16 Lin Zi (9)
◎Apologize, okay?◎
Li Jintang: “…”
The two demons shouted in unison: "They really want to escape!"
Seeing them rushing towards her one after another, she grabbed the rope and swung it upwards with all her strength, the burrs on the rope rubbing against her palms until they turned red.
Who would have thought that although the two monsters were not very smart, they were extremely fast. They easily dodged the hemp rope and then stabbed out with their sharp claws.
Li Jintang did not expect that they would appear in front of him so quickly. He was so frightened that he didn't even have time to close his eyes. He heard two hissing sounds and two silver needles flew past his eyes. Although they did not hit the two monsters, they forced them back a few steps.
The two demons cursed: "You, you..."
"Report!"
Then another demon came straight into the door, knelt on one knee, and said, "My lord, please come."
The green demon chuckled, a terrifying laugh: "If you fall into the hands of the adults, you will be in trouble!"
Li Jintang was startled, unsure of who this "sir" was. Just as she was stunned, she saw Xie Changyan's eyes drifting towards her. He smiled faintly, "Miss Li, don't even think about counting on me, Xie. I can't even defeat these two demon brothers, so how can I escape from that "sir"?"
The two demons were overjoyed at these words. They laughed out loud, "Of course. Our master is truly majestic, a master of martial arts, and handsome..."
After saying that, he kept moving his hands, tied the two men up again with hemp rope, carried them separately and walked out the door.
Passing through several rows of dead trees, Li Jintang kept scanning the side, not wanting to miss any corner, wanting to see if there was a weak spot where the demon soldiers had taken control.
Seeing a few sharp stones lying on the ground, she silently picked them up with her toes and held them in her palm.
After a while, they arrived in front of a palace. The two were pushed into the palace. Li Jintang felt that the yin energy inside was extremely heavy. As soon as he entered, he felt dizzy and unwell.
"Tell me, where is the thing?" An ethereal voice echoed in the hall.
Li Jintang was startled and looked up in the direction of the voice. He saw a high platform in the darkness. There was a person sitting on the platform, but the person was leaning sideways, and it was obvious that the words he had just said were not directed at them.
She followed the man's gaze and couldn't help but blink - she saw Qiu Yan and Qu Lingfei surrounded by demon soldiers, almost kneeling in front of the hall.
Suddenly a beam of bright light shone in, and then the palace door opened again, and a staggering black shadow walked through the beam of light.
It was Nangong Xiu who was also tied up.
"Is everyone here?" The man sneered and flew off the stage. Only then did they see clearly that he was an old monster shaped like a bat.
The surrounding monsters knelt down one after another with respectful expressions.
She guessed that it was the Demon King.
Suddenly she thought of something and lowered her head. The Book of Life happened to crawl up from her back and meet her eyes.
Fortunately, the monsters couldn't see it, so they didn't cause any trouble.
The demon king slowly approached, stopped between them, and suddenly turned his head to Qu Lingfei: "If you don't tell me, don't blame me for crushing them all into pieces!"
Qu Lingfei was furious: "Why would you hurt them? I've already told you, I don't understand what you're saying, and I don't have what you're looking for."
As soon as he finished speaking, a demon behind him kicked him and said, "Speak respectfully to our masters!"
Qu Lingfei straightened his back. Although he felt pain, his face only changed. He endured it and didn't even bend his back at all.
"Really?" The bat demon's mouth slowly opened up. Its skin was originally black with yellow, and when it smiled like this, it looked like a bloody rift emerging from the dry desert.
It suddenly spread its wings and swiftly slapped Nangong Xiu with its palm, shouting, "Do you want to keep the Xuanyu, or spare the lives of these three people?"
As soon as the word "Xuan Yu" came out, Xie Changyan withdrew his thoughts and looked up at him.
Qu Lingfei gritted his teeth, his face pale. "I told you, I don't know anything about Xuanyu. If you want to kill me, kill me first!"
"Okay," the bat demon said with a smile, revealing two hands from its wings, each holding a knife. "Then you choose, who should I kill first?"
The blade hung over his head, Li Jintang's fingers turning white as he clenched the stone in his hand. If he really stabbed it, maybe he could still block it.
"Qu Lingfei," Xie Changyan said calmly, glancing sideways at the furious man who was powerless to fight back. He frowned and said, "Is that Xuanyu really so precious that it can't even cost us our lives?"
Qu Lingfei's body froze, his pupils trembling slightly, and he said in disbelief: "Brother Xie, why don't you believe me? I don't have any..."
Before he could finish his words, he felt someone bump his left arm. He heard Qiuyan crying, "Brother, please give him the thing quickly. It's just a broken stone. How can it be more important than a human life?"
When the bat demon heard the words "broken stone," he knew the boy must have hidden the black jade. He immediately scolded him, "I'll give you three numbers. If you don't hand it over, hmph."
After saying that, he placed the knife on Nangong Xiu's neck and shouted, "Three!"
Qu Lingfei was stunned—why didn't Junior Sister believe him? He turned his head sharply and saw Qiu Yan blinking her tears and secretly winking at him.
He understood instantly and sighed, "Never mind, never mind. Although this item is valuable, it is not worth a human life. Release my friend first, and I will give it to you."
After saying that, I thought to myself, there is no such thing anyway, so what's the harm in giving him something random?
Of course the bat demon wouldn't agree. He counted to two and said with a sinister grin, "We only have a little time left. Will you give it to me or not?"
"Here, here, here," Qu Lingfei said hurriedly, but he was troubled by the fact that he had nothing on him, and even trying to make excuses was difficult. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he remembered the treasures that his master had given them that day. He said, "Just promise to let them go and give them the goods."
His hand had already reached for the treasure, and he secretly said that he had no choice but to do so to save someone. If his master knew, he would definitely not blame him.
What's more, I've been carrying this thing with me for a few days, but it hasn't been of any use at all. I think it won't be a big deal even if I give it to him.
Qu Lingfei stood up with difficulty and walked forward slowly. The bat demon glanced at him and stared at the thing in his hand.
"Release them, release them..."
Before he could finish his words, the thing in his hand was snatched away. At the same time, he quickly turned sideways, pulled out the knife of the guard beside him, and cut the hemp on the bodies of several people with a few swipes.
The bat demon had taken the things and had no intention of letting them go. Seeing this, he ordered: "Capture them and leave no one alive!"
A few people looked outside and saw a large group of demon soldiers rushing into the hall. They came with such ferocious momentum that a fierce battle was inevitable.
Seeing that the people had been rescued, Qiuyan took advantage of the two monsters beside him who were off guard, kicked them down, and immediately ran to the crowd.
The weapons of several people have been hidden by the bat monster, and now they are unarmed, making it even more difficult to resist.
Qu Lingfei held the knife he had just snatched, thrust it forward, and fended off the leading demons.
Everyone used their spiritual power to block the attack for a while. Li Jintang raised her hand and shot out the stones in her palm, which were soaked with cold sweat. They happened to hit the monster's eyes. She took the opportunity to snatch the weapons from their hands, throwing one at Qiuya, and the other...
She turned around suddenly, but Xie An was nowhere to be seen.
Two more monsters pounced on her. She was not used to using thick and long weapons, so she had to use all her strength to lift them. When their claws touched her, she immediately let go and ran away.
When she ran to the front of the hall, she found herself blocked by another group of demon soldiers. She stepped back, only to see a ferocious monster with bared fangs and claws behind her.
Suddenly, a white light shot out, knocking away the monster behind him. Recognizing it as Qiuyan's sword, Li Jintang was delighted and turned to look at her: "Sister Qiuyan, did you find your sword?"
"It's not just mine," Qiuyan said, looking behind her with a smile, "it was Xie An. He found everyone's swords."
Li Jintang turned around and met the young man's gaze. He smiled slightly and said, "Do you still want your knife?"
She spotted the dagger immediately and quickly ran over, looking at him: "Thank you, Xie An."
When she said thank you, she always liked to add the person's name at the end, which surprised him.
Although there were many demon soldiers, only a few of them could really fight. In addition, after getting their swords back, they rushed out of the hall in a short while.
Xie Changyan sheathed his sword and flew forward, kicking the green-skinned monster that was clinging to him away. However, the force was too great for it to resist, and as it flew backwards, it toppled the iron frame with a loud bang.
“My palace, my palace!” the bat demon screamed, giving people goosebumps. “Stop, stop right there!”
When he shouted, all the demons stopped fighting. The hall was already in a mess due to the fighting, with all kinds of jewels scattered on the ground, which made people feel very distressed.
"Forget it, forget it," the bat demon said, his teeth aching with anger. He waved his hands and said, "Now that we have the Black Jade, they won't dare to take it again. Let me go!"
When they returned to the forest, they realized that it was already late and there was a faint sunset glow in the sky.
"Brother Qu," Li Jintang finally couldn't help but ask after walking for a while, "Is it really okay that you gave that...treasure to the Demon King just now?"
She couldn't remember the name of the thing, so she just said it was a treasure.
Before Qu Lingfei could respond, Qiuyan burst into laughter. Then, he stroked her hair and said, "Sister Atang, why didn't you see that just now? My brother and I didn't have the thing he wanted. We were just making it up."
Li Jintang suddenly understood what was going on and felt relieved - if Brother Qu gave up the treasure in order to save them and let the Demon King take it away, then she would never be able to repay him no matter what she said.
"Xie An," she turned around and saw the young man walking very slowly behind her, so she stopped and waited for him to come forward. "You're walking so slowly, are you injured? Why... why are you smiling?"
Xie Changyan suppressed his smile and said calmly, "I just remembered something interesting."
"What's up?"
"For example, traveling with stupid people."
His voice was not loud, so only the two of them heard what he said.
Li Jintang was stunned, thinking he was talking about him. Then he thought about what had just happened in the palace and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. It's just that the situation is urgent and I couldn't think of any other solution."
What she was talking about was that when she was being guarded by the two demons, she casually said that he had a mental problem.
Xie Changyan glanced at her but did not answer.
If he had not stopped in time, her hand and the hemp rope would have been burned by him.
But she didn't notice it and thought he was really unskilled.
Qu Lingfei exclaimed "Huh" from the front. The two stopped talking and looked up at the same time. They saw a sword pointing straight to the ground, and the blade had been bent in the middle.
Nangong Xiu lowered his head, his expression already a little off, but he still said in a muffled voice, "I was attacked by a few monsters just now, and I accidentally broke my sword."
"It's broken like this, it's useless," Qu Lingfei put his hand on his chin, a look of regret between his brows. "Maybe we'll come across a town up ahead. We might as well stop there to rest. After Brother Nangong repairs the sword, we can set off again."
"Going back to town?" Qiuyan suddenly remembered how they'd been chased by the townspeople, how they'd encountered the snake swarm, and how they'd escaped the bat demon's mouth. Her hair stood on end. She asked, "Don't you think we haven't run enough these past few days?"
"That's fine." Seeing Nangong Xiu frown and about to speak again, Xie Changyan glanced at him and interrupted, "The town won't be the same town as before, and the people won't be the same group as before."
After he said this, and considering that Nangong Xiu had accidentally damaged his sword while accompanying them in their quest for the secret key, Qiuyan couldn't stop him and said, "Then hurry up and get going. Once it gets dark, who knows what kind of monster will pop up."
Fortunately, the journey was relatively peaceful. Apart from the occasional strange bird calls, there were no other monsters. The group hurried on, and finally, when it was completely dark, they saw a bright light not far away.
I thought I had really come across a market, but when I got closer I realized it was just a manor.
The manor was nestled among mountains, surrounded by water. Its beams were made of glazed tiles, and its walls were built of blue bricks and jade tiles. The surrounding area was brightly lit, so even though there were no houses within miles, it didn't feel lonely.
Several people stood there. Qu Lingfei took a few steps forward and was about to knock on the door when the vermilion door suddenly opened from the inside. The face of a middle-aged man with a beard came into view.
Qu Lingfei paused, then bowed and said, "I'm just passing through here. Could I stay here for a few days?"
The man glanced past him and glanced at the people behind him, then turned and strode away.
"This guy is so rude," Qiu Yan said, annoyed at his disrespect towards Qu Lingfei. "Who wants to live here? Brother, let's go. There might be other families ahead."
"He is not the master." Xie Changyan said concisely.
"That's right," Nangong Xiu nodded, adding, "The furnishings here are so extravagant, yet the man just now was wearing coarse clothes. It really doesn't make sense."
Not long after, three burly men dressed similarly to the previous ones slowly approached, carrying an elderly man with limited mobility. Qu Lingfei explained their passing and their desire to stay overnight, skipping only the part about the townspeople chasing them. The elderly man's eyes widened, a look of amazement and admiration on his face.
"Everyone who comes is a guest, and we must not neglect them," the old man said slowly. Despite his age, his voice was full of energy. He turned and said something to the man beside him. The man bowed his head, extended his arm forward, and made a gesture of 'invitation.'
Several people walked in one after another and thanked the old man.
The old man was the owner of this manor, named Lu Chengfeng. He was supported by someone as he walked in front of the group. He said slowly, "I have settled here on my own and have only been dealing with the servants here all day. I am very happy to meet you young men passing by today."
Qu Lingfei smiled and said, "It's us who should be grateful. I thought I'd be sleeping on the streets tonight, but I didn't expect to run into you, Master Lu."
Lu Chengfeng laughed heartily and said, "I, Lu Chengfeng, have the greatest admiration for brave men like you, young hero. Please don't be restrained." He then looked at the broken sword in Nangong Xiu's hand and said, "I will send someone to escort Brother Nangong to the town tomorrow morning."
Walking into the garden, one is refreshed. It is surrounded by rockery and a gurgling stream. Several maids come towards them and lean over to bow to them.
Lu Chengfeng led them to their residence. When they were about to enter, two women came from the end of the porch. When they came up to them, everyone realized that their appearance and body shape were almost the same.
They stood in front of everyone and bowed to Master Lu, saying, "Daddy."
"These two girls are my beloved daughters," Lu Chengfeng stroked his beard, pointed at one of the girls wearing a golden hairpin, and introduced them cheerfully to everyone: "This is my eldest daughter, Lu Suye." His finger slowly moved to the girl with tassels hanging from her ears, "and this is my second daughter, Lu Qingzhu."
The few of them exchanged glances. Li Jintang had noticed the red ribbons scattered throughout the manor when she first entered. Now, seeing the two beautiful women, she felt even more certain. She asked, "Master Lu, are these two sisters getting married?"
When Lu Chengfeng heard this, he was immediately surprised and said, "Young lady, you are really smart. Yes, my second daughter will be getting married the day after tomorrow. As for the person she is going to marry——"
He paused for a moment, then revealed a proud expression and said in a rather complacent tone, "He is Sikong Yi, the son of Sikong Jushi."
Without waiting for anyone to ask, he continued his explanation, "Master Sikong is renowned for miles around. No one can resist paying him respects when seeing him. As for other matters, I cannot say anything more."
Several people looked at each other, and they all tacitly understood what Lu Chengfeng meant - my daughter has married into such a remarkable family, and from now on, she will be able to rule this area.
He casually said a few words about the layout of the manor, and then Lu Chengfeng said, "It's late, young men, please go back to your rooms and get some rest." Then everyone went into their respective rooms.
【Author’s words】
The word count of the list is completed [Sprinkle flowers]
My dears, the next chapter will be updated on Friday [Red Heart]
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