Chapter 193: Talking of the Past Under the Midnight Moon

Lingxiang truly found it difficult to bring herself to knock on the door. She really had not expected that promising to bring a group of people to Liangcheng would turn into this. Now, a group of seven was standing brazenly in front of the Jingwei Study, which made her feel truly embarrassed.

According to her plan, she would have sent the four men, including Long Qi, to rest at Wutong Inn first, while she and Banxia went to pay a visit, but who would have thought that Long Qi would be so thick-skinned, grinning and insisting on coming along.

With so many people coming, wouldn't that just be causing trouble for others?

Lingxiang held her hand up, hesitating for a long time, still not knocking on the door. After pondering for a moment, she wanted to talk to Long Qi again, but as soon as she turned around, she saw Long Qi step forward and ask: "What is it? Are you worried about something? Should I knock for you?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand to knock, and Lingxiang hurriedly pressed it down.

Of course I'm worried! How can you be so thick-skinned!

Being pulled by the arm by Lingxiang, Long Qi felt like a firecracker inside, but he didn't show it on his face, instead raising his eyebrows at her.

Seeing this look on his face, Lingxiang immediately knew he was doing it on purpose. Just as she was about to open her mouth to scold him, someone behind her called out to her.

"Is that Miss Lingxiang?"

This voice was somewhat familiar; it was Master Zhuang Wei.

Liu Yaoyi had not expected that not long after parting with Long Qi, she would be able to see Lingxiang so soon. It seemed he had delivered the message.

Lingxiang glared at Long Qi, then turned back and gave an awkward smile: "Master Zhuang, long time no see..."

"Hahahaha..."

A hearty laugh came from the hall, which was beyond Lingxiang's expectations. In her impression, Master Zhuang was very refined and a weak scholar; how could he laugh with such vigor?

But then she thought about it; after all, he was the person Liu Yaoyi had saved by crushing her Demon Core. If he were still in a sickly state, it would truly be a bit disappointing.

However, what surprised her most was Liu Yaoyi.

Previously, Liu Yaoyi's Demon Core had been shattered, yet she had managed to regain a human form in just a few short months. Although she herself had once given her a Gathering Spirit Pill, the results should never have been this remarkable.

It seems she has put in a tremendous amount of effort!

There is a saying that profit blinds the mind; looking at it this way, it could also be said that love makes one a fox-mad!

Lingxiang's thoughts were still drifting when she heard Zhuang Wei say: "Miss Lingxiang, please don't be so polite. To the two of us, Miss Lingxiang is a savior. Not to mention six people, even if ten more came, we could still host them. Besides, the two young heroes Long Qi and Xin Yi have also done us a favor, so there is no need to be so formal."

She hadn't known about Long Qi and the others passing through Liangcheng before, but now she understood why Long Qi was so unreserved.

"Master Zhuang is too kind; it is we who should thank you properly. Wuyang is frail, and fortunately, you and your wife stepped in to help."

After Long Qi finished speaking, Xinyi Zhao Wuyang stood up with him and bowed to Zhuang Wei together. Seeing this, Zhuang Wei hurriedly stood up to return the bow, saying repeatedly that they were too polite.

It was at this moment that Liu Yaoyi walked out from the inner hall carrying a Tea Cup, smiling and teasing: "You are all people of the outside world, why are you learning his sour scholar ways?"

As she spoke, she served tea to everyone one by one, but Lingxiang was the last one, and when she presented the tea, she even tapped the tea tray.

According to seniority, the guest tea should have been served to Lingxiang first. Master Zhuang is a scholar, and although Liu Yaoyi is a fox demon, she has been with him for a long time, so she should not be unaware of these rules.

But Liu Yaoyi did it anyway, and Master Zhuang didn't seem angry; he just apologized and chided her, then continued to chat and laugh with Long Qi and the others, looking as if he didn't care at all.

Everyone just thought that perhaps they were a loving couple and, to avoid embarrassment, followed along, but Lingxiang's eyes flashed, and she picked up her Tea Cup and blew on it.

Because only the couple and an old man who swept the courtyard lived there, Master Zhuang had found someone to build a few walls in the courtyard, which was still quite large, and rented it out, which also counted as an income.

So now that so many people had arrived at once, there was no room for them—there was only one guest room left.

Long Qi thought that since that was the case, they should go to Wutong Inn to stay so as not to cause trouble, but Liu Yaoyi suggested that the four men stay in the room that was originally the lecture hall.

It was a small wooden house with thick mats spread out, which could be used for sleeping, but it would be a bit impolite if it were for entertaining guests.

However, Lingxiang agreed immediately, saying only that the men were all martial artists with thick skin and wouldn't mind, and also saying that Lady Zhuang was so hospitable that it would be rude to refuse, or that it would save some money, and so on. In short, it was settled.

Xinyi and the others didn't really care, but Long Qi grumbled to himself on the side: Since when have you, Lingxiang, been short of money...

But since it was decided, they naturally had to stay and express their thousand thanks.

Long after nightfall, Long Qi had no sleepiness at all. It wasn't that sleeping in his clothes made him uncomfortable, but he felt that Lingxiang was extremely strange today, yet he didn't know exactly what was strange. Turning his head, he saw that although Xinyi had his eyes closed, judging by his breathing, he knew he wasn't asleep either.

"Do you also feel that Lingxiang is a bit unusual today?" Long Qi asked, pillowing his head with his hands.

"What is unusual?" Xinyi replied, still keeping his eyes closed.

He naturally knew that Lingxiang's behavior today was a bit strange, but he wasn't as worried as Long Qi. Lingxiang had been eccentric for more than a day or two; she did things on a whim, but there was always a reason. Her behavior today must have had its reasons.

Long Qi knew that Xinyi had also noticed it but just didn't say anything, so he rolled his eyes at him secretly and went back to thinking about things on his own.

At first, Lingxiang felt that everyone coming to Master Zhuang's place would trouble others; this was the strangest thing about today. Since he had known Lingxiang, he had never seen her feel that she was troubling others. Since she felt that the group was troubling others, why did she agree to Lady Zhuang's invitation to stay later?

And the strangest thing was Lady Zhuang serving the tea.

Lingxiang was not one to be constrained by worldly rules; even if the order of serving tea was wrong, she would never be angry. But earlier, Long Qi had specifically paid attention to her. Although Lingxiang had pretended to drink tea to cover half her face at the time, her eyes were different from usual.

Thinking of this, and then thinking of the words Liu Yaoyi had asked him to pass on, Long Qi always felt that there was something very suspicious about this.

Just as Long Qi was puzzled, he suddenly heard footsteps. Although the steps were deliberately lightened, they could still be heard clearly.

It was at this moment that Long Qi and Liu Xia sat up at the same time and leaned toward the door. Long Qi hadn't expected that Liu Xia was also not asleep; it seemed he had also noticed Lingxiang's strangeness.

"It's Miss Lingxiang and Banxia's room..." Liu Xia said in a low voice, frowning.

In the dark night, the two men's eyes were frighteningly bright, and Long Qi nodded. The two rooms were very close, and anyone with a little bit of skill could notice it, let alone those who had cultivation.

"It sounds like Lingxiang; her legs have been injured, and she is not good at light-body techniques." Long Qi was unusually certain.

But what was she doing sneaking around in the middle of the night? Could it be that Liu Yaoyi had some ulterior motives again and used Witchcraft to trick her away?

Thinking of what Liu Yaoyi had done before, Long Qi hurriedly picked up the Longyuan sword beside him, quietly opened the lattice door, and chased after her.

Liu Xia was also about to get up and follow, but was pulled by his clothes by Xinyi, who was lying down: "It is safe here, no need to worry."

A few sparse words, spoken with his eyes closed. Seeing this, Liu Xia thought for a moment and then lay back down.

"The Milky Way outside is just right, let's leave the door open like this."