What kind of person was Chen Mo?
In the past, Li Yuan's impression of him had been: the Noble Consort's lackey, average in strength, and fond of visiting brothels.
But Chen Mo's domineering performance at the Training Grounds that day had made her realize that this young master wasn't as simple as she'd imagined.
When it came to the blade, Li Yuan had never thought herself inferior to anyone. Among her peers, she had never suffered defeat.
She couldn't help developing a keen "interest" in the man who had taken her first time.
Especially after witnessing that terrifying blade intent, defeating Chen Mo had practically become an obsession.
Even in the illusion, she had...
And yet this "archenemy," this lecher who had toyed with her not long ago, had been willing to burn his life away and unleash a Dragon-Startling slash to save her from the monster's jaws!
Confusion, bewilderment, heartache... all kinds of feelings surged through her.
Li Yuan's mind went blank as she stared dumbfounded at the figure standing in the rain.
"Sir!"
Qin Shou's eyes were bloodshot, his gaze splitting with anguish.
Before transforming, Lady Liu had swallowed all the black mist.
When everyone's vision returned, they had witnessed the whole thing with their own eyes. Their hearts filled with indescribable shock!
Most of his flesh had been burned away, leaving him covered in jagged white bones, like a corpse dragged from the grave!
Even so, he hadn't retreated a single inch. He had slain the evil demon all by himself!
What kind of blood and valor was that?!
The shouts brought Li Yuan back to her senses. She stumbled over and caught the swaying body.
Her voice seemed to choke with sobs:
"Lecher, you're not allowed to die! I won't let you die!"
"You think you're the King of Hell? I still need your approval to die... And who told you I was going to die?"
Chen Mo forced down the pain and replied irritably.
Though he looked battered, his vital organs were unharmed.
Life essence surged endlessly from the key points in his body, steadily repairing the damage.
Lady Liu's methods had been bizarre and were especially effective against martial artists. If he hadn't had the Nine-Turn Green Essence Pill bestowed by the Noble Consort to fall back on, he might really have been done for today!
[You wretched servant, you'd better stay alive for this Palace.]
Thinking of Yu Youhan's cool, aloof expression, Chen Mo's lips curled slightly.
My lady, I love you!
Next time, I'll rub your feet again!
But his body had been damaged far too badly. Even though life essence could regrow flesh over white bones, he wouldn't recover anytime soon.
Suddenly, Chen Mo remembered something.
He looked down at his little head and confirmed his second brother was unharmed. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Everyone knew that a certain part of the body had no bones...
Dragging his "ruined body," Chen Mo walked over to Lady Liu.
After the monster was slain, the Liu Family's concubines had vanished. Only Lady Liu remained, lying alone on the ground, a huge wound nearly cleaving her in half.
Black dust kept drifting from the wound, and her whole body was vanishing at a visible rate.
"I thought that girl was bold enough, but I didn't expect you to be even crazier than her."
There was a hint of amazement and admiration in Lady Liu's eyes. Then she sighed softly and murmured, "Heaven's will is hard to fathom. I exhausted every scheme and laid a thousand plans, yet in the end it all came to nothing..."
"I'm sorry, Ru Yan. Your sister did all she could..."
Her words grew fainter and fainter, until they vanished from the world entirely.
Not a moment passed before Lady Liu's death had been mourned when a rat crawled out from beneath the empty clothes and scurried away along the wall.
It was about to slip into a hole in the ground ahead. A flicker of excitement appeared in its beady eyes.
Ratty's going to survive...
Suddenly, a shadow fell over it.
Then a foot with exposed white bone came crashing down!
Squish!
"Squeak!"
Ratty became a rat pancake.
[Defeated ghost creature Demon. True Spirit +100.] [Defeated demon creature Bride. True Spirit +45.]
Seeing the notification, Chen Mo raised an eyebrow.
The event wasn't over yet?
That meant there was still someone who'd slipped through the net...
With that thought, he turned and headed toward the Liu Mansion.
"S-Sir?"
Everyone stared blankly as a skeleton soldier, its steps clacking, hurried out of sight at the end of the street.
"Did the Captain really... survive?"
"He's practically nothing but bones. How does he still seem so lively?"
"Could it be the last burst of life before death?"
"Don't just stand there! Hurry up and follow him, or the Captain's gonna fall apart!"
The Liu Mansion.
With the Horizontal Blade in hand, Chen Mo crossed the threshold.
The entire residence was dead silent. The maids and servants had all disappeared without a trace.
He crossed the front courtyard, reached the rear courtyard, pushed open a door, and went inside.
The stench of decay in the room was overpowering, almost enough to make it impossible to breathe.
Qin Ruyan, the Liu Family's second madam, lay on the bed. Her face was aged, her body withered, and black death energy filled the air around her.
When he'd seen her during the day, she'd been a beautiful young woman. Now she had become a withered old crone, standing at death's door.
Hearing someone enter, she turned her head with difficulty.
She saw Chen Mo's wretched appearance and stared for a moment. Then she broke into a radiant smile.
"My sister didn't lie. She really did all she could."
Chen Mo looked at her and said calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, what you were after is beneath this bed, right?"
Judging from what Lady Liu had said and the way the Liu Family had acted, it wasn't hard to piece together the general story.
The reason Qin Ruyan had stayed in this room and refused to leave
wasn't that she didn't dare.
It was that she couldn't.
There had to be something here that she needed to conceal.
Qin Ruyan didn't answer. Instead, she spoke softly, as if telling a story:
"My sister and I were born as one body with two lives. Now that she's dead, I won't live much longer either."
"Liu treated me very well. He knew I was a ghost cultivator, but still agreed to help conceal my identity... Unfortunately, the Rat Bride chose him first, so he had to die."
"Twenty-nine lives. Only one more, and the Rat Bride could have transformed from a ghost creature into a Baleful Intent."
"Blood-sacrificing a Baleful Intent would have completed the great array... But Heaven did not grant my wish. In the end, I lost by one move..."
Clang!
A flash of blade light swept past and beheaded her.
Chen Mo shook the Horizontal Blade, looking impatient.
"Too much nonsense."
A notification flashed before his eyes:
[All the Liu Family Widows have died.] [Event complete.] [Evaluation: Highest.] [Obtained ancient text: Great Evolution True Essence Array Analysis.] [Obtained title: Fierce Ghost Buster.] [After equipping this title, you can sense the presence of demons and ghosts within a radius of five li, are unaffected by demonic energy, and deal increased damage to demons and ghosts.] [Monster! I can tell at a glance that you're not human!]
"Not bad."
Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed he'd guessed right. The so-called "Liu Family Widows" hadn't meant he was supposed to carry on the legacy of Wei Wu. He'd been expected to wipe them all out!
With a thought, he retrieved his reward.
He felt a slight weight in his palm as a black, thread-bound ancient book appeared in his hand.
The writing on the cover was mottled and faded. He could just make out the words "Great Evolution."
He opened the title page, and golden light surged forth. Countless words and diagrams, wrapped in that light, streamed into his brow.
In an instant, his mind filled with radiant skies and shifting clouds.
The unfathomable truths of the Great Dao seemed within reach, and his heart brimmed with indescribable insights.
The ancient book recorded countless arrays, including many ancient formations lost for ages. Every one of them was now imprinted in Chen Mo's mind.
Simply memorizing them didn't mean he could use them skillfully.
But as far as his "knowledge reserves" went, he was already no less knowledgeable than any master of arrays.
"So I'm basically Wang Yuyan of the array world..."
"This title's pretty useful. At least I won't be caught so helplessly off guard if I run into something like this again."
After checking his rewards, Chen Mo turned his gaze to the bed.
He was curious. What exactly was hidden beneath it, that someone would pay such a price for it?
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