Chapter 78: Preoccupied

The bronze beast statues bubbled with hot water, and the bathhouse was misty with steam. Luo Xu gazed at Ming Zhuo for a moment, then suddenly leaned in closer, his eyes burning with intensity. "Why do you think I want to kiss you, bite you, and do indecent things to you?"

He pushed his palms upward, cupping Ming Zhuo’s face again, letting the towel fall away. The wet clothes clung to him, accentuating the lines of his shoulders, arms, and chest, making him look poised to pounce like a tiger or leopard.

"Because you're a demigod? Because you have Hui Mang?" He dropped his lazy facade, his eyes dark and determined, the same look he had when he kissed him, filled with a relentless, roguish intensity. "Or is it because I'm just a scoundrel who enjoys doing this to people?"

"I don't know," Ming Zhuo replied, seemingly serious. "Maybe it's all of the above."

When he asked questions, it was different from Luo Xu. Luo Xu demanded answers, while Ming Zhuo kicked the ball around lightly, surprisingly patient. The curiosity on his face didn't fade, as if it was a difficult problem he was eager to solve.

"There is no 'all of the above'," Luo Xu said clearly. "There's only what I want."

Wanting is wanting, desiring is desiring; it had nothing to do with being a demigod or Hui Mang. Luo Xu, straightforwardly closing in, considered the scratch marks on his forearm, the dog collar around his neck, and the sweetness he just got in the water, all as responses from Ming Zhuo.

"I want to kiss, to bite, to do indecent things to you," he stared at Ming Zhuo. "This time it was allowed, but next time will it be too?"

His response was stark-naked, with nothing obscuring his meaning. He pressed Ming Zhuo for an answer, once wasn't enough, twice wouldn't do, three times, four times... he wanted more.

Ming Zhuo teased him, "We'll discuss it again."

He still held onto Luo Xu's wrist, watching Luo Xu's desire and recklessness during this process of being sought after. His curiosity was actually partly feigned because everyone who approached him had a purpose, but Luo Xu's purpose was the most unique.

Luo Xu actually wanted him.

This was the strangest answer Ming Zhuo had ever heard. Whether it was Ming Han or Cui Ruiquan, those people wanted him for his blood or his status. Only Luo Xu wanted none of that—he just wanted him.

He wanted him to lower his head for a kiss and to condescend to tug on the dog leash.

Luo Xu said, "When will we discuss it again?"

Ming Zhuo looked at the knot of Luo Xu's throat again, as if searching for the leash. He didn't answer, but the meaning was clear—it wouldn't be now.

The bathhouse was too stuffy, and their hair and clothes were never quite dry. Luo Xu didn't press closer. He turned around and lifted the curtain, leading Ming Zhuo out. His control over the fire spell was flawless, and by the time the curtain fell, both of them were dry.

Ming Zhuo fastened his belt, and the blood shackle curse on his collarbone had faded a bit. He pulled up his collar and sniffed, "Does Sanhai-jun often come here?"

"She used to come often to drink when my father was still around," Luo Xu said. "After my father dissipated, she didn't come as often."

Judging from his tone, although Jiang Shuangke didn't come often, their relationship hadn't grown distant because of it.

You trusted her enough to lend her the spell," Ming Zhuo released his collar. "I heard she once had a marriage arrangement with Lin Shifei from Dongzhao Mountain. Why wasn't she angry when I killed him this time?"

"Because her engagement with Lin Shifei was just a matter of paying off a favour; they had no real relationship." Luo Xu, well-versed in the grudges and affections among the Four Mountains, walked to the bedside and picked up a small porcelain bottle. "Jiang Shuangke’s Shifu was Jiang Linzhai. Many years ago, Jiang Linzhai took her disciples down the mountain to travel and ended up in Guangzhou, where she failed miserably. It was only thanks to Lin Changming, the chieftain of the Kuwu Clan, that she survived. Unfortunately, all five disciples who accompanied her were martyred."

Ming Zhuo asked, "All martyred?"

"Yes, Jiang Shuangke was the sixth disciple and was spared because she was a late bloomer. However, her Shifu, Jiang Linzhai was deeply affected by the incident and never used a sword again." Luo Xu tossed the small porcelain bottle back into the box. "Losing six strong disciples at once, the remaining ten or so were mediocre. The sects then demanded that the Posuo Sect relinquish North Heron Mountain in the name of the Heavenly Sea."

"Stepping down and retreating from the mountain would be a great humiliation," Ming Zhuo remarked. "Posuo Sect wouldn't agree."

"Not bad, they didn't," Luo Xu continued. "But the situation forced their hand. In that critical moment, Jiang Sigu descended the mountain."

Jiang Sigu was the Shifu of Jiang Shuangke’s Shifu. By then, she was old and bedridden.

"Jiang Sigu fought three battles against various sects at the foot of the mountain, preserving Posuo Sect's reputation. Lin Changming admired her courage and proposed an engagement to prove that 'the Four Mountains are one' was no lie," Luo Xu explained. "That's how their engagement came to be. However, when Jiang Shuangke went to break off the engagement, Lin Shifei fell for her at first sight under the gates of Shezui Cheng.(1) Since then, rumours spread that they were childhood sweethearts."

"She only learned one form of the Hellfire Sword," Ming Zhuo wasn't particularly interested in Lin Shifei. He sniffed at his sleeve again, detecting Luo Xu's scent everywhere. "How did you manage to teach such a powerful disciple?"

Luo Xu pushed the wooden box back. "Ask the little girl next time you borrow clothes from her."

"Fair enough," Ming Zhuo said. "But I can't predict when she'll come up next."

Luo Xu looked at him sniffing his clothes repeatedly, his eyes following the movement. "There won't be a chance in the next few days. We have something to do."

Ming Zhuo lifted his face. "What's that?"

"The Baiwei Warriors," Luo Xu said.

"Oh..." Ming Zhuo seemed to just remember. "You want to investigate this? We'll have to wait a few days. Right now, the gate of Peidu is filled with debt collectors. Even if we go, we won't find any clues."

"With all the sects conducting sequential investigations, the murderer won't leave many traces in Peidu," Luo Xu said. "To find clues, we just need to find one person."

Fu Zheng.

After leaving Peidu, Fu Zheng returned to the nearby Two Southern Prefectures. He was currently staying at South Emperor Mountain with all the sects. He said he saw Baiwei Warriors killing someone with his own eyes, but he never explained how he killed or how many people he killed to Cui Changting.

"It's useless to find him," Ming Zhuo said. "I guess he's telling the truth to the sects, and he really saw Baiwei Warriors kill someone."

When Ming Zhuo first heard the news, he thought Fu Zheng was lying, but now he changed his mind. The most important thing about this matter was the sentence that Luo Xu said in the guest hall—people have to check the corpse when they die, and the wound can't be faked.

Whether Baiwei Warriors had killed or not, the sect would know as soon as they checked. It was such an important matter, so they wouldn’t be deceived by Fu Zheng's words, therefore Fu Zheng's words were likely to be true. He did see Baiwei Warriors running out of Peidu that night and they really were Baiwei Warriors.

Ming Zhuo said, "I think of two possibilities. The first is that these Baiwei warriors are real and there's still a member of the Ming family alive in the world; the second is that these Baiwei warriors are fake, and they're like my paper figures, all puppets. Whether it's the first or the second, the other side knows the Ming family very well and doesn't like me very much. Such people are suitable for the job."

He said this and suddenly leaned over, his tone was very spoilt.

"Aren't you looking for Ming Han? Now the chance has come. Let's dig him up and see if he's still there."

Luo Xu turned back and leaned close, not in a hurry to respond, but asked a question that had been lingering in his mind, "Does this robe smell better than me?"

The Author Has Something to Say

Although it was short, I'm finally back to posting at 7 PM. Thanks for reading.

(walking on sunshine)

Foot Notes

1. I’m fairly certain that 赦罪城 (Shèzuì Chéng) is the city that was referenced before as Kuwu Cheng, at the very least, it is the city where Shezui (the corrupted god of forgiving sins) was killed by Jiang Shuangke.