At the base of Tiger Roar Cliff
Inside what used to be Lord Huangshan's lair.
Li Zhu Fang trembled uncontrollably.
"En... Benefactor, you want to beco the Mountain Deity?" Li Zhu Fang quivered, her whole body shaking so much she could barely stand.
She never imagined that bringing the benefactor to et Lord Huangshan would result in his death.
This formidable tiger, who had dominated the hundred-mile radius, died silently.
To Li Zhu Fang, Lord Huangshan was an immovable God. Yet now, his severed head lay before her.
"Who said I wanted you to be the Mountain Deity? You don't have the capability for that; at least a ninth-rank Divine Path cultivator is needed." Li Qi smiled, "Don't worry, I just want you to take these fragnts of his golden body. They'll aid your future cultivation."
Li Qi continued, "Take these as compensation. If you follow the Divine Path, you can use them directly. Otherwise, you can break them down for other resources. But you must promise one thing."
The young girl imdiately knelt again, "Benefactor, please instruct. I don't need the reward, but whatever task you assign, Zhu Fang will do her best without any slack!"
"Do work according to its worth, and receive compensation accordingly. This is the righteous path. Take it," Li Qi handed the golden body fragnts to the simple-hearted girl, then pointed at Lord Huangshan's tiger head, saying,
"This head contains his residual soul. With this, he isn't truly dead. Place it here and guard it day and night to create the illusion that he's still alive. It won't take long—just a month. Then destroy it, allowing him to reincarnate."
Suppressing residual souls prevented eternal rebirth. Li Qi wouldn't normally use such thods unless absolutely necessary. Now, by finding a supervisor, after a month when things settle, he could release him to reincarnation.
"Also, this is the core of the array disk. I destroyed the part that extracted your essence energy, but the landscape grand array itself remains intact. I can't stop it, nor should I, since it's ant to resist demons. Destroying it would cause more casualties."
"So you must carefully guard it and prevent outsiders from accessing it. Do you understand?"
After giving these instructions, Li Qi looked at Li Zhu Fang, waiting for her response.
Li Zhu Fang quickly bowed, "Zhu Fang will do her utmost, not daring to be negligent in the slightest!"
Li Qi sighed, "I don't have anyone else I trust here except you. I have urgent matters to attend to and must leave temporarily. Stay here at Tiger Roar Cliff. I've already set up restrictions using the bone piles outside to mimic Lord Huangshan's techniques. As long as you remain discreet, a month will pass quickly. Oh, if Qing Yue appears later, rember to visit imdiately—you'll benefit greatly."
After giving further instructions, Li Qi turned to leave, climbing up while leaving Li Zhu Fang behind.
This butterfly had rely crossed paths with him. After this parting, they might never et again.
But it didn't matter.
On this long journey, many farewells were inevitable. Li Qi had grown accustod to it.
Back on the road, thinking about how few people or things could accompany him throughout his journey, Li Qi returned to Old Horse's side.
By now, nearly two hours had passed, and Old Horse had rested sufficiently.
Thus, man and horse set off once more.
---
As the sun set, Li Qi finally returned to the White Rhino Army.
This twenty-hour journey had co to an end.
The White Rhino Army had moved so distance with the civilians, but not far—only about a hundred miles in two days. Finding them from above was easy.
Especially since Old Horse had tracking abilities and could find Shen Shuibei's location.
Returning smoothly, Li Qi sensed sothing unusual as soon as he arrived.
The soldiers appeared tense, while the civilians were very happy, their faces beaming with joy.
Dismounting Old Horse, soone from the army greeted him imdiately.
"Mr. Li, you've returned? Is this the ssenger you brought?" A soldier approached and asked.
"ssenger? What ssenger?" Li Qi frowned.
The approaching officer explained, "An hour ago, a ssenger from Guangyang City arrived with a token from Sītú, asking to see our current commander and officers. He's been in the tent for an hour without news. Shouldn't you go check?"
"An hour? Alright, I'll go see. By the way, here's food. You take it... wait, never mind, I'll handle it later." Li Qi intended to hand over the food but reconsidered.
With Guangyang City representatives present, revealing the food wasn't wise.
If the civilians thought the food ca from Guangyang City, conflicts might arise later.
Thinking this through, Li Qi let Old Horse rest and walked briskly towards the distant tent—the temporary command post.
Along the way, Li Qi noticed the civilians seed delighted, hearing them express relief that officials had finally arrived, implying no more worries ahead.
The more he heard, the more uneasy he felt.
These officials weren't here to save but to prepare for blood sacrifices.
Even without knowing specifics, Li Qi knew the ssenger's intentions weren't pure.
However, the civilians' trust in the officials indicated sothing significant.
It suggested the governnt usually earned the people's trust, which made their decision to sacrifice civilians puzzling.
Despite believing Wang Baisan's account of blood sacrifices, Li Qi doubted the official stance fully. Blood sacrifices were ntioned only by Wang Baisan, lacking concrete evidence beyond circumstantial clues.
Thus, Li Qi distrusted both Wang Baisan and the Guangyang authorities, having his own plans.
Approaching the tent, Li Qi spotted a rabbit—not Shen Shuibei, but a rabbit dressed in clothes.
A gray-and-white rabbit wore a tiny outfit like those for dogs, complete with embroidered flowers. Lying on a rock with ears covering its eyes, it blended in unnoticed.
This scene was familiar because Shen Shuibei had followed Li Qi's earlier instruction to revert to her original form and conceal her aura.
Unexpectedly, she kept her clothes even in rabbit form, treating fur like skin.
Last ti, touching her fur likely felt like touching her skin, which could have severe consequences if done by strangers.
Avoiding disturbing the napping Shen Shuibei, Li Qi lifted the tent flap to find the deputy commander and Zhang Lan inside, along with an unfamiliar elderly man.
The elder, despite white hair and beard, was muscular and intimidating, wearing loose robes that strained against his physique.
Upon entering, all three turned to look at Li Qi.
The robust elder glared angrily, "Who is this?! We are discussing important matters. How dare you barge in without permission! Go receive a hundred military lashes!"
Confused, the deputy commander hurriedly stood up, "Esteed ssenger, please forgive him! This is not a subordinate but a benefactor who has helped us greatly—this is Li Qi."
Li Qi frowned, "Why is the ssenger so irritable? Perhaps too much Yang Qi?"
"You are Li Qi?" The elder stood up.
"Yes, may I ask your na? Why did we miss each other on the road? I also just ca from Guangyang City~." Li Qi smiled warmly, though it seed forced.
Zhang Lan remained silent, touching his sword case, sensing tension between the ssenger and Li Qi.
Clearly, the ssenger didn't know Li Qi personally but recognized his na, indicating Li Qi had done sothing displeasing to the authorities.
Li Qi's actions must have upset the governnt, explaining the hostile atmosphere.
Zhang Lan believed Li Qi wasn't malicious and wouldn't harm innocents, questioning why the governnt treated him so harshly.
"Old man Zhang Dailu, ancestor of the Zhang family of Guangyang. You should have heard my na," the elder declared proudly.
Though unfamiliar with Zhang Dailu, Li Qi knew the Zhang family of Guangyang.
"Honored to et you. May I ask why you're here?" Li Qi asked politely.
The deputy commander observed silently, sensing tension but avoiding direct intervention.
Zhang Dailu flexed his muscles, glaring at Li Qi, "You don't know why I'm here? You openly defied orders on behalf of the White Rhino Army. What you did in Guangyang City, you should know. Pretending to be a military envoy, deceiving us for supplies, openly defying orders—all within a day. Impressive."
Turning to the deputy commander, he raised his voice, "Acting Commander of the White Rhino Army! Upon seeing this token, arrest this traitor imdiately and execute him. Then return to Guangyang City with !"
This declaration shocked everyone, including Zhang Lan and the deputy commander, even Li Qi.
Before introductions, the attack began!
The deputy commander rushed forward, "ssenger, there must be a misunderstanding! Mr. Li saved our entire army and—"
Interrupting, Zhang Dailu showed a gold token, "Acting Commander, are you disobeying orders?!"
"No, sir! But there must be so mistake. Mr. Li couldn't have done those things. Please don't rush to judgnt and wrongfully punish a loyal man!" The deputy commander knelt but refused the order.
The entire White Rhino Army witnessed Li Qi and Zhang Lan saving ten thousand lives during the crisis, performing rituals to help the deceased and drive away evil spirits, curing diseases without seeking rewards.
Such a hero couldn't possibly commit treason.
Seeing the deputy commander defy orders, Zhang Dailu's eyes twitched, about to speak.
But Li Qi intervened.
"Is that so? My information differs from yours."
Stepping back, Li Qi continued, "In Guangyang City, I saw countless refugees ignored. I saw the Zhang family's granaries full while military supplies were empty. I saw armies left unsupported, almost wiped out by demons. I saw officials plotting to withdraw and establish landscape arrays, planning blood sacrifices for safety."
"Now, trying to deceive true heroes into betraying their saviors."
"Is this the conduct of Guangyang officials? Where is your honor!" Li Qi shouted loudly!
Zhang Dailu erupted in anger, "Silence!"
Ignoring him, Li Qi turned to Zhang Lan, "Brother Zhang, dare you kill an official?"
Zhang Lan laughed heartily, "Hahaha! Why not?!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)