This main road leads to the south gate of Hancheng. The south of Hancheng is where ordinary people live, and it is also where markets and vegetable markets are located, so even on a cloudy day, it is still very lively.
The monks, including Shi Chan, inquired along the way and found Li Molin and his companions in an ordinary inn in the south of the city.
The inn was small, a melting pot of all sorts of people, and it was busiest time of evening. The noise inside was particularly loud, exuding a boisterous, worldly atmosphere.
Standing behind Yuanjue, Shichan looked around the inn and saw Li Molin and the others from the window.
At that moment, Ji Jue was drinking wine with unrestrained manners, Yu Ke was eating his meal in a refined manner, and Li Molin was taking a sip of a steaming teacup. After the steam subsided, his eyes were filled with a smile as he stared intently at Liu Li sitting opposite him.
Liuli sat casually in the chair, her wide sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing her two fair arms. Beside her was a bowl of wine, her mouth full of food. She chewed a few bites, then picked up the wine bowl, took a sip, and swallowed it haphazardly. Her rude actions drew the attention of everyone in the inn.
Upon seeing Liuli, Shichan was stunned for a moment, a hint of a smile appearing in his eyes.
Yuanjue led Shichan and the others through the many tables to Li Molin's table. Li Molin looked up, his eyes turned cold, and he said sarcastically, "Those annoying flies are truly persistent."
With food still in her mouth, Liuli looked up when she heard the noise, her gaze fixed on Shichan's face, her bright eyes blinking a few times.
Yuanjue smiled slightly, put his palms together, and said, "It's noisy here, and we're afraid that innocent people might be harmed. Would you all like to come out of the city with us for a chat?"
Li Molin turned to look at everyone in the inn, scoffed, and said indifferently, "You monk are so unreasonable. I'm eating here peacefully, why should I go outside the city?"
Yuanjue smiled and shook his head, then looked up at Liuli and said with a smile, "Does the young lady know anything about these people?"
Liuli was taken aback, her eyes darting around before she realized he must have mistaken her for a human. She remained silent, her eyes darting about, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
She slowly chewed and swallowed the food in her mouth, calmly lowered her sleeve, and shook her head timidly, saying, "I don't know..."
Upon hearing this, Li Molin's brow twitched. Shi Chan looked up at Liu Li and was slightly taken aback.
Yuanjue then asked, "Then this young lady must not know that they are people of the demon race, right?"
"Ah!" Liuli suddenly threw down her chopsticks, exclaiming in alarm, "You are actually demons?"
Li Molin's brow twitched again.
Liuli's eyes darted around a few times, then she stood up, lifted her skirt, and ran around the table towards Yuanjue and the others, calling out in a sweet voice as she ran, "My little masters, please save me! I've been tricked!"
"Liuli!" Li Molin's face darkened as he asked in a deep voice, "What are you up to!"
Liuli ignored him and ran behind Yuanjue, stealing a glance at Shichan. Seeing him silently with his eyes down, she figured he probably hadn't recognized her at all. A sense of relief washed over her, but she felt mostly disappointed.
She said timidly, "I got separated from my family. They said they would take me home, but I really didn't know they were demons. Luckily, I met you young masters, otherwise I would have been harmed by them without even knowing it!"
Li Molin's face grew increasingly grim. "Little lady," indeed. What a clever fabrication. He truly hadn't expected that Liuli, who had stayed in Fox Plains all this time, was not entirely ignorant of human affairs.
What he didn't know was that, as Liuli grew up, besides spending her days in the forest, the thing she did most was pester Yingmo to tell her all sorts of stories about the human world. Although Yingmo told her stories about the Central Plains human world from long ago, Liuli had heard them so many times that she knew quite a bit about the common knowledge of the human world.
He slowly stood up, looked at Liuli with a leisurely air, and said, "Liuli, do you think your grandmother would be very pleased to see you so well-behaved?"
Liuli paused, realizing he was going to use her grandmother to threaten her. She pondered for a while, then stubbornly glared at him. Reaching out to tug at Yuanjue's sleeve, she said timidly, "Little Master, I don't know what he means, but you must save me."
Li Molin was exasperated by Liuli's mischievousness. He looked at Yuanjue and said with utmost sincerity, "Monk, I'm telling you clearly, the one beside you is not human, but a fox demon. Do you really want to save her?"
At this moment, many people in the inn looked over curiously, and the noise subsided considerably. Some of the diners who were closer heard the words "demon race" and secretly paid their bills and left.
Yuanjue listened to Liuli and Li Molin's conversation, feeling somewhat puzzled. However, upon closer inspection, he found no trace of demonic energy on Liuli, confirming she was indeed human. He turned to Shichan, who remained silent with his head bowed. He then turned his gaze to Yuanding and the other two. Yuanding and Yuanqing silently shook their heads, while Huiyan carefully examined Liuli, shaking his head despite the deep doubt in his eyes.
“Little Master…” Liuli shook Yuanjue’s sleeve and said aggrievedly, “I have long heard that the demons are treacherous and cunning. Look at him, he tried to harm me but now he’s framing me. Little Master, do I look like a fox demon to you?”
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