105. Exchange of Life
If you can see, you can also hear. Even though the young man knew that the man who suddenly appeared was not right, he still couldn't help but ask: "Is there something on me?"
As soon as these words came out, the faces of his followers changed, and they became alert as if they were ready to take action at any time.
Qing Ling looked up at the sunlight and suddenly said, "Let's go inside and talk."
The weather is nice today, and the sunshine is warm, but Shang Changheng is a yin object, so the farther away from these yang things, the better.
The young man just said his surname was Hong, without saying his name, and invited everyone into the house. The small courtyard looked shabby, but the house was full of wonders. The decoration was not exquisite, but it was very comfortable to live in. Even the chairs were padded with felt and there were incense sticks burning on the table.
Qingling thought to himself, this guy is quite patient.
The incense stick must have been lit not long ago. It seems that when they were at the door, the sickly Mr. Hong was lighting the incense stick here.
Master Hong waved away his men. The middle-aged man who had just opened the door wanted to follow in, but was sent away by the master on the pretext of "serving tea".
"I already knew you three were here." Master Hong did not rush to ask the question, but said politely, "It is really rude of you to ask me this... But you three should have seen that I am in such a bad condition that I am afraid I can't stay here for too long."
Not only can it not be delayed for too long, you can even see ghosts, Qingling thought to himself, and felt strange. This Mr. Hong gave him an indescribable weird feeling.
However, Zhu Lezhi soon discovered the reason for the disharmony. Her expression became more unpredictable. She sighed and said, "I said that we shouldn't get involved in this matter. You are carrying the purple aura, which is... the luck of the emperor, Your Highness."
Her words were shocking, and Qingling and Miaoyuan were also slightly surprised, but the current Crown Prince Zhu Hongxu opposite was really shocked and stunned.
After a moment, Zhu Hongxu smiled in a friendly manner and said, "Miss Zhu, your eyes are really useful."
Then it is not surprising that he knows the details of several people. The current crown prince, the heir apparent, and the future emperor is second only to the emperor in Daxia. What can he not find out?
Zhu Lezhi sighed again.
In fact, the crown prince may not necessarily have the destiny to become an emperor, and the throne of the Crown Prince might even be taken away from him. But the young man in front of him claimed his surname was Hong. There are only two princes in the court now, and the only one with a homonymous character in his name is the crown prince Zhu Hongxu.
Qing Ling also suddenly realized. No wonder he felt that this man was similar to Shang Changheng in some ways. It turned out that they were both from noble families and had both been on the battlefield. But Shang Changheng, both in his lifetime and now, was much colder and sharper. He was as cold as a sword made of solid ice and full of murderous intent. He fought bloody battles in the turbulent times and moved forward fearlessly in the long night without any light.
Zhu Hongxu, however, was a reserved and arrogant person. He was a prince born in the prosperous era of Daxia.
At this moment, the current crown prince is looking at Shang Changheng, who almost became the king of the fallen Zhou Dynasty.
"You're dying." Shang Changheng said coldly and mercilessly.
Zhu Hongxu probably felt it was new. No one had ever spoken to him in this tone before—not even now. The person in front of him was obviously not a human, and was not included in his investigation results. So he asked cautiously, "Who is this?"
Shang Changheng ignored him, but Qingling said calmly: "My late husband Changheng."
Deceased husband.
Zhu Hongxu was once again genuinely surprised. He looked at the handsome and pale evil spirit, and then at the elegant and cold young man. He was rarely choked up and speechless. After covering his face and coughing awkwardly a few times, he reluctantly responded twice: "So... So that's it."
Qing Ling ignored him and looked at Zhu Lezhi.
Zhu Lezhi frowned in embarrassment. No matter how powerful she was, she was just a gangster. To put it nicely, she was just a businessman - just a second-rate merchant. The other party was the crown prince of the current dynasty. It is said that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. If any of her words displeased the crown prince and he wanted to kill them in anger, they would have nowhere to appeal.
The people do not fight with the officials.
You can’t fight with the royal family.
"People in the martial arts world don't care about the affairs of the imperial court..." Zhu Lezhi said in a low voice.
"But am I not Master Hong?" A smile appeared on Zhu Hongxu's pale face. "The prince is still in Dingzhou providing disaster relief. Don't you think so, Miss Zhu?"
He spoke the last three words very softly, as if he had no strength left, but the ending tone was slightly raised, carrying a hint of threat.
Zhu Lezhi frowned even more tightly.
Qing Ling lowered his eyes and said calmly, "If everyone here dies today, no one will care about a rich young man who died here, right?"
Compared to Zhu Hongxu's implicit threat, Qingling's move was no different from holding a knife to the prince's neck. Zhu Hongxu, who had always remained calm, looked at Qingling and his late husband fearfully, then remained silent for a moment and said softly: "What if someone from your group interferes in the affairs of the court? Since there are rules, what will you do if someone breaks them?"
He looked at Qingling.
In fact, these words contain a hint of submission.
At least there were no further threats.
Qing Ling had no intention of really killing the dying prince here. He glanced at Zhu Lezhi, who was hesitant to speak, and said softly, "Those who break the rules must pay the price."
Zhu Hongxu's expression became better. He said, "Over the past year or so, I have been searching for talented people among the people, but I was afraid that they might not be credible. After asking around, I finally found out about the Zhu family in Tongzhou and the Wunian Temple where Master Miaoyuan is. Before that... I also sent people to the Zhu family, but the young master of the Zhu family was out traveling. People who went to the Wunian Temple also said that the abbot's disciple was away, so we found the two of you... Actually, it was your elders' idea. As for Master Qing——"
He paused, looked at Qing Ling, and smiled again, "It was really unexpected."
The two juniors remained silent.
The one who spoke up was Shang Changheng, who was sitting next to Qing Ling. He said calmly, "Tell me, how did you know that there were people from the underworld intervening in the fight for the throne?"
He spoke openly about competing for the throne. Zhu Hongxu forced a smile and said, "Actually, I didn't think too much about it at first. It was probably two years ago... I caught a cold on my way back to the capital from the northwest after suppressing bandits. How can a person not catch a disease? I didn't take it seriously at first, and I recovered soon... But everything went wrong on the way back to the capital..."
When Zhu Hongxu spoke of this, his smile almost became a sneer, and it carried a bit of creepy hatred.
His journey was not just unlucky, it was as if he had poked a hole in the sky and was being punished for it. There were huge rocks rolling down the mountain and inexplicable collapses on the road, all of which were aimed at his life. If these coincidences were not so unlikely to happen by a human, he would almost suspect that someone had deliberately pushed rocks down to crush him to death.
But the fact was that there was no one on the mountain, and the road collapsed for no apparent reason. The cold he had just recovered from a few days ago came back with a vengeance, and he was bedridden when he returned to the capital. He forced himself to go to court, but then he coughed up blood and fainted in the hall. He has been bedridden ever since. Accidents that followed him like a shadow also occurred from time to time. Once, his bedroom even caught fire, but fortunately the servants discovered it and put it out in time.
When things get to this point, everyone would have to wonder if they have offended some deity.
Zhu Hongxu originally did not believe in ghosts and gods, but now he has to believe in them.
"If it's really my bad luck, then it's fine." Zhu Hongxu's expression was hard to tell whether it was hatred or disappointment. He was speechless for a long time, and then he said softly as if disappointed: "But since my fortune was declining... my third brother, who was bedridden for many years due to pregnancy defects, has recovered... Do you understand?"
When he said this, he could no longer laugh, his expression was wooden, and he raised the corners of his lips, as if trying to force himself to keep smiling.
"I feel sorry for him because he lost his mother at a young age... His second brother died young, and he is my only brother... I really love him! Cough... cough! I... cough cough..." Zhu Hongxu started to choke and cough violently again. He coughed so hard that tears came out and his whole body was shaking. He could only cover his lips with a handkerchief and leaned over the table. When he finally stopped coughing, the handkerchief was also soaked with scarlet blood.
He supported himself with his sick body and sat up straight again, feeling really embarrassed. When he looked up, he found that Qingling, who was sitting diagonally opposite him, was in a daze.
Qingling did feel that this story was... somewhat familiar.
"The year my mother was pregnant with him, the border was defeated again... My mother was overly worried, and he was born weak and often bedridden. There were several times when he almost died... He was the only one left who could inherit the throne."
The past events that Shang Changheng had mentioned before emerged in his mind.
How similar.
Shang Changheng and Shang Changjun a thousand years ago, the Crown Prince and King Jing a thousand years later... The road to destruction that began with natural disasters, the unprecedented flood in Dingzhou and Yuzhou...
And there is also the extremely ominous Li Gua of the Zhu family!
Qingling originally suspected Shang Changheng's death. What did Shang Changjun, who inherited the throne and trusted Qingjie very much, do in the death of his blood brother? Or how much have you done?
"Luck, he took your luck." Shang Changheng's voice suddenly sounded.
Qing Ling suddenly came back to his senses and looked at Shang Changheng in an instant.
Luck.
His luck was also taken away from him.
And the luck of Shang Changheng alone... was enough to ensure the Qing family had enough food and clothing for a thousand years.
Zhu Lezhi also said, "It's not just their luck that was taken away. The reason you're still alive is probably because the purple energy hasn't been completely taken away. That's your luck as an emperor. You're burdened with karma and are so black that you're smoking. I guess that's also the other party's way of killing you quickly."
Miao Yuan beside her continued, "Your vitality is weak, your yang fire is almost extinguished, and you can see the donor Shang. I think your luck has been taken away in the past two years. This method is really insidious. I have heard before that there are evil cultivators who can change people's fate, but I have never seen it with my own eyes, and I don't know how to solve it."
Whether what Zhu Hongxu said was true or false, it could not deceive people in the shady business. Ordinary people could not see through the trick, but they could see the clues at a glance.
When Zhu Lezhi was outside, she was unwilling to intervene because of her karma, but she changed her mind after meeting Zhu Hongxu, because she also found that this karma was strange.
Even Qingling, who could not see the so-called purple aura of the emperor, could see the subtle sense of incongruity in Zhu Hongxu.
But knowing is one thing, being able to save is another.
Zhu Hongxu's already pale face now lost all its color.
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