My Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden

When Qi Yu entered the village, he saw only strangers; not a single one of the original villagers was there.

The streets became lively, with many vendors hawking their wares.

This is a truly thriving scene!

Jiangting Village has prospered, but it has lost its familiar charm. Even though it is still called Jiangting Village, most of the familiar faces have left.

The villagers of Jiangting Village are all simple and honest people. Give them some money, and then use some coercion and enticement, and they will leave and sell their houses to others.

With money, they would naturally choose to acquire better properties and land, which is only natural.

Most of the villagers in Jiangting Village have now gone to Jiangzhou City to buy property.

The wealthy businessmen who bought their houses were willing to spend a lot of money to sell their thatched cottages.

The highest-priced item was a thatched cottage with a yard, which sold for three hundred taels of silver.

An ordinary person's monthly income is only four or five strings of cash, which is barely enough to buy a cart of silver.

The villagers of Jiangting Village earn only three or four strings of cash a month.

The sudden windfall of hundreds of taels of silver was undoubtedly a windfall for them, so they naturally sold their house and became nouveau riche from the demolition compensation.

Jiangting Village is no longer the Jiangting Village of the past, and all of this is because of itself.

Qi Yu didn't know how to react!

Should we be happy that they have escaped temporary poverty?

Should we feel guilty for disturbing their original lives?

However, for them, the benefits might outweigh the drawbacks. For generations, they have stayed in Jiangting Village, a small mountain village, which is undoubtedly an opportunity.

Qi Yu wandered around the village, during which he saw many soldiers and even spies sent by other forces.

However, Jiangting Village now receives a considerable number of visitors every day, with many people coming from far and wide.

Jiangting Village is quickly becoming a tourist hotspot!

Qi Yu was both amused and exasperated by this. Would a hundred years from now, the place where he lived be marked with a sign that read "Former Residence of Wen Zun Qi Yu" and become a tourist attraction for them to visit?

However, only a minority may come to admire them; most will definitely come to spit on them.

After all, his reputation is very bad right now.

The events that occurred on the day of his inauguration disappointed his former followers, who then turned against him.

Now, in their eyes, he is just a 'simp' who has been blinded by the beauty of the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Cult, a far cry from the image he had previously cultivated of being upright, honest, virtuous, wise, and courageous.

But suddenly they became simps, blinded by beauty, and the image they had of each other was immediately shattered, turning them from fans into haters.

Qi Yu didn't care much about this; he never cared about what others thought of him.

As you enter the village, you'll inevitably pass by your own little courtyard.

To Qi Yu's dismay, his courtyard was surrounded by soldiers.

They really treat the courtyard where they used to live like a treasure, fencing it off!

Qi Yu glanced at it briefly before walking past the gate. It would be a lie to say he had no feelings for the courtyard, having lived there for almost four years.

Moreover, this place holds countless precious memories of his time with Su Yue, and he is very happy living here.

There is a river in Jiangting Village, and the source of the river is Qingxin Lake.

The river divides Jiangting Village into two parts, north and south. Qi Yu lives in the north village, while Uncle Li's family lives in the south village.

There used to be only one log bridge, which was very small, only about two zhang wide, and it had been in disrepair for many years. People often fell into the river in the past.

Now, the log bridge is gone, replaced by a stone arch bridge, which is much wider and can accommodate two carriages passing side by side.

What was once familiar is slowly changing; the only things that remain unchanged are family and those who consider themselves family.

After crossing the bridge, Qi Yu saw the familiar courtyard, where Aunt Li was hanging out the washed clothes to dry.

The house was still a thatched hut, which contrasted sharply with the surrounding tiled houses and attics.

Aunt Li's family did not move away. No matter how much money was offered, they would not sell their house.

Many people say that Uncle Li's family doesn't have enough money, which is why they won't sell and are trying to raise the price.

But only Qi Yu knew that Uncle Li's family were not like that.

They were very simple and honest. When I put three hundred taels of silver notes in Erhu's book, Aunt Li insisted on returning them to me three months later.

If Uncle Li's family was truly after money, the three hundred taels back then wouldn't have been a small amount. Aunt Li wouldn't have returned it to me; instead, she would have kept it quietly without letting anyone know.

Aunt Li's family treated him like family, and he always treated Aunt Li's family like family.

He really wanted to go up and say a few words to Aunt Li, but he couldn't, because there were spies all around, and going out to talk to Aunt Li would only bring them danger.

With a sigh, Qi Yu was about to leave when he turned around and found someone standing behind him. Qi Yu was startled.

"Young Master Qi, how have you been? Ruoxi greets you!"

Lin Ruoxi smiled sweetly, then bowed to Qi Yu in a gentle tone, giving people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.

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Chapter 213 Exposing Shortcomings

Lin Ruoxi herself never expected that she would run into Qi Yu just by going out for a casual stroll. This fate is truly wonderful.

She had originally thought that Qi Yu would return to the Blood God Sect with Su Chengying, since only the Blood God Sect could protect him now.

But to everyone's surprise, Qi Yu not only didn't go south, but he also came back.

Although Qi Yu had disguised himself, his disguise was actually quite rudimentary in front of her, so she recognized him at a glance.

Her grandfather wanted her to teach at Yunyu Academy because Yunyu Academy would become an important educational institution in the future Great Yun Dynasty.

The original dean was Qi Yu, who could make all the decisions. Even Li Muchen had to respect Qi Yu's opinion.

But now that Qi Yu is gone, Yunyu Academy has completely fallen into Li Muchen's hands, and Su Academy is no longer under Qi Yu's control.

Regardless of Qi Yu's moral character, his literary talent and extensive knowledge were undeniable.

Even she and her family agree with this.

So even though Qi Yu crippled his martial arts and even left Taoism for a demonic woman, he still had some die-hard fans who supported him.

Most of these people were scholars and young ladies of marriageable age.

Qi Yu's reputation has dropped by more than half, but not entirely.

The reason is that Qi Yu's literary talent was genuine, not fabricated or exaggerated.

Moreover, looking at the whole process, Qi Yu simply chose what he believed to be the right thing to do.

Lin Ruoxi herself thought so too. Qi Yu was actually very easy to understand because he was very simple.

He was righteous, but not rigid; he had his own bottom line.

His bottom line seems to be the people around him, with Su Yue being the most extreme example.

Su Yue shouldn't say it was her bottom line, but rather her Achilles' heel.

Qi Yu's feelings for Su Yue are pure and sincere, truly beyond words.

If it weren't for Emperor Xuanzong's rule that his personal disciples could not marry, she would have wanted to kidnap Qi Yu and take him back with her.

She had never thought about romantic relationships, so she didn't care whether she got married or not.

As long as the goal can be achieved and the necessary resources can be obtained, whether or not marriage is arranged is irrelevant.

So when Su Chengying mentioned to her father that he intended for her to marry Su Yun, she didn't care and readily agreed.

But at this moment, looking at Qi Yu, who was frozen in fear like a little white rabbit, her mood inexplicably improved.

"Young Master Qi, it's been more than two months since we last parted ways in Jinshui City, hasn't it?" Lin Ruoxi asked with a smile.

Qi Yu snapped out of his daze, blinked, swallowed hard, and his first instinct was to run away. But then he realized he couldn't escape!

Even if my dantian hadn't been destroyed, let alone now, it seems I would still have a hard time escaping from her.

This seemingly gentle and charming woman with a lovely smile is actually a grandmaster, no weaker than his wife!

Qi Yu forced himself to calm down, then forced a smile and said, "Miss Lin, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to run into you here!"

Lin Ruoxi smiled and said, "I never expected to run into you here, young master! What a pleasant surprise! You have no idea how much I've missed you these past month, thinking about you every single day!"

This sentence sounds like a declaration of longing, a confession, or an expression of affection.

Qi Yu, however, did not feel that way; he felt colder.

This woman believed that this was real, not fake!

But what I think about more is how to kill and frame someone. I'd rather not have that kind of longing!

Although that's what he thought, he couldn't say it out loud and contradict himself, because he couldn't beat Lin Ruoxi.

"Miss Lin, actually I miss you quite a bit too!"

Qi Yu emphasized the word "miss" and Lin Ruoxi naturally understood the meaning behind it, but she didn't mind.

On the contrary, Lin Ruoxi adopted a shy demeanor, lowered her head, and occasionally glanced at Qi Yu with her clear phoenix eyes, looking quite bashful.

"If Su Yue hears you saying that, young master, you're sure to get a beating when you get back!"

Lin Ruoxi pretended not to have misheard the implied meaning in her words, and instead used it to tease and ridicule herself.

He's bound to get a beating?

Beaten up by Su Yue? Beaten up by his own wife?

Isn't this just a disguised way of humiliating Qi Yu and mocking him for being bullied by a woman?

But Qi Yu is thick-skinned. Not only would Su Yue not hit him, but even if she wanted to, he would let her hit him every day as long as she was happy!

Moreover, it seems that Su Yue has always been the one who gets beaten up!

Qi Yu thought of Su Yue's appearance and smiled slightly. His smile was sincere and heartfelt, unlike his previous professional and perfunctory one.

"My wife is very virtuous. She will never hit me. In fact, I would rather be hit by her," Qi Yu said with a gentle smile.

The more sincere and happy Qi Yu's smile was, the more irritating it became to Lin Ruoxi.