Chapter 74: Xia Qingshuang
While the City Defense Army was clearing out the demon corpses outside the city, Song Yueyao reported the situation in the Heifeng Mountain Range to Yue Shuhong.
Yue Shuhong immediately dispatched scouts to investigate and verify.
When the scouts reached the hill covered with demon corpses, they were utterly terrified.
The number of demon corpses there was no less than the piles outside the city.
Particularly eye-catching was a towering, neatly stacked platform of demon corpses. It was made entirely of great demons, with a rough count exceeding twenty.
...
Among them, the scouts also identified the renowned True God Bear Demon, a creature of immense strength. However, it had also turned into a slightly rotting and foul-smelling corpse, placed beneath the meaty platform.
The scouts, trembling uncontrollably, rushed back to the city to report the findings to Yue Shuhong in full detail.
After hearing the report, Yue Shuhong stood in a daze for a long moment before exhaling deeply.
Having served as the overseer of Cangyu City for decades, Yue Shuhong knew very well that every great demon lurking around the city had been completely eradicated by Li Hao!
If not for the coincidental mission assigned by Tangong Academy, which also happened to be accepted by Li Hao... Yue Shuhong dared not imagine the kind of hellish nightmare Cangyu City would have turned into.
A mix of exhilaration and melancholy filled his heart. A heavy burden, weighing on him for decades, finally lifted in that moment.
Two days later...
The demon corpses outside Cangyu City were mostly cleared, and the academy mission of Li Hao and his companions was officially declared complete.
Although they had arrived in a hurry, their return journey was leisurely and relaxed. Yue Shuhong even arranged a carriage for them.
He personally escorted them to the city gates to bid farewell.
“Young Master, I have already reported the situation in Cangyu City to the provincial authorities,” he said solemnly.
“Furthermore, once everything here is settled, I will personally go to the imperial capital and request execution for my crimes.”
Outside the carriage, Yue Shuhong cupped his hands respectfully, his expression grave.
Li Hao glanced at him and immediately understood Yue Shuhong’s intention to shoulder all the blame alone.
“Do you realize that taking full responsibility will implicate your entire clan?” Li Hao asked.
Yue Shuhong’s face remained impassive as he replied calmly, “I do. That’s why I severed ties with my clan twelve years ago. According to the laws of Dayu, a severance lasting over ten years is recognized as complete estrangement, rendering us unrelated and free from collective punishment.”
Li Hao regarded him with a deep gaze before saying, “It seems you’re a skilled strategist as well.”
“You flatter me, Young Master,” Yue Shuhong said humbly.
Li Hao said no more. He retracted his hand and lowered the carriage curtain.
“A pity,” Li Hao remarked, “you won’t get to taste the wine brewed from the Tiger Robe Head.”
Yue Shuhong’s body trembled slightly. He paused, then looked up with a faint smile.
“If the Young Master does not mind, should you pass by Cangyu City in the future, pour a cup on this road as though drinking with me.”
A light breeze stirred the curtain, causing it to sway gently.
From inside, a single word emerged:
“Sure.”
Yue Shuhong’s smile grew brighter.
The carriage began moving slowly. Under the driver’s urging, it proceeded along the cypress-lined official road, bathed in the morning sunlight.
The city and the people at the gates gradually shrank into the distance.
Yet one could still faintly see a figure waving toward the carriage as if bidding farewell, followed by a long, deep bow.
Until they could no longer see each other...
...
...
Inside the carriage, only Li Hao, Ren Qianqian, Li Yuanzhao, and a few others remained.
The driver was a soldier from Cangyu City, who was tasked with escorting them to Qingzhou before returning on his own.
Wei Feng had bid them a hurried farewell the previous day. With Li Hao present, there was no need for him to continue secretly protecting his lady.
Compared to her safety, he was now more worried about Ren Qianqian actually agreeing to become Li Hao’s attendant.
Although Li Hao’s status was illustrious, Ren Qianqian was still the daughter of a grandmaster. Becoming an attendant would mark her for life.
He needed to return swiftly and seek reinforcements. Only his master could dissuade her.
As for Li Fu, his injuries had not yet healed, so he remained in Cangyu City to recuperate.
Barely half a day out of Cangyu City, two galloping horses appeared ahead of them on the official road.
The riders seemed to notice the Cangyu City insignia on the carriage. After passing it by several dozen meters, they abruptly reined in their horses and turned back, halting in front of the carriage.
“Halt!”
The riders were a man and a woman. The man, in his twenties, wore a purple battle armor with a sword at his waist and a feathered helmet, exuding heroic vigor.
The woman wore a soft purple battle armor with a bow on her back and a sword at her waist. She had no helmet, letting her jet-black hair flow freely along with her cloak.
“Are you a soldier of Cangyu City?”
After stopping the carriage, the young man immediately gripped his whip, pointing it at the driver with a hint of anger.
The driver, stunned, hastily got off and knelt after recognizing their armor. “Subordinate Yue Ming, a squad leader of the Cangyu City Defense Division, greets the two lords.”
“What are you doing here? And who is inside the carriage?”
The young man roared, “I heard demons attacked Cangyu City. Are you deserters fleeing the city?”
Murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
The terrified Yue Ming quickly replied, “The lords misunderstand! The demon chaos in the city has already been quelled. I was ordered by the city lord to escort these Tangong Academy students back to Qingzhou.”
“Students of Tangong Academy?”
The two riders exchanged a glance. The man’s expression eased slightly. “Call them out. Let me see.”
The Tangong Academy of Qingzhou was renowned throughout the land. While they were familiar with its reputation, the academy held no particular significance to them personally.
Inside the carriage, Li Hao and the others had heard the commotion. Yu Wei, seated near the door, immediately lifted the curtain to look outside, curious about who dared to act so recklessly.
Stopping them was one thing, but the occupants of the carriage included two members of the illustrious Li family—Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao.
“It’s the Xia family’s battle armor,” Li Yuanzhao remarked as he peered through the curtain, instantly recognizing the pair’s affiliation.
Though he had rarely ventured far, as a scion of the Divine General Mansion, Li Yuanzhao had studied the identifying symbols of major noble families.
The two riders, upon seeing the youthful faces of those in the carriage and their distinctive Tangong Academy uniforms, realized the driver was telling the truth.
“What did you mean when you said the demon chaos was resolved?” the woman asked coldly, fixing Yue Ming with a sharp gaze.
Yue Ming, still trembling slightly, replied respectfully, “Reporting to the lord, the demon outbreak was quelled, thanks to the intervention of the Young Master of the Li family.”
“The Young Master of the Li family?”
The young man furrowed his brows. “Which Young Master?”
“The Young Master of the Li family from the Divine General Mansion in Qingzhou,” Yue Ming answered, his tone reverent.
“Hmm?”
Xia Yong and Xia Qingshuang exchanged a glance.
The Divine General Mansion?
Wait—Young Master?
Such a title would imply a member of the third generation of the Li family.
After all, the second generation consisted of established figures, all middle-aged and world-famous.
Still, this claim was puzzling. The reported demon outbreak involved a Fifteen Li Realm great demon leading tens of thousands of other demons—a force so formidable that suppressing it would typically require at least two of their own Xia family’s Fifteen Li Realm elites.
Yet the third generation of the Li family had no widely recognized names.
A few members had made minor waves over a decade ago: one had entered the tutelage of the Buddha Lord of Wuliang Mountain at the age of six, while another had apprenticed under a Daoist from Qianji Mountain. Both were said to be personal disciples.
And then there was the one whose birth had been marked by auspicious signs, prompting Emperor Yu himself to bestow a name. At the time, many predicted extraordinary talent. However, the individual had since faded from public view, with rumors of being a failed cultivator.
“Could it be the one from Wuliang Mountain has entered the mortal world?”
Xia Yong’s eyes narrowed with a flicker of battle intent.
Beside him, Xia Qingshuang remained calm, her expression unchanged. “If that’s the case, we have no reason for concern.”
She turned to Yue Ming and asked, “What were the casualties in the city?”
Yue Ming answered immediately, “Reporting to the lord, there were only over two hundred injured among the city’s defenders, with just over ten fatalities.”
Yue Ming’s voice was filled with deference.