Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 328 - 277 Shuraba Fourth Round_1

Chapter 328: Chapter 277 Shuraba Fourth Round_1

Within the back garden of Earl Chengyi’s mansion.

Xue Yunrou clung tightly to Li Xuan’s arm, pulling him along for a stroll in the garden, "Why didn’t you tell me that Princess Changle is the one who attached herself to you?"

Li Xuan faintly heard the girl grinding her teeth, and he couldn’t help but chuckle, "The thing is, I didn’t know. I was guessing whether she was Princess Xixue or a freshly married girl from the family of some imperial relative, or a Commandery Princess from a local vassal king’s family. How would I think beforehand that she is Changle?"

Xue Yunrou knew that her complaints were unjustifiable, but she still pouted, "You should have let me see her at that time."

"There’s the Jianzhi Barrier." Li Xuan sighed, his face serious, "She lost her memory and is highly guarded against strangers and acquaintances alike. This Jianzhi Barrier has practically become her inherent Divine Skill. I guess that when she was attacked on the river that day, she was betrayed by someone very close to her after getting separated from the second prince. This led to Princess Changle falling into the hands of Jianling’s descendants."

"That seems plausible. The day of the incident at Xiao Mausoleum, many of Changle’s attendants escaped, their whereabouts still unknown, and the remaining ones were given heavy sentences to be banished to Hainan."

Xue Yunrou’s words contained sympathy and guilt, "Luckily her life was ultimately not in grave danger, otherwise—I think I’ll feel guilty for the rest of my life."

"How can you say she wasn’t seriously hurt? She was subjected to tongue-cutting, eye-gouging, skinning, and bone-removal!"

Li Xuan shook his head and sighed again, "But thinking about it afterwards, Yu Yanjun did a good job imitating Princess Changle, but if we had been a bit more careful, we could have seen some flaws."

Xue Yunrou felt more guilty, all her thoughts were on Li Xuan, where could she find the energy to care about Changle then? However, she then asked with a wavering expression, "How long has she been attached to you?"

"Shortly after the garden party at Duke Xuguo’s mansion that night." Li Xuan looked at her quizzically, "Don’t you know all the details about the blood sacrifice case at the Jiangjun Mountain?"

Xue Yunrou just wanted to confirm that she knew Li Xuan before Princess Changle. She continued, a flush spreading across her face, "Then when we, when we, when we were in that situation, did she, did she, did she watch——"

"She usually hides in the Song of Righteousness scroll and the Qiankun Starshu Cauldron."

No matter how stupid Li Xuan might be, he knew he absolutely couldn’t tell the truth at this time: "Changle didn’t want her Karma of Yin to erode my body, so she won’t come out unless it’s absolutely necessary."

Only then did Xue Yunrou breathe a sigh of relief, even though her face was still flushed, it was not as violently red as before.

"Xuan——"

She reached out to wrap her arms around Li Xuan’s waist, but then her delicate body stiffened, and she looked dubiously at Li Xuan. "You don’t have anything else on your body, do you? There’s no one else watching, right?"

"What else could I have on my body?" Li Xuan couldn’t help but laugh, "I wouldn’t be so foolish as to look for another Guardian Spirit, would I?"

However, the two were unaware that at that moment, strands of golden essence energy, invisible to ordinary people, were forming the figure of a Taotie and two stars, hanging above Li Xuan’s head.

Xue Yunrou thought it made sense, and hugged Li Xuan’s waist more tightly, "Xuan, do you know how anxious I was waiting outside of the tunnel for you? My heart almost broke. Promise me you won’t take such risks again, okay?"

Li Xuan sighed for the third time. He didn’t know how to respond, so he remained silent and tightened his hold on Xue Yunrou.

He thought, he really didn’t want to risk his life, but if he didn’t step forward at that time, not just Nanjing, not just Jiangnan, but even the Li family was at stake. The entire nest would be in danger.

Li Xuan pondered whether he would still step forward if something similar happened again. The odds were high, right?

Originally, as someone who crossed over, ’being steady as an old dog’ was a basic quality.

But ever since he mastered HaoYi, as long as his blood boiled, all his magical instruments would respond, and then he would forget who he was.

At this point, he wasn’t sure whether his character shaped HaoYi, or HaoYi changed his temperament.

With tears in her eyes, Xue Yunrou looked up from Li Xuan’s arms, "I just hate that at your most dangerous moment, I couldn’t be by your side."

Li Xuan looked at her tearful, tender, and rosy lips, and was instantly moved.

So, his blood boiled, his HaoYi rose, and without a second thought, he leaned down and kissed her.

But just as the two were getting intimate, the atmosphere getting sweeter and hotter, their actions becoming rather inappropriate, a light cough came from afar.

Li Xuan frowned, thinking who was it? Such bad timing! He decided he must talk to Mrs. Liu about it some other time and have her sort out the house.

Xue Yunrou, like a rabbit, bounced back three feet, her face flushed as she tidied her makeup and clothes.

Not long after the two separated, two young women walked over. One was a maid from Mrs. Liu’s room, the other was dressed in formal palace attire, appearing to be a female official from the palace.

The latter scanned Li Xuan and Xue Yunrou with a serious expression, then bowed respectfully to Li Xuan, "Xiaowei Li, the princess has woken up, she said she wants to see you as soon as possible."

She’s awake already?

Li Xuan was delighted but he nodded solemnly, "Is the princess now in the palace? I’ll accompany you right away."

Xue Yunrou’s face showed a slight change. She intervened, "I’ll also go take a look. I’ve been quite worried about the princess. Xuan, wait for me for a moment while I tidy my dress."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan’s heart sank, sensing a bad feeling brewing.

Was this a sign of another upcoming bloody battle?

※※※※

Half an hour later, the group arrived back within the Forbidden City.

The imperial city still bore the scars of many battles. The East Palace, including the main hall, had been damaged. The Zhenshou eunuch who defended Nanjing and the officials of the inner palace’s Yuyong Bureau could only temporarily refurbish Fuqing Palace for the second prince and Yu Hongshang to live in.

Despite appearing desolate and run-down, and the gardens were overrun by weeds; it was already livable.

When Li Xuan arrived at the side hall where Princess Changle Yu Hongshang was residing, he found out that she had indeed awakened. Jiang Yunqi was taking her pulse, and behind this Divine Doctor from Jiangnan stood a group of high-ranking figures from both Buddhism and Taoism.

"The specific method to balance Yin and Yang needs to be carefully considered. In the meantime, the princess must avoid feeling extreme joy or rage, or deep thought or sorrow. Excessive joy harms the heart; excessive anger harms the liver; excessive thinking harms the spleen; excessive sorrow harms the lungs. These all are detrimental to balancing Yin and Yang--"

After prescribing the medical recommendations and treatment plan to Princess Changle, the group left. However, they all shot unique glances at Li Xuan, especially Jiang Yunqi, whose gaze was particularly different.

Li Xuan broke out into a light sweat again. Once Jiang Yunqi and the group had left, Yu Hongshang turned her head and looked at him weakly, "Xuan."

"Your Highness!" Li Xuan bowed with a fist in hand, adhering to the Liudao Division’s protocol when meeting members of the royal family.

"You’re addressing me as ’Your Highness’?" Yu Hongshang was taken aback, then let out a bitter laugh, looking depressed, "On the altar, Xuan, you didn’t refer to me like that, did you?"

Her eyes welled up with tears, appearing as if they would fall at any moment.

Li Xuan’s heart tightened, remembering the medical advice Jiang Yunqi had given earlier. He quickly changed his form of address, "Don’t cry! I was just following protocol, Hongshang, Shang."

As soon as he said this, Xue Yunrou, who was standing behind him, began glaring at him murderously.

Li Xuan noticed, shivers ran up his spine, and his forehead broke out into more sweat.

At this point, Yu Hongshang struggled as if she wanted to get up. The chambermaid next to her hurried to support her, but she was met with a cold stare.

The chambermaid was immediately chilled to the bone, swiftly stepping back. Meanwhile, Yu Hongshang weakly extended her hand towards Li Xuan, "Xuan, I have no strength at all now. Please help me up—"

Before she could finish her sentence, two white hands swiftly reached out to support her, "Let me help. It’s inappropriate for men and women to have physical contact, it would be inconvenient for Xuan."

Yu Hongshang turned her head and met eyes with Xue Yunrou.

Li Xuan, standing ten steps away, couldn’t see it clearly, but a few chambermaids close by all felt that their eyes were like clashing swords, sparking with tension.

After three breaths, Yu Hongshang finally stood up. She leaned against the bed, weakly looking at Li Xuan, "Xuan, you may not know, but during the three days and nights when I was unconscious, I was trapped in a dream. And in that dream, you were always there."

She noticeably felt Xue Yunrou’s hand on her starting to grasp tighter, but Yu Hongshang continued as if she didn’t notice, "When I woke up, you were the first one I thought of. It felt as if I had lost my dependency without you around. It was as though I had lost my soul; I’ve never felt like this before."

Li Xuan didn’t know how to respond, especially with Xue Yunrou right next to him; the sweat on his forehead began to intensify, "Isn’t that an exaggeration, Shang?"

"It’s not at all, you don’t know, how desperate and helpless I felt being trapped in that coffin."

Yu Hongshang shook her head, gasping for breath, "During the four months we spent together, I relied solely on you, Xuan. I wouldn’t have been able to regain my body, or seek revenge without you. I might have even transformed into an evil spirit, wreaking endless havoc."

In her heart, she thought about the four months they spent together. In her eyes, there was only Li Xuan. To say that Xuan was her entire world back then would not be an exaggeration.

"That’s what Xuan should have done."

Before Li Xuan could think of a response, Xue Yunrou interjected with a smile, "I’m also pleased that Xuan was able to help the princess this time."

Yu Hongshang took another look at Xue Yunrou, then she smiled as if nothing was wrong, "Xuan, do you remember what you said to me in the days after the garden party at Duke Xuguo’s mansion?"

At this moment, Li Xuan felt as if his spirit was leaving his body.

What had he said that night?

私と一緒に寝ますか?

No way, that’s Japanese; she wouldn’t understand.

Wait! Hongshang mentioned several days after that incident when he took advantage of the red ghost girl who seemed to be without spiritual intelligence and said some inappropriate and embarrassing things--

Indeed, in Buddhism it’s said ’good begets good, evil begets evil. Retribution may be delayed, but it is sure to come’, and his retribution was here!