Lu Jiuchen was that kind of person: Zhuo Yu couldn't figure out his temperament at all. He seemed to have already abandoned normal human emotions like joy, anger, sorrow and happiness, but when he erupted, no one could stop him.

Although Zhuo Yu didn't have much physical desire, they were both men after all, and it was clear to each other what would happen when passions flared. At this moment, looking at Lu Jiuchen, the only thought left in Zhuo Yu's mind was that his life was over.

"Get the hell off me!"

"Zhuo Yu," Lu Jiuchen suddenly flipped him over and bit his slender nape, "you deserve it."

The loose robes were torn to shreds in the entanglement. Zhuo Yu raised his head and viciously elbowed backwards. Lu Jiuchen grabbed his hand, kissing it by his lips, leaving blood red kiss marks on the knuckles.

"When did it start?"

"What?"

"When did you start having designs on me!" Zhuo Yu forced out a few words from between clenched teeth, viciously emphasizing, "- Senior Brother Lu!"

Lu Jiuchen chuckled lowly, "When we were still in the mountains."

Zhuo Yu almost fainted. Before they had left the mountains, this usually steady and stable Senior Brother Lu, this top expert who never showed his emotions, looked like a peerless gentleman from any angle.

Although Zhuo Yu was ambitious, subconsciously he also held a bit of reverence for this man. Not to mention later raising an army to usurp the country, even back then in the mountains if he accidentally did something wrong or slacked off in training, he had to carefully hide it so Senior Brother wouldn't find out.

He still remembered back in the mountains, this man was as silent as a mountain rock. At that time, Zhuo Yu already had some hidden unvirtuous thoughts, but whenever he encountered Lu Jiuchen, he would shrink back a little. Until later when he went down the mountain to Xiwan, he was still afraid Lu Jiuchen would chase after him, so he deliberately kept a low profile to avoid attracting attention. Who would have thought Lu Jiuchen would still discover him in the end.

At that time, he thought falling into Lu Jiuchen's hands, if not dead he'd at least lose a layer of skin. He had assumed this senior brother pressuring and monitoring him everywhere was out of some righteous jianghu chivalry!

Zhuo Yu was so angry he blushed, "You bastard! Son of a bitch!..."

"Good that you know."

The following angry curses were blocked between lips and tongues. Drunk people had especially great strength, let alone in front of Lu Jiuchen, Zhuo Yu at this level still wasn't considered a threat. He easily slipped his hand under the clothes, grasping that still unresponsive organ.

Zhuo Yu suddenly bent over.

The last time was already long ago. He actually didn't remember that night very clearly. The pain of breaking the seal had already obliterated everything. Lu Jiuchen took the lead in guiding, and by the end he had completely lost his will. When he woke up, he had no impression at all.

At that time, he could comfort himself saying it was a matter of expediency, just like taking medicine for an illness; moreover, Lu Jiuchen didn't really remind him. The next day when he woke up, they still treated each other with courtesy and tacit understanding, as if last night was just a spring dream.

But what about now? Now being pressed on the bed with disheveled clothes, forced to arouse desire, even being opened up, occupied, violated...what the hell was going on?

The almost maddening emotions intertwined with the increasingly vivid pleasure, and the empty yearning made people fearful. Zhuo Yu panted and clenched his teeth, "Stop...! Stop it!"

"If I really stop for a while, you'll beg me to continue." Lu Jiuchen's voice was still very coherent, "My self-control is very poor right now, you'd better not drive me crazy."

Zhuo Yu tightly closed his eyes, rarely showing a bit of a fragile look. His long eyelashes trembled violently. Although he tried hard to hold back his moans, it was actually a pleading posture.

The long-held dark thoughts had nowhere to hide. Lu Jiuchen sneered coldly, impulsively wanting to say something, but in the end didn't say it. He kissed Zhuo Yu's collarbone roughly, wantonly leaving tooth marks on the fair taut skin.

There was always this kind of person, who, although having gone through harsh training, was spoiled and well-maintained. Just from the feel of the skin, you could see how the years had favored them. Actually, Lu Jiuchen wasn't much older than him, but when he left kiss marks, there was always a feeling that Zhuo Yu was still very young, as if he was still that arrogant and domineering youth from the mountains.

Zhuo Yu could barely feel anything. The pleasure reached its peak in an instant, as if his whole body was convulsing. The pleasure flowed through his body like lightning, passing through every meridian, and then his whole person suddenly went limp. The post-orgasmic fatigue left Zhuo Yu without the strength to move a finger.

"My turn."

Zhuo Yu hadn't gathered his wits yet, but his subconscious sensed the approaching danger, "Lu Jiuchen, don't you dare take advantage..."

Lu Jiuchen's voice was terrifyingly hoarse, "I told you long ago not to scheme against me. You deserve it."

His fingers easily invaded that secret place. The tightness and heat stimulated the man's nerves to the maximum. He took a deep breath. Zhuo Yu still wanted to kick him off. Lu Jiuchen grabbed his hair from the back of his head, forcing him to raise his head, then crudely kissed him.

"Ah..."

Lu Jiuchen could hardly bear the restless desire. Just at this moment, the door was suddenly pushed open in a hurry.

"Kou'er! Kou'er! There's a big shot outside, asking for you by name..."

The old madam's voice was cut off as if choked, and except for the creaking sound of bones, she couldn't say another word.

The Qianwan Emperor stood at the door with his arms crossed, looking expressionless, but his eyes were actually shining, wishing he could stick his head in to see. Mingde craned his neck curiously to look inside, but unfortunately was forcefully held back by The Qianwan Emperor, completely unable to see clearly what was happening inside.

Zhang Kuo stood to the side with head bowed, afraid of becoming the first sacrifice of the Imperial Preceptor's murderous rage, so he desperately tried to hide to reduce his presence.

Zhuo Yu was going crazy.

Lu Jiuchen couldn't find a shred of embarrassment. He straightened his clothes, grabbed Zhuo Yu to stop him from rushing out to kill someone, and then politely expressed his surprise: "How did Your Majesty come up with the idea to visit a brothel? Since Your Majesty has a fancy, I will also help fulfill it. This lady is yours for the night. Take your time, no need to see you out."

The veins on the back of Zhuo Yu's hand bulged: "Let go of me, I must kill someone today..."

The Qianwan Emperor said sincerely: "General Lu, your words are too heavy. I really didn't know you two had such interests. A gentleman does not snatch what others fancy. We can find this lady again tomorrow, it's not too late."

Lu Jiuchen said solemnly: "Actually, I don't need a third person here. Since Your Majesty has come, you mustn't leave empty-handed."

Zhuo Yu struggled in a disheveled manner while gritting his teeth: "Let go of me... I'll kill them..."

Shangguan Mingde poked his head out, biting his fingertips, and asked in a daze: "My dessert... my..."

"Actually, it's my child who needs this lady, so we are not in a hurry, not in a hurry," the Qianwan Emperor hurriedly explained, "Since the State Preceptor is so... so... so eager, then we will leave first."

As expected, Lu Jiuchen misunderstood it as something else. He looked at Mingde, then at the little Kou girl who had been pulled away, and then at the Qianwan Emperor. His eyes couldn't hide the horrified look.

The Qianwan Emperor immediately realized the shocking misunderstanding in Lu Jiuchen's mind: "No, actually you misunderstood, it's like this... actually..."

Zhuo Yu broke free from Lu Jiuchen's restraint and rushed over angrily: "I've put up with you Central Plains people for a long time, I can't stand it anymore, today I must kill you--!"

With a loud bang, tables, chairs and door panels all shook together. Amidst the dust, the sounds of fighting and killing rose one after another. Lu Jiuchen rushed forward to grab Zhuo Yu at the risk of his life, just in time to block the blade that was about to split Mingde in half.

Mingde was still unaware of what was happening. He stared at Zhuo Yu blankly for a while, then suddenly took half a step back and retreated behind the Qianwan Emperor, trembling and struggling: "...Ghost... it's a ghost..."

Zhuo Yu angrily reached out to grab him: "How do I look like a ghost! Shangguan Mingde, what are you pretending for?"

Mingde struggled desperately to fend off his hand, so scared that his whole body was shaking and he could barely stand: "Stay away from me! Go away! Go away! You're already dead! Go away! Go away!"

"It's all you cunning Central Plains people's fault, where did you take my sister? And forging my military order to force the Xiwan army to retreat three hundred miles? I should have thrown you into the stone formation back then! Why did I waste half my life to save you! None of you are good people!"

"Zhuo Yu, Zhuo Yu," Lu Jiuchen tried his best to hold him down, "you've scared the child silly, don't shout so loudly, calm down..."

Just as Zhuo Yu was about to pounce and tear these treacherous Central Plains people to pieces, Mingde suddenly burst into tears, the tears rolling down like a broken dam, and he shrank into a small ball no bigger than a doll behind the Qianwan Emperor.

"Li Ji... Li Ji... they are bad people, drive them away..."

Zhuo Yu slowly stiffened, then raised his eyebrows and looked down at Mingde with the corner of his eye, like a teacher looking at a student who hadn't finished his homework.

Then he reached out and elegantly poked Mingde's face with his fingertip. It was soft and fleshy.

"Really scared silly?"

He quickly withdrew his finger and propped his chin in puzzlement, "No way, back then when I was about to strangle his neck on the cliff edge, he wasn't this scared."

It would have been fine if he hadn't said that, but as soon as he did, the Qianwan Emperor's face completely darkened. Not only the Qianwan Emperor, even Lu Jiuchen couldn't help but feel awkward.

"Zhuo Yu," Lu Jiuchen coughed, "this child's Yintang acupoint is dark and his spirit is unclear, seems like he's in shock."

Zhuo Yu squatted down, pointed his finger at himself and asked Mingde, "Who am I?"

Mingde stared at him tremblingly, not daring to speak.

"Shangguan Mingde, are you playing dumb?"

Mingde shrank even smaller.

The corner of Zhuo Yu's forehead twitched. He reached out to feel Mingde's face, then grabbed his wrist and took his pulse with just two fingertips. Then he sneered: "Damn it, he's gone mad."

Some say witchcraft originated earliest in Xiwan, but in fact, at that time, Zhuo Yu of the Azure Dragon Seal was publicly recognized as the most skilled in witchcraft. Those strange things actually had a certain rationale as support. By cleverly combining knowledge of nature, climate, formations, herbs, etc. that were not mastered by people, it appeared mysterious and profound, that was witchcraft.

Even Lu Jiuchen might not be clear about the origins of Zhuo Yu's techniques, but he was indeed the most brilliant person of the time. This meant he had a vast amount of knowledge, astronomy, geography, mechanics, architecture, climate, humanities... he was involved in these to varying degrees. Before he made a name for himself in martial arts, he had already been praised by the former king of Xiwan as a walking "armory".

Everyone knew he could poison, spread plagues, and create strange and terrible diseases; but few knew that he also had deep research in medicine.

It's just that Zhuo Yu did not live a long life, and many things did not have time to be compiled into books. The various secret arts of the Azure Dragon Seal were completely cut off in his generation.

The room was filled with the lingering scent of incense. Mingde sat on the bed, constantly trying to crawl away, and constantly being dragged back by Zhuo Yu to be examined. After fiddling for a while, he raised his head, stood up and left with a swish of his sleeves.

The Qianwan Emperor blocked the way and smiled slightly: "Since the State Preceptor has diagnosed, at least tell us the result."

Zhuo Yu dodged, but was blocked; he dodged again, and was blocked again. He simply stood far away and said lightly: "Blocking me is useless, he's beyond saving."

The Qianwan Emperor's face changed: "What does the State Preceptor mean by that?"

"It means there's no hope," Zhuo Yu said. "His mind is already broken. The celestial clan's descendants who have never been imprinted simply can't live long, let alone with his weak constitution that has long been unable to bear the burden. Ordinary people might be able to be nursed back to health, but for him, I'm afraid it's dangerous."

The Qianwan Emperor was shocked. "The State Preceptor has no way?"

"It's not that I have no way, but that I cannot strengthen his foundation and nourish his vitality," Zhuo Yu said, swinging his sleeves and pacing out. "It's already thankless to strengthen one's foundation and nourish their vitality, let alone that I want to live a few more years with this breath left in me. The Phoenix family and my family have a deep blood feud. I can't afford to give up a few years of my life for him."

Lu Jiuchen waited silently at the door. Seeing Zhuo Yu come out, he only nodded.

"Feed him well for a few years. Rather than suffering, it's better to be relieved."

As Lu Jiuchen turned to go downstairs, at that moment, there was a sudden gust of wind behind his ears. His nerves, already sensitive to the point of extreme alertness, tightened abruptly.

Turning his head, he saw only Zhuo Yu frozen behind him. The Qianwan Emperor, who had somehow come close in front of him, had one hand naturally hanging down and the other hand holding a dagger, reaching from behind Zhuo Yu, bent at a ninety-degree angle against his neck.

The sharp tip of the dagger was only a gap away from the skin. At such a distance, even a top expert would immediately spurt blood if he was slightly careless.

Lu Jiuchen's face immediately tensed up. Zhuo Yu had not a hint of internal energy left in his dantian. The martial arts he once had were now nothing more than pale and flimsy theories, not much different from ordinary people, and he had no chance of winning against a master!

Zhuo Yu's eyes moved. "Emperor, you want to force me?"

"I am asking you."

"Asking?" Zhuo Yu laughed. "No one asks like this. I, Zhuo Yu, may have nothing else now, but at least my bones are still hard. Forcing me to do something with my life on the line is not going to happen."

His demeanor could even be described as elegant. "If I were still the State Preceptor of Xiwan, I might consider saving him for the sake of the friendship between the two countries. But now I am just an ordinary person with no desires or demands. Respected Emperor, what can you do to me?"