Chapter 1381: My Justice (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Cough cough cough—"
Like a drowning man, Luan Xin coughed violently while greedily inhaling fresh air, his eyes filled with the relief of surviving a near-death experience. Opening his eyes to the dim candlelight in the tent, his tense nerves finally relaxed, and a sense of relief settled in. His commotion alerted Gongyang Yongye and the other man: "What's wrong, Lord Luan?"
Even a nightmare shouldn't elicit this reaction, right?
Luan Xin wiped his forehead and found his palms covered in cold sweat: "I was trapped in a nightmare by villains and almost lost my life. Fortunately, I survived and am now safe."
"What? Is that really true?"
Luo San was both surprised and angry, and looked at Gongyang Yongye with questioning eyes.
The latter shook his head slightly, indicating that he hadn't noticed either.
Immediately, both old men's faces darkened.
They never expected anyone to cause trouble right under their noses. It was tantamount to a slap in the face! Feeling utterly humiliated, they desperately needed to salvage the situation: "Mr. Luan, could you please explain in detail?"
Luan Xin omitted some irrelevant details, focusing on the core descriptions. He remembered that after committing suicide in his dream, he didn't immediately regain consciousness. Between the transitions between dream and reality, he felt a sense of congestion. A strange force tried to drag his consciousness in the opposite direction: "...I suspect this might be 'body possession'?"
It's also possible that someone was behind it all in his dream.
Regardless of the reason, the enemy is clearly targeting them.
Luo San: "This place is not safe to stay for long; we need to leave as soon as possible."
Gongyang Yongye's thick eyebrows shot up as he scolded, "You're really something! You were ambushed and instead of thinking about how to get revenge, you're thinking about running away? If outsiders find out, what will become of my reputation?"
"What is the value of your reputation, you old codger?"
Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Luan Xin interrupted, "What you both say makes sense. We really can't stay here any longer. We managed to escape danger this time, but who knows what kind of scheme they'll pull next time? However, I have some things to tell you privately."
Upon hearing this, the two men's expressions softened slightly.
Luan Xin, once again, inappropriately thought of his lord.
When the court officials of Kangguo could not reach a consensus, they were prone to physical altercations. Reasoning was useless; they were also somewhat skilled in martial arts. Faced with this chaotic scene of officials' hats flying everywhere, one wonders how much effort the emperor had put into achieving a satisfactory outcome for everyone. Thinking of the emperor, his previously relaxed mood suddenly turned heavy—his emotions in the dream weren't entirely fake; he was now truly lost, unsure how to end the situation, and even harboring a desire to escape.
He already knows the truth and can no longer deceive himself.
Once he returned to Kangguo and saw his lord, this grudge would be brought to the forefront. Luan Xin could fully foresee the outcome: either a complete break between ruler and subject or a parting of ways. Perhaps resigning his post and forgetting each other in the vast world would be the most dignified ending. Either way, it would be like a knife twisting in his heart.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but sigh.
Some lies can be kept secret forever, so why expose them?
“Given their vigilance, they won’t give us a chance to meet her privately. If they kidnap her, the agreed-upon cooperation will be torn up, making it easier for them to demand exorbitant prices. Besides—” Gongyang Yongye was worried about Xiang Zhao’s situation, but knew he couldn’t act rashly, “If these people really have the ability to manipulate others without anyone noticing, what about these redeemed soldiers…”
Without needing to say anything more, Luan Xin understood.
There may have been spies among these soldiers.
This kind of spy isn't one bought off by the enemy; it's one who betrays Kangguo without even realizing it. Even Gu Chi couldn't find such a spy, yet they could provide immense help to the enemy at crucial moments. Luan Xin said, "I'm confident I can see them without alerting others. As for your concerns, Lord... let's get them back safely first, then we'll discuss it. There will always be a solution."
The method he mentioned was actually handed to him by the enemy.
During the banquet, Luan Xin replicated a rather practical method of the scholar's way.
His method was very simple: just enter a dream.
Luo San asked with some concern, "Are you still sleeping?"
I almost fell for their trick just now, how can this young man still be sleeping? Is it because he's carefree, or just plain carefree?
Luan Xin turned around, took an oil lamp, added enough oil, and awkwardly made a hand seal. He then instructed the two men, "I would like to trouble you two gentlemen to watch the lamp and keep it lit. If I am still not awake when the oil runs out, please forcibly wake me up."
The place was heavily guarded, making it difficult for Luan Xin to see Xiang Zhao without being detected. Entering a dream would be much easier; who in their right mind could sneak into a dream to spy? The only person capable of influencing the dream was also catching their breath and couldn't afford to pay attention to Luan Xin. Therefore, he closed his eyes with complete peace of mind, slowly sinking his spirit into the Danfu Wengong (a specific area within the Danfu), activating the Path of the Scholar, and beginning to weave a dream space.
The first time using it, the Danfu Wenxin system struggled to function.
The burden was as heavy as that of Gu Chi's noisy scholarly way.
A quarter of an hour passed quietly, and finally a crooked and simple dream space was woven. He breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then, following the breath, he relaxed his mind and forcibly pulled Xiang Zhao into the two-person group chat.
Xiang Zhao was silent for a moment, then asked warily, "Teacher?"
Luan Xin took a long time to respond: "Mm."
Now it was Xiang Zhao's turn to feel at ease, and her expression visibly relaxed. Her good senior sister, Miao Ne, had privately told her that their teacher was getting old and a little hard of hearing. If one day it took several breaths, or even more than ten breaths, to give her a response, she shouldn't be surprised. This would mean that the teacher was the real deal, not an imposter.
Xiang Zhao suspected that she was talking nonsense.
Not to mention that Luan Xin is in his prime, looking like he's in his late twenties, even if he were really seventy-two or eighty, his body would still be in peak condition, so how could he be hard of hearing? But now she has to believe that Luan Xin's actions and reactions are slower than those of an elderly person in their eighties.
She pursed her lips, leaned closer, and raised her voice by ten octaves!
"Does the teacher have any questions?"
After a long while, she saw Luan Xin slowly open his eyes slightly, and then slowly say, "Keep your voice down."
The sudden increase in volume was a bit overwhelming for him.
Xiang Zhao: "..."
Is he hard of hearing or not?
At present, this issue is not important.
Luan Xin's dream weaving process was extremely time-consuming, and if he didn't take this opportunity to ask questions and make things clear, he feared he might not have another chance.
He was in a hurry, but the debuff slowed him down.
Xiang Zhao thought she would have to explain to Luan Xin to prove her innocence, but to her surprise, Luan Xin never blamed or doubted her from beginning to end, leaving her feeling quite uncomfortable—Luan Xin's words, "No need, we have different paths," had indeed dealt her a significant blow.
She restored her speaking volume to a normal level.
He recounted his experiences during this period: "...After being captured, the student did not suffer. That woman surnamed Yuan would come to persuade me every few days, saying that I was from the same world as her. If I did not comply, she would not be able to protect me either."
It took Luan Xin a long time to process what he had just said.
What is her background?
Xiang Zhao's face revealed a slightly strange expression.
"She was adopted by the Yuan family, a poor soul with a tragic past." In chaotic times, many impoverished families were forced to sacrifice the least valuable member of their household in exchange for supplies. Usually, the youngest was sacrificed first, with girls given priority. If they could be sold, they were sold; selling them to become slaves or servants in brothels offered a chance of survival, but using them to exchange for cannibalism was a certain death.
Of all these orphans, Ms. Yuan was the luckiest.
She was bought by a wealthy local family to take care of an elderly man who was partially paralyzed. Calling him an old man wasn't quite right; he was actually only in his early thirties, a martial arts expert, and should have been in his prime, but he was too old to do anything but lie there and wait to die.
Despite his age, he remains a formidable force.
Everyone in the Yuan family had to obey him.
His prolonged paralysis and rapid aging drastically changed his personality; at least two of his servants died, and no one in his family dared to approach him. The household servants were being used up too quickly, forcing the purchase of more from outside, which is why Lady Yuan entered the Yuan household.
At that time, Yuan was short and thin, with dry, yellow hair, and at an age where it was difficult to distinguish her gender. She was sold as a boy by human traffickers. When the head of the Yuan family saw her trembling, his eyes suddenly flashed with intense light, and he used his martial energy to pull her towards him.
What a fine constitution!
Upon examining the meridians, they discovered it was a girl.
Somewhat disappointed, I forced myself to cheer up.
After that, the family gained an adopted daughter, or rather, a child bride. Her future husband was the son of the head of the Yuan family, a strange man with no nose, a cleft upper lip, and an extremely ugly appearance.
He was chained up in the backyard and cared for all day long, never seeing the light of day.
The Yuan family adopted her so that she could have as many children as possible with this strange man, and they had to be boys, boys with special talents. However, she had never known what it meant to be full, resulting in delayed physical development; her menstruation started two or three years later than her peers. Just as she began menstruating, the Yuan family head's health deteriorated rapidly, and at that very moment, the doctor discovered that the strange man had a physical defect that might affect his fertility.
In other words—
The head of the Yuan family didn't get to see his children while he was alive.
Unfortunately, no suitable successor could be found for the side branches.
"The arrow of time cannot be severed in my hands, otherwise, how can I face my ancestors?" The head of the Yuan family looked at his only male heir in this state, then at the beautiful young woman he had carefully raised for years, and sighed with regret. "It's a pity you're a woman. If you were a man... it wouldn't be impossible to adopt you as my son..."
The young woman, well-versed in literature and skilled in archery and horsemanship, remained oblivious to the strange look in the other man's eyes. The household continued preparations for her marriage to the eccentric man as planned, a way to bring good fortune to the Yuan family head. During this time, something unexpected happened, and the Yuan family head's complexion improved considerably.
On their wedding night, the strange man was tied up in the outer room.
The person who actually consummated the marriage with Lady Yuan was someone else.
[Father?]
The girl's face turned deathly pale. She couldn't understand why her adoptive father and father-in-law were there, nor could she comprehend what he was saying: "His body is ruined. The doctor said the seedling is half-dead; even the best, most fertile soil won't sustain it. But the Arrow of Time must have a successor. I can pass on all my skills to you, but you must leave me a successor. If you're willing, you can sleep with me; if not, I can find a suitable mother as soon as possible."
The girl stammered, "But the door is locked from the outside..."
Head of the Yuan family: [Only the dead don't leak secrets.]
His smile was the same as always, yet it sent chills down one's spine. To him, the girl's life was as insignificant as an ant's.
The girl was terrified.
She had no choice but to submit to him in order to save her life.
Just as the head of the Yuan family said at their first meeting, her innate talent was indeed that of a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand. After the [Enlightenment], her cultivation speed increased by leaps and bounds, far surpassing that of the head of the Yuan family in his prime. After the [Enlightenment], the caster only has one hundred days to live.
He was so old that his skin was loose all over, and the flesh on his cheekbones almost reached his jaw. He exuded an indescribable smell of decay. Whether it was a blessing from heaven or not, when he only had a few days left to live, the girl basically mastered the secret technique and also discovered that she was pregnant. The head of the Yuan family was in high spirits, not only was he refreshed, but he also showed signs of a final burst of energy before death.
Is it true?
[Every word is true; the young mistress has been pregnant for a month.]
Good news, I'm pregnant.
The bad news isn't about Yuan and his son.
Lady Yuan, stroking her lower abdomen, said, "Your son's seed is half-dead, so how much better could your seed be? Isn't his wretched state a consequence of your seed? But so that Father can pass away in peace, I have no choice but to resort to this desperate measure: to find the youngest, most beautiful, and most intelligent man in the city to carry on the Yuan family line. Father, are you satisfied with my filial piety?"
The head of the Yuan family was almost driven mad with anger.
His emotions reached their peak, especially when he saw his monster son being dragged in by his hair by a young man. He was consumed by rage and wanted to kill his adopted daughter, only to discover with despair that his pride and joy—his strength—was entirely contained within her body. His monster son, with a mind as docile as a wild beast, would let out indistinct roars when uncomfortable.
The young man, annoyed by his noise, drew his sword and beheaded him.
Its head rolled to the side of the bed.
The head of the Yuan family was enraged and wanted to kill the adulterous couple, but his anger was futile, only resulting in him tumbling off the bed in a disheveled state. The Yuan matriarch looked down at him, and the young man asked her gently what to do. She replied, "Bury them alive."
In the end, they weren't buried alive; they were fed to the dogs.
He watched helplessly as his body was devoured by jackals!
Lady Yuan, relying on the bloodline of her unborn child, smoothly inherited the accumulated wealth of the Yuan family over generations. Leveraging the Yuan family's connections, her fame rose rapidly, and the Arrow of Time seemed virtually invincible in her hands. Not long after, she joined the Pantheon, gaining access to a completely different world. Xiang Zhao said, "Her position in the Pantheon is quite high, and she has close ties with the major families of the Central Region..."
Or rather, business.
Those who cooperate are like-minded; those who don't are commodities.
Xiang Zhao was clearly the one who refused to cooperate.
"...The Gods' Guild is a very strange place. Initially, they recruited people like me to prolong the life of the inner society. After the inner society suddenly disappeared, the outer society's powerful families seized the opportunity to rise up, winning over and buying off most of the members." These people had discovered the inner society's actions long ago and even researched the possibility of immortality from it, but because of the inner society's existence, they never dared to make their small actions public, always doing so secretly. Now that the inner society is dead, and there's no longer a sword hanging over their heads, they've become increasingly unscrupulous.
If you want to win over more allies, you have to offer them some incentives.
Xiang Zhao pointed to himself.
The person who possessed her body was a dying old man.
Xiang Zhao initially thought she was doomed, but then she discovered that the old woman's spirit wasn't as strong as hers, and her scholarly ways could still be used. She simply chose to lie low, pretending that she had been successfully possessed, secretly waiting for the perfect opportunity to take revenge.
"Teacher, don't worry about me, but you—"
Xiang Zhao was genuinely worried for Luan Xin.
∑(っ°Д°;)っ
There's one more chapter to write until midnight; I'll try my best to finish it.
(End of this chapter)
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