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Wen Ji always woke up earlier than Wang Lifu. On this day, Wen Ji woke up, but did not get up immediately.
The person beside her, who had been pretending to be asleep with her eyes closed, woke up. She got up from the couch, put on her shoes, and heard rustling sounds. Wen Ji secretly opened her eyes and saw Wang Lifu changing his clothes.
They were all women, and they never avoided each other when changing clothes in the past.
Wen Ji stole a glance and saw her take off her nightgown and put on a dress. She noticed that the dress was slightly see-through and that red plum blossoms were visible. Wen Ji quickly shrank back into the quilt, her heart pounding loudly in her ears.
"You're awake?"
Wang Lifu's sudden remark made Wen Ji feel like she'd been caught red-handed. She hid under the covers and replied, "Mm."
Wang Lifu walked over slowly, squatted down by her bedside, and asked softly, "Aren't you getting up yet? Didn't you say you were going shopping with me?"
Wen Ji felt her face and ears burning. She hid under the covers, too afraid to come out: "I... I don't want to go."
Wang Lifu wasn't angry. He simply said, "Alright, then I'll go to the Shangqing Sect. I have to escort the exam papers tomorrow, so I won't have time."
"It's okay, I don't want to go."
"Then I'm leaving."
Only after the door closed did Wen Ji dare to peek out, cupping her face in her hands and asking herself, "What's wrong with me?"
She quickly dismissed the thought. Her purpose in approaching Wang Lifu was to implement her plan as soon as possible, as the demon race's habitat had not yet been found.
During the day, she would search for a safe place for the demons to live, and at night she would come back and become good sisters with Wang Lifu.
I went out today, but came up empty-handed again.
Putting aside finding a safe place, tomorrow is the day of the Immortal Sect's Grand Examination. The aristocratic families do not want the Grand Examination to take place at all, so they will definitely send people to intercept the examination papers. She needs to completely gain Wang Lifu's trust, and tomorrow will be an opportunity.
She wanted to help Wang Lifu protect the exam papers.
The next day, Wang Lifu got up at cockcrow. After she went out, Wen Ji also went out and quietly followed behind her.
The escorting carriages set off, with Wang Lifu personally escorting them on his sword.
Soon, they entered a street alley, and the assassins lying in ambush nearby leaped out quickly. Wen Ji hid in the distance and had not yet made a move. If she could not stop them after two or three interceptions, then their strength was too weak, and it would be better not to save them.
They thwarted all four attempts to intercept them.
Not bad, not bad.
Wenji was waiting for that final, critical moment.
When almost all the accompanying cultivators and guards were killed or wounded, and Wang Lifu was also struggling to withstand the relentless attacks, Wen Ji still hadn't made a move to save him.
Because new allies will emerge to fight against them.
Wenji sat on the rooftop, a blade of grass dangling from her mouth, legs crossed, waiting patiently.
After a brief struggle with the opposing side, a sudden change occurred. One of the helpers betrayed them, intercepting the exam paper and attempting to tear it up on the spot. However, the exam paper was enchanted and could neither be torn nor unfolded, so they could only steal it.
The time has come.
Wang Lifu, despite his injuries, chased after her, with Wen Ji following closely behind.
Wang Lifu killed the man and held the exam paper in her arms. Just then, assassins approached from all sides, surrounding her alone. She took out a hidden arrow from her sleeve and fired it into the sky.
Wang Lifu was already injured, and no matter how high her cultivation level was, she couldn't stop the overwhelming force of the crowd. Just as she was struggling to maintain her strength, Wen Ji appeared like a divine warrior descending from the heavens, breaking through the encirclement and pulling her out of the predicament.
Wang Lifu had never witnessed Wen Ji's true strength.
A single strike could easily kill a hundred Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
Wenji pulled her along and flew quickly toward the examination hall.
Why did you come?
"I know you must have been in great danger today. You saved me, and I want to repay your kindness."
The journey to the examination hall was still fraught with danger. Wen Ji led her all the way back, but fortunately, help arrived soon and delivered the exam papers just before the exam started.
The two left the examination hall and finally caught their breath.
The first Immortal Gate Examination was successfully held.
While recovering from her injuries, Wen Ji came to take care of Wang Lifu. She gently and meticulously applied medicine to her wounds. Suddenly, Wang Lifu grabbed Wen Ji's wrist and asked her with sharp eyes, "What exactly is your purpose in approaching me?"
"Demon Queen Wen Ji".
Wen Ji anticipated that her identity would be exposed, so she never intended to keep it a secret in the first place.
"There's no particular purpose."
"You cultivators have harmed so many demons, don't you want to kill me?"
Kill her? Wen Ji had never considered this question. She didn't want revenge, nor did she want to stop killing with killing; she only wanted to find a safe haven for the demon race in the Shangqing Realm.
"Kill you? Would killing you bring back my compatriots who died tragically?"
"So what exactly do you want?"
Wen Ji couldn't say it, but there had to be a reason to get close to her in order to shut her up.
I want you.
Upon hearing this, Wang Lifu's expression changed inscrutable, and he coughed several times.
"What, what are you talking about? What's so great about me..."
"Everything about Lifu is good."
Wen Ji blinked her eyes, looking innocent, cute, and sincere, and Wang Lifu was momentarily distracted.
Seven days later, the Immortal Sect's Grand Examination finally came to a successful conclusion. Wang Lifu was busy preparing for the subsequent grading of the papers. Wen Ji couldn't wait for him at home, so she picked up a food box and went to the Shangqing Sect. However, the sect had a barrier blocking her way, so Wen Ji couldn't enter.
The senior female student guarding the gate wouldn't let her in, not believing that she knew Wang Lifu.
Just then, Zhuang Jinfu returned to the mountain gate, and Wen Ji met her. Zhuang Jinfu then took her inside.
"Immortal Venerable, do you recognize me?"
"I know you. Do you have time? I have something to discuss with you."
Zhuang Jinfu got straight to the point, addressing the issue that Wen Ji cared about most.
"Are you looking for a place for the demon race to settle down?"
Wen Ji was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Does the Immortal Venerable care about the demon race?"
"Possessing a treasure is a crime; this is an undeserved calamity for the demon race."
Wenji did not trust her.
In the current situation of the demon race, trusting others is tantamount to surrendering one's own life.
"I can help you."
I appreciate your kindness.
Wen Ji turned and left.
"You won't find the place you're looking for in the Shangqing Realm."
"Only by creating a new little world can one avoid being discovered."
Wen Ji dared not entrust the lives of her people to foreigners.
She went to find Wang Lifu without looking back, but she didn't see her when she arrived. Grading exam papers was completely closed off, so Wenji had no choice but to go down the mountain and continue searching for a safe place.
That day, she found a good place.
It is located deep in the mountains outside the Tongxuan Secret Realm. The Tongxuan Secret Realm is a realm of the dead, and people often avoid this place because they think it is unlucky and has a heavy yin energy. As a result, this mountain forest is rarely visited by people, making it a good place to hide.
Soon, Wen Ji led her demon clan to relocate to Tongxuan Forest. They had just settled in when their original residence was attacked by cultivators that very night. Everyone was extremely grateful to have moved out.
The demons hid there for a month, but were soon discovered.
Of the more than two thousand demons, only a little over a thousand remained after being chased and beaten by the cultivators.
Left with no other choice, Wen Ji climbed the gate of Qingxi Mountain to seek an audience with Zhuang Jinfu.
At that time, Wang Lifu and Cang Luo were also here. When the demon race was in dire straits, the four of them joined forces to open up a small world in Taoyao Mountain in the north. All the demon people moved in, and 1,320 demon people survived.
However, with the sudden disappearance of the demon people, those cultivators who coveted demon cores would not give up so easily.
The four swore an oath of brotherhood and spread the news that the demon race had been almost wiped out in Tongxuan Forest, with only the Demon King clinging to life. The Demon King was a thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox, and the thousand-year-old demon core within him was extremely valuable. Obtaining the thousand-year-old demon core would greatly benefit one's cultivation.
In an instant, the pursuit of the Demon King surged from all directions.
Wen Ji suddenly realized that she no longer needed to rely on Wang Lifu's influence; her own thousand-year-old demon core was the best bait. Therefore, she gradually distanced herself from Wang Lifu.
After Wang Lifu learned of Wen Ji's true intentions, the estrangement between the two gradually disappeared.
The two chatted during their free time.
"How old are you?" Wang Lifu asked tentatively.
Wen Ji: "One thousand three hundred years old."
Wang Lifu said "Oh," and added, "I should be calling you elder sister."
On the eve of spreading the news, Wang Lifu asked her, "Are you really going to do this? Gambling your life on the cultivators' murderous intent towards the demon race, can you escape this overwhelming pursuit?" Wen Ji smiled gently, "If it were you, would you be willing to take the gamble?"
Wang Lifu didn't answer, he just kept holding her hand tightly.
Wen Ji smiled and said, "What? Is the Sect Master afraid of my death?"
"I'm scared." Wang Lifu looked down at her clenched hand, its knuckles distinct, a very thin hand.
Wen Ji grasped her hand in return, then released it, pulling her hand away with a relaxed smile: "Alright, see you again sometime."
Wen Ji's hand slipped from hers, and her figure disappeared from her sight. She had been eager for her to leave, but now she hated how quickly time had passed and that she couldn't stay here a little longer.
Three months later, the first Immortal Gate Examination organized by Wang Lifu was completed, the examination papers were graded, and the admission process proceeded smoothly, recruiting many students from poor families.
The acceptance letters have been sent out, and all the accepted students from underprivileged backgrounds have received them.
The long-awaited counterattack by the aristocratic families has begun. They bribed the cultivators who wanted to capture Wen Ji, kidnapped all the poor students who received the Bluebird Letter, and forced Wang Lifu to choose between two options.
Two letters with addresses were placed in front of Wang Lifu. She scratched her head, having an answer in her heart, but hesitated for a long time when making a decision.
Outside the window, the rain poured down, and darkness enveloped everything, as if the road ahead were shrouded in darkness.
Wang Lifu summoned his men and said in a hoarse voice, "Save the poor cultivators."
She led her men through the encirclement and rescued 402 impoverished cultivators. As soon as they were rescued, she rushed to Wen Ji's side. When Wang Lifu arrived, it was already a ruin.
She stood before the ruins, feeling dazed. In the gap between two stones, she found a fragment of a jade bracelet, made of Hetian jade, the very one Wen Ji had worn.
Wang Lifu refused to give up and used magic to track it, but the result pointed to another place.
Wenji fled on her own.
Overjoyed, she rushed out. The guide pointed to a cliff, and Wang Lifu flew down on his sword without hesitation. He wanted to find the person alive... but not dead. Demons would dissipate into the air after death, so she would still search for them.
Since the missing person guide is pointing in the right direction, they might still be alive.
She flew down and, sure enough, found Wen Ji lying in a pool of blood in a cave beside the waterfall.
"Wake up? Wen Ji, can you hear me?"
Wen Ji was extremely vigilant and dared not fall asleep. When she heard someone coming, she gripped her knife tightly and pointed it at the person's neck.
"It is I, Wang Lifu."
Wen Ji then put down her knife, and said weakly, "You...why did you come? Those poor scholars..."
"They've all been saved."
"That's good."
The cave was damp and they couldn't stay there for long. Wang Lifu didn't dare to go into the city to seek medical help, so he secretly carried the person to Qingxi Mountain to find Zhuang Jinfu to save his life.
Wenji was spared from death.
But Wang Lifu fared much worse. On the very night she rescued the poor scholar, she went to Wen Ji's location in front of everyone. The aristocratic families all witnessed this, and she began to obstruct them at every turn, ruining her reputation.
People at the time said that Sect Leader Wang violated human ethics by falling in love with a woman, who was a demon queen from another race. They said that she claimed to be doing this for the poor, but in reality, it was because of her relationship with Wen Ji that this disaster was caused to the poor.
Powerful families use others to do their dirty work, thus absolving themselves of any responsibility.
After this chaos, almost all the poor students who originally wanted to join the Shangqing Sect were unwilling to go.
The grand examination of the immortal sects turned out to be a wasted effort. The second grand examination of the immortal sects was thus aborted.
Wang Lifu was frustrated in his career and devoted himself to saving Wen Ji.
Wen Ji was living on Qingxi Mountain when she heard some news from the outside world. She learned what had happened to Wang Lifu after he returned. Looking at the person who stayed by her bedside every day, Wen Ji finally couldn't help but say, "I'm sorry."
Feeling guilty for the injustice she had suffered, Wen Ji said tearfully, "It's all my fault..."
What did you do wrong?
“When I first approached you, I wanted to use your influence to draw all the attention to me, so that they would all hunt me down. Later, I realized that I was the biggest bait, so I gave up on using your influence. But I didn’t expect things to develop like this. I didn’t expect that because of me, you would be cursed so badly by them.”
Wang Lifu smiled and said, "But we are innocent, aren't we? As you said, if you are upright, you have nothing to fear."
Hearing the words "pure and innocent" felt like a stab to Wen Ji's heart. Her feelings for Wang Lifu were not innocent, but she couldn't express them yet. She didn't know what Wang Lifu was thinking.
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