Before they met Zhu Fu, the disciples of Wanren Palace had always lived a very casual and unrestrained life, just like all the martial artists. They practiced martial arts in their spare time, and rushed around when they had a mission. It was common for them to live in the open air.
Now with the Zhu Mansion, not only has everyone's food quality improved significantly, but they have also become more leisurely, because the second young master Zhu, relying on the powerful advantage of being "rich", has mobilized many servants and guards from somewhere, and almost surrounded the Wanren Palace tightly, like a solid wall of iron and steel, so that not even water can be poured in.
The yawning Wanren Palace disciple said: There is really nothing to do, and where has our Palace Master gone? Why is there no trace of him all day long
Everyone was bored and guessing that since even we had eight plates of food to eat, the palace mistress might be lying on a peacock feather blanket and gargling with bird's nest, because all the queens in the novels were like this, arrogant, extravagant and enviable.
Then I heard a cold voice behind me: "Come here."
"Palace Master!" Everyone quickly adjusted their expressions.
Li Sui, dressed in black, stood there like ice, and immediately made the onlookers feel as if they were dying again and again. So the disciples of Wanren Palace all retracted their previous thoughts. With the cruel look of the Palace Master, it was highly unlikely that she would become the Queen.
Li Sui casually said, "Do you guys know how to torture me?"
"meeting!"
Although he was not very proficient in the business, since there were not many missions requiring interrogation in Wanren Palace, he could still learn. It was better than squatting in the corridor counting tiles.
"Palace Master wants to interrogate Yuan Yeyue?"
"It's her."
Li Sui turned and walked towards the backyard: "Follow me."
The north wind lifted his pitch-black cloak, making the Wanren Palace disciples dizzy. To be honest, they often had a brief illusion of who was the righteous one because their own Palace Master was too evil. What was righteous and what was evil? If I was righteous, then what was evil? They lived their days full of philosophy.
In another courtyard, Zhu Yanyin sat on a chair, his face full of unhappiness. He also wanted to interrogate Yuan Yeyue, but Li Sui had sent him back to his uncle's residence early in the morning and told him not to go anywhere.
Lan Xishan tried his best to educate me, but the scene was bloody and you didn't even dare to watch a chicken being killed, so how could you be interested in torture? Come and sit down quickly, and your uncle will make you some tea.
"I don't want to drink tea." Zhu Yanyin muttered, "This idea was mine."
Lan Xishan disagreed: "Torture is not a good idea."
Zhu Yanyin: "Uncle!"
Lan Xishan: "Okay, okay, you are awesome."
The perfunctory feeling is beyond words.
In fact, Zhu Yanyin's original intention was to just spread the news that Yuan Yeyue was being tortured to see if someone from the Burning Fire Palace would come to rescue her, without actually fighting her. But Li Sui didn't have the patience to keep the demon girl in vain, so the shadow guard whipped her with a whip, and a bloody mark instantly appeared on Yuan Yeyue's body - it can be seen that there is indeed a big difference between scholars and people in the martial arts world.
Yuan Yeyue's face turned pale, and her tone was resentful: "I won't say anything."
"But you won't take the initiative to seek death." Li Sui leaned back in his chair, his eyes cold and indifferent, "Then let's try and see how long you can last."
Yuan Yeyue's eyes were like a sinister knife. Just as Zhu Yanyin had inferred, she was indeed afraid of death, but not because she was greedy for life, but because of Yuan Yexing. Since coming to Central Plains, she had not spoken a word to her brother properly, and they had only met once. She had many unfulfilled wishes, so naturally she did not want to die.
But now, she had fallen into the hands of Wanren Palace. She didn't think that the other party would kill her easily, but even if she could survive, she was afraid that she would never have the chance to see her brother again. Thinking of this, she wanted to eat Li Sui alive. She dragged her almost broken body forward and tried to grab his ankle, but the shadow guard whipped her up into the air and she fell to the ground like a flour bag.
Jiang Shenglin, who had just opened the door, was startled.
He came to deliver medicine, life-extending medicine that was said to allow people to remain conscious even when being tortured.
As the bitter medicine went down his throat, Yuan Yeyue scratched his throat and cursed: "You call yourselves chivalrous and righteous, but you team up to bully a woman like me. What kind of ability do you have!"
Jiang Shenglin threw the empty medicine bottle aside and said with disdain, "You have followed Chi Tian for many years and committed evil everywhere, killing so many old, weak, women and children. Now you remember that you are also a woman. It's a pity that a thing like you who kills innocent people indiscriminately is not even worthy of being a human being in my eyes, so naturally there is no need to talk about reason and humanity."
Yuan Yeyue's body was covered in blood and he no longer had the strength to shout.
Li Sui pointed again: "You."
The shadow guard chosen by fate stood up with a sad face. He had a fair complexion, delicate features, and a weak, coquettish voice. Because of this, he was often laughed at by his fellow apprentices.
The shadow guard brother next to him whipped him again.
The pretty boy immediately pinched his throat and screamed like a woman: "Ah!"
Jiang Shenglin: This scene is too shocking to the eyes. I have to leave first.
Yuan Yeyue stared at Li Sui with wide eyes.
The pretty boy continued to dub along with the whip. At first he felt a little awkward and embarrassed, but later he let go. Each shout became louder and more shrill than the last, spreading in the silent night. I guess even the Wulin Alliance could hear it.
Yuan Yeyue's chest heaved violently: "You!"
Li Sui was rarely interested in explaining: "There is probably a traitor in the Wulin Alliance. Do you think that after they hear this, the news will spread out, and will Yuan Yexing come to save you?"
Yuan Yeyue almost screamed with all her strength: "Axing won't come!"
The pretty boy held his hands to his heart: "Ah!"
Li Sui glanced over coldly.
The pretty boy brother stood up quickly and said, "Palace Master, I was wrong."
"Beat her for another half an hour." Li Sui stood up. "Tomorrow morning, gag her and tie her up high so that all the sects can see her."
"yes!"
Yuan Yeyue's fingers almost dug a bloody hole in the floor.
It's still snowing outside.
Li Sui went to Lanxi Mountain to pick someone up.
Zhu Yanyin was angry, so he said, "I'm going to stay here and sleep tonight."
Li Sui stood at the door: "Really?"
Zhu Yanyin turned his back to him and said in a strong voice: "Really!"
Although Lan Xishan didn't understand the reason, he was very satisfied with his nephew's sudden change of character, so he put on the amiable attitude of an elder of the Zhu family and said to Li Sui: "Xiaoyin has been living in Wanren Palace these days, which has really caused a lot of trouble. Now that he wants to come back, I will send someone to pack his luggage tomorrow, and there is no need to bother Palace Master Li anymore."
Zhu Yanyin was stunned. Wait, that’s not what I meant!
He didn't want to move back from Wanren Palace to live with his uncle at all. Who would want to go home? It's so boring. The happiness of being in love is something you middle-aged people can't even imagine. But he was too embarrassed to turn around and strongly demand that the big devil take him away. After all, he looked very courageous just now. So he had to continue standing there motionless, with the thought of "Give me a way out, give me a way out" written all over the back of his head!
Li Sui was very cooperative: "I have a few more things I would like to ask Master Zhu."
Zhu Yanyin: "Okay, okay."
Lan Xishan: “?”
The rich young man from Jiangnan grabbed the big devil's sleeve and left happily, leaving the old uncle alone and depressed.
There was thick snow on the road. Li Sui carried Zhu Yanyin on his back and walked slowly towards the bedroom, making a "crunching" sound under his feet.
"How was the questioning today?"
"She didn't say anything."
"Well, we don't need her to say that."
After a while, Zhu Yanyin asked again: "You won't let me go to see it tomorrow either?"
"I'll have nightmares after watching this."
"Won't."
"You are not allowed to go."
"Hmm."
Zhu Yanyin was somewhat unwilling and bit his ear hard.
As a result, Palace Master Li felt something coming out of the bite.
So this night, the two of them enjoyed themselves in the bed again. At midnight, Li Sui held the limp Zhu Yanyin in his arms, and rubbed his bare back with his right hand. The calloused fingertips left a string of red marks on the white and tender skin. When sliding over the waist, Zhu Yanyin only symbolically squeezed out a little protest from his throat, and then gave up and continued to sleep. "You can touch me as much as you want. I'm really tired."
So Palace Master Li pinched here and there calmly, and finally found that the softer places felt better, whiter and more tender, and the pleasure was twice as long as pinching the face.
This directly led to Mr. Zhu II having a dream for the whole night. He dreamed that he accidentally fell into a fish pond, and then a group of koi swam over and bit his butt, and he couldn't drive them away. It was so scary and disgusting. When he woke up, he was covered in cold sweat, and there was no one around him, but it was already dawn outside.
The disciples of Wanren Palace hung Yuan Yeyue at the city gate, attracting many martial arts sects to watch. Zhu Yanyin was curious, and took advantage of Lan Xishan's inattention to sneak out with Zhu Xiaosui. Although he had often seen such operations as hanging heads on the city gate tower in the storybooks before, there was only a description and a picture at most, and he could not imagine a very violent scene. So when he saw a bloody person hanging in the air this time, the scholar was scared to vomit on the spot. He was really promising.
"vomit-"
Amid the exclamations of the people around, the cold and cruel devil descended from the sky, with a dark face, and carried the delicate young man from Jiangnan back to his residence.
The second young master Zhu lay on the bed with a towel on his head, groaning, and became completely obedient.
The bloody world is more terrifying.
…
Yuan Yeyue was only hung on the city gate for an hour before being released. After all, most of the Wulin Alliance members didn't want her to die, and just wanted to get more secrets about the Burning Fire Palace from her. However, she clenched her lips tightly, and it seemed that she would rather be tortured to death than reveal a single word about Chi Tian.
"It doesn't matter." The shadow guard flicked the whip in his hand, "Even if you don't want to say anything, as long as you can lure Yuanyexing to rescue people, it will be worth all my efforts."
The pretty boy junior brother moved a chair and sat beside him, drinking the throat-soothing tea made from Plantago ovata while making the sound of "ah" skillfully. He looked so familiar with it, just like someone in an opera troupe warming up his voice.
Just like that, Yuan Yeyue was hung on the city gate in the morning and dragged back to be tortured at noon. She screamed for five whole days, and her voice became louder and louder.
Zhu Yanyin also lay in bed obediently for five days. Lan Xishan got a white jade chessboard from somewhere and placed it on the small bedside table. He spent every day with his eldest nephew doing nothing. While stroking his goatee, he casually asked, "Why didn't I see Palace Master Li come over these two days?"
"He has something to do." Zhu Yanyin held a candied fruit in his mouth, his cheeks puffed up, "It seems that he has been with Alliance Leader Wan to discuss the matter of Yuan Yeyue's siblings."
Lan Xishan said "Oh", and after a while he wondered: "How do you know so clearly?"
Zhu Yanyin remained calm and said, "Because I like Jianghu affairs, I often send people out to inquire. I also know a lot about Palace Master Li. Uncle, do you want to listen?"
Lan Xishan was playing chess and was tired, so he said cheerfully, "Tell me about it first."
Zhu Yanyin was overjoyed, waiting for this opportunity. How did my cousin get brainwashed by me? Wait, I'm coming!
The Jiangnan talent's vast library of materials accumulated from reading countless storybooks was able to dance with his soul at this moment. He fully blended the plots that middle-aged civil servants love to see, such as grudges in the rivers and lakes, reasoning and suspense, outpouring of melodrama, life and death, etc., and with "Palace Master Li is so powerful, his martial arts is the best in the world" as the core, he created a positive image of a beautiful, strong and tragic person, and also asked his uncle, what do you think, do you also think we should invite him home for the New Year
Lan Xishan certainly didn't think Li Sui was a pitiful little black man, but he was too lazy to argue with his nephew, so he said, "Didn't I already agree to invite Palace Master Li to celebrate the New Year with me?"
Zhu Yanyin emphasized: "I mean every year in the future."
Lan Xishan replied perfunctorily: "Okay, okay."
Zhu Yanyin patted the bed and said, "Sign up a document."
Lan Xishan: “?”
On the other side, Li Sui also left the Wulin Alliance.
Pan Shihou was standing in the yard waiting - it was a rare opportunity for him to escape Zhu Yanyin's tight defense.
"My dear nephew!"
Li Sui stopped and asked, "What's the matter?"
"I want to ask about the Wulin Alliance's next plan." Pan Shihou sighed, "Alliance Leader Wan always hesitates when talking about it, and it seems that he hasn't made up his mind until now. Sometimes when I ask him too urgently, he even uses sarcasm to doubt me. This... Recently, I have been fasting and chanting Buddhist scriptures to pray for Jinhua, but I often dream that he is on the verge of death. I am really worried. I hope my dear nephew can help me again."
Li Sui asked: "How can I help?"
"Of course, we should break through the Burning Fire Palace as soon as possible." After Pan Shihou finished speaking, he immediately followed up with another sentence, "Or at least tell Alliance Leader Wan that my son was killed by the Burning Fire Palace, how could I possibly be with Chi Tian again? If the Wulin Alliance starts to doubt each other now, I'm afraid they will fall into their trap, and the gain will outweigh the loss."
Li Sui walked out: "Who do you think is the traitor in the Wulin Alliance?"
Pan Shihou trotted beside him: "Unless there is solid evidence, it is disheartening that everyone is trying to deal with Chi Tian, but he is accused of being a member of the Demon Sect for no reason."
Li Sui nodded: "That makes sense."
Pan Shihou asked tentatively, "Who are you suspecting, nephew?"
"I also have no evidence." Li Sui looked at him, "But Yuan Yeyue has been tortured these days, maybe he will spit out something, just wait."
Pan Shihou wanted to ask something else, but a large group of white people appeared on the other side, still with dozens of guards, and they were very powerful and aggressive. So he had to swallow the rest of his words, pretending to have something to do, and left from the other side.
Zhu Yanyin trotted over and asked, "Why is he looking for you again?"
Li Suishun pinched his face and said, "You sent someone to monitor me again."
"Well, I said, as long as that old man comes looking for you, no matter who sees you, you must tell me immediately." Zhu Yanyin said confidently, "Isn't it okay?"
The servants behind him said: My young master is so domineering, he is simply a domineering scholar!
Li Sui smiled and pulled his hairband: "Let's go back and talk."
The two hadn't slept together in the past few days. According to the saying that a day apart is like a long time, it can barely be considered a short separation. As the saying goes, a short separation is better than a new marriage. So, the second son Zhu closed the door with his backhand, held his face with both hands and kissed him stickyly for a long time, then let go with satisfaction: "Okay, you can go."
Li Sui was dissatisfied: "You're going to kick me out after you're done?"
Zhu Yanyin answered righteously, this is called mutual use.
Li Sui laughed out loud, then pulled him into his arms and held him for a while before sending him back to Lanxi Mountain.
Uncle: "Why is your mouth so red?"
Nephew: "Because I am in my prime, I have red lips and white teeth."
Uncle: What a chatterbox nephew this is. It makes me upset.
Dark clouds were looming over the sky, and it looked like another snowstorm was about to come.
Yuan Yeyue was tortured for many days in a row. Although the shadow guards were careful not to injure her bones or muscles, her flesh was bloody and looked creepy. However, the endless pain still made her dizzy and her dry lips were covered with peeling skin. When she lay on the bed, she looked like a dried-up skeleton.
The strong wind blew away the snow on the eaves, and white cold fog spread all over the fields.
There are no night watchmen in Snow City, so one can only judge the time based on experience and feeling. The brazier in the middle of the room was burning weakly, and a few pieces of light red charcoal seemed to be about to burn out. It was colder inside the house than outside.
If it weren't for Jiang Shenglin's bottles of medicine, Yuan Yeyue felt that she might have died. She curled up, staring at the bedpost with lifeless eyes. What emerged in her mind was still Yuan Yexing, her brother who used to rely on her for everything, and her harmonious and kind parents. The home in her memory was becoming more and more blurred, and what gradually became clear was the sudden change.
On his birthday, he cried and asked for a new dress, so his parents went out to sea to fish, hoping to exchange the catch for a piece of cloth at the market. But a hurricane blew up at sea that night, overturning all the fishing boats in the deep ocean. Even the centenarians in the village said that they had never seen such high waves.
I killed my parents, so my brother was right to hate me.
Yuan Yeyue's lips trembled. He wanted to remember more memories about the fishing village, but he felt that chaos was devouring his brain bit by bit. His chest felt heavy, like a drowning person unable to breathe. He could only struggle in fear and in vain in the nightmare.
"who!"
Suddenly there was a loud shout from outside the window.
Yuan Yeyue woke up from her deep sleep and opened her eyes suddenly. Hearing the sound of swords and knives beside her ears, she didn't know where she got the strength from, and suddenly staggered out the door.
The shadow guards in the courtyard were fighting with a man in black. The man was slender, wearing a black mask, and had no weapons in his hands. His moves seemed weak, but he could fight dozens of them at once and beat all the shadow guards without any chance to fight back.
Yuan Yeyue leaned against the door. A lantern on the eaves illuminated a hazy illusion. She could hardly believe her eyes: "Xiao Xing..."
The other shadow guards stepped forward and tried to drag her in, but Yuan Yeyue struggled desperately, her voice shrill and hoarse: "Xiaoxing! Come and save me!"
The man in black turned his head and looked over here, distracted for a moment.
A long knife pierced through his ribs with a "swish".
"Xiao Xing!" Yuan Yeyue's eyes widened like crazy.
Wan Zhuyun drew out his long sword, leaving a trail of dark red blood. He was about to attack again, but the man in black raised his hand and raised a cloud of smoke, then dodged and stepped back a few steps. Like a ghost blown by the wind, he disappeared into the depths of the night.
All this happened so fast that Wan Zhuyun had already sheathed his sword before the other sects hurried over with torches in hand: "Alliance leader, what happened?"
"Someone wants to kidnap her." Wan Zhuyun glanced at Yuan Yeyue, "Is that your brother?"
Yuan Yeyue was still staring at the snow. Now there were more torches, making the whole area as bright as day. She realized that there was a layer of blue fluorescence flowing on the bloodstains on the snow - it was a deadly poison. The knife that had just injured her brother was poisoned.
"I'll kill you!" She roared desperately like a wild beast.
The shadow guard hurriedly dragged her back and covered her mouth again.
"Leader," asked the other sects, "The enemy seems to be seriously injured. Should we go after him?"
"No need." Wan Zhuyun handed the long sword to the disciple, "You can't catch up."
The man in black did not go far, and did not even leave the compound.
He went straight into Wanren Palace's residence, threw his mask and bloody clothes into the corner, changed into Li Sui's clothes, and walked out arrogantly. As he walked, his shrunken bones stretched out "crackling", and soon he recovered into the shape of a tall man. He then skillfully climbed over the window, and before he could stand firmly in the house, the snow-white Second Master Zhu rushed towards him, using his hands and feet to stab him -
"Yuan Yeyue's scream just now scared me to death."
Li Sui held him firmly and said, "Didn't I tell you to cover your ears and sleep well?"
"I want to wait for you to come back." Zhu Yanyin held his face with both hands, "How is it, does Yuan Yeyue believe that you are his brother?"
"Judging from his reaction, he must have believed it." Li Sui said, "It took me a lot of effort to pretend to be him this time."
"Yes." Zhu Yanyin pulled his hair, "I'll call Shui in to give you a bath, and then we'll talk in bed."