Chapter 80: Night Rain in Bashan, Departing from Home (Part 10) Using this despicable method...

Forced by the Hu Mansion to do things she disliked, the exhausted Hu Tangqing found sleepless many nights. She constantly wondered, what could she do?

She preferred reading to singing and dancing. The stories in these books always captivated her, the tales of heroic women, talented men and beautiful women, and the heroes of their time always captivated her.

She longed to be one of those figures recorded in history books. But not for fame and renown, simply to rise high, humble herself, and do more for the suffering people.

Living in a corner of Liudun Ridge, she had little idea of what life was like outside this area. She wondered if there were women like them elsewhere, kept in seclusion, waiting to be sold, and exploited by others.

Moonlight, as clear as lake water, flowed quietly over her. Hu Tangqing recalled a dream she had once had.

She was only twelve years old at the time. One night, after falling asleep, she dreamed of falling into a lake. It was the tranquil lake of Liudunling.

As soon as she fell in, she was surrounded by thousands of pale-faced women.

Their hair drifted in the water, their swollen bodies covered in scars of varying sizes, deep and shallow, hidden beneath tattered clothing. Their limbs were bound tightly by hundreds of strands of waterweed, as if they could never leave, pinned to the water.

Facing a sea of faces swarming in the water is terrifying, and Hu Tangqing was no exception.

She felt a mixture of fear and suffocation. But for some reason, facing these hideous, agonized women, her heart surged with the water, filled with even greater sadness, an unspoken grief.

Driven by this swirling mix of emotions, Hu Tangqing touched the face of one of the women.

The woman's eyes were closed, her smile a foolish smile.

Hu Tangqing knew her.

The woman opened her eyes, and Hu Tangqing woke up from her dream, gasping for breath. Outside her bedroom, flames reached the sky, and there was a commotion and panic. Lady Wang ran in crying, shouting, "Miss Third, Miss Second..."

Hu Tangqing remembered that the woman with closed eyes and a silly smile in her dream was her second sister, Hu Tangxue.

She jumped into the lake.

No one in the Hu Mansion talked about Hu Tangxue's death. Some people who talked about it also felt that she was extremely unlucky, and they were not satisfied even after spitting, and seemed to want to whip her corpse. But Hu Tangqing knew that only those who did something wrong would be afraid. They drove her crazy, but she was unwilling and dared not admit it.

Hu Tangxue was beautiful and sharp-tongued, and she never gave in easily. In order to escape the fate chosen for her, she fled on horseback. But she was caught and brought back. In order to send her to a wealthy man as a concubine, Hu Chuanwang and the servants smashed one of her knees together.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Just be content to be a vase, just stay in bed. You need a pair of legs, you can run anyway. Might as well break them and stop you from wanting to fly."

At that time, the twelve-year-old Hu Tangqing had just finished her dance practice and saw all this outside the house.

The blood almost washed the floor of the hall. Hu Tangxue, whose knee was broken, fell to the ground in pain. The light in her eyes faded bit by bit and finally disappeared.

At that moment, Hu Tangqing seemed to see a beautiful bird whose wings were broken.

At that time, Hu Tangxue still refused to accept her fate. She ran out of that house with one leg and came back covered in mud, with bloody mud between her fingers. She came back for no other reason than to knock on Hu Tangqing's door at night.

Hu Tangqing remembered that it was a night with a sudden storm. The woman who was as scorching as the sun in the past was now covered in wind and rain, with a strange light in her eyes. She said, "Sister, I will take you away."

A bloodstained hand reached out to her, and Hu Tangqing took it.

The moment the two hands touched, Hu Tangqing saw the person standing under the tree.

Lightning flashed across the sky.

Hu Chuanwang stared at them quietly like a demon...

When Ye Qingzhan heard this, her heart seemed to be hit hard, and it kept pounding. Wen Gu patted her back gently, "Don't be afraid."

Li Zhixing, who was leaning against Hu Tangqing, clenched his fists, his knuckles crackling, and his eyes were already burning with anger.

He knew that in Liudunling, there were countless women, and their final destination was the quiet lake that fostered countless resentful souls.

"I don't know what the place outside Liudunling is like, whether women are facing the same situation. I only know that although you and I are angry, we can't change anything."

Hu Tangqing pried open her clenched fingers one by one and placed her hand in Li Zhixing's. Interlocking their fingers, she continued, "Although I'm a woman, my heart has never been in the family. In the past, I thought about getting rid of that bloody family. After I fell ill, I thought about how to survive. After I got better, I thought about how to do my best to protect the children in this school, thinking about..." Her face flushed slightly, "I thought about staying with you forever."

Li Zhixing held her hand tighter.

"But..."

Hu Tangqing looked up at the sky, and a group of inky clouds blocked the full moon of Qingming Festival.

"I know very well that if the sky is covered with dark clouds, the sun cannot rise in the east, and the bright moon cannot hang high in the sky, it will be difficult for plants to grow on earth."

After speaking, Li Zhixing turned his head and looked at the woman beside him who was bathed in the light. After

a year of study, he had mastered everything that Hu Tangqing taught him. At first, he hated the well-organized but boring texts in the books, but he was willing to learn only because the teacher was his sweetheart.

But then…

perhaps it was her masterful teaching skills, her vivid and vivid ability to make dull material engaging and clear, that he began to appreciate the power of books. He

listened intently, reading with meticulous attention and depth.

Sometimes, when he encountered content that intrigued him, he could even draw inferences from it. In the past,

when he beat people to collect debts, when he held their lives in his hands, evil thoughts and pleasure would grow in his bones. It was a terrifying and dreadful desire that gnawed at his flesh, leading him to fall step by step, becoming a demon wielding the butcher's knife.

When reading, the feeling of knowledge filling his body and mind was so fulfilling that his entire being, his spine, and his flesh, was filled with satisfaction.

This feeling was a million times better than anything he had ever felt before!

Li Zhixing didn't know the reason for this feeling, but he knew that he was now considered a scholar. A scholar's ambition is to serve the people.

For the people.

So—

did he want to be an official?

Li Zhixing looked at his beloved beside him.

He wanted to be with her.

But he hoped even more that she could live a happy and comfortable life.

He wanted to try—

to relieve her worries.

To fulfill her wishes.

He also wanted to ask himself: What does it mean to serve the people?

Dark clouds drifted away, and the moonlight was coated with a layer of silver light.

Li Zhixing leaned over and hugged her.

This was the first time he took the initiative to hug her. Hu Tangqing blinked and heard him say, "Can I try?"

The person in his arms did not answer in time.

But Li Zhixing heard the beating of one heart, burning another.

...Ye Qingzhan, who was watching from afar, looked at Wen Gu. Her heart was also beating very fast, anxiety was on her brows, and her face was gloomy.

Looking at her like this, Wen Gu pointed to the fluorescent red tea bracelet on her wrist and said, "Don't worry."

***

Under Hu Tangqing's diligent teaching, Li Zhixing learned the knowledge in the books over and over again. He taught during the day and reviewed at night. When he had a day off, he ran a few miles away to ask for advice from the candidates who had taken the exam. He was not angry when being bullied, but patiently asked for advice with a smile. Whenever he wanted to take action, he would always think of his family's earnest expectations.

Li Zhixing studied hard day and night, and worked hard together with Hu Tangqing's regret that she could not learn from him.

Finally, he passed all the hurdles and entered the provincial examination and the imperial examination.

When the villagers at the foot of Bashan Mountain learned about it, their faces were filled with proud smiles.

"If Mr. Li becomes an official, he'll kick out those dignitaries who come to Bashan to escape the summer heat. Every time they come, my orchard suffers!" The speaker was an old man named Liu. During the scorching summer heat, the dignitaries from the neighboring areas of Liudun would hold banquets on Bashan Mountain and force him to open his orchard to them for the picking. Every time he urged them not to destroy the young fruit, those young men seemed to have no ears and would simply defy him. Unable to provoke them, he could only do nothing.

Aunt Zhao also said, "Yes, we should kick that county magistrate out too! He's just obsessed with the people's money!"

Echoes of the voices followed.

Li Zhixing touched the top of his head. Thankfully, he didn't have a hat.

Hu Tangqing watched his movements, smiled behind her handkerchief, and "rescued" him from the crowd. With a few words, she persuaded them to return home. After closing the door, she tiptoed and kissed Li Zhixing on the face.

Li Zhixing's hand, rubbing the back of his head, froze, his face flushing like an apple.

"Great," Hu Tangqing praised him earnestly. "We're leaving for the capital tomorrow, so you need to prepare well today. Everything you need to bring should be ready."

With that, Li Zhixing suddenly stepped forward and hugged her tightly. His ears flushed bloodshot, his face pressed against her neck. "I want to... go with you."

The young man holding her, his mind rarely wandering. Hu Tangqing's heart softened, and she hugged him back, coaxing him softly, "If I go with you, what will happen to the school? What will happen to Madam Wang?"

Madam Wang was elderly. A few days ago, after sending the children home from the school, she was caught in a heavy rain on her way back and fell into a mountain stream. When she was found, she had a fever, caught a severe cold, and couldn't move her legs.

When she was sick as a child, Madam Wang stayed with her all night.

Madam Wang was her mother's maidservant, a lifelong unmarried woman with no children. She treated her like her own daughter, doing her best for her, never complaining.

Hu Tangqing had no choice but to take care of her.

Li Zhixing knew what kind of character she had, so he said no more. He held her quietly, and after a long time, he whispered something into her ear.

After he finished speaking, Hu Tangqing, whose cheek seemed to be embroidered with a pink cloud, stood on tiptoe and kissed him again.

Li Zhixing held her neck and deepened the kiss...

Ye Qingzhan, who was watching from the tree, twitched his eyebrows.

On the night when Wang Niangzi got into trouble, Wen Gu followed her, wanting to protect her and get her home safely. But who would have thought that accidents are always unexpected. The rainstorm broke down the ridge and huge rocks rolled down.

Wang Niangzi, who was running fast with an umbrella, had obviously avoided it. But where she rested, a sobbing and wailing sound was heard. Wang Niang was frightened, stepped back, and fell into the mountain stream.

That voice was the voice of the night ghost.

After Wang Niang fell, Dr. Fox in a white Taoist robe appeared in the shadows. After Wen Gu rescued Lady Wang from the water, he was no longer there...

Figures were lingering under the tree.

Ye Qingzhan had mixed feelings: What on earth was that fox trying to do?

Just when she was at a loss for words, she felt a burning gaze.

Wen Gu was staring at her lips.

"What do you want to do?"

Pointing at the two people embracing each other in the yard, Wen Gu's eyes were always on her lips. That look seemed to want to tear her apart and eat her.

Suddenly, her throat felt dry, and Ye Qingzhan moved away from his dangerous gaze.

She felt that something was wrong with Wen Gu.

In the past, he lost control mostly after bloody scenes or at night. But now, he lost control more and more regardless of the occasion or time.

She could often feel his hot and scorching gaze, which surrounded her all the time. She

should be afraid of and stay away from such a look, but for some reason, she actually felt at ease in such a look.

It was as if someone used such a look to control the "behemoth" hidden deep in her heart...

After finding it difficult to fathom the fox Taoist's schemes, Ye Qingzhan could clearly sense her inner uneasiness and restlessness. This was a feeling

she had never experienced in her adventures in the fantasy world. It felt oppressive and suffocating, as if she had a beast in her heart that could break free from its chains at any moment.

Was this feeling simply due to the inability to predict or infer the fox man's actions?

Before she could figure it out, someone kissed her on the lips.

Sucking, gnawing.

The touch of lips and teeth against each other overwhelmed all her senses, and in her panic and confusion, she forgot the reason for her worries.

Ye Qingzhan closed her eyes.

Wen Gu opened them .

"Sorry, wait a moment."

***

After Li Zhixing entered the capital, good news soon arrived—he had passed the palace examination. However, this time the examination was different from previous years. Although the emperor set the questions, it was not in the form of face-to-face questions and answers. Instead, different tribute students were sent to different places. These places, without exception, were experiencing disasters of the same difficulty, but with different specific circumstances. The tribute students' job was to provide disaster relief and management.

The places to which the tribute scholars were assigned were unknown before they arrived. However, Wen Gu sent a letter to Ye Qingzhan through the ginkgo tree to tell her where Li Zhixing was.

Before receiving the letter from Li Zhixing, Lady Wang's illness had improved a lot. The successive good news made Hu Tangqing radiant and energetic. And because of this, she gradually ignored the dangers lurking in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Dr. Fox appeared again.

Ye Qingzhan was in the barrier, watching his white robe fluttering in the air, and his slow voice came along the ginkgo tree.

"It's been too long."

"I've waited too long for your wisdom."

This fox man was like a gust of wind, a gust of wind that secretly monitored the development of the situation. He came and went in a hurry without a trace.

Ye Qingzhan released a piece of ginkgo and attached it to his body. But in less than a moment, she could no longer sense his breath. I think it was because he was in the sea of consciousness. Once he left Hu Tangqing's sight, it would be difficult to continue.

Wen Gu was able to track down Li Zhixing because of the correspondence between him and Hu Tangqing.

Having an enemy in the shadows isn't a good feeling; it feels like a sense of defeat, not knowing where to begin. Her heart ached slightly, and that familiar feeling of restlessness instantly spread throughout her body.

Why was this happening? Within Sanniang's consciousness, where did this restless, raging feeling, a desire to break through everything, come from? Why did it grow stronger each time?

Ye Qingzhan withdrew the ginkgo tree and continued to look at Hu Tangqing, who was reading a letter in the courtyard. Her eyes and eyebrows were smiling as she folded the letter and put it into the wooden box.

Lady Wang also came over at this time, and Hu Tangqing hurried over to help.

Seeing that her young lady looked particularly charming today, with her eyebrows and lips curled up, Lady Wang knew that it was the boy from the capital who had come to Lexin. Feigning anger, she asked, "Miss, has that pretty boy written again? How did he do in the imperial examination?"

Hu Tangqing's eyes rolled slightly, and she replied with a smile, "Of course he passed!" Pride filled her words. "He should be taking the palace examination by now. I hope everything goes well for him."

She was happy for him, but she couldn't show it on her face. Lady Wang snorted, "I hope he'll embarrass you. He's your student. If he does poorly, don't say it was you who taught him."

Knowing the elder was joking, Hu Tangqing took her arm and said with a smile, "With your good wishes, Zhixing will definitely pass. Then, step by step, he can change all the injustices and outdated practices."

To achieve this on her own was a pipe dream. But a group of people could, one after another, generations of ambitious individuals.

Hu Tangqing awaited that day, longing to be among them, to contribute her own little part.

Madam Wang's expression changed, and after hesitating for a moment, she said, "Miss, aren't you afraid that after that boy has high school, he will become a royal bridegroom, just like in the opera, and forget..."

Before she could finish, Hu Tangqing said, "No, he definitely won't."

Her young lady looked calm and her tone was firm. Madam Wang swallowed back what she wanted to say.

After returning to the house, Hu Tangqing put the letter box away and opened another small wooden box.

Ye Qingzhan, who was hidden in the barrier, walked over quietly and stood beside her, watching.

In the box was a bamboo hairpin with two blue birds flying side by side engraved on it.

It was the hairpin she saw at the gates of hell. Ye Qingzhan understood and saw Hu Tangqing put the hairpin on her head and opened another letter.

To be precise, it was a letter written in blood.

Hu Tangqing opened it carefully and was about to read the contents again when a noise suddenly came from outside the yard.

Ye Qingzhan's eyebrows jumped and he looked in the direction of the sound.

A crying woman, holding a child by the collar in her hand, pushed Wang Niangzi aside and rushed to Hu Tangqing's side. Behind her followed a man with a low brow and a pleasant look.

The woman pushed the child towards Hu Tangqing, glanced at her, and began to sit on the ground and curse: "You vixen, you failed to seduce men in Liudunling before, and now you run to Bashan to cheat on others. Your own man ran away to be an official and didn't want you anymore, but now you start thinking about my man. You are so blind and unlucky that you handed the child to you!"

The woman's words were rough and she pointed at her and cursed. Hu Tangqing frowned and pulled the person up. The force was so strong that the woman staggered after she stood up.

"Third sister Tian, you must have evidence when speaking. If you have no evidence, it is slander." Hu Tangqing grabbed her wrist and increased the force a little bit, forcing her to look straight.

Ye Qingzhan looked at the woman's raised eyes and saw that there was no light in her dark pupils. Thinking it was his own illusion, he rubbed his eyes and took a closer look. The pupils of the three people who broke into the school were all unusually dark, without a trace of spirit, like puppets being controlled by someone.

Hu Tangqing, however, looked at the woman as if she didn't notice anything unusual.

Did she not notice it, or...

The red tea armlet on her wrist suddenly lit up, and Ye Qingzhan covered it with her other hand. After the light disappeared, she felt a little itchy in her eyes. When she looked at the three people again, their black pupils were shining again.

How strange... Ye Qingzhan released his hand covering the armlet, and his eyes swept over the woman again. The man and the child's eyes were lifeless again.

So that's it -

her eyesight has always been different from ordinary people, and it turned out to be because of this armlet. And in Chu Mozhi's illusion, it was because of this armlet that she and Wen Gu were protected.

Ye Qingzhan remembered the armlet...it was made by Wen Guwei.

"My son saw it all. You and his father were hugging each other," Tian Chunhua said, lifting her child like a chicken. "Tell me, did you see it?"

The little boy's head, which had been lowered, suddenly raised and pointed at Hu Tangqing motionlessly. "I saw it. My father came to pick me up yesterday. The teacher took my father to the room. I saw from the window, the two of them hugging each other—"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Hu Tangqing's voice couldn't help but tremble. She didn't understand why the student she had taught herself would tell lies and slander her. This was more painful than letting her die. "Tian Xiaoliang, why did you lie?"

Without waiting for the little boy to answer, Tian Chunhua protected him behind her. "My child won't lie. It's you who are shameless and seduced my man!"

Hu Tangqing's body had begun to tremble. She turned around and coughed unexpectedly. When she raised her eyes, her eyes were extremely calm. She looked at Tian Dali, who had always been timid and silent. "Do you have anything to say?"

Tian Dali hugged Tian Chunhua's arm, and his empty eyes suddenly became aggrieved. "My wife, she seduced me!"

What a thing! The restlessness in her heart became more and more rampant. Ye Qingzhan wanted to break through the barrier and kick the man, but reason overcame anger. She gritted her teeth and looked at this weird family.

Hu Tangqing, who was standing on the table, laughed in anger. Just as she was about to say something, Wang Niangzi, holding a broom, suddenly rushed in and spat fiercely at the three of them: "Why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror to see what kind of person you are. My lady seduced you? You work like a dog for my lady, and she still thinks you are ugly!"

Wang Niang's words made Ye Qingzhan feel relieved, but soon, her brows furrowed again.

More and more people poured in and rushed to Hu Tangqing aggressively.

Wang Niang pointed the broom at them and asked anxiously and angrily: "School is over, what are you still doing in school!"

The pupils of these people's eyes were as black as the bottom of a pot, and their movements were exactly the same. They raised their fingers to point at Hu Tangqing and started to curse.

The curses were no different from what Tian Chunhua said.

In an instant, Ye Qingzhan knew clearly that they were being collectively manipulated. Hu Tangqing suddenly vomited in the vortex of the quarrel and then fainted.

Suddenly, a man walked out from the crowd. He was a doctor from Bashan Town. His expression was also blank. He felt Hu Tangqing's pulse and said, "She is pregnant."

Lady Wang was shocked. She grabbed his beard and asked sternly, "You old bastard, what nonsense are you talking about!"

The people behind her dragged her and knocked her unconscious.

Tian Chunhua pointed at the two people who fainted and said, "You said you didn't cheat on your wife, but you both have bastards. Everyone knows that his sweetheart has become an official. Who in the surrounding area doesn't have a husband of the same age as her? This vixen who is unfaithful and lies all the time should be drowned in the lake!"

Ridiculous, so ridiculous!

Extremely worried and angry, Ye Qingzhan wanted to come out of the barrier to save the two, but she knew she had to be patient for a while, because the fox's tail had not yet been exposed. She had to wait a little longer.

After these people tied up the two people separately, they carried them to the edge of Jinghu Lake.

It was at this time that Dr. Fox appeared.

He looked at these people and sank Lady Wang and Hu Tangqing into the lake. The fox eyes, always bent, flashed with an eerie light, and the hands, always hidden in the sleeves, slowly stretched out and took out a golden pear.

It was the pear from Aunt Zhao's house.

After drowning the two, the men crouched like dogs at the feet of the Taoist Master Fox, their eyes fixed on the pear. With a flick of the Fox Master's hand, the single pear transformed into hundreds, raining down from the sky upon the indifferent villagers.

They seized the pears and shouted into the lake, "Unfaithful, unchaste, and unfaithful to women! Good death, good death!"

Ye Qingzhan watched helplessly.

Hu Sanniang and Hu Tangqing had died so unjustly, so absurdly!

Liudunling was rife with comparison, treating women as commodities and burdening them with the shackles of chastity and outdated norms.

Hu Tangqing, a woman, opened a school, breaking with tradition and establishing something new, something they could not tolerate. Even though she had never committed any transgressions, she could not avoid the countless slurs of adultery thrown at her, simply because her lover was far away and she was young and beautiful. Those who coveted her beauty were quick to slander her.

And the pregnancy story was completely fabricated. The doctor was simply manipulated by the fox Taoist priest and was talking nonsense.

Ye Qingzhan felt even more upset when he saw the pears scattered all over the ground.

These pears were delivered by Aunt Zhao from door to door. As she was raising a daughter alone, it was often difficult for her to balance the opera garden and the care of her daughter. She had to eat at many houses.

She should repay the favor she received. She delivered pears from door to door, but who would have thought that this would give the fox Taoist priest an opportunity to poison the pears and bewitch people.

Fortunately, Ye Qingzhan's barrier flew fast. Before these people pushed Hu Tangqing and Lady Wang into the water, she threw the ginkgo tree into the water. There was a barrier on the ginkgo tree that could protect people from water and save them.

Ye Qingzhan sat on the tree, watching the people scrambling for the pears, and then shifted his gaze to the fox man in the white Taoist robe. Don't

even think about hurting people again.

***

Wen Gu followed Li Zhixing and traveled to many places.

This man was truly capable. Not only did he complete his own exams within the allotted time and repair the breached dam, he also traveled to various locations to assist other candidates who hadn't completed their tasks.

The emperor was delighted, and Li Zhixing was appointed an official as he had hoped. On the very day of his award, an assassin suddenly burst into the hall. During the exchange of blows, Li Zhixing, despite exposing his skills, proved his meritorious service.

The sage, blood oozing from his neck, smiled like a child. He patted Li Zhixing, who knelt on the ground, and said, "So the rumors are true. You're such a skilled fighter! Judging by your appearance, I thought you were just a weak scholar with empty ambitions. I didn't expect you to be so fierce in your attacks. You're both a scholar and a warrior, a true pillar of the nation! I'm delighted! Reward! A generous reward!"

Li Zhixing had no idea how the emperor had heard of his martial arts skills, but by the time he realized what was happening, the kneeling assassin had already clasped his fists and retreated in an orderly manner.

At that time, he knew that he had been fooled by this man who was high up on the throne! Li Zhixing looked gloomy and asked: "Your Majesty, are you not afraid that I will conceal the martial arts competition and deliberately participate in it all the way in order to do something illegal?"

Unexpectedly, after hearing what he said, the emperor laughed a few times: "If you have this skill, you can sneak into the palace like these fake assassins and wait for an opportunity to kill me. Why bother to take one exam after another? If I had this time, I would have walked through the gates of hell several times." After laughing, he said, "Besides, your ability to handle things is obvious to all. How bad can a person who can do things for the people be?"

These remarks confirmed the rumors about the emperor.

Everyone said that the emperor was a weirdo, obsessed with alchemy and the pursuit of immortality. The people around him were all weird people among weird people. Now his absurd behavior has confirmed those rumors.

"I know what you're thinking, but I trust those I employ, and I doubt them not. I've already sent people to investigate your worth, so you can rest assured and continue your work."

With that, Li Zhixing no longer harbored any doubts and immediately asked to return to Changluo. The emperor was immediately enraged, scolding him for being ungrateful. Li Zhixing calmly explained the local customs of Changluo to the emperor. The eccentric emperor was furious and gave him three years to eradicate the pests that had taken root in the area. Li Zhixing gladly

accepted the order and journeyed south back to Bashu. Despite the

long journey by boat, he felt no fatigue. He lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked up at the moon.

During these days of preparing for the exams, his beloved had been like the moon in the sky, far away in the land. Things that happened before the dead of night always filled his thoughts, but he could reach out, but he could not reach them.

Fortunately, he had fulfilled her wishes and completed the task she had hoped for. He would soon return to Changluo to watch the night rain over the Bashan Mountains with her. Li Zhixing leaned against the side of the carriage, thinking back to the night before his departure for the capital.

Bashan, a sacred mountain for Changluo's summer retreat, was a scene of unparalleled beauty on rainy summer nights.

Crisp raindrops drenched the bamboo forest and pierced through the banana leaves. Birds chirped in the mountains, and clear springs gurgled.

Hu Tangqing, dressed in red, stood by the window, reaching out to catch the rain.

It was rare to see her in such a vibrant color, and Li Zhixing's eyes lit up. He walked over to the window, took her hand, and wiped the cold rain from it with his handkerchief.

Holding a pair of warm hands, Hu Tangqing looked up, scrutinizing his features. Suddenly, she dropped her handkerchief, hugged him, and whispered a few words into Li Zhixing's reddening ear: "Brother Li, let's get married, tonight."

What was she saying? Li Zhixing's ears were red, his mind as stiff as his body. After a long moment, he replied, "Tangqing, this isn't fair to you."

Li Zhixing's voice was low and sorrowful, as bitter as his feelings.

She had given him his life. She had taught him his knowledge.

But now, all the benefits lay with him alone. And he had to stay here, waiting for someone whose return was uncertain.

Hu Tangqing raised her head from his shoulder, a moment of confusion before she quickly came to her senses. She smiled and said, "There's nothing fair or unfair about this. I just want to ask you one thing—"

Li Zhixing stared at her. "What?"

"Will you betray me?" Hu Tangqing asked, looking him straight in the eye.

Dong—

the moment she finished speaking, Li Zhixing knelt on the ground, his eyes red, and swore to Hu Tangqing—his god: "If I betray you, I will not die a good death."

The rain outside the window had lightened, the dripping sound broken by the slanting wind and drizzle.

Hu Tangqing was not expecting the man in front of her to kneel down beside her. She was confused for a moment, and then took a step forward, wanting to help him up. But Li Zhixing was ahead of her, kneeling and hugging her waist.

After the night rain in Bashan, tiny stars shattered in the sky.

That night, they hugged for a long time, and it almost caused a disaster...

Li Zhixing blushed and pulled away from the memories, his desire to return to her side becoming stronger.

He wondered if she had found the letter he left for her, and the bamboo hairpin.

Li Zhixing straightened his expression and was about to take out the book to read when he heard a cry. The carriage stopped, and someone had fainted in front of the carriage. The accompanying guards stepped forward to investigate.

After putting the book away, Li Zhixing lifted the curtain. A servant arrived to report, "Sir, there's a woman fainted on the road ahead." Li Zhixing dismounted, approached the woman, and knelt down to examine her injuries.

The woman's hair was disheveled, her clothes tattered, and she was nearing death.

Li Zhixing, having previously cared for Hu Tangqing, who was bedridden, knew some medical skills and knew that if the woman didn't seek medical attention promptly, she would surely die. He instructed the driver to change his route, heading first to Changluo, a city closer to home, before returning to Bashan.

At that time, Li Zhixing had never imagined that, though only a river separated them, by the time he set foot on that land again, everything had changed.

After

settling into the Changluo Inn, Li Zhixing dispatched his subordinates to seek medical treatment and secretly sent people to inquire about the situation there. Their journey south would be disguised as merchants from the capital. This decision was made after consultation with the emperor, fearing to alert the enemy. To ensure a smooth journey, he even petitioned the emperor to revise the results of the palace examination and remove his name from the list.

Wen Gu, surveying the inn's second floor with his arms folded, saw him emerge from his room and release a wisp of evil energy towards the unidentified woman.

What Li Zhixing felt, Wen Gu had no idea, but he had a nagging suspicion that something was amiss with this woman. Sure enough, she was a Night Demon transformed.

Before transforming, Night Demons were colorless and odorless, and as adults, they lacked a demonic aura, but their overflowing resentment was undeniable.

It was obvious that the fox was responsible.

What exactly was he planning to do?

A red iris appeared between his eyebrows, and his heart felt as if it were about to be torn apart. Wen Gu lowered his head, his lips tightly pursed.

—I wonder what's happened to her?

The Yin Sha within him was becoming increasingly difficult to suppress, while the "ferocious beast" within her was also slowly awakening within Sanniang's sea of consciousness. She had only begun learning immortal arts halfway through her studies, and only recently had she been able to concentrate her spiritual energy, making it difficult to control the gradually awakening "ferocious beast" within her.

Therefore, he had no other choice but to transfer his true energy and spiritual power to her during their intimate moments. This was also... a despicable way to satisfy his own selfish desires.

Would she be angry if she knew?

Wen Gu didn't want to dwell on it any further. He slowly raised his head and looked at Li Zhixing, who had returned, followed by his entourage who had gone to investigate and the doctor who had been summoned to treat him.

In the side room,

Li Zhixing frowned, puzzled.

"Are you saying that County Magistrate Jin is dead?"

The spies returned with the report that County Magistrate Jin had tragically died at home half a month ago, his body mutilated.

The attendant nodded and presented a letter of appointment with both hands. The emperor asked him to take office immediately and take charge of the Bashu area.

The day of returning home would have to be postponed again. Li Zhixing stroked his forehead, and the doctor came to him and said that the girl had woken up.

The cleaned-up girl revealed her stunning appearance, but her eyes were filled with tears, as red as pear blossoms wet by the rain, which aroused pity from the guards on both sides, and they all moved away.

Li Zhixing wanted to ask where her family came from, what had happened to her, and why she almost died under the horse's hooves, but before he could say anything, the girl cried and said, "Sir, please make a decision for me." As she said that, she glanced at the tall guards on both sides with tears in her eyes, "I can only tell you about my suffering."

The guards on both sides saw that she had an expression that seemed to want to say something but was too shy to speak, and they understood in their hearts. After bowing to Li Zhixing, they withdrew.

For a moment, only a man and a woman were left in the house, with a peeping Wen Gu on the roof.

Li Zhixing probably guessed what the woman had been through from her appearance. After all, he had been training in various places these days and had heard of many unjust cases and tragedies. Most of the women who had been bullied and abused had this look of sadness, shame and anger.

They were the ones who had done the evil, but they were the ones who wanted to die.

After they left, the woman closed the door. Li Zhixing thought she was afraid of being overheard, so he ignored her. He poured her a cup of tea, stood up from his chair, walked towards the window, moved a little further away, and asked her to sit down and talk. Unexpectedly

, as he stood up and walked to the window, the woman hugged him from behind.

Wen Gu, who was on the roof, paused and saw two figures in his peripheral vision. He immediately used Yin Sha to become invisible and observed from the shadows. Two

people stood side by side in the air, one in a white robe and the other in a red skirt.

The fox Taoist asked with a smile, "Do you believe it?"

Hu Tangqing's eyes were hollow as she stared at the two entangled people, as if gazing into the abyss...

Li Zhixing woke from his dream in a cold sweat, jumped out of bed, poured himself a glass of water, and thought about the absurd events of the previous night.

Fortunately, the window was open last night. After he broke free from the woman's arms, he was too far away from the door. In desperation, he jumped out of the window. As he rolled on the ground, holding his legs, he saw a cloud of black air flying out of the window.

He cursed inwardly, knowing that he had fallen for a ghost's trick.

Remembering the look Hu Tangqing had given him last night, his heart ached. Now he was the governor of Bashu, and he wanted to return to Bashan as soon as possible after the incident in Changluo.

Strangely enough, he had clearly stated the date of his arrival in Bashu in his letter to her. She had also agreed to come to greet him. To this end, he had also pinned a red hairpin to her ear to show her, just as she had asked in the letter.

But how come two days had passed and she still hadn't seen him?

Li Zhixing poured himself another cup of tea. His subordinates were outside the door asking for an audience.

"Come in." The guard was a good fighter, but he was a little stutterer and couldn't remember things. He wrote down everything he had learned on a piece of paper and showed it to Li Zhixing.

After reading it, Li Zhixing slumped to the ground.

He said: Bashan became a ghost mountain a year ago.

The people at the foot of Bashan are all dead.

...

Later, when people mentioned Bashan, they no longer talked about the beauty of Bashan in the night rain, but the sorrow of countless dead souls.

And the town nestled among the catkins was submerged in a lake that was never calm.

Countless wronged souls were wandering and wailing.

The most puzzling thing was the death of the new governor.

He wiped out all the corrupt officials in Bashu, changed the customs in many places, opened mountains, built roads and bridges, and opened schools to recruit children from poor families. Finally, he exchanged all his achievements for the opportunity for women to serve as officials in the court.

The people praised him, and the saints wanted to confer titles on him, but that young man with a red flower on his head worked like crazy. In the third year of his term, on the first day of the new law, he plunged into the icy lake.