Chapter 274: Seeking Death
Translated and hosted on BCatranslation
“Heavens! What is that?!”
“A monster!!”
As the procession advanced, the gathered citizens turned pale with fear. Leading the entourage was an enormous nine-headed serpent! Its colossal body loomed over them, each of its nine heads held high, flicking forked tongues ominously.
The chilling, dreadful gaze of the beast sent shudders through the crowd, forcing them to retreat. The central head bore a small budding horn, as though on the verge of growth.
“That… that’s Xiangliu, the dreaded fiend recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas!” An aged minister gasped in horror.
“Legend tells that Xiangliu is a monstrous serpent with nine heads, vile and bloodthirsty, reveling in slaughter and feasting upon humans. Why would the Southern Kingdom’s divine envoy bring such a beast here?”
“Look! There’s someone atop the serpent’s head!”
The crowd was aghast to discover that a youth sat upon the fearsome creature.
“Hurry inside the city! Xiangliu is ruthless and devours humans—if it attacks, even His Majesty may be powerless against it!” At the minister’s words, the people scrambled frantically toward the city gates.
Yet, Lu Yuan Ze remained indifferent. He had long since succumbed to madness, a twisted grin curling upon his lips.
“Pei Jiao Jiao, you must perish! You ruined me! I have lost everything, everything!!”
Madam Pei trembled, her breath weakening with each passing moment.
By the riverside, Lu Jing Yao stood crying, her voice filled with helplessness. “Father! Please, Father! Spare Mother!”
“Help! Help! Is there anyone who will save my mother? Please, I beg you—save her… Wuwuwu…” She knelt upon the ground, her frail figure racked with sobs.
The citizens, huddled within the city gates, peeked outside in terror.
The nine-headed serpent loomed over them, towering even above the city walls.
It was too terrifying, too horrifying.
“Mother… someone… please, save my mother!” Lu Jing Yao knelt in despair, turning her tear-filled eyes toward the beast—only to find it staring back, its cold, unfeeling gaze fixed upon her.
Drool dripped from Xiangliu’s many jaws.
The creature’s breath carried the scent of blood as it sniffed at Lu Jing Yao, assessing her as food!
She turned deathly pale, her body trembling uncontrollably. Kneeling, she pleaded desperately, “Big Brother… please, please save my mother. Save my mother and I will give you…”
Her tearful gaze flickered toward the carriage bearing the emblem of the Southern Kingdom. Her pupils dilated slightly.
That was the royal insignia of the Southern Kingdom.
The little girl continued kowtowing, sobbing as she pleaded with Nan Mu Bai, “Big Brother, please, I beg you…”
To an uninformed observer, her pitiful sight would be heart-wrenching.
As she bowed, the pendant around her neck suddenly slipped off.
With a metallic clang, three copper coins fell to the ground.
Lu Jing Yao hurriedly picked them up, her tiny hands trembling as she offered them up. “Big Brother, I will give you money! This is my family’s heirloom! I will give it to you—please, just save my mother!”
Nan Mu Bai’s gaze landed upon the copper coins, his expression abruptly turning sharp.
“Stop!” The young man’s crisp voice carried an edge of icy authority.
Several guards stepped forward from the procession, prying Lu Yuan Ze’s fingers apart, snapping them without hesitation. They swiftly pulled the near-lifeless Madam Pei away from his grasp.
Madam Pei collapsed onto the ground like a discarded ragdoll, gasping for air.
Her eyes were bloodshot, a terrifying crimson hue.
The bruises encircling her slender, snow-white throat stood out starkly.
“Cough… cough…”
“Urgh…” Her throat was too sore to speak. She clutched at it desperately, coughing violently, each cough slicing through her like a blade.
She had come so close—so very close—to being strangled to death by Lu Yuan Ze.
Even her saliva bore traces of blood.
Lu Yuan Ze hated her to his core.
“AHHHH!!” Lu Yuan Ze writhed on the ground, cradling his broken fingers, howling in agony.
“Who… who are you people?! How dare you harm an imperial officer!” His veins bulged, his swollen fingers grotesque.
How dare they? How dare they break his fingers!
The pain was unbearable.
“Imperial officer? Hah…” Nan Mu Bai chuckled coldly. “Even if I kill a North Zhao official, what can Emperor Xuan Ping do to me?”
He turned to Lu Jing Yao.
The copper coins in his hand…
“Little girl, where did you get these?” Nan Mu Bai narrowed his eyes, taking the coins from Lu Jing Yao’s trembling hands.
The coins were tied together with red thread, like a protective charm.
The insignia of the Southern Kingdom was engraved upon them.
Lu Jing Yao sniffled, “Big Brother, they belong to my mother.”
She fumbled within her clothing, pulling out a small money pouch.
Nan Mu Bai took the pouch, his lips curling slightly.
The fabric had faded, the golden embroidery stripped away. Yet, its original design was still faintly discernible.
He unfastened his own pouch and compared the two side by side.
The worn pouch lacked its golden threads, but…
They were identical.
“Big Brother, your pouch looks just like mine!” Lu Jing Yao’s tear-streaked face lifted, her eyes brimming with innocence.
“Where did you get this?” Nan Mu Bai toyed with the pouch thoughtfully.
Though nearly identical, there was a distinct difference.
The worn pouch bore a golden dragon—an imperial insignia.
It was once used by his royal grandfather.
[So close… yet it falls into my hands so effortlessly.]
“This belongs to my mother. She gave it to me,” Lu Jing Yao whispered, crawling over to cradle her barely-conscious mother.
“Mother, I’m so scared… You have to stay strong, Mother. You’re all I have left…” She turned her pleading eyes to Nan Mu Bai.
Nan Mu Bai cast a glance at the nearly lifeless Madam Pei.
His brows lifted slightly.
“Little girl, what is your name?” He had yet to see the Southern Kingdom’s Imperial Jade Pendant, so suspicion still lingered within his heart.
“Big Brother, I… my surname is Lu. My name is Lu Jing Yao. I also have an older brother—Lu Jing Huai,” she whispered.
“Father wants to kill us. He doesn’t want me anymore. I have no family left.” Her voice cracked as fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.
[Fortunately… Fortunately, I noticed the copper coins.]
[Fortunately, I waited for the Southern Kingdom’s people to arrive.]
She leaned closer to her mother.
Madam Pei’s eyelids fluttered open weakly. Through blurred vision, she caught sight of Nan Mu Bai holding the pouch, lost in thought.
A vague memory surfaced—words murmured by her mother in her final days.
Before she was born, her father had died unexpectedly.
Back then, Old Madam Pei had just arrived in the capital as the newly titled Marchioness of Zhongyong.
Her mother, pregnant and destitute, had traveled to the capital seeking financial support. If she received nothing, she would abort the child. If given money, she would leave the Pei Clan an heir.
The Zhongyong Marquisate, still establishing itself, offered her a pittance.
On her way home, she had encountered an elderly woman clutching a freezing infant. Without hesitation, she had snatched the woman’s money pouch and fled, never sparing a glance at the child.
She had only realized later that the pouch bore golden embroidery.
Fearing discovery, she had stripped the gold and exchanged it for silver.
That abandoned child… had likely frozen to death in the snow.
A twisted smile barely formed on her lips before—
Nan Mu Bai snapped his fingers.