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"Big Brother, what kind of person is that cousin?"

Su Wei sat on the edge of the oxcart, leaning against Su Tang as she gazed at the towering city that looked like something out of a dream and asked in a low voice.

Su Tang's expression froze. After thinking for a moment, he turned his head and replied, "I saw him a few times when we were children, but I don't really remember him. I only recall that he was an extremely quiet little boy."

His little sister was too young to know anything, but whenever he recalled the day their household was confiscated, his whole body still trembled, while his heart had long since turned to ashes.

Exiled to the frontier as a convict, he had endured every kind of hardship over the years, until he had become numb. If not for his obsession with looking after his little sister, he might have followed his parents into death.

Being tormented through bitter days, with a future in which no hope could be seen at all, was what wore a person down the most.

Then, one day, he was suddenly led away by a smiling foreman, who announced that he had been released from road construction duty.

Road construction was no easy job. Most people could not endure it for more than a few years before being worked to death, but at least it allowed them to scrape by.

The first thing he felt was not the joy of escaping from death, but panic.

Fortunately, the other party then introduced him to a noble benefactor. Those words filled Su Tang with delighted surprise. At long last, someone from their old Su Family had emerged who could escape the status of a convict.

Not only had that person risen to great heights, he had also remembered to aid his clan and sent people to rescue them.

Without a second thought, Su Tang brought his little sister to seek refuge with him.

The reason was simple: apart from this place, they had no other way out.

Their family possessions were pitifully few. They could roll up a worn-out straw mat and be on their way.

They had the Feng Family retainer to thank for hiring an oxcart, and for taking excellent care of them along the way.

After arriving at Fufeng City, he instead began to feel timid.

The passersby's fine clothes and uninhibited laughter gave him a feeling that was both familiar and strange.

His little sister, already accustomed to living cautiously, softly reminded him to drive along the side of the road and not obstruct any noble person's view.

Su Tang stroked his little sister's head, and his heart ached. He took out the last Black Emperor Coin on him, got off the cart, and bought several skewers of candied hawthorns.

Watching his little sister eat them with delight, he suddenly felt like crying.

"Big Brother, you eat too."

His little sister stuffed the sour and astringent yet sweet candied hawthorn into his mouth, and Su Tang's eyes suddenly grew moist.

Eating candied hawthorns, the two of them followed the Feng Family's people to an estate in front of Sweetwater Well Alley.

The courtyard gate stood wide open. People came and went inside, filling the place with the strong breath of everyday life.

But then, a cry suddenly rang out, soon followed by a chorus of sobbing.

The moment Su Tang entered, he smelled the intense scent of medicinal broth. Several familiar-looking faces passed by, yet they seemed to have aged so much that he could no longer call any of them by name.

"Who might this be?"

Huang Xie came over and asked.

"I'm Su Tang, and this is my little sister, Su Wei," Su Tang hurriedly answered.

"So it's Young Master Tang."

Huang Xie quickly bowed and invited the two of them into the reception hall. "I'll go invite the lord."

He turned and left, then gave the Feng Family retainer a red envelope before heading to the rear courtyard. "My lord, Young Master Tang has arrived."

Zhong Shenxiu was practicing martial arts in the rear courtyard.

Over the past few days, the Su Family clansmen he had asked people to search for had arrived one after another. The resulting chaos had left him extremely uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, responsibility rested on his shoulders, so he could only force himself to keep things going. Normally, he hid in the rear courtyard to slack off.

After all, most of Su Daozhi's true relatives were already dead.

The two with the closest blood ties were actually the cousins Su Tang and Su Wei.

"I'll have to meet them."

He nodded and walked to the front hall, calling out, "Cousin."

"Daozhi, Cousin. I..."

Su Tang's eyes reddened, and he began crying again. "My father and mother, sob..."

"My condolences..."

Zhong Shenxiu sighed without saying anything more. He then looked at the little girl beside him. "Cousin Su Wei, from now on, treat this place as your own home. I've already sent servants to make preparations. You two should wash up properly and get some rest. We'll dine together tonight."

Although Zhong Shenxiu was not Su Daozhi, he had nevertheless obtained the man's body, so he still had to shoulder at least some responsibility.

He first comforted the two siblings, then summoned Huang Xie. One man and one dog immediately began to rack their brains.

Damn it, I'm out of money.

Living in Fufeng was no easy matter. It was the capital of the region, after all. Never mind the high prices—Zhong Shenxiu had originally possessed the hundred White Emperor Coins Feng Xi'er had allocated to him, along with his official salary. If he only had to worry about himself, he could naturally live in comfort, raising beautiful maids and walking his dog every day, enjoying himself beyond measure.

Unfortunately, he could not do that. As the most dazzling cub in the entire clan at present, he had a responsibility in this regard.

Earlier, he had asked Feng Xi'er to rescue the clansmen. After investigating, they discovered that most of the Su Family members originally exiled to the Fufeng Protectorate had withered away, while the survivors were all elderly, weak, sick, or disabled.

Over this period, several dozen people had been rescued bit by bit. Doctors had examined them and found that they were all suffering from severe exhaustion and needed quiet recuperation.

With the daily expenses added to the cost of the rescue, no amount of money could withstand it.

At present, Zhong Shenxiu had not only spent all one hundred White Emperor Coins, he had nearly exhausted his own savings as well.

"Woof, my lord, I still have a private stash."

Huang Xie seemed to notice Zhong Shenxiu's predicament and came over, saying this.

"That's the money you saved for a wife and a coffin. I haven't fallen that far yet..."

Zhong Shenxiu laughed helplessly. "Besides... having these dozens of people stay here isn't a solution either. I'm planning to buy some fields outside the city and set up a farmstead to support them in the future. Good farmland is expensive nowadays, especially land near Fufeng City. One mu costs ten White Emperor Coins, and buying it in a connected tract makes the price climb even higher... Your little bit wouldn't be enough anyway."

Huang Xie stuck out his tongue and fell silent.

Zhong Shenxiu instead smiled. "But I've already come up with a few ideas. Tomorrow, you and your nephew can pick several more honest members of the Su Family and come out with me."

Naturally, he had set his sights on the treasure of the Felix Family.

That legendary count had seemed to foresee something back then and made several arrangements for the future, burying a number of treasures.

Although some of them might already have been unearthed, Zhong Shenxiu still wanted to try his luck. It was also his only legal chance to strike it rich overnight.

After waving Huang Xie out, Zhong Shenxiu shut the door.

He came before a bronze mirror. The flesh on his face writhed, and he suddenly became another person.

His brows were sharp as sword cuts, his eyes dark as lacquer, and his face as fine as carved jade. The arrangement of his features possessed a unique air, like jade from Mount Jing—nature's wondrous creation, gathering all the Spiritual Energy of heaven and earth.

This was the face of Young Master Shenxiu from his previous life.

Using the Headless Count's Flesh Magic, he had recreated it once more.

"I really did miss this..."

Zhong Shenxiu touched his cheek while facing the bronze mirror, then looked down at his own hands.

His hands were fair as jade, seemingly without the slightest trace of warmth. "The [Shepherd]'s ability isn't without drawbacks... Although the Headless Count is practically dead, every time I use its ability, it still brings about some subtle changes in me?"