Brotherhood Turned Sour, Dugu Yan Arrives Uninvited, This Is

A faint pearly glow spread across the horizon.

Li Zhixian rolled over and sprang up from the bluestone steps where he had slept.

"Last night..."

He had had a dream.

In the dream, a mysterious figure was brewing wine.

As an observer, Li Zhixian

had watched every technique and step of the brewing process with perfect clarity.

"Unbelievable."

Li Zhixian murmured. Soul Power surged across his body, shaking the dew from his hair into drifting mist.

In the hands of that mysterious figure, soul beast blood, immortal flower nectar, Spirit Light water, even the killing intent of the abyss and the most unyielding love and desire could all be brewed into intoxicating fine wine.

The crisp morning air

left the hungover Li Zhixian feeling refreshed and clear-headed.

There was no trace of last night's melancholy left on him.

"Right. Since fine wine is hard to find, why don't I brew it myself?"

"The strange materials needed for brewing must be easier to find than fine wine!"

He solemnly cupped his hands toward the distant sky.

"Though I don't know who you are."

"Thank you, whoever you are, for teaching me the art of brewing wine."

A major problem had been solved.

Li Zhixian was in an excellent mood.

That morning, he went to meet Xue Qinghe.

The moment the two met by Lotus Lake,

Xue Qinghe's smile gradually faded when he saw Li Zhixian's gleaming white teeth.

"Even if you know the Imperial Dou Team is back, you don't need to be this happy, do you?"

Li Zhixian raised a brow.

"The Imperial Dou Team is back? How did it go?"

Xue Qinghe said coolly,

"They lost. A formidable seven-man team appeared in Suotuo City. They seem to be called the Shrek Seven Devils, and they defeated the Imperial Dou Team."

Li Zhixian nodded in understanding.

He was not surprised.

Those seven... or rather, Tang San, were favored by the Douluo world. They had the protagonist's script.

Though his appearance

had shifted many plotlines away from their original tracks,

Tang San and the Seven Devils had not been affected in terms of their current strength.

As Li Zhixian thought this, he turned and saw Xue Qinghe's cold expression. He teased,

"Qinghe, why are you always angry?"

"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were a girl."

Xue Qinghe's heart jolted.

"Who... who's angry?"

Li Zhixian shook his head and smiled.

"I'm in a good mood today. It has nothing to do with the Imperial Dou Team."

Xue Qinghe curled his lips.

"Why are you telling me? It's not like I want to know."

The two sat side by side on small stools, fishing rods in hand as they watched the tranquil lake.

After several minutes of silence,

"Why are you in such a good mood today?"

Li Zhixian shot Xue Qinghe a sidelong glance.

"Didn't you say you didn't want to know?"

Xue Qinghe gritted his teeth, his face flushed with embarrassed annoyance.

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

"No."

A furious blush spread across Xue Qinghe's delicate cheeks, making him look rather attractive.

He simply rolled up his sleeves and suddenly pounced on Li Zhixian beside him.

"I've been too nice to you, haven't I!"

Xue Qinghe straddled Li Zhixian's waist, his right hand clutching the latter's collar.

"Are you going to tell me or not?!"

Pufferfish moved as though he were about to rush out of the reeds.

Snake Lance hurriedly stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

Pufferfish's eyes widened.

"Didn't you see that?!"

Snake Lance stared at the two figures tangled together in the distance. After a long silence, he said,

"It's not a big deal."

"Li Zhixian doesn't know the Young Master is a girl."

"They're just close brothers."

"Li Zhixian's talent is monstrous. Having a good relationship with him will benefit the Young Master."

Pufferfish calmed down.

"You're right."

Looking down at Li Zhixian beneath him,

Xue Qinghe suddenly realized just how intimate their position was.

Suppressing the flutter in his heart, he stood up.

"Li Zhixian, I have matters to attend to. I left the food you wanted over there. Eat lunch by yourself."

With that,

without waiting for Li Zhixian's response,

he fled as if running for his life.

Watching Xue Qinghe's back disappear from sight, Li Zhixian shook his head with an amused smile.

"Fine, I'll eat by myself. At least no one will fight me for it."

After eating and drinking his fill, Li Zhixian strolled back to his little courtyard with a blade of grass between his teeth.

He arrived at the courtyard gate and was just about to unlock it

when he suddenly sensed something. His nose twitched.

"Hmm?"

Li Zhixian's eyes flickered. He took out the Clear Spring Wine Gourd, took a mouthful of wine, and held it in his mouth.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he unlocked the gate and pushed it open.

The instant he turned to close it behind him,

whoosh—!

The sound of something cutting through the air suddenly rang out behind him.

Without even looking, Li Zhixian formed a sword gesture with his index and middle fingers and swept them behind him.

The azure Soul Power erupting from his fingertips carried an innate sharpness.

Swish—!

A lock of purple hair drifted down.

"So you really are Sword Wine. I never expected you to be so young."

Dugu Yan leaned against the courtyard wall with her arms folded. As she watched the white-robed youth several meters away, a hint of wariness flashed through her bewitching emerald eyes.

Only by facing him personally could one understand how fast and sharp Sword Wine's sword was.

He had not even drawn his sword,

yet she had already fallen into a disadvantage.

"I don't like strangers showing up uninvited."

Li Zhixian sat on a stone bench in the courtyard and tipped back his head for a drink.

He showed no courtesy toward this uninvited guest.

"You defeated stray dog, what do you want with me?"

Li Zhixian was not surprised that Dugu Yan had uncovered his identity.

After all, she was Poison Douluo's granddaughter.

But he did not know why Dugu Yan had come looking for him.

Could it be because he had refused to remove his mask for her at the Soul Fighting Arena that day?

"Just as expected of blood relatives. Dugu Yan and Dugu Bo are both eccentric and impossible to figure out."

At the words "defeated stray dog," Dugu Yan narrowed her eyes.

"You know the Imperial Dou Team lost in Suotuo City?"

Li Zhixian did not answer.

Dugu Yan continued,

"There are several powerful geniuses among Suotuo City's Shrek Seven Devils."

"Especially that Tang San. He might be able to make you draw a second sword."

Li Zhixian shook his head with a soft laugh.

"What a clumsy attempt at provocation."

"If you have nothing else to say, leave. I'm not interested in wasting words with you."

As he spoke, he rose and headed toward the house.

But Dugu Yan's lips curled upward behind him.

"Three, two, one..."

Bang—!

As the final "one" fell, Li Zhixian's legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground.

"You..."

He turned back in shock, his face paling as he looked at the approaching Dugu Yan.

"Heh."

Dugu Yan stood with her arms folded, looking down at Li Zhixian.

She liked this posture very much. It pressed her chest into a heavy, prominent curve.

She took the Faceless Mask from the Ruyi Hundred Treasures Pouch and tossed it before Li Zhixian.

"Put it on."

"You'll do whatever I tell you to do."

"Dare defy me, and I'll let the poison flare up and kill you."

Li Zhixian: "..."

He saw the excitement in Dugu Yan's green eyes.

Fuck!

This woman's a pervert!

Do all poison users have something wrong with their brains?!

Li Zhixian had originally intended to see what Dugu Yan wanted to do.

But this truly caught him off guard.

He could not keep pretending anymore.

Li Zhixian sprang to his feet, the Azure Lotus Sword already in his hand.

Sword light flashed.

It was unimaginably fast.

Before anyone knew when it had happened, the Azure Lotus Sword rested against Dugu Yan's slender neck...