Chen Yunxi pinched Lu Sheng’s hand and pressed it gently against her cheek, her brows knitting in mild confusion. “What’s wrong?” she asked softly. “Why do you look so solemn?”
Lu Sheng blinked, his thoughts snapping back to the present.
“No… nothing.” A faint smile surfaced on his lips. “Maybe I’m just a little tired from being busy lately.”
Chen Yunxi smiled at him, her expression warm and teasing. “You work too hard. You’re already so powerful, why can’t you slow down and rest for once? We can’t live for others all the time… you should enjoy your own life too, shouldn’t you?”
Lu Sheng chuckled quietly. “That’s true. But what a pity… that’s how the world works. If you don’t keep moving forward, others will overtake you. And when the day comes that you’re faced with a problem, lacking just a sliver of strength to solve it, that regret will be unbearable.”
Chen Yunxi spun around, pretending to sulk. “I don’t want to hear your sermons.” She glanced back at him, eyes sparkling. “I only found out recently that you’re the Sect Master of the Crimson Whale Sect. You have no idea how dazed I was for an entire day after hearing that.” She covered her mouth, laughing. “It took me a full day just to process it.”
“That exaggerated?” Lu Sheng reached out and scratched the tip of her nose playfully.
Chen Yunxi puffed out her cheeks. “That exaggerated!” she protested. “‘Number One expert in the Northern Lands.’ How ridiculous and impressive is that title? You should’ve seen my dad, he was grinning from ear to ear the whole day.”
Lu Sheng’s smile lingered, then faded slightly. “By the way… have you encountered any unfamiliar or strange people recently?” he asked suddenly.
“No, I haven’t.” Chen Yunxi immediately grew alert. “Did something happen?”
“Nothing major.” His voice remained casual. “Have you felt any discomfort in your body lately?”
As he spoke, a thin thread of Aquarius Qi silently flowed through her body, probing and inspecting.
Chen Yunxi tilted her head. “I don’t think so? I don’t feel anything unusual. It’s just that lately… lately I might’ve put on a little…” Her gaze dropped, her ears turning faintly red.
Like most women, she was keenly aware of her weight.
Lu Sheng continued his inspection, his expression steady. At last, he sensed it, an extremely faint yet peculiar aura lingering beneath a patch of skin at the back of Chen Yunxi’s right elbow.
A mark.
One left behind by the Scarlet District Mistress.
Only then did Lu Sheng quietly release the breath he had been holding.
It appeared to be nothing more than a mark. Though its purpose was unclear, the aura was faint and restrained, posing no immediate threat.
Scarlet District Mistress was likely only harboring mild suspicion, leaving a mark as a precaution. Lu Sheng was not yet on her radar. She had not gone so far as to use Chen Yunxi as leverage against him.
Still, Lu Sheng’s brow furrowed.
Why would Scarlet District Mistress suddenly place a mark on Chen Yunxi? Had she uncovered something? His contact with the umbrella girl, perhaps?
These thoughts churned quietly in his mind as he continued chatting with Chen Yunxi, all the while sealing the mark with Aquarius Qi. The energy wrapped around it delicately, isolating it without disturbing its original structure.
In the end, he chose not to remove it.
If Scarlet District Mistress was merely testing the waters, erasing the mark outright might only sharpen her suspicions. After a moment’s hesitation, Lu Sheng left it intact.
Chen Yunxi’s voice broke the silence, her eyes bright with expectation. “The Nine Beauty Festival is almost here. Would you like to go see the Nine Beauty Flowers bloom with me? In Thousand Flowers Valley outside the city, there’s an entire sea of them. It’s beautiful. The Winged Honor Guard patrols that area too, so it’s very safe.”
Lu Sheng paused. “Nine Beauty Festival…” A trace of helplessness crossed his face. “I’m sorry. I really do have something I must handle that day.” The day the Nine Beauty Flowers bloomed was also the day the Wandering Heart Society planned to move against Scarlet District Mistress.
Disappointment flickered across Chen Yunxi’s expression.
“Alright then. I’ll just go with my sisters.” She tilted her head, half teasing, half serious. “But if some young master happens to tag along, don’t get jealous, alright?”
Lu Sheng laughed softly. “Don’t worry. Do I really look that petty?”
In truth, any man who came within arm’s length of Chen Yunxi had already been scrutinized by his subordinates. Wherever she went, at least five experts followed in silence, guarding her from the shadows. Coupled with Lu Sheng’s fearsome reputation in the Northern Lands, the odds of anything going wrong were virtually nonexistent.
Chen Yunxi nodded, then added as if remembering something. “Oh, right… my daddy recently found a partner for a major business deal. But we’re still not completely sure about his background…”
“Mm. I’ll have someone look into it later.” Lu Sheng replied with a gentle smile.
The two of them lingered in the garden a while longer, savoring the quiet companionship, before Lu Sheng personally saw Chen Yunxi off.
He did not send additional experts to guard her. He knew how meaningless that would be. None of his subordinates could shield Chen Yunxi from the Scarlet District Mistress if she truly chose to act.
The fact that Scarlet District Mistress possessed the means to touch his loved ones only reinforced Lu Sheng’s earlier conclusion. She was an unstable presence, and a dangerous one.
When dusk settled over the land, Lu Sheng departed once more for Mountain-Edge City.
Within an inner courtyard of the yamen, Taoist Baifeng was already waiting, stepping forward to welcome him. “Sect Master Lu, how have you been? It’s been quite some time since we last met. You seem to have grown even stronger.” Baifeng carried himself less like a Taoist and more like a seasoned merchant.
Lu Sheng laughed lightly. “Brother Baifeng flatters me. At our level, how could progress come so easily?” he said with a sigh.
They walked into the hall side by side.
Xiao Hongye had arrived earlier and was already seated. As always, it was a private gathering of the three. In the Northern Lands, their grip over the situation remained firm and unshaken.
The banquet had been laid out in advance, and the servant girls had all been dismissed. Unlike the lavish theatrics of Xiao Manor, the spread here was plain and unadorned, an ordinary meal meant for ordinary conversation.
“Come, come.” Taoist Baifeng gestured with a smile. “Let’s talk while we eat.”
Xiao Hongye rose as well, grinning broadly. “Brother Lu, you’re late. Three cups of wine as punishment!”
Lu Sheng clasped his fists apologetically. “Please forgive me, my two elder brothers. I’ve had far too many matters to deal with lately.”
He took his seat and, without hesitation, drained three cups of wine in quick succession. The three men gathered around the square table, eating and drinking as they exchanged casual pleasantries, each quietly probing the others beneath the surface of polite conversation.
Taoist Baifeng raised his cup again and again. After three full rounds of toasts, he finally set it down and fixed his gaze on Lu Sheng, his tone measured yet probing. “Brother Lu, your actions have been growing larger and bolder of late. Has there been some change or adjustment within your sect?”
Lu Sheng shook his head calmly.
“I figured the two of you invited me over for this matter.” He had long prepared his response. A faint smile crossed his face as he continued, “Speaking of which, several factions like the Gong Qu Clan were suddenly attacked not long ago. Have either of you heard anything about it?”
Baifeng’s eyes flicked sideways toward Xiao Hongye. This was an affair in which both Ashoka Manor and Scarlet District had played their parts.
Xiao Hongye let out a dry chuckle. “Looks like both you and I are nothing more than pieces on someone else’s board…”
He had misunderstood Lu Sheng, assuming that Lu Sheng, too, was acting under orders from forces above. As one of the Nine Families of the Central Plains, the Shangyang Family possessed terrifying influence. Even if the entirety of Ashoka Manor were mobilized, it would still fall far short of that scale.
With that, the topic was quietly set aside. As long as the calamity did not engulf ordinary mortals on an overwhelming scale, the overall consequences remained manageable.
Baifeng placed his winecup down with a soft thud, his expression turning solemn. “To be frank, I invited the both of you here to discuss only one matter, the Scarlet District Mistress. I wish to hear the stance of the forces backing you.” He paused briefly before continuing, “In recent days, she has struck again and again, each time on a larger scale than before. I fear that one day she may erupt into a frenzy and slaughter an entire city.”
He sighed lightly. “This Taoist has already reported the matter to the Court. An expert from the central agency has been dispatched and should arrive within days. But you and I both understand that, given Scarlet District Mistress’ level of prowess, stopping her will not be easy.”
Xiao Hongye exhaled slowly as well. “Elder Brother Baifeng speaks the truth.” His voice carried a trace of weariness. “Ashoka Manor is equally constrained. Our Manor Lord, Ye Moling, has been deeply troubled by this matter lately. Scarlet District Mistress is simply too ruthless. She has already slaughtered several hundred within Martial League alone, and no fewer than a hundred in Mountain-Edge City.”
“And those are only the cases we know of.” Xiao Hongye continued, his voice heavy. “After that, I received news that she massacred three mountain strongholds, wiping out more than a thousand people without sparing a single life. Even if they were bandits, such numbers are still hard to stomach.”
Lu Sheng gave a slight nod. “What do the two of you intend to do, then?”
Taoist Baifeng sighed, a trace of helplessness seeping into his expression. “At present, my only plan is to determine exactly what the District Mistress seeks and do our utmost to obtain it for her.”
Xiao Hongye remained silent, clearly at a loss as well. Those who stepped into the Snake realm could establish powerful Noble Families and stand firmly on their own in this brutal world. Such a level was far beyond what experts at the Three-Vein realm could hope to confront.
A faint disappointment flickered in Lu Sheng’s heart. He had hoped the two of them might offer some novel insight, but this was all they had.
After exchanging further intelligence, Taoist Baifeng casually brought up another matter, one that immediately caught Lu Sheng’s attention.
“Speaking of Li Shunxi, after he left the Northern Lands for the Central Plains, news of the Soul Suppressing Lock spread rapidly. Rumor has it that he’s now wanted by the Huang Family for destroying their Soul Suppressing Lock and consuming the hundred-year Heartless Fruit they cultivated with great effort. His whereabouts are unknown now, and many are hunting him, hoping to extract the essence of the Heartless Fruit from his body.”
Lu Sheng frowned slightly. “Isn’t he just an ordinary martial artist?”
Baifeng shook his head. “Not for a long time now.” He smiled faintly. “Just like you, Brother Lu, his background is anything but simple.”
Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what’s so extraordinary about my background?”
Baifeng laughed and pointed at him. “You, of all people. Your mother wasn’t born into the Sun Family at all. Her origins are mysterious. The secret has been well hidden, but nothing of that sort can escape the eyes of our Intelligence Agency.”
Lu Sheng had expected talk of his power or his rapid rise. He had not anticipated his long-deceased mother, Sun Yan, being mentioned at all.
Even he had never known of this matter.
He quietly etched the revelation into his memory and continued conversing with the two men, refining their approach toward Scarlet District Mistress and her recent wave of violence. Only deep into the night did he finally rise to take his leave.
…………
The vast frozen plains of the Northern Lands carried a deceptively gentle name, the White Grass Frozen Plains.
The climate there was brutally unforgiving. Fierce blizzards swept across the land without warning, forcing the inhabitants to cluster within small cities. Each city was sealed beneath an enormous conical lid, designed to prevent snow from accumulating and crushing the structures below.
From afar, these settlements lined up along the hills like a scatter of triangular tents pitched upon the ice fields. The larger ones could shelter over a hundred people, resembling frozen mountain strongholds, while the smaller cities housed barely more than ten souls.
Their construction was a laborious process. A massive pit had to be excavated first to form a stable foundation. Only then would meticulous planning begin, followed by the slow carving of a conical ice lid, piece by piece. It was a feat earned through patience and endurance.
A snowstorm howled across the white expanse, swallowing sky and land alike.
Scarlet District Mistress strode through the storm, a white cloak wrapped tightly around her figure. Close behind her followed the umbrella girl, Yingying, likewise draped in thick white layers.
Together, they approached a small city rising more than ten meters high. Its exotic structure was vast and imposing, magnificent in its own frozen way. From the surface, it loomed like a pyramid, though most of its massive body lay hidden beneath the ground.
Scarlet District Mistress clicked her tongue, a greedy gleam flashing in her eyes. “This is the place.”
Yingying leaned closer, her voice lowered by the wind. “Big Sis… be careful…”
Scarlet District Mistress scoffed. “Don’t worry. Aside from a handful of people, who in the entire Northern Lands could threaten me?” She cast a glance back at Yingying. “Just take care of yourself.”
She placed her palm against the rough, icy wall of the city.
Without a sound, the layered ice began to melt away, forming a gaping hole in the frozen barrier.
----
[Editor’s Note:] If you'd like to support the series and unlock more chapters, visit Patreon for early access and exclusive content.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tdRHsS9Hn
https://www.patreon.com/taleriareads
and then Add to home screen.