At the same time.
Outside the Ninth Prince's mansion in the capital.
"Excuse me, when will the Ninth Prince and his wife return?"
Gu Yi, dressed in a cyan robe, stood outside the Ninth Prince's mansion.
Behind him followed two children, one big and one small.
Three-and-a-half-year-old Gu Nian.
He wore a plain white robe, had a round face and large eyes, like two shining black pearls.
Beside him, Hu Keke was slender and much taller than Gu Nian.
She had a melon seed face, a pair of bright, watery eyes, and a cherry-like small mouth. She wore a small cyan robe of the same color as Gu Yi, and her cyan hair was tied up with a black ribbon.
She was disguised as a boy and stood behind Gu Yi with Gu Nian.
Gu Yi had heard that the Eastern Victory Kingdom had changed hands, and the world was peaceful and prosperous.
He then brought Gu Nian and Hu Keke to the capital to see his sister, Gu Qianying.
They had an agreement that after everything settled down, he would bring Gu Nian and Hu Keke to the capital to reunite with Gu Qianying and have a family reunion.
They had rushed for over two months on the road before arriving at the capital.
Unexpectedly, when they arrived outside the Ninth Prince's mansion, they were informed by the gatekeeper that the Ninth Prince and his wife had left the capital a long time ago.
And at present, only two elderly men were managing the Ninth Prince's mansion.
"When will they return? How would I know? If you have nothing to do, scram, don't disturb my sleep!"
The gatekeeper did not recognize Gu Yi.
With that, he squatted down by the gate again, leaning against the stone lion, squinting and sleeping.
Since their Prince and Princess had left the capital, the mansion had been managed by two old men, Old Man Wu and Old Man Guo, who often gathered to drink together.
All the servants in the mansion had been dismissed, leaving only him to guard the gate.
"Ah!"
A small pebble accurately hit the gatekeeper's forehead.
The gatekeeper clutched his forehead and cried out in pain.
He looked up and saw a child opposite him, holding a slingshot in one hand and putting his hands on his hips, glaring at him.
"Little brother, speak politely! Otherwise, I'll blow your head off next time!"
Gu Nian, wanting to project an imposing aura, picked up a small pebble from the ground and used his slingshot again.
"Whoosh."
The pebble grazed past the gatekeeper's ear, creating a gust of wind that made his ears buzz, almost causing tinnitus.
"Damn it, do you three want to die?"
The gatekeeper was not afraid. He stood up angrily, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to fight.
Gu Yi and Gu Nian exchanged a look, then silently retreated a few steps, hiding behind Hu Keke.
The gatekeeper walked towards the steps with a fierce expression.
Hu Keke stepped forward and punched the gatekeeper in the stomach.
A gust of wind kicked up, and the gatekeeper, like a kite with a broken string, was sent flying backward.
He landed heavily on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Gu Yi and Gu Nian smiled and gave Hu Keke a thumbs-up.
Since they had not seen their sister and her husband, Gu Yi decided to take Gu Nian and Hu Keke back to the Gu family residence to stay, waiting for Gu Qianying's return.
As for the gatekeeper outside the Ninth Prince's mansion being beaten by unknown individuals, the two old men who were drunk in the mansion were unaware of this.
Meanwhile, on the way to the Gu family residence with Gu Nian and Hu Keke, Gu Yi encountered a woman in a green dress, with exquisite makeup and a charming appearance.
As the woman stumbled towards Gu Yi, several men with knives followed behind her, and she bumped into Gu Yi's arms.
Gu Nian was startled.
"Young master, save me... I... they want to beat me to death, please save me, young master..."
The woman hid in Gu Yi's arms, begging for help.
Soon, several men with knives caught up and surrounded Gu Yi and the other two.
"Brat, I advise you not to meddle. This woman is ours!"
Among the men, the leader had a rough voice. He glared fiercely at Gu Yi.
The woman, appearing frail, clutched Gu Yi's sleeve and cried tearfully, "Young master, my heartless father sold me to a brothel. I didn't want to entertain guests, so I ran away, but they still found me. They said if I didn't go back, they would beat me to death. Please save me, I don't want to go back."
Gu Yi, a gentle and refined gentleman, with little experience, had never encountered such a situation.
However, he was full of justice. He gently pushed the woman away, citing "men and women should not touch each other," and shielded her behind him.
He also pulled Gu Nian and Hu Keke behind him, protecting them alone.
"Gentlemen, could you be accommodating and let this young lady go?"
"Let her go? Hah! Why?"
In response to the meaning of "why," Gu Yi began a series of explanations.
He started to lecture these people like a Tang Monk.
The rough men looked very strange. Some covered their ears, finding it unbearable to listen.
The leader secretly glanced at the woman in green.
He signaled with his eyes: Master, is this fool really the person His Majesty the Evil Emperor wants us to use? Are you sure it's not a mistake?
The woman in green, hiding behind Gu Yi, almost couldn't maintain her "fake crying" while listening to Gu Yi's incessant chatter.
However... Gu Nian and Hu Keke, the two little ones behind Gu Yi, seemed accustomed to Gu Yi's endless lectures.
The woman in green gave a look to the leader.
The leader scratched his head, coughed, and then gruffly interrupted Gu Yi's lecture: "If you want to save this woman, you can. Give me fifty taels, and this woman is yours!"
"What? Fifty taels? Why don't you go rob someone!"
Gu Nian tilted his body, revealing a small head, and retorted.
"No money, let me beat them to death with one punch!" Hu Keke stepped out.
Gu Yi pulled her back again.
Hu Keke inherited her father Hu Biao's great strength, but she did not know martial arts.
How could she be a match for these people?
"Gentlemen, fifty taels, we really don't have it. How about this, I'll pool together with you, five... five... copper coins, is that acceptable?"
Gu Yi humbly inquired.
The rough men's mouths twitched incessantly.
The leader looked speechless.
Damn it! This is a fool! I don't know what His Majesty the Evil Emperor is thinking, why use this person? It would be better to kill him directly; he's stupid and annoying!
The woman in green, still hiding behind Gu Yi, could no longer cry.
She could not bear it any longer and decided to stop acting. She directly used her demonic arts to control Gu Yi's mind and make him useful to them!
Her slender fingers silently crept onto Gu Yi's back.
A ball of black mist dispersed from the fingertips of the woman...
Suddenly, at this moment, a strong wind seemed to rise.
Not far away, a man in black robes arrived, riding the wind.
He stood with his hands clasped, landed steadily in front of Gu Yi, flipped his wrist, and a few leaves in his hand flew out, turning into a stream of light and shooting into the thighs of the men opposite. The men cried out in pain and fell backward.
At this moment, the onlookers were all scared and kept their distance, but most of them did not leave, still watching the show.
"You scoundrels, bullying a weak scholar in broad daylight, have you no shame?"
When the woman in green saw the man in black robes, her face changed drastically. She immediately retracted her fingers, which were emitting demonic energy.
The men who had fallen to the ground, holding their legs, or clutching their abdomens, or arms, with fierce appearances, yelped.
After a while of howling, they helped each other up and scrambled away.
"Thank you, brother, for saving me."
The man in black robes had his back to Gu Yi.
Gu Yi could not see the man's face, so he cupped his hands in gratitude.
The man in black robes turned around, and as Gu Yi bowed, he reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"How will you thank me? By offering yourself?"
The Evil King looked at Gu Yi, a half-smile playing on his dark lips.