Venerable Demon Chef

Chapter 574: Chapter 571: Shadow Kill Bloodline

Gu Zetao had just started to relax, but Mo Qi’s words put him on edge all over again.

"What do you mean by that?" Gu Zetao instinctively backed away, putting distance between himself and Mo Qi.

The shadows enveloping his body coiled, ready to strike. He could already sense that something was off.

"You took something that shouldn’t belong to you. It’s time to give it back!" For every step Mo Qi took forward, Gu Zetao took one back.

"Brother Mo!" Gu Peng tried to speak, but Mo Qi stopped him with a raised hand.

He had promised Gu Peng he would help Gu Lele recover, allowing her to embark upon the Martial Dao in a perfect state.

Gu Lele’s bloodline had been stolen and her foundation utterly destroyed. What could be more suitable for restoring what she’d lost than her very own bloodline?

Why did Mo Qi help Gu Weitian solve the problem of his incompatible bloodline?

Besides scamming him out of half his fortune, it was, more importantly, to send a message: ’Problems with bloodline fusion? I can solve them!’

The ultimate goal, of course, was to lure out Gu Zetao!

"You’re sticking up for Gu Peng?" Gu Zetao frowned. He never expected to run into a situation like this.

"Mo Qi, I am the designated heir of the Gu Family. Gu Peng is nothing but a handyman, a servant in your restaurant. Is it really worth making a mortal enemy of the Gu Family for his sake?"

Gu Zetao knew that inside the restaurant, he was no match for Mo Qi. His only option was to bring up the Gu Family, hoping to make Mo Qi back down.

Mo Qi stopped in his tracks. "You don’t seem to understand simple words. I’ve told you before: Gu Peng isn’t a servant. He’s my brother!"

"Alright, alright, my mistake. A slip of the tongue. I apologize. But what is it you actually want?" After thinking it over, Gu Zetao decided it was best to back down.

Discretion is the better part of valor.

Mo Qi gave him a look one might give an idiot. "Are you brainless, or just deaf? Debts are paid, and a life is paid for with a life. I said so from the very beginning."

"You took Lele’s bloodline. It’s time to return it. And your life should be given as compensation."

Gu Zetao’s pupils constricted violently.

’Mo Qi is going to strip away my bloodline and take my life!’

"No! You can’t do this!" Gu Zetao panicked.

Mo Qi’s lips curved into a smirk. "Oh? And why can’t I?"

"The bloodline is ninety-nine percent fused with me, with just a tiny bit left to go. Even if you strip it out, it will be unusable. Besides... Gu Lele isn’t dead, is she? Why should I have to pay with my life?"

Mo Qi laughed. "Who says something that’s ninety-nine percent fused can’t be extracted and reused?"

Gu Zetao froze, only then realizing that Mo Qi’s methods could not be measured by common sense.

’Just because others can’t do something, doesn’t mean he can’t either.’

Mo Qi’s smile vanished, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes. "Lele isn’t dead *now*, but if she hadn’t met me, she wouldn’t have had more than a few years left. Besides, do you have any idea how she has lived all these years?"

"In a living hell!" Mo Qi roared, spitting out each word.

Looking at Gu Lele was like seeing a young Liu Ruyan all over again.

’It’s hard to imagine: an innocent little girl, her body breaking down and growing weaker by the day after having her bloodline forcibly stripped away.’

’Every year, every day, every minute, every second, she had to endure the agony of merely trying to survive.’

’The worst part was the torment of knowing Death was at the door, but never knowing when it would knock.’

’That torment of being caught between life and death, that desperate craving for life, that forced smile she put on for a concerned Gu Peng... just thinking about it was enough to make one’s heart ache.’

’What kind of vicious monster would do something to a little girl like that?!’

Moreover, betraying and scheming against friends was one of the things Mo Qi detested most.

From the moment Gu Zetao stepped into the restaurant, his fate was sealed.

"Mo Qi, calm down!"

Mo Qi was relentless. Though Gu Zetao felt stifled and furious, he didn’t dare make any threats, let alone provoke Mo Qi further.

His only option was to try and "reason" with him.

"Have you forgotten the rules of your restaurant? You set them yourself. Within the restaurant’s premises, no form of conflict is allowed. As the Shopkeeper, shouldn’t you lead by example and abide by them?"

Mo Qi rubbed his nose. "Not a bad memory. That rule does exist, but..."

"If I recall correctly, the very first rule I announced was: ’In my restaurant, every word I speak is a rule. No objections allowed.’"

Gu Zetao was dumbstruck. ’The right of final interpretation belongs to Mo Qi. Now that he’s put it like that, can’t he just do whatever he damn well pleases?’

’Arguing about the rules with the one who made them? What a joke!’

Things had reached a point of no return. Gu Zetao knew there was no room for negotiation.

’Mo Qi is dead set on dealing with me.’

’I can’t possibly win a fight against him. Even an Immortal fell to him. My only choice is to run.’

A shadow covered Gu Zetao’s head, and he vanished in an instant, leaving no trace and causing not even the slightest ripple of Energy.

"The Shadow Kill Bloodline. Perfect camouflage, a natural-born hunter. Not bad."

The special bloodline within Gu Zetao was called the Shadow Kill Bloodline. It could materialize shadows, granting its wielder an exceptional talent for camouflage.

Once activated, the user could automatically blend into their surroundings and mask their aura, making it difficult for even a Cultivator several Realms higher to detect them.

Not only that, but the bloodline wielder’s speed and strength were also drastically enhanced.

Among the numerous Talent Bloodlines, the Shadow Kill Bloodline ranked in the upper-middle tier.

"Brother Mo, he escaped?!" Gu Peng released his Divine Sense, sweeping it through the restaurant again and again, but he found no trace of Gu Zetao.

Mo Qi shook his head. "The VIP area was sealed off by an Array long ago. He’s still here."

Gu Peng was startled. "But why can’t I find him?"

SWOOSH!

The Obsidian Cauldron appeared in Mo Qi’s hand. "The Shadow Kill Bloodline, Lele’s bloodline, is a very powerful one. Forget you; even a Cultivator at the Divine Sea Half-Immortal Realm wouldn’t be able to find him in here."

"Then what should we do?" Hearing that Gu Zetao was still nearby, Gu Peng immediately manifested his Grotto Heaven, shielding Gu Lele within it.

"What else? We’ll just have to beat him out of hiding!" Mo Qi hefted the Obsidian Cauldron, wound up his arm, and without even turning his head, unleashed a backhanded horizontal swing.

DONG!

A crisp, metallic ring echoed through the VIP area as a figure was sent flying, spewing blood, and crashed into one of the private rooms.

"You... how did you find me?" Gu Zetao’s nose was shattered and his face was a mask of blood. He scrambled out of the private room on all fours, staring at Mo Qi with utter disbelief in his eyes.

’I know how powerful the Shadow Kill Bloodline is. It’s impossible to be detected without Immortal Level senses.’

He had tested this countless times.

Relying on his Shadow Kill Bloodline, he had managed to escape from Half-Immortal Level experts on several occasions, despite only having a Void Realm Cultivation.

This was the greatest source of his confidence, the very reason he dared to visit the restaurant alone.

"Was finding you supposed to be hard?" Mo Qi said nonchalantly, toying with the Obsidian Cauldron.

The Shadow Kill Bloodline was truly incredible. It not only allowed Gu Zetao to become one with his surroundings, but it also perfectly concealed his aura, generating no Energy fluctuations whatsoever.