Chapter 31 - Subtle Fragrance of the Plum Blossom At Dusk

With dull eyes, the frozen, physical Shen Lian showed no signs of agility and movement. His face was clear with visible fine hairs.

In contrast, the other Shen Lian who floated mid-air had a vague figure.

It was close to dusk. A hint of sunset beamed across.

A mortal's n.a.k.e.d eye could not have seen the dark atmosphere in the room.

In fear, Xu Hong could only clutch on to the pillar, shivering, as the second Shen Lian reveals in front of the first Shen Lian, he was as if transparent under the silky sunset.

The subtle fragrance from the ebony and a touch of sunset formed a picture-perfect scene.

A gush of wind came by. Shen Lian threw himself into the black wild boar. He did not have a sword in his hands but the sword in his heart was awe-inspiring.

At this moment, Shen Lian plunged into a soulless realm. The Deity Vanquishing Sword inflicted destruction to the enemy and at the same time, brought significant self-damage. The skill was to utilize one's spirit as blades to attack another person's soul.

As if he was fighting head-on with every inch of his might.

Life and death were in the hands of destiny.

The man in green needed a good amount of time recovery after using the Deity Vanquishing Sword. After all, the amount of damage caused was also inflicted on him.

The soul and the person counteract each other.

Then Shen Lian's thoughts reached the extreme, causing an astral projection. He wanted to kill the wild boar. However, the evil thoughts and impatience in his heart faded away, leaving him feeling carefree.

He fell into limbo again - in a realm with the state of mind of a heartless dog.

That deity with the cudgel transformed into Shen Lian. The scent of ebony mixed with sunlight drilled into Shen Lian's soul. Although there was no heat energy present, it was scorching hot.

A bright moon rose while the last glimpse of the sun sets. Dusk befell.

The moment where 'Yin' and 'Yang' came together, Shen Lian had a sudden realization of the meaning behind the Mastery of Senses.

A composed psyche and sharp spirit come from the mind. That was the heavenly weapon that destroyed iron rocks and yet causing zero damage to the practitioner.

He stepped into a blacked-out state of mind and ignored the damaged caused by the sunset and the moon on his spirit.

Shen Lian reinvigorated. His face regained expression as he threw himself to the wild boar. The wild boar m.o.a.ned in pain.

The wild boar fell to the ground, pupils turned white. It was probably dead.

Xu Hong presumed that this wild boar was the demonic god. He felt disgusted by the thought that Yan was being ravaged by this monster.

Shen Lian looked at the wild boar - it had a coat of bright black erected fur but did not have the stench of any ordinary wild boar. He wondered how the meat of this strange creature tasted like.

Shen Lian recalled the rumors he heard - such meat could be nourishing and good for vitality.

He was just in need of replenishing as the training and physical changes have taken a toll on his body.

Xu Hong told Yan about the incident of the five sinister deities when she woke up. Anxiously, he asked, "What if other accomplices show up?"

Although Shen Lian had defeated this deity who formerly transformed from a wild boar, there were four more out there. Xu Hong worried that Shen Lian was left disadvantaged being outnumbered.

The night was young and the moon floated. Shen Lian looked filthy as if he were an unpolished jade. Clouds of smoke surrounded him, put side by side with his destiny to eliminate evil spirits, Shen Lian sure looked like an immortal descended to the world.

Xu Hong regretted what he had said. He was afraid that he might sound offensive to Shen Lian.

However, his concern lasted for only a split second.

He swiftly added, "But with you around, we have no fear."

Shen Lian did not mind what Xu Hong's words and let out a light laugh and said, "I will not wait for them to come, I will find them instead."

Shen Lian felt invincible after defeating the wild boar. He felt sharp and full of energy, unstoppable even.

Shen Lian took a step out of the door. The moon shone on him and reflected on the robe as if the feathers on the robe were dyed silver in color. He looked graceful and dazzling.

Shortly, a loud shriek that sounded like a pig being brutally murdered or a horse being beaten, was heard from the temple to the southeast of Xu's residence.

Xu Hong sent some servants to investigate. They returned and reported that it was Master Shen Lian who ordered a group of strong men to lift some items.

By the time Xu Hong and his men came by, the statues in the temple were stumbled all over the place. Shen Lian saw Xu Hong and pointed to the pig and horse. "Uncle Xu, please get someone to take this pig, the horse, and the wild board from before, back to the inn. Also, would you lend me your chef for the next few days?" Xu Hong delightfully replied, "Borrow? For goodness sake, take him as a gift."

Yan pulled Xu Hong over and in a low voice asked, "Along with these two, there are only three of them. Where are the other two?"

She was referring to the corpse of the five sinister deities. They only saw three; there should be two more bodies.

Feeling stunned, Xu Hong felt the need to clarify the issue.

He said, "My dear nephew, what about the other two remaining creatures, how 'bout I bring those bodies back to the inn together for you."

"The last two creatures escaped, they had wings," Shen Lian said with a hint of pity.

At this point, he really had not mastered the flying technique and was incapable of covering his own tracks. Besides, he could not be too far away from his physical body.

He may be powerful but in this realm of floating world, his spirit could still use the protection of the physical body.

"Why don't you stay over at my place for a couple of days? Well, you know, your uncle is really timid. Things like that really scare me." Xu Hong said bitterly. He was worried that the two remaining creatures would come back and seek revenge. He'd be in trouble if Shen Lian was not around.

"It's getting late, I should go back to the inn. Uncle Xu, please remember to deliver my stuff over tomorrow. I don't want them with any missing limbs." Shen Lian did not respond to Xu Hong's request. He fixed the ebony sword and left.

Xu Hong wanted to stop him but was taken aback by Shen Lian's energy. He could not move and could only watch Shen Lian leave with the wind.

Shen Lian could not hold his feeling and freely sang, "From a high building, I look down at the city, beyond the scattered clouds lies a moon in solitary. Of all people on earth, how many of them are real men?"

He has yet to reach the peak of the building but his spirits were so high that the feeling was incomparable to that tall building.

The phrase, 'Of all people on earth, how many of them are real men?' was really harsh that cast a sense of shame in Xu Hong.

...

A random inn had their red lanterns hung up; it was their first day of business. Under the oil lamp, Steward Wu checked his ledger and sighed, "We shouldn't have changed this century-old name! We really do not have many guests today."

The Shen family was after all, not the God of Fortune. Furthermore, this inn had been handed over to Shen Lian. So before the announcement of the successor to the family's business, other members of the Shen family would not take any sides nor would they help Shen Lian promote his business.

They may have received gifts from him but it was not anything expensive. This showed how materialistic people could get.

Shen Lian entered the inn and stood next to Steward Wu. He took a glimpse at the ledger and smiled. "Uncle Wu, you've worked hard today."

Steward Wu laughed. "Young Master Lian, we barely had any guests. As much as I want to, I can't even work hard today."

"Is that so? We will have Uncle Xu Hong here tomorrow and he will be around for a while. We'll charge him a thousand silver a day per head. Things will be easier for you as there will fewer customers and yet, we can still make money. Isn't that a good thing?"