Chapter 141: The Mirror Image Of That Time

Chapter 141: A Mirror of That Time

Tang Buqi was equally baffled by the request—you, a wanderer of the jianghu, what are you planning by bringing a maidservant along? Isn't she just dead weight? I told you yesterday that even I don't want to take a maid when I go out, yet you've brought one along. Are you really trying to swap places with me?

But to him, a maidservant from a guest courtyard whose face he barely knew was hardly a big deal, and he couldn't be bothered to think much about it. Waving his hand, he said, "If you want her, she's yours. No big deal. I'll have a word with the steward later, and you can have her registered under your name."

Zhao Changhe winked at Sisi, meaning she should call him "young master" now.

Sisi kept a straight face, offering no response.

This was trouble—what nonsense about changing registration? If they actually did that, they'd find out there was no one named Sisi in the courtyard at all! What was this guy even doing? What did he want a maidservant for?

Fortunately, Tang Buqi didn't dwell on it. Instead of immediately ordering someone to handle it, he sat down in Zhao Changhe's courtyard and said, "I've had someone bring breakfast over. Let's eat together, and then we'll head to the Lu family's place south of the city."

Sure enough, servants soon arrived with pastries and congee. Tang Buqi started eating without a word, sighing, "A bowl of congee after a night of drinking really hits the spot."

Zhao Changhe picked up a bowl, casually handed it to Sisi, then shoved a pastry at her. "Sit down and eat. What are you standing there like a fool for?"

Sisi: "?"

"Now you're my maidservant, got it? As long as I have food, you won't go hungry."

"..."

Zhao Changhe ignored her completely, grabbed another bowl, and slurped it down noisily. He asked Tang Buqi, "Why do you seem more concerned about this baleful aura business than I am? You're hungover, yet you came looking for me this early. Are you usually this diligent? Is it you who wants that baleful treasure, or is it me?"

"Because Lu Shaoxiong and I have some connection. Since I'm back, I naturally want to check on him. If the root cause really is baleful aura, then you're the expert monk for catching this ghost. When else would I get the chance to show off in front of a friend and claim credit while you're here?"

Zhao Changhe was impressed. "You really know how to show off in front of others."

"Did you find anything at the Sword Pool yesterday?"

"No. I'll have to go back and take another look, maybe check the surroundings too, get a feel for the place."

Tang Buqi was exasperated. "I told you there was nothing there, but you insisted on wasting time. I don't know if you're cultivating baleful aura or just foolishness."

Zhao Changhe ground his teeth. "I think you're asking for a beating."

Tang Buqi sipped his congee. "I just gave you a maidservant, and this is how you repay me?"

"..." Zhao Changhe thought to himself, Heaven knows what this woman is really here for. For all you know, I'm saving your stupid ass, and you don't even realize it.

Of course, he couldn't say that. He finished his congee in a few gulps, grabbed his blade, and stood up. "Fine, fine. To repay you for the maidservant, I'll go catch that ghost of yours at the Lu family's place."

Sisi hesitated, unsure whether to follow. Zhao Changhe turned his head. "Come on. You're my person now. Staying here—are you planning to serve some other guest?"

Sisi: "..."

She said nothing, but followed Zhao Changhe out the door with a strange expression.

Zhao Changhe didn't want her staying at the Tang residence, afraid she might cause trouble out of his sight. But what Sisi wanted was precisely to investigate the mystery of the baleful aura. She had been hesitating, wondering if shamelessly tagging along would raise suspicion, but then Zhao Changhe actually invited her to come along—it was like a pillow handed to her just as she was nodding off.

Is Zhao Changhe really treating me as one of his own? Sisi found it bizarre and scratched her head in confusion.

The two were on completely different wavelengths, each getting the outcome they wanted. Meanwhile, Tang Buqi, oblivious to it all, tapped his palm with a folding fan and said leisurely, "You seem to be treating this girl pretty well. How strange—Yue Hongling is such a stunning beauty, and you're so entangled with her. How can you be interested in an ordinary girl like this? Apart from her figure being similar to Yue Hongling's, what else does she have to compare?"

Zhao Changhe couldn't be bothered to respond.

Tang Buqi slapped his palm in sudden realization. "I get it. Last night, you got drunk and couldn't control yourself. Something happened, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Zhao Changhe said irritably, "You seemed pretty motivated to make something of yourself last night, so why are you still stuck on this kind of thing?"

"What, you can do it, but I can't talk about it?"

Watching the two men bicker ahead, Sisi suddenly recalled a rumor.

Every woman who got involved with Zhao Changhe ended up with a ruined reputation—so far, no exceptions. Tang Wanzhuang was a bit better off, but even she had been harmed by his line, "Wash up and wait." Now, whenever others gossiped about her, they'd wink and smirk. As long as Zhao Changhe, who had said that, wasn't arrested by the Demon Suppression Bureau, those winks and smirks wouldn't stop.

Sisi truly didn't understand how Tang Buqi could be so carefree—making friends with someone who had said such things to his aunt, bringing him home, and letting him call him "nephew" so affectionately.

Despite her inner complaints, her mind didn't wander. Seeing a fork in the road ahead, with Tang Buqi about to lead Zhao Changhe toward the Lu residence, Sisi suddenly called out, "Young master."

Zhao Changhe didn't react, but Tang Buqi turned his head. "Hmm?"

Sisi twitched the corner of her mouth and said cautiously, "I wasn't calling you. You just gave me away, so you're not my young master anymore."

Tang Buqi: "..."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

Suppressing the strange feeling of being called "young master" for the first time, he cleared his throat twice and turned around. "Technically, I'm a generation above you. You should call me 'master.'"

Tang Buqi: "Enough of that."

Sisi suppressed a smile and said, "Master, you're going the wrong way. Young Master Lu isn't at home. He's been moved to the Tranquil Heart Hall over there, to calm his mind and dispel the baleful aura."

Zhao Changhe shot Tang Buqi an annoyed glare. Tang Buqi hesitated for a moment. "Oh, I knew that. Just forgot for a second. It's just the Tranquil Heart Hall—follow me."

The Tranquil Heart Hall used to be a temple called the Tranquil Heart Nunnery. Because Suzhou, under the Tang family's leadership, was extremely hostile to the Maitreya Sect, various temples had been repeatedly searched and found it hard to stay open. Some became desolate with few worshippers, while others simply rebranded as nunneries that didn't worship Buddhas or deities. They served vegetarian meals, chanted scriptures, rang bells at dawn and beat drums at dusk, tapped wooden fish, and burned sandalwood incense. It did bring some peace to those who stayed there, and many literati deliberately sought out such places for artistic inspiration.

Now, the Tranquil Heart Hall had no outside visitors, as it had been entirely booked by the Lu family. Countless burly men stood guard outside, while inside, the original nuns of the nunnery chanted scriptures all day, serving only one mad young master locked in a room.

Even Tang Buqi's arrival was blocked by the guards. "Master Tang, please forgive our rudeness, but no weapons are allowed inside. Your sword... and this one—damn, that blade reeks of baleful aura! It absolutely cannot enter."

Tang Buqi was furious. "Do you think I'm going to assassinate your young master?"

"Please forgive us, Master Tang. It's not that we suspect you of assassination, but the baleful aura from such weapons might agitate our young master."

"A mere dead piece of metal like a sword or blade? Nonsense! My sword here is the Blue Wave Sword, most capable of cleansing the mind. It would actually benefit your young master! What do you know?"

"Uh... Master Tang, please don't make things difficult for us. We're just following orders..."

"Get out of here! I've seen this kind of bureaucratic overkill a hundred times. Your master definitely didn't say it like that—the supervisor added a layer, and your captain added two more. Do you think I'm stupid? Move aside!"

Tang Buqi shoved past the guards and strode in with Zhao Changhe, fully exploiting his greatest asset. The guards exchanged glances and indeed dared not stop him. Though Suzhou didn't bear the Tang name, the young master of the Tang family was not someone to trifle with.

Zhao Changhe followed silently with the Dragon Sparrow on his back, secretly giving his "nephew" a thumbs-up.

In truth, the guards' words weren't entirely unreasonable. Tang Buqi's Blue Wave Sword aside, the Dragon Sparrow was a blade from the founding battlefield, having killed countless men, brimming with battle intent and genuine baleful aura. Who knew if it might have a negative effect on Young Master Lu's condition?

But ever since the Dragon Sparrow had followed him into the jianghu, aside from occasional warnings, it had been quite docile. It rarely showed active battle intent and had never lost control. He wondered if that had something to do with Cui Wenjing's special treatment... or perhaps with his own deliberate restraint, following Han Wubing's advice, in not using the Dragon Sparrow's special powers?

He hoped it wouldn't cause trouble in this place of baleful aura.

Just as he thought this, he felt the Dragon Sparrow on his back tremble, as if extremely excited.

Following the flow of energy, he saw a nunnery hall ahead. From inside came the clanking of chains and low, beast-like roars, punctuated by the constant chanting of scriptures and the tapping of wooden fish, trying to suppress the struggle and howling of the chains.

Tang Buqi's expression turned grave. He gripped his sword hilt and slowly ascended the steps.

Zhao Changhe and Sisi followed behind and looked up. A young man was bound in layers of chains. His face, which should have been rather handsome, was now twisted like a beast's, his eyes filled with ferocity and madness, faintly tinged with blood-red light—both pupils and whites were crimson.

With his bared teeth and roaring, if he had fangs, he would be the spitting image of a wild beast, or a demon.

Tang Buqi instinctively turned to look at Zhao Changhe. Zhao Changhe's expression was also grim.

To an outsider, this state—especially the color of his eyes—was far too similar to the terrifying look Zhao Changhe had when using "Gods and Buddhas Scatter."

And Zhao Changhe himself knew all too well that this state was not "Gods and Buddhas Scatter." It was most likely the exact look he had when using the move "Heaven and Earth Without Self." At this moment, it was like seeing a mirror image of himself back then.

That look could scare a seasoned flower thief out of his wits, sending him fleeing in terror. Perhaps even Cui Wenjing's murderous intent had been sparked by it. The only one who had wanted to wake him without a second thought was Yangyang.

This was what it looked like when blood balefulness consumed the mind. This was the complete form of the Blood Baleful Art at its maximum power. Whether this "complete form" could still unleash other techniques was another matter.

This young master, Lu Shaoxiong, was undoubtedly afflicted by blood balefulness... In this peaceful land of Suzhou, where did such severe blood baleful energy come from? A passive, transmissible Blood Baleful Art? Then why were others unaffected?