Chapter 9: Shangguan Ling's Identity

  The next day at noon, the sun was shining brightly in the sky, emitting scorching sunlight that roasted every corner of the world. On a small green path, the sound of cicadas filled the air, and suddenly the sound of horse whinnies came, followed by a carriage rushing by.

  A majestic steed, entirely black and red, when running, its mane and tail are like flames burning fiercely. The speed is so fast that it's astonishing the carriage behind is extremely stable, not a single bump can be seen. The charioteer is a young man, looking around twenty years old, with long hair flowing freely in the wind. His eyebrows are straight and slender, his eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of laziness and indifference. His nose is straight like a distant mountain, his lips thin and pale, the corners of his mouth curled up, showing a hint of carelessness, recklessness, and untamed spirit.

  "Death God Stick, are you going to drive or not? Why is it so slow!"

  The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and inside sat two women. The woman on the left had a delicate face, beautiful and charming, wearing a smoke-gray bottom with a pink green dark flower collar, outside draped in a light blue cloud five-color jade cloud Luo, soft black hair was combed into a simple flying cloud bun, with a clear and elegant red gold inlaid pearl hairpin worn on it. She furrowed her brow, hugged her arms, and her eyes were slightly angry.

  On the right side sat a woman, her face serene and beautiful, her temperament transcendent, wearing a plain white dress that surpassed snow in whiteness, with raven-black hair falling naturally, her enchanting eyes quietly calm.

  These three people were Tang Qing and Shangguan Ling, Yun Mo, who had an accidental physical contact yesterday and inexplicably formed a heavenly bond, becoming Dao companions.

  "Are you dissatisfied with my slow driving?" Tang Jing was unmoved, lazily yawning and said, "Or would you like to drive instead?"

  "Death God Stick, don't think I really dare not hit you!"

  For some reason, every time he sees Tang Qing, a surge of inexplicable anger would rise up from the depths of Shangguan Ling's heart, especially when this guy was being carefree and arrogant, with an air of nonchalance that made Shangguan Ling extremely annoyed!

  "Whatever."

  Tang Qing is no longer entangled in the yin and yang curse within himself. Rather than saying he has opened up, it's better to say that he has resigned himself to his fate. As long as he can be carefree for a day, he will enjoy it for a day. Whether it's a heavenly calamity or a curse, Master doesn't have the time to play with you guys, so go ahead and do whatever you want.

  "You!"

  Shangguan Lingqi's gritted teeth, those angry eyes would have eaten Tang Qing's flesh and gnawed his bones if possible.

  "Ling'er, just say one less sentence." Clouds stopped Upper Official Ling from taking action, feeling a bit helpless and puzzled. What made her feel helpless was Upper Official Ling's fiery temper, while what made her wonder was the feeling that Tang Qing gave her - a carefree and detached feeling, as if he didn't care about anything in the world.

  An ordinary person, with such a state of mind, couldn't help but make Yun Mo suspect.

  "Hmph! Just wait till I've figured out this heavenly fate, you'll be in for a surprise!"

  Shangguan Ling's harsh words came, but Tang Qing didn't respond and was too lazy to bother. He knew that some fates could be resolved through special means, but he was very clear that the fate he had formed with Shangguan Ling and Yun Miao was not an ordinary one, as it involved the curse of yin and yang. With this thing mixed in, who dared to resolve it would be prepared for disaster. Previously, Tang Qing had only tried to sense the curse of yin and yang, but his heart and soul were almost crushed to pieces. It was unimaginable what the consequences would be if he wanted to resolve a fate with this thing involved.

  Suddenly, a stern shout came from behind.

  "Halt! The carriage in front of me!"

  A group of men wearing armor and white cloaks rode in on fierce horses, numbering over ten. The leader was a man around thirty years old with a sword scabbard hanging from his back. He let out a loud shout, the horses whinnied loudly, one leapt forward, and blocked the horse carriage. Immediately, the other men quickly surrounded the carriage.

  Tang Qing didn't move or speak, he just kept scanning these people with his eyes.

  The man in the lead didn't even glance at Tang Qing, his face stern as he grasped the reins and shouted, "I am Zhang Taiyan, the patrol chief of the Holy Hall of Yongyang City! I have been ordered to apprehend the suspect 'Thousand-Handed Demon Thief'! All passing carriages must undergo strict inspection!"

  This is an era where the sacred are revered as emperors, and the demonic run amok. The Sanctuary controls and maintains the rules and order of this world. Within the Sanctuary, there are the Sacred Halls, the Sacred Bureaus, and the Sacred Temples. Among them, the Sacred Halls are the most common, with almost every city having one established. The main responsibility of the Sacred Halls is to capture demons and protect the lives of ordinary people.

  "This gentleman asks you, who is sitting in the car."

  The monks in the temple are all high and mighty, ordinary people who see them are not afraid, they are all proud and arrogant, let alone ordinary people, even some sects' monks, seeing them also have to give way three points, apparently, they don't put Tang Jing, this seemingly ordinary guy, in their eyes at all.

  Tang Qing remained still and silent, scanning these people with a glance before simply closing his eyes.

  "Looking for death! Lord Zhang is asking you a question, how dare you not answer!" One of the Temple Knights immediately flew into a rage, leapt forward and was about to strike with his palms when suddenly a fierce light burst out from within the carriage. With a loud crash, the Temple Knight was knocked flying before he even knew what hit him.

  "How dare you! You actually dare to oppose me in this sacred hall!"

  Zhang Taiyan, known as the patrol leader of Yongchang City, was furious and suddenly drew his long sword from its scabbard with a hiss.

  "Hmph! Is the Holy Temple that impressive?" The carriage curtain opened, and Shang Ling walked out from inside, glaring fiercely at Tang Qing, saying, "Dead God Stick, if it weren't for Miss saving you, you would have died long ago." After speaking, she looked at Zhang Taiyan and others with an arrogant expression. The gentle breeze blew her hair flying, and the colorful silk behind her rustled loudly, making her look heroic and refreshing, as if she didn't put the people in front of her in her eyes at all.

  Zhang Taiyan didn't move, and at this moment he seemed to have completely forgotten about moving, just staring blankly at Shangguan Ling, his eyes filled with infatuation. After a while, he finally came back to his senses, clearing his throat twice to cover up his embarrassment, the anger on his face gone, replaced by a warm smile.

  "In the lower Zhangtai, the patrol chief of the Holy Hall in Yongyuan City, was ordered to arrest the Thousand-Handed Demon Thief. I didn't know that Miss would pass by this place, and for the offense just now, please forgive me."

  When Shangguan Ling appeared, Zhang Tai's attitude changed significantly.

  "I've never heard of any Thousand-Handed Demon Thief, nor have I ever seen one." Shangguan Ling had no good feelings towards the Holy Temple, because according to rumors, some of the temple's monks often used the excuse of capturing evil demons to do as they pleased.

  "Oh, that's natural. With Miss's profound cultivation, if she were to encounter the Thousand-Handed Devil Thief, he would definitely have no way out but death!" Zhang Taiyan smiled humbly and asked, "May I ask if Miss is heading to Yongyang City?"

  "What does it have to do with you!" Shangguan Ling only stared coldly, his words also completely devoid of courtesy.

  "Miss, don't misunderstand. Recently, Yongyan City has not been peaceful. I am the patrol chief of the Holy Temple in Yongyan City. If you don't mind, I'd like to escort you into the city."

  "Get out of the way!"

  "Haha......" Zhang Taiyan didn't show any intention of giving up, instead he squeezed his legs together and leaned in closer, saying "I'm honored to meet you today, Miss. My name is Zhang, I don't know yours..."

  Obviously, in the eyes of Zhang Taiyan, the patrol chief from Yongyuan City's Holy Hall, he seemed more interested in Shangguan Ling, the beauty who had captivated his heart, than in the whereabouts of Qian Shou Mo Zei.

  "I want to know your name." Shangguan Ling's expression was cold and detached, with a hint of disdain. "You don't have the qualifications for that yet."

  "Hahaha!" Zhang Taiyan threw his head back and laughed loudly, "Then please ask this young lady to tell me her name, let's see if I, the Temple Inspection Officer, am qualified or not."

  "Hmph!" Officer Ling Ning's voice was cold and mocking, extremely disgusted as he swept a glance at Zhang Taiyan. He casually pulled out the token from his waist and threw it over, shouting, "Then open your dog eyes and take a good look!"

  Bang!

  Zhang Taiyan raised his hand to catch the token, which was a white token with the four large characters "Qian She Sheng Wang" engraved on it. When Zhang Taiyan saw the four characters "Qian She Sheng Wang", the proud expression on his face disappeared instantly, replaced by an ugly pale blue color, and he was even frightened to fall off the horse. When he saw a line of small words below the token, he quickly knelt down on the ground, and even his voice trembled.

  "A humble... humble one, unaware of the great lord's arrival, a thousand deaths for me..."

  The rest of the people who heard about Qian She Jun Zhu were also scared pale, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to apologize. Zhang Tai Ran was frightened, he never thought that the woman in front of him who had captivated him was actually Qian She Jun Zhu. At the moment when Shang Guan Ling Yang's hand moved, the token was sucked over by her.

  Today, with Sheng as emperor, the eight great sage-kings, their mighty names shaking heaven and earth, no one does not know, no one is not aware.

  However, when he heard the four words "Qian Sheng Wang", Tang Qing's eyes, which were originally closed, suddenly opened, and his gaze at Shangguan Ling was also somewhat complex, with a hint of uncertainty, "Are you the daughter of Shangguan Qianshe?"

  As soon as Tang Jing said this, Zhang Taiyan and others below were shocked, stunned on the spot, scared silly!

  Shangguan Qianying, one of the Eight Great Sacred Kings, was known as King Qianying. Nowadays, there were only a few people who dared to call out this hot-tempered and battle-hardened king's name directly, yet this guy in front of him actually dared to shout his father's name in front of Princess Qianying?

  He's had enough!

  "Shinigami, what's your opinion?" Although Shangguan Ling was willful, she never acted unreasonably. Tang Qing calling out her father's name made her somewhat angry, but that was all.

  Regardless of whether it was Shangguan Ling or Yun Mo, they could both see the surprise that flashed in Tang Qing's eyes. Indeed, if any man were to inexplicably form a heavenly bond and become dao companions with two women, only to discover that one of them was actually the current Qianjin County Princess, how could he not be shocked? How could he not be delighted?

  Tang Jing was indeed surprised, but not at all delighted. His surprise wasn't because of Shangguan Ling's noble status, but because he knew Shangguan Ling's father, Shangguan Qianying. It was just that it had been a very, very long time ago, when Tang Jing was still a young whippersnapper and Shangguan Qianying was also a young whippersnapper who hadn't yet shed his baby fat.