Chapter 4

Qin Xianyu threw his sword to the side of the grass and walked out empty-handed toward the Taoist temple.

"This must be Master Qin," one of them said.

The three people who had been waiting impatiently suddenly saw a young Taoist priest walk out of the woods. The elderly man at the front stepped forward a few steps and smiled, "We are servants of the Shangguan family and have been waiting for you for a long time."

"Shangguan family?"

Qin Xianyu recalled the Shangguan family, with whom he had an arranged marriage. His eyebrows raised. Since the decline of the Qin family, he had been living by collecting herbs in the Taoist temple, and the Shangguan family had never come to visit. Now they were waiting for him at the temple. Could they be here to dissolve the marriage contract?

He glanced at the three servants and noticed that their clothes were better than his Taoist robe, made of quite good fabric. The Shangguan family, though wealthy, was not much better off than the Qin family, which had been practicing medicine for generations, and in terms of reputation, the Qin family was even higher.

According to his father, the Shangguan family had a spacious residence with six or seven servants, but now it seemed that they had improved significantly. In just a few short years, the Shangguan family must have had some great fortune.

To see a destitute young man, they had even sent a steward and two servants, and there was a carriage waiting in the distance. Even the servants' clothes were better than his.

Qin Xianyu sighed inwardly.

The steward bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Master Qin, I have come on behalf of the old master..."

"To dissolve the marriage contract?"

Qin Xianyu had encountered many things today. The pain in his shoulder, though hidden by the old Taoist, was still there, making him irritable. In the past, he would have been polite and not interrupted, but today he was already extremely agitated, so he cut the old steward off, "The marriage contract is in the temple. I'll fetch it, and you can take it back to complete your task."

Technically, the Shangguan family should compensate him for unilaterally dissolving the marriage contract. However, he had never been very interested in the marriage and had not thought about claiming compensation, especially since Qingniao had died, leaving him deeply saddened.

Now that he had gained an initial understanding of swordsmanship and a clearly extraordinary pearl, his mind was not on the marriage contract. He just wanted to get rid of them and return to the temple to examine everything carefully.

"Master Qin, you have misunderstood," the old steward, who was not angry at being interrupted, smiled and said, "We have come to inform you that in two months, the old master of the Shangguan family will celebrate his eightieth birthday, and we invite you to attend the banquet."

Qin Xianyu was taken aback.

The old steward's eyes flashed with a faint light as he whispered, "In addition, we ask you to propose marriage at the banquet."

"What?" Qin Xianyu was slightly startled.

The two servants behind him showed a mocking expression, thinking that a destitute young man like him was not worthy of the young lady.

The old steward smiled and said, "Although the marriage contract exists, the proper etiquette should not be neglected, after all, it is a joyous occasion and should be auspicious."

Qin Xianyu frowned and said, "What exactly does your Shangguan family want?"

When the old steward first spoke, Qin Xianyu thought the Shangguan family did not want to privately dissolve the marriage but to break it off at the birthday banquet to save face for the Shangguan family and humiliate the Qin family. After all, the Qin family had only this destitute young man, so there was no need to be considerate. However, hearing the latter part, he was puzzled by the request for him to propose marriage.

"The intentions of the Shangguan family are not something a mere servant can understand," the old steward bowed slightly and said, "I am just a messenger. Having delivered the message, I should leave."

"You can leave," Qin Xianyu looked at him coldly, "but first, explain yourself clearly."

"About this..." The old steward was slightly uneasy, shook his head, and smiled bitterly, "As a servant, I should leave after delivering the message. But since you are the future son-in-law, I will break the rules and tell you..."

He leaned in and whispered, "According to the Shangguan family, you will be well-provided for in the future."

After saying this, the old steward laughed again and said, "To be frank, even if Master Qin really wants to dissolve the marriage contract, it should be done at the birthday banquet so that everyone knows. Otherwise, if you just tear up the paper and no one knows the contract has been dissolved, what's the point? Moreover, the Shangguan family would not agree to this, as it would be rumored that they coerced you into giving up the marriage, which would damage their reputation."

Qin Xianyu frowned deeply.

However, the old steward had already bowed and turned to leave.

Before leaving, one of the servants turned his head and glared at Qin Xianyu with a fierce look, making a gesture as if warning him of something.

Qin Xianyu, who had just poisoned several martial artists, though he had not seen blood, was still suppressing his emotions, immediately raised his eyebrows, and his eyes showed a cold light.

He had just killed people, and his eyes were full of killing intent.

This raised eyebrow made his originally handsome face seem more icy.

The servant felt a chill and took a step back, startled. He gritted his teeth but did not dare to meet Qin Xianyu's gaze again and finally turned and hurried away.

"A servant is more arrogant than the steward?" Qin Xianyu frowned and thought, "That servant seemed to be warning me of something but did not dare to show it in front of the steward. Could there be some hidden agenda?"

"Never mind!"

Qin Xianyu shook his head, his mind already in turmoil. He grunted, turned, picked up the sword from the grass, and returned to the temple.

Once inside the temple, he felt extremely tired, and the wound on his shoulder began to throb. He gritted his teeth, took off his Taoist robe, and revealed a large bruise on his shoulder, a mix of blue and purple, with blood threads, a sight that was shocking.

He was about to apply medicine to his shoulder when he suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground, throwing his robe away.

"Really..."

Qin Xianyu laughed bitterly, feeling extremely dizzy, and fell into a deep sleep.

However, he did not see that the initial understanding of swordsmanship and the pearl had fallen out of his robe, with the pearl landing in the water jar.

...

When Qin Xianyu woke up in a daze, the moonlight shining through the window was very bright.

"It's already night."

He thought this, suddenly feeling extremely thirsty, propped himself up, scooped some water from the jar, and drank it.

"Many people suffer internal injuries and never wake up. I thought I would not wake up after being hit by that young hero surnamed Zhao. It seems I have a strong fate."

He laughed bitterly, suddenly feeling extremely dizzy again.

The white moonlight on the ground seemed to ripple outward.

"Bad, I'm going to faint..."

Qin Xianyu rubbed his head, barely made it to the bed, and fell down, falling into a deep sleep.

As the night deepened, the moonlight gradually moved to the water jar.

In the jar, the pale golden pearl lay at the bottom, slightly smaller, and the water in the jar turned a faint golden color.

Qin Xianyu slept deeply, suddenly feeling an intense itch on his shoulder, as if countless ants were crawling out of his bones. He reached out to scratch it. However, when he touched his shoulder, he felt intense pain, but the itch was unbearable, so he kept scratching.

The itch, the pain.

He suddenly used his shoulder to hit the bed, once, twice, continuously.

After a long time, he was drenched in sweat, and the night breeze made him shiver.

Qin Xianyu curled up, trembling continuously.

The itch seemed to disappear... the pain seemed to be gone...

Despite being drenched in sweat and feeling extremely cold at night, he gradually stopped trembling.

His breathing gradually slowed.

Qin Xianyu slept soundly, completely still.

The moonlight shone on his handsome, pale face, giving it a faint glow.

In his sleep, he seemed to smile slightly.

The initial understanding of swordsmanship lay on the ground, and the pale golden pearl remained in the water.

...

In the mountains, the old Taoist walked, holding a white-headed, green-bodied immortal bird.

The old Taoist, with white hair and beard, looked even whiter in the moonlight.

He walked quickly, heading deeper into the mountains.

If someone could look closely, they would notice that wherever he stepped, the grass within a few feet bent as if pressed by the wind. However, beyond that, the grass and trees only swayed slightly, without being flattened by the wind.

Wherever the old Taoist walked, the grass and trees bent.

When he walked under a tree, the branches swayed, and leaves fell.

The leaves that fell near the old Taoist were blown back by an invisible barrier, as if someone was secretly blowing them away.

A gentle breeze blew around the old Taoist.

Within a few feet of him, the wind blew the grass low, and the leaves swayed.

If a cultivator saw this, they would be surprised. The old Taoist clearly had the ability to project true qi externally, almost equivalent to the peak of martial arts, capable of injuring with a touch.

However, many people did not know that the old Taoist not only cultivated true qi but also mastered martial arts.

He slapped upward, and a fierce bird that had pounced from the tree was sent flying.

"This bird..."

The old Taoist looked down. The bird, which was nearly dead, was kept alive by his true qi. However, true qi was not a divine medicine; it could only sustain life, not fully revive the bird.

"If it's not saved by dawn, there will be no hope. I don't know if there are truly any divine beings, but it's dangerous. Otherwise, that young man surnamed Zhao and others wouldn't have lost several people in the mountains and been forced to take the Red Essence Powder to escape."

The old Taoist knew that although these young people were still in their youth, they were not inferior to some of the older generation. For example, the one surnamed Zhao, wearing a yellow robe, had cultivated internal strength and was a rare martial arts master, surpassing even the heads of ordinary sects. The less capable ones could still move their qi and blood, and were highly renowned in the martial world.

It was these extraordinary young heroes who died at the hands of a young Taoist priest. If this news spread, it would cause a great stir. Even if it didn't spread, their absence would lead to endless speculation.

"Old Taoist Guanyun doesn't want to practice martial arts or cultivate true qi, only wanting to refine elixirs and seek the Dao through these unconventional methods. But he didn't expect his disciple to be able to kill with poison, which is quite impressive."

The old Taoist sighed, "Alas, I, Xuan, have lived a life..."

He sighed again and hurried deeper into the mountains.

The moonlight shone on the deep mountains, creating a mysterious and profound scene.

PS: New book needs support, please click to add to your bookshelf, and if you have recommendation tickets, please vote. O(∩_∩)O

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends