Stranger Danger

Chapter 747: The Secret From Eight Hundred Years Ago

Famous clans had clashed against one another just to make her happy.

Aristocratic families had given up entire treasure hoards just to earn her favor...

Still, if beauty was all Murong Xianxian possessed, then she wouldn’t be famous even eight hundred years later. Blessed with extraordinary talent and an eidetic memory, she was adept in countless martial arts, methods and essentials. There wasn’t a single art in the world—music, go, literature, painting—she hadn’t grasped; no annals of history or philosophy she wasn’t familiar with. She was literally the embodiment of perfection; the closest human there was to being divine at the time.

Naturally, the Murong Clan exploited her fame to recruit countless warriors and grow their strength tremendously. It didn’t take long before they earned the title of the greatest wulin clan in the realm, and for a time, it even looked like they were going to become the greatest clan in the entire world.

Unfortunately, the very person that raised them to the heavens would also be the one who cast them into hell. Murong Xianxian was so famous that she drew the attention of Li Hentian, who at the time was “merely” known as the supreme warrior of the Dark Ways.

Back in the day, Li Hentian was quite the domineering and unruly man. He had issued a Dark Overlord Token and commanded the Murong Clan to surrender Murong Xianxian to him in three days. Otherwise, he was going to annihilate them all.

Naturally, Murong Xianxian disregarded his threat. Riding high on their recent successes, they believed that the Dark Overlord’s threat was nothing more but the foolish, conceited words of a delusional man. They even made a statement declaring that they would end Li Hentian where he stood if he so much as set a single step within the Murong Clan’s compound.

The Murong Clan thought for sure that the Dark Overlord would reconsider his decision and slink away with his tail between his legs, so when he actually showed up at their doorstep, no one was expecting him at all. As if that wasn’t enough, he was alone.

He alone was enough. With his fists and his fists alone, Li Hentian waltzed right through the Murong Clan’s door and crushed anyone and anything who dared to stand in his way. Despite mobilizing their army of warriors and throwing everything they had at the man, the Murong Clan was ultimately found wanting. Li Hentian had singlehandedly annihilated their forces and slew the Murong Clan to the last.

In just one night, the century-old Murong Clan was no more. According to the legends, Murong Xianxian had cast herself to a sea of flames and committed suicide in order to preserve her honor.

As the victor, the remains of the Murong Clan lifted Li Hentian to even greater heights of fame and glory. In fact, he was more or less as famous as Murong Xianxian, though of course the reputation they enjoyed were very different. The Dark Overlord Li Hentian only ever incited fear, respect and hatred among the people, whereas Murong Xianxian won the deepest sympathy and sorrow even after she was gone.

Some people said that Murong Xianxian was always going to bring disaster upon herself and her family eventually. Such was the fate of everyone who was too good for this world.

Some people cursed the jealousy of the heavens and lamented the fact that no one like Murong Xianxian would ever grace humanity again.

And some people simply wept at the loss of the one and only Murong Xianxian. Some time later, it was even remarked in Rouge that one of the greatest losses of humanity was surely the death of Murong Xianxian.

In any case, all accounts of Murong Xianxian agreed on one thing: Murong Xianxian was dead, and she was no longer with them. But now, it would seem that they were gravely mistaken. Not only did it look like the greatest beauty of the world eight hundred years ago, Murong Xianxian, was still alive, she had appeared here, she had appeared in a place that was intricately tied to her supposed murderer, the Dark Overlord Li Hentian. How could they not be shocked by this?

Assuming that she was actually Murong Xianxian, then how was it possible that she was still alive after eight hundred years? Even a Sage could only live for two to three hundred years at most. There was no way anyone could live for over eight hundred years... right?

That’s right. The woman before them was no ghost, yin soul, or dark being attempting to come back to life via possession. She was a living, breathing human being.

“Dead? Do you want to know why I haven’t perished in a sea of flames eight hundred years ago? Or are you curious why I’m still alive eight hundred years later?”

Murong Xianxian smiled. “I can answer both questions if that is your wish!”

“We are most interested, miss!” Cui Qiuyuan answered with clear interest.

“Very well. I shall begin from the first question.”

Murong Xianxian began, “I have not, in fact, perished in a sea of flames eight hundred years ago. It is but a lie Li Hentian and I had cooked up.”

“A lie?” Blood Rakshasa frowned.

“Yes, it is simply a lie to fool the entire world,” Murong Xianxian confirmed. “Back then, Li Hentian and I had arrived at an agreement: if he assists me in faking my death, then I will marry him and become his wife.”

“You what?!”

The three Grandmasters exchanged incredulous glances with each other. “Excuse me. Was the Dark Overlord not the one who destroyed the Murong Clan after all?”

“No, it was him,” Murong Xianxian answered.

“Did he threaten you into submission or something?” Qu Langhuan asked.

“Did the Murong Clan abuse you? Do you actually loathe them to the bone?” Blood Rakshasa asked.

“The Murong Clan cherish me like a pearl in their palm. They obey my every whim, and they have never abused or mistreated me. Naturally, I love the Murong Clan dearly,” Murong Xianxian answered.

“... Then why did you marry the man who killed your entire clan? Don’t you hate him?” Qu Langhuan grew more confused than ever.

“Li Hentian killed my family and destroyed my clan. Of course I loathe him to the bone. I only wish I could drain his blood dry, feed on his flesh, and cut him into a million pieces,” Murong Xianxian answered. Her words were heartless to put it mildly, and yet her expression and tone were so calm it was almost as if she was talking about someone else. Everyone felt an involuntary chill down their spine because of this.

“If you hate the Dark Overlord that much, then why did you fake your death and marry him? Why are you helping your enemy?” Qu Langhuan asked exasperatedly.

“It is precisely because I hate him that I must marry him,” Murong Xianxian answered.

Blood Rakshasa: “...”

Qu Langhuan: “...”

Cui Qiuyuan: “...”

Forget the girls, not even the insane Mortician could understand her logic.

Seeing their befuddled expression, Murong Xianxian explained patiently, “You have no idea how powerful and terrifying Li Hentian was. They say that I am the closest human there was to a perfect being, but in my opinion, that honor truly goes to Li Hentian. His strength is godlike and unparalleled. No one could ever hope to defeat him in a fair fight.”

“Exempting overwhelming power, one cannot hope to defeat a foe they do not understand. Therefore, the only way to kill him and take revenge against him is to get close to him, know him, understand him. Only then can I understand his flaws and weaknesses. Only then can I do the impossible.”

Murong Xianxian’s smile widened. “And there is no one closer to a person than the partner you share a bed with, is there?”

“I see! So you married the Dark Overlord to kill him!” Qu Langhuan finally understood what Murong Xianxian was talking. “Did the Dark Overlord know about this?”

Yet again, Murong Xianxian gave them a nonsensical answer. “Of course he did.”

“What? Then why did he accept your hand in marriage?” Blood Rakshasa asked.

“Because he is Li Hentian, the Dark Overlord. Because he is as arrogant as he is strong,” Murong Xianxian replied simply. “And because I am Murong Xianxian. No one can ever turn me down.”

Qu Langhuan and Blood Rakshasa fell silent after that. She... was right. The Dark Overlord feared nothing and no one. That was why he dared to marry a woman who he knew loathed him to the bone. Not only that, the one who offered her hand in marriage was Murong Xianxian, the so-called number one celestial of wulin and the crowning jewel of humanity. As she said, no one, not even the Dark Overlord, could possibly reject her.

“What happened next?” Cui Qiuyuan asked.

“My plan was both a success and a failure,” Murong Xianxian answered.

“What do you mean?” Qu Langhuan asked.

“It was a success, because I did manage to figure out Li Hentian’s personality, flaws and weaknesses completely after decades of hard work.”

Murong Xianxian smiled. “Li Hentian is an arrogant, domineering man who adored beautiful women but disdained authority. He is also a man who enjoys luxury, pleasure, making friends and a lively atmosphere. So, I convinced him to abandon his fame and power through wealth, sex, intoxication, and excitement and create the Demonbearer Abode, a place where he could retire to and indulge his hobbies to his heart’s content. Then, I persuaded him to recruit beauties, collect treasures, and make friends from all over the world.”

“In the jianghu and wulin, there is nothing more poisonous than greed, jealousy, foolishness, and delusion. I knew that it was only a matter of time before such actions would draw the envy and hatred of the masses. When the time was ripe, it took barely any effort to turn Li Hentian into the public enemy of the jianghu.”

“After that, I leaked the location of the Demonbearer Abode to his enemies and manipulated them into a coordinated invasion. With the combined might of three Sages, the Dark Overlord and the Demonbearer Abode were ultimately vanquished.”

“So, my plan was a success. I had successfully killed Li Hentian and taken revenge for my family and my clan.”