Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 322 Confrontation
The Hidden King also heard the voice. He slowly raised his aged head, and a cold light suddenly flashed in his originally cloudy eyes.

In an instant, it felt as if the room temperature had dropped by tens of degrees.

This is not an illusion.

Although it was almost the height of summer, everyone felt a bone-chilling cold. The cold seemed to seep into their bodies and invade their internal organs, and even their breaths seemed to exhale a thick layer of ice crystals.

"Click——"

That was the sound of thin ice cracking on a wine glass.

Just as the palace was about to transform into an extreme cold inferno, Sect Leader He suddenly tapped on the table.

The sword at his waist moved automatically without wind, and the magic swords of his disciples behind him also unsheathed slightly on their own.

In the blink of an eye, a fierce and violent aura reverberated throughout the hall, dispelling the biting cold.

The Hidden King still stared intently at Sect Leader He with his cold, piercing eyes.

however.

Just when everyone thought he was bound to have an outburst, he leaned back in his chair again.

"The Life-Slaying Sword. It's quite rare. This lineage must have been lost for three or four generations in your Maoshan sect, right? I never expected to see it again today. But the pollution level of this thing is extremely high. Aren't you afraid that you'll be eaten by it one day?"

Headmaster He sheathed his sword, then sat down in the chair and said nonchalantly.

"You don't need to worry about that. We Maoshan have our own laws and regulations. Even if someone truly falls into demonic possession, it's our own business."

However, just as tensions were running high, a calm voice suddenly rang out.

"Um, excuse me, but I've already presented this gift, shouldn't the host have given me a proper response?"

The speaker was Zhou You.

Whether it was the frost covering the ground or the menacing aura just now, his expression remained unchanged, as if nothing concerned him.

This time, all eyes were on him.

But this time, before anyone could speak, Xie Anming, who had been silent all along, spoke up.

"Even when presenting a gift, you have to follow the rules. You should at least announce the name of the gift yourself, right?"

"You're bringing this up now?" Zhou You raised an eyebrow, then picked up the box—and dumped its contents out like trash. "I've forgotten his full name, but I vaguely remember his surname being Zuo. He was a general in the state, known for his greed and gluttony. He also liked raising pigs, but that's about it."

Some people in the hall were already about to curse.

—You've already said all that, and you still don't know anything?
Also, everyone is just thinking about whether they can latch onto a powerful patron. Your grudges are your own business, but don't drag others into it!

The Hidden King simply stared at the withered head that had rolled to the ground, its face bearing a familiar features.

Suddenly, he smiled.

Without him making any move, his head seemed to be subjected to some heavy pressure, and in an instant it exploded into dust.

Then, he turned to Xie Anming beside him and said.

"Master Xie, I seem to recall you mentioning that, according to Her Majesty's prophecy, one of my close relatives will inevitably die at the hands of that chosen one, right?"

Xie Anming remained silent for a few moments, then spoke.

"Your Highness, I didn't expect this person to be so young. But as I said, he has been sent by Heaven to correct all the distortions. Letting him go would be detrimental to our future plans. I suggest we suspend the banquet, have me hold him and Master He back first, and then mobilize all our forces to surround and kill him."

These words were spoken without any attempt to conceal them from others, but the prince directly rejected the proposal.

In fact, after receiving this answer, his expression instantly brightened, and he looked at Zhou You with a smile.

He hadn't shown that expression even once since the start of the banquet.

"Great! Great! The hospitality is excellent, and the guests are even better—Wen San!"

At this shout, the official who had been attending to him earlier jogged in.

"Your Highness, what are your orders?"

"I ask you, why did you only allow such an honored guest to sit at the very end of the table?"

The official broke out in a cold sweat.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, please spare me! I completely forgot. This gentleman was brought here in a golden carriage and should rightfully sit in the seat of honor, but I was so busy that I forgot. Please forgive me this time!"

The official's legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly—but the Hidden King merely snorted coldly.

The next moment, the head exploded like a watermelon.

Red and white confetti were scattered all over the ground, and much of it almost splashed onto Zhou You.

But he remained silent.

After easily killing one of his men, the prince sighed softly.

"That's the downside of living too long. All those shrewd and capable subordinates are dead one by one, leaving behind only these stupid fools who are as dumb as pigs. This Master Zhou, please take a seat."

"Your Highness, you mustn't—"

But before Xie Anming could finish speaking, the Hidden King glanced at him casually.

That one glance silenced all words.

"Thank you, Master. You've been overstepping your bounds lately. Don't forget our respective positions."

Xie Anming murmured a few times, but in the end, he had no choice but to retreat.

So Zhou You laughed this time.

"Then I'll change seats? Hope no one will object this time?"

The Hidden King looked up and glanced around.

"Who dares to have any objections to this matter?"

Among the hundreds of people, not a single one dared to utter a sound.

So Zhou You picked up the package and headed straight for the shop—but before he could take a few steps, he was called over by a voice.

"Young man, over here, over here!"

With a beaming smile, Sect Leader He dragged Zhou Yousheng over.

Then this man looked Zhou You up and down, his eyes filled with increasing satisfaction. He picked up the wine pot next to him and, disregarding his status, poured Zhou You a full cup.

"Young man, I didn't expect you to be the Taoist priest Fu Yu mentioned—come, come, this is a special wine for the host, would you like to have a cup and try it?"

One of his apprentices behind him couldn't help but complain.

"Old man, didn't you just say this was horse urine?"

Headmaster He glared at him and immediately retorted.

"I was just saying that out of anger, don't you understand! We only see this kind of good wine a few times a year in Maoshan. Alright, alright, I know you're craving it, take it and drink it!" The apprentice took the wine pot and then retreated with a smile. Seeing this scene, Zhou You couldn't help but smile as well.

He was unpretentious yet quick to settle scores, which explains why Master Yu always spoke of this sect leader with such respect.

Upon seeing Sect Leader He turn around again, Zhou You spoke softly.

"This sect leader..."

"Why be so formal? Since you helped Xuanzheng avenge his death, you're practically one of us from Maoshan. Calling me 'Grandpa' is too much, and I'm not that old yet—just call me Brother He."

"Alright, Brother He, how is Fu Yu doing now?"

"That kid?" Headmaster He scratched his head with his greasy hands. "After this trip, he seems to have had an epiphany. He's corrected a lot of his old bad habits. He originally wanted to come with me this time, but I thought it was too dangerous, so I sent him back up the mountain. Brother Zhou, why are you asking about this?"

"It's nothing, just something I did because we met by chance and wanted to check on each other."

After Zhou You finished speaking, he turned his head away.

Just then, I met a pair of gloomy eyes.

Xie Anming's face was no longer polite and amiable as before. He stared at him silently for a long time before speaking again.

"Now that the ceremony is complete, it is time for our Houtu Sect to present the Prince with the elixir of immortality, to help him achieve immortality and enter the Dao."

Upon hearing this, the unease they had felt earlier vanished, and most of them sat up straight again.

To be honest, the reason they went to so much trouble to get an invitation to this banquet was not only to curry favor with the prince, but also to see what this elixir looked like.

As mentioned above, these people are not lacking in money or power; they have enjoyed all the riches and honors of the world. The only thing they lack is longevity.

The dancer continued dancing, seemingly unaffected by anything that had happened before, but her figure had subtly shifted to the side.

Soon, several armored soldiers carried an enormous gift box and laboriously entered the hall.

Judging by its size alone, that thing was far larger than the box that had just contained the black soul wood. Its decorations were exquisite, gilded and inlaid with jade, and the carvings were so natural and masterful that the dragons and phoenixes seemed almost to leap out of it.

This single box is probably more expensive than most birthday gifts today.

But how should I put it, judging from its appearance, it seems to be one.
coffin?

Okay, there is indeed a saying that goes, "Raising a coffin brings wealth," but that's just folk superstition. Besides, who would be so foolish as to dare to carry a coffin at someone else's birthday banquet?

Faced with the combined might of the Hidden King and Xie Anming, no one spoke; only Sect Leader He continued to laugh without restraint.

"Good heavens, you're putting elixirs in coffins? No offense, Your Highness, but are you planning to live in one after you've finished? Should I recite a sutra for your rebirth later? Although our Maoshan sect isn't as professional as those bald monks, we're still much better than those useless bastards from the Thick Earth Sect behind you."

However, despite hearing what was clearly a blatant provocation, the Hidden King still did not lose his temper.

Even unusually, his speech was remarkably calm.

"Young man He, don't be in such a hurry. It's still unknown who this thing will ultimately be used for."

As these words fell, the coffin crashed heavily to the ground.

It's unclear what he sensed, but instead of retorting, Sect Leader He slowly frowned.

Then, he made a subtle gesture to his disciples behind him, and then tugged at Zhou You.

"Master, something seems amiss. Please be careful."

He didn't actually need to say it.

In Zhou You's perception, the coffin appeared to be nothing more than a magnificent and luxurious object, but beneath all that gold and silver lay an interior that seemed to devour everything. Whatever was thrown in would be instantly torn apart, fused together, and ultimately become one with the object inside.

Moreover, Zhou You could sense more than Headmaster He.

Faintly, the sound of a baby crying could be heard.

But not from the coffin.

Instead, it was all around, the whole world was crying!
Looking around, everyone else seemed normal, except for their table. They were all staring intently at the box, their faces filled with excitement.

So, everything from before will converge here?

Zhou You looked up and met a pair of eyes. He nodded almost imperceptibly, then grasped Duan Xie.

Soon, amidst eager anticipation, the coffin lid was opened.

But soon, everyone showed a disappointed expression.

There was no elixir inside the coffin, but rather an even smaller coffin.

But that's alright. It's probably because items belonging to immortals can't be easily shown to others, so an extra layer of insurance is needed.
But when the next lid is taken out, it turns out to be an even smaller one inside.

This was repeated several times in a row.

If it weren't for the fact that they really didn't dare, there would probably still be people cursing their mothers right now—nothing could be this suspenseful—but with the puppet-like movements of the armored soldiers, the lid finally reached the last layer.

As the palm-sized lid was opened, all those high-ranking officials who could influence the entire Han land with a mere stomp of their feet, those merchants whose wealth rivaled that of a nation, and those kings and prime ministers from foreign lands, all stood up in unison and turned their gazes toward the coffin.

however.

It was empty inside.

Nothing at all.

Not only was there no elixir of immortality as they had imagined, but there was also no terrifying object that Headmaster He and Zhou You had sensed. The small coffin was completely empty, only appearing pitch black under the lamplight.

What is the Houtu Cult doing?
Even though they are currently enjoying great favor, if they play this trick on the prince, aren't they afraid that the prince will mobilize the entire prefecture's troops to completely wipe them out from the bottom up?

Someone cautiously raised their head and glanced over.

But all he could see was Xie Anming's cold and stern face, and an old face that seemed to be smiling but not smiling.

The prince didn't get angry?
After years of immersing himself in officialdom, he quickly came to a conclusion.

Thinking he had figured something out, the man immediately stood up and tried to smooth things over for the Houtu Sect.

"The sect leader has probably been too overworked these past few days and forgot to put the elixir in. Please, Your Highness."

But before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt an itch in his throat.

At first, he thought it was just his old problem acting up again, so he coughed a few times and was about to continue talking—but soon the itching became more and more intense, causing him to scrunch up his face and scratch his throat.

But soon he discovered another anomaly.

Why can't I get any strength in my hand?

He looked down, but could not see his pampered, plump hands. All he could see was dripping fat and flesh, and the stark white bones beneath.

The brain takes a few seconds to arrive at the answer.

This is my own metacarpal bone.

Then, the feeling of dripping spread throughout my body, and then began to completely disintegrate.

—Accompanied by a scream that was not human, the person melted away like a candle in full view of everyone!
(End of this chapter)