Murong Yong's anger grew steadily, veins popped out on his forehead, his breathing became heavy, and his teeth were so tight that the muscles on both sides of his cheeks were tense, as if he was a volcano that was about to erupt and spew out hot magma at any time.
Murong Yong clenched his fists tightly, and despite his extreme anger he calmed down.
He has been in the army for many years. He is no longer the young boy who rushed forward with his fists raised in anger when he first entered the barracks at the age of fourteen or fifteen when he was provoked by a few old soldiers.
The blood and killing on the battlefield taught him a lot.
Murong Yong tried hard to calm himself down. At this moment, a yellow shadow flashed in the corner of his eyes, and Shangqing Zhenren walked slowly to his side.
"May you be blessed with infinite happiness." Shangqing Zhenren continued to approach Gu Yuan, bowed, and slowly asked, "Does Dingyuan Marquis's family really want to cancel the engagement?"
When he swung the silver whisk in his hand, it gently brushed across Gu Yuan's left chest.
The whisk swayed and danced in the cold wind, flashing tiny glimmers in the sunlight, floating beside him like a cloud or smoke.
"Your family's sudden cancellation of the engagement is a breach of trust, and it will cause Old Madam Murong to pass away. Not only will the Murong family lose their loved ones, but your family will also be implicated in this cause and effect, and it will affect future generations."
The expression and voice of Shangqing Zhenren were still as calm as usual, making it impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry. His indifferent and ethereal eyes seemed to ignore all living beings.
The servants of the Marquis' Mansion who were present all knew the reputation of Shangqing Zhenren. After hearing what he said, they couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, and several of them gasped.
"Are you sure you want to cancel the engagement?!" The voice of Master Shangqing, like a sigh and a question, echoed in the air.
As soon as he finished speaking, dark clouds obscured the warm sun in the sky, and there seemed to be a slight chilly wind blowing towards them. The courtyard suddenly became much darker, casting a faint shadow on everyone's hearts.
It was like an ominous omen.
The servants in the marquis's mansion looked at Shangqing Zhenren with more and more awe, and thought to themselves: This Shangqing Zhenren is truly a god!
According to the meaning of Shangqing Zhenren, if Madam Murong died, someone from the Gu family would have to pay the price. Would it be a serious illness, or a life for a life?! This was no longer just a marriage, nor was it just a matter of whether the two families were enemies, but it involved the lives of two people from the Gu and Murong families.
An uneasy atmosphere permeated the bleak cold wind, spreading rapidly. There was a turbid fishy smell in the air, lingering at everyone's nose.
"That's right." A clear female voice cut through the dead silence, like a stream of cool ice flowing gently, "If you fail to get married, you will be contaminated by this karma."
"but……"
The female voice paused meaningfully, attracting everyone's attention towards her.
Gu Yanfei, dressed in a water-green dress, walked out of the main hall, her steps brisk and graceful.
Her eyes were brighter than the red-gold cat-eye earrings on her ears. Even the dark clouds in the sky could not suppress her brilliance, which made people feel refreshed.
The turbid and fishy air around her seemed to become fresh with her appearance.
Gu Yanfei continued with a half-smile: "However, it is not the Gu family that is affected by the cause and effect, but you, Taoist Priest."
When others mentioned Shangqing Zhenren, their expressions and tones were full of respect, either respect or awe, but in Gu Yanfei's mouth, there was only contempt.
Gu Yunzhen was one step behind Gu Yanfei and also walked out of the house, her temperament and demeanor still as gentle as ever.
Although she had experienced thrilling experiences in just two days that she had never experienced in many years, and although she did not get a good rest last night, she was still full of energy, just like the plum blossoms that become more fragrant after being hit by frost.
The moment he saw Gu Yunzhen, Murong Yong's narrow eyes lit up slightly and he stared at her with burning eyes.
But when he noticed that she was still wearing the dress she wore yesterday, his eyes changed again, and he couldn't help but wonder what had happened in the Marquis' Mansion yesterday.
Gu Yanfei walked confidently to Gu Yuan's side, his eyes fixed on the middle-aged Taoist priest in front of him without blinking.
She said in a gentle but sharp tone: "The Taoist priest forced the dead to stay in the world of the living."
"This karma naturally belongs to you, Taoist Priest."
As these two sentences sounded, the dark clouds in the sky became thicker and thicker, as if they were about to fall down.
“……” Shangqing widened his eyes and was shocked for a moment. His eyes became slightly gloomy, forming a sharp contrast with his indifferent face.
He never expected that Gu Yanfei would know all this, so how did this second Miss Gu know this? !
Shangqing's eyes flickered, and various speculations flashed through his mind. Was it someone from the Murong family who leaked the secret, or...
Murong Yong raised his eyebrows slightly, withdrew his gaze from Gu Yunzhen, and turned to look at Gu Yanfei and Shangqing Zhenren, glancing back and forth at the two of them, his eyes as dark as night.
Although he didn't understand what Gu Yanfei said, he could see that Shangqing was moved at that moment.
Shang Qing flicked his whisk lightly, and the long silver threads of the whisk floated up and down, and he regained his composure, with a faint smile on the corner of his lips, saying: "I don't understand what the lady believer means. I am just responding to the request of the Murong family and trying to save the seriously ill old lady Murong."
"It is said that the immortal way values life and saves people without limit."
He had a compassionate look on his face, with kind eyes and beard like the Three Pure Ones in the portraits, and flowing hair and beard.
Gu Yanfei sneered as if he had heard a joke, stroked his sleeves, and said in a clear and slightly lazy voice, "You also know that 'the boundless salvation' refers to the living, not the dead."
"There's no need for a wedding. The old lady has passed away three years ago. She is dead and can't live."
“It is an evil path.”
When she said the last four words, the laziness in her tone was gone, and it was so cold as if it had been soaked in cold water.
"..."The faint smile on Shangqing's lips froze completely, and he stared deeply at the daughter of the marquis in front of him.
The second Miss Gu actually said that her grandmother was dead! Murong Yong's eyebrows were furrowed, and a violent anger like a storm appeared in his eyes, and his gaze fell on Gu Yanfei's face like a nail.
"Ridiculous!" Murong Yong scolded unhappily, and sneered briefly, his deep voice unable to conceal his anger, "Second Miss Gu, your family first broke off the engagement for no reason, and now you are cursing my grandmother to death, this is really too much."
"My grandmother is seriously ill, but she is alive and well."
Murong Yong punched a towering cypress tree next to him hard, and the sturdy tree shook violently, dropping cypress leaves to the ground.
Murong Yong didn't believe Gu Yanfei, but Gu Yunzhen believed him without a doubt. Her heart skipped a beat and she couldn't help but think of what Gu Yanfei had told her yesterday at Murong's house: "The Murong family is not a good place to be. This marriage is not a good one."
"All right?" Gu Yanfei clapped his hands and laughed, but there was a hint of mockery in his laughter. "How often do you go to see your grandmother?"
"As long as I'm in the capital, I'll go there every three to five days," Murong Yong replied.
His grandmother's bedside was already being served by his parents, uncles and aunts. As a grandson, he was fulfilling his duty by visiting her once every three to five days.
Then, Gu Yanfei asked the second and third questions: "Have you ever smelled her scent?"
"Have you ever looked closely at her face?"
Without waiting for the other party to answer, Gu Yanfei continued, "Second Master Murong, you have also been on the battlefield. You must have seen dead people, smelled the smell of dead people, and touched the bodies of dead people, right?"
Gu Yanfei spoke quite directly and sticking to the facts, unlike most people in this world who are often very secretive about the dead.
Murong Yong stared at Gu Yanfei with a look of doubt and uncertainty, and a dangerous and sharp aura emanated from his body.
"Don't lie to yourself!" Gu Yanfei met his eyes without any emotion, and his tone became increasingly sharp, revealing the self-deceiving lie that was trying to cover up, "The person has been dead for a long time!"
Murong Yong's expression changed drastically. Under the shadow of the cypress tree, his angular brow ridges looked even sharper.
However, Shangqing Zhenren had a blank expression on his face and stood still like a mountain, with only his whisk fluttering in the wind.
"Impossible!" Murong Yong squeezed out these three words from between his clenched teeth. His tone was low and another wrinkle appeared between his tightly furrowed brows.
He said it was impossible, but his thoughts were involuntarily moved by Gu Yanfei's few words.
Murong Yong's mind flashed through some details of what he saw, smelled, and touched every time he visited his grandmother in the past two months... It was as if a layer of gauze covering his eyes was forcefully lifted.
His eyebrows twitched violently and his breathing became heavier.
With Gu Yanfei's keen eyesight, he could certainly see the hesitation in Murong Yong's heart.
She pursed her lips in understanding, her thoughts racing, and she pressed on, "Before you left the house today, did you go see your grandmother? Did she already have corpse spots on her face and neck?"
"Is the stench of corpse on her body getting stronger?"
Gu Yanfei was asking, but judging from her expression and tone, she clearly already had the answer.
Those black eyes as clear as water have already seen through everything and have already grasped all the truth in their hands.
"..." Murong Yong's eyebrows twitched again and his pupils contracted.
He got married to bring good luck to his grandmother. Before going out to welcome the bride, he naturally went to his grandmother's residence. However, his father stopped him and did not let him get close. At that time, his parents urged him to come quickly to welcome the bride, but he just thought they were impatient.
But now...
Murong Yong now recalled from a different perspective and remembered some clues that he had just overlooked.
When he entered his grandmother's inner room, the bed curtains were hanging down, and he seemed to vaguely see purple scars on his grandmother's face and neck through the curtains...
Murong Yong hardly dared to think any further. His tall and strong body was tense and a storm was rising in his heart.
Gu Yanfei raised his hand to cover his nose and sighed sarcastically, "Your body is already stained with the stench of corpses, but you don't even realize it."
Murong Yong's hooked nose moved involuntarily, his eyes turned dark, and veins bulged on his fists.
He did not lower his head to smell his clothes, but a vague stench of corpse lingered at his nose...or perhaps, it was the smell he had just smelled at his grandmother's place.
“It’s true!”
The third son of the Murong family, who came with him to welcome the bride, could not help but go over and sniff it, and blurted out with a pale face.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
