In the imperial capital of Chang'an, Wei Ling and his party finished packing, and together with Li Lingyou, they still rode the medium-sized hover car and headed north.
Not long after, we saw the west wall of the imperial capital.
Along the road outside the Changxi City Wall, go all the way north, pass Yanping Gate, and arrive at Jinguang Gate. You will see the rolling summer water winding westward and enter the city here.
Entering the Jinguang Gate, you will arrive at Qunxianfang.
There are two nunneries in Qunxianfang, Zhenxin nunnery and Zhenhua nunnery. They are places where many women in the imperial capital often come to worship.
The Xilin Guishu between the two nunneries is a quiet property purchased by a strange woman in the imperial capital. The Xilin Guishu welcomes guests and provides drinks and meals.
Although the boss of Xilin Guishu is known as a strange woman in the imperial capital, she is actually a miserable person.
Decades ago, Man Jing, who came from a poor family, became a junior wood spirit sorcerer. She met Wei Mao, who was also a civilian, in the military. They worked side by side, shared life and death, and gained considerable imperial merits.
The two naturally got married and became husband and wife. They originally agreed that after the empire was completely settled, they would have several children and stay together happily for the rest of their lives.
However, when things go wrong in people's hearts, nine times out of ten, just after Wei Mao became an intermediate warlock, he died unexpectedly during a mission to clear out the remaining hostile forces, without even having time to use the divine talisman.
Man Jing was so sad and depressed that she wanted to follow her husband several times and died.
But I knew that this was definitely not my husband's wish, so I gave up my will to die and stayed in the two nunneries of Zhenxin nunnery and Zhenhua nunnery in search of inner peace.
In the end, they simply used the couple's merit and savings to buy this land between the two nunneries and build the Xilin Villa.
The left and right sides are places of peace of mind, and the middle is the place to stand.
Fortunately, back then, with the current land price in the imperial capital, such a large piece of land was simply not something Man Jing could afford to purchase.
After settling down, he carefully managed Xilin Guishu, and the people he made friends with were mainly female guests. Over time, Xilin Guishu became the first choice for hospitality among women in the imperial capital.
With its quiet environment, elegant and refined style, and high-end positioning, it has become a high-end place that refuses entry to ordinary people.
Manjing also had mixed feelings. She and her husband both came from poor families, but she never expected that the people who came and went from Xilin Guishu now were not ordinary people from poor families. They were all members of wealthy families, who had been married for generations.
Maybe her husband knew it well and would be moved.
There are woods outside Xilin Guishu.
The size of the Zhennan tree is comparable to that of a hundred-year-old tree, and there are endless rows of them. There are various kinds of madder and stone orchids under the trees. There are planks made of logs between the big trees, one foot above the ground, so you can walk on them without disturbing the dust.
There are also many slender pavilions dotted in the forest, small ponds with flowing water, the sound of water, or the chirping of forest birds, making it more and more quiet.
There are also rugged landscape stones that block the direct view, winding paths leading to secluded areas, and connected plank roads. It can indeed be regarded as an urban cave that provides tranquility amidst the bustle.
Seeing Li Lingyou looking around, Wei Ling couldn't help but joke:
"Haven't Shiro Shiro been here before? You're not a celebrity in the imperial capital. Why do you look like a bumpkin like me?"
"Haha, Brother Wei Ling doesn't know something. This is usually a place for female guests to entertain and chat. How could I, a rough man, come here?
I didn’t like this kind of place even more back then. The space was lonely and cold, which was inconsistent with my personality, haha..."
Wei Ling smiled and nodded:
"It's really good. You see, many of these plank roads are alive, maintaining the vitality of the trees and never decaying.
The branches and leaves on the railings are trimmed every day by someone, and the size and height of these trees are obviously larger than those around them, indicating that they were deliberately created by wood spirit warlocks. I judge that the boss here is a wood spirit warlock. "
Li Lingyou nodded and smiled:
"Yes, this is a place where ordinary people cannot come to spend money. Although Boss Manjing is a woman, she is a person who has made sacrifices for the empire after all. Her level of magic is not low, but no one can make such a mistake."
Immediately, Li Lingyou revealed Man Jing's situation to everyone.
A long sound of nunnery bells came, and at the end of the plank road, a large villa with green bricks and white walls appeared in front of them.
Several young and beautiful girls came over to welcome them. Seeing that the three adults and four children fit the situation described by the distinguished guests, they bowed and saluted:
"Please Mr. Li, Mr. Welling and his entourage come with me. Miss Xie is already waiting here."
Wei Ling and Li Lingyou handed over:
"Good work."
The young girl covered her mouth and smiled, turning around to lead the way.
Entering the courtyard, you are faced with a giant mountain stone screen. The shape is strange and unconventional, with many mistakes and omissions. It is quite impressive. There is a mountain stone with two lines of small cursive characters engraved on it:
My heart is at peace in the cloud forest
The countryside will never return to Wuhu
Under the stone, there is the pile head of a centuries-old Podocarpus tree. It is vigorous and vicissitudes. It is leaning diagonally. There is a small stream of water flowing slowly from under the tree. Two fist-sized dolls, male and female, sit opposite each other. Play chess on the pile.
Once you pass the mountain stone screen, you enter a courtyard.
There were two older women, smiling and communicating with each other in a corner of the courtyard, as if no one else was around. A book on the stone table was overturned by the breeze.
Seeing the welcoming girls leading a group of people in, the two people glanced at each other casually.
Wei Ling felt secretly wary.
The mental state of these two women has triggered Wei Ling's consciousness alert, and they must be high-level warlocks.
In the midst of the anxiety, a woman in blue robes who looked to be in her forties came from the front hall with a smile. She had slender eyebrows, a pretty face, and a shiny face. She threw out a message from a distance:
"Oh, I'm just curious about the status of today's distinguished guest. The person she's hosting must be someone extraordinary, so I have to come out and see it in person.
This must be the 18th Lang of the Li clan. He has never been to my small courtyard before. He is indeed well-deserved, a rich and handsome man!
This must be Mr. Welling, whom all the girls in Wuyi admire. He is a man of no merit despite his great reputation.
This girl is definitely the palace guard girl that Miss Wuyi said. Her appearance makes her feel ashamed. My heart shudders when I see this figure... Ha, these extremely cute children must be Xuan Ming and Xuan Ming. Nanxing, Phytolacca and Jinu are gone. "
Several people had just received Li Lingyou's message and had already guessed that this was Man Jing, the boss here.
Speaking of which, Man Jing should be considered a hundred years old. In this era when ordinary natural people can live to be one hundred and fifty years old, as a warlock, she is still young.
But her appearance is really well maintained and she looks too young.
Man Jing's message was comprehensive and everyone felt respected.
The group of people bowed with smiles, and Wei Ling bowed and clasped his fists:
"I don't dare to call you sir in front of senior Manjing."
It is rare for Li Lingyou to be more steady:
"I've seen Aunt Man! I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Man Jing nodded with a smile, looked at a few people, and finally her eyes lingered on the four children. She was full of love at first sight.
Nanxing is also a wood spirit warlock, so naturally he has more affinity for Manjing:
"Aunt Man, I am Nan Xing and I am also a wood spirit warlock. Your control over the vitality of wood spirits makes me admire you so much that I want to call you sister!"
Man Jing swayed, covering her mouth and laughing:
"Haha, I really like Nan Xing like this... If I hadn't decided early on to accept a few female students, I would have wanted you to be my closed disciple."
As an intelligent warlock with a specialty in spiritual magic, Wei Ling could naturally tell that Manjing truly loved the child, but he could also see the indifference and stillness beneath her cheerful face.
"Hey, Aunt Man, it's because Nanxing doesn't have this blessing."
While talking and laughing, the group entered the atrium.
There is a small lake in the atrium, with caves and stone revetments, which are ancient and simple, and there are yellow irises. It is the peak of flowering season, and there are fields of lotus leaves, scattered and dotted, with a few white lotuses leaning and moving in the wind.
There are corridors on all sides of the lake, and a winding path leads to the pavilion in the center of the lake. There are three people sitting around in the pavilion. When they saw Man Jing bringing someone in, they stood up and waved from a distance.
Seeing Xie Wuyi waving over there, Manjing stopped with a smile:
"Miss Wuyi is waiting for you over there, I won't go there."
Immediately, her eyes pointed at a high platform connected to the corridor.
Under the banana tree on the high platform, a young woman was playing the piano. The woman immediately changed the song, from "Yunshui Zen Heart" to "Spring Snow".
The melody has the meaning that all things know spring and the gentle breeze is calm, and it also has the awe-inspiring and clean sound of snow and bamboo.
The sparse and ethereal sound of the guqin became the background music in this quiet garden.
Entering the pavilion in the middle of the lake, except for a woman standing outside the pavilion, there were only three people in the pavilion.
Seeing a group of people coming in, the three of them stood up to greet them.
The familiar Xie Wuyi naturally greeted him with a smile.
One of them, who looked at a gentle and round-faced woman, stood up and looked at Li Lingyou, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Wei Ling's sharp eyes immediately knew that Shiba Lang was probably betrayed by Xie Wuyi.
There is also a tall woman with a slightly heroic face.
She looked slightly older than Xie Wuyi, but she straightened her body slightly, with a smile on her face, but did not stand up.
Wei Ling always felt that he had seen this woman before somewhere before. After thinking about it for a moment, he immediately realized it.
The face of this woman is somewhat similar to the face of His Majesty the Emperor shown in a holographic image in Xiaorong Square that day when the Western Expeditionary Army made its triumphant return to pay homage to the martyrs.
Then, this woman must be Ji Changshan's second sister, Xie Wuyi's cousin, and His Majesty's second daughter, Ji Hubo.
At the same time, Wei Ling suddenly understood that the two older women he saw when he entered the courtyard just now were probably Ji Hubo's guards, and they were on guard outside.
Xie Wuyi stood up and introduced:
"Haha, you are all here, let me introduce you.
This beauty who is more beautiful than me and more heroic is my cousin, Ji Hubo. What do you think, she is awesome! Wei Ling, if you don't have great abilities, don't like my cousin easily, you will die..."
Ji Hubo's hand twisted Xie Wuyi's waist. Xie Wuyi smiled and dodged, then looked at Li Lingyou:
"This beauty is Wang Ruishi. Have you ever heard of Shiba Lang?"
Li Lingyou smiled bitterly and nodded:
"They are all famous people in the imperial capital, and all the boys know it! Hey, the eldest princess is quite like your majesty, and she is as bold and heroic as any man. Who in the imperial capital doesn't know that?
As for Miss Ruishi, Zhilan Yahui among the princes, how many people in the imperial capital admire her? "
"I have met Her Royal Highness the Princess and Miss Ruishi."
Wei Ling and Shou Gong cannot be as casual as Li Lingyou.
The children also bowed to say hello to the three sisters.
After greeting each other politely, everyone sat down around each other, where they could eat a variety of snacks, drink tea and chat.
"Huh? Where is Mr. Facial Paralysis?"
Only then did Xie Wuyi realize that one person was missing.
Li Lingyou smiled and threw Yang Xiaohe's automatic message.
Xie Wuyi’s beautiful eyebrows wrinkled:
"It's strange. It doesn't make sense to suddenly close down during this period of time."
Naturally, Wei Ling and Li Lingyou would not say that it was because Yang Xiaohe dated Shou Gong and was rejected.
Now it is even more inconvenient to tell Xie Wuyi about the situation of guarding the palace.
This is Shou Gong’s own private matter, and it’s up to him to decide the best time. He didn’t say it when they first met, and it’s even more inappropriate to say it now.
Ji Hubo looked at Wei Ling with burning eyes:
"Wuxi has told me about your affairs several times. I think it's quite fun. There are no dangers, and things are meaningful. Is this considered a journey together?
Wei Ling turned out to be your default leader, haha, I was curious and wanted to see who Wei Ling was! "
Wei Ling smiled and shook his head slightly:
"That's because both Shishiro and Miss Wuyi are open-minded and don't care about me. I'm just more cautious by nature. There's nothing special about it."
Ji Hubo looked playful, but there was an inexplicable sparkle in his eyes.
With Wei Ling's strong mental power, he knew that she was using magic.
Ji Hubo's ability to detect the opponent's opponent with his spells without disturbing the subject's consciousness at all, and quietly, is considered extraordinary.
It was definitely not an original spell, but Wei Ling had no way of determining which kind of intelligent warlock's spell it was.
In the blink of an eye, Ji Hubo's face turned slightly calm, flashing past.
