Chapter 3 Shengle Township

"Oh? Miss Li, are you going to protect me?"

Yuan Ying nodded: "Of course. Qilang, I will protect you on this trip."

Qilang lowered his eyes and twitched the corners of his lips. He didn't say anything, but his heart was very complicated.

"Wan'er, you must remember that since ancient times, human oaths have been the cheapest. Creatures like them have always been untrustworthy and ungrateful! You must not follow your mother's old path again."

The words his mother said before she died echoed in Qilang's ears. The despair and paleness made Qilang unable to forget them.

"Okay, I'll see if Miss Li can really do it." Qilang's eyes became darker than before.

"Please forgive me, Miss Li. We must set off immediately, otherwise we might miss something important." Eunuch Li stepped forward and bowed to Li Yuanying, his tone full of urging.

Li Zhongdao, his second wife Jiang Qie, and his son Li Yuanxi came out to see him off.

Yuan Xi loved his sister the most. He bought a lot of delicious food and drinks for his sister to take with her, and also gave her some hand-drawn talismans, telling her to be careful on her journey.

Since his mother passed away, Mr. Li remarried and only promoted Jiang Qie to be the second wife, and did not take the position of Li Yuanying's biological mother. However, Li Yuanying actually did not agree with this approach.

Li Yuanying still remembered that when Jiang Qie came into the house, she was already pregnant with Yuanxi. Her mother had to drink Jiang's cup of tea. Afterwards, she became depressed and her condition worsened, which led to her untimely death.

As for her father's public and private concerns about her mother, and his decision not to support Jiang, but to fabricate the title of Second Madam, Li Yuanying knew exactly why he did so. It was simply because she was the only one in the Li family proficient in magic, and the entire family depended on her for survival.

If she could no longer be of use to her father, her life would surely be far worse than it is now. Especially with the current emperor's attitude towards the Li family, it was possible that Li Yuanying would be blamed for everything.

Li Yuanying, grateful that Yuanxi was the most innocent of the group, had little to say to the others. Once again, Li Yuanying performed all the necessary formalities, bidding farewell to her father and Madam Jiang. Then, she and Qilang, each riding a horse, along with Eunuch Li and their guards, set off for Chang'an.

In the first year of the Yongning reign, a great demon from the Blackwater River broke the seal on demons and ghosts within the Nine Provinces, causing them to run rampant. At that time, the Li family was at its peak, boasting numerous highly skilled practitioners. However, in an effort to suppress the great demon, the family lost over a dozen talented individuals from three generations, leaving the family without a successor.

Although the great demon was strangled and its demon core was removed and suppressed in Chang'an, its body and soul destroyed, the original Great Seal of the Nine Provinces was destroyed, and the demons wreaked havoc on the mortal world, causing suffering for the people. The Emperor ordered the Li family to either eliminate the demons within five years or repair the Great Seal of the Nine Provinces and restore peace to the mortal world. Unfortunately, no one in the Li family was capable of this task.

Five years, five years, and another five years.

This is the last five-year deadline the emperor gives to the Li family.

Li Yuanying knew that her trip to Chang'an would definitely be a Hongmen Banquet.

Although young, she had witnessed much of the world's evil during her years with her father, hunting demons and ghosts, and had long since seen many truths. Li Yuanying presented herself as innocent, selfless, and selfless, but she knew it was all for show.

Living in this chaotic world, living in a place like the Li family, she must be very smart.

Li Yuanying knew that her father was a mirror, understanding the emperor's intentions better than she did. She also knew her father's thoughts. She also had a younger brother, Li Yuanxi, who was her father's lifeblood. For Yuanxi's sake, she had to come.

It was just a pity for Qilang, as he had to accompany her to such a dangerous situation in Chang'an the day after their wedding.

If you don't change horses along the way, it will take at least two days to get from Yaoshui County to Chang'an. If you take the main road, it will take three days. If you want to get to Chang'an faster, you must go through Shengle Township.

I think when Eunuch Li came, he must have passed through Shengle Township during the day, so they were able to arrive in Yaoshui County safely.

The horse galloped, the wind was fierce, and she was filled with thoughts.

If I encounter danger on the way to Chang'an and am delayed for some time, the emperor will not blame me. After all, Shengle Township is not a simple place.

Thinking of this, Li Yuanying already had an idea in her mind.

Originally they were supposed to reach Shengle Township tomorrow morning, but the five of them rode their horses at full speed, and by the time they entered Shengle Township it was already the hour of Xu today.

Shengle Township is as its name suggests.

Before entering Shengle Township, there is vast and flat sand. Once you enter Shengle Township, you will see the jade-like building filled with spring.

The distance between this town and Chang'an is far enough to avoid the fatigue of traveling, and close enough to avoid disturbing the family. It is indeed an excellent place for leisure.

The place is not big, with only a one-meter-high earthen wall surrounding the city. The management is extremely loose, with people coming in and out, and it is bustling with people.

When they reached the city wall, Li Yuanying asked everyone to dismount. The horses were tired and not suitable to continue the journey, so the five of them decided to find an inn to rest.

The five people shuttled through the streets and alleys, and saw pearls and jades everywhere, silk and fine goods filling the houses, and the air was filled with incense, an extremely luxurious scene.

Li Yuanying caught a glimpse of the expressions on the faces of the two guards brought by Eunuch Li, and she understood about 80% of what was going on. Then she looked at Qilang, who was actually staring at her, seemingly having no interest in this grand scene at all.

Hehe Inn.

After walking for a while, Eunuch Li and his group decided to stay here.

Li Yuanying did not comment, but just moved in with him. When the rooms were divided, she said, "Qi Lang is my husband, I will share a room with him."

When Qilang heard this, he looked at Li Yuanying with some ambiguity, but did not say anything.

When everyone left and only Li Yuanying and Qi Lang were left, Qi Lang smiled and said, "I didn't expect Miss Li to be so eager to spend the night with me."

Li Yuanying blushed when she heard Qilang teasing her like this. "Qilang, don't talk nonsense. I'm just worried that you won't be able to bear the loneliness at night and run around in these ghost-filled streets and lose your life."

"Oh, I understand. It turns out that Miss Li wants to control her husband." Qilang nodded thoughtfully.

"Your legs are on your body, how can I control you?" Li Yuanying thought of her father and said lightly.

Qilang leaned over and looked at Li Yuanying carefully, thinking, was she angry just now?

"What are you looking at? I need to rest early today. Something is going to happen tonight." Li Yuanying lay down on the bed without undressing. She leaned against the headboard with her arms around her, not ready to fall into a deep sleep.

Qilang also sat on the bed, leaning against the other end. He had previously thought that Li Yuanying was just a naive young lady who never left the house, but now, looking at this woman in front of him, he found her more and more interesting.

The imperial decree summoned her to the palace immediately, and Qilang had long realized that something was amiss. Seeing Li Yuanying rushing to Chang'an, he thought she was too naive to think of this.

But now she said "something will definitely happen at night", which means that she had known that there was a problem in Shengle Township for a long time, but she did not tell Eunuch Li and the two guards, so Qilang understood it in his heart.

This woman before him was probably more scheming than she let on. She simply wanted to use Shengle Township to delay her trip to Chang'an.

"Who do you think will get into trouble first, the one who is as thin as a stick or the one who is as fat as a pig?" Qilang suddenly asked.

Li Yuanying was closing her eyes to rest. She understood what Qilang meant. He was talking about the two guards of Eunuch Li. It seemed that Qilang also noticed the expressions of the two guards at that time.

But, would he guess what she was thinking? Li Yuanying's heart skipped a beat when she thought of this, but after thinking about it carefully, whether he knew it or not, they were just in the same boat, so what was there to be afraid of?

"Well... I think maybe none of them are right..." Qilang said to himself again.

None of them are right?

Li Yuanying opened her eyes. She didn’t understand what Qilang wanted to say.

Qilang simply arched his brows and smiled gracefully: "I guess it's Eunuch Li."

"Eunuch Li?" Li Yuanying's eyes widened this time. She didn't expect Qilang to mention this person. After all, Eunuch Li no longer had that thing. How could he be so carefree in this Yanliu Lane?

"You don't believe it?" Qilang's expression became even more mysterious. "The less they have, the more they crave."

"But... he didn't... how could he..." Li Yuanying was too embarrassed to speak and could only speak vaguely.

Qilang nodded and smiled. He suddenly stood up and leaned towards Li Yuanying. Every inch that handsome face got closer seemed to make Li Yuanying's heart skip a beat.

"What doesn't he have?"

When Qilang approached, a faint fragrance that sounded like plum blossoms and orchids, perhaps an indescribable fragrance, came from him.

"It's just..." Li Yuanying felt a little hot all over, she stammered, "It's something you have that he doesn't have."

Qi Lang's smile widened: "Miss Li, how do you know whether I have it or not, since you haven't seen it?"

Li Yuanying was speechless for a moment, she just felt that Qi Lang was really annoying: "How can you be so shameless!"

Qi Lang was only a foot away from Li Yuanying at this time: "I, your husband, am not only shameless, but also a bit..."

Afterwards, Qilang leaned close to Li Yuanying's ear and whispered two words: "Obscene."