Chapter 126: Song of the Twin Gods pt. 7

Without the shelter of the porch, the falling snow drifted down silently. Little Luo Xu clutched the robe in his arms, momentarily stunned by these words. If what Ming Zhuo said was true, then wouldn’t the gods of this world be no different from livestock! If the name Hui Mang was a command spell, then Tai Shao, Qingying, Wenle, and all the names of the gods in the world… were they all spells too?

Ming Zhuo said, "When you share the fire and bow for prayers, what do you have to do first?"

“Call their names,” Little Luo Xu replied hoarsely, “We must always call the names of the gods first.”

At this point, Ming Zhuo didn’t need to explain further, and he said, “You think the world is turning upside down, the natural order subverted, but that’s because you’ve been raised on the false order of the Ming family. I bet your father never doubted the legends of the Ming family.”

As loyal followers of the Queen, the Tianhai Imperial Guard was naturally deeply influenced by her, and the reason the Luo clan became the Guard had something to do with their history.

The Luo clan originally came from a small beast-taming tribe from a barren land. During chaotic times, they roamed Guangzhou with horses and leopards, excelling in warfare. The surrounding tribes couldn’t match their strength and eventually submitted, allowing the Luo clan to gradually rise to power. If not for unforeseen events, the Luo clan might have continued to dominate Guangzhou and become a legend. Unfortunately, during this era of turmoil, a remarkable woman was born in Guangzhou.

The true origin of Ming Yao is now impossible to verify. According to the written records sent by the Ming family to the Six Prefectures, Ming Yao was from the Sun clan. When she was born, the Sun clan was weak, often serving as cannon fodder for other Guangzhou tribes. Ming Yao went to the battlefield at the age of twelve, wiping others' blades clean.

Later tales love to portray Ming Yao as an elegant beauty who waved her hand and cast spells, but in reality, she spent four years wiping blades. During those four years, she was a starving, mud-covered soldier. Her turning point came during the Battle of Guangzhong. In that battle, the tribes of Guangzhou tried and failed to conquer Zhongzhou and ended up trapped. Desperate, they sent urgent pleas for help to the Luo clan.

At the time, Ming Yao was with a group of leopard soldiers patrolling the outskirts of Guangzhou. Just as the plea for help arrived, the commander of the leopard soldiers suddenly died. According to military regulations, the command should have passed to the vice commander, but he was nothing more than a useless drunkard. Faced with this crisis, he said nothing and simply ordered messengers to deliver the plea to the Luo clan.

However, the message fell into Ming Yao's hands and was never sent. She knew that the Luo clan was away on a distant expedition and had left behind only non-elite forces. They wouldn’t easily send reinforcements. Knowing this, Ming Yao pretended to deliver the message but instead led the leopard soldiers on a two-night detour, arriving at a corner of Zhongzhou. Disguising themselves as Zhongzhou soldiers, they set fire to the grain depot of one of the clans.

In times of chaos, suspicion runs rampant among allies. The armies besieging Guangzhou were a temporary alliance. When one tribe learned that its grain depot had been burned, they grew suspicious of their allies. The entire army’s morale plummeted, and they no longer had the energy to continue the siege. The tribes of Guangzhou, far from being fools, seized this moment of weakness and broke through the enemy lines.

According to the Ming family records, on that day, sunlight illuminated Erzhou. As Ming Yao set fire to the grain depot, three golden suns of the Sun God rose behind her. This battle is considered the starting point of Ming Yao's rise, for it was from this moment that her name spread like wildfire, sweeping across the Six Prefectures over the next decade.

By the time Luo Xu’s grandfather became clan leader, the Sun and Moon clans had merged, and Guangzhou was no longer dominated by the Luo clan. Ming Yao was no longer anyone’s servant or blade cleaner. She rode into battle on a leopard, seemingly blessed by the gods, with the Sun and Moon as her twin weapons. It's said her arms bore tattoos of the golden crow and the silver fang. Terms like “brilliant strategist” and “fierce and courageous” appeared frequently in military orders. She was first known as the leopard soldier of Guangzhou, then as the daughter of the Sun God who expelled the Serpent, and finally as the sovereign ruler, Baiwei-jun.

The Luo clan was the first external power that Ming Yao absorbed, and Luo Xu’s grandfather became the first Tianhai Imperial Lord. Perhaps as a form of mockery or as a reminder of their new status, the names of the next two Imperial Lords were chosen by Ming Yao herself.

Little Luo Xu’s name, “Xu,” was given by the Queen to remind the Luo clan that no matter how honourable the position of Tianhai Imperial Lord might seem, it was, at its core, just the title of a soldier tasked with patrolling the Heavenly Sea.

Had it not been for the madness of later Ming rulers, the relationship between the Tianhai Imperial Guard and the Ming family might have been even more complicated. But it also shows just how exceptional the Queen's power was, for the Luo clan to follow her so wholeheartedly, without question. That’s why Ming Zhuo could assert that the old Imperial Lord had never doubted the legends of the Ming family.

“You can’t,” Little Luo Xu snapped back to reality, grabbing Ming Zhuo’s arm. “You can’t say this anymore, and you definitely can’t tell anyone else!”

There were thousands of temples across the Six Prefectures, with countless citizens offering prayers every day. If the command spells and the devouring of gods were revealed, wouldn’t that throw the world into chaos?

The wind continued to blow as Ming Zhuo hooked Little Luo Xu’s silver beast tail, tucking it into his arms. His expression was calm, his face no longer bleeding, showing none of the tension one might expect after revealing such a secret. He simply said, “You’re so small, and you want to control me? I’ll tell whoever I want.”

“A secret is only valuable when told to the one who matters most,” Little Luo Xu pressed him. “Am I the one who matters most?”

He was using Ming Zhuo's own words against him—Ming Zhuo had once said a dog should be the very best one, which was essentially an admission that Luo Xu held a special place in his heart. Little Luo Xu knew he could never outweigh the “bigger one” in Ming Zhuo’s mind, so he leveraged the bigger one’s presence to demand a proper commitment from him.

“Even if I don’t say anything, do you think others wouldn’t figure it out?” Ming Zhuo pressed down on the crown of Little Luo Xu’s head, his hand heavy. “The bigger one came to Peidu to find me and caught me killing people in the spirit hall. Given his... or rather, your cunning nature, he’s sure to have guessed something.”

Little Luo Xu said, “And I’ve never asked you anything?”

Ming Zhuo replied, “You haven’t.”

Little Luo Xu firmly stated, “That’s because he’s pretending. Deep down, he’s dying to know. He doesn’t ask because… because he’s waiting for you!”

Ming Zhuo was puzzled. “Waiting for me? For what?”

Little Luo Xu replied, “Waiting for you to trust him.”

Ming Zhuo tugged on Little Luo Xu’s silver hair, twisting it around his finger absentmindedly. “I only trust myself. Why should I trust him? Friends and family all eventually turn against each other. Suspicion is human nature.”

Little Luo Xu, feeling like a little dog with his hair being tugged, tried to dodge. “You… why do you always pull my hair!”

Ming Zhuo laughed. “The bigger one doesn’t let me play with his.”

Little Luo Xu responded, “Well, I won’t let you either.”

Ming Zhuo continued to twist and play with his hair, ignoring him. “Does your Yafu tie your hair for you every day?”

Little Luo Xu replied, “He and I have an insincere relationship, so why would he tie my hair? I do it myself.”

Ming Zhuo thought about how Little Luo Xu’s hair would be tied up high behind his head as he grew older and couldn't help but laugh. Despite Little Luo Xu’s protests, Ming Zhuo messed up his hair, taking advantage of the moment while laughing heartily.

Since using the Blood Shackle Curse, the Lord was prone to laughter, a carefree and reckless kind, quite unlike his usual cold, mocking demeanour. He seemed drunk, unable to control his emotions—this was a bad omen.

“Hui Mang has already devoured the Fragrant God,” Little Luo Xu said, “This game should be close to ending. Why haven’t you reclaimed Him?”

Ming Zhuo lowered his hand, and a pile of fire talismans fell from his sleeve. He blew gently on them, and the talismans ignited. The wind dispersed the smoke in the air, but Ming Zhuo’s gaze lifted to the unchanged sky above.

"Hui Mang has already finished eating," his amber eyes reflected the firelight. Whether due to pain or excitement, they were filled with a kind of madness. He stared at the empty space and said, "So why are you still here?”

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