The mansion of the Crown Prince.

Fa Hai captured the demon, and the purple-golden bowl erupted with a terrifying force, and the golden waves were like a giant wave, swallowing the heavens and the earth.

In a critical moment, San Zang formed hand seals with both hands, and in an instant, the red light of the Buddha’s seal on his forehead surged, resisting the power of the purple-golden bowl.

“What is this?”

Fa Hai’s expression changed when he saw this.

The power of the Five Realms!

Master actually sealed a part of the Buddha’s power within San Zang’s body!

“The Bodhi three degrees.”

In the midst of the raging waves, San Zang forcibly removed the seal on the Buddha’s seal on his forehead, activated the Buddha’s power, and displayed the secret technique of the Buddhist Sect once again.

“Even the bright mirror is not a platform!”

With a deep shout, the golden waves appeared in response, reflecting the Buddha’s power, and the purple-golden bowl was shaken off with a bang.

“Urgh.”

As the Buddha’s power rebounded, Fa Hai grunted as the purple-golden bowl fell from his mouth, staggering and a touch of crimson appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Spurt!”

In front of Qing Qing, San Zang was also impacted by the Buddha’s power, and a mouthful of blood spurted out, staining his Buddhist robe red.

“Princess, let’s go.”

Without hesitation, San Zang, enduring his injuries, grabbed the equally injured Qing Qing and broke through the guards’ blockade, escaping from the mansion.

“Amitabha!”

Fa Hai glanced at the fallen purple-golden bowl, suppressed his internal injuries, and then immediately put away the purple-golden bowl, chasing after them.

“Your Majesty.”

In the main hall, the courtiers saw the Buddhist disciple leaving with Princess Qing Qing, and their eyes immediately turned to the Emperor, waiting for his decree.

“Chase after them.”

The Emperor said calmly.

“Yes!”

In front of the main hall, many guards received the order and immediately chased after them.

“Brother Li, let’s go!”

Outside the main hall, Li Ziye gestured to Little Red Riding Hood with a look.

“Okay.”

Bai Wangyu nodded and left the mansion with him.

“Boom!”

At that moment, thunder roared in the sky, and heavy rain poured down.

The rain was so heavy on the streets of the capital city that even visibility was limited.

“Brother Li, what should we do?” Bai Wangyu asked outside the mansion.

“First, find the little monk.”

Li Ziye said in a deep voice, “Then, find a way to help him escape from the capital city.”

“Brother Li, this means going against the court.” Bai Wangyu reminded him.

“I can’t worry about that.”

Li Ziye said in a deep voice, “I can’t just stand by and watch the little monk and Princess Qing Qing get into trouble. Old Bai, go back to the Imperial Academy and help spread the word. I want to see the Confucian Scholar.”

“Alright.”

Bai Wangyu nodded and quickly walked towards the Imperial Academy.

The pouring rain soaked everyone’s clothes on the street, and Li Ziye stood in the heavy rain, looking at the increasing number of forbidden troops in the capital city, his expression growing more and more serious.

This time, the little monk and Princess Qing Qing were probably in great danger.

He had to find a way to get them out of the city.

With this in mind, Li Ziye collected his thoughts and walked quickly towards Li Family’s residence.

“Boom!”

In the sky, thunder and lightning illuminated the dim world, and in the heavy rain, even the Buddha couldn’t see, but the little monk, covered in blood, staggered forward with the girl on his back, not daring to stop for a moment.

At the Imperial Academy, Bai Wangyu hurriedly arrived and immediately paid his respects to the Confucian Scholar, wanting to request an audience with him.

In the Imperial Academy, if the Confucian Scholar did not summon him, the only way to see him was through a message from the four masters.

“Forget it.”

The Confucian Scholar looked at his disciple and said seriously, “This is a matter between the Buddhist Sect and the court, and has nothing to do with our Confucian School.”

“Master!”

Bai Wangyu said anxiously, “The princess did not harm anyone, even if she is a demon, she does not deserve to die.”

“A demon is still a demon.”

The Confucian Scholar said calmly, “Not harming anyone before does not mean she won’t in the future. Those who are not of our kind will have different intentions, you should understand this principle.”

“But…”

Bai Wangyu said urgently.

“There’s no but, go back and tell the legitimate son of the Li Family that the Confucian School will not interfere in this matter.” The Confucian Scholar’s tone was firm.

After hearing this, Bai Wangyu clenched his hands, and after a moment, he respectfully bowed and left.

In Li Family’s residence, the heavy rain continued for a day without stopping. Before nightfall, Bai Wangyu returned from the Confucian School.

In the front yard, Li Ziye anxiously waited, and when he saw Little Red Riding Hood return, he quickly walked up with an umbrella in hand and asked urgently, “How is it?”

Bai Wangyu sighed softly and shook his head.

“The Confucian School refused to help?”

Li Ziye’s expression slightly condensed, and indeed, the Confucian School was unwilling to get involved in this mess.

“Never mind.”

Li Ziye sighed and turned to walk towards the inner courtyard.

“What are you going to do, Brother Li?” Bai Wangyu asked.

“Since the Confucian School is unwilling to help, I can only use my own methods to save them.” Li Ziye replied and walked towards the inner courtyard.

After hesitating for a moment, Bai Wangyu followed.

In the inner courtyard, Li Ziye returned to his room and turned a mechanism on the bookshelf.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound rang out, and the bookshelf split in two, revealing a secret passage.

Behind him, Bai Wangyu was surprised to see the secret passage in Li Ziye’s room.

Li Ziye walked into the secret passage, and Bai Wangyu followed.

Inside the secret passage, the light of the Night Pearl shone, illuminating the way forward.

When they reached the middle of the secret passage, Li Ziye did not continue forward, but turned around, pushed open a stone door.

Behind him, Bai Wangyu took a look at the endless depths of the secret passage, then retracted his gaze and followed him into the secret room.

“What is this?”

As soon as he entered the secret room, Bai Wangyu felt a bone-chilling cold rush towards him. In his sight, the entire secret room was made of huge ice bricks, with white mist pervading the air, and a chilling sensation.

In the middle of the secret room was an ice bed, on which lay a person who, upon closer inspection, was different from a human.

“A demon!”

As soon as Bai Wangyu saw the corpse on the ice bed, he immediately recognized it as the demon they had killed that night.

Amidst the lingering cold, the demon’s body remained intact, showing no signs of decay. The entire body was gray-black, very similar to a human, but also different.

The demon’s body was very shriveled, especially the hands, which were like the claws of a beast, long and sharp, with strange patterns faintly visible all over the body, and a faint black mist lingering.

“Clang.”Li Ziye drew a short sword from his waist, the very Fish Intestine Sword he had used to bribe Old Qin.

When Qin E’nuo left the Li Residence, she left many things behind, and Li Ziye brought the Fish Intestine Sword to the Capital City.

The sharpness of the Fish Intestine Sword was world-renowned, and at this moment, it was put to good use.

“What is Brother Li going to do?”

Beside him, Bai Wangyu asked, puzzled.

“Dissect.”

Li Ziye donned sheepskin gloves and, with the Fish Intestine Sword in hand, plunged it directly into the heart of the demon beast.

“Hisss!”

Instantly, blood spurted out, staining Li Ziye’s hands black.

“The blood of this demon is black, while Princess Qing Qing’s blood is red.”

As Li Ziye sliced open the chest of the demon with the Fish Intestine Sword, he asked, “Do you know why?”

“I do not.”

Bai Wangyu shook his head, “But there have been rumors that if a demon consumes humans, its blood will gradually turn black. However, whether the rumors are true or not, there’s no way to verify.”

“I’ve heard similar rumors.”

Li Ziye cut open the demon’s chest and looked at its black heart, saying, “If a demon eats humans, its blood turns from red to black, then the body, and finally, the demon’s heart will also turn black. Look, this demon’s heart has turned black, what does that tell us?”

“It has eaten more than one person,” Bai Wangyu said gravely.

“Correct. But, even though she is a demon, Princess Qing Qing’s blood is still red.”

Li Ziye spoke calmly, “This means the rumors are not unfounded, and Princess Qing Qing truly has never consumed humans. Since she has not harmed anyone, what right do people have to insist on putting her to death?”

“But people do not believe,” Bai Wangyu said earnestly.

“Whether people believe it or not is none of my concern.”

Li Ziye sneered, “Moreover, do you think, even if people knew the truth, what could they do? ‘Those who are not of our kind have a different heart.’ In the eyes of the people, demons deserve to die, better to kill the wrong than to let go!”

Hearing this, Bai Wangyu fell silent, unsure of how to respond.

“If it weren’t for saving the little monk, I wouldn’t want to wade into this muddy water.”

As he spoke, Li Ziye took a jade bottle and used the Fish Intestine Sword to pierce the demon’s heart, collecting the blood from the heart of the demon.

From the black heart of the demon, the last drop of red blood seeped out, entering the jade bottle.

The Confucian Scholar had said that demon blood was like the extreme night dew, and the blood from the heart of a demon was the essence of demon blood, which could be used for forging.

This demon had consumed too many people, its blood had been tainted, and only this one drop of pure heart blood remained.

What a pity!

Li Ziye put away the jade bottle, turned to look at the little red hood behind him, and said, “Old Bai, now it’s time for you to make a decision.”

Bai Wangyu was silent for a moment before saying, “The Confucian Scholar told me to follow Brother Li, to listen more, and to observe more. So, whatever Brother Li asks me to do, I will do.”

“Fair enough.”

A smile appeared on Li Ziye’s face as he said, “Then let’s go save the little monk.”

After speaking, Li Ziye pulled over a piece of black cloth, covered the demon’s corpse with it, tied it up tightly, and grinned, “Carry it on your back!”

Bai Wangyu looked startled but did not ask further, obediently hoisting the demon corpse onto his back.

The two then left together, heading outside the residence.

“Brother Li, do you know where the Buddhist Disciple is?”

“Perhaps I do. The little monk is not familiar with the Capital City. Besides Li Garden, the only place he knows is one we’ve both been to.”

“That broken courtyard?”

“Exactly.”

…

In the Capital City, within a secluded and dilapidated courtyard, amidst a torrential downpour, the little monk and the demoness arrived, having reached their limits in both strength and spirit.

“Little monk.”

Qing Qing lay on San Zang’s back, feeling the warmth of the little monk’s back, a faint smile appearing on her pale face as she weakly asked, “Do you like me?”

“The Buddha is merciful, wishing to save all beings, whether human or demon.”

San Zang answered after a moment of silence.

“Little monk.”

Perhaps due to the cold, Qing Qing tightened her grip on San Zang’s arm and asked again, “Do you like me?”

“The monk wishes to lead the princess to salvation,” San Zang said softly.

“Little monk.”

Qing Qing did not give up, asking for the third time, “Do you like me?”

San Zang’s body trembled, and after a long while, his eyes gradually firmed, and he said softly:

“I do!”