Overdraw the future and become a peerless martial god

Chapter 37 Wuhou Mansion

Chu Ning ignored the attitude of the crowd. He was used to the arrogance from the powerful, but Xie Mingli's attitude surprised him a little.

As he stepped into the Wuhou Mansion, the moment he lifted his foot, the coarse linen on the sole of his boot touched the star patterns embossed on the stone surface. The star tracks outlined with golden lines seemed to come alive, flowing under his feet into a brilliant galaxy.

At the end of the steps, sixteen coiled dragon pillars support the gilded dome. Each dragon's whiskers are decorated with pigeon blood stones, and the dragon's eyes are luminous jades tributed from Mobei, which emit a faint green light even in the daytime.

"Young Master Chu, be careful where you step." Qin Henian's withered hand suddenly reached across his body. Chu Ning then noticed a crack about an inch wide on the right side of the third step. The old butler tapped the crack with the tip of his suede boot. "Last month, a tenant slipped here, and blood seeped into the veins of the Sunken Star Stone. It took three days to clean it."

As they passed through the ceremonial gate, twelve bronze water bells roared simultaneously. Giant mechanisms engaged fine iron gears, sending water surging through the inlaid gold channels, reflecting a blood-red hue in the sunlight.

Chu Ning took a closer look and discovered that the bottom of the channel was densely covered with red chalcedony, carved into the shapes of three thousand kneeling slaves holding tribute plates.

On the screen wall in front of the main hall, a complete "Map of Kyushu" is inlaid with giant clams and obsidian.

When Chu Ning approached, the mountains in the picture suddenly rose up and the river actually began to flow.

It turned out that tens of thousands of thin slices of lapis lazuli were rising and falling under the stimulation of the mechanism, and each piece was engraved with the amount of land tax in tiny calligraphy.

"This is my brother's favorite view." Xie Mingli's skirt brushed against the white jade floor tiles. Beneath the tiles was amber resin, which upon closer inspection revealed the corpses of spirit beasts in various poses. "Mr. Chu, what do you think of this compared to the refugee alley outside?"

His tone was calm, yet tinged with sarcasm: "The bodies in Refugee Alley are thrown into the mud, left for crows to peck at, while the bodies of spirit beasts here are sealed in amber for people to admire."

He paused, a hint of an ambiguous smile playing on the corner of his mouth: "It can be considered another kind of 'respectability'."

Xie Mingli's eyes flickered slightly, as if she wasn't surprised by his answer. She gently raised her hand, her fingertips brushing across the mountains and rivers inlaid with giant clams, and said lightly, "The living are always more useful than the dead."

Chu Ning sneered: "Unfortunately, there are only a few people who can survive."

Xie Mingli looked at him sideways, his eyes meaningful: "Do you care about these?"

Chu Ning retracted his gaze and said slowly: "I didn't care before."

His tone was calm, but Xie Mingli could hear the sharpness hidden in his words.

He looked at the map and said slowly, "Until one day, I became a resident of Refugee Alley."

Xie Mingli did not answer, but just watched the map rise and fall quietly.

Chu Ning stood beside Xie Mingli, slowly moving his eyes away from the map and looking at her deeply.

His tone was calm, yet with a hint of inquiry: "The day before yesterday you said your brother was waiting for you at home. Why didn't you see him when you returned today?"

Xie Mingli's fingertips, which were originally stroking the map, paused slightly.

She was silent for a moment, her palm gently stroking a floating obsidian mountain, and said in a faint voice: "He has indeed been waiting for me."

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows slightly, vaguely sensing a certain deliberateness in her tone.

"But he's been waiting for five years."

Five years?

Chu Ning's eyes narrowed slightly, and he vaguely smelled a hint of unusual scent.

He did not ask immediately, but waited quietly.

Xie Mingli slowly withdrew her hand, seemingly weighing her words. After a moment, she slowly spoke, "Five years ago, he led the personal guards of the Wuhou Mansion deep into the northern border, searching for something..."

Her voice was extremely soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing some dormant secret beneath this magnificent mansion.

"But he never came back."

Chu Ning's eyes suddenly became sharp.

"Life or death unknown?"

Xie Mingli nodded slightly, his eyes still fixed on the map.

"Without my brother at the helm of Wuhou Mansion, its power has been eroded by the major sects, and its influence is gradually declining."

Her tone remained calm, but Chu Ning saw a hint of forbearance in the depths of her eyes.

Xie Mingli slowly turned around and finally looked directly at Chu Ning, her eyes as calm as an icy lake: "So I must win the Qingyun Tournament this time." Chu Ning narrowed his eyes and looked at her quietly.

"I want everyone to know—" She spoke word by word, her voice no longer calm, but revealing an unquestionable sharpness and pride: "Even if Wu Hou Mansion doesn't have Xie Jinghong, we still have me, Xie Mingli!"

The atmosphere suddenly froze.

The sunlight reflected a golden light in her eyes, like a sharp blade unsheathed, with a cold and intimidating light.

Chu Ning raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at her expression carefully.

After a long pause, he suddenly chuckled, his tone full of meaning, "So, you want to use the Qingyun Arena to reverse the decline of the Wuhou Mansion?"

"That's right." Xie Mingli said frankly without dodging.

Chu Ning walked slowly to the front of the map, casually pointed his finger at the northern region, and said lightly: "Unfortunately, your opponent is not just the one in the arena."

Xie Mingli was slightly startled, then narrowed his eyes: "What do you want to say?"

Chu Ning suppressed his smile, his tone calm but with a hint of coldness: "The Tianlei Sect, Hanshan Sect, Lihuo Palace, and even... some people in your Wuhou Mansion may not want you to win."

A flash of coldness flashed across Xie Mingli's eyes, and then he regained his composure.

"You think I don't know?" she said slowly, "These past few years, every step I took, there were people trying to make me fall."

Chu Ning chuckled softly, his eyes full of meaning: "You are quite frank."

Xie Mingli looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Master Chu, since you know all this, are you still willing to step into the Wuhou Mansion?"

Her tone was half-smiling, with a hint of tentativeness: "Or are you ready to be drawn into this vortex?"

The atmosphere became more subtle at this moment.

Chu Ning did not answer immediately, but slowly raised his hand and gently brushed his fingertips across the "Map of Jiuzhou".

He looked at the border line outlined by obsidian above the northern border.

"I'm more curious," he whispered, "What on earth was your brother looking for five years ago?"

Xie Mingli's eyes paused slightly.

After a moment, she uttered a few words softly:

"Northern Border Military Atlas."

Chu Ning's pupils shrank slightly.

He suddenly remembered the six bloody words he had seen on the Thunder Pattern Ring of a Tianlei Sect disciple:
"A startling appearance, the blue sky is in disarray."

This Qingyun Arena is far more than just a ring match.

And Xie Jinghong’s disappearance may not be a disappearance at all.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled softly: "It seems that this Qingyun Tournament is indeed very interesting."

Xie Mingli casually took off his cloak and ordered, "Butler Qin, arrange a place for Master Chu to live."

Qin Henian nodded slightly, his eyes swept over Chu Ning calmly, his voice gentle but with a hint of coldness: "Mr. Chu has come from afar, so we should treat him well."

But his footsteps went towards the most remote corridor of the mansion.

Chu Ning looked up at the quiet side courtyard. The red lacquer door was old, and the copper ring was even covered with a thin layer of dust. It was obvious that no one had lived there for a long time. The moss on the dripping eaves was mottled, and it looked dark and damp in the dim light.

"This is the residence of Mr. Chu." Qin Henian smiled and made a "please" gesture.

"It's quite quiet." Chu Ning smiled noncommittally, walked into the yard, and gently brushed his fingertips across the cracks on the door frame, his eyes slightly gloomy.

(End of this chapter)