "I'm not Shen Changyi, I'm Xiao Huang."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Shanglu suddenly realized that he did not have the red plum hairpin that they had exchanged on his head, nor did he have the sword tassel she had given him hanging on the long sword at his waist.

She subconsciously aimed her bow and arrow at him, breathing heavily, "Xiao Huang has been buried by me, who are you?"

Li Shanglu remembered it clearly. She dug a hole near Shutong Pavilion and buried Xiao Huang's fragments in it. She also built a proper grave. Even if Xiao Huang could really come back to life, he should be a wooden man. How could he have human skin like him?

Xiao Huang looked at her solemnly, and a stronger demonic aura gradually emanated from his body.

"I'm Xiao Huang," he repeated stubbornly, grabbing Li Shanglu's wrist and pulling her into his arms. "I'm here to protect you."

Li Shanglu struggled desperately, but couldn't break free from his restraints. "Let me go!"

The hand that was holding her loosened, and Li Shanglu pulled out the hairpin on her head without hesitation and stabbed it into his neck.

Xiao Huang remained motionless, still looking at her quietly, "Shanglu, I won't hurt you."

Li Shanglu pulled out the hairpin and watched the wound heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. She took a half step back and completely understood that the little Huang in front of her had turned into a demon cultivator.

It turns out that Helan Jin took Shen Changyi's soul away in order to make a demon puppet that could deal with Shen Changyi.

She took a deep breath and asked, "Are you the spirit that possessed Xiao Huang?"

When Xiao Huang saw that she recognized him, his eyes lit up slightly and he nodded.

"You really won't hurt me?" Li Shanglu hesitantly grasped the hairpin and looked at the woman's body on the ground. "Did you kill her?"

Xiao Huang shook his head and pointed at the demon cultivator's head. "This man killed you. I saw him lurking on the eaves, trying to hurt you, so I killed him."

His tone was very light, but Li Shanglu could hear a hint of seeking credit in his words, as if he wanted her to praise him.

Li Shanglu was silent for a long time, but only whispered, "Why are you here?"

Xiao Huang explained to her seriously, "Because Shanglu disappeared, I sneaked out to find you."

For the past five years, he had been searching for Shanglu every day, but he was often captured by Qianxu. Today, he happened to be passing by this place and sensed Shanglu's presence. When he rushed over, he saw that Shanglu was in danger.

He protected Shang Lu again and found her before Shen Changyi. Thinking of this, Xiao Huang felt that Shen Changyi was useless even more.

Li Shanglu gradually figured it out. Although Xiao Huang's soul had been turned into a demon cultivator's puppet by a spell, it would still obey her orders as before, and would even sneak out from the demon cultivators to find her.

She breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly and patted Xiao Huang on the shoulder, "Good job, Xiao Huang."

Being praised by her, Xiao Huang's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he tentatively reached out his hand and held Li Shanglu's.

Li Shanglu froze, not understanding what he was going to do until Xiao Huang stuffed a red rope into her palm.

"Just like before."

He suddenly smiled, and the evil spirit in his body seemed to disappear.

Li Shanglu then remembered that she used to take Xiao Huang for a walk, go shopping, and carry all the bags on his wooden shoulders.

She wanted to laugh, so she pulled the rope, and Xiao Huang followed closely behind her, just like before.

After all, this was to protect her little Huang, who had died twice. Li Shanglu touched his hair with some distress, "My hair is not smooth anymore."

In the past, Li Shanglu would help him comb his hair, but now that he fell into the hands of the evil cultivator, no one cares about him anymore.

Xiao Huang lowered his head and felt the warmth of her palm.

Very warm.

Shang Lu has always been very nice to him and never scolded him like he did to Shen Changyi.

They are willing to do this together and are running towards each other.

Li Shanglu took off his clothes and covered the woman's body with them. He took Xiao Huang by the hand and was about to leave. "Let's go back to Ming Zhou Sect."

Hearing her words, Xiao Huang suddenly stopped.

He slowly raised his eyes and looked at Li Shanglu, "Shanglu, can you please not go back to Shen Changyi? I will protect you."

Li Shanglu's expression faltered slightly. "Why don't you want me to go back?"

Xiao Huang looked at her steadily and said word by word, "It's very dangerous to stay with Shen Changyi. He will hurt you."

In five years, Qian Xu said that he had become strong enough, strong enough to kill Shen Changyi and replace him, but he did not do so because he wanted to wait for Shang Lu to come back and see with his own eyes that he was stronger, more reliable and more trustworthy than Shen Changyi.

Li Shanglu looked at him in astonishment, tugging at the red string in his hand and pulling him in front of him. "What nonsense! You are a wisp of his spirit. If you don't go back, where are you going? To become a demon cultivator in the Demon Realm?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Huang suddenly leaned down and came in front of her, almost touching her nose.

"I can replace Shen Changyi and become your husband."

Li Shanglu: “?”

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The author has something to say: There will be a second update.