Chapter 24: Demon

As for Li Qi, when he saw Shen Guniang, a smile finally appeared on his face, and he opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

Why?

Because the person woke up, which meant less trouble.

Besides, this woman looked very rich; her clothes were made of gauze.

It was a joke; Li Qi had never even touched gauze before. Even the wealthy households and middle-class families in Li Prefecture that he could access mostly wore cotton cloth. As for a poor wretch like him, having hemp cloth to wear was already good enough.

What kind of concept was gauze?

At least it had to be a big landlord, right?

There was just one problem…

If she was truly rich, then spending money to find capable people shouldn't have been an issue. Why did it drag on until now, letting these passersby rescue her?

He didn't understand why.

But it was also possible that it was just a coincidence.

However… it could also be for other reasons. One must be wary of others. Let's test her out.

Li Qi pondered these thoughts: "This Shen Guniang…"

"Ah wuh uh—!" Shen Shuibi shivered in fright, making strange noises from her mouth and even rolling over.

Ba Kui glanced at her, frowning: "This woman, I'm afraid she was startled by the demon and has gone mad. This is troublesome now."

"Not troublesome, not troublesome at all. It's even better if she's mad. No need to be responsible. After having a taste, just abandon her anywhere, and she'll run off by herself. We don't even need to lift a finger," a Merchant next to him said.

Li Qi now understood even more clearly what kind of people these Merchants were. No wonder A Du didn't dare to travel with them and could only find strangers.

These people were probably Merchants normally, but once they had an opportunity, they would immediately Incarnate into thieves. They didn't mind doing evil. Perhaps they had some sense of loyalty, but it was like Li Kui, only having petty loyalty to people, but lacking the middle loyalty of right and wrong.

As for great loyalty, that would involve embracing the whole world, and Li Qi felt that he, a humble Boat Towmen, was not qualified to speak of it at all.

But before he could speak, Shen Shuibi immediately stood up upon hearing this: "I… I'm not crazy! You, don't… don't…" She stammered for a long time before finally managing to say: "Don't touch me!"

Compared to her stuttering, her movements to stand up were extremely nimble, not at all like someone who had been tossed around all night.

Because the person named Li Qi was smiling very terrifyingly, showing his teeth, as if he was going to eat someone.

No, it was eating a rabbit.

As for Li Qi, he was somewhat bewildered.

This time, he didn't pause but spoke all at once: "Shen Guniang, what is your name?"

Although he didn't know what this woman had misunderstood, she didn't seem very smart, so he should guide her first.

"I… My name is Shen Shuibi."

"My name is Li Qi. Shen Guniang, were you abducted by that monster earlier? Do you remember where your home is?" Li Qi asked again.

"My home is in Sword South…" Shen Shuibi replied subconsciously, then she suddenly reacted and quickly covered her mouth.

"Sword South?" Li Qi was startled. He hadn't heard of this place name. Was there a place called Sword South near Li Prefecture?

He looked at the surrounding Merchants. These people wandered everywhere, buying and selling goods, so they should know more place names.

But the Merchants also seemed utterly confused and had never heard of it.

It was A Du who, after some thought, suddenly said: "I once traveled with a big Merchant's caravan and heard them chatting. I know there's a place name in Tang Nation called Jiannan Road. Is this it?"

"Tang Nation?" Li Qi frowned: "Shen Guniang, are you from Tang Nation?"

"No, it's not! It should just be the same name! My, my my… my Sword South is a small place, very small, it's normal that you haven't heard of it!" Shen Shuibi said hurriedly.

"Then, Shen Guniang, was the previous demon related to you?"

"No, no relation!" Shen Shuibi immediately replied!

At this, all the Merchants took a step back and pulled out their hatchets.

A Du also hid behind them.

Shen Shuibi immediately realized she had said the wrong thing.

Tears were almost falling from her eyes.

When she was with the Empress, she never lied!

Now, not only did she have to lie, but she also stammered, making it so clumsy that it could be seen through at a glance.

It was Li Qi, who didn't turn back but put his hand behind his back and quietly waved, signaling the others to leave quickly.

Then, as if he hadn't noticed the movement behind him, he walked up: "Is that so? It's good that there's no relation. You scared me to death." Li Qi scratched his head, revealing a kind smile.

"Eh…" Shen Shuibi's expression was a little confused.

Was this person… fooled?

"It's just, I'm sorry, Shen Guniang, we are all working people, with no great abilities, so we can't send you back to Sword South, and we're not familiar with the terrain, our capabilities are insufficient. How about we part ways here?" Li Qi said politely.

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuibi's heart filled with joy, and she forgot everything else, nodding hurriedly.

"Then it's settled. We'll leave first. Shen Guniang, I'm afraid you'll have to go home by yourself," Li Qi said with a kind expression.

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter! I'll go back myself!" Shen Shuibi quickly said.

"Then we'll part ways here. We haven't even eaten the rice cakes in the pot yet; we're scooping them into bowls to share. Shen Guniang, you can eat first to fill your stomach," Li Qi added.

"Thank you!" Shen Shuibi repeatedly bowed her head in gratitude, already forgetting what had scared her awake.

After Li Qi finished speaking, he turned back and gave everyone a look.

The Merchants immediately tucked away their hatchets, picked up their back baskets, didn't even want the pot, and took off running!

Li Qi also followed without hesitation, leading A Du in a mad dash!

Are you kidding me! The one behind him was most likely a demon!

And she was no different from a human; she was probably a shapeshifting demon. That wild dog demon was 100% related to her!

Although he didn't know what the other party was thinking, while this demon's mind wasn't quite right, why not quickly escape? Was he looking for death?

While Li Qi kept the demon steady, the group once again ran at full speed. On the way, they had no intention of continuing to chat, hurrying on their journey. From early morning, when the sky just brightened, they only drank water and had no time to eat. Finally, at dusk, they arrived at Feng County.

Finally, they reached Feng County, and everyone could catch their breath.

Even Ba Kui, at this moment, gave a thumbs up. Although he was so tired he was out of breath, he still praised: "Whew… wheeze, Brother Li Qi, I really admire you! Facing a demon, you can still be so calm!"

"I didn't expect it either… whew, ha… haha." Li Qi was also panting: "I didn't expect that demon to be so easy to talk to, like an idiot… I was ready to fight her if she couldn't keep up the innocent act! I didn't expect her to actually keep it up, which allowed us to escape!"

"It's still Big Brother Li who kept his composure and knew that the demon was pretending to be good, not alarming her, which allowed us to escape. If we had exposed ourselves, who knows, we might have had another internal conflict," A Du also quickly said.