A shadowy figure, or rather Li Ang’s Ink Silk Clone, was leading the short assassin by the hand as they leisurely walked out of the post house.
The sensation was peculiar at that mont.
Glancing back, the post house was brightly lit, with panicked travelers, unaware of the situation, scurrying out and gathering at the entrance.
Several Cultivators from the garrison plumted from the sky, their emotions ranging from fury to icy detachnt, questioning what had happened.
One of them, who also exuded the strongest aura, swept his eyes around the periter of the post house and slightly raised his hand, releasing a torrent of Telekinesis.
WHOOSH—
Under the influence of the Telekinesis, the sand and soil around the post house rippled in layers, moving from slow to fast, and started spinning gradually.
Are they searching for the assassin?
Li Ang was slightly surprised. He saw the dust on the ground spreading outward, but it didn’t hit him; it passed straight through. There were also no footprints left from their walk.
It doesn’t seem like a re invisibility effect; it’s more like... Phase Movent?
After entering the dense mountains and forests and ensuring they wouldn’t be discovered, the small figure stopped, let go of Li Ang’s hand, washed the bloodstains off the wooden Dagger with water from the mountain creek, and then placed it back at her waist.
The two erged from the phase state. The small figure removed her wide hood and thick scarf, revealing the face of Nie Yuhuan—her expression was even more stern compared to their last eting.
No trace of the naivety and vivacity expected of soone her age could be seen.
"..."
Nie Yuhuan stood still and earnestly bowed to Li Ang.
Li Ang calmly accepted Nie Yuhuan’s gratitude, his gaze lingering on the wooden Dagger for a mont.
The wooden Dagger, without a doubt, was one of the Mutated Objects. Moreover, it was one of those with the strongest effects, capable of effortlessly evading both Spiritual Sense detection and physical contact.
The question is, where did this Dagger co from?
As if she had anticipated Li Ang’s curiosity, Nie Yuhuan raised her arm, pointing to the dense forest beside them.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE.
A series of dense and delicate sounds resounded.
The trees bent their branches.
Vines gradually climbed.
Leaves swayed, flowers blood, and everything ca together to form... a human face.
The Ink Silk Clone furrowed its brows anthropomorphically. The plant-based face hung in mid-air, more than a ter in diater. From the contours of the face, it looked like a woman.
But it was unclear whether she was old or young.
Li Ang hoarsely asked, "Who are you? Or rather, what are you?"
The wooden face did not respond imdiately. It circled around Nie Yuhuan, examining her for any external wounds, before returning to its original position and said in an ethereal voice, "You may call Huai Spirit."
"The locust tree in the East Market of Chang’an..."
"That is a part of ."
The wooden face continued in its unearthly tone, "According to the classification standards of the Yu Kingdom’s Academy, I should be classified as a Level 1 Demon."
That’s impossible.
Li Ang’s first reaction was to refuse to believe it. The Academic Palace was extrely vigilant toward Alien beings, especially intelligent Aliens capable of smooth communication.
The legend of the Wish Tree has long been circulating in Chang’an. With the level of vigilance of the Academic Palace and the garrison, they must have checked it countless tis. How could it still exist so peacefully?
Seeing Li Ang’s silence, Huai Spirit calmly said, "Since the ti of Chou Zhibai, the Academic Palace has been aware of and tacitly allowed my presence. On one hand, I am omnipresent; they cannot find and confine . On the other hand, I also possess the capability to retaliate."
Chou Zhibai, the previous Mountain Master of the Academic Palace from a hundred years ago.
If even the Academic Palace Master maintained tacit approval, that would indeed make sense.
But...
"Why are you helping her?"
Li Ang tilted his head toward Nie Yuhuan. According to legend, the Wish Tree was more like an Alien that harbored malice toward humans. Every wish ca with a price, and the way wishes were granted was quite troubleso.
"For certain special reasons, she is very important to ."
Huai Spirit spoke indifferently, "I follow the principle of equivalent exchange and cannot directly help her with her vengeance. Considering you helped her and brought her back, I can fulfill one of your wishes within my capabilities."
A wish?
Li Ang pondered for a mont before tentatively asking, "How about three more wishes?"
"..."
Huai Spirit fell silent. The face composed of locust flowers conveyed a vivid and expressive smile.
It wasn’t an awkward-yet-polite kind of smile.
It was a mocking, insincere grin.
"Just kidding."
Li Ang imdiately revised his words without embarrassnt, continuing to maintain his cold and gloomy deanor like Bettman as he considered what to wish for.
Huai Spirit’s favoritism toward Nie Yuhuan didn’t an she would extend the sa courtesy to him. His wish had to be chosen very carefully.
Then... return to the Otherworld in my mories?
Setting aside whether Huai Spirit had the power to do so, Li Ang himself wasn’t sure if the mories of the Otherworld filling his mind were real or false—whether it was Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou.
Two tons of Fine Gold?
The entity was Huai Spirit, not a Gold Mine Spirit. Besides, Li Ang didn’t want her to discover the true nature of Mo Si.
After so contemplation, Li Ang asked, "Can the wish be delayed?"
"It can, as long as you’re still near Chang’an."
Huai Spirit agreed readily and exchanged a glance with Nie Yuhuan before they both vanished.
"..."
Li Ang gazed at the now empty forest in front of him, frowning deeply.
Why would a Level 1 Demon, capable of granting wishes and possessing intelligence, choose to help Nie Yuhuan? Does she have the confidence, believing that the Academic Palace Commandery won’t trace back to her, or does she feel capable of handling any trouble that might arise?
Unable to co up with an answer on his own, Li Ang fell silent for a mont, then controlled the Ink Silk Clone to slowly disintegrate, turning into scattered ink strands that seeped into the soil.
Two hundred ters below the rock layer, it reassembled into the shape of a drill head, burrowed a distance toward East Chang’an, and then lay in wait.
「The next morning,」
When the garrison soldiers knocked on the door of the Golden City Mansion, Li Ang yawned and opened it.
He was not at all concerned that they might be there to arrest him. In its lurking state, the Ink Silk Clone emitted no Spiritual Energy fluctuations, making it impossible for even a Cultivator of the Candle Cloud Realm to detect it through two to three hundred ters of earth.
Moreover, at the ti of Li Shenbin’s assassination last night, Li Ang had been sleeping at ho. He had even gotten up to use the toilet in the middle of the night—servants left in the Golden City Mansion by Li Leqing could attest to that.
Indeed, with the preliminary exams of the Academic Palace approaching, Li Leqing had been coming to the Golden City Mansion more frequently. She arrived at dawn and returned ho in the evening. Finding it too troubleso to bring a retinue, she simply left a group of servants at the Golden City Mansion.
Since Li Leqing wasn’t afraid of gossip from outsiders for the sake of helping Chai Chai get into the Academic Palace, Li Ang didn’t fuss about it either.
Conveniently, these servants beca Li Ang’s best alibi.
As Li Ang had anticipated, the garrison soldiers indeed did not connect Li Shenbin’s assassination to him; they rely ca to give him a notice.
And when Li Ang inquired about who had assassinated Li Shenbin, their responses were vague. They ntioned they were "still investigating," promised to "notify if any new information surfaced," and advised, "Mr. Li, be cautious of unknown individuals recently."
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