Chapter 203: Everyone Is Dead
Mo Zichen also didn’t know if this answer satisfied the man in black. He carefully observed his gaze, but disappointedly found that he couldn’t detect any emotional changes in those deep gray eyes at all.
“Feeling dizzy is normal; it’ll pass after a while,” the man in black sat down on the only chair in the room, methodically adjusted his sleeves, then looked up at Mo Zichen, “Are you very curious why you’re here?”
Mo Zichen nodded; what he wanted to know most was what the person in front of him intended by bringing him here.
“Mo Zichen has already perished in the sea of fire; this world no longer has this person,” the man in black did not disappoint him and directly stated the answer, “I went to great lengths to bring you here because of your identity. Starting tomorrow, I will begin teaching you martial arts to help you accomplish your master’s great cause!”
Although he explained it clearly, Mo Zichen was still confused. His identity? What identity did he have? And what was this master’s great cause?
Intuition didn’t seem like a good thing!
Mo Zichen didn’t want to get involved, and his face clearly showed it.
However, the man in black acted as if he hadn’t noticed his silent opposition at all and continued on his own: “Your body has already fully developed. If you train using ordinary methods now, you won’t achieve anything noteworthy. I need to give you extra training and modify your body, which will be a considerable expense. You had better live up to this effort of mine.”
Mo Zichen swallowed hard; the drum of retreat in his heart was already about to beat its way out of his chest. Modifying the body sounded like no simple matter. He had been pampered since childhood and hadn’t suffered the slightest hardship; he had no desire to have his body modified.
The man in black seemed to be just notifying him of his decision rather than seeking his opinion, so after finishing speaking, he stood up to leave.
Mo Zichen hurriedly blocked his path and hesitated for a long time before saying, “I… I don’t want to undergo any modification. Can you let me go?”
The man in black’s gaze suddenly sharpened, instantly filling with coldness, like two daggers gleaming with chilling light stabbing straight at Mo Zichen. The previous suffocating feeling enveloped Mo Zichen again. He gasped with difficulty, struggling to control his trembling legs to keep from collapsing to the ground, his terrified eyes wide open.
“Rest well; I’ll come again tomorrow morning.” Leaving these words, the man in black went around him, opened the door, and walked out.
Mo Zichen despairingly knelt on the ground. The surprise of waking up and finding himself still alive had completely vanished, leaving only endless fear of tomorrow.
Mo Qilan, who knew nothing about all this, was sitting uneasily in the dining hall of the Duke’s Mansion front courtyard at this moment. The table in front of him was laden with a sumptuous breakfast. His gaze swept toward the doorway from time to time. When he heard footsteps approaching closer, his eyes suddenly lit up, and his body immediately assumed a proper sitting posture.
Mo Ziyuan walked into the hall, looked at the breakfast on the table and the man at the table who was trying to stay composed but whose flickering gaze betrayed all his thoughts, and immediately knew what he was up to. He sneered inwardly, walked over, and sat down at the table.
Mo Qilan felt some annoyance seeing Mo Ziyuan’s demeanor, but more of it was another emotion he couldn’t name. After Mo Ziyuan faintly greeted him and then proceeded to pick up a steamed bun to eat without any intention of talking to him, he could only awkwardly say, “The breakfast was made by the new cook at home. Try this rock sugar bird’s nest; it’s his specialty.” As he spoke, he pushed an exquisite crystal bowl in front of Mo Ziyuan.
A flash of mockery passed through Mo Ziyuan’s eyes. Rock sugar bird’s nest was Qi Shi’s favorite; this was something everyone in the entire Duke’s Mansion knew. It was for her preference that Mo Qilan had hired this cook, and now he was using this bowl of rock sugar bird’s nest to curry favor with him. If Mo Ziyuan didn’t know his character, he might have thought he was deliberately trying to embarrass him.
Probably realizing something was off after saying it, Mo Qilan took the rock sugar bird’s nest back in front of himself, wanting to get his son something he liked, but awkwardly discovered that he knew nothing about the preferences of this only biological son. He couldn’t help feeling a bit dejected.
After finishing the last mouthful of congee, Mo Ziyuan set down his bowl and chopsticks, looked at Mo Qilan seriously, and said, “You don’t need to do this. Our relationship won’t change anyway. In the future, I’ll do what needs to be done, but if you want to find family affection from me, sorry, you’ll probably only get disappointment.”
“Zi Yuan, Father…” Mo Qilan’s mouth moved a few times, but he didn’t say anything.
“I’m full,” Mo Ziyuan stood up, thought for a moment, and still instructed, “In two days, I’ll set off with the army. I need to go to the military camp during the day today and won’t be back tonight.”
“Good. Be extra careful on this campaign. Father… Father will wait at home for your triumphant return.” Mo Qilan looked up with some excitement, but seeing his son’s indifferent eyes diminished the excitement in his heart a bit. Still, he couldn’t help saying that final sentence.
Mo Ziyuan hesitated for a moment, nodded, said nothing more, and left directly.
After he left, Mo Qilan sat in the chair for a long time, finally leaning back powerlessly, raising his hand to cover his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.
A long time later, a servant hurriedly ran in from outside, “Duke, Duke, something’s wrong…”
“What’s with all the shouting? Truly lacking decorum.” The steward hurried over and scolded.
“But… but…” The servant anxiously rubbed his hands, wanting to speak but not daring, his eyes glancing toward the hall from time to time.
“Let him in!” Mo Qilan’s voice came from inside the room.
“Yes,” the servant hurriedly went around the steward and ran into the hall, “Duke…”
“Speak up if you have something to say. What exactly happened?”
“Madam, Madam and the Young Master and Young Lady’s horse carriage was ambushed in the outskirts of the Capital. Everyone, everyone died. The horse carriage was also burned to ashes. Duke…”
“What did you say?” Mo Qilan abruptly stood up, his eyes widening as he asked.
“The Jingzhao Yin asked the Duke to go over there.” The servant stammered out the words, then let out a heavy sigh of relief. The Duke’s expression was truly terrifying, and his legs were starting to cramp.
“Has it been confirmed?” After the initial shock, Mo Qilan surprisingly calmed down quickly and asked in a flat voice.
“There were some unburned edges on the horse carriage with the Duke’s Mansion’s mark on them.”
“……I understand.”
Sitting in the horse carriage heading to the Jingzhao Prefecture Yamen, Mo Qilan thought of many things. He was very afraid that this matter would ultimately trace back to Mo Ziyuan, after all, in the entire Capital City, the number of people who couldn’t wait for Qi Shi and her pair of children to die could be counted on one palm.
