Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 587 The Demon Blade (Part 1)

Chapter 587 The Demon Blade (Part 1)

The waning moon was like a knife.

A knife cannot sever the desires in a person's heart.

The north wind blows like scissors.

But it cut through that shadow that came swiftly on the wind.

On the ridge, the figure of a person and the figure of a horse split in two, and then the former strode towards Feng Manlou, who had been waiting there for a long time.

"I never expected it would be you who came." Feng Manlou looked at the newcomer, his eyes and tone full of meaning.

"It's been ten years since we last met, hasn't it?" Yue Youque removed the veiled hat from his head and replied in an icy tone.

"It's rare that Junior Brother still remembers the date," Feng Manlou said. "I've long since forgotten it."

“It’s good that you can’t remember,” said Yue Youque. “Sometimes, a bad memory isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

Feng Manlou shook his head: "There are some important things that you'd better remember."

His words were clearly pointed.

But Yue Youque didn't pick up on his line; instead, she changed the subject, saying, "Let's talk about the 'important' things then."

As he spoke, Yue Youque took out an imperial edict from his bosom.

"I won't read it aloud," Yue Youque said casually as he handed the imperial edict forward. "There's no one else here, so you can just take it and read it. It'll save us fellow disciples from having to kneel back and forth, which is awkward."

Ke Fengmanlou merely glanced at him and did not reach out to take the imperial edict.

“Actually, you can read it.” Feng Ge not only didn’t accept it, but also took a step back. “You said it yourself, it’s just the two of us here, so even if I don’t kneel when I receive the decree, no one will know.”

Upon hearing this, Yue Youque frowned slightly and looked at Feng Manlou suspiciously: "You seem a bit strange today?"

“Today?” Feng Manlou repeated the two words, then said, “Junior Brother, the way you’re saying this… makes it sound like we see each other every day.” He paused, “It’s not surprising that someone I haven’t seen for ten years would change a little, so why would I say it’s strange?”

"Hmph..." Yue Youque snorted coldly, his thoughts unknown. "If that's what you want to say, then I'll read it aloud."

As he spoke, he unfolded the imperial edict in his hand: "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Since my ascension to the throne..."

Chiying——

He only read two sentences before throwing the "imperial edict" in his hand at Feng Manlou's head, and with his free hands, he drew his sword as quickly as possible.

Don't think he revealed his true colors too quickly; he had no choice... because he knew that the fake imperial edict contained poisonous smoke that would explode.

While the person who made this device probably wouldn't have set it to "explode after unfolding only two rows," who can say for sure how many rows it will need to unfold before it explodes?

Ultimately, according to the plan, he shouldn't have been the one to open this thing in the first place.

However, "Feng Manlou is acting strangely today," as if he had been very wary of his junior brother from the very beginning. So he could only play along and "throw a bomb" to test the waters.

bang——

Two seconds later, the toxic smoke exploded, but no one was hit.

The sword that had been drawn from its sheath, "The Moon is Waxed," did not follow up with another attack.

Because Feng Manlou was already on guard, the moment the fake imperial edict was thrown, he had already "launched backwards" and steadily retreated to a safe distance.

"When did I reveal my weakness?" Yue Youque wasn't in a hurry to chase after him, after all, he had to wait for the poisonous smoke to dissipate with the wind.

"Which flaw are you referring to?" Feng Manlou's answer once again surprised the other party: "Is it your intention to kill me, or... your disguise?"

The first flaw in that statement is one that wouldn't matter even if it were discovered, but the second...

"You... you can actually tell..." Yue Youque, or rather, the man who looked very much like Yue Youque, began to lose control of his expression.

"Hmph..." Feng Manlou snorted coldly and continued, "If I'm not mistaken, you must have made a lot of preparations before you came to meet me. Your master must have shown you all the information he has collected about me over the years."

"So, you think you know me very well."

"That's why... you blurted out, 'You're acting a bit strange today.'"

Upon hearing this, "Moon is Lacking" nodded slightly: "Indeed, this is not something someone who hasn't seen you for ten years should say, but this sentence alone doesn't seem enough to convince you that I have a problem, does it? Besides, you had already shown obvious wariness towards me long before I said this."

"Why don't you try to guess where you slipped up?" Feng Manlou was just stalling for time.

However, the other party did not seem to realize this, or rather, did not care.

"Could it be... that the information from the illegitimate young master is wrong..." The fake Yue Youque thought for a moment, then continued, "You and the real Yue Youque haven't been apart for ten years?"

“No, that’s not it.” But Feng Manlou denied this speculation. “I didn’t lie to you just now. I really don’t remember how long it has been since I last met my junior brother. However, the information from the illegitimate master’s side is ten years, so it must be right. It should be ten years.”

"Could it be... that you could tell from the outside that there was a hidden mechanism in this imperial edict?" Fake Moon asked again.

“No, not exactly.” Feng Manlou shook his head again. “Fine, I’ll tell you… I knew you weren’t my junior brother the moment you took off your straw hat.”

"What do you mean?" The fake Moon with a waning face looked confused. "Does that mean my appearance is different from the Moon with a waning face you remember?"

“No, in terms of appearance, you are flawless,” Feng Manlou said. “And it’s not just your appearance, even your tone of voice, your walking posture, and even the internal energy you practice and the aura you exude… you have imitated them to the point of being indistinguishable from the real thing.” He paused, “Ordinary ‘jianghu methods’ simply cannot do what you have done. I’m afraid you have used some methods that are beyond my common sense.”

Instead of answering the other party's probing question, the fake moon continued to press, "Then where exactly is my weakness?"

“Before answering this question, there’s something I need to confirm first,” Feng Manlou said.

"What is it?" asked the man with a waning moon.

"My junior brother..." Feng Manlou hesitated for a moment before saying this, a hint of sadness in his voice, "...is already dead, isn't he?"

The fake moon hesitated for a moment, but he was considering whether he should reveal this information.

"Since you've asked, you should know in your heart whether I tell you or not." In the end, he gave a definite answer, but strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly a direct response.

“Hmm…” Feng Manlou nodded. “As expected…” He suddenly changed the subject. “If my junior brother were still alive, you would have noticed that his left eye would have a faint phosphorescent color under the moonlight.”

Upon hearing this, Jia Yueyouque was taken aback.

Feng Manlou also keenly caught this point and continued, "Heh...Are you now desperately trying to recall how many times you saw him on moonlit nights during the days you knew him, and how many times you saw his eyes?"

Hearing this, Jia Yueyouque thoughtfully read aloud, "No wonder he always wears a black veil hat when he goes out at night..." He paused, then asked, "Wait... how do you know I know him?"

Feng Manlou shrugged: "Of course you know him, and you're probably even someone he trusts very much. Otherwise, how could you observe and imitate his every move day after day?"

"Couldn't I have captured him alive and imprisoned him first, and then observed him?" said Fake Moon with a Deficiency.

“A person’s state when he is imprisoned is different from his normal state of being,” Feng Manlou continued. “Even if you have imprisoned him, you have been observing and imitating him before that.”

"Good, as expected of Feng Manlou. If you hadn't joined the army back then, but instead became a constable with your junior brother Yue, I'm afraid the title of 'Number One Constable Under Heaven' wouldn't have gone to him." Fake Yue Youque felt that he had answered most of his questions and that the poisonous smoke had dissipated, so he prepared to end the conversation. "Before we make a move, I have one more small question. I'm just asking out of curiosity. You can answer it or not."

"Ask away." As Feng Manlou said these two words, he had already begun to secretly circulate his internal energy, preparing to fight.

"Is there anything unusual about the left eye of the Moon with a Deficiency?" the fake Moon with a Deficiency asked.

But this question surprised Feng Manlou.

"Heh... Hahaha... I see..." The next second, Feng Manlou laughed again, "You really did capture him alive, and even now, you're still keeping him locked up in a dark place where even the moon can't shine, is that right?"

“You…” This time, Fake Moon Youque was genuinely surprised. He couldn’t keep up with Feng Manlou’s train of thought at all and didn’t understand how the other party had deduced this point.

But Feng Manlou didn't even think of this as "reasoning." He had already reached a conclusion almost as soon as the other party finished speaking.

As Feng Manlou said, the "secret of Yue Youque's left eye" is the last piece of the puzzle that the fake Yue Youque, who is already 99% disguised, is missing from the perfect disguise. If this fake Yue Youque doesn't die today, he will have to be wary of other people in the world who know this secret. But... how many people know this secret is something that the fake Yue Youque, who just learned about it, certainly doesn't know. Even the "secret of the left eye" that Feng Manlou mentioned is questionable—what if Feng Manlou saw the flaws elsewhere and then made up this so-called secret?

Therefore, this is definitely not a question of "answering or not answering," unless... the False Moon clearly knows that it can verify the information obtained today elsewhere.

And that "elsewhere" can only be the real, living place where the moon is waning.

"It's alright, I won't let you leave alive anyway, so I'll tell you." Seeing the other party panic, Feng Manlou continued in a relaxed tone, "My junior brother was very playful when he was young. Once, he went to the cemetery alone in the middle of the night to steal offerings to eat, but he accidentally fell and tripped. I don't know what 'unclean' thing got into his eye, but he fell seriously ill afterward. After he recovered, he said that his left eye could see things that others couldn't see in the moonlight..."

At this point, Feng Manlou paused for a moment: "So? This... you can't possibly learn it, can you?"

"Hmph..." Unexpectedly, the waning moon sneered, "So that's all there is to it..."

"Hmm?" At that moment, Feng Manlou's expression also changed.

Years of experience fighting on the brink of death made him instinctively sense a strange and dangerous atmosphere.

Just as this feeling arose, the knife in the fake Moon's hand suddenly released a burst of demonic energy, enveloping the entire person.

Some readers may recall that, as mentioned earlier, Miaoyinzi sent Shuangxie here to deal with two "calamities."

(End of this chapter)