Chapter 9: Can a Mad Tyrant Be Forced? [9]

Chapter 9: Can a Mad Tyrant Be Forced Too? (9)

"Your Majesty really made me wait a long time."

Hearing that less-than-respectful voice, Mu Jin slightly raised his head and looked toward the direction from which the sound came.

He was met with a long silence.

Mu Siyang stared at Mu Jin, as if confirming something, then strode over to him quickly and examined him carefully. His expression shifted several times before settling into a cold glare.

"Really blind now? In just a few days, Your Majesty has changed a lot."

Hearing his poor tone, Mu Jin merely let out a careless laugh:

"What? The Regent's tone sounds quite surprised—surely you didn't think I was faking blindness to fool you all?"

"Or maybe the spies you've placed by my side haven't given you accurate intel?"

Mu Siyang was left speechless, his gaze at Mu Jin growing darker.

"Your Majesty, now unable to walk and unable to see, has gotten even sharper-tongued."

Mu Siyang sneered, and as he spoke, he had already walked behind Mu Jin, placing his hand on the wheelchair's handle and giving it a light pat.

"But I still have to advise Your Majesty—given your current situation..."

Mu Siyang leaned down to whisper in Mu Jin's ear: "It's time for you to make a choice."

"As long as you give me that thing, I will naturally ensure Your Majesty's safety. You don't have much time left—think it over carefully."

Mu Jin frowned deeply, and turned his head away outright, trying to put some distance between himself and Mu Siyang.

But as soon as he moved, Mu Siyang suddenly reached out and seized his chin, forcing his head back toward him!

Mu Siyang stared at Mu Jin with dark, gloomy eyes. Meeting those vacant eyes, he remained silent for a long moment before speaking again:

"Is Your Majesty scared of me?"

"I heard that a few days ago, Your Majesty got a beauty from the Grand Sorcerer and was quite taken with him. Today, you visited the Grand Sorcerer's residence again and brought several people back from there."

"So the reason Your Majesty won't hand that thing over—is it because you've already sided with the Grand Sorcerer?"

A faint look of confusion appeared in Mu Jin's eyes.

A thing? What thing?

Was there something he had forgotten?

Mu Siyang's grip grew heavier and heavier, and red marks quickly appeared where he was gripping Mu Jin.

The pain was too intense for Mu Jin to keep thinking clearly.

Mu Jin snapped coldly: "Let go! Mu Siyang! Are you committing treason against your emperor?!"

Mu Siyang let out a sneering laugh, and just as he was about to speak, he noticed a faint sheen of moisture forming in the little emperor's eyes.

He froze for a moment, his grip loosening unconsciously. Then, changing his motion, he rubbed his thumb across Mu Jin's cheek, slowly moving up until it stopped at the corner of his eye.

"Is Your Majesty about to cry?"

"Smack—!"

"Mu Siyang! How dare you!"

Mu Jin raised his hand coldly and slapped him!

The disgust in his eyes was unmistakable as he spoke word by word:

"I am the Emperor. Regent, know your place."

Mu Jin didn't hear Mu Siyang speak and didn't know what he looked like at that moment, but he had indeed used all his strength.

Even harder than when he had struck Ying Huaifeng before.

He figured it must hurt quite a bit, since his own hand was stinging too.

Mu Siyang stared at Mu Jin with an inscrutable expression, raising his hand to cover the cheek that had been slapped.

On his otherwise handsome face, a bright red handprint was now visible, and even the corner of his mouth was bleeding.

He stared at Mu Jin for a long moment before spitting out a mouthful of blood, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.

"Your Majesty's eyes may be damaged, but your temperament has changed quite a lot too."

Mu Jin didn't reply. Instead, he turned his wheelchair to face away from him.

The original "Mu Jin" had feared Mu Siyang even more than he feared Yun Fuyue, the Grand Sorcerer skilled in gu and ruthless in his methods. Mu Siyang was the Regent who would walk up to him in blood-stained robes, sword in hand, place the blade against his neck, and ask whether he wanted to die or be Emperor.

"Mu Jin" wanted to live. Though he had a violent temper, he had never directly clashed with these two men, nor would he have dared to act as boldly as he was doing now.

"Hahaha..."

Seeing that Mu Jin didn't want to engage with him, Mu Siyang suddenly burst into laughter. After laughing his fill, he spoke slowly:

"Your Majesty's change—it's great. I like it a lot."

If he had only said those words, Mu Jin would have thought he was just blowing off steam.

But he could clearly tell that Mu Siyang was in a genuinely good mood right now—the joy was seeping through his voice, as if he really did like this change in him.

Mu Jin: "..."

Mu Jin quietly pressed his slightly red palm, then thought back to what Mu Siyang had just said.

He called out 648 and asked seriously: [Xiao Liu, tell me—is there any part of the plot you haven't given me yet?]

[I feel like something's not right between Mu Siyang and "Mu Jin."]

648 looked confused: "No, I've given you everything I have."

Mu Jin: [If you've given me everything, then why is he asking me for something?]

648 explained: "Oh, what he wants is the Lifebound Gu that can kill Yun Fuyue."

"When Yun Fuyue left Miaojiang, he took his Lifebound Gu with him. At first, to show his loyalty, he handed it over."

As it spoke, 648 brought up the plot again and showed it to Mu Jin:

"Look, he later succeeded in casting a Gu curse on the late emperor, but after searching the entire palace, he couldn't find his own Lifebound Gu. This also became the key tool that Ying Huaifeng ultimately used to kill him."

Mu Jin: [So, they all think this thing is in my hands now?]

648: "Not quite sure, after all, the main story's about the two villains and the male lead. We're just a villainous cannon fodder character."

Mu Jin listened to 648's slightly guilty tone and just sighed softly:

[Alright, got it. Thanks.]

[So what's with Mu Siyang's attitude toward me? I just hit him, and he's still all happy...]

Mu Jin felt like both the male lead and the villains in this world were weird.

He might be blind, but he wasn't deaf. One after another, they'd whisper right in his ear, and they didn't even get mad when he hit them.

If it weren't for the lingering sting in his palm, Mu Jin would've doubted he'd even used any force at all.

648 hesitated: "Hiss... maybe he's just a plain pervert?"

"I mean, he's a villain, so being a little twisted is totally reasonable, right?"

Whether 648 said that to convince Mu Jin or itself was anyone's guess.

Mu Jin: [...When you put it that way, it kinda makes sense.]

Though he couldn't quite get why anyone would enjoy getting hit.

But the world was full of weird stuff—since even the cats here were so well-behaved, it made sense that some people might like getting hit.

Mu Jin managed to convince himself, and his mood lightened up quite a bit.

Little did he know, Mu Siyang was standing there, arms loosely crossed, watching him without missing a single flicker of expression.

Mu Siyang noticed Mu Jin's reddened palm, pursed his lips like he was mulling something over, and looked a little hurt.

A moment later, confusion flickered across his face, then he blinked, his expression shifting to sudden realization, like he'd finally figured something out.

His gut told Mu Siyang that whatever was bugging Mu Jin probably had something to do with him.

But right now, he didn't care what Mu Jin was brooding over.

Just watching Mu Jin like this made the corners of his lips curl up, and a playful urge stirred in his chest.

"What is Your Majesty thinking about?"

Mu Siyang suddenly leaned in close to Mu Jin, grinning.

Mu Jin could feel Mu Siyang rest one hand on his shoulder, casually twirling a strand of his hair.

But he had no idea Mu Siyang's other hand was pressing against his leg.

But even that was enough to make Mu Jin's skin crawl.

He really hated being this close to people, especially when he remembered this guy was a villain who liked getting hit...

Even though Mu Jin had convinced himself that people like that existed, he still felt uncomfortable.

He wanted to slap Mu Siyang again and tell him to get lost, but he was afraid another slap would just make him even happier.

Mu Jin let out a frustrated sigh—why the hell would anyone enjoy getting hit?

Mu Siyang didn't seem bothered by the lack of response. Eyes lowered, he gently stroked Mu Jin's leg.

He did like the change in Mu Jin, but...

Mu Siyang stared at Mu Jin, then suddenly dug his hand in hard!

Mu Jin's expression stayed completely neutral as Mu Siyang squeezed different spots on his leg a few times. Finally, he just wrinkled his nose in disgust and said:

"Get your hand off me."

"I don't have what you're looking for. And who I choose is none of your business."

"It's getting late, Regent. You should head back now."

Mu Siyang finally confirmed that Mu Jin's legs hadn't healed. At his words, he slowly pulled his hand back and smiled at him.

"Yeah, it's getting late. Why not let me stay here in the palace tonight..."

Not giving Mu Jin a chance to refuse, Mu Siyang changed tack and called out toward the hall:

"Eunuch Zhou, I'm staying in the palace tonight to look after His Majesty. Go get things ready."

Mu Jin stayed calm and didn't stop Mu Siyang, which surprised him, given how much Mu Jin hated him.

When he didn't get the reaction he wanted from Mu Jin, Mu Siyang's smile faded.

Zhou Fuhai hesitated at first, but seeing that Mu Jin wasn't upset, he quickly turned and left to get things ready.

Mu Siyang then moved behind Mu Jin and started pushing the wheelchair.

"Let's go, Your Majesty. Time to eat. Today, I'll personally serve you, so you can see for yourself if I'm really the type to overstep my bounds."

Mu Siyang stressed the words "overstep my bounds" with extra weight, giving them a loaded, ambiguous undertone.

But Mu Jin didn't pay it any mind.

He was just scheming in his head—since Ying Huaifeng was going to handle the people Yun Fuyue had sent, and Mu Siyang, for whatever reason, had decided to stay the night, this was the perfect chance.

As the male lead who could take down both villains and come out on top, Ying Huaifeng shouldn't need much of a hint to know what to do.

Mu Jin kept his thoughts to himself, showing no sign of anything off. Even when Mu Siyang said he'd eat with him, he didn't object.

Since he was about to frame Mu Siyang anyway, sharing one meal was no big deal.

But still...

Why did he feel like he was forgetting something?