/warning for graphic violence
“Put it on yourself.” Murong Lian waved his hand. “Surely, you don’t need me to invite you, ‘Murong Gongzi Ye’?”
Beside him, Mo Xi could not restrain his anger. “Murong Lian, don’t go too far. The Emperor’s permission is required to use the Slave Restraint Ring—”
Gu Mang cut him off mid-sentence.
“Such a valuable gift.” Gu Mang said in a loud voice, drowning out Mo Xi’s voice. He raised his hands and took the tray. “Many thanks to Shaozhu for your reward!”
The crowd felt aggrieved for Gu Mang, but Gu Mang simply unfastened that black neck ring in an unhurried manner. He raised his jet-black eyes and looked up at a sitting Murong Lian; there was no trace of resentment in those beautiful eyes, just calmness.
Murong Lian said coldly, “Wear it.”
And thus, fixing his eyes on him, Gu Mang raised his hand. Without blinking an eye, he secured the Slave Restraint Ring around his neck in one click.
“Ah.” As if he had discovered something new and interesting, he touched his neck with great interest and said, “Not too big, not too small. The size is just right.”
Mo Xi stared at him with disbelief, “......”
The study attendants at the side who had a good relationship with Gu Mang looked as if they were about to shed tears.
But that was the way Gu Mang was. Significant issues all seemed to mean nothing to him.
Even if the sky fell, he would probably just laugh and use the sky as a quilt cover——
“Does it look nice?”
Lu Zhanxing, “......”
Murong Lian’s slender and pale finger stroked the corner of his lips. He said in an ambiguous tone, “It looks great.”
Gu Mang sincerely said, “Many thanks to Shaozhu for your appreciation.”
“No need for thanks.” Murong Lian’s gaze darkened, and he went momentarily quiet.
Suddenly, he raised his hand, and a ball of blue light appeared in his palm. Gu Mang unexpectedly fell to the ground.
The study attendant, who was called Lu Zhanxing, could not stop himself, “Gu Mang!!”
Several black thunderbolt bindings emerged from the Slave Restraint Ring and restrained Gu Mang’s upper body and his arms. The currents of thunderbolt stung Gu Mang so hard that he cowered on the ground and convulsed uncontrollably.
As if Murong Lian did not find that satisfying, he switched to another spell. The light in his palm turned red, and thorns were thrust out of the Slave Restraint Ring. It entwined around that honey-colored body, each spike piercing deep into his skin. Fresh blood instantly seeped out…...
“That’s enough!” Mo Xi could not stand it any longer. He gritted his teeth and said,
“Murong Lian, why go to such an extent?”
“What has it got to do with Mo Gongzi when I discipline my own slave?” Murong Lian said leisurely, “He’s just a lowly slave. It doesn’t matter if he is killed in the process. There’s no need for Mo Gongzi to concern yourself with this.”
“This is the Cultivation Academy. You’re overstepping the rules by putting the Slave Restraint Ring on a disciple of the academy for your own selfish purposes. Stop it!”
Murong Lian turned to Mo Xi and smiled. “If I stop just because you want me to stop, then wouldn’t I lose face? Mo Gongzi, you’re always all high and mighty, but since you have a favor to ask of me today, then I shall not be unreasonable.”
After a pause, he said, “However, shouldn’t you give me some benefits?”
He had swapped between several disciplinary methods with a chuckle as he spoke to Mo Xi.
The Slave Restraint Ring had tortured Gu Mang so much that his blood was now gushing out from his wounds in torrents.
Mo Xi stopped Murong Lian’s hands that were in the midst of casting another spell. Staring at him with black eyes, Mo Xi asked, “What do you want?”
“It’s nothing special.” Murong Lian glanced at Mo Xi’s grip on his wrist and snickered,
“Mother always complains that my skills and techniques are sloppy and substandard compared to others.”
His peach blossom, sanpaku eyes narrowed as he glanced at Mo Xi, “As long as you lose to me in the Academy’s Masters Tournament on New Year’s Eve, I’ll accommodate you.”
“…...” Mo Xi looked back at Gu Mang, only to see Gu Mang looking at him, biting his lower lip as he shook his head almost imperceptibly.
“I heard that this slave of mine had helped you a lot when you were vanquishing evil.”
“…...”
“How about it? Are you willing?”
Mo Xi replied, “......Fine. I agree.”
Murong Lian smiled and waved his hand, dispelling the punishment spells of the Slave Restraint Ring. Gu Mang collapsed into the pool of blood at once. His lips, which were always curved in a smile, could no longer make a decent sound.
Muron Lian expressed his satisfaction at this sight—
“Not too bad.”
The flames of the Slave Restraint Ring was extinguished.
Murong Lian said to Gu Mang with derision, “Just lie there until the blood stops flowing, and then put on your clothes so that you don’t have to wash them. I hope this gift will remind you to never forget your origins.” His eyes were like bee venom. “Remember how filthy the blood in your body is.”
“Remember who you belong to, and to whom you owe your allegiance in the future.”
Murong Lian was so despicable and demented that Mo Xi was really disgusted with him for a long time.
However, what Mo Xi could not understand was why Gu Mang would be so willing to follow Murong Lian with such unswerving loyalty for twenty years with nary a thought of defiance, even though Murong Lian has been so brutal with him.
Gu Mang was not a masochist. Gu Mang was smart, fearless, and opinionated. Therefore, this kind of blind loyalty baffled Mo Xi. He could not figure out what Gu Mang was thinking, nor did he know what had happened between Murong Lian and Gu Mang in the past. This remained a mystery to him even to this day.
So, when Li Wei brought up the old scores between them, Mo Xi could not help but find the reminder redundant. Wangshu Jun had already an extremely vile person, how much lower could he go?
But he never thought when he really saw that man, he would still be surprised.
When the workday was over, several young masters suggested going to the newly built pitch-pot tavern[1] in the East City to chill and relax. The new female cultivators from the Military Office also joined in the fun.
“Xihe Jun, how about going with us today?”
“......Sorry.”
“He rejected me again.” The female cultivator pursed her lips and muttered, “I know you have Princess Mengze, but are you really that stubborn that you would give no one a chance?”
Before Mo Xi could speak, Yue Chenqing popped out from behind the female cultivator.
“Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey, Xihe Jun, what are you doing?”
He yelled as he patted the nun on the shoulder and helped her out. “What’s wrong with playing together, drinking tea, pitching pots or something?”
The others also smiled and attempted to persuade him.
“Exactly, come along.”
“Pot pitching is really fun.”
Who would have guessed that a man’s voice would suddenly ring out at this time? Like a specter, it was raspy, fleeting, and chilly, carrying with it a hint of pure mockery.
“The dumb, pitches pot,
The foolish, loves.”
Following this voice, the rustling sound of footsteps could be heard from the dim entranceway of the hall.
Mo Xi turned around and saw a man with an umbrella ascending the stairs. His silhouette was indistinct and cheerless, like a lone, wandering ghost on a snowy night. The man took his umbrella aside and shook the snow off it. He raised his eyes and swept his glance across the people in the hall with a thin, mocking smile on his mouth.
“Is everyone here?”
The younger juniors of the Military Office were taken aback and greeted him in succession, “Wangshu Jun.”
“This Junior pays his respects to Wangshu Jun. ”
Murong Lian.
The man who had been AWOL for thousands of years had come.
After all these years, the old master of Gu Mang stood before Mo Xi again. He was still as feminine as before. His eyes were long and narrow. There were traces of malice among his charming appearance and frostiness among the softness of his features. His face was thinner and more pointed than Mo Xi remembered. The arrogance in his expression was even more striking than it was back then.
Murong Lian’s snake-like gaze swept across Mo Xi’s face. As if he had only just discovered Mo Xi among the crowd of people, he licked his lips, spread his mouth into a smile, and said, “Oh, Xihe Jun is there too. How impolite of me. It has been a long time.”
Yue Chenqing was a hothead who could always strike up a conversation with anyone. He beamed and greeted Murong Lian. “Brother Murong, I haven’t seen you for a long time too.”
Murong Lian treated him as if he was nothing but fart; he did not even move his eyeballs to look at him.
Yue Chenqing, “......”
Murong Lian waited, but Mo Xi did not reply, so he smiled coolly and said, “Xihe Jun, you and I have been apart for years. Why don’t you seem happy to see me at all? Your unapproachable personality has not changed at all.”
Mo Xi looked at him with indifference. “But Wangshu Jun has changed. Maybe there are too many concerns and annoyances in the Imperial City, causing you to come haggard.”
Murong Lian smiled. “Yes, after all, I am a minister close to the Emperor, unlike distant relatives like you[2]. I have to share Junshang’s worries.”
Mo Xi said frostily, “That’s so touching.”
Xihe Jun facing against Wangshu Jun was like the mutual clash of thunder and lightning, and the collision of broadsword against rock. The atmosphere was suddenly tense and hostile as if sparks could fly anytime. Of all the people in the hall, only Yue Chenqing, who had a good temper and lots of nerves, was willing to talk. He looked around, then persisted, “Wangshu Jun, it’s late, what made you come here today?”
“....…Just passing by.” Murong Lian finally acknowledged him. “It happened that I’m free at the moment, so I was thinking of inviting everyone for a gathering at the Wangshu Residence.”
After saying so, he swept his glance around and spoke with some degree of frostiness, “To drink wine or something.”
The masses did not dare to brush off his proposal. Even more so when the many people present wanted to curry favor with Murong Lian. They immediately said, “So I see!”
“Since it’s an invitation from Wangshu Jun, it would be disrespectful to decline.”
Murong Lian glanced at Mo Xi. “Xihe Jun, are you coming?”
Mo Xi took a glance at Yue Chenqing, mindful of his young age. He who lies down with dogs, rises with fleas; it was better for him to have less contact with Murong Lian.
So he said, “Yue Chenqing and I have something on so we will give this a miss today.”
“Whoa, that can’t be, what work can there be at this time!” Yue Chengqing widened his eyes in a stare, “I don’t want to discuss military affairs with you! I want to drink wine at Wangshu Residence…...”
Having said that, he hurriedly ran behind Murong Lian, looking as if he would not accept or look at the military memorial[3] even if he was killed.
He had already made his position known. Mo Xi could not force him and could only burrow his brows in a slight frown.
Murong Lian turned around. With his hands behind his back, he looked at the falling snow outside the hall entrance. He said suddenly, “Come to think of it, Xihe Jun. You and Gu Mang haven’t seen each other for a very long time.”
“......”
“I know you hate him. Before Gu Mang defected, you were the one who protected him and said he would never betray Chonghua. “He gave a quick smile. “Later on, you personally went to the battlefield to meet him, wanting to get a confirmation straight from the horse’s mouth. But he injured you seriously and nearly killed you.”
Mo Xi replied coldly, “Why bring up the past?”
“Haha, it’s not like you won’t think about it even if I don’t mention it. Xihe Jun, although you and I aren’t on good terms with each other, we both have been deceived, disappointed, and betrayed by Gu Mang.” Murong Lian said slowly, “So, although I don’t want to admit it, I’m afraid you are the only one who understands my resentment and disappointment.”
On Murong Lian’s sickly pale face, an inscrutable shadow flashed across his eyes.
“He was my slave in those days, and now he is in Fallen Blossom Court, under my charge.”
He tilted his head, his gaze light. “How about it? Do you want to go and take a look? “
Yue Chenqing innocently poked his head out beside him. “Huh? Fallen Blossom Court?
Wangshu Jun, you must be kidding. There are ladies in our Military Office. It’s not convenient to have fun at Fallen Blossom Court, isn’t it?”
On hearing this, several female cultivators flapped their hands and said, “We’re not going. Wangshu Jun, please have a good time.”
Yue Chenqing scratched his head. “Even if my fellow sisters aren’t going, Xihe Jun hates this kind of place most. I doubt he will be willing to enter that place.”
“Oh, that’s true.” Murong Lian sneered, “Mo Xi is Chonghua’s commander-in-chief, and he has always been aboveboard and upright. It is absolutely impossible for him to lower himself and visit those kinds of unspeakable and immoral pleasure houses. How foul.”
Mo Xi, “......”
“Then, how about this?” Murong Lian paused for a moment, moved his neck around to circulate his vital energy, and continued, “Fallen Blossom Court is not that far from my residence. I can command someone to bring Gu Mang over so he can add to the fun and liven things up for us tonight. Commander-in-chief Mo, consider it my treat......”
His lips were moist, and his words, sinister, “......to welcome you back, and to relieve your weariness.”[4]
Author’s Notes:
Mei Hanxue[5]: People used to say that I’m the Gigolo King. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, but today, after seeing Brother Murong in action, I realized that I’ve been shamelessly occupying this position. The title of ‘Pimp and Gigolo King’ should be conferred upon Brother Murong; he truly deserves it.
Murong Lian: ......Brother, you are on the wrong stage.
Translation Notes:
[1] 投壶 (tóu hú) aka. pitch-pot; a traditional East Asian game that requires players to throw sticks from a set distance into a large, sometimes ornate, canister. The winner was determined by the number of arrows thrown in, and the losers were required to drink as punishment.
[2] 内臣 a domestic/internal minister or a minister in the Emperor’s ‘inner circle’ (of subordinates).
外戚 relatives of a king or Emperor on the side of his mother or wife.
[3] 奏本 a document or written statement that is prepared for presentation to the Emperor.
[4] 接风洗尘, literally ‘to welcome the wind and wash the dust off’. i.e. to welcome a visitor or guest (usually from afar) and relieve their tiredness with a meal, wine, or other forms of leisure.
Kind of a double entendre here. The word 风尘 not only means travel fatigue, hardships and uncertainties of life, but also prostitution. (e.g. 风尘场所, which is also used in this chapter, refer to brothels, aka ‘pleasure houses’.) By using the same words 风 and 尘 here, Murong Lian is hinting that he’s not just treating Mo Xi to a meal or a drink on his return, but also pimping Gu Mang out to Mo Xi.
[5] 梅含雪 Mei Hanxue, a character from the author’s other novel, The Husky and His White Cat Shizun 《二哈和他的白猫师尊》
Dante's Notes:
Thank you Lianyin for translating!