The friendship forged by the Peach Blossom Cake is quite profound; at least, Wen Changchu couldn’t comprehend it.
On the way back, Ning Shaosi yawned, and Lou Muge willingly offered his shoulder for Ning Shaosi to rest on.
Initially bashful, Ning Shaosi blushed only after Lou Muge forcefully pressed him onto his shoulder. He obediently buried his head in Lou Muge’s neck, the scent of peach blossom honey lingering in his nose.
Observing this, Wen Changchu’s gaze toward Ning Shaosi became increasingly guarded, silently acknowledging the effectiveness of Lou Muge’s people skills.
Upon returning to Shan’an City, a crowd gathered at the city gate to welcome them. However, the disheveled appearance and altered numbers of the returnees caused a commotion.
The unfortunate man bitten by the corpse had a young wife at home. Upon hearing of her husband’s death, she collapsed, kneeling on the ground, sobbing with a hauntingly mournful tone.
People whispered and discussed, creating a cacophony that buzzed in Lou Muge’s ears, making him eager to leave.
Before he could take a few steps, someone grabbed him. Turning around, he found a stranger, who immediately knelt down and cried, “Little Immortal, please save my mother! Her eyes… can’t see clearly anymore!”
The crowd gasped; another afflicted person had emerged!
Lou Muge thought, “I can’t cure illnesses,” but instead, he told the man to stand up and, with a mysterious air, said, “Don’t worry; tomorrow, I will visit your home.”
The man wiped away tears, repeatedly thanking him, “Thank you, Little Immortal. If you save my mother, I’ll surely set up a shrine for you and worship for generations.”
Lou Muge gave vague assurances, hastening his steps to avoid being detained again. His thoughts lingered on Tao Ming, wanting to return quickly to investigate the twins’ background.
Upon reaching Tao’s house, Lou Muge saw Tao Zhai sitting on the stone steps, who glanced at him upon hearing footsteps.
The house behind him was lit, and the sound of flowing water emanated from that direction. Lou Muge raised his chin, asking, “Is your brother inside?”
Ignoring him, Tao Zhai coldly turned his face away, not responding.
“You don’t have to say; I can see.” Lou Muge chuckled, the tone carrying a carefree meaning. “My eyes are quite exceptional.”
He squinted, staring at the door as if trying to see through it.
Suddenly, Tao Zhai stood up, blocking the door with his body, a sharp gaze directed at Lou Muge, a hint of murderous intent flashing.
Lou Muge, unfazed, looked at him and nonchalantly said, “Just now at the cemetery, your brothers were unharmed, right?”
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.
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Wen Changchu couldn’t bear it any longer. He howled and lunged forward, attempting to cross the distance. However, as he took a couple of steps, he unexpectedly got tripped by Ning Shaosi’s foot, his entire face planted on the ground.
Whether intentional or not, Wen Changchu swiftly got back up, glaring at Ning Shaosi with gritted teeth.
Ning Shaosi’s expression softened, offering a apologetic smile to Wen Changchu.
Taking advantage, Lou Muge stepped on the tip of Wen Changchu’s tail and whispered, “Don’t make a fuss, behave.”
Wen Changchu obediently lay down, but he meticulously kept a mental record of this incident.
Seeing him settled, Lou Muge looked up and said, “I don’t care about you; I care about your brother, that’s all.”
As he finished speaking, the door behind Tao Zhai opened. Tao Ming, with a washed face and changed into clean clothes, slowly emerged. Tao Zhai hurried to support him.
Steam rose from Tao Ming’s body, droplets of water clinging to his hair. The two brothers, with their fair skin resembling jade, stood out in the crowd, unlike the locals. Lou Muge lightly patted Tao Zhai’s hand in consolation, and Tao Ming, with a gentle tone, thanked Lou Muge, “Many thanks to Young Master Lou for your concern. My younger brother and I are unharmed, relying on everyone’s assistance. Thank you, Lou Muge.”
Tao Ming wore an outer layer of cotton, revealing only a white single garment underneath, exposing his fair neck.
Lou Muge’s gaze swept around his neck, but there were no bite marks to be seen.
He shifted his gaze away and said to Tao Ming, “It was a small effort; no need for thanks.”
He then turned and went back to his room without saying more, but his thoughts were crystal clear.
He had clearly seen Tao Ming being bitten, yet now Tao Ming stood unscathed in front of him. It was enough to indicate something peculiar about the brothers.
Upon closer consideration, the strange illness started after the arrival of the brothers. Tao Ming was the first and only survivor, yet now he revealed such a significant flaw.
The odd occurrences in Shan’an were undoubtedly connected to the Tao brothers.
After returning to his room, Lou Muge sat on the bed and untied his braids, letting his long, black, slightly curly hair fall. He picked up a bell, tossed it casually onto the bed, and removed his cotton robe.
Ning Shaosi sat beside him, with Wen Changchu tugging at his clothes. He smiled playfully, seemingly amused, while Wen Changchu bared his fangs, displaying a fierce expression, eager to tear off Ning Shaosi’s clothes.
Lou Muge used a ribbon to tie up his hair, giving him a youthful appearance with bright eyes and white teeth. He turned to look at Ning Shaosi, then kicked off his shoes, stretched out on the bed, and closed his eyes to sleep.
Ning Shaosi turned his head, his gaze lightly falling on him, a hint of loss concealed, no longer engaging in playful antics with Wen Changchu. After extinguishing the candle, he climbed onto the bed, lying down properly, but kept his eyes open.
In the darkness, he maintained this posture for a long time, accompanied by the sound of long breaths. Slowly, he closed his eyes.
Lou Muge’s sleep was not entirely sleep; most of the time, he used the scarce spiritual energy from the mortal realm to catalyze the fusion of body and soul. He knew that a tough battle awaited him in the immortal realm, and going there with his current strength would be seeking death.
Too many people wanted to kill him. In the past, it wouldn’t have been a concern, but now he was too weak, forcing him to disguise himself as a girl to hide his identity—no one would expect the former unruly Demon Lord to look like a young girl.
No matter where he went, no one would suspect that he was Lou Muge.
Recovering his sword would significantly improve the situation.
Lou Muge entered a deep sleep, his spiritual energy circulating in his body. When he was fully focused, a crisp sound suddenly interrupted his consciousness. His eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes in the darkness.
The sound came from the courtyard, very faint, but it couldn’t escape Lou Muge’s ears. He sat up, and saw Wen Changchu already on alert, his wolf eyes gleaming with a faint, eerie light.
Lou Muge exchanged a glance with him, quietly lifted the blanket, walked to the door, and heard a series of footsteps crossing the courtyard, followed by the sound of the door opening.
It was either Tao Ming or Tao Zhai. Lou Muge thought, he had just discovered their secret, and the two brothers couldn’t sit still. They must be going out in the middle of the night, but he didn’t know where.
He wouldn’t miss this opportunity. Lou Muge looked back at Ning Shaosi, then opened the door and silently followed.
The moon hung high, casting a bright glow. Lou Muge moved almost without a sound, and from a distance, he saw the figure of the young man in grey walking ahead. The limping silhouette indicated it was Tao Ming.
He walked at a decent pace, but Lou Muge and Wen Changchu wouldn’t let a blind and limping person outpace them. They followed at a leisurely pace, only to see him walking out of Shan’an City, heading to a desolate place. Suddenly, he crouched down.
Tao Ming seemed to be searching for something. He didn’t linger long, stood up, brushed off the dirt from his hands, and retraced his steps.
Lou Muge and Wen Changchu stood aside, watching Tao Ming pass by. He seemed genuinely unable to see anything, but he walked without hesitation.
After he passed, Lou Muge went to the spot where Tao Ming had crouched. He saw a conspicuous small pit in the snowy ground and touched it, feeling a hard object.
The soil around the object was still soft. Lou Muge hastily unearthed it, revealing a peculiar stone statue.
The statue was palm-sized, with a face lacking eyes and a nose. It only had a peculiar mouth with fangs, and inside the mouth were concentric rows of sharp teeth, making it look extremely strange.
Lou Muge placed the stone statue on the ground, and with a wave of his hand, a glimmer of light gathered, creating ripples of waves. He gently tapped the statue.
At the moment his fingertip touched it, Lou Muge’s ears suddenly buzzed. Countless voices rushed in, amidst the cries of birds and beasts, there were countless people screaming and wailing. It was like a thunderous explosion, brutally assaulting Lou Muge’s ears.
“Let me out!”
“Help!”
“Have mercy on me!”
“Ahh—!”
These voices pierced him from all directions, unavoidable. Amidst the myriad roars, a familiar voice mixed in, “Save me—!”
Lou Muge felt like his head was about to explode. He wanted to pull away, but his entire body wouldn’t budge. In just an instant, he was covered in cold sweat.
At this critical moment, a warm touch rested on his wrist, pulling his fingers away from the stone statue. All the voices vanished instantly, and everything returned to calm. He took a sharp breath, turning to meet a pair of calm eyes.
Ning Shaosi was crouched beside him.
“What happened to you?” Wen Changchu returned to his human form, seeing Lou Muge’s face turn unusually grim after touching the stone statue. He asked with confusion, “Is there something wrong with this stone statue?”
“It’s a big problem.” Lou Muge calmed his heart rate after a few breaths and spoke in a serious tone. “I know why the souls of the deceased in the city disappear immediately.”
He pointed to the strange stone statue with only a mouth on the ground, “They are all sucked into this statue.”
Those souls were trapped within, constantly crying for help, but no one heard them, and they never saw the light of day.
“This is a Soul-Locking Array,” Ning Shaosi explained. “With four stone statues pressing from the east, west, south, and north, and facing inward, the souls within the array will be locked into these four statues.”
Lou Muge didn’t expect him to know about this. “How can it be broken?”
“Simply take away the stone statue that’s pressing on the array,” Ning Shaosi answered.
Thank You for the new chapter (ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡
I feel like that was too easy, surely Tao Ming must’ve sensed them or something? 🤔
💖💐💖💐
Maybe it was Tao Zhai who set up the array and tao ming didn’t want to be a part of it?