Return

Huai'an Nord rushed in, sniffed the air, and without a word picked up a jar of Hundred Flower Brew and gulped it down.

"Brat, you sure know how to enjoy yourself. Come back to the Imperial Capital with me right now. His Majesty personally came to welcome you today, but you slipped away instead. The old man flew into a rage." Huai'an Nord wiped his mouth as he spoke.

"Mephist..." Mephist began.

"Mephist, shut up. My little brother was bullied here by that fat pig from House of Fox, and now you're still trying to tempt him with wine and women. I'll settle accounts with you later." Huai'an Nord cut him off.

Mephist gave a bitter smile. Who bullied whom? Your brother turned that man into that sorry state. And as for tempting him with wine and women, haven't you been tempted enough here yourself? Damn it, you even stole several beauties I had my eye on.

Qi Bei, Vajra, and Phantom were dragged through the night by his elder brother toward the Imperial Capital in a luxurious carriage. He had originally decided to remain in Star City simply because he didn't want to stand at the center of the storm. Now that things had eased up a little, he felt much better. Besides, gaining Vajra and Phantom, those two siblings, truly felt like finding a treasure. As for giving that fat pig from House of Fox a brutal beating, it was a trivial matter he had long since cast to the back of his mind.

The carriage was extravagantly luxurious. It even had a living room, bedroom, dining room, and bathing room—it was practically a house on wheels. Otherwise, it would never have needed eighteen iron-hoofed horses of immense strength to pull it.

Qi Bei half reclined in a comfortable, soft armchair, legs crossed, looking thoroughly pleased as he enjoyed the Red Cherry Fruit Phantom fed into his mouth with her jade-like hand.

"Thank you," Phantom suddenly said softly.

"Thank me for what? Oh, I know. It's about that fat pig." Qi Bei paused for a moment, then suddenly understood.

Phantom nodded.

"Heh, silly girl, you're my woman now. Him harassing you was the same as slapping me in the face. Of course I had to teach him a lesson." Qi Bei laughed happily.

Phantom's pretty face flushed. Am I his woman now? What shamelessness. At most, I count as one of the maids by his side.

"Phantom, where did you two siblings actually come from?" Qi Bei asked.

"I... I don't want to lie to you, but I truly can't say." Phantom bit her lower lip, looking uneasy.

"If you won't say, then don't. Even without you saying it, I know. You came from the west." Qi Bei wore an utterly certain expression.

Phantom abruptly raised her head and stared blankly at Qi Bei.

From Phantom's expression, Qi Bei knew he had guessed correctly. He gently took her hand and said, "You two are Qi Bei Nord's people now, so you have to trust me. And I'll trust you absolutely as well."

Phantom's delicate body trembled, and her eyes reddened slightly. A color like that of a green gem flashed through her brown pupils. She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but not a word came out.

"Don't force yourself. Tell me when you truly want to." Qi Bei patted the back of Phantom's hand with his large palm, then rose and left the absurdly luxurious carriage.

Phantom gazed at Qi Bei's vanishing back. Mist shimmered in her beautiful eyes, yet the corners of her lips lifted lightly.

The night outside was deep, and several hundred Black Armored Army soldiers guarded the carriage on all sides.

Qi Bei leaped onto a spare warhorse and came alongside his elder brother, Huai'an Nord.

"Big brother, what are you thinking about?" Seeing his brother's profound gaze, Qi Bei asked with a smile.

"I think I saw Feng Ruoyun in the Drunken Moon Garden." Huai'an Nord replied.

"Feng Ruoyun? My future sister-in-law? Isn't the Feng Family guarding the Golden Fortress in the south? Could she have been unable to resist the stirrings of spring and come early to see you? Why didn't you go over and say hello?" Qi Bei teased with a smile.

"She was wearing a veil, and she avoided me as soon as she saw me. I couldn't be certain it was her." Huai'an Nord shook his head.

Qi Bei shrugged, unable to say anything more.

The sky was still dusky. The Imperial Capital of Golden Leaf had not yet fully awakened. The imposing official residences lining Golden Leaf First Avenue crouched like hibernating monsters, making one feel a little uneasy...

Suddenly, the quiet First Avenue rang with the rapid clatter of hooves.

A luxurious carriage drawn by eighteen enormous iron-hoofed horses swept down First Avenue like a gust of wind and reached the gates of the Nord Family residence in the blink of an eye.

The coachman on the carriage half crouched, flicked the reins forged from gold essence iron, and at once the eighteen iron-hoofed horses gave a unified neigh, reared upright, and came to a steady stop.

With a creak, the six-zhang-wide grand gates of the Nord Family opened toward both sides.

The carriage slowly entered, and the gates closed once more.

At that moment, the first rays of dawn began breaking through the clouds, and the eastern sky turned a pale fish-belly white.

The great residence of a powerful clan held layer upon layer of courtyards, with pavilions and towers advancing in tiers. Unless one knew the terrain extremely well, it was easy to lose one's way inside.

A powerful clan was like a miniature world.

It had prosperity, and it had desolation.

Naturally, as a direct-line descendant, Qi Bei had an eastern courtyard of his own, despite being called a good-for-nothing. After all, he had a formidable father and elder brother.

The sun rose in the east, so the eastern side was the most honored.

Qi Bei's courtyard was enormous, with front and rear gardens, artificial hills and flowing water, and dozens of side rooms.

After settling Vajra and Phantom, Qi Bei wandered alone among the pavilions and towers. This place carried fragments of memories from the soul's former owner, making him feel both familiar with it and utterly strange to it.

Suddenly, Qi Bei's pupils contracted, and his body sprang upward.

Almost at the same moment, the spot where he had just been standing was blasted into a field of powder by a streak of blue Battle Qi.

A mysterious figure cloaked in black appeared like a ghost. A greatsword in his hand pursued Qi Bei's movements like his shadow, carving out one tremendous streak of Battle Qi after another.

Qi Bei was extremely fast, but under such a violent storm of attacks, he dodged in an utterly ragged fashion. The person attacking him was definitely a King Grade Warrior—and not an ordinary one. Otherwise, he would never have been forced into such a sorry state.

"Dragon Slash!" Qi Bei rolled like a donkey, then sprang up like a released spring. The black longsword in his hand suddenly thrust out a streak of golden Battle Qi.

The move was like a spear thrust after feigning retreat, its angle devilishly cunning and utterly unexpected.

The black-robed man clearly had not expected Qi Bei to have such a move. His pursuing body faltered, and he hurriedly raised his greatsword to block.

At that moment, Qi Bei flung a handful of powder from his hand at the black-robed man.

As smoke and dust obscured the black-robed man, Qi Bei's body arched backward like a snake and lay flat on the ground, sliding soundlessly beneath him. The black longsword in his hand suddenly burst into golden radiance and thrust straight toward the black-robed man's lower body.

The black-robed man's expression changed drastically, and blue Battle Qi abruptly covered his entire body in a layer of Battle Qi Armor.

Qi Bei's golden Battle Qi pierced into his crotch, but after barely entering half an inch, the sword tip was caught fast.

The black-robed man let out a low growl and thrust his greatsword straight at Qi Bei's throat.

Qi Bei neither dodged nor retreated. The golden Battle Qi on the black longsword in his hand flickered, and the Battle Qi Armor over the black-robed man's groin actually began to collapse.

The black-robed man's body stiffened. The sword tip pressed against Qi Bei's throat without moving. He clearly felt an icy chill between his two testicles.