Plum Court

Slaughter Heaven City, the main hall of the City Lord's Residence.

Butcher sat in the seat of honor, glaring down at the chubby Tu Yuxuan, who knelt with both hands clasped over his head.

Seated to the upper left, Yang Xiao lifted his teacup and took a sip. In front of him sat someone entirely enveloped in a black robe.

This person had already been in the hall before he arrived. Only their face was exposed beneath the black robe, yet no matter which angle Yang Xiao looked from, he could not see it.

Butcher sighed and stopped looking at Tu Yuxuan. His gaze shifted to the fifth person in the room. "Who is this?"

Yang Xiao said, "This is my younger cousin. You haven't met her yet, Uncle Tu. Disaster suddenly struck our hometown, so I brought her here to seek shelter with you."

Below them, Tu Yuxuan muttered with his hands over his head, "How come I never knew I had an older cousin? Don't tell me he's your illegitimate son, Dad."

Butcher slammed the table and glared at Tu Yuxuan. "How old are you? How many of our relatives do you even know? From now on, he's your older cousin."

"It's good that he's come. Now someone can keep you in line, you little brat."

Tu Yuxuan shuddered twice, lowered his head, and fell silent.

"Old Li, take my nephew to get some rest," Butcher called outside.

A stooped old man entered the hall, dressed in a green robe. He approached Yang Xiao and bowed. "Young sir, please follow this old servant."

As he passed Yang You'er, he paused. "Miss, please follow this old servant."

Yang Xiao went over to the still-bewildered Yang You'er, took her hand, and followed Old Li.

They left the hall and walked some distance before their surroundings changed dramatically. The spring breeze turned into a biting winter wind.

Old Li looked back and smiled. "When the City Lord's Residence was built, people from the Heavenly Master Palace and the Earth Master Hall were invited to alter the weather and terrain."

"The grounds outside are connected to the mountain ranges within ten thousand miles of Slaughter Heaven City. Even if an Immortal attacked, they could hold them off for half a day."

"The residence is divided into four sections: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Tell this old servant which season you prefer, young sir, and I will arrange suitable lodgings for you."

Yang Xiao watched Old Li's back. The old man looked like an ordinary mortal, but despite the subzero temperature and his thin green robe, he showed no sign of feeling cold.

He was unlike the powerful figures Yang Xiao had met before. He did not display his edge as the Corpse Lord and Soul Master did. He seemed more like an old... grandfather who had weathered life's storms and sheathed every sharp edge.

"Young sir," Old Li said, looking back, "you haven't said which you prefer."

"Spring!" Yang Xiao blurted out. Who wouldn't want to stay somewhere comfortable?

"Just as this old servant thought. Please follow me, young sir." Old Li turned to lead the way.

"Brother," Yang You'er said, "the wind here feels so nice. Could we stay here?"

Yang Xiao stared at Yang You'er in astonishment. Someone actually liked winter—and that someone was the little sister he had picked up.

Old Li also took notice of Yang You'er. He studied her for a while, then smiled. "The young miss certainly is unusual."

Yang Xiao bowed. "Please arrange for us to stay in the Winter Residence instead."

Since Yang You'er liked it, Yang Xiao would indulge her. After all, she rarely asked him for anything.

Old Li smiled. "There's no need for such formality, young sir. Please follow this old servant."

After following Old Li around numerous twists and turns, they arrived at a small courtyard—Plum Court.

Old Li took a key from inside his robe and opened the courtyard gate. Seven or eight winter plum trees grew inside, and a square bluestone table stood there, its surface spotless.

The courtyard had three rooms: two bedrooms and a kitchen.

Old Li showed them around for a while, then said, "Please settle in, young sir. Maids will come later to attend to your daily needs."

Yang Xiao said, "There's no need for maids. My sister and I are used to living by ourselves. We don't like being waited on."

Standing behind him, Yang You'er nodded repeatedly. "Yes, we don't like being waited on, especially by women."

Old Li paused, then chuckled and left the courtyard, closing the gate behind him.

Once Old Li had gone, Yang You'er trotted into the kitchen, took out various ingredients, boiled some water, and began cooking.

Yang Xiao's room was fairly large. He walked to its center, connected with the Earth Vein, and shifted the soil below. A short while later, a passage leading to an underground chamber appeared.

—A minor Earth Master's trick.

Yang Xiao entered the hidden chamber. The real reason he had refused the maids was that he feared hurting someone during an episode.

The passage was over a hundred meters long. The stronger he became, the more destructive his episodes grew. To avoid alerting anyone, Yang Xiao had deliberately dug the passage a little longer.

At the other end stood a Yellow Stone House covering a hundred square meters.

Yang Xiao sat inside the Yellow Stone House, his head lowered in thought. The house alone could not contain him. He needed a better solution. Iron chains and a huge iron weight had once been enough to restrain him, but that method had stopped working after he entered the Sea Condensation Realm.

He recalled an array in the carefree earth master chapter called the Boundless Earth Vein Lock, which could draw on earth vein qi to seal off a space.

The array was not difficult. It only required a place rich in Earth Vein Qi, and the City Lord's Residence met that condition. It stood at the center of Slaughter Heaven City, and the Earth Vein Qi from the ten thousand miles surrounding the city first converged here, underwent conversion, and then dispersed in every direction.

Yang Xiao sent his consciousness underground. He saw hundreds of streams of Earth Vein Qi converge beneath the City Lord's Residence, forming a sphere as large as the sun.

He tried to connect with the Earth Vein sphere, open a slit in its surface, and channel Earth Vein Qi into his room to set up the array.

The Earth Master who had established the City Lord's Residence's great array possessed formidable cultivation, but his Earth Vein techniques fell short of Yang Xiao's. After all, Yang Xiao had learned orthodox Earth Vein techniques originating from the Book of Earth, compiled by the Carefree Ancestor into the Carefree Scripture.

After spending two hours, Yang Xiao secretly entered the Earth Vein sphere and successfully drew out a stream of Earth Vein Qi. He used it to establish an array around the hidden chamber.

A short while later, hundreds of Earth Vein Chains sealed the entire chamber. Yang Xiao nodded in satisfaction. With a single thought, he could make these chains restrain him. As long as the Earth Vein Qi continued flowing, the chains would never diminish.

Yang Xiao added soundproofing and warning arrays around the chamber, then left it, adding a stone door every ten meters along the passage to prevent anyone from entering.

After emerging from the hidden chamber, he swept his right hand over the ground, restoring the floor to its original state. Unless an Earth Master stronger than him broke in, no one would discover the chamber below.

"Brother Xiao, time to eat?" Yang You'er's voice came from outside, accompanied by a knock.

Yang Xiao opened the door. Yang You'er stood outside with her hands behind her back, peeking into the room.

He stepped aside. "Want to come in and have a look?"

"Sure!" Yang You'er said with a smile. Keeping her hands behind her back, she entered and circled the room, neatly folded his quilt, and used her magical power to warm the tea in his teapot before reluctantly leaving.

There was a small pavilion in the courtyard. They brought their food there and ate dinner.

As Yang You'er occasionally placed food in his bowl, Yang Xiao stirred his thoughts, connected with the weather, and employed his Heavenly Master techniques. Snowflakes gradually began drifting through the courtyard.

"Brother, this is snow!" Like a little sprite, Yang You'er put down her chopsticks, leaped into the snowfall, and spun twice in the air.

Yang Xiao watched the fairy amid the snow with a smile on his face, but his heart sank.

Yang You'er's condition was growing stranger. First there had been her dreams, and now she liked winter. Her memories were very likely awakening.

Perhaps before long, Yang You'er would point a sword at his throat and say, "I'm going to kill you and avenge my father."

Yang Xiao shivered at the thought. It seemed he needed to hurry up and seal Yang You'er's memories. Otherwise, this would turn into a melodramatic tale of siblings killing each other.

Yang You'er played in the snow for a while, then grew tired. She returned to finish her meal, cleared the dishes, washed them with a minor spell, and went to bed.

Yang Xiao sat in the courtyard until the sky darkened. He took a tea set from his Storage Ring, drew snowflakes into the teapot and melted them into water, then summoned Earth Vein Qi to bring the tea to a boil and quietly awaited someone's arrival.

With an outsider present earlier that day, there had been many things he and Butcher could not discuss. He guessed Butcher would come tonight.

After he had reheated the tea three times, the courtyard gate opened. Butcher walked in wearing his Beast Robe, a butcher's knife at his waist. Seeing the falling snow, he smiled. "Looks like your trip to the Carefree Sect wasn't wasted."

Yang Xiao rose and bowed. "I still have you to thank, Uncle Tu. Without you, I wouldn't have obtained the Carefree Scripture."

Butcher sat opposite him and pressed a hand downward. "Sit. Tell me what happened at the Carefree Sect."

Yang Xiao recounted the Young Master's attack on the Carefree Sect.

Butcher sighed. "I received the news too late. By then, the Young Master was already halfway to the Carefree Sect.

"I intended to go help, but a powerful presence kept circling Slaughter Heaven City. The moment I left, that person would have come out to stop me."

"Fortunately, the Carefree Sect didn't suffer heavy losses. I imagine the Grand Master never expected its seventh-generation patriarch, Chen Juyuan, to still be alive. That old bastard suffered for it."

Yang Xiao rose and took out the golden pill-like pearl. "Before leaving, the patriarch asked me to bring you this Divine Kun blood essence. He hoped you would lend the Carefree Sect's disciples a hand."

Butcher took the golden pearl and pondered for a moment. "Chen Juyuan has certainly calculated well. Divine Kun blood essence can cleanse Little Blue's Bloodline and give it a chance to evolve into a Kunpeng. I can't refuse this deal."

"I'll agree to his request. Now that the Carefree Sect's higher ranks have all left, no powerful cultivators will bother targeting its lower-ranking disciples.

"But what about you? Now that you've come to Slaughter Heaven City, do you have any plans?"

Yang Xiao lowered his head in thought. He had come to Slaughter Heaven City simply because he had nowhere else to go. Butcher happened to be here, so he had come to seek shelter with him.

As for plans, staying here to cultivate counted as one, he supposed.

Yang Xiao voiced his thoughts, and Butcher smiled. "That's fine, but I'd like you to gain some experience working in the government."

"Besides the City Lord's Residence, Slaughter Heaven City has the Heavenly Master Palace under its administration, and the Earth Master Hall would be a good place for you too. Both happen to be recruiting newcomers in three days."

Yang Xiao still remembered that among those who had come to annihilate the Carefree Sect were two powerful cultivators from the Heavenly Master Palace and the Earth Master Hall respectively. He felt an aversion toward both places.

He shook his head. "Is there anywhere else?"

Butcher narrowed his eyes slightly and tapped the table. "There actually is. Do you remember the person in the black robe in the hall today?"

Yang Xiao nodded. The black-robed person had stood out far too much, and no one who saw that invisible face would ever forget it.

Butcher continued, "That's Pinghui, Slaughter Heaven City's deputy city lord, who oversees all its affairs. You could learn a great deal working at his side."

"If you're willing, I can write you a letter of recommendation. But their temperament is odd, so whether they'll honor my request is hard to say."

Yang Xiao said, "I'm willing."

Butcher rose and headed outside. "In that case, I'll have Old Li bring you the recommendation letter later."

"Uncle Tu." Yang Xiao stopped him. "I wanted to ask whether there's a spiritual technique that can seal memories."

Butcher looked at him in surprise. "What do you need a technique like that for?"

Yang Xiao glanced at Yang You'er's room, approached Butcher, and used Earth Vein Qi to seal their surroundings so no one could eavesdrop on their conversation.

He explained Yang You'er's situation. After listening, Butcher opened his mouth but could not find anything to say for a long time.

Only after quite a while did he pat Yang Xiao's shoulder. "Memories are tied to the soul. Never mind me—even the Imperial Capital doesn't have a spiritual technique like that."

"Listen to your Uncle Tu. If you fail to cut when you must, you'll be caught in the tangle. Send this girl away before her memories return. Otherwise, you'll be the one who gets hurt."

With that, Butcher turned and left. Yang Xiao sat in the courtyard, staring absently at Yang You'er's room.

At some point, he had grown reluctant to part with the little girl.

With the moon high overhead, Yang Xiao sighed and returned to his room. Even if he sent Yang You'er away, he had to ensure she could survive in this man-eating world. There was no need to rush it.