CHAPTER 76: THE MOONLIT DUEL

"I am Mogushu. Someone offered me ten thousand gold to take your life."

Rong Qinglei poured himself a cup of wine and drank it in one swallow.

"I did not know my head was worth so much," he said lightly.

Mogushu poured himself a cup as well, drank it, and praised, "Good wine. Only Prince Qing can afford medicinal wine made from such expensive herbs."

"This broken body can only stay alive using medicine," Rong Qinglei said as he poured another cup and drank again.

There was a brief flash of sadness in his eyes, but it disappeared quickly, returning to calm.

"Prince Qing underestimates himself," Mogushu replied.

"Rumor says you control the entire treasury of Beirong and are as wealthy as a country.

Your so-called broken body is worth ten thousand gold, the highest price I have ever been paid."

He took out a piece of white silk and wiped the short sword in his hand.

"Thanks to your hospitality, I will let you die without pain."

"Mogushu, from the Nine Abyssal Gate, one of the three great killers," Rong Qinglei said with a faint smile as he set down his cup. "Cruel, swift, and known for killing before the victim even knows they are dead. It is said that when you leave, the victim’s blood has not yet started to flow."

Rong Qinglei stood up slowly.

"But this broken body of mine still has some use in this world. So I’m afraid I cannot let you take my head for your reward."

He glanced around the room.

"There are some books here that might still be useful. Let us step into the courtyard and talk there."

"Please, Prince..."

Mogushu set down his wine cup and walked out first and Rong Qinglei followed behind him.

The courtyard was wide and empty.

The guards who should have been patrolling were nowhere to be seen.

Rong Qinglei guessed that they had all been killed by Mogushu.

A faint disgust rose in his heart, killing hundreds just to murder one man...

The rumors of Mogushu’s cruelty were clearly not exaggerations.

Under the moonlight, one man dressed in black and one in white faced each other.

A moment later, no one knew who moved first, but the two figures instantly clashed, twisting together like shifting shadows.

Since childhood, Rong Qinglei’s body had been weak.

He could not train any aggressive martial arts, but he could train lightness skill.

Year after year, his mastery of light movements had reached its peak, enough to be ranked among the best in the martial world.

But growing up in the palace, he lacked real battle experience.

Against someone like Mogushu, this weakness showed quickly.

Within moments, Mogushu’s short sword rested coldly against his neck.

It was over.

Rong Qinglei panted lightly and pressed a hand to his chest.

His heart disease was beginning to act up from the intense fight.

He did not need Mogushu to say it, he already knew which of his royal brothers had sent this killer.

Born into the royal family... what a joke.

Other than his dead mother, he had never truly known fatherly affection or brotherly love.

Who said life in the royal family was good?

He let out a mocking laugh.

He did not have long to live, yet even so, they could not wait for his death.

He closed his eyes and accepted his fate, waiting for death to land on him.

He did not know why, but in that moment, the image of the Ger from that night appeared in his mind.

His smile and his expressions, everything was suddenly clear, as if engraved in his memory.

Maybe once he died, he would see him again.

A beauty like that... how could he exist among mortals?

Thinking that, a relaxed smile appeared on Rong Qinglei’s face.

A flash of steel passed before him but the pain he expected never came.

Rong Qinglei opened his eyes in surprise.

Mogushu was clutching his wrist and looking around with sharp alertness.

The short sword he never let go of had fallen onto the ground.

"Who dares interfere from the shadows?"

Mogushu’s voice carried anger.

Having his sword knocked away before even meeting the hidden person was the greatest shame to a killer.

"Among those who act from the shadows, when ranked second, none of them dare claim to be first except you killers."

A male voice drifted through the moonlit courtyard.

A man in violet clothes slowly stepped out of the darkness.

"One strike failed," he said calmly. "According to the rules of the Nine Abyssal Gate... Mogushu, you should return home."

Seeing that the newcomer could approaching him silently and seemed to know the internal rules of the Nine Abyssal Gate in detail, Mogushu felt a growing sense of caution.

Over the years, he had killed countless people in the martial world, yet someone with such extraordinary lightness skills had never appeared in his memory.

Moreover, before even meeting face to face, this person had already knocked the short sword from his hand.

Rong Qinglei watched the man’s figure in the distance.

For some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

He shook his head, but his eyes widened in surprise when they landed on a jade pendant on the ground, that was the very pendant he had given as a reward to the Ger in white clothes.

Looking back at the man, his gaze carried both assessment and curiosity.

The night wind softly blew the man’s clothes and under the silver moonlight, he seemed like a god fallen from the heavens.

Watching the man exude such an elegant and unique aura, Rong Qinglei suddenly felt a twinge of shame.

Probably, only a men like him could match someone as extraordinary as that Ger.

At that moment, Mogushu seemed to realize something. His voice carried disbelief tone, "Black River Society, you are a member of Black River Society? A mere firefly dares to compete with my Nine Abyssal Gate?"