Chapter 454 - 233: "Usurper

Chapter 454: Chapter 233: "Usurper

Zheng Xiu placed the batch of Copper Mirrors in his study and shut the door tightly. A grinding sound of bone and joints came from his right arm as the [Painter] Deceitful Object drilled out from under his skin, protruding from his flesh to form an exquisitely shaped paintbrush.

Holding the paintbrush for the first time in a long while, Zheng Xiu personally added water to grind the ink, mixing in his own blood.

After working through the entire night, Zheng Xiu knocked on Feng Bei’s door the next morning, carrying a small Copper Mirror.

"It’s me."

Zheng Xiu spoke up before the door opened to prevent any misunderstanding.

The door opened a crack, revealing Feng Bei. She hadn’t washed up yet, but that did little to hide her lovely features. Her face peeked through the gap, and just as she was about to speak, an Orange Cat leaped onto her head and stared at Zheng Xiu with narrowed eyes.

When Zheng Xiu saw the Orange Cat was hiding in Feng Bei’s room, he couldn’t help but scold it with a laugh. "No wonder I couldn’t find you in your little emperor’s nest. So this is where you’ve been hiding these past few days. Let’s put aside who’s right or wrong here, but you’re a female cat occupying my spot. Don’t you feel the least bit guilty?"

"Meow!"

[None of your business!]

The Orange Cat crossed its paws over its chest, turned its head away, and huffed, its whiskers twitching, seemingly angry that Zheng Xiu had scolded it for no good reason.

’This cat... is a tsundere?’

Zheng Xiu mentally slapped an even stranger label onto the peculiar creature from Darkness and pushed his way into the room.

The wall that had been smashed when the "Evil Child" burst in a while back had already been fixed by the Craftsmen from the Auspicious Workshop, who had worked overtime on it. There was no sign it had ever been damaged. Zheng Xiu entered the room, glanced around, and casually plopped down on the bed.

A corner of a bright red garment peeked out from under the covers. Blushing, Feng Bei came forward and stuffed the mysterious piece of clothing Zheng Xiu was sitting on back under the blanket. Feigning composure, she asked, "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

’Mm, bright red.’

Zheng Xiu had sharp eyes and knew Feng Bei’s habits. Just as he’d suspected, she was the same as she’d been back in the valley: plain colors on the outside, red underneath. Nodding to himself, he nonchalantly took out a small Copper Mirror and handed it to her. "A gift for you."

The Copper Mirror was long and narrow, with a small hole drilled at the top. A cord could be threaded through it so it could be worn at the waist like a Jade Pendant or hidden inside one’s clothes. Feng Bei knew Zheng Xiu inside and out; he always loved finding novel ways to amuse her, or as he put it, "to add to their fun in the bedroom." She took the small Copper Mirror and examined it curiously. On the back, a lifelike Phoenix was carved using an "intaglio" technique. The Phoenix’s head faced north as it soared with wings outstretched.

The "intaglio" lines were dark red. Feng Bei’s nostrils twitched; she recognized the familiar scent.

"Your blood?" Feng Bei frowned, her heart aching for him. "Didn’t you say you didn’t feel like painting recently?"

"Heh! It was just a sudden impulse!" Like a magician, Zheng Xiu produced another mirror.

It was a perfect match for the one in Feng Bei’s hand, forming a pair. The difference was on the back of Zheng Xiu’s Copper Mirror: it depicted a dragon. The dragon was surrounded by engraved, rippling sword-shadows... This was one edgy-looking dragon.

Ignoring the mirror surface on the front, the pair was clearly a set of "Dragon and Phoenix Pendants." Feng Bei scoffed inwardly, but her expression was tinged with worry. "Aren’t you... afraid of breaking a taboo?"

"Who cares? It’s fine as long as he doesn’t see it." ’It’s not like I want to be the Emperor,’ Zheng Xiu thought. ’Painting a dragon on my "Mirror Jade" is just for good luck and to make them a matching set.’

"That’s true." Hearing this, Feng Bei’s worries subsided. If Zheng Xiu wasn’t concerned, then she had no reason to be. In her mind, the world was divided into only two types of people: "those who can be killed" and "those who cannot." Clearly, the Emperor’s status didn’t put him in the same category as Zheng Xiu—one of "those who cannot be killed."

"I’ll show you something fun."

Zheng Xiu winked at Feng Bei, stepped outside, and shut the door firmly. On the mirror surface, he traced two words: "Pillar Phoenix."

Inside the room, Feng Bei stared, dumbfounded, as a glaring red light pulsed on her mirror’s surface. For some reason, her mind supplied a "BEEP BEEP BEEP" sound effect.

Two red words materialized on the mirror surface: Red King.

The words on the mirror surface shifted again, the letters swarming like ants:

[Red King is calling. Accept?]

[Accept?]

[Accept?]

There was no option to decline.

Annoyed, Feng Bei tapped the mirror.

The next second, Zheng Xiu’s handsome face materialized in the mirror.