Phoenix's Requiem

Chapter 146: Dim is the Night

Yun Moxiao rushed out of the duelling arena with Li Luo and Duan Tianyun in tow and up and away into the skies above the Yuelu Villa.

“There’s a carriage waiting for us outside the villa,” Li Luo shouted amidst the wind. “Please bring us there.”

Yun Moxiao nodded and flew toward the carriages.

“That one!” Li Luo pointed at what was easily the most lavish carriage around.

Yun Moxiao landed right by that carriage.

“Old Jiu, come help us!” Li Luo shouted to the driver. That man immediately jumped off the carriage and strode forward, taking Duan Tianyun from Yun Moxiao’s back and sending him up the carriage.

“Savior, may I have your name? I will surely repay this debt,” Li Luo turned to the masked Yun Moxiao, cupping her fists.

Yun Moxiao removed his black-demon mask and smiled at Li Luo. “Do you still remember me, Miss?”

“It’s you!” Li Luo immediately recognized Yun Moxiao as the man who had saved her from being trampled by a rampaging horse.

The tall, handsome, and broad-shouldered Yun Moxiao easily left an impression.

“I’m Yun Moxiao,” he introduced himself. “May I have your name, Miss?”

Although Yun Moxiao hadn’t had much experience with women, his natural disposition served him well.

“I’m Li Luo, and the man you saved was my senior brother, Duan Tianyun. I have to administer emergency treatment for my senior brother, so I’ll reach out to you some other time.” Li Luo rushed off after a quick introduction.

“Miss Li Luo!” Yun Moxiao called out.

Li Luo stopped and turned around.

“May I see your face?”

Only then did Li Luo realize that, although she’d removed her mask, her face was still veiled.

Li Luo unclasped her veil to reveal an unvarnished beauty. “Savior, until next time.” She cupped her fists once more and turned back to the carriage.

Old Jiu rapidly steered the carriage away, until it vanished down the mountain path. Remembering that Lin Qingchen and Yun Ruoyan were still waiting for him within the villa, Yun Moxiao turned back and headed once more inside.

At that moment, Yun Ruoyan was breaking past the cloud cover with Li Mo as they headed to the acme of the Kongming Mountains. The whistling winds bore down on the duo, making it a struggle for Yun Ruoyan to even open her eyes. As they rose higher and higher, her heart thumped in excitement: how could she not be excited to see the famed Kongming Academy with her own eyes?

As she felt them slow down, Yun Ruoyan slowly opened her eyes.

“Look.” Li Mo motioned to their front, where Yun Ruoyan saw a magnificent sight. There were no fewer than a hundred buildings situated all around the Kongming Summit. Even though the moon wasn’t bright, Yun Ruoyan could still make out how vast the buildings seemed.

“The tallest building is the main hall of Kongming Academy, and that’s the side hall,” Li Mo introduced.

Yun Ruoyan listened attentively to Li Mo’s words, nodding as though she were a little chick pecking at grains.

“And to the back?” Yun Ruoyan saw clusters of cottages situated behind one of the taller buildings.

“That’s where you’ll be staying as a student. Make sure to choose the cottages farthest to the south.”

“Why?”

“It’s a secret.”

They flew to the top of Kongming Academy.

“Where are you bringing me?”

“You’re clear-headed now, aren’t you?”

“More or less. I’m still a little dizzy.” The reason that the shenxian was so debilitating was because a mild psychedelic had been added to the alcohol during the brewing process. In general, it would take effect after three cups of wine and cause the drinker to sleep for a full day and night afterwards.

Luckily for Yun Ruoyan, its effects were much milder on her. She only felt very dizzy at the beginning and was now quickly regaining her senses, without once losing control of her body.

Actually, Yun Ruoyan’s unique constitution muted the effects of all sorts of poisons on her body. Otherwise, she would soon have passed away, just like Lin Yuemei, after being poisoned with the shamanic tribe’s carmine embrace. However, she had stubbornly lived on.

“It looks like your tolerance for alcohol really isn’t bad. In that case, have a few more cups with me.” Li Mo directed the two of them toward a tower in Kongming Academy.

They landed on the top of the tower. By the railing was a futon and a table. On the table were a flask of wine and two cups, as if somebody had just been lounging and leisurely sipping wine. Li Mo languidly lay on the futon as he filled up the cups of wine on the table.

“Sit,” Li Mo commanded Yun Ruoyan, who was gawking all around her.

Yun Ruoyan sat down by Li Mo’s side. As he raised a cup to his lips, she did the same. Her two lives’ worth of experience told her that, when faced with an unfamiliar situation, it was best to obey and figure out what was going on before making a plan.

“Do you frequently come up here to drink with others?” Yun Ruoyan asked, noting that Li Mo seemed very familiar with this tower and that there were two cups present.

“Usually, alone.” Li Mo spoke coolly and without passion, but Yun Ruoyan thought she could hear a hint of loneliness in his voice.

Probably anyone with such power would become lonely.

Instead of lounging as Li Mo did, Yun Ruoyan sat curled up like a cat, hugging her knees. She looked so small and exquisite that Li Mo felt as though he could hold her up in his palm.

When Yun Ruoyan felt his gaze, she turned toward him. Li Mo’s hand was on the flask of wine, so she tipped her empty cup at him. “Another.”

Li Mo smiled as he refilled her cup. “Don’t get drunk now. The daybreak is wonderful from this vantage point, and it’d be a pity if you missed out.”

“No problem.” Yun Ruoyan pursed her lips and smiled. “I’ll just come up with you another time.”

Li Mo raised his eyebrows, his lips quirking up into a smile. Yun Ruoyan, like a little cat that had been guarded against him, her claws poised and ready for attack, was now slowly dropping her defenses.

Yun Ruoyan had more or less recovered from her previous intoxication, but her head began feeling a bit drowsy after two more cups of wine. However, this feeling was quite different from that before. Her previous intoxication was heavy and needed considerable effort to resist, but this intoxication was dreamy, languid, enjoyable.

Yun Ruoyan raised her cup above her head, reaching out for the dark of the night. “Moon, don’t run away!” she shouted in dismay, seeing it retreating behind a cloud.

“Oh, it doesn’t matter.” Yun Ruoyan turned back to Li Mo, an indolent grin on her face. “More?”

Yun Ruoyan drained the cup, took a long breath, and stretched her limbs out on the futon.

When Li Mo saw Yun Ruoyan’s adorable face tinged with red, he couldn’t help but think back to what had happened that night during the flower-viewing party.

Yun Ruoyan shut her eyes, the cup in her hand slowly falling to the floor. Just as it left her grasp, Li Mo reached out and dextrously caught it with one arm. Yun Ruoyan’s eyelashes fluttered, a faint smile still hanging by her lips. The peach-blossom shaped gauze patch made her delicate face look even more exquisite.

Li Mo couldn’t help reaching out to touch her face, but it felt a little cold. It was almost autumn, and the nights were getting cooler, not to mention their current altitude…

Yun Ruoyan was drunk, so the cold would feel even sharper. Li Mo furrowed his brows.

In her delirium, Yun Ruoyan felt a warm hand plaster itself against her cheek, gentle and radiating heat.

She couldn’t help reaching out toward that hand, curling it around her cheek.

Li Mo smiled as he lay by Yun Ruoyan’s side, his expansive robe covering both their bodies.

Feeling the warmth suffuse her entire body, Yun Ruoyan leaned in toward Li Mo, their noses almost touching.

Li Mo took a deep breath. Yun Ruoyan’s unusual fragrance had always been irresistible to him, and he had no intention of resisting.

A hand cupping Yun Ruoyan’s head, he gave her a light kiss on the lips. The combination of her unusual fragrance, a woman’s sweet odor, and the intoxicating alcohol on her lips caused Li Mo to deepen the kiss.

The dazed Yun Ruoyan slowly fluttered her eyes open, and the sensations of the kiss and Li Mo’s familiar lips sharpened.

“Li… Mo.” Yun Ruoyan tried to push his chest away, but Li Mo wasn’t about to give her such an opportunity. He held on tightly to her back, trapping her in his embrace, his lips still against hers.

Yun Ruoyan felt that Li Mo’s kiss was very different from before. In the past, both his gentle and his mocking kisses had been light, nothing more than a peck. But now, Li Mo’s kiss left her somewhat fearful, because Yun Ruoyan knew what a kiss of this nature meant.

“Slaughtering King…” Yun Ruoyan mumbled, almost incoherently. “I’m not yet of marriageable age, and I’m… I’m not an adult.”