More than a dozen Nine Tripod Commerceâs branches were under brutal siege. Like Huang Xiaolong, those present at the wedding banquet easily guessed the masterminds being the Yao Family and Deities Templar. Everyone in the hall remained quiet as no one dared to interrupt Huang Xiaolongâs contemplation.
It was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
âYoung Lord, should I make a trip to the branches?â Seconds ticked and Zhang Fu suddenly stood up saying.
Huang Xiaolong shook his head instead at his question, âNo need.â
There were more than ten Nine Tripod Commerce branches being sieged, Zhang Fu alone, even if he knew how to split himself into a dozen body clones and went there, he might fall into the enemyâs well-laid trap. The Yao Family and Deities Templarâs purpose in attacking the Nine Tripod Commerce branches may be to draw Zhao Shu and Zhang Fu away from his side.
âHow are the casualties for each branch?â Huang Xiaolong turned around, directing the question to the Huang Family guard.
âReplying to Young Lord, the disciples of these several Nine Tripod Commerce are, are...â The Huang Family guard hesitated at this point.
âSay it!â Huang Xiaolong raised his voice.
âAre almost all dead. Only a few disciples managed to escape from each branch.â The Huang Family guard blurted everything out.
Almost all dead! Huang Xiaolongâs face darkened.
Every Nine Tripod Commerce branch had at least three to four hundred disciples, a dozen branches amounted to four, five thousand disciples!
âPass the order down, all disciples are to return and assemble back here.â Huang Xiaolongâs solemn voice sounded.
This debt, Huang Xiaolong jotted it down to be settled with the Yao Family and Deities Templar in the future!
âYes Young Lord!â The Huang Family guard respectfully replied.
Huang Xiaolong waved the guard away. Today was his sisterâs wedding, an important day for her.
Exactly at this moment, in a dilapidated abandoned courtyard on the north section of Duanren Imperial City, space fluctuated. Li Molin, Yao Familyâs Ancestor Yao Shan, and the two other Deities Templar Elders emerged from the void. And together with them were Yao Fei and Ao Baixue.
Six people appeared in total. Li Molin scoffed, âI didnât expect Huang Xiaolong, that little brat, to endure it so well, foiling our plan!â
Ao Baixue frowned deeply, âWith Zhao Shu and Zhang Fu around, itâll be difficult for us to act.â
Yao Fei snorted, âIt doesnât matter even if Zhao Shu and Zhang Fu are present, my Formless Poison is undetectable even by a high-level Saint realm expert!â As Yao Fei said this, his hand took out a dark purple jade bottle out from his spatial ring.
âFormless Poison!â The five with Yao Fei paled slightly, including the high-level Saint realm Li Molin.
The Formless Poisonâs toxicity superseded all other poisons, being heralded as the king of poison. Rumor has it, the Formless Poison has neither color, taste, nor form. Totally invisible to the naked eye and senses, even high-level Saint realm experts could not detect its presence. Once someone is poisoned, other than Saint realm experts, who could suppress and gradually force out the poison with their Saint power, those of lower realms died without exception.
And the victim would be subjected to a pain like the bites from millions of ants, like the sharp fangs of millions of snakes piercing them, like the wrenching of the soul by millions of ghouls, tortured to the very last moments of death.
However, the Formless Poison was said to have been lost more than two hundred years ago, no one imagined that Yao Fei would have something like it in his possession, not even the Yao Familyâs Ancestor Yao Shan.
âThatâs right, Formless Poison!â Yao Fei nodded proudly, âThis Formless Poison was something I got one year ago from a cave in the Raven Hills. Iâve already instructed one of the Guo Mansionâs wine servers to mix this poison into the celebration wine being served today at the banquet!â
A cruel light flashed across Yao Feiâs eyes, âWhen Huang Xiaolong, that punk, drinks the wine, hehe..!â
In fact, he could already imagine Huang Xiaolongâs face distorting with pain and misery. Li Molin and the rest inhaled sharply. If everything went according to what Yao Fei said, today, the Guo Manorâs wedding would be turned into a mass funeral!
Not only would Huang Xiaolong die in torment, every member of the Huang Family, all of Guo Family and its disciples, the guests that came to congratulate the Guo Family, from nobles to big and small forcesâ Patriarchs, all will meet their end.
Only Guo Familyâs Ancestor Guo Chen, Zhao Shu, Zhang Fu, and Emperor Duanren could survive!
âIsnât it a bit too much this way?â Old Ancestor Yao Shan said with his brows scrunched together. âDuan Wuhen and Imperial Consort Fei are inside the Guo Mansion too.â
Duan Wuhen was Emperor Duanrenâs most favored son, the successor to Duanren Empire, whereas Imperial Consort Fei was Emperor Duanrenâs beloved concubine, also Duan Wuhenâs birth mother. If both of them died tragically in the Guo Mansion under the Formless Poison, their hatred would turn into a blood feud, forged into eternity!
If it came to that, the Yao Family could not be rebuilt on Duanren Empireâs land any longer!
Yao Fei knew what his family ancestor was worried about, saying: âAncestor, Duan Ren wouldnât let us be even if we do not kill Duan Wuhen. Since it is so, why should we need to care about a mere Duan Wuhen? Moreover, weâre going to destroy Dunren Empire sooner or later, killing Duan Wuhen now is like pulling out one of that old guyâs arms. Isnât that much more favorable to us?â
Hearing this, Yao Shan nodded his head in agreement.
...
At this time, the Guo Manor was once again filled with a joyous mood. Mostly, it was due to Huang Xiaolong suppressing the matters related to the attack on Nine Tripod Commerce branches that the wedding banquet wasnât affected much.
Approaching the wu hour[1], Guo Tai and Huang Min, dressed in brilliant red wedding garbs, came out to bow to heaven and earth and pay their respects to parents and elders under the ritual officerâs guidance.
âFirst bow to Heaven and Earth!â The ritual officer cried at the top of his lungs.
After Guo Tai and Huang Min had done so, the ritual officer continued, âSecond bow to parents!â
Watching the two youngsters, Huang Peng and Su Yan, Guo Shiyuan, and the elders, including Huang Xiaolong were full of cheers.
Finished performing their bows to the parents, Guo Tai and Huang Min made the third and final bow towards each other as husband and wife.
Thus, the ceremony was completed.
âWonderful! Let us move to the seats and begin the banquet.â Moments later, Guo Familyâs Ancestor Guo Chen announced. Huang Xiaolong nodded.
Seeing Huang Xiaolong nodding, everyone made their way to the tables, including the guests waiting in the outer hall, consisting of Patriarch from all over Duanren Empireâs kingdoms.
Guo Shiyuan instructed Chief Steward Zhang Yue to serve the wine and dishes after getting the nod of approval from his father, Guo Chen.
âYes!â Zhang Yue acknowledged with respect. He turned around and bellowed: âServe the wine and dishes!â
âServe the wine and dishes!â
The Guo Familyâs servants kicked into a flurry of actions, plates after plates of dishes and jugs of wine were brought to the guestsâ tables. It did not take long for them to laden the tables with fragrant, colorful dishes. There were sixteen types of dishes on every table, every delicacy from the land and sea that one could think of, cheerful laughter filled the air.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
However, when Guo Tai stood up with a wine cup in his hands to toast with Huang Peng, Huang Xiaolong, and the others, Huang Xiaolongâs voice rang sharply: âWait!â
It was too sudden that the guests were startled, all turning around to look at Huang Xiaolong.
In front of everyone, Huang Xiaolong sucked a wine urn to his hand with a single hand: âThereâs something wrong with the wine!â
âWhat?! Something wrong with the wine?â All present were taken aback.
âThis...?!â Guo Chen, Emperor Duanren, Zhao Shu, Zhang Fu exchanged a baffled glance.
Before they could say anything, a dazzling black and blue light shot out like lightning from Huang Xiaolongâs body, revealing his twin dragon martial spirits behind him. Both the black and blue dragons sucked at the wine urn, drawing strands of dark purple lights from the urn of wine, gathering in the air above, turning into a vague demonic shadow, shrieking shrilly, making everyone shudder.
11 am - 1 pm