Chapter 177: 178

Chapter 178 - Seen Through

After a moment, Zheng Muyao suddenly pursed her lips and asked tentatively, “Uncle Su, did you say all that because you disdain me for being too forward?”

Su Yi waved her over. “Come here.”

Zheng Muyao was stunned, but despite her confusion, she shifted her delicate frame closer and said in a sweet, sticky voice, “Uncle Su, what are you trying to do?”

Su Yi stretched out his hand, then, as if it were perfectly natural, squeezed the soft, delicate-looking skin of her cheek.

The girl’s body went rigid, and a hint of barely perceptible shame rose on her charming face. It was like she’d been struck by lightning; she hurriedly scooted away. Her bright eyes shone with anger, and she opened her mouth to speak, only to close it. However, her little fists silently clenched.

“You’re so on guard; you call that ‘being forward’?” Su Yi sprawled out and said flatly, “Quit pretending. Your father had you accompany me so that you could help me out. You’re supposed to save me trouble, not repeatedly test me.

Zheng Muyao’s expression shifted, and she said pitifully, “Uncle Su, what do you mean, ‘test’ you? Why is it that I don’t quite understand what you’re getting at?”

Su Yi’s gaze was clear but inscrutable. “Just now, had I revealed even a hint of lust in response to your teasing, you would have disdained me. You would have thought to yourself, ‘So, that’s all Su Yi amounts to. He’s nowhere near as amazing as my father says! He’s even getting all excited about my petty little attempts at seduction!’”

“Uh….” Zheng Muyao was just about to argue when she met Su Yi’s calm gaze. She suddenly felt guilty, and she instinctively lowered her pretty head, unwilling to meet his eyes.

“Your father must have told you a lot about what happened last night. He must have insisted that you serve me, regardless of how you felt about it. Am I right?” Su Yi reached for the chest, took out a jar of wine, and poured himself a cup.

Zheng Muyao averted her gaze, her expression uncertain and changing erratically. 

“With your temperament, I imagine you’re highly unwilling, so you decided to test me and see just how capable I am. If you could provoke me into making a fool of myself, all the better.” Su Yi drained his glass, then continued, “Then, you could go home and say to your father, ‘That’s all Su Yi amounted to. He let his lust muddle his head, and he covets my beauty.’

“Once that happened, even if your father dared not hold me accountable, he certainly wouldn’t let you work alongside me anymore. Then, you’d be free. You wouldn’t have to play servant girl and lower yourself by waiting on me any further.”

By the time he finished, Zheng Muyao felt completely ill at ease. Her hands silently clenched the hems of her clothes; she felt as if all of her secrets had been exposed, as if everything were out in the open, and she couldn’t help but feel alarmed and panicked.

This guy only just met me. How could he have seen through me already?

Su Yi continued drinking alone, and he spoke without regard for her feelings. “You’re the treasure of the Zheng Family. There’s no need to even talk about how illustrious your status is. Add that to your rare good looks, and no matter where you go, you’re sure to be the center of attention. How could you be willing to serve a complete stranger just because your father told you to?

He thought about it, then said, “But then, you’re rather clever in your own petty little way. You know you can’t act up or behave stubbornly; if you offend me, your father will be the first in line to punish you. This is what prompted you to resort to ‘honey-trap’ tactics.”

When he finished speaking, he couldn’t help but laugh dryly and shake his head.

Zheng Muyao sat there in a daze. Soon, she completely wilted.

Su Yi’s words cut into her like the tip of a sharp knife, peeling away her private thoughts, layer after layer, and putting them on full display. She felt as if he’d ripped off her clothes, revealing her naked body. She even felt the urge to flee in panic.

The carriage still sped through the city streets, but inside, the atmosphere was heavy and stifled.

“Argh. If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have embarrassed myself.” Zheng Muyao sighed in dejection. It seemed she couldn’t be bothered to pretend any longer. Her angled, willowy eyebrows arched, and she pursed her pink lips into a coquettish angle. Her beautiful eyes darted around, shining with pride. She was like an untamed little wildcat.

Before long, she laughed, and her eyes flickered with fiery light as she stared intently at Su Yi. “Uncle Su, it seems I’m starting to grow fond of you. From now on, I’ll definitely do as I’m told. I swear I won’t make you angry again.”

“Oh,” said Su Yi. He uncrossed and stretched out his legs. “Do you know how to massage leg muscles?”

This caught her completely off guard. Zheng Muyao’s eyes widened. “????”

At first, she was at a loss. Then, she said in a low voice, “I can try.”

With that, the charming girl in the black dress took a deep breath, then stretched out her fair hands and pressed them against Su Yi’s calves. She exerted strength through her fingers as she kneaded, pounded, tapped, pinched, and slapped….

In the depths of her proud heart, she felt rising shame and indignation. Unwittingly, her fingers exerted even greater force. 

But Su Yi just lay there, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep.

This guy sure is insolent. He’s actually treating me like some calf-kneading servant girl! I’ll find an opportunity to make you make a fool of yourself if it’s the last thing I do! Zheng Muyao inwardly gnashed her teeth, her pretty eyes shining with pure resentment.

Before long, her fingers felt sore from all that kneading. It was then that Su Yi spoke up, seemingly out of nowhere.  “Stop the carriage.”

The carriage came to an abrupt halt. Su Yi then took out a blood-colored candle. It was now shining with dazzlingly bright red light, and wisps of bloody air rose up around it. 

Zheng Muyao was stunned, but she couldn’t look away. Before she could ask, Su Yi got up and left the carriage. “You stay here.”

They’d stopped in a run-down alleyway lined with a densely-packed, motley array of buildings. There were numerous paths between the buildings, but the streets were extremely narrow, and they spread outward like cobwebs.

 “Where are we?” Su Yi stood before the carriage and surveyed the surrounding area. 

The carriage driver, an unimpressive-looking gaunt elder, immediately responded, “Young Lord, this is Lasting Peace Lane. Most of the inhabitants aren’t local—visiting merchants, foot soldiers, and no shortage of martial artists of ordinary backgrounds, all trying to make a living. In short, it’s a place where fish and dragons mix, with people of all stripes.”

Su Yi nodded. One hand gripped the blood-colored candle as he strode confidently into the narrow, winding streets. Before long, he disappeared from view.

“Uncle Liao, what’s this guy up to?” Zheng Muyao stuck her head out the carriage windows and asked curiously.

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“Miss, earlier, I assumed that the young lord just wanted to explore the city and get acquainted with the lay of the land, but now it’s obvious that he’s looking for someone.”

“He’s using a bloody candle to search for someone?” exclaimed Zheng Muyao. “He sure is strange.”

The man she called Uncle Liao’s eyes flashed. “Miss, in this world, there’s no shortage of mysterious experts wielding strange and unfathomable methods. For your father to hold Young Lord Su in such high esteem means he’s surely an incredible existence, and the actions of men such as him are often beyond the comprehension of people like us.”

“Hmph. He doesn’t seem so capable to me.” Zheng Muyao scrunched up her lips, then added, “Well, that’s not true. He’s quite good at bullying other people into kneading his legs for him!”

Uncle Liao chuckled, the sound rife with hidden meaning. “Miss, you’re the apple of the family head’s eye, the pearl in his palm, yet today, he’s asked you to lower your status and accompany Young Lord Su. Do you know why?”

Zheng Muyao’s thoughts were elsewhere. “Doesn’t he just want to use me as a ‘rope’ to tighten the bond between Su Yi and the Zheng Family?”

“Miss,” said Uncle Liao, “Has the family head ever wronged you like this before?”

“Now that you mention it, no,” said Zheng Muyao in confusion. “Uncle Liao, what exactly are you trying to say?”

Uncle Liao sighed. “The love of a parent is deep and far-reaching. Miss, the family head is trying to accumulate good fortune on your behalf. Even if you feel aggrieved, you ought to understand that he’s doing this with only the best of intentions.”

“Oh,” said Zheng Muyao, sounding listless. She didn’t take his words to heart at all.

…..

The alleyways intercrossed, stretching at random between the scattered homes. Su Yi slipped through the streets alone. Occasionally, he glanced down at the candle, but other than that, his pace never slowed or stopped.

This was the Soul-Summoning Candle, and he’d obtained it from Old Man Lungrot, Chu Silang, one of the Deathbringer’s Gate Imperatorial Province branch’s dharma protectors. 

It was refined from Weng Yunqi’s blood essence. So long as Weng Yunqi was within ten thousand square feet of it, it could sense his presence.

This was the reason Su Yi chose to take a carriage as he explored the city. He wanted to use the candle to trace Weng Yunqi’s whereabouts.

About fifteen minutes later.

With a flip of his palm, Su Yi put the candle away and gazed at a nearby run-down courtyard. After a moment’s thought, he turned and left.

He was already certain that this was where Weng Yunqi was hiding. However, he didn’t plan to meet Weng Yunqi right away. Now that he’d confirmed his location, he could come back and find him whenever he wanted to.

When he returned to the waiting carriage, Su Yi asked Uncle Liao, “How far is it to Heaven’s Origin Academy from here?”

“Heaven’s Origin Academy is built on a mountain about ten miles outside the city,” Uncle Liao said hurriedly. “From here, we can get there within an hour.”

“Are outsiders allowed to enter Heaven’s Origin Academy?” asked Su Yi.

“They aren’t,” said Uncle Liao. He shook his head, then laughed. “But if you want to go, you can have the young miss lead your way. She’s the closed-door disciple of the fifth elder, Yue Yuchi, and she’s extremely familiar with the academy.”

“Alright. Let’s go right away.” Su Yi nodded, then stepped back into the carriage.

“Uncle Su, what are you going to Heaven’s Origin Academy for?” The sultry Zheng Myao asked curiously.

Su Yi sprawled out lazily. “I’m looking for someone.”

Zheng Muyao was increasingly curious. “Uncle Su, can you be more specific? I might know them!”

“We can talk about it when we get there.” Su Yi shut his eyes and said no more.

When a woman was curious about something, if you answered one question, she’d ask ten more, not resting until she got to the bottom of the situation. Thus, Su Yi refused to give her any opportunities for follow-up questions. 

Zheng Muyao pursed her lips, but Su Yi had made it quite clear that he didn’t want to say anymore, and she knew better than to invite ridicule again.

Her bright eyes darted around the carriage interior, and she suddenly stretched out her jade-like hand, placed it on Su Yi’s thigh, and squeezed.

His eyes immediately popped open. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, I just wanted to knead your legs for you,” said Zheng Muyao with a gleeful smile. She was inwardly exultant; just now, when she pressed down on Su Yi’s leg, she clearly sensed his muscles tensing up. It seemed she’d startled him. 

So, you get scared too? She was quite proud of herself.

Su Yi glanced at the pretty, crafty little fox, then closed his eyes once more. “Put more force into it. Don’t stop until I tell you to.”

Zheng Muyao was stunned. What is this? ‘Losing eight hundred soldiers to destroy a thousand enemies?’ Is he trying to make us both suffer?

Meanwhile, outside the carriage, Uncle Liao shook the reins and bellowed, “Yah!”

The carriage immediately accelerated and sped out of the city.

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