The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

Seeing Ying Li's unusually cold expression, Yi Bicheng looked at Yao Fan, who also seemed somewhat uneasy. Could it be that there was some misunderstanding between the two? Thinking this, Yao Fan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Young Master, Yao Fan has some matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first. You and Miss Ying have not seen each other for a long time, it is the perfect time for you to catch up, so Yao Fan will not disturb you any longer."

After saying that, he respectfully took two steps back, pulled the mischievous little black dog that had climbed onto his shoulder into his arms, and left in the opposite direction from the two of them.

Yi Bicheng turned to look at Ying Li, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry, and asked, "You and she don't get along?"

Ying Li shrugged and walked into a private room at the inn with Yi Bicheng. After they sat down, they ordered a lot of dishes. While waiting for the waiter to serve the food, Ying Li told Yi Bicheng what had just happened, his face showing no emotion. Yi Bicheng, on the other hand, was somewhat surprised. She tapped her red plum fan on her left hand thoughtfully and said, "I originally thought Yao Fan was a girl who liked to stand up for the weak. Now that you mention it, this kind of personality and perspective is truly unique, making it impossible to judge her."

"Are you very familiar with her?" Ying Li poured herself and Yi Bicheng a cup of hot tea. Having known Yao Fan for less than a day, she felt that this woman was too special. It wasn't that Ying Li liked to pry into other people's privacy, but there was nothing important at the moment, and Yao Fan was the closed-door disciple of one of the top ten spiritual masters. Ying Li was curious about news about such a person.

Yao Fan's personality and character must have been influenced by something, otherwise she wouldn't be such a conflicted person. She won't allow others to harm or kill her, yet she won't allow herself to kill those who hurt her. With this kind of personality, it's hard to imagine how she'll fight her opponent in the disciple battle ten days from now.

Yi Bicheng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and slowly said, "I don't know much about Yao Fan either. I only know that she was rescued by Master Zhao by chance. Because she was so pitiful and had the ability to control minds, Master Zhao took pity on her and saw that she had some talent, so he took her in as his last disciple. Over the past year, her cultivation has improved day by day, and she has gradually shown remarkable talent. Her hometown is here. I heard that she suffered a lot of grievances because of her parents, but I don't know exactly how much she suffered. Since she is someone close to Master Zhao, I am embarrassed to pay too much attention to her. Besides, there is no point in me paying attention to her."

Looking at Yi Bicheng's indifferent expression, Ying Li recalled the disappointed look Yao Fan gave Yi Bicheng when he left, and couldn't help but shake his head. It was very likely that this was another story of unrequited love.

Looking at Ying Li's expression, Yi Bicheng knew she was up to no good. He smiled helplessly, looked down at the tea leaves swaying up and down, and shook his head slightly.

Ying Li didn't say anything more. She was too tired today. She would have a big meal and rest well for the night. She would talk about everything tomorrow. With that thought, the waiter brought out a table full of dishes, which were all devoured by Ying Li in less than half an hour. Yi Bicheng stared in astonishment at the empty plates in front of her and said helplessly, "Ah Li, with you like this, I really don't know which man will dare to marry you in the future."

Ying Li lay back in the chair, feeling a bit sleepy after eating and drinking her fill. Listening to Yi Bicheng speak, she felt an urge to teach him a lesson, but she was too tired. So she patted her stomach and said, "When you become the Lord of Tianfu in the future, if I run out of money for food and drink, I'll go to Tianfu to work as a spirit sorcerer. You'll have to offer me food then. You're laughing at me now, but if I don't go to Tianfu to work for you in the future, you'll regret it and cry."

Yi Bicheng was both amused and exasperated. Seeing Ying Li dozing off with his right hand covering his face, he called the waiter to settle the bill for ten days' worth of room and meals. Then, without any hesitation, he grabbed Ying Li and dragged him to his room, stopping and starting with each step.

It took a lot of effort to get the drunk Ying Li back to her room. Yi Bicheng smiled and closed the door for her. Hearing the heavy breathing inside, he placed a spiritual energy barrier on Ying Li's door with his right hand before pushing open the door next to it and going in.

Yao Fan, witnessing this scene from the shadows of the inn, turned ashen-faced. He had never seen Yi Bicheng so devoted to a woman. In over a year in Tianfu, he had only seen Yi Bicheng four times, each time a fleeting glimpse following his master, barely exchanging a single word. He had heard that Yi Bicheng was in love with Wei Lingyun of the Wei family in Ling'an Kingdom, and that even after Wei Lingyun's tragic death, Yi Bicheng's love for that woman remained unchanged.

She naively believed that as long as enough time passed, Yi Bicheng would forget the Wei woman and be able to see another spring. She thought that if she happened to appear before Yi Bicheng when he was willing to see it, she would surely succeed. But now, he seemed to have forgotten the Wei woman, but Ying Li had appeared.

Looking closely at Ying Li's eyebrows and eyes, one can see that he looks more and more like Wei Lingyun.

What she didn't know was that Ying Li had only met Yi Bicheng four times. If someone likes you, they will definitely come looking for you, without exception.

She hid herself in the darkness and lingered there for a long time.

It was nearly noon the next day when Ying Li finally got out of bed. She washed up feeling refreshed and changed into a simple light purple outfit. The two white fox fur sleeves were warm on her arms, and Ying Li felt a warm sensation in her arms, making her feel relaxed all over. The fatigue from the previous day had completely disappeared.

Pushing open the door to find Yi Bicheng, Ying Li found him already waiting for her in the hall, having ordered food. Embarrassed, Ying Li smiled and went downstairs. After thanking Yi Bicheng profusely, she finally abandoned her reserve, picked up her chopsticks, and ate quite a bit. Seeing that Ying Li wanted to eat more, and remembering how drunk she had been the night before, Yi Bicheng quickly stopped her, saying, "Save some room. We have important business to attend to later. Some experts from the old mansion have arrived and are currently searching for clues in front of the ruins. I heard they found something; let's go take a look."

Ying Li thought about it. The Flame Bird of Paradise had burned the scene to the ground last night, so how could they possibly find anything? It was clearly a way to spread the news and lure people to see. However, Ying Li really wanted to see what level of expert could come out of such a small town.

Thinking of this, Ying Li put down her chopsticks without hesitation, wiped her mouth, and then followed Yi Bicheng out of the inn. The battle between the disciples of the Spirit Masters was still nine days away, and it was best to resolve this matter during this time; otherwise, she would have to rely on her master to clean up her mess. Ying Li didn't want her extremely talkative master to give her the most boring and unbearable lesson of her life.

The inn wasn't actually far from the old mansion. Ying Li was kidnapped yesterday because Hou Bang and his accomplices were guilty and dared not bring her directly into the mansion, fearing trouble and gossip. So they used a roundabout tactic, leading Ying Li around twice before finally bringing her inside. This kind of strategy shows they've committed numerous crimes.

The two had actually walked for an hour when they arrived, but before they even got close, they saw that the old mansion had become a pile of ruins, with black smoke still rising and being blown into the sky by the cold wind. Hou Bang stood in the middle of the ruins, looking at the three corpses on the ground that had been burned to charcoal, his lips turned white, and he trembled uncontrollably.

Those were the corpses of Lao Lei, Lao Hong, and Lao Ye, the three siblings, murdered last night, while they were working hard on the third floor of the Red Building on Xile Street. Their deaths were so gruesome; it was clearly not an accident, but rather a deliberate act.

Thinking of Yao Fan, whom he had captured last night, Hou Bang's face hardened. The head of his family wasn't in Laoyue Town, but upon hearing the news of the deaths of his three descendants, he had rushed over and should arrive this afternoon. By then, none of Hou Bang and his brothers would be able to escape. The immediate plan was to find Yao Fan. Once they found her, they could pin the blame for Lao Lei's death on her, and Hou Bang and his brothers would naturally remain unscathed. It had nothing to do with them anyway. The young master had told them to get lost and not to bother them, and they had done so without hesitation. But Lao Lei had been murdered, so what did that have to do with them?

That's what I say, but I can't say it out loud.

"Men, bring out the young master and young lady's bodies and prepare them properly for burial!" Hou Bang pulled a silk handkerchief from his waist and covered his nose. The pungent smell made him very uncomfortable. He watched as the men behind him carried out three charred corpses. Two of the bodies had their right feet partially turned to powder as they were being moved, and it was impossible to recognize who these three people were. He felt nauseous and horrified, and turned his head away from them. Finding Yao Fan was the most important thing right now.

After coughing twice, Hou Bang looked at the hundred or so people in the old mansion and shouted, "Bring them up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two people stepped forward, and one of them kicked two sacks off a cart. "Ouch!" Two screams rang out, making the onlookers' faces jump.

"Yao Fan, if you know what's good for you, get out here! You killed my young master and young lady, so today I will kill your parents in front of the people of Laoyue Town to avenge my young master and young lady! If you have any conscience left, come out and face your death, or you will needlessly implicate your parents!" Hou Bang roared, his sharp eyes sweeping over the crowd.

The onlookers were startled. Seeing Hou Bang's envious expression, they couldn't help but feel sorry for the person called Yao Fan. Many of the onlookers recognized Yao Fan, whom Hou Bang had mentioned. Everyone said that Yao Fan was a good girl, but her spendthrift parents had squandered their family fortune and caused Yao Fan great suffering.

According to these people, the young masters and ladies of this old mansion were most likely killed by Yao Fan's parents, and Yao Fan was just an innocent bystander. This kind of thing happened too often in the past, and Yao Fan always stepped in to save the shameless couple. This time, however, it was the local tyrant's young master and lady who died. Even if Yao Fan wanted to step in, he didn't have the ability to bear the consequences.

After all, once you step forward, you can't avoid the word "death."

"Ugh!" Two more kicks followed, and two earth-shattering screams came from inside the sack. The heart-wrenching cries made everyone's hearts tighten. The two men tore open the sack, revealing the heads of the Yao couple. Their faces were covered in blood, their eyes were purplish-black and stained with blood, their noses had been broken, and the exposed skin was swollen. It was clear that these injuries were the result of being hung up and beaten all night. At their age, if they had suffered a few more blows, it was hard to say whether they would have survived the day.

"Stop!" A clear voice rang out from the crowd. Ying Li watched as Yao Fan walked out, wearing the same blue clothes she had worn yesterday. She walked up to Hou Bang, her face grim, and said to him, word by word, "Weren't you looking for Yao Fan? That's me."