《Zhuolu》


 CH 1

    The north wind was carrying snowflakes the size of grains of rice, and the snow waves crashed on the thatched grass on the roof of the medicine house, making a miserable rustling sound.


    ¡°Bring this to Madam, go faster, and don¡¯t let this chitosan tea get cold.¡± A maid in a brown jacket walked out of the medicine house, she looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old and handed over the wooden tray with a porcelain cup filled with hot tea to the child standing in front of the door.


    The boy was short and dwarfed by his oversized clothes, and his thin body was wrapped in an empty gray cotton robe, he looked like a little mouse that had just survived the winter. He took the tray obediently, and responded softly, ¡°Sister Xiao Ying, go in quickly, it¡¯s windy outside.¡± After that, he took the tray and walked staggeringly on the flagstone road to leave.


    Immortal grass could not be contaminated with other spiritual energy, so this medicine house was located in the back mountain far away from the mansion.


    ¡°Hey, you said they are all young masters, why is this Third young master so pitiful?¡± Xiao Ying looked at the child¡¯s back and felt pity in her heart.


    ¡°He is a wild seed, and his father died as well, can he still live in brocade clothes while eating jade food?¡± Another maid who came out with a medicine pot to wash her lips pouted and did not feel any pity for the third young master. No matter how bullied he was, he was still an immortal with spiritual power, unlike them, who were just mortal slaves doing rough work.


    Lin Xin walked quickly across the stone road, turned and stepped onto the covered rain porch, then suddenly slowed down. He placed the tray firmly on the railing, and regardless of whether the snowflakes that floated in would cool the tea, he rubbed his frozen little hands.


    It was not long after he was reborn, and he still wasn¡¯t quite used to this small body. He looked down at his thin wrist. His bones were straight and well-proportioned. Obviously, they hadn¡¯t been broken yet. How could he not even hold a tray steady?


    His past life was still vivid in his mind, while his life had changed within the blink of an eye.


    Bursts of hot air bubbled out of the porcelain cup, and the smell of chitosan grass[1] inevitably spread out, causing Lin Xin to frown.


    Chitosan was a top-grade immortal grass that reassured the soul and nourished the soul. When it grew in the soil, it could only be smelled close at hand, but it was different when it was boiled into tea.


    For the lords of a ten thousand master household like the Zhao family, chitosan was a relatively luxurious thing, and it was usually not boiled and drunk casually. Probably because of the sudden death of the eldest young master, Mrs. Zhao worried too much about hurting her soul, so she ordered the medicine house to boil it for her to drink.


    He rubbed his left wrist with one finger, but he couldn¡¯t feel the protruding stubble, which made him really unaccustomed. Lin Xin sneered, as far as his eyes could see, the cold iron-grey roof of the Zhao family was scattered, just like in the memories of his childhood. Why did Young Master Zhao die so early? That man was obviously killed by his own hands when he was an adult, what year was it now¡­


    ¡°Yo, isn¡¯t this the third cousin?¡± A young man¡¯s voice-changing male duck voice[2] shocked Lin Xin from his deep thoughts.


    The second young master, who was wearing a sapphire blue robe and a small mink cap, walked over with a stern look. The saber around his waist was thrown to the outside from time to time because of his twisted posture, revealing the fist-sized Luli[3] on its hilt.


    Even if the sky was gloomy, the Luli with extremely high clarity was still dazzling. Today, the price of Luli was not as outrageous as it was a few years later, but it was basically a tael of gold for one tael of glass. During the non-war period, the Zhao family did not allow their children to wear such a large Luli in the mansion.


    This man not only wore it, but also shook it three times, for fear that others would not know that he was very happy that his brother had died.


    Lin Xin secretly said ¡°Idiot¡±, lowered his head, twisted his two little hands that were red with cold, made a look of helplessness, and whispered: ¡°Second Young Master.¡±


    Idiot Second Young Master always liked to admire his humbleness and cowardice. The way he looked, this gesture could probably get rid of him, but Lin Xin didn¡¯t want to cause trouble for the time being. However, today¡¯s Second Young Master was not satisfied with this, he pulled out his sword with a ¡°swipe pull¡± and lifted Lin Xin¡¯s chin with the tip of the sword.


    This was what the old eldest young master often did. Perhaps it was because of his excitement that he was about to become the young master of the family. This young man, who usually only knew how to eat and drink, had boldly started imitating his elder brother.


    The Luli on the hilt of the sword shone with a faint light, and the abundant spiritual power instantly filled the body of the sword, rippling from the tip of the sword, and small scratch-like wounds were cut on the tender chin. The bright red blood line slid down Lin Xin¡¯s neck and into the placket, but he didn¡¯t even frown, and he still kept his eyes lowered softly, as if he was unaware of the pain, ¡°I have to send this chitosan tea to Madam quickly, otherwise it¡¯ll get cold.¡±


    This stinky smell could be tolerated while it was still hot, but if it was cooled down, it would be no different from drinking urine when put in your mouth. If Mrs. Zhao was unhappy with the drink, she would take out her anger on him again.


    Hearing this, the second young master became more interested, put away the tip of his sword, and winked at the companion beside him, ¡°What¡¯s the point of sending tea, let my cousin test your homework first.¡±


    The companion¡¯s name was Xie Tianhe, the leader of the younger generation of Zhao family generals, he was originally the young master¡¯s lackey.


    Xie Tianhe was instructed, so he grabbed Lin Xin¡¯s collar with ease, dragged him directly to a secluded place on the back of the rock, and threw an iron sword without Luli at him. The overly heavy sword made Lin Xin, who took the sword, take two steps back again and again before he could stand firm. He adjusted his posture awkwardly, but the soles of his feet slipped and he almost fell. The little child was holding a long sword that was almost the same height as him, this scene was rather comical.


    Lin Xin touched the empty Luli slot above the hilt and his eyes darkened. A sword without Luli was like a water mill without running water, and it could only be driven by the spiritual power of the cultivator. With his current strength, not to mention against Xie Tianhe, even against the ignorant and incompetent Second Young Master, he would not be able to stand.


    The second young master, who followed him with a smile on his face, obviously did not know how to write the words ¡°bullying the weak¡±, so he directly handed his sword with Luli embedded in it to Xie Tianhe.


    ¡°Om¨C¡± The vast spiritual power didn¡¯t come. Before the sword was completely unsheathed, Lin Xin rolled on the ground with the iron sword in his arms, barely avoiding the fierce sword energy, and the rocks behind him shattered.


    No matter how talented Xie Tianhe was, he was still only thirteen years old, so he couldn¡¯t use the big move that swallowed mountains and rivers, which made Lin Xin still have the possibility to avoid it. The snowflakes that had gotten bigger and bigger hit his face, making a crackling sound, and the tattered cotton-padded coat rolled over the ground and was embedded with the gravel and withered grass, causing it to hurt.


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡± The second young master saw that Lin Xin was squatting and rolling on the ground like a little gopher, and he couldn¡¯t help laughing, but he didn¡¯t notice that a little light was escaping from his and Xie Tianhe¡¯s bodies.


    Embarrassedly dodging a dozen moves, Lin Xin knew exactly where the opponent¡¯s next move was going to be , but he couldn¡¯t escape. The long sword slashed over from the top of his head, and he had to kneel upright, clenching his teeth while facing the sword.


    ¡°Kacha!¡± The iron sword without Luli, like a thin and brittle poplar, was directly broken into two sections. Seeing that the sword qi was about to cut off half of Lin Xin¡¯s shoulders, the second young master didn¡¯t mean to stop it, but laughed even more.


    The sword qi cut off the broken hair in front of Lin Xin¡¯s forehead. At this moment, the small body suddenly dodged away like a ghost, and instantly rushed to Xie Tianhe¡¯s side, waving the half-cut sword.


    ¡°Chi¡ª¡ª¡± Blood spurted out from Xie Tianhe¡¯s neck, splashing the stunned second young master¡¯s head and face, and before he could react, Lin Xin had already turned his palms into claws, and tightly clasped the second young master¡¯s Tianling cover.


    ¡°Ah, ah, you, who are you?¡± His soul was torn and dragged by an invisible force, as if it was about to burst out of the sky, and the second young master wanted to shout, but the sound he made had changed into a weak breath.


    This person could never be his easily bullied cousin, he must have been possessed by some evil spirit!


    Hearing this, Lin Xin smiled softly, leaned into the ear of the second young master, and whispered, ¡°I am an evil ghost, sent by the heavens, I came here to give you a taste of your soul flying away, is the second young master still unhappy?¡±


    After his guess came true, the second young master Zhao screamed silently, his eyes seemed to be about to fall out of the sockets, saliva dripped from his mouth that could not be closed, and he passed out with a terrified expression.


    The translucent soul body was like squeezed tofu, and it slowly escaped from the fingers. After pinching it twice, Lin Xin suddenly let go of his hand, and the soul was like a drop of water falling on the muddy ground, gradually seeping back into the body. Killing the second young master at this time was not a wise choice.


    Throwing away the broken sword, a burst of dizziness suddenly struck him, Lin Xin leaned on the stone wall for a moment, then staggered back to the rain porch, grabbed the half-cold cup of chitosan tea, and gulped it down.


    The taste was really not very good, but after a cup, the feeling of the earth spinning disappeared. Lin Xin sighed, his body was thin and weak, and his soul was extremely weak.


    Throwing the broken sword into the second young master¡¯s hand, he pulled off the shining piece of Luli, and clenched his palm into a fist. Luli rapidly decayed at a speed visible to the naked eye and turned into powder.


    There was no one around, he lightly lifted the hem of his clothes, and peed in the empty cup, and the steaming ¡°Chitosan Tea¡± came out. Grabbing a handful of snow to wipe off the blood on his neck, Lin Xin picked up the wooden tray and walked unhurriedly towards the courtyard of the Zhao family¡¯s mistress.


    ¡°My son, it¡¯s so hard to believe that he¡¯s gone¡­¡± The woman¡¯s cry came from the thick cotton curtain and merged with the whistling north wind.


    ¡°The Shen family replied that they would send someone to check.¡± Zhao Wanhu persuaded him slightly tiredly.


    Shen family? Lin Xin¡¯s hand that lifted the curtain couldn¡¯t help but pause for a moment, Shen Lou¡¯s extremely handsome face appeared in front of him, and he didn¡¯t know what the expression of that person would be when he would have received the news of his own death.


    The author has something to say: Shen Lou: The expression of a widower¨‹_¨‹


    T/N: Guys, please show your support because this is my first Xianxia novel¡­ I¡¯m in your hands¡­ if they are mistakes, please tell me in the comments. I¡¯ll be highly grateful.


    [1] Chitosan is a biodegradable natural polymer with many advantages such as nontoxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability and which is generally used in medicine.


    [2] Alluding to how the voice of a teenager cracks while going through puberty.


    [3] Luli is a type of glass which is very rare and precious¡­ So I couldn¡¯t find any pictures but the green portion in the necklace is made from Luli..

 CH 2

    Opening the door curtain, the warm breath of the charcoal fire rushed to his face, making Lin Xin, who was completely frozen through, shiver.


    Mrs. Zhao had tied a wind-proof cloth towel on her head and was supporting her face with one hand in a depressed state. She hadn¡¯t drawn her eyebrows today, and the two broken marks between her eyebrows were exposed.


    He remembered that when the master came to look for him, the first sentence he said was, ¡°This Mrs. Zhao must be a vicious woman with broken eyebrows and ghost teeth.¡±


    After many years, seeing Mrs. Zhao¡¯s broken eyebrows again gave birth to a kind of intimacy in him.


    ¡°Let it go.¡± Mrs. Zhao raised her chin, not in the mood to pay attention to Lin Xin, and continued to talk to her husband about the Shen family.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, this tea¡­ is going to be cold¡­¡± Lin Xin said stutteringly, as if he was a little anxious, but because he was young, he couldn¡¯t express it clearly.


    ¡°Hurry up and drink it while it¡¯s still hot, it¡¯s Chitosan tea.¡± Zhao Wanhu smelled the faint smell of urine and urged his wife to drink it quickly.


    Only then did Mrs. Zhao remember the precious medicinal herbs she had asked to be made by the medicine house. She drank it and sighed with relief, rubbing her forehead, ¡°It¡¯s really much better.¡±


    Lin Xin glanced at Mrs. Zhao, who was completely comfortable, and lowered his head again.


    He didn¡¯t know when the Shen family would come, so Zhao Wanhu was discussing with his wife the matter of postponing the burial of the eldest son.


    ¡°It¡¯s already the third day, and it¡¯s going to go too far!¡± Mrs. Zhao gritted her uneven teeth and said, ¡°Tell them to come earlier!¡±


    The eldest young master¡¯s death was too strange. The Zhao family delayed for a day to find clues, but now they had to push it further because of the Shen family.


    ¡°Nonsense! It is Huan Xinghai, can I urge them to move?¡± Zhao Wanhu was a little angry at his wife causing unreasonable trouble.


    The Zhao family was a hereditary family of 10,000 households, under the rule of Duke Xuan Guo of the Northern Territory. There were ten thousand households in their city, and they were eligible to collect taxes and rents, but had no right to govern officials. In the final analysis, he was nothing but a servant of the Shen family. Where was the reason in the vassal ordering the master?


    Huan Xinghai was the center of the entire Northern Territory where the Shen family was located.


    The Northern Territory was cold, now it was only mid-September, but snow had already started falling. Earth dragons had been ignited in the pavilions of Huan Xinghai, and even the small pavilion near the water was as warm as spring. The attendants and generals who came and went were all thinly dressed, except for the young man sitting on the water pavilion watching the snow, wrapped in a layer of fox fur.


    The guard dressed in dark clothes, holding a bowl of medicine, walked quickly to the boy, knelt down on one knee, and whispered, ¡°Prince, it¡¯s time to take the medicine.¡±


    He didn¡¯t pick up the medicine bowl, ¡°Is there any news about Zhu Xingli?¡±


    ¡°The Zhu family master is still missing. Someone saw him going to the Western Regions a year ago, and then they lost the news.¡± The guard held the medicine steadily and said each word in a calm tone.


    ¡°Western Regions¡­¡± Shen Lou slowly pursed his pale lips, ¡°Go check it out again.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The guard got up, and after taking two steps, he remembered that he was still holding a medicine bowl, ¡°Sir, this medicine¡­¡±


    ¡°Take it down.¡±


    A purple-clothed maid stood outside the pavilion, and when she saw the guards bring out the medicine intact, she immediately crossed her hips, ¡°How did you promise me when you went in just now? Is this medicine even moved by a mouthful?¡±


    The guard blushed, ¡°The prince said to take it down, I¡­¡± He had subconsciously obeyed his orders and walked out.


    ¡°Look at how promising you are.¡± The purple-clothed maid curled her lips, took the medicine bowl, and said a lot, but she didn¡¯t dare to go in to persuade herself, so she could only scold the guards to vent her anger.


    After searching for so long, there was still no progress.


    Shen Lou stood up and held the low railing of the water pavilion with one hand. Snow fell on the back of the cold white hand and slowly turned into water droplets. The cold touch was also not able to calm the anxiety in his heart.


    When he met Lin Xin in his last life, that man was already the mighty Marquis Zhuolu. He seldom mentioned his childhood, and only talked to him once when he was drunk. When he was young, his family changed, and he fled with the guard to the guard¡¯s home and served as his son for many years.


    ¡°They all bullied me, why didn¡¯t you take me away?¡± The drunken-eyed Marquis Zhuolu, clutching his shirt, asked with a smile.


    At the time, he just felt inexplicable, but now that he thought about it, it was heart-wrenching. Lin Xin, who was drunk at the time, should have regarded him as his deceased father, begging his father to take him away just like when he was in despair as a child.


    He must find Lin Xin as soon as possible, but Yongguo had a vast territory and small families were like the sand of the Ganges, and he didn¡¯t know what his surname was when he was young. They could only find Lin Xin¡¯s master Zhu Xingli first. However, Zhu Xingli was an erratic person, and finding him was no easier than Lin Xin himself.


    ¡°Prince,¡± the purple-clothed maid came over, with a servant behind her, ¡°My lord is looking for you.¡±


    The Lord of the Northern Territory, this generation¡¯s Duke Xuan, Shen Qirui, sat on the throne with a golden sword. Shen Lou entered the door and a retainer handed over the letter in his hand.


    ¡°The Zhao family in Weishui?¡± Shen Lou glanced at it, it was just an ordinary funeral letter, the eldest young master of the Zhao family had died suddenly, he had died young, and was to be buried soon.


    ¡°This son of the Zhao family died strangely, and Zhao Wanhu wanted to ask people from Huan Xinghai to help him find the murderer,¡± explained Dong Shechuan, a retainer next to him.


    Hearing ¡°died strangely¡±, Shen Lou asked one more question: ¡°How strange?¡±


    ¡°The person who reported the mournful news said that the eldest young master died horribly. He was clearly a person who had just died, but his body had already rotted. And none of the three and seven souls responded¡­¡±


    Shen Lou¡¯s hand holding the letter suddenly clenched tightly.


    ¡°Mr. Dong, you are too scary to say this.¡± The maid in purple rubbed her arms.


    Dong Shechuan spoke a bit like a storyteller, with some unnecessary cadence, which made people horrified.


    ¡°What¡¯s the name of the young man you recommended to me the other day?¡± Shen Qirui asked his son, ¡°Tell him to follow Shechuan.¡± The families of vassals in the Northern Territory were divided into hundreds, thousands and ten thousands. The Zhao family in Weishui, as a ten thousand households, should be taken seriously.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll go in person.¡± Shen Lou said decisively.


    The spiritual body other than the physical body was divided into three hun and seven po[1]. The soul can be separated from the body, but the souls could not be separated from each other.


    Lin Xin, who stood in Mrs. Zhao¡¯s room, while listening to the husband and wife accusing each other, thought the same thing. This young master Zhao died at the wrong time and in a way that was too weird. He had to look at the corpse to make sure that this world was different from the world in his previous life.


    ¡°Postponing the burial, who will keep the spirit[2] tonight?¡± Mrs. Zhao had a headache again, because the young master Zhao was under fifteen, and he was considered to have died prematurely. The first two nights, he was guarded by the second young master. Yesterday he had gotten too tired, so Mrs. Zhao went to guard herself and fell ill overnight.


    ¡°Tell the second young master to go.¡± Zhao Wanhu sighed and asked someone to inform the second young master. Unexpectedly, the messenger went and returned, saying that the second young master could not be found.


    This time, the couple panicked. They only had two sons. One just died, now the other couldn¡¯t have another accident. They immediately called the guards to find them. After half an hour, Xie Tianhe¡¯s dead body and the unconscious second young master were finally found in a secluded place in the back mountain.


    ¡°My son, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Mrs. Zhao hugged her little son tightly in her arms and checked him up and down.


    ¡°Xie Tianhe held the second young master¡¯s sword in his hand, and the young master held a broken sword with blood on his face¡­¡± The guard described the scene he saw.


    Zhao Wanhu immediately called people to investigate the back mountain, and then he gave his son an infusion of spiritual power, and also called the doctor for consultation, everything was very confusing. In the end, the doctor came to the conclusion that the second young master had fainted because of fright. Coupled with the broken sword in his hand and the blood on his face, it looked like the two people were playing around. Xie Tianhe grabbed the second young master¡¯s sword, and the second young master accidentally killed the man, and he was stunned by the blood that spurted out.


    Although some things didn¡¯t make sense, but there was no one else in the back mountain except for some mortal slaves, and the second young master was just a little scratched, so it was not a big problem. Mrs. Zhao immediately demanded that this matter be suppressed, ¡°Xie Tianhe died of a mistake in his own practice, and it has nothing to do with the second young master. Did you hear it?¡±


    The retainers were immortals and could not be killed at will.


    The second young master was carried back to his room, and the matter was over, but there was no one to keep watch at night.


    Zhao Wanhu, who was at a loss, turned his head and saw his timid nephew standing in the corner, ¡°Xin¡¯er, tonight you go to guard your elder brother ¡®s spirit.¡±


    He looked at his uncle with a fearful look, ¡°I, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±


    ¡°Crack!¡± Mrs. Zhao, who was upset, slapped him, ¡°Little bastard, what, are you afraid of guarding your cousin¡¯s spirit?¡±


    The slap hit his face, and Lin Xin suddenly burst into tears and responded aggrievedly.


    Zhao Wanhu looked at him, frowned slightly, and told the housekeeper to change Lin Xin into decent clothes, in case the Shen family came over early in the morning and saw the guard like a little beggar, it would be a shame.


    Lin Xin changed into a plain cotton robe and tied a thin hemp rope around his forehead.


    There was no one in the mourning hall, and there were just a lot of ghosts. The young master Zhao was lying in the coffin that had not been nailed shut, with yellow talisman paper on his face. Obviously, the Zhao family was a little afraid of the eldest young master and did not want him to be summoned, so they pasted a talisman on him.


    Lin Xin slept well on the futon, and only got up when the moon was in the middle of the sky. He casually broke a white candle, strenuously climbed onto the coffin with his short legs, and sat on the edge of the coffin to look at Zhao Dashao.


    ¡°Tsk, Zhao Shiyao, why did you die so early? Who do you want me to avenge for the broken arm?¡± Lin Xin said, lifted the yellow paper on the young master¡¯s face, stretched out his hand and poked it, it was sticky. The feeling of touch made Lin Xin feel a chill.


    Bringing the candle close, he saw that the face that had not been very handsome was no longer even similar to the shape of a ¡°face¡±.


    After a person died, the hun soul returned to the sky and the po soul entered the earth, the hun soul became the god, and the po soul became the form. This man rotted so fast, his souls were definitely gone.


    The author has something to say: Note: Hundred households, thousand households, and ten thousand households refer to the small theater of the Guanneihou system in the Spring and Autumn Period and Qin and Han Dynasties:


    Zhao Dashao: Come, come, there will be surprises!


    Xinxin: Go!


    [1] Daoist theories consider the Divine Soul to be constituted from the Three Ethereal Souls (hun) and the Seven Corporeal Souls (po). After a person¡¯s death the Seven Corporeal Souls at first disperse, thereafter the Three Ethereal Souls depart [from it].


    [2] A custom in Chinese funerals, especially if the deceased is underage. It is supposed to keep the malignant spirits away.

 CH 3

    Turning over and jumping off the coffin, Lin Xin looked around the sacrificial hall before pulling out a mirror from the corner. It was a brass mirror with an old elm base, the mirror surface was covered with white paper, and it was buckled upside down on the table. This was placed among the funerary stuff for the burial, piled up with a mess of baubles.


    He peeled off the white paper two or three times, and a small pale face was reflected in the mirror.


    ¡°Huh!¡± Lin Xin was taken aback. He didn¡¯t even draw the talisman, why did he appear as a ghost? But when he looked closely, it looked like it was his own face.


    He hadn¡¯t seen his childhood face for more than ten years and found it a little unfamiliar at the moment. He hadn¡¯t eaten dinner, and he was wearing thin clothes. Thus, in this sacrificial hall that was leaking cold everywhere, his face had turned pale.


    Touching his nose awkwardly, Lin Xin was amused by himself. The child in the mirror had a pair of eyes that were deeper than ordinary children. With Lin Xin¡¯s smile, he could vaguely see what he would look like in the future.


    ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s not like the peach blossom eyes of the Lin family, but rather like a wolf cub.¡± Lin Xin imitated the tone of the Lin family when he spoke of himself, and sighed with emotion, biting his fingers while quickly drawing a symbol on the back of the bronze mirror.


    After the last stroke, the bronze mirror suddenly shone brightly, and after a while, it changed from the sun mirror to a shadow mirror. Sun mirrors were the mirrors used on weekdays. When reading words in the mirror, the left and right were reversed, which was called a mirror image; while the shadow mirror was a magical instrument. When reading words in a shadow mirror, the reflection was positive, as if the reality had completely moved into the mirror. After doing this, he looked through the mirror.


    Now this old elm bronze mirror showed the word ¡°sacrificial¡± in the center of the mourning hall clearly, which was right.


    Taking a sacrificial fruit to eat, Lin Xin walked around the mourning hall while holding the mirror. The shadow mirror couldn¡¯t see the living person, but the soul. After a while, he saw a little girl with beautiful eyes and beautiful eyes, sitting like a beautiful winter plum next to Zhao Dashao.


    After a person died, if no special method was used to preserve it, the soul could only stay in the human world for seven days. In other words, this girl must have died within seven days. It was estimated that since the eldest young master died suddenly, his wife must have been angry. Mortal life was cheap, if you say kill, you will kill.


    Lin Xin sighed, and after eating the fruit in three or two bites, he grabbed a handful of paper money and burned it for the girl.


    Going forward, he saw Xie Tianhe again, floating in a daze. Smacking his lips, Lin Xin felt a bit unfortunate, this Xie Tianhe had good qualifications, and it would certainly be good to use him to feed a spirit weapon, but unfortunately there was no weapon worth refining now.


    After walking around the mourning hall, he met several acquaintances, but he didn¡¯t see Zhao Dashao.


    ¡°Could it be that the soul was lost?¡± After throwing away the mirror, Lin Xin climbed back onto the coffin and covered Zhao Dashao with yellow paper. This state was exactly the same as when he crushed his soul back then, but the method of crushing his soul was only figured out when he was seventeen years old. Who would crush his soul at this time?


    Could it be that there were some ancient spirits that ate souls?


    He raised his hand and wanted to scratch his head but remembering that his hand had poked Zhao Dashao¡¯s face, he gave up, lowered his head and groped for a while in the coffin, and pulled out a yellow jade pendant from Zhao Dashao¡¯s waist.


    This was taken from him by Young Master Zhao when he first came to the Zhao family. The cool, smooth and delicate topaz, carved into the appearance of a fairy deer looking back, was what his father gave him when he was parting from him, this was the only thing of his father he had left.


    He ripped off the gaudy silk sash on it, found a basin of clean water to wash it off, then removed a thin hemp rope and tied the jade pendant to his neck. After his father died, he hadn¡¯t shown him any filial piety yet, so all he could do was talk about feelings.


    ¡°Xin¡¯er, you and Zhao Jian will go first. Dad will look for you in a few days.¡± The man with a resolute expression put the jade pendant into his young son¡¯s hand. His supposedly affectionate peach blossom eyes were full of grief.


    ¡°Father, I¡¯m not going, woo woo¡­¡±


    ¡°Master, let¡¯s go to Zhao¡¯s house in Weishui first, that is my brother¡¯s territory, let¡¯s take a break before leaving.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Zhao, open your eyes, woo woo woo ¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t know if it was because of the body, but those memories that had already turned vague when he was a child were now coming up clearly, and when Lin Xin woke up, he couldn¡¯t tell how old he was.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sleep, kneel quickly, the Shen family is coming!¡± As soon as it was dawn, the person in charge filed in with a group of servants in filial attire and re-cleaned the mourning hall.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say he would come yesterday?¡± Lin Xin rubbed his eyes and got up in a mutter.


    ¡°Yesterday, how could we know that the prince was going to come in person!¡± The steward¡¯s face showed an expression of excitement and sorrow, so complicated that it was wrinkled into a ball.


    ¡°Prince?¡± This title, like a small thunderbolt, fixed Lin Xin in place, ¡°Is he the prince of Huan Xinghai?¡±


    ¡°Which other prince could it be!¡± Then, he thought of the prince, ¡°The eldest son of Duke Xuan, a genius who is rarely born in the world, although he has been frail and sick since he was a child¡­¡±


    Frail and sick? Hearing these words that should be completely irrelevant to Shen Lou, Lin Xin was a little unsure again. He knew how good that person¡¯s body was. It was said that he had been strong as a calf since he was a child. Could it be that the prince was not Shen Lou, so where was Shen Lou?


    Shen Lou was on the speeding carriage.


    The retainer Dong Shechuan rode in front, facing the snow with a bitter face, ¡°Sir, the Zhao family said that the burial will be postponed until our arrival, we don¡¯t need to travel continuously.¡±


    In the middle of his words, there was a young man¡¯s calm and unquestionable voice, ¡°Go on, hurry.¡±


    Touching his nose, Dong Shechuan clamped his legs on the horse¡¯s belly embarrassedly, and whispered to the expressionless guard beside him, ¡°Brother Huang, why do you think the prince is in such a hurry? The eldest young master of the Zhao family will not run away!¡± Although he was also an immortal, he was just a civil servant in Huan Xinghai, and he had not worked so hard for a long time. He thought it would be a simple errand, but he didn¡¯t expect it to become a chore when the Prince was added to the mix.


    The guard wearing dark clothes was called Huang Ge, he was the guard who had brought the medicine that day. Hearing this, he said without turning his head: ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t know anything, the prince has always asked me to pay attention to some people who are suspected of being lost. After searching for a long time, he finally found some news, why won¡¯t he be in a hurry?¡±


    The guard was well-informed, but he didn¡¯t understand the use of Shizi looking for that soulless person.


    Shen Lou sat in the warm carriage, holding a silver carved hand stove, gently rubbing the deer carved on the stove cover. He thought it was finished long ago, but unexpectedly, he was reborn two years earlier, and the evil consequences of those souls were scattered until today. Now Lin Xin must be young, would he be in Weishui? He hoped that the Zhao family would not let him down.


    Zhao Wanhu brought his sickly-looking wife to the door to greet him in person. When he saw the silver- fronted canopy carriage from a distance, he bowed and shouted, ¡°This minister Zhao Ding, welcomes His Royal Highness!¡±


    Then, in the blink of an eye, the carriage was already in front of them.


    The carriage stopped, the guard dismounted and opened the door curtain, then a young man in black wide-sleeved clothes came out, while the maid next to him immediately stepped forward and put a fox fur cloak on him. The young man was born extremely handsome, his eyes were clear, and his height was like a star in the sky; once you saw him, you would never forget it, but if you saw for a long time, you would be terrified.


    Zhao Wanhu had met the prince when he had gone to pay tribute a year ago. Although Shen Lou was arrogant and did not give him face at that time, he was far from the young man in front of him who was afraid to look directly at him. He didn¡¯t know what magical skills this Prince had practiced in the past two years, but his aura was even more terrifying than his father¡¯s.


    Shen Lou kept walking, then he raised his hand slightly to signal everyone to abstain from standing on ceremony and went straight to the mourning hall.


    The servants who were too late to tidy up quickly retreated, leaving two cultivators and Lin Xin, the ¡°filial son¡± kneeling on the futon. When Shen Lou entered the mourning hall, he saw the little child in plain clothes at a glance, and when he met those recognizable dark blue eyes, his bumpy heart instantly fell back down.


    ¡°Prince, this is my eldest son who has suffered so much. You have to decide for us.¡± Mrs. Zhao while being supported by the maid came over, covering her mouth with a handkerchief and crying.


    His eyes moved away as soon as he touched it, and Lin Xin didn¡¯t even notice that the prince looked at him one more time, but he didn¡¯t shy away from it. Shen Lou looked really good, with some youthful thinness, like a tender lotus root washed by a stream in a sunny day, tempting people to take a bite.


    Shen Lou gave Zhao Dashao incense, but because of his identity, he didn¡¯t have to bow down, but Lin Xin, as a filial son and a worthy grandson, had to return the ceremony. The little child, holding his short arms and saluting solemnly, looked really cute.


    Even though he was a ferocious wolf when he knew him but he was just a hairy dog now that he was young, not to mention that Lin Xin was born with good looks¡­


    ¡°The rhinoceros head and jade cheeks, the crane bones are loose, the young man has an extraordinary appearance, and he will become a great weapon in the future,¡± Dong Shechuan said. He stroked the beard at the corners of his mouth and praised, ¡°This is the second son of the mansion?¡±


    As soon as these words came out, there was a sudden silence in the mourning hall. Mrs. Zhao¡¯s face was a little ugly, but Zhao Wanhu didn¡¯t change his face. ¡°Laughing at the adults, this is the son of my younger brother.¡± Without even mentioning Lin Xin¡¯s name, he asked the people to examine the body.


    ¡°Shechuan, go and see.¡± Prince Shen, who had come here while travelling through the night, was not interested in Zhao Dashao at all, and motioned Mr. Dong to open the coffin.


    ¡°¡­¡± Dong Shechuan was stunned as he watched the prince leisurely call the child to his side, as if it had nothing to do with him, and suddenly had the urge to recite poetry.


    Crossing the snow-capped mountains and crossing the ice plains, what is it like for the prince to travel day and night?


    But his urge to recite poetry would not let him avoid opening the coffin, and storytelling could not save Dong Shechuan as well! Mr. Dong, who had to accept his fate, could only bite the bullet and meet with the young master Zhao.


    Lin Xin had been paying attention to Shen Lou¡¯s movements, and when he saw him waving at him, he immediately ran over and gave his place to the person who was opening the coffin for the autopsy.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Shen Lou looked down at him, now he was just a young boy, only one head taller than Lin Xin.


    ¡°Xin, my name is A Xin.¡± Lin Xin seemed a little shy, as he bowed his head and twisted his fingers, while Shen Lou was not paying attention, he quietly touched the back of his hand hanging by his side.


    The author has something to say:


    Small Theater:


    Xinxin: My name is


    Loulou: Is it the one who sang ¡°Lige¡±?


    Xinxin: No, it¡¯s A Xin


    Loulou: Is that the one who sang ¡°Stubborn¡±?


    Xinxin: QAQ Loulou


    Loulou: Okay, don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry, I know it¡¯s baby Xinxin=3=

 CH 4

    Suddenly feeling something soft and warm on the back of his hand, as if being licked by a puppy, Shen Lou¡¯s fingertips couldn¡¯t help but tremble slightly. It was fine as long as the child was curious, for fear of scaring him, he refrained from pretending to know.l


    The coffin was opened and the autopsy caused the body to be tossed for a while. Dong Shechuan¡¯s conclusion was similar to Lin Xin¡¯s judgment, but at this time, there was no disease that could make people go crazy, so he guessed that he had encountered some kind of monster.


    ¡°Six months ago, a strange thing happened on the Dahuang side. The family had just married a bride, but they all died overnight. Only the bride was alive, but she went stupid for a while and couldn¡¯t remember what happened. Huan Xinghai sent people to check, it was terrifying to find that the entire family had died!¡± Mr. Dong said with three sighs, which attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°But like my son, was the skin sack destroyed?¡± Zhao Wanhu was anxious to know the cause of his son¡¯s death and was too impatient to listen to this lengthy foreshadowing.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true, but they were also soulless.¡± Seeing that the Zhao family did not want to hear him ramble, Dong Shechuan smacked his lips, and directly talked about the result, ¡°After inspection, it was found that there are traces of the soul-devouring Gu near the Great Wilderness.¡±


    Shen Lou looked indifferent and listened, noncommittal. He knew about this matter. Those people just lost their souls, but their souls were still there. Their terrifying appearance in death was entirely due to the resentment of the bride who was forcibly robbed and was thus put to her death.


    ¡°Soul-devouring Gu¡­¡± Hearing these words, the Zhao family was a little flustered. This was a well-known monster mentioned in ¡°Foreign Objects¡±. It was shaped like a sculpture and had strange horns. It entered the door at night and devoured the soul. Legend had it that a hundred years ago, people were killed on a large scale because of it, then the imperial court ordered for their encirclement and suppression, and the immortal clans were dispatched one after another, then only this kind of monster was slaughtered. Now it has appeared again, and it was still in their house!


    Just at this moment, a servant came to report, ¡°Second young master woke up.¡±


    The second young master of the Zhao family had been in a coma for a day and a night, and the doctor could not find out the cause. Now that he had finally woken up, Mrs. Zhao couldn¡¯t sit still, and she immediately charged to the backyard to see her son.


    ¡°I also want to see the second young master.¡± Lin Xin whispered to Zhao Wanhu.


    He was clearly a master of the family but called his cousin ¡°young master¡±. The people from Huan Xinghai were a little surprised. The Zhao family, who were used to listening to it, didn¡¯t feel anything wrong for a while. Zhao Wanhu tried his best to look like a good uncle in front of outsiders, and said pleasantly, ¡°Xin¡¯er has a heart, let¡¯s go.¡±


    With Zhao Wanhu¡¯s approval, Lin Xin asked Shen Lou again.


    When the Marquis Lu wanted to do something, he did not even have to ask the emperor, when did he show such a well-behaved appearance? Shen Lou felt a softness in his heart, and nodded slightly, indicating that he would take care of himself.


    Shen Qingque really liked well-behaved people. Lin Xin, who ran out of the mourning hall, pouted. In the last life, Shen Lou didn¡¯t give a good look every time he saw him. Now that he had accidentally met Shen Lou early, he had to make a good impression on him.


    Rubbing his fingers, Lin Xin couldn¡¯t help laughing secretly after recalling the feeling he had just felt. The little boy¡¯s hand felt as cool and smooth as jade, and he didn¡¯t know if there were thin calluses on his fingers¡­ It would be better if he could touch some more¡­


    After entering the second young master¡¯s courtyard, Lin Xin immediately put away his face and showed a slight wretched expression, then he shrank his shoulders, slipped against the wall and stood under the bedroom window, trying to minimize his presence.


    ¡°My son, did Xie Tianhe hurt you?¡± Mrs. Zhao burst into tears when she saw her young son sitting on the bed with a dull gaze.


    ¡°Xie Tianhe?¡± The second young master looked at a loss. He couldn¡¯t remember how he fell into a coma. He couldn¡¯t even remember many things from the past. He would have a headache if he thought about it too much.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t turn into a fool, tsk.¡± Lin Xin broke his short hand, but his strength was still too weak. His excitement didn¡¯t seem to be realized by others, and the mother and son didn¡¯t see it, then Lin Xin walked into Mrs. Zhao¡¯s yard with his hands behind his back.


    Although he was very happy to see Shen Lou, happiness couldn¡¯t be eaten, and his top priority was to leave Zhao¡¯s house as soon as possible and find his unreliable master.


    The people in Mrs. Zhao¡¯s yard were used to his coming and going, and they had no defense against this cowardly and useless third young master. Only Mrs. Zhao¡¯s maid, Chun Shui, was in the room.


    ¡°Sister Chun Shui, Madam asked you to give me ten taels of gold.¡± Lin Xin opened his innocent eyes and reached out to Chun Shui.


    ¡°What do you want with the gold?¡± Chun Shui asked suspiciously.


    ¡°It was for that Mr. Dong. Madam said something about Huan Xinghai and asking the second young master to go too.¡± The child¡¯s words were mixed, but it didn¡¯t prevent Chun Shui from understanding. This was to give gifts to the people around the prince, so that they could help to say good things, and the second young master could follow the prince to Huan Xinghai.


    Chun Shui, who thought he knew everything, immediately opened the box and gave him a bag of 12 gold taels.


    The eldest young master died unexpectedly, and the second young master lost his memory for a short time, which coincided with the experience of the Dahuang family, and further confirmed Dong Shechuan¡¯s guess.


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let the eldest son go to the ground for safety.¡± Shen Lou didn¡¯t want to say more and left the mourning hall with a flick of his sleeves, and also attributed the matter to Soul Eater Gu.


    After the matter was clarified, the Shen family was about to leave.


    There may be a soul-devouring Gu hidden in the house, how could Zhao Wanhu let Shen Lou go, so he begged the prince to stay for one more day, so that the experts from Huan Xinghai could help to investigate the monster, ¡°The prince came from a long way, if you don¡¯t even eat a simple meal, this subordinate will be ashamed to see the Duke in the future.¡±


    After having hunched over, Zhao Wanhu felt a gaze on the top of his head, which seemed to instantly see him from the inside out, and his heart suddenly felt like a drum.


    After a long silence, just when Zhao Wanhu thought the prince was going to lose his temper, Shen Lou said a word ¡°good¡± and instructed Huang Ge to lead people to search the mountain.


    Zhao Wanhu was overjoyed, and immediately invited the prince to sit in the best-decorated warm pavilion.


    In the Northern Territory, everything belonged to the Shen family. For people like the Zhao family who had low immortality and only relied on their ancestors to live, they must rely on the breath of Huan Xinghai to survive. In this case, it was natural to let their son show his face.


    So Mrs. Zhao didn¡¯t care that her youngest son¡¯s head was still confused, she asked someone to clean him up and dragged him to the prince, saying that he would be eating with the prince.


    ¡°Sir Xijing, please don¡¯t disturb.¡± The maid dressed in purple stood in front of the door of the warm pavilion, arrogantly squinting at Zhao Wanhu, who brought his family to ¡°accompany the Prince in a meal¡±. This maid¡¯s name was Zishu, and like the bodyguard named Huang Ge, she was Shen Lou¡¯s close attendant and a cultivator of Huan Xinghai. A gilded cloud-patterned sword hung around her waist, and a splendid Luli was embedded on the hilt. Spiritual energy was lingering around her, which was definitely a good match to her strength.


    Shen Lou looked at the typical three-eyed Zhao family[1], and was very impatient, and said coldly, ¡°Tell A Xin to come over.¡±


    Lin Xin, who was about to climb over the wall with a bag of gold in his back, was brought back in front of Shen Lou in disgrace. Lady Zhao and Zhao Ershao were chased back by Zhao Wanhu.


    ¡°Why are you so embarrassed?¡±


    The snow-white cotton robe he had just put on yesterday was now full of muddy prints, and the thin hemp rope on his head had long since flown to somewhere. In the morning, he was still a handsome little boy, but in a blink of an eye he had turned back into a little beggar.


    Hearing this, Lin Xin knew that Shen Lou¡¯s useless disease of benevolence and righteousness had flared up again. This man was decisive on the battlefield and when he led the army, but he couldn¡¯t change his problem of pitying the weak. This was Shen Lou¡¯s weakness, and the only place that could contain him.


    ¡°I went to the kitchen to get some food, and accidentally fell into a somersault.¡± Lin Xin raised his head, his eyes as bright as black sea beads, as he looked over pitifully.


    Sure enough, hearing this, Shen Lou¡¯s brows furrowed, and his heart ached, this man couldn¡¯t even get enough to eat when he was a child! He motioned for Lin Xin to sit next to him and fed him a piece of cake.


    Lin Xin¡¯s hands were dirty, so he acted like he couldn¡¯t reach for it, he put his hands behind his back, opened his mouth obediently, and finished the snack in two bites. His mouth bulged like a squirrel whose mouth was stuffed with nuts because it ate in a hurry. Shen Lou felt that his fingertips had begun to itch again, so he coughed lightly, raised his eyes and said to Zhao Wanhu: ¡°I want to take this son to be my attendant. Would Master Wanhu be willing?¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater-


    Lou Lou: I want him to be my bed warmer, do you dare refuse?


    Zhao Wanhu: I dare not refuse, I dare not refuse

 CH 5

    Attendant, not a servant. Even mortals could be servants. But attendants were vassals, and the confidants of the prince. As long as they worked hard, they would be able to do errands seriously.


    Zhao Wanhu didn¡¯t dare to have any opinion, ¡°It¡¯s a blessing for Xin¡¯er to be liked by the prince.¡±


    Lin Xin¡¯s heart sank when he heard this. Now that he was just a child with no strength and Shen Lou had never even tested his aptitude so how could he easily ask him to be his attendant? Could it be that he already knew that he was Lin Zhenghan¡¯s son?


    He lowered his eyes and pondered, then out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the silver-lined cedar pattern on Shen Lou¡¯s black wide sleeves, and suddenly remembered the family style of the Shen family¡¯s ¡°standing tall like a snow mountain pine¡±, and suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. With the personalities of Shen Lou and his father, even if they knew that he was the son of Lin Zhenghan, they would not treat him badly.


    Huan Xinghai¡¯s experts inspected the Zhao family¡¯s front yard and back hills but found no trace of the soul-devouring Gu. It was not easy for Zhao Wanhu to ask them to stay any longer. After Zhao Dashao was buried the next day, they sent the prince and his party out of the house with great gratitude. And Lin Xin, wearing a filial attire, was carried into the prince¡¯s carriage by Huang Ge.


    Lying on the carriage window, Lin Xin was a little worried as he looked at the Zhao family¡¯s mansion that was drifting away. After entering Huan Xinghai, it would be difficult to get out again. Could Master still find him?


    At that time, his master checked the past haunts of his father one by one according to his father¡¯s description. Now that he had left the Zhao family and had not taken the initiative to find him, it would be difficult to meet him.


    ¡°Are you reluctant?¡± Shen Lou looked away from his book, bent his arm supporting his knee, and looked at Lin Xin in a relaxed manner.


    ¡°No.¡± Lin Xin lowered the curtain and shook his head slightly.


    ¡°Why do you look unhappy?¡± He wasn¡¯t a talkative person but facing the soft and fresh Lin Xin in front of him, Shen Lou couldn¡¯t help but want to say a few more words to him. If asked, there would be a response, no matter what was said, it made him feel happy.


    ¡°Sir, forgive me,¡± Lin Xin seemed to be frightened, so he knelt stiffly on the cushion, grabbing at the hem of his clothes, ¡°I, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡±


    The soft and sweet voice, with some uneasy trembling, made Shen Lou feel distressed, and he warned himself not to scare the child, and beckoned Xiao Linxin to sit beside him, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, come, I will teach you to read.¡±


    Luli was installed on the carriage, so the wheels basically did not touch the ground, and it was stable enough for them to read and write. Lin Xin moved near Shen Lou and saw that the book he had placed on the small table was actually a ¡°Notes on the Four Seas¡±, which showed the map of Dayong and the customs of various places in Dayong.


    ¡°The country we are in is called Dayong. Dayong is divided into four regions, southeast, northwest, northeast, and the hinterland of the Central Plains. Huan Xinghai and Zhao¡¯s family are both in the northern region.¡± Shen Lou tried his best to say something interesting to the child to attract his attention.


    ¡°Is Huan Xinghai near a sea?¡± Lin Xin dutifully played the role of a child who knew nothing.


    ¡°No, Huan Xinghai is near a stream and lake,¡± Shen Lou stretched out his hand, pointed to a point in the picture, thought about it, and added, ¡°There is a lot of water.¡±


    The clear stream intersected with the deep lake, there was flowing water and beautiful pavilions everywhere. Legend had it that in winter, the lake water froze into ice, and the water shone, as if it had been washed. It was very beautiful, hence the name Huan Xinghai. With such a beautiful scenery, in the mouth of Shen Lou, there was only a dry ¡°a lot of water¡± left.


    Lin Xin wanted to laugh at him, but he held it back and leaned towards Shen Lou in the guise of the sway of the carriage. The faint herbal fragrance wrapped in the bitter medicinal smell came to him slowly.


    ¡°Prince, are you drinking medicine?¡± Lin Xin asked him with a twitching nose.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Shen Lou responded, looking at Lin Xin who was close at hand, then he still couldn¡¯t hold back, he reached out and gently wrapped the man into his arms, holding the book to him.


    ¡°Why do you have to drink medicine?¡± Lin Xin asked reluctantly.


    ¡°Because I did something wrong, this is punishment,¡± Shen Lou lied to the child seriously, flipping the pages of the book in his hand, ¡°so you have to memorize what I said, otherwise¡­¡±


    ¡°Tell it to me. I don¡¯t want to drink medicine.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± The slightly uplifted ending indicated the good mood of the owner of the voice.


    Not being able to ask anything, Lin Xin could only hold back temporarily and listen to Shen Lou teaching him in a bored way.


    ¡°The Shen family in the northern region, the Zhong family in the western region, the Zhu family in the southern region, and the Lin family in the eastern region, in addition to these four princes, Dayong has more than a dozen marquises, they can manage their own fiefs but have to pay annual tribute every year. Our Shen family¡­ ¡± As he was speaking, his arms suddenly sank, Shen Lou looked down, and the guy who just swore to listen carefully was already leaning on his arms, fast asleep.


    With a helpless smile, Shen Lou threw the book in his hand away, and simply relaxed his body, leaning on the soft cushion, also dozing off. His mind, however, drifted from the book to the situation in the world. Now that the Luli law had not been implemented, the four regions were still peaceful, but there may be chaos at any time. It was better to prepare early.


    ¡°What is Suigong?¡± Lin Xin, who was so sleepy that he couldn¡¯t open his eyes, muttered.


    ¡°Gold and silver, grain, cloth¡­ Luli.¡±


    The boy¡¯s low voice, like a young eagle traveling through the wind and snow, broke through the fog in front of him, but brought people into a deeper and farther dream.


    At the age of seventeen, he stepped into Huan Xinghai for the first time. It was the early winter, the sun was rising over the pine forest, the fog was dispersing, and snow covered everything. The fairyland was like a soft place, but it was a group of people with cold faces who greeted him.


    All the Shen family members wore black wide sleeves and looked at them from a distance, like a flock of falcons that would pounce on them at any time and tear people to shreds.


    ¡°Marquis is so young, but his temperament is so ruthless, even more than his teacher!¡± Shen Qirui threw his face on the ground before he could greet him.


    ¡°Heh, it happened two years ago, did Grandpa just hear about it?¡± Lin Xin lifted the scabbard with his thumb, killing intent spreading everywhere. It was not good to mention anything, but the worst was to mention his master.


    The world knew that Lin Xin was a ruthless murderer. Or that he didn¡¯t deserve to be called human at all, he was said to be delusional and clinging, and also addicted to murder. He was sometimes even called a demon.


    He opened his eyes suddenly, the blood mist dissipated suddenly, only the indigo-colored roof and the dense sandalwood remained.


    ¡°Welcome to the prince.¡± A neat greeting came from outside the window, while the sound of gurgling water and smell of pine trees was incessant, seems they had already arrived at Huan Xinghai.


    Lin Xin quickly got up, lifted the curtain of the carriage window, and saw Shen Lou standing in front of the carriage, bowing to several monks dressed in black clothes.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to hunt deer, is eldest brother coming?¡± A young girl, holding a hunting bow with Luli in her hand, asked Shen Lou with a smile.


    ¡°You guys go.¡± Shen Lou stretched out his hand, touched the girl¡¯s head, turned back to the carriage, and pushed the probing guy back into the carriage.


    The author has something to say:


    Small Theater-


    Xinxin: Oops, I accidentally fell asleep in your arms, don¡¯t mind it


    Loulou: I mind


    Xinxin: Oops, why are you so stingy, so, I¡¯ll let you sleep in my arms, alright?


    Lou Lou: (nosebleed) Alright

 CH 6

    ¡°Is that your sister?¡± Lin Xin asked, not quite sure. The Shen family had a large number of people, and there were not a few people who could call Shen Lou eldest brother.


    Looking at the child in his arms who stretched his neck and wanted to look out, Shen Lou frowned slightly, ¡°Yes, her name is Yingying.¡±


    Sure enough, it was her! Shen Yingying, who took the small character Qiuting after growing up[1], was born with supernatural power, she could crack stones with one pull of the bow and was the number one archer in Dayong.


    Lin Xin scratched his chest, knowing that she was Shen Yingying, his chest began to ache, ¡°Then, I should call her¡­¡±


    ¡°Stay away from her!¡± Shen Lou rudely interrupted Lin Xin¡¯s exploration. Seeing his surprised face, he thought he was frightened. He immediately softened his tone, ¡°She has a bad temper, don¡¯t play with her.¡±


    Lin Xin was even more puzzled. Hadn¡¯t this person always treasured this little sister? How could he say derogatory words like ¡°bad temper¡± in front of someone who had just met her? Could it be that Shen Qiuting so disgusted Shen Lou when she was a child?


    Huanxinghai covered a vast area, and the carriage did not stop all the way, but it still took a long time to reach the residence of the prince, Fengjin.


    There were water and ferry ports everywhere, and all the residences in Huanxinghai had the letter ¡°Jin¡± in their name. In the residence of the prince, there were several hundred-year-old maple trees with towering crowns. Now it was the season of falling leaves, and the autumn gardens were full of red maples, dyeing the water on the shore with a crimson color, which looked really beautiful.


    Several mortals were cleaning the courtyard, and when they saw the prince come back, they immediately bowed and saluted. Among the immortals in Fengjin, apart from Shen Lou, there were only the guard Huang Ge and the maid Zishu.


    After handing Lin Xin to Zishu to take care of, Shen Lou left with Dong Shechuan.


    ¡°Where did the prince go?¡± Lin Xin stood in the courtyard at a loss, staring at Zishu.


    ¡°After going out and returning, he naturally has to meet his father first. If it wasn¡¯t for you, the prince would have gone there right away.¡± Zishu spoke quickly and in a heavy tone, as if she was about to quarrel at any time.


    Naturally, Lin Xin was not afraid of such a little girl. He nodded obediently, picked up a broom taller than himself, and followed those mortals to sweep the leaves.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Zishu couldn¡¯t stop it, she hesitated for a moment, released the hand she habitually put on her waist, and bent down, ¡°Your name is A Xin, right? My name is Zishu, later¡­¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Lin Xinxin bent his head and smiled, ¡°Can I call you Sister Zishu?¡± He was born beautiful, and because he slept well on the carriage, he looked like a radish that was full of water.


    ¡°When, of course, in the future¡­ this elder sister will take care of you,¡± she swallowed the words meant to teach him a lesson, then Zishu took Lin Xin¡¯s little hand, threw the broom aside, and her tone softened, ¡°You are an attendant, not a servant, so I don¡¯t need you to do the chores in the yard!¡±


    As she spoke, she began to rummage through the cabinets to find clothes for Lin Xin.


    ¡°Then what do I do?¡± Lin Xin pulled at his clothes and his eyes darkened. The clothes that came out was a brocade robe and jade belt, which were obviously from Shen Lou¡¯s childhood. This maid actually dressed him directly in the clothes of the prince. He didn¡¯t know if the Shen family¡¯s rules were very loose, or there was another meaning.


    He took off his filial attire and put on the brocade robe. The poor boy immediately turned into a noble son. Zishu looked at the little guy who came out from behind the screen and was very satisfied.


    After finishing everything, Zishu took him to eat. After a day¡¯s drive, it was already sunset, Huang Ge followed the prince to show his face in front of the master, and only Zishu and Lin Xin were left in Fengjin to eat.


    ¡°¡­The prince is cold-hearted, don¡¯t bother him if you have nothing to do,¡± Zishu took two bites of the meal and told him the rules of the Huanxinghai, ¡°One thing you need to remember, when the prince sleeps with a candle lit, you are not allowed to sleep overnight, and if you enter the inner room at night, you must not extinguish the candle.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Lin Xin asked suspiciously, he had also slept with Shen Lou in his previous life, but he didn¡¯t know that he had a quirk of sleeping with candles lit. ¡°Is he afraid of the dark?¡±


    ¡°Shh, don¡¯t talk nonsense,¡± Zishu picked up a piece of spareribs and stuffed it into his mouth, ¡°Don¡¯t ask nonsense if you shouldn¡¯t ask.¡±


    So he¡¯s really afraid of the dark! Lin Xin took a bite of the ribs in disbelief.


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t know that his image was being slandered by a well-meaning maid, and he entered the hall to greet his father, only to see Shen Qirui chatting happily with a monk in white.


    He wore plain clothes with arrow sleeves and a white tiger fur around the neckline, he seemed to be a member of the Zhong family in the Western Regions.


    ¡°I have seen the prince!¡± When the cultivator saw Shen Lou coming in, he immediately got up and saluted.


    Shen Lou raised his hand to return the salute. This person was born with a distinctive face, but amid the two generations, he had no impression of this face. Thinking that it was not an important person, he turned his head to look at his father.


    ¡°This is the messenger of the Zhong family. Your Uncle Zhong Shi asked me to go for a drink.¡± Shen Qirui said with a smile. He and Zhong Changye have been friends since childhood. When he mentioned Duke Su of the Western Regions in front of Shen Lou, he was always called ¡°Your Uncle Zhong Shi¡±.


    ¡°Mo Guishan¡¯s century-old wine is about to be opened, and the grandfather of the country is specially invited to come and taste it.¡± The messenger explained it again.


    When a friend invited him to drink, Shen Qirui readily agreed. However, Shen Lou heard something unusual. He clearly remembered that Mo Guishan¡¯s century-old wine was only opened in the year of Ying Ying Ji.


    ¡°Father, this son also wants to go,¡± Shen Lou interjected. ¡°This son has not seen Yuyu and Wumo for a long time.¡±


    Zhong Youyu and Zhong Wumo, the twin sons of the owner Zhong Changye, came over almost every year to play by the sea.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go together if you want.¡± Shen Qirui readily agreed.


    After having dinner with his father in Qiongjin, Shen Lou returned to Fengjin with heavy steps, walked to the end of the corridor, and stopped abruptly.


    ¡°Prince?¡± Huang Ge, who was following behind, asked aloud.


    ¡°Go check, who is that Zhong family messenger?¡± Shen Lou stood in the dim light, his eyes darkening.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Huang Ge understood and bowed away.


    Lin Xin had dinner and rejected Zishu¡¯s proposal to show him around. He sat down on the carpet in the inner room and looked out the door, like a milk dog waiting for his master to come back.


    Zishu shook her head helplessly, told him not to disturb the things in the room, and walked away. As soon as the person left, Lin Xin turned his head like a monkey and ran into the inner room to look around.


    This was the place where Shen Lou grew up since he was a child, and it was a rare thing for him to enter here. It was cold in the north, and the earth dragon[2] was burning in the house, so you could even walk barefoot. There was a cold fragrance on the short table, it seemed quiet and far away, with a bit of sweetness of grass and trees. Books were neatly placed on the shelves, and there were long swords hanging on the wall. He searched every corner, but he couldn¡¯t find the marbles or nine-chain rings that all children should have.


    ¡°Was this person so boring when he was a child?¡± Lin Xin curled his lips, jumped on the big bed full of grass and trees and rolled, ¡°Hey, Shen Qingque, I have slept in your bed!¡±


    He heard footsteps outside. Lin Xin got up in a rush, jumped out of bed, and rolled back to the ground.


    When Shen Lou stepped into the house, he saw the little child sitting in the center of the carpet with his hands folded over his knees, looking over with his black eyes.


    Lin Xin¡¯s eyes were actually dark blue, which was usually invisible. Only when one was very close could they distinguish the midnight blue. But Shen Lou had seen it up close and could tell at a glance.


    When he met these eyes, his heavy mood instantly vanished. Shen Lou walked over and pulled up the guy on the ground, ¡°Why are you sitting on the ground?¡±


    ¡°Waiting for you,¡± Lin Xin lowered his head, his toes without socks on, gently sliding on the carpet, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do. Sister Zishu said you will tell me.¡±


    Shen Lou took a deep breath, ¡°Do you know what the attendant does?¡±


    Lin Xin shook his head blankly.


    After being silent for a long time, he seemed to have thought about it seriously. Shen Lou put his hands behind his back and stood as naively as Lin Xin. Then he raised his chin slightly, ¡°The weather is cold, please warm the bed for me.¡±


    After saying that, he turned around and went to take a bath. After taking two steps, he couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°This is the duty of the attendant.¡±


    Bah! Lin Xin spat in his heart, he was afraid of the dark, he was just talking nonsense, bullying him for not seeing the world! There was a blank expression on his face, ¡°Then, has Sister Zishu ever warmed the bed?¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s a girl.¡± Shen Lou coughed lightly and walked into the bathroom.


    Hearing this, Lin Xin was satisfied, he took off his robe in two or three moves, washed his hands and feet in the sink, and obediently got into the bed.


    When Shen Lou came out of the shower, he saw that the quilt was bulging into a small ball, and a pair of white and tender hands were pulling the quilt¡¯s horns, only two bright eyes were exposed from under the quilt, as the person said in a muffled voice, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s already very hot, come in.¡±


    Shen Shizi, who was barefoot, stumbled as he stepped on his right foot with his left foot. Suddenly, the absurd nights of the previous life appeared in front of him. Lin Xin, who was in his twenties, looked at him with a smile and saying, ¡°It¡¯s very hot inside, don¡¯t you want to come in?¡±


    He went to bed, got under the covers, and went to put out the candle with a flick of a finger.


    ¡°Huh? Sister Zishu said that the candle can¡¯t be put out.¡± Lin Xin pretended to be shocked and rubbed against Shen Lou¡¯s pillow.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, with you here, I don¡¯t have to leave the candle lit.¡± Shen Lou tucked the quilt for him, without any intention of reminding the little attendant that he was crossing the boundary.


    Well, as expected, he was afraid of the dark, but he didn¡¯t need to be afraid with someone sleeping with him. Lin Xin smugly shook his feet under the quilt, finding Shen Qingque¡¯s weakness always made him happy. Taking advantage of the moonlight, he stared at Shen Lou with a fatherly gaze, and without a word tried to convey, don¡¯t be afraid, don¡¯t be afraid, your brother loves you.


    The author has something to say:


    Small Theater:


    Xinxin: Shen Xiaolou¡¯s new weakness unlocked


    Loulou: Sharing the same bed achieved


    Xinxin & Loulou: He is so weak, I have to protect him!


    T/N: SL just remember that our MC is still underage¡­.


    [1] People in ancient China used to have two names: one given by their parents and the other chosen by them after growing up which they usually used in their interactions with outsiders.


    [2] Floor heating system used in ancient China.

 CH 7

    When the moon was in the middle of the sky, Shen Lou suddenly opened his eyes, the surroundings were pitch black, seeing this cold sweat instantly soaked his underwear, he was about to turn over and sit up, when he touched a soft and warm little hand. His soul which had flown beyond the sky, quickly returned to the body with a huff.


    Xiao Lin Xin slept very dishonestly, and at some point he had completely moved to Shen Lou¡¯s pillow, tightly squeezing together with him.


    After adapting to the darkness for a while, everything in front of him gradually became clear. Shen Lou turned over, looked at the sleeping child next to him, by the moonlight, and traced his eyebrows and eyes inch by inch. Lin Xin, who was still young, was actually so soft and sweet. Fortunately, he found him early, before everything happened.


    Thinking of the scene when they met for the first time in the previous life, the sixteen-year-old Lin Xin had already been forced into that appearance by all kinds of things happening in his childhood.


    For Shen Lou, who started to participate in the hunt at the Royal Leisure Pool at the age of eight, there was nothing new, so he went two days late.


    ¡°Look at the sword!¡± A cold shout came from his side, he drew the sword out of its sheath, and Shen Lou took the sudden move without looking back.


    ¡°No way, you can even catch this?¡± Zhong Youyu yelled strangely in mid-air, turned around quickly, tapped his toes on the trunk, and jumped up the tall tree in two or three steps, ¡°Brother, help!¡±


    As soon as the sentence was uttered, a young man who looked exactly like Zhong Youyu attacked him from behind, and with the point of his sword he pushed away the point that was about to poke his brother¡¯s butt, then he fell to the ground beside Shen Lou, looking at him silently.


    Shen Lou put his sword back into its sheath, and Zhong Youyu jumped down from the tree, and put his arms around his neck, ¡°Why did you just come here? I¡¯ve been looking at Wumo¡¯s boring face every day for the past two days. I¡¯m almost suffocated.¡±


    ¡°If I remember correctly, you and Wumo have the same face.¡± Shen Lou glanced at him sideways.


    ¡°Who said, I¡¯m obviously much more handsome than him!¡± Zhong Youyu firmly believed that he was better-looking than his younger brother, and the honest Zhong Wumo followed them quietly without making a sound to refute.


    The three of them walked slowly towards the center of the hunting ground. After Zhong Youyu boasted about his suave and heroic actions, he talked about something new recently, ¡°Have you seen the evil god standing next to the emperor? That is the newly-appointed Marquis of Lu, he is only sixteen years old.¡±


    On the royal high platform, the young man in a sapphire-blue embroidered arrow-sleeved dress with a full moon-shaped scimitar hanging from his waist felt that someone was watching him, so he immediately followed the gaze. Those eyes full of cruelty made Shen Lou tremble slightly, ¡°Is he Lin Zhenghan¡¯s son?¡±


    The others went straight to the point, ¡°This kid, he killed the mentor who raised him with his own hands. He was so vicious that it can¡¯t be seen! Did you see the scimitar on his waist? It was rewarded by the emperor, the demon sword that swallows the hook! Tsk, it¡¯s just him! Only the kind of person who can kill even his mentor can suppress the evil spirit of the demon sword that swallows the hook.¡±


    In the hunt in Xianchi, most of the children from aristocratic families who had not reached the top would participate, and everyone was divided into several groups according to the distance between each family. However, no matter which wave of people, they consciously drew a line with Lin Xin.


    ¡°But don¡¯t offend him. His favor is on the rise. The day before yesterday he used this sword to cut off the hand of the second son of Wang Tinghou, but in the end it didn¡¯t matter.¡± Zhong Youyu rubbed his wrists in a sympathetic manner, all the while pulling Shen Lou away.


    While hunting, Zhong Wumo caught a rare white tiger. Before he could pick it up, it was snatched away by Lin Xin who appeared from nowhere.


    ¡°Give it back to me.¡± Zhong Wumo pursed his lips, staring straight at Lin Xin.


    ¡°Tch, white tiger, it¡¯s really bad luck.¡± Lin Xin rode on the tall horse, and the followers behind him quickly tied up the tiger and put it on their own hunting cart. ¡°Go back and skin this white animal and dye it black.¡±


    The faces of the Zhong family brothers all in white changed, and Zhong Youyu couldn¡¯t help shouting: ¡°Stinky boy, who are you scolding?¡±


    ¡°You, fight with me.¡± Zhong Wumo got off his horse, took off the saber from his waist, and pointed it at Lin Xin.


    ¡°Xiao Mo!¡± Zhong Youyu hurriedly called to stop his younger brother, signaling him not to be impulsive, but it was already too late. Over there, Lin Xin didn¡¯t even say a word of challenge, he just drew his sword and rushed over.


    The demon sword that swallows the hook, carrying the evil spirit passed down from ancient times, wrapped around Zhong Wumo¡¯s long sword like a ghost. Before Zhong Youyu could see the situation clearly, the hook had already hooked his younger brother¡¯s neck.


    Three pieces of excellent-looking Luzhu were embedded on the handle of the sword, and the vast spiritual power flowing along the machete encircled Zhong Wumo¡¯s head in a circle.


    ¡°The Marquis has something to ask your son for advice.¡± Lin Xin casually turned the scimitar in his hand, and the overflowing spiritual energy cut the clothes on Zhong Wumo¡¯s shoulders to pieces.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhong Youyu looked at Lin Xin¡¯s hand nervously, fearing that if his hand shook, his brother¡¯s head would fall to the ground.


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference between the Zhong family¡¯s neck and those of other families? Is it particularly hard?¡± Lin Xin asked curiously, with an almost innocent smile.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhong Youyu was so angry that his ribs hurt.


    A dazzling sword light pierced through the air, precisely aiming at the demon sword that swallows the hook. Lin Xin only felt that the scimitar in his hand suddenly deviated as if it was stuck by a magnet.


    The scimitar was too sharp, for fear of hurting Zhong Wumo, Shen Lou had no choice but to strangle the hook. Letting go of the Zhong family boy, Lin Xin confronted the meddling Shen Lou, but was trapped by Shen Lou¡¯s last move. If one didn¡¯t check, the long sword would have penetrated into the middle of the scimitar, so in order to avoid it he moved and now his whole person was trapped in the arms of Shen Lou.


    ¡°Good swordsmanship.¡± Lin Xin praised, the scimitar in his hand suddenly exerted strength, but was pressed down again by Shen Lou who had expected it for a long time.


    Lin Xin turned his head and looked at Shen Lou carefully, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    It¡¯s not a joke¡­


    Counting the entanglements between the two of them over the years, Shen Lou really didn¡¯t know whether to cry or laugh, as he quietly looked at the person who slept on his pillow for a while, then he secretly moved him into his arms.


    In the early morning, Lin Xin opened his eyes, and found that he had rolled into Shen Lou¡¯s embrace at some point, and greedily took a deep breath. The light fragrance of plants and trees could save him from even his deepest nightmare.


    He held his breath and listened to Shen Lou¡¯s breathing, it was even and long, obviously still in deep sleep. Lin Xin started, touched the boy¡¯s chin with the tip of his nose where the stubble hadn¡¯t grown, and opened two rows of small fangs, ready to take a bite.


    The long breath gradually became shorter, Shen Lou opened his eyes, and found that Lin Xin had completely rolled into his arms, was sleeping unconsciously, and looked very satisfied. At this time, Lin Xin, who seemed to be about to wake up, arched his chest again, brushed off his underclothes, and pressed his cheek that was warm from sleep against his chest.


    Shen Shizi sat up, Lin Xin, who was pretending to be asleep, opened his eyes and looked at Shen Lou¡¯s exposed side of the waist, thinking. This person¡¯s body temperature was obviously lower than his own, which was obviously abnormal for a young man who is full of firepower. He slowly got up, rubbed his eyes, and yawned harmlessly.


    When Zishu came in, she saw Lin Xin, who was sleepy, sitting in the quilt of the eldest son in a daze, while their eldest son had already jumped out of bed and put on his coat.


    ¡°You child, I told you not to do rough work, and you even slept on the prince¡¯s bed!¡± Zishu stretched out her hand to grab Lin Xin¡¯s ear, but hit the arm of the prince¡¯s coat, and immediately turned a corner, and went to help Shen Lou tidy up his clothes.


    ¡°Clean up, I will go to Mogui Mountain with my father today.¡± Shen Lou buttoned up the wristband of the arrow sleeve and whispered to Zishu.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Zishu answered, then she made him put on a black wide-sleeved robe and turned to look at Lin Xin. The guy was already fully dressed, holding a twisted cloth towel with both hands like a treasure, he handed it to Shen Lou.


    ¡°A Xin will sleep here from now on.¡± Shen Lou took the cloth towel and directly cut off Zishu¡¯s words.


    Zishu was surprised to find that Shizi¡¯s face was no longer as blue and white as when he usually woke up. She thought he had slept well, so it turned out that¡­Zishu, who thought she had found the reason, looked at Lin Xin more and more softly, ¡°A Xin, what do you want to eat in the morning?¡±


    ¡°Meat!¡±


    Huang Ge, the guard, came back with his head full of dew, ¡°Messenger, I¡¯m following the order of Zhong Suifeng, and the head of the family, Zhong Changye, has already retreated a few days ago.¡±


    Su Guogong¡¯s younger brother Zhong Suifeng? Shen Lou frowned slightly.


    Zhong Changye, the Duke of the Su Kingdom of the Western Regions, possessed high-strength skills and was decisive in killing, and he governed the Western Regions with an iron hand. With such an elder brother in front of him, Zhong Suifeng, who had no title, had always been out of sight, so he didn¡¯t come to Shen¡¯s house as a guest. Now that the Patriarch was retreating, Zhong Suifeng asked Patriarch Shen to drink on the altar opening day according to his elder brother¡¯s instructions.


    Sounded flawless.


    ¡°Are you going to Mogui Mountain?¡± Lin Xin asked Shen Lou who lowered his eyebrows and thought.


    ¡°Well, A Xin will go with me.¡± Shen Lou originally wanted to keep Lin Xin at home but thinking of Zhu Xingli who might be found at any time, he still decided to take Lin Xin away.


    Mogui Mountain¡­ Lin Xin clenched his hands hidden in his sleeves quietly. That place was not a good place for him now.


    ¡°Brother! I¡¯m going too!¡± Qingling¡¯s resonant voice came from afar, and the girl in black dress rushed in like an arrow, and was about to ram straight into Lin Xin¡¯s chest.


    Shen Lou shot up like lightning, grabbed Lin Xin, and let his sister fall to the ground on the carpet.


    ¡°Bah, bah, bah!¡± Shen Yingying ate a mouthful of dirt, got up angrily, looked up and saw the young boy standing beside her brother, and immediately forgot about the fall, ¡°Who is he?¡±


    Lin Xin subconsciously tried to dodge backwards, but the girl still grabbed his sleeve.


    ¡°Is he your new entourage?¡± Shen Yingying ignored her elder brother¡¯s stare and stared at Lin Xin¡¯s face, ¡°He¡¯s so pretty!¡±


    The author has something to say: Small Theater:


    Yingying: Brother, He is so good looking! I want to marry him!


    Loulou: No way


    Yingying: Why?


    Lou Lou: Girls cannot only say marry!


    Ying Ying: Oh, then I should¡­


    Lou Lou: Call him sister- in-law


    Ying Ying: ( ¡Ñ o ¡Ñ )

 CH 8

    Lin Xin looked at Shen Yingying¡¯s soft and boneless hands and found them creepy.


    ¡°He¡¯s not even ten years old, is he? What¡¯s the use of having a squire who is younger than you, why not give him to me!¡± Shen Yingying stared at Lin Xin intently, and the more she looked at him, the more she liked it.


    This eldest lady was not an ordinary woman, as her attendant, his small body probably won¡¯t last for three days, Lin Xin looked at Shen Lou aggrievedly, and whispered: ¡°It¡¯s useful, A Xin wants to warm the prince¡¯s bed.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The room was so silent that even a needle dropping could be heard.


    Huang Shiwei, who hadn¡¯t wiped off the dew on his head, looked at Shizi in shock, and then turned to look at Zishu. Zishu rescued Lin Xin from the hands of the eldest lady with a dishevelled face, ¡°A Xin, that¡¯s not called warming the bed, don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±


    After being taught a lesson, Sheng Yingying was not allowed to follow them to the Western Regions.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me go! I¡¯m going!¡± Shen Yingying slapped the tall pear wood stool next to her with a slap, and there was a crisp ¡°click¡±, and the whole stool fell apart and shattered all over the floor.


    ¡°Shen Yingying.¡±


    Hearing her brother calling her by her name and surname, even though his tone was not so harsh, but Miss Shen visibly flinched a bit, stared at Lin Xin with her neck straightened, and snorted softly, ¡°If I can¡¯t go, I won¡¯t go, what is the rare thing there!¡±


    After saying that, she walked away angrily.


    Lin Xin sighed softly, and really wanted to give up the quota of going to Mogui Mountain to Shen Yingying, but he didn¡¯t know how to say it. At this time in his previous life, he didn¡¯t know about the Zhong family. He only remembered that Zhao Jian ran away with him in his arms and was intercepted and almost killed by unknown white-clad monks three times.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to Mogui Mountain anymore, let the miss go.¡± Lin Xin tried to reason with Shen Lou.


    ¡°Mogui Mountain is not the same as our Huan Xinghai, the western capital of Xianyang lies at the foot of the mountain, so it¡¯s very fun!¡± Zishu came over with a bowl of soup and coaxed him with a smile.


    Lin Xin sniffled his nose and smelled the smell of ¡°Po¡¯e¡±. Po¡¯e and Chitosan had similar effects, both were elixirs for nourishing the soul, but it was much more expensive than Chitosan, and it didn¡¯t have the disgusting smell of urine like Chitosan.


    Shen Lou was flipping through the letters in the sandalwood box, all the while turning a blind eye to Zishu¡¯s arrival.


    Zishu looked at the crown prince who treated her like air, stomped her feet angrily, poured out some of the overfilled soup, and handed it to Lin Xin, ¡°Go, let the crown prince take the medicine.¡±


    Lin Xin took the soup bowl and walked unsteadily to Shen Lou¡¯s side, then he tilted his head to look at him, and took a sip of the concoction secretly. Po¡¯e, Guilinggao[1], and Sanwencao, there were still other tastes that were not clear, and they were used cure everything, not just for replenishing the soul. What had happened to this man¡¯s body?


    Shen Lou put down the letter dumbfounded, how dare this little greedy cat eat anything, he even secretly drank medicine! ¡°Does it taste good?¡±


    ¡°Bitter,¡± Lin Xin wrinkled his nose, ¡°but my mother said that good medicine tastes bitter.¡±


    To set a good example and not set bad precedent for the child, Shen Lou took the medicine bowl and drank it down.


    Lin Xin took the empty medicine bowl and was very pleased. Judging by Zishu¡¯s appearance, this elder son probably didn¡¯t take his medicine properly. Shen Qingque should be only twelve years old now, and it was the time when he was in his rebellious period, so he had to coax him well.


    Zishu walked away with the empty bowl contentedly, and Shen Lou picked up the letter again to read it.


    Every time someone from Mogui Mountain came, they would bring a letter from the brothers of the Zhong family, most of which contained Zhong Youyu¡¯s ramblings, while the taciturn Zhong Wumo would at most add a sentence at the end. The latest letter had invited him to climb Mogui Mountain and shoot wild geese on the Double Ninth Festival with the Zhing brothers, but it didn¡¯t mention the century-old wine at all. Moreover, this time, the messenger even came empty-handed¡­


    After closing the box, Shen Lou got up and took Lin Xin to see his father and also to ask him to set off immediately.


    The wind and snow that had been falling for several days had stopped for a while, and the slender maple trees were all wilted and had become bare. The hundred-year-old maple tree however was unscathed, it was still full of prosperity, and slowly shedding its leaves.


    ¡°I can¡¯t go.¡± Lin Xin hugged the old maple tree and refused to leave.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t tell Shen Lou that he was Lin Zhenghan¡¯s son, and the Zhong family had always wanted to arrest him. The most likely thing Shen Lou would do was to hand him over to the emperor. Lin Xin was a little worried, ¡°I¡¯m wearing the clothes of the prince, if someone sees me, they will kill me.¡±


    Shen Lou was stunned for a moment, only to find that Lin Xin was wearing his clothes from his childhood. The attendants did not have a detached status in the Shen family, they were actually equivalent to disciples, but they each had their own objects of attachment. The Shen family treated them as the same family, and there was absolutely no danger of being beaten to death if they wore the prince¡¯s clothes.


    Touching that little head with some distress, he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t leave my side after you go out, then no one will bully you.¡±


    Lin Xin was reluctantly taken by Shen Lou to Qiongjin, the residence of Duke Xuan.


    Shen Qirui was tall and heavy-set, walking near him would give people a heavy sense of oppression, and when his cold gaze swept over Lin Xin, he suddenly let out a ¡°huh¡±.


    The pulse on his wrist was suddenly grabbed by a big hand, and Lin Xin subconsciously wanted to draw the knife, but he just touched his waist and squeezed it hard, trying to resist the urge to break Shen Qirui¡¯s wrist with his backhand.


    ¡°Extensive spiritual veins and high aptitude, where did this kid come from?¡± Shen Qirui looked at Lin Xin with the eyes of seeing a high-end spiritual sword.


    ¡°The Zhao family¡¯s child, whose parents have died, Zhao Wanhu and his wife treated him harshly¡­¡± Shen Lou explained Lin Xin¡¯s superficial identity.


    ¡°Reckless waste, what a wasteful waste!¡± Shen Qirui squeezed Lin Xin¡¯s slender wrist, very angry.


    Lin Xin put on an innocent face.


    Shen Qirui took out a Luli the size of a pigeon egg from his sleeve and gave it to him, ¡°From now on, you will be a member of the Shen family. If you practice hard, you will become a great weapon in the future.¡±


    Holding the crystal-clear Luli, Lin Xin felt helpless as he followed Shen Lou into the carriage.


    ¡°Father rewarded you, put it away.¡± Shen Lou had an inexplicable smile in his eyes.


    ¡°What is this?¡± This Luli was polished, smooth and edgeless, and it was used by a wealthy family like the Shen family for children to play with, but it was very different from the ones that monks usually put on their swords. As a child who had never seen the world, Lin Xin couldn¡¯t act very knowledgeable.


    ¡°Luli.¡± Shen Lou also took out two from his sleeve, gave them to Lin Xin, and explained the origin of the Luli to him along the way.


    A long time ago, the ancient magic of immortality was lost, so the families of cultivators relied on talismans and treasures to survive. Suddenly, while chasing a deer into the mountains one day, some cultivators got the spirit stone, which looked as bright as glass, so it was named Luli.


    The appearance of Luli made the immortal way flourish again, and the immortals who were almost reduced to charlatans were able to ride the sword and climb the wind again.


    The Western Regions were not as cold as the Northern Regions. The autumn was crisp so they could see the geese flying south.


    Mogui Mountain was indeed a mountain, the Zhong family lived on the mountain, and the capital of the Western Regions was just below the mountain. Huan Xinghai was still a certain distance from the northern capital, but Mogui Mountain was closely connected with the western capital, and it was extremely lively.


    At the foot of the mountain there were crowds of people, and chariots and horses full of gold, silver, money and food blocked the mountain gate.


    ¡°Forgive me, my lord, your visit coincides with the autumn tribute. Thousands of households from the territory are all here, so it¡¯s a bit crowded.¡± The messenger apologized repeatedly, and Yu Jian went to report. Knowing that Duke Xuan was coming, a group of white-clothed monks appeared immediately and drove the delivery carriages to the side of the road to make way for the Shen family.


    Dukes and Marquises paid tribute to the emperor once a year, and the rules for collecting tribute from vassals varied from region to region. The Northern Region received the tributes twice, while the Western Region received it in the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and now it was the time for the autumn tribute.


    Zhong Suifeng, who was also wearing a white robe with wide sleeves and white tiger fur on his collar, ran out to greet the Shen family in a state of desperation.


    ¡°Brother Qirui, I am a little flustered at the moment, please forgive me.¡± Zhong Suifeng had a good-natured face, and he spoke slowly, this face could be called kind at best, but cowardly at worst.


    ¡°Why are you here too?¡± Zhong Youyu, who followed his uncle out to greet the guests, and on seeing Shen Lou, and instead of being surprised, there was suppressed anger on his face. Beside him was Zhong Wumo was expressionless, also looking very haggard.


    Standing behind Shen Lou, Lin Xin narrowed his eyes slightly. Weren¡¯t these two brothers and Shen Lou childhood friends who grew up wearing the same pair of pants? Why did they look like someone had killed their father when they saw Shen Lou now!


    He remembered that nothing major had happened to the Zhong family in his previous life, and it wasn¡¯t until he crushed Zhong Changye¡¯s soul that the Zhong family began to decline.


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    Father Shen: Lin Xin will be a member of the Shen family from now on


    Loulou: (¡Ñv¡Ñ) Father


    Shen: What are you laughing at?


    Loulou: It¡¯s okay, I just feel that the paper burned in front of your spiritual throne in the previous life was not in vain.


    Father Shen: What did you say? (¨t_¨s)#


    Xinxin: ???

 CH 9

    The Zhong family¡¯s twins were born exactly alike, but there were still differences when you looked closely. The corners of Zhong Youyu¡¯s eyes were raised, while Zhong Wumo¡¯s were slightly lowered, which was also related to their temperaments. Today¡¯s Zhong family brothers were still immature, obviously they hadn¡¯t learned how to control their emotions, their emotions were written all over their faces.


    Zhong Wumo tugged on his brother¡¯s sleeve, reminding him not to get excited. Only then did Zhong Youyu come back to his senses, and raised his hand to salute Shen Qirui, ¡°Father is in seclusion and can¡¯t welcome each other, I hope Shibo will forgive me.¡±


    Hearing this, Shen Qirui followed Zhong Suifeng into the main hall to talk.


    Shen Lou and the brothers of the Zhong family and stood still, ¡°Won¡¯t you buy me a cup of tea?¡±


    ¡°Drinking so much medicine, you still have stomach for tea?¡± Zhong Youyu said strangely, then turned around and took Shen Lou to the courtyard where the brothers lived.


    ¡°But what happened to Uncle Zhong?¡± Shen Lou still remembered the promise he made to Lin Xin before going out, letting him follow every step of the way, even holding his little hand when going up the steps. But the child couldn¡¯t sit still, he let go of his hands as soon as he stood still and looked around curiously.


    Hearing this, Zhong Youyu¡¯s expression became even uglier, and he blurted out: ¡°How do you know?¡±


    Shen Lou looked at Zhong Youyu leisurely, with an inscrutable look.


    Zhong Youyu couldn¡¯t hold back anymore, ¡°I knew that uncle was not a bad guy, so I told him not to tell you! Something happened to my father, and the house was in chaos. Uncle said he wanted to find your father to discuss countermeasures. And you came to join in the fun!¡± As he spoke, his eyes turned red.


    Sure enough, the century-old wine was a cover. Shen Lou already understood what happened, then his thin lips gradually pursed into a straight line.


    Lin Xin was not interested in the big things these children said and leaned against the wall to tease cats and dogs, so it wouldn¡¯t be a big problem.


    A green-haired red-billed parrot stood on a gold wire shelf in the porch, shaking its head idly. Lin Xin picked up a small branch and poked its buttocks. The parrot was not very happy and yelled at him: ¡°Can¡¯t you get fox fur?¡±


    Hehe, Lin Xin thought it was funny, he threw away the branch and flicked the bird¡¯s head with his fingers, ¡°What fox fur?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s not enough tiger fur, why don¡¯t you use fox fur?¡± the parrot scolded him angrily.


    Zhong Youyu blushed immediately upon hearing this, ¡°Shut up, silly bird!¡±


    The parrot took two steps on the shelf and replied, ¡°Bah!¡±


    He wanted to catch the parrot and teach it a lesson. The parrot yelled loudly: ¡°Can¡¯t you get fox fur? Bah!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Lin Xin couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    The Zhong family was known as the House of Crouching Tigers, and when their children reached the age of fifteen, they all went to the mountains to hunt a tiger to prove their bravery. The white tiger fur on the collar was the symbol of crouching tiger. In his last life, Lin Xin used this to laugh at his family. After all, there were very few white tigers in the world, and the Zhong family had many children. Presumably they all dyed the skin of yellow-spotted tigers white to use them. He didn¡¯t expect them to use fox fur to make up for it!


    It was only then that Zhong Youyu noticed that Shen Lou¡¯s little follower, a handsome child, was a little too thin, ¡°Who is this?¡±


    ¡°My father¡¯s new apprentice, A Xin.¡± Shen Lou beckoned Lin Xin to come over, so he approached the Zhong brothers to say hello.


    Lin Xin obediently opened his clear and innocent eyes and asked in a low voice: ¡°Is it tiger fur or fox fur on the Zhong family¡¯s collar?¡±


    Quietly, the three older children around heard it. Zhong Youyu looked dishevelled, and lifted Shen Lou¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Who did this kid learn from? Why is he so impudent?¡±


    Shen Lou blocked the claw that tried to snap Lin Xin¡¯s head, ¡°He just learned to write, and he is divided so he doesn¡¯t know tigers and foxes.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± The young man¡¯s emotions came and went quickly, and within a few words, Zhong Youyu returned to his usual attitude towards Shen Lou, and no longer accused him of watching jokes for no reason, but his laugh was still a little forced.


    ¡°What happened to Uncle Zhong?¡± Shen Lou asked Zhong Youyu in a low voice.


    Zhong Youyu hesitated for a moment, and was about to speak, but was pre-empted by his taciturn younger brother, ¡°Father, it will take a few years of retreat.¡±


    As a cultivator, if he encountered a bottleneck or had a sudden feeling, they would retreat for a while. But now that his two sons were young, and his younger brother couldn¡¯t be counted on, why would Zhong Changye choose to retreat for a few years at this time? A possibility was that Zhong Changye was accidentally injured and needed to recuperate.


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t ask any more questions.


    The atmosphere on Mount Mogui was very different from Huanxing Hai. The Zhong family had a strict hierarchy, and the seniority was distinguished according to the number of black stripes on the collar. A mortal slave must kneel down and salute when he saw an immortal.


    Lin Xin followed Shen Lou to the vestibule, and the mortals on the corridor kneeled in a row.


    On the day of the Autumn Tribute, Mogui Mountain always held a banquet, and adults from thousands of households in the Western Regions were bustling in the front courtyard. The food and drink had already been put on the table, and there were mortal dancers in thin clothes, dancing to the sound of silk and bamboo.


    Shen Qirui followed Zhong Suifeng to the main seat with a normal expression, greeted the ministers of the Western Regions, and said with a smile: ¡°I can¡¯t be alone, I¡¯m greedy for drinking, I came to taste the century-old wine of Mogui Mountain, I don¡¯t want to meet Qiugong, so I ask you all to excuse me.¡±


    The subjects even said that they didn¡¯t dare to take their seats. After taking their seats, they all took a sneak peek at this uncommon Lord of the Northern Territory. Xuan Guogong Shen Qirui was straightforward and informal, and seemed to be much easier to get along with than Zhong Changye, who was not very expressive.


    The wine that had been stored in the cellar for a hundred years was opened, and the rich aroma of the wine was like a honeycomb that had fallen into the water, bursting in an instant and stretching for ten miles.


    ¡°I have admired the name of the Duke of the Kingdom for a long time, and Wu Zhaoyang, a subject of thousands of households, pays respects to the Duke Xuan of the Kingdom.¡± A middle-aged man with a Luli sword on his waist raised a wine glass and came forward to toast. He was one of Zhong Changye¡¯s most valued subjects.


    Shen Qirui recognized this person, so he held up the wine cup to bump into his.


    Everyone weighed their identities, and the prestigious attendants were all ready to go up and toast. Originally, those who were slightly inferior could have paid respect to the Princes, but whether it was Shen Lou or Zhong Youyu, they were only fifteen, and they were not allowed to drink alcohol, so they were exempted from this entertainment.


    ¡°Is that the son of Duke Xuan? He really is a young talent, with a dignified appearance.¡±


    ¡°I heard that he could wield a sword at the age of seven. He is a genius born in the Shen family.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just the Shen family. Looking at the entire Dayong, there is no one with higher qualifications than him. It is just that he has been weak for the past two years, and he did not participate in last year¡¯s hunting in Xianchi.¡±


    ¡°I heard that he is too sick to hold a sword, and Duke Xuan has changed his thoughts about his son.¡±


    ¡°Wisdom will hurt and being famous at a young age may not be a good thing.¡±


    Everyone peeked at the handsome Shen Lou, and whispered about the legendary son, all of them seemed to know Shen Lou.


    While stuffing something into his mouth, Lin Xin listened intently to the discussions, and just as he was listening with enthusiasm, he suddenly burst into applause.


    Several tall and burly guards stepped forward and removed the red carpet where the dancers had been dancing. There was a traditional program in Qiugong. The immortals from each family came to the stage and competed with swords without Luli. Zhong Changye didn¡¯t attend, and the one who attended was the lord of another domain who didn¡¯t care about them. The subordinates relaxed a lot and clamored to win the prize.


    Wu Wanhu, who had just toasted, put down ten egg-sized Lulis on the silver plate of the wine cup with a bang, ¡°I¡¯ll go out first, and you can do whatever you want.¡±


    When the voice fell, a young man beside Wu Wanhu jumped onto the high platform, ¡°Hey, Broken Sword Wu Yue!¡± Someone immediately called out the young man¡¯s name. This person was a master of the Wu family, and his title was Broken Sword, because he had the unique skill of breaking people¡¯s weapons with his sword.


    He was a very energetic young man, with thick eyebrows and tiger eyes, and his eyes were brilliant. As soon as this person came out, each family became more cautious, and ordered their masters to fight.


    ¡°Wu Wanhu, you are not kind. You come out with Broken Sword. Why didn¡¯t you wait?¡± Someone who knew Wu Wanhu joked.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t dare to come out, take out the Luli!¡± Wu Wanhu stretched out his hand to ask for it, but the other party dodged it with a smile. Even so, there were still people fighting.


    Broken Sword Wu Yue cupped his hands with a smile, revealing a pointed canine tooth. When the opponent saw his appearance, his nervousness was greatly reduced, and he rushed forward with his sword.


    Wu Yue stood still at the same spot, waiting for the moment when the opponent came up to him, then he suddenly drew his sword and slashed down at an extremely tricky angle, only to hear a crisp ¡°click¡±, and the opponent¡¯s sword broke in response. Within three strokes, the winner was already decided.


    ¡°Good sword.¡± Lin Xin couldn¡¯t help applauding, and Wu Wanhu accepted the other Patriarch¡¯s Luli with a smile.


    ¡°The sword with Luli usually has an empty heart, which is used to guide spiritual power. The point three inches away from the hilt is the weakest. This person wins because he draws the sword faster.¡± Shen Lou whispered in Lin Xin¡¯s ear.


    Lin Xin glanced sideways at him, feeling very nostalgic for this arrogant tone. When Shen Qingque was young, his aptitude was extraordinary, and he always told the truth without mercy, even telling the truth about other people¡¯s unique skills, which offended many people, and he didn¡¯t know how to restrain himself until he was twenty years old.


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t know that his words of ¡°teaching children seriously¡± would become ¡°young and frivolous¡± in Lin Xin¡¯s ears.


    The martial arts competition on the stage was still going on and a few people¡¯s weapons were broken by Wu Yue¡¯s iron sword within ten moves. Whether it was a mortal or an immortal, they couldn¡¯t help being overly excited when they encounter a gambling game, and the banquet was full of excitement for a while.


    ¡°This subordinate is not talented and wants to challenge the master of the Zhong family.¡± After another sword break, Wu Yue rushed to the superior Zhong Suifeng and cupped his hands.


    Challenge the masters of the Zhong family, if you win, you can get a generous reward. People who had won several games in a row in the past after making such a request.


    In the past, the head of the family, Zhong Changye, was the master. Zhong Suifeng didn¡¯t call his name though. After a moment of confusion, he called a name casually: ¡°Zhong Lu!¡±


    ¡°Uncle!¡± Zhong Youyu couldn¡¯t stop him, and looked at Zhong Lu, who was tall and had horizontal scars on their faces, when he walked onto the stage, his expression was a little grim.


    Everyone in the audience gasped, and Wu Wanhu turned pale on the spot, ¡°Xiao Yue, we admit defeat.¡±


    ¡°This person is Zhong Changye¡¯s attendant.¡± Shen Lou explained, not noticing that Lin Xin¡¯s back had tensed suddenly.


    ¡°He was born in the thousand families. When he was a child, he was pushed down a steep slope by his stepmother and hurt his face. He was picked up by my grandfather and changed his surname to Zhong. He has been with my father since then.¡± Zhong Youyu didn¡¯t want to pay attention to his uncle who talked nonsense, so he followed Shen Lou to coax the child, whispering the origin of Zhong Lu in Lin Xin¡¯s ear.


    Lin Xin naturally recognized Zhong Lu, he would never forget the horizontal scar from the cracked eyebrow bone to the bridge of the nose. This person was not just Zhong Changye¡¯s attendant, he was also Zhong Changye¡¯s mad dog. He narrowly escaped death at the hands of this person twice, and often turned his head in Zhao Jian¡¯s arms to meet Zhong Lu¡¯s ferocious and bloodthirsty face. He still remembered the temperature of Zhao Jian¡¯s plasma when his arm was severed. In his childhood nightmares, most of them were full of this scarred face.


    Shouldn¡¯t Zhong Lu be looking for his traces everywhere at this time? How could he appear at the Zhong family¡¯s autumn tribute banquet? Lin Xin¡¯s hands and feet were a little cold, it was because he was too careless, many things in this life were different, and the experience of the previous life didn¡¯t work at all!


    It was just a small show of Qiugong, and Zhong Suifeng actually asked Zhong Lu to take action, it was really a bit of a fuss. Zhong Suifeng also seemed to feel that something was wrong with his decision and looked at Shen Qirui for help.


    Shen Qirui waved his hand to signal that it¡¯s okay, everyone in the Western Regions knew how powerful this Zhong Lu was, and Wu Wanhu had already conceded defeat, so nothing happened.


    ¡°Please.¡± Wu Yue on the stage didn¡¯t seem to hear the Patriarch¡¯s words and raised his hand to signal Zhong Lu to make a move, and everyone was in an uproar.


    Zhong Lu held a black broken sword and raised his head expressionlessly. Before Wu Wanhu could persuade him again, he had already stepped on the ground with one foot and jumped up. The wooden high platform made an unbearable muffled sound, Zhong Lu¡¯s whole body was like a sharp sword, and he quickly and ruthlessly took Wu Yue¡¯s head straight.


    ¡°Boom Boom Boom¡± made more than a dozen moves in the air in an instant, so fast that there were only afterimages left, hitting each other heavily.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± someone in the audience screamed. The moment the two collided, Zhong Lu had already cut off Wu Yue¡¯s head and was holding it in his hand. On that young face, there was still the expression of a rivalry with a master, and he was excited and smiling. The headless body maintained the movement of drawing the sword, and fell straight on the stage, making a dull ¡°dong¡± sound.


    Zhong Suifeng got up abruptly, ¡°Zhong Lu, I told you to compete, why did you kill someone?¡±


    ¡°This Zhong Lu can only kill.¡± Zhong Lu threw the head on the ground, raised his head, and looked straight at Lin Xin who was behind the short couple.


    The author has something to say-


    Small theater:


    Xinxin: I¡¯m afraid QAQ


    Loulou: Don¡¯t be afraid, I will protect you


    Xinxin: Then you protect me, and I will crush his soul


    Loulou: Okay¡­huh?


    Parrot: Bah!


    T/N: Merry Christmas you guys¡­

 CH 10

    As if being stared at by a venomous snake sticking out his tongue, Lin Xin¡¯s blood froze instantly, but his face was full of innocence, and he stared back directly at Zhong Lu¡¯s eyes.


    After their eyes met, Zhong Lu left the stage without any indication and without looking back.


    After a moment of panic, Lin Xin quickly calmed down. When he was hunted down, he was only five years old, and a child¡¯s face changed every day. Now that three years had passed, Zhong Lu might not be able to recognize him.


    ¡°Xiaoyue!¡± Wu Wanhu leaped onto the high platform and held the young and fresh head. The handsome young man was still smiling, and his white canine teeth gleamed against the autumn sun. He didn¡¯t even know that his head was in a different place from his body. Holding his head in one hand and embracing the body in the other, Wu Zhaoyang tried his best to restrain himself, but his eyes were still red.


    ¡°Zhaoyang, I¡¯m really sorry, this Zhong Lu¡¯s attack was too serious.¡± Zhong Suifeng was very sorry and gave Wu Wanhu a lot of apologies. However, Wu Wanhu didn¡¯t say a word, just hugged Wu Yue¡¯s corpse and didn¡¯t speak, the scene was a little awkward for a while.


    Shen Qirui came forward to mediate, and finally managed to appease Wu Wanhu.


    Without Luli, only using the immortal¡¯s own spiritual power to compete, in itself was for the sake of stopping bloodshed, but seeing the blood now, it was really unlucky. Naturally, the competition couldn¡¯t go on, and the banquet ended in a hurry.


    ¡°A simple autumn tribute banquet can be messed up like this. I¡¯m really convinced by uncle!¡± Zhong Youyu was so angry that he dragged Shen Lou to complain, ¡°There are so many matters to be approved, but my uncle only knows how to accompany your father. After drinking, he threw it all to me for approval. How can I approve it! Which twelve years old can manage the affairs of the whole domain, and you will approve it if he puts it on you? You say you¡­¡±


    The sentence got stuck in the middle, because Shen Lou was writing on a piece of paper, and three papers had already been approved in the time it took him to speak, ¡°If you can¡¯t, learn it, your father is not here, so someone has to take the lead.¡± After finishing speaking, he pasted the three approved papers on Zhong Youyu¡¯s forehead.


    Zhong Changye, the head of the Zhong family¡¯s generation, was a very capable person, so much so that these two stupid sons only knew how to practice and play since they were young and ignored everything else. Thus, when Lin Xin disagreed with Zhong Changye and killed Zhong Changye, the Zhong family collapsed overnight and quickly declined.


    ¡°Monster, how can you know everything!¡± Zhong Youyu peeled off the paper on his head and yelled strangely.


    ¡°Are you studying, or Wumo?¡± Shen Lou didn¡¯t want to talk to him and turned to look at Lin Xin.


    Lin Xin did not know when had taken down the parrot from the porch, he held up the green-feathered bird, and let it peck Zhong Wumo who was sleeping soundly on the soft couch. There were blue shadows under Zhong Wumo¡¯s eyes, obviously he hadn¡¯t slept well at night.


    Zhong Youyu grabbed the bird¡¯s beak that was about to poke his younger brother, ¡°Don¡¯t touch him, let him sleep for a while.¡±


    The parrot struggled away, jumped onto Lin Xin¡¯s shoulder, and shouted loudly: ¡°Don¡¯t touch him! Fuck him! Don¡¯t you know how to use fox fur?¡±


    ¡°You bastard, see if I won¡¯t stew you today¡­¡± Zhong Youyu was so angry that he threw the bird out with his wings.


    Lin Xin covered his mouth and giggled, ¡°What¡¯s the name of this bird?¡±


    ¡°Nageguo.¡± Shen Lou quickly looked at the documents on the table and chatted with Lin Xin with two purposes.


    Which pot was not opened and which pot was lifted, the name was a bit interesting. Lin Xin leaned on the window and looked out, watching Zhong Youyu arguing with the parrot, he narrowed his eyes slightly. The twin brothers didn¡¯t know about the Zhong family chasing and killing him from the beginning to the end, so Zhong Lu should not be under their control. Now that Zhong Changye was in seclusion, Zhong Lu¡¯s mad dog might not take any action, but he couldn¡¯t take this risk.


    Whether Zhong Lu remembered him, whether he knew his identity, whether he would do anything, these were all unpredictable. Once he fell into the hands of Zhong Changye, what awaited him was a life worse than death. It would be too useless to live a shorter life after rebirth than in the previous life.


    Looking back at Shen Lou who was quickly browsing through the documents, Lin Xin jumped off the couch, walked to Shen Lou¡¯s side, and grabbed his hem.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shen Lou turned to look at him.


    Feeling reluctant to say goodbye to the beauty, Lin Xin blinked and yawned.


    It was getting late and seeing Lin Xin sleepy, Shen Lou didn¡¯t stay any longer, he just bid farewell to the Zhong brothers, and returned to his guest house. Lin Xin held onto Shen Lou¡¯s sleeve all the way and did not let go, he did not dare to do anything in front of outsiders, in order to save his life, he had to stay close to Shen Shizi when in the Zhong family.


    But this was by no means a long-term solution, if Zhong Changye found a reason to ask the Shen family to take him back, and the Shen family who didn¡¯t know why sent him here, then he would really have no place to cry.


    ¡°A Xin, let¡¯s take a bath first.¡± On the table was a pile of gifts sent by Zhong Suifeng, Shen Lou picked up a spirit sword to check. This sword was three inches shorter than ordinary spirit swords, and much lighter. Presumably it was specially made for Shen Lou in consideration of his poor health in recent years.


    A spirit sword referred to a treasured sword that could be equipped with Luli and circulate spiritual power. Children of aristocratic families usually didn¡¯t get their own natal spirit sword until they were fifteen years old. Before that, they used ordinary spirit swords given by their elders. It was not unusual for Zhong Suifeng to give him this one, but the few boxes of Luli next to it seemed to be a bit too expensive.


    ¡°Your Majesty¡­¡± Lin Xin grabbed the hem of his clothes, stood in front of the bathroom door and looked at him eagerly.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Shen Lou turned to look at him.


    ¡°This, I don¡¯t know how to use it,¡± the little face wrinkled into a ball, ¡°Let¡¯s wash together, okay?¡±


    Let¡¯s wash together¡­


    The small sword in Shen Lou¡¯s hand hit his foot with a clang.


    ¡­.


    ¡°Such a big pool, let¡¯s take a bath together.¡± In his memory, Lin Xin suddenly tightened the chains around his wrists, nailed him to the pool wall, and leaned against the hot spring pool.


    ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really heartless,¡± Lin Xin bit his earlobe and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°His Royal Highness Xuanwang, who has no shame in his heart, shouldn¡¯t you get out what you left in me with his own hands?¡±


    How could he be ruthless, let alone facing Lin Xin like that, how could he really have a clear conscience.


    ¡­.


    The memory imprinted in his soul popped up untimely, so Shen Lou closed his eyes, bent down to pick up the small sword, and took Lin Xin to the bathroom with stiff steps.


    There were hot springs in Mogui Mountain, leading to every courtyard. In the bathroom was a small pool made of bluestone, with a huge tiger head carved on the wall, spitting out water continuously. There was a large tank next to the pool, which contained cool mountain spring water.


    Shen Lou twisted the tiger¡¯s head, closed the water gate, and the tiger¡¯s mouth stopped spraying water. Feeling the water temperature was a bit hot, he poured some cold water into it, ¡°Try whether it¡¯s hot or not.¡±


    Lin Xin kicked off his shoes and socks and stretched out a foot. He tried the water with his feet, and as soon as he touched the surface of the water, he retracted it as if he was afraid of itching, then he giggled and stretched out again, and kicked twice, ¡°It¡¯s not hot anymore.¡±


    Turning to look at Shen Lou, whose face had started blushing because of the hot springs, Lin Xin touched the hemp rope around his neck, walked barefoot in front of Shen Lou, staggered, slipped, pulled Shen Lou and fell into the pool.


    ¡°Plop!¡± Shen Lou, who was still wearing a tunic, was thoroughly soaked in the water, then he spat out a mouthful of water, and frantically picked up the struggling Lin Xin.


    ¡°The clothes are wet.¡± Lin Xin barely stood up, and tore off his soaked underwear, revealing the topaz pendant.


    The flawless jade pendant was tied with a thin hemp rope. The beautiful jade was tied with hemp, and the jade was covered with dust. It was absurdly desolate. This was the token of the marquises of Lin Zhenghan, the Marquis of Xunlu, and it was given to him when it was announced to the world that he was named Marquis. As a child of the family, Shen Lou naturally recognized it, ¡°A Xin, you¡­¡±


    Lin Zhenghan rebelled from the Lin family and established his own family. He was sealed as the Marquis of Xunlu by the emperor, and his story was unparalleled for a while. However, he died young and his only son went missing. The emperor sent people to search for him for a long time, and finally found Lin Xin when he was sixteen years old. Lin Xin, who was supposed to inherit his father¡¯s title, did not get the title of Marquis of Xunlu[1], and was instead named ¡°Marquis of Gelu[2]¡°.


    The difference between Gelu and Xunlu was a thousand miles away.


    The duty of the Marquis Lu was to go to various places to collect Luli every year. Lin Xin was ruthless and wilful, and he disliked those would ask for more, especially the Western Regions, who insisted on adding 30% more, so he clashed with Zhong Changye.


    ¡°That bastard Lin Xin killed my father! In the future, he must be cut into pieces!¡± When Zhong Youyu came to report the funeral, the members of the Shen family were very surprised. Although they knew that Lin Xin was powerful, they did not expect him to be able to kill even Zhong Changye, who had such a strong spiritual power.


    Marquis Lu became famous in his first battle, and the world¡¯s fear of Lin Xin became more and more serious.


    Seeing Shen Lou holding the jade pendant in a daze, Lin Xin knew that he recognized it, and sighed silently in his heart. Meeting by accident in Weishui before, and being picked up by Shen Lou, was luck that he could not have dreamed of in his previous life. He thought that he could grow up with Shen Lou well, coaxing him early, but it was no good to play tricks on him.


    ¡°¡­Why do you tie the jade pendant with a hemp rope? Ask Zishu to change it to soft silk for you.¡± Holding the jade pendant for a while, Shen Lou said such a sentence, then moved his eyes away, and took off his soaked undershirt.


    ¡°What kind of jade pendant is this, don¡¯t you know?¡± Lin Xin didn¡¯t intend to let him go, he had to tell Shen Lou about this today to ensure that he would not hand him over to the Zhong family, ¡°I am not Zhao Wanhu¡¯s nephew, I¡¯m Lin Zhenghan¡¯s son.¡±


    ¡°A Xin!¡± Shen Lou looked at him in surprise, thinking that Lin Xin didn¡¯t know his life experience when he was a child, until Zhu Xingli found him, but it turned out that this child knew from the beginning.


    ¡°I saw that man today, the man who chased and killed Uncle Zhao, with a scar on his face,¡± Lin Xin said with red eyes, ¡°They will kill me too, that Zhong Lu will definitely come to catch me.¡±


    ¡°You, that is to say, it was people from the Zhong family who chased to kill you back then?¡± Shen Lou¡¯s pupils shrank, and he finally understood why Lin Xin targeted the Zhong family in his last life, and why he wanted to kill Zhong Changye. If Zhong Changye killed Lin Zhenghan¡­


    When he thought back to when he blamed Lin Xin for killing Zhong Changye¡­ Shen Lou stretched out his hand to support the shivering Lin Xin, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, with me around, no one would dare to hurt you ¡°


    Lin Xin lowered his eyes to hide the sarcasm in his pupils. A child¡¯s protection could be somewhat believable, but in the end he might be handed over by Duke Xuan who ¡°stands like a pine in the snow¡±, and then handed over to the emperor. ¡°You can hand me over to the emperor for a reward, but please don¡¯t hand me over to the Zhong family.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    The small theater:


    Loulou: My heart is too painful to believe: So what should I do? Let me give you Huhu, okay?


    T/N: So it seems the MC is the Marquis of Lu and was responsible for collecting Luli as was his father¡­

 CH 11

    ¡°My son, my lord please go to the side hall to have a talk.¡± Suddenly there was a loud voice from outside the door.


    According to the brothers of the Zhong family, Zhong Changye was in seclusion, and their incompetent uncle couldn¡¯t make up his mind, so they asked Shen Lou¡¯s father to discuss things, and wanted to use Xuan Guogong¡¯s name to frighten the vassals of the Western Regions, so that they could make plans slowly. After a whole day of fuss, it was time to get down to business. Shen Qirui never shied away from his eldest son when talking about business, so he asked him to go with him.


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t have time to explain to Lin Xin, so he just said dryly: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, follow me.¡±


    Since Zhong Lu had threatened Lin Xin, he couldn¡¯t leave Lin Xin alone in the room. Hanging the little treasure sword he had just obtained, with A Xin¡¯s little tail dressed up again, he followed the guards outside the door and went out.


    It was already dark, and Mogui Mountain banned candles at night, so the lanterns in the hands of the guards were the only light.


    The houses on Mogui Mountain were built close to the mountain, scattered up and down with the mountain, and connected by many cornice corridors, which was very complicated. It was easy to go wrong during the day, not to mention the dark night.


    Shen Lou was still thinking about Lin Xin, not paying attention to where the guards led them.


    After seven turns and eight corners, the guards handed a lantern to Shen Lou, ¡°The hall in front is called Meiyuan, and the Duke and the Second Master are both in the hall. It is inconvenient for the subordinates to accompany you there. Please, my lord.¡±


    After that, the guard took a few steps back and stood by the pillar, as if waiting there. In front was a moon gate, which seemed to lead to a garden, Shen Lou frowned slightly, how could these two people come to such a remote place to talk at night while holding candles? Glancing at Xiao Linxin beside him, the other party had lowered his head, not knowing what he was thinking.


    Lin Xin was holding a small Luli in his hand, slowly sucking in the spiritual power, when he suddenly saw a cold white hand reaching out to him. This hand was a little smaller than in memory, and it didn¡¯t have a healthy wheat color. He looked up at the little Shen Lou and passed the empty hand over. Anyway, this child, at this moment, really wanted to protect him, even if it was due to the Shen family¡¯s innate benevolence and righteousness disease.


    Stepping into the garden, the faint candlelight illuminated the distance of three steps before and after. The path paved with cobblestones was winding, and many stones on it had fallen. Holding up the lantern, looking into the distance, the pavilions here had collapsed, and weeds were overgrown.


    ¡°Here¡­¡± Shocked, Shen Lou grabbed Lin Xin and retreated, but before it was too late, a figure suddenly appeared from the depths of the grass, blocking their way of retreat. He quickly protected Lin Xin behind him, picked up a ray of candlelight and shot out, the weak flame collided with the figure in the air, reflecting Zhong Lu¡¯s scarred face.


    Lin Xin gritted his teeth, really afraid of something, so he threw away the powdered Luli, made his palm into a claw, and was about to make a move when the sound of a sword being drawn suddenly came into his ear.


    Holding the ridiculous looking little sword, Shen Lou threw the lantern into the air and kicked it away.


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Lin Xin couldn¡¯t stop it in time, Shen Lou had already rushed up over there, feeling a little anxious. Not to mention whether Shen Lou, who was only twelve years old, was Zhong Lu¡¯s opponent, but with his current body, it was rumored that he couldn¡¯t even lift a sword!


    With a sound of ¡°Buzz¡ª¡ª¡±, the Luli on the hilt of the sword was activated, and the light blue aura instantly filled the body of the sword. Shen Lou held the small sword steadily and it collided with Zhong Lu¡¯s jet-black dagger.


    There was another buzzing sound, and Zhong Lu¡¯s sword also lit up its Luli. The candle was extinguished, and the surroundings were pitch black, then only two faint blue lights were seen making dozens of strokes in the air in an instant.


    Shen Lou, who was only twelve years old, was able to catch Zhong Lu¡¯s killer move, which surprised Lin Xin very much. His aptitude was already considered excellent, even at the age of twelve he could survive five moves under Zhong Lu¡¯s hands, could it be that Shen Lou was a monster?


    Before Lin Xin could take a closer look, Shen Lou suddenly came over with his sword, grabbed Lin Xin and ran away.


    He could still control the sword! The reason why one started to practice the natal spirit sword at the age of fifteen was because fencing the sword required the separation of mind and soul, and before the age of fifteen it was generally difficult to condense to the point where one could fend off the sword.


    Shen Lou hugged Lin Xin tightly, took out a piece of Luli from his sleeve and crushed it, this caused abundant spiritual power to sweep his whole body, and the spiritual sword turned into a stream of light and rushed forward, unexpectedly, there was a mountain wall at the end of the garden. As they turned their head to go up, Zhong Lu had already caught up.


    A burst of dizziness suddenly struck him, Shen Lou shook his head, and staggered down the flying sword.


    ¡°Over there is the Dao Shimen!¡± Lin Xin spotted the trick under the mountain wall with sharp eyes.


    The sharp murderous aura tore through the cool night wind, and it came from the sky above his head with the force of a thunderbolt. Lin Xin only felt that he was pushed hard, knocked open the stone door, and rolled down several stone platforms.


    ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± The palms of his hands were on the ground, and a few cuts were cut into it by the gravel. Lin Xin grinned as he got up and was immediately dazzled by the bright candlelight.


    ¡°Who?¡± Zhong Wumo¡¯s immature and cold voice came from the place where the candle light went out, and before he could react, a sword light came from the air.


    Rolling on the spot, while dodging the fierce killing move, before Lin Xin could stand up straight again, Zhong Wumo jumped out and pointed his sword at his neck.


    ¡°Little Mo, don¡¯t kill him!¡± Zhong Youyu ran over wearing a sackcloth.


    This was a wide stone room carved out of the mountain, surrounded by white banners, and a delicate sarcophagus was placed in the middle. Wisps of white gas came out of the coffin continuously, obviously the inside was filled with ice. Looking at the two brothers in sackcloth showing filial piety, there was nothing that he still couldn¡¯t understand. Their father, Su Guogong of the Western Regions, Zhong Changye, the head of the Zhong family, was actually dead!


    Secretly, the two sons were keeping vigil alone at night.


    ¡°He saw it.¡± Zhong Wumo stared at Lin Xin but did not put away the sword in his hand.


    ¡°He¡¯s Shen Da¡¯s junior, so we can¡¯t think of killing him, let alone killing him.¡± Zhong Youyu looked at Lin Xin with an innocent face, ¡°Little A Xin, why did you come here? ¡°


    Lin Xin didn¡¯t care about the threat of the two children at all and said loudly: ¡°Zhong Lu wants to kill Shen Lou, he is outside!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Zhong Youyu was surprised, they did let Zhong Lu guard outside, if Shen Lou broke in by mistake, he would definitely meet him. They quickly jumped up the steps to open the door, the flames soaring into the sky had brought thick smoke, but Shen Lou was nowhere to be seen.


    The outside was covered with dead grass and barren trees, which ignited at the slightest touch, and the tongue of fire licked the stone door the moment the door was opened, forcing Zhong Youyu back down the steps.


    It was on fire! Lin Xin understood that the fire must have been set by Shen Lou. No matter what happened to the Zhong family, they would not dare to kill Shen Shizi here, as long as they attracted people, Shen Lou would be safe.


    ¡°Close the door quickly!¡± Zhong Youyu naturally understood this point, the fire would attract everyone, and the news of his father¡¯s death would no longer be concealed.


    Here, the two brothers hurriedly closed the stone gate, and Lin Xin had already jumped onto the sarcophagus. The coffin was filled with ice bricks, and even the edge of the sarcophagus was covered with a layer of frost. There was a person lying under the ice edge, dressed in plain white clothes, with dense white tiger fur on the neckline, and a gold wristband with white tiger pattern inlaid with Luli on his wrist. Even if he was dead, he still had an irresistible look.


    It was a pity that the handsome face with sword eyebrows and eagle eyes had collapsed, and it could clearly be seen that it was Zhong Changye¡¯s face. His appearance in death was no different from that of the young master of the Zhao family who had lost his soul.


    Zhong Changye, could it be possible that he also lost his soul?


    He didn¡¯t have a mirror at hand, so he couldn¡¯t verify it, but Lin Xin had basically confirmed it. Young Master Zhao, Zhong Changye, these people who should have lived for several years, all died when he was reborn, and the way of death was that their souls were scattered.


    And these two people had their souls crushed by him in the previous life.


    The author has something to say: Small theater:


    Xinxin: How did these people die before I made a move?


    Loulou: Probably because of the virtues they accumulated in their previous lives.


    Xinxin: Who wants to accumulate such virtues! = =

 CH 12

    The light of the fire was extremely conspicuous on the pitch-black Mogui Mountain. After a while, firefighters and spectators flocked to the place. Before the stone door could be closed, the two brothers of the Zhong family stood there in embarrassment with smoldering faces.


    Zhong Suifeng who came in a hurry saw this scene and couldn¡¯t help but fell and beat his chest. The subjects of the Western Regions were basically all there, and the news of Zhong Changye¡¯s death could no longer be concealed.


    The curfew candles were lit again, and the whole Mogui Mountain was as bright as day, revealing all the secrets hidden in the dark.


    ¡°My lord is dead! What¡¯s going on here?¡± Several respectable subjects rushed into the stone room without hesitation, and burst into tears when they saw Zhong Changye¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°My lord!¡±


    The stone room was in chaos, Lin Xin squeezed out of the crowd with his short body and saw the guards of the Shen family supporting Shen Lou standing on the edge of the mud that had just extinguished the fire, and Shen Qirui stood beside him with his hands behind his back, looking cold and serious. Zhong Lu knelt on one knee on the bluestone slab, without saying a word.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Lin Xin walked over quickly and pulled Shen Lou up to look over. There were some injuries on his arms and legs, which didn¡¯t look serious.


    Shen Lou lowered his head and didn¡¯t speak, the tearing pain exploded again in the altar, the pain made his eyes blurred, he had vaguely heard Lin Xin¡¯s voice, but couldn¡¯t tell the direction. Fortunately, he was used to this kind of pain, and there was nothing wrong with him.


    Zhong Suifeng ran over anxiously, and kicked Zhong Lu, ¡°I told you to guard the garden, what are you doing trying to kill the Prince?¡±


    Tilting his body, he simply stood up and stared at Zhong Suifeng.


    The air froze for a moment.


    ¡°Okay, Suifeng, now is not the time to worry about this!¡± Shen Qirui said in a deep voice, raising his hand to signal the guards of the Shen family to clear the field. The tomb was full of people, what did it look like.


    Zhong Lu went away without turning his head, rushed into the stone room and stood in front of the coffin with his sword in his arms. His powerful spiritual power was accompanied by a terrifying coercion, which shocked everyone to take three steps back. The Xuanyi guards of the Shen family came in and invited out the adults of Wanhu and Qianhu who were crying heartbrokenly, it didn¡¯t matter whether they were genuine or not, and the stone room finally became quiet.


    Shen Qirui walked in, looked at Zhong Changye in the coffin, and said nothing for a long time. The night wind passed through the stone gate, causing the white candles on the table to flicker, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Father was fighting with someone that day, and for some reason he suddenly fell to the ground.¡± Zhong Youyu¡¯s eyes turned red, ¡°Even Yao Shi doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    Shen Lou walked in slowly, with steady steps and a calm expression. After receiving his father¡¯s signal, he stepped forward to salute Zhong Changye.


    Lin Xin stood aside with his arms folded, not intending to salute at all. He secretly thought that his work was in vain, since Zhong Changye was dead, and there was nothing to be afraid of in the Zhong family¡¯s disunity, there had really been no need for him to confess his identity to Shen Lou, it was really a big loss.


    ¡°Oh, why is it so lively?¡± A slightly noisy voice came from the door, and before everyone could turn their heads, Zhong Lu had rushed over in an instant.


    The two strands of spiritual energy collided in the air, directly smashing the half-covered stone door.


    ¡°Hey, if you have something to say, say it, don¡¯t just act!¡± The visitor held a short black stick in his hand. It was ugly and not like a spiritual weapon, but like a living thing. And with it Zhong Lu¡¯s killing moves were disassembled one by one.


    T¨¢nhu¨¢ng Bi¨¡oj¨¬! Lin Xin recognized the spirit sword that looked like a fire stick at a glance and stared at the man in red with both eyes.


    ¡°No more fights, no more fights, your Zhong family is bullying people!¡± The man in red didn¡¯t want to take any more moves, so he rolled on the spot, regardless of whether the move was ugly, and rolled directly to Shen Qirui¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Shen Qirui raised his hand to stop Zhong Lu from chasing him, and looked down at the man making faces at Zhong Lu, ¡°Yi Xiao, why are you here?¡±


    Hearing this name, Shen Lou immediately looked up at the man and secretly said a bad word in his heart. Master Zhu Xingli, who was killed by Lin Xin himself in his previous life, also had the nickname of Yi Xiao.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I want to come, it¡¯s Zhong Changye who won¡¯t let me go!¡± Zhu Xingli got up and patted the dust off his robes. The crimson silk and gold jade robes were the usual extravagant attire of the Zhu family in the Southern Region. They were out of place in the pale mourning hall.


    ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense!¡± Zhong Youyu couldn¡¯t help retorting, ¡°It was you who stayed at our house and killed my father.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill him, I can¡¯t beat him, you have to be reasonable!¡± Zhu Xingli was born with a good appearance, but he didn¡¯t know how to stand up and talk properly, like a big monkey jumping out of the deep mountains and old forests, not at all like a master. The Zhu family had the style of ¡°moving like a phoenix and burning for nine days¡±.


    After extinguishing the fire and comforting the mourning officials outside, Zhong Suifeng ran in with his head full, and saw Zhu Xingli rolling around in the mourning hall, so he suddenly became angry, ¡°Zhu Xingli, what are you doing? Why did you run over here?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t let me out of Mogui Mountain, but you didn¡¯t say I wasn¡¯t allowed out of the yard!¡± Zhu Xingli hid behind Shen Qirui, turned around and saw the pale-faced Shen Lou, ¡°Yo, my eldest nephew is also here. Well, why do you have such a bad complexion?¡± As he spoke, he looked at Xiao Linxin who was beside Shen Lou.


    Shen Lou stepped sideways, blocking Zhu Xingli¡¯s view of Lin Xin, and bowed his head in salute, ¡°Second Uncle Zhu¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly fell down, and Zhu Xingli quickly caught him.


    ¡°This child, why is he covered in cold sweat!¡± Zhu Xingli hugged him horizontally, feeling someone grabbing his clothes, and looking down, it was the child who had been staring at him just now.


    ¡°Master¡­uncle, Shizi just got into a fight with Zhong Lu, so we need to find a doctor.¡± Lin Xin tried his best to restrain the trembling in his throat, as he looked at Zhu Xingli¡¯s young and handsome face without blinking.


    The doctor couldn¡¯t tell the reason, but it could only be attributed to the fact that the sword forcefully injured the soul, and it would be better to rest for a few days.


    Zhu Xingli curled his lips, ¡°Quack doctor.¡±


    ¡°You call him a quack doctor, then you treat him.¡± Lin Xin habitually choked him.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Zhu Xingli circled around Lin Xin, and suddenly reached out to flick his head, ¡°You¡¯re kind of funny.¡±


    Lin Xin covered the place where he was flicked and stared at him for a while, his eyes gradually blurring. It had been a long, long time that he hadn¡¯t heard that voice, nor had anyone flicked his head.


    ¡°Oh, why are you still crying?¡± Zhu Xingli scratched his head, knelt down and looked at Lin Xin at the same level, ¡°Can I bounce it back for you?¡±


    Lin Xin wiped his eyes, raised his hand and bounced it back.


    ¡°Oh! You really played it!¡±


    The night of farce ended, and the news of Zhong Changye¡¯s death could no longer be suppressed. The next day, the mourning hall was moved to the vestibule, and people were sent to various regions to report the funeral. The news spread to the capital as quickly as possible, and the emperor¡¯s decree would come down in a few days, but the burial could not be done until then.


    Zhong Youyu and Zhong Wumo no longer had to keep watch at night, but had to kneel in the mourning hall during the day, dressed in sackcloth and mourning, while greeting and sending people off. The Wanhu and Qianhu who came to the autumn tribute in full swing put on plain clothes and black robes one after another.


    Only Zhu Xingli was still walking around in a festive red dress.


    ¡°Zhu Yixiao, don¡¯t go too far!¡± Zhong Suifeng looked at his attire, shaking his fingertips with anger.


    The Zhu family in the southern region liked extravagance, and all the descendants of the direct line wore red clothes. The crimson red crocodile gold jade robe, with a Luli bead the size of a grain of rice embellished on the forehead, carved on eight sides, was exquisite and translucent, and dazzling in the sun.


    ¡°Our Zhu family is usually dressed like this, and it¡¯s the same for funerals and happy events.¡± Zhu Xingli opened his mouth and began to talk nonsense, ¡°I¡¯m not here to hold a wedding for Zhong Changye, don¡¯t get me wrong.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Zhong Suifeng drew his sword, but just as he exposed the three-foot blade, he was knocked back by a gust of wind which suddenly struck.


    Zhu Xingli held the black and shiny fire stick, and said with a smile: ¡°Look at you, you won¡¯t let me go, and the weather is like a bastard who drank too much water, why bother?¡±


    ¡°Yi Xiao.¡± Shen Qirui came over from a distance, stopped Zhu Xingli¡¯s nonsense in time, patted Zhong Suifeng on the shoulder to signal him to go first, and said a few words to Zhu Xingli himself.


    Shen Lou fell into a coma for the night, and the next day he refused to drink the medicine as if nothing had happened.


    Lin Xin leaned on the window sill to look out and saw his master talking to Shen Lou¡¯s father from a distance. Based on the time, Zhu Xingli should be looking for him everywhere at this time, but he went to Mogui Mountain to directly manage Zhong Changye¡¯s important person, which was really his style. It was just that Zhong Changye died strangely, and Zhu Xingli, who had been at odds with him happened to be on Mogui Mountain, so he naturally became the object of suspicion.


    Shen Lou coughed lightly, put the untouched medicine bowl on the small table, which made a crisp sound.


    Hearing the sound, Lin Xin turned his head, looked at the prince who was leaning on the soft couch with his eyes closed, and remembered what Master said last night. Zhu Xingli was different from ordinary monks. He cultivated very complicated things, such as counting fortune in strange ways, five elements and gossip, engraving arrays and drawing symbols, and using fortune-telling for diseases¡­


    According to the head of the Zhu family¡ªZhu Xingli¡¯s brother, he was the reincarnation of a monkey, who had no personality, knew a little about everything, but was not very proficient in everything.


    But heterogeneity had its benefits. He could discover many things that ordinary people could not see. According to Zishu, Shen¡¯s family sought many immortal doctors but failed to cure Shen Lou, so maybe his master could help.


    ¡°My lord, I want to go out and play for a while.¡± Lin Xin looked at Shen Lou eagerly.


    ¡°¡­Go.¡± Before he could finish speaking, the child had already run out in a gust of wind, Shen Lou looked at the medicine bowl on the small table, his thin lips pursed into a straight line.


    The messenger who had gone to report the funeral to Zhu¡¯s family would arrive soon and would also bring the news that Zhu Xingli was in Mogui Mountain. Shen Qirui agreed to make peace for him and remove his suspicion. Zhu Xingli couldn¡¯t leave Mogui Mountain for a while, so he squatted in the yard digging ants, feeling bored.


    Looking up, Zhu Xingli saw half a small head protruding from behind the fence. Zhu Xingli smiled and beckoned him over, ¡°Boy, how did you find me?¡±


    Lin Xin walked in front of Zhu Xingli and stared at the pair of phoenix-tailed eyes unique to the Zhu family. The Zhu family people were beautiful, with phoenix shaped upturned eyes, but Zhu Xingli was a different kind, and the corners of his eyes were a little down, which should be caused by his own sloppy expression.


    ¡°Who are you to Shen Lou?¡± Zhu Xingli squatted on the ground, eyes level with him. He couldn¡¯t see clearly in the dark last night, but now when he looked at the child¡¯s eyebrows¡­


    ¡°I am the prince¡¯s attendant.¡± Lin Xin replied obediently.


    ¡°Such a small attendant!¡± Zhu Xingli compared the height of the little guy, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Xin, a single letter.¡± Lin Xin lowered his eyes, recalling the first time he saw Zhu Xingli in his previous life, at that time, also he said the same thing, only the first name, no last name.


    Zhu Xingli twitched his brows slightly, his face remained unchanged, he still had the same smile, but he held Lin Xin¡¯s arm and skilfully touched the bones, ¡°Tsk, what a boy, you have good qualifications, be my apprentice.¡±


    I was originally your apprentice, Lin Xin clenched his hands behind his back, ¡°Why should I be your apprentice, what are your abilities?¡±


    ¡°I am a fairy,¡± Zhu Xingli said solemnly, then he took out his T¨¢nhu¨¢ng bi¨¡oj¨¬ from behind his back, ¡°See, this is a fire stick. I just need to blow on it, and I can turn it into a spirit sword.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Lin Xin was not interested in this, and even didn¡¯t want to recognize him, ¡°I am the son¡¯s attendant, I can¡¯t go with you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I will steal you away, let¡¯s go quietly.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    Master: From today on, you are my apprentice


    Xinxin: What can I learn?


    Master: You can learn fortune-telling, gossip, how to chop vegetables, dye cloth and make rouge


    Xinxin: Goodbye manual

 CH 13

    When Lin Xin returned to Shen Lou¡¯s courtyard, the guard Huang Ge was diligently pouring the decoction in the sweet-scented osmanthus trees in the courtyard.


    ¡°Brother Huang, the prince doesn¡¯t want to drink medicine anymore?¡± Lin Xin was very concerned about Shen Lou¡¯s sudden coma last night, so he asked Zhu Xingli just now, but the old bastard started pretending to be stupid again, saying if he must know, he must acknowledge him as teacher before he would be willing to talk about it.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Huang Ge scratched his head sadly, but Zi Shu didn¡¯t follow them and he was too clumsy to persuade the Prince.


    ¡°Has the Prince¡¯s body been like this since he was a child?¡± Lin Xin broke off a sprig of sweet-scented osmanthus and played with it in his hand, ¡°I heard that the Northern Territory has to fight the barbarians in Beimo every year. With such a weak body, the Shen family¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Huang Ge rightly corrected Lin Xin¡¯s guess, ¡°The Shizi was physically strong when he was a child, and it was only two years ago¡­ Well, don¡¯t think that the Shizi has to take medicine every day, his spiritual power and swordsmanship are far superior to those of other clansmen. Above all, no one can take away his position as the son of the world!¡±


    Huang Shiwei, who was not good at words, praised Shen Lou as the son of the world, he talked endlessly, and even blushed because of excitement.


    Two years ago? Lin Xin frowned, because Young Master Zhao and Zhong Changye died one after another, and the day of death was also the day of his rebirth. This made him have to connect the death of the two with his own rebirth. So what about Shen Qingque? His body was broken two years ago, and it seemed that his rebirth had nothing to do with it.


    In the room, Shen Lou seemed to be fine, he was cleaning the short spirit sword, when he saw Lin Xin with half of his head protruding, he beckoned him to come over.


    Putting the sword back into its sheath, he put a piece of Luli the size of a pigeon egg in the deer trough, ¡°Can you use a sword?¡±


    ¡°A little bit.¡± Lin Xin took it and held the hilt with one hand. The sword seemed to be shrouded in a faint fluorescence. Now that he had already told Shen Lou about his life experience, there was no need to hide the fact that he could use a sword.


    Shen Lou was not surprised, ¡°Give it to you.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± This was the first time Shen Lou had given him something, and Lin Xin immediately felt that the little sword in his hand had become cute, as he held it tightly, ¡°This is a promise of love. Is it a love token?¡±


    ¡°¡­Where did you hear that?¡± Lin Xin, who was twenty years old, opened his mouth for this kind of specious teasing, but when he heard it from Lin Xin, who was eight years old, it was too shocking.


    ¡°Mr. Storyteller said it,¡± Lin Xin said nonsense without changing his face, ¡°You show you are you in love by giving a Luli with fallen flowers?¡±


    Oh, after all, his memory had been wiped out, and now Lin Xin was still a child who didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Lin Xin replied nonchalantly, and lowered his head to stroke the little sword. ¡°But, I have nothing to give you.¡± He only had a piece of jade pendant left by his father, so he could only give the newly broken sweet-scented osmanthus branch and stuffed it in Shen Lou¡¯s hand.


    He had already made up his mind to leave with Master, he originally wanted to ask Shen Lou for something, so that he could take it out to remind him of the old days when they met again after years.


    He was the son of the late Xunlu, if he revealed his identity, it would be impossible for him to be Shen Lou¡¯s attendant again. With the integrity of the Shen family, the news would surely be sent to the capital. In a few days, the royal chariots and horses would arrive at Mount Mogui to pick up the orphan of ¡°Xunlu¡± back to the palace, where the emperor would personally raise him.


    ¡°Father said that you have excellent aptitude and wanted to teach you the ice-breaking swordsmanship.¡± Shen Lou pretended not to know that Lin Xin had met Zhu Xingli, ¡°This sword is suitable for you to use now.¡±


    Shen Qirui actually said that he would teach him. What did he mean, that he was not planning to hand him over to the emperor?


    Lin Xin was quite surprised, and there was a little struggle in his eyes.


    Shen Lou just pretended not to see it and took him to visit the brothers of the Zhong family.


    In the previous life, there were many legends about why Lin Xin killed his teacher. Zhong Youyu, who couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut, was the mainstay in providing information to Shen Lou.


    ¡°It is said that Lin Xin¡¯s father was killed by Zhu Xingli. It is said that Lin Zhenghan asked him to raise Lin Xin before his death. Think about it carefully, if Zhu Xingli did not do it, how did he meet Lin Zhenghan before he died? Tsk tsk, it was not easy for Lin Xin to live up to the revenge of killing his father and the kindness of raising him.¡± At that time, Zhong Youyu still felt that Lin Xin was pitiful.


    ¡°Bah, do you think that Lin Xin did it out for revenge? He wanted to take Zhu Xingli¡¯s ten thousand books, because Zhu Xingli loved his brother even more, and he thought he had a tyrannical temperament, so he became angry from embarrassment!¡± By the time of this second version, Zhong Youyu was already very disgusted with Lin Xin. After all, Lin Xin treated everyone else the same, except that he charged 30% more for selling Luli to his family.


    ¡°I heard from the Golden guards who went to Yanqiu to pick up people, that when they reached there, Lin Xin was pointing his sword at his master with his clothes dishevelled, his eyes were red, and he looked like¡­¡± as if he had said something disgusting, Zhong Youyu stopped suddenly, ¡°Bah, I heard it from others. It can¡¯t be true, it can¡¯t be true.¡±


    Although Lin Xin was his father-killing enemy, such a statement was too nasty, and Zhong Youyu feeling that he shouldn¡¯t slander him like this, stopped in time.


    Lin Xin had never mentioned the reason to anyone, and it was definitely not a good reason. He couldn¡¯t hand Lin Xin over to Zhu Xingli, absolutely not.


    Zhu Xingli, who sneezed three times in a row, didn¡¯t know that Shen Lou was muttering about him behind his back. After finding the son of that old man, he was rubbing his hands in the yard excitedly. The Shen family¡¯s father and son were all elm-headed. If they know about little A Xin¡¯s life experience, they must tell the emperor, so he had to take him away right away.


    Now there were only two ways, either let Zhu¡¯s family come forward and say that the child was Zhu Xingli¡¯s illegitimate son, and take him away shamelessly; or steal, pick up Lin Xin and run away, so that they couldn¡¯t find him.


    Both paths were feasible, it depended on whether Lin Xin was willing to go with him. Zhu Xingli found a pen and paper, wrote a letter to his eldest brother, and then swaggered away to find the clock and follow the wind.


    Zhong Suifeng was counting Qiugong¡¯s account books, when his head was suddenly hit on the head by a sprig of sweet-scented osmanthus, ¡°Who?¡± Looking over while pinching the sprig, he saw Zhu Xingli who was sitting on the window sill shaking his feet


    ¡°Suifeng, lend me some Luli.¡± Zhu Xingli smiled and reached out to him.


    This person, just after scolding him, how dare he turn around and ask him to lend money? Zhong Suifeng held back for a while, and said, ¡°How much do you want?¡±


    ¡°Not much, ten catties.¡± Zhu Xingli jumped off the window sill, picked up the Zhong family¡¯s account book and looked through it, ¡°This year¡¯s harvest is not bad.¡±


    Zhong Suifeng snatched the account book and said slowly, ¡°What do you want so much Luli for? You are erratic and might leave Mogui Mountain anytime. Then where can I go to collect debts?¡±


    ¡°Tsk, look at you, have you forgotten my surname? Our Zhu family, can we still owe you ten catties of Luli? My elder brother will definitely pay you back.¡± Zhu Xingli said, grabbing a handful of Luli from the Luli box.


    ¡°Hey, you¡­¡± Zhong Suifeng was already hesitant in doing things, but he was fooled by his few words, and when he wanted to say anything else, but the man had already run away like the wind.


    Zhong Changye¡¯s funeral was held for seven days, and all major families sent their direct descendants to express their condolences. The head of the Lin family in the Eastern Region had important matters and couldn¡¯t leave, so he sent his son over. The Patriarch of the Zhu family in the Southern Region was not so polite, and directly said that he had a bad relationship with Zhong Changye and pointed to his younger brother Zhu Xingli who happened to be in Mogui Mountain to replace him.


    Regarding this situation, Shen Qirui had expected it a long time ago, ¡°Do you know why they didn¡¯t come?¡±


    ¡°Because my father is here.¡± It would definitely cause dissatisfaction with the emperor.


    Zhong Youyu, who was still a little angry at first, immediately understood when he heard Shen Lou¡¯s words, ¡°Wait, Wumo and I will return the gift to all uncles after the filial piety is over.¡±


    Shen Qirui nodded in relief, ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve already asked Your Majesty to let your uncle take care of the affairs of the Western Regions temporarily, and you two will return to the Northern Regions with me.¡±


    ¡°Is that okay?¡± Zhong Youyu¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard that he could go to the Northern Regions and poked his younger brother with his hand. He was also worried that after his father¡¯s death, no one would teach them how to practice. It would be great if they could follow Shen Qirui.


    Zhong Wumo didn¡¯t respond.


    At this moment, there was a sound of a trombone whistling outside, and the expressions of the people in the room suddenly changed, and they got up and walked out quickly. But seeing several golden lights coming from the sky, they were the emperor¡¯s Golden Guards.


    Lin Xin hid behind the pillars and looked at the golden flag waving in the wind. He quickly turned around and ran towards Zhu Xingli¡¯s yard without looking back.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Zhu Xingli caught the little guy who was rushing towards him, seeing his pale face, he asked quickly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go! The Golden guards are here, they must have to come to pick me up!¡± Lin Xin tightly clutched the front of his bright red robe, ¡°Master, I recognize you as my master, take me away!¡±


    There was no need to elaborate , Zhu Xingli already knew what must have happened, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, let¡¯s go.¡±


    After he finished speaking, he took out the ¡°borrowed¡± Luli, inserted it into the spirit sword, and made a magic formula. It twirled flexibly in the air. Holding the child in his arms tightly, Zhu Xingli jumped up, stepped on the spirit sword, instantly turned into a red light, and flew away.


    The author has something to say: Note: How to form a relationship, beautiful jade embellished with fallen flowers.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªFrom the small theater of Han Fanqin¡¯s ¡°Poetry of Love¡±:


    Lou Lou: If you don¡¯t pay attention, your wife will be gone


    Master: Let A Xin sing a song for you


    Lou Lou: What?


    Master: La la la la, sad people don¡¯t listen to slow songs!


    Lou Lou: ¡­

 CH 14

    The Golden Guard was the emperor¡¯s personal guard, who held the Golden guard of honor and guarded by the emperor¡¯s side. The twelve people on this trip came neatly with swords, acting on behalf of the emperor¡¯s order.


    The leader at the head took out an imperial decree written on a golden silk coiled dragon, turned his hands over, and the yellow silk cloth spread out in mid-air.


    According to the imperial decree, the emperor was very sorry for the sudden death of Duke Su of the Western Regions. The domain cannot be without a master for a day, so he let Zhong Suifeng act as the Duke of the country. The two sons were both young, and they should enter the palace with the Golden Guards and would henceforth be raised by the emperor himself.


    ¡°Entering the palace¡­¡± Zhong Youyu turned his head to look at his younger brother in panic. Although the Duke was the lord of a domain, he was still a subject of the emperor. They could be kings and hegemons in the Western Regions, and they could be free in the Northern Regions, but when they entered the capital, they would have to keep their tails between their legs.


    Zhong Wumo still looked as immobile as a mountain, as if he had expected it long ago.


    The Golden Guard put away the imperial decree and presented it to Shen Qirui, who had the highest status present. Shen Qirui inspected the emperor¡¯s seal and handed it to Zhong Suifeng for safekeeping, ¡°Everyone has been running around all the way, let¡¯s go to the inner hall for tea.¡±


    ¡°What should I do? I don¡¯t want to go to Beijing!¡± Zhong Youyu frowned and asked Shen Lou to give him advice.


    ¡°The imperial decree has been issued, what can we do?¡± Shen Lou turned around and found that Lin Xin had disappeared and told Huang Ge to look for him. Although the Zhong family did not show any intention of arresting Lin Xin, they still had to be on guard.


    ¡°Little Mo, you say something!¡± Zhong Youyu slapped his younger brother with a depressed expression, ¡°What can we do, what can we do? If it wasn¡¯t for your father¡¯s request, he might have directly taken over the Western Regions. Dad is gone, and our second uncle can¡¯t be counted on, can we still lead the army to resist the decree? If the sons, the princes enter the palace, it is no different from nursing an invalid, if the emperor deliberately wants to raise us, we will not be crowned just for the reason of succession, in fact he might even detain us for ten or eight years, we¡­¡±


    ¡°Speak carefully!¡± Shen Lou stopped the outspoken Zhong Youyu, and knocked down the parrot crouching by the window with a snap of his fingers.


    ¡°Nursing the invalid! Raising the invalid!¡± Nageguo fell from the window sill, and repeated Zhong Youyu¡¯s words, very angrily.


    With his head down, Zhong Youyu picked up the shameless bird lying on the ground, stuffed it into Shen Lou¡¯s hands, and entrusted him to take care of it. This bird must never be taken to the capital, and it should not be allowed to open its mouth. He was a chatterbox, and he talked a few thousand words every day, maybe he had learned something from them. The capital city was no better than Mogui Mountain, the walls also had ears.


    ¡°Xiaoyu, Xiaomo, Second Uncle has something to tell you.¡± Zhong Suifeng walked in with a straight face, calling the brothers over.


    Shen Lou took the bird and stood up to say goodbye, thinking that A Xin seemed to like the bird quite a bit, so he would take it back for him to play with. As soon as he walked out of the courtyard of the Zhong family brothers, he saw Huang Ge coming in a hurry, ¡°My son, A Xin is gone.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by missing?¡± Shen Lou ran to the courtyard.


    The yard was empty, and the ground paved with fine sand had been left a circle of shallow ripples, which were the lines caused by the spiritual power of a spirit sword. Obviously, someone had left with a sword from this place.


    ¡°Lin Xin¡­¡± Shen Lou clenched his fists tightly, and the yellow sand quickly flowed out from between his fingers until his palm was empty, without having grabbed anything.


    Lin Xin still left with Zhu Xingli, inevitably repeating the fate of his previous life. But why? He had said it well before, he had gone to Huan Xinghai to practice swords with him, and then called him senior brother, why did he suddenly change his mind?


    ¡°He saw the Golden Guards arriving before he left.¡± Huang Ge hugged the bird, trying to recall where Lin Xin had been.


    Golden Guards¡­


    Shen Lou woke up suddenly, ¡°Huang Ge, you immediately chase after him with your sword, go to the southeast. Tell A Xin, the Golden Guards didn¡¯t come to arrest him, I didn¡¯t tell my father.¡± The appearance of the Golden Guards had deceived him. No matter how young he was, Lin Xin was still the cautious and suspicious Lin Bushou, and it was absolutely impossible for him to be a silly child who trusted him wholeheartedly after just a few days of knowing him.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Huang Ge didn¡¯t ask any nonsense, directly raised his spirit sword, and walked away against the wind.


    Nageguo fell in mid-air, spun around and shouted angrily: ¡°Can¡¯t you use fox fur?¡±


    T¨¢nhu¨¢ng Bi¨¡oj¨¬ was advancing rapidly at this time, but by the time Huang Shiwei focused on chasing it in the southeast direction, Lin Xin and his master had already set up a hexagram stall in the small town.


    ¡°One liang of silver for one hexagram fortune, no credit is allowed.¡± On the long flag, these words were written in a fluttering pattern, and the last word ¡°Qian¡± could not be written completely, so it was aggrieved and shrunk in the corner.


    After taking off the crimson silk and the Luli forehead accessory on his head, Zhu Xingli was now dressed in an immortal-like white dress as he sat in front of the hexagram booth to watch. Lin Xin was holding a stick, standing aside expressionlessly, shaking it dutifully.


    ¡°One liang of silver is one hexagram, are you a god?¡± The spectators pointed at the cheeky master and apprentice, who dared to ask for a tael when other people¡¯s fortunes were worth two cents.


    ¡°Sincerity leads to spirit.¡± Zhu Xingli smiled slightly, with a natural good-looking appearance, even if the corners of his eyes were downcast, he still had a sense of immortality.


    ¡°Hey, kid, is your master a liar?¡± Someone teased Lin Xin.


    ¡°If you believe it, you can try it. If you don¡¯t believe it, you don¡¯t try it. If you can¡¯t afford a tael of silver, then don¡¯t disturb my master¡¯s purity!¡± Lin Xin raised his chin and said coldly.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Everyone was taken aback by the boy¡¯s words.


    Zhu Xingli glanced at his apprentice with great interest, good boy, self-taught without a teacher, could he really be the illegitimate child he forgot somewhere?


    ¡°Let me get my fortune told!¡± A man in fine clothes sat down, took out a piece of broken silver, and put it on the table.


    Zhu Xingli didn¡¯t ask anything, just pointed at the man¡¯s palm, touched the palm slowly, pondered for a moment and said: ¡°Penglai has a way, once wronged and hated, what a pity, what a pity.¡±


    Hearing this, his countenance changed.


    Penglai has a way, which meant that he could have ascended to the immortal road; once he hated this, it meant that he had blamed the people who wronged him for their crimes all these years.


    ¡°How do you know, sir, that I hate the person who wronged me?¡± He was born in a family of mortals. When he was young, an immortal came to touch his bones, but said that there was nothing. When he became an adult, he became in charge of the family, met the nobles of the Xianmen, and learned that he had excellent qualifications. Recalling that the stepmother had a talk with the bone-touching immortal back then, he thought that she must have deliberately ruined his immortal journey, and he felt resentful, so he kept treating his stepmother harshly.


    Lin Xin lowered his eyes and said nothing, silently listening to Zhu Xingli¡¯s nonsense. Just now, when he looked at the physiognomy, he was actually feeling for the bones. This bastard must have seen that the other party seemed to have a spiritual vein with immortal roots.


    In his previous life, he often went out with Zhu Xingli to set up stalls, sometimes to tell fortunes, sometimes to sell rouge, and occasionally to beg for food. According to Zhu Xingli¡¯s words, going out of the world and entering the world was all about practicing. It sounded nice, but it was just for fun.


    In the past, he felt ashamed and couldn¡¯t bear to accompany Zhu Xingli to go crazy. After Master¡¯s death, looking back on the past, those days when begging with broken bowls were the happiest of his life.


    ¡°Returning to the soul,¡± Zhu Xingli flicked his finger, casually rolled up the white cloth used as a sign, and threw it aside, ¡°Are you hungry?¡±


    The lottery container was thrown away.


    Zhu Xingli folded his arms and stared at this strange apprentice, ¡°Do you think we have met each other in our previous life?¡±


    Huh? Lin Xin was very sensitive to the words ¡°previous life¡±, and immediately looked up at Zhu Xingli, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, why do you look like you have been with me for many years,¡± Zhu Xingli copied him with one hand. Then he got up and carried it on his shoulders, ¡°Go, son, Dad has made money, so I¡¯ll buy you delicious food.¡±


    ¡°Who is your son!¡± Lin Xin struggled to slip away from Zhu Xingli¡¯s arms, ¡°Master, when will you teach me the immortal art?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I teach you all the time? Looking at the bones is also an immortal art.¡± Zhu Xingli grinned, raised his hand and pulled a stick from the straw for selling candied haws, and stuffed it into the apprentice¡¯s hand. Then he threw two copper coins to the vendor without looking back.


    ¡°In this world, is there a kind of immortal art that can cut off a person¡¯s spiritual veins?¡± Lin Xin took a bite and realized what he was eating and couldn¡¯t help but blush.


    Zhu Xingli came over, stole a hawthorn, and said, ¡°Of course there are.¡±


    ¡°Then what if this thing is contagious?¡± Lin Xin stared closely at Zhu Xingli¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s plague.¡± Zhu Xingli said without thinking, and wanted to steal again, but Lin Xin hid from him.


    The master was not reborn, so he thought about it. These kind of mysterious things couldn¡¯t be just two, it was not that easy.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s wrong with Shen Lou¡¯s body?¡± Sitting in the best restaurant in the city, Lin Xin continued to ask while eating his meal.


    Zhu Xingli ordered a jug of good wine, and drank it slowly, ¡°He¡­¡± He deliberately elongated his voice, causing the child with many problems to stretch his neck, ¡°Brown brows and thin lips, such a face with a bad heart, must have owed a love debt in the previous life.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Hearing that, Lin Xin rolled his eyes and didn¡¯t want to talk to him. Shen Lou had a pair of thin lips, but absolutely no reverse eyebrows, he had sword brows and star eyes, and a whole body full of righteousness.


    Zhu Xingli was a casual person, and he spoke freely when talking to children. When he mentioned this incident, he couldn¡¯t stop talking about his looks that were not related to each other, and what love debt, that made even the people at the next table look sideways at them.


    The two of them did not go south to Zhu¡¯s house as Shen Lou expected, but went east all the way, left the western region and went north again.


    ¡°What kind of place is this?¡± Standing under Zhaoyao Peak, Lin Xin asked knowingly.


    ¡°Zhaoyao Peak.¡± Zhu Xingli picked him up, then he jumped up the mountain, landed in a place with excellent Fengshui in the forest, took his hand and walked forward, where the flowers and plants piled up, and here they saw two graves. In front of the tomb stood a tombstone carved from rocks, with the words ¡°the tomb of my best friend Xunlu Lin Zhenghan¡± and ¡°the tomb of my best friend¡¯s wife Lan Su¡± written in flying letters.


    Then he opened a jar of good wine, lit a stick of fragrance and said, ¡°Come and kowtow to your parents.¡±


    The author has something to say: Small theater:


    Master: Do you know why your daughter-in-law ran away? Your method is wrong¡­


    Lou Lou: What method?


    Master: You still don¡¯t understand, what he wants is not a sword


    Loulou: I know, what he wants is for me to treat him sincerely


    Master: No, what he wants is candied haws


    Loulou:¡­

 CH 15

    Zhaoyao Peak was the burial place of Lin Zhenghan and his wife. Back then, the family was going to return to Yongdu, the capital city, when suddenly they were intercepted and killed by a group of men in white clothes.


    ¡°Zhao Jian, take Xin¡¯er and go first!¡± Lin Zhenghan threw his son in his arms to the guards.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Zhao Jian picked up the struggling Lin Xin, ¡°Young Master, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t go!¡± There were many people in white clothes with strong spiritual power. The young Lin Xin realized that this was a very difficult matter.


    ¡°Xin¡¯er, be obedient. Daddy will look for you in a few days,¡± Lin Zhenghan said with blood beads on his brows and a frosty face, but his peach blossom eyes showed a gentle smile. He stuffed the jade pendant into his son¡¯s arms and pushed it hard, ¡°Go!¡±


    ¡°Father! Mother!¡± Lying on Zhao Jian¡¯s shoulders, the vertical and horizontal aura and the blood mist were the last images left in his mind, lingering in his dreams year after year.


    Lin Xin knelt in front of the grave, with his palms facing up, and kowtowed three times.


    Zhu Xingli poured two bowls of wine, then he poured one bowl in front of Lin Zhenghan¡¯s grave, lifted the other bowl to his mouth, and touched it in the air, ¡°I found Xin¡¯er, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Why did the Zhong family kill my father ?¡± Lin Xin stood up and pulled out the grass growing from the grave. The monk in white, Zhong Lu, who had been chasing to kill him, the murderer was undoubtedly a member of the Zhong family.


    ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily because he wanted to kill him.¡± When Zhu Xingli arrived, it was already too late. The specific reason could not be tested, but the Zhong family would have pursued him for only one reason, ¡°Do you know why your father was called the Xunlu?¡±


    Lin Zhenghan was originally from the Lin family in the Eastern Region, with a tall background and strong spiritual power, but he was also a lover, and fell in love with a mortal woman. Immortals, especially princes and nobles, were not allowed to intermarry with mortals. Immortal cultivation required spiritual veins, and the descendants of immortals must have spiritual veins, which occasionally appeared among mortals but were extremely rare. In order to ensure bloodlines, each family had its own rules, and the Lin family in the Eastern Region was especially strict about it.


    In order to marry the mortal girl Lan Su, Lin Zhenghan rebelled against the Lin family, and created a grievance with the Lin family in the Eastern Region.


    The current emperor was not limited by this, he appreciated Lin Zhenghan¡¯s ability, and gave him a large piece of land as his territory. In order to repay the emperor¡¯s kindness, Lin Zhenghan agreed to his secret order to search for a Luli mine for the emperor, and the search took many years.


    ¡°So, my father found a new mine?¡±


    ¡°No one knows if he found it or not, but Zhong Changye thinks he found it.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t these things usually be discussed when I am an adult?¡± Lin Xin felt helpless. At the age of eight, most elders would not tell children these complicated hatreds. He had a good master, he shook out all the beans from the bamboo tube, and he was not afraid of his mental instability or him going astray.


    ¡°A person has to know where he came from before he can find where he belongs.¡± Zhu Xingli said inscrutably. He had never raised a child, so he was raising him blindly. He said everything that should be said and should not be said. He could only follow the fate of what he could do.


    Lin Xin knew what kind of virtue his master had, so he didn¡¯t bother to talk to him, and lowered his head to burn a stack of paper money for his parents. Rebelling against the Lin family for Lan Su, and looking for Luli for the emperor, and finally dying here, maybe this was what his father chose. So where did he belong?


    His previous life was a mess, he wanted everything, but he couldn¡¯t keep anything, and in the end, he was left empty-handed and dead, and Shen Qingque¡­ Perhaps, Shen Lou was the home he wanted, but it was a pity that the window was sloping and the house was leaking. It was riddled with holes and could not protect against the wind and rain of the world.


    Huang Shiwei went all the way to the southeast, but he didn¡¯t even see a single person, so he returned in vain.


    ¡°Buy a land called Yanqiu at the junction of the Southern Territory and the Eastern Territory. Once someone inquires, report it immediately.¡± Shen Lou put one finger on a corner of the ¡°Four Seas Notes¡± map and pressed hard to make a dent. If they couldn¡¯t find him, they could only sit on the sidelines and wait for a year or two. No matter what, they must find him before Lin Xin kills his master.


    ¡°Where is Yanqiu?¡± A clear and resonant voice came from outside the window, and on the edge of the window with a roller blind, there lay Shen Yingying with a pair of braided croissants, on her stomach.


    Putting the dry sweet-scented osmanthus in the book, Shen Lou closed the map, ¡°What are you running here again?¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s that little attendant of yours?¡± Shen Yingying didn¡¯t go through the main entrance but leaned on the low window sill with both hands, then she turned over and came in directly, with a bow on her back.


    ¡°Lost it! Lost it!¡± Nagegou standing on the bird stand answered in a loud voice.


    Shen Lou picked up a bean and smashed it precisely on the parrot¡¯s head.


    ¡°Woo¨C¡°


    The desolate and long sound of the horn, like thunder, exploded on the border, and instantly spread like a beacon, resounding throughout the entire northern region.


    The northern desert was changing, barbarians were invading!


    ¡°Father!¡± Shen Lou quickly caught up with Shen Qirui, who had changed into a suit of armor, ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡±


    ¡°No, Shizi is weak, not yet¡­¡± Dong Shechuan hastily opened his mouth to stop him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Shen Qirui grabbed his son and Huan Xinghai¡¯s elite gathered, the black streamers gathered in mid-air like black clouds of thunder and lightning and headed straight for Beimo.


    The barbarians lived on the grassland north of Da Yong¡¯s Northern Territory, where the grass was luxuriant and there was a long stretch of yellow sand. The people of Da Yong called it the Northern Desert. Their cultivation methods were different from those of Da Yong. No matter immortals or mortals, they were all capable of fighting and did not fear death. Whenever there was an autumn harvest, spring plowing, or food shortage, those barbarians would go south to plunder.


    Their steeds stood on the hill, looking at the barbarian army in the distance, snorting impatiently.


    ¡°The home of the Shen family is the battlefield, not the sick bed. If you can¡¯t go to the battlefield, kill yourself as soon as possible!¡± Shen Qirui said coldly to the pale-faced Shen Lou, holding the horsewhip.


    Shen Lou smiled slightly, and the spear with Luli inlaid in his hand was held steadily, then he pointed the tip of the spear to the ground and the abundant spiritual power cut off all the dry grass under his feet, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father, Shen Lou will not let the Shen family be ashamed!¡±


    The cold wind blew, the autumn water reversed, and the iron armors were shattered on the battlefield.


    When the war broke out, Shen Shizi, who was only twelve years old, went to the battlefield and had no time to continue looking for his little attendant. He slayed the iron cavalry, killed the barbarians, and become famous in one battle.


    ¡°However, the son of Xuan Guogong led a team of light cavalry alone, braved the heavy snow, and went around to the outside of the wild wolf pass. At that time, the moon was dark and the wind was high, and even fingers in front of their face could not be seen. The son¡­¡± The legend of the brave and invincible young son of the Shen family was the favorite of the storytellers these days.


    Born noble and becoming famous at a young age, Shen Lou lived like a legend since he was a child.


    ¡°Okay!¡± Speaking of the exciting part, Lin Xin threw away the melon seeds in his hand and shouted hello. After slapping his hands, he couldn¡¯t get enough of it. He jumped onto the high platform two or three times tall and sat directly on the storytelling table because of his small size.


    ¡°What do you want to say?¡±


    ¡°The battle at the Northern Desert was very interesting, but the story about Shen Shizi¡¯s appearance is wrong.¡±


    ¡°Where did you come from, go down!¡± The storyteller shook his sleeves and slammed him off the table.


    Lin Xin got up with a grunt, and jumped up and down on the table, ¡°Shen Shizi is not a strong man with a height of eight feet. He is only twelve years old. How can he wield an iron sword weighing eight hundred catties? He is as handsome as bamboo.¡± He must have been using a Luli silver spear, as the natal spirit sword could not be obtained until the age of fifteen. Even if he knew how to control a sword, his father would not agree.


    ¡°What does a child know? ¡°The storyteller blushed and raised his hand to hit him, but Lin Xin snatched the folding fan.


    ¡°I was a servant in the Shen family, and I met Shen Shizi!¡± Lin Xin opened the folding fan, fanned it twice, stood on the table, and talked about the book by himself, ¡°It is said that the Wild Wolf Pass is a canyon¡­¡±


    About Shen Lou¡¯s story, Lin Xin had listened to it a lot in my previous life, and he had already memorized it front and back. It was a classic version that had been polished for many years, and it was much more interesting than these current ones.


    Zhu Xingli threw beans into his mouth one after another, and by the time Lin Xin finished speaking, he had just finished eating a plate of beans, so he picked up the empty plate and held it out in front of the listeners, ¡°My son is right! Give the money, give the money.¡±


    ¡°Is there any father like you? Children are not allowed to read well, what are they talking about here?¡± The storyteller, who was kicked off the stage, scolded with his neck stuck.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you¡¯re dressed in a brocade robe and jade belt, and you have the nerve to ask for money.¡± There were those who didn¡¯t want to give money who started finding fault.


    ¡°I picked this kid up. I feed him and he has to make money for me.¡± Zhu Xingli put on a rascal-like face.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± an old man with a gray beard scolded.


    ¡°Catch him, he¡¯s a human trafficker!¡± A joke kicked up a hornet¡¯s nest, and the crowd was so excited that they wanted to beat him up. Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhu Xingli picked up Lin Xin, who was watching the excitement, and ran away. He jumped out from the second floor of the teahouse, flung out his spring marks, and slipped away.


    No money for tea.


    ¡°Hey, it turned out to be an immortal!¡±


    ¡°¡­That must be a joke.¡±


    Immortals were very different from ordinary people. They could teach children immortal arts, so they didn¡¯t need to study.


    ¡°Hahaha, who told you to talk nonsense.¡± Lin Xin lay on his Master¡¯s shoulder, laughing so hard that he couldn¡¯t breathe.


    ¡°Hey, you kid, dare to laugh at your Master!¡± Zhu Xingli raised his hand to hit him, but suddenly his face became serious, and he caught a small sword that was coming towards them between his fingers. The little sword was only palm-length, embedded with a piece of Luli the size of a thumb, it fell into Zhu Xingli¡¯s hand, the spiritual energy in the Luli was exhausted, so it flickered twice and shattered into powder.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Seeing that Zhu Xingli¡¯s expression was not good, Lin Xin hurriedly asked.


    ¡°Something happened,¡± Zhu Xingli took out a piece of Luli, crushed it, inserted a small piece into the small sword, and inserted a spell into it, ¡°Hurry up, A Xin, we have to hurry over there.¡±


    Lin Xin said nothing but he turned over and climbed onto his master¡¯s back, hugging his neck tightly.


    Zhu Xingli let go of the short sword, tied Lin Xin around his body with his clothes belt, and galloped away on his sword.


    He was so happy to reunite with his Master that he forgot about it! Lin Xin lay on his Master¡¯s back, secretly worried. When he met his master in his previous life, his master had already taken in an apprentice, his senior brother, Jian Zhong.


    ¡°Master, who is asking for help?¡±


    ¡°Fairy Banxia, Jian Qiuluo.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    Iron powder Yingying: My brother is the most powerful, and my brother is the most handsome!


    Fan-headed yellow guard: Aww, call the prince!


    Black fan Xinxin: Tsk, this person is a sanctimonious hypocrite


    Iron fan Yingying: You are not allowed to say that, I love him


    Fan Head Guard Huang: You, do you have a real hammer? I will sue you for defamation!


    Black fan Xinxin: Of course, to you idols, I¡¯m also a fan! I even recorded a video!


    Iron powder Yingying: QAQ


    Fan head Huang Shiwei: ¡Ñ o ¡Ñ


    Loulou: ¡­

 CH 16

    Immortal Banxia was known as the Sanxian Immortal[1]. There were thousands of ways of cultivating immortality in the world. Some people cultivated immortality for the purpose of becoming princes and ministers, or gaining wealth and glory, and some people cultivated immortality just to pursue the Dao.


    Pinellia[2] was her honorary name, but she was born with the name Qiuluo. She got the name because she had a weird temperament, she could cut off people¡¯s tongues if they disagreed with her, and she was as poisonous as the medicine Pinellia.


    The pointing of the small sword changed from time to time, and the Tanhuang Biaoji travelled quickly for half a day, and finally stopped at a barren mountain after spending a full ten taels of Luli.


    ¡°Master, over there!¡± Lin Xin pointed to a fallen tree.


    Dwarf trees were broken in the middle, and scorched marks were everywhere. Zhu Xingli landed down and picked up a broken arm on the ground to check. It was a man¡¯s right hand, shrivelled and bluish-white, but it was still warm, and the dried blood had coagulated the cloth on the severed arm into lumps, until the original color could not be seen.


    Throwing away the arm and replacing it with a little sword fitted with a piece of Luli, the little thing that was brought out was like a live fish in the water, shaking its head and tail.


    This little sword, named Moyu¡¯er, was a secret treasure of the Zhu family in the Southern Region. To be able to let him bring out Moyu¡¯er, it must be Zhu Xingli¡¯s life-and-death acquaintance.


    Touching Moyu¡¯er could allow you to find a specific person and bring them back, but only if there was enough Luli.


    With Lin Xin on his back, Zhu Xingli followed Moyu¡¯er through the forest, making several turns and turning around to the back of a rock, until a strong smell of blood came over his face.


    ¡°Zhu Yixiao, you crawled all the way here, are you afraid I¡¯m not dead!¡± Between the gravel and weeds, lay a woman with a delicate face, her skirt was stained with blood, yet she held a long sword with a gap in her hand, with tense muscles and one leg curled up, as if she might pounce on someone and cut the throat of anyone coming at any time.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re quite energetic, why don¡¯t I go down the mountain to buy a jug of wine?¡± Zhu Xingli said, but his movements were not slow, and he quickly sealed the opponent¡¯s vital points like a lotus flower and pinched her wrist to feel her spiritual power and pulse.


    ¡°Who!¡± The young man who was running towards the spring wrapped in leaves shouted vigilantly and drew out the dagger at his waist before rushing over.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± A rapier protruded from behind and was pressed half an inch to his neck. The young man Jian Zhong was startled, and raised his head to avoid it, but bumped into Lin Xin who was holding a sword, and was locked tightly by him like a monkey hugging a tree.


    Jian Zhong froze, and recognized that the one who healed his mother was Zhu Xingli whom he had seen before and was slightly relieved, ¡°Are you Uncle Zhu¡¯s apprentice?¡±


    Tsk, you are so clever! Lin Xin let go of his sword and looked up and down at this senior brother whom he had not seen for a lifetime. When he saw Jian Zhong for the first time, he had already been with Zhu Xingli for a year. Maybe it was too hard to beg for food with the master¡¯s fortune telling, but he looked much thinner than now.


    Now he still followed his mother¡¯s surname, he was about the same age as Shen Lou, and a little older than Lin Xin, he obviously hadn¡¯t started to beg, and the sides of his cheeks were still fleshy.


    ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s alright, don¡¯t bother.¡± Jian Qiuluo pushed Zhu Xingli away, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and waved her hands to prevent him from infusing more spiritual power.


    Seeing his mother vomit blood, Jian Zhong didn¡¯t care about talking to Lin Xin, and ran over quickly to support Jian Qiuluo, who was already unable to sit still.


    Zhu Xingli¡¯s eyes turned red, and he didn¡¯t know whether it was because of sadness or anger, ¡°You are really capable, you dare to cause trouble with your child around.¡±


    ¡°Who caused trouble? I have too many enemies, I don¡¯t know who it is! Bah!¡± Jian Qiuluo spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, and tightly grasped her son¡¯s hand, as if she had used all her strength, the back of her pale hand was bulging with blue veins, and she squeezed his scissored hand with a circle of bruises, ¡°Ahem¡­ This little bastard will be handed over to you from now on¡­¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if I take care of him.¡± Zhu Xingli didn¡¯t try to comfort her at all.


    Jian Qiuluo laughed loudly, the laughter seemed to have come from a bellows, with a whirring sound, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t look for him, don¡¯t look for him, if he finds him, don¡¯t force him to stay.¡±


    He didn¡¯t understand a word, but Lin Xin knew. Jian Zhong was the child born to Jian Qiuluo and Ren Chunfeng, and this ¡°he¡± should refer to Jian Zhong¡¯s father.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Zhu Xingli responded in a low voice and put Tanhuang Biaoji back into its scabbard.


    ¡°Cough cough cough¡­ Do as you please, little bastard, remember your mother¡¯s words¡­¡± Jian Qiuluo squeezed out the words from between her teeth, then looked at Zhu Xingli, ¡°Remember to burn the paper money for me.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Zhu Xingli didn¡¯t speak, as he watched Jian Qiuluo suddenly close her eyes, then her spiritual energy was cut off, as her soul returned to the sky.


    ¡°Mother¡­mother!¡± Jian Zhong hugged his mother¡¯s corpse and cried bitterly.


    This senior brother seldom cried, he always smiled as if he didn¡¯t have any worries, the only time in his previous life he saw him crying so sadly was when their master died.


    After dealing with the funeral of Jian Qiuluo, Zhu Xingli took the two children and continued to run around.


    ¡°From now on, I will be your senior brother.¡± Lin Xin stood on tiptoe and patted Jian Zhong¡¯s shoulder.


    Jian Zhong gnawed on a piece of sesame seed cake and looked down at him, ¡°But I¡¯m older than you.¡±


    ¡°Senior brother is the one who is first to get picked up by the master, if you don¡¯t believe me, ask the master!¡± Lin Xin looked at Zhu Xingli proudly.


    Zhu Xingli was pouring wine into his mouth from the jug, and nodded indiscriminately, ¡°Well, your senior brother is right, whoever gets started first is the senior.¡±


    The cheap Lin Xin was very happy for a while.


    Winter turned to spring, and the four seasons rotated.


    The barbarian tribes in the Northern Desert gradually merged in the war with the Northern Territory, the small ones were wiped out by the big ones, and the big ones were annexed by the bigger ones. Not only did they not lose their will because of the war, but they were like a pack of wolves competing for food, and the best wolf was to be selected in the fight.


    There were intermittent battles, one dozen for six years.


    ¡°The prince is back!¡±


    ¡°The prince has returned to Huan Xinghai!¡±


    As soon as he turned back from the battlefield, Shen Lou jumped down from the spirit sword with a murderous aura all over his body. Yu Yuan, his natal spiritual sword, swirled in the air, and the vast spiritual power was like a rainbow piercing the sun, pressing down several mortals who came out to welcome the son to their knees.


    With the sword in hand, Shen Lou stepped into Huan Xinghai with a cold expression, and a cold arrow suddenly pierced through the air.


    ¡°Om¡ª¡ª¡± Yu Yuan set in the sun, and the aura turned into thousands of rainbow shadows, instantly shattering the iron arrow into three sections. The arrow without Luli clattered on the bluestone slab without making a sound.


    ¡°Brother!¡± Shen Yingying, who was flying towards him with a quiver on her back, was amazed, ¡°Why are you stronger than last time?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± Shen Lou frowned and turned to go to Fengjin Pavilion.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go,¡± Shen Yingying quickly followed, walking backwards facing her brother, ¡°I just came back from Yongdu, won¡¯t you ask me what rank I got?¡±


    ¡°Fourth.¡± Shen Lou took off his armor, throwing it to Zishu who had come up to meet him, he turned his wrist, then he lay down on the soft couch with a plop, closing his eyes and resting his mind.


    Got it right again! Shen Yingying pursed her lips, ¡°You didn¡¯t go to Xianchi to hunt this year. It just let that kid from the Lin family show off. Zhong Youyu almost made my ears go numb. You must go and see him this year.¡±


    ¡°Miss, the son just came back, let him rest for a while.¡± Zishu came over with a bowl of medicine soup, and persuaded Shen Yingying to leave.


    When Shen Yingying saw the soup, she immediately shut up.


    The son of Xuan Guogong was brave and unparalleled on the battlefield, and he was victorious in every battle, but he became a sick child when he got off the battlefield. He had seen many doctors all these years, but he couldn¡¯t see why, they could only watch Shen Lou¡¯s body getting worse day by day.


    Shen Lou slowly opened his eyes, took the medicine from Zishu¡¯s hand and drank it down.


    With the growth of his spiritual power, his body was getting worse and worse. After using spiritual power, there would be long-term pain waiting for him. The elixir that was originally used to replenish the body indiscriminately was replaced by a decoction that calmed the nerves and relieved his pain.


    After drinking the medicine, Shen Lou¡¯s complexion improved obviously. He sat up and took Zhong Youyu¡¯s letter to read.


    The brothers of the Zhong family were trapped in the capital, studying and practicing with the prince. Three years ago, their uncle Zhong Suifeng crowned the two of them at the age of fifteen in the name of setting up the family earlier since their father died young. He wanted to use this as an excuse to let Zhong Youyu return to the Western Regions to inherit the throne.


    However, the emperor kept the record of the memorial to the duke of the state, and he insisted on detaining the two in Yongdu, so that Zhong Suifeng, who was in a hurry, had to continue to govern the Western Regions. The Zhong family gradually declined, and there was already chaos in the Western Regions.


    Shen Lou rubbed the center of his brows and sighed softly. In this life, he had used his experience to end the Beimo Rebellion two years ahead of schedule, but he had no time to take care of the Zhong family. He now had more important things to do.


    ¡°Huang Ge, last time you said that Yanqiu has already been bought?¡± Shen Lou raised his eyes and asked Huang Ge who was standing in the corner.


    ¡°Yes, they moved in a year ago.¡± Over the years, Huang Ge had been ordered to search for Zhu Xingli¡¯s whereabouts, and every time there was news, he had disappeared by the time he chased over. Six years ago, the Shizi asked him to buy Yanqiu, saying that he was waiting for someone to buy it. After waiting for so many years, someone finally came to ask him last year.


    The person who asked for the price happened to be Zhu Xingli.


    Huang Shiwei admired the son¡¯s predictions like a god, and ran back happily to report the news, but the son had gone to the battlefield again.


    ¡°Qiu Ting[3], come with me to see father.¡± Shen Lou changed into a black brocade robe, the black background with silver patterns made his face look even paler. Eighteen-year-old Shen Lou, with a slender figure and a dignified appearance, did not look thin at all, but that handsome face that had never had a healthy color has always made people feel uneasy.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Shen Qirui looked at his son in surprise.


    ¡°To get medical treatment,¡± Shen Lou lowered his eyes, ¡°six years ago when I was in a coma at Zhong¡¯s house, I vaguely heard Zhu Xingli¡¯s words that I could be cured.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Shen Qirui got up suddenly.


    Shen Yingying on the side stomped her feet angrily, ¡°Brother, why didn¡¯t you say it earlier!¡±


    ¡°Zhu Xingli¡¯s whereabouts were uncertain, and he did not return to the Southern Region even during the Chinese New Year. I had been looking for him for six years before I get any news.¡± Shen Lou said, ¡°Now the northern border is relatively safe, and I can be away for a while. If there is an emergency, my father can take Qiu Ting there. She has already won the fourth place in the hunting in Xianchi, and she can go to the battlefield.¡±


    Shen Yingying didn¡¯t know the meaning of her elder brother bringing her here just now, so he was waiting for her here, hearing this she suddenly cried, ¡°Brother, I will worry about you, let me go with you.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Shen Lou said lightly, then he turned and left, leaving only the old father with eyes full of relief and his own sister who wanted to cry but had no tears.


    Yanqiu was a small hill located at the junction of the Southern Region and the Eastern Region. The scenery was beautiful and the climate was pleasant. Zhu Xingli and his two apprentices wandered outside for four or five years, and finally settled in this area.


    Zhu Xingli, who was so poor that he was begging for food, didn¡¯t even blink when he bought the land, and he gave away boxes of gold and silver.


    ¡°It turns out that Master is so rich.¡± Jian Zhong gnawed on the steamed stuffed bun bought with fortune-telling money, looking at the vast land with emotion.


    Lin Xin pursed his lips and smiled, ¡°Yes, yes, the Luli we use to cultivate will be available in the future, so go and ask Master for a piece.¡±


    Jian Zhong stretched out his hand to Master with a smile.


    ¡°Crack!¡± Zhu Xingli slapped back, ¡°What do you want? Our family is so poor that we can¡¯t get rid of it. You have to rely on yourself in cultivation, don¡¯t always think about relying on Luli.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Small Theater:


    Master: Poor, poor, poor


    Loulou: If there is a chance to make money, do you want it?


    Master: What?


    Loulou: Sell Lin Xin to me


    Master: Hehe, who do you think my Zhu family in the Southern Region is, who would sell an apprentice for your stinky money¡­ How much will you give?


    Xinxin: (¨t_¨s)#


    [1] The sanxian is a three-stringed traditional Chinese lute.


    [2] Raw Pinelliae Rhizoma (RPR) is a representative toxic herb that is widely used for eliminating phlegm or treating cough and vomiting


    [3] Honorary name of Shen Yingying.

 CH 17

    There was lush vegetation and low hills around Yanqiu. Every year, when geese flew from north to south, flocks of wild geese rested here, so it got its name.


    The chariots and horses of the Northern Territory, carrying the prince and a whole carload of gifts, slowly drove into the hinterland of Yanqiu. From a distance, you could see the buildings on the mound, with white walls and gray tiles, surrounded by lush forests and bamboos. The newly planted vines were growing gratifyingly and had climbed up the wall and the area seemed lush and full of vitality.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± The coachman jumped out of the carriage and circled the wild jujube trees on the side of the road. This tree was ugly, with crooked and staggered growth, like a barrier specially used to block the road. When the carriage passed by, the coachman had to pick up the branch with his own hands, so he remembered it clearly.


    ¡°Your Majesty, we have already walked this road once!¡± The coachman was a little panicked, and after going around for half an hour, they had been walking around in circles, he was afraid that the nobleman in the carriage would blame him.


    Shen Lou stepped out of the carriage, glanced at the road full of rocks and crooked trees, then he turned over and jumped on a horse, ¡°There is an formation here, you follow me.¡±


    The Zhu family was good at formations, which was the inheritance left by their ancestors. Zhu Xingli knew a little about everything, so naturally he didn¡¯t fall behind in this aspect as well.


    Lin Xin was also quite proficient in this way. Back then he was imprisoned by Lin Xin, even if Lin Xin didn¡¯t lock him, he couldn¡¯t get out of that palace. Later, it was Lin Xin who held his hand and taught him step by step how to read the hexagrams and how to break through the maze.


    By analogy, after that, Shen Lou should be able to break through this ordinary formation.


    Without disturbing the master, the group entered directly into Yanqiu without making a sound.


    Several jujube trees grew on the hill, they were three feet high and thick when hugged together. Jian Zhong was sitting under the tree reading a book, the little fat man from those days had turned into a young man facing the wind in the tree, and he seemed to have a coquettish attitude in every gesture. The soft flesh on his cheeks had disappeared, leaving clear outlines as sharp as an axe.


    ¡°Boom!¡± Falling jujubes smashed on his head, making a muffled sound.


    He ignored it nonchalantly and continued to flip through the book.


    ¡°Dongdong!¡± With two jujubes falling again, he looked up helplessly, caught the fallen jujubes and stuffed them into his mouth, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡± Lin Xin, who suddenly hung half upside down from the canopy of the tree and while chewing dates, he asked with a smile, ¡°Zhongzhong, what book are you reading?


    ¡°Look, Master asked me to read it.¡±


    Zhu Xingli gave them different things to study, and had asked Jian Zhong to re-read history books and the art of war to learn the way of governing the country. As for Lin Xin, he taught him a little of everything, such as spell formation, five elements and fortune-telling, sword skills, as well as shepherd and horse training¡­


    ¡°You are still reading, you are so stupid, come and do one or two tricks with me.¡± Lin Xin hooked a branch. Turning over, the branches and leaves of the jujube tree fell down one after another due to the influence of spiritual power.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make trouble.¡± Jian Zhong accepted the move with a smile, the two inconspicuous dimples at the corners of his mouth were slightly sunken, instantly softening his stern face.


    ¡°Dinglingling¡ª¡ª¡± a small ringing sound came from a distance, Lin Xin slapped away the attacking hand and used his strength to close it and rushed to the top of the tree in two steps and looked up.


    ¡°Someone broke in.¡± Jian Zhong also climbed up the tree and joined him. From such a distance, he couldn¡¯t see the face of the person who came. The tall horse and canopy cart looked like it was just ordinary people.


    ¡°Whoever he is, catch him first.¡± Lin Xin squinted his eyes. He was about to be fifteen years old, and the master had an accident when he was fifteen years old. No matter who the visitor was, he must investigate clearly.


    With his whistle, the guards of Yanqiu hidden in the forest came out of the hole like a snake, galloped away in the shape of a character, and locked the group of people in an instant.


    ¡°Boom!¡± The big net made of black iron soared into the sky, and covered the area with rolled up dead branches and leaves.


    ¡°Bah¡ª¡ª¡± the steed neighed and stood up, and the coachman was so frightened that he hugged his head and screamed. The guards of the Shen family drew their swords one after another but failed to cut off the iron net. Instead, the vertical and horizontal sword lights were ejected back, cutting their own clothes.


    Shen Lou pulled out the Yu Yuan Sword, but did not take it out of its sheath, he just twirled it like a flower in the air, and the sword aura shook the dead leaves into the air, and pressed the tip of the sword against the iron net, as calmly as if holding an umbrella.


    ¡°Who is here, why did you trespass on Yanqiu?¡± came a heavy, cold and polite voice.


    ¡°What are you talking about with them, trespasser, kill!¡± The gloomy tone was exactly the voice Shen Lou had known Lin Xin to have in his previous life, and he was familiar with the trembling voice, which made his movement of waving the fallen leaves freeze for a moment.


    The dead leaves fell to the ground, and several guards in scarlet clothes surrounded the Shen family¡¯s chariots and horses. The bodyguards of the Shen family were trapped by the iron net and were about to put on Luli to fight.


    ¡°Everyone, stop!¡± Shen Lou shouted, the guards of the Shen family just pressed the hilt of the sword and did not move, and he himself maintained the posture of holding an umbrella, while looking at Lin Xin who had grown into a young man amidst the falling leaves.


    Seeing the person coming, the murderous look in Lin Xin¡¯s eyes instantly disappeared, and after a flash of astonishment, he cupped his hands politely, ¡°Dare to ask your name, why did you come to my Yanqiu?¡±


    The outstretched hand had not been withdrawn, hearing Lin Xin¡¯s gentle questioning, he almost thought that he had heard it wrong. The guards of Yanqiu were also a little sluggish. The order given to them just now was ¡°cut it down¡±. Were they going to cut it now or not?


    ¡°We are from Huan Xinghai. This is the son of Duke Xuan of the Northern Territory,¡± Zishu got out of the carriage and explained, ¡°The Prince is here to visit Senior Zhu.¡±


    Zishu couldn¡¯t recognize Lin Xin anymore.


    And as a ¡°child¡±, naturally he shouldn¡¯t recognize the eldest son who was only a few days with him when he was a child. Hearing that Zishu said he was the ¡°son of Xuan Guogong¡±, Lin Xin showed a look of astonishment and nostalgia, ¡°It turns out that he is the son of the Northern Territory, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    After speaking, he snapped his fingers, and the big black wire net suddenly moved up, fell back to the ground on both sides, and was covered again by the guards in scarlet clothes with dead branches and leaves. It was as if nothing had happened, except for the dirt, grass and rags which covered the Shen family.


    Shen Lou got off his horse, threw the reins to the guards, and walked up to Lin Xin, ¡°You don¡¯t remember me?¡±


    Lin Xin smiled slightly, ¡°Your Majesty, please.¡±


    Shen Lou gave him a deep look. This little bastard clearly recognized him at the first sight, but he still wanted to play ¡°we should not know each other when we meet each other¡±. Was he still blaming him?


    They had brought rich gifts, silk and satin, fox fur with antlers, gold and silver, a large box of Luli, and a letter written by Shen Qirui.


    ¡°Your father is really generous.¡± Zhu Xingli threw the letter aside and read the gift list carefully, ¡°In that case, you can stay in Yanqiu for a while, let¡¯s talk first, but I can¡¯t guarantee that I can cure you.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Lou agreed without hesitation. It was his body, and he knew by itself that he didn¡¯t have any hope for a cure, and he had come here only to find Lin Xin.


    Zhu Xingli was very satisfied with Shen Lou¡¯s attitude, so he touched his chin, and suddenly remembered that there was no guest room in Yanqiu. He had a lot of friends, so after learning that he had settled in Yanqiu, people would visit him from time to time. In order not to waste rice, there were no luxuriously decorated guest rooms, except for the ones where the master and apprentice lived, others were all shabby rooms.


    ¡°How about¡­¡± Zhu Xingli glanced at his two apprentices.


    Lin Xin stood in front of his senior brother and put on the proper posture of a senior brother, ¡°Live with me.¡±


    Jian Zhong originally wanted to say that he would give up his residence to the eldest son, and move to live with his senior brother himself, but he did not expect Lin Xin to be so righteous. ¡°Brother, let me¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, we lived together when we were young.¡± Shen Lou stood up and directly interrupted the ¡°brotherly love¡± conversation between the two.


    Shen Shizi thus came to live in Lin Xin¡¯s house in such a grand manner. Leaning on the pillar, peeking at Shen Lou who was changing clothes in the inner room, Lin Xin felt a little out of his mind.


    In his previous life, Shen Lou had never been to Yanqiu, let alone sought Zhu Xingli for treatment. In this way, Shen Lou definitely didn¡¯t have this weakness in his previous life. In the past few years, he had searched through his master¡¯s collection of books, and secretly searched for a few people whose souls had been crushed by him in his previous life. Without exception, they all had lost their souls, and he had a rough guess about Shen Lou¡¯s problem.


    The sound of rustling clothes brought Lin Xin back to his senses, and he quickly lost his mind. Shen Lou had unexpectedly taken off his underwear.


    Eighteen-year-old Shen Lou¡¯s body had fully grown, and his movements seemed to be restraining the amazing power hidden under his flesh. The plain white clothes fell from his shoulders, revealing a muscular back and beautifully shaped butterfly bones. He had touched those places inch by inch, seeing them again now, he couldn¡¯t help but tighten his throat.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell father about your life experience.¡± Shen Lou took off half of his underwear and pulled it up again, aiming at the guy behind him who was staring at him from the corner of his eye.


    ¡°Huh? Oh.¡± Lin Xin came back to his senses, and he didn¡¯t feel the embarrassment of being caught peeking. Fortunately, he had walked in front of Shen Lou, ¡°I know.¡±


    After leaving Mogui Mountain, he had guessed that it was a misunderstanding.


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    Loulou: You knew it was a misunderstanding, then why didn¡¯t you go back and find me?


    Xinxin: What¡¯s the use of looking for you? Can you drive[1]?


    Loulou: Is driving the only thing on your mind?


    Xinxin: No, there are licks, twists, and bites


    Loulou: /(/¡¤/¦Ø/¡¤/ )/

 CH 18

    The golden guards had picked up the Zhong family brothers, and the news quickly spread throughout the Western Regions. The Zhu Xingli master and apprentice cheated money by fortune-telling all the way, so of course they knew about this kind of news.


    Lin Xin was a little surprised that the young Shen Qingque didn¡¯t tell his father about this, and even wavered about returning to Shen Lou¡¯s side. But he couldn¡¯t let his master go, besides growing up beside Shen Lou had too many variables.


    Hearing what Lin Xin said, Shen Lou lowered his eyes and stopped talking, then he quickly put on his middle coat and outer shirt, obviously not planning to change his inner shirt.


    With nothing to look at, Lin Xin resisted the urge to tease Shen Lou, then he turned around in a gentle manner, and picked up the rapier on the table. The two hadn¡¯t seen each other for many years, and after all, it was just a few days of childhood friendship, there was nothing to talk about, so let¡¯s start with the ¡°token of love¡±.


    ¡°I was very worried about you.¡± While Lin Xin had nothing to say, he suddenly heard Shen Lou say such a sentence, and looked back at Shen Lou in disbelief.


    ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you.¡± Shen Lou walked to Lin Xin¡¯s side and looked down at him. Lost and regained, gained and lost again, such ups and downs were really not a beautiful experience.


    Lin Xin¡¯s eyes widened slightly, it really didn¡¯t look like something Shen Qingque would say.


    ¡°Xinxin, Master asked me to bring you something.¡± There was a heavy knock on the door, breaking the weird atmosphere in the room.


    Lin Xin smiled apologetically at Shen Lou, then he turned around to open the door, and stretched out his hand to give Jian Zhong a push, ¡°Who are you calling?¡±


    Jian Zhong smiled and handed a new tea set to Lin Xin. Although Lin Xin started earlier than him, he was actually several years younger than him. So, he still couldn¡¯t treat Lin Xin as a senior brother, and always called him Xinxin out of selfishness.


    Lin Xin didn¡¯t take the tea set and beat him directly.


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t make trouble, it will be broken in a while!¡± Jian Zhong tried to avoid it, but Lin Xin¡¯s moves were always fast and ruthless, and he only hit tricky places, so he was hard to guard against.


    ¡°Clatter!¡± The obsidian tea set on the tray finally got off the plate when it was hit by the third move. A hand with a bony joint stretched out, pulled the tray away and twirled a flower in the air to catch the cup.


    ¡°Your senior brother?¡± Shen Lou casually put the tea set on the table, and looked coldly at Lin Xin¡¯s fellow disciple, the future His Royal Highness the King of England[1] ¨C Feng Zhong.


    ¡°It¡¯s Junior Brother,¡± Jian Zhong rubbed the place where he was beaten, and raised his hand in salute, ¡°I¡¯m Xia Zhong.¡± Obviously, when he was in the main hall just now, the elder son didn¡¯t look at him at all, and he didn¡¯t remember him calling out to senior brother.


    The senior brother in the previous life turned out to be a junior in this life. Shen Lou nodded slightly, and returned the salute, ¡°As a junior, you should respect your senior brother, how can you just call him by his name?¡±


    ¡°Uh, the son has taught me a lesson.¡± Jian Zhong smiled sarcastically, conveyed the few words from his master, and then ran away in a hurry. His Royal Highness, the eldest son of Huan Xinghai, seemed to be very hostile to him.


    Zhu Xingli asked his second apprentice to give Shen Lou a message, and had asked him to have a cup of tea with him after unpacking, emphasizing that Lin Xin was not allowed to follow.


    Lin Xin pursed his lips, saying that he also wanted to drink tea, but he knew that the first thing his master would do was to ask Shen Lou for a drink. Because he hadn¡¯t tied his hair yet, his master never allowed him to drink alcohol, and Zhu Xingli, who had no one to accompany him to drink, was always quite lonely.


    People in the Northern Territory drank spirits all the year round, so they were naturally good at drinking. It was rare for him to meet someone from the Shen family, so it was unavoidable for him to drag Shen Lou to have a drink or two.


    The pear blossom wine buried last year must be just right for tasting. Zhu Xingli took out a set of jasper double-ring cups and filled them to the brim.


    Shen Lou picked up the cup, paid respect to Zhu Xingli, and drank it all in one gulp, ¡°Second Uncle Zhu called his nephew, do you have something to say?¡±


    ¡°Looking for you to have a drink,¡± Zhu Xingli leaned on the bamboo couch carelessly, then he said lazily, ¡°Has your father picked up the words[2] for you?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Shen Lou responded, raising his hand to pour wine for Zhu Xingli. Men tied their hair when they turned fifteen, at twenty they were capped[3], and they should take their words when they were ready to start a family. But if the son gained wisdom early, or was needed to establish a family earlier, he could take the words at his fifteenth birthday like the brothers of the Zhong family.


    Zhu Xingli was a little surprised. The son, who was able to go to the battlefield at the age of twelve, was surely mature enough to start a family. Shen Qirui didn¡¯t give him a name and raised him as a child. Presumably, he felt that he was not in good health, and was afraid that taking words too early would weaken his luck, thinking this, he suddenly felt it was funny, ¡°Shen Qirui, that five-year-old man, still cares about this.¡±


    Shen Lou had nothing to say. He wanted to take the words, but this time he was rejected by his father, which caused Zhong Youyu to laugh at him several times.


    The two of them drank up a small jar of peach blossom wine, but Shen Lou was still only blushing and breathless, Zhu Xingli was amazed when he saw it, ¡°My boy, your drinking capacity is as good as your father¡¯s, come here, have another jar.¡±


    It was rare for him to meet someone who could drink, so Zhu Xingli¡¯s interest was soaring, and he asked the guards to dig out another jar and changed the wine bowl to drink.


    Peach blossom wine tasted sweet, but it required a lot of stamina. After drinking three more bowls, the strength of the last jar of wine rushed to his head. Zhu Xingli¡¯s eyes gradually turned crimson, and his words began to drift, ¡°Xunlu¡­ You should have heard that Lin Zhenghan didn¡¯t find the Luli vein, but everyone in the world thought he did, including the emperor and your father.¡±


    Shen Lou paused slightly while holding the wine, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°I have no other requirements here, only one, that you are not allowed to say a word about Xin¡¯er.¡± His casual tone suddenly became cold, and Zhu Xingli¡¯s eyes with the corners of the phoenix-tailed eyes became clear and transparent and he did not seem even halfway drunk.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say it six years ago, and I won¡¯t say it now. I definitely won¡¯t let A Xin fall into the same position as the brothers from the Zhong family.¡± Shen Lou raised his hand to pour wine for Zhu Xingli. The heirs of the princes were not willing to live in Beijing for a long time. It was naturally not a good thing to live under the Emperor and serve as slaves or hostages.


    ¡°You understand better than your father,¡± Zhu Xingli slumped down on the couch again, steam filled his eyes again, and he hummed a little tune, as if the sober person just now had never existed before, ¡°Rong Xi Sui Xi, hanging down Xixi, your father was not a good person when he was a child[4].¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    He returned to Lin Xin¡¯s bedroom smelling of alcohol, but the other person in the room had already fallen asleep, however he slept obediently on the inner side of the bed, leaving the left half for him.


    Shen Lou sat on the edge of the bed watching him, then he slowly stretched out his hand, and touched that warm side face. He was obviously a monkey, but he wanted to pretend to be cute in front of him, and he didn¡¯t know what he was thinking.


    Lying down wearing all his clothes except for the outer shirt, he raised his hand and rubbed the center of his eyebrows. As his spirit became weaker and weaker, he slept less and less, and was always awakened by various nightmares, and he couldn¡¯t tell the past life from the present when he woke up.


    The Jiang Zhong seen in the daytime coincided with the Feng Zhong in his memory. The man who cut the autumn radish and the spring breeze with Sanxian[5] was the current emperor. At first, Jian Qiuluo didn¡¯t know the identity of this person, but later the emperor admitted that he wanted to admit her into the palace, and she flatly refused.


    Sanxian, who liked to roam freely in all corners of the country, did not care about the position of imperial concubine, and the emperor did not force it. It wasn¡¯t until later when Lin Xin killed his master, that the two brothers were found by the emperor. The emperor¡¯s surname was Feng, so Jiang Zhong¡¯s surname was changed to Feng, and the name he was given by the Emperor was Ying, because he was handsome.


    It was just that the relationship between the two brothers was very bad when they first entered the palace. They all said that it was because Lin Xin killed the master and was thus sealed the hatred between them. Until that day¡­


    Shen Lou took a Star stone carved into a deer to look for Lin Xin, thinking to make amends for breaking his jade pendant.


    ¡°You have to pay me back, I want the Star stone carved by you yourself.¡± Thinking of Lin Xin¡¯s red eyes, Shen Lou¡¯s fingertips were itchy, and he couldn¡¯t help rubbing the deer in his hand, as he hid it in his sleeve.


    With his hands behind his back, he bypassed many rockeries.


    ¡°Xinxin!¡± King Feng Ying¡¯s voice came from behind the rock. Taking a closer look, he saw Feng Zhong, who was dressed in the prince¡¯s uniform, hugging Lin Xin tightly, his face full of pity and affection. Lin Xin leaned in Feng Zhong¡¯s arms sullenly, without saying a word, with his back to Shen Lou, making him unable to see his expression clearly.


    His hands hidden in the sleeves were clenched so tightly that the fingertips turned white.


    He failed to send out the Star Stone deer, and the little thoughts in his heart were thrown to the ground and smashed to pieces.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Lin Bu Shou is born a dissolute man, he doesn¡¯t shy away from meat and vegetables, so many beauties the crown prince gave him, both male and female, he took them all.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, I heard that he also had an affair with the King of England.¡±


    Yingying and Yanyan[6] about him filled the surroundings, while the flirtatious Lin Xin followed everyone and blinked at him frivolously.


    His uncontrollable anger directly woke up Shen Lou, and he opened his eyes, but then he felt the warmth beside him, with a sweet breath of green dates spraying on the side of his neck. At some point, Lin Xin had rubbed into his arms again.


    The heart that was hanging in the air fell to the ground, Shen Lou sighed lightly, tilted his head slightly, and put his chin on the head of the person in his arms.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lin Xin woke up with a moan, and found himself sleeping in Shen Lou¡¯s arms, and moved away in feigned surprise, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t sleep well, did I disturb you?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Shen Lou shook his head.


    ¡°Why are you sweating?¡± Lin Xin stretched out his hand and touched it, then sat up. A person who cultivated immortality had a strong body, so there was absolutely no reason for him to sweat in the middle of the night.


    Shen Lou stretched out his hand and pushed him back under the quilt, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I had a nightmare, go to sleep.¡±


    ¡°How old are you, you still sweat from a nightmare!¡± Lin Xin couldn¡¯t help rubbing his hand on his pillow to laugh at him, ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±


    He asked Shen Lou whether he was afraid of the dark now, but worried that he would not sleep with him tomorrow if he was annoyed, Lin Xin could only swallow the teasing words and stare at Shen Lou with crooked eyes. It wasn¡¯t until Shen Lou fell asleep again that the smile disappeared suddenly.


    Repeated nightmares were a sign of weak soul power. Lin Xin blew on Shen Lou¡¯s eyelashes to make sure that he was really asleep, and quietly stretched out his index finger, tapped lightly between his brows, slowly pulled it away, and drew out a very thin trace of soul power. With a light breath, the hair-thin soul power suddenly broke and disappeared.


    Why are you so weak! Lin Xin frowned tightly. If he guessed right, Shen Lou¡¯s soul must have been severely injured in his previous life, just like those whose souls were crushed by him, such that the damage to their souls had directly continued in this life.


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    Xinxin: Woohoo, you broke my deer, you pay for it!


    Loulou: Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry, I¡¯ll carve another


    Fan A: Xinxin, this is the golden deer I bought for you


    Fan B: Xinxin, this is the silver deer I bought for you


    Loulou: This is the stone deer I carved for you, which one do you choose?


    Xinxin: Of course I¡­ want the golden deer! ~(¨R¨Œ¨Q)/~


    Narrator: (Music) Listen to the sound of heartbreak~~

 CH 19

    The next day, when Lin Xin woke up, Shen Lou had already gotten up. But he was not wearing a wide-sleeved outer shirt, instead wearing a strong arrow-sleeve outfit, he was swinging a sword in the courtyard.


    Yu Yuan Sword, whose full name was Yu Yuan Luo Sun, had sword energy like a rainbow when he wielded the sword. Even without Luli, just relying on Shen Lou¡¯s own spiritual power, it could transform into a dazzling aura.


    Stabbing, chopping, hanging, lifting, wiping clouds, and picking, repeating the most basic moves with a sword over and over again, Shen Lou¡¯s wrist was as steady as a heavy weight, and each move hit the same position.


    Lin Xin leaned on the porch, biting a willow branch to rinse his mouth, silently counting the number of times Shen Lou swung his sword.


    At this time, he happened to change to the ¡°sword swinging style¡±, raised the sword, sent it out from bottom to top, and turned the wrist to flirt. This move needed the cooperation of the strength of the waist, if it was not done well, it would look ugly. Shen Lou¡¯s movements were comparable to the fine brushwork on a numbered musical notation. The movement of the sword was like a dragon swimming, one breath and one move, attacking a thousand times!


    With this level of spiritual power, Shen Lou still had the perseverance to practice basic sword moves every day.


    After spitting out the willow branch in his mouth, Lin Xin went back to the house and took out his small sword, and jumped out from the corridor, colliding with the ¡°Yu Yuan¡± passing by.


    ¡°My lord, how beautiful was your sword-swinging move just now, teach me.¡± Lin Xin showed a studious and inquiring look.


    Shen Lou looked at the small sword he held in his hand, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Lin Xin held the hilt of the sword and tied a flower, and set up a posture to follow Shen Lou, but unexpectedly, the man walked around behind him, ¡°You make a move! Let me take a look.¡± The low voice, like a drum in the evening and a bell in the morning, drilled into his head from his ears, making Lin Xin almost forget his movements.


    He casually posed in a sword-swinging pose. Before Lin Xin could open his mouth, his hand was suddenly supported by a big warm hand, ¡°The sword-swinging style doesn¡¯t matter how high or low it is, but the hand must be fast and straight.¡±


    His risen body temperature because of sword practice was transmitted to Lin Xin along the place where the two touched. In the warm wind of late spring, it was infectious.


    ¡°Senior brother!¡± Jian Zhong hurried over, and saw his impeccable senior who had learned all the sword moves in the first year, posing crookedly like a beginner while performing a sword swing. This was even rarer than the master giving him a box of Luli.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Lin Xin put away his sword and glared at his blind junior brother.


    ¡°Master is going down the mountain to eliminate demons, so let us go together.¡± Jian Zhong was fully dressed, with his natal spirit sword hanging on his waist.


    ¡°Get rid of what demon?¡± He quickly went back to the room and put on his outer shirt, casually threw Shen Lou¡¯s wide black sleeves to him, grabbed the small bronze mirror with a handle on his waist, and asked as he walked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Jian Zhong smacked his lips, revealing two small dimples of grievance, ¡°It¡¯s still useless for breakfast.¡±


    ¡°You just know how to eat!¡± Lin Xin knocked him on the head. Jiang Zhong¡¯s head, even if he was going to become a prince in the future, he could still knock it. Looking back at Shen Lou, he saw that the man was already fully dressed and following them silently, ¡°Your Majesty is going too?¡±


    Shen Lou was a little amused, this man handed him the clothes, didn¡¯t he mean to invite him to go with him? But he still nodded with a smile.


    Yanqiu was just a small soil bag, and five miles away from the soil bag was a small town called Luoyan Town. On weekdays, most of the food, clothing, and shopping were done in this town. Zhu Xingli¡¯s so-called ¡°going down the mountain¡± meant getting off the soil bag and going to the town.


    ¡°Master, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Lin Xin picked up a handful of jujubes and ran to Zhu Xingli to ask.


    Zhu Xingli grabbed a jujube and stuffed it into his mouth to chew, ¡°Master watched the stars at night, and I noticed that there are demons appearing nearby.¡± He said so inscrutably and spit out the jujube core a foot away.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it cloudy last night?¡± Lin Xin grabbed his Master¡¯s shoulder and spat out the jujube pit one foot and three inches with a ¡°bah¡±.


    ¡°Go, go, you talk too much.¡± Zhu Xingli raised his hand to hit him, but Lin Xin dodged it, hid behind Shen Lou, and made faces at his master.


    Shen Lou pursed his lips and smiled lightly, letting Lin Xin run around him.


    Because it was the junction of the Southern Region and the Eastern Region, with north-south connections and east-west roads, Luoyan Town was very prosperous, but it was by no means comparable to ordinary towns. Still inns, restaurants, and entertainment courtyards were all available there.


    Once they went down, Jiang Zhong was like a chick released from the forest in the town and went straight to the food stall on the side of the road, ¡°Master, there are wontons over there!¡±


    The owner of the stall looked at the person in front of him, with exquisite Luli beads on his forehead, he looked like an immortal with a high family background. Could such an immortal sit on a wonton stand and eat wontons?


    Of course.


    So, the owner of the wonton stall cautiously brought four bowls of hot wontons to the table, and watched helplessly as the immortals slurped down the wontons.


    ¡°Brother, I want to ask you something.¡± Zhu Xingli took a sip of the soup and gestured for the stall owner to come over and sit down. ¡°I heard that someone lost his soul in this town. Do you know which one?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just the pharmacy on North Street.¡± Speaking of these rumors in the market, the stall owner gradually lost his previous restraint, then he threw the scarf on his arm over his shoulder, and sat down next to Lin Xin, who looked the most harmless, ¡°The day before yesterday, his son went to the mountains to collect medicinal materials, but he did not come back for a day and a night. Later, when his parents went to look for him, they found that the son and the two medicine boys seemed to be asleep. Yao Shi is not a doctor, so he begged an immortal to come, but he died as soon as the soul was summoned.¡±


    As if being squeezed by the stall owner, Lin Xin held the wonton bowl and moved closer to rub against Shen Lou, ¡°If you lose your soul, you will die immediately. If you don¡¯t die, you still have your soul. How can you die as soon as you summon the soul?¡±


    ¡°The immortal said that his soul was swallowed by a monster, and there was only a wisp of remnant soul, and the remnant soul didn¡¯t last long.¡± The stall owner didn¡¯t know much about these souls, and he had learned all this from hearsay.


    ¡°Nonsense, where did you find this trash immortal?¡± Zhu Xingli frowned, and after eating wontons in a few moments, he flicked his sleeves and headed towards North Street.


    Seeing the master leaving, Jian Zhong picked up the bowl and poured it all into his mouth, then he wiped his mouth and quickly followed. Lin Xin didn¡¯t finish eating at all, and he ran faster than his junior brother. Shen Shizi, who didn¡¯t know why, was left behind to face the stall owner who was asking for money.


    The pharmacy was closed, and a funeral was being held in the courtyard, and the old couple who as white-haired people had to send away the black-haired person[1] were sobbing. Seeing that it was an immortal, everyone got up and saluted one after another, and told the situation in a hurry.


    The person who set up the soul summoning array was a passing immortal, whose name was not known, it was said that he only summoned souls, and the immortal said that it might be caused by the soul-swallowing gu eagle.


    ¡°Gu eagles must have come, didn¡¯t many people die six years ago!¡±


    ¡°Hey, I thought they were all gone, why are they still here?¡±


    Ordinary people without spiritual power were very afraid of these monsters.


    ¡°What happened six years ago?¡± Shen Lou immediately asked after hearing what happened six years ago.


    ¡°Several people died overnight in this town six years ago.¡± Lin Xin explained to him in a low voice. Speaking of this, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little guilty. The deaths of these people were also related to him, they were all the mistresses and attendants of the biggest restaurant in the town.


    That year, he had just been granted the title of Marquis of Xunlu, and he came back to pay homage to his master during the Ching Ming Festival[2] and wanted to buy a portion of the master¡¯s favorite sauced duck tongue at that restaurant.


    ¡°Half a catty of duck tongue, a roast chicken, and a jar of pear blossom wine.¡± Lin Xin sat alone in the lobby of the restaurant without any guards. It was raining in spring outside, and so pedestrians were in a hurry.


    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this Marquis of Xunlu?¡± Three immortals in scarlet and golden jade robes recognized Lin Xin who was drinking tea with his head bowed.


    Lin Xin looked up, the three of them didn¡¯t wear Luli forehead pendants, so they were not direct descendants of the Zhu family, but they were also members of the Zhu family in the southern region, ¡°When you see me, you are not polite. Is this how Duke Jiang taught you how to behave?¡±


    ¡°Bah. You still have the face to mention the Duke,¡± one of them threw the bamboo basket in his hand on the table, and in the basket was the incense paper money he had just bought, ¡°You little bastard who killed his master and father!¡±


    Lin Xin pressed his finger on the handle of the demon sword that swallows the hook[3], and there was ice in his voice, ¡°Who are you calling a beast?¡±


    ¡°He helped you in forging a sword, but you killed him! The emperor actually appointed you, a heartless and unrighteous person, as Marquis of Xunlu, I¡¯m sorry!¡± The three Zhu family children were filled with righteous indignation, shouting loudly, causing passers-by to stop and stare.


    Everyone didn¡¯t expect that the famous Marquis of Xunlu was actually a young man who hadn¡¯t even reached the crown bearing age. No matter the mortals or immortals, they couldn¡¯t help but look at him a few more times, wondering if he was the legendary three-headed and six-armed beast.


    Yes, he was a beast who killed his teacher, and the Zhu family could curse and scold him, but the majesty of Marquis of Xunlu could not be provoked!


    He pulled Tungou[4]  out of its sheath, his ferocious killing aura instantly shattering a row of tables and chairs in the lobby. Those three people were not afraid at all, and they sacrificed the Luli pendants one after another, forming a Luli three swords formation. It turned out to be the Zhu family¡¯s master ¡°three swords¡±!


    The double swords used by all three of them consumed six deer glass at a time. However, the Zhu family was rich and powerful enough to afford the supply. The six spirit swords criss-crossed and rushed towards Lin Xin like a spider web.


    Tungou was one against six, but it did not fall behind. However, the Zhu family had enough Luli, after fighting for half an hour, the Luli on Tungou turned into powder, but the three of the Zhu family took turns to exchange for new Luli. Lin Xin didn¡¯t bring anything with him, only a pack of duck tongues and a jar of white pear blossoms. The powerful spiritual power pressed down on his head, crushing the wine jar, and the fragrant wine dripped all over the floor.


    Lin Xin, who was kneeling on one knee, had blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.


    ¡°Master, what is the source of spiritual power?¡±


    ¡°Spiritual power is actually the essence of the sun and the moon. Luli is born with it, and it is the top grade means for storing the essence of the sun and the moon.¡±


    ¡°What is the soul?¡±


    ¡°The soul is the essence of heaven and earth. The sun and the moon are swallowed up; the soul is imprisoned by the body and grounded into the earth.¡±


    The essence of the sun and moon in the Luli could be used, so the essence of the soul could also be used naturally! Reversing the spiritual veins, drawing the power of the surrounding souls, countless light spots gathered from the surroundings, the silver blade of the Tungou suddenly seemed dipped into a pool of blood, and the red light flourished, twisting the sword light that was only half an inch away from the three sword smash.


    ¡°What kind of sorcery is this!¡± The three people from the Zhu family were taken aback and turned back their swords to defend.


    The soul power of the opponent was continuously drawn, and the more he sfought, the weaker he became, while Lin Xin, who did not have Luli, became more courageous as he fought.


    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± The three of them were thrown out of the restaurant, and because their souls were weak, they fell to the ground and convulsed.


    Lin Xin put his sword back into its sheath, his dark blue eyes were as bright as stars, like an ancient soul-swallowing monster who sucked others¡¯ soul and increased his cultivation base.


    Looking back, he saw that the mistresses and the attendants who were hiding in the corner had lost their souls and lost their vitality. It was the first time he realized the power of the soul, and he had a way to draw on it, because of which he had taken away all the soul power within a radius of three feet.


    Immortals, cultivating the soul, separated the different souls from the soul to form a divine soul. If the soul was lost, they would turn weak; but the souls of a mortal were connected and extremely fragile, and the soul-absorbing power could destroy their soul.


    ¡°Ah, murder¡ª¡± The people scattered and fled.


    The Marquis of Xunlu killed innocent people indiscriminately, even the unarmed white-haired people, and just like this his reputation spread hundreds of miles overnight, and just his name could stop children from crying at night.


    Returning to Yanqiu again, Lin Xin went to the restaurant for the first time, but found out that the attendants and mistresses here had died suddenly six years ago. The boss was terrified because of this, so he sold the restaurant and went back to his hometown to farm.


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    Xinxin: (passing the sword) Lao Gong, Lao Gong, I want to catch demons at the foot of the mountain


    Loulou: Good


    Xinxin: What are you doing with the sword, you want to follow me? Hey, you¡¯re so clingy


    Loulou: ¡­


    Xinxin: (passing lubricant) Old Gong, old Gong, I¡¯m going to sleep


    Loulou: Good


    Xinxin: Oh, what are you doing, you pervert! I originally planned to cultivate my body and mind_(:§Ù¡¹¡Ï*)_


    Loulou:  ¡­

 CH 20

    ¡°Xin¡¯er, come and take a look.¡± Zhu Xingli waved to Lin Xin.


    Lin Xin took out the small bronze mirror on his waist, pulled Jiang Zhong¡¯s fingers and took a bite.


    ¡°Aww!¡± Junior Brother Jiang screamed, while his finger was quickly used to draw a talisman on the back of the bronze mirror, then he was thrown aside, left holding up his injured finger in aggrieved manner.


    The scene in the bronze mirror gradually turned positive, and the face in the mirror suddenly disappeared. When he moved the mirror to the vicinity of the coffin, he found the soul that was not wandering, but he could see the soul that had not been separated from the corpse. When a mortal died, his soul would be separated, his seven souls ascended to heaven, and his three souls went to earth with his body.


    The facial features of the three corpses were intact, and the skin had not collapsed. ¡°The soul is gone, but the soul is still there. He can¡¯t survive but can still reincarnate.¡±


    ¡°Where did you find your son?¡± Zhu Xingli asked the three of them where the accident happened. After staying some more, he took his apprentices into the mountains to find the place.


    The mountain where they went picking herbs was thirty miles east of the town. There were cliffs, jagged rocks, and tall trees that blocked out the sun there. Zhu Xingli found a flat ground, took out a box of cinnabar and a jade pen, and began to set up the formation.


    ¡°Master, is it really a Soul-swallowing Gu carving?¡± Jiang Zhong found some herbal leaves to wrap his injured finger.


    The mountains were silent, and in late spring, there were no birds and insects, only the rustling of the mountain wind blowing through the treetops.


    Lin Xin looked around with his bronze mirror and climbed up a tall round stone in two steps. Shen Lou followed him with a good step, ¡°Why did you bite your junior¡¯s finger when you drew a talisman?¡±


    ¡°It hurts to bite your own.¡± Lin Xin laughed, and brought the mirror in front of Shen Lou, ¡°Look, there is a vegetable leaf on your tooth.¡±


    Shen Lou looked over subconsciously, but the wandering spirit of a wild boar appeared in the mirror.


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡± Lin Xin couldn¡¯t help laughing, he thought that Shen Lou in his youth was really fun, and he was much easier to deceive than when he was in his twenties.


    Shen Lou took a step away and blocked the edge of the stone to prevent him from falling when he laughed, ¡°Next time you can bite my hand.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t bear it.¡± Lin Xin smiled, and casually said what was on his mind, then both of them were taken aback after he finished speaking. Realizing that what he said was a bit ambiguous, Lin Xin rubbed his nose, turned around and jumped off the rock to make trouble for Master.


    The cinnabar array was one zhang[1] square, and when the last stroke was completed, Zhu Xingli took out a piece of Luli and asked Lin Xin to place it in the eye of the array.


    There were ghostly symbols all over the floor, and he didn¡¯t say where the eye of the formation was, so Lin Xin put them in the middle place without hesitation. As soon as it landed on the ground, it seemed as if volcanic magma had cracked the ground, and the red light spread around Luli as the center, lighting up the entire magic circle in a few breaths.


    The souls of the sporadic wild animals seen in the shadow mirror quickly floated towards the formation, and a figure flashed across the gap like a white horse. When he looked again, Lin Xin¡¯s own face was reflected in the mirror, and the talisman had expired. Looking at it with the naked eye, Zhu Xingli¡¯s large formation was getting brighter and brighter, but there was no movement. But Lin Xin knew that the souls who had died in the mountain for less than seven days were all gathered into the formation.


    The soul-gathering array would make the dead souls show the aura of a living soul. If there was a soul-eating monster, these souls should be able to attract it.


    ¡°Are there Gu carvings in the Northern Territory?¡± Lin Xin was quiet for a while, and then couldn¡¯t help but move closer to Shen Lou.


    A hundred years ago, the Soul-swallowing Gu sculptures flooded the empire like locusts. After these years of hunting, they had almost disappeared, and it was difficult to meet them even if they appeared occasionally. In his previous life, he had only seen a Gu sculpture once, and it was still in the desert. He didn¡¯t have much hope for today¡¯s monster-hunting operation, and it would probably also disappoint Master who wanted to see something new.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Shen Lou answered succinctly. ¡°The tragedy in Dahuang¡¯s family was caused by Soul-swallowing Gu. Don¡¯t you know how he died?¡±


    ¡°He was not eaten by a gu eagle.¡± Lin Xin curled his lips.


    ¡°How do you know¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, a strong wind suddenly blew up in the mountains, throwing sand and rocks around, branches and leaves flying, Shen Lou immediately dragged Lin Xin to his side.


    ¡°Woo¡ª¡ª¡± The sound, which resembled the cry of a baby, pierced the ear bones sharply, and the heavy black wings swept across the place where Lin Xin was standing just now. The strong wind pushed Lin Xin violently, and he fell into Shen Lou¡¯s arms.


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t stand firmly.¡± Lin Xin apologized without sincerity, took the opportunity to rub his face on Shen Lou¡¯s shoulder and neck, and was about to stand up, but was caught by Shen Lou, as they jumped onto the Yu Yuan sword and soared into the air.


    The monster was heading straight for the Soul Gathering Formation, but it turned around when it saw Lin Xin and Shen Lou who were fresh and delicious on the way.


    The Yu Yuan Sword turned into an afterimage in the air as they flew to Zhu Xingli¡¯s side. Zhu Xingli slapped his younger disciple with bright eyes, ¡°Zhong¡¯er, come on!¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± He was a dead weight or something, and he was pushed out by the master just like that.


    The thing that flew over had a sculpted body with brown flower feathers, a beast head with horns, and a pointed mouth as round as a bamboo tube exposing an empty black hole. It was exactly the strange beast mentioned in the ancient book-the soul-swallowing Gu carving!


    Jian Zhong was pushed to the back of the soul-swallowing Gu¡¯s buttocks, so he had no choice but to lift his foot and kick it up, so as to turn over by relay. This kick immediately attracted the Gu over, so he stopped chasing Shen Lou and Lin Xin, and turned around and roared at Jiang Zhong.


    The Ban Xia sword was now out of its sheath, the heavy sword and the Gu carving were circling in the air.


    The Gu Eagle was more agile than ordinary birds due to its perennial pursuit of souls, but it turned back directly in mid-air, and its long body was flying up and down like a butterfly. A palm patted on the long mouth that seemed to suck people¡¯s brains, and cut off a few feathers of the Gu carving.


    ¡°Yes, cut its neck off!¡± Lin Xin and Zhu Xingli leisurely watched the fun with their arms folded. They didn¡¯t look like they were going to slay demons, but rather had come to walk their disciples.


    Jiang Zhong learned the heavy swordsmanship well, but he was a little weak, unable to flexibly connect between the sword and slashing monsters. Dodging the giant wings, he jumped onto the back of the Gu Eagle, cut heavy and raised the sword to stab him, but unexpectedly, the Gu Eagle turned over suddenly, with huge sharp claws facing upwards, grabbing at his chest. It was too late to improve further!


    ¡°Shua¡ª¡± A sword light as sharp as frost struck, and firmly received the claw. Shen Lou¡¯s figure was like electricity, and after blocking the sharp claw, he flashed to the outside without hesitation, and let the spirit sword stay in the air, then stepping on the sword with one foot, he relayed upwards, retracted the sword and let it return to the hand. It was like flowing clouds and flowing water, all in one go.


    ¡°Eagle step!¡± Seeing Shen Lou¡¯s movements, Jian Zhong was taken aback.


    Cultivators needed to use flying swords to volley in the air, and fighting in the air could only be done at the moment of jumping off the sword. This move of stepping on the eagle was similar to the movement of an eagle stepping on the backs of other birds in the air to use its strength upwards. It was extremely difficult to practice, and it could only be performed by connecting with the spirit sword.


    Jiang Zhong had not yet learned how to hold the sword in the air, but Shen Lou had already mastered the ¡°Eagle Step¡± skilfully.


    ¡°Good boy,¡± Zhu Xingli put away the Spring Mark Sword[2] that hadn¡¯t had time to make a move, crossed his arms again, and said angrily, ¡°What kind of virtue did Shen Qirui accumulate to give birth to such a brilliant son!¡±


    ¡°That must be someone else, Master Xuanguo taught well.¡± Lin Xin said coolly.


    ¡°Bah, he will teach a bird¡¯s egg.¡±


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t rush out with his sword, instead he kept circling the Gu carving back and forth, ¡°This thing is very flexible, you have to provoke it to strike, left.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Responding again, he immediately swung his sword to the left, and the Gu Eagle¡¯s big wings just swept towards him, and his sword cut off the front half.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Shen Lou said lightly, swayed down, and hit the front of the Gu carving directly, the sword blade collided with the long beak that was comparable to a metal stone, sparking a string of sparks, ¡°If I cut its tail feathers, will it be cut in the void?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Raising the knife in his hand, he swung the sword in the void, a sword light as bright as lightning cut towards the bird¡¯s tail in the void. Losing its tail, the Gu carving¡¯s body began to tilt, it found it difficult to balance, so it became more and more irritable, and with a long cry, it opened its sharp claws and grabbed at Jiang Zhong.


    At this time, Shen Lou flew to a high place with his sword, and without help,


    Jiang Zhong dodged in a panic, ¡°What should we do now?¡± He couldn¡¯t stop directing, but his junior brother was still so obedient, it¡¯s amazing. This scene would never have happened in his previous life.


    ¡°Follow me.¡± Sensing that Lin Xin was staring at him, Shen Lou made an extremely gorgeous swing in the air, leading the Gu sculpture to follow, and rushed straight to the soul-calling formation covered with cinnabar.


    The soul-calling array suddenly became red, and a circle of beams of light rose into the sky. Shen Lou quickened his speed and escaped before the beam of light passed him, the red light trapped the Gu Eagle inside like a cage, making it hard to get out.


    Jiang Zhong was taken aback, there was actually a sleeping formation inside the summoning formation, how did Shen Lou see it?


    ¡°Yeah¡ª¡± The monster with a broken wing and tail was struggling endlessly in the trap, Zhu Xingli immediately stepped forward, cut off the beast¡¯s head with a sword, and then sacrificed a palm-sized trap. The cage grew bigger in the air, covered the beast with a bang, and gradually shrunk.


    This cage had a space stacking array, which could make things smaller, but it could only hold dead things and not living things.


    ¡°The cage?¡± Shen Lou recognized this thing, it was the Zhu family¡¯s treasure, the only one in the world, ¡°Your martial uncle really loves your master.¡±


    ¡°Does he? But every time my master goes home, he gets beaten.¡± Lin Xin whispered to Shen Lou.


    ¡°Hahaha, I actually caught one for me, let¡¯s go home!¡± Zhu Xingli put the cage back into his sleeves, ordered Lin Xin to get some water to wash away the cinnabar array, and patted Shen Lou¡¯s shoulder happily, ¡°How did you know that I made a trap in the summoning formation, you understand the way of formation?¡±


    ¡°Guess.¡± Shen Lou avoided Zhu Xingli¡¯s slap and said concisely.


    Zhu Xingli took a blank shot, bared his teeth and scolded the stinky boy, then turned to rub Lin Xin¡¯s head, but was also dodged, ¡°Master, I just saw a human soul in the mirror.¡±


    ¡°Really, let me look.¡± Zhu Xingli took the mirror and made a magic formula, looked into the mirror, and saw a human soul that had just been scattered from the soul-gathering array into the mirror image, that soul was very weak and faintly, they could barely see that it was a teenager.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the drug boy from the pharmacy!¡± Jian Zhong recognized him at a glance. He had an excellent memory, especially when it came to faces. He was the only one who remembered the four people present in the town at a glance.


    Why was the soul that should have been eaten wandering outside?


    ¡°It¡¯s probably the remnant soul that the gu eagle vomited out from belching after eating too much.¡± Zhu Xingli said, letting go of the ignorant soul.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s farting¡­ Cough¡­¡± Lin Xin said halfway, realizing that Shen Lou was present, and swallowed it.


    The author has something to say:


    Small Theater:


    Loulou: What did you want to say?


    Xinxin: It may also be¡­


    the Loulou that was blown up when it played Thunderbolt Invincible II Kick: ¡ú_¡ú

 CH 21

    Back at Yanqiu, Zhu Xingli couldn¡¯t wait to take out the body of the gu carving, then he carried the knife and began to dissect it.


    Gu carvings were exotic beasts whose stories had been handed down from ancient times, and some parts of their bodies were very precious refining materials, especially the mouth that was as long as a black bamboo tube.


    Lin Xin just squatted aside and watched, ¡°What can this mouth do?¡±


    ¡°What do you think it can do?¡± Zhu Xingli gouged out the mouth, threw it into the running water of the mountain spring drawn by a bamboo tube, rinsed it, and threw it to Lin Xin casually to play with.


    This soul-absorbing thing was naturally a spiritual tool for sucking souls. Lin Xin thought so but didn¡¯t dare to say it out. He put the hollow bird¡¯s beak on one eye, looked through the empty tube at Shen Lou who sat drinking tea under the tree, ¡°Master, what kind of kung fu did you use today to catch the soul?¡±


    ¡°I only made a gap, but couldn¡¯t, so I pinched a piece of Luli and embedded it in the groove. Only the Zhu family can do it by leaving Luli grooves on the axe.¡±


    The axe wrapped in spiritual power cut the iron like mud and broke the bird¡¯s claw with a ¡°click¡±.


    ¡°Teach me, I want to learn too.¡± Lin Xin pinned the bird¡¯s beak to his waist, grabbed the axe from his master graciously, and helped him chop the other one.


    Soul capture was a small spell in the soul control art. The soul control technique was a partial technique, not very useful, so ordinary immortals didn¡¯t know how to practice it, and it had long been lost. Zhu Xingli figured it out by himself based on ancient books. In his previous life, Lin Xin only learned superficially, so he had to take many detours when using soul power.


    Zhu Xingli took the bird claws cut off by his apprentice and washed them clean, ¡°I will send these pair of bird claws to your uncle later, so that he can forge a spirit sword for you.¡±


    Seeing that Lin Xin was going to be fifteen years old, as the closest elder, Zhu Xingli, wanted to prepare the natal spirit sword for him. And Duke Jiang of the Southern Region, Zhu Xingli¡¯s elder brother, was the best craftsman in Da Yong.


    Thinking of the spiritual sword, he remembered that his Master had passed away many years ago, Lin Xin didn¡¯t answer the question, but lowered his eyes and said: ¡°I read ¡°Qing Yun Ji¡± the other day, and the book said that monks in ancient times relied on their own spiritual power to control the sword. Did they not rely on Luli?¡±


    ¡°The ancient monks could move mountains and seas, why can¡¯t you?¡± Zhu Xingli asked him back.


    ¡°The way of cultivation in ancient times has been lost, I don¡¯t know.¡± Lin Xin pulled out the bird¡¯s beak on his waist to tickle, ¡°I mean, since the source of spiritual power is the essence of the sun and the moon, why can¡¯t we store the essence of the sun and the moon in our spiritual veins like we do in Luli?¡±


    Zhu Xingli held the bird¡¯s claw like an old immortal holding a dust whisk, and patted Lin Xin on the head in the posture of ¡°immortal Buddha head¡±, ¡°How can a flesh and blood body store the sun and the moon?¡±


    ¡°Spirit and soul should be enough,¡± Lin Xin patted the bird¡¯s claws away, and said with certainty, ¡°soul is also made of the essence of the sun and the moon.¡±


    Hearing this, Shen Lou, who was drinking tea not far away, frowned, got up and walked towards Lin Xin, just as he took a step towards him, he was blocked by a sheer weight falling from the sky. Jian Zhong had just been practicing ¡°Standing on the Sword in the Air¡±, and he had somewhat figured out how to do it, so he wanted to try the tricks he saw today. He lightly tapped his toes, but with a move of ¡°Flying Eagle and Swan Goose¡±, the whole person was ejected, and he fell headfirst to Shen Lou¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Bah,¡± Jian Zhong spat out the grass clippings in his mouth, and raised his hand to grab the hem of Shen Lou¡¯s clothes, ¡°Brother Shen, how did you keep from falling off?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t fall.¡± Shen Lou didn¡¯t want to talk to him, but he didn¡¯t mean to hide his secrets either, so he pointed out something concisely, then lifted his feet and left.


    Jian Zhong thought about Shen Lou¡¯s words for a while, then he suddenly understood, and got up and went to practice again. I am so stupid, I have to use hard work to make up for my clumsiness. The senior brother is younger than him, but he can learn everything, and he has learned a lot from master in a few years. He originally thought that Lin Xin was an evildoer, but now seeing Shen Shizi who was the same age as him, he completely gave up. It must really be because of his poor talent.


    ¡°The soul cannot be regenerated. There are ancient books on the art of refining the soul. It is a type of sorcery.¡± Shen Lou tried to prevent Lin Xin from continuing to explore, as if it was too shameful to absorb human soul power to replace Luli. He did not want Lin Xin to go on this path again.


    Hearing the word ¡°sorcery¡±, Lin Xin¡¯s fingertips trembled slightly, and he lowered his head and said in a low voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t say I wanted to refine my soul.¡±


    Seeing that he was unhappy, Shen Lou suddenly felt that he had spoken seriously.


    ¡°There are three thousand ways of cultivation, you do not stick to one pattern, and the way of cultivation must not be blind.¡± Seeing that the two children were having disagreements, Zhu Xingli tried to reconcile fairly, and handed the gourd filled with the blood of the gu carving to Lin Xin, ¡°Go, draw a soul-gathering formation in the medicine room.¡±


    ¡°Defensive formation?¡± Lin Xin clapped his hands and returned the beak to Master.


    ¡°Let¡¯s build a protective spirit formation,¡± Zhu Xingli thought for a while, then turned to look at Shen Lou, ¡°You, take a shower, and go to the medicine room later.¡± After working so long without looking for spirits, it seemed that only then did he remember that Shen Shizi was still seriously ill.


    The soul-gathering array drawn by the blood of the spirit beast would be better than the one drawn by cinnabar, and it was relatively gentler. Shen Lou sat in the center of the formation, watching Lin Xin and following his lead, ¡°Are you going to treat me?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s just for fortune telling.¡± Lin Xin glanced at him, ¡°Give me your hand.¡±


    Shen Lou handed him a hand, and a line was drawn on the palm of the hand with a bright red pen, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Formation.¡±


    Shen Lou smiled, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Lin Xin closed his eyes, recited a few sutras, and then opened his eyes solemnly, ¡°The Infinite Heavenly Venerable asked Shen Shizi if there is a marriage contract?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Is there a Tongfang[1]?¡± He raised a pen and drew a cross.


    ¡°Never.¡± As if being licked by a kitten, Shen Lou curled up his fingertips, trying to resist the urge to shrink his hands.


    ¡°Eighteen years old, but no Tongfang yet, who are you kidding?¡± Lin Xin drew a circle, ¡°I¡¯ll talk about it after I think about it.¡±


    Shen Lou was helpless, for a cultivator, if he vented his Yang energy too early, his foundation would be easily destroyed. Tongfang were only available to ordinary people, and he had never seen any family of cultivating immortals have such a rule. Before he could defend himself, Lin Daxian started the punishment on his own¡ªadding a head and a tail to the circle. Withdrawing his hands and looking back, it looked like a pancake with a round shell and a flat brain lying in his palm.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Zhu Xingli walked in and closed the door of the medicine room.


    ¡°Giving Shougong mark[2] to the crown prince.¡± Lin Xin bared his teeth and grinned.


    ¡°Yo, why do this?¡± Zhu Xingli asked seriously.


    ¡°Before I marry him, telling him to be as good as a jade.¡± Lin Xin said nonsense.


    Zhu Xingli glanced at him in disgust, took away the pen, and crossed Lin Xin¡¯s nose, ¡°Go aside.¡±

 CH 22

    The soul-gathering array was put on the spirit-protecting array, which was used to check the soul. The soul of an immortal was the key to sword control and cultivation. It was said that the immortals in ancient times could train their souls to leave their bodies. When the soul broke away from the physical body and transformed into a god, it meant ascending to immortality.


    Naturally, today¡¯s immortals couldn¡¯t do it, and their souls were also very fragile. They must completely trust the people who set up the formation before they could be inspected.


    ¡°Your father coughed when he saw the wind when he was a child. So, every winter, your grandfather would send him to the Southern Region,¡± Zhu Xingli put Luli on the ground, and said something casually, ¡°That year when I was falling into the valley of flames, he was the one who went in and carried me out.¡±


    A gentle blue light swept up and completely surrounded Shen Lou who was sitting in the formation. Shen Lou had never heard of these things before, so looking at Zhu Xingli through the burst of light, he saw the Luli on his forehead was as bright as a star, ¡°This nephew understands, just check it out.¡±


    A light-colored spirit came out of his body, under the effect of the spirit protection array, it was calm and safe, without the slightest hint of wanting to escape. Lin Xin held his breath, stared closely at Shen Lou¡¯s spirit, and slowly tightened his grip on the cushion under him.


    This didn¡¯t look like the soul of a young man at all, it seemed to be sawed open by something, it was riddled with holes and dilapidated.


    Zhu Xingli glanced at it and immediately retreated.


    Just after returning to his body, Shen Lou was still in a coma, and he fell backward defenselessly, so Lin Xin quickly caught him and let him lean into his arms.


    ¡°Hey, pitiful,¡± Zhu Xingli shook his head, his guess was right, ¡°I¡¯m afraid this child has been enduring pain all the time.¡±


    ¡°Can it be cured?¡±


    Lin Xin¡¯s voice was a little hoarse, and his understanding of the soul was beyond the existing understanding. In fact, it was better than his master.


    The best treatment for the soul in this situation was to live like a mortal without using swords and spiritual power. Because every overuse would bring heart-piercing pain. And with the increase of Shen Lou¡¯s own spiritual power, it would be difficult for the broken soul to bear the weight, and the final result was that the soul would collapse and the person would die.


    Zhu Xingli shook his head, and seeing Shen Lou open his eyes, he said, ¡°When I go back to the Southern Region, I¡¯ll look for the ancient remains, there may be a way in it.¡±


    Xin¡¯er¡¯s sword needed to be forged, and Shizi¡¯s illness needed to be treated, so he had to go home early.


    After sending Shen Lou to rest, Lin Xin walked alone to the courtyard where the Gu sculpture was placed, plucked the fur off the head of the Gu sculpture, and then slammed it on the ground. He was really too careless, he had noticed that Shen Lou was ill six years ago, but he never paid attention to it, and he didn¡¯t even think to check his soul.


    Lin Xin had only done soul destroying, not soul replenishing, then how to treat Shen Lou, his eyes darkened.


    ¡°There must be a way.¡± Lin Xin picked up the bald gu carving head and said to himself. After his rebirth, his soul was also very weak. In order to make himself healthy, he absorbed the soul power of many immortals in the past few years.


    As the saying went, what you eat nourishes you, maybe you can try nourishing your soul with other souls.


    He drew a formation on the spot, smashed the skull of the Gu carving, and the undigested remnant souls gathered in the skull cap rushed out, and were fixed by the formation again. There were mortal souls and immortal souls. The soul of a mortal was relatively fragile and had little effect, while the soul of an immortal was a divine soul, full of aura.


    Sitting cross-legged, gathering spiritual power at the fingertips, he peeled off these messy souls bit by bit like peeling cocoons.


    In the dead of night, Lin Xin got up lightly, and blew into Shen Lou¡¯s ear, ¡°Your Highness, Your Highness?¡±


    Shen Lou had fallen into a deep sleep and didn¡¯t intend to wake up at all. Lin Xin felt relieved, took out a little soul that had been protected with spiritual power, and stroked Shen Lou¡¯s skull with one hand. Because he didn¡¯t know if this method would work, he didn¡¯t dare to make up too much of it for Shen Lou.


    A firefly-like spot of light entered his skull, and Lin Xin held Shen Lou¡¯s pulse wrist, observing his condition nervously.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Shen Lou suddenly snorted in pain, as if something had broken into his peaceful dream.


    Passers-by in the small town, horseshoes on the official road, smiling faces of strange women, big black mouth of the Gu carving¡­ Shen Lou knew that this was a memory that did not belong to him, and wanted to throw this thing out. But the pain got worse when he tried. Suddenly, he heard Lin Xin¡¯s voice, which seemed to come from nowhere: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, try to make them merge.¡±


    At the same time, a pair of soft and warm hands caressed his chest.


    The scene in the dream changed suddenly, and those memories that did not belong to him gradually dissipated. His eyes were red and thin, smoke curled up in front of him, and there seemed to be the sound of running water in his ears. Here was the fief of the Marquis of Lu, that palace that he couldn¡¯t get out of no matter how he walked.


    ¡°His Royal Highness Xuan Wang, have you seen enough? Is my flesh and blood satisfactory to Your Highness?¡± Lin Xin took off his hair crown, took off his inner shirt, and only wore a translucent gauze outer shirt, sitting astride his waist between his legs.


    ¡°Shameless!¡± Shen Lou struggled vigorously, but his hands were chained to the head of the bed, making him unable to move.


    ¡°Hehe, is this shameless? I have something more shameful to do to you.¡± Lin Xin smiled recklessly, his dark blue eyes seemed to be bluer than usual, showing a bit of bewitchment.


    Turning his head to avoid Lin Xin¡¯s kiss, Shen Lou tried to activate his spiritual veins.


    The kneading started from his neck from time to time, and swept down inch by inch, making him feel as if his body was being set on fire by something, and as Lin Xin¡¯s fingers burned more and more intensely, it gradually burnt his mind to ashes.


    ¡°Shen Qingque, don¡¯t you want me?¡± Lin Xin was sweating on his forehead, he seemed to be in pain, but he also seemed to be feeling joy.


    Shen Lou¡¯s eyes turned red, and he suddenly felt a light wrist¡­


    What¡¯s wrong with this man? Had a nightmare?


    Seeing that Shen Lou was sweating and seemed to be very hot, Lin Xin touched his chest anxiously, wanting to transfer some spiritual energy to him. At this moment, Shen Lou suddenly opened his eyes.


    ¡°You asked for this!¡± Shen Lou said through gritted teeth, suddenly turned over, and pressed Lin Xin hard under his body.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Lin Xin was taken aback, and before he could react, Shen Lou ripped off his underwear, ¡°My lord, what¡¯s wrong with you? Uh¡­¡± Lin Xin was bitten on the neck unexpectedly, and Lin Xin let out a muffled snort. Shen Lou may have been affected by the memories in those remnant souls. Could it be that he sucked the soul of a flower picker[1]?


    Suddenly feeling funny, Lin Xin put on a weak and helpless look, and cried, ¡°My lord, don¡¯t!¡±


    The momentary overlapping of dream and reality made Shen Lou a little confused. His weak soul could not help him quickly regain his sanity until he heard Lin Xin¡¯s exclamation.


    The scene in front of him gradually became clear. Lin Xin, who was much younger than in the dream, was being pressed between the brocade quilts, his eyes full of horror. A bucket of cold water poured down from the top of his head, Shen Lou paused for a moment, as if being scalded, then he quickly let go of Lin Xin.


    Lin Xin pulled up his inner shirt, curled up to one side, took a deep breath, his eyes were reddened, and he lowered his head and did not speak.


    Shen Lou sat on the spot awkwardly, not knowing what to do.


    The room fell silent, save for the crackling of candles burning.


    ¡°Were you having a nightmare?¡± Lin Xin asked Shen Lou in a low voice, pretending to be a gentleman who endured humiliation but still insisting on giving in to others.


    Shen Lou shook his head and raised his hand to his forehead. The pain in his head was much better than before going to bed. However, facing the current situation, he would rather have a worse headache. Fortunately, he passed out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just entered the illusion and was confused for a while. I didn¡¯t mean to offend you.¡±


    ¡°Who did you see in the illusion?¡± Lin Xin narrowed his eyes slightly.


    Shen Lou raised his eyes and looked at him, ¡°No one, what happened just now? Why did you light the candles?¡±


    While he was playing happily, he was unexpectedly asked this question, Lin Xin paused for a moment before saying, ¡°I saw that you didn¡¯t sleep well and were sweating a lot, so I just wanted to wake you up¡­¡± With a nasal tone, coupled with the huddled body, he looked indescribably pitiful.


    Seeing Lin Xin¡¯s red eyes, Shen Lou was at a loss, ¡°Xinxin, I¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Xinxin!¡± Lin Xin interrupted Shen Lou, this title was created by him. He got goosebumps every time he heard it.


    Shen Lou¡¯s breath stagnated slightly, and his thin lips, which were originally light in color, gradually lost their color.


    Seeing that Shen Lou¡¯s face became so ugly, Lin Xin smacked his lips and wondered if he had played too much.


    ¡°Everyone is a man, you don¡¯t have to pay too much attention to the matter just now.¡± Lin Xin rubbed his eyes, stretched his body, and moved to Shen Lou¡¯s side, expressing that he was not afraid anymore.


    Shen Lou¡¯s fingertips trembled slightly, looking down at Lin Xin¡¯s hand holding the quilt.


    If it was Lin Xin in his previous life, he would probably laugh at him severely when he encountered this situation.


    ¡­


    Tsk tsk, you finally can¡¯t continue to wear the mask of a hypocrite, you are clearly a hungry ghost, why pretend to be noble?


    Shen Qingque, hiss, be nice to me.


    ¡­


    The Lin Xin in front of him however was pitiful and cute, but the reckless and glamorous Marquis Lin was no longer there.


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t know what he was struggling with, so he smiled wryly, ¡°If you¡¯re not called Xinxin, then what should I call you?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Unexpectedly, this person was still immersed in the last topic, Lin Xin didn¡¯t realize it for a while.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t picked up your characters yet, do you have a nickname?¡± Shen Lou looked up at him.


    This was the first time in two lifetimes that he asked his nickname, Lin Xin¡¯s heart felt inexplicably hot, and he wondered to himself that this son would not want to be responsible for him because he took a bite, right? That was really a big profit, and he said without hesitation: ¡°When I was young, my mother called me Chi Nuo.¡±


    ¡°Chi Nuo.¡± Shen Lou chewed on the name in a low voice, such a regular word, it really didn¡¯t look like a nickname.


    ¡°Shizi, you just bit me, let me bite it back, it will be evened out, okay?¡± Lin Xin bared his white teeth, and leaned into Shen Lou¡¯s neck, completely forgetting his persona of a shivering boy.


    ¡°From now on, don¡¯t call me Shizi again.¡± Shen Lou tilted his head slightly to make it easier for him to bite.


    ¡°Okay, how about I call you Qingque from now on?¡± Lin Xin opened his mouth and grabbed a small piece of Shen Lou¡¯s neck.


    Shen Lou trembled suddenly, and asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°How do you know my name[2].¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    Xinxin: Help, QJ[3]!


    Loulou: I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t


    Xinin: Can it be forgiven if you didn¡¯t do it on purpose?


    Loulou: So what should we do?


    Xinxin: Come here quickly and continue


    Loulou:???

 CH 23

    What¡¯s so strange about this? It¡¯s just a sign, you can know it if you ask the master or Zishu, and it doesn¡¯t have to be told by Shen Lou himself. But saying this kind of spoiled the atmosphere, Lin Xin didn¡¯t answer, but gave him a sly look, and opened his mouth to bite down hard.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    Taking advantage of biting, Lin Xin grabbed Shen Lou¡¯s pulse wrist to check. The pulse condition couldn¡¯t tell the state of the soul, but it could tell whether his pain had eased. Unexpectedly, Shen Lou¡¯s pulse condition was extremely unstable, and his muscles were tense.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Lin Xin let go of his mouth and asked Shen Lou worriedly.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± Shen Lou looked at him steadfastly, as if a vortex had formed in his eyes, wishing to swallow people into it.


    ¡°I mean, your soul.¡± Lin Xin stroked his forehead worriedly, the method of replenishing the soul with the soul was completely imagined by him, and he was afraid that it would make things worse for Shen Lou.


    Shen Lou pulled his hand down and shook his head, ¡°It¡¯s better than before going to bed.¡±


    It seemed to be useful, Lin Xin heaved a sigh of relief, and burst into joy, no matter how little the effect was, this direction was right. Stripping the soul was very exhausting, and when he suddenly relaxed, Lin Xin couldn¡¯t stop yawning and a drop of tear overflowed from the corner of his reddish eye, hanging on his eyelashes.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow.¡± Lin Xin got into the bed as he said that, and looked at Shen Lou who was sitting upright with sleepy eyes, fearing that he still couldn¡¯t let go of what he had just done and went to sleep on the soft couch.


    Fortunately, Shen Lou didn¡¯t have that intention, so he extinguished the candle with a snap of his fingers and got into bed.


    As expected of the upright Shen Qingque, if he said he didn¡¯t care, he really didn¡¯t care. Lin Xin angrily pressed one leg onto Shen Lou¡¯s, and fell asleep contentedly.


    Shen Lou opened his eyes and watched him all night.


    Early the next morning, he heard Zhu Xingli shouting in the yard, ¡°Who smashed my bird¡¯s head!¡±


    Lin Xin yawned and walked out of the house, and said without opening his eyes, ¡°It must be Zhong Zhong! He also said yesterday that he wanted to eat chicken brains.¡±


    ¡°When did I say I was going to eat chicken brains!¡± A black pot fell from the sky, almost smashing Junior Brother Jian Zhong to the ground.


    ¡°Stinky boy, if you dare to eat the Gu sculpture¡¯s brain, you won¡¯t have to be afraid of getting diarrhea if you eat it.¡± Zhu Xingli began to scold after picking up the quarrel, as if he had already decided that the little apprentice ate it.


    With a bitter face, Jian Zhong looked at Shen Lou asking for help, ¡°Shizi, you judge me, who would eat that stuff!¡± Since seeing Shen Lou¡¯s toughness yesterday, Junior Brother Jian had unilaterally become friendly to Shen Shizi.


    Shen Lou ignored him, and finished practicing the thousandth sword strike by himself, then he turned back and bowed to Zhu Xingli.


    ¡°Eh, what¡¯s wrong with your neck?¡± Zhu Xingli noticed the teeth marks on Shen Lou¡¯s neck with sharp eyes, a ring of bruises and purple, and the skin was torn.


    ¡°I bit it!¡± Lin Xin admitted it quickly, seeing his master¡¯s face darken, as if he wanted to reprimand him, he immediately added, ¡°It¡¯s not my fault, he bit me first, you see.¡± Then he pulled off the clothes on the shoulders.


    Shen Lou¡¯s bite was relatively low, almost reaching his shoulders, and you could only see it when he pulled off his clothes. On the white shoulder, a red mark from biting was clearly visible, which seemed completely different from the one on Shen Lou¡¯s neck.


    Zhu Xingli¡¯s face turned livid instantly, and everyone in the yard, including Zishu who came in to deliver the medicine, looked at Shen Lou with condemnation.


    ¡°We were playing with each other by biting each other.¡± Lin Xin looked at Shen Lou innocently as his face became darker.


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t intend to explain anything, he just walked to Lin Xin¡¯s side and pulled his clothes back.


    ¡°Xin¡¯er, come here!¡± Zhu Xingli looked cold and serious, as he called Lin Xin away.


    The mansion in Yanqiu was not big, but there were all kinds of pavilions, towers and pools. The clear stream was led into by diabolo, and it was accumulated in a shallow pool. In the pool, there were three or two turtles. The inscription on the porch pillar by the pool said: ¡°The pool is shallow but there are many kings.¡±


    The master and apprentice walked to the waterside pavilion by the shallow pool, where there was no one around. Then Zhu Xingli couldn¡¯t help laughing: ¡°This Shen family boy is so funny.¡±


    ¡°Your apprentice has been taken advantage of by others, but I should thank you for being able to laugh.¡± Lin Xin picked up a little turtle and tossed it in his hand.


    ¡°You?¡± Zhu Xingli glanced at him sideways, it would be fine if his disciple didn¡¯t take advantage of Shen Lou, he might have bullied him last night, and as the villain complained first.


    Knowing that Master would not make decisions without consulting him, Lin Xin threw the tortoise into the water and looked at Master, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Zhu Xingli handed him a piece of letter paper, ¡°A letter from Yongdu.¡±


    Lin Xin twitched his brows and took it over to look at it. The vigorous and powerful characters were the handwriting of the current emperor.


    The tone of the letter was very familiar, as if an old friend who hadn¡¯t seen him for many years, first exchanged a few polite greetings before getting down to business. The emperor asked Zhu Xingli if he had adopted Jian Qiuluo¡¯s son, and stated that this child was his prince who had been left behind among the people. Hearing that Jian Qiuluo had passed away, he had been looking for him for a long time.


    In his previous life, Lin Xin had never seen this letter, but he thought it existed. It was just that even though he was too precocious, Zhu Xingli was used to discussing everything with him, so he showed it to him. After a moment of silence, he pretended to be surprised and said, ¡°Junior brother, is he the prince?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Zhu Xingli grabbed a piece of grass and put it in his mouth, ¡°The emperor is here to ask for someone. Do you think I should give him or not?¡±


    Lin Xin pursed his lips but keep silent. To give or not to give?


    In fact, Zhu Xingli had already made a decision. Had he not been letting Jian Zhong learn how to govern a country these years.


    ¡°A Luo said, if you don¡¯t seek it, don¡¯t force it. If you find it, you can¡¯t keep it.¡± Zhu Xingli spat out the grass stem, took out a half-dry brush, licked it on the tip of his tongue, and wrote a very scribbled ¡°on the back of the letter paper¡± word.


    ¡°He is neither a descendant nor a son. If you let him learn the way of governing the country, wouldn¡¯t it just increase your troubles?¡± He wanted to ask his master countless times in his previous life, but unfortunately his master had passed away and there was nowhere to ask.


    ¡°Sooner or later, he needs to understand the truth. If he doesn¡¯t learn it, will he be able to live well when he returns to the royal family?¡± Zhu Xingli randomly rolled up the letter paper, stuffed it into a crumpled envelope, and threw it to Lin Xin,  Go, give it to a moustached man at the Yuelai Inn in the town.¡±


    Lin Xin took it and turned to leave.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Zhu Xingli suddenly remembered Lin Xin¡¯s identity, and took the letter back, ¡°Let me go, you pack your things, and we will go to the Southern Region tomorrow.¡±


    Among the four regions, the Southern Region was the most affluent, such that when the horse travelled to the territory, one could clearly see the difference between the people of the Southern Regions and the people of the Central Plains.


    Nanyu Yinian Palace was where the Zhu family resided.


    Glass windows, crocodile skin curtains, white jade bricks and gold eaves. At that time, people said, the Bai Yujing[1] was in the sky, such was the Yinian Palace was on the ground.


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    ¡°About the Zhu Family¡±


    Patriarch: Who are we?


    Family members: Zhu people!


    Owner: What is our specialty?


    Family members: Being rich!


    Patriarch: What if there are poor relatives who come to play the autumn wind?


    Family members: We don¡¯t know them!


    Patriarch: Did you hear that?


    Master: ¡­

 CH 24

    The southern region was hot, and the early summer was already unbearably hot. There were towering ancient trees everywhere in Yinian Palace, so it was still cool.


    Zhu Xingli put on his crimson robe and put on the same clothes for Lin Xin. The Zhu family was so extravagant, if they dressed poorly, they may be kicked out by the servants. Shen Lou also changed into his black silver patterned gown and tied his hair with a black ribbon with long silver tassels.


    Junior brother Jian Zhong, who had nothing to do with this trip, stayed in Yanqiu to look after the house.


    ¡°How does it rain in this house?¡± Lin Xin pointed to a three-storey palace in amazement. On a sunny day with bright sunshine, the dense waterfalls continuously fell from the eaves, which created a cool steam that could be felt from afar.


    ¡°That¡¯s Qingliang Hall.¡± Zhu Xingli walked in front, the eight-faced and exquisite Luli beads on his forehead shining like stars. The servants and guards he met along the way bowed and saluted, and when they passed by, they straightened up and continued to do their own thing.


    The so-called Qingliang[1] Hall was to lift the mountain spring water to the top of the house with ingenuity, and then drop it down along the eaves to relieve the heat and cool the building down. No matter how hot it was outside, there would always be a cool breeze blowing in the cool hall, so you could still sleep under a quilt.


    Lin Xin naturally knew that, in his previous life, there was also such a Qingliang Palace in his fiefdom. It was just located in the north and was not commonly used.


    ¡°Qingque, how do you think the water got up there?¡± Lin Xin leaned on Shen Lou¡¯s shoulder and whispered to him.


    Shen Lou¡¯s ears turned slightly red, ¡°Luli Water Wheel.¡±


    The power of ordinary water wheels was not enough to provide so much water. The Zhu family installed Luli on the water wheel to supply water up quickly and steadily. Only the Zhu family could do this kind of entertainment with Luli.


    ¡°Hey, hey!¡± A few strong men passed by carrying a big iron cage, and an immortal in crimson led an immortal in blue to walk in front, walking in a hurry.


    ¡°Dachun, why are you going?¡± Zhu Xingli called to stop the immortal.


    ¡°Second son,¡± the immortal named Dachun stopped and bowed to Zhu Xingli, ¡°Marquis Wangting sent his retainer here, and this subordinate is about to take him to see the Patriarch.¡±


    The blue-clothed cultivator raised his hand to salute Zhu Xingli, with a polite smile on his face, but a somewhat disrespectful look in his eyes. This second son of the Zhu family was a well-known wastrel in the four realms. He was kicked out of the house by Duke Jiang and dared not return for several years.


    The world of cultivating immortals respected strength, so there was nothing to be afraid of a person like Zhu Xingli even if he was born well.


    ¡°You guys go first, go first.¡± As if not seeing the other party¡¯s expression, Zhu Xingli waved his hand with a smile, signalling them to go to the balcony first, while he honestly pulled his apprentice and Shen Shizi, who was pretending to be integrated with the ancient wood, out of the way.


    Seeing Zhu Xingli¡¯s behavior, the retainer of Marquis Wangting felt that he had guessed right, the second child of the Zhu family was indeed not welcomed by the Patriarch. Slightly nodding his head, he followed the red-clothed immortal called ¡°Dachun¡± up the white jade steps of Qingliang Hall.


    ¡°The Spring Water Sword and the Three Swords Stacked.¡± Shen Lou saw the two swords on the waist of the immortal in red, and explained to Lin Xin in a low voice, his eyes resting on his face calmly.


    ¡°I know, Zhu Jiangchun.¡± Lin Xin curled his lips, disliking the person who always made trouble with him in his last life.


    Shen Lou withdrew his gaze and said no more.


    Qingliang Hall was quite high, with long jade steps.


    Lin Xin was like a butterfly with flea legs, waving the crimson robe while bouncing up the jade steps behind Master. Then they passed through the water curtain and stepped into the Qingliang Hall. The main hall was lit with glazed lamps and incense even during the day. A golden nanmu couch was placed in the center, and behind it was a large window with almost floor-to-ceiling bead curtains.


    A man in a bright red silk dress was reclining on the couch, his phoenix eyes lightly closed, as if he was taking a nap. On his forehead, three Luli beads the size of rice grains fell between the eyebrows in the shape of maple leaves, shining brightly against the light of the glass lamp. This person was the head of the Zhu family, Duke Jiang Zhu Yangai.


    ¡°Marquis Wangting¡¯s second son is about to tie his hair, and he wants to ask the Duke to forge a sword for our young master.¡±


    Lin Xin and the others walked in and heard the voice of the blue-clothed immortal from just now. The huge iron cage was placed in the main hall, the black cloth covering it was lifted, and a black leopard stood groaning at the iron fence, with its sharp claws scraping against the iron railing, making a piercing sound.


    Spring Water swordsman Zhu Jiangchun stood aside respectfully, not daring to show any airs.


    ¡°This is a black leopard caught a few days ago. It is quite spiritual. Lord Marquis hopes to refine this leopard into the young master¡¯s sword to increase its spirituality.¡± The blue-clothed immortal was still eloquent.


    The reason why Zhu Yangai became Da Yong¡¯s top refiner was because the spirit sword he refined had a certain chance of giving birth to spirituality. It was said that it was because he refined the flesh and soul of some monsters into the sword.


    The phoenix eyes slowly opened, ¡°Who are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Marquis Wangting, the emperor¡¯s new prince.¡± Zhu Jiangchun hurriedly explained in a low voice, and handed over a letter from Marquis Wangting.


    Zhu Yangai did not reach out to pick it up, but glanced at him and said, ¡°What is he?¡±


    The blue-clothed immortal¡¯s smile froze on his face, and Zhu Yangai picked up his pen and wrote a vigorous and powerful letter on the back of the letter. The word ¡°roll¡±.


    The retainer of one of the princes was thrown out of Qingliang Hall just like that.


    Zhu Jiangchun was sweating on his forehead as he bowed to confess his crime, then gave Zhu Xingli a look of ¡°good luck¡±, and then obediently withdrew.


    Zhu Xingli swallowed his saliva, and pulled the two children forward, ¡°Hey, brother.¡±


    Zhu Yangai and Zhu Xingli were seven points similar in appearance, but Zhu Yangai¡¯s eyes were raised, which made him look fierce and difficult. When the phoenix eyes opened, the domineering aura was like a gust of wind crossing the lake and suddenly creating waves, whistling and sweeping across the entire hall.


    ¡°You still know to come back?¡± Zhu Yangai looked coldly at his younger brother who hadn¡¯t returned home for a long time.


    ¡°My uncle has a bad temper.¡± Lin Xin whispered to Shen Lou.


    ¡°En.¡± Shen Lou nodded slightly, Duke Jiang had a bad temper and was extremely difficult to get along with, this was something that everyone in the world knew, and there was nothing unusual about it. He would see Zhu Yangai almost every year, and he had long been used to it.


    The atmosphere in the hall was very tense, and the black panther in the cage didn¡¯t dare to roar anymore and lay down in the cage and watched carefully with its ears drooping.


    At this moment, a kitten with dark clouds and snow pattern on it jumped down from the Duobao Pavilion, stepped on Zhu Yangai¡¯s head and walked over. The kitten stood on him and yawned, stretched long, and pawed on the spot again, pulling apart the expensive crimson silk.


    ¡°This nephew has met Uncle Zhu Shi and Mrs. Jing.¡± Shen Lou stepped forward, bowed his hands to Zhu Yangai, and then bowed lightly to the cat.


    ¡°This nephew has seen Uncle Master and Mrs. Jing.¡± Lin Xin followed suit, and secretly winked at the kitten.


    Mrs. Jing was Zhu Yangai¡¯s favorite pet, a cat that had a dark clouds and snow pattern on it, and perhaps because it had been rolling around in the Luli all year round, it was smarter than ordinary cats. But no matter what, it was still a cat, and it was a cat with worse temper than Zhu Yangai. For some reason, Zhu Yangai changed its name to Mrs. Jing and asked everyone to treat it according to the etiquette of the Duke¡¯s wife.


    ¡°Xiao Lou is here,¡± Zhu Yangai sat up, put the cat on his lap, and wanted to touch its fur, but the cat slapped his hand hard, ¡°Your father said that you should follow Yi Xiao to treat illnesses, I advise you to not be confused, he is fine, he really sent you to¡­¡± Before he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly widened.


    Madam Jing jumped down from Zhu Yangai¡¯s arms, ran directly to Lin Xin¡¯s feet, and looked around him. Lin Xin stretched out his hand and tentatively touched the cat¡¯s head, and the irritable Mrs. Jing actually allowed him to touch.


    ¡°Xin¡¯er, isn¡¯t it?¡± Zhu Yangai¡¯s expression seemed to soften, he beckoned for Lin Xin to go over, looked at the cat following Lin Xin and his sharp phoenix eyes became full of tenderness, ¡°Madam likes you very much.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Madam loves you.¡± Lin Xin accepted it very simply.


    There was a little smile in Zhu Yangai¡¯s eyes, and he glanced at his younger brother, ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you for a few years, but you are getting more and more picky about your apprentices.¡±


    Zhu Xingli handed in the brocade cloth bag, ¡°I caught a Gu carving the day before yesterday, take a look.¡±


    Hearing about the Gu carving, Zhu Yangai became interested, opened the bag and picked up the bird¡¯s claws and beak to check, ¡°Say, I want to see it again.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Is it not that Xin¡¯er is about to turn fifteen, you said we are elders, don¡¯t we have to get him a sword?¡± Zhu Xingli said with a smile.


    Zhu Yangai was noncommittal, and looked up at Lin Xin who was still playing with Mrs. Jing, then he asked, ¡°What kind of sword do you want?¡±


    Zhu Yangai seldom forged swords in recent years, and the most recent one was the one in Shen Lou¡¯s hand. ¡°Yu Yuan ¡°. The reason was that he felt that casting swords was boring, so he devoted himself to studying the ancient relics and wanted to make the legendary magic weapon of the fairy gate.


    Although Lin Xin was his nephew, if Lin Xin¡¯s answer dissatisfied him, he would not be able to forge this sword.


    Lin Xin raised his head to look at the master who was winking at him, and then at the expressionless Shen Lou, and knelt down lightly, ¡°Nephew is bold, and wants to ask for a sword that can store soul power.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Zhu Xingli was taken aback.


    Shen Lou¡¯s hands hidden in his sleeves were clenched suddenly.


    Zhu Yangai was a little surprised, ¡°Soul power? You mean the power of the soul? Your own, or someone else¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°The power of others,¡± Lin Xin lowered his eyes, looking at the looming Vermilion bird pattern on the floor tiles, ¡°The power of the soul can be extracted to replace Luli¡¯s spiritual power, but it cannot be retained. If the nephew is not delusional, maybe the uncle can make a spiritual sword that can retain the soul power.¡±


    Anyone who heard this sentence would feel that Lin Xin was talking nonsense, but as a master of refining weapons and formations standing at the top, Zhu Yangai understood what Lin Xin was talking about in an instant.


    The way to control the soul was sorcery; trying to extract the soul power for your own use was simply outrageous!


    ¡°This kid¡­¡± Zhu Xingli took a step to the side, in case his elder brother got violent and wanted to hit someone, he had to block Xin¡¯er.


    ¡°Uncle Shi, A Xin is just playing for a while, don¡¯t take it seriously.¡± Shen Lou stepped forward and stood in front of Lin Xin.


    Zhu Yangai stood up, took two steps on the spot with his hands behind his back, raised his eyes and stared at Lin Xin with cold, phoenix eyes, and said to himself while Zhu Xingli and Shen Lou tensed up to protect Lin Xin like a calf: ¡°Soul power, instead of Luli¡­ Interesting, interesting!¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Small theater:


    Loulou: Did uncle have an affair with that cat?


    Xinxin: Why do you want to know?


    Loulou: That cat is called Mrs. Jing


    Xinxin: But Mrs. Jing is a male cat


    Loulou: Can¡¯t male cats have legs? Look at this ancient book ¡°Shenmu can¡¯t be scratched¡± and believe in it: what do you think of this kind of book?


    The gay Loulou: ¡­

 CH 25

    Before Zhu Xingli could say anything else, his apprentice was pulled by his hot-blooded elder brother and taken straight to the refining room.


    Mrs. Jing also wanted to join in the fun, and followed up with all four legs, but was shut outside the Jinshi Gate with a ¡°bang¡±, she was very angry, so she kept scratching the door vigorously, and screaming at the top of her voice.


    ¡°Okay, okay, sister-in-law, stop meowing.¡± Zhu Xingli picked up the cat, looking worried at the golden stone gate full of formation patterns.


    ¡°A Xin is just curious for a while, Second Uncle don¡¯t blame him.¡± Shen Lou rubbed his Yu Yuan Sword with one finger. Since Lin Xin still wanted to go this way, then Zhu Yangai promising to make a sword for Lin Xin was a good thing. The sword Zhu Yangai made would at least not hurt its master, much better than the ancient demon sword given by the emperor.


    This kind of reassurance didn¡¯t help at all, and Zhu Xingli still frowned, ¡°If my brother goes crazy, he might not leave the refining room for seven days and seven nights. Xin¡¯er is still growing, it¡¯s not good to be hungry.¡±


    After that, he held up the cat and knocked on the door, ¡°Brother, you locked my sister-in-law out!¡± Mrs. Jing struggled to slap him with her armpits pinched.


    The golden stone door opened suddenly, and the long arms in red silk stretched out, grabbed Zhu Xingli¡¯s lapel, pulled him in together with the cat in his arms, and threw Lin Xin out along the way.


    Lin Xin staggered two steps, saw Shen Lou standing at the door, and threw himself on him with a cry of ¡°Ouch¡±, ¡°My uncle is so energetic.¡±


    Shen Lou put his arms around his waist and helped him stand, ¡°Why did you come out?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the art of controlling souls, and my uncle thinks I don¡¯t know much,¡± Lin Xin said helplessly, but his eyebrows and eyes were raised, ¡°Let¡¯s go out and play.¡±


    He was a young man who had not even tied his hair yet, so it was not good to talk too much. With Zhu Yangai¡¯s intelligence, he only needed to tell him a few words. As for his master who could control the soul, it was half sale and half give away, let the brothers cultivate their relationship.


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t ask any more questions and let Lin Xin drag him out of Yinian Palace. Zishu and Huang Ge who were waiting at the door followed immediately, and the four of them headed for Bodhi City in a mighty manner.


    The central city in the southern region was called Bodhi. The ancestors of the Zhu family believed that the way to cultivate immortality lied in the state of mind. One thought could make you a demon, and one thought could also make you a Buddha. It was said that they also found a lot of Buddhist scriptures to read, and thus named this city Bodhi.


    The southern region was rich and prosperous, so Bodhi City was lively all year round. Even if there was no rally, the main street was full of people walking side by side, or singing and dancing.


    ¡°Lychees, fresh lychees!¡±


    ¡°Rat poison!¡±


    ¡°The newly opened peach blossom wine, ten cents a pot, give it a try!¡± The wine seller held a bamboo handle and poured the wine into a small bamboo cup, and handed it to Lin Xin for a try.


    Lin Xin reached out to take it, but Shen Lou snatched it, ¡°You haven¡¯t tied your hair yet.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just have a taste.¡± Lin Xin said pitifully, grabbing Shen Lou¡¯s hand. All these years after being reborn, his master forbade him to drink a single drop of wine. He also knew that a cultivator who drank too early would hurt his spirit veins, but it was always okay to taste it.


    Sticking out his tongue, he took a quick lick. The sweet peach blossom fragrance spread on the tip of his tongue. Lin Xin couldn¡¯t help but bend his eyes and lift his eyelids to look at Shen Lou.


    Shen Lou¡¯s arm suddenly froze.


    Lin Xin took the opportunity to hug his hand, and gulped down the wine. The light peach blossom color quickly diffused to the end of his eyes, and he finally had the true appearance of peach blossom eyes. He had a good capacity for alcohol, but when it got to his face, the corners of his eyes turned red after just drinking a glass.


    ¡°Just buy a jug if it tastes good.¡± The wine seller enthusiastically handed a covered bamboo tube to Shen Lou.


    Shen Lou looked at Lin Xin who was still licking his lips, and took it over, then motioning Zishu to go forward to pay the bill, he dragged Lin Xin hanging on his arm to continue walking.


    ¡°Tumi, Tumi,¡± the florist hawked in a southern accent, with a bit of ancient rhyme, ¡°Spring is coming, the flowers are all blooming, and you must be interested in holding Tumi.¡±


    The Tumi Festival was coming soon, and the streets were full of flower sellers everywhere. This was a unique festival of the Southern Region, and it was the last day when Tumi flowers were in full bloom. After Tumi festival, they would enter midsummer.


    On the day of Tumi Festival, young men and women would take to the streets, singing and dancing around the lights. If the guy had a girl he liked, he could give the girl Tumi flowers. The more flowers she received, the more popular the girl was thought to be.


    Lin Xin took a branch from the florist. The pink flowers still had drops of water on their petals, with the green skin and green calyx, they looked very delicate, and he pinned it on Shen Lou¡¯s head, raised his chin and said, ¡°With the flowers on, she will be my wife. It¡¯s done.¡±


    Shen Lou¡¯s eyes darkened, but he let him mess around.


    The young Shen Lou was good, he was so dumb as to be teased, if this was the Shen Lou who was in his twenties, he would have thrown the flowers on the ground to fight with him. Lin Xin thought happily, and when he saw Shen Lou had also inserted a branch in his hair, he couldn¡¯t help laughing. It was really strange that Shen Qingque had also learned how to take revenge.


    ¡°After taking the flowers, you are the wife of this Shizi.¡± Shen Lou said solemnly, with that handsome and deep face, it sounded a bit solemn.


    ¡°Mrs. Shizi, is it like Mrs. Jing?¡± Lin Xin laughed, but fortunately, he hung on Shen Lou¡¯s neck, ¡°Shall I call you, meow?¡±


    Shen Lou¡¯s throat went dry for a while, and he couldn¡¯t help sliding his Adam¡¯s apple. The hand that had fallen by the side slowly lifted up. But before he could touch Lin Xin, that guy slid down like a loach and ran away.


    He took off the tumi flowers on the top of his head, threw a few copper coins to the flower seller, curled up his thin lips, and revealed a shallow smile.


    In the teahouse, the storyteller was talking about recent new things in a rhythmic tone.


    The crown prince won the first prize in the hunt in Xianchi. The emperor was so happy that he rewarded the crown prince with a mulberry arch bow, but the crown prince gave it to Shen Qiuting; the war in Beimo was over, and Duke Xuan was planning to make a marriage for the crown prince.


    ¡°The army in the Northern Territory is strong, and the royal family intends to get Shen Shizi married to a princess. Everyone is guessing that Princess Yunxi is the most likely to be the wife of the eldest son! She is a rare once in a century beauty, and her mother concubine is a cousin of the Zhong family in the Western Regions, and the niece of Gu Shanhou¡­¡±


    Lin Xin listened very seriously, and looked at Shen Lou, who was drinking tea with his head bowed, with his head on his elbows, ¡°Hey, is Princess Yunxi good-looking?¡±


    Shen Lou put down the teacup, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen her before.¡±


    ¡°If you haven¡¯t seen her, how do you still dare to marry.¡± Lin Xin curled his lips, this Princess Yunxi really fell in love with Shen Lou, and when he abducted Shen Lou, the girl did not get married, and still kept waiting in the boudoir foolishly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t dare to marry,¡± Shen Lou said with a smile in his eyes, ¡°I already have a wife.¡±


    Lin Xin¡¯s heart was warmed by these words. He had tried every means to force Shen Lou to say such soft words before, but he had never succeeded, even if it was a joke, it could still make him happy for a long time. ¡°That¡¯s fine, you can tell the princess that later.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to tell her, father won¡¯t agree.¡± Shen Lou lowered his eyes and poured a cup of tea. The Shen family had guarded the Northern Territory for generations, and it was the city wall of Da Yong. They had always maintained a delicate relationship with the royal family, not too close nor too far away, so it was not easy for him to marry in the royal family.


    Lin Xin curled his lips, and threw the leftover melon seed husks at his head, ¡°Aren¡¯t you quite regretful? Tsk, Da Yong¡¯s famous beauty, one day when I¡¯m famous, I will also ask to marry a princess.¡±


    Shen Lou glanced at him meaningfully, then he raised his hand and called Huang Ge, ¡°Ask the storyteller to change his story.¡±


    Very odd.


    ¡°How can you control that storyteller? Did you open this teahouse?¡± Lin Xin felt strange. Immortal cultivators paid attention to governing by doing nothing, and Da Yong¡¯s official management had always been relatively loose, so it didn¡¯t control the people¡¯s speech very much.


    ¡°I opened it.¡± Shen Lou took the ledger brought by Huang Ge and flipped through it casually.


    Shen Qingque, who didn¡¯t seem to eat the mortal food in the world, when did he start such a down-to-earth business? Lin Xin stared at him in surprise, ¡°Why are you opening a teahouse? You even opened it to the Southern Region.¡±


    ¡°Make money,¡± Shen Lou said indifferently, and quickly read the account book. The first part of the account book was the real account, and the second half was all kinds of news that had been collected, ¡°The price of Luli in the southern region is 10% lower than that in the northern region.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, there are mines in the southern region, so the price is naturally low.¡± In fact, in the entire Da Yong, only the southern region had large ore veins. Even if there were Luli mines in other places, they were all extremely small, and they would be dug out in a few years. Therefore, no matter how bad-tempered Zhu Yangai was, the other domain owners and emperors had to greet him with smiles.


    Shen Lou showed the account book to Lin Xin, ¡°This is all my private property. If your master doesn¡¯t give you Luli, I will give it to you. Don¡¯t worry about not having enough Luli, don¡¯t practice the soul-absorbing technique.¡±


    Listening to the first part of the sentence, he was still a little flustered, but the second half of the sentence kicked Lin Xin from the clouds to the mud, then he raised an eyebrow, and sneered, ¡°Why, you also think this is an evil way?¡±


    He sucked soul power, but did not kill people, weak soul power may also be brought back by herbs and sun. There were too many people who wanted to kill him in the previous life, and soul power was his life-saving trick, allowing him to be surrounded by thousands of armies without fear, and he had to practice it no matter what.


    The upright Shen Qingque, even though he had known him since childhood, still regarded him as a demon. Lin Xin touched the bamboo tube containing the peach blossom wine, wanting to have a glass of wine very much.


    ¡°There are three thousand roads, each has its own strengths, there is no distinction between superior and inferior in the way of immortality, I am just afraid that you will hurt yourself.¡± Shen Lou removed the bamboo tube and refilled a cup of tea for him.


    He remembered one year when Lin Xin was fighting with others, he wasted too much, and in the end he couldn¡¯t control his own soul power, and almost died.


    ¡­.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because I have absorbed too much soul power. I can always see other people¡¯s memories recently. Last night I dreamed that the room was full of red silk, and I saw the bride, who was the prince¡¯s side concubine Zhou.¡±


    ¡°Qingque, let¡¯s get married, shall we? Lest I forget you and think I married someone else.¡±


    Lin Xin stared at him in a daze, his jaw trembling slightly, as he took a sip of tea with his eyes downcast, and said in a low voice: ¡°I just want to try, if I can practice it to save my life, I wouldn¡¯t normally use it.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Lou replied softly, turning his head to look downstairs.


    ¡°However, on the east side of the mountain, someone saw a monster with the body of a harpy and the head of a beast, and its long mouth was as black as a burnt bamboo tube. Some immortals recognized it as the Gu sculpture of an ancient strange beast swallowing souls.¡±


    The storyteller started telling a new rumor.


    ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you say that the Gu sculpture was in the east of the Southern Territory?¡±


    ¡°This thing travels a thousand miles a day, who can say for sure!¡±


    Lin Xin and Shen Lou looked at each other. The Gu sculpture hadn¡¯t appeared in a hundred years, so why did they always meet with it recently?? Shen Lou asked Huang Ge to investigate, while he left the teahouse with Lin Xin.


    Back at Yinian Palace, they saw a plain canopy carriage approaching slowly, seeing the logo of the Zhong family, Lin Xin subconsciously touched the sword at his waist.


    ¡°They must be here to deliver tumi wine.¡± The talkative Zishu had already gone up to inquire about it. During the Southern Region Tea Festival, all regions would give gifts to Zhu¡¯s family, which was tumi wine.


    Lin Xin stared coldly at the carriage, thinking that if Zhong Lu had come, he would definitely find a reason to kill him. Back then when he came to have a sword made, he met Zhong Changye and Zhong Lu who were delivering tea and wine, and they recognized him. His master was worried about his safety, so he left him with Zhu Yangai and went back to Yanqiu alone.


    This was their final farewell.


    The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and the person who jumped out of the carriage was Wu Zhaoyang, a member of the Zhong family¡¯s subordinate family. The one they met at the Qiugong Sword Competition six years ago. Zhong Changye, who was already out of his wits, couldn¡¯t come to give gifts, and Zhong Suifeng, who was in a state of desperation, couldn¡¯t get away, so he sent his subordinate.


    ¡°Your Majesty!¡± Wu Zhaoyang was a well-rounded person. He remembered all the dignitaries of Da Yong clearly. He quickly walked over to salute Shen Lou. ¡°Wu Zhaoyang, a subject of the Western Regions, has met His Majesty.¡±


    The author has something to say:


    Small Theater:


    Loulou: When I said that I want you to be the wife of the prince, I meant it seriously


    Xinxin: I know you are serious, meow


    Loulou: Then why are you meowing!


    Xinxin: Mrs. Shizi can also be a sexy little wild cat! _(:§Ù¡¹¡Ïc3*)_Meow~


    Loulou: (nosebleed) makes sense

 CH 26

    ¡°Lord Wu.¡± Shen Lou slightly nodded.


    Wu Zhaoyang wore the Zhong family¡¯s plain brocade robe, but the neckline was not decorated with white tiger fur.


    After Zhong Changye passed away, even with Shen Qirui in charge, the Western Regions were still in chaos. The incompetent Zhong Suifeng could only rely on capable subordinates, and Wu Zhaoyang, who was already popular with Zhong Changye, immediately stood out. Last year, he was named Guanneihou, a position equivalent to the prime minister of the Western Regions.


    ¡°My eyes are clumsy, I wonder who this young master is?¡± Wu Zhaoyang turned to Lin Xin politely, because he smiled all the year round, deep smile lines had formed in the corners of his eyes, like the tail of a koi carp, which made him seem very amiable.


    ¡°Second Uncle Zhu¡¯s apprentice.¡± Shen Lou gave a brief introduction without mentioning Lin Xin¡¯s name.


    ¡°It turned out to be the second master¡¯s disciple, no disrespect.¡± Wu Zhaoyang bowed his hands in salute and did not dare to neglect Lin Xin because of his young age.


    Lin Xin¡¯s eyes fell on the jade pendant on Wu Zhaoyang¡¯s waist. Most of the jade pendants immortals of noble origin wore showed their family patterns. If not matching the family pattern, then it was something auspicious like Pisces or the like. But this person¡¯s jade pendant was carved with an osmanthus cake.


    A square piece with a few blemishes on the surface, it looked like petals scattered on the sweet-scented osmanthus cake.


    This person was interesting, Lin Xin raised his eyebrows slightly, and invited Wu Zhaoyang in as one of the masters. Looking back at the carriage, there were only a few ordinary guards, and there was no sign of Zhong Lun.


    There was no need for the Duke to deliver the tea and wine in person. Zhong Changye came here in the first place to bond with Zhu Yangai. Zhong Lu, as Zhong Changye¡¯s mad dog, naturally went wherever his master went.


    ¡°Master, I saw the man who chased and killed Uncle Zhao.¡± The young Lin Xin still didn¡¯t know how to wield a sword, so he ran to Master¡¯s side with a sigh of relief. Turning around suddenly, he found Zhong Lu standing outside the window, staring at him with the eyes of a hunting dog looking at his prey.


    ¡°Second Master Zhu, is this your apprentice?¡± Zhong Changye walked in, then his eagle eyes turned slightly, and fell on the pale-faced Lin Xin.


    ¡°Yes, Xin¡¯er, this is Zhong Shibo[1].¡± Zhu Xingli rubbed Lin Xin¡¯s head with a smile, motioning for him to say hello.


    Lin Xin stared at Zhong Changye, ¡°I¡¯ve met Zhong Shibo.¡±


    ¡°This look reminds me of someone else.¡± Zhong Changye frowned slightly, then he helped Lin Xin who was saluting up, ¡°There are two people who are about the same age as you at my place. My sons are very mischievous, after the Tumi Festival, why don¡¯t you come to Mogui Mountain to play with them?¡±


    It was an ordinary elder¡¯s invitation to the younger generation, but when these words fell in Lin Xin¡¯s ears, it made him tense up.


    ¡°Mogui Mountain is shit, who wants to go there?¡± Zhu Xingli waved his hands in disgust, ¡°When will you pay me back for the Luli you owed me last time?¡±


    ¡°When did Gu owe you for Luli?¡± Zhong Changye asked. He had heard that Zhu Xingli had learned a lot about nonsense and obsession, so he didn¡¯t want to continue talking to him, thus he turned around and left.


    Zhu Xingli spat cursingly and dragged Lin Xin to Qingliang Hall.


    ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll go back after the Tumi Festival, you help me look after the child.¡± Zhu Xingli leaned over and snatched the wine from Zhu Yangai¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Get out!¡± Zhu Yangai slapped him.


    ¡°Meow!¡± Mrs. Jing, who was squatting on the armrest, followed suit and beat him up.


    Zhu Xingli rolled over on the spot with his head in his arms, and stood up with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s it, before I come back, don¡¯t let others kidnap you, especially the one with the surname Zhong.¡±


    ¡°Master?¡± Lin Xin looked at his Master suspiciously.


    ¡°Stupid boy, I can¡¯t beat Zhong Changye, but your uncle can. Stay in the Yinian Palace and come back after the sword is cast.¡± With the natal spirit sword, he could run away even if he couldn¡¯t beat Zhong Lu, so he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about it.


    Only two days after their separation, the bloody Moyu¡¯er suddenly flew to Yinian Palace.


    Blood, there was blood everywhere on the Yanqiu Hill. With one step placed down, the crimson thin shoes worn by Zhu house people were completely soaked in blood. When he lifted his foot, there was a lot of meat foam.


    The plain white cloth was like shredded paper money, scattered everywhere, entangled with the flesh and mud, making it unable for the original appearance to be seen.


    ¡°Master!¡± Lin Xin quickly walked through the dead land, rummaging through the ruins, ¡°Zhu Yixiao[2]! Zhu Xingli!¡±


    ¡°Xin¡¯er¡­¡± A weak cry sounded from the cluttered grass.


    Pushing aside the gravel with his bare hands, he saw Zhu Xingli leaning against a messy pile of stones. His crimson crocodile cloak looked much redder than usual, and the Luli pendant on his forehead had fallen somewhere, leaving only a light empty golden chain on his tilted head.


    ¡°Xin¡¯er,¡± Zhu Xingli opened his eyes, his face was calm, but the veins on his neck were tense, his voice sounded like it was coming from an old bellows, from which the wind was leaking, ¡°Kill me¡­ quickly ¡­¡±


    His slender arms were bent at abnormal angles, and he touched the Spring Mark sword next to him with difficulty.


    Lin Xin picked up Spring Mark, held his Master¡¯s wrist, and tried to transfer spiritual power to him, but it was like a mud cow falling into the sea. The spirit veins were cut off, there was no vitality, and it didn¡¯t matter even if something was still swimming in the veins.


    ¡°This is an evil thing that destroys the immortal way,¡± Zhu Xingli took a trembling breath, and said the sentence completely, ¡°Xin¡¯er, I can¡¯t hold it anymore, kill me!¡±


    The veins on his neck became more and more tense. Zhu Xingli finally showed a look of unbearable pain.


    ¡°No¡­Master¡­um¡­¡± Lin Xin struggled in his dream, breaking out in a cold sweat.


    ¡°Lin Xin, Lin Xin!¡± Shen Lou was tugging at him.


    Opening his eyes suddenly, the blood mist had faded away, and all he saw was a thin tent, and the sound of the rain curtain was sounding next to his ears. The weather was hot, and the coolest place in Yinian Palace was Qingliang Hall, and the elders on both sides were not there, so Lin Xin pretended to want to sleep here and dragged Shen Lou to accompany him. Looking up, he could see the stone room where his master was.


    The time when Master¡¯s accident had happened was approaching, so he was like a hysterical lunatic, he could only feel at ease for a moment when he saw the closed stone door.


    ¡°Did you have a nightmare?¡± Shen Lou supported him with one hand, looking at him with clear eyes, it didn¡¯t seem like he was woken up, it seemed like he hadn¡¯t slept all this time.


    Lin Xin looked at him and his lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something. Turning over suddenly, he poked his head into Shen Lou¡¯s arms, hugged him tightly with both hands, and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Shen Qingque, don¡¯t be so nice to me.¡±


    Shen Lou froze for a moment, then he thought that Lin Xin had seen through that he was born again, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Taking a deep breath, the faint scent of grass and trees on Shen Qingque¡¯s body could always dispel the haze he was in. Everyone in the previous life said that he was a master-killing demon, only Shen Lou asked him if he had any difficulties.


    He was like a man trapped in the desert, bruised and tired, about to die of thirst. Shen Qingque was a bottomless pool, even knowing that he would drown if he jumped into it, he still crawled towards it without hesitation, willing even if he lost his life because of it.


    Lin Xin didn¡¯t answer, but just hugged him tightly.


    ¡°Hoo¨C¡± With a slight piercing sound, Shen Lou turned over in an instant holding Lin Xin, and stopped a small silver sword by catching it between his fingers.


    ¡°Moyu!¡± Lin Xin grabbed the sword and looked at it, the word ¡°heavy¡± was engraved on the back, it was cut and sent, something must have happened at Yanqiu.


    Zhong Changye was already dead, how could something happen at Yanqiu?


    Lin Xin¡¯s fingertips went icy cold, and he tightly held the little sword that was trying to escape to the refining room, ¡°I want to go back to Yanqiu, immediately, immediately.¡±


    Shen Lou quickly got up and dressed, looking at the pale sky, ¡°Should I call your master¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Lin Xin raised his voice suddenly, and tightly grasped Shen Lou¡¯s wrist, ¡°Master must not know, not a single word!¡±

 CH 27

    Junior brother had an accident, but he didn¡¯t tell his master, this kind of behavior, in the eyes of others, was like Lin Xin intentionally harming his junior brother.


    Shen Lou stared at him for a moment, then agreed, ¡°Okay, we won¡¯t tell your Master, I¡¯ll send for someone from the Shen family.¡±


    The southern region was the farthest from the northern region, and the Shen family was beyond reach, so Shen Lou could only mobilize his own people, but at this moment Huang Ge had gone to investigate the matter of the Gu carving and was not around.


    ¡°Mr. Lin, where are you going?¡± Zhu Jiangchun was taking his other two brothers ¨C Zhu Jiangxia and Zhu Jiangqiu to the martial arts field for morning lessons. Seeing Lin Xin walking over in a hurry, he asked one more question.


    ¡°I want to go back to Yanqiu. None of you are allowed to disturb my master.¡± Lin Xin said cruelly while holding Moyu.


    ¡°Moyu! Did something happen to Master Jian?¡± Zhu Jiangchun saw the small sword in Lin Xin¡¯s hand.


    Zishu ran over quickly, ¡°Your Majesty, it will take another hour to send people over, just wait¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be too late, I¡¯ll go by myself.¡± Lin Xin waved his hand, took out the small sword and was about to leave. If it was really that group of vicious people from his previous life, then he couldn¡¯t delay for a moment.


    ¡°Mr. Lin, let us go with you.¡± Zhu Jiangchun said, his two younger brothers also offered their spirit swords one after another, Zhu Jiangxia, who was grumpy, even pouted, ¡°Let¡¯s go, you don¡¯t need to be so serious, after all it is our Zhu family¡¯s affairs.¡±


    The three bad-spoken brothers satirized Lin Xin every time they saw him in their previous lives, and most of the time they fought violently. This was the first time Lin Xin heard them call him ¡°Our Zhu family¡±.


    ¡°Then I will thank you three in advance.¡± Lin Xin cupped his hands in thanks, the three sword-folding masters were considered top-notch masters in the Zhu family, so it would be great to have their help.


    Shen Lou embraced Lin Xin and jumped onto Yu Yuan, ¡°You are not yet fifteen, you can¡¯t control the sword yet.¡±


    ¡°I could, as early as when I was twelve years old,¡± Lin Xin said in a low voice, looking around. ¡°Your mind and soul are damaged, let me navigate the sword.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Shen Lou hugged him tightly and the spirit sword rushed out like a shooting star chasing the sun, ¡°I¡¯m used to it already.¡±


    Thick smoke billowed up and everything seemed devastated, this was the picture of Yanqiu Hill that everyone saw from mid-air at this moment.


    This place was originally a treasure land of geomantic omen, with red flowers, willows and green grass all over the ground. The intruders were trapped by the formation of vegetation, trees, mountains and rocks, so they simply set fire to the mountain. The jujube trees that Lin Xin climbed one by one were all turned into charred rocks, and the houses had collapsed.


    This scene was exactly the same as what he saw in his previous life. Lin Xin¡¯s eyes were red, he jumped off the flying sword, and turned to run towards the back mountain.


    ¡°Ah Xin,¡± Shen Lou motioned for everyone to follow, while he quickly caught up with Lin Xin and grabbed him, ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°There is a small road in the back mountain.¡± Lin Xin looked at him puzzled.


    Shen Lou was helpless. They were a group of six, which was considered a small team. Like Lin Xin, if they ran away without saying a word, they would be dispersed after a while, ¡°Since they can burn the mountain, there must be a large number of people inside. Let¡¯s take the path behind the mountain. Everyone hold your breath and concentrate, and refrain from making any noise.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Zishu naturally responded to the son¡¯s words, and the three Zhu brothers also unconsciously obeyed. But seeing the Shen family boy command them, they couldn¡¯t help but stare at each other in annoyance.


    Yanqiu had a gentle slope on the front and a steep slope on the back. There was only a small path hidden in the crevice of the stone.


    ¡°There is a formation on the road, you follow me.¡± Lin Xin took Shen Lou¡¯s hand.


    Shen Lou nodded, telling the people behind to follow in their footsteps and not miss a single step.


    Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, and sometimes to go around the bushes outside the road. Only the three master and apprentices knew this way, and even those guards and servants didn¡¯t know about it. Even if someone entered by mistake, they would not be able to get out of the formation on this road, and would soon alarm the owner of the villa.


    The group of people climbed to the top of the mountain, crouched behind the rocks, and looked at the dead and silent villa.


    ¡°What¡¯s the smell? Is this a latrine?¡± Zhu Jiangxia pushed aside the weeds at hand, revealing a head with wide eyes, half-open mouth, looking at him with blood on his face, ¡°Woo!¡±


    Zhu Jiangqiu next to him quickly covered his mouth, looked down, and couldn¡¯t help gasping.


    Under the high rock where they lay prone, there were dozens of corpses piled up, guards in scarlet clothes and servants in brown clothes. Lin Xin leaned on the stone wall with one hand and jumped down. He turned over a corpse in coarse clothes. His dark face was still a little immature. It was a farmer who delivered vegetables to Yanqiu every morning.


    ¡°His father left early, and there are only his mother and eight-year-old sister at home, and they make a living by delivering food to others.¡± Lin Xin raised his hand and closed his eyes for the terrified boy, he must have had his mule he used for pulling vegetables, why didn¡¯t he run away?


    Shen Lou frowned, lightly touched the courtyard wall with his toes, and leaned over the top of the wall to look inward. People walked by the courtyard wall from time to time, all wearing plain white clothes, carrying long swords, with their faces covered, walking like wolves, ¡°Do you know these people?


    ¡°This dagger, a bit shorter than the Shen family¡¯s saber, and it won¡¯t be carried on the back.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this similar to the Zhong family?¡± When he rushed back that year, everyone was smashed into meat by the big formation set up by the master, leaving only a few white clothes and rags.


    ¡°Plausible, we don¡¯t know.¡± Shen Lou shook his head.


    Lin Xin was short of breath.


    The men in white noticed something was wrong, so they turned their face suddenly, jumped up to the wall in two or three steps, and squatted over it to look left and right. There was nothing outside the wall, mosquitoes and flies were buzzing on the pile of dead people, but there was nothing else. So, they returned to the courtyard and continued patrolling.


    Shen Lou pulled Lin Xin out of the corner and made a gesture towards Zishu. Zishu tied up the cuffs of her purple robe, tied up her long hair, and rushed out like a hawk, hiding in the shadow of the eaves and ridges.


    ¡°Zishu practices the concealment technique.¡± Shen Lou explained to Lin Xin in a low voice. The so-called concealment technique did not really make you disappear out of thin air, but hid the figure through the shadows, and at the same time restrained the breath so that it was difficult to detect. It was a skill that scouts in the Northern Territory practiced.


    After half an hour, Zishu came running back, ¡°There are twenty-three men in white clothes in the villa, there seems to be a leader, but this subordinate could not see him clearly; Mr. Jian is locked in the west wing, and he is safe, there are two men in white clothes guarding him. One is an immortal, and he speaks Donghu dialect.¡±


    ¡°Donghu dialect?¡± Shen Lou frowned, ¡°Does everyone speak Donghu dialect?¡±


    Donghu dialect was the language of the northern desert barbarians, also known as Beiman. The language was a common language used by the northern desert barbarians who had been at war with the northern regions all year round.


    ¡°This subordinate is not sure, but I heard a few words that were all barbaric.¡± Zishu reported the truth.


    How could this be so¡­


    Lin Xin frowned, he had heard from Jian Zhong that one of the people who attacked Yanqiu was a nine-foot-tall man who seemed to be a barbarian warrior, but the rest spoke Chinese. Why were there so many barbarians this time?


    When Shen Lou heard that it was a barbarian, he also frowned. Beimo was far away from here, what were these barbarians doing here in Yanqiu?


    ¡°Twenty or so people, they¡¯re probably invincible.¡± Zhu Jiangchun said.


    ¡°What are you afraid of? It¡¯s just a bunch of barbarians.¡± Zhu Jiangxia didn¡¯t take it seriously. Most of the immortals in Dayong looked down on the barbarians of the Northern Desert, thinking their cultivation methods were too vulgar.


    Zhu Jiangqiu didn¡¯t speak, and he just followed what his two elder brothers said.


    ¡°There is a large formation set up by Master in the southwest of the courtyard, I will go and check it.¡± Lin Xin put down these words and walked away. Shen Lou didn¡¯t have time to stop him, so he had to let the others stand by and chase Lin Xin by himself.


    There was a bamboo forest in the southwest, where the rain was abundant, and the bamboo grew very luxuriantly. Lin Xin leaned on the top of the wall, stretched the small sword in, and some fluorescent light floated up from the wall, which was the soul power of the person standing under the wall.


    ¡°Huh la la¡ª¡ª¡± A masked man in white was urinating by the bamboo forest, and the soul power from his body was unknowingly drawn by Lin Xin. After urinating, he shook and felt dizzy.


    Before he could stand still, a thin, short sword reached his neck, cutting his throat cleanly. Lin Xin caught the fallen body of the man in white, gently placed it on the ground, then he jumped into the bamboo forest.


    Shen Lou watched Lin Xin¡¯s incomparably skilful killing techniques and followed him silently.


    There were fallen leaves everywhere in the bamboo forest. Lin Xin found the place based on his memory, and quickly peeled away the dead branches, revealing the lines made of cinnabar and paraffin. This was drawn by Zhu Xingli based on the lore formation in the fragments of ancient books. Because the ancient scrolls were incomplete, he added many places by himself, so he didn¡¯t know if they could be used.


    At that time, the meat foam all over Yanqiu was probably caused by this big formation. No matter who these people were, today, they would still be shredded into pieces!


    Lin Xin checked several positions one after another, pinched his fingers and quickly calculated, ¡°Dry three times, Kun six breaks; shake the bowl, cover the bowl; leave the center empty, and the ridge is full; push up the gap, and the sun breaks down.¡±


    ¡°This position is not right.¡± Lin Xin knelt on one knee, traced the extremely complicated lines repeatedly with one finger, and finally found the omission. Without cinnabar, he bit his index finger and painted it with blood.


    Shen Lou failed to hand out his finger, so he paused for a moment in mid-air, and then diverted his hand back to Yu Yuan¡¯s sword hilt.


    ¡°Give me three pieces of Luli.¡± Lin Xin stretched out his hand without looking back.


    Shen Lou took out three Luli pieces and gave it to him, and it was quickly placed on the formation. The moment Luli entered the formation, it was as if a giant beast was suddenly awakened, the cinnabar turned bright red, the spiritual power started flowing, and the dead bamboo leaves on the ground started moving automatically without wind.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lin Xin grabbed Shen Lou and quickly exited the bamboo forest. This dear friend who deserted his post to pee would soon have a companion come looking for him, so it was not suitable to stay here for a long time.


    ¡°Will this large formation trap them?¡± Shen Lou confirmed with Lin Xin.


    ¡°No.¡± Lin Xin looked up at him, his deep blue eyes silent, ¡°It will kill them.¡±


    Shen Lou glanced at the pile of corpses in the grass, the boy who delivered the vegetables was still facing the sun, ¡°Okay.¡±


    Unexpectedly, Shen Lou agreed so quickly, Lin Xin looked at him suspiciously, ¡°Don¡¯t you think I¡¯m being cruel?¡±


    ¡°They deserve it¡±, Shen Lou shook his head, called everyone over, and used a branch to draw the general orientation of the yard on the ground, ¡°Zishu will be used as bait, the three of you are on the periphery, driving the barbarians to the bamboo forest¡­¡±


    Clear division of labor which maximized the usefulness of each person.


    ¡°Everything will not start until Xinxin and I rescue Jian Zhong.¡± After the appointment, everyone lay down in the dry grass and waited for the dark.

 CH 28

    The chirping of harpy eagles rang out from the Yanqiu hill at dusk, and people in white clothes set up a bonfire in the yard, while taking out chickens and ducks from the kitchen to roast.


    In the west wing room, Jian Zhong was tied up and thrown on the ground. A man in white was tearing at the roast chicken outside the door, talking in a babbling voice, while the other man¡¯s tone was gentler, as if trying to persuade him.


    ¡°Wait a little longer, the man in red will come back.¡± Shen Lou used his spiritual power to translate to Lin Xin word by word.


    Lin Xin moved closer to Shen Lou, ¡°Do you understand barbarian language?¡±


    Shen Lou nodded, and continued to listen to the conversation between the two, ¡°We are not looking for him, why don¡¯t we kill him?¡±


    ¡°Keep him as a hostage,¡± said the persuading person, ¡°We must catch Lin Zhenghan¡¯s son as soon as possible and hand him over to the Witch God.¡±


    Witch God? Lin Xin was taken aback, these people actually wanted to arrest him and take him to Beimo. Could it be that the barbarians also knew that Xunlu had found a Luli vein, and wanted to ask him for clues?


    Wasn¡¯t it Zhong Changye¡¯s subordinate who attacked Yanqiu back then?


    Lin Xin suddenly looked at Shen Lou, and the past flashed in his mind with a glimpse.


    ¡­.


    ¡°King Xuan was seriously injured on the battlefield, and I¡¯m afraid he will die soon.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, Shen Qingque was just sealed by the barbarian¡¯s sorcery, we just need to undo it.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy, Zhu Yangai said, that thing is called ¡®Spirit Devouring¡¯, which is an ancient sorcery, and he can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    Spirit Devouring sealed Shen Lou¡¯s spiritual veins, and he couldn¡¯t even do basic sword control. However, the war in the Northern Territory was urgent, and he needed to provide support on the front line.


    ¡°Your Highness, you can¡¯t go!¡± Huang Ge knelt at the gate to block the way.


    ¡°The sword has no eyes on the battlefield, and you have no spiritual power now, how can you fight against the barbarians!¡± Zishu held on to the reins of the horse.


    ¡°The two armies are fighting, and I¡¯m not going to compete with swords.¡± Shen Lou swung his sword, cut off the rein in Zishu¡¯s hand, whipped the whip hard, then the horse neighed, and jumped over Huang Ge¡¯s head, and went straight towards the battlefield.


    A stream of light came from the sky, and the sword light was like a gust of wind blowing tough grass, cutting off the two front hooves of the horse.


    ¡°Bah¡ª¡± the war horse neighed and knelt down, throwing Shen Lou out viciously.


    He subconsciously tried to mobilize the spirit sword, but couldn¡¯t use any spiritual power in his body, so Yu Yuan fell to the ground with a clang, and Shen Lou had to turn over in the air, but he was caught by the person who pulled out the sword.


    ¡°His Royal Highness, where are you going?¡± Lin Xin, the Zhuolu marquis in brocade clothes, wrapped the demon sword that swallows the hook around Shen Lou¡¯s neck, who instantly stopped Huang Ge and Zishu from drawing their swords.


    ¡°What does it have to do with you?¡± Shen Lou tried to break away from him.


    ¡°I have been obsessed with you for a long time, and now you are going to die, how do you say it has nothing to do with me?¡± Lin Xin pressed his ear, smiling strangely, ¡°Since you are going to die, why don¡¯t you die on my bed?¡±


    After finishing saying this, in front of the entire army, he directly kidnapped the man and took him away.


    ¡°You¡­ um¡­¡± Shen Lou was so angry that he vomited blood.


    Shen Lou without spiritual power was like a tiger whose teeth had been pulled out, completely at his mercy.


    ¡­.


    His master desperately tried to control it in his body, but the thing that wandered in his master¡¯s veins in his previous life, could it be the ¡°spirit devouring¡± that Shen Lou was hit with on the battlefield many years later? In terms of cutting off the spiritual veins and damaging the foundation, it was indeed somewhat similar.


    At that time Zhu Xingli said that once the thing broke out of the body, it would definitely infect all the immortals in the world. Was it contagious?


    If these two were the same thing, then the one who attacked Yanqiu back then must have been a barbarian!


    Lin Xin was confused for a moment.


    ¡°Hold your breath and concentrate!¡± Shen Lou suddenly whispered in his ear, and when Lin Xin woke up, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    The two men in white had finished their quarrel and opened the door to enter the house. The man who had just drawn his sword grabbed Jian Zhong who had fallen asleep, slapped him awake, and said in the Central Plains dialect: ¡°Boy, have you thought it through?¡±


    Jian Zhong raised his eyelids, and suddenly opened his mouth to bite the chicken leg in the hand of the man in white. Then he put the whole thing into his mouth, and sucked the meat clean with a ¡°boo¡±, leaving a bare chicken bone, ¡°Well, what do I have to think about?¡±


    The man in white was shocked by his incoherent actions, and it took him a long time to react, then he came over and punched him in the face, ¡°Who allowed you to eat! Hand over Lin Zhenghan¡¯s son!¡±


    ¡°I told you, I am Lin Zhenghan¡¯s son!¡± Jian Zhong spat out the blood from his mouth, with a calm tone, he never seemed to be angry, and even showed his little dimples happily because he ate the chicken leg, ¡°My name is Lin Zhongzhong.¡±


    The man in white held him patiently, kicked him hard, he kicked him until he hit a post, then he spat out the chicken leg meat he had just eaten with a ¡°wow¡±, coughing non-stop. With this movement, it was revealed that his arms were not tied, they were hanging weakly on both sides, and after moving, they were folded at a strange angle, apparently broken.


    He didn¡¯t know if it was because he felt sorry for the chicken leg that he planned to save for a while to eat slowly, but the man in white didn¡¯t mean to stop at all, he kept chasing after him to beat him up.


    Lin Xin and Shen Lou looked at each other, ¡°These barbarians have some weird things in their hands, be careful, don¡¯t touch them with your bare hands.¡± After that, he was about to go down to save people.


    Shen Lou¡¯s eyes flickered slightly, and he grabbed Lin Xin who was about to rush out, ¡°Wait a minute.¡±


    There were two people in this room, and they were different from the patrolling gangsters in the bamboo forest, and their spiritual power should be relatively high. It was impossible to kill them with one move. If they made any noise, it would definitely attract the other barbarians.


    They originally planned to wait for the two guards to leave, but if the fight continued like this, Junior Brother Jian would probably die.


    ¡°When you absorb soul power, can you pick out a specific person to suck from?¡± Shen Lou pointed to Jian Zhong who lay on the ground as he stared at the beaten drumstick meat with a sad face. Jian Zhong was young, and the essence of the sun and moon stored in his soul would definitely not be as high as these two barbarians. If he sucked it indiscriminately, the first one who wouldn¡¯t be able to stand it would be Jian Zhong.


    ¡°No, master hasn¡¯t taught me the soul control technique yet.¡± Lin Xin pursed his lips. He wanted to learn the soul control technique from Zhu Xingli just to solve this problem. He could only control the range of distance, but it was impossible to be precise to a human being. No matter how he ignored it, even his own soul power would be drawn.


    After pondering for a moment, Shen Lou simply sent out a signal.


    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Lin Xin was taken aback. When the signal was sent out, Zishu and the others would become ready to attack.


    Shen Lou didn¡¯t answer, he just turned over and rushed into the house.


    ¡°Who?¡± The two barbarians turned their heads, and a slash of sword light dazzled their eyes.


    Closing the door calmly, his Yu Yuan sword pointing at the ground, Shen Lou said in the Central plains language: ¡°It¡¯s a mad dog who bites the wounded and disabled, are these actions worthy of your wolf master?¡±


    The two men in white were immediately enraged and charged towards him. These barbarians were good at using heavy swords, but their moves were very monotonous. They probably got it from hunting. The three moves of ¡°slashing, chopping and stabbing¡± alternated back and forth, but the movement was heavy and fast.


    Shen Lou used the ¡°ice-breaking swordsmanship¡± that specialized in defeating the epee, and he couldn¡¯t be defeated even when he was fighting one against two.


    Lin Xin helped his own junior brother who was blue-faced and put his palm on his vest to give him a little spiritual power, Jian Zhong twitched a few times, sighed, and finally recovered, gasping for air.


    ¡°You can¡¯t die?¡± Lin Xin cut the rope and threw the man aside, before waiting for his junior to answer, he drew his sword and went to help Shen Lou.


    ¡°¡­¡± Jian Zhong closed the mouth that had just opened and found a more comfortable position to lean on the wall.


    ¡°Hei Guoluo[1] from the Shen family!¡± The man in white jumped up, yelling and slashing at Shen Lou who was fighting with the other person. The epee was embedded with a Luli full of impurities, and its spiritual power was not stable, like dandelions scattered in a strong wind, for short periods of time, the criss-crossing spiritual power tore through the clothes on Shen Lou¡¯s back.


    ¡°Shua¡ª¡± The sound of a sword entering the body was like the sound of a sharp knife entering meat in a butcher¡¯s shop, as clear as a melon being broken.


    The man in white lowered his head to look at the rapier passing through his chest. Blood gushed out of his throat and fell stickily on the bluestone board. He turned his head in disbelief, but he couldn¡¯t see Lin Xin¡¯s appearance clearly before he swallowed his last breath.


    At the same time, Shen Lou suddenly withdrew his sword, his body turned into an afterimage, and moved behind the enemy in an instant. The Yu Yuan sword light was brilliant, as he slashed it towards the enemy¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡± The man tried his best to resist the epee behind him. He didn¡¯t expect that he would have such a treacherous movement. He looked up and saw his companion who had already died in a miserable state. He shouted in barbaric language and rushed towards the door, ¡± He Liuhun, help!¡±


    Before he could run out the door, he was cut off by Shen Lou with a sword.


    ¡°You are injured.¡± Lin Xin looked at the several sword marks on Shen Lou¡¯s back.


    ¡°I was injured too.¡± Jian Zhong weakly called out to his brother who had no sense of brotherhood.


    Shen Lou pressed his fist to his lips, covered the smile at the corner of his mouth, split open the wooden table, chipped a few boards and picked up a severed board, ¡°Hold on.¡± Breaking hands and feet on the battlefield was commonplace, and people in the military basically knew how to set bones.


    ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Before Jian Zhong was ready, he started to pick his arms up, the scream stuck in his throat, almost holding his breath. Looking suspiciously at Shen Lou who was plywooding him, he wondered if he had offended him somehow.


    But Shen Lou¡¯s actions were very open and aboveboard, and he even tore off his clothes to wrap up his wound. That was Huan Xinghai¡¯s black silk gown, which was very expensive.


    The outside was already in chaos, the barbarians had eaten half of the barbecue, but a big fire broke out in the south of the yard. Not long after, someone shouted ¡°enemy attack¡±.


    ¡°These people have mediocre spiritual power, but one of them is very powerful, probably on par with Master.¡± Jian Zhong was being carried on Lin Xin¡¯s back, who was running on the roof, as he told him the information he knew very quickly, ¡°That person is tall and tall. He is probably a barbarian.¡±


    ¡°These are all barbarians.¡± Lin Xin said in a deep voice.


    As soon as the words fell, a huge roar was heard. Distraught by the Pingsha sword array of the three stacked swords, a tall figure came out, grabbed Zhu Jiangqiu and broke one of his arms.


    ¡°He Liuhun! He Liuhun!¡± Seeing this, the others began to shout.


    Shen Lou rushed down, blocking He Liuhun¡¯s epee, ¡°Scatter!¡±


    T/N: JZ, you disturbed him and his wife in their lovey-dovey moment, of course you offended him¡­.

 CH 29

    The Wuqing epee weighed at least a hundred catties, and the vast spiritual power was like a jack on the top, shaking the stone bricks at the foot of Shen Lou to pieces.


    Zhu Jiangchun rescued his younger brothers, and the three separated immediately. According to the original plan, they continued to use the flat sand sword to roll up the dust to cover their eyes. Zishu was used as a bait to lure the people to the southwest, and they were like shepherd dogs driving sheep, driving people to the bamboo forest.


    ¡°Stay still.¡± Lin Xin threw his junior on the roof and jumped down to help.


    He Liuhun had a square head, big ears, wide eyes and a high nose, and his body was bigger than ordinary people. In ancient times, there was a giant, one foot wide and three feet long, who could collapse mountains with a loud cry. This He Liuhun seemed to be the descendant of that giant, as if he had inexhaustible strength, he swung the hundred-jin[1] sword like a willow branch.


    Shen Lou circulated his spiritual power, pushed away the epee, and moved three steps away in an instant.


    ¡°Hey hey!¡± He Liuhun gave a rough laugh, and chased after Shen Lou, and hit at him head-on again, but Shen Lou barely avoided it.


    If it was Shen Lou in his heyday, let alone one He Liuhun, he would not be afraid of three. But now he was still a young man with insufficient spiritual power and impaired spirit. The strength he could use was less than 30% of what he used to be, so it was very difficult to deal with him.


    ¡°Hey, big fool!¡± Lin Xin¡¯s sword light came suddenly, from bottom to top, going straight to He Liuhun¡¯s crotch.


    He Liuhun immediately let go of the sword that was slashing at Shen Lou and raised his leg to avoid the sword light.


    ¡°Tsk, so you barbarians are also afraid of being hit on the crotch.¡± Lin Xin tried his best to learn from Zhu Xingli¡¯s insidious tricks.


    ¡°Shen Lou, help!¡± Lin Xin shouted.


    Shen Lou came over with his sword and picked him up, ¡°I¡¯ll lead him, you start the battle formation.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± The two suddenly separated near the bamboo forest, Shen Lou turned around and fought with He Liuhun, hitting him from the ground.


    The sword fight was extremely exhausting, Shen Lou suddenly felt a stabbing pain, so his hand holding the sword was deflected, He Liuhun¡¯s epee rubbed against his shoulder and cut off half of Shen Lou¡¯s sleeve. Biting the tip of his tongue to keep himself awake, Shen Lou raised his breath and swept the horizontal sword flatly.


    He Liuhun didn¡¯t take it seriously at first and didn¡¯t stand up to resist with his sword. Unexpectedly, the sword¡¯s aura was so strong that he felt the rush of the wind and rain when he swept to his side, but it was too late to dodge. The thick lower abdomen was cut open, and blood spurted out. Shen Lou stepped on He Liuhun¡¯s chest and kicked him out of the air.


    Lin Xin held a piece of Luli in his hand and quickly absorbed it. He was only waiting for this moment, so he formed a lotus seal with both hands, instantly entering the thirteen magic formulas into the formation.


    ¡°Boom¡ª¡± The ancient killing formation was activated, and the three stacking swords and Zishu quickly fled, but Shen Lou was grabbed by the calf by He Liuhun who suddenly rebounded and he brought him down together.


    ¡°Shen Lou!¡± Lin Xin rushed over with his sword, the formation had already opened, and the entire bamboo forest seemed to have fallen into a stone mill hell, and all the creatures were pulled into it and smashed into pieces.


    Lin Xin didn¡¯t go to pull Shen Lou, but cut He Liuhun¡¯s arm decisively, cutting off his whole hand.


    Shen Lou escaped smoothly, turned the flying sword, pulled Lin Xin up and ran away. They rushed so hard that they fell to the ground together and rolled around in their arms.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Lin Xin sat up and helped Shen Lou to check.


    Shen Lou lowered his eyes, felt a severe headache, and then raised his head calmly, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Flesh and blood poured into his eyes, as if some kind of superimposed formation had been opened, and the red light surged straight into the sky.


    Lin Xin raised his head and looked over, he was suddenly relieved, but at the same time he felt a little doubtful. Back then, his master desperately activated the killing array to kill all these barbarians, and he must have used thirteen magic formulas in an instant. But when he saw Master, Zhu Xingli¡¯s arms were broken, so what happened?


    At this moment, Jian Zhong sitting on the roof exclaimed: ¡°Be careful!¡±


    At the place where the red light gathered, He Liuhun, who had lost one hand, rushed over with his sword drenched in blood like a ghost crawling out of hell.


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Shen Lou pushed Lin Xin away, drew a perfect circle with the sword, and poured almost all the spiritual power into the spirit sword.


    ¡°Boom boom boom¡ª¡± He Liuhun¡¯s red light collided with Shen Lou, and all the surrounding stone slabs, plants and trees were turned into dust.


    The light dissipated, and neither of them could do anything to the other. He Liuhun suddenly dropped the epee and grabbed a talisman that looked like jade but not gold with his remaining hand. The talisman was painted with strange blue and black patterns, and a round bead was embedded in the center, as if polished by human bones, with a ghostly aura.


    When Lin Xin saw He Liuhun slapping the bead towards Shen Lou, his eyes cracked. Although it was not the same as what he sucked out from Shen Lou back then, he would never mistake it, it was a spirit devourer!


    Flying forward, he clasped his hands together, trapping the Devourer tightly between his palms.


    ¡°Xinxin!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t come here!¡± Lin Xin gritted his teeth, reversed the spiritual vein, and drew his own soul power to wrap his hands. Devouring spirits could devour spiritual power, but not soul power. A desperate attempt turned out to be useful!


    He Liuhun was also taken aback, and then became annoyed, grabbing Lin Xin¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Kacha¡± Lin Xin heard a crisp sound, and the pain of broken bones came from his forearm, which made him cry out in pain, as he slapped the spirit devourer on He Liuhun¡¯s body.


    Shen Lou¡¯s sword light also arrived at the same time, chopping off He Liuhun¡¯s entire arm along the shoulder and neck.


    ¡°It¡¯s you ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh¡ª¡ª¡± Lin Xin threw his sword on He Liuhun¡¯s body like crazy, and his unbroken hand clasped into a claw, holding He Liuhun¡¯s head tightly.


    The barbarian who had lost his spiritual power was powerless to resist, and Lin Xin directly grabbed his soul and crushed him to pieces.


    Shen Lou stood three steps away and watched this scene, without taking any action to stop it. The events of that year were already very clear. It was these barbarians who occupied Yanqiu and devoured Zhu Xingli¡¯s spirit. Lin Xin ended his Master¡¯s life in desperation, and happened to be rushed to the palace by the Golden guards who had seen that scene.


    All of this was the beginning of Lin Xin¡¯s fall into the abyss.


    Ka Ka Ka Bang¡ª¡ª


    The murderous aura of the big formation was too heavy, which triggered a celestial phenomenon, and it rained heavily in an instant. The rainwater mixed the flesh and blood in the bamboo grove into slurry, washing away the frightened dead body, and soaking Lin Xin who was kneeling on the ground.


    Shen Lou walked over, stretched out his hand, took the man over, and held his broken arms to examine.


    Lin Xin simply leaned on him, raised his head, and let the bean-sized raindrops fall into his eyes, turning into hot tears, rolling down and splashing into blood mud.


    He was no longer a master-killer.


    He was no longer a poor wretch who was loved and wanted by no one.


    His master could survive.


    Shen Lou relocated his arm and looked down at Lin Xin¡¯s red eyes, ¡°Is it too painful?¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Lin Xin sneered, squinting at him, ¡°Yeah, it hurts badly, why don¡¯t you blow on it for me? Hoo hoo.¡±


    Shen Lou really held up his broken arm and blew on it solemnly.


    Lin Xin couldn¡¯t help laughing, his nose became sore with a smile, and he couldn¡¯t help cursing: ¡°Shen Qingque, are you fucking sick? Are you so nice to everyone?¡±


    This accusation came without reason, Shen Lou lowered his eyes, watching the raindrops trickle down Lin Xin¡¯s white chin to the back of his hand, with the warmth that a heavy rain shouldn¡¯t have, slowly said: ¡°I¡¯m only good to you.¡±


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    Small theater:


    Zhongzhong: Uh, what, it¡¯s raining, can someone get me off the roof, it¡¯s so cold

 CH 30

    The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the sound of the roaring water was almost deafening, but Lin Xin could still hear it clearly.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Lin Xin stared at Shen Lou with wide eyes, and suddenly asked, ¡°Did you see that I crushed He Liuhun¡¯s soul just now?¡± Like Young Master Zhao, he would never be reborn forever.


    ¡°Well, try not to crush it next time, there is no reincarnation for people who have lost their souls.¡± Shen Lou picked him up and prepared to find a house that hadn¡¯t collapsed to shelter from the rain.


    At this time, a bright red streamer came from the horizon.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Zhu Xingli looked at the ruined Yanqiu and the half-disabled disciple nestled in Shen Lou¡¯s arms, and was furious, ¡°Lin Xin, you¡¯re really promising!¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Lin Xin looked at his alive and kicking master, he couldn¡¯t help grinning, and was immediately poured a mouthful of rainwater, and quickly jumped down from Shen Lou¡¯s arms, ¡°Bah bah, master, oh!¡±


    Lin Xin didn¡¯t care about a slap on the head, on the contrary, he laughed even more happily, hanging from one arm on Zhu Xingli¡¯s body, ¡°Master, I saved my junior brother and killed twenty-three barbarians. Is it possible to stand up for me? Give me a name!¡±


    The murderous aura aroused the celestial phenomena, so it came and went quickly. When the shower had just stopped, the dark clouds cleared away in an instant, and the sun shone on Lin Xin¡¯s face, fading away the haze.


    Zhu Xingli touched the drops of water on his face, and squinted at him, ¡°Where¡¯s the door? Where did you go?¡±


    Everything collapsed and the house was in a mess.


    Lin Xin let go of his hand embarrassingly, retracted to Shen Lou, and looked back at him, the golden light was so dazzling that people couldn¡¯t open their eyes, ¡°Why is the sun so strong?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the sun.¡± As soon as Shen Lou finished speaking, the dazzling light came suddenly, and it turned out to be a row of golden guards wearing golden armor holding the imperial banner.


    These people didn¡¯t get any water on their bodies, obviously they saw the rain on the mountain and waited for the rain to stop at the foot of the mountain before they came up.


    Lin Xin squinted his eyes, the Golden Guards really arrived at the right time every time, as if they made a special trip to watch the excitement.


    ¡°Golden Guards, by the emperor¡¯s order, came to pick up the sixth prince and return to the palace.¡± The leader came out and saluted Zhu Xingli and Shen Lou.


    ¡°What sixth prince?¡± Zhu Jiangchu helped his limping younger brothers and walked over.


    Only then did Zhu Xingli think of his poor second apprentice, ¡°Where¡¯s Zhong¡¯er?¡±


    Everyone turned their heads and looked at the roof not far away. His Royal Highness, the prince, was sitting on the roof with his two severed hands raised, dripping water.


    Sanxian Jian Qiuluo and the emperor¡¯s son had been lost among the people for eighteen years. After the emperor knew about it, he was very concerned and asked the Golden Guards to bring him back to the palace immediately.


    This was the rhetoric given by the Golden Guards, it was impossible to know how much he was worried, but the emperor¡¯s order was true, so he would have to leave immediately.


    Jian Zhong was very unhappy about the sudden decision to enter the palace to recognize his father. ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten yet!¡± He did not want to die on the road.


    There were still a few shabby rooms in the northeast corner that had not collapsed. The tired and hungry people changed into clean clothes and treated the wounds again.


    Zishu, who was not injured, went to cook, but the materials were limited, so she made do with a pot of rice and stewed a large pot of mixed vegetables. This was the way people from the Northern Territory ate, but the four Zhu family members were quite disgusted when they saw that pot of stew.


    The Zhu family, who never tired of eating fine food, was most displeased with the way of eating in the north. The north and Beimo were all rough people in their opinion.


    Zhu Xingli filled a large bowl of rice, then took half a bowl of vegetables into it, stirred it like pig food, dug a spoonful and stuffed it into Jian Zhong¡¯s mouth, who had no hands to eat.


    The random stew mixed with meat and vegetables was surprisingly delicious, and the hungry Jian Zhong¡¯s eyes lit up, and he almost swallowed the spoon. Swallowing it down quickly, looking at the Golden guard standing outside the door, he whispered, ¡°Master, I don¡¯t want to go to Yongdu.¡±


    But his master¡¯s words shut his mouth, ¡°This is what your mother wanted you to do. Get out of here after eating.¡±


    Jian Zhong was so choked that he rolled his eyes, and after eating, he followed the Golden Guards aggrievedly. His hand was broken and he couldn¡¯t move, so the Golden Guards had to borrow Shen¡¯s Luli carriage parked at the foot of the mountain to pull him up.


    Wasn¡¯t the golden carp a thing in the pool, it would transform into a dragon after encountering a storm. After years of goodbye, he had become the king.


    Zhu Xingli racked his brains and couldn¡¯t figure out when he missed the news to the barbarians in Beimo. They couldn¡¯t live at Yanqiu anymore, so he had to bring his disciples to continue to play the autumn wind in Yinian Palace.


    Returning to Yinian Palace, the three stacking swords faced Zhu Yangai who had just left the refining room, and they all softened their knees.


    ¡°Don¡¯t report what you know, you are really capable of messing around with the children.¡± Zhu Yangai endured sleeplessly for several days, without any signs of haggardness. On the contrary, Mrs. Jing was wilted by the furnace fire in the refining room, and lay limp in a puddle on the throne.


    ¡°The subordinate was confused for a while and was afraid of disturbing the master¡¯s crafting. At that time, I only thought that Mr. Lin was also from our Zhu family, and we had to help if something happened.¡± The three brothers lowered their heads, each with a bruised nose and swollen face, and a broken arm and leg.


    Zhu Yangai raised his eyebrows, and raised his hand to touch the cat¡¯s ears, ¡°You guys did the right thing, and it¡¯s barely worth it.¡±


    Before the three of them could become happy, he added, ¡°Sweep the zoo for a month.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t merit and demerit equal?¡± Lin Xin lay on the wooden fence of the zoo, looking at Zhu Jiangqiu who was shoveling manure with one arm.


    The black panther sent by the Western Regions lay huddled in a corner, staring at Zhu Jiangqiu¡¯s shaking buttocks. Not far away, a big colorful tiger lay lazily in the pool, stretching out its claws to trip Zhu Jiangxia, who was sweeping the floor, as he passed by.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s only half done.¡± Shen Lou leaned on the fence and looked at him. ¡°Not reporting what you know is a serious crime.¡±


    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Shen Lou was caught staring.


    After his peeping was discovered, Shen Lou still had an upright face, ¡°Look how different you are from before.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± Lin Xin leaned over to show him, ¡°Is my teeth all grown?¡±


    Shen Lou smiled slightly but shook his head without saying a word. Watching Lin Xin climb over the fence to help Zhu Jiangqiu shovel the manure, the two one-armed heroes worked together to lift the manure into the sky, hitting Zhu Jiangxia who was being bullied by the tiger.


    The former Lin Xin couldn¡¯t speak, couldn¡¯t open his eyes, and couldn¡¯t call him Qingque.


    ¡°My son, Second Master Zhu told you and Mr. Lin to go to Qingliang Hall.¡± Zishu ran over to deliver the message.


    Zhu Xingli rummaged through the Zhu family¡¯s collection of books, only to find a tattered booklet, which recorded a few words about repairing the soul.


    [Spiritual person, the cohesion of the soul, similar to porcelain.]


    Turning the page, there was nothing behind, turning forward, it had nothing to do with it. ¡°Just this one sentence?¡± Lin Xin asked with disgust, ¡°What is porcelain-like!¡±


    ¡°Porcelain-like, it means that the soul is like porcelain. When a mortal is alive, the soul is indistinguishable, just like mud and water. Immortals refine the soul into gods, then the clay becomes porcelain.¡± Zhu Xingli explained.


    Lin Xin understood, ¡°So, if you want to mend his soul, you have to squeeze some mud on it?¡±


    ¡°Smart!¡± Zhu Xingli hit his apprentice¡¯s head with an ancient scroll, and then scratched his head, ¡°Mud is also fine, it¡¯s just for repairing. Take it slow and paste the tiles if you want to be faster. It¡¯s just that I haven¡¯t figured out how to break the mud and tiles and how to stick them on.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not difficult, I¡¯ve tried it before!¡± Lin Xin couldn¡¯t help but smile, he had tried it before, and with the evidence from the ancient remains, he could use it for Shen Lou without worry, but there was only one problem, ¡°I still need a container for collecting remnant souls.¡± He had wrapped it in his own spiritual power so as not to let it drift away, but his spiritual power had been almost exhausted in half an hour, which was really difficult.


    Zhu Xingli blinked and looked at his elder brother lying on the ground behind him watching the cat sleep.


    Note: Golden carp is not a thing in the pool, it changes into a dragon when it encounters a storm.


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    Small theater:


    Master: Brother, give me a spirit sword


    Brother Zhu: Here it is


    Master: Brother, give me a horcrux


    Brother Zhu: Here


    Xinxin: Master, do you sell curry?


    Brother Zhu: Why?


    Xinxin: Because¡­ (singing) bouncy, curry is for gay