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墨書 Inktalez
A transparent arcane barrier stood before Shen Jinglan and the others, isolating the emerald green poison smoke outside.
Taking advantage of the cover provided by the poison smoke, Mu Ruo Song and Wu Shuang fled swiftly. They ultimately lacked the courage to fight to the death and only wanted to escape as quickly as possible.
The reverence that the Evil Sect had for their leader, Shen Jinglan, was ingrained in their bones.
"Quick, go chase them—" Shaoyuan did not expect this turn of events and urged anxiously.
"Hey, why aren't you moving?"
Shen Jinglan remained calm, sitting still while Spirit Sword Destiny stood quietly behind him; both were composed.
Spirit Sword Destiny said, "I have already planted the Tracking Technique on Mu Ruo Song. Wherever he hides later, whom he contacts, and what the Righteous Path is plotting, we will know."
Shen Jinglan added, "I have protected the inkstone for him; they will never discover this Tracking Technique."
"What?" Their synchronized responses left Shaoyuan stunned. "When did you two discuss this?"
Spirit Sword Destiny scoffed.
"Is there really a need to discuss such matters?"
This was simply their years of tacit understanding. Not even a glance was necessary for them to understand each other.
"Human hearts are truly complex and unpredictable... I really want to know what you and the leader are thinking; it must be quite interesting," Shaoyuan sighed once more.
He and Spirit Sword Destiny were riding on clouds, soaring over hills and rivers.
Seeing that Spirit Sword Destiny did not respond, Shaoyuan secretly glanced at him and said, "If you want to give up on life, don't forget to let me know. I'll sink you to the bottom of my family's pond and see what dreams you have, okay?"
"I still want to live... I think it's you who doesn't want to live," Spirit Sword Destiny replied coldly.
Shaoyuan immediately fell silent.
Spirit Sword Destiny knew it was pointless to argue with him. This guy's mind was still immature; everything he said could only be taken as childish nonsense.
After a brief silence, Shaoyuan spoke again, "Aren't you supposed to be my servant? You don't seem like one; where's the servant who talks back to their master?"
Spirit Sword Destiny retorted, "Once we are in front of others, it will naturally be different."
He had changed his appearance, now looking like an ordinary young man dressed in coarse blue cloth.
Taking advantage of Mu Ruo Song's fish swimming outside and not being reeled in yet, Shaoyuan decided to handle some personal matters.
—To resolve the unfinished business of the Shaoyuan he had consumed, along with the lingering causality and unfulfilled wishes.
Shenmo's act of consuming someone meant merging with that person's soul, gaining their memories and bearing their emotions. The strongest desires of the consumed individual would generally be fulfilled by Shenmo on their behalf.
Shaoyuan was here to do just that.
As they spoke, a villa nestled against the mountains and water appeared before them.
The Fan Family by Yingyue Lake was a prominent family in the region, having flourished for hundreds of years. This villa certainly exuded an extraordinary presence.
The two landed at the entrance of the villa.
"This young master, what brings you here?" the gatekeeper asked respectfully as he approached.
Shaoyuan had inherited the appearance of the person he had consumed, dressed in a manner that exuded nobility, truly resembling a young master.
As for Spirit Sword Destiny, he appeared quite unremarkable, standing behind Shaoyuan with his head lowered, clearly identifiable as a servant.
"What brings me here?" Shaoyuan replied. "I came to meet an old friend. Fan Buyun isn't dead yet, is he?"
The gatekeeper's expression suddenly changed.
Addressing Master by name, didn't that imply he was here to challenge them?
Without saying much more, he raised his hand and released a signal arrow.
Before long, someone led a group of Guards who hurriedly approached, pouring out from the villa.
The leading Muscular Man said, "Are these the ones here to challenge us?"
He didn't even glance at Shaoyuan, directing his question at the gatekeeper.
Seeing the gatekeeper nod, the Muscular Man's expression turned cold as he finally looked at Shaoyuan. "You wish to challenge us? You must be in the wrong place. The last person who came to challenge us has already been thrown into the lake to feed the fish; I imagine that experience was quite unpleasant!"
"Is that so?" Shaoyuan smiled. "If you've never fed fish yourself, how do you know it’s unpleasant?"
"Yes, Master," Spirit Sword Destiny replied at the right moment. "I will throw them all into the lake to feed the fish, so they can personally experience what it feels like, and then come back to report to you."
"What a big mouth!" Muscular Man shouted angrily.
When the conversation turned sour, there was no way to continue.
He raised his hand, and everyone drew their swords, charging at the two.
Spirit Sword Destiny suddenly vanished from his spot.
Like a ghostly shadow, he weaved through the crowd—
With each appearance, someone screamed and fell.
"Since I've thrown so much fish food into the lake today, it should save quite a few fish that are about to starve. Doesn't that count as a great merit?" Shaoyuan continued to watch from the sidelines, grinning.
Spirit Sword Destiny's speed was so fast that with every word Shaoyuan spoke, someone fell bleeding.
As the master, he had to remain enigmatic; of course, he didn't need to take action himself.
—Besides, if he did take action, it would be easy for others to see Shenmo's true identity. Because he was completely clueless about human magic.
The strong smell of blood wafted through the air.
Azure Stone The polished floor was also smeared with fresh blood.
The servant stared blankly. He was so frightened that he didn't even dare to run away.
To injure so many people without blinking an eye, this truly is a ruthless killer!
"Hey, it's not over yet; throw them all in to feed the fish!" Shaoyuan said to Spirit Sword Destiny.
"Yes, Master." Spirit Sword Destiny shot a glare at the servant, but obediently kicked each corpse into the lake, splashing water everywhere.
Shaoyuan turned back to look at the servant, just about to say something when the man suddenly weakened and collapsed. He had fainted.
"Now there isn't a living person left. Who will take us to see Fan Buyun?" Shaoyuan frowned.
At that moment, another person hurried from the villa.
Though it was just one person, his aura was far stronger than the group that had come earlier.
He initially exuded a chilling killing intent, but upon seeing Shaoyuan, it all vanished suddenly.
"Young Master Yuan, is... is it you? You've returned?"
The old man asked tremulously.
This old man was the steward of the Fan Family, seemingly having watched Fan Shaoyuan grow up.
They brought them in and settled them in a courtyard.
"Young Master Yuan, your Flower Appreciation Garden has fallen into disrepair and can no longer accommodate anyone. You can rest here."
He seemed to have a lot to say, but when the words reached his lips, he shook his head and found an excuse to leave.
"Master is temporarily not seeing outsiders. Should we wait a bit longer? This old fellow really has a big attitude! Who does he think he is, acting more important than the leader?" Staying in the side room, Shaoyuan murmured, "Since we don't know where he is, why not just kill them all?"
"You can do whatever you want." Spirit Sword Destiny had already found a chair and sat down, saying lightly, "This is your experience, not mine. How much you can comprehend on this trip depends entirely on yourself."
Shaoyuan thought for a moment, and for once, a serious expression appeared on his usually unserious face.
"Killing a few hundred people is easy anywhere; this opportunity only comes once, so I must treat it well."
Shenmo had no intention of it; cultivation was a process of refining the heart. The more transparent Shenmo's thoughts were, the stronger their abilities became. Human emotions are complex and changeable, far more so than demons, which is why Shenmo enjoyed pondering human hearts the most.
To completely devour a person allows one to feel that person's emotions and sensations without any barriers, which certainly has great benefits for understanding human hearts. However, a single Shenmo could usually only devour once; otherwise, two different souls would interfere with each other and disrupt their already fragile Divine Consciousness.
So this kind of opportunity truly comes only once.
"Then what do you want to do?" Spirit Sword Destiny asked.
"Apart from seeking revenge on that old fellow, I have another obsession: to meet a woman named Li Ji. I didn't take her with me back then, and I've been worried about how she has been since." Shaoyuan nodded vigorously at this point. "Alright, let's go see her now."
"Where should we meet her?" Spirit Sword Destiny slowly stood up and asked.
"She used to live in my Flower Appreciation Garden, of course I would go there to see her."
"You didn't hear that old steward? The Flower Appreciation Garden has long been abandoned; it doesn't look like anyone lives there anymore."
"Ah?" Shaoyuan was taken aback by this.
Spirit Sword Destiny continued, "What you remember is her appearance from years ago. After so many years, if she hasn't practiced cultivation, she may have already died. Even if she hasn't, she would be unrecognizable. How would you find her?"
"Then I'll just ask someone," Shaoyuan said.
He walked to the threshold and waved his hand to summon a maid waiting outside, asking, "Is there someone named Li Ji in this estate? Where does she live?"
The maid timidly replied, "Young master, it seems there isn't anyone by that name in the estate. I really don't know..."
Waving his hand to dismiss the maid, Shaoyuan said, "Could it be that she's gone? I might as well search the back garden myself."
As the two of them left the guest room and stepped out of the courtyard, a hurried sound of footsteps came from behind.
The maid caught up and called out, "Young master, wait! I just remembered, there is indeed someone named Li Ji in the estate. Do you want to see her now? I can lead you there."
Shaoyuan believed her and let her guide him.
Spirit Sword Destiny thought that it seemed she had already consulted Fan Buyun.
The maid led the way, her figure in a light green dress gracefully weaving through one maze-like courtyard after another.
After a while, she finally stopped in front of a courtyard.
"We've arrived, young master. This is Li Ji's residence. She rarely comes out, so she should be inside now," she said.
Looking through the moon gate, the interior was serene and quiet, with a dense canopy of leaves in the center of the courtyard, resembling a giant locust tree.
The maid waited outside as Shaoyuan walked in, followed by Spirit Sword Destiny.
"Eh?"
The bright moonlight spilled into the overgrown courtyard. In the moonlight, many Black Flowers could still be seen blooming among the weeds, their dark petals speckled with white spots, resembling the eyes of the deceased.
Shaoyuan looked up at the sky and said curiously, "Something feels off."
"What's wrong?" Spirit Sword Destiny had already noticed something and casually asked.
"I clearly saw a big tree in this courtyard just now. Why is it gone as soon as we entered?"
Spirit Sword Destiny couldn't be bothered to answer him when a soft and melodious female voice said, "Shaoyuan? Is it really you who has come?"
The voice trembled slightly, filled with immense joy.
They saw the woman rushing out from a dilapidated building.
Without any makeup, dressed in simple white garments, she looked ethereal under the moonlight, like a fairy.
“Li Ji?” Shaoyuan seemed to recognize her.
The woman appeared young, likely not much different from how he remembered her.
“Shaoyuan… after all these years, I thought you were…” she said softly, “I didn’t expect to see you again.”
She couldn’t help but throw herself into Shaoyuan’s arms.
Shaoyuan was taken aback and awkwardly embraced her. He had never felt anything like this before and found himself a bit flustered. He also didn’t notice the surprise that flashed in Li Ji’s eyes for a moment.
“I can’t believe you… are still exactly the same as before, not changed at all,” Shaoyuan said.
From the perspective of Spirit Sword Destiny, he performed quite well. Shaoyuan’s standing in the Shenmo clan was indeed remarkable.
“You’re smiling again. Over sixty years ago, you always liked to play dumb to tease me,” Li Ji said. “Can’t you see that I have become an Earthbound Spirit trapped in this courtyard? I couldn’t wait to see you alive; I died a long time ago.”
Though she smiled slightly, there was an undeniable sorrow in her expression.
“What? You… are an Earthbound Spirit?” Shaoyuan was taken aback.
Li Ji replied with a soft “Mm,” and gently said, “You came too late, too late… Have you suffered a lot out there, barely managing to survive? Fortunately, our enemy is still alive. You came back this time to seek revenge, right?”
She looked straight at Shaoyuan; this seemingly fragile woman had an unusually determined expression.
“Enemy?”
"That's right. Do you know why your father kicked you out? You've gotten into bigger troubles before, and he always just scolded you a bit and let it go. But this time, he was determined to drive you away, and no one could plead for you. I wonder, did he send someone to hunt you down?"
"You guessed it," Shaoyuan said. "I’ve been trying to figure it out... He took in an adopted son, and suddenly he couldn't stand me anymore. His own flesh and blood became worthless in his eyes. Has he lost his mind?"
"That's not it. Haven't you figured it out yet?" Li Ji shook her head. "Your father has never lost his mind. That man is not your father at all—your father has long been Soul Possessed! The adopted son, Fan Min, is actually his biological son."
"This is what I've gradually uncovered while pretending to be compliant... Your father was killed by them, and even I... I was forced to death by them too. Why didn't you take me with you when you left home..."
Tears streamed down her face, resembling a pear blossom.
"I see now, I see now..." Shaoyuan said. "I'll go kill them right away and avenge you and my father!"
He turned to leave.
His sleeve was suddenly grabbed by Li Ji.
"Do you remember the ancestral Taikang Sword? You gave it to me to please me, and I've kept it well all this time. That venomous father and son have tried to pry the location of the sword from me several times. But even if I die, what can they use to threaten me? Over the years, they've tried every means possible, turning the manor upside down, but they still haven't found it. I've kept this secret for so long; it's finally time to reveal it. I'll tell you where the sword is hidden; once you retrieve it, let this celestial sword lend you its strength!"
She whispered something into Shaoyuan's ear.
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