"Hey, don't go!" Seeing Shen Li standing in front of the carriage inside the Shen Mansion and about to board it, Xuan Yuanjue quickly grabbed her hand.
Xuan Yuanjue gently squeezed the hand in his, which was much smaller than his palm. He marveled at the soft and smooth touch.
Shen Li lowered her head and her eyes fell on the hand held by Xuan Yuanjue. Then she gently tried to pull it out but failed. This time, she exerted more strength secretly but still couldn't break free from Xuan Yuanjue's grasp.
"Let go!"
"Don't move. I have something to tell you! Come on, I'll take you somewhere!" With that, Xuan Yuanjue pulled Shen Li's hand and walked in the direction of the Xuan Yuan Pavilion.
Along the way, Shen Li tried many times to pull her hand out of Xuan Yuanjue's, but he always held it tightly and she couldn't break free.
When they arrived at the Xuan Yuan Pavilion, Xuan Yuanjue directly pulled Shen Li to the second floor and ordered someone to fetch a nanmu box.
"Come on, open it and see if you like it?" Xuan Yuanjue tilted his chin slightly and signaled to Shen Li.
Shen Li didn't say a word and didn't move. She just stood there and looked up at Xuan Yuanjue.
Xuan Yuanjue blinked his eyes. He showed a look of puzzlement and embarrassment at Shen Li's constant staring at him. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like this?"
"Hmm!" Shen Li didn't answer his question. She just raised the hand held by him.
A look of disappointment flashed across Xuan Yuanjue's face, but he quickly concealed it. He also quickly let go of her hand, as if eager to explain that he had just grabbed Shen Li only because of the situation and definitely didn't want to take advantage of her deliberately.
Shen Li moved her fingers and then walked up, opened the box. Inside was a reddish - brown soft whip.
"A whip?" Shen Li took out the whip from the box and observed it carefully in her hand.
It was a nine - section whip, only half as thick as her wrist. The body of the whip seemed to be made of the skin of something. It was reddish - brown all over and felt soft and supple in her hand.
"Pop!"
Unable to resist the itch in her hand, Shen Li tried the whip. With one lash, a long whip mark appeared on the ground and a layer of dust was stirred up.
"So, do you like it?"
"Yeah, it's good! I didn't expect this soft whip to be so powerful!" Shen Li retracted the whip and said with satisfaction.
"If you like it, just keep it! Anyway, it was prepared for you!"
"For me?"
There was a slight smile on Xuan Yuanjue's face and tenderness in his eyes. "It's only for you."
This time, Shen Li didn't decline. She directly put away the whip. "Then I won't be polite. I just happen to need a handy weapon."
"I had someone specially order this soft whip for women from the Ye family in Xiyue. It's light and easy to hold. If used well, its power is no less than that of swords. Now it seems that it suits you perfectly."
"Indeed!" Shen Li held the soft whip again and agreed.
"Powerful weapons all have names. Why don't you give it a name?"
"Give it a name? Hmm... let me think!" Shen Li supported her chin with her hand, took a few steps in the room and fell into deep thought.
"How about calling it Night Shadow?" Shen Li stopped walking, her eyes suddenly lit up and she looked at Xuan Yuanjue and asked.
"It's your weapon. You can decide its name."
"Okay! Then it'll be called the Night Shadow Whip, like a shadow in the dark night, hurting people invisibly."
"Good! I also hope this whip can play its role and help you in the future!"
Looking at Xuan Yuanjue's serious expression, Shen Li still asked the question that had been bothering her. "Why did you think of giving me a weapon?"
Xuan Yuanjue turned around, with his back to Shen Li, and walked towards the window. He said casually, "I just wanted to give it to you."
Although he said it as if it was a casual decision, in fact, he didn't want to tell Shen Li that he had thought of giving her a soft whip as a weapon when the Emperor of Dongling rewarded Shen Li with the horse - driving whip last time.
"Anyway! Thank you!" Shen Li held the whip with both hands and saluted Xuan Yuanjue with fists clasped. "In the future, if you need any help, just tell me! As long as I, Shen Li, can do it, I will never decline."
"Who wants your help!" Xuan Yuanjue muttered in a low voice with disgust. Then he looked up and saw Shen Li's puzzled look. He changed the subject and said, "I don't need you to help me with anything. I just want you to promise me one thing! A thing that once I ask, you'll agree."
"Haha, is the price of this whip from the young master too high? In the future, if you ask me to kill or set fire, can't I refuse?"
"Little thing, what do you take me for?" A look of helplessness appeared on Xuan Yuanjue's face. With a smile on his face, he shook his head twice. "That thing is not difficult. It won't violate any national laws or family rules. For you, it's not difficult to do either! Moreover, it can be said that what I ask you to do will only be beneficial to you! Little thing, you have to believe that I won't hurt you."
"Not going to hurt me?" Shen Li repeated this sentence in a low voice, but there was a look of confusion on her face.
She remembered that once there was also a person who told her that he would protect her safety for a lifetime and never let her get hurt. At that time, she believed it without any doubt. But in the end?
It was also that person who personally destroyed the people and things she cared about bit by bit and pushed her into hell.
In this life, another person had made a promise to her, but this time, she didn't dare to believe it anymore.
"If that thing is really as you said, only beneficial to me, then young master, why don't you say it now? I'll help the young master complete it now so that I can repay the favor I owe the young master."
Xuan Yuanjue shook his head and looked at Shen Li. "Little thing, I don't need you to be so polite to me. Don't always remember to repay what you owe me and try to get rid of the debt quickly and break off relations with me."
"I'm giving this thing to you. You can just accept it! As for the thing I mentioned, little thing, the time isn't right yet. I can't tell you! When the time comes, you'll naturally know."
Shen Li didn't say anything more. In fact, she already had a guess in her heart.
From the Lantern Festival, to the time when Xuan Yuanjue accompanied her on an adventure to Panguzhai to gather information, and then to the hunting ground where Xuan Yuanjue stood up and stood with her to expose Wu Qihuan.
She wasn't blind or stupid. She could feel Xuan Yuanjue's special behavior towards her.
But in this life after her rebirth, she had thought about taking revenge on Xiao Hanzhi and Shen Miao, and also thought about enjoying the beauty of the world and wandering around after taking revenge. But she had never thought about getting married again in this life.
In this life, she didn't want to be used by others again. She was scared and couldn't afford to lose. So, she chose to escape, to pretend and to ignore.