Chapter 122: Song of the Twin Gods pt. 3

"What scent?" Little Luo Xu imitated Ming Zhuo, lifting his nose and sniffing the air for a while. "This hall is regularly consecrated with the 'manji' symbol spell, forbidding any incense. The scent must be coming from you."

"I know." Ming Zhuo had stayed in Luo Xu’s sleeping quarters before and was familiar with the scents of the residence in the Heavenly Sea. "You've caused trouble, and I need to punish you."

Little Luo Xu lay halfway down, sulking towards the ceiling. "The sword was mine originally. You took it from me, so I had no choice but to resort to this. That's not really doing something wrong. If you're going to punish me, that reason doesn’t count."

"Punishing you is punishment—who needs a reason?" Ming Zhuo glanced at him. "Besides, you said it yourself: I don't care about you."

"If you truly didn’t care about me, you wouldn't even bother saying that." Little Luo Xu, quick-witted, changed his tone as he met Ming Zhuo’s gaze. No longer pouting, he asked, "Am I not the person you care most about? I must be! Otherwise, why would you take me everywhere with you? Now you say you're going to punish me, but isn't it really just to teach me a lesson?"

Not only was he clever, he was also insightful. Ever since he woke up, every word he'd said to Ming Zhuo was either testing or probing. And, taking advantage of his young age, his expressions changed faster than the weather.

No wonder the older version of him was so difficult to deal with—he had been honing his cunning from a young age. Each move was a calculated feint, blending defence with offense. But unfortunately for him, he had met Ming Zhuo, a mercurial and unpredictable figure.

"You think you can wrap me around your finger with just a few words?" Ming Zhuo lifted Little Luo Xu by the ankle, dragging him closer. "Too bad we’re not friends, let alone good friends."

Little Luo Xu’s head was still resting on the beast's tail, but his waist was already lifted off the ground. He hurriedly asked, "If we're not friends, then what are we?"

"What could we possibly be?" Ming Zhuo lowered a hand, making a grabbing motion near Little Luo Xu's neck. His gaze bore down, making him seem like the worst, most unreasonable person in the world. "We are either dog and owner or mortal enemies. Take your pick."

"Asking me to be someone else’s dog is worse than being some soul under another’s sword." Little Luo Xu, drenched in cold sweat under Ming Zhuo's gaze, tried to grab at the nonexistent chain around his neck, but he belatedly realised—

He deserves death!(1)

First, his hands were still wrapped in his cloak, unable to move. Second, there wasn’t even a chain around his neck!

Poor Little Luo Xu, usually so clever, unmatched in the Heavenly Sea, had only ventured beyond its borders a handful of times and was already outplayed by Ming Zhuo. Despite his boundless cunning, every trick he attempted was thoroughly dismantled by Ming Zhuo.

"They say that childhood habits remain through adulthood," Ming Zhuo teased him, clearly enjoying himself. "But it seems that for you, you’ve kept your adult habits even in childhood."

How could Little Luo Xu not understand? Ming Zhuo had seen through his thoughts and knew that, for just a split second, he'd wanted to reach for the non-existent chain around his neck. His handsome face flushed bright red, as if he’d lost face. "I... he... I don’t believe it!"

Ming Zhuo insisted, "You don’t believe what?"

Little Luo Xu replied, "I don’t believe he—"

"He is the bigger you, and you are the smaller him," Ming Zhuo refused to let Little Luo Xu sever the link between him and Luo Xu, determined to tangle them together. "What don’t you believe about yourself?"

Little Luo Xu dropped all logic: "I don’t believe that I am... with you like..."

"We are dog and master."

"What dog! Only others are my dog, but not me," Little Luo Xu bristled at the word, wriggling in protest. "No, that’s not it—why would any proper person be someone else’s dog? I don’t believe it!"

Ming Zhuo laughed. "Ah yes, why would a proper person be someone else’s dog? You’d better ask yourself someday why you left the Heavenly Sea to come to Peidu, looking for me as your master."

Little Luo Xu's heart sank. "What master! Stop saying that word! I won’t believe a single word of it!"

"If you don’t believe it, why are you reacting so strongly?" Ming Zhuo snapped his fingers, and a torn paper figure in the air yanked at Little Luo Xu’s silver hair. "The louder you are, the more you believe it. What’s wrong with being my dog? Others wish they could be. With me here, no one in the Six Prefectures or Four Mountains will ever be allowed to touch a single hair on your head."

"No wonder you always say strange things," Little Luo Xu finally understood why Ming Zhuo's care for him felt so off. "Taking my armour, seizing my sword, wrapping me in a cloak—where are you walking me‽"

Ming Zhuo gazed at his angry face with satisfaction, saying, "Ah, yes. Now that I’ve walked you enough, I’ll tie you up  with a leash right here."

"Where are you tying me up? We’re sworn enemies—we might as well fight to the death!" Little Luo Xu was furious. "Kill me now so you won’t have to keep an eye on me forever!"

"We’ll deal with the future when it comes." Ming Zhuo released him, flipping his hand to toss a broken paper figure toward the door. "I was talking to the Imperial Lord; why were you eavesdropping?"

The paper figure, torn in half during the confrontation with the Fragrant God, now barely resembled a person. But as Ming Zhuo threw it, it suddenly took on a menacing aura.

Ming Zhuo’s paper figures always acted in two stages: first, he’d send in a servant to scout, and then he’d reveal the figure’s true power in a fight. But this time, he directly unleashed its full strength, showing how serious the threat was!

The figure's ominous pipa played discordantly, but before its abilities could be fully unleashed, a fierce wind howled through the room. This wind was unusual—wherever it passed, everything was shredded, like a blade slicing through everything in its path, aiming straight for Ming Zhuo and Little Luo Xu.

"Wēng!"

Ming Zhuo quickly raised his hand, tossing out the Yin-Yang Coins. The beads spun through the air and landed on Little Luo Xu's chest.

The wind was fierce, tossing Little Luo Xu’s silver hair in all directions. Squinting against the wind, he muttered, "I have those too..."

But before he could finish speaking, the wind reached them. Pain shot through Little Luo Xu's chest—this time, it wasn't caused by the Little Crown Prince, but by the wind itself!

"Hōng!"

The wind struck them like flying knives, causing searing pain. The band tying Little Luo Xu’s hair was instantly sliced apart. His cloak, though heavy, clung tightly to him like a thick layer of protection. Forcing his eyes open, he saw Ming Zhuo, who, despite the protective silver glow of the Yin-Yang Coins, had his sleeves and collar torn to shreds by the fierce wind.

"I wondered where you got the strength to pull the divine palace—" Ming Zhuo clenched his hand tightly, summoning purple lightning that crackled loudly and transformed into a spear. His hand and face were marred with cuts from the wind, and his expression was fierce. "So, those little brats from the Qiankun Sect fed you the Wind God!"

The Author Has Something to Say

(Master Tang, drinking hot water, passed by.)

Thanks for reading.

Foot Notes

1. 该死 (gāisǐ) is similar to “damn” or “damn it” in English, but translates more literally as “deservers death”.