Lord Seventh Chapter 13

To put it bluntly, this He Lianqi actually exuded some kind of bizarre, demonic air.

Albeit still living his spring years, he seemed to have too much free time on his hand, always liked messing around with some random pellets. Following behind him all year long was an old Taoist priest whose body was as thin as a stick, whose glances were filled with disdain, whose pointy chin was no different from an awl, and whose sunken cheeks were all shriveled — this prompted others to be able to tell right away after one look that he was not a good person.

He Lianqi's appearance wouldn't be considered horrible in the least — at first glance, it seemed to faintly evoke a certain kind of mysterious feeling that left others stunned. Yet, it was precisely this man who seemed to have rather gentle, elegant demeanors but, in fact, was a much more dangerous opponent compared to He Lianzhao.

At the end of the day, despite his ruthless act, He Lianzhao was just a boor.

Wu Xi was staggered with fear as Jing Qi suddenly pulled at him. He had never allowed anyone get close to him, not only because he was unwilling to deal with people but also due to the fact that he kept poisonous creatures on his body — for example, there was a deadly poisonous green bamboo viper wrapped around his wrist all the time.

As Jing Qi just seized his sleeve like that without any word of alert, Wu Xi could clearly feel the little snake on his wrist following his movements and quivering lightly. Eventually, it stuck its head out, which was then covered by Wu Xi's wide, flowy sleeve. It flicked its scarlet tongue tongue out, grazing the tip of Jing Qi's finger a little.

There was actually a cure for the snake venom, but as Wu Xi shifted his gaze to the side and looked at this Nan Ning Wang's small figure, he wondered: if by any chance this person was bitten, would he be able to resist the venom long enough until the antidote arrived? After witnessing the reaction of that one scholar from the Imperial Academy who fainted right on the spot with his eyes rolled back last time, Wu Xi realized that the Central Plains people were fearful of this little poisonous creature. Hence, even if Jing Qi didn't get bitten by the snake, he would still be petrified regardless...

Fingers were indeed a very sensitive part of the body — before Wu Xi could have the chance to stick the head of this bamboo viper back in, Jing Qi already felt that something was licking on his hand. As he looked down, his gaze coincidentally met the staring eyes of the little virid snake hidden in Wu Xi's sleeve. In that moment, Wu Xi felt like his heart just stopped beating.

But to his surprise, Jing Qi only casted a lukewarm glance at that tiny snake, treating it as if that plaything was nothing more than an ordinary bracelet — he neither showed any reaction nor let go Wu Xi's sleeve, only slightly pulled the latter half a step back, not letting him face He Lianqi directly, and then used his eyes to motion to He Lianyi.

Even more strange was that the little snake in Wu Xi's sleeve kept staring at this man's hand, using his scarlet tongue to brush over the skin a few times. After awhile, it started to feel a little neglected, and, without rhyme or reason, just shrank back to where it belonged, behaving itself on his territory — Wu Xi's wrist.

Wu Xi finally let out a sigh of relief.

Although He Lianqi was the older son, He Lianyi, albeit younger, was the crown prince of the Eastern Palace and would eventually rise to the title "Jun" (1). Hence, whenever He Lianqi and He Lianzhao saw him, they would have to pay respects in greetings.

However, at that point, everyone knew exactly in their heart what was going on among these three brothers. He Lianzhao did not bother to walk over to give even one greeting — as he saw the crown prince standing from afar, he only gave an arrogant nod of his head, and that was all for him. He Lianqi also gave the most perfunctory greeting possible, a forced smile was donned on his face as he hailed: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince."

He Lianyi dropped his gaze and put on a smile, not a single trace of reluctance could be found on his face; and still with refined and courteous manner, he said: "Second Imperial Brother."

Only when a person could tolerate what others could not, then they would be able to accomplish their great undertaking.

Jing Qi's grasp on Wu Xi tightened, his intention was not to let the other person say anything as he himself stepped back to the side, hastily paying his respects along with He Lianyi.

He Lianqi's gaze lingered on Jing Qi's body for a moment, then he gave a thin smile and said: "I haven't seen you for a while. Beiyuan is indeed becoming more and more handsome."

These words were even more problematic. Clearly, such a tone could only be used by a senior to address his junior, and by someone from the higher up to a person of lower ranks.

Since He Lianpei was not only Jing Qi's elder but also someone to be addressed as "Jun," it would be fine for the former to say such a thing. He Lianyi, the crown prince, was a few years older - in front of Nan Ning Wang, he could also be considered as "Jun"; due to their friendly relationship, Jing Qi could just grudgingly accept.

But in name, He Lianqi was just a prince at most, and had not yet been granted the title of "Wang"(2). If he was not the descendant of dragon, the emperor's son, in terms of their official ranks alone, he would be inferior to Jing Qi whose title of "Qin Wang"(3) was personally conferred upon by the late emperor. For He Lianqi to use such manner of speech to say things out loud, he seemed to have regarded himself way above others.

Supposedly that was someone else, they would have probably either turned against him or been so furious to the point their "qi" would stagnate. Fortunately, Jing Qi's talent for feigning ignorance was on par with He Lianyi, and he only masked it with a gentle smile: "Second Prince Your Highness has given me too much praise."

He Lianqi's sharp gaze slashed across him like a hook and eventually stopped on Wu Xi's body; his eyes were strikingly beautiful - they were long and narrow with a slightly upward slanting, carrying an indescribably distinguished and romantic charm. However, Wu Xi felt that the venom from this Second Prince's eyes was even more lethal compared to that of poisonous snakes — once a drop of blood was in sight, that could only mean death,(4) and face-to-face moments with him made people feel like there was a dark, cold layer of air rising from behind.

He Lianqi then spoke to him with a smile: "Oh, I was even wondering who this was. Isn't this Young Sorcerer? Meeting Your Honor is indeed not easy. The crown prince must be very proud today."

Wu Xi placed his hand over his chest and gave him a wintry response: "Your Highness."

He Lianqi uttered a sneer and reached his pale fingers over to straighten out his sleeve; then he pointed at the Taoist priest who was no different from a dry firewood stick standing on the side, his voice deliberately elongated, and his words dripping with sarcasm: "I have long heard about Young Sorcerer's reputation as someone with infinite power and remarkable abilities, who is also skilled at the art of sorcery from South Xinjiang. This Taoist Brother Li has been entreating me to introduce him to you once, but... it seems like the reputation of this He Lianqi here is not great enough. Several times I have had people to bring invitation cards to pay respect, yet Young Sorcerer always closed the door at them and refuse to see any visitor. Could it be that you were scorning me for climbing so high?"

That was both picking a quarrel with someone while probing them at the same time. Wu Xi was baffled for a moment — he could hear the animosity coming from He Lianqi's words. He turned his head to steal a glance at Jing Qi subconsciously, then said afterwards: "South Xinjiang's sorcery techniques and you Central Plain people's Taoist practice are not the same. I don't think there is anything..."

Chapter end