The Guide to Capturing a Black Lotus

25 (End of 1st Volume)

Heh, this guy's getting worse.

Her competitive heart was suddenly stirred thirty meters high.

Her hair was suffused with the soft glossy maroon of the sunlight. They softly fell down her face at the sides, framing her furious eyes that slowly lost their anger. She smiled then: "I must've disappointed you greatly. I want to go with you all to Chang An and go with you all till the end."

I even have to save your life in the final conclusion, you idiot.

The two were like two ferocious beasts in a standoff as they silently watched each other: If my opponent won't move, I won't move.

Mu Sheng's gaze on her seemed like there truly were several degrees of confusion within: "Why are you so fixated on going down this path?"

Miaomiao sighed: "Mu Sheng. I treat you like a friend. I don't ask that you always return the favor but at least stop constantly trampling on others' sincerity."

"...sincerity?" He ruminated on this word in his mouth for a moment. He seemed to tremble for a moment before immediately refuting it. The contempt in his eyes suddenly became more clear to see: "Where could sincerity possibly exist?"

Ling Miaomiao covered her own abdomen with anger written all over her face: "Young Noble Mu, you're currently trampling on it right now."

"..." He calmly turned around, "If you meet danger in the future, don't blame me for not warning you."

Ling Miaomiao put her hands on her waist and purposely raised her voice. She looked just like a rich woman bullying others: "As long as Brother Liu protects me, what do I have to fear?"

On this journey, I don't even fear you, Mu Sheng. Why would I be scared of some grave danger far off down the road.

Mu Sheng's back turned rigid and his footsteps increased in speed.

"Ding— Mission Reminder: Mission 1 Phase One complete. Phase Completion reward [Memory Fragment]. Using it will help the contestant grasp the main plot."

A shiny piece of glass suddenly appeared in Ling Miaomiao's hand. She put it up against the sunlight and looked at it from several angles: "This is the Memory Fragment? Isn't it a little too half-heartedly made?"

Looking through the piece of glass, the azure sky turned a gloomy ash color. It looked like it had been repeatedly drained of all color by the sun. Mottled ash blue seemed to burst out in a moment, completely covering and submerging Ling Miaomiao within.

"Marquis Qingyi is here!! Marquis Qingyi is here!"

Chang An's main street interconnected to countless other small paths. Countless carriages of all sorts and manner came and went speedily down the path as the pedestrians dodged them. A long, majestic line of carriages were headed into the palace.

The towering, lofty city walls had the words 'Anding Gate' written horizontally. On the sawtooth-like battlements, a line of scarlet banners stretched all the way into the distance as they flapped furiously in the wind.

'Peace' was only maintained for a few minutes before the hubbub seemed to grow like a wave, rapidly raising up the entire city into a boiling excitement.

The atmosphere in the capital was rather open. Young nobles didn't like to suppress others with their prestige and as such, when all of the men, women, young and old stood to the sides, they all dared to stick out their necks, and point and gesture with faces full of cheeriness.

Rumor had it that the current Marquis Qingyi was both handsome and beautiful, comparable to Pan An1

The horse that pulled the carriage was as white as snow. Its hair flowed like a cloud and it was elegant as it galloped along. It was just like a Horse Deity from heaven. The carriage it was pulling was elaborate, exquisite and lavish. There wasn't a single spot on it that wasn't extremely refined. Behind the flowing tassels and heavy curtain, what exactly did the person look like?

"Hey, little beggar... why aren't you eating anymore?" A supple hand came out, wishing to touch the little boy's head.

The little boy looked to be at the max, seven years of age. His skin was like falling snow and his pair of dark eyes were wet. His thick hair wasn't too long and fell to his shoulders. If it wasn't for his cracked lips and dust on his face, he simply would've looked like a little elf.

He blankly dodged the young girl's hand. There wasn't the slightest bit of alarm in his eyes, only cold indifference.

"Big sister, why are you bothering with him? He's a monster." At the side, another begging child came over with a mouth full of saliva, "He doesn't eat, how about... giving it to me?"

The young girl was somewhat embarrassed as she unwillingly handed out the desserts in her hand to the group of little beggars. The swarm of little beggars immediately surrounded her like a group of sharks sensing blood.

On her mind however, was still the most beautiful and good-looking little child: "You... what's your name?"

He acted as if he didn't hear her and didn't respond. A child on the side with a wide smile on his face said teasingly: "Young Miss, this motherless bastard, doesn't have a name."

"I have a mother." He suddenly opened his mouth, his voice was as crisp and as clear as a guqin played pizzicato2.

I just... I'm just... suddenly, his eyes turned dark. This kind of intense hatred that shouldn't appear on a little child's body gave his shiny black pupils an extra sheen of brightness.

"Eh, where are you going?" She saw him quickly climb up, turn around and take two steps and miraculously disappear like fog right in front of her eyes. She couldn't help but rub her eyes a few times to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

"You've seen it now as well big sister, I told you that he was a monster." On the beaming smiles of the little faces around them, a cruel, hungry-wolf like indifference suddenly appeared.

Marquis Qingyi's extravagant train of carriages passed through the Anding Gate. The carriage suddenly came to a pause and the person in the carriage closed the scroll in his hands. He knit his brows and cold eyes beneath his long lashes shot out a cold light: "Was it not already said that this Marquis won't need to have my Authority Token checked?"

Nobody replied. The only movement within the wide carriage was the slow, upward drift of the spiraling smoke coming out of the censer.

He paused for a moment before his expression grew cold: What demon is it?! Come out!"

The inside of the carriage was pasted with Warding Talismans on every corner and a pixiu tortoise was placed on the long table 3 At the side, a solemn peach wood sword hung. Treasures from countless sects filled the inside, turning the small carriage into a veritable bucket made of iron.

He doubted that even dust could break in right?

A burst of cold wind brushed past his cheeks and he suddenly retreated a distance. In the blink of an eye, a child had appeared on the table. Beneath his clothes, a pair of slim feet swayed back and forth, revealing his snow-white legs. The cub-like bizarre little child raised his head. The child's black pupils were filled with a strong and bitter hatred.

"Who are you?" The male could see his own terrified reflection in the dark as night eyes of the person before him, "What do you want?"

A cold, small hand suddenly appeared around his throat: "I'm here... to kill you of course."

End of Arc One

[1] Pan An: All ya gotta know is that this dude was famous in chinese history for his good looks.

[2] Pizzicato: A playing technique where you pluck strings... though I'm not sure if this is already the normal way to play a guqin.

[3] Pixiu: A mythical beast that's known for driving away evil spirits and brings luck.