Li Ming was punished and grew resentful of Shen Zhui. The Li Family Head plotted his retaliation... Naturally, Shen Zhui knew nothing of this.
Even if he had known, he probably would have had to wait until a month later.
At that moment, he was walking along East Zheng Street in the southern part of the city, carrying delicacies packed from a restaurant and hurrying home to see his adoptive father, Shen Shan.
"Adoptive father, I'm back." Shen Zhui pushed at the door, but it did not budge.
"Adoptive father must have gone out to sell charcoal again." When no one answered, Shen Zhui helplessly shook his head.
Ever since he had achieved some success in cultivation and become a sixth-rank Criminal Constable, he could actually be considered middle-class within Heyuan City.
His salary was quite good. His adoptive father had no need to go out to work anymore, especially since Shen Zhui solved cases with lightning speed for Merit Points and occasionally received rewards. The household was not short of money.
However, he had urged his adoptive father many times. Shen Shan agreed readily every time, yet still went out to sell charcoal each time.
Shen Zhui could only assume that his adoptive father simply could not sit idle. After advising him a few times, he let him do as he pleased.
Just as Shen Zhui was preparing to climb over the wall, the gate of a nearby courtyard creaked open.
A potbellied middle-aged man wearing a sable hat walked out.
Shen Zhui glanced at him casually without paying much attention. Heyuan County had over ten thousand transient residents every day, and he often saw the neighboring couple hosting relatives from outside the city.
But when the middle-aged man saw Shen Zhui, he suddenly froze.
"It's him?"
He recognized him at a glance. This was the government Criminal Constable who had helped the four Xiantian Masters intercept him at Red Leaf Manor.
He had an especially deep impression of Shen Zhui!
Strictly speaking, if not for Shen Zhui, the four Xiantian Masters working together might truly have managed to capture him.
Speaking of which, he, Wu Gu, had escaped disaster because of Shen Zhui.
"How could it be him? Did he discover me?!" Wu Gu immediately felt a chill in his heart and instinctively wanted to run.
"No! He couldn't have discovered me. Even if he were an Xiantian Master, without an Execution Token Dao Plaque, he couldn't possibly see through my disguise even if he stood right in front of me."
In the space of one ten-thousandth of a second, Wu Gu overturned his previous thought and relaxed.
His appearance and build were completely different from before, and he had a treasure concealing the workings of Heaven. He still had that much confidence; otherwise, he would never have entered the city.
Then Wu Gu noticed the food container in Shen Zhui's hand and secretly breathed an even greater sigh of relief.
"Did I just hear him call someone his adoptive father? Looks like it was merely a coincidence."
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind. Once he confirmed that his identity could not possibly be exposed, Wu Gu decided to return to the role he was currently playing.
A normal neighbor, a wealthy merchant who was good at socializing—what should he do upon encountering a new neighbor?
"May I ask, young brother, are you a relative of the owner of this residence? The owner left to haul charcoal at noon, so I'm afraid you arrived at an unfortunate time." Wu Gu smiled and greeted him.
Seeing the other man greet him, Shen Zhui courteously nodded as well. "Thank you, old sir. I've just returned after being away for several days. This is my home."
Wu Gu thought, Just as I expected. He relaxed even further.
"I see. My humble name is Huang Tong. I just moved here and do a little business. We'll be neighbors from now on, so I hope you'll look after me, young brother."
"You're too polite, shopkeeper." Shen Zhui smiled and nodded.
The two passed each other with smiles.
A faint medicinal fragrance drifted over, and Shen Zhui furrowed his brows.
The man's complexion was ruddy. He did not look ill.
Still, Shen Zhui paid it no mind and climbed over the wall into his home.
Just a merchant dealing in Medicinal Herbs, that was all.
At dusk, Shen Shan returned home.
Shen Zhui had prepared a table full of good dishes. As they ate, the two chatted about everyday matters.
"Adoptive father, when did Big Brother Liu and his wife move away?" Shen Zhui was asking about their former neighbors, a rather kind couple who had lived here for seven or eight years. The two households had gotten along quite well.
"Four days ago," Shen Shan said. "They left rather hurriedly and moved to the southern part of the city."
"They were living well enough. Why did they suddenly move?"
"I'm not entirely sure either. It seems the place in the south is closer to where they work."
"I see." Shen Zhui felt somewhat regretful. The couple had always taken excellent care of his adoptive father, and this time he had not even had the chance to say goodbye.
Shen Shan said, "There is no feast under Heaven that does not end. Don't take it to heart, Zhui'er. Just visit them in the south when you have time."
Shen Zhui nodded. "You're right, adoptive father."
The next day, Shen Zhui saw Wu Gu once again.
This time, the medicinal smell on Wu Gu was even stronger. Shen Zhui chatted with him casually for a few moments and discovered that Wu Gu really did deal in Medicinal Herbs.
The other man even joked about looking after his business, and Shen Zhui laughed heartily in response.
After returning to his room, Wu Gu "watched" Shen Zhui practice saber techniques in the courtyard from across the wall, his brows twitching faintly.
"This saber technique... actually contains an intent that makes even me feel threatened. Just what is this kid's background?"
Although Wu Gu had absolute confidence in his concealment methods, a Criminal Constable had suddenly moved in beside him—and an extraordinarily gifted one at that. Wu Gu still felt a trace of unease.
"Perhaps I'm merely being suspicious because my injuries are too severe."
Wu Gu considered whether he should move somewhere else, but after another thought, he dismissed the idea.
It was not for any other reason. After fleeing Red Leaf Manor in such a hurry, he had not brought much ready cash with him. He had no extra money to buy another residence now.
"I should focus on recovering my strength and leave the county town as soon as possible." After murmuring this, Wu Gu slowly sat cross-legged and began cultivating.
Wu Gu began cultivating.
Shen Zhui stopped practicing his saber techniques and could not help glancing next door.
Just now, at the instant Wu Gu had curiously "looked" toward him, Shen Zhui had suddenly felt a pang of dread.
The feeling had come out of nowhere, faint and elusive.
If he had not recently been reciting the legends of the divine spirits and strengthened his spiritual perception, Shen Zhui would almost have thought it was an illusion.
Even now, Shen Zhui could not determine whether that sensation had truly been caused by the fact that he had experienced too many battles lately.
Shen Zhui slightly knitted his brows. "All I came into contact with today were my adoptive father and that wealthy merchant, Huang Tong. Where could this feeling of danger have come from? And this is inside the city."
He had seen through the wealthy merchant's strength at a glance. He was merely an ordinary person, not even a martial artist.
"I must be overthinking it." Shen Zhui shook his head and continued practicing his saber.
Yet at that moment, he found it impossible to calm his mind. He had already gained some insight into the second form of the Falling Snow Saber Technique, but now he could not find that feeling at all.
"Anyone who can make me feel this pang of dread must at least be an Xiantian Martial Artist."
"Could an Xiantian Master be spying on me nearby?"
"That's unlikely. Who would be foolish enough to act inside the city? Even the two great families would never dare swagger into the city and make trouble. They could easily be discovered, and escaping would be difficult."
The two great families...
Although they were protected by the Yin Gods of their ancestors, if an Xiantian Master burdened with sins entered the city, they would still be easily sensed and receive special scrutiny.
Once the County Magistrate took notice, given the current circumstances, he could directly break through the concealment around them, reveal the sins on their bodies, and then execute them openly and honorably.
Thus, the two great families absolutely would not send known Xiantian Masters into the city.
Unless there were an Xiantian Master who had never revealed himself before and could also conceal the workings of Heaven. In that case, even if the County Magistrate noticed him, so long as he could not confirm that the man bore sins, he would not lightly offend a passing Xiantian Master.
"Unless there is an expert who can conceal his sins while also hiding his strength. Then, unless the County Magistrate comes in person, he could enter the city openly and honorably without being discovered."
Shen Zhui was startled by his own idea.
Concealment also came in two types.
One type concealed the probing of Divine Law. Generally speaking, so long as an Xiantian Master did not cause trouble inside the city, even if the County Magistrate discovered that an Xiantian Master had entered... he would not inexplicably investigate another person's privacy. Of course, once that person caused trouble, there would be absolutely no room for negotiation inside the city. He would certainly be arrested.
The second type concealed not only the probing of Divine Law but also one's own strength.
In that case, it was equivalent to an Xiantian Master entering the city in the identity of an ordinary person.
He would not attract any attention at all!
"Could the two great families have already become so utterly deranged that they would send an expert with dual concealment into the city to kill me?"
Shen Zhui could not help thinking further.
Could one conceal one's own strength? Shen Zhui had never seen it done, but he felt that such a thing should exist in this world.
In the past, he would never have guessed this way. He was not so arrogant as to believe himself worth killing at the cost of sacrificing an Xiantian Martial Artist.
But after experiencing the ambush outside the city and the Red Leaf Manor incident, Shen Zhui felt that such a thing was not impossible.
After letting his imagination run wild for a while, Shen Zhui simply returned to his room and lay on the bed, seriously pondering Huang Tong's actions.
"I returned from Red Leaf Manor five days ago, and this new neighbor moved in beside my home four days ago. It happened to be the day after that incident."
"Big Brother Liu and his wife had lived here for seven or eight years. If they wanted to change houses for convenience, they should have done it long ago. Why did they happen to wait until now?"
"He claims to be a merchant dealing in Medicinal Herbs, but my adoptive father says he has only seen him buy Medicinal Herbs and never seen him take any out to sell. If he has just moved in and is still becoming familiar with the surroundings, shouldn't he at least go out and walk around more? Yet he rarely leaves the house."
The more Shen Zhui thought about it, the more bizarre the new neighbor's arrival seemed.
Linking that feeling of dread with all those coincidences, Shen Zhui secretly clenched his teeth.
"Assuming things really are as I think, did he come to capture my adoptive father? Or threaten me with my adoptive father's life, just as he threatened He Tong?"
The more Shen Zhui thought about it, the more alarmed he became.
I need to find an opportunity to use the system's Sin Value assessment and observe him!
If he had no Sin Value, that would mean Shen Zhui was overthinking things. If he did have Sin Value, then it could be confirmed with nearly one hundred percent certainty that this man had come for him!
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