Chapter 42 She refused!!! Because of Jiang Zhihe's identity...

Because of Jiang Zhihe's identity, the three of them entered the palace with exceptional ease. The emperor was very respectful when he saw them. However, upon hearing that a demon queen was hiding in the palace, his expression changed drastically. He hurriedly asked the three of them to handle the matter and promised to give them appropriate rewards.

The three readily agreed.

At this moment, Zhu Songyun walked in front, using divination to calculate the exact location of the fox demon, while Jiang Zhihe and Teng Shao followed behind her.

Along the way, Zhu Songyun chattered away, Teng Shao remained silent, while Jiang Zhihe seemed lost in thought, his expression even somewhat dazed.

Zhu Songyun clicked his tongue and said, "Brother Jiang, your expression is exactly the same as that of a heartbroken cultivator I met before."

Teng Shao scoffed: "He's heartbroken? He hasn't even started."

An invisible blade pierced Jiang Zhihe's chest. His expression twisted for a moment, then seemed to darken further.

He looked at Teng Shao with a deep gaze, gritting his teeth: "Teng Shao, you don't have to say anything."

Teng Shao: "Look, he's furious."

Jiang Zhihe: "..."

Zhu Songyun watched the two of them with great interest, then chuckled and said, "It's alright! Let's quickly resolve this matter and then head back!"

"As long as nothing bad happens to Xiaozhu, once she calms down, you can go back and have a heart-to-heart talk with her. I think there is still hope."

As luck would have it, several palace maids passed by at that moment, and their conversation naturally reached their ears—

"Huh? The Second Prince left the palace again this morning, and it seems he was carrying a huge pile of gold and silver treasures with him."

"Yes, yes, I heard that the Second Prince has taken a fancy to a girl and wants to ask for her hand in marriage!"

"Huh? Why?"

"It seems that the girl saved the Second Prince's life yesterday, so in order to repay the favor, the Second Prince wants to marry her."

"Oh? That girl is so pitiful, she actually caught the eye of the Second Prince."

"Yeah, yeah..."

The sound gradually faded away, and the slightly cheerful atmosphere that the three of them had been in earlier disappeared, replaced by a dull and cold silence.

Zhu Songyun and Teng Shao went to see Jiang Zhihe immediately.

As expected, the smile on the boy's face disappeared, and his once bright and cheerful eyes were now clouded with gloom.

"I suddenly feel..." he began quietly, a chill emanating from him, "that this fox demon, perhaps it's better not to get rid of her. Wouldn't it be better to let her kill that second prince?"

"Um... should we still go find that fox demon now?" Zhu Songyun asked tentatively.

Jiang Zhihe rolled his eyes: "Of course I'm not going! Is she more important than Xiaozhu?"

After saying that, he turned around and started to walk back the way he came.

Zhu Songyun and Teng Shao exchanged a glance. Zhu Songyun shrugged and followed. Teng Shao was a little impatient, but still followed.

But before they had taken more than a few steps, another figure appeared in front of them.

She was a woman dressed in gorgeous clothes, with long, black hair cascading over her shoulders, and striking features that also revealed a touch of heroism.

The woman glanced at the three of them subconsciously, and finally fixed her gaze on the red-clad boy in the middle.

She bowed slightly and gave the three of them a polite smile: "I presume you three are the immortals who have come to the palace today to exorcise the demon? I am Princess Yanling of the Dayan Dynasty. It is an honor to meet you three immortals here. I am also very grateful that you are willing to remove the fox demon in the palace for us."

After speaking, she raised her head, her smile more genuine and fervent than before, her gaze fixed firmly on Jiang Zhihe, her eyes revealing excitement:

"May I ask how old this immortal is? Is he married?"

Jiang Zhihe: "???"

He never expected the princess in front of him to speak so boldly, and even more so to openly express her admiration.

He was so startled that he took a step back, but Zhu Songyun and Teng Shao behind him surprisingly acted in perfect unison—

They directly blocked Jiang Zhihe's retreat.

Jiang Zhihe: "..."

I made a bad choice of friends! I really made a bad choice of friends!!!

Upon seeing this, Yanling covered her mouth and chuckled: "Immortal Master, are you frightened or shy?"

Jiang Zhihe immediately said, "Your Highness, you can't say such things carelessly. I already have someone I love!"

Yanling looked at him for a moment, then her eyebrows curved slightly: "Oh~ You have someone you love, but they are not... your Daoist partner? That's what you cultivators call it, right?"

"In other words, you two aren't really together, so why can't I pursue you?"

Jiang Zhihe choked, "You can't say that! Besides, we've only just met today, haven't we? Princess, you can't be so hasty!"

Yanling smiled and said, "No, I have my own judgment, and my intuition is very accurate. I am also very good at judging people."

"Besides, the immortal is so handsome and so accomplished at such a young age, it's only natural that I fell in love at first sight."

Jiang Zhihe: "..."

Zhu Songyun was so embarrassed by his laughter that his face turned red, while Teng Shao silently looked away, but the corners of his mouth still couldn't help but turn up, clearly gloating.

Jiang Zhihe was extremely anxious.

He was about to refuse Yanling outright and leave when Yanling, as if sensing his anxiety, spoke first and asked, "Immortal Master, you seem to be in a hurry. Is there something urgent? If we were in the city, perhaps there would be something I could do to help."

This time, Zhu Songyun, who was at the rear, surprisingly regained his conscience and helped answer: "Oh, it's like this. On our way to exorcise the demon, we heard that the Second Prince went to harass one of our friends, so he's extremely anxious now."

Yan Ling raised an eyebrow, glanced at Zhu Songyun, then at Jiang Zhihe, whose face was full of anxiety, and a look of understanding appeared on his face: "I see. But that friend, if I'm not mistaken, should be this immortal's beloved, right?"

“In that case, I’ll go with you. After all, it was my brother who did this stupid thing, and as his older sister, I have to discipline him.”

As she spoke, she smiled at the three people who looked slightly surprised and said, "As long as the fox demon in this palace doesn't harm people for the time being, then the immortal's matter is more important, isn't it?"

"No need."

Jiang Zhihe spoke.

He looked at Yanling, his voice devoid of emotion: "Princess, we won't trouble you with this. We'll take our leave now."

After saying that, he pulled the other two away quickly.

Yanling watched the three figures leave, narrowed her eyes slightly, and then instructed the maid beside her, "Prepare a carriage for me, I want to leave the palace."

Maid: "Yes, Your Highness."

… …

"Hey, why did you refuse just now? Letting the princess come along would have been a good way to let her deal with that annoying Yan Yang!" Zhu Songyun said, somewhat puzzled.

Jiang Zhihe rolled his eyes: "Why would I send her there? Xiaozhu is already unhappy, and now I'm going to bring... uh... an admirer... along? Am I asking for trouble?!"

Zhu Songyun realized, "Oh right, I overlooked that."

She calculated the fox demon's location again, wanting to see how things went. A moment later, she raised an eyebrow: "Oh ho? What a coincidence, friends."

"The fox demon lady's location has changed."

She pointed in a direction and smiled at the two of them, saying, "Her location is shifting, and the direction she's moving is exactly towards the inn where Xiaozhu and that Second Prince are."

"She should go find the Second Prince."

"But it's not a big problem. We set up defensive measures in front of Xiaozhu's room before we left, so we don't need to worry about her safety for now." As she spoke, she put away the copper coins and sighed, "Sigh, if we had known this would happen, why did we even bother to come here? What a waste of time."

Teng Shao: "So why didn't you figure this out?"

Zhu Songyun rolled his eyes: "I'll say it again—I'm a divination cultivator, not an omniscient and omnipotent one!"

Teng Shao shrugged, his expression completely indifferent. Clearly, he knew perfectly well that he had only said that to annoy her.

"Let's hurry up, or Jiang Zhihe will disappear without a trace." He said lightly, then flashed off in the direction Jiang Zhihe had gone.

Zhu Songyun stared wide-eyed at the two figures who had vanished from sight, his face filled with anger: "Damn it! Why didn't you warn me sooner!"

… …

The camera pans back to the inn—

At this moment, Gu Xiaozhu and Yan Yang are still at an impasse.

The girl's words of refusal were like a slap in the face, especially since he had made such a big show of things and there were many ordinary people watching around. It made him lose face completely!

He immediately wanted to shout angrily, but he seemed to hear Mei'er's voice in his ear.

Mei'er, the woman he had always been obsessed with, despite her mysterious origins, was so charming that he was willing to do anything for her!

"My lord~ don't rush, do as I say, okay?" A tender voice rang in his ears, making his bones feel numb.

His eyes gradually became unfocused, and if you looked closely, you could see that he had become dazed, as if he were being controlled.

"Okay...okay, Mei'er, I'll do whatever you say."

The melodious female voice chuckled softly, "I love my lord the most~"

Above, Gu Xiaozhu looked down at Yan Yang, who was behaving strangely and seemed to be talking to himself, and her brows furrowed involuntarily.

What's wrong with him?

[That fox demon is remotely controlling this person, and I've also detected that the fox demon's true form is heading this way.] The system announced.

Gu Xiaozhu understood: "So... it wasn't that he wanted to marry me on a whim, but that fox demon made him do it?"

She looked down: "Is that fox demon targeting me?"

[It must have been after Yanyang returned yesterday that he was tainted with your scent. The fox demon sensed something, so it set its sights on you, the host, as its next target.]

[Furthermore, as you've probably noticed, Yan Yang has become quite haggard. After being controlled by the fox demon, he should die within three days.]

"Xiaozhu, do you need me to help you deal with him?"

The spirit pearl around her neck glowed slightly, and then a phantom figure in white appeared beside Gu Xiaozhu.

It's A-Cui.

"Ah Cui? How are you recovering?" Gu Xiaozhu's eyes lit up slightly.

Ah Cui chuckled softly, "I'm much better now, at least—"

She glanced downstairs, a chilling murderous intent flashing in her eyes: "Dealing with that disgusting man is no problem."

"As for that fox demon who's eyeing you..." She paused, then smiled again as she looked at the girl: "If she dares to get close to you, Xiaozhu, you can just throw your spirit pearl at her."

"as well as……"

Before she could finish speaking, Yan Yang downstairs spoke up. But his voice was strange; it was normally audible, yet it contained a hint of alluring femininity.

"Girl, I really want to marry you."

As soon as the voice came out, the onlookers who were watching the commotion suddenly seemed to freeze, and their originally clear eyes became unfocused.

An invisible spiritual force spread around him as he spoke, and even the air was filled with a faint, sweet fragrance.

Yan Yang looked up, but strangely, his face was softer than before, and had an added touch of allure, making people unconsciously want to be captivated by it.

"From the first moment I saw you, I fell in love with you and wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

A faint pink light flickered in his eyes, and the smile on his lips grew wider and wider. His expression as he looked at Gu Xiaozhu was full of determination.

"So, young lady, you are willing—"

Jiang Zhihe, who rushed over, took in the scene before him. A surge of anger rushed to his head, and he immediately shouted angrily:

"She doesn't want to! You bastard!!!"