Chapter 16: Who Stands on the Dangerous Wall

During the time when Sheng Yuan Yao was obstructing Liu Qing Cang, several shadowy figures quietly scaled the back wall of the merchant house and entered.

These were the dead soldiers specifically dispatched by Xu Bing Kun. With the Heavenly Journey Sword Sect internally, the Dan Xia Gang, and the City Lord's dead soldiers coordinating from three sides, even if a group of loyal disciples protected the cripple Shen Tang, things would be turned upside down this time.

Just as they entered the back courtyard, they saw a small Daoist child sitting alone by the pond, rubbing her hands by a bonfire on the ground.

The fragrance of roasting sweet potatoes drifted leisurely.

The dead soldiers exchanged glances, seeing fierce determination in each other's eyes. Who told this little brat to be so unlucky, roasting sweet potatoes so late at night!

"Swish, swish, swish!" The group swiftly swept past the small Daoist child, and the leader of the dead soldiers casually swiped a sword towards her neck.

As the sword moved, suddenly there was an "eh." The tip of the sword hadn't made contact with anything; there was no feedback. He turned his head in astonishment. The small Daoist child who had just been roasting sweet potatoes was gone without a trace.

Cooking smoke curled, spreading throughout the small courtyard. The murky pond water seemed to twist, making it impossible to distinguish between night and water for a moment. Even the people beside them were gone, leaving only vast darkness.

"Bad, an illusion array!" The leader of the dead soldiers shouted sternly, "Stop advancing, form ranks and defend yourselves!"

As his words fell, the small Daoist child's chubby face reappeared in front of them. She was eating a sweet potato with one hand and holding a small banner with the other, her big black eyes gleaming as she stared at him. The banner still had "Measure character, ask divination" written on it.

The leader of the dead soldiers angrily shouted, "Who are you, pretending to be a god and playing ghost here!"

"You're actually not scared?" A Nuo was very puzzled. She turned her head and looked at her own small banner, suddenly realizing. She reached out and flipped the small banner over. That side was no longer "Measure character, ask divination." It now read "Human Emperor Banner."

You all haven't cultivated enough; join us brothers in the Human Emperor Banner!

A Nuo grinned, "Are you scared now?"

The dead soldiers' hearts were indeed filled with an inexplicable panic. It wasn't because of this so-called Human Emperor Banner, but because the child herself was very strange. This panic grew thicker and thicker, finally unable to be contained. They shouted and stabbed with their swords.

The white banner moved slightly.

The sound of ghost cries suddenly echoed through the dark night. The dead soldiers only felt a surge in their minds, their heads throbbing as if they would split, and then nothing more.

The ghost cries stopped, and the small courtyard became quiet again. A pile of corpses lay sprawled on the ground, their eyes wide open, as if they had seen the most terrifying nightmare at the moment of death.

"I said, how could you not be scared? When Master hits my butt with this pole, even I'm scared." A Nuo put away the small banner and gnawed on her sweet potato all the way back to the west wing.

Lu Xing Zhou was sitting in the center of the courtyard with his eyes closed. At this moment, he slowly opened them and looked at A Nuo hopping back, his eyes full of doting affection.

A Nuo handed over the small banner: "Master, there's demon qi here."

Lu Xing Zhou took the small banner, gazed at it for a moment, and frowned, whispering softly, "They're not demons, but they are somewhat tainted... This indicates that there are demon monsters lurking near Xia State and have some contact with these people. Does Xu Bing Kun know about this situation?"

...

The night was cool like water. Du Gu Qing Li pushed Shen Tang to Lu Xing Zhou's west wing courtyard.

Lu Xing Zhou didn't go back to his room to rest, nor was he endlessly refining pills as usual. He just sat quietly in the courtyard, quietly looking at the clear, cold moonlight in the sky. A Nuo moved a small stool and sat beside him, also looking up at the moon.

One big, one small, like sculptures. Shen Tang found it a little funny and quietly asked A Nuo, "A Nuo, what are you looking at?"

A Nuo mumbled, "Master says there are rabbits and Osmanthus trees on the moon, and people cutting down trees. No matter how I look, I don't see anything. Master just doesn't want me to feel the moon is like a pill, so he tricks me into thinking there are people inside and I can't eat it."

Lu Xing Zhou said helplessly, "If I didn't trick you into thinking there are people, would you eat it?"

A Nuo drooled, "But it looks so delicious!"

Lu Xing Zhou casually put a sugar into her mouth: "Finish eating and remember to brush your teeth and rinse your mouth, then go to sleep. I have something to talk about with Miss Shen."

A Nuo chewed the sugar, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

"Are you not going to say again that you are a cultivator and won't get cavities, so you don't need to rinse your mouth? I don't know such a dirty little child."

"No..." A Nuo sniffled: "Speaking of the moon, you haven't told me a story in a long time..."

"Alright." Lu Xing Zhou rubbed her head: "We'll just talk for a bit, and I'll definitely tell you a story later, okay?"

"Okay, I guess." A Nuo's expression brightened a little. She turned her head and glanced at Shen Tang and the other person, then thumped into the room. Not long after, she carried out a small tea table with a teapot and teacups on it, very obediently brewing tea for the guests.

Shen Tang felt that this little chubby girl was simply not welcoming her at first, feeling that she was disturbing her Master from telling her a story. After getting the promise that he would definitely tell a story later, she became happy and treated the guests. In reality, this little girl's heart was also very lonely. She only had her Master. Actually, she also had a pair of healthy legs.

The group was silent for a while. The pattering sound of pouring tea echoed in the courtyard, making the night even quieter. Lu Xing Zhou finally spoke: "Miss Shen, you cleaned up the sect today and hold sole authority. Instead of taking the opportunity to promote your trusted confidants and eliminate the remnants, you came to find me. Is there something important?"

"You've been gazing at the moon in the courtyard. Could it be that you were waiting for me to come find you?"

"That's not necessarily true." Lu Xing Zhou smiled: "A pill master doesn't have to be stuck by the pill furnace all day. That kind of life is unlivable. Bringing a child to appreciate the scenery and tell stories is also life."

"Then consider me mistaken." Shen Tang smiled straightforwardly: "I just came to thank you. You not only helped guard the back courtyard, but also held back Sheng Yuan Yao. You truly wholeheartedly ensured that I had no worries tonight."

"Since it's mutual help, it should naturally be perfected. Later, I even felt that I was superfluous." Lu Xing Zhou looked at Du Gu Qing Li and sighed: "I guessed that Miss Qing Li was very strong, but I didn't expect her to be this strong. If I had known earlier, it would have been better to just let them charge in and die. Especially Liu Qing Cang, that would save me effort later."

"That might not be good. I can't expose Qing Li's strength too obviously, nor do I want to be targeted as a wanted criminal by the Demon Suppression Department. Handling it like tonight is clearly the best."

"Mm." Lu Xing Zhou hummed, but didn't respond further. The atmosphere seemed a little cold. Shen Tang hesitated for a long time before finally saying softly, "What's your view on my killings?"

Du Gu Qing Li couldn't help but glance at her. Are you alright? You clearly know that this person is nine out of ten from the demonic path. Are you afraid he'll have a view on your minor killings? The people his disciple just killed in the back courtyard probably outnumbered those few we killed.

Lu Xing Zhou smiled: "Miss Shen is actually worried that I will think your previous gentleness was fake, and tonight's dominance is your true nature. Then you're asking me to be wary of you from now on."

Shen Tang didn't speak. Du Gu Qing Li was slightly startled. So that's it. This man has a good discerning heart.

Lu Xing Zhou raised his teacup in salute: "Human kindness is only given to specific things. I'm rather glad Miss isn't a little sun who is gentle to everyone. Thank you for your special treatment. I respect you."

Shen Tang exhaled, a smile blooming again, and raised her cup to clink. The two of them drank it down. Lu Xing Zhou put down his cup and said again: "However, Miss, this time the mutual help is complete, the cooperation is pleasant. From now on, we'll each live our own lives. There's no need to feel that because we both sit in wheelchairs, there's any special treatment."

Shen Tang looked at him quietly for a while, then nodded: "Alright."

The conversation thus ended. Lu Xing Zhou looked at Du Gu Qing Li a few more times. This little white-haired girl was still silent from beginning to end, like a puppet. Alright, white hair should be like this. Lu Xing Zhou shrugged: "A Nuo, let's go back and tell a story."

A Nuo was overjoyed and jumped up.

Du Gu Qing Li pushed Shen Tang far away before finally saying in a low voice, "He's fully aware of all the changes in this place. It should be the result of his array. I was still wondering that day how he knew I was peeping..."

"Mm."

Du Gu Qing Li wanted to speak but stopped. You've been monitored for so long, and you're actually indifferent? What about when we bathe? She ultimately didn't ask that. She only said, "Are you actually really afraid he'll have a view on you, so you specifically came to explain?"

Shen Tang was a little distracted, still only saying "mm."

"What exactly are you thinking about?"

Shen Tang finally said: "He is a very rare talent... And he seems to arm himself with cold schemes, but in fact, if you are good to him, he will repay you tenfold."

Du Gu Qing Li thought about Lu Xing Zhou's behavior in this matter and nodded in agreement: "So you just think this person should be made friends with, only that?"

Shen Tang pursed her lips, still saying: "Only that."

Du Gu Qing Li asked again: "Now you've already helped each other, and he also thinks your special treatment towards him is genuine. According to common sense, you should start making friends. Why did you suddenly become more distant instead and say you'll each live your own lives? And you clearly planned to make friends, so why did you end it so straightforwardly?"

Shen Tang laughed out loud: "Did the National Teacher send you down the mountain because he wants you to understand human emotions more?"

Du Gu Qing Li shook her head: "I also don't know what Master is thinking, and I think understanding these things is meaningless."

"Since it's meaningless, why are you asking like a curious baby?"

"Since I have to protect your safety, I must understand all matters around you. This person is the most unpredictable variable around you. I should be fully aware of it."

Shen Tang raised her head and looked at the gentle moonlight. After a long time, she finally said: "I am a dangerous wall, what is he himself? Now it's him who doesn't want to implicate you and me. And we have offended the City Lord, and external enemies are still there. Troubles are entwined around us, why implicate him again?"

Du Gu Qing Li frowned slightly, finding it a little hard to understand, but ultimately didn't ask further. To avoid being considered a curious baby. Although she felt that this pair of male and female were not too normal, where do so many tacit understandings come from? It would be better if A Nuo was more normal. No matter how powerful... If the protection object was A Nuo, it would be good. Where would there be so much trouble.

Yet she heard Shen Tang smile: "Even if it's just to better complete the task, but since you are willing to say so much to me, it shows you are not entirely an ice block. You can completely go directly and ask him. I think he will like it very much... After all, just in the short dialogue between us just now, he looked at you eight times."

Du Gu Qing Li finally had some of the bashfulness that belonged to a girl: "I'm not a curious baby, and there's no need for him to look."

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