“Can you take off your clothes?”
As soon as the two reached the stream, Li Taibai immediately turned around and said seriously.
“Ah?”
An Ran thought she had misheard, her eyes widened, and she stared blankly at Li Taibai.
“Holy crap!!”
“Old Bai is just different; he goes straight for the big move as soon as he arrives!”
“Good, good, better than a TV show.”
Fang Yuan and the other two hid in the bushes, their faces full of excitement.
“Can you take off your clothes?” Li Taibai repeated.
An Ran had already reacted by then, her face showing anger as she looked coldly at Li Taibai: “I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person!”
With that, she suddenly turned and left.
Li Taibai reached out and restrained An Ran’s body.
“What are you doing? Let me go!”
“My apologies.”
Li Taibai cupped his hands, then walked in front of An Ran.
“No…”
An Ran’s eyes showed terror, wanting to cry for help, but Li Taibai sealed her throat, making her unable to utter a sound.
Watching Li Taibai’s hand slowly reach out, An Ran closed her eyes in resignation, tears of humiliation streaming down her face.
“Take it off!”
“Take it off!”
“Take it off!”
Fang Yuan and the other two’s eyes glowed, continuously roaring in low voices.
An Ran felt as if her heart had been pricked, and then her body returned to normal.
Slap—
A crisp slap echoed.
“You are shameless, despicable, and lewd!”
An Ran cried, covering her face, and fled.
“Damn it! I even took off my pants, and you pull this stunt!”
“How is this any different from Sun Wukong freezing the Seven Fairies and secretly eating peaches?!”
“Tsk, Old Bai is completely useless!”
Fang Yuan and the other two mumbled, looking like they were disappointed.
Whoosh—
A cold light flashed, and the bushes in front of the three turned to ashes.
Thump, thump—
The three fell to the ground simultaneously.
“Uh, Old Bai, hear us out, we can explain…”
Fang Yuan and the other two scrambled to their feet, looking sheepishly at Li Taibai.
“She is human, not a corpse.”
Li Taibai walked past the three with an expressionless face.
Once he reached a deserted spot, he reached out and touched his slapped cheek, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
What a mess this is!
At the same time, An Ran ran back to the others, and the two maids quickly stood up to support her, “Miss, what’s wrong?”
“I’m fine.” An Ran lowered her head and sat back in her previous spot.
The guard looked at An Ran, then at Li Taibai who was walking back, a look of confusion in his eyes.
After thinking for a moment, he decided not to meddle and silently wiped his own wounds.
Huo Sichun roughly guessed what had happened, curious about the details, she flashed beside Fang Yuan and asked, “What happened?”
“Old Bai wanted her to take off her clothes, she refused, so he restrained her, then touched her chest, and then he got slapped. That’s pretty much it.”
Fang Yuan spread his hands, looking innocent.
“Bah, if he had used his hand, it would have been fine, but the key is he used a spirit sword!” Sun Yiyi said indignantly.
She was very annoyed that she didn’t get to see a good show.
Huo Sichun’s face was full of dark lines, “So is she human or a corpse?”
“Human, of course. If she were a corpse, could she have come back?” Qin Hao snorted coldly.
Having confirmed An Ran’s identity, the group no longer focused their attention on her, casually found a spot, lay down, and went to sleep.
…
The night passed without a word.
The next day, at dawn.
Everyone opened their eyes and lazily stood up.
“Everyone, let us part ways here. We shall meet again in the martial world if fate allows.” The guard cupped his fists towards everyone.
Fang Yuan stretched lazily, yawning as he said, “Shouldn’t you invite us, your saviors, to your mansion as guests?”
“This…” The guard looked at An Ran behind him, seeking her opinion.
“If you all don’t mind, this humble girl naturally welcomes you.” An Ran bowed slightly to everyone.
Her face was very pale today, and her eyes were red, clearly indicating she hadn’t rested well.
Seeing this, Li Taibai took out a pill and walked up to her, “Eat this; it can strengthen your physique.”
An Ran was somewhat surprised, she raised her eyelids and looked at Li Taibai, then shook her head slightly, “Thank you, Young Master Li, this kind of precious pill is too much for this humble girl to accept. Please take it back.”
“Alright.” Li Taibai took the pill back.
Fang Yuan and the others watched, somewhat annoyed, muttering: “What a dense man.”
The group set off again, their destination Qing Shi Town, a hundred li away.
During the journey, everyone learned An Ran’s identity.
She was precisely the daughter of the Qing Shi Town magistrate, who had previously gone to her old home to visit her great-grandmother.
“Old Bai, do you think her corpse qi might have been brought from her old home?” Fang Yuan asked with some suspicion.
Li Taibai shook his head slightly, “Yesterday I already investigated; her corpse qi has permeated her body and could not have formed overnight. It must have been accumulating for a long time.”
Having received the answer he wanted, Fang Yuan no longer bothered with it, as long as it didn’t involve a detour.
The entire day, the group was on the road, until night fell, when they finally reached Qing Shi Town.
Soldiers patrolled at the city gate, and two rows of lanterns hung on the city walls, emitting a faint red glow from within.
Fang Yuan and the others exchanged glances; these lanterns were clearly not right. If they were candlelight, they wouldn't be such a vibrant color.
Zhao Mubai quietly walked up to Fang Yuan and the others, whispering, “Senior Brother, this city feels off.”
“Oh? Tell us.” Fang Yuan and the others put their heads together, leaning in to listen.
“Logically speaking, this time is when the city gates close. Usually, at this time, there would be many people who couldn’t make it into the city in time and would be waiting outside the gate. But look around, there isn’t a single person.”
Hearing this, Fang Yuan and the others looked around, and indeed, there wasn’t a single person.
“Why do I feel a chill?” Huo Sichun hugged her arms, shivering.
At this moment, An Ran had already walked up to the soldiers, and with just one sentence, the city gate was opened.
Instantly, a cold wind blew out from within the city.
“Damn it, what was that?” Fang Yuan spat twice, pulling a piece of paper off his face.
The group walked into the city, and as they passed a few soldiers, Li Taibai turned his head to glance at them, then continued on as if nothing had happened.
The soldiers, who had just been serious-faced, suddenly turned their heads in unison, their eyes eerily staring at the group’s retreating backs.
Creak—
The city gate closed again.
Everyone subconsciously looked back, then looked around.
The entire street was deserted, extremely desolate and quiet, without a single sound.
On both sides of the street, every household had two rows of lanterns hanging, extending all the way to the end of the street, emitting a faint red glow.
As if sensing everyone’s confusion, An Ran explained, “Some time ago, the city was not peaceful. People would go missing every few days, mostly at night.
So my father issued an order that after the The hour of Xu , no one is allowed on the streets. Anyone caught will be thrown into prison.”
“Has the culprit been caught?” Huo Sichun asked curiously.
“Not yet, but my father said it will be soon.”
Perhaps because she was nearing home, An Ran’s mood lightened considerably.
“I just hope the culprit isn’t your father.” Fang Yuan pouted, mumbling to himself.
The group turned two street corners, and a large road appeared ahead.
In the center of the road was a mansion with the characters “An Residence” hanging on its plaque.
As the group reached the entrance, a faint smell of blood permeated the air.
This smell was all too familiar to Li Taibai and the others, as they had just experienced a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood recently, so they were particularly sensitive to the smell of blood.
The others, however, had normal expressions and did not smell this bloody scent.
Li Taibai released his divine sense, wanting to check the situation inside, but found nothing.
“There’s corpse qi and a bloody smell, so why are there no other auras?”