The cave was somewhat dark, and the passageway stretched downwards. It must be the path leading underground.

Qi Zhiheng's soul power extended along the passage, trying to explore the situation inside the cave as much as possible.

After descending a short distance, I noticed something crawling ahead.

Upon hearing the rustling sound, Yang Yitian's expression tightened: "What is that?"

Qi Zhiheng said calmly, "Some crawlers."

His tone was nonchalant, but his body was poised for action, because he could sense that these reptiles were being controlled by someone.

As the two stepped forward, the snakes and insects swarmed towards them. Qi Zhiheng unleashed his spiritual energy, creating a vortex within two meters of his body that prevented the venomous insects from getting close.

Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian walked over, but the poisonous insects followed closely behind them.

Qi Zhiheng used a large water ball to sweep away all the poisonous insects on the ground and walls, and then used ice-type abilities to freeze all the Eucommia ulmoides plants.

Yang Yitian also came to help. Qi Zhiheng was in charge of using water, while he was in charge of using ice. Soon, the poisonous insects in the surrounding area were brought under control.

After dealing with the poisonous insects, Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian continued their journey.

Qi Zhiheng examined Qi Zhenhao's jade pendant and could sense that the other party was not far away, but was still moving.

He was still unsure of Qi Zhenhao's purpose in moving around, or whether he was being chased.

If you continue walking, you'll see two corpses lying across the road. The corpses are dressed as assassins, and upon closer inspection, you can tell that they have only been dead for a short time.

Qi Zhiheng immediately quickened his pace, with Yang Yitian following closely behind.

Qi Zhiheng's soul power couldn't see if the situation inside was being blocked by some external force, which made him frown.

The further they went, the more corpses they found. At that moment, he heard a woman's slightly panicked shout.

Qi Zhiheng's heart skipped a beat, fearing something was about to happen, and he quickly rushed into the cave.

The cave was dark, and only two figures could be seen entangled. Qi Zhiheng could tell that one of them was his uncle, Qi Zhenhao!

Qi Zhenhao was clearly not in a good state; his movements were rough, and he was pinning someone down.

Qi Zhenhao was completely unaware of Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian's intrusion, but the woman seemed somewhat taken aback, yet immediately cried for help.

"Help! Please help me!" the woman cried out for help.

Qi Zhiheng's brow twitched; he felt something was amiss.

But he reacted quickly, immediately stepping forward and grabbing Qi Zhenhao by the back of his collar.

There were no lights inside the cave, but since everyone was a cultivator, they could see the situation inside the cave clearly.

Qi Zhenhao's eyes were bloodshot, his face was flushed and somewhat ferocious. After being lifted up by Qi Zhiheng, he still tried to pounce on the woman.

Qi Zhiheng grabbed his leg, preventing him from taking a single step forward, and he was soon attacked by Qi Zhenhao.

However, Qi Zhenhao, who lacked reason, was no match for him and was quickly subdued by Qi Zhiheng.

Qi Zhenhao's behavior clearly indicated that he had been poisoned by aphrodisiacs.

Last time, Yang Yitian went into heat after consuming the Nether Serpent. To prevent the same situation from happening again in the future, Qi Zhiheng refined a lot of pills to treat this condition, which came in handy now.

Qi Zhiheng took out a pill and put it into Qi Zhenhao's mouth, then used his spiritual power to pat him a few times. Qi Zhenhao spat out a mouthful of blood with a "poof!" and his mind cleared up a bit.

Qi Zhenhao saw the two of them and, in a daze, called out, "Zhi...Zhi Heng?"

Qi Zhiheng asked, "Uncle, are you alright?"

"I, I'm fine. Where's Nianzhu?" Qi Zhenhao suddenly came to his senses and looked around.

All eyes turned to the fourth person present.

Qin Nianzhu was the woman who was pinned down by Qi Zhenhao.

Fortunately, Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian arrived in time, and the woman was not actually harmed.

However, her clothes were now disheveled, with some parts torn by Qi Zhenhao, revealing a large expanse of her fair shoulders.

"Nianzhu! Are you alright?" Qi Zhenhao, having regained some strength, hurried towards Qin Nianzhu.

Qin Nianzhu straightened her clothes and shook her head, saying, "I'm fine. Luckily, these two arrived in time."

Qi Zhenhao introduced Qin Nianzhu: "These two are my nephew and his two wives."

He then introduced Qin Nianzhu to Qi Zhiheng and Yang Yitian, saying, "This is my sweetheart. She came back with me this time to discuss our marriage."

"Miss Qin," Qi Zhiheng nodded and greeted her, "This time it was indeed my uncle's fault, and he will definitely make amends in the future."

Qin Nianzhu shook her head and said, "This time it's all because of me. All the trouble started because of me. I'm sorry to you all." After saying that, she looked like she was about to cry.

Qi Zhenhao wanted to say something more, but Qi Zhiheng interrupted him, saying, "Uncle, let's talk as we go outside. Grandma is getting impatient waiting at home."

He couldn't stand women crying. As far as he could remember, he had never seen his grandmother, mother, or aunts shed a tear.

Qi Zhenhao then realized that he had been delayed for so long without any reason, and his family must be worried.

So everyone tidied up and gradually walked out, and Qi Zhenhao recounted the whole story.

Qi Zhenhao and Qin Nianzhu fell in love a year ago. Before that, Qin Nianzhu had another suitor, Yan Yu, the heir of a prominent local family. Even after Qin Nianzhu chose Qi Zhenhao, Yan Yu did not give up his pursuit of her. Yan Yu believed that his status, background, appearance and demeanor were superior to Qi Zhenhao's, but Qin Nianzhu still chose Qi Zhenhao.

Seeing that Qin Nianzhu was about to go back with Qi Zhenhao, Yan Yu was unwilling! He sent people to hunt down the two of them, and among them was a Gu master. While he was controlling the poisonous insects, Qi Zhenhao was bitten by one of them because he was protecting Qin Nianzhu and was poisoned by the aphrodisiac.

Only after Qi Zhenhao had shaken off or killed all the men in black who were chasing him did the poison take effect, leading to the scene just now.

After listening, Yang Yitian said indignantly, "These people really have no self-awareness. How can a despicable person like Yan Yu be compared with our little master?"

Qi Zhenhao blushed at the praise. In fact, Yan Yu's appearance and demeanor were indeed far beyond what a cultivator from a small town like him could easily compare to.

"Actually, he is indeed very outstanding... I really can't compare to him," Qi Zhenhao said weakly.

Yang Yitian choked for a moment, then said, "Uncle, how can you boost others' morale while diminishing your own? Just the fact that Miss Qin Nianzhu chose you over him proves that you have more personal charm than him!"

"Is...is that so?" Qi Zhenhao didn't really understand why Qin Nianzhu chose him, especially since it was Qin Nianzhu who fell in love first.

"And it's really tasteless to be afraid of being hunted down just because the other person doesn't like you!" Yang Yitian expressed his opinion.

Qin Nianzhu said with some worry, "Some of the people who chased us just now escaped, but I don't know if they will come back."

Qi Zhiheng said, "It's alright. This place isn't far from the imperial city. I'm a disciple of the Yuansheng Academy, after all. Even if they dare to chase you down, with me here, they won't dare to make a move here."

They returned to the capital in less than two hours.

Yang Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the four of them return safely.

Qin Nianzhu was very cute, and Yang Yao liked her very much. The Qi family had a lot of good things, and since Qin Nianzhu might be the Qi family's future daughter-in-law, everyone gave her gifts.

When Qin Nianzhu received so many gifts, a fleeting look of greed crossed her eyes. Qi Zhiheng happened to see it but didn't think much of it. Humans are always driven by desires, and anyone would be tempted by so many treasures at once.

Qin Nianzhu was very worried that Yan Yu would cause trouble again, but Qi Zhiheng said, "I happen to have nothing to do these days, so I will handle this matter myself. Miss Qin can rest assured."

Since Qi Zhiheng said he would handle it, it would be going too far for Qin Nianzhu to keep pressing the matter.

Back in the room, Yang Yitian asked, "What are you planning to do about this?"

Qi Zhiheng unfolded paper and pen and began to write: "Apologize and give them some gifts to make them settle things peacefully, what other way is there to deal with it?"

Yang Yitian said somewhat displeasedly, "He sent people to kill my uncle! And we still have to go and apologize?!"

Qi Zhiheng continued writing, replying, "This is a world where the strong rule. In the capital, we have the Yuansheng Academy backing us up, so we can stand tall. But outside the capital, it's no longer the Qi family's domain. The key point is that the Yan family has many Spirit Venerables." Their Qi family, however, has none.

"How many is 'many'?" Yang Yitian pressed.

Qi Zhiheng thought for a moment and said, "About two or three fewer than Yuansheng Academy."

Yang Yitian gasped: "There are so many! Yan Yu must not be very favored in the Yan family, right?"

Qi Zhiheng raised an eyebrow: "Why would you think that? I heard Yan Yu is highly regarded."

Yang Yitian said, "Think about it, he's powerful, wealthy, and good-looking! How blind must Qin Nianzhu be to fall for my uncle and give up such a high-quality handsome man!"

Qi Zhiheng was speechless: "You didn't say that in front of your uncle just now."

Yang Yitian touched his nose: "What I said just now was also from the bottom of my heart, but I didn't know the situation before, and I thought the Yan family was similar to our Qi family."

In fact, Qi Zhiheng didn't know what Qin Nianzhu saw in Qi Zhenhao. If you said she was indifferent to fame and fortune, she also had a pursuit of material things.

Since you have a passion for material things, you should choose Yan Yu.

Yang Yitian reasonably guessed, "Perhaps it's because they value the fact that the men in your Qi family don't take concubines."

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Qi Zhiheng thought for a moment. "In wealthy and powerful families, there are usually three wives and four concubines. Once you go in, there are many rules to follow."

Qi Zhiheng put the letter into an envelope and then took out a box: "Give me a teleportation talisman."

The transport talisman is a special talisman for delivering items. Once the address and recipient's name are set, the item can be delivered directly.

Yang Yitian took out a transport talisman, and Qi Zhiheng put the apology gift into the box and then affixed the talisman.

After activation, the box, along with the talisman, transformed into a vulture and flew away.