Chapter 573 Luh Wu Bloodline

Zhu Shuang’er lay on her bed, sleep eluding her for a long time.

The bed was clearly soft, much more form-fitting and comfortable than the ones on the mountain, yet for some reason, she felt ill at ease.

It was like…

The people here.

Everyone in the Zhu Mansion treated her with respect and courtesy. Their tones were kind and deferential, which should have been much more comfortable than being scolded by elders, but she felt like an outsider, unable to fit in no matter what.

Everything,

was different from how she had imagined.

Childhood friends, reunited after so many years, showed no joyous excitement, only envy and a desire to curry favor.

Even the Young Master,

had become a complete stranger.

“Sigh!”

Zhu Shuang’er closed her eyes, Zhu Ju’s words from their journey echoing in her mind.

‘Esteemed seniors, when enlightening their juniors, often use inscrutable words and leave them to figure it out on their own. It’s a very bad habit.’

‘Home is where the heart finds peace!’

‘You’re not looking for a hometown, but a place that puts your heart at ease. It doesn’t even have to be a specific location. It could be a hobby, a goal, or even a person.’

“What does it mean?”

Zhu Shuang’er’s eyes snapped open, filled with confusion.

“Am I just too stupid?”

Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, she finally threw on some clothes, left her room, and went to stand beneath the elm tree.

The only thing in the Zhu Mansion that felt familiar, completely unchanged from her memories, was this elm tree.

“Miss Shuang’er, still awake?”

“Miss Ming.”

Zhu Shuang’er turned her head to look at Ming Nianwei, who was clad in flowing white robes, and gave a nod of acknowledgment.

“You’re awake too?”

“Me?” Ming Nianwei smiled sweetly.

“Ever since I began the path of Cultivation, I’ve replaced sleep with meditation. Two hours of meditation each day is enough to restore my spirit. I’ve already forgotten what it feels like to sleep.”

“Ah!” Zhu Shuang’er exclaimed in surprise, but then understanding dawned on her.

“No wonder Miss Ming’s Cultivation is so incredible. It’s rare for a small place like this to produce a Sixth Grade Mage.”

“If effort alone was enough, then everyone would achieve something.” Ming Nianwei shook her head gently at the remark, then gave a light, self-deprecating laugh.

“Never mind!”

“Is something on your mind?”

“A Mage’s perception is exceptionally keen. Miss Shuang’er, your restlessness and agitation can’t be hidden from me.”

“…Yes,” Zhu Shuang’er hesitated for a moment.

“I’m just feeling emotional and don’t know how to handle it.”

“Times have changed and the past is gone?” Ming Nianwei showed her understanding.

“I’ve had similar feelings before. My childhood playmates are no longer by my side.”

“Really?” Zhu Shuang’er asked curiously.

“How did you get used to it?”

“Get used to it?” Ming Nianwei laughed.

“Everyone has their own aspirations and their own destiny. How could I possibly force them not to change?”

“I’ve grown up, matured, and changed a lot myself. Slowly, I just came to accept it.”

Zhu Shuang’er nodded slowly.

However,

her anxiety stemmed from more than just that.

“Today, the Young… Big Brother told me, ‘Home is where the heart finds peace.’ My master also told me to find a place of peace for myself. I’ve always been slow, and I still don’t understand, which is why I’m so agitated.”

“I see!” Ming Nianwei’s expression cleared. She said,

“Miss Shuang’er, do you know why I cultivate?”

“Why?”

“For eternal life.”

Hm?

Zhu Shuang’er was taken aback.

“At our age, death is still a distant concept, so we don’t feel its weight much.” Ming Nianwei shrugged and said,

“But I once watched my sister, two years my senior, die from illness. I watched her wail for three days before finally running out of strength and breathing her last. And I watched my disciple, a year younger than me, struggle in a flood only to drown. So from a very, very young age, I’ve been filled with a fear of death.”

“I’m afraid of dying!”

“I hope I never have to die.”

Zhu Shuang’er nodded slowly.

She really didn’t have a profound sense of death. While she had killed men and slain demons, few people close to her had passed away, and even then, she had never witnessed it firsthand. Still, she could understand Ming Nianwei’s perspective.

“So…”

Ming Nianwei smiled.

“Eternal life, that is my path, my ‘home’.”

Hm?

Zhu Shuang’er’s beautiful eyes widened, her heart thumping—THUMP, THUMP—as a sudden realization dawned on her.

“A person can only go far once they’ve found their goal and understood their own obsession.”

“The world is full of ignorant people. Those who truly understand what they want and take steps to achieve it are few and far between.”

Ming Nianwei sighed softly.

“This principle is simple, yet not everyone understands it.”

“…” Zhu Shuang’er blinked.

“That’s strange.”

“What is?”

“Why do you and Big Brother give me the same feeling as my master? So… insightful?”

This insight wasn’t just about speaking in generalities, but a unique aura that comes from long being in a position of authority.

Ming Nianwei paused, then smiled and shook her head, but offered no explanation.

‘Shuang’er’s master, Wujiu, is currently Third Grade. The Li Chengxia from her memories was no slouch either.’

‘As for Zhu Ju…’

‘He’s even more mysterious.’

‘The strong all share certain traits.’

“It’s getting late.” Ming Nianwei looked up at the crescent moon.

“Miss Shuang’er, you should go back and rest.”

*

*

*

“My lord.”

“Come in.”

“CREAK…”

The door pushed open, and Ming Nianwei strode in, cupping her hands in a salute.

“Miss Shuang’er has gone to sleep.”

“Mm.”

Zhu Ju, holding a porcelain bottle, nodded slowly.

“That girl… she’s thoughtful.”

“A Lifespan Extension Pill.” Looking at the bottle, Ming Nianwei smiled.

“This is no ordinary elixir. Even for an Inner Sect Disciple of the True Martial Sect, getting a single one would be extremely difficult.”

“Taking it can increase one’s lifespan by twenty years. For her to have obtained this for you, my lord, she must have paid a considerable price.”

“Twenty years of life is nothing,” Zhu Ju said.

“But it can delay a Martial Artist’s thirty-year-old limit by ten years, making it not too late to break through to Sixth Grade even before forty. For many thirty-year-old peak Seventh Graders, this is practically an Immortal Pill.”

Generally speaking, if one couldn’t advance to Sixth Grade before the age of thirty, it was a lifelong dead end. But there were special circumstances.

Such as taking a Life-Extending Elixir.

But one could only imagine how expensive such an elixir would be.

“My lord.”

Ming Nianwei held out her hand. In her palm was a flying insect.

“I found this in the courtyard. It’s a type of Puppet Insect. A Martial Artist can control it with their Qi Blood to perceive the surrounding environment.”

“Oh?”

Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow.

“Someone’s watching the Zhu Mansion?”

“Yes.”

Ming Nianwei nodded.

“This Puppet Insect is very exquisitely made. There aren’t many places that can produce something like this. The Wenda Sect is one of them.”

“The Wenda Sect?” Zhu Ju frowned.

“They still haven’t given up?”

“No, that’s not right!”

“They wouldn’t think I had anything to do with Zhang Fang’s death, and it’s not worth offending the True Martial Sect over Qian Hu’s disappearance. There must be another reason.”

“I agree.” Ming Nianwei nodded.

“Zhang Fang and Qian Hu must have had something else on them, something that would make the Wenda Sect risk offending the True Martial Sect to get to the bottom of it.”

“I suspect…”

“…that once Miss Shuang’er leaves, they will come looking again.”

Zhu Ju stroked his chin, his eyes filled with confusion, but his expression returned to normal in an instant.

“No matter.”

“My Cultivation has advanced further. I’m now at the middle of the Seventh Grade. Even if I had to face that Wang Dian, I wouldn’t be afraid.”

There was a gap of two major Realms between Middle Seventh Grade and Middle Fifth Grade, but for him, it was not an impossible gap to cross.

Hearing this, Ming Nianwei immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Her own Cultivation was also advancing by leaps and bounds, but for the time being, she was still no match for Wang Dian.

…

The Sanhe Gang.

The Water Prison.

“SPLASH…”

An iron cage was pulled out from under the water by chains. Inside was the unconscious Qian Hu.

“So it’s him?”

“Yes.”

The Sanhe Gang Leader, Li Xianshan, stood in the darkness, his eyes glinting.

“The Luh Wu bloodline… the key to that place. To think it was actually here in Taiyuan Prefecture.”

“After more than a thousand years, it has finally appeared!”

“A pity we weren’t the first to find him,” another person sighed.

“The people from the Wenda Sect are resourceful. Are you sure they have no way of finding their way here?”

Li Xianshan’s expression darkened.