25: Chapter 25 The entire underworld was stunned; she dared to grab His Majesty's collar!

Pei Fei's body stiffened for a moment.

He allowed his sister's fists to land on him, even though the force was less than a tickle to him. He tightly hugged the trembling girl in his arms, as if clutching a long-lost treasure.

Those hands that could overturn the world and stabilize the universe now seemed exceptionally clumsy. He gently patted Pei Duo's back, just as he used to soothe her to sleep when they were children.

"It was Brother's fault."

Pei Fei's voice was hoarse. He lowered his noble head, resting his chin on the top of Pei Duo's head. "Brother is back. No one will dare to mock you anymore."

If Hades or Satan outside saw this scene, their eyeballs would probably pop out.

The decisive and ruthless Great Emperor of Fengdu, who would wipe out an entire clan over a disagreement, actually had such a cowardly moment?

Pei Duo vented for a while, and her emotions finally eased somewhat. She sobbed, unwilling to let go, hanging onto Pei Fei like a koala bear.

Just then.

A close attendant standing by the imperial steps, clearly a newly promoted fool who didn't know better, saw Pei Duo crying up above and the two mortals below foolishly looking up. He immediately felt an opportunity to show off had arrived.

Although he didn't dare to confront the Eldest Princess, handling two mortals was easy enough, right?

"Insolent!"

The attendant shrieked, pointing a finger at Xu Mo and Lin Sa kneeling on the ground, roaring angrily with sinister Yin energy: "You mortals dare to look upon the Heavenly Face without kneeling to your sovereign! By law, you deserve execution!!"

Boom!

A wave of icy killing intent instantly locked onto Xu Mo and Lin Sa.

That wasn't just pressure; it was a tangible death warrant.

Although the attendant was just a gate guard, he was still an official Yin Runner. Killing two mortals was no different than crushing ants.

Xu Mo's face turned deathly pale; his heart stopped.

It was over.

Was this the end?

After learning the secret of the gods, they were going to be silenced?

He closed his eyes in despair, his knees weakening as he was about to collapse completely onto the ground.

Lin Sa trembled all over from fright. The joy of 'hugging a big thigh' from moments ago was instantly wasted.

"Who told you to speak out of turn?"

A faint voice drifted down from the high platform.

Pei Fei held the still-sobbing Pei Duo with one arm, not even glancing at the attendant. With his other hand, he waved gently.

Slap!

The overbearing attendant was violently slapped as if by an invisible giant hand. His entire body flew sideways, crashing directly into a pillar of the great hall, and he passed out before even managing a scream.

No one dared to help him up. Even First King of Hell beside him moved a step away in disgust, cursing inwardly: Idiot, these two were brought by the Eldest Princess; how could you possibly touch them?

Pei Fei slowly turned around, looking down at the pale Xu Mo and Lin Sa.

Xu Mo awaited the final judgment.

However.

The expected thunder did not fall.

The young man dressed in imperial robes did not exert the majesty of an emperor.

He looked at the two trembling mortals and revealed a slight smile on his face.

It was a gentle and sincere smile belonging to an 'older brother'.

Pei Fei nodded slightly, his voice echoing clearly in the hall, reaching the ears of every ghost and god:

"In that instance, the two of you protected my little sister and ensured her safety. At the final moment, you even fought with your lives on the line."

"Pei will remember this favor."

Candlelight flickered above the hall.

Pei Fei allowed his sister's small hands, covered in mud and dust, to fidget on his chest. He even reached out to tidy her messy bangs.

"Alright, you're old enough to stop crying like a child."

Pei Fei laughed helplessly, his tone full of doting affection. "Look at your clothes, covered in blood and mud. Aren't you uncomfortable?"

Pei Duo sniffled and looked down at her battle-worn hoodie, which was quite a mess after scrambling around in the instance. There was still sticky blood from some unlucky soul clinging to the cuff.

"Someone, come here."

Pei Fei called out softly.

From the shadows at the side of the hall, two maids wearing palace gowns with flowing cloud dark patterns drifted over like ghosts, lowering their gazes and clasping their hands over their abdomens.

"Take the Eldest Princess to the bathing pool in the rear hall. Also, prepare those few sets of casual clothes sent over by the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau and let Her Highness pick what she likes to wear."

Pei Fei coaxed gently. "Go on. Brother will stay right here; I'm not going anywhere. After you wash up, Brother will take you to eat some good things you can't get in the mortal world."

"Then you wait for me! Don't you dare run off!"

Pei Duo shook Pei Fei's sleeve, then turned back three times before following the maids toward the rear hall.

Until the small figure completely vanished behind the massive screen painted with vast rivers and mountains.

The warm atmosphere in the hall, reminiscent of an ordinary, harmonious family, dissipated like smoke.

The smile on Pei Fei's face slowly receded like the ebbing tide as his sister departed.

He turned, his robes sweeping out a sharp arc, and resumed his seat.

He didn't intentionally release any earth-shattering pressure. He merely leaned back casually on the pitch-black Dragon Throne, propping his chin with one hand. His deep, abyss-like eyes looked down indifferently at the two kneeling figures below.

The temperature in the hall dropped by ten degrees out of thin air.

The neighborly brother who knew how to coax his sister and joke around was gone. In his place sat the Great Emperor of Fengdu, who ruled over billions of wandering souls and dictated the order of Yin and Yang.

Xu Mo knelt on the icy flagstones. Cold sweat had already gathered into a small pool on his forehead, dripping down past his nose.

He understood exactly what this change in aura meant.

It was a qualitative shift from a "family dinner" to a "court hearing."

"Pei will remember this favor."

That sentence still echoed in his ears. Lin Sa still wore the look of relief after surviving a disaster, even harboring a faint excitement about having 'latched onto a powerful backer'.

But Xu Mo did not.

He only felt terror—a fear so deep it made his teeth chatter.

He was a smart man, and smart men often thought too much.

That word, "favor," was spoken for Pei Duo to hear, meant to soothe his foolish sister's heart.

If he truly took those words to heart and genuinely thought he could receive a reward and express thanks before the Underworld Son of Heaven, that would truly be inviting death!

Reviewing everything he did in the s-rank instance, what had Xu Mo done?

Exploitation. Calculation. Schemes.

The moment he learned Pei Duo possessed a special item, he calculated ownership rights; when facing the Skin Flayer, he pushed Pei Duo in front of the mirror to act as bait; even blocking a blow was a choice for maximizing profit after precise calculation—only this way was the probability of survival highest.

These thoughts could fool the simple-minded Pei Duo and the straightforward Lin Sa.

But could they fool the one sitting above?

Under the Divine Eye, the human heart was like a ghost realm, with nothing hidden.

If he accepted the reward calmly now...

That would be deceiving the monarch! It would be scheming against a member of the royal family! It would be a capital offense leading to eternal damnation!

Rather than wait for future reckoning, it was better to detonate this mine himself now.

The hall was deathly silent; one could hear a pin drop, even the sound of a sputtering lamp wick was clearly audible.

Just as Lin Sa was still foolishly celebrating, Xu Mo beside him suddenly moved.

Bang!

An extremely dull, heavy thud.

Xu Mo didn't stand up; instead, he slammed his head violently against the hard white jade floor tiles.

This was no pretense of kowtowing; this blow was truly reckless, risking his life. Blood instantly stained the pristine white floor.

Lin Sa flinched in terror, staring at his teammate with a look of horror. Was this guy insane?

"This commoner is guilty! This commoner deserves execution!"

Xu Mo's voice trembled, but every syllable was pronounced clearly, echoing in the vast, empty hall.

"May Your Majesty see clearly! During the instance, this commoner did not wholeheartedly protect Her Highness!"

"This commoner once used Her Highness as bait to lure and kill evil spirits! This commoner approached Her Highness with schemes in his heart! Even fighting to the death to protect her was merely a speculative move calculated to secure a slim chance of survival!"

"Though my actions had minor merits, my intentions were deserving of death!"

"This commoner is despicable and dares not accept Your Majesty's reward! I beg Your Majesty to mete out punishment!"