Chapter 28 - The Beginning and the End of Cultivation
Shen Lian did not find what Governor Shuo said to be weird. Too bad, he was born under the Five-Starred Red Flag and grew up in the new China, the People"s Republic of China.
He may have been slightly filial, but in terms of loyalty, he had none.
He smiled at Governor Shuo without saying further.
Indeed, there was no common ground between people with two differing principles. Why bother with further ill.u.s.trations?
It was past noon when Governor Shuo sent someone to bring Meng Han back to the town hall.
Halfway back, Meng Han regained consciousness, but he pretended to be unconscious because he could not stand the shame and the looks from the pa.s.ser-by.
At the same time, the Jianghu drifters who were monitoring the situation in secret had to re-evaluate their opinions on Shen Lian.
After all, Meng Han enjoyed a reputation in Jianghu. Even though he could not match the best constable in the world, Yang Ying, he was not just anyone either.
Shen Lian tested the waters and was feeling light and cheery. He did not bother himself with the mundane duties of the inn, and headed out alone.
The State Capital of Qing was not particularly big, but it was not small either.
Shen Lian was walking without impurities in mind. To an outsider, it would look as though he was not paying attention. Despite the obstacles on the street, he was not hit, tripped, or shoved by any.
"Is that Shen Lian?"
The sound was unfamiliar, but if the person spoke of his name, then it must be someone that he knew.
Shen Lian turned to the source of the voice and saw a stout middle-aged man looking at him.
Shen Lian racked his mind for a name. He recognized the person to be his eldest aunt"s brother, Xu Hong, a relative of his.
However, his aunt, Xu, had never been fond of him. This was why Shen Lian only saw Xu Hong for a couple of times when he was young.
By right, Xu Hong would not be able to recognize him in person unless he had been paying attention to him.
Shen Lian dismissed his speculations after seeing the young servant girl clothed in green next to Xu Hong. If Shen Lian remembered correctly, the servant girl was from his uncle, Shen Qings.h.i.+"s courtyard.
Although unable to give an exact name, Shen Lian was sure that he had seen that face before.
"I heard that your inn is opening today. How do you have the time to roam around?" Xu Hong smiled and asked.
"Those are not something that I should worry myself about. Uncle Xu, I don"t see you bothering yourself with menial tasks whenever you open up a new p.a.w.n shop," Shen Lian leaned in slightly and spoke without being overly enthusiastic or too detached.
"Haha, you child. You are so much more fun now as compared to last time. You wouldn"t talk to anyone back then. Since we don"t meet a lot, why don"t you come over to my house for a while?" When Xu Hong found out from the servant girl that the attractive young man on the street was Shen Lian, he could not help but to extend his invitation.
It would seem that the Wutong G.o.ds did not manage to have their way at the Shen family. According to his sister Xu, there was nothing notable besides Shen Lian.
When Xu Hong heard that Shen Lian"s new inn was opening, he had sent gifts over. After all, he was his elder and was not obliged to be at the opening himself.
Furthermore, an inn was nothing as compared to the ma.s.sive fortune of the Shen family. Even if the inn had a long history, it still would not be a big deal – even Shen Qingsan thought so.
When he left the Shen family, he thought of finding a way to see what Shen Lian knew. At the same time, the servant girl received instructions from Xu to visit one of the shops owned by the Shen family. She had to collect some rouge from the new collection, from the Yanshui Atelier of the Capital City. Xu Hong was keen to bring home some cosmetics as a gift for his wife too.
Xu Hong grew up in the State Capital of Qing and did not travel in a high-profile manner. He was strolling around and ended up a.s.sailing the young servant girl with obscenities.
The servant girl was not a child born to a servant in her Master"s house, which was why she had some pride in her and refused to succ.u.mb to Xu Hong"s authority. Just as she was fretting about what to do, she saw Shen Lian from the corner of her eyes.
Besides Shen Ruoxi, every girl in the Shen household who was under twenty would see Shen Lian as their dream lover. After all, Shen Lian was good looking and kind.
A young man as such was extremely attractive and lovable.
Even the servant girl had joked about Shen Lian with her friends; she hoped that one day she could be married to Shen Lian and to have her Cinderella moment.
Moreover, with Shen Lian around, Xu Hong would not act too carelessly.
Shen Lian nodded at the servant girl – a habit he developed in the modern world. Whenever he ran into someone, he would greet them. Indeed, to him, there was no such thing as a social cla.s.s hierarchy, and he believed in equality.
But his simple gesture of nodding had sent a flurry of b.u.t.terflies to the servant girl"s heart. She was excited that the Young Master remembered her, as they had only met once before.
She was exhilarated and excited.
This was definitely a tale that would make her friends jealous.
At that point, the a.s.sailment from Xu Hong earlier did not bother her as much anymore.
Shen Lian was no mind reader. He had no idea what was going on in her mind. If the servant girl were to find out that Shen Lian had an eidetic memory, she might not have been that pleased.
Shen Lian had no time for the servant girl. However, he felt an uncomfortable aura emanating from Xu Hong; that piqued his curiosity.
"Since I"m free, I wouldn"t mind going to your house for a bit," he replied.
He finally made the connection – the demonic G.o.d from Shen Ruoxi"s dream. It had the same uncomfortable aura Xu Hong emanated.
"We shall head back after I got the cosmetics. Even though the Shen family is richer than us, but the meals in Xu family is on a league of its own,"
Xu Hong could not help but brag.
He invited Shen Lian because he remembered how Xu mentioned that no one else besides Shen Lian came home to the Shen family. The night that Shen Ruoxi recovered from her sickness, she even called Shen Lian"s name.
To others, they might dismiss it as being merely a child"s dream.
However, Xu Hong and Xu knew the true reason why Shen Ruoxi fell sick; it was the demonic G.o.d at work. Thus, her dream likely was not a normal dream. If she called Shen Lian"s name, something was definitely going on.
Seeing how his new inn was opening, Xu Hong did not want to look for Shen Lian just yet. Despite his initial plan, he ran into Shen Lian on the street. What a fated encounter indeed!
Unaware that Xu Hong was trying to find out from him about the person who injured the Wutong G.o.ds, Shen Lian was trying to get more information on the demonic G.o.d who was in Shen Ruoxi"s dream.
Although Shen Lian had the Deity Vanquis.h.i.+ng Sword, he was clueless when it came to Cultivation of Daoism.
Shenzu Scripture allowed him to train his inner Qi and to obtain superhuman physical power. However, it could not be considered as the fundamentals of Daoist immortality.
Even if the scriptures really had something to do with the Celestial immortals from the Mount Qing Xuan, their essence was that of Jianghu martial exercises.
Out of all the disciples under Ling Chongxiao, none of them had relied on the scriptures to attain immortality and learn about Daoism.
There would always be a beginning and an end to all cultivation. Whether it was The Mastery of Senses or the Deity Vanquis.h.i.+ng Sword, Shen Lian lacked the basic understanding as to the essence of the skills. These were not something that Ling Chongxiao could answer; he might not even be willing to answer Shen Lian"s questions in the first place.
However, the demonic G.o.d knew how to sneak into a human"s dreams and to practice evil arts in it. Shen Lian thought the demonic G.o.d would have more information in relation to cultivation.
After Shen Lian ran into Xu Hong and noticed the clues, he was not about to waste such a good chance.
Both of them had different agendas in mind, yet they found something that they can agree with.
The servant girl thought it was too bad that she had to return to the Shen family after buying the cosmetics. She was reluctant to leave.
Shen Lian was unaware as usual and did not reciprocate to her feelings. Instead, he followed Xu Hong to the Xu family.