Lu Yunqi gleefully claimed his System Points directly. Although there were only points and no additional rewards, it still felt like free money to him.
He could already foresee the next task—it was to have an NPC execute a command, which meant another ten points in the bag.
The third task was to have an NPC reclaim an acre of wasteland. Watching the busy NPC, he thought to himself, Isn't this convenient?
I can answer ahead of time again!
Lu Yunqi shouted loudly to the NPC, "Zhang Wei, just reclaim an acre of wasteland for now. The tools are all here anyway—you know how to use them, right?"
The NPC gave him an OK gesture, indicating he knew how to handle everything.
Reclaiming wasteland wasn't something that could be finished in a short time. He glanced at the NPC's progress and decided to leave him to it, heading home to lie down and wait for the task to complete.
Heh heh, this idle young master finally gets to be idle. Choosing this system was definitely the right call!
As soon as Lu Yunqi got home, he heard someone knocking at the door outside. He quickly hurried back to lie down on the couch and lazily called out, "Who is it? What's all the noise about, disturbing this young master's sleep? Come in!"
Liubao pushed the door open and walked in, bowing as he said, "Young Marquis, the Prince has returned and requests your presence."
Lu Yunqi let out an "Oh" and replied, "Alright, I'll be right there."
With that, he rolled off the couch, slipped on his gold-thread embroidered silk slippers, and lazily strolled toward his father's courtyard.
On the way, Lu Yunqi asked, "Did my father say what he wants me for?"
Although the general storyline of each of his rebirth playthroughs was roughly the same, there were subtle differences in the details—after all, if everything were identical every time, the difficulty of the playthrough would decrease.
Liubao answered, "He didn't say. He just asked where you were and told you to come see him."
Lu Yunqi let out another "Oh," turned past the carved corridor, walked through a stretch of blooming flowers and swaying willows, and arrived at his father's Jingfu Hall. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard his father scolding his elder brother: "How many times have I told you? You still need to practice your martial arts. Look at what you've been practicing! How are you supposed to assist and protect your younger brother in the future?"
Lu An—his father Lu Tong's adopted son—was yet another man who had died nine times for Lu Yunqi.
This one's death was even more tragic. Liubao had been pierced into a pincushion; Lu An had been burned alive.
The moment the two saw him arrive, they both called out in unison, "Yunqi's here!"
Lu Yunqi thought to himself, What did I do to deserve this? A spoiled second-generation heir, doted on unconditionally by his biological father, adored to death by his adopted brother, served with unwavering loyalty by his subordinates and servants—every single one of them willing to give their lives for me.
Unfortunately, he just couldn't measure up. Nine lifetimes now, and not only could he not survive himself, he dragged everyone else down to die with him.
This was the final lifetime. He felt he couldn't keep being such a waste. Sometimes, people only unleash their absolute potential when pushed to the brink.
Lu Yunqi gave them a roguish grin and asked, "Brother, Father, what good news did you call me over for?"
Lu Tong let out a sigh and replied, "The old emperor is throwing a victory banquet for your father tonight, saying he wants to celebrate my great triumph over the western commanderies of Xizhao and the recovery of Great Xia's lost territories."
Lu Yunqi said, "Oh. Then why call me over? I don't want to go. Going to the palace is so boring—I'd rather go to Tianhuan Pavilion for some entertainment."
Lu Tong sighed again, took his hand, and said, "Don't be upset, my son. The old emperor said he wants to marry one of his daughters to you. See if any of them catch your fancy. If you like one, there's no harm in marrying her into the family. After all, the old emperor relies on our family now, so he's definitely trying to please your father. He currently has three princesses—go take a look and see if any of them catch your eye."
Lu Yunqi furrowed his brow slightly. I don't recall this happening in the previous lifetimes, did I?
But it wasn't a big deal. After all, the story always ended the same way—his father was the first to die. Because if his father didn't die, the six hundred thousand Lu family troops would never have fallen into Murong Jie's hands.
Lu Yunqi originally didn't want to go, but his eyes rolled around as he thought, Isn't this a perfect chance to disgust Murong Jie?
A smirk curled at the corner of his lips as he said, "Alright, Father. Tonight, I'll give the old emperor some face and go take a look at his… daughters!"
With that, he turned and brought Liubao back to his Manyun Pavilion. As soon as he returned, he instructed Liubao, "Dress Murong Jie up nicely. I'm bringing him to the banquet with me."
Liubao nodded in acknowledgment: "Got it, Young Marquis. This servant will see to it right away!"
Lu Yunqi also called for Yunhua and had him prepare a set of sapphire-blue brocade robes so extravagant that even the princes in the palace wouldn't dare compare.
He adorned himself with a gold-inlaid white jade necklace, hung with cloud-patterned silk tassels woven from thread worth its weight in gold. If everyone hadn't already known his reputation, they'd have mistaken him for some precious young noble from a distinguished family.
This little marquis, despised by the entire capital, still exuded an air of low-class ruffian charm even when dressed up.
Lu Yunqi looked at himself in the bronze mirror with satisfaction and thought, That's the look. This is exactly the feeling I want.
Luxurious, decadent, dissipated, and extravagantly indulgent—that was him!
Only the young maidservant Yunhua quietly blushed, resting her chin on her hand as she said, "Our young lord is truly handsome, just as handsome as His Highness the Sixth in the side courtyard.""
Lu Yunqi raised an eyebrow. "You went to sneak a peek at the Sixth Highness?""
Yunhua blinked playfully. "This servant didn't sneak a look—I looked openly. Everyone knows the Sixth Highness belongs to our young lord, so we all rush to serve him well."
Lu Yunqi thought to himself that the man certainly had good rapport with people, even though he wore a cold face all day—he didn't see what there was to admire.
He instructed Yunhua, "Go fetch him in a moment and have him accompany me to the palace."
Yunhua acknowledged the order, and shortly after, she returned with Murong Jie.
Murong Jie was dressed in a red gauze robe, his chest half-exposed, long hair draped loosely over one shoulder—he had indeed been styled into something resembling a seductive, kingdom-toppling beauty.
Lu Yunqi nearly spat out his tea at the sight. He patted his chest and asked, "Who dressed him up like this?"
Yunhua replied, "The Sixth Highness did!" He said he styled himself after the seductive beauties in the picture books. Do you like it, young lord? If not, the Sixth Highness said he has other brothel-style looks to try."
Lu Yunqi walked over and circled around Murong Jie, chuckling twice. "I like it. Tell Liubao that I like it very much! Alright, you may leave now."
Yunhua curtsied to him, turned, and left the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
Lu Yunqi thought the girl was quick on the uptake. As soon as the door shut, he stepped forward and grabbed Murong Jie's cock hard. Murong Jie winced in pain, furrowing his brow as he said in a low voice, "You…"
"Me?" Lu Yunqi used his other hand to grip the man's chin, leaning in close to blow a breath by his ear. "What about me? That day when it felt good, you said nothing. Now you won't even let me touch?"
Murong Jie's gaze turned cold, as if he wanted to devour Lu Yunqi whole, but Lu Yunqi only laughed cheerfully. He released him and said, "Don't be so tense. There's a good show tonight, and I'm taking you along. And by the way… I have a surprise for you! That bastard father of yours wants to arrange a marriage for me. Tell me, should I agree or not?"
Murong Jie said nothing, his handsome cold face utterly unreadable, betraying no emotion whatsoever.
If it were the original owner, he would have thought Murong Jie had been tormented into losing all his spirit.
But Lu Yunqi knew that Murong Jie was not the type to be bullied. Otherwise, he wouldn't have endured ten years of hardship, biding his time before slaughtering everyone who had ever humiliated him.
Seeing no reaction, Lu Yunqi feigned displeasure. "Are you made of wood, damn it? Smile for me—smile, and I'll let you go right now."
Murong Jie never smiled, and no one had ever seen him smile in his life. Lu Yunqi was doing it on purpose, deliberately trying to make Murong Jie miserable.
Even if he was going to die in the end, he'd make sure to disgust the man thoroughly first.
Seeing that he wouldn't smile, Lu Yunqi grabbed him and shoved him down onto the couch.
At this point, Murong Jie wouldn't resist, because with the Nine-Deaths-One-Life Divine Palm he was practicing, until it was complete, even if he faced fatal harm, he absolutely could not fight back, nor could he use his inner energy or true qi—otherwise, his meridians would snap and he would die. Hence, nine deaths and one life.
It was precisely for this reason that Murong Jie was now nothing more than a plaything at Lu Yunqi's mercy.
As Lu Yunqi pushed him down onto the couch, the shackles on Murong Jie's feet clattered loudly, and the gauzy red robe loosened, falling open across his chest.
The man's pectorals were exposed—muscles that must have taken lifting countless bronze cauldrons to build.
It was said that the first stage of the Nine-Deaths-One-Life Divine Palm involved cultivating qi, while the second stage involved tempering the body—forging it strong and powerful, yet not with the bulging, knotted muscles of an ordinary strongman.
Instead, it was a well-proportioned, lean musculature that could nonetheless unleash tremendous force invisibly.
Lu Yunqi stroked his chest with a lewd chuckle. "I've roamed through pleasures of the flesh, but this is the first time I've seen such a fine body. Murong Jie, this young lord wants to fuck. You'd best cooperate nicely, or I'll make you regret it!"
Murong Jie turned his face away, brows furrowed tightly, clearly unwilling to cooperate.
Lu Yunqi laughed lowly. "You think that just because you won't cooperate, I have no way to deal with you?"
With that, he lowered his head and pressed a light kiss to his lips, then, like a dragonfly skimming the water, he kissed him once, again, and again—until the man's body was no longer so rigid, until, catching him off guard, he parted his lips and tongue, slyly twining around his.
The cold man beneath him began to warm slightly. Just as Lu Yunqi was about to succeed, Liubao's voice came from outside the door: "Young lord, the Prince is urging you from the front courtyard. He wants you to accompany him to the palace now."
Lu Yunqi snorted coldly, rolling off Murong Jie's body, and muttered a curse: "Blind lackey. Fine, I'll deal with you when I get back."
After saying this, he pulled Murong Jie to his feet and draped a more presentable outer robe over his shoulders. He then instructed Liubao, "Remove the shackles from the Sixth Prince's feet. A royal prince entering the palace in such a state is hardly dignified."
Liubao acknowledged the order, took out the keys, and unlocked the shackles from Murong Jie's ankles. He then fetched a pair of embroidered silk shoes with upturned toes and helped him put them on.
Under Lu Yunqi's lead, they all made their way toward the front courtyard.