Chapter 622
“I... I was caught. I was locked up in the yamen for a whole day, and it took me ages to find a chance to escape.”
“Caught while visiting a brothel? Which law of Da Yu says you can’t go to a brothel?”
“But I didn’t pay!” Huang Donglai exclaimed, his face a mix of indignation and despair.
“...”
The members of the Demon Cult exchanged glances. As the notorious leaders of the cult, it was indeed embarrassing to admit they had been caught visiting a brothel without paying.
Situ Ding asked, puzzled, “Then why didn’t you pay?”
“I haven’t received my salary for two months!” Huang Donglai replied, his expression bitter.
“...”
The others looked at each other, clearly realizing the truth of his words.
Yu Wen Cuojin and Situ Ding exchanged awkward glances, stealing a look at the Immortal Heitu beside them, their faces flushing with embarrassment. They felt the Immortal’s gaze was filled with a cold, unfeeling pity, making them feel as if they were impoverished to the point of shame.
“Sorry to make you laugh, Immortal.”
Situ Ding cleared his throat. “The cult usually doesn’t delay salaries, but the losses from the battle in the imperial capital were too great, and we’ve been trying to regroup ever since…”
“It’s all that detestable Li Mo’s fault!” Yu Wen Cuojin clenched his fists, growling in anger.
“Right, it’s all his fault!”
“If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have gone two months without pay!”
“Let’s capture Li Mo and seize the treasures of the Da Shang he possesses. We’ll get a bonus, right?”
The members of the Demon Cult were fired up.
Li Mo: “??”
What does this have to do with me? You can’t blame me for your salary issues!
Little Li was tempted to pull out a few boxes of gold and silver to share with everyone, then head home, each to their own mother. But unfortunately, this wasn’t something that could be solved with money...
“Capture Li Mo, get a bonus!”
“Capture Li Mo, get a bonus!”
“?”
Little Li turned his head, speechless, looking at Elder Qian and Elder Xue. Why are you two joining in on this?
“Alright, back to the main topic.”
Situ Ding pressed his hand down for silence, and when no one paid him any mind, he spoke in a deep voice to quiet the crowd.
He turned his gaze back to Huang Donglai.
“You just said there’s no need to look for it. What do you mean?”
Huang Donglai grinned slyly, pulling out a small bottle from his pocket.
“This is something I concocted based on the secret recipe of the He Huan Sect, and I’ve improved upon the original formula!”
“The effects are doubled, making it so that those affected can’t distinguish between humans and animals. Plus, the scent can blend into wine, making it undetectable! Once the effect wears off, they’ll fall into a state of yang deficiency.”
Huang Donglai grew more excited as he spoke, but suddenly felt a chill run down his back.
He turned around to see the Immortal Heitu smiling at him with a benevolent expression.
“Hmm…”
Situ Ding gasped, his eyes lighting up.
With a flick of his hand, the double-effect He Huan San was drawn into his grasp.
“Does it really have such miraculous effects?”
Li Mo: “.....”
He knew the stuff Huang Donglai concocted wouldn’t be effective without testing it, but now that the conversation had reached this point, he couldn’t just intervene, as it might raise suspicion.
If he knew the wine was drugged, he could simply refuse to drink it.
“Then let’s do it this way. Just send me a message with your token when you’re ready to act.”
Li Mo stood up; he had already achieved his purpose for being here today.
“Farewell, Immortal.”
Yu Wen Cuojin and Situ Ding, along with the other members of the Demon Cult, bowed.
Before their words had even faded, the dreamlike figures vanished without a trace.
“If this drug works, there will be rewards after the mission is accomplished.”
Situ Ding and Huang Donglai exchanged glances, contemplating the bottle in hand, deep in thought.
He was unsure about the effects of this concoction.
“I’m willing to give it a try,” Luo Yexian said solemnly.
“You want to test the drug on yourself?” Yu Wen Cuojin raised an eyebrow. This guy usually avoided trouble, but today he was volunteering?
“It’s all for the good of the cult; I should be willing to risk it. By the way, will the expenses for going to the brothel be reimbursed by the cult?”
“... Aren’t you usually fine in that regard? You just aren’t interested in women, right?”
In the end, Luo Yexian still went at his own expense.
Why did he pay out of pocket?
As long as he ended up ‘yang deficient,’ he wouldn’t have to join the assault on the Qingyuan Sect.
Staying at the brothel, completing his task, and then playing mahjong to earn back the money spent—wasn’t that a sweet deal?
---
Chapter 725: The Family of the Ice Block
As night deepened, the damp wind after the rain carried the scent of earth, and the moonlight filtered through the misty mountains, creating a serene atmosphere.
Li Mo returned to Qiushui Pavilion with his two bodyguards and two servants. The servants—oh no, Elder Qian and Elder Xue—didn’t stay long after arriving and went back to report to Sect Leader Shangguan.
“Elders, take care.”
Li Mo waved goodbye, turned, and closed the door, looking at his bodyguards.
“You two are quite the professionals as members of the Demon Cult.”
“Ahem, Little Mo, your Immortal is also playing her part well. If you had been born a few thousand years earlier, I’d have to give up my position as leader to you.”
Qin Yuzhi, the former leader of the Demon Cult, now looked sheepish as she gazed at the moon.
“What was that plan of yours earlier? Which side are you really on?”
“Of course, I’m on your side. That was just a spur-of-the-moment idea,” Qin Yuzhi waved her hands dismissively.
Li Mo nodded, then turned to Shang Qinqing. “But I heard from the clan leader that you’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”
“Right, right, it’s all her fault. She’s the one who keeps bringing it up every day.”
Qin Yuzhi immediately threw her teammate under the bus.
“...”
Shang Qinqing’s eyes widened, and after a moment of silence, she rolled her eyes.
“True, I did want to see blood flow and lives lost, but I know how to prioritize. That was just to distract the members of the Demon Cult. Besides, if you drink the drugged wine, it’s on you.”
“Well, that’s true. I could just not drink it... huh?”
Li Mo’s words trailed off as he doubted he had heard correctly.
Knowing the wine was drugged and still drinking it—was that right?
“To be honest, you two are making me feel like I’m about to break through to the seventh realm.”
Shang Qinqing shrugged. “If you two really get together, I might just reach the Xuan realm myself. By then, the mere Demon Cult wouldn’t even need you to take action, and everyone would be happy.”
“Hey, boss, you’re criticizing us, but aren’t you a paragon of virtue yourself?”
“Of course! Who doesn’t know the gold content of my ranking on the Yushu Zhilian list?”
Little Li wore a serious expression, gazing at the stars at a forty-five-degree angle.
It seemed he had completely forgotten how much of that ranking was inflated by certain fans.
“Then what was that about Little Bing washing her clothes secretly this morning? She’s so clean, she wouldn’t get her clothes dirty often.”
“Well... Elder Xu, a dignified figure in the Law Body realm, spilled tea. What’s the problem if I didn’t hold the cup steady while drinking tea with Ice Block?”
Little Li glanced upstairs.
Fortunately, Ice Block wasn’t watching.
Shang Qinqing: “Tsk tsk tsk... oh dear... and you spilled tea while drinking.”
Qin Yuzhi: “Kuku... I’m going to bed now.”
They usually didn’t laugh unless they couldn’t help it.
The Immortal Heitu, who had been calm in front of the two vice leaders of the Demon Cult, now stammered when asked about the clothing issue.
Watching their retreating figures, Li Mo opened his mouth. Perhaps due to the law of soft and hard complementarity, he had tossed and turned too much at night, and now he couldn’t muster the strength to speak.
Tonight, he was even less likely to sleep.
Li Mo went to the kitchen to prepare a late-night snack, temporarily satisfying the often-hungry inner world, and completed his daily training. Before he knew it, dawn had arrived.
“Why is it so noisy outside?”
The morning light from three suns made it hard to open his eyes, and Li Mo instinctively shielded himself from the sunlight.
But when he lowered his hand and looked at the scene in the courtyard, he was taken aback.
Qin Yuzhi was directing a group of Qingyuan Sect disciples, bustling about in the courtyard, hanging lanterns and setting up tables and chairs.
Brother Ouyang had also arrived. He had finished writing on a wooden board and placed it at the entrance, nodding in satisfaction.
Li Mo couldn’t see the name clearly, but the words “A Century of Harmony, Joyous Union” were unmistakable.
The scene was somewhat reminiscent of what he had seen in a dream, leaving him feeling detached.
“Who’s getting married?”
Li Mo couldn’t help but ask, and only after speaking did he realize he seemed a bit dazed.
Which other Li or Ying in the entire Qingyuan Sect could possibly come together?
In the blink of an eye, it seemed he was about to change his identity, so quickly that he couldn’t even react.
Wait a minute.
Is this a betrothal banquet?
Li Mo cleared his throat and went over to help, thinking that his Ice Block probably didn’t know much about such matters, considering she had never even seen a pig run.
But he forgot that while Ying Bing might not understand, there was a deity in Qiushui Pavilion who oversaw marriages in the Da Shang.
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