Seeing this, the young girl was quite satisfied. "This time, I want Shen Li dead!" Her originally sweet and youthful voice suddenly became full of venom. In the darkness, it made one's hair stand on end.
At this moment, a figure hiding behind the rockery was already having an out - of - control heartbeat. She watched the young girl whispering something in the ear of the black - clothed man. Although she had held her breath, unfortunately, she was too far away to hear what the two were saying.
The black - clothed man left quickly, leaving the young girl standing there for a while. Then she warily looked around.
A flash of light revealed the young girl's clear face. It was Shen Miao with a veil on her face.
After looking around and finding nothing unusual, Shen Miao lifted her feet and left.
After she left, the figure that had been hiding behind the rockery stayed for a short while and then also left in a hurry.
......
These days in the capital city, the heat was unbearable. People seemed a bit lazy. All the noble ladies in the capital city hid in their rooms to avoid the scorching sun.
But there were always times when they couldn't avoid going out, such as the annual Qixi Festival.
The Qixi Festival fell on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year. It was the day when, according to legend, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl met. It was also a day for young men and women among the common people to go out for a stroll and secretly check each other out.
On the day of the Qixi Festival, the capital city didn't show much excitement during the day. But as soon as the sun set and the sky gradually darkened, more and more people came out to stroll on the streets.
The customs in the Dongling Kingdom were not overly restrictive and pedantic. However, there were still quite a few precautions and rules regarding the relationship between men and women. So the opportunities for men and women to meet properly were not many!
Apart from the Sky Lantern Festival in January, it was the Qixi Festival on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year. Compared with the Sky Lantern Festival, the Qixi Festival seemed more romantic. Who wouldn't want to be with their beloved under the Matchmaker Tree on this day, tying a red string together and praying for a happy future?
Or one could ask for a fortune - telling stick alone, asking the Matchmaker when their marriage would come. Maybe with just a turn, they could meet another person holding a fortune - telling stick with a pious look on their face. Maybe their marriage would arrive on this day!
So in any case, the Qixi Festival was even more bustling than the Sky Lantern Festival. The Matchmaker Temple in the Western City was the busiest on this day of the year.
And somehow, in the Dongling Kingdom, it had become fashionable to wear masks to cover one's face on the Qixi Festival.
Most women wore masks in the shape of butterflies, flowers, or animals, while men had a wider variety. From Zhong Kui, the ghost - catcher in folk tales, to the valiant generals of the previous dynasties, people on the streets and alleys were all wearing them.
Apart from the masks that could cover the whole face, there were also some that could only cover half of the face, or even just a pair of eyes. These were also very popular among the ladies in the capital city.
"Miss! Miss! There are too many people here! How about we stand aside and take a break first and wait until there are fewer people to move on! Otherwise, if we get separated by the crowd, it will be troublesome to find each other!"
In the crowd, Jiaoyue tightly held Shen Li's hand, afraid that she would get separated from Shen Li if she was not careful.
Shen Li also wore a mask on her face. It was not one of the masks that most women on the street were wearing, but just a silver snow - fox mask.
The original round eyes of the snow - fox on the mask were now replaced by Shen Li's clear and bright eyes. And the snow - fox's sharp and even a bit fluffy ears now stood on Shen Li's head.
Moreover, Shen Li's silver - fox mask was not as cold and hard as the iron - like masks of others. Shen Li's mask was soft, with some fox fur on it. From a distance, it really looked like a fox's face.
Such a well - made mask was, of course, not made by Shen Li for fun. It was specially brought for her by Xuanyuan Jue. He said that Shen Li must wear this mask on the Qixi Festival.
When she first heard Xuanyuan Jue's request, Shen Li only thought it was cute and funny, but she refused in her heart. Not because of Xuanyuan Jue, but because Shen Li thought that such a crowded and bustling day was extremely suitable for someone to attempt an assassination.
Especially after Shen Li knew that she was a living target, she had reduced her outdoor activities. Unless it was necessary, she rarely left the Night Ghost Division.
So when Xuanyuan Jue made such a request, Shen Li immediately refused. But to her surprise, when Shen Yi heard about this, he actually persuaded Shen Li to agree.
At that time, Shen Li really suspected that Xuanyuan Jue had bribed Shen Yi.
It was not that Shen Li was over - thinking. It was just that Shen Yi had shown such obvious dissatisfaction with Xuanyuan Jue before.
Now Shen Yi suddenly did this, and Shen Li really couldn't figure it out. When she asked Shen Yi for the reason, Shen Yi said quite naturally, "How can we attract assassins if we never go out? Now that we have Xuanyuan Jue as a free bodyguard, why not use him?"
Shen Yi's attitude made Shen Li feel at ease. She didn't think too much anymore and came here wearing the mask.
Shen Li looked around. The situation of people jostling each other and being unable to move an inch made her reject Jiaoyue's suggestion. "There are so many people here. If we stay here, we will only block the road more tightly. It's really not suitable for us to stay here!"
After saying this, Shen Li turned to Mingyue who was standing on her left and asked, "Mingyue, how far are we from the Matchmaker Temple now?"
Mingyue stood on tiptoe and looked around for a while before figuring out their current location. "Walk through this street, turn left at the intersection, and then walk one more street and we'll be there!"
Hearing this, Jiaoyue immediately lost her energy and couldn't help pouting. She whispered, "It's still so far away! We've already walked for so long, but we've only covered such a short distance! It will take ages to finish the rest of the way!"
Seeing Jiaoyue's little expression, although Shen Li couldn't hear clearly what Jiaoyue was saying, she could guess. She patted Jiaoyue's hand to encourage her and then shouted in her ear, "It's okay. Since we've come this far, the rest of the way will also be quick!"
Even Mingyue couldn't help saying, "There are especially many people today, so we're walking so slowly! And this road is the only way to the Matchmaker Temple, that's why there are so many people. It will be much better after we walk through this street!"
Hearing this, Jiaoyue understood and didn't say anything more. She followed Shen Li and Mingyue. The three of them held hands and continued to squeeze through the crowd.
Originally, they had brought seven or eight servants to protect them around. But after walking all the way, only two were left in front to make a way for them.
Of course, there was also Hanyue who was following behind, cold - faced and holding a sword.