Death… and me

"I am Chu Fei. This is my eldest brother, Chu Nan." Chu Yang smiled warmly.

"Chu Nan." Immediately, Gu Du Xing glared at him and yelled, "Shut up!"

However, Ao Xie Yun and his peers had already displayed a look of mockery in their eyes as they thought: Chu Nan? Virgin? Hmm, this name is really meaningful. It really inspires one's imagination. [1]

"May I know the names of you young masters?" Chu Yang smiled shyly with the innocent look of a youth and said, "Us two brothers really like making friends."

"I am Mo Tian Yun." Mo Tian Yun said as he smiled. Judging from his face, no one could ever imagine that he was the person who had just mobilized everyone to go against these two people. He continued, "It's really shameful for me to say that I was worried earlier. Haha. Now that the two of you are here, I've just realized that I had turned into a bad person for no reason."

"Oh?" Chu Yang smiled and looked at him. A look of admiration appeared on his face, "Young Master Mo is truly honest. I like such people."

Upon hearing this, Mo Tian Yun smiled softly. One could tell from his facial expression that he was speaking in earnest, "There are some issues that we have to be more concerned about in Jiang Hu. It has slowly begun to become a bad habit… Young Masters Chu, please don't laugh at me…"

"How could we!" Chu Yang replied sincerely, "Our father has taught us countless times that we must be cautious in order to survive in Jiang Hu. Brother Mo is not only cautious, but you are honest as well. These two factors truly make you a rare friend."

Mo Tian Yun, Ao Xie Yun, and the others were slightly surprised at what Chu Yang had just said.

No one knew for sure how long this Young Master Chu had been standing outside. It did not matter how much he had heard for one thing was for sure: even if he had not heard everything, he must have at least heard the last portion of their conversation.

Nonetheless, he should not have been this warm towards Mo Tian Yun. What was this attitude of his? This Young Master Chu appeared to speak without caring about the basic societal norms.

"I am Ao Xie Yun."

"I am Luo Ke Wu."

"Remember my name well. It is Ji Zhu." Ji Zhu's self-introduction caused the solemn-looking Tu Qian Hao, who was standing in one corner, to burst out laughing. What a clown he was…

The edge of Chu Yang's mouth twitched for a moment. He thought that it was fortunate that the punk, Ji Mo, was not present. Otherwise, with the two brothers in the same place, it would be difficult to determine just who exactly was more insane…

After everyone had introduced themselves, the atmosphere in the room became less tense.

"This trip to Continent Center Citadel is truly exhilarating." Chu Yang smiled softly. Each of his actions hinted that he had the cultivation of a descendant from a privileged background and was of a certain status.

"I've heard that the people here are fighting for Ask the Heavens Sword and Underworld Saber?"

"Those are merely rumors without grounds from the common people; they're not credible at all." Mo Tian Yun smiled and replied, "Young Master Chu must have come down from Upper Three Heavens. I'm sure you're aware that since thousands of years ago, there have never been an Ask the Heavens Sword or an Underworld Saber."

"Such lies can only fool people without brains. As for us, we simply wish to watch the show and laugh." Mo Tian Yun spoke with great eloquence.

Just moments ago, he had been insulted by Ao Xie Yun, without any chance of retaliating. However, unexpectedly, his gaze and countenance appeared as if nothing had happened.

"Oh… It's fake…?" Chu Yang smiled and changed the subject in a flash. He began to speak with everyone about things that were up in the heavens and those that were down on earth.

Since he had the identity of a young master who belonged to a super clan in Upper Three Heavens, everyone was cautious not to offend him in any way.

However, their exchange of conversation was not warm at all.

Besides Mo Tian Yun's attempt to add a few lines to cover his tracks, the only ones who were flattering these two Young Masters Chu were Gu Yan Yang and Gu Yan Yue. This caused Gu Du Xing to feel somewhat annoyed because these two brothers did not like him when he was residing in the clan. Whenever they had time on their hands, they would nitpick and find reasons to sort him out; they even hated the fact that they could not kill him. Now that they were behaving in this way in front of so many people, it seemed like they had a lack of integrity.

The others kept a safe distance away from the Young Masters Chu. They intentionally tried not to get too close while not portraying an offensive stance. Essentially, they had kept a reasonable distance between them.

As for Dong Wu Lei, Xie Dan Qiong, and Tu Qian Hao, they simply introduced themselves and ceased to utter any other word. They sat in their spots quietly as they sipped on their cups of tea.

Meanwhile, Li Xiong Tu's voice was the loudest. He and Luo Ke Wu sat at the same table, arguing as if there was no tomorrow.

On the other hand, Ji Zhu collapsed on the table, pretending to be dead. His entire body looked like it had no bones in it.

However, when Chu Yang had suddenly changed the topic, all of the young masters became alert and affixed their eyes on him.

These geniuses tended to think in this way: If you wish to talk about something, I'm not interested to listen. But… if you try to hide anything on purpose, I would be extremely interested to listen to it.

Besides, everyone knew very well that Chu Yang's identity symbolized that he was definitely more well-informed than they could ever possibly be. Why did he change the subject out of the blue? Could it be that there is some mystery within the subject?

"Young Masters Chu… are you two the only ones who have come?"

Ao Xie Yun's dark gaze flashed for a moment.

"Ah…" Chu Yang blinked his eyes and he said, "Not exactly."

Ao Xie Yun understood what he meant and he smiled, "No matter what you do or where you go, people will always follow you around. It's really annoying. Haha."

"Yes, indeed." Chu Yang acted as if he had just found a kindred spirit, "Brother Ao really understands how others feel."

After laughing and joking around for a period of time, Chu Yang pulled Gu Du Xing away from Gu Yan Yang and Gu Yan Yue's encirclement around him. He bade everyone farewell and returned to his room. Before he left, a joyous look flashed on his face momentarily before it disappeared the next moment.

Ao Xie Yun waved his arm and two martial experts from the Ao clan appeared at the door in a flash.

"What do you think?" Ao Xie Yun asked.

He was looking down on Mo Tian Yun and he was his foe. However, at this moment, he was actually having a discussion with Mo Tian Yun. This was because Mo Tian Yun had abilities that others did not when it concerned such matters.

"Those two people were clearly led here by Du Fa Cai." Mo Tian Yun expressed solemnly.

"Yes." Ao Xie Yun agreed.

"They are obviously here to check on something…" Mo Tian Yun frowned as he continued.

"This will lead to some implications."

"When they left, they appeared to be extremely happy." Mo Tian Yun grunted.

"That's right."

After just exchanging a few words, the two mortal enemies had confirmed their suspicions and stopped talking immediately.

Ao Xie Yun got onto his feet and left the room right after.

Similarly, Mo Tian Yun left with his two bodyguards as well.

Both parties saw each other as a useful tool to verify their own suspicions. Once they had successfully used each other, they immediately went their separate ways.

There was a pondering look on Xie Dan Qiong's face. Shortly after Ao Xie Yun had left, he followed suit as well.

Soon after, Ji Zhu, Luo Ke Wu, Dong Wu Lei, Tu Qian Hao, and Li Xiong Tu took their leave as well. Each person had a legitimate reason to leave, be it fatigue, hunger, or a headache…

The common room, with just the two Gu brothers and several other people left behind, felt extremely empty.

These were the very people who did not realize anything at all.

Just as Chu Yang had figured, certain schemes could only be applied to geniuses. When these schemes were used on ordinary people, or even slow ones, they were completely futile.

Thereafter, Gu Du Xing left the room as his white outfit fluttered in the wind.

Moments later, Chu Yang left Heaven Reaching Tower, under the watchful eyes of everyone.

However, the young masters of the clans in Middle Three Heavens did not make any move. It was not until the afternoon that Chu Yang and Gu Du Xing returned, one after another.

Even till then, no one made a move.

As the sky turned dark, the bodyguards of the great clans began to move out.

One after another, they left the inn in the darkness of the night.

All of them had just one purpose, which was to research.

Snow continued falling over Continent Center Citadel. Outsiders arrived continuously as their number grew. Diwu Qing Rou's Golden Horse Riders Department caught countless people every day.

"Those clans of Middle Three Heavens have yet to make any more?" Diwu Qing Rou asked as he looked out of his window. There were several slim and beautiful-looking bamboos outside.

'There has not been any movement yet." Gao Sheng smiled and continued, "If they know that this is fake, how could there be any movement? They are just here to train since the timing is just right; they would never be willing to partake in this competition."

"Hmm, it's good that there is no movement yet. As long as they refuse to participate, we still have control." Diwu Qing Rou took two steps forward slowly, "But… the fact that King of Hell Chu has yet to make any move is truly beyond my expectation."

"Prime Minister, you mean to say…?"

"He's gone through countless hardship just to get here and cause trouble. The moment he caused such a tremendous chaos, he was taken advantage of by me. How would you feel if you were in his shoes?" Diwu Qing Rou explained.

"I'd be extremely angry." Gao Sheng replied frankly.

"Yet, King of Hell Chu has not made any move. Furthermore, he is not stopping as well. It appears that he has failed to notice that he is being used by me. This is truly unexpected." Diwu Qing Rou frowned as he pondered, "What would his next move be?"

"King of Hell Chu is not supposed to sit idly and do nothing…" Diwu Qing Rou murmured, "How would he counter my upper hand?"

"Prime Minister, our upper hand remains in control. Even if King of Hell Chu is a mad genius, he is still in Great Zhao, and not Iron Cloud. Besides, King of Hell Chu could be left in tears at this very moment." Gao Sheng reassured Diwu Qing Rou.

"No. Other people might give up, but King of Hell Chu would definitely not." Diwu Qing Rou said assertively.

Subsequently, he frowned and said, "I've heard that two VIPs arrived at Heaven Reaching Tower today? Furthermore, Du Fa Cai personally came out to greet them with great respect…?"

"Yes, that's correct. According to the information, they are two young masters from the Chu clan of Upper Three Heavens." Gao Sheng replied.

"Chu clan? Chu?" Diwu Qing Rou's frown grew heavier. This word 'Chu' struck a nerve in him.

"Prime Minister, do you suspect that it is… King of Hell Chu?" Gao Sheng asked cautiously.

"It's hard to tell for sure." Diwu Qing Rou pondered for a while before he let out a long, deep sigh, "Young Masters Chu… Young Masters Chu… Even though the young masters of the great clans are not making any move, they are all gathered at Heaven Reaching Tower. There would be true chaos if anything happens at Heaven Reaching Tower."

"If they are young masters of Upper Three Heavens… they must be truly valued guests!" Diwu Qing Rou continued slowly, "If they are valued guests, I will go down early tomorrow morning to greet them personally."

"Prime Minister, you will go down to greet them in person?" Gao Sheng stammered in great surprise.

"If they are indeed young masters from Upper Three Heavens, I have no plans to lower myself." Diwu Qing Rou replied softly. From this tone of his, it was not clear as to what he was trying to get at.

[1] Nan means south in Chinese, but the combination of 'Chu Nan' makes it sound similar to the word 'virgin'.