In the midst of everyone staring at one another in bewilderment, Murong Lian entered Xihe Residence leisurely, holding his water pipe and leading a group of attendants from Wangshu Manor.
The people he had brought were all dressed in blue-and-gold aristocratic robes, their bat-patterned insignias embroidered until they glittered brilliantly. When this group of blue-and-gold-clad cultivators entered the residence, they were like a blade, instantly slicing apart and scattering the attendants Zhou He had brought.
No one had expected Murong Lian to come in the middle of the night, nor did anyone know what business he had here. Thus, everyone remained silent, staring at him in confusion.
Only that damned dog, Fandou, probably because it had previously extorted quite a bit of money and goods from Murong Lian at Luomei Villa, had no dislike for him at all. Instead, it excitedly leaped up and rushed over, circling around Murong Lian and frolicking.
“Woof! Woof woof woof!!”
“……”
Gu Mang had the feeling that he had been betrayed by his own brother.
The big black dog leaped up and down, wagging its tail and barking while desperately rubbing its dog head against Murong Lian’s left hand. Murong Lian, however, had absolutely no affection for animals. He abruptly swept his wide sleeve and said, “Where did this damned dog come from? It’s gotten its drool all over My Lord’s clothes. Hurry up and drag it away!”
Li Wei hurriedly said, “Yes, yes! Ah, Young Lord Wangshu, your esteemed arrival was unexpected. We failed to welcome you properly. I’m truly sorry, truly sorry.”
As he spoke, he ordered someone to put a collar around Fandou and take it to the back courtyard.
“Whine…” Fandou turned its head back with every step, stretching out its long tongue and gazing at Murong Lian with great reluctance. Only after much effort was the attendant finally able to drag it away.
Murong Lian breathed a sigh of relief, rolled his eyes, lowered his gaze, and straightened his luxurious brocade sleeve. He muttered under his breath, “What kind of crazy person raises what kind of crazy dog.”
After this whole commotion, everyone finally came to their senses and began approaching Murong Lian one after another to salute and offer their greetings. No one present had a particularly high status. The only aristocrat was Zhou He, but even Zhou He’s bloodline and rank were beneath Murong Lian’s. Thus, he too rose according to the rules and gave Murong Lian a salute.
However, Zhou He himself was a freak who excelled extraordinarily in sorcery, and he only respected those who were genuinely capable. Someone like Murong Lian, in Zhou He’s words, was the sort who, after all the noble blood in his body had been drained, would have nothing left but dregs. Thus, his salute was rather perfunctory.
“Young Lord Wangshu.”
The servants behind Zhou He also lowered their heads and bowed.
“Greetings, Young Lord Wangshu.”
Of everyone in the room, only Gu Mang did not move. Gu Mang remained seated where he was. To others, he appeared to be an idiot, but at this moment, he was quietly observing the master he had served for nearly twenty years.
Gu Mang understood Murong Lian’s habits very well, and therefore he could easily notice that something was off about him today. This unusualness was specifically reflected in Murong Lian’s clothing and appearance.
Murong Lian was someone who adored extravagance. He loved nothing more than displaying his noble birth and wealth like a peacock spreading its tail at every possible moment.
He was unlike Mo Xi. A nobleman like Mo Xi did not place much importance on money and silk, nor did he like to be wasteful with his food, clothing, and daily necessities.
Nor was he like Mengze. Although every garment and pair of shoes worn by a noblewoman like Mengze was exquisite and expensive, ordinary people simply could not tell. She was very low-key.
Murong Lian belonged to the sort of person who had to proclaim “I’m very rich” at every possible moment. Even taking a puff of A Dream of Floating Life carried the full scent of gold shells, while his clothing and ornaments had to be so extravagantly luxurious that people could sense their nobility from two li away.
Therefore, whenever he went out, he was accustomed to placing the most expensive gold and jade ornaments on his hair. They were a little heavy, but that did not matter. The important thing was that they had to shine.
Preferably enough to blind a dog’s eyes.
But tonight, Murong Lian was not shining very much.
Although he wore a magnificent sapphire-blue robe trimmed with gold, beneath the robe’s collar was not the regulation light-blue inner garment, but a snow-white silk undergarment. His hair was the same—what he used to hold his hair in place tonight was a simple sandalwood hairpin. At a glance, it was clearly the sort of ornament one casually wore at home when one had no intention of meeting anyone and simply wanted to be comfortable.
Clearly, Murong Lian had left home in great haste this time. He had barely had time to throw on an ornate robe and had not even bothered to redo or arrange his hair.
Gu Mang could not help feeling puzzled.
Yesterday, Zhou He had obtained the Black Demon gu worm and wanted to take Gu Mang away for an experiment, which was why he had hurried over to bring him.
But what was Murong Lian here for?
At the same time, Murong Lian raised his peach-blossom, triple-white eyes and swept his gaze around the room. His eyes lingered on Zhou He for a moment before settling on Gu Mang.
Gu Mang met his gaze.
Yet at that very moment, something unexpected happened.
For some unknown reason, the instant Gu Mang’s eyes met Murong Lian’s, he suddenly felt an earth-shattering pain explode inside his skull. It was as though something within his head had suddenly burst into a heart-wrenching scream, desperately wanting to flee in both terror and fury…
He abruptly raised a hand to support his brow ridge and closed his eyes. Before him, a thick crimson color seemed to spread across his vision, while beside his ears there seemed to be a twisted voice roaring:
“Let me go… Let me go!!!”
“I’ll make you wish you were dead—you’ll wish you were dead!!”
Blood seemed to surge like enormous waves crashing against a shore. Fragments flashed chaotically before his eyes.
He saw corpses piled as high as mountains. Blood seeped into the cracks between the bricks of the city walls. Twilight illuminated heaven and earth, while broken halberds sank into the sand.
A violently savage exhilaration suddenly surged within his heart, clamoring to see even more death.
He seemed to be sweeping through this human hell, with endless crimson spreading across the sky and earth and pressing down upon him. That dense stench of blood seemed almost capable of soaking into the deepest marrow of his bones.
He could not describe what he was feeling.
It was extreme pleasure accompanied by extreme agony.
His very soul seemed to have been split in two…
“Marshal Gu.”
“!”
A sudden, gentle call was like a hand reaching into the turbulent sea of blood and violently pulling Gu Mang out from its depths.
Gu Mang abruptly raised his head. His lips were parted as he breathed rapidly, lifting a pair of translucent blue eyes toward the source of the voice.
He once again met the face of Murong Lian, resembling a demon fox beneath the midnight sky.
Murong Lian took a sip of A Dream of Floating Life, gently exhaled a faint veil of smoke, and then said, “Well? You shamelessly followed Young Lord Xihe to Bat Island. Did you have a good time?”
Gu Mang did not answer.
After a while, the splitting pain in his skull slowly subsided. Only the warm moisture still lingering in his blue eyes remained, while his temple throbbed painfully.
Gu Mang squeezed his eyes shut hard, then straightened himself again.
His lips moved. Adopting the innocent, bewildered manner he had while suffering from amnesia, he answered softly,
“…Mm. I had fun.”
Li Wei truly felt as though several masters were driving him to the point of tears.
He looked at Murong Lian, then at Gu Mang, and finally at Zhou He. In the end, he hunched his neck and brought over a fresh set of tea and refreshments, presenting them to Murong Lian.
“Young Lord Wangshu, please sit. Please have some tea first. Young Lord Xihe will be—”
“No need. I didn’t come looking for Fireball today.”
Murong Lian lifted one slender, soft finger and tapped the tea tray, pushing it aside. Then he pointed at Gu Mang with his water pipe and gave a cold laugh.
“I came for him.”
Manager Li: “……”
Murong Lian straightened his gold-painted, silver-embroidered robes and said indifferently, “Since you’ve had almost enough fun and enjoyed enough peace and comfort, get up.”
Everyone stared at the two of them in confusion.
Murong Lian said, “Come back with me.”
“???”
Everyone in the hall except Zhou He was almost completely bewildered and stunned.
Gu Mang also remained seated, silently looking at him.
Zhou He was becoming irritated. Whenever he became angry, the crease between his brows grew even deeper, making his face look even more ominous.
He said, “Young Lord Wangshu, what do you mean?”
“What else could I mean? Elder Zhou, can’t you understand?”
Murong Lian leisurely turned his head. His triple-white eyes glanced at Zhou He.
“I’m here to take someone.”
Zhou He said, “You’re here to take someone?”
“Yes.”
Murong Lian lazily took another puff of smoke, held it in his mouth, then exhaled it in successive wisps. The smoke drifted toward Zhou He, while his smile was as languid as a flower dozing in spring.
Yet beneath those petals lurked a tongue as poisonous as a snake.
He smiled and said, “Elder of the Office of Sorcery, My Lord has come today to take him for the Black Demon experiment.”
“!”
If everyone had been shocked just moments ago, then this time, everyone was genuinely stunned.
Zhou He’s expression became terrible in an instant.
He looked as though he desperately wanted to use his falcon to pry open Murong Lian’s skull and mash his brains to pieces. He had probably exhausted every bit of restraint he possessed in this lifetime just to keep himself from losing his temper at Murong Lian.
Yet the sparks exploding from his eyes were already terrifying enough. His gaze was truly more vicious than that of a vulture this time.
“Young Lord Wangshu.”
Every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.
“If I remember correctly, I am the presiding elder of the Office of Sorcery, not you.”
“Oh my.”
Murong Lian bared his white teeth in a thin smile and said sweetly, “Elder Zhou, if I remember correctly, the Sovereign’s cousin is me, not you.”
Zhou He suddenly slammed his hand onto the table in fury.
“What are you dragging that up for?! What does that have to do with this?!”
“How does it have nothing to do with this? The two of us both want to conduct the Black Demon trial. Everything is ready; the only thing missing is this person.”
Murong Lian raised a hand and pointed at Gu Mang.
“Do you think the Sovereign will give him to you, or to me?”
This was precisely what was most shameless about Murong Lian.
With just two or three sentences, he loved to bring the Sovereign into everything, repeatedly invoking their status as cousins. And unfortunately, no one could say anything about it.
The dark-purple collar of Zhou He’s robe rose and fell with his heavy breathing. Finally, he stared at Murong Lian.
“Young Lord Wangshu, are you deliberately trying to cause trouble for me?”
“What trouble? It’s merely a coincidence.”
Murong Lian held his water pipe and spoke with effortless composure.
“Yesterday, you happened to gather the Black Demon gu worms. I happened to do roughly the same. Today, I just happened to obtain a set of Black Demon magic spells from the Liao Kingdom, and I need to find someone to experiment with them.”
“You see, both of us need a dog. It’s just that—”
Murong Lian paused, then tilted his chin and vaguely indicated Gu Mang.
“This one was raised by My Lord since childhood. In terms of both emotion and reason, it should be My Lord who gets to kill him first.”
Zhou He gritted his teeth.
“You insist on fighting me for him, don’t you?”
Murong Lian’s eyes drifted about, even more elusive than the smoke of A Dream of Floating Life. His voice was as soft as a length of silk.
“Hmm? So what if I do? Does Elder Zhou want to act spoiled with me?”
“……”
Zhou He fell silent for a moment. The veins at his temples bulged so prominently that practically everyone around him could see them.
Li Wei thought to himself:
The two of you can fight all you want; I don’t care if you stab each other with knives and water pipes. But could you two please go outside Xihe Residence and fight like dogs?
If this pervert surnamed Zhou really loses his temper and stabs Murong Lian to death, and it happens inside Xihe Residence, my master won’t be able to escape responsibility either.
Just as he was anxiously imagining countless indescribable bloody scenes in his head, he suddenly heard Zhou He suppress his overwhelming rage and say coldly,
“…What if I refuse to let you have him today?”
Murong Lian narrowed his eyes and sighed.
“Then I suggest that when you have some free time, you take your little falcon and dig around in your own brain. Check whether the contents inside have already gone rotten and spoiled.”
Since the other party was being so utterly rude, even the final trace of a cold smile vanished from Zhou He’s face.
“Fine. You insist on tearing things apart this badly, do you?”
Without shifting his gaze, he merely raised a hand toward the attendants standing behind him.
“Bring it here.”
Murong Lian said indifferently, “What are you bringing to pressure me with? I know your family’s situation quite well. You do have an Iron Writ of Imperial Pardon left behind by the late Emperor, but that is for saving your life, not for raising the stakes.”
Zhou He said nothing.
His attendant cautiously took a brocade box wrapped in golden-yellow silk from his Qiankun pouch.
The moment Murong Lian saw the color of the box, the smile on his face stiffened slightly.
“You should recognize what this is.”
Zhou He took the dazzling brocade box, snapped it open, and revealed a roll of premium East Sea merfolk snow silk inside.
Throughout all of Chonghua, East Sea merfolk snow silk had only one purpose—
Murong Lian abruptly raised his head, his expression intense.
“When did the Sovereign give you the imperial edict?! Why didn’t I know?!”
Zhou He calmly unfolded the edict, allowing Murong Lian to clearly see the imperial seal and signature.
“The moment Gu Mang returned to the capital back then, the Sovereign had already given me this edict. Look carefully, Young Lord Wangshu. My Office of Sorcery is the institution personally designated by the Sovereign to conduct the first trial on Gu Mang.”
He paused, then coldly spat out two words in a tone that brooked no argument.
“Move aside.”