As for Li Qi, seeing the young woman awake brought a smile to his face. He opened his mouth, revealing a set of bright white teeth.
Why?
Because she was awake now, which ant fewer complications.
Besides, this woman looked wealthy. Her clothes were made of gauze.
Joking aside, Li Qi had never even touched gauze before. Even the rich families and middle-class households in Lǐzhou mostly wore cotton. For soone as poor as him, having hemp cloth to wear was already a luxury.
What did gauze represent?
At the very least, it indicated that she ca from a large landowner's family.
But there was one question...
If she really had money, why didn't she hire soone capable to rescue her? Why did it co down to passersby like them to save her?
It was puzzling.
But perhaps it was just a coincidence.
However... there might be other reasons. One must always be cautious. It wouldn't hurt to test her out.
Li Qi pondered these thoughts: "Miss..."
"Aaaah!" Shen Shuibei trembled with fear, making strange noises and even rolling around.
Ba Kui glanced over, frowning: "This woman seems to have been frightened by demons, she's gone mad. This is going to be troubleso."
"No trouble at all, madness is better. No need to take responsibility. After tasting her, we can just leave her by the roadside, and she'll run away on her own without us having to lift a finger," one of the rchants said.
Li Qi now understood what kind of people these rchants were. No wonder ADu dared not travel with them and could only seek help from strangers.
These people were rchants most of the ti, but given the opportunity, they would instantly turn into thieves, showing no qualms about committing evil deeds. They might have so sense of loyalty, but it was limited to small acts of righteousness, lacking a broader moral compass.
As for greater righteousness, it required concern for the world, sothing Li Qi felt he, as a re boatman, had no right to discuss.
Before he could speak, Shen Shuibei, hearing their conversation, imdiately stood up: "I... I'm not crazy! Don't... don't... touch !" She stuttered for a while before finally getting the words out.
Her movents were quick and precise, nothing like soone who had been tossed around all night.
Because the person called Li Qi had a terrifying smile, showing his teeth as if he intended to eat her.
No, to eat a rabbit.
On Li Qi's side, he was sowhat bewildered.
He didn't pause this ti, speaking continuously: "Miss, what is your na?"
Although he didn't know what the woman misunderstood, she seed rather unintelligent. It was best to guide her first.
"My na is Shen Shuibei."
"I'm Li Qi. Miss Shen, were you captured by that demon before? Do you rember where your ho is?" Li Qi asked again.
"My ho is in Jiannan..." Shen Shuibei replied instinctively, then suddenly realized her mistake and quickly covered her mouth.
"Jiannan?" Li Qi was stunned. He had never heard of such a place near Lǐzhou.
He looked around at the rchants. These people traveled far and wide, trading goods, so they should know more place nas.
But the rchants also seed confused, having never heard of it either.
It was ADu who thought for a mont and then said, "I once traveled with a large rchant caravan and heard them talk about a place nad Jiannan Dao in the Tang Kingdom. Could it be that place?"
"The Tang Kingdom?" Li Qi frowned. "Miss Shen, are you from the Tang Kingdom?"
"No, no! It must be just a coincidence! My... my Jiannan is a small place, very small. It's normal you haven't heard of it!" Shen Shuibei hurriedly explained.
"Then, Miss Shen, does the demon have anything to do with you?"
"No, no connection!" Shen Shuibei quickly answered.
The rchants all took a step back, pulling out their machetes.
ADu also hid behind them.
Shen Shuibei imdiately realized she had said the wrong thing.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
When she was with the Empress, she never lied!
Now, not only did she have to lie, but she did so awkwardly, making it easy to see through her deceit.
But Li Qi didn't turn around; instead, he put his hand behind his back and discreetly signaled for everyone to move quickly.
Then, acting as if he hadn't noticed the commotion behind him, he approached: "So, no connection, that's good. Scared half to death." Li Qi scratched his head, showing a friendly smile.
"Huh..." Shen Shuibei looked puzzled.
Was this person fooled?
"But, sorry, miss, we're all hardworking people with no special abilities. We can't escort you back to Jiannan, and we're not familiar with the terrain. How about we part ways here?" Li Qi politely suggested.
Hearing this, Shen Shuibei felt relieved and nodded hastily, forgetting everything else.
"Alright, let's go. You'll have to find your way ho alone," Li Qi said with a kind expression.
"That's fine, that's fine! I can find my way ho!" Shen Shuibei quickly agreed.
"We'll part ways here. The rice cakes in the pot haven't been eaten yet. We'll divide them among our bowls. You can eat first to regain your strength," Li Qi added.
"Thank you!" Shen Shuibei bowed repeatedly, having forgotten what had scared her earlier.
After saying this, Li Qi turned around and gave the others a signal.
The rchants imdiately pocketed their machetes, slung their baskets over their backs, and ran off without even taking the pot!
Li Qi followed without hesitation, leading A Du in a frantic sprint!
You've got to be kidding! The person behind them was likely a demon!
And she looked almost human, probably able to take human form. That wild dog demon was definitely connected to her!
Although they didn't know what she was thinking, they couldn't afford to wait for her to realize their trick. If they didn't escape now, they'd be asking for trouble.
Taking advantage of Li Qi's calm deanor, the group continued running without stopping to chat. They rushed onward from dawn until dusk, drinking water along the way but unable to stop for a proper al. Finally, they arrived at Feng County.
Finally reaching Feng County, everyone could catch their breath.
Even Ba Kui, exhausted and out of breath, still managed to give a thumbs-up and praise Li Qi: "Phew... pant, Brother Li Qi, I admire you! Facing a demon, you remained so calm!"
"I didn't expect... puff, ha... haha." Li Qi was also out of breath: "I didn't expect the demon to be so easy to fool, acting like an idiot... I was prepared to fight if she dropped the act, but she kept it up, allowing us to escape!"
"It's thanks to Brother Li's composure. Knowing the demon was pretending to be good, he avoided alarming her, letting us escape. If we had exposed ourselves, we might have faced another battle," ADu added quickly.
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