Chapter 64: The Divine Forbidden Lands

The cold wind whipped against his face as the giant spirit leopard sped forward, leaving the towering city walls of Pei Du far behind in just a few moments. In the mist and rain, Ming Zhuo raised his hand and whistled.

Luo Xu said, "Calling for it now, isn't it a bit too late?"

Ming Zhuo casually released his fingers, unhurried, "What’s there to fear? I’m calling my cat."

As he spoke, a roar was heard, and Prime Minister Hua, having lost its master, caught up. Luo Xu's giant spirit leopard was enormous, and Prime Minister Hua, running beside it, looked much smaller, almost like a house cat in comparison.

Due to the heavy rain, Luo Xu lowered his body, "Your cat looks very familiar."

The space on the leopard's back was narrow and cramped. As Luo Xu lowered himself, Ming Zhuo's back pressed against him. The silver armour was hard and cold, jabbing into Ming Zhuo, making every word and every sentence he heard feel like an interrogation.

He remained expressionless, "Familiar? It was given by your father to the former lord. Unfortunately, it had a terrible temper, and the former lord got tired of it after two days of training. It eventually ended up with me and has been my only companion for many years."

Luo Xu said, "Is this your only friend?"

Ming Zhuo replied, "Yes, my only friend. Do you think it's cute?"

Suddenly being so candid, with a slight smile, it seemed as if discussing Prime Minister Hua was the only thing that could make him happy. Luo Xu kept his eyes ahead, his tone very serious, "Cute."

At the end of the road was a spirit stone bridge, with misty fog beneath it, and faint sounds of flowing water could be heard. The Heavenly Sea guards rode onto the bridge, which began to shake. Initially, they thought it was due to the weight of the horses, but soon they realised it wasn't the horses but something underneath the bridge causing the tremors!

"Lord…"

A giant hand grabbed onto the bridge, followed by the emergence of a giant statue from the water. Its solemn face, with deep, chiselled features, seemed somewhat familiar to everyone present as it stood up.

One of the guards finally said, "It's… it's the former lord!"

The giant statue, resembling the former lord, stood up straight and, with water plants clinging to it, punched the spirit stone bridge with great force.

Pēng!

The bridge shattered, stones flying everywhere. The horses beneath the guards were terrified, rearing and neighing in chaos.

Ming Zhuo cracked his knuckles, giving a cold command, "Smash that bridge!"

The giant statue raised its fist again and struck the bridge. The bridge sank and then collapsed! With a thunderous crash, all the guards fell into the water below.

Amid the roaring thunder, Ming Zhuo swiftly retaliated. The raindrops flicked from his sleeve creating an arc in the air. As the arc dispersed, his elbow had already landed in Luo Xu's palm.

Dōng!

The wind tousled Luo Xu's silver hair as he gripped Ming Zhuo's elbow, "Is this also your 'cat'?"

Ming Zhuo replied, "This is your reward."

Luo Xu tightened his grip, leaning forward with an overwhelming presence, "Reward me with what? Yourself?"

All along the way, he had been relatively polite, even when taking Ming Zhuo onto the leopard's back without forcing any touch. Now, holding Ming Zhuo's elbow, it was as if he had received a gift. Ming Zhuo didn't know Luo Xu well and thus didn't realise that for this Heavenly Sea Imperial Lord, anything that was his, he never hesitated to take.

The black panther struggled to maintain its balance for a moment, but the broken bridge no longer provided any support. As it bent its back slightly, intending to leap towards the base of the bridge, Prime Minister Hua, unable to restrain himself any longer, took advantage of the panther's moment of gathering strength and pounced fiercely.

The panther roared, its body swaying instantly, causing the two people on its back to sway as well. Ming Zhuo could have run, but Luo Xu was holding his elbow and pressing against him from the front. The weight of Luo Xu's entire body, as heavy as a mountain, toppled him directly into the water.

Huālā!

Water splashed everywhere as both of them plunged into the raging river.

Order———

Ming Zhuo reached out, trying to grasp the lightning, but instead, he was seized! Due to the impact of the water, his black hair partially came loose, and his red robe slightly opened, revealing his figure as Luo Xu caught him from behind.

How hateful!

The two of them surfaced, and Ming Zhuo coldly commanded, "Let go!"

The giant statue's hands smashed into the water, searching everywhere, calling out, "Lord... where is the lord..."

The waves created by the statue's strikes pushed the two of them out of the bridge's range. This river, which had once been a main road for carriages and horses, was turned into a forbidden area due to the Ming Clan’s request to the Moon God, Hui Mang, to prevent surprise attacks from enemy troops. In a later battle to defend the city, this area was converted into a moat. Therefore, anyone who fell in could not use any spiritual power.

This place was meant to be Ming Zhuo's trap for Luo Xu, but things didn't go as planned. The giant statue he summoned was incomplete, a clumsy stone figure that could only smash things randomly.

The river's current was swift, and after a stretch, it led underground. Ming Zhuo spun around several times, feeling as if his waist was about to break. He tilted his head to avoid the splashing water, gasping for breath and had to push against Luo Xu's shoulder with his free hand. "Mix-breed, you're so reckless—"

Luo Xu, his silver hair now wet, listened to his angry words and simply lifted his arm, bringing the two of them closer together.

The river channel sloped downward, and as they entered the underground, the surrounding light dimmed. The narrowing channel caused the water flow to become more turbulent, with simple and crude stone carvings on the walls. Luo Xu glanced around and noticed symbols representing the dual gods of the sun and moon.

The sound of rushing water grew louder, and Ming Zhuo said, "There's a sacrificial pit ahead!"

"Sacrificial pit" was an ancient term, referring to places used for sacrifices in pre-Baiwei times. During a campaign to expel the Hugui tribe, Queen Ming Yao once buried six hundred Hugui people alive in a sacrificial pit in Chi Prefecture. The Ming clan acquired the secret of stone carving from the Hugui tribe and used it to build a mobile divine palace. That's why Ming Zhuo claimed he could move the divine palace back to Changcheng whenever he wanted.

However, after Queen Ming Yao unified the Six Prefectures, sacrificial rituals declined. Unexpectedly, there was still one near the outskirts of Pei Du.

The channel narrowed further, leading to a man-made break ahead. The roaring water pushed them straight towards it.

Luo Xu suddenly asked, "You really want to kill me, don't you?"

Ming Zhuo sensed something was wrong. "What are you doing?"

Luo Xu grabbed his hand. "Taking you with me to die. After all, we 'share life and death.'"

He emphasised the last four words. With a loud crash, they were both swept out of the break, plummeting down!

Pēng!

Ming Zhuo fell into the water again, the silver armour clinging to him, with Luo Xu's silver hair brushing against his cheek. Luo Xu, an excellent swimmer, used one hand to guide Ming Zhuo and the other to swim upward.

Moments later, they finally surfaced. Ming Zhuo lay on the shore, coughing up water, his expression cold as he pushed Luo Xu away. "I'll kill you!"

Luo Xu turned on his side, lying down. "It hurts."

Ming Zhuo responded, "I hope it kills you!"

Luo Xu turned his head, his eyes bright, looking at Ming Zhuo for a while. After a long pause, he looked up and said softly, "It's not me who's in pain."

Ming Zhuo's face turned pale instantly. He propped himself up, a few strands of wet hair hanging down. Water dripped drop by drop from the tips of his hair, and he remained silent. It seemed difficult for him to admit, or maybe he couldn't believe that he had truly formed a contract with someone.

Luo Xu remained silent, staring upwards, almost as if he didn't exist. After a long while, Ming Zhuo raised his hand and grabbed Luo Xu's silver armour.

"Ng?" Luo Xu resumed his indifferent tone. "Going to punish me for insubordination?"

Ming Zhuo said, "Take it off."

Luo Xu was momentarily stunned, quickly glancing at him, doubting his hearing. "What?"

Ming Zhuo's expression returned to normal. He lifted his chin slightly and repeated, "I said take it off."

Luo Xu replied, "I won't."

Ming Zhuo said, "If you don't, I'll kill you."

Luo Xu couldn't help but laugh. His smile was very charming. The Heavenly Sea Imperial Lord was just over twenty, slightly older than Ming Zhuo. Despite trying to hide it, there was still some boyishness in his smile. He seemed to surrender, "Then go ahead."

Ming Zhuo really did take action. His cold fingers traced the edge of the silver armour, reaching Luo Xu's neck. Luo Xu's body temperature was very high, almost hot, making Ming Zhuo's fingertips lift slightly, searching for a way to remove the armour.

Luo Xu suddenly grabbed his wrist and said, "This armour is custom-made. You simply need to recite a phrase to remove it."

Ming Zhuo uttered what he wanted to say most at the moment, "Chop off your head."

Luo Xu said, "Wrong."

Ming Zhuo struggled to wrench his hand away, "I didn't want to guess."

Luo Xu didn't let go, the cold touch on his neck lingering like cold jade. He said, "Try again."

Ming Zhuo said, "Let go!"

Luo Xu replied, "That's not right."

Ming Zhuo was infuriated, "Mix-breed!"

Luo Xu said, "Almost."

Ming Zhuo shouted angrily, "Luo Xu!"

The silver armour immediately disassembled, turning into silver dots that merged into the manji symbol on Luo Xu's finger chain. His eyes reflected the silver light, making it hard to say whether he felt triumphant, but he finally let go: "So, you remembered."

Ming Zhuo withdrew his hand, his wrist slightly red. He couldn't kill Luo Xu, so he had to get up and move away from him. However, his luck was terrible today; nothing was going his way. They were still within the god-forbidden lands, preventing anyone from using their spiritual powers.

The two of them were at the bottom of the sacrificial pit, surrounded by walls on three sides except for the pool of water behind them. The pit's base was dark, yet there was a faint, refreshing fragrance in the air. Ming Zhuo approached a wall, raising his hand to feel the surface, which had slight depressions indicating carved stone images.

Cī lā—(1)

Luo Xu tore a talisman, causing a small flame to ignite. He glanced around and asked, "You've never been here either?"

Ming Zhuo replied, "No."

He used to stay in the divine palace, finding it difficult to leave. When he was young, he had a nanny who was very kind to him, often carrying him around the palace. But once, when he wanted to see the sunlight outside, the nanny took him to a window, and then... then the nanny died. 

Ming Zhuo pressed his fingers against the stone carvings with a bit more force. He couldn't afford to think about it anymore; thinking about it caused him pain. Before, no one would know, but now, it was different. Someone stood not far from him, able to clearly feel his pain. 

When did this contract begin? Was it Ming Han's doing? 

Suddenly, Ming Zhuo felt a surge of hatred, wishing he could dig up Ming Han's corpse— 

The flame floated beside him, and Luo Xu leaned slightly forward, having come to his side without Ming Zhuo noticing. Ming Zhuo pulled his thoughts back, hearing Luo Xu say, "These are the stone carvings of the Twin Gods."

The wall glowed faintly, and where Ming Zhuo had touched, there were several stone carvings. They depicted the Twin Gods of the sun and moon. 

The Sun God Tai Shao was a Golden Crow, and the Moon God Hui Mang was a Silver Tooth. From a mortal perspective, they should have been twin gods born simultaneously, with no distinction in size. The Ming clan originally worshipped the Twin Gods equally. However, after the establishment of the Baiwei dynasty, since the Ming clan were descendants of Tai Shao, they revered the Sun God as their ancestor, considering her the eldest daughter of the Jiao Mother. The "Shao" in her name signifies this status. 

In the myths of the Tongshen, the Tai Shao had three heads and three eyes. Whenever she appeared, the world would be filled with light. She brought fire to humanity and whispered in their ears, creating the first Tongshen in the world. Therefore, during the early Baiwei dynasty, images of Tai Shao's Golden Crow could be found everywhere. 

Unfortunately, all gods eventually die. After Tai Shao dissipated, the number of Golden Crow stone carvings sharply decreased. There might still be remnants in other places, but since Pei Du was the birthplace of the Moon God Hui Mang and Hui Mang himself was still present, there shouldn't be so many Golden Crow carvings here out of respect. 

Luo Xu, clearly able to see, asked Ming Zhuo, "What do the carvings say?"

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Foot Notes

1. 刺啦 is the sound of a stab.