Chapter 676: Extra Chapter 1: What Merit Do I Have, What Ability Do I Possess?

I was helped ashore by Zhong Susu, constantly looking around, searching for Xiao Jiu Zhanggui and their figures.

Zhong Susu had me sit by the mountain base and asked if I was cold.

I shook my head: "Not cold, thank you for saving me."

"No need to thank, we're friends." Zhong Susu said, "You also don't need to worry about Xiao Jiu and the others... how to put it? Well, for us now, whatever chieftain, Red Armor Army, Black Armor Army, are all a dimensional strike."

Zhong Susu spoke frankly: "Actually you should also understand by now, your Strength-to-Move-Mountains lineage was once strong because you gathered many talented and extraordinary people, but ultimately you're just mortal flesh."

Even if some of you have a bit of cultivation foundation, when facing cultivators of high Xiūwéi you still fall short, and moreover after so many years the Strength-to-Move-Mountains lineage has withered; its former mighty forces and grand momentum have long become fleeting clouds.

Originally that chieftain could repeatedly harm the merpeople using tricks and deceit, so this time Xiao Jiu sent me to help you because I can break their techniques and formations, while Xiao Jiu and the others first encircled and suppressed the Red Armor Army and Black Armor Army, cutting off reinforcements.

"This battle... was fought very easily."

I smiled and touched the pendant hanging from my neck.

At that moment the flame inside the pendant had vanished, returning to a black stone, warm and moist to the touch.

I said: "For me, this battle was not easy at all; if I alone had to face the chieftain and Shi Yin, I would not have survived."

"Xiao Jiu is the kind of friend who would stab both ribs for you, never letting anyone down." Zhong Susu said, "You will certainly not die."

She pointed at the pendant and asked: "Do you know what this is?"

I shook my head.

"It's an Affinity Stone." Zhong Susu said, "It originally belonged to the Chenghuang Temple; the matter of Jūnzhú Shān's Chenghuang Temple you should have heard of—Xiao Jiu and the others almost got trapped there, but in the end she still remembered to bring this Affinity Stone back, because she has always been concerned about you and Boss Jin."

Affinity Stone?

I looked at Zhong Susu in surprise and asked: "What is an Affinity Stone?"

Zhong Susu explained: "An Affinity Stone, as the name suggests, creates a bond between two people fatefully devoid of affinity, then, after being remodeled by Jin Wuya's ingenious craftsmanship, reaches the state where your two fates are intertwined."

I frowned: "What does it mean for fates to be intertwined?"

"It means if you get injured, Jin Wuya will bear half the injury; if you are on the verge of death, he too will be on the verge of death." Zhong Susu said, "You share life and death, share hardships."

In other words, from the moment I stepped out of Wufu Town Pawnshop, Jin Wuya had prepared himself to die alongside me.

With this Affinity Stone he remodeled, our fates are bound; if I die, he will die as well.

I felt moved; Jin Wuya's sincere heart toward me has never wavered, and it always makes me feel warm.

"As for that Earth Fetus Spiritual Power." Zhong Susu said, "Just now you should have seen—I used spiritual techniques to summon the merpeople's heroic spirits, infusing the Earth Fetus Spiritual Power into their spiritual bodies; this Earth Fetus Spiritual Power originally belongs to the merpeople, so it's essentially returning to its rightful owner."

"The vast sea, though merpeople are rare, they surely still exist; we have left a Fire Seed, hoping for the day they rebuild their clan, Shi Rou, you won't blame me for making this decision on my own, will you?"

"Of course not." I said, "If it were me, I would make the same choice. Susu, thank you really."

Zhong Susu smiled, looking toward the distant figure staggering over to us, and said: "I'll go check on Xiao Jiu and the others."

After saying that, she stood up and left.

Not long after, Jin Wuya walked up to me and embraced me: "Shi Rou, it's all right."

I also held him tightly: "Wuya, we really made it through."

We held each other for a while; when Jin Wuya loosened his grip, he reached to take off the pendant hanging from my neck, I covered it and asked: "What are you trying to do?"

"The matter is settled, we no longer need it." Jin Wuya said, "It is a yin artifact I remodeled; destroying it still requires me to continue a series of modifications..."

He hadn't finished speaking when I cut him off, questioning: "I know this is an Affinity Stone, Jin Wuya—we have just established a fate bond between us, and you actually want to destroy it yourself?"

Jin Wuya hadn't expected Zhong Susu to have already told me about the Affinity Stone; he pondered then said: "Shi Rou, I'm just an ordinary ingenious craftsman; those in this line not only suffer the five flaws and three shortcomings, but may also not live long, whereas you are different—your constitution is special, having absorbed Earth Fetus Spiritual Power, perhaps you can later enter the true gate of cultivation, and you may live much longer than I."

"So?" I said, "Do you think I'm afraid of death? You could save me by giving me half your life; why can't I do the same? Even if I later receive guidance and enter the cultivation gate, wouldn't you also benefit? Jin Wuya, my life can also be split to give you half."

I stared unblinkingly at Jin Wuya's eyes, earnestly: "In this life I'm sticking to you; you can't escape, I won't allow it!"

Jin Wuya has never been able to decide for me; this time is still the same!

He felt moved yet helpless, merely murmuring: "What merit do I have, what ability do I possess?"

That night, the chieftain and Shi Yin finally died at the hands of the heroic merpeople spirits.

Xiao Jiu Zhanggui led people to confiscate the Red Armor Army and Black Armor Army.

Moreover, Zhong Susu and Liu Qiye jointly altered the feng shui pattern of the flood dragon's sortie to sea, destroyed that ancient tomb; after a tremor that shook the mountains and raised the water level, looking from afar, the feng shui pattern of the flood dragon's sortie to sea vanished completely.

I stayed at Wufu Town Pawnshop for a few days to rest and recover.

A few days later I returned to Lingnan with Jin Wuya.

At that time, my second older cousin was running amok in the Shi Family, trying to seize power.

After all, grandfather, elder uncle, second younger uncle, and the elder cousin's family have mostly passed away; even by seniority, it should be the second older cousin's turn to take charge.

He perhaps never imagined I could still return alive.

But I not only returned, within half a month I investigated the origins of my second older cousin down to the root.

He is actually not the biological son of my second younger uncle at all...

Over the next few months I returned to the business world, continuously consolidating the Shi Family's assets with ruthless methods.

Rumors spread that the former 'Lingnan Black Widow' had returned.

Only I understand that I am not the 'Lingnan Black Widow', nor a timid ghost bursting with maternal instinct; all of this is merely someone manipulating my fate behind the scenes.

After breaking free from all that, I am simply myself.

I am simply Shi Rou.