Chapter 53 - The Sorrow of a Skeleton

Shen Lian had always wanted to achieve immortality, but when someone with extraordinary talent stood in front of him, he was terrified. He activated The Mastery of Senses again to calm his mind.

A thought emerged in his head, he was actually afraid of this power before him. He felt staggered by it.

That state of concentration was consequently disturbed.

When he looked around him, he realized that he was no longer in the side hall.

Instead, he was following the Su's Fort owner who was leading the way. He was behind Kuhui and Xiao Zhu.

It was common for a person in a group to subconsciously follow the person who was in front.

Though, that was more apparent among animals.

It was a mindless action.

However, Kuhui, Shen Lian, and to some extent, Xiao Zhu, were all extremely egoistic. Yet, the owner of Su's Fort managed to influence and lead them the way. Shen Lian was astonished by how powerful the owner was.

He tried to enter the concentration state again. However, he could only calm his heart but could not keep his soul at bay.

The fox deity, Xin Qubing said that his body did not match well with his spirit, which indicated that his soul and spirit could not be in one with each other.

It meant that he could easily perform astral projection, but it did have some drawbacks.

It would take an average cultivator of Daoism a long time to reach the out of body state. Unlike him, who could simply get his soul out of his body even during battles.

When Shen Lian took all those into consideration, he did not stop following the owner.

His vital Qi and body adapted to the rhythm. He would only stop if the owner had stopped.

He could try to break out of this using brute force, but it would make the clash of his spirit and the soul worse.

It was through this rhythm that he was able to feel the gap between his soul and spirit.

That was also how he regained consciousness.

The surrounding was misty, and the place was unknown to them.

One could not differentiate the directions, whether it was north, south, east, or west.

All of a sudden, the scenery transformed. There was a stream flowing on the side.

The fog disappeared and a small path appeared.

Other than the stream, there were also bushes and a bamboo forest. The leaves made a gushing sound as the night wind blew.

There was an arbor in the midst of that.

Everyone took their seat and Shen Lian finally regained control of his body.

Xiao Zhu and Kuhui, however, did not realize what happened just now. When they sat down, it was as if they just woke up from a dream.

"Where is this?" Xiao Zhu asked. After she agreed to stay, it felt like she took a nap and the moment she woke up, she was seated in this unknown place.

"This is my garden. Please do not worry, everyone." The owner smiled and clapped his hands.

A group of beautiful servants came in. The first eight carried fine dishes that were made from unknown ingredients.

The following four carried silver pots and wine glasses.

There were four corners at the table. Each of them took a seat.

Shen Lian sat opposite of the owner.

When the servants that served drinks and food left, in came two more.

One of them carried a zither and the other held a flute.

One of them asked, "What songs would you like today, my master?"

Her voice was soft and beautiful, but it lacked liveliness.

Shen Lian observed each of the servants. They were all gorgeous but looked dead in the eyes.

It reminded him of his past life when he visited Madame Tussauds. The wax models were realistic, but they had no life.

The wax models, however, stood silently. It was easy to tell that it was lifeless.

The beautiful servants were all able to move. Hence, they were unlikely to be man-made.

"There are skeletons in front of Changsheng Door. Let's just play the 'Sorrow of a Skeleton'." The owner decided without asking the guests.

It was quite a sight to have a meal with live music as accompaniment.

Shen Lian simply followed suit.

Kuhui spoke little words, in contrast to Xiao Zhu.

The three of them were no friends, but they all shared a mutual understanding.

As the fort owner was extremely mysterious and he could be immortal, they were just trying to save each other's lives in that situation.

At the same time, Shen Lian felt that while Kuhui did not speak much, he seemed to like him.

While the owner looked easy-going, it was hard to guess what he was thinking. Shen Lian could not even tell his depth.

He tried to test the water occasionally but the moment his spirit approached the owner, it was bounced back by an invisible shield.

The wine was smooth to the palate. It had a great aftertaste. The food was flavorful – not even Xiao Zhu who was born with a silver spoon had ever tasted something so delicious.

The situation was uncomfortable for her - being at this mysterious location, along with the presence of the mysterious owner.

She could not taste the joy in her food.

She took a peek at others; Kuhui looked like he was enjoying this.

It was rare for a monk to be so obedient when one was being asked to eat meat and drink alcohol.

Xiao Zhu did know that the monk had been surviving in Jianghu for many years, even before she was born. For someone to be famous in Jianghu and had survived for many years, the person either had to be extremely capable, or extremely knowledgeable.

For anyone to live until the end of his life, he must be extraordinary in some aspects.

While the monk was not at the end of his life, he was old.

Xiao Zhu knew that if she were to leave safely, she would have to rely on the old monk, as she believed he would have some good ideas, being the more experienced one among them all.

On the other hand, Shen Lian was clearly enjoying his food.

He was an elegant eater. He chewed with his mouth closed.

He would not let out any chewing sound.

When he was eating, he gave out the aura that he was not one to waste food.

This aura was innate and not nurtured.

He took every dish in moderation, even if he liked one of them particularly.

It was the control of desire that exhibited his manners.

Some people thought that to do as he pleased was considered freedom.

They were not aware that real freedom relied not on desire but control.

The beautiful servants played a harmony using the flute and zither. The Sorrow of a Skeleton was indeed 'sorrow'.

It was carefully played to the state of 'sorrowful, but not depressed'. Hence, it did not affect the mood for consumption.

"How was the song?" the owner asked.

Kuhui put down his chopsticks and answered, "Such music couldn't be found on earth but only in heaven."

"It was great." Xiao Zhu revealed her lack of vocabularies simply, which did not match with her background. However, she indeed knew that everyone likes a sycophant in this world.

She had a beautiful face and she was well aware of the damage a beautiful face and nice words could deal with a man.

"The song was great and the players had great techniques, but something was lacking," Shen Lian's responded.

The owner did not look too happy with his response.

"Well, it seems like you have some opinions about this. You have to understand that even within the royals, it is hard to find someone as good as my players."

In between the words, he coughed again. It seemed like this owner was not in his best state.