Chapter 225: The Main Reason for Killing

In the East City of Qiuzhou Prefecture City, there are dozens of hills. The highest one does not exceed two hundred meters.

On the hills, Daoist temples and fasting halls are built.

But with the decline of the Daoist lineage of the Zuoqiu Gate a thousand years ago, the influence of these temples has diminished, and more than half are nearly abandoned, their incense withered.

The eighth day of the first lunar month.

The snow stopped!

The first ray of sunlight shone first on Zixia Mountain, located in the outer district of the East City. The copper bells hanging from the eaves of the Evergreen Temple swayed with the wind, the sound pleasant, the bells reflecting dazzling spots of light.

The morning light passed through the lattice windows and landed on the bed in the guest hall.

Yang Qingxi woke up amidst the sound of bells and the sunlight on her face, her whole body in pain, the smell of blood thick at the tip of her nose, her clothes sticky, covered by a quilt.

She turned her face slightly to look at Li Youyi, who was sitting cross-legged a zhang away under the Bagua diagram.

Closing her eyes again, she said weakly: "You actually kept your word... The Nine Li tribe's healing elixir, the Nine-Medicine Rebirth Pill, you gave it to me?"

Li Youyi opened his eyes: "I asked Cang Li for it earlier; he has quite a few. I'll count it as ten thousand Spring Coins!"

Yang Qingxi said: "Do you think that, given the relationship between the Sui Sect and the Nine Li tribe, I wouldn't know the price of the Nine-Medicine Rebirth Pill? Forget it, ten thousand it is, I'll owe it to you first..."

She really didn't have the strength to even speak.

Closing her mouth, she mobilized the magic power in her body, circulating it through her meridians to begin healing.

Li Youyi's physical recovery ability was extremely strong; by noon, his injuries were mostly healed.

After eating a vegetarian meal, he returned to the guest hall, took a spoonful of Immortal Soil, and while continuing to reshape his muscles and internal organs, used the Qi Tempering Technique to temper the magic power in his fourth sea.

Anyway, the five boxes of Spring Coins had been retrieved; he had money and medicine.

Naturally, he was focused.

Consolidating his cultivation and tempering his body were the top priorities.

In a dangerous situation like last night, fortunately, the magic power in the fourth sea operated normally; if there had been even the slightest accident, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

As for the situation outside, he didn't think it had much to do with him; there were people who should be having headaches over it.

In the evening, Li Youyi went to eat vegetarian food again.

Returning to the room, by the moonlight outside the window, he saw Yang Qingxi had already sat up from the bed.

He lit the lamp.

Yang Qingxi's injuries had stabilized, her expression blank: "Where is my Dragon Seed ticket?"

"Do you think it could be kept in that situation last night?" Li Youyi said.

Yang Qingxi raised her snow-white chin and asked with anticipation: "What about Hua Yuzi? Is he dead?"

"Dead!" Li Youyi said.

Yang Qingxi leaned back against the wall, smiling with satisfaction, intoxicated by her extraordinary achievement.

During this leaning process, her tattered and hardened blood-stained clothes tore the scabs of her wounds, making the corners of her mouth twitch in pain: "I thought you would at least change my clothes for me and call two maids to help me clean my wounds. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to have dried blood stick completely to your body?"

Li Youyi found it funny: "When we were fighting for our lives last night, I didn't see you as such a delicate woman. But sorry, the Evergreen Temple is all men, I'm afraid I can't find any maids."

Change her clothes?

Better to avoid extra trouble.

Being able to save her was already doing his best.

Yang Qingxi frowned, puzzled: "Evergreen Temple? Are we in the South City or the North City now?"

Li Youyi said solemnly: "If we go back to the South City, we are likely to run into people from the Far West Ash Region. And if we happen to meet Wu Xiu from the Nine Li tribe, I don't care, but they would probably want to tear you to pieces."

"You're right! East City... no one would think we would hide in the East City."

Yang Qingxi's eyes suddenly showed a moving smile: "Li Youyi, are you a little bit moved by me? Otherwise, why worry about me being killed by the Nine Li tribe Wu Xiu?"

Li Youyi walked to the bed and stared at her carefully.

"What are you looking at?" Yang Qingxi said.

"I'm looking to see if your Six Desires Talisman is acting up!"

Li Youyi always maintained vigilance against Yang Qingxi.

This woman was very scheming; mentioning "changing clothes" and "being moved" after waking up was all because she was too weak now and needed to use her beauty to stabilize him.

"Fine, now that I'm under someone else's roof and need you, Young Master Li, to protect this weak woman, I'll count it as my own wishful thinking. But before my injuries heal, I won't help you resolve the Six Desires Talisman."

At this moment, Yang Qingxi showed a tender side, very feminine.

Every word could stir a man's protective instinct.

The Six Desires Talisman was indeed very troublesome at the moment.

Although the nine great priests could refine it together, who would go far when a simpler way was available? Besides, the nine great priests joining forces had many uncertainties.

That was the last resort when there was no other choice.

"You're not in a hurry, and neither am I. Let's see who can't hold out when it really acts up."

Li Youyi walked out of the guest hall towards the monks' quarters.

A moment later, two men in Daoist robes brought a wooden tub filled with hot water and prepared clean green Daoist robes.

After everything was ready, the two men walked out of the guest hall, closed the door, and praised in the courtyard outside: "Brother Li, your wife is really beautiful, like the Yunxiao Fairy descending to earth, a pure immortal body, right?"

Li Youyi grabbed a handful of Spring Coins for each of them and whispered: "Not my wife, she's an enemy. Remember to keep it secret!"

"So it's an enemy's wife... uh... admire, admire!"

The two took the Spring Coins and left.

Li Youyi stood under the eaves with his hands behind his back, listening to the bells above his head, gazing at the bright moon in the sky.

Inside the room, the sound of bathing water began.

After a while, Yang Qingxi walked out wearing a wide green Daoist robe, her slender waist tied with a belt.

Her long hair was tied with a wooden hairpin, looking pure and ethereal, very much like a Daoist immortal. The scars on her face and neck, embedded in her jade-like skin, gave her a tragic sense of fragility.

"Such a peaceful night! I don't know why, but I've never felt this peaceful before, as if my whole person is relaxed, without needing to think about anything."

She flew up and landed on the roof tiles, sitting on the edge of the eaves, her two excessively long jade legs dangling above Li Youyi.

Looking at the bright moon in the sky and the lights below the mountain, she smiled in the wind with peerless charm: "Li Youyi, although we were able to avoid the eyes and ears of the younger generation of Wu Xiu and escape here, we can never avoid the insight of the older generation of Wu Xiu. The old guys of the Nine Li tribe didn't come to Evergreen Temple to find you? I guess, seeing me staying with you, they must be extremely uncomfortable."

Li Youyi said: "Hiding and finding people is also part of the test. It's against the rules for the older generation to get involved! Besides, we are not that close; don't act as if staying in one room makes us people on the same path."

Yang Qingxi said: "What about in the coffin? I didn't feel anything at the time, but the more I think about it later, the more I feel I suffered a huge loss. If my future husband's family finds out, I definitely won't be able to get married."

"I haven't been thinking about it, I only know that Yang Qingchan was also in the coffin at that time..."

Just after saying this, Li Youyi realized it was inappropriate.

The two fell into a long silence.

Li Youyi flew up to the eaves.

Yang Qingxi looked up, facing the moonlight: "Why, did you think I must be in extreme grief right now and wanted to comfort me? Let you down!"

Li Youyi asked: "Why did Yao Qian want to kill Yang Qingchan?"

Yang Qingxi was not as indifferent as she appeared, her eyes gradually moistening, smiling bitterly: "Because you planted the Six Desires Talisman in her... do you believe it?"

Li Youyi didn't know how to answer.

She said: "Because she loved the wrong person! Yao Qian is too perfect. The more perfect a person is, the more they want to pursue ultimate perfection. Think about it, can someone like him accept his woman being planted with the Six Desires Talisman by an enemy? If the news leaks out, his reputation as a gentle gentleman will be gone."

Li Youyi said: "I heard that Yao Qian caught the eye of the Second Palace Master. With the Second Palace Master's cultivation, she could help someone resolve it!"

"That is precisely the main reason!"

Yang Qingxi said: "I learned from the Sect Master that the Second Palace Master intends to arrange a marriage for Yao Qian, and the object is the extremely noble Jiang family's direct daughter. Yao Qian must cut off all previous ties for this matter to succeed. Therefore, Qingchan had to die."

"Your attack and the Six Desires Talisman in her body were just the trigger. It gave Yao Qian a perfect opportunity to frame someone, as well as a reason to convince himself and Qingchan."

Li Youyi said: "He killed Yang Qingchan, and he had to convince her first?"

Yang Qingxi said: "Practitioners, they all want to push the blame onto others, so that their own thoughts can be clear and their state of mind can be spotless."

Li Youyi said: "Does the Sui Sect Master, Yang Shenjing, also know the truth?"

Yang Qingxi hesitated this time!

She didn't want to tell this ugly side of the Sui Sect to a stranger who was an enemy rather than a friend, but tonight, for some reason, she had a strong desire to vent. It seemed that if she didn't say it, she would suffocate.

She said: "The reason the Second Palace Master arranged the marriage for Yao Qian is not only because she values his potential and ability, but also because she values the strength of the Sui Sect."

"The Sui Sect's foundation in terms of top-level experts is indeed thin, not comparable to the ten-million-strong sects."

"However, the Sui Sect controls half of the water transportation lifeline of the Lingxiao Living Realm. Its influence can reach more than a dozen prefectures along the Sui River, its business is all over the world, and it is involved in all walks of life. In terms of grassroots personnel and intelligence, it is absolutely comparable to the ten-million-strong sects."

"Who wouldn't want to bring such a force under their command?"

"By arranging the marriage for Yao Qian, the Second Palace Master can find a powerful backer for the Sui Sect in the imperial court, thereby quickly integrating into their system instead of being attacked and squeezed out by various forces within the court."

"This point is what both the Sui Sect and the Second Palace Master want to see."

"So in the face of the sect's future, what is Qingchan's death? The Sect Master can only turn a blind eye."

Li Youyi asked: "Who is the Jiang family's direct daughter you mentioned?"

"Who else could it be but Jiang Ning?" Yang Qingxi said.