Warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence that may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
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Translator: I had a typo in previous chapter. The regent is Queen Mother’s brother.
Also, the author seems to change Lou Guan Xue age to 15. I change to 15 too, for now.
“Look down on virgins?!”
Xia Qing inexplicably gave him a glare.
Lou Guan Xue chuckled quietly, then suddenly pointed at the table, changing the subject and asked, “What’s the date today?”
Xia Qing: “March fourth.”
Lou Guan Xue nodded knowingly, lightly uttered an “Hmm,” then turned his head to look through the window at the legendary pagoda that was rumoured to suppress demon, saying, “Then tomorrow will be March fifth.”
Xia Qing rolled his eyes, “Isn’t that obvious?”
Lou Guan Xue said, “Do you know what day March fifth is?”
Xia Qing exploded, “How much do you look down on me? It’s just the Jingzhe! I’ve known the twenty-four solar terms since I was eight!”
Lou Guan Xue chuckled, “Oh, impressive.”
Being praised by him again made Xia Qing want to blow up, coldly saying, “What, is tomorrow your birthday or something?”
Lou Guan Xue shook his head, “No, but tomorrow is also an important day.”
Xia Qing: “What?”
Lou Guan Xue lightly chuckled and asked, “I have a question, do you evil spirits have no other thoughts besides occupying other people’s palaces and sucking up their Yang energy?”
He spoke as if Xia Qing were the “shame of evil spirits.”
Xia Qing wasn’t falling for his provocation, “I have plenty of thoughts, just not interested in using them on you.”
Lou Guan Xue nodded, “Oh, it turns out I don’t have the honor.”
Xia Qing looked at him suspiciously, “What exactly do you want to do?”
Lou Guan Xue, dressed in white like snow with flowing black hair, smiled, making his features especially vivid and beautiful. “Nothing much, just curious about you.”
Xia Qing scoffed, “Your curiosity is indeed unusual.”
Lou Guan Xue slowly spoke, “I thought you were interested in merfolk, so I wanted to invite you to see them with your own eyes tomorrow.”
Xia Qing froze, furrowing his brows, “See them with my own eyes?”
Lou Guan Xue’s eyes were captivating, a gentle curve making them both deep and pure. “Yes, see them with your own eyes, and even touch them yourself.”
Xia Qing rolled his eyes, “I can’t touch living creatures.”
Lou Guan Xue replied, “But I can.”
Xia Qing’s mind momentarily stalled, sparks and lightning consuming his rationality. He stiffened, raising his head with slightly widened pupils as he stared at him.
The candlelight cast upon the natural painting of plum blossoms on the screen, Lou Guan Xue under the white plum blossoms, his smile gentle and elegant like orchids and jade.
“What do you mean?” Xia Qing took a while to find his words.
Lou Guan Xue calmly said, “I’ve found a formation these days that can make you possess me.”
Xia Qing was dumbfounded, stammering, “Are you crazy?”
He had never seen someone begging for possession by a spirit.
He was speechless, with countless questions swirling in his mind —this person’s actions are truly out of the ordinary.
Xia Qing’s every thought was practically written on his face.
Lou Guan Xue nodded knowingly, “You don’t need to overthink it. You’re a wandering soul with no ties or burdens, there’s nothing I could gain from you.”
Xia Qing glanced at him slowly, “That’s uncertain.”
He always felt something was off, like an instinctual warning of danger. Xia Qing, apart from his subdued desires from childhood, had always been accurate with his intuition. Although Lou Guan Xue had been gentle and vulnerable in front of him these days, Xia Qing had never truly believed him or sympathized with him.
Lou Guan Xue stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled and said, “Oh, let’s forget about it then.”
March fifth, the Jingzhe. Spring thunder resounded, and all things began to grow.
Since coming here, Xia Qing had been confined to Lou Guan Xue’s side, never stepping out of the Zhai Xing Tower.
On this day, dark clouds loomed heavily, shrouding the nine-layers palace.
Across ten miles of the Xiao Xiang bamboo forest, the towering pagoda exuded an eerie bloodlust today. Shrouded in crimson mist, the auspicious purple aura was completely obscured, an ominous sight.
Lou Guan Xue changed into a pristine white robe, looking somewhat unwell.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Xia Qing sat cross-legged on the edge of the top floor, shocked as he watched the pagoda bathed in blood-red light.
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Lou Guan Xue smiled, “As spring awakens all things, not only creatures but demons and evil spirits also stir.”
Xia Qing’s horizons widened.
Lou Guan Xue continued, “I instructed them yesterday, so they should be bringing a group of merfolk up tonight.”
Xia Qing was stunned, his gaze snapped back to Lou Guan Xue’s eyes, which held a hint of shallow amusement.
“Let you meet live merfolk.” Lou Guan Xue paused, then added, “You don’t have to touch them.”
Xia Qing was speechless, unsure of what to say for a moment.
Lou Guan Xue really followed through with his words.
At night, Xia Qing saw a room full of merfolk. None of them were pure merfolk, yet each had a unique appearance.
A distinct feature of the merfolk was their ears, pointed and with thin, translucent skin like jade. There were both males and females, around fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in elaborate red clothing with delicate and fair hands and feet, as if they could break with a gentle touch.
They knelt neatly in the middle of the hall, looking uneasy, their breaths shallow.
Seeing the merfolk for the first time, Xia Qing couldn’t help but look at them more. He keenly noticed that each merfolk had a small tag hanging around their necks, with their names written on them, just like merchandise.
“Your Majesty, do you think these are enough?”
It was the same old eunuch, asking respectfully, though clearly fearful.
Lou Guan Xue sat on the couch, lips lightly curved, not speaking, but his gaze passed over the crowd and landed on Xia Qing.
Xia Qing felt his scalp tingle under his gaze.
Lou Guan Xue moved his lips silently, saying, “Come here.”
The scene was too eerie.
Outside the Zhai Xing Tower, the spring thunder rumbled faintly, lurking within the dark purple clouds, hot and humid.
After hesitating for a moment, Xia Qing drifted over anyway, arriving next to Lou Guan Xue with an impatient look of “What do you want?”
Lou Guan Xue picked up a golden goblet with his fingers, raising it to his lips as if to drink, then lowered his voice with a smile, “Come here to see more clearly.”
Xia Qing replied coldly, “I’ve already said I’m not interested.”
Lou Guan Xue insisted, “You will be interested.”
Xia Qing had a sense of impending doom.
Sure enough, the next moment, this premonition became reality.
Lou Guan Xue continued with that calm tone of voice, “Xia Qing, how would you arrange the formation to summon evil spirits?”
Xia Qing’s expression stiffened as he stared straight at him, almost blurting out curses.
Lou Guan Xue smirked, “The books say to use the blood of virgin boys and girls. I suppose merfolk infants would work too.”
Xia Qing’s brain was instantly in turmoil, enraged, “I don’t want to possess you! I’ll say it again, I don’t want to possess you! Lou Guan Xue, are you done yet? Let them go!”
Lou Guan Xue leaned against the bed, turning his head away with a muffled laugh, as if he had heard a very amusing joke.
With that laugh, the merfolk kneeling throughout the hall instantly lost all color.
Xia Qing was left dumbfounded and furious.
This lunatic, this pervert.
Lou Guan Xue finished the drink in his cup, placing it aside as he said to the old eunuch, “Bring the snow wolf we obtained a few days ago.”
The old eunuch’s face broke into a smile, “Yes, Your Excellency.”
Xia Qing gritted his teeth, “Lou Guan Xue!”
Thud!
Lou Guan Xue remained expressionless but suddenly acted out, tossing the cup in his hand—
Straight towards the forehead of a kneeling crimson-robed merfolk at the front.
The edge of the golden cup was sharp and cold, instantly drawing a streak of blood.
The cup clattered loudly as it fell to the ground, sending shivers down everyone’s spine.
The merfolk flinched, blood streaming down their face. They opened their mouth, but their throat had been slit, rendering them unable to scream. Their eyes, tamed and submissive, showed fear and panic.
Xia Qing was also left dumbfounded, unable to utter the words he had intended.
Lou Guan Xue lowered his gaze, meeting the eyes of the merfolk. A faint smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips.
“It’s said that the merfolk were once rulers of the sea, fierce and dominant, roaming the oceans and feasting on snow wolves. Fortunately, we obtained a snow wolf a few days ago, and tonight, I’m rewarding it to you all. Don’t disappoint me.”
Rulers of the sea, dominating the oceans.
As he spoke, his tone carried a hint of amusement, but his emotions were indiscernible.
By now, the old eunuch had already summoned several armed guards, who carried a large cage measuring three meters high into the room.
Inside the black iron cage was a snow wolf, its fur soaked with blood and filth, its massive body resembling a small mountain. It was currently in a frenzied and savage state, emitting low growls from its throat, gnashing its fangs against the bars. Its eyes were bloodshot, filled with hunger, greed, and bloodlust. It seemed that as soon as the cage was opened, the wolf would burst out and tear people apart alive.
The old eunuch smiled ingratiatingly, his wrinkles stacking up as he said, “Your Majesty, as per your instructions, this wolf has been starved for a full ten days.”
Lou Guan Xue nodded faintly and said, “Hmm, open the cage.”
The old eunuch nodded again, obsequiously.
Xia Qing stood by with a cold expression, pursing his lips. Last time he was here, he had only witnessed the scene of the dancers jumping off the building and hadn’t seen what had happened before that. Now, witnessing Lou Guan Xue killing people firsthand, apart from the chilling blood, there was also an inexplicable annoyance emanating from deep within his bones and soul.
The moment the cage was opened, the snow wolf lunged out aggressively, its eyes dripping with blood-like greed and hunger as it looked at the merfolk kneeling outside. However, it was restrained by a chain around its neck, panting heavily, its teeth grinding against blood, unable to escape the cage. It struggled fiercely, clawing at the ground in place.
The group of young merfolk kneeling on the ground sensed the danger, their faces pale as paper, huddling together, unable to even cry out for help.
“Let them in.” Lou Guan Xue sat on the couch, still exuding an air of casual elegance, but his words were unusually cruel.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
In front of him, the eunuch acted like a submissive servant, but as soon as he turned around to face the group of merfolk, his demeanor changed, his narrow eyes filled with sinister excitement as he commanded the guards, “Quickly! Throw all these wretched slaves into the cage!”
The guards, tall and sturdy, effortlessly grabbed the thin arms of the young merfolk.
Fear reached its peak, and the merfolk’s rationality snapped. They began to flee like mad. Those who were caught struggled desperately, their legs kicking wildly, but they could only emit broken sounds from their mouths. Tears flowed from their eyes, hitting the ground, not forming pearls but still scalding hot.
The guards instantly became enraged.
“Still dare to run? Dying in front of His Majesty is your honor!”
“Despicable beasts! Ungrateful!”
“Animals!”
The palace was chaotic, screams and curses mixing together.
In the humid spring of March, the damp wind swept the bells under the eaves, making a “ding ding ding” sound.
The first to be thrown into the cage was the young merfolk whose skull was smashed by Lou Guan Xue with a cup. Blood and pain blurred his rationality, so he was slower to escape than the others. These young merfolk had been raised by humans since birth, gradually losing all survival abilities.
Before Xia Qing could react, the young merfolk had his thigh bitten off by the snow wolf.
“Ee-eee-eee—” The young merfolk in red raised his frail neck, emitting a dying wail.
The snow wolf slowly swallowed the delicious morsel in its mouth, its chewing sound thick and oppressive, blood dripping steadily to the ground. The blood formed a small river, flowing all the way to the steps.
Covered in blood, eyes bloodshot, teetering between life and death, the instinct that had long been ingrained in his bones surged forth at this moment. With his two slender arms, he clung to the cage, dragging his broken body upward bit by bit.
The piece of meat was not enough to fill the snow wolf’s stomach. After gulping it down, it continued to pounce on its prey.
But the prey had climbed to the top of the cage.
It could only roar angrily from below.
“These despicable merfolk dare to resist?!”
Unable to witness the bloody scene of live dismemberment, the old eunuch gritted his teeth in frustration.
Seeing this, the nearby guards immediately moved to throw other merfolk into the cage.
At this moment, Lou Guan Xue chuckled, the meaning behind it unclear, as he softly remarked, “Quite interesting.”
Every merfolk’s growth began from being placed by their parents into the caves of the snow wolves, where they fought as young merfolk until they became beasts, only then were they qualified to return to the sea alive.
But now, the hunter had become the hunted.
Their domesticated instincts were forgotten.
With his words, the entire room dared not make a move. The trembling old eunuch turned back and asked softly, “Your Majesty, what do you think of this…?”
Lou Guan Xue extended his hand lazily and said, “Bring the bow and arrow.”
The old eunuch replied, “Yes, Your Excellency.”
Xia Qing muttered, “…” Oh my god.
Xia Qing had initially been frantic for the merfolk, but now, all that remained was suppressed anger. “Lou Guan Xue, do you still think you haven’t committed enough evil deeds? The way you are, you’ll end up in the depths of hell!”
Lou Guan Xue paid no attention to the others in the hall and leisurely remarked, “Is that so?”
Filled with curses, Xia Qing did what he could and ran to the side of the cage. His hands couldn’t touch the living beings inside, so he tried to pull the chain on the other side, attempting to restrain the snow wolf.
However, on the other side, Lou Guan Xue had already received the bow handed over by the eunuch and descended from his high couch.
Walking barefoot through the flowing blood, his robes remained snowy white.
Inside the massive black cage, the enraged snow wolf and the trembling young merfolk on top of the cage were a scene of terror.
The newly crowned emperor stood in the center of the hall, tall and elegant, his posture resembling that of a bamboo in refinement, yet his actions with the bow were akin to a demon in a sea of blood.
The first arrow.
Lou Guan Xue’s lips curled into a smile as he raised the bow, originally aiming at the maimed young merfolk.
Unexpectedly, at the moment of release, the arrow shifted precisely, striking the iron chain instead.
The entire hall was stunned, frozen in place. The old eunuch was particularly bewildered—everyone in Chu knew His Majesty’s extraordinary archery skills, his arrows never missed their mark, piercing targets from a hundred paces. This…?
Unseen by others, his arrow had passed through Xia Qing’s hand.
Xia Qing’s suppressed anger instantly ignited his rationality, and he raised his head abruptly, his hazel eyes burning with a fire that seemed capable of scorching souls.
Lou Guan Xue seemed unperturbed, taking three arrows and restringing the bow, squinting his eyes.
This time, the icy arrowhead was aimed at the terrified, tearful young merfolk.
“Ugh… uh…” The young merfolk’s leg was still bleeding from the bite, and he shook his pale head, seemingly pleading for mercy. However, all that came out were hoarse, broken murmurs. Tears dripped down, his fingers spasming as they gripped the iron cage. He was too young, not knowing what to do.
But when he looked into the eyes of the snowy-clothed figure, Xia Qing noticed not only fear but also a deep reverence that penetrated his blood and soul, as well as… an almost devout dependence.
Outside, the dark clouds pressed closer and heavier, occasionally lit up by lightning that pierced the black sky like silver serpents.
Yet the impending thunder that should have sounded on the night of the Jingzhe still did not arrive.
The old eunuch, excited by the blood, raised his head eagerly.
All the guards were excited too, watching the show with glee. After all, to them, the merfolk were just playthings.
The captured young merfolk turned as pale as paper, their spirits shattered, witnessing the fate of their comrade.
The arrow was on the string, ready to be loosed. At the last moment—
“Stop!”
Xia Qing gritted his teeth, unable to hold back any longer.
His soul surged through the blood-soaked floor of the hall, his chest ablaze with anger, his eyes seeming to want to crush Lou Guan Xue’s bones to dust. He lunged forward, trying to grab the hand that held the bow.
Xia Qing was already in a state of raging madness, but this time his hand did not pass through Lou Guan Xue’s body. He grabbed the wrist, feeling the chilling touch.
“You—!”
As Xia Qing looked up in sudden astonishment, Lou Guan Xue had already begun to smile.
The next moment, Xia Qing felt everything spinning, as if he was being pulled forward by something. As his soul entered the body, it felt like crashing into the ground alive.
The excruciating pain enveloped every part of his being, tearing at his soul, accompanying him like a shadow, as if it had been with this body for many years.
It is too painful.
Xia Qing’s arm went limp, and the bow and arrow fell to the ground.
His expression contorted, and he knelt halfway down.
“Your… Your Majesty?!” The old eunuch, forgetting about the show, called out in panic.
The crowd surged, various exclamations filling the air, but it was all chaotic noise to Xia Qing.
The gust of wind brought a slight chill and raindrops, blowing over the ground, while the bronze bells on the eaves continued to ring, tinkling incessantly.
At the same time, Xia Qing heard Lou Guan Xue’s low laughter. Initially light, it became more and more unrestrained.
“Haha… hahaha—”
Cold, distant, eerie, and mad.
Boom! A thunderstorm erupted outside the Zhai Xing Tower!
The thunder, which had been lurking in the dark clouds for a long time, finally descended.
Muffled but loud.
All living things awakened from hibernation, and insects emerged one after another from their burrows.
The rain fell heavily, as if washing away all the heat and dryness.
Xia Qing was in agony, his body curled up.
In his blurred vision, he seemed to see the red glow of the pagoda shining brightly, casting the surrounding bamboo forest into a realm of demons.
—-
The author has something to say: Really crazy, but don’t blame the protagonist!!! There’s a reason!!! Even if I’m crazy, I won’t write it as a psychotic killer. Lou Guan Xue can be said to be the only faith and redemption of the merfolk.
I didn’t write about a tyrant for the sake of writing about a tyrant. Lou Guan Xue himself also hates blood and killing. The life and death of the merfolk is another kind of reincarnation setting, and Lou Guan Xue knows it. Of course, his sense of morality is quite weak [but here he only forced Xia Qing to take over, not kill]. The bond between Lou Guan Xue and the merfolk is incredibly complex, almost the biggest foreshadowing in the entire story.
Between Lou Guan Xue and Xia Qing, I really wanted to write three sentences. Just when I was saving the draft next to the full text, I opened this chapter in a fit of inspiration. I’m not even sure if it will be accepted for publication.
Actually, their character settings are pretty good, at least I’m very satisfied.
Thank you for the chapter 😍
Whoaaaaa….
So Xia Qing possess the mermaid??
He possesses Lou Guan Xue
wow I’m curious whats gonna happen next
thank you for the chapter :3
It’s strange, but interesting
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
15 and already so cunning…. go do algebraic equations or something…
Damn thank god for the author’s note cuz if xia qing didn’t kill lou guan xue first, I f*cking will!!! Even if it’s for show, it’s still so inhumane 😭😭