Chapter 281: Have a Few More Kids

Noon.

Shen Qing got out of bed, Zhu Lingyue still lay on the bed, Shen Qing lightly kissed her still-flushed cheek, then put on his clothes and left the room.

The weather was still fine, warm sunlight fell in the courtyard.

Shen Qing flicked his finger, blowing the snow off the rocking chair, then lay down on it.

The Yuan Mountain Martial Contest still had four days left, the traces of the evil creatures hadn't been caught, and there were no troublemakers; Shen Qing pondered whether to go to Wanjie Hall again and beat up the people of the Shengluo Empire.

Just then, a black shadow appeared in the sky, heading straight for the Shen family; when it reached above the Shen residence, it also spotted Shen Qing and flew toward him.

The visitor had a stern face, his cultivation had reached the Half-Saint Realm, he carried a black long spear on his back, wore the armor of the Border Army, and bore an upright righteousness.

Shen Qing recognized him; the visitor was the eldest of their generation, Shen Lingxiao, who had trained in the Western Regions.

If Shen Qing's talent hadn't been stolen, the talent ranking among the three of their generation should have been Shen Qing first, Shen Yun'ya second, and Shen Lingxiao third.

Shen Qing bore him no ill will; this Shen Lingxiao was rather special—his father had met his mother while training, and Shen Lingxiao was born in the Western Regions as well. Presumably for that reason, he escaped the clutches of the Second Lineage, and after reaching adulthood he went to the Western Regions just like his father, not returning to the Shen family for decades.

He landed before Shen Qing, looked at him, and said, "Are you my third brother, Shen Qing?"

Shen Qing rose, looked at Shen Lingxiao, and said, "Elder brother."

Shen Lingxiao spoke, a flash of resentment crossing his face: "I've heard what the Second Lineage did—good riddance they were killed."

"It's a pity I couldn't help; no one even notified me about this."

"But since you call me elder brother, you ought to lend a hand."

"When I was in the Western Regions, I met a man—Shen Kun of the Second Lineage—and I captured him."

Shen Qing's eyes lit up: "Where is he now?"

"I had my men bring him back; they're a bit slower than me, so they should reach the capital in another half an hour."

Shen Qing asked: "Did you find anything on him?"

Shen Qing hadn't wiped out all of the Second Lineage, because some of its members were originally in the capital; after the incident he arrested a batch, but a few slipped through the net—Shen Kun being one of them.

Moreover, the main point is that although Shen Qing had killed many Second Lineage members, he hadn't found the Heaven-Stealing Pill; interrogation revealed it had always been in Shen Kun's possession.

Shen Lingxiao nodded, pulled a black wooden box from his bosom, his expression grave: "Yes, I found this box on him; inside are the pills—he must have been trying to flee the Great Wu with it, and I happened to catch him red-handed."

"This pill feels off to me—could it be that Heaven-Stealing..."

Shen Qing took the box, opened it, and saw several jet-black, crystal-clear pills—exactly the Heaven-Stealing Pill.

Shen Qing narrowed his eyes; a strange energy emanated from the Heaven-Stealing Pill, the karma threads in his palm trembling slightly, as if stirred by that odd power.

"Can you give me that Heaven-Stealing Pill?"

Shen Lingxiao said: "Take it, but be careful—I feel it's a bit sinister."

Just then, the door to Shen Qing's room opened; Zhu Lingyue, fully dressed, stepped out, her face still slightly flushed.

Shen Qing glanced back: "You're up?"

Zhu Lingyue gave Shen Qing an annoyed look: "I have to go handle some things."

Shen Qing nodded: "Go ahead; do you need my help?"

"No need." Zhu Lingyue hovered, flew toward the Imperial Palace, and added with a still-flushed face, "I'll come back tonight."

Shen Lingxiao stared, unaware of the relationship between Shen Qing and Zhu Lingyue; he glanced at Shen Qing, then at Zhu Lingyue.

"Hey, isn't she Zhu Lingyue? How did she end up in your room... oh... uh..."

In that short sentence, Shen Lingxiao's tone shifted three times: first doubtful, then shocked, finally realizing.

Immediately after, he pointed a finger, smiling at Shen Qing: "Heh..."

Shen Qing burst out laughing.

Afterward, Shen Qing turned to Shen Lingxiao: "By the way, what are you doing sneaking back without notifying the Shen family? Otherwise they could have held a ceremony for you."

Shen Lingxiao waved a hand: "Forget it, I don't like that hollow pomp."

Shen Lingxiao was born in the Western Regions Army, trained there too, and prefers practical things.

"And you didn't notify the Shen family either when you came back."

Shen Qing said: "I came back to kill people; if I'd warned them, they'd have fled."

Shen Lingxiao immediately picked up the thread: "I sneaked back also to kill people."

Shen Qing raised an eyebrow: "Go on."

Shen Lingxiao's eyes turned cold as he said: "You know I'm in the army; my Western Regions Army constantly fights savage beasts and foreign foes, suffering higher casualties than other troops—even more than in the Wokou conflicts—so compensation for fallen soldiers has always been the highest in my army."

"But a month ago, a woman with only Body-Tempering Realm cultivation, carrying an infant, walked ten thousand miles from Lu Province to my army's headquarters; she told me her husband, whose leg had been cut off, had been murdered, and the compensation the Western Regions Army owed him had been embezzled!"

"I investigated all the way and discovered that it was actually several people from my own lineage behind it, with the victimized soldiers numbering even up to ten thousand!"

"I've confirmed it—they're currently in the Shen family."

Shen Qing chuckled: "After this round of killing, I don't even know how many Shen family members remain."

Shen Lingxiao snorted: "Corrupt branches ought to be wholly excised; at worst we tear everything down and start anew."

"By then you and Zhu Lingyue should have a few more kids, I'll have a few more on my side, and we'll start everything from scratch!"

Shen Qing laughed heartily; it seems Shen Lingxiao is also getting a bit twisted in his righteousness.

"Want me to help?"

Shen Lingxiao shook his head: "No need, I'm enough to kill these few people."

Shen Qing waved his hand: "You misunderstood—I'm not talking about killing these people, I'm talking about this case."

"You killing people in the Western Regions Border Army is no joke, but what about investigating the case? Are you sure you've cleared it clean? Can you be certain only these few are involved? What about the Ministry of Revenue personnel? Have you investigated the Minister?"

"I mean letting the Embroidered Uniform Guard help you; they might uncover more people."

"Killing must be thorough; eradicating evil must be exhaustive."

Shen Lingxiao's eyes lit up; this time discovering Shen family members was truly a coincidence—that person spoke up only because he saw Shen Lingxiao was a Shen family member; as for others, Shen Lingxiao really hasn't found much.

"Fine! I'll borrow the Embroidered Uniform Guard—let's turn this place upside down!"