Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

The sun was setting in the west, casting long shadows of the two of them.

Gu Xiang carried his book box on his back, walking unsteadily along the official road. He kept his head down, occasionally raising his hand to wipe his face; his eyes were red and swollen like two ripe peaches.

"Alright." Su Qing walked ahead, tapping her palm with her folding fan. She couldn't stand the sniffling behind her anymore. "If you keep crying, you'll cry this road down."

Gu Xiang sobbed, his voice muffled: "Brother Su, those villagers... they're in such a terrible state."

"Dead is dead." Su Qing stopped and turned to look at him. "No matter how loudly you cry, they won't hear you. Instead of wasting your energy, save it to complain to the capital."

Gu Xiang paused for a moment, sniffed hard, and hastily wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve.

"Brother Su is right." He straightened his back, and although his face, covered in mud and grime, still looked comical, his dejected air had dissipated considerably. "I'm not crying anymore. I'm going to live and go to the capital!"

Su Qing pursed her lips, turned around and continued walking.

This idiot is so easy to fool.

After walking for about half an hour, the two turned a bend in the mountain and a dilapidated pavilion appeared by the roadside ahead.

A person was sitting in the pavilion.

He was a young scholar, dressed in a faded blue robe, his hair casually tied up with a wooden hairpin.

At that moment, he was tending a small red clay stove to brew tea. The aroma of the tea wafted over on the wind, even more refined than the scent of wildflowers and herbs in the mountains.

Gu Xiang smelled the aroma of tea, and his throat moved involuntarily.

I threw up so badly just now, and my stomach is empty right now.

The scholar seemed to notice the commotion and looked up.

Eyes facing each other.

The scholar smiled, his smile as gentle and smooth as a piece of jade without sharp edges: "If you two gentlemen don't mind, why don't you come in for a cup of rough tea and rest your feet?"

Gu Xiang was parched, but upon hearing this, his eyes lit up, and he quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Then I'll be troubling you!"

After saying that, he pulled Su Qing and they went into the pavilion.

Su Qing didn't care; after all, she was just an emotionless escort machine.

She walked into the pavilion, casually found a stone stool to sit on, and glanced at the scholar.

He looks quite presentable, with fair and delicate skin, and you can tell at a glance that he has never done farm work.

Those hands were long and slender, fair and smooth, with no calluses on the fingertips. The tea-brewing movements were fluid and graceful, far superior to the loud and boisterous tea master in the teahouse of Qingniu Town.

"My name is Li Yu." The scholar poured tea for the two men with elegant movements. "May I ask how you gentlemen are addressed?"

"My name is Gu Xiang, and this is my sworn brother, Su Qing." Gu Xiang held the teacup as if it were a precious treasure, carefully taking a sip. "Excellent tea! Brother Li's tea ceremony is superb!"

Li Yu smiled and said, "It's just some rough mountain tea, Brother Gu is too kind."

"Brother Li, are you also going to the capital to take the imperial examination?" Gu Xiang put down his teacup and asked familiarly.

Li Yu shook his head, a hint of melancholy in his expression: "I passed the exam, but I didn't. Now I just want to be a schoolteacher in the countryside, teaching a few children to read and understand principles, which is my way of contributing to the world."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiang was immediately filled with respect.

"Brother Li, your noble character is truly admirable!" Gu Xiang was so excited he almost slapped his thigh. "To establish a moral compass for heaven and earth, and to secure a future for the people—Brother Li, though you haven't entered officialdom, I deeply admire your magnanimity!"

A hint of surprise flashed in Li Yu's eyes, but he quickly regained his gentle demeanor: "Brother Gu, you flatter me. Educating the people is the duty of scholars. If everyone could be knowledgeable and reasonable, there would be far fewer disputes in the world."

"Exactly, exactly!" Gu Xiang exclaimed, as if he had found a kindred spirit. He grabbed Li Yu's hand and began to speak at length, "The sages said, 'At birth, human nature is inherently good.' As long as we scholars put in more effort to influence the world, things will eventually get better!"

Su Qing sat to the side, pulling out a handful of sunflower seeds from somewhere, cracking them open while rolling her eyes.

These two are a perfect match: one dares to boast, and the other dares to believe.

"Ahem." Su Qing spat out a sunflower seed shell, interrupting the two men's mutual flattery. "Excuse me, you two great talents."

Gu Xiang and Li Yu both turned to look at her.

"Education?" Su Qing scoffed, pointing to the desolate mountains and wilderness outside the pavilion. "We just saw a village on the road that was completely slaughtered. Do you think those murderers would understand the Analects of Confucius?"

The atmosphere in the pavilion instantly turned cold.

Gu Xiang's face turned pale as she recalled the dried corpses scattered on the ground. Her lips trembled, and she was unable to speak.

Li Yu frowned slightly and looked at Su Qing: "What does Brother Su mean?"

"Human nature is inherently evil." Su Qing patted the sunflower seed crumbs off his hands, his tone languid. "What's the use of education when dealing with evil people? Only by putting a knife to their throats, letting them feel pain and fear, will they behave."

Li Yu was stunned.

He never expected that this young master, who was more beautiful than a woman, could utter such murderous words.

But upon closer reflection, although the statement is crude, it seems... to make a lot of sense.

"Brother Su's words... are somewhat extreme, but they are not without reason." Li Yu nodded thoughtfully.

Just then, a system notification sounded in Su Qing's mind.

[Ding! Special NPC character "Li Yu" detected.]

[Identity: Third Prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty (currently hidden)]

[It is recommended that the host cultivate a good relationship with this person, as they may be a key figure in subsequent missions.]

Su Qing raised an eyebrow.

Wow, it's a big fish.

Why is the prince not staying in the palace, but running off to this desolate wilderness to pretend to be a failed scholar?

The members of the royal family are all somewhat mentally ill.

Su Qing was too lazy to pay attention to the system. Her current task was to send Gu Xiang, this burden, to the capital. As for whether he was a prince or not, that was none of her business.

"Alright, we've had our tea and talked our way out of it." Su Qing stood up, dusted off his backside, and said, "Let's hurry up and get going. We need to find a place to stay before dark."

Gu Xiang looked at Li Yu with some reluctance: "Brother Li, why don't we travel together? That way we can look out for each other on the road."

Just as Li Yu was about to speak, the ground suddenly began to shake.

"Boom!"

A rapid sound of horses' hooves came from all directions, and then a large flock of birds was startled into flight from the once quiet forest.

"Trying to leave? Too late!"

A loud shout rang out.

Dozens of fierce bandits riding tall horses rushed out of the woods, brandishing gleaming steel knives, and instantly surrounded the pavilion.

Leading the group were three burly men, each with a grotesque appearance and a face full of menacing features.

"That's the kid!" one of the one-eyed men pointed at Su Qing, gritting his teeth. "The second-in-command died at his hands! Brothers, chop this kid into mincemeat!"

Gu Xiang was so frightened that her legs went weak and she almost knelt on the ground.

"Black...Black Wind Stronghold!" Gu Xiang's teeth chattered. "How come there are so many?"

The team we encountered in the woods just now was only a small squad; judging by their current appearance, they've probably come out in full force.

Li Yu's expression changed slightly, and with a flick of his wrist, a folding fan slid into his palm.

His fingers gently tapped the fan ribs, where a jade talisman specially made for the royal family was hidden. If he crushed it, the secret guards within a hundred miles would immediately arrive.

But he hesitated for a moment.

Once he uses the jade talisman, his identity will be exposed.

This incognito trip was precisely to avoid the infighting at court; if it were exposed…

Just as Li Yu hesitated, a thin figure suddenly blocked his way.

"In broad daylight... in broad daylight!"

Although Gu Xiang was terrified, his legs trembling like a leaf, he still spread his arms wide and protected Li Yu and Su Qing behind him.

"You...you have no justice?!" Gu Xiang shouted with his eyes closed, "Kill me if you must! Don't touch my friends!"

Li Yu was stunned.

Looking at the trembling back of the person blocking his way, a warm feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

Is this... the spirit of righteousness?

Despite being terrified, he still stepped forward.

This scholar is quite interesting.

Standing behind, Su Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud at Gu Xiang's foolish, heroic-to-die appearance.

"puff."

The laugh sounded particularly abrupt in the tense atmosphere.

The bandits glared angrily.

"You pretty boy, what are you laughing at!" the one-eyed man roared. "You dare laugh when you're about to die! I'll strip you naked and hang you from a tree later, then let's see if you're still laughing!"

Su Qing shook her head, took a step forward, and reached out to pull Gu Xiang aside.

"Alright, stop shaking, or you'll shake out the leftovers." Su Qing patted Gu Xiang's shoulder with disdain, then looked at the group of bandits.

The folding fan in her hand snapped open, revealing several sleeping foxes painted on its surface.

"I didn't want to take action," Su Qing sighed. "After all, I'm a reasonable person."

The one-eyed man grinned maliciously: "Trying to beg for mercy now? Too late! Brothers, charge!"

Dozens of bandits shouted in unison and charged forward, brandishing their knives.

Li Yu's eyes narrowed, and he was about to crush the jade talisman.

But then Su Qing's wrist twitched.

"Whoosh—"

The folding fan flew out of his hand, drawing a golden-red arc in the air.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, nor any horrific scene of flying blood and flesh.

A series of dense clanging sounds could be heard, like the crisp sound of metal clashing together.

Immediately afterwards, the dozen or so bandits at the front suddenly felt a lightness in their hands.

Their steel knives broke.

Before they could react, the folding fan seemed to have eyes, and wrapped around their waists again.

"Sizzle—"

The sound of tearing cloth was uniform.

next second.

Holy crap!

"My pants!"

"Oh my god!"

The belts of more than a dozen burly men broke at the same time, and their pants slid down to their ankles, revealing their colorful underpants.

Some were embroidered with bright red peonies, some were patched, and one was even wearing open-crotch pants.

The originally menacing scene instantly became... somewhat cringe-worthy.

The bandits behind hurriedly reined in their horses, but the horses were startled and jumped wildly, throwing the people off their backs, and the scene became quite chaotic.

The folding fan spun in the air once, then obediently flew back into Su Qing's hand.

Su Qing caught the folding fan, covered her mouth and nose, and said with a look of disgust, "Tsk, I've got a sty."

Gu Xiang's mouth dropped open, her jaw almost falling to the ground.

Li Yu froze, clutching the jade talisman in his hand.

What... what kind of move is this?

Is this what I just referred to as "severe punishment"?

One-Eyed Dragon, pulling up his pants, was flushed red with shame and anger: "You...you monster! How could you resort to such despicable means!"

"Despicable?" Su Qing raised an eyebrow. "You weren't exactly noble when you were robbing people. What, you're allowed to kill and commit arson, but I'm not allowed to let you cool off?"

"Kill her! Kill her!" the one-eyed man roared in a fit of rage.

But his men were all pulling up their pants, making it difficult for them to move around, so they couldn't possibly get going.

Just as Su Qing was preparing to give them another shock.

Suddenly, it got dark.

It wasn't the kind of black that comes from dark clouds obscuring the sun, but rather a strange, blood-red hue.

A nauseating, fishy stench descended from the sky, instantly enveloping the entire hilltop.

The bandits, who had been shouting, suddenly fell silent. Their warhorses neighed restlessly, their hooves on the ground, trembling.

Li Yu suddenly looked up, his face turning deathly pale.

"This oppressive aura..." Li Yu's voice trembled, "...this aura is too evil, it's from an evil cultivator!"

Su Qing's smile faded slightly, and her eyes narrowed a little.

Finally, someone who can fight has arrived.

In mid-air, a cloud of blood-red mist slowly condensed, transforming into a giant human face that looked down at the crowd below.

The face was twisted and grotesque, its eyes glowing green, and its mouth stretched to its ears.

"Who is it...?"

The sound was like two rusty pieces of iron rubbing against each other, making one's eardrums ache.

"Kill my second-in-command..."

A cloud of blood billowed as a gigantic, bloody hand descended from the sky, reaching straight for the three people in the pavilion.

"Since you're here, leave them all for me, your ancestor, to feast on!"

Gu Xiang felt as if his blood was freezing, and the fear from the depths of his soul made it difficult for him to even breathe.

This is... a spiritual practitioner?

Faced with this power, his pitiful courage was like a candle flame in a storm, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

"Get out of the way!"

Li Yu shouted loudly, no longer caring about concealing his identity, and crushed the jade talisman in his hand.

A golden light shot into the sky, transforming into a phantom golden dragon that met the bloody hand.

"boom!"

The golden dragon collided with the bloody hand, creating a loud bang.

A blast of air caused the pavilion to collapse instantly.

Su Qing grabbed the stunned Gu Xiang, tapped her toes, and floated backward for more than ten feet.

She looked at the golden dragon in mid-air that was rapidly dissipating, then at Li Yu, whose face was deathly pale, and pursed her lips.

"Royal dragon aura? Interesting."

Su Qing opened her folding fan to block the dust that was blowing in her face.

"However, this meager skill is probably not even enough to fill the old devil's teeth."