"Hahaha..." Xiang Fengchen laughed loudly while stretching out his hand, trying to reach for Yang Xiao’s shoulder from behind, but Yang Xiao, who was prepared, dodged to one side, stood up, and retreated, distancing himself from this man. He was waiting for the Director’s command.
Seeing this, Xiang Fengchen’s smile grew even broader, "Kid, relax, I’m truly happy to et you. Rest assured, I’ll cover you."
"You’re covering ?" Yang Xiao already showed considerable restraint towards this archenemy of Director Nalan, after all, Director Nalan had yet to take a stand.
"Of course." Xiang Fengchen’s smile was casual, "I should thank you. Otherwise, based on his and my excellent relationship, he would have tried to kill the mont we t. Rather than living, he’d prefer to perish together with ."
After a pause, Xiang Fengchen let out a breath, "But things are different with you here. If both of us died, not to boast, but with just you juniors, this mission would be over. Director Nalan can’t bear to see you die, so he won’t turn against , he still has to rely on my cooperation to help you survive."
"So... you’re my talisman, shouldn’t I thank you?" Xiang Fengchen saluted Yang Xiao with a mocking bow, bursting into laughter.
Yang Xiao wasn’t annoyed and chuckled along, "Then you’d better take good care of and the Director. If anything happens to the Director, I’ll be the first to kill you."
"Just you?" Xiang Fengchen feigned surprise, "You think you can kill ?"
"I might not be enough, but the people of Fushou Manor can. I’ll just say you’re scheming under the guise of celebrating our Ancestor’s birthday, secretly casting the Nightmare Array Curse and plotting against the old Ancestor."
"You think they’ll believe you just because you say so? Do you take them for pigs?" Xiang Fengchen’s attitude cooled down.
"Whether they believe it or not, I’ll say my piece and leave. Upon my return, I’ll find you and bash my head against you to death. Let’s see if they believe when they find dead in your room," Yang Xiao mimicked Xiang Fengchen’s earlier smiling face, not afraid of anyone when it ca to playing tough.
Staring at Yang Xiao’s face, Xiang Fengchen gradually lost his smile, recognizing the ruthlessness of this tactic. If it were anyone else, he might not have believed it, but if it was one of Nalan Shuo’s n, he had to seriously consider it.
"Good, good lad, you’ve got a bit of your Director’s young spirit in you," Xiang Fengchen took a deep breath, turned to look at Nalan Shuo, "You do have a better eye for picking your n than I, but I’m curious, where did you find this guy?"
"That’s none of your business. If anything happens to him, I’ll kill you," Nalan Shuo’s tone was flat and cold, but every word confird to Xiang Fengchen that he was not joking.
"I can try to protect him, but only if he doesn’t foolishly get himself killed," Xiang Fengchen ultimately compromised but emphasized survival as his ultimate goal.
"Whether he gets himself killed is his business, not mine. But if he dies, I’ll co for you," Nalan Shuo extended a finger, tapping Xiang Fengchen’s nose tip indifferently.
"Isn’t this just being unreasonable?" Xiang Fengchen was flabbergasted.
"If anything happens to the Director, I’ll go to the Manor Master and accuse you, then find you and bash head-first into you to die," Yang Xiao also extended a finger, mimicking the Director as he gestured at Xiang Fengchen.
Facing such unreasonableness from both the young and the old, Xiang Fengchen was at a loss. He knew Nalan Shuo’s thods and that he needed his cooperation to survive through this tough mission. He also had used his ans to gather information about this mission before coming, fully aware of its dangers.
"Fine, I won’t quibble with you. That settles it, then. The three of us are now tied to the sa rope," Xiang Fengchen scoffed, crossing his legs and sitting on the bed, turning to look at Yang Xiao, "Kid, let test you. Do you know why I ntioned that guiding maid to Steward Wu?"
"You’re probing," Yang Xiao answered, "You deliberately disclosed your chat with the maid to arouse Steward Wu’s suspicion, testing their reaction. It’s like hitting the grass to startle the snake."
"Right, but as you saw, Steward Wu’s response was a bit off," Xiang Fengchen recalled, "I’ve always been pondering one question, whether the people of Fushou Manor really know we’ve lost soone. If they do, it’s manageable, if not, that’s a real problem. But judging from Steward Wu’s attitude, I think they must be aware."
"The issue lies with that old Ancestor," Nalan Shuo suddenly spoke up, "The rules for tonight’s ’paying respects’ to the elderly are peculiar, not three, but four longevity candles and four bows in total. These are not the standard rituals for a birthday; it seems more like..."
"A sacrifice," Xiang Fengchen smiled.
"Exactly, these are the rituals of a sacrifice, and such high standards are not common even among the noble families. The head of the house must have significant status, at least... a Prince," Nalan Shuo analyzed.
"Paying respects to the old Ancestor with the rites of a Prince, isn’t that going too far?" Yang Xiao understood that in certain situations, such as weddings, funerals, and sacrificial feasts, it was possible to exceed the usual standards without being considered presumptuous. It was commonly known as ’big rites surpassing authority,’ but to his judgnt, the arrangents for tonight seed excessive. This was not a good sign for the elderly being celebrated.
"Let’s not talk about whether it’s too much. Just consider this kind of celebratory rite; it’s not sothing that just anyone can hold. This old Ancestor either has an extrely favorable Life Chart or..." Xiang Fengchen’s expression turned cold, "isn’t human at all."
Suddenly, Yang Xiao recalled the Manor Master’s repeated emphasis that an Evil Spirit may be attracted to the feast. A foreboding feeling washed over him, "Could it be that a real Evil Spirit has taken the opportunity of the celebration to steal the old Ancestor’s life fortune? Is it... possession?"
"If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be too bad, but I’m afraid it’s sothing worse, like this whole family knowingly doing this, using the cover of paying respects to the Ancestor to help so vile entity transcend," Nalan Shuo said slowly, "Having us play the roles of generals, female officials, eunuchs, scholars, and rchants to gather fortune and life energy for this entity. This thing must be particularly malevolent."
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