“Alright, forget it. I don’t need you to submit to him completely. But if someone truly comes carrying my token, you must at least cooperate with him and support him fully with resources, manpower, and intelligence. Any problems with that? Tell me honestly.” Shangyang Jiuli’s tone was grave.
Lu Sheng maintained his courteous smile and paused in thought.
“Rest assured, Young Miss Jiuli. As long as that person’s requests serve your cause, this subordinate will support him without reservation.”
Only then did Shangyang Jiuli finally feel at ease.
Though she was the nominal authority over the Northern Lands, the one who truly held power there was Lu Sheng.
As a Three-Vein Level expert, his strength could not compare with hers, yet he was still one of her most valuable assets. More importantly, he was young. No one could say how far he might go in the future.
For that reason, it would be unwise to sever ties with him.
A capable talent who could stabilize a vast territory like the Northern Lands would be highly sought after by any Noble Family. Coupled with the fact that Lu Sheng had already reached the Three-Vein Level at such a young age, he would be considered elite even within the Shangyang Family itself.
That was precisely why Shangyang Jiuli valued him so highly.
If she had a few more talents like him under her command, she could simply retreat into the mountains and devote herself entirely to cultivation.
“Alright. Tell me about any major incidents during this period. And how are things exactly with my younger brother?” Shangyang Jiuli asked carefully.
Lu Sheng recounted how Shangyang Ce had departed by ship after defeating his opponent, concealing nothing. He then spoke of Scarlet District Mistress’ recent killing spree, and of how both she and Ye Moling had vanished.
At first, Shangyang Jiuli remained composed. But when she heard that two Manor Lord level experts had disappeared, her expression darkened.
“In that case, trouble is truly brewing in the Northern Lands. Do your best to maintain the status quo and secretly investigate what force or faction lies behind all of this. Once you uncover any leads, do nothing that might alert them. A power capable of suppressing Manor Lord level experts is not something you can afford to trifle with.” Shangyang Jiuli’s instructions were measured and firm.
At present, Lu Sheng was her most important asset. If anything were to happen to him, her losses would be severe.
She had taken stock of all those under her command. In terms of raw strength, many could rival Lu Sheng. But when it came to managing territory and holding the Northern Lands together, there was not a single person who could compare to him.
“Your subordinate understands.” Lu Sheng knew that, on the surface, he was merely a subordinate under Shangyang Jiuli’s command. Yet he was content with this arrangement.
From the beginning, Jiuli had never interfered in his affairs. Her focus had always been on cultivation and on reaching higher realms. As long as he supplied her with sufficient resources, he was free to invoke her name and make use of her reputation. This arrangement was highly beneficial, allowing him to conceal his true strength.
The two continued their exchange, one asking, the other answering. After a short while, a red silhouette descended from the sky. It was a blood-colored bird, a small note bound to its leg. The bird alighted lightly on the stone table. Shangyang Jiuli caught it with ease and removed the message.
“Alright, I must return to the Family at once. If you encounter anything you cannot resolve, light the token and I’ll send someone to assist you.”
“I understand.” Lu Sheng nodded solemnly.
“Hopefully, by the time we meet again, you’ll have made another leap in strength.”
With those words, Shangyang Jiuli stepped forward and shot into the air. Her robes spread wide in the wind, billowing behind her like wings. She glided forward like a massive bat, covering several hundred meters before leaping again, riding the momentum and soaring off into the sky.
Lu Sheng watched her until her figure vanished completely. Only then did he put away the incense box and straighten his posture.
‘Having her as my shield… that really does seem like a good idea’. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. In the next instant, he sprang forward, his figure blurring as he disappeared into the dense forest.
He headed straight back to the sect. With Scarlet District Mistress dead, the mark she had left on Chen Yunxi had vanished as well.
Scarlet District’s forces collapsed overnight, dispersing and being silently wiped out.
At the same time, Lu Sheng began contacting the remaining remnants of Martial League. One after another, he cast his Yin Crane Web. With its unparalleled concealment, it easily slipped past the perception of ordinary experts.
Before long, those experts noticed, to their astonishment, that their inner force was advancing at a startling rate. Their cultivation sped up severalfold, and their inner Qi surged forward as if no bottlenecks existed at all.
Naturally, the amount of inner Qi they could contain was still limited by their physical constitutions. Even so, the strongest among them amassed nearly a hundred years’ worth of cultivation, an achievement already remarkable by any standard.
Lu Sheng had no intention of harvesting immediately. Several years later, when the time was ripe, the sheer quantity of inner Qi he could reap would be immense.
Time flowed on quietly. Half a month passed.
The successive disappearances of Scarlet District Mistress, Ye Moling, and several Ashoka Manor experts plunged the Northern Lands into a state of fear and unease. No faction dared to act rashly.
Claws were withdrawn, ambitions restrained. An unprecedented calm settled over the entire Northern Lands.
Yet this tranquility did not last long for Lu Sheng.
“HAHAHA!! Lu Sheng! You didn’t expect me to still be alive, did you? I, Hongfang Bai, crawled out of hell just to take revenge on you! DIE! PHANTOM SPIRIT FIVE SLASHES!!”
“Bam!!”
Lu Sheng casually slapped the charging midget into the ground. Just looking at her was enough to give him a headache.
“Wuu… wuu wuuu… Yingying, Yingying hurts…”
The little girl, clad in a loose red dress and clutching a red umbrella, hugged her head as she crawled upright into a squat. Tears streamed down her face as she began to cry.
One day, after returning from an errand, Lu Sheng discovered that the love knot left behind by Scarlet District Mistress and Yingying had vanished. In its place lay a red ball of flesh, about the size of a watermelon.
Just as he was about to cleave the bizarre mass apart with his saber, it split open on its own. A little girl, no more than ten years old, burst out, clad in a red dress and clutching a red umbrella.
Her facial features were unmistakable. She looked like a child version of the umbrella girl, Yingying.
The red umbrella she held was large enough to hide her entire body, while the dress was clearly made for an adult. Its long hem trailed behind her, dragging across the ground.
The moment she appeared, she loudly declared her intent to take revenge on Lu Sheng. Yet before she could take a second step, she tripped over her own dress, sprawled face-first onto the ground, and promptly fainted.
Lu Sheng hesitated, but ultimately did not kill her. Instead, he planted his Yin Crane Web within her and kept her alive in the sect, treating her as a sort of living mascot.
This was the first time he had encountered a demon capable of rebirth after death. It was a rare specimen, one well worth studying.
What he had not anticipated was that this little brat would turn the sect upside down within just a few days.
The little umbrella girl was incapable of causing real harm. All she could do was whack people on the head with her red umbrella. Given her strength, the worst outcome was a painful bump, nothing more.
Everyone assumed she was some relative or niece of Lu Sheng and chose to tolerate her, allowing her to roam freely through the Crimson Whale Sect.
That indulgence, however, only ignited her competitive streak. Others’ patience and laughter made her feel deeply insulted.
Her power had fallen to such a pitiful level because of Lu Sheng, and she pinned every ounce of hatred squarely on him.
And thus, her current behavior came to be. From time to time, she would launch sneak attacks or set up ambushes, as routinely as one might eat a meal.
Although she could not truly harm him, she was more than capable of annoying Lu Sheng.
“Yingying, don’t fool around with your sister next time. Go back and have your lunch like a good girl. Did you shower yesterday?” Lu Sheng lifted the little umbrella girl and set her neatly onto a chair.
“Yes… I showered…” Yingying answered obediently, casting a furtive glance at him, fear flickering in her eyes.
“Let’s eat.” Lu Sheng picked up the tub of rice at the edge of the table along with half a grilled lamb and began eating, chewing unhurriedly.
Only the two of them sat at the table.
A variety of dishes filled the round table. Using a small wooden bowl meant for children, Yingying carefully picked at the food with her chopsticks.
“Tell me. Should I call you Yingying… or Scarlet District Mistress?” Lu Sheng asked between mouthfuls of rice.
“I’m… Yingying… Sis’… name… is… Hongfang Bai…” Yingying stammered in reply.
Afraid that her halting words might anger him, she stole another glance at Lu Sheng.
“Looks like you don’t hate me?” Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t hate… it’s too tiring… to be like sis… this… is good too… with Yingying’s… body, I can… take it easy…” she replied softly.
Understanding dawned on Lu Sheng. After a few more questions, Yingying finally managed to explain what had happened, her words still broken and hesitant.
Yingying had originally been a Prey Ghost, but her true nature was that of an Anomaly. In other words, she was an Anomaly that had transformed into a Prey Ghost. At the beginning, she possessed very little intelligence. It was only because Scarlet District Mistress grew bored and chatted with her daily, treating her like a real sister, that Yingying gradually developed sentience.
At the final critical moment, Yingying’s overwhelming desire and will for her sister to survive had triggered an irreversible transformation between them.
She had fused Scarlet District Mistress into herself. In that instant, both of them were reborn together.
‘Anomalies cannot die.’ The thought surfaced in Lu Sheng’s mind. He had once believed that their so-called immortality was merely due to others lacking the power to shatter their black membrane.
Yet now, even after the umbrella girl’s black membrane had been destroyed, she had still been reborn, albeit stripped of all her former power.
Suddenly, Lu Sheng’s thoughts drifted to the various Anomalies that had surfaced across the Northern Lands over the past few years.
Each time the Noble Families eradicated one, another would emerge again after an extremely short interval, usually within a few years. That was precisely why the Noble Families relied on large sects to gather intelligence for them, enabling continuous suppression of newly appearing Anomalies.
“Can the Noble Families really kill Anomalies?” Lu Sheng asked abruptly.
Yingying shook her head, clearly unsure.
Looking at the little umbrella girl’s face, Lu Sheng began to suspect that even the Noble Families could do no more than force Anomalies into prolonged dormancy. In truth, they likely lacked the means to eradicate them completely.
“Have you and Scarlet District Mistress figured out who comes out when?” Lu Sheng asked again.
Sharing a single body already posed countless complications, let alone one belonging to a small child.
Yingying was gentle and meek, while Scarlet District Mistress was impulsive and hot-tempered. Their personalities stood at opposite extremes.
“As long as sis wants to… Yingying can… at any time…” Yingying replied. This time, her words came smoothly, her seriousness unmistakable.
‘What exactly are Anomalies?’ Lu Sheng wondered, deeply puzzled. But since Yingying and Scarlet District Mistress had survived as demons and ghosts, he could seek answers directly from them.
That was the fundamental reason he had chosen not to kill them a second time.
Moreover, he had long been intent on uncovering the origin and true nature of Yin Qi.
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