The Wish

After this incident, Li Fan couldn't stay in the hotel any longer. He felt his skin burning, his lower abdomen hot and aroused, his stomach churning as if a millstone were grinding inside him. Even the sight of a maid carrying wine, her body trembling, made him want to pounce and tear her apart. He couldn't even bear to look at the body lying on the bed beside him; just listening to her breathing, he could almost smell the hot, fragrant breath, picturing a hot, delicious human form, and he wanted to turn and tear it apart, swallowing it whole to satisfy his hunger...

"Boss, check please. Time to get out of here!" Li Fan snapped out of his daze, threw the money on the table, put on his veiled hat, and stormed out of the restaurant.

The Kun, with a listening talisman on its head, heard the signal and quickly returned, slurping up all the food, wine, and fruit on the table before chasing after Li Fan and crawling into his sleeve.

Li Fan didn't go far either. After leaving the house, he went straight to a deserted alley behind the door, sat cross-legged on the ground, and stared at the Si Nan that was still pointing in the direction of the restaurant.

Originally, Li Fan planned to kick down the door, tie up Guo Erpang, and interrogate him to find out who dared to plot against him, Qingyue, from behind the scenes.

But he was in a really bad state at the moment. If he made a move again, he might really lose control and go berserk. He might even eat that chubby Guo Er on the spot.

So today we have to give up. Li Fan plans not to take action for now. He'll follow Guo Er tonight to see where he lives and get to know his family. After that, once the Profound Heaven Sword Intent finds a way to suppress the Qiongqi Dao Body, he'll go directly to Fatty Er's house to kidnap him and interrogate him for the inside story.

So Li Fan sat in the shadows for a while, breathing and circulating the <Wuji Guidao>, forcing himself to cultivate the Limitless Nascent Soul Stage. He finally managed to suppress a bit of the beastly nature and ferocity in his heart, his pupils returned to human form, and the fierce light in his eyes also subsided.

Then, at that moment, he also saw Si Nan sway from side to side, and then a figure pushed open the back door of the hotel and slipped out.

The man looked like a thin handyman, probably just a hotel helper out on a errand, but Si Nan Nanbing suddenly swayed and shifted his gaze from the man's back!

Li Fan frowned and glanced around. According to his Divine Sense, the four noblemen from the Outer Sect were still drinking inside, and Young Master Guo had clearly not left either. But for some reason, his fate had changed, and he had become someone else.

What's going on? Does making this decision mean he's implicitly giving up his chance to become the ruler of the Li Country?

Then Li Fan took a closer look and realized, "Humph, that 'servant' is wearing official boots..."

So Li Fan dusted himself off, stood up, and, carrying the Si Nan horizontally, followed the 'errand boy,' crossing the East Market and heading straight for the south of the city.

This 'errand boy' had clearly changed his attire hastily, only altering his outer robe, and slipped out of the restaurant with his head down. This is how he revealed his whereabouts to Li Fan, who recently developed a phobia of shoes and judges people by their feet.

However, to be fair, what that old man from the Shenxiao Sect said makes a lot of sense. It's true that changing clothes is not difficult, but asking these nobles who are used to wearing soft boots to suddenly change into straw sandals would definitely be uncomfortable.

Because Li Fan had lost control of his Dao heart before leaving the building, and now, using his Divine Sense to investigate, he could clearly see that the four young masters from noble families were still feasting in the private room. Therefore, Li Fan was not sure about the identity of this 'servant'.

He couldn't quite figure out whether this person was sent by the Guo Family to do something, a spy tracking Young Master Guo, or simply some other opportunity completely unrelated to the position of heir apparent.

Unfortunately, the Si Nan couldn't speak; it only stared at the most recent and greatest opportunity, as if drawn to it by a magnetic force, remaining motionless. Li Fan, on the other hand, didn't have time to cast a hexagram and slowly deduce the meaning. His divination skills weren't yet at the level where he could understand something with a simple calculation.

But since Li Fan had no interest in the ruler of Li Country anyway, he abandoned Guo Erpang without any psychological burden and turned to follow the disguised servant, looking for new opportunities.

You know what, big cities really offer more opportunities! I'd only been out for a short while, the tent hadn't even softened yet, and I'd already stumbled upon a new opportunity! cough cough

In short, Li Fan followed the servant all the way, first heading south and then west. Fortunately, Changsi City was well-planned, with main roads that allowed eight horses to run side by side, making it difficult to lose track of someone once you had your eye on them... uh, he did lose track of them...

The servant turned at the intersection, flashed his badge to the gatekeeper, and went into a ward.

Li Fan originally intended to use the 'Unknown Face' to cover his face and follow behind, but a bright light shone on his head from the gate tower of the neighborhood, and the 'Unknown Face' covering his veil was actually set on fire!

Li Fan was startled and stopped abruptly, quickly slipping to the street corner. When he took off his hat, he saw that the outer 'Unknown Face' was charred, but the hat was cleverly designed with several layers inside, which prevented it from burning his face directly.

Tearing off the outer veil, Li Fan, hiding in the shadows, looked up and saw archers on guard duty in the tower. A bright mirror hung on the roof of the tower. Looking at it through the Unknown Face, it seemed to burn like fire, as fierce as the blazing sun, dazzling and scorching.

But once the veil was lifted and it was examined with the naked eye, it was just an ordinary bronze mirror, completely unremarkable. It seemed to be a magical Magic Treasure specifically designed to ward off evil spirits.

Looking down at the main gate, the words "Daye" were clearly written on it. There were government officials and guards in full armor on duty at the gate. Although they did not look as elite as the Eastern Palace's imperial guards, the security of this community was so tight that Daye Ward must have been the residence of high-ranking officials and nobles.

It seems that while markets like the East Market are freely accessible, access to upscale residential areas requires ID checks...

After circling Daye Ward three times, Li Fan still couldn't find a way to sneak in. The ward was filled with towering palaces and pavilions, and it seemed like there were several royal palaces and temples inside. He wondered which royal relatives lived there, given how heavily guarded it was.

In the southeast corner of the neighborhood, there was a pagoda. Li Fan used his Divine Sense to observe its aura. Although it did not have dazzling brilliance, he could clearly see the Dao Breath flowing within it, and the atmosphere was magnificent. Although it did not reveal its power, it was obvious that there was a Daoist master at least at the Nascent Soul Stage level presiding over it. This made him dare not forcibly fly over the neighborhood wall and force his way in.

Now Li Fan was scratching his head. This area was guarded against like Jingji and thieves. Even high-end residential areas were equipped with magical artifacts like surveillance Magic Treasure to suppress them, making it impossible to sneak in wearing the 'Unknown Face'. Ordinary people had to show their resident ID cards to the guards for registration. Even if they knew there was an opportunity inside, it was very difficult to get in and take it.

Li Fan couldn't think of a solution for the moment, so he squatted in the corner and watched for a while as the guards and officials checked waist tags and documents, registering who was visiting whom... Hmm? Wait, registering?

Suddenly, Li Fan had a flash of inspiration and realized what he had overlooked.

He had already registered when he entered the city today; his Daoist certificate reads "Qingyue, Ink Bamboo Mountain Lou Guan Dao"!

In other words, if the registration and filing of officials Li Country were done very carefully and thoroughly, then their entry into the city might already be exposed to the eyes of various forces today!

If he were to follow the original plan and go to Lou Guan's stronghold in Changsi City to report to the abbot about Huang Hai in Xiping Prefecture, he might very well be caught red-handed by these noble Outer Sect disciples who were looking for 'Qingyue'!

Oops—this is trouble!

Of all times, things have to come to this! He killed the Yu Family brothers of the Southern Faction, offending them. If he then gets involved with the disciples of the Southern Faction Northern Faction's aristocratic families, using them as a stand-in for 'Prince Li You of Prince of Jian'an' and putting on a show of him being forced to wear the imperial robe, he might actually have to return to secular life and become emperor!

This is outrageous! No way! I'd rather die than become emperor! Nobody can interfere with my cultivation of immortality!

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent, hehe, what's wrong with being an emperor? If I can't cultivate the Dao of Ink Bamboo Mountain, I can still cultivate the Dao of my Beichen Sword Sect. And I can even use the three palaces, six courtyards, and seventy-two concubines to relieve my restless desires.'

Kun agreed, saying the emperor would definitely get something for nothing.

Shut up, you two! All you're saying is sarcastic remarks! This isn't a proper emperor; he's just a puppet who can be deposed and installed at will!

How did the previous crown prince die? He was whipped to death by the Nangong Family! In front of immortals, what human dignity do these Human Dao kings have? They're no different from domesticated cattle and sheep!

Besides, Li Fan was also implicated in the sword duel at Tiantai Mountain. Back then, he had read two scriptures and caused the deaths of a large number of members of the Nangong Family, creating a deep-seated hatred! Now that he has become the ruler of Li Country, do you think the Nangong Family will let him off the hook?

Hmm! Thinking about it this way... Ink Bamboo Mountain might actually support him becoming the ruler of Li Country. After all, he only lost an Inner Sect disciple, but gained the entire Li Country!

No way! Li Fan wants to fly free! Who wants to be someone else's substitute, locked up in the palace as a puppet emperor? Please, go find the real one!

' Profound Heaven Sword Intent, heh, don't you understand yet? Now that the real Li You has been kidnapped, the clues have been deliberately steered towards you and then cut off. Now all their eyes are on you, Qingyue. Where are they going to find the real Li You?'

Hmm? Not bad! They're not targeting 'Qingyue', but 'Li You'!

That real Li You is Young Master Guo's nephew, and that's why he has the support of the Outer Sect Disciple of Ink Bamboo Mountain.

But Li Fan isn't Li You; he's Li Yi, Mother Zheng Mingzhu. Surely he's not Guo Er's nephew? Besides, there's the double confirmation from the system and the Si Nan. He has absolutely no connection to the position of the Crown Prince of Li Country.

Therefore, he doesn't necessarily need to find Li You now. As long as he can find evidence to prove that 'Qingyue is Li Yi,' that would be enough for him to back down, right?

After all, there are so many princes in the Eastern Palace, and the position of ruler of Twelve Countries is no exception. No matter how the Guo Family arranges things, they should at least choose their own nephew, right?

Li Fan's eyes flickered, his thoughts racing.

"Sword Intent, you said that 'if your name isn't written in the Zongzheng Temple's genealogy, you're not considered a member of the imperial family,' and that 'those who are properly included in the genealogy must have the imperial seal, the approval of the governor, and the approval of the three palaces,' and that 'it's not so easy to impersonate someone,' right? Then the Zongzheng Temple must have a way to confirm the prince's bloodline, and it can also prove that I'm not the real Li You at all!"

The system only said that Li Yi lived 350 steps west of Guangzhaifang, which happened to be the location of the Eastern Palace. He was also orphaned and died, and no one noticed. So he probably wasn't a legitimate son. He just looked similar to someone else. Who knows if he was a palace maid or an illegitimate child?

"The Profound Heaven Sword Intent makes sense, but the Guo Family only wants Li You to succeed to the throne. However, some people are linking Li You with Qingyue. They could even fool Lou Guan, so they certainly wouldn't forget to tamper with things at the Zongzheng Temple, right?"

And there's another problem: you can't even blend into the neighborhood, so how are you going to check the genealogy at the Zongzheng Temple? Do you even know where the Zongzheng Temple is? It's inside the Imperial City! Although the authority of the rulers varies, the Imperial City of each country symbolizes the orthodoxy of the Central Plains, and its defenses are always the most stringent. You might even believe that the eunuchs sweeping the gate are highly skilled!

Back in the day, when the seven of us brothers first entered the Central Plains, we almost got chopped to death by a cook wielding a cleaver when we tried to sneak a bite at the royal kitchen of the Kan Country! It was truly unbelievable!

Are you all only thinking about sneaking into the imperial kitchen when you enter the Imperial City? If it were him... well, he'd take a stroll through the harem, helping the concubines who the emperor can't take care of all year alleviate their loneliness. Teacher Li Fan would also rate and rank the empresses and imperial concubines of various countries, carefully evaluating just what kind of tempting beauties the emperor's women really are... Wow! If this impulse isn't controlled, there's really going to be a problem!