Chapter 17

Hearing her daughter call out Shen Lian's name, Chen Shi felt very strange.

Shen Ruoxi let out a low exclamation, seeing Shen Lian pass through the wall without any hindrance, her expression was full of astonishment.

Chen Shi touched Shen Ruoxi's forehead, which was still a bit hot, and said, "Don't think about other things now, just rest well."

Shen Ruoxi whispered, "Mother, I just saw Shen Lian."

"You're still running a fever. Shen Lian is still locked up in the courtyard by the east wing and can't come out, let alone at this late hour." Chen Shi thought her daughter was seeing things due to her fever.

While Chen Shi was busy preparing some light porridge for Shen Ruoxi, Shen Lian had already floated back to his residence.

Seeing his body lying peacefully on the bed, breathing faintly, he returned to it.

Shen Lian slowly opened his eyes, feeling extremely exhausted, with a strong urge to fall into a deep sleep.

He forced himself to keep his eyes open, feeling the waves of fatigue from his body, comparing the difference between his current state and before he left his body, to have a clear understanding.

Then, responding to his body's call, he covered himself with the quilt and fell into a deep sleep without any meditation.

He had a dreamless night, and it was already morning when he woke up.

Shen Lian opened the door, and the sun was already high in the sky. He hadn't slept in so late for a long time, and he felt full of energy.

As soon as he opened the door, a maid noticed and brought hot water for Shen Lian to wash up.

Wiping his face with a hot towel, the maid looked at Shen Lian, thinking that the young master was becoming more and more ethereal, standing there with a face like a jade crown and black hair flowing, looking like a little immortal.

The maid couldn't help but blush, hoping that if Shen Lian were to marry and have children, he wouldn't dismiss them.

Indeed, although Shen Lian wasn't very close to people, he never lost his temper, being elegant and calm, both distant and approachable.

He was like the sun in winter, not scorching but high above, evoking respect.

Shen Lian didn't pay attention to the maid's thoughts, only feeling that the world was more beautiful, with a sense that seeing mountains was not just seeing mountains, and seeing water was not just seeing water.

Every scene was lovely,

Every object was dear.

He no longer needed to leave his body to disperse his soul power, greatly enhancing his perception.

Unfortunately, he still couldn't figure out how to use his soul power to harm or control enemies, nor did he dare to leave his body to absorb the essence of the sun and moon or the strange forces of the earth, for fear of any accidents.

The 'Soul-Extinguishing Sword' of the man in the green robe was something he was determined to obtain, as only then could he maximize his current advantages.

******

The wealthiest family in Qingzhou City was the Shen family, but Qingzhou City was not only rich because of the Shen family.

The Shen family owned the deeds to most of the shops in Qingzhou City, and even many of the residential houses were sold by the Shen family. Profitable businesses were either run by the Shen family or had a share in them.

However, there was one industry, though highly profitable, that the Shen family never touched: pawnbroking!

No matter what you wanted to pawn in Qingzhou City, you could only go to the Xu family's pawnshop.

Apart from the Xu family's pawnshop, there was no other place in the entire Qingzhou Prefecture that did this business.

Any business that became a monopoly was highly profitable.

The Xu family, though not as wealthy as the Shen family, was not to be underestimated.

More importantly, the Shen family would never make things difficult for the Xu family in Qingzhou Prefecture.

Because the Xu family and the Shen family were in-laws.

Shen Lian's maternal uncle, Shen Qingshi, had married the Xu family's daughter, who was not very friendly to Shen Lian.

The Xu family had become wealthy even earlier than the Shen family, but without a figure like Old Master Shen, they were eventually surpassed.

Fortunately, Old Master Xu had been very insightful in his lifetime, helping Old Master Shen a lot and arranging the marriage.

Sadly, Old Master Xu passed away shortly after the marriage was arranged.

He didn't live to see his daughter marry into the Shen family, nor did he foresee that the Shen family, which he had helped, had already become a towering tree in Qingzhou Prefecture.

There was a reason why Xu Shi couldn't have children. After Old Master Xu's death, Xu Shi's brother, Xu Hong, the head of the Xu family, was bewitched and began to worship an evil deity, believing it would bring continued wealth to the Xu family.

This evil deity was well-known in the folk, the Five Passages Deity, who was both a god of wealth and an evil deity.

The Five Passages Deity particularly enjoyed defiling the wives and daughters of those who worshipped him.

After the Xu family began to worship the Five Passages Deity, Xu Shi, before her marriage, suffered greatly from the five evil deities, and perhaps due to her poor constitution, she developed an inability to bear children.

At this moment, in the inner courtyard of the Xu family, even though it was daytime, no one was around Lady Yan's room, and moans of pain and confusion could be heard from inside.

Only when the moans weakened and almost ceased did a young man, holding a sword, walk out of the bedroom, looking very imposing.

If Shen Lian were here, he would recognize this person as the evil spirit that had entered Shen Ruoxi's dream.

After the young man left, Xu Hong entered from a small side door, seeing his wife, Lady Yan, lying on the bed, barely alive, feeling both guilty and relieved.

After the evil spirit had its way, there would be at least ten to fifteen days of peace, or even half a year before it returned.

It wasn't that Xu Hong couldn't find young women to worship the evil spirit, but this evil spirit particularly enjoyed the beautiful wives or unmarried daughters of those who worshipped him.

Since his sister's marriage, Xu Hong had already changed several beautiful wives.

Lady Yan was the youngest, and he cherished her deeply, but he dared not resist the Five Passages Deity.

Lady Yan was very beautiful, and perhaps she suited the young man's taste, so even though he was very rough with her each time, he would leave her some time to recover.

Seeing Lady Yan lying on the bed, her white, tender body covered in many whip marks, Xu Hong felt both ashamed and a surge of evil desire, and despite her having just endured a storm, he entered her again.

Only when Lady Yan fainted, unconscious, did he stop.

When Lady Yan woke up, she was filled with shame and anger, staring at Xu Hong with hatred, making him feel even more guilty.

Xu Hong sighed and even cried, slapping his own face with great force.

Lady Yan, unwilling to give up the wealth of the Xu family and being soft-hearted, said, "Lord, don't do this."

Xu Hong then stopped.

"Why did he come today after not coming for half a year?"

"Did you forget your good sister, who lured Miss Shen out for a trip and tricked her into worshipping at that lewd temple, which he saw and caused trouble?" Lady Yan, though weak, still explained the situation.

"Does he have designs on Shen Ruoxi and suffered a setback?" Xu Hong's eyes moved.

He had been severely affected by the evil he had created.

The evil deeds of the Five Passages Deity in the Xu family were a family disgrace, and Xu Hong forbade it from being spread outside. The Shen family wouldn't actively pry into their in-laws' private affairs, so they hadn't discovered it over the years.

Even if outsiders heard about it, who would dare to tell Old Master Shen or Shen Qingshi and Shen Qingshan, inviting trouble?

ps: Thank you for the 588 rewards from Futu Liangsheng, Duitian·Lusifa, Que Dao, and Yi Ran Zui Ren, as well as the rewards from Jian Ming Jiu Xiao and Tao Yan.

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