Zhi Mi grew fearful of having done sothing wrong and imdiately closed his mouth, nervously looking at Nanli.
Nanli glanced over, her eyebrows slightly raised.
"My junior brother can say whatever he wants and interrupt whenever he pleases. Miss Xu, he has already stated that we have no connection. If you wish to purchase talismans from today, there is no need to waste words."
The smile on Xu Linglong’s face had already stiffened.
Beneath her sleeve, she tightly gripped her handkerchief, the veins on the back of her hand protruding.
"Whether there is a connection or not, it all cos down to money," Xu Linglong said.
"It seems that my family has been plagued by evil spirits, causing unrest in our ho. I have heard that Miss Chu possesses extraordinary Taoist skills, so I wanted to invite you to co and exorcise the spirits. The price is negotiable."
With such a straightforward statent, Nanli responded just as directly, "No matter how much you offer, I will not accept your business. Please leave."
Xu Linglong faced another rejection, her smile fading away.
One of Xu’s maidservants, angered, exclaid, "My mistress is considering giving you the opportunity to earn money out of respect for the Anyang Marquis’s reputation. How dare you be so ungrateful?!"
Chu Shuo’s face turned cold.
"It’s just money. Do we need to profit from your family’s money?"
He may not have much power, but he did have a considerable amount of wealth.
Who was she underestimating?
Xie Beihan added, "Miss Xu, are you not capable of disciplining your maidservants?
If the Ninth Prince were to hear about their disrespect, it wouldn’t just be your maidservants who suffer, even you would face consequences."
At the ntion of Ye Siheng, Xu Linglong’s body trembled slightly, her face turning pale.
Indeed, Chu Nanli was not only the Sixth Miss of the Marquis’s residence but also the future Ninth Princess.
How could she be so careless and forget about this?
She quickly scolded, "You insolent wretch, apologize to the Sixth Miss imdiately."
The maidservant from Xu’s household was taken aback and quickly bowed in apology.
Nanli waved her hand, understanding that the maidservant was just an employee.
She didn’t want to make things difficult for them.
With her dignity lost, Xu Linglong didn’t dare to linger any longer.
After Xu Linglong left, Chu Shuo and Xie Beihan surrounded Nanli, pushing Zhi Mi to the side.
Xie Beihan sighed, "Little sister, this is the first ti I’ve seen you refuse a business opportunity. Miss Xu’s father is a prominent court official, and her mother is the only daughter of the Marquis of Zhong-yong. They have both power and wealth."
"No matter how much power or money they have, I will not help them," Nanli said expressionlessly, taking a sip of tea.
"Why?" Chu Shuo also couldn’t understand.
"Little sister, I’ve heard that Princess Yuchang is known for her generosity and often helps the poor."
He probably knew so of Nanli’s principles.
If soone had accumulated enough rits, even if they didn’t pay, the Sixth Miss would still help them overco their tribulations.
Nanli put down her teacup and said, "Knowing soone’s face doesn’t an knowing their heart. Have you ever considered that her generosity might be a way to alleviate her guilty conscience for sothing she did in the past?"
Xie Beihan froze.
"Is that so? I have t Princess Yuchang before, but I didn’t sense any guilt from her."
"That just goes to show that your skills are not yet refined," Zhi Mi chid in.
"Let’s not talk about Princess Yuchang. Let’s talk about Miss Xu here. She has a life in her hands, and now she’s being haunted by an evil spirit."
Chu Shuo’s body stiffened.
"She’s being haunted by an evil spirit? Could it be... could it be the one just now...?" Zhi Mi nodded.
"That’s right. The evil spirit was perched on her shoulder.
Unfortunately, it didn’t reveal itself, or else you would have seen it." Chu Shuo still rembered how that female ghost nad Liu Ru had been beheaded.
He quickly waved his hand in refusal.
"No need, no need! Thankfully, it didn’t reveal itself; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to eat!"
No, he would have vomited everything he ate.
Xie Beihan, on the other hand, felt a bit regretful.
Such a good learning opportunity, and he missed it like this!
He sighed, "What a pity. Ah, I wonder when I will be able to see ghosts."
Nanli looked at him. "You haven’t truly entered the realm of cultivation. As a secular disciple, it doesn’t matter whether you see ghosts or not."
Upon hearing this, Xie Beihan sighed heavily once again.
Why didn’t he have that kind of fate?
Xu Linglong left Chunxi Tower with a pale face.
It took her a long ti to regain her composure.
"Damn Chu Nanli !" Xu Linglong felt heavy, her steps slow.
Two days ago, she had spent a large sum of money to buy a talisman seal from soone else, which was drawn by Chu Nanli.
That talisman had saved her from a disaster, so she hurriedly sent her maidservant to buy more, but who would have thought that Chu Nanli would refuse to sell them.
Xu’s maidservant frowned.
"Miss, what should we do now?" Xu Linglong was also feeling annoyed.
There was a beggar blocking her path up ahead.
She was about to scold him and ask him to move aside when the beggar said, "Miss, please wait. I see that your forehead is dark, and you emit a strong aura of danger. It seems that you are being haunted by an evil spirit."
Xu Linglong saw that the beggar was ragged and didn’t look like a skilled person at all, so she said, "Haunted by an evil spirit? You’re just talking nonsense. If you continue with your nonsense, I won’t be polite."
This beggar was truly foul!
She covered her nose with her handkerchief and walked around him.
The beggar, struggling to keep up, seed to have an old ailnt in his feet, stumbling and staggering.
"I speak not in vain, fair maiden, for that demon was indeed burned to death. I hope I have not erred in my words," he said.
Xu Linglong abruptly halted, staring at the beggar.
"You... are the master?!" she exclaid.
"I am Li Zhengkui, from the Beifeng Temple," Li Zhengkui whispered.
"I revealed my identity to co to your aid, fair maiden. I beseech you to keep it discreet."
A Daoist from Beifeng Temple?
Xu Linglong imdiately recalled that Li Zhengming, from Beifeng Temple, had been executed for concocting forbidden elixirs for the forr Imperial Concubine Li.
And his junior, Li Zhengkui, was now on the run, with wanted posters plastered by the authorities.
But she couldn’t care less if Li Zhengkui was a fugitive from the court. "If the celestial master can help overco this calamity, he shall be my benefactor. How could I repay kindness with enmity?" she declared.
Li Zhengkui chuckled. "With my profound Daoist skills, I can certainly assist you, fair maiden."
To evade capture, he had no choice but to disguise himself as a beggar, barely able to eat or keep warm.
Having lived for several decades, this was undoubtedly the most humiliating period of his life!
Fortunately, fate had not forsaken him.
Encountering Xu Linglong on the street, he intended to make a fortune and then leave the capital to live a life of luxury and indulgence.
Delighted, Xu Linglong imdiately invited Li Zhengkui to her residence.
After bathing and grooming, Li Zhengkui donned his robe, restoring his forr splendor.
Led by a maid, he was guided to et the Pricess Yuchang and her mother.
Princess Yuchang wore simple attire, as her devout Buddhist beliefs dictated.
Her hair was adorned only with a jade hairpin, devoid of any other embellishnts.
Li Zhengkui was taken aback at the sight.
He saw several malevolent spirits tightly entwined around Princess Yuchang, all of them wicked and vengeful, their ghostly aura almost devouring her life force!
No wonder Xu Linglong, at such a young age, had blood on her hands.
It seed her mother was even more exceptional!
Reviews
All reviews (0)