Cohabitation with Sword Spirit

Chapter 386 - 121: May All Lovers in the World Become Family

March 10, 2018

Li Fengyun and Lu Xin arrived in Shen City around the early hours of today. Both had undergone disguise transformations, using advanced magic to conceal their True Essence fluctuations, quietly avoiding Shen City’s surveillance and delving into the city to search for Shen Qingming and others.

Generally speaking, once cultivators reach a certain realm, they must report in advance when entering or leaving large cities. Otherwise, allowing those powerful figures who can easily move mountains and fill seas to casually enter a city with a population of over a million presents an unmanageable risk. Should they possess antisocial tendencies, it could result in thousands of casualties.

As someone of formidable strength and status like Li Fengyun, the patriarch of a family, there are even stricter restrictions on his movement, especially when visiting another city controlled by the Seven Great Noble Families. The regulations are extremely complicated, and strictly speaking, Li Fengyun and Lu Xin’s covert visit was severely non-compliant.

However, Shen Qingming and others had been out of contact for too long in Shen City, and the spies from Cyan Cloud City within Shen City were of limited use, unable to relay any helpful information. As parents, their anxiety was overwhelming, incapable of waiting any longer. Hence, they chose to violate the travel rules of the Xiangzhou Continent and personally traveled to Shen City to investigate the truth.

This investigation indeed led Li Fengyun to discover the whereabouts of Shen Qingming and the others — suffering inhumane torture in the Inner City Vice City Lord’s Mansion.

If not for Lu Xin’s repeated reminders to act with caution beforehand, Li Fengyun would have really charged in with his sword to rescue them. It was through immense restraint that he withdrew to discuss the next plan with Lu Xin.

Upon retreating, they encountered Wang Jiu, fortunately avoiding disaster.

——

A moment later, the three of them arrived at an open-air barbecue restaurant recommended by Wang Jiu. They found a table in a corner. After skillfully ordering the dishes, Wang Jiu took advantage of the time the food was being served to briefly summarize their experiences during this time.

"On the day of the birthday banquet, Shen Ruoshi arranged a marriage for Qingming, to marry the eldest son of Golden Jade City, Zhao Jincheng..."

Before finishing, Lu Xin interrupted incredulously: "A marriage!? Marrying off!? Shen Ruoshi decided this on his own? He didn’t even consult us about Qingming’s marriage!?"

Wang Jiu curiously asked, "Would you have agreed?"

"Of course not!"

"Then why would he need to ask your opinion?"

"What kind of logic is that?!" Lu Xin almost angrily slammed the table, drawing the attention of the boss and the staff. Realizing his outburst, Lu Xin shook his head and apologized to the boss with clasped hands.

The boss, being a generous person, nodded and said to Wang Jiu, "Keep your child under control."

Lu Xin’s face turned ashen on the spot, almost wanting to smash the entire barbecue restaurant, but Li Fengyun tugged on his sleeve, suppressing his anger.

"What happened next?" Lu Xin asked.

Wang Jiu continued, "Then, both sides exchanged their views on the marriage issue, reaching an agreement on certain historical issues regarding Shen Yue’e."

Lu Xin took a moment to decode the correct meaning: "So, Qingming disagreed? Of course, with her personality, how could she agree to such an absurd arranged marriage? But it’s strange, would the eldest son of Golden Jade City really cooperate with Shen Ruoshi’s nonsense?"

Wang Jiu replied, "Zhao Jincheng fell in love at first sight with Qingming, deeply infatuated."

"Eh?" Lu Xin was taken aback, "Love at first sight?"

"Yes, he greatly admired Qingming’s highly refined physical quality, so he and Shen Ruoshi hit it off instantly."

Lu Xin took another moment to correctly interpret the term ’highly refined physical quality’, and his face turned even more ashen, fists clenched, knuckles crackling.

"This damn pervert!"

Wang Jiu looked at Lu Xin a bit strangely, not understanding what’s perverse about appreciating a refined physique, especially when Lu Xin himself was a rather good example of such refinement...

"In short, Qingming disagreed with the marriage, so Shen Ruoshi detained all of you? No wonder there was no contact for so long. So, what’s happening now? Qingming, she..."

Wang Jiu then recounted the subsequent developments, mainly including their group attempting to ambush Zhao Jincheng with the support of the two Vice City Lords and the appearance of Shen Ruoshi’s mother, Gu Yueqin, which ended the farce.

"So, currently, the person in charge of Shen City is Shen Yueying?"

Wang Jiu replied, "In terms of the current power structure of the City Lord’s Mansion, indeed it is Shen Yueying who holds all the power. The overtime documents recently signed for Qingming and Wanqing were all issued by Shen Yueying."

"So it was her..." Mentioning Shen Yueying’s name, Lu Xin showed a rather complex expression. Despite contemplating for a long time, he didn’t receive a response from those around him, and kicked him in frustration.

"Li surname, don’t you have any opinion?"

Only then did Li Fengyun wake up as if from a dream and quickly said, "Sorry, I just..."

"Zoning out again!?" Lu Xin felt like slapping the table again, "Didn’t we agree not to zone out during the operation in Shen City!?"

"No, no, it’s because I saw someone I know."

"Someone you know? Here?" Lu Xin asked curiously, "Who?"

"Yueying."

"...Who?"

"Shen Yueying." Li Fengyun repeated the full name seriously, then pointed towards a silhouette at the street corner ahead, "Right there."

Looking in the direction of Li Fengyun’s finger, they indeed saw the Deputy City Lord of Shen City with her hands covering her mouth, looking this way incredulously, as if she was about to cry, her whole body slightly trembling.

However, this scene flashed by quickly, and the next moment, Shen Yueying at the street corner disappeared, and in the blink of an eye, the woman was standing before their table, looking at Li Fengyun with an especially melancholic gaze.

Li Fengyun felt somewhat uncomfortable being looked at in this way, and seeing that Lu Xin had no intention of speaking, he took the initiative and said, "Sorry, this table is occupied."

Shen Yueying didn’t pay any attention to this remark, only making her gaze even more tender.

Only when Lu Xin also felt very uncomfortable did Shen Yueying finally speak, "Fengyun, long time no see."

Li Fengyun was silent for a moment, then said, "I’m sorry, you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not Li Fengyun; my name is Wang Wu, from Heaven-Reaching City..."

As he spoke, Li Fengyun’s tone was very serious, because before he and Lu Xin set off from Cyan Cloud City, they were reminded multiple times that this was a secret mission, and their identities must not be revealed. So he had specially designed an identity for himself and put on a mask to cover his face. Upon hearing Shen Yueying mention the identity issue, he immediately brought out the story he had meticulously designed.

But before he could finish, Shen Yueying interrupted, "Did I ever say your name was Li Fengyun? You gave yourself away, didn’t you?"

Li Fengyun was silent for a moment, then said, "Because someone had previously mistaken me for Li Fengyun, that’s why I clarified that way, but I’m really not Li Fengyun, I’m Wang Wu, from Heaven-Reaching City."

Shen Yueying immediately laughed, "So much smoother than in the past. Back then, if you couldn’t deny it, you’d only zone out to escape reality..."

As she spoke, her smile gradually faded, turning into deep sorrow.

"Sister Yue’e really changed you a lot."

As soon as she finished speaking, a little friend who had been ignored by both could no longer remain silent.

"What’s this got to do with Shen Yue’e? I helped him make up the entire story, and I taught him how to respond to any flaws discovered, word by word!"

Shen Yueying seemed to notice Lu Xin for the first time, looked down, and asked somewhat surprised, "Fengyun, is this your daughter born later?"

The blood vessel in Lu Xin’s temple was on the verge of bursting.

"Shen Yueying, stop acting crazy!"

Shen Yueying shook her head, stifling a laugh, "Who was the one acting crazy first? The dignified Patriarch of the Li Family, disguising himself and sneaking into Shen City, being caught on the spot, and still arguing to be Wang Wu from Heaven-Reaching City. Which side do you think is more like acting crazy?"

Lu Xin snorted coldly, wisely choosing to change the subject: "Where are Qingming and the others?"

Mentioning Shen Qingming, Shen Yueying straightened her expression, solemnly bowed to the two: "Regarding Qingming, on behalf of Shen City, I offer our sincere apologies to both of you. Father became muddle-headed due to old age and the influence of his inner demon, almost committing a huge mistake. He has now stepped down as City Lord and has self-imposed exile. Going forward, I will act as the acting City Lord, representing Shen City for compensation. Although I know whatever we do now is just a belated remedy, I still hope we can earn your forgiveness."

Shen Yueying’s sincere words touched Li Fengyun and his wife somewhat, and after pondering for a moment, Li Fengyun first asked, "Self-imposed exile... is he preparing to overcome his Heart Demon Tribulation?"

Shen Yueying’s face turned heavy as she replied, "Yes, this absurdity was all triggered by an old obsession invoking a heart demon. He spent his life in battles, always priding himself on his willpower as firm as steel, yet he didn’t expect to cause such a mess this time... So he intends to enter a closed death seclusion, vowing not to emerge until he has completely eradicated his heart demon."

Hearing this, Li Fengyun sighed softly, a lot of his anger toward Shen Ruoshi dissipating.

How easy is it to completely eradicate a heart demon? Being plagued by a heart demon is the norm for a cultivator. A cultivator spends a lifetime practicing, and only upon reaching the supreme Void Realm can they form a perfect glass heart. Before that, there will always be some flaw in their heart. This closed seclusion of Shen Ruoshi... it might indeed last until his death.

He’s only 100 years old; by the average lifespan of a Sea Overturning Realm cultivator, he’s not even considered elderly. In the coming decades, he could still be a significant figure who shakes the entire Xiangzhou... Now, because of one absurdity, he has permanently exiled himself. This remorse and the price he has to pay are indeed worthy of a sigh.

Shen Yueying continued, "Vice City Lord Jinghai also applied for self-exile because he failed to stop the City Lord in time and instead fueled the flames. I didn’t agree, but I gave him a year’s leave. In other words, for the next year, Shen City’s affairs will be managed by me, so if there’s anything, just come to me."

Before the two could digest this statement, Shen Yueying seriously suggested, "Of course, I will also strive to visit Cyan Cloud City when possible, to contribute to fostering goodwill between the two families."

"That’s unnecessary!" Lu Xin replied decisively.