Chapter 17: How can you know what a fox is worried about if you are not a fox?
The Wangyou Tavern in Liangcheng has unexpectedly closed down. Many wine lovers sighed and lamented, and acquaintances asked each other about the reason, but no one knew why.
A curious person went to Jingwei Study to inquire, but was told by the servant that Mr. Zhuang was ill and could not see guests.
So everyone started to speculate, could it be that Mr. Zhuang was about to die, and Mrs. Zhuang was so exhausted from serving him medicine that she was unable to run the tavern?
This made some alcoholics very anxious. The Qionghua Dew that was previously sold in various restaurants became a hot commodity, and the price of the wine was raised to ten gold coins per two ounces.
Originally a common food that anyone could enjoy, it suddenly became a status symbol for the local rich.
Those whose souls had been taken away by magic were also sent back home, but they acted as if they had left yesterday and returned today, and their families did the same, as if the soul-taking had never happened. This was a good thing for the government, and to avoid public unrest, they went along with it.
Magistrate He also woke up shortly afterwards. The old magistrate was so happy that he burst into tears and hurriedly ordered people to prepare a banquet to thank Lingxiang and his party.
When the prefect at the banquet saw Lingxiang, he was stunned at first, then he bowed deeply. Everyone was stunned for a moment, thinking that this courtesy was a bit too much.
Magistrate He hurriedly explained that saving a life was like giving a new life, which made sense.
But only Lingxiang and He Zhifu knew the reason.
Several people stayed in Liangcheng for a few days, and when their injuries were about 70% healed, they prepared to leave.
Lu Ying was going to the border town of Youlu to visit his family. It was north of Liangcheng, and Guyangcheng was located southeast of Liangcheng, so he set off a day earlier.
After bidding farewell to He Zhifu and Zhao Tongzhi who insisted on sending them out of the city, Lingxiang and Long Qi set off with many local specialties.
"Oh," Lingxiang didn't want to walk away when she suddenly started to attack: "I am a beauty, unlike some people who are like tigresses~~" She spoke like a mountain road, and her tone was more tortuous and graceful than the singing of an actor.
Long Qi was stunned at first, then he looked around and said something else: "Hey, isn't it because he was hit by the soul-stealing technique and his mind is unstable?"
"Ah~ Really? Why do I feel like I don't have what I should have?" Lingxiang said, brushing off her sleeves, "You're clearly a man~"
Long Qi thought to himself that something was wrong: This female tiger is really something. It’s been such a long time, but she still remembers it so clearly. It’s true that only women and villains are difficult to raise.
She is a woman, and she is very petty...
"Hey, I was just saying that. As a master, why are you so petty and want to argue with your apprentice?"
Ling Xiang stopped walking upon hearing this, turned around and smiled at Long Qi, saying, "I don't have many strengths, but I'm a master of revenge."
As he said that, he took out a tree branch that he had gotten from somewhere and hit Long Qi with it. Long Qi hurriedly used the package containing local specialties to block him, and shouted as he retreated, "I was wrong, you are not a man at all. How can a man be as rude and unjust as you? You...you are just a she-tiger!" After saying that, he quickly picked up the bag and ran away.
When Lingxiang heard this, she was so angry that she was about to explode. "What did you say! I'm a female tiger?! Humph! You're such a good guy, Long Qi. Today, your master will teach you a lesson and let you know what it means to respect your teacher and what it means to value morality!" Then she chased after him.
The two men were bickering and playing, while not far away on a high place, Zhuang Wei stood tall and proud, with a smile on his face, watching the two of them walking away, with a long-tailed red fox in his arms.
The fox's eyes were half closed, as if it was in deep sleep. Upon closer inspection, I saw a patch of matted fur on its hind leg, suggesting it had been injured...
…
On the night of the full moon, when Zhao Tongzhi got up at night, he saw a figure flash by outside the window. When he went out to take a look, it was Long Qi, but he looked strange, as if he was sleepwalking.
The old Tongzhi suddenly thought of the soul-stealing case, and hurriedly asked the servants to inform Lingxiang, and went to find Lu Ying himself.
When he arrived at Lu Ying's place, he found Lingxiang there too, seemingly discussing something important. Seeing that both of them were dressed neatly, he thought they were about to go out, so he hurriedly told them about Long Qi.
Upon hearing this, Lingxiang Lu Ying hurried to the yamen gate and instructed not to let anyone follow her to avoid unnecessary casualties.
After the two of them left the yamen, they happened to see Long Qi turning the corner of the alley, so they followed him quietly. On the way, Lingxiang told Lu Ying her guess and asked him to find Mr. Zhuang and inform him, otherwise they would not be his opponent with their strength.
Lu Ying also felt that this made sense, but Mr. and Mrs. Zhuang were deeply in love, and he was afraid that they might not believe him when the time came.
It was late at night and everyone had already gone to bed. When Lu Ying found Mr. Zhuang's bedroom, Mrs. Zhuang was not there. Only Mr. Zhuang was lying in bed, and he couldn't wake him up no matter what he did.
Lu Ying suddenly thought of the calming talisman given to him by Lingxiang on the way, so he hurriedly took it out and attached it to him. Sure enough, he was hypnotized.
Mr. Zhuang didn't believe what he said at first, but when asked where his wife was, he fell silent.
The two of them then split up to look for him, but when they met again, Mr. Zhuang's life was hanging by a thread...
"My husband, if I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have known there was such a thing as love in this world that is more intoxicating than wine. But after I found out, I was deeply immersed in it and couldn't extricate myself..." Yao Yi stroked Zhuang Wei's face and murmured, "If you weren't in this world, what would be the point of leaving me alone..."
She bent down and kissed his forehead, a tear fell and flowed down his cheek.
After a long time, they reluctantly parted and looked at him for a long time.
Suddenly, Yao Yi's eyes flashed with a faint light, and then two beads came out of her mouth, one crystal white and the other fiery red. They were actually demon pills.
Seeing this, Lingxiang hurriedly said, "If you use this to extend his life, you will die. Is it worth it to cultivate for a hundred years?"
Yaoyi looked at Lingxiang and smiled sweetly.
"You are not a fox, so how do you know what the fox is worried about? You are not me, so how do you know what I am thinking about?" As he said this, he crushed the two demon pills with one hand.
Strands of spiritual power coiled around Liu Yaoyi's hands and drifted away, like a sea of fire and silver flowers, yet so gentle. It enveloped Wei Zhuang for a long time, and then suddenly drifted away, filling the entire Liangcheng.
"Oh..." Lingxiang sighed and took out two pills from her Qiankun bag.
A strange fragrance wafted into Long Qi's nose, and he hurriedly looked at the person in his arms. It was another life-extending pill!
"What are you doing?" Lu Ying was also shocked when he saw it.
"After all, she really didn't kill anyone, so she can be considered kind. With her power, if she really wants to extend Mr. Zhuang's life, she can use extraordinary methods and exchange her life for another's." After saying this, he stood up and walked towards the yard.
There, Zhuang Wei was lying quietly, as if he was sleeping, with tears still in the corners of his eyes, but there was no scar on his body.
When Long Qi looked over, he saw a long-tailed red fox curled up beside Zhuang Wei.
Lingxiang stuffed the pill into the red fox's mouth and activated it using magic techniques.
"I hope this can save your life. If you are lucky, this Spirit Gathering Pill may even help you transform..."
A gust of wind blew by, dispersing the dark clouds that covered the moon, rippling the water in the pond in the courtyard, and blowing down the flowers from the jade trees by the pond.
…
The red fox in Zhuang Wei's arms opened its eyes, looked at the two people walking away, then closed them again, as if it had fallen asleep again.
When the wind blew, Zhuang Wei's clothes were lifted. He stroked the red fox and turned to go into the city.
What is the difference between a flower that looks like a flower and a flower that is not a flower? The fog comes and goes, but it is hard to get rid of it. The fox on the road is the most affectionate one, and it will find its true love and finally have a family.
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