It was night! The bright moon hung high in the sky!
The autumn temperature plummeted sharply in the dead of night, the autumn wind carrying a chill swept across the entire Yi Kingdom. The banyan trees on the streets rustled, and dry leaves were blown down by the fierce autumn wind, making an incessant whistling sound.
"What a cold night it is." The owner of the pawnshop looked at the dry leaves blown by the cold wind on the street with a sigh. In the autumn, the Yi Kingdom usually didn't open night markets, so the Yi Kingdom under the night sky was silent, like a sleeping lion.
Several dark figures flitted across the street, crushing the fallen leaves on the ground. A deathly silence pervaded the entire street.
"Damn it! Slow down!" A faint curse echoed, only to be lost in the blowing autumn wind in a few seconds.
The pawnshop owner's face changed, and with a swift move, he pounced to close the pawnshop door. After the wooden door closed, the old man pushed the solid wood counter in front of the door to block it, his movements were clean and sharp, not something an old man could do.
Mo Yi was sandwiched between two shadow guards, the rapidly receding scenery due to the high-speed movement made him want to vomit. He could only constantly reprimand the shadow guards to slow down, unaware that this team of shadow guards, who he scolded like grandchildren, scared the old legs of a pawnshop owner.
The shadow guard team moved rapidly towards a location, all sounds disappearing wherever they went.
The Capital, the Luo Family.
The Luo family had always been aloof from the world, even in the capital, a place teeming with hidden talents, they maintained this attitude.
Luo Yu, the head of the Luo family, had lived in the capital for over a hundred years and was a centenarian. But as an old man, he was also a master of the Dao of Martial Arts. Luo Yu knew how to behave and how to conduct himself, the Luo family steadily developed under his leadership, and with the passage of time, the Luo family gradually became a prominent family in the capital.
The Luo family was quiet at night. The servants boiled water for their master, the security patrols diligently patrolled, and the old gentleman with spectacles in the accounts room meticulously checked the accounts. The Luo family was quiet and bustling all at once.
Deep in the large courtyard, the eldest son's residence.
Luo Hou sat at his desk, a sheet of pure white Xuan paper spread out before him. He held a brush, sometimes moving quickly, sometimes pondering. One by one, beautiful calligraphy strokes appeared on the Xuan paper, with two enormous characters in the middle – Mo Family.
The two characters "Mo Family" were written incredibly large, the strokes filled with domineering and fierceness, enough to show Luo Hou's apprehension towards the Mo family.
Luo Hou's brows were furrowed with annoyance. The Mo family was like a towering mountain pressing down on his heart, making him suffocate. In the capital, you could not know the Luo family, you could not know the Cheng family, the Li family, or the Zhao family, but you absolutely knew the Mo family.
The Mo family's reputation in the Yi Kingdom was too great. The concept of "overpowering the sovereign" didn't apply to the Mo family. Emperors for generations had loved and hated the Mo family. If they abandoned the Mo family, the Yi Kingdom would be like cutting off an arm. No emperor would be willing to do that. Thankfully, the Mo family had been law-abiding for hundreds of years, putting the emperor at ease. Over time, the Mo family's power had grown to an unimaginable level. If Luo Hou wanted to overthrow him, he had to obtain power that surpassed all others.
Luo Hou solemnly wrote down two characters on the paper – Cultivation!
He put down the brush, picked up the Xuan paper, and threw it into the brazier nearby. Only after watching the Xuan paper burn to ashes did he feel relieved and shifted his gaze.
Luo Hou walked to the bed, picked up the pillow, and dug out something from beneath the third layer of cotton in the bed.
It was a nearly transparent jade pendant, shaped like a carp, completely pure and spotless, as transparent as a cheap piece of glass. Of course, Luo Hou knew it wasn't glass, because this jade pendant 'told' him, this was his own Xian Yuan (Immortal Destiny)!
"Golden scales, not meant for a pond! A chance encounter with wind and clouds, transformation into a dragon!" Luo Hou stared at the jade pendant with bright eyes. The day he woke up after crossing over to this world, this jade pendant mysteriously appeared in his hand. Not only the jade pendant but also a series of things about "Xian Yuan" and "Xian Men" (Immortal Gate).
In his previous life, Luo Hou was a modern martial arts grandmaster! He had an extraordinary talent for cultivation, reaching the Bone Refinement realm in just three days, a level most people couldn't achieve in a lifetime. He was likely to break through to Blood Refinement soon.
He had made plans. Once he entered the Immortal Gate, cultivated successfully, and achieved immortality, his first act would be to kill the guy who had beaten him into a vegetative state in his previous life. He was vindictive, both in this life and the last!
"Ding—" A clear wind chime sound reached Luo Hou's ears, startling him. He immediately put away the jade pendant and drew the dagger hidden under the bed.
There was absolutely no wind chime in his courtyard, he was certain! So there was only one answer…
Luo Hou hid the dagger in his sleeve, the jade pendant close to his body. He was mentally strong, calming down in just a few breaths. He adjusted his facial expression and pushed open the door.
The night wind brushed his face, and Luo Hou shivered, looking towards the pavilion in the distant courtyard.
There was a figure in white, a wine jug, and a wind chime. The night wind blew through the silver wind chime, making a tinkling sound.
Moonlight spilled onto the lawn, which hadn't been weeded in a while. The wind blew past, and the knee-high weeds all bent down, revealing the figure in white in the pavilion.
Moonlight illuminated the man's face, revealing handsome features with a hint of childishness. A jade cup filled with white wine was raised to his lips, and the man in white took a gulp.
"It's him!" Luo Hou's eyes instantly sharpened. The memories of this body told him that this guy was the scoundrel Mo Yi, the eldest son of the Mo family, who had beaten him into a vegetative state.
Their dispute had happened in a tavern. Because Luo Hou took Mo Yi's seat, Mo Yi mercilessly had his bodyguards beat Luo Hou. In the end, Mo Yi still wasn't satisfied and kicked Luo Hou in the temple, rendering him a vegetable that couldn't even photosynthesize.
Their feud was thus established.
"Such a beautiful moonlit night, why not join me for a drink?" A slightly cold male voice floated into Luo Hou's ears. Luo Hou's heart sank, he tucked the dagger in his sleeve and walked slowly towards the pavilion.
From the shadows, the shadow guards hidden in blind spots that ordinary people couldn't see were tense. Although they didn't know what Mo Yi was up to, they had to wait. Mo Yi's decisions were absolute! This usually carefree young master who would rather stay in a tavern had suddenly developed an interest in moonlit nights and poetry – they couldn't help but wait.
Luo Hou walked into the pavilion with an expressionless face and sat opposite the man in white. A jade cup filled with white wine was placed in front of him, with a long, thin silver needle resting in the cup.
Luo Hou's heart settled. This act of putting a silver needle in the wine cup was to prove the wine was safe. It seemed the man in white genuinely wanted him to have a drink.
Luo Hou picked up the jade cup, nodded at Mo Yi, and drank it all in one gulp! He set down the cup and stared at the man in white.
"Good drinking capacity, good courage, brother!" The man in white said with admiration, "To drink such a generous amount of wine spiked with Wuyou Poison so readily, you're a true role model for us all!"
Luo Hou's face contorted, almost about to overturn the table. The shadow guards in the shadows almost popped their eyeballs out. Did their young master poison the wine? When? The silver needle in the cup was still shining brightly!