“By the way, Mo Xi, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“What?”
Gu Mang said, “I saw Murong Lian in the main camp just now. He was working through battle formations.”
Mo Xi had been using a porcelain spoon to drink his soup. At those words, his movement stopped.
“Is that so…”
“Yeah. And I looked at the battle formation he laid out. It’s completely different from what he said during the day. He has some very good ideas, but he doesn’t seem to intend to tell anyone. He’s just working through them by himself.”
Mo Xi lowered his eyes and scooped up several more spoonfuls of soup, but didn’t bring any of them to his mouth. Finally, he set the spoon down.
Gu Mang asked, “Don’t you find that surprising?”
“To be honest, not that surprising. I’ve actually felt that Murong Lian has been acting somewhat strangely lately.”
“Like what?”
“When Zhou He was going to take you to the Black Demon Trial, he tried to stop him. After he failed, he gave you a thumb ring and said it would allow him to know your condition at any time. Then he came to the cultivation academy to report the matter to me.”
“……”
When Gu Mang suddenly heard him mention that, his eyes inexplicably began to dart away.
Mo Xi didn’t expose him. He simply took in every detail of his expression before continuing.
“I later learned that the reason Murong Lian tried to stop Zhou He from taking you was because he also wanted to undergo the Black Demon Trial.”
“…Yeah.”
“There probably isn’t such a coincidence in this world.”
“……”
“And even if the Black Demon Trial really was a coincidence, and the two of them happened to need someone at the exact same time, then after you escaped from Zhou He, why didn’t he ask to take you over and continue using you as the trial subject?”
Gu Mang lowered his head and silently drank his soup. After several mouthfuls, he said, “Maybe he didn’t want to anger you again?”
“Then how do you explain the thumb ring?” Mo Xi said. “Murong Lian gave you that ring and said it was because he could use it to know your condition. I didn’t think much of it before, but after thinking carefully about it, that explanation doesn’t hold up either.”
“Zhou He took you away for the trial on the Junshang’s orders. If Murong Lian had no intention of turning against the Junshang, then regardless of what happened to you, he had no right to interfere.”
Gu Mang hummed and continued drinking his soup. He had even started using the spoon to drink it.
Mo Xi knew very well that Gu Mang had never liked drinking soup with a spoon. Unless Gu Mang was simply using some action to avoid meeting his eyes.
Gu Mang could keep his secrets in front of many people. But when he was in front of Mo Xi, many tiny details would betray what was going on in his heart.
“So when he gave you that thumb ring, I think there are two possibilities.”
“First, if your life really had been in danger at the time, he would have turned against the Junshang to stop the trial from continuing, even if I hadn’t intervened.”
Gu Mang slowly swallowed a mouthful of soup, then looked up with a grin.
“Little Brother, what are you thinking? He hates me enough as it is. You know how he treated me at Luomei Villa. Why would he turn against the Junshang for my sake?”
“Then there’s the second possibility.”
Mo Xi said, “Murong Lian was lying. That ring wasn’t meant to relay information about your condition at all. It had another purpose.”
The moment he said this, Gu Mang’s expression changed slightly.
After a while, Gu Mang said, “Hmm… When he lent me the thumb ring back then, I really did feel something strange. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. I had a bit of a headache, and my heart suddenly started beating very fast… Could there have been some kind of spell attached to that ring?”
“Hard to say.”
Mo Xi shook his head.
“Perhaps only he knows the truth. Now, going back to the matter at hand—after Zhou He took you away, Murong Lian came to the cultivation academy to find me. At the time, he left a few words for Jiang Yexue. He didn’t mention anything else. The most important thing was that he came to inform me that the Sishu Platform had taken you away for the Black Demon Trial.”
“If his ring really could track your condition, why would he come looking for me? If there was an emergency, he could have simply reported it to the Junshang himself. Coming to find me could only lead to one outcome, and he knew that very well.”
Mo Xi paused.
“He was certain that I would go stop Zhou He.”
The soup was gone. Gu Mang lowered his head and appeared to be casually playing with the spoon.
Mo Xi said, “I’d already been thinking about this. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that Murong Lian’s purpose at the time was actually very simple. He simply didn’t want the Black Demon Trial to be carried out. Other than that, none of his possible motives make sense.”
Gu Mang didn’t say anything. His soft, long eyelashes hung low, casting fragmented shadows over his eyelids.
After a long silence, Gu Mang said, “Mo Xi, I… actually, between him and me…”
He looked like he wanted to speak but couldn’t, as though he wanted to reveal a secret he’d kept suppressed for a long time. But when the words reached his lips, they disappeared as his lips pressed together.
Mo Xi said, “If there’s something difficult for you to say, then don’t.”
“……”
“You’ve lived in Wangshu Residence for so long. It’s perfectly normal that there are things you can’t talk about. I’m telling you all this today without any other intention. I trust you, and you don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
“I just want to ask you one thing—what do you really think of Murong Lian as a person?”
Mo Xi had expected Gu Mang to carefully consider the question before answering.
Unexpectedly, Gu Mang answered almost immediately.
“I don’t know.”
Mo Xi looked into his eyes.
Those blue eyes were clear and bright, without the slightest trace of concealment.
“The things I remember in my head…”
Although he was reluctant to bring it up, there was no way around it, so Gu Mang continued.
“They’re not complete anymore. I don’t know whether I can still remember all the important things about him, so I don’t dare say.”
“Then judge him based on what you do remember. Do you think it’s normal for him to smoke Fusheng Ruomeng?”
Gu Mang said, “No.”
Mo Xi sighed and nodded.
“I thought so too. When I first returned to the capital and saw him, I thought it was absolutely disgusting that he’d fallen to this point. But after everything that happened afterward, I keep feeling that what I saw might not have been the truth.”
“The Junshang once told you that he wanted to abolish his Luomei Villa, and the former Junshang had once considered abolishing the crown prince and appointing Murong Lian as Crown Prince instead.”
“Perhaps the choice he made was simply a helpless act of self-preservation.”
But this time Gu Mang shook his head.
“You’re wrong.”
Mo Xi was slightly surprised.
“How?”
“Everyone in Chonghua knows that Murong Lian was once the person closest to the throne. On the surface, it seems that he posed the greatest threat to the Junshang’s position, but that’s not actually the case.”
“He was watched too closely. He never had the opportunity to stir up any trouble. And precisely because he never had the opportunity to stir up trouble, the Junshang had no need to deal with him.”
“In fact, in order to demonstrate his generosity and benevolence, the Junshang would actually treat him more generously than anyone else.”
Gu Mang paused briefly before continuing.
“Do you remember what Murong Lian was like before he started smoking Fusheng Ruomeng?”
Mo Xi sighed.
“He wasn’t exactly much better. A spoiled heir, a libertine, and extremely competitive.”
Gu Mang nodded.
“The last one is the most important. That’s right. Murong Lian used to be extremely competitive.”
“But did he not want to protect himself back then? Didn’t he have to worry about what the Junshang thought of him back then?”
“His circumstances at court didn’t change at all before and after he started smoking Fusheng Ruomeng. So he couldn’t have started smoking that drug to make the Junshang lower his guard against him. There must have been another reason.”
He puffed out his cheeks, then slowly exhaled.
“It’s just that I don’t know what it was.”
“I wondered before whether Murong Lian might have experienced some secret change that none of us knew about, something that completely altered his temperament and made him willingly fall into depravity.”
“But when I just saw him working through military strategy in the camp, I realized that deep down, he’s still that competitive Young Master Murong. He hasn’t changed.”
“Do you know what he said in the military tent?”
“What?”
“He said—’Am I really inferior to you?'”
“……”
“You see? He’s still holding on to that pride and competing with you.”
For a moment, Mo Xi didn’t know what to say.
But just as the two were talking, a commotion suddenly came from outside.
The sound of hurried footsteps mixed with several people arguing. They could vaguely hear:
“I was just saying it casually!”
“Why are you being so strict about it?”
“Don’t pull me so hard! Aren’t you just a guard officer who came from a slave registry?”
Immediately afterward came the sounds of struggling and scuffling.
A guard outside the tent reported:
“Marshal Mo! There are people from the Chiling Camp who have seriously violated military discipline and spread rumors at the front! The three main offenders have all been brought here. Please punish them, Marshal!”
Spreading rumors at the front?
And they were from the Chiling Camp?
Mo Xi and Gu Mang exchanged a look.
Mo Xi said, “Wait.”
Only after Gu Mang had put his golden mask back on did he allow the people outside to enter.
The Chiling Camp was different from the Northern Border Army. They only accepted pure-blooded nobles, and their military uniforms were embroidered with totems representing their respective clans.
Mo Xi looked over the three men one by one.
One was a direct descendant of the Lin family.
One was a direct descendant of the Zhou family.
And the third surprised Mo Xi somewhat.
He was a distant maternal uncle from Mengze’s extended family. Mo Xi had even encountered him before during the year-end ancestral rites.
Mo Xi frowned.
“What happened?”
The guard clasped his fists and reported:
“Lord Xihe! These three Chiling cultivators were discussing the commander’s private affairs in the army and spreading rumors. They were going around saying… saying that you…”
“Saying what about me?”
The guard revered Mo Xi. He thought for a long time but couldn’t find an appropriate way to phrase it.
Just then, the distant relative of the Murong family shouted loudly:
“What rumors did I spread? Marshal Mo and my niece are in love with each other. Everyone under heaven knows it! They meet privately and talk about their feelings. As her uncle, I’m happy to hear about it. What’s wrong with me saying a few words about it? Have I broken some law of the kingdom?!”
The guard angrily shouted:
“Bah! Will you shut up already?!”
“Shut up? You don’t have a single drop of noble blood in your entire body, and you dare order me around?”
“Do you know what my relationship with the Junshang is? If I get angry, I can have your entire family packed up and kicked out of Chonghua’s capital!”
Mo Xi finally understood what was going on.
He interrupted the man’s shouting.
“Senior, I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood.”
“What?”
“Dreamze and I were alone in the central command tent only to discuss military affairs, not personal matters.”
“You’re also a high-ranking cultivator of the Chiling Camp. You should know very well what should and shouldn’t be said.”
“Chonghua is about to go to war with Liaokai. I won’t pursue this matter for now. But I sincerely hope you’ll watch what you say and not do this again.”
The older man wasn’t the least bit appeased.
His eyes bulged like a bullfrog’s. After a long moment, he gritted his teeth.
“Fine! Lord Xihe, you’re really something. One thing to my face and another behind my back!”
“Yes, you’re the commander, all right, but you’re also my junior!”
“You just slept with my niece, and now you’re turning around and ordering me around like this, without the slightest respect!”
“Do you believe I—”
Mo Xi raised a hand and cut him off.
“…When did I ever sleep with your niece?”