Volume 1, Chapter 22: A Man's Dignity

“Aunt Yang, I feel like I’ve let my parents down. I don’t want to go back and disturb them. They’ve had another child, someone good, a source of hope. They just want my younger brother not to disappoint them like I did.” I wasn’t sure if I was comforting myself or answering Aunt Yang. In any case, I truly lacked the courage to face my parents and their new family of three.

Aunt Yang’s persuasion failed, and in the end, she only expressed regret before telling me about Zhengnan Xu. “Xiaoyue, Zhengnan went abroad when he was in university. Now that he’s back, I hardly see him. I feel quite lonely at home. If you have time, come over for dinner and a chat, okay?”

“All right…”

The people inside the garden had almost completely severed contact with the outside world, so their secrets remained well-guarded. After a long pause, Ailian Fang slowly lifted her head, her expression indifferent. “You keep watching by the gate. If you get a chance, slip inside and gather some information.” Jiziran never questioned her orders; when she commanded, he obeyed.

Red walls, blue rooftops, warm colored lights adorned the silver treetops, and the street was filled with the laughter and joy of children.

Seeing their behavior, Linyue couldn’t help but smile. It seemed the psychology lessons were bearing some fruit.

The door slammed and rattled as if it were about to shatter, and the piercing screams of the Zuo family cut through the air, hysterical and devoid of all reason—madness incarnate.

When I held Zhang Mengfei, she struggled again, several times hitting the wounds on my body. That hurt.

As Wei Yi softly said, “Time,” Zhao Yuanrong immediately straightened up, his eyes sharp as he peered toward the door, inching closer until he touched the doorframe.

Seeing them in such a disheveled state, Linyue said, “This is your first time witnessing this kind of scene. I won’t pressure you. Just watch carefully and quickly adapt to this environment.” With that, he paid no more attention to them and continued searching.

“I have the Dragon Seal, and the Emperor’s support. You dare not kill me. Even if you don’t obey me, what can you really do?”

“Yes, master,” the servant replied, turning swiftly to make preparations. Anan, hearing the commotion from his room, hurriedly dressed and came over. In the garden, he ran into Zhang Fangfang, and after a brief consultation, they dared not delay a moment longer and went about their tasks separately.

I thought for a moment and suddenly startled myself. It seemed I had found a reasonable explanation: this room was unlikely to be for sleeping, but if it was for laying a corpse, it made perfect sense. A chill ran down my spine. Damn it, was this a mortuary?

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“Have you considered… that these ointment-applied national demons might have been summoned during our last spirit ritual? Do you remember Ye Qiao Zhen asking us to find the Hundred Bone Pit?” Lin Jing proposed a shocking theory to Meng Gui.

At just sixteen, she stood beside her master, still gripping the Red Lotus Blade with vigilance.

A golden giant elephant enveloped Lin Dong, carrying a momentum that seemed to shake heaven and earth as it charged fiercely at Luo Tong.

Since he began cooking porridge, Mu Liunian had gradually learned a few tricks from the maids and imperial physicians. He knew that diverting attention could effectively ease Qianxia’s morning sickness, so he didn’t mind bringing up some unpleasant topics at this moment.

Yue Xian stopped in his tracks, hesitating. The soldiers lined up, drew their bows, and unleashed a relentless volley of arrows aimed at Yue Xian.

Upon hearing this, Gu Manman realized that Old Master Tong had deliberately backed her in front of all the guests after hearing that someone intended to cause trouble.

“Uh… okay, I’ll cooperate with you.” Although Xiao Yue hadn’t fully figured out what he wanted to do, as long as he was there, even the most difficult tasks seemed less daunting.

After finally enduring until the fifty-thousand-strong army entered and sentries were withdrawn, his sedan chair was lifted again, heading toward the governor’s mansion.

Microconcentration didn’t bother him, but since he was standing in for this identity, he had to consider the feelings of the Princess Dowager. In early twelfth lunar month, Ming Danshu came specially to Weiyang Palace for this matter.

The carnivorous trumpet flower extended its “tongues,” tightly binding a flying insect-person and preparing to swallow it, but a scythe insect-person followed, severed all its “tongues,” then stomped on its stalk and pursued relentlessly.

Latina’s words caught everyone off guard. She had come specifically to apologize, not to cover for her companions?

“You don’t belong here, but you are not ordinary people either. You have your own goals, right?” The second question was also asked.

Everyone looked at the mysterious card deck in Kisha’s hands. Would the appearance of this enigmatic deck unravel a series of past events?

Nothing strange here. In terms of skill, Yang Tianqing was actually stronger than Yang Yi, though now it was useless.

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Entering the city, it was obvious this place differed from others. The population was immense, and everywhere one saw handsome men radiating powerful auras, as if all the world’s geniuses had gathered here.

Qu Jun listened in stunned confusion as Xiao Lin recounted everything—including the unexpected discovery of gold coins and how many factory-produced items were brought here.

All the martial arts masters were deeply concerned. The disrespectful and unruly were about to follow Liu Zhi’s lead but were stopped by the Pure Sound Master’s wife, who cautioned that Liu Zhi knew what he was doing.

Someone had struck from behind, throwing the hall into chaos. People exchanged suspicious glances, while only Dan Xunfei observed carefully.

“You did all this just to take revenge on the Feng and Chu families?” Feng Qianlin strode toward his father.

The man lay half-reclining, his deep eyes half-closed, surrounded by a mist that softened his handsome features and softened the sharp edges of his cold demeanor.

Mu ZiqianI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.