Chapter 45: Li Youling

Li Youling showed little surprise at Gu Changqing’s expectation of gratitude, merely saying, “Would the young master permit me to change my clothes before continuing our conversation?”

At that moment, Li Youling wore only a white undergarment. Though not indecent, it was still unseemly.

“As you wish,” Gu Changqing replied, his gaze lingering with interest. For someone so young to face such a situation with such composure and keen judgment was impressive—her temperament was nearly half as steady as his own.

She seemed prepared, too, clearly wary of her two uncles.

But she wasn’t ruthless enough.

Were it him, those two uncles would have long since fled, abandoning all they had.

Just then, a voice called from downstairs, “Miss?”

Li Youling lived on the second floor; the maid resided below.

“It’s nothing, go to sleep,” Li Youling called out.

Gu Changqing grinned and spoke, “Come up, but quietly!”

Hearing a man’s voice above, the maid’s face changed instantly. She rushed upstairs, blade in hand, and found a tall man seated at the desk, with two men sprawled on the floor—Li Youling’s two uncles. Her mistress stood to the side, holding her outer garment.

“Who are you? Leave at once, or I’ll call for help!” The maid shielded Li Youling, her hand trembling as she pointed her short blade at Gu Changqing.

This maid, slightly older than Li Youling and of plain appearance, didn’t draw Gu Changqing’s attention. He merely smiled and said, “Quiet now! I dislike loud voices.”

“Ayue, from this moment forward, you are not to speak a single word or make a sound. Otherwise, I’ll expel you from the Li family!” Li Youling commanded sternly.

Ayue was stunned—her mistress had never spoken to her so harshly. She had grown up serving Li Youling, after all.

Li Youling donned her outer robe and lit the phoenix lamp by the bed, filling the room with brightness, and only then did she see Gu Changqing’s face clearly.

He was tall, dressed in white, with sword-like brows and star-bright eyes. His skin was as pale as jade, his expression playful yet wild, like a blazing flame capable of devouring all before it.

Li Youling offered him a respectful bow, her gaze flickering over the two men on the floor. “Presumably, my two uncles harbored ill intent toward me. The young master, passing by, overheard and subdued them.”

“Go on,” Gu Changqing replied, still smiling.

“I owe you a debt of life—a kindness beyond measure. I have nothing with which to repay you except all I possess. The Li family’s wealth is yours to take as you please.”

“Continue,” Gu Changqing urged, his expression unchanged.

The more unreadable he became, the less Li Youling understood his intentions. Especially with the ease he’d carried two three-hundred-pound men up to the second-floor window—his martial prowess was obvious. If she angered him, he could kill them both in an instant.

She studied him for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, “Young master, with your bearing, I doubt you covet mere wealth. Since your grace is so great, I can only offer myself in gratitude. I am literate and well-mannered and ask only for a proper place at your side.”

Given his caliber, she wouldn’t feel wronged.

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyue was shocked and hurried to pull her mistress away. Though the man appeared noble, to use a life-saving favor to force himself upon her mistress was not the act of a good man. How could her mistress offer herself so easily?

“Continue,” Gu Changqing said, amusement deepening in his eyes.

“Does the young master require me to serve as a slave or beast of burden?” Li Youling’s eyes were bright and expressive, holding a trace of sorrow.

“A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring; a life-saving favor deserves servitude,” Gu Changqing replied, as though it were only right. “One must know gratitude. Otherwise, what separates us from beasts?”

Li Youling fell silent for a long moment, then knelt in formal salute. “I greet the young master. But may I know your honored name?”

“It isn’t so easy to become a slave,” Gu Changqing smiled. “Your two uncles yet live. Kill them first, then you may serve me.”

“Miss!” Ayue could no longer contain her alarm.

“Have you forgotten what I said? From now on, I am no longer your mistress. Nor are you of the Li family. Gather your things and go,” Li Youling said coldly, not sparing her a glance.

“Enough theatrics. I never said she could leave,” Gu Changqing interrupted.

Li Youling paused, startled by his tone. Suddenly, she had a flash of realization.

The Yu family’s days-long search throughout Pingyao was for a demon—this must be the man. The Yu family regularly produced disciples accepted into the Immortal Sects and was unmatched in the Yuanhe region. They’d dispatched so many for so long and still hadn’t caught him. Clearly, he too was a cultivator.

Li Youling drew a deep breath to steady herself. “Very well,” she said at last.

She flung her maid aside. “If you still regard me as your mistress, you’ll remain silent and stand there!”

Then, gripping her knife, she approached her two uncles. After several moments of hesitation, she stabbed downward with the short blade.

But just then, a blood-red line struck her knife from her grasp.

Li Youling looked up at Gu Changqing.

“Use this,” he said, tossing her a jade dagger.

Now, she would be of the demonic path as well—less likely to betray him, more trustworthy than a mere pledge of loyalty. He had no fear of his techniques being leaked; she would only learn the basics to strengthen her vitality, and the jade dagger would allow him to control her progress. He had no intention of teaching her the advanced methods—she need only practice enough to be useful, to do his bidding when her strength sufficed.

After all, resources were scarce—even he had barely enough.

Catching the jade dagger, Li Youling’s forced composure finally cracked, and fear flooded her features.

She looked up at Gu Changqing, who was still smiling, his gaze so deep it seemed bottomless.

Now she understood why he was called a demon.

Clutching the dagger, she hesitated repeatedly, then closed her eyes and plunged it into her uncle’s heart.

Before her eyes, his body withered as blood-red threads snaked along the blade, and color returned rapidly to her own face.

The maid, witnessing this, nearly screamed and clamped a hand over her mouth in terror.

In moments, all that remained of her uncle was a shriveled husk.

Sweat drenched Li Youling’s brow. She looked at Gu Changqing, then at her other uncle, and, gritting her teeth, drove the jade dagger in again.

When both uncles were reduced to nothing but skin and bones, Gu Changqing finally clapped softly.

“Xiaoyue, go downstairs,” Li Youling said, rising with a deep breath. She dismissed her maid and respectfully returned the dagger.

The Li family had once been a prosperous household in the county, but with her mother dead and her father lost half a year before, only she had struggled to keep the family afloat. Not only did her two uncles harbor ill intentions, but others circled like wolves as well. In the Great Dynasty, the mourning period was brief—just one hundred days, which had now passed. Though precocious, she was exhausted from half a year of solitary struggle. Now, with these two strikes, her former life was severed forever.

“Young master, Xiaoyue is as dear to me as a sister. She would never betray you. If you wish, I can dismiss all servants in a few days. Wherever you go, I will follow.”

“We’ll speak of the future in time. Tell me about the county,” Gu Changqing said dismissively.

“These days, the Yu family scours the city for you. Though many resent it, none dare speak. The magistrate wiles away his days in drink, ignoring all else. If you wish to leave Pingyao, just wait a few days more,” Li Youling replied.

Gu Changqing regarded her—she was indeed shrewd.

“Now that I am deemed a demon, so are you. If the Yu family discovers you, you’ll find death difficult to achieve. You know their methods better than I.”

“Rest assured, young master—I understand the risks,” Li Youling whispered.

“Where is the Yu family based? How many people? What is their daily search like? Who else in this city is formidable?”

“If you trust me, I can investigate for you tomorrow. As for the city’s most powerful figure, that would be Daoist Xu of Jade Spring Temple. They say he’s like an immortal.”

“An immortal?” Gu Changqing laughed, his tone full of mockery.

He’d heard the man’s name from Yu family disciples—just a qi-refining cultivator. If that man was an immortal, what did that make himself?