He muttered to himself, only to find his own voice frighteningly weak. His breath was as thin as gossamer, making him feel like an old man facing a candle flickering in the wind.
Li Luo struggled to crawl up from the floor, but after trying for a long time, he found that his hands and feet lacked even a shred of strength.
In the end, he could only lie on the ground to rest for a long while before he finally mustered the strength to stagger to his feet, then plopped down onto a nearby chair.
"Young Mansion Master, are you alright?" At that moment, a woman's voice came from outside the room. Judging by the sound, it was Jiang Qing'e's assistant, Cai Wei.
Li Luo coughed and replied, "Woke up a bit late. What is it?"
"Qing'e asked me to inform you that the masters of the nine pavilions of Luolan Manor have all arrived. Please prepare yourself," came the gentle and soft voice of the mature Cai Wei.
"Alright." Li Luo glanced through the gap in the window. The daylight was already blindingly bright; evidently, he had been lying on the floor for an entire night.
Hearing Li Luo's confirmation, Cai Wei outside the door felt a slight curiosity at the weakness in his voice, but she still withdrew.
Li Luo shifted his gaze to the spot where the crystal ball had been placed the previous night, only to be startled to find that the black crystal ball had completely vanished, leaving behind only a pile of black ash.
Clearly, the self-destruction mechanism inside the black crystal ball had activated, erasing everything.
Li Luo looked toward the mirror to the side, which reflected his face. He took just a single look, and his expression couldn't help but change dramatically.
For the person in the mirror had a terrifyingly pale complexion, giving the impression that all the blood in his body had been completely drained away.
Moreover, the most drastic change was his hair. His once pitch-black hair had now turned an ash-gray color, obviously caused by the excessive loss of vital blood.
Li Luo stared blankly at the white-haired youth in the mirror. After a long while, he let out a breath. "I actually look even more handsome."
Finding a moment of bitter amusement in his plight, Li Luo smiled wryly. "As expected, by fusing with that Acquired Resonance, the vital blood I had accumulated and stored for seventeen years has been mostly consumed."
This condition of excessive vital blood loss left him feeling extremely weak, making him dizzy just taking a few steps.
Besides that, he also felt an indescribable, inexplicable sense of emptiness within his body. This emptiness was not a matter of mental state, but a loss of lifespan.
Li Luo pressed his bloodless lips together. From now on, did he have only five years left to live?
How pressing this made things feel.
Li Luo let out a breath, closed his eyes, and began to sense his inner body.
His awareness plunged directly into his resonance palaces. Previously, all three resonance palaces had been completely empty. But now, inside the very first resonance palace, a brilliant azure light was blooming. A nourishing, gentle power continuously radiated from the resonance palace, moisturizing his withered body from within.
Li Luo's mind gazed intently at that azure resonance palace. At this moment, even though he had mentally prepared himself, a surging tide of emotion still overwhelmed him.
Indeed, the fusion with the Acquired Resonance had succeeded.
Starting today, his empty resonance problem was completely solved!
Furthermore, this empty resonance that had once brought him so much trouble would now reveal its own unique and wondrous specialty!
Li Luo opened his eyes. He could sense the straying ambient energy of heaven and earth around him, two types of which were automatically drawing close to him.
They were the energies of water and light.
From now on, he would be able to absorb these two types of energy and subsequently transform them into his own true resonance power.
However, the prerequisite was still practicing an energy guiding technique, but that was no big deal. Luolan Manor possessed a fairly massive foundation, and the guiding techniques collected within it were quite numerous.
With this thought, Li Luo slowly stood up, washed up, and changed into a clean set of robes.
After changing, he inspected himself in the mirror. The youth in the reflection, though haggard-faced and ash-haired, could still not hide his handsome and striking features as he broke into a brilliant smile.
"Li Luo, welcome to your new life."
This old residence in Nanfeng City had usually been rather desolate, but today the atmosphere was unusually heavy. The old residence was surrounded by heavy sentries and guards.
Inside the grand hall of the old residence, the atmosphere was even more oppressive, making it hard to breathe.
The spacious hall had seats arranged on both sides. In the center were two seats: one was empty, while the other was occupied by Jiang Qing'e, whose calm expression carried a trace of coldness.
Her golden eyes stared indifferently into the hall, occasionally sweeping past the row of people on the left. There stood four figures, all exuding powerful fluctuations of energy.
Especially the leader on the left.
That was a young man who looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His appearance wasn't particularly outstanding; his eyes were slightly sunken, the bridge of his nose somewhat narrow, and hanging from his right earlobe was a sword-shaped earring that faintly gleamed with a cold light.
His face always wore a gentle smile, making it easy for people to develop a favorable impression of him.
However, Jiang Qing'e, who was familiar with him, understood that the person before her was no pushover. Ever since she took charge of Luolan Manor, it was precisely this man who had caused her numerous obstructions.
This person was none other than Pei Hao, the honorary disciple accepted by Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan, and now a powerful figure within Luolan Manor.
The three figures sitting below him were the three pavilion masters he had roped in.
Opposite their row sat the other six pavilion masters of Luolan Manor. Among these six pavilion masters, four supported Jiang Qing'e, while two remained neutral, leaning toward neither side.
From this point alone, one could tell just how chaotic Luolan Manor currently was.
Having lost its two main pillars, Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan, Luolan Manor, with its still shallow foundations, was indeed in a precarious state.
In the oppressive hall, the silence persisted for a long time, broken only by the faint sounds of everyone sipping tea.
Until a certain moment, Pei Hao, the head of the left row, suddenly set his teacup down on the table, neither heavily nor lightly. The crisp sound echoed in the parlor, instantly causing the atmosphere to freeze.
Pei Hao raised his head, cast his gaze toward Jiang Qing'e, and smiled. "Junior Sister, everyone has been waiting here for half a day. Why hasn't the Young Mansion Master come out yet?"
"Although he is the Young Mansion Master, everyone has always been striving for the sake of Luolan Manor. You must know that even back when Master and Mistress were around, they would appear punctually on occasions like this. This also showed the great importance those two elders attached to people like us."
As his words fell, some of the nine pavilion masters in the room wore expressionless faces, some frowned slightly, and others muttered under their breath.
With a cold expression, Jiang Qing'e said, "Back when Master and Mistress were here, how come I never saw you lacking in patience like this?"
Pei Hao narrowed his eyes, smiled at Jiang Qing'e, and said, "Junior Sister, people ultimately have to look forward."
He paused, looked around at everyone, and said, "Since the Young Mansion Master has yet to show his face, I suggest everyone needn't wait any longer and simply begin the discussion. After all—"
Pei Hao smiled with a semblance of helplessness. "Everyone knows the Young Mansion Master's situation. For the matters to be discussed today, it's actually better if he isn't present, so let's allow him some peace and quiet."
Inside the parlor, everyone wore varying expressions. Apart from Jiang Qing'e, no one spoke for a moment.
"Since no one has any objections, let's begin right away." Seeing this, Pei Hao smiled, waved his hand, and prepared to make the decision directly.
Jiang Qing'e's expression turned cold, and just as she was about to speak, a laugh suddenly rang out from behind the beaded curtain of the parlor.
"Haven't seen you in a few years, Senior Brother Pei Hao really has become a lot more overbearing than before. If my mom and dad knew that Senior Brother was doing so well now, I suppose they'd be quite gratified, wouldn't they?"
As the laughter sounded, the beaded curtain of the parlor was lifted, and a slender, handsome youth walked out with a smile on his face.
When everyone in the parlor suddenly caught sight of that face, their bodies actually trembled involuntarily, and then, like a conditioned reflex, they stood up.
For that face bore an extraordinary resemblance to the two figures they held in awe in their hearts.
Even Pei Hao felt the smile on his face freeze for a fraction of a second. His body seemed to curve forward slightly in an uncontrollable manner, but the very moment he, too, was about to stand up out of sheer habit, his mind suddenly cleared up a great deal.
Because the person before him was no longer those two...
This was merely a good-for-nothing with an empty resonance.
Thus, he stretched out his palm and suddenly slammed it onto the teacup on the adjacent table. With a crisp sound, the entire teacup was shattered into powder.
This sound also startled the nine pavilion masters present, causing them to snap back to their senses abruptly.
Following that, embarrassed expressions surfaced on all their faces, and the three pavilion masters beside Pei Hao immediately sat back down.
As for the six pavilion masters in the other row, they hesitated for a moment before cupping their fists and bowing to the emerging Li Luo.
"Greetings, Young Mansion Master."
Only when they steadied their gazes to look at Li Luo did they realize that although he bore some resemblance to Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan, he lacked that awe-inspiring aura altogether, appearing far too young and green.
That previous illusion had been nothing more than a fleeting moment of distraction where they failed to collect themselves in time.
Moreover, what surprised them the most was Li Luo's head of ash-gray hair.
Even Jiang Qing'e lingered with a gaze of astonishment and doubt on Li Luo's head; this fellow was clearly completely fine just yesterday...
Li Luo nodded in acknowledgment to the six pavilion masters, then turned his gaze to Pei Hao, who sat motionlessly in his chair, and smiled. "Haven't seen Senior Brother Pei Hao in a few years; you really are like a completely different person compared to the past."
The gazes of the nine pavilion masters present flickered, as they caught the implication behind Li Luo's words.
In those past years, while Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan were still around, every time Pei Hao saw Li Luo, his smile was always as warm as an older brother's, and he would even go to great lengths to bring him numerous gifts.
It was just that, back then, probably even Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan never imagined that this disciple who showed them such utmost respect would reveal such a true nature once they went missing for years.
A faint smile hung on Pei Hao's face. He raised his head, gazed fixedly at Li Luo, and said, "Long time no see, little Luo has really grown up a lot."
His words paused abruptly, and he frowned, asking earnestly, "It's just... why is your complexion so deathly pale, and your hair white as well? You look as if you don't have many years left to live."
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Chapter 9: Discussion Within the Manor
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Pei Hao's voice echoed through the parlor, instantly freezing the atmosphere. No one expected that this person who had previously been quite amicable toward Li Luo could utter such vicious words right now.
Although Li Luo's complexion was indeed pale right now and his color wasn't great, there was no need to curse someone into not having many years left to live, was there?
The three pavilion masters sitting below Pei Hao wore slightly embarrassed expressions, but they said nothing, merely staring fixedly at the floor with downcast eyes as if the patterns on the floor tiles were exceptionally fascinating.
The other six pavilion masters, however, wore looks of anger.
"Bang!"
A loud sound suddenly rang out. Startled, everyone looked over and saw Jiang Qing'e striking the table with her delicate hand, her exquisite face covered in frost.
However, before Jiang Qing'e could speak, Pei Hao hastily patted his mouth and smiled. "My apologies, my apologies. My mouth really has no filter."
"I hope little Luo won't take offense."
Li Luo's gaze locked onto Pei Hao. He scrutinized the latter from head to toe, then smiled. Although he had grown accustomed to two-faced people over the past few years, those people were outsiders after all. But as for Pei Hao—to say that his parents had saved his life and bestowed a second birth upon him was no exaggeration at all.
Without Li Taixuan and Dantai Lan, Pei Hao would probably have had his four limbs broken by enemies and been thrown into a ditch to rot long ago. How could he possibly enjoy such glory today?
Yet, what Pei Hao displayed at this moment showed not a shred of gratitude toward his parents; instead, his resentment ran deep.
This made Li Luo sigh with emotion. His parents, wise for so many years, had still misjudged someone in the end.
"Steward Pei Hao is simply revealing his true nature, what's there to take offense at? Besides, to be honest, even if I did take offense now, what could I possibly do about it? So such nonsense doesn't need to be spoken." Li Luo shook his head, then took a seat in the vacant head chair.
A smile played on Pei Hao's lips. Casually turning a thumb ring on his finger, he showed no anger at the sarcasm contained in Li Luo's words—because there was simply no need. Just as Li Luo had said, even if he wanted to take offense, what of it?
Today's Luolan Manor was no longer the same as before.
Without those two towering mountains pressing down upon him, he, Pei Hao, feared no one within this Luolan Manor anymore.
A Young Mansion Master with no future was nothing more than a puppet. If not for Jiang Qing'e still being around, he, Pei Hao, probably would have completely taken control of Luolan Manor long ago.