Chapter 154: Shen Juesheng

As soon as the white-robed elder appeared, everyone in the room froze in surprise, and immediately, several people including Hu Ruian wore expressions of shock.

Clearly, everyone had recognized the identity of the elder before them.

"Father!"

"Eunuch!"

"Grandfather!"

Shen Liancheng, Ruan Zhenhui, and Shen Anran spoke respectfully almost simultaneously, their gazes all turning toward the white-robed elder in the room.

At this moment, Hu Ruian also struggled to rise from the bed and bowed with clasped hands to the elder before him:

"Junior Hu Ruian greets Elder Shen, the Lord of the Manor."

The white-robed elder nodded slightly, a kind and gentle smile always on his face, and said:

"No need for ceremony."

Seeing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, glanced at Hu Ruian, and asked:

"Does my lord know this old man?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Ruian's eyelids twitched violently; seemingly fearing Li Musheng might do something irrational, he quickly explained in a low voice:

"This is Shen Juesheng, the senior who made a name for himself in the Wu Lin decades ago, known as the 'Heaven-Slaying Deer Blade', a true and venerable master of the martial world with deep virtue and high reputation."

However, Li Musheng merely shrugged:

"I've never heard of him at all."

Immediately, he asked Hu Ruian again:

"Is this old man very powerful? He looks like his strength is quite average."

Upon hearing these words, Ruan Zhenhui and Shen Anran nearby both changed their expressions.

Shen Liancheng's face turned even uglier; he was about to scold, but the white-haired Shen Juesheng stopped him with a hand, looked at Li Musheng with a smile, and said:

"Young friend is still young, and I have retired from the Wu Lin for many years; it is normal not to have heard my name, and besides, those are just empty martial world titles, not worth mentioning at all."

At this time, Hu Ruian, hearing Li Musheng's question so "arrogantly," was stunned for a moment before quickly reacting.

He reached out to wipe the cold sweat beading on his forehead and said quietly to Li Musheng:

"Young Master, do not speak like that; this Senior Shen reached the Heaven-and-Mortal Realm over forty years ago, his martial arts talent was astonishing and brilliant, and he possesses unfathomable attainment in the path of the blade; it is said that even the previous Sect Master of the Tianhedao Sect once regretfully lost to him."

"Although he has retired from the Wu Lin for many years now, and there are even rumors in the martial world that he passed away long ago, judging by his current state, Senior Shen has likely advanced further, and his martial cultivation is even more terrifying!"

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng fixed his gaze on Hu Ruian, yet narrowed his eyes:

"Since my lord knows this old man is powerful, yet still dared to pursue his daughter-in-law, I must say, my lord is indeed a man."

Although Hu Ruian did not know the meaning of the word "pursue," he could roughly understand the meaning of Li Musheng's words.

In an instant, his old face turned red, and he quickly explained:

"This story is long, but please believe me, Young Master, the matter is absolutely not as Young Master imagines."

Li Musheng waved his hand and said:

"It's fine; everyone has the right to pursue love, it's just that my lord's hobby of married women needs to be changed."

Having said that, his gaze shifted, looking at Shen Juesheng before him.

While Li Musheng and Hu Ruian were speaking, the other party had not spoken a word from beginning to end, simply waiting quietly.

Seeing Li Musheng look over, Shen Juesheng, with a smile on his face, gently stroked his beard and said:

"What the young friend says is very reasonable; as the saying goes, heroes match beauties, and beauties match good husbands; I observe that the young friend is a person of true feeling, so I wonder what your impression of my little granddaughter is?"

Speaking thus, Shen Juesheng turned his head and beckoned to Shen Anran, who was standing beside Ruan Zhenhui.

Seeing this, how could Shen Anran not understand her grandfather's meaning; a blush instantly rose on her pale face.

However, she did not hesitate much; instead, she lifted her steps forward, her green skirt trailing lightly, and walked to stand beside Shen Juesheng.

Then, she secretly glanced at Li Musheng, bowed solemnly to him, and said frankly:

"This humble woman, Shen Anran, greets Young Master; Young Master possesses such martial cultivation at such a young age, truly Anran admires you immensely."

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, looked at Shen Juesheng, then glanced at the graceful Shen Anran, rubbed his chin, and said:

"Do not try the beauty trap on me; I, for one, have always..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Hu Ruian beside him hurriedly tugged at his clothes and whispered:

"Young Master, perhaps we should let this matter drop; we have important business on this journey, and there is no need to create unnecessary trouble."

Hu Ruian's words were naturally spoken euphemistically.

In his heart, he was actually afraid that Li Musheng's stubborn temper would rise, angering Shen Juesheng before them, in which case their entire group would likely perish at Zhanlu Manor.

Although Hu Ruian also clearly understood that if Li Musheng had not acted just now, he would likely have already met disaster.

But Shen Juesheng's martial cultivation was indeed too terrifying; facing the other party, resolving the matter on the spot was undoubtedly the wise course.

At this time, Li Musheng glanced at Hu Ruian and pondered slightly in his heart.

Of course, he did not care about things like creating unnecessary trouble, nor was he afraid of Shen Juesheng before him.

Rather, he suddenly felt that Hu Ruian, as his subordinate, was truly dragging him down.

Originally, Zhanlu Manor poisoning him, as the victim, he was already standing at the moral high ground.

Not to mention avenging by killing Shen Liancheng, even destroying Zhanlu Manor, to speak frankly, he was in the right.

But the bad part was that Hu Ruian seduced another man's wife, and moreover, was caught red-handed by the other party.

The originally good advantage was simply given away by the other party in this manner.

Of course, if he were to resolutely act, wiping out Shen Liancheng on the spot, killing whoever stood in his way?

If Shen Juesheng dared to interfere, simply killing him on the spot as well, these would all be very simple things.

It's just that if this matter were to spread, it would sound a bit unpleasant; saying that he, Li Musheng, aided evil and helped steal a wife, that would truly be like mud falling into one's trousers.

Thinking of this, Li Musheng sighed, reached out to pat Hu Ruian's shoulder, and said:

"Lord Hu, there are some things you truly do not understand. For instance, tonight you owe me a great favor."

Saying this, Li Musheng's gaze turned to Shen Juesheng before him, who had white hair and a youthful face. He then pointed at Shen Liancheng and said:

"Actually, whether I kill him or not makes no difference to me, nor would it be particularly difficult."

Upon hearing these words, Shen Liancheng's face instantly turned extremely ugly. Ruan Zhenhui and Shen Anran, standing nearby, also showed strange expressions.

In everyone's view, ever since Shen Juesheng appeared in person, the other party had already shown great restraint and concession, clearly holding thoughts of cherishing talent or wanting to match Li Musheng and Shen Anran.

That was why he stopped Shen Liancheng from acting, attempting to turn conflict into harmony and resolve the contradiction between the two sides.

But Li Musheng clearly did not appreciate this, and maintained an arrogant and unrestrained attitude throughout, as if he did not place anyone present in his eyes at all.

In Shen Anran's view, Li Musheng, possessing such astonishing Wu Lin cultivation, was inevitably young and reckless; such behavior could be considered understandable.

But the other party had obviously underestimated everyone under heaven and misjudged his grandfather, this terrifying and powerful opponent, appearing somewhat overly arrogant and presumptuous.

At this moment, Hu Ruian sensed the atmosphere was somewhat off. He did not deeply ponder the words Li Musheng had just spoken to him, but only wanted to pull the other party back to prevent him from taking even more extreme actions.

But just then, Shen Juesheng, who had been standing still without moving, looked at Li Musheng, reached out to gently stroke his beard, and said:

"I wonder what it would take for young friend to drop this matter and spare this child, Liancheng?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng sized up Shen Juesheng for a while, then nodded slightly and said:

"Sparing him is not impossible. For instance, why don't you try taking one punch from me?"

Upon hearing these words, everyone was stunned.

"Is it truly that simple?"

Shen Juesheng's long eyebrows raised slightly. He looked at Li Musheng with obvious surprise.

Li Musheng, meanwhile, shrugged and said:

"If you think it is simple, then it is that simple."

At this moment, Hu Ruian, Shen Anran, and Ruan Zhenhui all heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

Before, they had actually feared Li Musheng would be stubborn to the end, insisting on creating a situation of life or death with Zhanlu Shanzhuang.

And ultimately provoking Shen Juesheng to no longer concede, causing consequences too terrible to imagine.

Now that Li Musheng proposed this condition, it was clearly a concession, holding the thought of settling the matter to avoid further trouble.

After all, in everyone's view, it was merely throwing out one punch. At most, it would be Li Musheng venting some pent-up anger in his heart. How much damage could it possibly cause to Shen Juesheng, whose Wu Lin cultivation was unfathomable?

Shen Liancheng, at this moment, glanced at Li Musheng, and his face became slightly better.

He had maintained silence and said little just now, actually understanding his father's meaning.

Besides not daring to go against Shen Juesheng's wishes, he naturally also felt Li Musheng was indeed excellent enough, more than sufficient to match Shen Anran.

But unfortunately, the other party had previously been obstinate and spoken arrogantly, causing him to feel a surge of dislike.

It was only that the other party finally showed some self-awareness and knew to concede; otherwise, he would have guaranteed the other party could not leave this courtyard.

At this moment, Shen Juesheng wore a smile, seemingly very satisfied with Li Musheng's decision. He spoke calmly:

"Young friend is not a person with a rigid mind. Knowing the way of open-mindedness and flexibility is also quite beneficial on the path of Wu Lin."

Hearing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow.

To start giving orders on one's Wu Lin cultivation practice, this old man's courage was indeed commendable.

However, Li Musheng said nothing more. He only looked at the other party and said lightly:

"Old man, are you ready?"

Shen Juesheng did not mind Li Musheng's address, nodding slightly.

Then, he raised his hand slightly. An invisible Qi force spread outward from him as the center, gently pushing Shen Anran and the others nearby to a corner of the room.

In an instant, the area surrounding him and Li Musheng was empty of people.

At this moment, Shen Juesheng looked at Li Musheng and said casually:

"Young friend, if you can stir up even a wisp of fist wind around my body, this old man can promise to fulfill one of your requests, as a form of compensation to young friend."

Upon hearing these words, Shen Liancheng, Hu Ruian, and others all had strange expressions.

To receive a promise from a Wu Lin giant like Shen Juesheng was something countless people in the Jianghu dreamed of.

Even for Shen Liancheng, who was used to only having his father order him to do things, how would he dare to ask the other party to do things for him?

Therefore, Shen Juesheng's such a promise was undoubtedly extremely precious.

Of course, everyone actually knew in their hearts that Shen Juesheng saying this was probably just talk.

After all, given the other party's Wu Lin cultivation, for Li Musheng to achieve the other party's request by the power of a single punch was basically impossible.

At the same time, after listening to Shen Juesheng's words, Li Musheng's eyes showed a strange look as he said:

"Old man, I hope after tonight you will understand one principle: some faces are not ones you can easily put on. This matter depends on the person."

As his words fell, the next moment, Li Musheng raised his hand and threw a punch at Shen Juesheng from a distance.

This punch of his looked very ordinary and was not fast, like a flashy move thrown by a novice apprentice in a martial arts hall, loose and scattered.

Around him, there was no surging and vast Wu Lin true Qi condensing and boiling, no fist wind, no fist force, no fist intent.

But it was this ordinary punch that, upon first entering Shen Juesheng's eyes, caused the man, who had previously been calm and composed, to have his entire face change drastically in the next moment.

A sense of crisis unlike any before suddenly surged in his heart. Fear that had not arisen in so many years enveloped his entire mind and spirit in an instant.

Almost instinctively, Shen Juesheng's beard and hair bristled. The Qi mechanism of his entire body was like a wild wind and towering waves overturning the river and sea, instantly sweeping in all directions.

At the same time, a sharp, domineering, and terrifying blade intent surged from within his body toward the sky, as if to cleave the heavens and pierce the earth, breaking through everything!

(End of this chapter)