Chapter 9: Heaven Stride Sword Sect

At the entrance of the now fully repaired courtyard, a group of people from the Heaven Stride Sword Sect surrounded the gate, watching the little Daoist boy sitting there.

"This little sister looks truly festive."

"Becoming a nun at such a young age..."

"Young Sect Master, don't tell me this chubby little girl is our landlord?"

A Nu's gaze turned deeply resentful.

Shen Tang found it amusing and asked softly, "Little sister, why are you sitting here alone? Where is your master?"

A Nu sniffled, "Master said that if I sit here to welcome guests, they will surely give me candy because they think I'm cute. He lied to me; you not only didn't give me candy, but you also scolded me."

Upon hearing this, the Heaven Stride Sword Sect elder who had just carelessly called her a chubby little girl suddenly felt embarrassed. He patted his clothes to see if he had any candy, then smiled apologetically and sealed a red envelope, saying, "Little sister, take this to buy candy."

In the next moment, more than a dozen red envelopes were stuffed into A Nu's arms. A Nu hugged the red envelopes, stood up, and darted into the main gate, slamming it shut with a "Bang!"

The elder: "?"

A Nu's voice came from inside the gate: "Master said that before he returns, children are not allowed to open the door."

Silence fell outside the gate.

So you were sitting here acting cute just to scam money?

"Miss Shen Tang arrives quite early." Lu Xingzhou's voice sounded. Shen Tang turned to look and saw Lu Xingzhou approaching alone, slowly propelling his wheelchair, looking very strained.

Shen Tang pressed her lips together. She could always see herself in Lu Xingzhou, and every time she saw him, her heart would soften considerably.

She clearly knew this mindset wasn't quite right... this man ought not to need anyone's pity.

She sighed and said softly, "I specifically had A Nu put on this performance at the gate... Is the character of my Heaven Stride Sword Sect to your satisfaction, Mr.?"

Lu Xingzhou was stunned. This Shen Tang seemed even more perceptive than Sheng Yuanyao, who hailed from the generations-long Demon Suppression Bureau; she had seen right through him in one glance, realizing he was observing the character of the Heaven Stride Sword Sect.

"Miss is overthinking it." Lu Xingzhou looked around, "Where is Miss Qingli?"

"Miss Qingli has other urgent matters." Shen Tang's expression was somewhat strange; you really care about Qingli...

But one of her urgent matters is to investigate you...

Lu Xingzhou opened the main gate and pointed to a corner of the west wing, "That area is my and A Nu's residence and alchemy room; it is not for rent. The rest belongs to you; arrange it yourself."

Having spoken, he entered directly, seemingly lacking the interest to greet the others since Qingli was not present.

A young man watched Lu Xingzhou's retreating figure as he entered the gate and said in a low, displeased voice, "This person is rude."

Shen Tang said indifferently, "After all, it is merely a relationship between landlord and tenant; how much enthusiasm is needed? You and I are now down on our luck and long no longer what we once were; curb your arrogance."

The young man pressed his lips in unconvinced silence and did not reply.

Shen Tang ignored him and turned to the elder who had given A Nu the red envelope, saying, "Uncle Zhong, hang the plaque."

The elder nodded, leaped into the air, and hung the plaque on the gate behind him.

The curtain on the plaque was lifted, revealing the characters "Shen Family Merchant House" written on it.

The people of the Heaven Stride Sword Sect wore various expressions, with quite a few showing displeasure.

Although everyone was considered refugees and could no longer hang the Heaven Stride Sword Sect's sign, having to use a merchant house name to conceal their identity, they could have simply started a new merchant house name. What does using "Shen Family" mean? Has this become your family's enterprise?

You, Shen Tang, are merely a disciple of the former Sect Master, not a daughter. Even if you were a daughter, we are a sect, not a sword family!

But for some reason, no one publicly challenged her; only a few exchanged glances. Shen Tang took everyone's expressions in, smiled slightly, and entered first.

"Such a pack of homeless dogs, yet even they are united in name only." Inside the alchemy room, Lu Xingzhou and A Nu sat opposite each other eating biscuits, sighing, "Actually, it's not bad for outsiders to misunderstand us as a family enterprise; they won't guess towards a sect direction. Since they know it's a cover name, the more thoroughly we mislead them, the better. What exactly are they agonizing over?"

It was unknown how the master and disciple pair had seen the scene outside the gate.

A Nu rested her chin on her hand, "They are just unwilling to accept a young woman being in charge. Back then, Sister Yu was so powerful, yet because she was a little girl, she added a lot of trouble."

"Yuan Muyu looked fourteen or fifteen on the outside; in others' eyes, she was truly a little girl... Shen Tang is at least twenty-one or twenty-two."

"Anyway, whether it was Sister Yu back then or Sister Shen Tang now, they are both older than you, right?"

"... What does being older or younger have to do with me?"

"Hmph, hmph." A Nu hummed, "Truly locked your heart and love away?"

"Women will only affect my efficiency in raising children."

A Nu's expression unconsciously brightened several degrees, and she said joyfully, "By the way, didn't Master say they might not be from the Heaven Stride Sword Sect?"

"Uncertain; I just feel something is strange." Lu Xingzhou stopped halfway, suddenly stunned, "Shen Tang is coming this way... She just arrived and hasn't even settled the personnel or assigned housing yet; instead, she comes to find me first?"

A Nu closed her mouth and looked curiously at the door.

Not long after, a knocking sound came, and Shen Tang's voice was heard, "I have some words I wish to speak with Mr. Lu."

"Come in; the door isn't locked."

Shen Tang pushed the door open and, seeing the big and small figures sitting opposite each other eating biscuits, couldn't help but smile, "I hope I'm not disturbing your meal."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Miss, you wouldn't be here to mooch a meal, would you? I can't afford to feed your hundreds of people."

Shen Tang smiled, "Quite the opposite. We will hire a chef to handle the merchant house's meals; in the future, the wise master and disciple can eat with us."

"Polite. Miss Shen Tang, what is it you need from me, this landlord?"

"These past few days, the Danxia Gang has been spreading rumors in the city, saying your alchemy skills are very ordinary, that the pills you previously refined were the result of others' assistance, and that you even stole from within the guard..."

Lu Xingzhou raised an eyebrow, "Oh, they actually know?"

Shen Tang was choked up, only continuing after a long pause, "I think they don't actually know; they are just maliciously slandering you to make it impossible for you to survive in Xiazhou, so no one will be willing to take you in. After all, you offended the Danxia Gang terribly this time; it would be strange if Liu Qingcang didn't vent this anger."

Lu Xingzhou smiled, "More than that... he hired assassins to kill me last night."

Shen Tang's expression changed slightly, but she saw Lu Xingzhou continue, "Now that I am living with Miss Shen, if they still plan to attack me with force, doesn't someone have my back?"

Shen Tang gazed into his eyes, "Did you design this rental situation just to have us block disasters for you?"

Lu Xingzhou did not deny it, "That is part of the reason... but Miss is also willing, isn't she? After all, Bai Chi was poached from you; Miss also wants to show them some color, otherwise the team will be hard to lead in the future."

"Since Mr. needs our martial strength, and we need Mr.'s alchemy skills, cooperation is natural. We have just arrived; even if we intend to cause trouble for Bai Chi, it is inappropriate to forcibly clash with the Danxia Gang militarily. If we can strike them down on the level of pills, that is the best choice."

"I have said, I will not join your sect."

"There is no need for Mr. to join the sect. We will provide medicinal materials and pay Mr. to refine pills. Mr. needs a large amount of pill refining to improve his own alchemy skills anyway; this is also one of the reasons you were willing to stay at the Danxia Gang as an alchemist, correct?"

Lu Xingzhou looked at Shen Tang with some surprise for a while, then asked curiously, "I've schemed against you quite a lot, Miss—why do you still accommodate me so readily… There are plenty of pill masters in Xiazhou. I don't believe you couldn't have invited some excellent pill master willing to join Ru Sect. Why bother going to such lengths…"

Shen Tang smiled gently. "A person who has a heart full of his own troubles yet still takes the trouble to advise me against doing something rash… is worth accommodating."

Lu Xingzhou pressed his lips together and did not reply.

The one who felt compassion was Anuo, not himself. This kindness, then, was received with a guilty conscience.

"Besides…" Shen Tang patted her own wheelchair, then glanced at Lu Xingzhou's leg, a touch of melancholy in her smile: "We are both people fallen to the ends of the earth—we ought to help each other."

Anuo, ever sensible, had not interrupted. She nibbled at her biscuit in small bites, her gaze shuttling back and forth between her master and Shen Tang.

Lu Xingzhou's gaze also fell on Shen Tang's leg, but there was no focus in his eyes, as though he were lost in thought. After a long while he said, "The theft I committed under the nose of the Danxia Gang was real. I wonder whether Miss Qingli saw it at the time."

Shen Tang was taken aback for a moment and did not answer right away.

Lu Xingzhou continued, "With my character, do you really dare to keep company with me? Aren't you afraid I'll take advantage of you lot?"

"Heh…" Shen Tang laughed. "I did some research. The treatment they gave you was only slightly better than that of an ordinary eighth-rank pill master, yet what you gave them in return far exceeded expectations. Not only did you refine pills above the required grade, you also helped them build a pill-refining system and train apprentices, free of charge. You're only a pill master, not a hall master—you never needed to labor over something like that. Could it be that you were deliberately paying back the cost of the pills you stole?"

Yes, which is why Liu Qingcang and his daughter found Lu Xingzhou's behavior bafflingly servile and, unable to make sense of it, both filled in the blanks by assuming he was doing it all for Liu Yan'er.

Yet in truth, he was simply using this method to repay the cost of the stolen pills. How could bystanders possibly see that clearly?

Sheng Yuanyao watched from start to finish and never figured this out. Shen Tang, merely hearing it relayed by Miss Qingli, could understand it so thoroughly.

"You certainly know how to find excuses for me." Lu Xingzhou was silent for a long while, then said flatly, "Is it possible I'm simply the kind of person who stops at nothing to make money?"

Shen Tang looked at him, her features gentle: "Suppose we say that's so."

Lu Xingzhou suddenly felt that gaze was a little hard to bear. He pressed his lips together, turned his head, and asked, "Your esteemed sect switched from a sword sect to a merchant guild—what business do you mainly do, and what is your model?"

Shen Tang was briefly stunned, then realized this person had finally moved past the distant "landlord and tenant" relationship and arrived at wanting to help each other a little.

She laughed, her brows and eyes curving—quite lovely.

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PS: Why has failed confession become a thing in the female-oriented novels? I read your comments yesterday and scratched my head all day without figuring it out. Didn't Minghe reject Qin Yi before too? So is Old Man Qin a femme-fatale emperor of the female-oriented novels?

(End of this chapter)