Chapter 17 - Wutong

Chen found it weird that her daughter murmured Shen Lian's name.

Shen Ruoxi gasped as she saw Shen Lian crossed through the wall without any hindrance – she was shocked!

Chen gave Shen Ruoxi a quick rub on the forehead. Shen Ruoxi was still feverish. "Don't think about anything now, just make sure you get good rest," Chen said.

"Mother, I think I saw Shen Lian," Shen Ruoxi replied softly.

"You're having a fever, and he is still grounded at the courtyard on the East wing. Besides, it's so late now." Chen knew that her daughter was only seeing things because of her sickness.

When Chen was busy preparing porridge for Shen Ruoxi, Shen Lian had gone back to his residence.

He saw his body, lying in bed breathing quietly, and leaped immediately back into it.

Shen Lian opened his eyes slowly and felt exhausted as fatigue rushed all over him. He thought he was going to collapse into slumber.

After opening his eyes, he could feel the waves of tiredness that washed over him. He noticed the difference in his scent and his body condition as compared to before he had the out of body experience.

He finally succ.u.mbed to his exhaustion. He tucked himself in his blankets and fell into a deep slumber.

A dreamless night passed, then came the next day.

The sun was at its highest altitude when Shen Lian opened his door. It had been a long while since he last slept until this late, and he felt that he was revived unlimited energy.

A female servant noticed that Shen Lian opened his door, and brought over warm water for him to wash up.

The female servant observed Shen Lian as he cleaned himself up with a warm towel. It felt like he was giving off the aura of a godliness. His hair and delicate feature made him looked even more like a young fairy.

The female servant blushed; she thought it would be nice for Shen Lian to keep them around even after he got married and had kids.

Even though Shen Lian had never been particularly close to anyone, he did not have a bad temper and was easy-going. Like the winter sun that did not burn, yet remained high up and awe-inspiring.

Shen Lian gave not much thought as to what the young female servant was thinking. He just felt that the world was better and that there was more to the mountains and lakes than what it seemed to be.

Sceneries were lovable.

Matters were relatable.

By then, even without an astral projection, he could utilize the power of his spirit to greatly enhance his sensory skills.

Unfortunately, he had yet to find out how to use the power of his spirit as a weapon against his enemies. He did not dare to absorb the essence of the sun and of the moon without further researches and prior knowledge; getting into an accident was the last thing he wanted.

He really needed the 'Deity Vanquishing Sword' owned by the man in green. At this stage, getting the sword was the only way that he could maximize his potential.

...

The Shen family would be the richest and the most influential family in the state capital, but they were not the only ones who were loaded in the state.

The Shen family was in possession of most of the land titles in the state capital. In fact, most of the residents bought their residences from the Shen family. The Shen family had a stake in all of the profitable industries.

However, there was one highly profitable industry that the Shen family had stayed away from. That would be pawnbroking.

If one were to pawn anything in the State Capital of Qing, it would be at the pawn shop owned by the Xu family.

There was none other that was involved in this business.

With monopoly comes great profit, this applies to any business.

The Xu family might not be as prosperous as the Shen family, but their considerable wealth was not something that one could disdain.

More importantly, the Shen family would never go against the Xu family under the sky of the state capital because the two families were bonded by marriage.

Shen Lian's eldest uncle, Shen Qingshi, was married to the daughter of Xu family. Xu, who was hostile toward Shen Lian, would be his aunt!

The Xu family business started off earlier than the Shen's. However, the Shen family caught up to the Xu family because of the efforts of Old Master Shen.

Fortunately, Old Master Xu was visionary and had given Old Master Shen a helping hand on various occasions. He had even gone as far as arranging a marriage between the two families.

It was a shame that Old Master Xu passed away right after.

He did not live to see Xu marrying into the Shen family. He would not have expected the Old Master Shen who relied on his help to become an indispensable and influential person in the State Capital of Qing.

There was a reason why Xu was infertile. After Old Master Xu had passed away, Xu's elder brother, Xu Hong, the new head of the Xu family had strayed from the righteous path and had set up a shrine for a demonic god. He thought that this could ensure the prosperity of the Xu family.

The aforementioned demonic god had a reputation among the common folks. The Wutong Gods were gods of wealth, moreover, they were known to be evil and demonic.

The Wutong Gods enjoyed ravishing the wives and daughters of their worshipers. After the Xu family started praying to the Wutong Gods, Xu had gone through many sufferings under their hands. On top of that, she had never been particularly strong herself, which led to her eventual infertility.

There were m.o.a.ns of misery and pain coming out from one of the rooms in the courtyard of the Xu family even in broad daylight. No one was around the room. That room would be Yan's, the wife of Xu Hong.

When the m.o.a.ns and heavy breathing subsided completely, a young man walked out of the room. The young man held a precious sword and looked majestic.

If Shen Lian were here, he would have recognized the man to be the evilness that was in Shen Ruoxi's dream.

After the young man had left, Xu Hong went into the room through the side entrance. Looking at his lifeless wife, Yan who was on the bed, he felt guilty yet relieved.

After that demon had had its way, there would at least be peace for the following days or months.

It was not that Xu Hong could not find young women for that demon to ravish, but they had a particular liking for their believers' wives or unwed daughters.

Ever since Xu Hong's sister got married, he had had several beautiful wives.

Yan was the youngest of them all. He loved her very much, but he did not dare to go against the will of the Wutong gods.

Yan was gorgeous, and this could be why the young man had taken a liking to her. After debauching her roughly, he would allow her to have a recovery period.

Yan was breathing weakly in bed; her beautiful body was full of marks from lashes. The greenish marks were a stark contrast to her porcelain white skin.

Xu Hong was ashamed of guilt and infuriated at the same time. Blinded by anger, he gave no concern about Yan's injury and took his turn with her.

He only stopped after Yan had passed out.

Until Yan awoke, looked in his eyes with resentment and disappointment, only then he was shameful of himself.

Xu Hong sighed and wept. He started slapping himself with all the strength that he could muster.

"Master, please don't do that to yourself." Yan had a soft spot for Xu Hong, that and she could not bear to leave the wealthy lifestyle of the Xu family.

Only then did Xu Hong stop.

"It's been half a year since he last visited, why is he here again?"

"Did you forget how your beloved sister brought Young Lady Shen out on a day trip and tricked her to pray at his temple? He must have seen her then." Yan was weak, but she managed to briefly ill.u.s.trate the incident.

'Could it be that he was trying to have his way with Shen Ruoxi, but was put at a disadvantage?' Xu Hong thought.

He was suffering badly because of his own sins.

The sins committed by the Wutong Gods in the Xu family were kept as a secret by Xu Hong for fear of bringing shame to the family. The Shen family was not in the habit of prying into the dealings of the Xu family, which explained why the Shen family was unaware of all these.

Even if outsiders knew about this, no one would have gone looking for trouble by badmouthing to Old Master Shen, Shen Qingshi, and Shen Qingsan.