Chapter 24: Splendid Voice (Part 3) How could he easily let go of someone who disgusted him...

Before he could finish his words, Wen Gu's cold, dagger-like eyes glared at him.

Meeting that gaze, Jin Guan's brows arched, but his gaze suddenly darkened. From childhood to adulthood, no one had ever glared at him like that.

Jin Guan drew the sword from his waist, pointed it at Wen Gu, and repeated his previous question: "Are you her lover?"

Wen Gu, unwilling to engage in further discussion, was about to cast a spell with her hands behind her back when someone grabbed them. His expression was filled with anger, and he glanced sideways.

Li Zhixing smiled, using his folding fan to deflect the young man's sword. He then placed himself between the two men, bowing slightly before saying, "Greetings, young man. I am Li Zhixing, a disciple of Taoist Kongkong of the White Jade Monastery in Yuntai Mountain. I have been sent down the mountain by my master to exorcise demons. This is my junior fellow apprentice, Wen Gu." He gestured to Wen Gu, who he had pulled behind him.

Ye Qingzhan sat in Wen Gu's palm, listening to the exiled immortal's ramblings. He wondered, "Isn't the immortal

afraid that Taoist Kongkong's false identity will be exposed?" The young man on horseback seemed unconvinced, but didn't interrupt. It was simply because demonic creatures had been causing trouble at night in Fenghua County recently, and there was no room for recklessness. He turned and glanced at the setting sun as Li Zhixing continued, "This is our junior sister, Mo Zhi."

Mo Zhi, with her hair in three small buns and a pink dress, glanced quickly at the young man on horseback with her almond-shaped eyes.

Jin Guan met her gaze, a strange light in his eyes, and licked his lips.

Wen Gu fixed him with a cold stare, blocking Mo Zhi's way, facing him directly, forcing back the well-intentioned, dirty look.

Chu Letian, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke in this tense situation: "Young Master Jin, the sun is setting and it's getting dark."

Before he finished speaking, the young man on horseback said irritably: "I'm not blind." With an anxious look on his face, Jin Guan pulled the reins and grabbed the girl in his arms, trying to abduct her away.

"Let me go!" The girl struggled with tears in her eyes, "I won't go with you!" She looked at her father and said, "Dad, save me!"

Chu Letian's skinny fingers clenched until they cracked, but he said nothing.

"Let you go?" Jin Guan gripped the reins, completely ignoring the gazes of those present. He leaned forward to the girl in front of him, sniffed the fragrance of her neck and shoulders, and sighed happily, "It smells so good!" Then he said without a second's hesitation, "I've been looking for you for three days and finally caught you. There's no reason for me to let you go. Just go back with me and be my..."

Before he could finish, a man under the horse suddenly said, "You won't be able to walk long with her. It will be dark soon."

Wen Gu's voice was neither loud nor soft, but it just happened to fall into his ears.

Jin Guan's hand holding the reins paused, and in a moment, his chest left the girl and he pushed her down.

"Ah!"

The girl screamed, and everyone was stunned. Fortunately, the exiled immortal closest to the horse reacted quickly enough and supported the panicked girl, cursing in his heart: What a bastard!

Mo Zhi also hurried forward, gently stroking the girl's back, secretly glaring at the villain.

At this moment, Ye Qingzhan only wished that she had become a handkerchief, otherwise she would have been kicked by this bastard. Just as she was angry, Wen Gu suddenly covered her hand and stroked her gently, as if to persuade her to calm down.

Everyone who witnessed this was angry. But the girl's father, Chu Letian, had no emotion on his face, and he just stared at the evil boy who had already turned his back to them.

"Little beauty, I will come to see you another day," Jin Guan turned around, talking to one person but looking at another person, "This little beauty, we will meet again if we are lucky."

Li Zhixing protected Mo Zhi and the little girl of the Chu family behind him, forced a smile, gritted his teeth and said, "Young Master Jin, take care, be careful of evil spirits."

Jin Guan glared at him and rode away.

How could he easily let go of someone who disgusted him?

Wen Gu stared at the figure that was getting farther and farther away, a smile spreading from the corner of his lips, cold and chilling. With a slight tilt of his head, a ray of evil spirit from his sleeves chased after him.

In full view of everyone, the horse suddenly knelt on the ground. The man who was showing off his might just now was thrown out and rolled on the ground. After the horse stood up, it climbed up again in a panic.

The few people standing outside the hut felt a little relieved by this sudden and funny scene, and their faces looked much better.

The red sun was all over the sky, about to set.

Unable to hear the noise outside the yard, the woman in the yard opened the door, quietly poked her head out, and asked: "Has that bastard left?"

The girl who spoke had a pretty face and bright eyes. As she spoke, the girls behind her also tiptoed to look out.

The people outside the door looked over. Ye Qingzhan remained in Wen Gu's arms as Chu Letian said, "Let's go."

As soon as he finished speaking, the women hiding in the courtyard stepped out. The older man stepped forward, bowed on behalf of the younger women behind him, and said, "Thank you very much for allowing us to avoid the evildoers."

They had also heard the dandy boy's wild words in the courtyard and understood the father and daughter's intentions. They also learned that the evil young man's name was Jin Guan, the son of Jin Xiao, the Jin County Magistrate who had recently come to Fenghua County to abuse his power. He was said to be a dissolute person and had

caused great harm to others. If they hadn't hidden in the Chu family's courtyard, they would most likely have been in trouble if they had encountered him.

People in the neighboring counties said that if they were targeted by Young Master Jin, they would be like sheep in a den of wolves, doomed if not dead. I wonder how this little girl from the Chu family was so...

suspicious of the girls. This is what Ye Qingzhan and the others wanted to know. Their eyes were all on Wen Letian and the frightened little girl.

Chu Letian turned to Li Zhixing and Wen Gu, bowed and said, "Thank you both for your help." He glanced at Mo Zhi on the side and said, "If you don't mind, you can stay at my humble home tonight." As he spoke, he glanced at the distant sky. The sun had already hidden behind the mountain. He continued, "It's getting late." The

violent man's words suddenly became much gentler. Ye Qingzhan was surprised to see the exiled immortal glance at Wen Gu and smiled and replied, "We are indeed looking for a place to stay. Thank you for your kindness, brother. Sorry to bother you."

Chu Letian waved his hand and invited them into the house. He said to his daughter who was left behind, "Hurry up!"

His voice was full of urging and annoyance.

How could he be so irritable to his own daughter? His face changed so quickly.

Ye Qingzhan, who followed Wen Gu into the Chu family courtyard, was full of questions, and so were all the people standing in the courtyard. The scolded little girl ran into the courtyard, and Chu Letian walked in last with trembling steps.

As soon as he came in, he said to the older woman, "Come with me, I have something to ask you." After that, he took a step forward and pushed open a door.

The woman was stunned, and then followed him.

Ye Qingzhan watched the two people gradually enter the room, and whispered to Wen Gu. Wen Gu understood, released a trace of Yin Sha, and looked at the exiled immortal. Li Zhixing lowered his hand, and his fingertips drew a piece of ginkgo, which quietly disappeared in the Yin Sha released by Wen Gu.

The ginkgo hidden in the Yin Sha, half hidden from everyone's sight, quickly stuck to the dress of the woman who had already stepped into the room, and followed her into the room.

Several people breathed a sigh of relief.

In the illusion, no movement can be missed. Now the magical powers of the exiled immortal and Wen Gu were both incomplete, so to gather information, they had to rely on each other's strength. Thinking of this, Ye Qingzhan, who was nestled in the embroidered handkerchief, pulled out the red jade earrings that had been transformed from ginkgo from her sleeve.

She hoped that she could help as well. Thinking that the exiled immortal and Wen Gu were being watched by everyone and it was inconvenient for them to eavesdrop, she was one with Xiu Pa and could listen openly.

As soon as the two entered the house, Chu Letian closed the door, turned around, stared at the older woman with a serious look and said, "You are a demon."

As soon as she put the earrings to her ears, Ye Qingzhan heard these words and her eyes widened.

***

The little girl of the Chu family saw her father close the door and said to the people who were still standing in the yard with nowhere to go, "I'll make you a pot of tea." Her eyes swept over everyone, she paused, blushed, and said, "Sorry, you have to wait a while, I need to clean up."

Li Zhixing never made things difficult for others, so he quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay, go and do your own thing, we are the ones who disturbed you in the first place."

The little girl smiled slightly and retreated.

Ye Qingzhan watched the little girl walk into the kitchen, then turned to observe the thatched courtyard. The Chu family courtyard looked dilapidated from the gate, but it was unexpectedly spacious inside. There were bedrooms on both the east and west sides of the square courtyard, and the main hall faced south. There were many flowers and trees in the front yard, but they seemed to be in disarray due to lack of care. In particular, the osmanthus tree facing the hall was very eye-catching.

It looked like it had been struck by lightning, with a crack like a scar on the flesh, breaking the splendor of the tree.

This osmanthus tree was the most decadent.

Somehow, Ye Qingzhan thought of the claw marks on Chu Letian's face.

It was quite consistent with the crack.

As he was thinking about it, Ye Qingzhan suddenly saw a woman walk up to Wen Gu, pointed at his hand, smiled gently and said, "Sir, can you give it back to me? I just lost it."

Wen Gu stared at her, without saying a word, and did not give it.

Ye Qingzhan was anxious: according to the rules, one cannot go against the wishes of the people in the illusion.

The beautiful woman was not annoyed by being stared at. Her eyes were calm and she continued with a smile: "Sir, this embroidered handkerchief is not yet finished and the stitching is not fine. If you return it to me, I will give you another exquisite one."

The woman, with a gentle temperament like autumn water, thought that the young man in front of her liked this embroidered handkerchief.

Li Zhixing, who had wanted to join the girls in asking what the local monster was, saw this scene and hurried to the two of them. He smiled and put his arm around Wen Gu's shoulder, "Wait a moment, girl," and took her a few steps away, saying earnestly, "Don't be stubborn at this time. This handkerchief originally belonged to someone else. Even if you didn't pick it up, that little girl Chu would have picked it up and would have returned it to her."

Wen Gu shook off the hand that was around his shoulder, clenched the embroidered handkerchief, looked at the exiled immortal, his brows serious, and said, "Mine."

"..." Li Zhixing's face froze for a moment, and he decided to take out his trump card, and said, "If this immortal is right, you have also signed a contract with the King of Hell, and you are also here to work at the Ghost Gate to find your memory, right?"

The young man looked at him, clenched the embroidered handkerchief in his hand, and did not respond.

Not hoping to pry a word out of the moody, impulsive young man, Li Zhixing wore a sly smile and whispered, "Do you know what the punishment will be if your stubbornness and willful behavior prevent the illusion from unfolding properly and the Illusion Master from recovering his memories within the allotted time?"

Wen Gu's eyes finally shifted.

Li Zhixing caught the subtle shift, then glanced down at the handkerchief huddled in his grasp. He added, "Your punishment is fine, but what if this delicate young girl is implicated? She can't withstand the divine punishment!" He stole a glance at the person beside him. A divine

punishment?

Ye Qingzhan was terrified. He quickly whispered, "Wen Gu, just listen and give her the handkerchief." He silently resented: Why is this person so impulsive?

The whispers reached his ears, and Wen Gu's eyes fell on the embroidered handkerchief that was slightly wrinkled by his pinch. His brows knitted together, and after a moment, he smoothed out the wrinkles, turned around and returned the handkerchief to the girl who came to ask for it.

His face was gloomy.

Ye Qingzhan saw it clearly, and the girl naturally also saw his reluctance, as if she had lost a priceless treasure. She wanted to say something, but the boy left without saying a word.

The little girl of the Chu family came over at the right time with tea and said to everyone, "Everyone, come and have some tea."

The smart and beautiful girl who had asked the question at the door earlier, heard the words, lifted her skirt and ran towards her, saying with a smile, "I won't be polite, I'm so thirsty."

The little girl smiled lightly and placed the tea tray on the stone table in the courtyard.

The woman took a sip of tea, sat on the stone bench, and as if remembering something, she asked again, "We have troubled you so much, but we don't even know your name?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone who came to receive the tea looked at the person being asked.

Even without makeup, the girl standing by the table, dressed in a coarse linen shirt, was still quite charming. Her skin was pale with a hint of pink, and she had a pair of peach blossom eyes. When she wasn't smiling, she looked like a budding flower, and when she smiled, it was like a thousand flowers awakening in spring. She smiled and said, "My name is Chu Mozhi."

Li Zhixing spat out the tea he had just taken a sip of.