Hua Jie remained frozen like a wooden chicken, listening to her speak in a slow, soft tone, digging into his past. Perhaps he had long ago prepared himself to be exposed, or perhaps he had not prepared himself at all; in any case, he forgot to move or show any expression.
"Hua Jie, do you have anything to say?" Mu Junshi asked him.
Hua Jie's eyes were like two cold jade beads embedded in beautifully shaped, clear eye sockets, fixed and unmoving. He forced a smile onto his face, but it was clearly comical.
Yet, whatever expression marred his face, no matter how much it destroyed the beauty, he could carry it.
"...You know?"
Mu Junshi slowly released his face, but Hua Jie, whose neck had already stiffened, maintained the pose of being controlled.
"Should I not know? You seem to underestimate the Mu Mansion. Even if I didn't issue orders to thoroughly investigate your matters, countless people, seeking to climb higher, would unearth your secrets and present them on my desk for perusal."
Perhaps it was because Hua Jie had been a low-born from a young age; even after soaring to prominence, he couldn't change his humble origins or limited thinking.
He truly believed that as long as the Mu family's eldest daughter didn't specifically investigate, the affairs of a small figure like him would be buried in the mundane bustle of the streets. After all, who would pay special attention to the scum struggling to survive in the cracks of society?
But he hadn't expected that even if Mu Junshi wouldn't, others would make her see exactly how lowly and ugly he was, reporting his every detail to her.
The distant call of partridges, sometimes short, sometimes long, disturbed the peace of their minds. The long-burning lamp in the corner was dim and faint. The previously secret atmosphere between them suddenly intensified and tensed.
One looked at the other with no retreat, while the other was already cornered.
He had to be honest and couldn't resort to the usual lies he fabricated, because the lengthy speech she had just given him was, to a great extent, a reminder and a warning.
His lies could be easily seen through.
She hadn't spoken before because she hadn't bothered, but when she decided to make an issue of it, the consequences would likely be unbearable for him, so he had to be completely candid.
"This face... Hua Lü gave it to me." Hua Jie closed his eyes, as if this could somehow make him feel safer in his inescapable situation.
Gave it?
So... Mu Junshi was momentarily stunned. It was indeed just a replica.
Mu Junshi didn't show much reaction to his statement, merely asking, "How did he give it to you?"
He gave a bitter laugh, "Back then, I said I wanted a face that would no longer subject me to any humiliation. Hua Lü said he could do it..."
He still remembered the events of that time vividly.
At the time, he hadn't believed his words because Hua Lü acted like a rebellious child, ignorant of worldly sorrows.
He was handsome, with a cute and lively appearance that could capture the affection of all adults. Hua Jie, consumed by jealousy and heartache, thought, if he had looked like this since childhood, would his parents have sold him off so cheaply?
Alas, there was no "if."
The clothes he wore were also far beyond what an ordinary person could afford. Hua Jie analyzed with his then-limited knowledge; this child was clearly not from Hua City. He must have a good background, either lost from his parents or kidnapped.
In short, Hua Jie harbored a twisted jealousy and cautious wariness towards Hua Lü at that time, even a hint of malice... If they were caught in the end, he would use this young boy to pay off his debts and buy his freedom, since no one knew of him anyway.
But later... "He gave me a seed, a glowing green bean. He said it was called a Mimic Bean. After I ate it, he made me look at a person in his mirror of light, and then I could turn into that person's face."
Hua Jie still didn't believe it. Firstly, he didn't believe in unearned kindness, especially for someone like him who had suffered so much from his own family since childhood; if he couldn't trust his own relatives, how could he trust an outsider, let alone a quick-witted brat? What great ability could he possibly have?
Secondly, he didn't believe that there was truly a face in this world that could allow him to escape this poor, lowly, and ridiculous life.
But later, when he saw the person projected by the mirror of light, he seemed to be utterly captivated.
Without a doubt, he believed that if he truly possessed that face, he would no longer live so pitifully.
Because a person who could grow such a face was truly a darling of heaven, destined to have a much higher starting point than others from birth.
As he had expected, he repeatedly used this face to achieve his desires without any moral scruples.
At the same time, however, Hua Lü gradually distanced himself from him. He disliked Hua Jie using that face for immoral deeds; he even said he regretted letting him have it, claiming Hua Jie was desecrating it.
But Hua Jie knew that Hua Lü couldn't stop him. He was just sharp-tongued, but his heart was soft. Every time Hua Jie's face began to rot due to insufficient spiritual power, Hua Lü would still come to repair it for him.
"Mimic Bean" was a spiritual medicine that could completely change a person's appearance, but it had its drawbacks: "Mimic Beans" maintained their appearance by absorbing spiritual power. Their strength could only last for a period, and subsequent repairs would require continued spiritual power.
Therefore, over the years, he had kept Hua Lü firmly under his control, unwilling to let him leave. He only trusted Hua Lü, who had stayed by his side through thick and thin, and only dared to let him repair his face. But this time, Hua Lü had made up his mind to leave him, and was ultimately taken away by a scar-faced brute!
"Hua Lü?"
Mu Junshi remembered the child. She remembered him. It was rare to see children and the elderly in Fengdu, especially a child as cute and beautiful as him.
At the time, she had wondered which parents could give birth to such handsome brothers as Hua Jie and Hua Lü.
Now she knew this pair of "brothers" had no blood relation, and that child was the one who truly knew the whereabouts of that face. Could he be related to Liu Jiang Fusheng?
"How was the person you saw in the mirror of light dressed and what was their demeanor?" Mu Junshi asked.
Hua Jie thought back, pursed his lips, and tried his best to clearly describe the figure that still shocked him upon recollection: "His expression seemed very cold, but also handsome. He wore a soft, flowing white and blue robe. His eyes had a purity and clarity, yet they deterred one from looking too long. It was like... like one felt ashamed of oneself. He was also like the hardest ice, with a transparent surface, but a chilling aura from within."
"It's him..."
Mu Junshi smiled. She was now ninety percent confident that the image preserved in the mirror of light by that child was Liu Jiang Fusheng, who had been missing for seven years.
"Preserve this face well. Your life or death, whether you become a superior person or dirt underfoot in the future, will all depend on it."
She examined this face, so similar to Liu Jiang Fusheng's. Beneath the holy and clear countenance lay a self-abased and dirty body. What a strange combination.
This face had other uses for her.
Hua Jie held his breath nervously. At this moment, he didn't know if his desire to cling to nobility for survival was a misjudgment from the start. Mu Junshi was not someone he could control or manipulate.
Instead, it seemed he had fallen into a huge conspiracy, trapped within it with no way out.
---
After the seal of the Blood Gourd was broken in Ci Bei City, Gu Junshi disappeared with the "Demon Breaking Arrow" and the Human Emperor.
Simultaneously, Gu Si Jun was also taken away. Kai Shan Gui, Ji Du Mo, and Cang Yu Yao hid themselves behind the scenes. This was not difficult for them; it was perhaps one of the innate skills of dark creatures. They found an opportunity and quietly slipped away.
Abbess Hui Ming, Abbess Xian Zhi, and Abbess Xu Jing watched helplessly as Gu Junshi took the "Demon Breaking Arrow." Their hearts were torn as if by a knife, but since they were no match for her, they could only return empty-handed.
However, at that moment, all who remained in Ci Bei City looked up at the sky as if the sky itself was about to collapse, their vision darkening.
"We must find the Demon Breaking Arrow!"
Abbess Hui Ming panted heavily, angering her, and glared resentfully at Abbess Xian Zhi.
Abbess Xian Zhi looked sheepish and had nothing to say.
If she hadn't told Gu Junshi how to use the "Demon Breaking Arrow," Gu Junshi wouldn't have obtained it so easily.
Fu Wan Yan had been standing not far away, but she suddenly sensed something and her gaze turned towards the group of people in Ci Bei City.
It was a woman with her head lowered, looking very reserved. As if sensing Fu Wan Yan's probing gaze, she raised her head and met Fu Wan Yan's eyes.
Their gazes met, and Fu Wan Yan's expression behind her veil tightened. She suddenly said, "It's her, the one who was acting suspiciously in that ruined temple."
The woman was startled by the words and, without thinking, immediately turned to flee. However, no matter how fast she was, she was ultimately suppressed by Yan Tian Jiao, Cheng Hong, and Lu Zi Yin working together.
A frost froze her feet, preventing her from moving. One released a subjugation circle that bound her waist, while Lu Zi Yin's poetic fan transformed into a slender sword, resting against her fragile, long neck.
"Why run? Since you're here, why not stay and have a good chat with us?" Lu Zi Yin's eyes were curved, and her voice was as gentle as water.
The woman trembled slightly, trying to maintain a calm expression on her face.
"First, tell us, who are you?" Fu Wan Yan approached her.
The woman scanned them and then sneered, "If you want to kill me, then kill me. Stop the nonsense!"
"Quite spirited," Yan Tian Jiao said, approaching. He gently placed one hand on her shoulder. Immediately, a chill coursed through her meridians, the frozen spiritual power flowed throughout her body, her blood vessels congealed, and circulation was blocked. She felt an unbearable pressure, as if she would burst.
The woman screamed, "Ah, if you have the guts, kill me—"
Yan Tian Jiao lazily opened his narrow phoenix eyes and glanced at her, "I have planted a cold needle within your body. Twelve hours a day, it will cause ice needles to flow in reverse. Each time it flares up, you will suffer as you are now... no, perhaps even more painfully... Death? Do you think dying is such a simple matter?"
To deal with villains, one must be more wicked than them; only then will they be intimidated and frightened.
The woman finally couldn't bear it, "No! Don't! I'll say it, I'll say it. Whatever you want to know, I will tell you."
Few of the ghost cultivators of Fengdu truly had backbone. Seeing how cold-blooded and cruel the other party was, this woman realized she had underestimated them. Not everyone in these immortal sects adhered to the code of gentlemen.
She knelt on the ground, her face pale and ashen, the chill of frost still lingering on her.
Yan Tian Jiao kicked her down and said ferociously, "Speak! Who sent you, and what is your purpose in lurking in Ci Bei City?"
"I... I am a ghost cultivator from Nan Jiao City, Fengdu's Nan Jiao City. The Nan Jiao Ghost King ordered us to wait there to ambush the immortal disciples who came to support Ci Bei City..."
"Those blood slaves, were they arranged by you?"
"No, no, those blood slaves were not arranged by us. We just happened to encounter them and wanted to utilize them."
"Does the matter of the blood slaves have any relation to your Nan Jiao City?"
"I don't know. I am just following orders. I am not directly under the Nan Jiao Ghost King, so I don't know about these confidential matters."
"But there's one thing you must know, right?" Lu Zi Yin bent down and approached her.
The female ghost cultivator blinked, "What?"
"Is your Nan Jiao Ghost King planning to attack Ci Bei City?"
The female ghost cultivator hesitated before whispering, "It's not just our Nan Jiao; the other three ghost cities are also coveting Ci Bei City. It all depends on who is more capable and strikes first."
After questioning the female ghost cultivator, Cheng Hong said, "Now that Ci Bei City has been breached, it seems they will completely lose control next."
Abbess Hui Ming supported herself, "This matter must first be discussed with Rong City and Hua City."
"We will also report to our sect and fully assist the three cities," the others said in unison.
---
Upon returning to the Poison Thorn Forest, Gu Junshi set down Gu Si Jun. "Who is your mother?"
Gu Si Jun: "It's you."
"Are you asking about your biological mother?"
"I don't know. I've never seen her since I was born."
The Human Emperor walked over, interrupting her thoughts. "A Miao, what are you thinking about?"
"Why did you follow me?"
"Because you abandoned me when I stepped forward to defend you."
"Although that sounds like burning bridges, I don't need it. They wouldn't dare to come to the Poison Thorn Forest."
"But all these flies buzzing above would still annoy you, wouldn't they?"
Suddenly, Gu Junshi grabbed him. "Phantom, where is your true form?"
He was momentarily stunned, not expecting to be found out so quickly. He leaned closer to her. "A Miao, guess what your true form is doing?"
---
Just as Abbess Hui Ming and the others were preparing to depart for Rong City, a black figure blocked their path.
"Liu Jiang Fusheng."
Liu Jiang Fusheng emerged and saw the Human Emperor.
"Is it with this face that she was captivated?" The Human Emperor raised his arm and stroked his chin.
"What, she's not interested in your face?"