Chapter Nineteen: Escaping Calamity

The room instantly erupted into chaos, the situation turning dire in a flash. The grandson of the Duke of the Empire, the only heir of the Hu family, had been killed in the capital by the princess’s own guards—this was a disaster of epic proportions!

Hu Mo kept his eyes closed, yet inwardly he cursed viciously: “You three damned idiots, when did I die? If spitting a mouthful of blood meant death, wouldn’t the whole world be wiped clean of people?”

Zhu Xinyue was now completely at a loss. In truth, her plan to lure Hu Mo here had only been intended as a lesson—a minor injury at most, something she could use as an excuse to give him a beating. Never had she expected that, in playing rough, she’d actually force him to cough up blood from the pressure of her power!

“Your Highness, even if Young Master Hu offended you, you shouldn’t have gone so far, using your strength to suppress him! Now he’s barely hanging on—what are we supposed to do?” Huang Sheng was on the verge of tears, his long trail of snot dripping onto Hu Mo, his dirty hands wiping themselves on Hu Mo’s clothes. If Hu Mo didn’t have to pretend to be unconscious, he’d have torn off his own garments first, then finished off this filthy, slovenly wretch.

“No, no… it wasn’t me! Hurry, leave—stop gawking, you fools, we need to get back to the palace!” Zhu Xinyue, frantic, nearly fainted, and with her few befuddled guards bolted from the room in a panic.

Who among the Hu family’s guards would dare stand in their way? Each one wore a pained expression as they desperately tried to channel their energy into Hu Mo’s body. If Hu Mo died of his injuries, these men would be destined for the underworld to continue protecting him there.

“It’s all your fault, you wretch! Fancy not running from that shrewish princess—even getting caught and then helping her lure us all here! Now what? Young Master Hu’s been beaten like this, and if the Duke finds out, do you think any of our families will survive? Young Master Hu always treated us with true loyalty, and you, you worthless scum, betrayed him…”

“Shut up! Du Zhong, you’re no better! If it had been you, you’d likely have done much worse! Aren’t you curious why I called you all here and told you the truth? The shrewish princess only wanted me to bring Hu Mo, but she forced me by making me swallow hundreds of stinkbugs. I couldn’t take it, so I agreed!”

“You think I wanted this? Damn it, you have no idea how ruthless that woman is! I figured if all four of us came together, she might restrain herself a bit—otherwise, if Hu Mo was killed, no one would even know! I just didn’t expect… didn’t expect her to really go so far…” Huang Sheng finally broke down in tears. In truth, he hadn’t wanted to betray Hu Mo, but after being forced to eat those bugs, his last bit of reason had collapsed.

In all fairness, Huang Sheng had done all he could under the circumstances.

Hu Mo was filled with complex emotions. As shameless as Huang Sheng was, he’d still managed to weigh all these considerations under duress. Honestly, if he himself were faced with a bowl of stinkbugs, would he have done any better? Probably not. Still, he doubted he’d be so foolish as to eat hundreds before giving in—he’d rather not eat any at all!

“Ahem, ahem…” Hu Mo really couldn’t keep up the act any longer. Zhu Xinyue was long gone, and he couldn't bear the stench at close quarters any more; he was nearly suffocating.

“Ah! Young Master Hu is awake!” Lin Meng suddenly shouted, visibly emotional.

He had been draped over Hu Mo, bawling like a widow at her husband’s funeral. Hu Mo gradually became aware that a certain area was growing damper and damper, as if he’d wet himself.

“You’re awake at last, young master! Thank heaven, I thought…”

“Thank you, Uncle Zhang. I’m truly sorry to have worried you all!” Hu Mo smiled, ignoring the astonished looks from the others, got up from the floor, and dusted off his trousers as if nothing had happened.

The guard named Zhang was struck dumb. He’d clearly seen Hu Mo spit blood, yet here he was, completely fine. It was bewildering.

The three unfortunates stared at Hu Mo, mouths agape, especially Huang Sheng, who began drooling again.

Hu Mo shot Huang Sheng a fierce glare, then turned and smiled warmly at Uncle Zhang. “Uncle Zhang, I’m really fine now. If you would…” His eyes flicked toward the door, signaling.

Uncle Zhang caught on immediately. “Yes, right away, sir.” He understood perfectly that Hu Mo wanted to speak privately with the other three. It would be a grave breach of etiquette to linger.

Now that Hu Mo had recovered, both guards let out a breath of relief; the feeling of coming back from the brink was indescribable.

“Wait!” Hu Mo called out, a faint smile on his lips.

“Is there anything else, young master?” Uncle Zhang asked, puzzled.

“Uncle Zhang, have your men come in too—I'll arrange for a private room. It’s about mealtime, isn’t it? You’ve all been busy and must be hungry. Don’t refuse—everyone needs to eat. We can’t let our brothers go hungry, can we?” Hu Mo chuckled. At this, Huang Sheng and the others stared at him as though he were a stranger.

Uncle Zhang could hardly believe his ears. Normally, Hu Mo would beat and curse them as he pleased, treating them worse than animals. Now he was being addressed politely and even offered a private room—was the sun rising in the west?

“Uncle Zhang, why are you still staring? Go on, I’ll take care of everything.” Hu Mo smiled and nodded. Only then did the two guards, grinning from ear to ear, leave the room.

At last, Huang Sheng blurted out, “Young Master Hu, what’s with you? Did you hit your head just now? Those lowly servants, eating with us?”

Huang Sheng genuinely despised the guards. In the eyes of these young scions, they were barely above menial workers. Even Hu Mo had always treated them with disdain, never once regarding them as human.

Hence, after what had just happened, Huang Sheng and his companions were utterly bewildered.

“Huang Sheng, don’t meddle. How I treat my guards is my business. You three have some explaining to do.” Hu Mo asked knowingly, though inwardly he was dissatisfied—how could he be lumped in with these arrogant bullies now?

At Hu Mo’s words, the other three’s faces fell, their heads drooping almost to the floor.

“Young Master Hu, we…”

“Don’t say ‘we’—it’s all your fault!” Du Zhong cut Huang Sheng off, his temper flaring once more.

“Listen to me, Young Master. When we saw how fierce that princess was, we swore to avoid her at all costs. But this guy went right to her, got himself caught, then tricked us into coming, and finally lured you here in our names. Ultimately, this is all his doing. If we don’t thrash him, we’ll never be satisfied! Young Master, you decide—should we drip wax, stab with needles, or use the whip? Whatever you say. We can’t let him off lightly!” Lin Meng spat, producing a whip from somewhere, still stained with red, a pungent, acrid odor wafting from it.

Hu Mo was speechless—so beneath Lin Meng’s scholarly exterior lay such a violent heart. Torture, and between men, no less—and to use it on such a filthy, wretched fellow—Hu Mo felt nauseated just thinking about it.

Huang Sheng didn’t refute, instead his eyes flashed with anticipation. But it quickly faded; he sighed and slumped to the ground. A few flies and mosquitoes buzzed around him, landing pathetically on the floor. Huang Sheng absentmindedly pinched one, digging in his nose with the other hand—a display of grotesque repulsiveness.

Hu Mo instantly lost the urge to pursue the matter, frowning as he hauled Huang Sheng to his feet. “Forget it. I’ll let it go since I survived. Sit down—we rarely have a chance to eat together. The last time was years ago. I should thank that shrewish princess; without her, who knows when we’d meet again? And Huang Sheng, is your body odor getting worse? How is anyone supposed to live? Has your wife gotten used to it?”

Du Zhong and Lin Meng, holding their noses, had already returned to their seats. To be honest, staying in this room another minute was pure torture. Yet they wondered—didn’t Hu Mo used to like this smell? Why did he now look so pained?

“Young Master, you forgive me, I’m so grateful. As for my body odor, please don’t mention it—after this meal, I probably won’t go out much. Even I can’t stand the smell anymore!” Huang Sheng’s eyes brimmed with tears as he gazed pitifully at Hu Mo.

Huang Sheng truly wanted to find a hole and bury himself. People with such body odor usually couldn’t smell it themselves, but now he could distinctly sense it. He forced a smile in public, pretending not to care, but inside he was wracked with distress.

Imagine—his wife wouldn’t let him in the house, his parents avoided him, he was turned away from brothels, kicked out of gambling dens—almost everyone shunned him. Apart from these few brothers, hardly anyone in Flame City spoke to him. Who could endure such loneliness?

Hu Mo sighed softly. “Huang Sheng, give me your hand. Let me check your pulse—maybe there’s hope for your ailment.”