Chapter 14 She felt her heart skip a beat. Jiang Zhihe…
Jiang Zhihe raised an eyebrow slightly: "There's a lot you don't know. Besides, although this trick is underhanded, it works!"
He avoided the system's second sentence.
After saying that, he addressed the crowd in front of him: "Now, whoever has the Silver Moon Bell, step forward and hand it over to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, a servant in the corner stood up, walked step by step to Jiang Zhihe, and handed him the silver bell hidden in his sleeve.
The system paused for a moment after witnessing this.
Okay...
Jiang Zhihe tossed the silver bell in his hand twice, then snapped his fingers.
Those who were under the spell immediately regained their senses, but one or two showed signs of mental confusion.
"Looks like there really are some unlucky guys..." Jiang Zhihe sighed.
They're not innocent anyway, so if they're foolish, so be it.
Alright, now that you've retrieved the magical artifact, you should head back now.
Jiang Zhihe turned and walked towards the door, completely ignoring the bewildered and terrified crowd behind him.
"Don't rush me. Among the things you told me, wasn't there also a mother and child?"
As he spoke, he saw a mother and child who had somehow appeared in the courtyard, seemingly waiting for someone.
When Huanniang saw Jiang Zhihe, her eyes lit up, and she pulled Ruier forward and bowed deeply to him.
Jiang Zhihe quickly reached out to help him up: "Oh, oh, oh, no, no!"
Huanniang's voice choked with emotion: "You and that girl saved our lives, it wouldn't be enough for us to kneel before you!"
Jiang Zhihe quickly waved his hand: "No, no, no, slaying demons and eliminating evil is the duty of us cultivators."
Huanniang looked at the young man in front of her, as if she had thought of something, and quickly reached out to hand him the talisman she had been clutching in her hand: "By the way! Immortal Master, this was given to me by that girl, but I don't need it anymore. Could you please return it to her for me?"
Jiang Zhihe looked at the two talismans whose spiritual power had long since dissipated and lost their effectiveness, but said nothing. He smiled and took them, saying, "Okay, okay, I will return them to her for you."
He put away the talisman and then stretched out his hand, in which was the small and exquisite silver moon bell.
"This was given to you by Xiaozhu, wasn't it?"
Huan Niang nodded: "Yes, but then..."
Before Huanniang could finish speaking, Jiang Zhihe handed her the Silver Moon Bell directly: "Then you can take it."
Huan Niang was startled and quickly waved her hands: "No, no, no, this is too precious..."
Seeing this, Jiang Zhihe readily accepted the Silver Moon Bell and then asked, "Since you won't accept it, how about something else?"
Huan Niang was taken aback.
Immediately afterward, she saw the young man in front of her take out a jade pendant. The pendant then glowed faintly, and a human voice came from within it:
"What's wrong? What do you want to see me about?"
Jiang Zhihe smiled and said, "I just found a promising talent while I was out, and you're not willing to introduce him to me?"
The voice on the other end sounded suspicious: "Really? You have such promising talents, why don't you recruit them into your sect instead of introducing them to me?"
Jiang Zhihe said regretfully, "If I could, I would of course like to bring him into our sect! But there's nothing I can do, his physique is indeed more suitable for your sect."
"Sigh, I was too honest after all."
The voice on the other end was full of disdain: "Go away, stop being so glib. Then tell me, what kind of promising talent is worth you telling me in person?"
Jiang Zhihe smiled slyly: "Born with a sword physique, and possessing a pure Dao heart. Want some?"
The other person's breathing visibly faltered, and after a moment, his voice trembled as he asked, "A natural sword physique?"
"right."
"Still... pure in Dao heart?"
"right."
"You...you really didn't lie to me?"
"Of course! What kind of person do you take me for?"
"hiss--"
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, followed by a cacophony of shouts: "Wait, wait! I'm coming right now!"
“Okay. He’s in Lingyong City. I’ll give him a wooden plaque with my scent on it. You can come and find him when the time comes.”
After saying that, he thought for a moment and added, "Oh right, the child is only nine years old and has a mother. Don't scare the child when the time comes."
"Clang!"
Another loud crash came from over there, as if something had fallen to the ground, and you could vaguely hear him muttering words of ecstatic joy.
Jiang Zhihe abruptly ended the communication, then took out a wooden plaque from his storage bag and handed it to Rui'er, who was holding her mother's hand.
Here, take it.
Rui'er first looked at his mother, and after his mother nodded in acknowledgment, he accepted the wooden plaque with both hands: "Thank you, brother."
Jiang Zhihe smiled and patted the boy's head: "You're welcome."
Huan Niang, who was not stupid, could naturally deduce something from the few words the boy exchanged with the other person. At this moment, she was trembling all over, not from fear, but from excitement.
This young man has paved a path to immortality for his child!
What a blessing this is!
Huanniang looked at the young man in front of her, almost moved to tears: "Thank you..."
"Hey, hey, don't thank me," Jiang Zhihe interrupted Huan Niang.
"It wasn't me who bestowed a path to immortality upon your son, it was your son..." Jiang Zhihe looked at the still somewhat bewildered boy, his narrow eyes curving slightly, as if he had thought of something, and a smile unconsciously overflowed from his eyes:
"He received the blessing of the gods."
Huanniang was stunned.
Jiang Zhihe continued, "Of course, he deserves the blessing because he worked hard."
He glanced at the sky and prepared to leave the Li residence, but before leaving, he left behind two final words: "The person you truly need to thank will appear tomorrow in that open space in the west of the city."
"If you are truly grateful, then go there at noon tomorrow; you might just run into them again."
… …
The next day.
After learning from Shangguan You that the teleportation array had been repaired, Jiang Zhihe and Wu Jiangxue prepared to take Gu Xiaozhu to the location of the array.
As soon as you step out of the inn, you can see that there are many more cultivators on the street, and most of them are heading to the west of the city, which is where the teleportation array is located.
This time, Gu Xiaozhu hesitated only for a moment before taking the hand the boy offered.
Partly because there were a lot of people, and partly because...
It has to be admitted that, under Jiang Zhihe's repeated blunt and bold words and actions, she has indeed become somewhat desensitized.
Moreover, every request he made was perfectly reasonable, even beneficial to her, and his words carried no malice whatsoever, only full of expectation, like an enthusiastic little dog.
She really couldn't find a way to refuse him, and she was also a little reluctant to do so.
After taking Jiang Zhihe's hand, she clearly saw the boy's lips curl into a smile and his face beaming with joy.
Happiness that is visible to the naked eye.
Looking at his undisguised smile, she inexplicably felt her heart skip a beat.
Upon noticing this, she immediately looked away, glancing at the surrounding vendors in a somewhat ambiguous manner, but the heat on the tips of her ears just wouldn't go down.
[Tsk...that's quite a tactic.]
The system suddenly spoke.
Gu Xiaozhu was taken aback: "W-what do you mean?"
[Host, your heart is racing. I can tell you're completely infatuated with that kid!]
Gu Xiaozhu: "???"
The system's electronic voice also carried a strong sense of... displeasure?
It's like watching your precious little cabbage about to be eaten by a pig.
Gu Xiaozhu: ...Is it just my imagination?
But the interruption quickly dispelled the strange feeling that had risen in her heart, and even the temperature of her ear tips gradually dropped.
His red robes stood out among the light-colored and gray clothing, like a flame, just like his personality—passionate, unrestrained, and ever-renewing.
And now this flame is closely following her, held firmly in her hand.
Perhaps she herself didn't realize that at this moment, a faint, genuine smile was on her face.
Along the way, she could hear conversations among the people around her, some of which were even familiar to her.
"I never imagined that the thief who destroyed the formation was actually a demon cultivator! And many corpses of mortals killed by that demon cultivator have been found in the city!"
"Yes, and the commotion last night seemed to be caused by the Spirit Law Division when they were capturing demons."
"Huh? But my friend told me that he saw three law enforcement officers from the Spirit Law Division frozen in ice last night!"
"I saw it too. That move was clearly done by a fellow cultivator with an ice spirit root!"
"Wow, amazing! Which fellow Daoist is so brave as to do what I've always wanted to do but never dared to!"
"What? If it wasn't the Spirit Law Division that arrested them, then who could it be?"
"..."
The scattered words were enough for Gu Xiaozhu to piece together what had happened outside last night.
However, those three members of the Spiritual Mage Division who were frozen...
She silently glanced at the boy who was still talking excitedly in front of her, and then silently looked away.
Well, it definitely wasn't Jiang Zhihe's fault for coming to save her.
… …
As the city approaches the west, the number of people on the road has increased rather than decreased.
Among the crowd, Gu Xiaozhu also spotted two familiar figures.
"That's... Huan Niang and Rui'er?" She looked in that direction and asked with some suspicion.
"Huh? Really?" Jiang Zhihe looked in the direction the girl was looking. "It really is them! Do you want to go over and say hello to them?"
Gu Xiaozhu nodded, then glanced at Wu Jiangxue beside her and asked, "Um... Sister Wu, do you want to come along?"
She wasn't a cultivator, so calling her Fellow Daoist Wu wasn't quite appropriate, but calling her Miss Wu seemed a bit too formal. Hmm... calling her Sister Wu should be fine... right?
Wu Jiangxue was taken aback at first, then smiled and shook her head: "I won't go, you guys go first, I'll wait for you at the teleportation array later... Sister Xiaozhu?"
As she uttered those last four words, Wu Jiangxue winked playfully at Gu Xiaozhu.
Gu Xiaozhu was clearly caught off guard, and even stammered, "Ah, um... okay."
"Hey—" the boy suddenly spoke up, his voice drawn out, with a hint of grievance in it, "Why do you call her Sister Wu, but call me by my real name?"
The boy's tone was slightly accusatory, like a wronged puppy, looking at her with wet eyes.
Gu Xiaozhu... Gu Xiaozhu really couldn't stand that kind of look.
"Then... I'll call you..." A hint of embarrassment appeared on her face.
“Just call me Ahe!” Jiang Zhihe said immediately.
Gu Xiaozhu: "Hmm...Ahe?"
"I am here!"
Having received a response, Jiang Zhihe was in a very good mood.
"In that case, let's go over there first!" He said to Wu Jiangxue, then pulled Gu Xiaozhu nimbly through the crowd and came to Huan Niang and her son.
Huanniang had noticed Gu Xiaozhu and the others early on. She wanted to take Rui'er with her to find them, but there were too many cultivators on the road, and she was afraid of bumping into these immortals, so she didn't dare to squeeze through. Just as she was hesitating, she saw that the young man had already brought the girl to her.
"Ah! It's a beautiful older sister and brother!" Ruier exclaimed in surprise.
Huan Niang also addressed the two, saying, "Two immortal masters..."
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaozhu quickly waved her hand: "There's no need to call me Immortal Master. I'm not a cultivator. Like you, I'm just a mortal."
"Um... My surname is Gu, and my name is Gu Xiaozhu."
Huan Niang immediately changed her address to "Miss Gu".
After saying this, she bowed deeply to Gu Xiaozhu:
"I am truly, truly grateful to you for saving my and Rui'er's lives. You are our savior!"
Rui'er, standing to the side, also bowed in imitation of her mother, saying, "I am so grateful to Sister Gu for saving me and my mother!"
Gu Xiaozhu was somewhat alarmed. She immediately reached out to help Huanniang up, saying, "No need...you don't need to do this, it's my duty..."
“No, Miss Gu.” Before Gu Xiaozhu could finish speaking, Huanniang looked up at her and said, “Saving me and Rui’er at the cost of your life is not something you should do.”
She gently took the girl's hands in front of her, her eyes full of sincerity: "Miss Gu, you are also a good person, and your life is just as important and just as worthy of cherishing."
Gu Xiaozhu was stunned.
After a moment, she sighed softly, her tone tinged with helplessness: "Okay... I'll remember."
At this moment, Jiang Zhihe suddenly spoke up: "Xiaozhu, it's getting late, we should hurry up and leave."
Hearing this, she nodded, bid farewell to Huanniang and Ruier, and then left with the young man.
On the way, Jiang Zhihe unusually remained silent, and the silence lasted so long that even Gu Xiaozhu felt a little uneasy.
What's going on? Why isn't he saying anything?
Was he saying he was tired? Or...?
Are you angry?
After all, Huanniang mentioned that she had traded her own life for the lives of Huanniang and the other two.
This behavior...
Before she could figure it out, she heard the boy in front of her let out a long, long sigh, sounding both helpless and dejected.
He stopped and turned around, his bright eyes fixed on her with utmost seriousness:
"Xiaozhu, you are far better than you imagine yourself to be, so you deserve to be treated kindly by this world."
"You have a very long life ahead of you, and your future will surely be brilliant and full of vitality."
"Therefore, please do not take your life lightly."
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