Chapter 231: Old Soul, Young Body
Faced with Nan Xun’s relentless questioning, Little Eight said calmly, “From the second ruler onward, all the way to now.”
Nan Xun opened her mouth, utterly stunned. “How long has Southern Yun existed? At the very least, several hundred years, right?”
Little Eight continued, still composed: “Since the Great Zhou that once unified the world split into today’s Northern Wun, Southern Yun, Western Lin, and Eastern Lin, it’s been… quite a long time. Southern Yun has had ten rulers in total.”
Nan Xun: !
If one ruler reigned for thirty years, then nine rulers would already be 270 years!
Nan Xun instantly felt terrible.
Little Eight sighed. The whole beast felt bad too. It had planned to keep this secret for a while and let Nan Xun discover it herself—but it had accidentally let it slip.
“Don’t tell me this Grand Preceptor is actually an old man?” Nan Xun shouted when Little Eight went silent. “Damn it, Little Eight! You actually want me to seduce an ancient monster? What about all that talk of mutual affection?!”
Little Eight suddenly went deaf, pretending not to hear, and continued calmly, “Do you want to keep listening or not?”
Nan Xun pouted and forced one word out through clenched teeth: “…Yes.”
Little Eight explained, “Mo Ran Hall in Southern Yun existed very early on. When the Grand Preceptor was assisting the second ruler, he established Mo Ran Hall. Over all these years, he has taken only eighteen disciples in total—two per generation. Those ‘young men’ in white short robes you saw during the procession today were all of them.
“The second ruler had been the least noticeable among the princes in his youth. But with the help of the Grand Preceptor, Gong Mo Ran, he successfully seized the throne. From then on, the Grand Preceptor was highly valued. That ruler loved his people and governed diligently, earning deep affection from the populace. At the same time, the Grand Preceptor’s status grew higher and higher, until someone finally memorialized the emperor, claiming the Grand Preceptor’s merit overshadowed the throne and that he practiced witchcraft and gu techniques—dangerous to future generations—and should be secretly eliminated.
“That ruler was still a wise one and didn’t listen right away. But later, the entire court began submitting memorials—some ministers even remonstrated unto death.
“After learning of this, the Grand Preceptor swore a blood oath: he and all disciples of Mo Ran Hall would never covet the throne of Southern Yun, and would instead help successive rulers protect the country. If the oath were broken, they would die bleeding from the seven orifices.
“Tsk. How formidable is the Grand Preceptor? A blood oath he personally sets is especially powerful—binding himself and any Mo Ran Hall disciple with treacherous intent.”
After hearing these truths from Little Eight, Nan Xun was speechless. She only wanted to give the Grand Preceptor boss a thumbs-up: You’re insanely impressive, sir.
To eliminate suspicion from successive rulers, he directly cursed himself. That courage was unreal.
Only after the extravagant procession had completely disappeared did the townspeople straighten up and begin whispering among themselves.
“It really was the Grand Preceptor’s palanquin! I finally saw it today—worth waiting here since dawn!” an old man said excitedly.
“Sir, you didn’t see his face! I accidentally looked up just now when the wind lifted the curtain, and I saw the Grand Preceptor’s immortal visage! He even smiled at me! Heaven! His beauty is peerless—unmatched! A hundred times more beautiful than the top courtesans I’ve seen!” said a lecherous-looking man beside him, eyes shining, licking his lips.
“Outrageous! How dare you compare the Grand Preceptor to brothel boys—aren’t you afraid of offending him? Watch out or disaster will befall your family!” the old man roared, furious at the blasphemy.
The lecher snorted and walked off, clearly unconcerned with the warning, still smug about having glimpsed the Grand Preceptor’s face.
“Ah—!”
A scream suddenly rang out nearby.
Nan Xun jolted and looked over.
Her pupils shrank.
Gu poison!
“Good heavens! He was fine just now—how could he die so suddenly?” someone cried in fear.
“He spoke filth and offended the Grand Preceptor, so he was punished,” the old man explained, a fervent look of worship flashing in his eyes.
“So that’s it. Then he deserved it!”
The lecherous man who had compared the Grand Preceptor to a courtesan was now foaming at the mouth on the ground, convulsing violently. Within moments, he stopped breathing—dead for good.
“He offended the Grand Preceptor and got what he deserved! Everyone stay away—don’t get dragged into this!” someone shouted, and the crowd immediately backed far away.
Some people even found the corpse unlucky and hurled rotten vegetable leaves and stinking eggs at it.
The dead man’s body already reeked, and mixed with the smell of rotten eggs and leaves, the stench became overwhelming.
Suddenly Nan Xun thought of something. Her heart thumped hard.
So scary!
If that man died because he looked directly at the Grand Preceptor, then didn’t she offend him too? She had made eye contact with him!
“Little Eight, why didn’t he kill me? I looked at him too—and even saw those pretty lips. Was it because I didn’t badmouth him? That was close. Good thing baby only cursed him as an old monster in her heart.”
Little Eight: …
“At a time like this you’re still commenting on his lips? I really admire you. He didn’t kill you not because you didn’t curse him, but because he thinks you’re stupid. Someone this stupid doesn’t require personal action—maybe later the Grand Preceptor will just send a junior disciple to take your life.”
Nan Xun rolled her eyes skyward. “You’re the stupid one. He didn’t kill me because my gaze was pure and harmless, without a trace of lewdness. That guy was different—he spoke ill of the Grand Preceptor and ogled him.”
Little Eight: “…You know that, yet you still asked me?”
Nan Xun: “I just wanted to see if you got smarter after coming of age. Turns out you didn’t. Sigh, so disappointing.”
Little Eight: …
“But honestly, the Grand Preceptor’s witchcraft and gu techniques are terrifying. Ordinary witchcraft needs at least a hair or a drop of blood as a catalyst, and gu needs a chance to plant the insect. Yet I never saw him lift the curtain—who knows when the poison was placed?”
Little Eight chuckled. “See? The Grand Preceptor is awesome, right? Aren’t you thrilled and excited? I found you such a powerful big boss!”
Nan Xun went full deadpan. “But he’s an old man.”
Little Eight: “Aiyo, his heart may be old, but his body isn’t—he’s very handsome.”
