Seeing that Jiang Yexue was unharmed, Mo Xi breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately afterward his brows furrowed again.
“You’re still asking me. What happened to you?”
Jiang Yexue smiled. “What could possibly happen to me?”
“……”
The door to the room was wide open, and the entire floor was a mess. No matter how one looked at it, it did not resemble the aftermath of “nothing happening.”
Jiang Yexue understood what his silence meant and smiled as he explained, “Oh, the room is a mess because there were some problems with the puppet I newly refined. It made a complete mess of the house and smashed quite a few ornaments.” He glanced at the little clay figure missing half of its head that was circling around the room. “See? This one was also broken just now.”
“……I see.” Mo Xi coughed lightly. “Sorry. I thought it was Mr. Murong…”
Jiang Yexue’s lashes suddenly lifted. “You saw Chuyi?”
“Yes.” Mo Xi said, “On my way here, I happened to see him heading outside. I thought he had come to see you and that the two of you had some unpleasantness.”
“……”
Jiang Yexue covered his mouth with his sleeve and coughed twice before saying with a faint smile, “Is that so?……I haven’t seen him.”
As he spoke, seemingly sensitive to the cold, he tugged at the loose collar of his bathrobe and straightened the snow-white robe over himself. Then he stretched out his arms, gathered up his long hair, fastened it with a green jade hair clasp, and tied it into a loose ponytail.
Jiang Yexue had always possessed an incomparable scholarly elegance. His brows and eyes were as gentle as willow catkins drifting across the surface of the water in spring, while his skin was as fair as the fresh snow blanketing the river on a winter night. Having just emerged from his bath, he was even more like a piece of Hetian jade soaked in warm spring water, able to effortlessly soothe away all one’s doubts and agitation.
“The Academy has many books on artifact refinement. My uncle should have come here to borrow books, rather than to see me.” He paused, then asked with another smile, “And besides, it’s so late. I didn’t expect to have a guest either. I haven’t even tidied the house, and instead went to take a bath first. I’ve made a fool of myself in front of Lord Xihe.”
Mo Xi said, “I’m sorry. I was the one who disturbed you.”
“You and I are brothers who have been through life and death together. What disturbance is there to speak of?” Jiang Yexue looked him up and down several times before suddenly saying, “Did Lord Xihe come tonight because of Brother Gu?”
“……How did you know?”
Jiang Yexue withdrew his gaze from Mo Xi’s hair ribbon. His slender, delicate fingers interlaced over his knees. He did not point out the discrepancy between the two men’s hair ribbons. Instead, he lowered his lashes and smiled gently.
“The only things that could make you this anxious, besides military affairs, are your good brother.”
Mo Xi remained silent for a moment before raising his hand and casting a Sound-Dampening Barrier, making it impossible for a third person to hear their conversation. Then he looked straight at Jiang Yexue, his expression solemn.
“I brought something with me.”
He paused, then asked, “Do you still remember what I told you on Bat Island? That I discovered some things in the Time Mirror that seemed rather wrong?”
“I remember.”
“I found a clue. It is related to the case of Gu Mang’s treason eight years ago.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Yexue asked. “What is it?”
Mo Xi stepped forward and placed the black Qiankun pouch embroidered with golden threads on the table beside Jiang Yexue.
“Jade slips.”
Jiang Yexue had still been calm a moment ago, but upon hearing those words, his eyes suddenly widened. The color instantly drained from his face, and he was almost unable to believe it.
“You……did you actually steal the historical jade slips?”
Mo Xi made no comment about having “stolen the jade slips.” He pressed his lips together, lowered his head, and pulled open the ribbon of the Qiankun pouch, pouring some fragments onto the table.
The historical jade slips emitted a faint, eerie glow as they lay shattered before Jiang Yexue.
“The jade slips were destroyed,” Mo Xi said succinctly. “It proves that someone really did want to erase what happened in Chonghua back then.”
Jiang Yexue was stunned for a long while before leaning back against the wheelchair.
“……Mo Xi, you’re simply insane……”
At the same time, Xihe Residence.
Under the illumination of the plum-blossom bronze lamp with winding branches, Li Wei’s shrewd and sly face glistened with oil. He wore an ingratiating smile as he tried to persuade the group of visitors standing in the main hall of Xihe Residence with every pleasant word he could think of.
These people wore robes with purple backgrounds and gold trim, embroidered with the totem of a hundred birds. The man at their head appeared to be just over thirty. His expression was stern, and because he was fond of frowning, fine creases had already formed between his brows despite his young age. Combined with his thin lips and cold eyes, he looked exceptionally unapproachable. His entire body radiated an aura that seemed to say, “Keep strangers away.”
He was the Grand Elder of the Department of Arcane Arts, Zhou He.
Everyone in Chonghua knew that Zhou He was somewhat abnormal. He was extremely interested in the arcane arts of various countries. Whether righteous or wicked, black magic or immortal arts, he was willing to study them all. And his methods of research were equally indiscriminate. From serious theoretical investigation to bloody and sinister methods such as cutting open stomachs and cracking open skulls, he had done it all.
The only reason he had not become one of Chonghua’s Three Poisons of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion was that there was still the utterly merciless Murong Chuyi ahead of him.
In other words, although Zhou He was ruthless, at least he still followed the rules when doing things. If His Majesty did not permit a head to be opened, he could still, with great difficulty, restrain himself.
So now that this man surnamed Zhou had arrived at Xihe Residence, it was probably not going to end easily.
Li Wei took the tea tray prepared by a maidservant and, with a bow and ingratiating smile, delivered it to the table beside Elder Zhou.
“Elder, please have some tea and eat some fruit and pastries.”
Zhou He did not say a word. His fingers subconsciously stroked the pitch-black dagger hanging at his waist.
Li Wei lowered his eyes and glanced at it, his heart pounding.
Although the dagger looked ugly as hell, almost like a pair of fire tongs, anyone who knew their weapons understood that this was the Department of Arcane Arts’ Elder Zhou’s most beloved treasure—the divine weapon “Falcon,” which had cracked open countless skulls and pierced through countless hearts.
How many arcane arts did Chonghua possess that had been seized by Zhou He through this very “Falcon”?
Some people said that the Zhou family were vultures, probing into the secrets of arcane arts among piles of corpses. But Zhou He merely sneered at this, saying that dead people were not necessarily required. For many arcane arts, one could only uncover their secrets while the test subject was still alive.
If you don’t believe me, try it yourself?
Purple background, gold trim, the hundred-bird totem.
The Zhou family were not merely carrion-eating vultures. They were also Chonghua’s falcons, possessing eyes that noticed even the tiniest details, pecking the secrets of enemy nations’ arcane arts out of their blood and presenting them before His Majesty.
Li Wei said, “Elder Zhou, this tea is brewed with dew from Cui Forest Mountain……”
Zhou He impatiently interrupted him.
“When is Lord Xihe coming back?”
“……Please wait a little longer. I’ve already sent people to deliver a message to our lord. He’ll be back very soon—”
Zhou He took a delicate water-drop clepsydra from inside his robe and slapped it onto the table.
He raised his eyelids.
“You said something similar one time-mark ago. I, Zhou, place the greatest importance on efficiency when doing things. Give me a definite answer. Will Lord Xihe make it back within one hour?”
“This……”
“Enough with this and that. The Department of Arcane Arts’ black magic Gu insects were all prepared yesterday. We were only waiting for the test subject to return with me for the trial. And now look at this—the test subject has returned, yet I cannot simply take him away. I still have to wait for your Lord Xihe to come back.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“Fine, I’ll wait. Considering Lord Xihe’s high position and great authority, I, Zhou, will give him this courtesy. But I can only wait for one hour at most. Listen carefully, Steward Li. Gu Mang is the test subject personally promised to me by His Majesty. When Lord Xihe brought him back to the residence at the time, he was merely taking him in temporarily. Gu Mang is ultimately a traitor who betrayed his country, and he is the black magic test subject personally designated by His Majesty as the most suitable……”
Zhou He had gathered black magic Gu insects for so long and had finally managed to collect them all.
He grabbed Li Wei by the front of his robe, his voice filled with intimidation.
“I don’t have that much patience to keep waiting.”
He abruptly shoved Li Wei away.
Zhou He crossed one leg over the other and said coldly, “Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes.” Li Wei swallowed, glancing at the markings on the clepsydra. He whispered, “I understand……”
My ass!
Everyone knew that Gu Mang was going to be used by Chonghua as a black magic test subject, but damn it, did you say it was today?!
You secretly and quietly prepared everything beforehand without making a sound or giving any warning, and then suddenly came charging over to take the man away. Normally, there really would be no reason for anyone to stop you, Elder, but could you at least have come to discuss this while Lord Xihe was still at the residence?
Lord Xihe isn’t here. Who the hell dares hand Gu Mang over?!
The only person in the entire hall who was completely out of place amid this tense, hostile atmosphere was Gu Mang, sitting in the corner.
As Zhou He’s designated test subject, Chonghua’s black magic test subject, he was remarkably calm, without the slightest trace of panic.
When Zhou He entered the residence, Gu Mang had just finished bathing and was preparing to sleep. Since sleeping was obviously out of the question now, he had put on a loose bathrobe and sat in a chair, his ink-black long hair hanging beside his cheeks. Propping his cheek up with one hand, he gazed at the group of vultures before him.
He looked very quiet, possessing the obedience that someone who had been tempered through countless trials ought to have.
Except that in the past, this obedience had been genuine.
At this moment, it was an act.
After emerging from the Time Mirror, although most of his memories had returned, there were still some extremely crucial things he could not remember.
The absence of those memories was like a flowing poem that had lost its most important rhyme, preventing him from fully comprehending his present circumstances.
Gu Mang could remember that he had indeed been promised by His Majesty as a test subject for black magic. But according to his memories, he did not quite understand why things had developed into the situation they were in today.
But he had his own plans.
He knew what he wanted to hold on to.
He could endure it.
“Go quickly. Go and report to our lord again.”
Li Wei anxiously urged the servant responsible for voice transmissions in the residence.
The servant was even more anxious than him, large beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
“I’ve sent seventeen or eighteen messages already! But I simply can’t locate our lord!”
Li Wei angrily paced back and forth. Every now and then, he secretly glanced at the sinister-looking Zhou He, then at the calm and composed Gu Mang.
He felt that no matter which side he stepped forward and offended, he would be in for a world of trouble.
He spun around on the spot several times like a top before suddenly having a flash of inspiration and stopping in his tracks.
“Come, come, come! Get over here. I have an idea.”
Li Wei waved the voice-transmission servant over.
The servant thought he had come up with some brilliant plan and immediately widened his eyes, waiting eagerly for his instructions.
Instead, he heard Steward Li mysteriously whisper four resounding words into his ear:
“Send it again.”
“……”
The servant said awkwardly, “Steward Li, didn’t I just tell you that I’ve already sent it seventeen or eighteen times, but……”
“You really are a pig!” Li Wei reached out and jabbed the servant repeatedly in the forehead. “I never said to send it to Lord Xihe!”
“Then who else can we send it to?”
“Princess Mengze, of course!” Li Wei was practically moved to tears by his own cleverness in throwing the responsibility onto someone else. If Gu Mang were taken away, it would be useless no matter who was held responsible. Only Princess Mengze could withstand it.
Li Wei therefore urged, “Call for reinforcements! Quickly, send a voice transmission to Princess Mengze!”
The servant’s eyes immediately lit up when he heard this, as if he could hardly wait to give Li Wei a thumbs-up.
Brilliant. Steward Li was truly brilliant!
Look at how Gu Mang had been raised in the residence by their lord, practically like a concubine. Although their lord hated this little concubine so much that his teeth itched, everyone in Xihe Residence who wasn’t blind could still tell that Mo Xi cared about Gu Mang.
Now that Zhou He was going to drag the Gu-concubine away, who throughout the entire residence could shoulder the responsibility if someone came demanding an explanation?
There was only one person.
The principal wife.
Whether or not Mengze had actually married into the family, in everyone’s eyes she was already unquestionably Lady Xihe. Furthermore, she had once rendered Lord Xihe a great favor. Therefore, the only person who could take responsibility for the way this “concubine” was handled was her.
And so, these two troublemakers from Xihe Residence, as though they had grabbed hold of a lifeline, happily began sending a voice transmission to Princess Mengze.
Who would have thought that before the voice-transmission spirit butterfly had even flown out from beneath the eaves, it would be struck heavily to the ground by a streak of black light.
Zhou He’s expression darkened. He raised his eyelids and stared at Li Wei.
“Who are you reporting to?”
“Princess, Princess Mengze……”
Zhou He pointed the Falcon at him and said, “Li Wei, listen carefully. I came here today to take someone away. I am notifying you, not asking for permission. And I certainly will not give you any opportunity to find someone else to plead for him.”
With the divine weapon that had cracked open countless skulls pointed directly at him, Li Wei immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
He hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Elder, you’re absolutely right, yes, yes, yes……”
Zhou He then turned his gaze away.
The room fell silent.
The markings on the clepsydra beside Zhou He’s hand moved little by little.
Within this suffocatingly tense atmosphere, which seemed almost capable of squeezing the organs out of a person, something suddenly made a strange sound.
“Cheep—whoof!”
The sound itself was not particularly loud. It was simply that the hall was so silent that it became exceptionally jarring.
For a moment, everyone looked toward the source of the sound.
It came from the black dog Fandou lying at Gu Mang’s feet.
Fandou was probably just as slow-witted as its master.
While its master sat there perfectly at ease, it was even more outrageous. Not only was it sleeping while making little snorting noises and drooling all over its mouth, it was also snoring.
Gu Mang found it amusing. A pair of his bare, pale feet lightly stepped on its fluffy, soft fur.
Fandou innocently got stepped on in its sleep and let out a low whine.
Opening its doggy eyes, it discovered that Gu Mang was merely playing with it. So it closed its eyes again and went right back to snoring, allowing Gu Mang’s ice-jade-like toes to sink into the depths of its fur, lightly stepping on its belly and rubbing its furry ears.
But not long afterward, Fandou seemed to suddenly sense something.
Its ears instantly stood upright.
It abruptly opened its eyes and stared straight toward the entrance hall.
“Woof—?”
At that moment, a servant hurried in.
Li Wei initially thought that Mo Xi had returned, and his heart leaped with joy.
But after taking a closer look at the servant’s bewildered, panicked expression, his little heart that had just relaxed immediately twisted itself back into a tangled mess.
“What happened?”
“Reporting to Steward Li.” The servant grimaced. “O-outside……another group of people has arrived.”
“……Who?”
Before the servant could answer, that group of people surged into Xihe Residence without permission, without the slightest regard for etiquette, swaggering in as though they owned the place.
The flunky servant leading the way shouted theatrically at the top of his lungs:
“Lord Wangshu has arrived—!”