Yun Yanli turned his attention to Zhu Duqing and asked, "Mr. Zhu, would you like to come with me?"

Zhu Duqing was obviously hesitant to do so. He stammered as he replied, "I... I have my own carriage; there is no need to trouble you."

He looked into his sleeve and took out something greenish. With a toss, the ball of green light turned into an emerald bamboo carriage. He attached the cart to the back of the donkey and entered into the donkey-drawn carriage.

Yun Yanli studied the two escorts from the Devil Palace. These men had kept a very low profile, so he did not know their ident.i.ties. Moreover, the two men were not wearing their official uniforms, making it even more difficult to learn of their origin.

Yun Yanli was very curious about Di Fuyi"s dealings over the past year that he was missing. The two escorts were the best source of information for Yun Yanli at that moment, so he condescendingly wanted to invite the men to share his ride. However, before he could raise his invitation, Di Fuyi was already demanding for their presence. "Both of you should be here guiding the carriage, right? Do you really think that you are two honorable guests waiting to be invited on board?"

Therefore, Guardian Jin and his companion gave Yun Yanli a quick gesture of farewell and proceeded to Di Fuyi"s carriage. Yun Yanli"s men, on the contrary, were sent away from the carriage by Di Fuyi. The man had made it clear that he would not trust any strangers to guide his carriage.

Yun Yanli was furious by his smart demands. He had left Yun Yanli clueless and with no immediate leads. He tried hard to stay calm in that situation, even though he wanted to smash the carriage into pieces and destroy the man inside it.

…

Yun Yanli"s carriage was rather clean and neat. The interior was decorated elegantly.

The seats covered were all covered in embellished brocades while warm carpets filled the floor. There was also a table full of fruits and water. It was a luxurious ride, indeed. 

Di Duyi was half-lying on the seat, drenched in sweat. Gu Xijiu held his hand tightly to examine his pulse and was shocked by the result. His pulse showed signs that his life was coming to an end. Needless to say, she could tell that the team that retrieving the blood directly from his heart to break through the wizardry barrier had been too excruciating for him.

He was so weak that any ordinary man could easily take him down. Fortunately, he could still hold himself upright in front of Yun Yanli earlier. Otherwise, Gu Xijiu might have expected Yun Yanli to attack him there and then. 

Gu Xijiu believed that there were two reasons why Yun Yanli did not ambush them earlier. Firstly, she suspected that Yun Yanli would not want to expose his true intention to her. And secondly, he was unsure of Di Fuyi"s strength at that very moment. They had not seen each other for over a year, and any careless act could lead to Yun Yanli"s demise. Nonetheless, Gu Xijiu was sure that Yun Yanli would surely attack him someday, given how much he despised Di Fuyi.

"Fuyi, I think we should quietly leave this carriage using my teleportation ability," she directed an audio message to him. The carriage belonged to Yun Yanli, so she could not be sure if there were any hidden traps. She did not want to take the risk.

Di Fuyi locked his eyes on her while leaning against his seat. "If we leave all of a sudden, he might hurt your people."

Gu Xijiu hesitated a little. "I am not worried about them."

"Hmm?"

"As long as Yun Yanli and I do not turn hostile, he will not use my people against me for the time being. You are the one who is in the most danger. If he realizes how weak you are, he will surely attack you. You cannot afford to be injured any further!"

Gu Xijiu truly cared about her people. Although they were not exactly from the same background, they were the ones who nursed her back to health when she needed shelter. She was concerned for their safety and would not wish to see them die as a result of her matters with Yun Yanli. She would do anything to try and keep them safe.