“Fu Qingfeng, Fu Yuechi, I have spared your lives many times along the way. Don’t be ungrateful. It is the Emperor’s decree to escort Lord Fu to the capital. If you insist on going your own way, don’t blame me for being merciless and binding you as well.”
Two of the men in white tore off their masks, revealing two stunningly beautiful faces. Lu Xuan glanced at Fu Tianchou; yes, he was a decrepit old man. He wondered how he had fathered two such beautiful daughters.
At this moment, Fu Tianchou, who was dragging iron chains on his feet, also ran over.
"Qingfeng, Yuechi, are you two not even listening to me anymore?"
"Father!! Don't you know that over the years, which official who has been arrested and brought to the capital has ever come out alive? If you go to the capital, it's a dead end for you. They've framed you for treason! How can we watch you die?"
"...Father knows your good intentions. But His Majesty has personally issued an edict to arrest me and bring me back to the capital. When the emperor commands a subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. My purpose in coming to the capital to see the emperor is to prove my innocence with my death. I will use my head to awaken the emperor! Commander Zuo, I'm sorry to have troubled you. If they dare to intercept the prison cart again, I will commit suicide to prove my innocence. Then you can take my head with you to see the emperor."
"father!!"
"Alright, all of you shut up. Don't get involved in this anymore. Go home obediently, change your names and find a good family to marry into. If possible, carry on the Fu family name."
As Fu Tianchou finished speaking, his tone weakened. Clearly, he was aware of the consequences his death would bring to his family. But even so, he remained resolute.
At this moment, Xiao Lan, who was next to Lu Xuan, rolled her eyes.
"Young master, I see that these two girls are still young and virgins. Why not take them as your maids?"
Anyway, their father is already going to be beheaded for treason. Who knows how many people will be eyeing these two sisters then? Rather than being caught and sold into a brothel to be abused, they'd rather warm the young master's bed!
Xiao Lan, that girl, is always scheming to win Lu Xuan's favor. Because of Lu Xuan's displeasure, she doesn't dare to actually pull any tricks. But she never misses an opportunity to please Lu Xuan.
As for Lu Xuan, was he moved? Not really. He'd been through too much, and it was no longer realistic for him to be tempted by beauty alone.
But to say he had absolutely no feelings for her would be impossible. I ask you, which Chinese man could resist Joey Wong and Michelle Reis?
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Chapter 363 A Sudden Murder Trap
Fu Tianchou was the kind of loyal minister in the traditional sense of a feudal dynasty. "If the emperor doubts me, I will give my life to prove my loyalty."
Lu Xuan had initially been somewhat interested in this high-ranking man. However, after witnessing his clumsy performance, he lost interest. Clearly, Fu Tianchou wasn't cut out for it. Lu Xuan had originally intended to cultivate someone influential in the court as his covert agent. Now, it seemed he would have to rely on Ning Caichen.
However, Ning Caichen was also a fool. Although he was extremely lucky and always managed to turn misfortune into good fortune, he lacked experience and probably wouldn't last long in officialdom.
After much thought, Lu Xuan came up with a character with a minor role in the original novel: Zhuge Wolong, whose identity was usurped by Ning Caichen. This old fellow was considered a renowned scholar in this world. He wrote books satirizing the court and was imprisoned. However, he managed to live quite comfortably in prison. This showed that he was definitely not a pedantic person. He was quick-witted and adept at social maneuvering. If he could be brought into the court, it might be quite interesting.
Just as I was lost in thought, the scene changed again. The story, which had been heading down a tragic path, was interrupted by a series of cracking sounds. It sounded like a series of wooden pieces breaking.
Lu Xuan turned his head to look at the backyard of the manor, and a heavy footstep came from there.
"How dare they have reinforcements!" Commander Zuo naturally pinned the blame on the Fu sisters. However, the sisters themselves were also surprised.
"It's not us, it's all of us here."
Zuo Qianhu's expression became much more serious. He also heard the unusually heavy footsteps outside, which didn't seem like human footsteps at all.
"Form ranks!" he shouted. A group of soldiers had just begun to form ranks when an immense force shattered the entire wall. A massive figure burst through the broken wall and rushed in.
It was a humanoid monster. Its entire body was pitch black, as if covered by a layer of black keratin. Its arms were extremely long, almost reaching its knees. Its claws, extending more than twenty centimeters long, gleamed with a black luster in the firelight.
His head was covered in dense black tumors, and a pair of blood-red eyeballs could be faintly seen.
"Young Master, what is this thing again?" Xiahou, Xiaoqian, and the others were all startled by the appearance of the creature before them. Having followed Lu Xuan, they had seen quite a bit of the world, including monsters, ghosts, and zombies. But this was the first time they had ever seen a monster with this kind of appearance.
"This is the first time I've seen anything like it. It must be some kind of mutated zombie." Looking at the giant corpse before him, Lu Xuan guessed that it might also be one of those creatures cultivated by that organization. However, since this thing was lurking here alone and hadn't been retrieved by the organization, it wasn't certain. Perhaps it wasn't, or perhaps it was cultivated by them but failed to meet their intended goals, so it was left here.
Lu Xuan channeled his spiritual energy into his eyes, carefully observing the giant corpse before him. Enveloped in a dense aura of death, he noticed that this thing was formed from the fusion of more than one corpse. Connecting this to the eight coffins in the hall, Lu Xuan guessed that this might be the fusion of the bodies of eight deceased individuals from this place.
If these eight corpses happen to be from the same family, their bloodlines intermingled, making such a mutation possible.
A dozen crossbow bolts struck the giant corpse. However, those sharp military bolts barely pierced its skin; the giant corpse remained completely unaffected. With a swipe of its giant claw, it sent several of the twin sisters' companions flying.
"Scatter, everyone!" Seeing the situation was dire, Commander Zuo dismissed his men and charged forward, brandishing his long sword.
"Demon, prepare to die!"
The giant corpse wasn't very agile. Zuo Qianhu's blade struck its neck directly, sending a large chunk of black flesh flying. But the next second, the giant claw swung again, forcing Zuo Qianhu back.
"Steel chain!" Commander Zuo shouted. Immediately, several soldiers rushed out and dragged over a chain. These soldiers had clearly received similar training beforehand; a dozen of them worked together, moving back and forth, locking the enormous corpse in place.
The colossal corpse, so powerful it was almost invincible, was actually bound by these soldiers. This surprised Lu Xuan somewhat. This thing had reached a certain level of power; theoretically, it shouldn't be something human martial artists could handle. Yet, it was still powerless to resist and was easily bound. It just goes to show how profound the potential of humankind truly is.
Seeing this, Lu Xuan, who was about to make a move, withdrew his intention. However, the matter did not end there. Lu Xuan suddenly turned his head and looked outside the villa.
Xiahou and the two female ghosts also sensed that something was wrong.
"Young master, something seems amiss."
"That's right, the rain hasn't lessened, but the sound has become quieter!!" Xiahou noticed it too.
"That's because someone used some kind of magic to cover the entire manor. What a powerful technique! I didn't even notice it beforehand. It's midnight now, and the manor is filled with yin energy. Plus, it's pouring rain, making the humidity extremely high. Everything is suppressing my True Sun Fire. This scheme is probably aimed at me."
Lu Xuan admitted he had been a bit careless. He had originally thought that the other party would continue to hide in the shadows, avoiding him as before. But he hadn't expected the retaliation to come so quickly. Perhaps his trip to the capital had made the other party feel threatened.
Amidst the raging wind and rain, an inexplicable chill slowly enveloped the entire manor. At the same time, a strange flute melody drifted from outside.
The giant corpse, which had been tightly bound, suddenly became even more ferocious. The chains binding it made cracking noises, and it seemed they wouldn't last much longer.
Lu Xuan frowned, then with a wave of his right hand, unleashed a burst of True Solar Fire that instantly reduced the giant corpse to ashes. This sudden turn of events startled Commander Zuo. His expression changed even more when he saw that it was Lu Xuan who had entered.
"It's you again. You've appeared on my marching route time and time again. What are your intentions?" Lu Xuan's previous move had made Commander Zuo somewhat wary.