Chapter Ninety-Nine: Murong Xuewei

In the darkness, four men dressed in black carried two coffins as they leapt swiftly across the rooftops of Mingyi City. Their movements were nimble and precise; despite the heavy weight of the coffins, their pace never faltered. Before long, they exited Mingyi City and took a narrow path heading west.

After an unknown distance, a graceful mountain villa appeared ahead. The four men slowed their steps and entered directly through the villa’s main gate. Inside, a maid dressed in pink awaited them silently. Without a word, she led them through winding paths around ornamental rocks until they arrived at a lotus pond in the rear garden, where they finally halted.

“Miss, the people have been brought,” the maid said, bowing gracefully toward a small pavilion at the center of the pond.

Within the pavilion sat a woman clad in fur, her figure elegant and alluring, though her face was obscured in shadow.

“Hmph...” The woman in the pavilion responded indifferently, then took a sip from a teacup on the stone table before speaking again.

“Grandma He praised this scholar to the skies, but I find him rather ordinary.”

As she spoke, she flicked her delicate hand, releasing a surging wave of spiritual energy that shattered the lids of the two coffins from a distance. With a single gesture, the horizontal coffins on the ground immediately stood upright.

Inside, one was dressed in white robes like a scholar, the other in gray robes with sharply defined features.

“Why did you capture an extra person?” the fur-clad woman asked, frowning.

“Miss, this person’s background is unknown. Master Ji brought him along, so we simply captured him as well,” the maid answered respectfully.

The woman nodded slightly, then lightly tapped the pavilion floor with her toe. She floated gracefully across the lotus pond, landing before the white-robed scholar. Reaching into her bosom, she withdrew a talisman, which ignited without wind.

Pale blue smoke rose from the flames and drifted before the scholar. His brow furrowed, and his eyes slowly opened.

He seemed to have just awakened, still confused by his surroundings. Staring at the gathered people with a stunned expression, it took him a moment before he composed himself. Then, he suddenly shouted toward the other coffin containing the gray-robed youth:

“Brother Liang, I thought you were my lucky star, but it turns out you’re a curse! Today, we’re both doomed here!”

His eyes darted, then he looked at the fur-clad woman with a desperate expression.

“Spare me, fierce lady! Take my wealth, take my charm—take whatever you want—just don’t kill me!”

“Hmph, Master Ji, no need for slick words. You’ve been drugged by my potion; your spiritual power is completely immobilized. Later, I’ll have plenty of ways to deal with you slowly.”

The woman covered her face with a smile, then added, “By the way, first time meeting—I am Murong Xuewei.”

Hearing this, Ji’s eyes brightened as he appraised the woman before him, sincerely praising, “So you are the Miss Xuewei I’ve longed for all these days. Truly, you are as beautiful as a celestial maiden!”

Murong Xuewei chuckled, “A smooth-talking rake like you has surely deceived many innocent maidens. Now you want to take advantage of me?”

Ji shook his head vigorously, “Not at all! I’ve visited Miss Xuewei many times, always seeking her favor but to no avail. If Miss Xuewei harbored feelings, she would not have evaded me repeatedly. It seems you are the true expert here. We are evenly matched, and no one fits me better than you!”

“Heh heh!” Murong Xuewei laughed with playful mockery, “Very well, Master Ji. If you obediently swallow this Corpse-Heart Pill and become my practiced corpse, we will indeed be a perfect match!”

Ji’s face stiffened at her words, but seeing the teasing in her eyes, his courage surged. With a heroic flourish, he declared, “Better to die beneath the peony flower and be a charming ghost. To become Miss Xuewei’s practiced corpse would be a blessing from my past life!”

“Hee hee, how thoughtful of you,” Murong Xuewei giggled, covering her mouth. “But rest assured, the entire process will be painless.”

At that moment, a maid stepped forward and handed her a black wooden box. Murong Xuewei took it, then gestured to the coffin beside her.

“What shall we do with this gray-robed youth?”

Murong Xuewei glanced coldly and said, “Just a mere mortal. Kill him outright—no need to keep him around.”

The maid nodded and withdrew a small dagger from her sleeve. She approached the coffin and with a swift motion, plunged the dagger cleanly into the gray-robed youth’s chest.

Just as the dagger neared his heart, the youth suddenly opened his eyes, a golden light flashing across his body.

With a sharp clang, the dagger struck his chest but bounced off as if hitting solid metal, emitting a mournful ring before flying backward.

The youth swept his wide sleeves; a blue glow spiraled, spinning the maid before him like a top, forcing her to twirl uncontrollably.

Then, with a flick of his toe, he vaulted backward through the air, landing atop an ornamental rock just in time to evade a streak of black light.

Murong Xuewei’s expression turned incredulous. She formed a hand seal, and a jet of obsidian light shot upward from the ground, returning to her grasp. It was a small black bell.

“This gentleman’s powers are remarkable. I must have underestimated him,” she said warily, staring at the gray-robed youth before her.

This youth was none other than Liang Yan.

In the Lichun Courtyard, the poisoned wine had just touched his lips when his alertness triggered his martial skill, immediately encasing the toxin within the Twin Fish Formation, preventing a single drop from reaching his stomach.

Unaware of these people’s true intentions, he feigned being affected, aiming to strike at the heart of their scheme. Now it became clear—they were after Ji, and he was merely a pawn.

He shook his head silently. He had always suspected Ji was no ordinary cultivator. With his eccentric ways and grandiose talk, Ji surely had a hidden strength and would not be so easily trapped.

So Liang Yan had restrained himself, waiting for Ji to act, hoping to witness his power. Yet now, with a knife at his throat, Ji was utterly helpless.

“Have I overestimated him?” Liang Yan wondered.

Before he could ponder further, Murong Xuewei spoke.

“No matter who you are, since you’ve sneaked here, don’t expect to leave alive!”

She shook the black bell in the air, and a strange chime echoed. Suddenly, the earth throughout the courtyard churned, and four coffins rose from beneath the ground.

With rhythmic ringing, the lids closed simultaneously, and four zombies emerged, each with a yellow talisman affixed to their faces.

“Corpse drivers?” Ji leaned within his coffin, curiously scanning the surroundings.