Chapter 330: Skin Cup

Chapter 330: The Skin Cup

In the elegant and luminous ancient-style guest chamber, Li Huowang took a piece of braised duck meat between his chopsticks, chewed it slowly, and swallowed it down, attempting to suppress the lingering nausea in his mouth.

Though this sensation was unpleasant, perhaps it would reduce Tuoba Danqing’s suspicions—well worth the cost.

After all, at least this way, he could make him understand why he wore the copper coin mask.

Moreover, from the look of astonishment on his face, Li Huowang knew he had guessed correctly. Even though Tuoba Danqing was well-traveled and worldly-wise, he had never seen anyone with tentacles sprouting from their mouths, each tipped with a tiny eye.

He took a gentle sip of wine, and Tuoba Danqing spoke with a tremor in his voice: “My dear brother, I see you’re a heretical cultivator. Brother, please don’t take offense—I’m just warning you. It’s best not to practice such forbidden arts. Otherwise, you won’t know who is cultivating whom in the end.”

Li Huowang raised his cup and lightly tapped it against Tuoba Danqing’s glass. “Thank you for your advice, Brother Tuoba. I have my own plans.”

“If you’ve got plans, that’s good. Honestly, I’ll tell you this—I’ve known you’d amount to something since the moment I laid eyes on you.” As Tuoba Danqing continued to chatter with idle words, the atmosphere in the room gradually returned to its previous state. The two men resumed their clinking of cups.

The more Tuoba Danqing drank, the more cheerful he became. When his spirits were highest, he leaned toward Li Huowang with an odd expression and whispered in a tone both men understood: “My dear brother, come here. Let me show you what Ren Wu can enjoy that Gui Zu cannot.”

With that, he clapped his hands gently. Moments later, four women with full figures entered the room one by one, their brows lowered and their expressions docile.

Just as Li Huowang thought they were courtesans, the four women suddenly unfurled their sleeves, revealing themselves completely before them.

Their bodies were covered in indigo blue floral tattoos, making them appear like four exquisite porcelain vases standing in the room.

And not a single one of them was without small feet—large upper bodies, small lower ones, standing there like fragile ceramics.

Unlike the rigid beauty of fine porcelain, when two of them gracefully approached Li Huowang, pressing close to him to serve him food, he realized these were soft, warm, and smooth—each gesture filled with seductive grace.

As if displaying themselves for his pleasure, Tuoba Danqing mimicked drinking with his hand. The woman immediately raised her cup and poured wine into her mouth slowly.

After finishing, she sat back down on Tuoba Danqing’s lap, her tongue curling into a funnel shape, and slowly poured the wine into his mouth.

Satisfied, Tuoba Danqing turned to Li Huowang and said, “My dear brother, what do you call this? This is called a skin cup. How about that? Never seen anything like it in your four quarters, right? Hahaha~”

Li Huowang glanced uneasily at the women beside him. “Brother Tuoba, isn’t it a bit awkward to talk while these four ladies are here?”

Tuoba Danqing wrapped his arm around one of them and said proudly to Li Huowang, “Don’t worry. These are specially chosen from within Linglong Tower. They’re silent and mute—deaf and dumb. No matter what we say, they can’t hear or speak.”

“These kinds of silent ones are bred especially for people like us,” he added, then took another sip from the skin cup.

This scene reminded Li Huowang instantly of Sun Baolu’s mother, who had once been a beauty paper. He felt a wave of nausea rise in his throat. These days, he had almost forgotten how this place treated people like tools—how twisted their tastes could be.

“Come now, my dear brother, you’ve only just returned. You should rest well. Don’t worry—the expenses are all part of the normal operations of the court. Might as well spend it, right?” Tuoba Danqing stood there winking at Li Huowang.

Looking at the pitifully dangling flesh on either side of his body, Li Huowang shook his head. “Brother Tuoba, thank you, but today I only came for wine. Nothing else.”

Seeing Li Huowang’s disinterest in women, Tuoba Danqing was surprised. “Oh? Could it be that you, too, have grown tired of women and now crave the rabbit lord? That makes sense—after all, round is better than flat. I’ll go get one for you right away.”

Li Huowang’s expression darkened slightly, his voice rising a little. “Brother Tuoba, I will not rest easy until I avenge our brothers and elders. I simply have no interest in such things.”

Seeing that Li Huowang wasn’t joking, Tuoba Danqing waved his hand dismissively, and the women left.

Once they were gone, Tuoba Danqing raised his cup and drank deeply, letting out a heavy sigh. “My dear brother, you truly have loyalty. In these times, few are willing to risk everything for their brothers. Everyone’s got ulterior motives.”

“A teacher is a father for life. They killed six of our great elders—they deserve nothing less.”

“Very well, then. Stay here in Yinling City for now. I know you’re in a hurry. If anything happens, I’ll summon you first.”

“Alright, thank you, Brother Tuoba. I’ll drink to your health!”

When Li Huowang returned to the inn, reeking of wine, he collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes, pressing his fingertips against his temples in slow, steady motions.

Dealing with Tuoba Danqing, the smiling tiger, was no easier than fighting outside. He didn’t know how much the man knew or how much he trusted him. All he could do was remain ever vigilant, lest he reveal any weakness.

Then, suddenly, an idea struck him. From his waist, he pulled out his badge and looked at the word “Ren Wu” engraved upon it. A step closer to success.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Li Huowang’s lips. As his status in the Jian Tian Si rose, so did his ability to command some of its forces.

Bei Feng, who lived 190 years, sounded formidable—but perhaps he didn’t need to fight alone against the Zuo Wang Sect.

Li Huowang suddenly sat up from where he lay on the bed, muttering to himself: “Right. Since I have the Jian Tian Si behind me, not using it would be sheer injustice. Besides, they’re enemies of each other.”

“If I can just provoke them into fighting each other, I’ll be the one to benefit!”

“Hehehe...” A low chuckle made Li Huowang turn his head. It came, as expected, from Hong Zhong.

“You fool, who do you think you’re deceiving? Wanting to sow discord?”

“Si Xi and San Yuan are seasoned players. By the time you try to stir things up, they’ll already have you trapped.”

Li Huowang, unusually, didn’t ignore him. “You used to always call me one of the three Yuan—Hong Zhong, right? Now I believe it. Since I’m also a high-ranking member of the Zuo Wang Sect, why shouldn’t I be able to stir things up among them?”

Hong Zhong’s expression suddenly lit up, as if recalling something.

“That’s right! Maybe this is Hong Zhong’s plan after all! Suppressing his memories, sneaking into the Jian Tian Si, then secretly building a ladder from within to cause chaos!”

“Exactly, exactly! That’s exactly what I thought!” Li Huowang stood up too, his expression mirroring his excitement.

Both men burst into laughter, growing louder and louder. But just as the sound reached its peak, it abruptly stopped. Both men stared at each other with mocking smiles.

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