Chen Granny, who had lost her husband in her youth and her son in her old age, had gained a granddaughter and a daughter-in-law.
From then on, she had comfort in her heart and gave up the thought of taking her own life.
Yun Niang, who had been living from one day to the next in Blackwater City, now had a safe haven where she could stop and rest for a while.
And as for himself, he had gained an identity in the Mortal World, so those cultivators would not discover him.
Though this scene had been woven together from lies,
each of them had gotten what they needed. If not for the Opera Troupe in South Suburb, then even if life had been a little poorer, at least they could have carried on peacefully like this.
So the girl couldn't understand.
Her childish voice rang out alongside a shrill screech as she challenged the villain before her. "You say I got her killed. Then tell me, what did I do wrong!"
Say it! What did I do wrong!
"Ow! I was wrong, I was wrong! Stop hitting me... It hurts!"
After taking two more heavy punches, the girl's impassioned challenge turned back into a plaintive wail.
Her body was stiff as wood, yet she still instinctively raised her arms to shield her head.
Combined with her expressionless face, this timid gesture looked inexplicably strange.
"..."
Lin Shu still didn't stop punching.
He wasn't some young man with a thin skin.
How could a few words from the other party make him feel anything like guilt?
To say nothing of how there was no way to know if her claims were true.
Even if he took a step back and assumed they were—
The Immortal Scion had also tried to control his mind. That was true, too.
Perhaps because he'd grown up in a cesspit of danger, Lin Shu hated feeling as if he were losing control of his surroundings.
He narrowed his eyes, and the red haze in his pupils gradually faded.
It was a sign that his Spiritual Power was running low.
The girl might have been shouting fiercely,
but in truth, despite taking so many punches, her smooth, delicate face was only smeared with a little mud. She hadn't even gotten a scratch.
An Immortal Method from the Middle Three Ranks couldn't hurt her at all.
But Lin Shu knew all too well that the more things were like this, the less he could afford to stop.
As for other things, this Immortal Scion probably had little experience in fighting with magic.
Aside from her sturdy body and her ability to affect people's minds, she hadn't shown any other means.
But if he gave her time to react, he probably wouldn't come out of it well.
So before that happened, he had to do his best to get her back to the state she described as "unable to get up."
At the very least, he had to leave her sufficiently cowed.
After he left, she wouldn't dare come after him for a while, giving him more time to improve his cultivation and protect himself.
"Hah."
Lin Shu exhaled the heat gathered in his chest and belly. Still gripping the girl's neck, he lifted her bodily into the air.
The last traces of red haze churned in his eyes, and his expression was cool, as if to say it was about time to end this.
Under that gaze,
the cries of pain in the courtyard abruptly dwindled into intermittent sobs as she tried to stifle them.
"Don't... don't kill me..."
For the first time, an expression appeared on the girl's face. Her lashes trembled, and the tiniest movements of her features came together to form the most profound fear.
As a descendant of a Half-Life Immortal, her lifespan was far longer than a mortal's, but her body was still in its earliest stage of life.
Aside from sensing things with her Spiritual Sense, she hadn't even had the chance to open her eyes and see This World. How could she bear to die just like that?
"Take it!"
The girl, who had remained unharmed until now, suddenly split open a wound between her brows of her own accord.
A Blood Bead glimmering with azure light quickly rolled down and dripped onto the hand Lin Shu had clamped around her neck.
Hiss, hiss.
As the Blood Bead evaporated against his skin,
a melodious chirping rang out in Lin Shu's mind once more.
At the same time, even though he hadn't spent any Virtue Coins or Evil Coins, several prompts sprang into view, all related to the Blue Bird Qi-Guiding Art!
First came an increase in grade.
Then, perhaps because the Inner Method was tied to the amount of Qi absorbed, the art rose by one grade, but its proficiency dropped from Great Accomplishment back to Minor Accomplishment.
But soon, amid the chirping, it shattered through the Barrier again—and did so twice in a row!
[Qi Cultivation Seventh Grade. Blue Bird Qi-Guiding Art: Perfection]
In an instant, Lin Shu's limit for absorbing Qi shot up from a mere fifteen strands to the limit of an Inner Method from the Lower Three Grades.
Thirty strands of Spiritual Power—double what he'd had before!
The changes still weren't over.
The Inner Method had changed because of the chirping, while the Blood Bead itself also contained a vast amount of Spiritual Power.
The accumulated foundation of an Immortal Scion shouldn't have been something a cultivator could absorb.
But perhaps because Lin Shu's Blue Bird Qi-Guiding Art was something he'd gained insight into from this girl, the two were, more or less, of the same origin.
The Blood Bead replenished all the Spiritual Power in his body at an astonishing speed.
That's right, it replenished every last bit!
A strange look flickered across Lin Shu's eyes.
After the earlier expenditure, he had only three strands of White Qi left in his body. In the blink of an eye, that amount had increased tenfold.
The sense of fullness finally dispelled the irritation in Lin Shu's heart.
A grade increase, breaking through the Barrier, and replenishing his reserves.
How many White Jade Round Coins were all of these things worth?
Considering how stingy Virtue Coins were,
at least... thirty or fifty, right?
"Hu."
Lin Shu adjusted his breathing and looked down at the girl in his hand again.
After offering up her Essence Blood, her body began to shrink. Before long, she had become an infant about as long as his forearm, and her ornate short jacket had turned into a jade-green bib.
He also heard a snoring sound in his mind.
Clearly, someone was so exhausted that she'd fallen into a deep sleep.
"..."
Lin Shu's eye twitched.
Mutual Telepathy, Connected Lifeline?
Aside from the snoring, he could even sense her heartbeat.
Never mind. He'd look into it later.
He stood where he was, thinking for a long while, then slowly walked toward the Side Room. He passed Yun Niang and casually tossed the Immortal Scion onto the bed.
Thud!
As a dull impact sounded, Lin Shu sat down beside the table and watched the candlelight flicker.
Whether or not the Immortal Scion had been lying through her teeth,
at least one thing she'd said was true.
In a place like Blackwater City, an addled old woman living all alone, along with the compensation in her hands—
she'd be lucky to survive three days without the Yamen's protection.
As for the Yamen's attitude...
If they really had been looking after the old woman, then how could the family of a Purple Flood Dragon Constable who'd died in the line of duty have been beaten to death by a mere Liu San from an Opera Troupe, with no one bothering to look into it until the corpse stank?
To put it bluntly,
if they'd shown even the slightest concern, this Young Immortal Scion wouldn't have had the chance to get close to Old Woman Chen at all.
"Her matter can wait."
Lin Shu's expression remained calm as he glanced sideways at the plump woman slumped by the doorway. "Now, shouldn't we talk about you?"
"I..."
Yun Niang felt a chill all over.
The child had just called herself an Immortal Scion.
Anyone in the Mortal World could understand what that meant.
In This World, there were gods three feet above one's head.
Immortals weren't lifeless clay statues on an altar. They truly existed in the Mortal World, and even ruled over all things.
They dwelled Above the Mortal World, yet set foot Within the Mortal World.
Thus, they were also called Half-Life Immortals.
As for Immortal Scions, they were those most closely connected to the Half-Life Immortals: descendants bound to them by blood, their younger generations, and their emissaries sent to guide people throughout the world.
Faced with such a being, her benefactor's response had been to slap her across the face!
Forget the Blackwater Gang—even the county magistrate from the Yamen wouldn't dare be so disrespectful.
And now, having dealt with the Immortal Scion, her benefactor had finally turned his attention to her...
Yun Niang recalled the murderous intent she'd sensed that afternoon, and her expression gradually darkened.
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