RPAGF Chapter 494 Removing the Mask
Chapter 494 Removing the Mask
The main hall was dimly lit, with candlelight flickering with a bluish-green glow on both sides, casting long shadows and creating a distinctly sinister atmosphere.
Lin Chen secretly pursed his lips, walked straight up the steps, and sat down in the main seat.
The chair was carved from black stone; it was cold and hard, and sitting on it felt like sitting on ice.
Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and rested his hands on the armrests. His posture looked incredibly irritating.
Lingbo stood to Lin Chen's left, Yan Ruyu stood to his right, and Lan Fenghuang stood next to Lingbo.
Dugu Qiubai and Jian Shisan stood at the entrance of the main hall, like two gatekeepers.
When the Palace Master of the Gu God Palace walked in, she saw Lin Chen sitting in her seat and paused for a moment.
Seven elders followed her in, their faces beneath their masks unusually grim.
Lin Chen's actions were tantamount to defecating on the head of their Gu God Temple.
But considering Lin Chen's divine power just now, they could only swallow their pride and bear it.
Lin Chen looked at them with a smile, acting like the master of the house, completely unconcerned about their suppressed, silent, and aggrieved expressions.
"Take off the mask," Lin Chen said calmly.
The Palace Master of the Gu God Temple did not move; his eyes behind the mask were fixed on Lin Chen, revealing no expression.
Lin Chen said calmly, "To talk business, I need to know who I'm talking to, right? I don't even know what you look like, how can we talk?"
He said this with such self-righteousness, as if he wasn't the one who had just grabbed someone by the neck and lifted them up.
Chi Meng was silent for a moment, then raised her hand and took off her mask.
Behind the mask was a strikingly handsome, androgynous face.
His facial features are well-defined, with sharp, defined eyebrows, a high nose bridge, slightly pursed lips, and a clean jawline.
Her skin was so white it was almost transparent, and you could see the fine bluish veins under her temples.
His long, black hair was tied back neatly, without a single stray hair.
He was like a drawn sword, sharp, cold, and devoid of any warmth.
It looks good, but it looks too much like a robot.
His face was expressionless, his eyes devoid of emotion, like a stagnant pool where even a stone thrown in wouldn't cause a splash.
The seven elders also removed their masks.
Seven faces, some old, some middle-aged, some young, some men, some women, but they all have one thing in common—they are expressionless.
Lin Chen's lips twitched slightly.
Is the Gu God Temple mass-producing people with facial paralysis?
Lin Chen looked at the Palace Master of the Gu God Palace and asked, "What's your name?"
The Palace Master of the Gu God Temple's lips moved slightly, and the voice that came out was icy cold, like a winter wind:
"Chi Meng".
Lin Chen read it aloud: "Chi Meng, not a bad name."
Chi Meng didn't respond, but Lin Chen wasn't annoyed and continued to press on:
"Why aren't you smiling? Are you looking down on me?"
Chi Meng remained silent, her expression frozen, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Lin Chen gave her a deep look, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms.
"Lord Chi Meng, can the matter of recognizing one's ancestors be arranged?"
Chi Meng looked at Lin Chen, her eyes as calm as a lake.
After a moment of silence, she spoke.
The very first sentence made the air in the entire hall drop to freezing point.
"Those who have seen my true face must leave me their offspring. This is the ancestral precept of the Gu God Temple and the rule of my Chi clan."
The hall was silent for a full three seconds.
Yan Ruyu raised an eyebrow, while Lingbo remained expressionless but her fingers twitched slightly inside her sleeve.
Lan Fenghuang was stunned for a moment, her mouth slightly open. She looked at Chi Meng, then at Lin Chen, with an expression that said, "Did I hear that right?"
Jian Shisan and Dugu Qiubai kept their eyes closed, but their eyes flickered, as if they were ready to watch a good show.
Lin Chen stared at Chi Meng for two seconds. Her face was expressionless, and her eyes were devoid of any emotion, as if she were saying something perfectly normal.
"Are you kidding me?" Lin Chen was speechless.
Chi Meng said calmly, "This is not a joke; it is an ancestral precept."
"What kind of stupid ancestral precepts?" Lin Chen's tone was already quite harsh.
Chi Meng stopped talking and just stared at Lin Chen with an eerily calm expression.
Lin Chen leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest twice.
This woman wasn't joking; it was true.
Lin Chen sat up straight, looked into Chi Meng's eyes, and said, word by word:
"impossible."
Chi Meng was silent for a moment, then said something that gave Lin Chen an even bigger headache:
"Then kill me."
Lin Chen was stunned for a moment: "What?"
"Kill me, or I will kill you; it will not end until death!"
Chi Meng's voice remained calm, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished from her spot, and the next instant, she was standing in front of Lin Chen.
He stood less than a foot away, offering no defense, no attack, no killing intent, just staring directly at Lin Chen.
Their faces were inches apart, and Lin Chen could smell a faint medicinal scent on her, mixed with the bitterness of herbs and some other indescribable aroma.
Her skin was so white it was almost translucent, and her lips were a natural pale pink, without any makeup.
He couldn't see anything in those eyes.
There was no desire, no emotion, no fear, no expectation.
The hall was so quiet that the faint sound of candles burning could be heard.
Lin Chen's fingers curled slightly, then relaxed again.
He could kill her with a single palm strike. His cultivation level was so high that even the entire Gu God Palace combined wouldn't be enough to defeat Chi Meng, who was at the peak of the Heavenly Immortal realm.
But he can't do that.
It wasn't because I was soft-hearted, nor because of Chi Meng's words—"Kill me, or be killed by me."
If they were killed, Lan Fenghuang's long-cherished wish would never be fulfilled.
Moreover, Lin Chen is not a demon who kills and wipes out entire families at the slightest provocation.
He's here on business, not to wipe out the whole family.
At this moment, Yan Ruyu suddenly laughed, her laughter echoing in the hall, giggling like silver bells.
It was crisp, loud, and carried a hint of schadenfreude.
Lin Chen turned and glared at her. Yan Ruyu stopped smiling, but the corners of her mouth were still upturned, unable to be suppressed.
"What's there to consider? He's not ugly, and he's the master of a palace. You can just leave him a child, right? You won't lose out!"
Lin Chen wanted to curse, but he opened his mouth and then closed it again.
Because what Yan Ruyu said seemed to make sense.
No, that's not right. This isn't about whether you suffer a loss or not.
Lan Fenghuang stood to the side, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but then she swallowed it back.
She genuinely wants to acknowledge her ancestors and return to her roots.
She had been thinking about it for many years. Ever since she was old enough to understand, she had heard her master talk about the origin of the Nanzhao Temple, the ancestral land of Zhongzhou, and the predecessors who had crossed the ocean.
Fulfilling the ancestral master's long-cherished wish is the mission of successive holy maidens, her greatest desire in this life, and the reason she sought out Lin Chen.
But after spending so much time together, she didn't want to put Lin Chen in a difficult position or make him do things he didn't want to do.
Lan Fenghuang twisted the hem of her dress inside her sleeve until her knuckles turned white.
But she couldn't bring herself to say it.
I can't bring myself to say "Never mind," nor can I bring myself to say "You should agree to her."
Yan Ruyu noticed Lan Fenghuang's hesitation and patted her hand with a smile:
"Girl, don't overthink it. This has nothing to do with you. It's his own business. If he doesn't want to, no one can force him."
After saying that, he looked at Lin Chen again and added,
"Young Master Lin, you're not at a loss either. Really, I've lived for almost two thousand years and this is the first time I've seen such a handsome expressionless face."
Lin Chen took a deep breath, ignored Yan Ruyu, and looked at Chi Meng, saying:
"Let's get down to business first."
Chi Meng looked at Lin Chen but didn't move.
Lin Chen frowned slightly and repeated, "Let's talk about business first."
Chi Meng stared into Lin Chen's eyes for two seconds, then turned to look at Lan Fenghuang.
Lan Fenghuang took a deep breath, stepped forward, and performed a salute to Chi Meng, as would be given in the Nanzhao Temple—right hand on left chest, bowing slightly.
"Palace Master, Lan Fenghuang, the thirty-seventh Holy Maiden of the Nanzhao Temple, returned to her ancestral home on behalf of the Temple's founder, Chi Wunai."