Led by Yuwen Huaji, Song Que and his party soon arrived near Yang Guang's palace.
Beside the Slender West Lake, several majestic buildings can be seen from afar within the high walls, surrounded by the tents of two thousand soldiers, all of whom were Yang Guang's accompanying troops.
Before the group even got close, they heard a commotion coming from outside the palace, as if people were watching something exciting.
As they got closer, Song Que and the others' eyes widened in surprise. They saw soldiers surrounding a huge blue ox.
"What is that?" Song Que stopped.
"B-Big brother...this looks like the ox from Master Li's house..." Song Zhi stammered. The ox was several times larger than when he last saw it; it was no exaggeration to call it a behemoth.
“Lord Zhennan, don’t worry, that’s Miss Mengmeng playing with the soldiers!” Yuwen Huaji said as he rode forward.
"Mengmeng?"
“It’s the Taoist priest’s child, very cute,” Song Zhi said.
Then the group slowly walked over.
The sound of horses' hooves attracted the soldiers' attention. When they saw that it was Yuwen Huaji leading his men, they quickly lined up in neat rows.
As the soldiers dispersed, the blue ox that had been lying on the ground stood up, appearing even taller, its four-meter-tall body giving off an immense sense of oppression.
"Such a giant beast exists in this world." Song Que looked up at the blue ox in shock from his horse.
"Eeya?"
At this moment, Mengmeng poked her head out from on the green ox's head, curiously looking at Song Que and the others.
"Miss Mengmeng," Song Zhi greeted her quickly.
"Oh my, it's you! Did you bring any treats?" Mengmeng's eyes lit up.
Song Zhi immediately looked troubled and searched his body.
"Um... I was in a hurry when I came down. Don't worry, Miss Mengmeng, I'll definitely bring a truckload of food tomorrow," Song Zhi said.
"Hehe, okay. Huh?" Mengmeng nodded with a smile, then her gaze fell on Song Yuzhi, who was unconscious in Song Que's arms.
With a light leap, the little creature floated down from the head of the green ox as if it had no weight, and slowly drifted to Song Que's side.
"This..." Song Que was shocked when he saw this. He thought to himself, "A three-year-old girl actually has such superb lightness skills."
"What's wrong with her?" Mengmeng asked, pointing at Song Yuzhi.
"Well, there was a slight mishap just now. Miss Song was overwhelmed by the Duke of Zhennan's imposing aura," Yuwen Huaji quickly said.
The little girl rolled her eyes and said to the person behind her.
"Bring me my candied hawthorns."
Suddenly, four soldiers ran out from the crowd, carrying a huge candied hawthorn stand. It was a specially made stand, more than three meters high, with nearly a thousand candied hawthorns stuck on it.
"Hehe, this was a gift from the Empress!" Mengmeng boasted.
The group looked at her, puzzled.
The little guy flew up to the candied hawthorn stand, took two strings of candied hawthorns, and came down.
He then took out a porcelain bottle from his small bag; it was the juice that Li Daoyi had brewed from spirit peaches.
Mengmeng poured the juice onto the candied hawthorn.
"Hey... let her have it." Mengmeng handed one of the skewers to Song Que.
"Thank you very much, but I'm not in a good position to eat right now," Song Que said to Mengmeng.
“She’ll get better after eating it!” Mengmeng continued.
"Big brother, this is Miss Mengmeng's kind gesture." Song Zhi stepped forward and took the candied hawthorn from Song Que.
He walked up to Song Que and placed the candied hawthorn in front of Song Yuzhi.
“Hmm…” Song Yuzhi suddenly reacted.
“Yu Zhi…” Song Que exclaimed in surprise.
The little girl in his arms opened her eyes slightly, saw the candied hawthorn in front of her, and then unconsciously took a bite.
Under the astonished gazes of Song Que and Song Zhi, Song Yuzhi slowly chewed on the candied hawthorn with her small mouth. Then, her slightly narrowed eyes widened, and she ate faster.
"It's delicious." Song Yuzhi sat up directly from her father's lap, took the candied hawthorn skewer from Song Zhi's hand, and started eating.
Song Que stared at his daughter in disbelief. He knew that being injured by the aura of a Grandmaster would require a long period of recuperation; otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to come to the palace. Yet, his daughter had only eaten a candied hawthorn before waking up.
Song Que grasped his daughter's arm and examined her internal condition.
"It's really healed." Song Que's face lit up with joy. The chaotic internal energy within Song Yuzhi's body had become smooth.
"Thank you, little girl," Song Que quickly thanked Mengmeng.
"Hehe..." The little girl waved her hand, but looked quite proud.
"Who are you?" Song Yuzhi asked Mengmeng curiously.
"My name is Mengmeng. Are the candied hawthorns delicious? I still have a lot left." The little girl pointed proudly to the exaggerated candied hawthorn stand behind her.
"Wow..." Song Yuzhi's mouth dropped open.
Just then, several eunuchs came out from the palace gate.
"Greetings, Lord Zhennan. His Majesty is already waiting in the palace. Please come in, Lord Zhennan," the eunuch said in a low voice as he approached Song Que.
"Lord Zhennan, let's go in," Yuwen Huaji said hurriedly.
"Keep massaging Niu Er," Mengmeng said to the soldiers as she turned around.
"Yes," everyone replied quickly.
"Come on, let's go inside. Hehe, it's time to eat." After saying that, the little girl flew into the palace without touching the ground.
"Father, she can fly!" Song Yuzhi exclaimed in surprise.
Inside the palace, everything had already been arranged, with several tables laden with various delicacies. Yang Guang paced back and forth excitedly.
"Your Majesty, please stop walking around. My eyes are tired from looking at you." Empress Xiao said helplessly.
"Haha..." At this moment, Li Daoyi, one of the two people in the head seat, laughed.
Yang Guang also stopped in his tracks in embarrassment.
"Please excuse my rudeness, Daoist. This is the first time I have met Song Que since I ascended the throne, and I am quite excited," Yang Guang explained.
Li Daoyi nodded, indicating his understanding.
"Speaking of which, the last time I met Song Que was twenty years ago. At that time, I accompanied my father to lead 100,000 troops to conquer Lingnan. The two sides fought a decisive battle in Cangwu, and the court was defeated in ten battles. You should know that Song Que only had a mere 10,000 elite troops at that time."
“From that time on, he left me with an invincible impression. How could I not be excited to see such a person again today?” Yang Guang said.
“Lingnan, the Lord of Zhennan has arrived.”
At that moment, the voice of a eunuch came from outside the hall.
"I'm here!" Mengmeng flew in happily, jumped into the Empress's arms, and stuck her tongue out at Li Daoyi.
Immediately afterwards, many footsteps could be heard outside the hall.
A tall figure appeared outside the hall, and the person stopped.
Song Que and Yang Guang were looking at each other at this moment.
"Song Que is indeed a remarkable man, truly extraordinary." Li Daoyi also looked at Song Que standing outside the hall and couldn't help but admire him in his heart.
Yang Guang hurriedly went to greet him.
"Lord Zhennan, you've finally arrived." Yang Guang grasped the other's hands tightly.
"Song Que greets Your Majesty." Song Que nodded.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Song Zhi also bowed. His brother was entitled to not bow when meeting the emperor, but he could not.
"Yu Zhi, quickly pay your respects to His Majesty," Song Zhi reminded him.
Then Song Yuzhi peeked out from behind him and looked at the emperor curiously.
"Song Yuzhi pays respects to Your Majesty." Then the little maidservant followed her second uncle's example and bowed to Yang Guang.
"Come in, come in, we've been waiting for you." Yang Guang nodded, then released Song Que's hand and said.
The group entered the main hall and bowed to the Empress again. Then Song Que's gaze fell on Li Daoyi.
"Master Li." Song Zhi quickly stepped forward.
"Brother, this is Master Li," Song Zhi introduced.
Song Que carefully examined Li Daoyi, while Li Daoyi smiled slightly, appearing calm and composed.
"Master Song, you must have had a long journey," Li Daoyi said.
"Song Que greets the Daoist Master." Song Que cupped his hands in greeting.
Yang Guang then quickly asked the group to sit down.
Li Daoyi and Song Que finally met. Compared to Li Daoyi, Song Que was still a little curious about what abilities this legendary Taoist priest actually possessed.
"Come, this cup is for Lord Zhennan. Your Song family has made great contributions over the years, and Lingnan owes a great debt to you." Yang Guang said, raising his wine cup.
Everyone raised their glasses in response.
The banquet was very harmonious; no one mentioned politics, and everyone ate and drank like long-lost friends. Meanwhile, Song Que observed Li Daoyi during the meal. Contrary to his expectations of a learned man, Li Daoyi was a very easygoing person, which naturally made him likable.
Meanwhile, in Luoyang, the Luoyang Chamber of Commerce.
Many members of the Demonic Sect gathered here once again. Most of the experts from the two factions and six paths of the Demonic Sect were here, except for those from the Flower Sect.
Zhu Yuyan was now sitting in the seat that originally belonged to Rong Fengxiang, with the charming and lovely Wanwan and several elders of the Yin Kui Sect beside her.
The people sitting on both sides below the main hall were all experts from the Six Paths, and all eyes were on Zhu Yuyan.
"Sect Master, that's how it is. The He Shi Bi is most likely hidden within the Jing Nian Chan Sect."
"In addition, our people have found out that Fan Qinghui of Cihang Jingzhai went to Jingnian Chan Sect a few days ago," Rong Fengxiang said.
“That bitch Fan Qinghui,” Zhu Yuyan said coldly.
"Sect Master Zhu, now that you've arrived, what should we do next? And what about your previous promises..." At this moment, a person stepped forward from below.
This man looked like a scholar, dressed in a blue robe and holding a folding fan. However, his sharp eyes revealed a fierce and cruel light. He was Xi Ying, the Heavenly Lord of the Demonic Sect's Extinction of Emotions, a grandmaster. His strength ranked among the top five in the Demonic Sect. He had once fought against the Overlord Blade Yue Shan.
"Don't worry, the immortal will appear, and I will keep my promise to you," Zhu Yuyan said.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although Zhu Yuyan had considerable influence, she had to pay a price to mobilize the entire Demonic Sect. Besides bringing up Dan Chenzi, her benefit to everyone was to teach them the first fifteen levels of the Heavenly Demon Great Art.
"Haha, that's good, that's good." Xi Ying laughed loudly.
Zhu Yuyan looked at the other person, a barely perceptible glint of coldness flashing in her eyes.
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