I'll Wipe Out Your Entire Family!

The man and woman sat facing each other in silence, watching one another with cold eyes. "The Taishang Dao has endured through dozens of dynasties since ancient times. Two or three thousand years have passed, yet our lineage still remains. Whether we are wiped out or not isn't for the marquis to decide," Su Mu said. "And don't bring up imperial authority or the state's sacred throne. We of the Taishang Dao revere only the Great Dao, which has existed since time immemorial. Imperial power and the state are no more than fleeting clouds."

"I'm listening," Hong Xuanji replied. He closed his eyes and uttered just those two words. Then he flicked his sleeve, and the gold token fell into it. With a hearty laugh, he rose to his feet.

As she spoke, Su Mu pressed down on the table. The gold token shot toward Hong Xuanji.

The table before Su Mu suddenly shattered into pieces. Hong Xuanji said coldly, "What a Taishang Dao, to speak with such arrogance. When Heaven means to destroy someone, it first drives them mad. Since Meng Shenji has said such a thing, the Taishang Dao's downfall can't be far off."

This scene bore no resemblance to what one might expect from a man and woman in a pleasure house. There was no one else in the room, either.

"Marquis, your eyes are as sharp as lightning. Surely a mere little spirit like mine can't escape your notice?" Su Mu asked calmly.

"Hong Yi, this is the son of a marquis from the Ministry of War and Books; this is the son of the Wang Family's Minister of Rites; this is the young marquis of Changle; and this is..."

"What a fine big hat you've put on me." Su Mu remained calm. "I'm not here to argue with you, Marquis. I'm only delivering a message from my master. These were my master's exact words. Listen carefully, Marquis."

The moment those words left her lips, murderous intent surged into the air. They could hardly have come from a woman as beautiful as Su Mu.

As he left the tall building, Hong Yi's gaze shifted. Through the narrow gap between several pavilions, he suddenly spotted Princess Zhennan standing shoulder to shoulder with him in a distant courtyard, alongside a crowd of young men from aristocratic families.

I'll wipe out your entire family—leave not even the chickens or dogs alive!

Su Mu suddenly spoke, breaking the silence that had filled the room. Her voice flowed like water. Though her words were aimed at Hong Xuanji, full of scorn, she showed not the slightest trace of anger, joy, sorrow, or any other emotion.

Hong Xuanji's face suddenly grew calm. He let out a long breath. "Su Mu, take care of yourself." Then he walked out.

Bang!

"Good. Who would have thought Meng Shenji could be so arrogant? Each time he undergoes corpse liberation, he becomes more outrageous. His calamity can't be far off."

"I came to see you today only to find out what outstanding figures the Taishang Dao had brought into the world. Now that I've met you, Su Mu, I see you truly are extraordinary. Your martial arts have reached the Grandmaster realm, where your marrow has become like frost. Unfortunately, you're still several steps away from transforming your blood and cleansing your body, until your blood flows like mercury. As for your cultivation of the Daoist arts and spirit, have you attained the Ghost Immortal realm yet?"

The room was exquisite and elegant, with an ivory canopy and pink gauze. Yet a silence so suffocating it seemed to choke the air hung within.

"This time, as I left the mountain, my master asked me to bring you a question," Su Mu said.

"The court's pillar, the Neo-Confucian statesman who holds power over the entire court, and an Academician of the Grand Secretariat—Marquis Wuwen, haven't you repeatedly submitted memorials demanding that the Flower Scattering Pavilion be shut down? Why have you come here yourself today?"

"What is it?" Hong Xuanji asked.

"Marquis, are you talking about Meng Bingyun? It's a pity. She was cultivating the Great Dao of Taishang Forgetting Emotions, but willingly fell into depravity, trapped in the Emotion Net and unable to free herself. Her spirit was badly damaged, and a villain took advantage of her," Su Mu said. "But you needn't worry. Once a disciple of the Taishang Dao falls in love, she is no longer one of us. My master won't come after you because of it. You can rest easy on that point."

"Back then, Great Gan raised its banners in the east, destroyed Great Zhou, and eventually established its rule in the south. The fighting was especially brutal. The people of Great Zhou resisted without end, and the war didn't fully stop until Great Gan's thirtieth year. Decades of warfare ravaged the south. The people were displaced, bones lay exposed in the fields, and for a thousand miles not a rooster crowed. Yet some people made a fortune through utterly vile means—plundering people, selling slaves, even sending girls barely in their teens into Great Gan's military camps to work as prostitutes. Was the Zhao Family, your principal wife's birth family, involved?" Su Mu asked.

Su Mu, the foremost courtesan of the Flower Scattering Pavilion in Yujing. Hong Xuanji, Marquis Wuwen of the Great Gan Dynasty.

As he spoke, Hong Xuanji moved a finger. A red-gold token stood upright on the table.

"What a fine command token, brimming with killing intent, as though it meant to send iron cavalry trampling across the world." Su Mu glanced at it but didn't take it. "The Taishang Dao has passed down its teachings since ancient times. We don't need the marquis's worldly power to protect us. You should take it back."

"Hmm?" Hong Xuanji snorted. "The Zhao Family of the south is an eminent clan of scholars. They followed the founding emperor of Great Gan and helped him quell the southern rebels. The court ennobled them, and three generations of their family became Academicians. It's all a matter of historical record. The Taishang Dao are outsiders who live beyond the world. Why do you care about such affairs? Do you mean to take the court's place and seize control of the state?"

The front of the gold token bore a lifelike carving of a Qilin. On the back was the bold, flourishing character for "command."

The cultivation of the spirit was hidden deep within the body, formless and intangible. So long as it didn't leave the body, no one could tell how far a person had progressed. Martial cultivation was different: one's vigorous blood and vital force showed outwardly, allowing anyone with a discerning eye to see the signs.

"My master said: I've already begun investigating what happened in the south. If I discover that your wife's birth family, the Zhao Family, was involved—and you, Hong Xuanji, knew about it—then I will wipe out both the Zhao and Hong families! Leave not even the chickens or dogs alive!"

"Marquis, please wait." Seeing Hong Xuanji about to leave, Su Mu called out once more.

"Hmm?" Hong Xuanji's eyes flickered. No one knew what was going through his mind. He looked at her once, then withdrew his gaze and went downstairs. A sedan chair was waiting below. He climbed in, and the bearers hoisted it up and hurried away, vanishing without a trace...

"The women of the Taishang Dao truly are all peerless talents," Hong Xuanji suddenly said with a smile. "You've come out this time to deal with the Eight Great Demon Immortals of the World, as well as the heretical cults of the No Life and True Void. But each of the Eight Great Demon Immortals has cultivated for a century, and their demonic arts and supernatural powers are astounding. The No Life and True Void cults are even more elusive, impossible to guard against. Alone, if you reveal your whereabouts, you'll be in danger. Take this token. With it, you can summon fifty Mo Dao Guards, fifty crossbow guards, and fifty Iron Cavalry Guards from my residence. They're all veterans who've followed me through years of war, men who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Their wills are unshakable. Even a Ghost Immortal can't bewitch them, and no evil arts will work on them."

As Hong Xuanji went downstairs, Princess Zhennan was introducing Hong Yi to the young noblemen attending the gathering.

"What did your master say?" Hong Xuanji turned around, his back to Su Mu.

"Even if Brother Shenji came to confront me himself, what could I possibly have to fear from him?" Hong Xuanji spread his hands and rested them on the chair's armrests. Without even meaning to, he exuded an air of someone who had everything under his control.

"So much like her."