Longevity begins with slaying demons and eliminating demons

The little prince or princess in your belly?

Zhao Yan is pregnant?

She is already pregnant with Gu Xu's child?

When did this happen?

Shi Xiaohan felt that his mind was in chaos.

At this moment, her mood was like participating in a fierce race. She thought she had caught up with her opponent, but unexpectedly, the opponent was already far ahead and left her behind by a full circle.

In a daze, the small spoon she just picked up accidentally slipped and fell into the fish porridge in front of her, and quickly sank to the bottom of the bowl.

"Sister Xiaohan?" Zhao Yan noticed her absent-minded look and called softly.

Following Zhao Yan's thoughts, a stream of true energy quietly condensed and turned into an invisible hand, gently holding the spoon and slowly rising from the scalding porridge.

The spoon was as clean as ever, with no trace of porridge stained on it.

Only then did Shi Xiaohan come to his senses.

"Ah, thank you, Sister Zhao. I'm really sorry. I was so surprised just now that I was distracted..." She reached out to catch the spoon hanging in the air and said somewhat incoherently.

"It's okay." Zhao Yan smiled slightly and said calmly.

She paused, then ran a hand across her flat belly and whispered to herself: "I wonder if this child will inherit half of his father's spiritual talent in the future..."

At this moment, Shi Xiaohan noticed that there was a loving, gentle and expectant look in Zhao Yan's eyes, as if her vision traveled through a long time and space and saw the person who would hold her hand tightly in the future. A child who calls her "mother" with a tender voice.

Shi Xiaohan felt a sour feeling in his heart.

She couldn't help but fell into deep thought. If her father had not terminated the engagement between her and Gu Xu, or if she had mustered up the courage to resolutely follow Gu Xu on the road to escape, then maybe she who is pregnant with a child now would It's just her.

It’s just that things in the past can no longer be undone.

Looking back on the past, Shi Xiaohan asked herself that even if she could turn back time, she would still be in a dilemma between her family and her lover. What's more, she knew that she was not strong enough. If she fled with Gu Xu, she would probably become a burden to him.

"By the way, has Gu Xu ever told you about his experience on the run?" Zhao Yan asked as she took a sip of fish fillet porridge and savored it carefully.

Shi Xiaohan nodded and replied honestly: "I heard him say that you rescued him at a critical moment when he was outnumbered and took him to escape to Dayan."

"It seems that he did not elaborate on his original experience in front of you," Zhao Yan continued in a calm tone, "A few months ago, Gu Xu fled to Jingxing in the Taihang Mountains. Because his whereabouts were leaked, the Daqi court sent a group of fifth , the monks in the sixth realm went to hunt him down.

"When I arrived, his back had been severely injured by a meteor hammer embedded with iron nails, and his flesh and blood were bloody; his left shoulder was stabbed by a poison-laced sleeve arrow, and his body was paralyzed and unable to move.

"And Zhu Qiuyi, the commander-in-chief of Hedong in the sixth realm, is holding a halberd and pointing it directly at his throat."

After hearing Zhao Yan's few words, Shi Xiaohan's heart was filled with ups and downs and mixed emotions.

She seemed to have witnessed with her own eyes Gu Xu's thrilling encounter where his life was hanging by a thread. Every scar he suffered hurt her heart deeply like a knife.

Although Zhao Yan didn't say it explicitly, Shi Xiaohan knew that the culprit who "leaked the whereabouts" to the Da Qi court was her father.

She couldn't help but feel a sore nose, and her eyes sparkled with tears.

After a brief hesitation, she gently waved her sleeves, took out a delicate and compact steamer from the space magic weapon, held it carefully, and trotted to Zhao Yan.

"Sister Zhao, thank you very much for saving him," Shi Xiaohan's words seemed a little clumsy. "It was my fault that I failed to stop my father and put him in danger. If you hadn't saved him, maybe I will never see him again...

"In this steamer, there are dumplings that Senior Sister Chang Xiao from Jiange taught me to make. Originally, I planned to give them to Gu Xu, because dumplings mean attracting wealth, and Gu Xu really likes money... Now, I want to give them to Gu Xu For you.

“Sister Zhao, with your advanced cultivation and powerful strength, you will definitely be able to protect him better than me.

"Before, I told Gu Xu that I would become a martial arts heroine and protect him for the rest of my life... But now, I'm afraid I will never be able to do it..."

Before Shi Xiaohan finished speaking, his eyes were already red, and crystal tears fell quietly, like dewdrops in the morning.

She gently opened the lid of the steamer.

Zhao Yan saw eight dumplings placed in the steamer with a preservation spell. They were in various shapes and were staggeringly ugly.

Some have thick skin and little filling, and look like a flat stone; some have thin skin and lots of filling, as if they will burst with the slightest touch; and some have extremely irregular shapes, like squashed buns. , or an anise cake that was stepped on...

Obviously, the girl’s dumpling-making skills are really disappointing.

Zhao Yan frowned slightly.

However, when she met Shi Xiaohan's sincere and guilty eyes, she still couldn't help but feel a little touched in her heart. She knew that although the dumplings in the steamer were ugly in appearance, Shi Xiaohan must have spent a lot of time and energy making them, and they were considered a very thoughtful and precious gift.

Zhao Yan silently sighed: This girl is really too simple, without any sense of government or scheming.

However, precisely because of Shi Xiaohan's unreserved sincerity, Zhao Yan had a premonition that she would become an extremely difficult "opponent" in the future.

"No need, you should give it to Gu Xu personally," Zhao Yan sighed softly and responded, "Now, I no longer have the ability to protect him, I can only pray that he can seek happiness for himself... …”

…………

Luojing, the residence of the Shi family.

This is a spacious and elegant courtyard with tall walls made of blue-gray bricks and stones.

The trees in the courtyard grew tall and lush, their branches and leaves covering the sky and the sun, casting the entire courtyard in shadow.

Shi Lei has not stepped out of his house for many days.

Ever since Gu Xu captured Luo Jing, he had been living in seclusion in this courtyard. Every day, he wandered in the shade of the trees, feeling restless and restless, unable to calm down.

With the spiritual awareness of a fourth-level cultivator, Shi Lei was able to keenly perceive that his house was under strict guard by Xia Jun.

Although the people guarding him were just a few ordinary mortal soldiers and monks from the first realm, for Shi Lei, he could easily subdue them with just a few random spells.

But Shi Lei didn't dare to act rashly.

Because he knew that these watchers represented the face and dignity of the young man who almost became his son-in-law.

He has absolutely no courage to provoke.

Occasionally, Shi Lei would walk into the house inadvertently and stare blankly at the blazing stove. In his mind, the marriage certificate that gradually turned to ashes in the flames, and the betrothal gifts that disappeared with the flames, kept replaying like a revolving lantern, making his mood heavier.

Sometimes he couldn't help but think, if he had mustered up the courage to insist on fulfilling the engagement; or let his daughter follow Gu Xu; or resolutely led the entire family to join Gu Xu's rebellion, then now, the new dynasty would The position of queen may already belong to his daughter, and the Jiaodong family will become a famous family in the country. But in a second thought, he thought of that common saying again——

"Wealth is found in danger."

With his conservative character who seeks stability and loves his daughter deeply, how could he place the safety of the entire family on a young man who only has the fourth realm when Emperor Tianxing is at the height of his power?

What's more, it was simply unimaginable for him to let the apple of his eye follow a down-and-out young man who was wanted across the country, endure hardships, and even face life-and-death crises several times.

Just when Shi Lei was anxiously wandering, there was a sudden "squeak" sound, and the gate of the courtyard slowly and automatically opened to both sides.

He immediately turned his head.

A familiar yet unfamiliar young figure crossed the threshold and walked straight towards him.

This person wears a leather bean embellished with jade and gold, and a black swallow bean crown embroidered with dragon patterns. He looks energetic and majestic.

When Shi Lei caught a glimpse of the man's face, he immediately lowered his head to avoid sight, then knelt down respectfully, kowtowed and said:

"Shi Lei, the guilty minister, comes to see the emperor!"

Seeing that the man was still standing there and had not responded aloud, Shi Lei felt uneasy and continued to say respectfully: "Emperor, the original disclosure of your information to the Qi court was actually the fault of one of the sinners.

"The guilty minister is willing to accept any punishment from the emperor, even if it means losing his life. However, the guilty minister implores the emperor not to vent his anger on Xiaohan. She knows nothing about this matter and is innocent..."

Seeing the dust on Shi Lei's forehead and hearing his sincere plea for his daughter, Gu Xu sighed softly and said, "Get up...father-in-law."

Father-in-law!

He was actually willing to call me that!

Shi Lei felt an indescribable shock in his heart. When he stood up, he felt his whole body shaking slightly.

Before Shi Lei came to his senses, Gu Xu continued: "I came here today to re-deliver the betrothal gift."

As he spoke, he waved toward the door.

The eunuch Han Shunxi who was waiting at the door immediately understood and led a group of servants into the courtyard carrying several heavy boxes. They quickly placed the boxes neatly on the ground and waited for the next instructions.

Among the betrothal gifts was an exquisitely made cage containing a pair of wild geese.

According to the ancient customs of Dahuang, people often use the wild goose, the crown of birds and a spiritual creature that symbolizes the "five permanent elements", as a betrothal gift, which means that the combination of yin and yang between men and women conforms to the way of heaven.

When Shi Lei saw this rather generous betrothal gift, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Emperor, you..."

"I gave these betrothal gifts to Xiaohan," Gu Xu interrupted him and said calmly, "Last night, I brought her into the palace from the sword pavilion and married her. From now on, she is my wife. .

"The betrothal gift includes the betrothal money, betrothal cakes, three animals, a post box, etc. I hope this can bring good luck to our future lives."

Shi Lei was still immersed in shock and stammered: "But...but, the original engagement was already..."

Hearing his words, Gu Xu smiled, and with a thought in his mind, he took out a piece of bright red paper from "Xianyun Residence" and gently unfolded it for Shi Lei to see.

“At that time, the matchmaker wrote down the marriage contract in two copies, one for your father-in-law and one for me.” He explained, “Your copy was burned, but mine is still intact.

“In my opinion, the validity of this engagement actually depends on whether anyone is willing to recognize it.

“In the past, the Da Qi court had the final say.

"But now I have the final say in Daxia. As long as I determine that this engagement is still valid, no one can interrupt the marriage between me and Xiaohan."

Shi Lei took a deep breath, feeling mixed emotions in his heart.

On the one hand, he couldn't help but marvel at this young man's deep affection and righteousness. Even though he is now about to ascend to the supreme position of the Great Wilderness, he still misses his lover from that poor and humble time in the past.

On the other hand, he felt incredible about Gu Xu's brilliant achievements today. Looking back on the past, he was worried about whether Gu Xu could be promoted to the fourth realm within a year. However, things were unpredictable. Not only did Gu Xu become a strong saint, he also personally ended the rule of Emperor Tianxing, who had whipped the world in the past.

"Emperor...are you really not going to punish me?"

"Shi Qianhu," Gu Xu suddenly changed his name to him, "a few months ago, you almost killed me in Jingxing. If it were anyone else, I would definitely retaliate against him.

"But you are Xiaohan's father, her closest elder relative in this world. If I kill you, it will definitely make her sad and painful.

“In the past few months, she has been experiencing tension, anxiety, and dilemma, and she has lost a lot of weight.

“I don’t want to see her suffer like this again.

"I hope she can be a carefree, happy and happy heroine like she was in Yishui."

Shi Lei was silent for a moment, straightened his clothes, knelt down and kowtowed again: "I would like to thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

"Don't be in a hurry to thank me," Gu Xu waved his hand gently and used his true energy to pull him up from the ground, "I will spare your life today, but it does not mean that this matter is over. You still have to pay the price for it. .

"From today on, all the elixir workshops under your Shi family's name will be owned by the imperial court.

"I know that your Shi family is different from those Xiangyang Chen family and Jinling Shen family who wantonly oppressed the people and embezzled people's wealth and wealth. But you also have to admit that as the head of the family, you do lack sufficient skills, which leads to the management of your own property. There are many omissions in it.

"The managers under you tampered with the books, enriched themselves, and slacked off in their work, but you were kept in the dark.

“This undoubtedly resulted in a huge waste of resources – the elixirs you produced were misappropriated privately by the managers for their own benefit, and could not be delivered to those who really needed them in time.

"You might think it's just a small thing.

"But in fact, this may mean that hundreds of ordinary monks are unable to enter the country smoothly due to the lack of a crucial elixir. They may even be corroded by Yin Qi during their cultivation, and eventually become possessed and lose their lives. ”

At this point, Gu Xu paused slightly and softened his tone slightly: "My father-in-law, from today on, you can take this betrothal gift and become a wealthy and idle man with peace of mind! I will take care of your workshop and your daughter." You took good care of it.”

After finishing his words, he waved his hand, motioning for the servants to follow, then turned and left.

Shi Lei stood firmly on the spot, watching the young king walk out of the courtyard gate and fade away.

Outside the gate is the bustling Luojing City. Girls wearing moths and snow willows walked in groups of two and a half, laughing and walking through the streets, while vendors selling candied haws on the roadside shouted loudly.

The autumn wind is rustling, the smoke is curling up, and the red flag of the new dynasty is particularly bright against the blue sky. (End of chapter)