CHAPTER 969: CHAPTER 937: HUANG SHIFU

Hiss—

The collarbone jutted out, like a snake striking the neck. Huang Zhaoyue’s hands fiercely gripped the man’s black hair beneath her chin, staring at the curtain with fox-grey eyes that finally rippled, filled with a terrifying killing intent.

It seemed as if, in the next moment, she would crush the skull of the man in her arms to relieve the pent-up frustration and bitter hatred in her heart.

Tap—Tap—

Outside the changing room door, there came a leisurely sound of heels tapping on the ground.

The young man with the folding fan walked slowly, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, gradually closing in.

Huang Zhaoyue also possessed a similar spiritual vision ability to the Bronze Destructive Eye.

Though not as heaven-defying as Xia Feng, who could see everything with clarity, it was enough to make out the silhouette of the folding fan youth.

Knock-knock—the folding fan youth reached out and knocked twice on the doorframe, then turned back and asked, "What’s inside here?"

"Sir, according to the layout, it should be a changing room." From further outside came the respectful voice of an officer.

"Oh? A changing room?" The folding fan youth fanned himself open again, smiling, "Zhaoyue, come out, I know you’re in there. Otherwise, hehe~ I’ll have to break in!"

Listening to the man’s voice behind the door, Xia Feng asked Huang Zhaoyue about the progress of the Myriad Phenomena.

"60%."

Huang Zhaoyue’s eyes were glued to the silhouette of Huang Shikai outside the door, mentally commanding Xia Feng, "Faster!"

Bam! Xia Feng swung her around by her slender waist! Her back arched against the door as the fox-grey pupils narrowed sharply, appearing more eerie. Her fingers grabbed Xia Feng’s black hair and, without thinking, squeezed fiercely at his nape, fingertips sharp as blades ready to pierce his neck.

"Not coming out? Heh~ Then I’ll come in." The folding fan youth’s leisurely tone came from behind the door.

Xia Feng’s hands around her waist began to tremble slightly, a result of absorbing too much Abyss Dragon Spirit Blood, causing the bloodline to show signs of collapse.

However, the Pale Bloodline held the home-field advantage within Xia Feng’s body, resulting in only a 0.1% collapse, which wasn’t too significant as long as Xia Feng didn’t desire more.

But it was undeniably uncomfortable.

Xia Feng felt his head burn like a furnace, as if held by tongs and shaken violently, groggy with death looming close.

As expected, Abyss Bloodline was truly disgusting!

He gritted his teeth, his arms tightening around the woman’s alluring waist as if merging it into his soul. In a daze, he heard the sound of door kicking and the young man’s superior reprimand, "Why is permission still needed? Who has permission? Get over here, open the door! Open the door for me!!"

"Yes, sir."

Beep-beep-beep—Xia Feng suddenly became clear-headed, seeing the woman’s smooth neck before him, covered with bite marks.

"Myriad Phenomena." The woman’s cold voice whispered in his ear, and Xia Feng’s dark pupils instantly narrowed into orange-yellow vertical slits.

The tall body shimmered with a layer of bright light and transformed into a black cat, falling into Huang Zhaoyue’s arms.

"Beep—the door is unlocked—" As the mechanical female voice resonated from behind, Huang Zhaoyue lifted her hand to erase the marks on her neck, then pushed down the handle to open the door.

Outside, the folding fan youth was about to take a step forward when the woman holding the black cat, an aura of cold elegance and nobility, appeared in his sight. His gloomy face instantly lit up with joy, stepping forward while deliberately greeting, "My lady, haven’t seen you in days, you’re becoming more beauti—"

The woman holding the black cat suddenly vanished, reappearing two meters behind the folding fan youth, continuing to stride calmly in high heels. The folding fan youth clutched his neck, blood gushing like a fountain.

His face turned deathly pale with a silent scream, his eyes contorted, then his body burst into a shadowy illusion and disappeared.

As always, Huang Zhaoyue couldn’t be bothered to speak a word to him.

Yet Huang Shikai wasn’t angry at all,

Only a gentle laugh echoed in the room: "Zhaoyue, after the grand wedding, I’m sure you’ll understand my love for you. I’ll be waiting for you back in the Central Court."

The black cat leaped onto Huang Zhaoyue’s shoulder. She paid no mind to the dissipated voice, surveying the surroundings outside the door, and asked softly, "Where is Huang Shifu?"

The officer who had earlier reported to Huang Shikai respectfully bowed his head, speaking gravely, "Your Highness, please follow me."

...

To Xia Feng’s surprise, the officer did not lead Huang Zhaoyue to the command room but instead to an art studio.

The studio was dominated by cool colors, with walls covered in dark gray and inky green, the ambiance serene with a hint of oppression.

The room was not large, merely the size of a classroom, filled with the mixed scent of turpentine and pencil shavings. In the corner, piled canvases and sketch drafts lay unfinished, while colorful paint tubes and charcoal pencils were neatly arranged on the wall-side countertop.

The wall above the countertop was adorned with countless uncolored sketches portraying elderly men, children, women, men, and even the diverse stances of Half-Evil, Half-Dragon, and Evil Beasts...

The walls of this room were entirely covered with sketch portraits, like a wall of all beings.

The eerie thing was that the eyes within those sketch portraits seemed to gather towards the center of the room.

In the center stood a wide wooden easel, bearing an unfinished colorful portrait, with an oval smiling mask hanging on a hook behind it.

A man in white robes, clothing, and pants, with white hair, sat before the easel, attentively painting with lowered brows.

Outside the door, observing this scene, Xia Feng felt an inexplicable sense of eeriness.

Under the partial illumination from dark red spotlights and desk lamps, the eerie atmosphere in the studio intensified.

Huang Zhaoyue approached the man from behind, without interrupting his painting, simply watching the portrait on the easel quietly for a while.

As the portrait took shape, Huang Zhaoyue realized it was the likeness of Huang Shikai.

"Shikai isn’t ugly, don’t you think?" The white-haired man added the final light to the pupil of the portrait, then slowly put down his brush with a smile, back to Huang Zhaoyue.

Huang Zhaoyue, her pupils a deep grey, ignored Huang Shifu’s comment, instead asking softly, "When do we arrive at the Fifth District?"

"Fifth District? Why go there?" The white-haired man turned his head, facing Huang Zhaoyue.

Xia Feng’s heart jolted; he realized that this entirely white-clad man had no features!

No eyelashes, eyes, nose, or mouth—just a fleshly oval plane facing Huang Zhaoyue, even more terrifying in the dim red-lit studio.

But Huang Zhaoyue seemed accustomed to it, her expression calm, "Huang Shifu, I don’t want to waste words."

The white-haired man looked up at the ceiling as if lost in thought, his throat vibrating with an "oh," nodding, "I remember now, there’s a war in the Fifth District. The Emperor asked me to take you to relay a message to the Abyss Saint."

"Ah, war... I despise war."

"So, who is at war with whom in the Fifth District?" Huang Zhaoyue wondered, furrowing her brow.

After the civil war in the Empire, it had been a long time since there had been a conflict to ravage an entire district.

Moreover, the Fifth District, one of the forefront districts, was near the First District, making it easy for various forces to rush aid.