Two rows of oil lamps stood on either side of the wall, their wicks lit, emitting a putrid stench along with the flickering flames.
The light wasn't bright, nor was it a common color; instead, it had a faint green hue.
Bathed in this light and accompanied by the eerie chill, Fu Mingxu felt as if he had stepped into a tomb, or unwittingly descended into the underworld.
Han Tao held his hand, and the familiar scent dispelled the discomfort, making him feel much more at ease.
The two continued forward, the chill growing stronger. Under the dim green light, they huddled together, the only sound in the secret room being their breathing, as silent as a lifeless hell.
Soon, the two discovered the source of the chill.
At the very back of the secret chamber, a huge, crystal-clear coffin sat atop the ice. The coffin was surrounded by lamps, their eerie green light thicker than the ones they had encountered before, reflecting the human figure inside.
With his elaborate robes, gaunt cheeks, and somewhat familiar face, who else could it be but the Merman King we'd seen before?
If the Merman King at the palace banquet was an aging Merman, then lying in the coffin now is like a Merman who has long since died.
"There's no breath." Han Tao transmitted his voice to him, and the two looked at each other, neither understanding why this was happening.
Fu Mingxu was surprised, but when he looked down to examine it closely, he shook his head.
“He’s not dead.” His voice was full of doubt, and his brows furrowed. “He still has life in him, but he definitely doesn’t breathe.”
Fu Mingxu looked at the Mermaid King's chest, which remained completely still, and felt that something was amiss.
The situation suddenly reached a stalemate. Han Tao even wanted to reach out to check, but he was stopped.
Given the uncertainty, it's best to be cautious.
Just as the two were struggling to make a move, Han Tao suddenly hugged him, and Fu Mingxu leaned back and fell into his arms.
There was no space between them; her warm breath brushed against his earlobe, and her deep voice rang out: "Don't make a sound, don't transmit your voice."
The situation changed too quickly; in the blink of an eye, the two of them vanished, and at the same time, footsteps suddenly echoed in the silent space.
A note from the author:
Fu Mingxu: I understand, it's all an act.
Han Tao: Let's hold the wedding ceremony first.
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 72
A faint green light emanated from around the coffin. There was nowhere to hide in the empty chamber, except for the concealment array that operated to cover the figures and auras of the two people.
The two hid on the spot, so the situation inside the coffin was still fully visible.
Fu Mingxu pursed his lips, his heart pounding, his eyes fixed on the coffin, fearing that the Mermaid King inside might suddenly jump out.
The chest behind him was hard and firm, their heartbeats rising and falling. Han Tao's chin rested on his shoulder, their dark hair intertwined, their gold and blue hair ribbons overlapping.
As the footsteps drew closer, Fu Mingxu subconsciously held his breath. The two of them slowly turned their heads in the direction the footsteps were coming from, only to see the Mermaid Dynasty approaching.
The approaching footsteps were heavy, as if the person was wearing heavy shackles.
Fu Mingxu paused for a moment upon seeing the owner of the footsteps, then abruptly turned to look at the coffin. He turned back so quickly that his lips brushed against Han Tao's lips, and both of them stiffened at the moment the warmth and coolness touched.
But he couldn't care less about that now, because he saw the Merman King lying quietly inside, his chest not rising or falling at all, under the dim green light.
How can there be two Mermaid Kings?
Fu Mingxu looked up and gestured for Han Tao to look, but the other person stared blankly at those rosy lips.
His lips seemed more vibrant than before. Han Tao thought to himself.
Seeing that he didn't react, Fu Mingxu reached out and tugged at his sleeve, then pointed to the Merman King who was walking over, the meaning of which was self-evident.
The two continued to communicate in sign language, and after several rounds, they were able to communicate fairly smoothly.
Before long, the Merman King had arrived and was standing in front of the coffin.
Fu Mingxu's gaze swept between the two merman kings, keenly noticing the subtle differences between them.
They were dressed in the same magnificent attire, but the luster of the scales on the temples of the standing merman king was consistent with those they had seen before.
This means that the mermaid king they met at the banquet was standing outside the coffin. If that's the case, then who was inside the coffin?
Or is it that one of the two, one standing and one lying down, must be genuine and the other fake?
Fu Mingxu gestured to Han Tao, asking for his opinion.
Han Tao shook his head, his warm aura enveloping him. His fingers landed in Han Tao's palm, the movement as light as a feather brushing against it.
A tingling sensation arose in his palm. Fu Mingxu steadied himself and, as his fingers settled, realized that the character "等" (wait) had been written on his palm.
wait?
He immediately understood what the other person meant, nodded slightly, and quietly looked at everything in front of him.
The merman king standing outside the coffin was very cautious. He first scanned the inside of the coffin and, after confirming that there was nothing unusual, did not do anything to the merman king inside the coffin.
Looking at the two merman kings with their identical faces, Fu Mingxu felt a sense of utter absurdity.
Just then, the Mermaid King suddenly turned his head, his eyes fixed on the direction where the two were hiding.
Fu Mingxu's heart tightened suddenly, and he subconsciously gripped Han Tao's hand. The other man's palm gently stroked the back of his hand, signaling him to calm down.
The merman king's eyes, which he had seen at the banquet during the day, were a deep, inky blue, like the color of the deep sea. But now, the blue in his eyes had faded, leaving only a vast expanse of pitch black. He stared unblinkingly at the air before him, as if he could see right through their hiding place.
Those jet-black eyes were as still as a deep well, appearing even more lifeless than the merman king in the coffin.
Even knowing that the other person wouldn't see him, Fu Mingxu still felt a chill run down his spine when he looked into those eyes.
Soon, he understood why Han Tao had specifically instructed him not to speak or transmit his voice.
Those dark, lifeless eyes remained motionless, but the Mermaid King suddenly opened his mouth, and a sharp sound instantly echoed throughout the secret chamber, as if the space itself was being distorted to some extent.
Fu Mingxu's consciousness trembled, and his sea of consciousness felt a series of stinging pains, but none of this was as shocking as the two rows of fine and sharp teeth he saw in the mouth of the Mermaid King.
This Mermaid King is fake!
He was absolutely certain of this, and trying his best to endure the discomfort in his sea of consciousness, he gently squeezed the back of Han Tao's hand.
Unseen above, Han Tao's gaze towards the Merman King was icy cold, a flash of intense killing intent crossing his eyes, clearly indicating that he had recalled something unpleasant.
The gentle pinching of the back of his hand drew his attention back. He inhaled the comforting scent and kissed the top of his head, where the hair was glossy black.
Although the response was a little different from what Fu Mingxu had imagined, he didn't think much of it under the circumstances, assuming that Han Tao understood his meaning and agreed with his judgment.
If the one standing is not the real Merman King, then there is a high probability that the real Merman King is inside the coffin.
Thus, from the moment they arrived, it was this fake Merman King who sat on the throne of the Merman race in place of the real Merman King, issuing commands.
Perhaps it was even earlier.
The situation is becoming increasingly complicated, and it is clear that the fake merman king did all this because he was afraid that someone was hiding here.
Therefore, what he is about to do is something he desperately wants no one to know.
Thinking about this, Fu Mingxu actually felt a little anticipation for what was to come.
The two remained pressed together, perhaps having been mentally prepared. When Fu Mingxu saw the fake Merman King tearing open his flesh, he felt nothing but a slight sense of nausea.
A bizarre scene unfolded before the two of them, and he finally understood the source of the stench. The moment the flesh tore open, even with the protective array in place, the putrid stench still reached their noses.
After the fake merman king's skin was torn open, a dark humanoid figure was revealed inside. The figure seemed to have shed the heavy constraints of the skin and stretched, letting out a comfortable sigh.
Even though Fu Mingxu was unwilling to admit it, he could tell that the humanoid's predecessor was undoubtedly a human.
A putrid stench emanated from the dark, humanoid figure as it moved. After confirming that no one was around, the figure casually tossed its fleshy, bloody skin aside and jumped into the coffin.
Just then, the lifeless merman's body suddenly began to twitch. Even though his eyes were tightly closed, his struggle clearly indicated that he wanted to get out of the coffin.
With a wave of its dark, humanoid arm, the lamps surrounding the coffin suddenly shone brightly, their eerie green light becoming incredibly dense, instantly enveloping the coffin.
The struggling merman king inside seemed to sense something, letting out a dry, harsh cry before ceasing its struggle.
After about half an incense stick's time, the dark humanoid figure gradually merged into the Merman King's body, and the coffin returned to calm.
The deep green light tightly wrapped the coffin like a heavy cloth, eventually turning it into a green cocoon. However, when the cocoon broke open, no beautiful butterflies would flutter out.
As Fu Mingxu watched all this unfold, his doubts deepened. He estimated the time and then squeezed Han Tao's palm.
It's time to slip away.
Han Tao squeezed his hand back: "Okay."
The two knew this was a good time to slip away, and Fu Mingxu caught a glimpse of the fake merman king's skin on the ground, pointing his slender white finger at the ground.
Can I take this with me?
Although it's disgusting, taking it away will definitely have unexpected consequences. For example, the black humanoid imposter pretending to be the Mermaid King will be very surprised when it wakes up and finds that its clothes are gone.
The more chaotic things are, the more clues can be revealed in this fog.
Han Tao glanced at the leather bag on the ground with disgust and nodded.
Even after the two successfully exited the secret chamber, there was still no movement inside the coffin.
When the two returned to Luoguang Palace, it was still dark. The merman guards dutifully patrolled back and forth. Fu Mingxu moved his tail to the edge of the bed and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He glanced at Han Tao standing there, patted the edge of the bed with one hand, and gestured for the other to sit down.
"Do you want to see the skin?" Han Tao watched his increasingly skillful use of his tail, a smirk playing on his lips. "Now?"
Fu Mingxu only realized he could speak after hearing him speak, and quickly waved his hand at him: "Not for now."
Putting aside the fact that the disgust hadn't subsided, if there were anything strange on that skin, and the dark humanoid figure in the coffin noticed it, wouldn't that alert the enemy?
“We’ll wait until daylight.” He beckoned to Han Tao. “Sit down. It’s tiring to talk with your neck tilted back like that.”
Han Tao sat down as instructed and looked at him: "Alright, I have sealed the skin in the spirit box, you can look at it anytime."
If it weren't for the need to find clues, Fu Mingxu wouldn't want to look at that damned body; he would have preferred to throw it far away.
“I see traces of demonic energy on it.” He leaned against the bed railing, completely relaxed, his tail slapping lightly on the bed as he muttered to himself, “If it weren’t for the demonic seed inside you, I wouldn’t bother looking at that stinking carcass.”
When he entered the city lord's mansion, he thought that Han Tao had become a demon in his previous life because his cultivation had been completely destroyed and he had fallen into demonic ways in pursuit of greater power.
Later, he learned about the demonic seed within the dragon's soul.
Today, the matter of the Demon Seed has become more complex, suggesting that someone is manipulating things behind the scenes.