Chapter 137: Behind the Secret Door
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Inside the Makeup Pavilion, apart from the families of a few proprietors and more than a dozen servants, there were actually very few people. Luo Kui’s guards were all highly accomplished experts. Dealing with people who were the equivalent of the human race’s “old, weak, sick, and disabled” was effortless for them, and they soon cleared the place out completely.
They killed with decisive efficiency, without the slightest hesitation. As cold light flashed, the entire Makeup Pavilion became permeated with a grim and murderous atmosphere.
As for Madam Wang, who stood to one side, she had long since been rendered speechless by the scene before her. Even the way she looked at Luo Kui now held an added touch of awe. In her eyes, Luo Kui seemed like some primordial beast, liable to swallow her whole at any moment without leaving so much as a scrap behind.
Watching those figures gradually disappear, Luo Kui felt the fury in his heart ease somewhat. But the true culprit had yet to be punished; this was no time to think about anything else.
“Go and open the hidden door.” Even Luo Kui’s heart could not help but tremble.
At last, the hidden door opened, revealing a deep passage leading downward.
The passage was somewhat dim. Several red candles had been mounted along either side, casting a faint glow that lent a different hue to the cold, silent corridor.
The instant the hidden door opened, the people below became alert. They hurriedly turned toward the entrance and assumed defensive positions.
But in the very next moment, when the first of the figures began entering the secret chamber one after another, the man was left utterly dumbfounded. After a brief moment of stunned silence, the proprietor of the Makeup Pavilion immediately demanded, “Who are you people? Don’t you know what kind of place this is?”
He had failed to notice Luo Kui at the rear. The first thing he saw was the group of vicious-looking guards at the front. They had clearly come with hostile intentions; even from a great distance, he could sense the overwhelming murderous aura radiating from them.
“Hahaha, Lu Yunshu, at a time like this, you’re still pretending? Where has your sense of shame gone?” Luo Kui laughed in his fury. Yet his eyes were clouded with dense, undisguised gloom, and the hatred within them—the kind that longed to tear his opponent limb from limb at any moment—was impossible to conceal.
“Husband… what are you doing?” Mu Lan stared at Luo Kui in bewilderment. But when she saw the unfamiliar look in his eyes, a trace of fear and unease rose within her heart. She had never seen such a terrifying expression on Luo Kui’s face before. The Luo Kui of the past had always looked at her with indulgent affection.
“Wretched woman!”
“You still have the nerve to ask what I’m doing? I’d like to ask you the same question. What exactly are you doing here?”
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“After committing such a disgraceful act today, how could I possibly spare you?” Luo Kui roared in uncontrollable fury.
Mu Lan was the woman he loved most—without exception. Over the years, even he could not count how much effort and devotion he had poured into her. Yet she had not only failed to appreciate it; she had actually betrayed him.
If word of this spread, he would become the laughingstock of the entire Ghost City. All the glory he had accumulated throughout his life would not be enough to offset this utter humiliation.
“You… how can you say such things about me? I truly haven’t done anything. Husband, you have to believe me. Please, listen to my explanation.” At his words, Mu Lan suddenly understood. She realized the true reason Luo Kui had come. His mind was notoriously narrow, and as the woman who had shared his bed, she knew that better than anyone.
Mu Lan felt unbearably wronged. But when she saw the terrifying look in Luo Kui’s eyes—as though he wished nothing more than to tear her to pieces—panic seized her heart.
She felt as though she had leaped into the Yellow River and still could not wash away the stain upon her name. She was utterly unable to defend herself, while Luo Kui was making it plain that he did not trust her.
“Go explain yourself to the King of Hell. No—you needn’t explain yourself to anyone anymore. You have no chance left to explain.”
“Don’t blame me. If you must blame someone, blame yourself. Had you been willing to conduct yourself properly, I would naturally have ensured that you lived in wealth and honor. Unfortunately, you were the one who threw it all away.”
Luo Kui’s voice was icy. As he looked at Mu Lan’s pretty face, he no longer felt the fondness he once had for her. All that remained was intense disgust. He did not even want to see her for another moment.
“No, that’s not it! Husband, please listen to me. It truly isn’t what you think…” Mu Lan continued shaking her head desperately, her lovely features drained of color and her expression filled with terror.
“Hmph. At a time like this, you’re still trying to argue. It seems you truly are beyond saving.” The last trace of affection Luo Kui held for Mu Lan vanished at once, leaving behind nothing but indifference.
Perhaps because his state of mind had changed, the fury that had originally burned within him diminished by more than half. What now occupied his heart was almost entirely the pleasure of revenge.
Just then, Lu Yunshu’s ill-timed voice suddenly rang out from the side.
“Er… the two of you, please calm down. Why not set aside your anger for the moment and hear me out? It will not be too late for Your Excellency to pass judgment afterward.”
Luo Kui swept him with a gaze cold enough to pierce bone. “This is no place for you to speak. Once I’ve settled my affairs with her, I’ll settle the entire score with you.”
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“You… you’re completely unreasonable! The two of us clearly have no relationship whatsoever. Mu Lan often comes here, but only because of other matters. It is nothing like the filthy thing you imagine.”
…
The following revisions will have to wait. Sorry, I ran out of time.
Mu Lan was the woman he loved most—without exception. Over the years, even he could not count how much effort and devotion he had poured into her. Yet she had not only failed to appreciate it; she had actually betrayed him.
If word of this spread, he would become the laughingstock of the entire Ghost City. All the glory he had accumulated throughout his life would not be enough to offset this utter humiliation.
“You… how can you say such things about me? I truly haven’t done anything. Husband, you have to believe me. Please, listen to my explanation.” At his words, Mu Lan suddenly understood. She realized the true reason Luo Kui had come. His mind was notoriously narrow, and as the woman who had shared his bed, she knew that better than anyone.
Mu Lan felt unbearably wronged. But when she saw the terrifying look in Luo Kui’s eyes—as though he wished nothing more than to tear her to pieces—panic seized her heart.
She felt as though she had leaped into the Yellow River and still could not wash away the stain upon her name. She was utterly unable to defend herself, while Luo Kui was making it plain that he did not trust her.
“Go explain yourself to the King of Hell. No—you needn’t explain yourself to anyone anymore. You have no chance left to explain.”
“Don’t blame me. If you must blame someone, blame yourself. Had you been willing to conduct yourself properly, I would naturally have ensured that you lived in wealth and honor. Unfortunately, you were the one who threw it all away.”
The Marvelous Book House
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