Free Web NovelChapter 33: Chapter 33—Fooling Mo Ming
Chapter 33—Fooling Mo Ming
Lei Cheng injected a thread of Life Intent into Mo Ming, healing his injuries. Mo Ming’s eyes opened a sliver—and in that same instant, Lei Cheng’s eyes glowed white.
’So that’s how your childhood was.’ In a flash, he read Mo Ming’s memories, trapping him briefly in an illusion.
A layer of white energy washed over Lei Cheng, reshaping and remolding everything. When it settled, he stood as a middle-aged man with a small, neat beard and thin mustache, his hair tied behind his back with a male hairpin, dressed in a plain, coarse cotton robe of pale yellow. The resemblance was unmistakable—easily seventy or eighty percent identical to Mo Ming.
Mo Ming had just opened his eyes. He looked at the figure before him—and went completely still.
Then his legs buckled before he could fully stand. He dropped to his knees, his voice cracking and trembling.
"Dad—Dad, you’re still alive—"
Fresh tears welled in Mo Ming’s eyes.
"Idiot."
Lei Cheng—wearing Mo Ming’s father’s face—drove a kick into Mo Ming’s shoulder. Mo Ming, a Level Three martial cultivator, barely registered it. He remained kneeling without so much as swaying.
"Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!" Lei Cheng screamed down at him.
"Father—what did I do?" Mo Ming asked, eyes still glistening wet.
"Your son is dead because of you!" Lei Cheng bellowed. "Our family has no bloodline left to carry the name forward!"
He raised his palm and brought it down hard across Mo Ming’s cheek.
Slap!
Mo Ming did not flinch, did not raise a hand to protect himself. He simply sat there, holding his cheek, his gaze traveling slowly around the ruined courtyard as the words landed on him as if stones dropped into still water.
’Mo Yong is dead. How? Why?’
His lips twitched. Tears couldn’t stop. They came faster than he could wipe them away.
"You did something wrong," Lei Cheng continued, his voice dropping to something harder and colder. "You should never have done what you did. And that pathetic grandson of mine followed your lead."
Mo Ming raised his head. "Father—what did he do? What did I do wrong?"
Lei Cheng pulled him to his feet. Hua Mingyue, watching from the side, wore a faintly playful smile.
Thud! Xiao Ming descended from the air, the large vine dissolving as she landed. Mo Ming’s head swung toward her instantly.
"Bizarre creature!" he yelled, glaring at the nine-tailed fox—and stumbled backward, landing hard on his back.
"Pathetic," Lei Cheng muttered under his breath.
He turned to Mo Ming and spread his arms with theatrical exasperation. "So idiotic. Who do you think I am?"
Mo Ming blinked. "Dad—are you... Are you a Bizarre Creature?"
"I am already dead," Lei Cheng said flatly. "Why else would I still be standing in front of you? Of course, I became a Bizarre Creature. I returned from the other world—all for your sake."
Mo Ming’s mouth fell open. Grief and awe settled over his face simultaneously. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand. ’Father turned into a Bizarre Creature just for me. He gave up the afterlife just so he could return.’
"Do you know," Lei Cheng pressed on, leaning in with a grievous expression, "that your grandmother and all our ancestors in the other world are beating me senseless for raising such an idiotic son? I cannot even lift my head among them." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Mo Ming went blank. Then guilt crashed through him entirely. "Father—what should I do?" His voice cracked completely. "What should I do? Mo Yong is gone. I have failed you. I’ll take his place. I’ll fulfill every expectation you had for him."
"Good. Good." Lei Cheng patted Mo Ming’s shoulder with a satisfied nod. "Then marry this lady over here."
Mo Ming flinched and glanced at Xiao Ming, who was standing nearby, mouth pressed flat, visibly reluctant. But under Lei Cheng’s sharp stare, Xiao Ming gave a short, tight nod.
"Yes, young master." She turned to Mo Ming. "Then let’s get married."
Mo Ming hesitated.
"Don’t be concerned about what she is," Lei Cheng added smoothly. "She is extraordinarily powerful. Just imagine—your children and grandchildren, touched by her Bizarre bloodline, so powerful they could rule the entire world."
Mo Ming’s eyes went wide. His mouth began to water almost immediately.
Lei Cheng pressed the advantage and released a quiet thread of Illusion Intent.
The world around Mo Ming shifted.
He found himself at a wedding—a beautiful ceremony, and beside him stood Xiao Ming in human form: a young woman of gentle, delicate beauty, the kind of face that made a man instinctively want to take care of her. The wedding night passed. Days blurred forward. Two children were born. Lei Cheng’s voice echoed through the dream like a narrator reading fate aloud:
"Two children—one boy, one girl. Mo Kai. Mo Min."
In the illusion, the two children grew and began to conquer villages, cities, territories, one after another. Mo Ming walked proudly behind them, respected by his wife and admired by his heirs. Under their influence, he stepped onto the path of Bizarre Cultivation. Strength came. Then more strength. His fists crackled with enough power that he felt he could shatter mountains.
The children built a dynasty.
They named Mo Ming emperor.
Thousands of concubines filled his palace. Mo Ming’s breathing unconsciously quickened. Xiao Ming remained at his side—gentle, devoted. Mo Ming licked his lips at the vision, utterly absorbed.
Then, just as he was reaching to embrace the nearest concubine—
The illusion shattered.
Mo Ming spun around, disoriented. He was standing in the broken Xiao household courtyard. Rubble. Vines. Two towering green pillars rising into the sky. Xiao Ming, standing a few meters away.
He turned away from her as though he had not seen her at all. His hand shot out and grabbed Lei Cheng’s arm.
"Dad—what was that?!"
"That," Lei Cheng said, grinning, "was your future life. I used my Bizarre power to show it to you."
"My future—" Mo Ming’s voice broke on the word. His mouth hung open. He grabbed Lei Cheng’s arms with both hands and shook them urgently. "Is it real?! Is it actually real?!"
Lei Cheng calmly detached Mo Ming’s grip. "Yes. It is real—if you marry her." He pointed to Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming shifted into her human form. The crimson phoenix robe settled over her, and the image of a delicate, beautiful young woman appeared before Mo Ming.
Mo Ming’s knees nearly gave out. He licked his lips. She looked exactly like the woman from his future vision.
"Beautiful," he breathed. "Yes—I’ll marry you."
He nodded his head rapidly, like a chicken pecking at grain. "Father, let’s do it quickly."
"Look at you," Lei Cheng sighed, shaking his head. "Completely pathetic. Can’t even wait for the first night."
Mo Ming fell silent for half a breath. "Who could wait when the bride is this beautiful?" Then something snagged in his mind. He paused. "Father—wait. Isn’t she... isn’t she Lei Cheng’s bride?"
"Indeed she is," Lei Cheng said, sighing with exaggerated melancholy. "Look at the strange turns of fate. That boy was destined to become emperor. But I changed it."
"He was going to be emperor?!" Mo Ming scowled.
"Why else do you think I returned from the other world and became a Bizarre Creature?" Lei Cheng exhaled heavily. "In the future, after that brat Lei Cheng ascended to the throne, he was going to crush our entire Mo Clan. I had to act."
Mo Ming’s expression went dark in an instant. "Where is that brat? Tell me—I’ll kill him right now."
"I already killed him," Lei Cheng said, and pointed at random in a vague direction.
Mo Ming turned. Satisfaction immediately appeared on his face as his eyes landed on a beheaded corpse—Lei Cheng’s corpse, shaped from Illusion Intent, lying beheaded, blood pooled beneath it.
"Good," Mo Ming breathed. "Thank you, Dad." He threw his arms around Lei Cheng and squeezed.
Lei Cheng’s expression curdled with barely suppressed revulsion. He peeled Mo Ming off himself and pushed him back firmly.
Hua Mingyue, still perched on the broken wall, was grinning.
Xiao Ming, meanwhile, was scanning the courtyard in careful sweeping arcs, searching for any gap in the boundary—any weakness she could use to flee. She found nothing. Small invisible threads of Life Intent were wound around her feet like tiny veins, binding her to the exact spot where she stood.
Mo Ming raised his head to the sky with sudden solemnity. "My son—Mo Yong—watch over me from up there. I will walk the path to the emperor. When I am strong enough, I will resurrect you and name you crown prince."
Lei Cheng clicked his tongue. ’He’s not even emperor yet, and already he’s planning to keep the throne for himself instead of handing it to his son. As expected—the lure of power.’
He turned back to Mo Ming, voice turning serious. "Son, do you agree to marry her? Wholeheartedly and with full intention?"
Mo Ming dropped to one knee without hesitation. "Yes, Father. Your wish is my command. I will marry her. I will take the Mo Clan to heights it has never known." He raised his head, locking eyes with the disguised Lei Cheng. "And when I am strong enough—I will resurrect you as well, Father."
"Who gave you permission to resurrect me?" Lei Cheng kicked Mo Ming in the face.
The kick landed without leaving so much as a mark. Mo Ming’s head did not even tilt.
"Stand up." Lei Cheng grabbed Mo Ming’s arm, hauled him to his feet, and walked him forward—directly toward Xiao Ming. He took Mo Ming’s hand in one grip and Xiao Ming’s in the other, and placed them together, palm pressed against palm.
He stepped back with a broad grin. "Let us begin your marriage."
Xiao Ming’s teeth clenched so hard her jaw ached. Her smile was sharp enough to cut.
Mo Ming’s smile, by contrast, stretched nearly to his ears.
Hua Mingyue observed the scene from her seat and nodded quietly to herself, with the faintest trace of amusement on her face.
