Chapter 55: Wind and Thunder Sun-Melting Tome

"..."

Shen Yi looked over calmly and raised one finger. "First, that's your Jiang Shijie Lin. It has nothing to do with me. I may have taken a small advantage, but in the end, it was a deal both of us agreed to."

Hearing that, Fang Heng's eyes went wide.

"Second." Shen Yi raised another finger, his voice suddenly dropping lower. "Have your Jiang Shijie Lin come over. I'd love to see if she can draw a line at the courtyard gate."

After those two sentences, Fang Heng fell into a daze.

Instead, everyone except Li Mujin unconsciously pursed their lips, looking a little forlorn.

That unbearable memory surged back into his mind.

In that shabby side room in Bai Yunxian, Jiang Shijie Lin, wearing the other party's clothes, had been bustling about while that damned man just stood by the table waiting.

Judging by that situation, what Shen Yi said wasn't really false.

Only, what he relied on was most likely not strength, but some other miscellaneous things.

"Lastly."

Shen Yi looked toward the little old lady woken up at the door of the house. Seeing her timidly leaning against the doorframe, he gave a helpless smile, and his voice unconsciously softened a great deal: "He struck first."

The old lady nodded and said softly, "I saw everything. It was Heng'er being unreasonable. You're a good child. You only taught him a small lesson to help him remember—it's a good thing. Better than being taught a lesson by someone else outside."

Hearing that, Li Xinhan and the others couldn't help but shake their heads inwardly.

This old lady really thought a martial artist's fight was just children roughhousing. The two of them didn't even have a scratch; the fight hadn't even started yet.

Still, seeing Fang Heng get the short end of the stick was quite rare.

"Thank you for your care these past few days. This junior takes his leave."

Shen Yi cupped his hands slightly, turned, and walked out of the small courtyard.

Li Xinhan saw Fang Heng standing dumbfounded on the spot with no intention of stopping them, and only then breathed a sigh of relief before leading the others to follow.

After walking some distance, he was still somewhat puzzled: "What just happened? Why did he suddenly pull back?"

Li Mujin slowly caught up from behind, sheathed her short sword, and said casually, "Who knows. Maybe he ran too fast and threw out his back."

As she spoke, she glanced curiously at Shen Yi.

Although she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she had heard of the five signature skills of the Commander in his youth. The least imposing among them was Pulse-Seizing Dragon-Catching.

Connecting that with Fang Heng's expression and movements just now—

She quietly glanced at the hand resting on the scabbard. Hmm, fair and slender—truly quite pretty.

"Sis, will this affect your relationship with him?"

Li Xinhan rubbed his brow with a slight headache: "After all, he's the son-in-law Father personally chose. Sending you into Zhen Mo Si was partly to get familiar with things ahead of time."

"Bullshit son-in-law."

Li Mujin withdrew her gaze and said dismissively, "The moment trouble comes, he pulls out his senior sister. Just a kid who never grew up."

Hearing that, the others looked oddly at one another. Li Xinhan's expression shifted slightly: "I didn't ask you to come. If my men hadn't been left elsewhere, I wouldn't have needed to call you out this time."

As he spoke, he glanced at Shen Yi to his side and rear, feeling slightly surprised.

Setting everything else aside, that composure when facing Fang Heng alone far surpassed his own.

Such temperament, yet emerging from a small place like Bai Yunxian—truly hard to fathom.

"We're setting out immediately. Do you have any other needs?"

Hearing that, Shen Yi didn't bother with pleasantries and nodded: "I need a Jade Liquid Realm internal cultivation manual."

"No... what Boss Li means is whether you need something immediately useful, like weapons or armor." Liu XiuJie smacked his lips. What kind of thinking was this? About to go slay demons and exorcise evils, and he wants to bring a book—what good is that?

"If you're willing to tie yourself to the Qingzhou Li clan, I can give it to you right now."

Li Xinhan stopped walking and said something that left the others somewhat shocked: "Come to my family as a clan-protecting guest elder, or if there's a marriage connection, either works. A legitimate daughter is a bit difficult, but any collateral or concubine-born girl you fancy, I can play matchmaker for you."

Setting aside the latter—after all, a Zhen Mo Si Captain willing to marry a Li collateral Miss wasn't exactly reaching above his station.

But a clan-protecting guest elder was a different matter entirely.

Compared to those hired with silver, the words "clan-protecting" meant effectively joining the Li clan—a lifelong guardianship, even closer in relationship than a collateral clan member.

The problem was that no matter how promising Shen Yi was, no matter how high his aptitude for martial arts, at present he was only at the peak of the Initial Realm.

Even if he broke through to the Jade Liquid Realm tomorrow, as long as he hadn't, the odds were ninety-nine percent the same as not having it.

On the path of martial arts, it might look like half a step could carry you across, but you could wait until you became a handful of ashes and that foot would still be hanging in midair. That was perfectly normal.

"Why not a legitimate daughter?"

Li Mujin tilted her head slightly, curious.

Li Xinhan's eye twitched twice: "Because when it comes to your matters, I don't get the final say. I need Father's approval."

"Ha." Li Mujin reached out and draped her arm over Shen Yi's shoulder, laughing: "Just a joke, little friend. Don't be nervous."

Shen Yi brushed off her hand and looked calmly at Li Xinhan: "What about Zhen Mo Si's martial arts?"

"..."

Li Xinhan was a little disappointed—even such generous treatment couldn't move him.

Still, he patiently explained: "Although you're wearing the cloud-patterned shirt, after all you don't quite count as one of Zhen Mo Si yet. It's different here from the great clans and sects outside. Out there, a young disciple with talent and aptitude is usually treated like a treasure."

"Because once you join a sect, from then on you're family. The stronger you are, the stronger the sect or clan becomes. You're one and the same."

"Is Zhen Mo Si different, then?" This was the first time Shen Yi had heard such a view.

"Of course it's different."

Li Mujin pursed her lips and waved her hand: "Zhen Mo Si leans on the imperial court and doesn't need to grow big or strong. It only wants Qingzhou stable. Whether it's demons or fierce martial artists, to it they're all things that disrupt Qingzhou's peaceful state of affairs."

"Of course, it does need sufficient martial force to intimidate the four quarters."

"The premise is you have to show you're a blade that slays demons, not a parasite that just consumes precious medicines and does Qingzhou no good at all."

The beggar stepped forward and took over: "Put bluntly, it's work first, then eat... At least when you flash the cloud pattern on your sleeve, you should have some merit to back it up."

"As a reward, what Zhen Mo Si gives back will exceed the limit of what any sect could offer."

"For example, the Wind Thunder Sun-Melting Tome that breaks through to the Jade Liquid Realm can seamlessly connect with the Wind Thunder Scroll. Search the entirety of Outside Qingzhou—among Jade Liquid inner-arts that surpass it, even counting rumored ones, you won't find three."

As he spoke, the beggar glanced at the Li siblings beside him, organizing his words: "The Li clan is already an extremely renowned noble house in Qingzhou, yet their inherited inner-art can only connect a hundred and twenty-six apertures, whereas the Zhen Mo Si's inner-art can drive a full two hundred and seventy apertures—cultivation efficiency more than doubles."

"Hey!"

Li Xinhan couldn't help but kick him: "You think you know everything."

"…"

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze, and the hand gripping his blade tightened a few degrees more.

(End of chapter)