The atmosphere was tense for a long time before Dao Yi finally said to Jiang Ke’er, “Don’t you dare get separated!”
[Received Villain Points “50” from “Dao Yi”.]
After speaking, he patted his horse’s flank and left, but he didn’t go far.
Instead, he found a distance that wouldn’t be too awkward and followed near Jiang Ke’er.
He had finally found Jiang Ke’er and was the first to confirm her identity as the little fox demon, ahead of the other Daoist friends who had entered with him.
Although he couldn’t act yet, he wouldn’t let Jiang Ke’er slip away.
This was a mission assigned by a celestial immortal.
While the consequences of failure were severe, the rewards for completion were also very tempting.
If he could establish a connection with this immortal, and they offered a few pointers, wouldn’t his rise to prominence just be a matter of time?
“Follow if you want,” Jiang Ke’er didn’t care.
“It’ll be good to just kill him directly once I’ve recovered.”
Jiang Ke’er sat cross-legged and rested for a while.
Feeling that her injuries had mostly recovered, she took out a map and directly colored over the name “Rakshasa Sword Sect” on the territory of Wanren Prefecture.
Li Shimin was close by and saw Jiang Ke’er drawing a long, maze-like route on the map.
He couldn’t help but exclaim in shock, “Are you really going to raze Myriad Blades State?”
Jiang Ke’er shook her head, “Razing it is too much. I just want to seek knowledge and learn.”
After thinking for a moment, she added, “I am sincere and humble in seeking guidance.”
“Is… is that so?” Li Shimin looked down at the scattered limbs and broken arms on the ground and was momentarily speechless.
Jiang Ke’er also felt a bit awkward, “Uh… I accidentally wiped out the sect.”
“Accidentally,” Li Shimin had been about to say something, but upon hearing “accidentally,” he forgot what he wanted to say.
“Is your name Li Shimin?” Jiang Ke’er actively asked.
“Yes, it’s me, no doubt about it,” the cat-eared youth Li Shimin showed a big, sunny smile.
“Is your father Li Yuan?” Jiang Ke’er asked again cautiously.
“That’s right, my father is Li Yuan. I have an elder brother, Li Jiancheng, who is both scholarly and martial and highly favored by my father. I also have a genius twin brother, Li Xuanba, and a bunch of other excellent siblings… I’m the most disgraceful second son of the Li family, Li Shimin, a small piece of trash.”
Li Shimin said these words with a smile, but Jiang Ke’er heard a hint of bitterness in his voice.
His brothers were all outstanding, and he was the poor wretch caught in the middle, the least valued, the little transparent in the family.
Jiang Ke’er didn’t know about Li Shimin’s other siblings, but if Li Shimin in this fantasy world shared the same destiny as the famous “Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin” from her historical memory… that would be extraordinary!
That was the emperor who, in history, annihilated countless nations, defeated the Turks, conquered Tibet, occupied the Three Kingdoms, held the Northeast… he was known as the Heavenly Khan, created the “Reign of Zhenguan,” and single-handedly led the Great Tang Empire to glory, with a splendor comparable to that of Qin Shi Huang, an eternal model emperor!
And those “excellent brothers” he spoke of were all taken out by him in the Xuanwu Gate Incident, a dark chapter he orchestrated.
Yet, this stain couldn’t overshadow his countless magnificent achievements throughout his life.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ke’er felt a bit parched, so excited that her wounds almost reopened.
However, the historical trajectory here was clearly very different.
This was a fantasy world, with the Four Great Continents known as the Divine Land, Mount Sumeru in the Central Heavens, the Ancient Learning Realm, high-flying immortals, and the oppressed demon race.
Li Shimin was still young, just a timid, even shy, big boy when facing a pretty young lady, not an emperor.
Even if he were, Jiang Ke’er could treat him with equanimity.
“Perhaps it’s just an astonishing coincidence from a parallel world,” Jiang Ke’er smiled, quickly calmed herself down, and extended her hand, “Hello, Li Shimin, it’s nice to meet you.”
There was no custom of shaking hands in the Divine Land, but Li Shimin was quick-witted.
Blushing, he reached out and shook Jiang Ke’er’s hand. “Hello, uh…”
“Hmm?”
Jiang Ke’er had known that Li Shimin and Chen Yi were following her with a purpose and had been waiting for them to bring it up.
“Please don’t continue challenging the sects. How about joining our Demon Race Revival Society? We can all do small things within our power for the demon race…”
“I’ll talk about those things after I’ve kicked over Myriad Blades State,” Jiang Ke’er interrupted.
“Sigh… alright,” the cat-eared youth Li Shimin sighed, clearly not holding out much hope.
Jiang Ke’er found his dejected look a bit cute and couldn’t help but chuckle as she pinched his cheek.
“Whoa—?!”
Li Shimin was stunned, his cheeks flushed, staring blankly at Jiang Ke’er.
Cat-eared youths generally have delicate features.
When they grow their hair long, they look much like girls, and at seventeen or eighteen, they still have a loli-like appearance with a bit of baby fat on their faces, which Jiang Ke’er couldn’t resist pinching.
Although she herself was in a state between a loli and a young girl, in her eyes, Li Shimin was just a little brother.
“Thanks for this time. If I don’t die, I’ll consider joining,” Jiang Ke’er said.
She tossed the blunt sword aside, picked a few handy new swords from the ground, turned, and headed for her next target.
Dao Yi spurred his horse to follow.
After being stunned for a moment, Li Shimin also quickly jogged to catch up behind them.
Chen Yi touched his own cheek, feeling a little wronged, “Why didn’t the young lady pinch my face… I’m so jealous.”
Then he also chased after them.
But none of them noticed a dark shadow, crouching on a treetop, as silent as a ghost.
She smoothed her light blue hair, her red lips slightly pursed, and followed closely behind the group.