Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 860: Chapter 628: Paying Homage to the Minister, Bestowing a Marquisate_2

Yang Xiao thought that if the ancestor were still alive and conscious, he would probably kill all these unworthy descendants first and then take his own life.

"How so?" The Old Manor Master chuckled wheezily, emitting a foul stench from his mouth akin to a black hole, as his serpentine eyes suddenly constricted: "Scared?"

"No, I just did not expect that Your Majesty’s Dragon Energy was so abundantly overflowing already, causing us to fearfully commit an offense against the divine might. We ask Your Majesty to punish us." Nalan Shuo clasped his fists and bowed deeply.

These words landed squarely in the Old Manor Master’s comfort zone; the previously menacing Evil Qi dissipated all at once, and a smug expression surfaced on that intimidating face, "No matter. You did not know and are blameless. As long as you can serve me from now on, concentrating on providing assistance, all glory and riches will be yours."

"Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace!"

Appearing to be tired, the Old Manor Master waved his hand nonchalantly, and the eunuch who passed the decree stepped forward and shouted: "The Holy Emperor is weary. Please pay your respects and leave immediately."

After another set of cumbersome formalities, Yang Xiao and his group finally received permission to leave, dragging their exhausted bodies away.

On the way, no one dared to speak; they all just trudged on silently.

Watching Yang Xiao and his group depart, the Old Manor Master, clad in his imperial robe, wistfully gazed at his attire before turning to look at the eunuch beside him.

Indeed, it was the same eunuch who passed the decree. Among these people, he was one of the few who had not removed his mask.

At this moment, the eunuch shed his servile demeanor, his scrawny frame standing erect, his gaze following the direction where Yang Xiao and his group disappeared.

Licking his chapped lips, the Old Manor Master awkwardly grinned: "Thanks to the master helping us adjust our plans, when I regain control of the monarchy, I shall appoint the master as the State Preceptor!"

"I wish to build a temple and a palace for my teacher and several fellow disciples; committing such a betrayal of our lineage makes me feel guilty." The man dressed as a eunuch positioned his hands behind him, showing none of the requisite respect, conversing as equals, and even containing a hint of commanding tone.

However, the Old Manor Master wearing the imperial robe did not mind at all and readily agreed. He then followed the gaze of the eunuch toward another direction, a hint of wariness emerging in his eyes as he whispered, "Master, who is the person you said we should be cautious of?"

"There’s no need to worry. I’ll handle it."

"Then... I shall entrust it all to the master!"

Because they were told to go their separate ways, Yang Xiao, Xiang Fengchen, and Nalan Shuo finally returned to their familiar courtyard, shut the door, leaving only the three of them inside. Yang Xiao picked up the teapot, pouring two large cups of tea for himself and the Director, then lifted the bowl and guzzled the contents.

"What about mine?" Xiang Fengchen tapped on the table.

Setting his bowl down, Yang Xiao wiped his mouth with his sleeve and, in front of Xiang Fengchen, moved the teapot to his side, "You keep saying we are together, yet you keep hiding things from us. That’s not very nice, is it?"

Xiang Fengchen nodded in understanding, "You’re talking about the whereabouts of that person, right? Yes, I figured it out, but with those people present, it wasn’t appropriate to say it openly. Some important information is better kept in our own pockets."

"The divination revealed four words: Cangchun Pavilion, A." Xiang Fengchen dipped his finger in Yang Xiao’s water bowl and wrote on the table.

"Cangchun Pavilion is the brothel of the manor; I’ve heard of it. ’A’ should correspond to ’A Room’ or the brothel’s top courtesan."

Yang Xiao had some understanding of how brothels operated. A brothel is not a whorehouse and goes for a more refined entertainment with essentials such as music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; he had heard of the reputation of Cangchun Pavilion more than once when inquiring about things at the manor.

Unexpectedly, the Great Mage had hidden himself in a brothel, no wonder the people from Earl Mansion couldn’t find him. Yet Yang Xiao vaguely remembered that those with professions like Feng Shui Master generally avoid such places. Venues of sensual pleasures could easily taint one’s karmic path, and a moment’s carelessness could corrupt one’s cultivation.

Affairs of the heart too, are tribulations.

"And what about Chang Chuchu? What’s really going on with her?" Yang Xiao looked to Xiang Fengchen and pressed on, "I can’t believe your kindness is genuine. Can you truly save her life?"

"I can save her," Xiang Fengchen nodded.

"Are you actually going to save her?" Yang Xiao was surprised. He had previously thought that Xiang Fengchen planned to pull her in as a disposable pawn.

But the next second, Xiang Fengchen shook his head, "No, I won’t save her." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Yang Xiao suddenly understood, "You have the ability to save her, but you don’t intend to. Is that what you mean?"

"Roughly speaking, the Corpse Poison on her body is not insoluble. Given my capabilities, I could save her life at a certain price, but it’s no longer necessary," Xiang Fengchen pushed the empty bowl in his hand towards Yang Xiao and looked at him, poised not to continue speaking unless more tea was poured.

Unexpectedly, Nalan Shuo spoke up next, "Indeed, it’s not necessary anymore, because she won’t possibly survive leaving this place alive. The reason she wasn’t lost within the Ghost forces is not due to her luck, but precisely because of the Corpse Poison on her. Those Ghostly entities smelled the death energy on her and treated her as one of their own. However, being eroded by those Ghostly beings, with her body’s condition, she would die within a day or two at most. What we’re seeing now is just her momentary resurgence."

Yang Xiao nodded; he understood Nalan Shuo and Xiang Fengchen’s intentions. It wasn’t completely about controlling Chang Chuchu, but more so to prevent her from becoming unhinged when knowing the truth. After all, Chang Chuchu did possess some ability. Although survival seemed hopeless, if she got emotional, dragging everyone down with her, she might get the chance to do so.

In dire situations, one should not test human nature. There are those who will pave the way for others before their death, like Sui, while there are those who will lament the unfairness of life, trying to drag others down with them. Yang Xiao felt that Chang Chuchu would be the latter.

"Stabilize her, give her hope, and let her die quietly, without causing trouble," Nalan Shuo said seriously.

Yang Xiao nodded, "Understood."

"There’s something else. Tonight was so perilous, yet not a single person has died, don’t you find that odd?" Yang Xiao suddenly asked.

"It is a bit strange, but..." Nalan Shuo did not finish his sentence, as Yang Xiao understood, he wanted to say that Chang Chuchu was an exception, and now her being alive was almost no different from being dead.

"Yang is right." To Yang Xiao’s surprise, this time it was Xiang Fengchen who supported him. At that moment, Xiang Fengchen frowned slightly, his face bearing an odd expression as he looked towards the door, "To tell the truth, I also find it hard to comprehend. I had expected at least two people to die."

He paused, as there was something else Xiang Fengchen did not say aloud. Since he had returned, his right eyelid had been twitching non-stop, as if a very bad event was about to happen.

As the night grew deeper, the uneasy feeling kept him tossing and turning, struggling to fall asleep. Ultimately, he got up from bed, donned his clothes, and sat at the table, retrieving the Divine Turtle Shell and lighting three sticks of incense, all ordinary ones purchased from the market.

Watching the incense sticks burn down evenly and the rising smoke showing no anomalies, Xiang Fengchen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he stood up, adjusted his clothes, and prepared to return to bed to continue sleeping.

But just as he was about to turn around, the two incense sticks on the sides suddenly snapped at the base, breaking into pieces on the table with a peculiar stance, shattering bit by bit.

Upon seeing this scene, Xiang Fengchen’s eyes reddened, his cloth falling to the ground from his shoulders. Now, only the middle incense stick within the three-legged incense burner remained intact, and the three good incense sticks had unexpectedly burned to stubs of varying lengths: short, long, short.

People dread ’three long and two short’, incense dreads ’two short and one long’. He knew that there would be big trouble tonight.

This was the real deadly move.

"Thump!"

Like being burnt by a cigarette, Xiang Fengchen leaped up, turning around to stare intently at the door.

A noise came from the courtyard.