The people at the Military and Government Office had clearly noticed Marshal Mo’s irritability over the past few days.
He usually wore a sour expression anyway, and he was never particularly patient when speaking to others. But lately, his temper had become increasingly obvious. His choice of words during military meetings had grown even more cutting. If someone rambled on for a few extra sentences, he would fix them with such a dark, menacing stare that they would become so unnerved they swallowed the rest of their nonsense.
That was bad enough. Then, one day, for reasons no one could fathom, Young Master Zhou of the Zhou family was summoned by Marshal Mo and subjected to more than half an hour of scolding.
“You neglect your military duties and indulge in debauchery to excess.”
“Copy the Military and Government Office’s regulations one hundred times and hand them in tomorrow,” Mo Xi ordered. “If you do it again, I’ll have your father drag you home himself.”
Young Master Zhou accepted the punishment in terror and left in trembling haste.
Yue Chenqing sidled up to him, his face brimming with curiosity. “Hey, what did you do wrong?”
“I-I don’t know…”
“If you hadn’t done something wrong, why would that ice block be so angry?” Yue Chenqing’s eyes rolled, and he grinned mischievously. “Come clean. Did you secretly hide a portrait of Princess Mengze?”
Young Master Zhou immediately looked as though five thunderbolts had struck him. His expression changed dramatically. “Have mercy, brother! I wouldn’t dare!”
Yue Chenqing rubbed his chin and looked toward Mo Xi, who was standing in the distance with his arms folded, studying the sand table.
“Now that’s strange. What on earth has gotten into him? He’s acting like someone stuffed firecrackers down his throat…”
As for Mo Xi, who was indeed in a foul temper, he finally couldn’t hold back any longer.
After pretending not to care for two whole days, he at last opened his mouth and asked the steward of his residence about Gu Mang’s experiences over the past two years.
Being a steward was no easy job these days. One had to be capable of entertaining guests in the front hall and cooking in the kitchen, serving as the master’s trusted adviser, soothing the lady of the household when she was distressed, comforting concubines through their tears, and keeping unruly young masters under control.
The steward of Lord Xihe’s residence was named Li Wei. The stewards of other officials’ households envied him, figuring that Marshal Mo’s household was simple: no wife, no children, no concubines, and therefore far fewer headaches.
Only Li Wei himself knew how difficult it was to work under Marshal Mo.
It was because Mo Xi’s questions always came without warning. Some matters might stew in his mind for a long time before he finally reached the point where he could no longer bear it and asked about them. By then, however, his patience would already have been pushed to its limit. The most immediate consequence was that he would want the answer at once. Having to wait even a little longer would put him in a bad mood.
Working for this lord required Li Wei to anticipate three steps ahead and plan four steps beyond that. Over time, he had practically become a mind reader. When Mo Xi remained silent, Li Wei could already read his expression and work out what his master was trying to suppress, roughly how long it would take before he finally erupted, and how he himself ought to respond afterward.
This time was no different.
Mo Xi bit his lip and said only two words in a flat voice.
“Gu Mang…”
Before he could even finish asking about Gu Mang, Steward Li rushed to answer. He was practically faster than the setting manual itself. After all, Mo Xi had tried asking the manual about this matter in every conceivable way, only to receive nothing but silence.
But Li Wei was different. He immediately said—
“Yes, my lord! Gu Mang’s mind is broken!”
“…” Mo Xi said, “Did I ask you that?”
Sometimes being too clever wasn’t a good thing. Steward Li obediently shut his mouth.
Mo Xi turned his head with an impassive expression and looked at the tea warming over the small brazier. After a long pause, he asked without changing his expression, “…How did it happen?”
Li Wei felt that serving as steward to someone as stubbornly contrary as Marshal Mo was truly exhausting.
If he could turn back time, he would rather work for Lord Liu, who had eighteen concubines. Surely the combined schemes and emotional entanglements of those eighteen women would be less convoluted than the mind of this coldhearted Marshal Mo.
But time obviously couldn’t be turned back. Li Wei had no choice but to clear his throat and cautiously ask, “My lord, have you gone to see Gu Mang?”
“…No.”
“Oh.” Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief. “Then it would be best if you didn’t go to see him.”
“Why?”
“Well… my lord, the thing is, given Gu Mang’s current condition, he probably doesn’t even know who he himself is, let alone recognize you. According to the physicians’ diagnoses, deep down, he seems to believe he is a wolf.”
Mo Xi’s eyes widened.
“He thinks he’s a… what?”
“A wolf.”
Mo Xi: “…”
This was unquestionably the most absurd thing he had heard all year.
He pressed his fingers to his forehead and took quite some time to recover before slowly speaking again.
“Which physician came to that diagnosis? Are you certain the physician himself isn’t the one with something wrong with his head?”
Li Wei rarely saw Marshal Mo react with such astonishment. He couldn’t help letting out a little laugh, but when he noticed Mo Xi’s expression, he hurriedly straightened his face.
“My lord, when most people in Chonghua first heard the news, their reactions were much the same as yours. As a result, when Gu Mang first returned to the capital, many nobles went to the prison to settle old scores and take revenge on him. But he couldn’t utter a single coherent sentence, which only made them angrier.”
Li Wei paused before continuing. “Later, His Majesty handed him over to Lord Wangshu to deal with. At first, Lord Wangshu also wanted to pry some information out of him. But no matter what methods he tried, Gu Mang knew nothing and could answer none of his questions.”
Li Wei sighed and shook his head.
“He truly has no awareness of himself as a human being.”
Mo Xi needed quite some time to digest this. At last, he lifted his gaze and let it settle on the little clay teapot, where the tea was brewing. Steam rose in wispy strands, curling and intertwining with one another.
“He was already like this when they sent him back…”
“Yes. When Gu Mang first entered the capital that year, the cultivators from our Medicine Sect examined his pulse. They said both his heart meridians and his spiritual core showed signs of having been damaged very recently. It was almost certainly the work of the Liao Kingdom. They must have used some kind of unorthodox, sinister technique to make him believe he was no different from a beast.”
Li Wei continued, “When Gu Mang first returned to Chonghua, he had completely lost the ability to speak. Later, Lord Wangshu kept him at Plum Blossom Courtyard, where the steward spent two whole years training him. Only then did he learn to understand what we were saying, and even now, he can barely manage a few words himself.”
As he spoke, Li Wei let out a heartfelt sigh.
“Alas. We used to call him a ferocious beast on a divine altar. Now, he really is little different from a wild animal.”
He scratched his head, then added, “However, my lord, there’s something I can’t understand.”
Mo Xi turned his dark brown eyes toward him, his expression unreadable.
“Hmm?”
“If the Liao Kingdom went to all the trouble of sending him back, why would they then take the trouble to destroy his mind?”
Because he thinks this way he can live happily and easily, without having to feel guilty about what he has done. So that’s how the story was written. What other reason could there be?
“…Perhaps he learned too many of the Liao Kingdom’s secrets,” Mo Xi replied. “Having returned him to us, they certainly wouldn’t allow him to reveal everything he knew. Destroying his consciousness would settle the matter once and for all.”
Li Wei clicked his tongue in astonishment. “Wow, that’s ruthless. Is there any chance of restoring his normal consciousness?”
Mo Xi shook his head. His heart heavy with thoughts, he closed his eyes and said nothing more. Li Wei tactfully withdrew.
The quiet, secluded courtyard was left with Lord Xihe standing alone. He raised a hand to support his brow bone and silently reflected on everything that had happened over the past few days.
Hai Gui had once said that Gu Mang’s story contained hidden metaphors—
Gu Mang’s betrayal of his country corresponded to Gu Mang becoming a criminal.
Gu Mang’s loss of memory meant that he didn’t want to face the mistakes he had committed.
Then what came next?
The outline had mentioned it, and Li Junlei had recently reminded him as well: according to the original author’s intentions, Mo Xi had to complete the next part of the plot, in which Lord Xihe brings Gu Mang back to his own residence.
What did that represent?
Did it mean that if given the chance, Gu Mang would still want to return to his side? That he would still want to turn back?
The moment the thought sprouted, Mo Xi couldn’t help laughing. There wasn’t the slightest hint of sweetness in that smile, only desolation and mockery.
He raised his hand and rubbed his chest, over the scarred spot close to his heart.
In the past, Gu Mang had pulled the trigger on him, and the bullet had passed straight through his chest. In this world, too, on the battlefield, Gu Mang had stabbed Lord Xihe in precisely the same spot.
After suffering twice the pain, he was still foolish enough to hope that Gu Mang had retained even a sliver of kindness in his heart, that some trace of the sincerity belonging to the boy he had once known remained.
I’m the ridiculous one.
Cold mockery rose in his chest. Mo Xi couldn’t help questioning the Gu Mang who lived inside his own heart, even though he knew the setting manual would offer nothing but a cold, emotionless response.
Still, he asked—
“Gu Mang, why do you insist on making me bring you back to my residence?”
In his mind, the familiar voice did not sound. Just as it did whenever it refused to answer him.
“Didn’t you also write a character who would give you a scented pouch, someone who was blindly and utterly devoted to you before I even returned to the capital? Why don’t you let him bring you home?”
“…”
“Or the female lead? By this point in the story, she ought to be making an appearance. Wouldn’t it be better to have her bring you home?”
Although the policewoman’s outline hadn’t mentioned any romantic storyline, Mo Xi knew Gu Mang well enough to be certain that someone capable of writing The Legend of the Immortal Sword: The Rich Guy Returns Home would never neglect to arrange a few breathtakingly beautiful women for himself.
The thought made Mo Xi’s face turn livid. For some reason, it only made him angrier.
Perhaps he was simply too furious, and neither the setting manual nor Li Junlei would give him the slightest useful information. In his agitation, he actually thought of that useless Angry Bird.
Almost as soon as he thought of it, the bird materialized in his mind. Its red pheasant feathers quivered, its pointed beak kept opening and closing, and its round eyes glared furiously at him, as though daring him to ask whatever question he pleased.
Mo Xi thought, This book may be terrible, but I didn’t write it. What the hell are you glaring at me for?
He returned its stare with the same cold, interrogative eyes he used when questioning suspects, adopting the full air of an interrogator conducting a hostile interrogation.
His first question was, “When does the female lead appear?”
The Angry Bird shrieked, “Turning BL into BG is poison!”
“…”
Of those eight Chinese characters, the widely read Captain Mo understood only half.
Suppressing his anger, he asked again, more forcefully, “Explain clearly. Who is the female lead?”
Although the Angry Bird could answer each question only once, Captain Mo had phrased the question differently, so technically it was a different question. The bird could therefore respond again.
“What kind of dogshit, garbage novel makes the protagonist marry a woman? If you want that plot, post it in the romance section! Put it in the danmei section and you’re asking to get killed!”
“…”
He still didn’t understand.
Gritting his teeth, Mo Xi forced himself to ask a third question.
“Who is the blind fool who gave Gu Mang the scented pouch?! If you can’t answer this one, you can get the hell out of here.”
The Angry Bird let out a piercing shriek. This time, Captain Mo understood every word it said. Unfortunately, it was of absolutely no use. The bird had extracted a reader’s comment from someone who shared exactly the same question as he did:
“WHO THE HELL IS THE PERSON WHO GAVE GU MANG THE SCENTED POUCH? FILL IN THE PLOT HOLE, DAMMIT! YOU LEFT A WHOLE PILE OF MYSTERIES UNSOLVED AND THEN ABANDONED THE STORY! NEGATIVE REVIEW, NO THANKS!”
“…”
Mo Xi couldn’t even be bothered to curse anymore. He waved his hand and dismissed the Angry Bird, then wearily rubbed his brow bone.
Having to continue Gu Mang’s story was bad enough. Of the three things he’d been given to help him, not one had proved useful when it mattered. They were all garbage.
And, to be honest, even his own memories were incomplete. He hadn’t inherited everything that had happened to him in this world as Lord Xihe.
When he first discovered this problem, he had furiously confronted Li Junlei.
“I can’t even fully understand my own past! How am I supposed to faithfully portray Lord Xihe?”
At the time, Li Junlei had remained silent. The one who answered was the setting manual.
Gu Mang’s voice was as infuriatingly cheerful as ever, utterly unbothered by the fact that it was driving someone mad.
【Because there are certain things that have already happened to Lord Xihe that I don’t want you to know about.】
“…”
【Knowing them wouldn’t make you happy, anyway.】
And so Mo Xi had been left to navigate this world alone, relying on “Li Junlei, who only knew how to issue orders,” “the setting manual, which worked only when it felt like it,” “the Angry Bird, which had never once been useful,” and “Lord Xihe’s incomplete memories.”
And what were they now demanding of him?
To rescue Gu Mang from Plum Blossom Courtyard and bring him back.
“I’m not rescuing him.”
【Deduct fifty percent—】
Mo Xi’s temper flared. “Go ahead! Deduct it!”
【Never mind. The plot hasn’t been triggered yet, so saying it doesn’t count.】Of the three artificial idiots, Li Junlei currently seemed to be the most intelligent. 【Besides, I’ve noticed that you often say one thing but do the opposite.】
Mo Xi snapped impatiently, “What does that mean?”
Li Junlei paused for a subtly meaningful moment before answering without the slightest hesitation.
【It means you’re a very responsible person.】
Responsibility was useless, too. No matter what happened, this was a world created by Gu Mang. Even without Lord Xihe, there would be a Lord Donghe, Lord Beihe, or Lord Nanhe to help Gu Mang live out his comfortable, carefree life.
Then something happened that further confirmed Mo Xi’s suspicions.
One day, after a court session, His Majesty asked him to remain behind.
The new ruler of Chonghua was named Murong Chen. He had ascended the throne only a few years earlier. In the prime of his life, he was sharp, ambitious, and full of energy. His ambitions regarding territorial disputes were one thing, but he also loved meddling in the affairs of his subordinates.
Sure enough, the young monarch, dressed in dark ceremonial robes and wearing his imperial crown, descended the nine steps from his throne. Smiling warmly, he took Mo Xi by the hand.
“Lord Xihe, you’ve been back in the capital for quite some time now. I’ve heard that many princes, nobles, and aristocrats have wanted to host banquets in your honor, yet you’ve always declined, claiming that the military affairs keep you too busy to go anywhere. I feel rather guilty hearing this. Should I assign more staff to the Military and Government Office so that Lord Xihe won’t have to work so hard?”
It was obviously just polite talk. Mo Xi thanked him and declined, then waited for the fox to reveal what he really wanted.
Sure enough, Murong Chen smiled and said, “In that case, Lord Xihe must still have some free time to get out and visit people.”
He paused before continuing.
“Lord Changfeng spoke to me yesterday. He said that he hasn’t seen you in many years and misses you greatly. But because of what happened between his family and Gu Mang, he feels he has wronged you. So he swallowed his pride and came to ask me to invite you to his residence for a small banquet on his behalf.”
Lord Changfeng…
He was a distant relative of Murong Chen’s. His bloodline was noble, but his family had produced no particularly outstanding figures, so he had never enjoyed much influence.
Lord Changfeng was pedantic and weak-willed. He and Mo Xi had once been fellow disciples at the cultivation academy, but Mo Xi had never formed any particularly strong impression of him.
“I found his words quite sincere,” Murong Chen continued. “He truly seems to want to put the past behind him and make peace with you, Lord Xihe, so I thought I would speak to you on his behalf. If you have some free time, please let him know.”
The monarch sighed.
“I imagine he wants to apologize to you in person. Otherwise, he’ll probably never find peace over what happened with Gu Mang.”
Apologize to him over what happened with Gu Mang? That was something missing from Mo Xi’s memories.
He agreed to Murong Chen’s request, but after leaving the court, he immediately questioned the setting manual.
“What grievance does this Lord Changfeng have against me that requires an apology?”
Gu Mang’s voice sounded in his mind.
【Gu Mang once stabbed Lord Xihe in the chest.】
“…You don’t have to go out of your way to remind me of that.”
【Everyone believes Lord Xihe and Gu Mang are sworn enemies.】
“So what?”
Gu Mang continued in that same cheerfully infuriating tone.
【However, according to the setting, Lord Changfeng’s younger sister, Qu Ruowei, was betrothed to Gu Mang by the late king.】
“……………………”
Mo Xi fell silent for a long time. Dark fury seemed to swirl around his face, yet his lips twisted into a chilling, contorted smile.
What did I tell you?