New 'Home'

The White Lotus Sect is an organization that specializes in rebellion. Its organization and management are far more rigorous than ordinary people can imagine.

Such an organization would certainly not allow any romantic relationships, especially since the girl's status had also undergone a huge change.

When Qin Tian returned from another mission, the girl had already been chosen as the Holy Maiden, a being that White Lotus Sect disciples like Qin Tian could never look up to or touch.

He could only kneel on the ground like all the other White Lotus Sect disciples, bowing his head and listening to the Holy Maiden's instructions.

He could no longer gently pat her back and silently accompany her when she was sad.

Qin Tian was unwilling, but he had no choice.

His talent was limited; he couldn't even cultivate the Hundred Step Divine Fist to the realm of perfection, let alone other martial arts.

That day, a White Lotus Sect elder found him.

It was an old woman with skin like withered tree bark, white hair, leaning on a cane, her triangular eyes revealing a cold light.

The elder announced the latest decree of the White Lotus Sect.

Qin Tian was transferred to Yujing City, disguised as a wealthy merchant, responsible for gathering important information about the imperial court, and also responsible for assassinations when necessary.

Qin Tian knew this was a warning from the White Lotus Sect.

The elders had been watching his little affair with her all along.

It was only because the Holy Maiden was happy and had not yet ascended to her position that the elders had been lenient. Now that the Holy Maiden had officially ascended to her position, her status was revered, and naturally, people like Qin Tian could not approach her.

If it weren't for the Holy Maiden's sake, Qin Tian would have been killed directly.

Qin Tian could only leave; he could not resist the White Lotus Sect because he did not have the ability to do so.

On the day he left the White Lotus Sect, Qin Tian looked back. The wind and clouds surged on the mountain peak. A figure in white stood in the distance, gazing at him. Their eyes met, both filled with reluctance.

After arriving in Yujing City, Qin Tian was dutiful and responsible. He hated it, he was unwilling, but he could not resist.

And so, he stayed in Yujing City until he reached middle age.

Not long ago, he received the latest order: to assassinate Grand Tutor Yuwen, the prime minister of the imperial court.

For Qin Tian, with his innate cultivation, to assassinate Grand Tutor Yuwen was like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth.

However, according to the White Lotus Sect's rules, orders came first, and even if there were mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, you had to go.

So Qin Tian made his move.

The consequence was a battle on the long street, where he was beheaded by the Black Cloaks.

Until his death, he never saw the girl again.

The revolving lantern story seemed long, but it didn't take Wen Qingkong too long to go through it in his mind.

After the revolving lantern ended, the system's mechanical voice sounded again in his mind.

[Host has obtained Hundred Step Divine Fist]

Wen Qingkong felt his cultivation increase significantly again.

Logically, he should have already broken through to the Grandmaster realm, having obtained the power of the monk, Zhou Wu, Zhao Liu, the Mount Xiong Guang bandits, and Qin Tian.

But he didn't feel anything, assuming that his power had not yet reached that point.

"Alright."

Wen Qingkong glanced at the woman in white.

The woman in white didn't know what she was thinking, staring blankly at Qin Tian.

After Wen Qingkong finished speaking, she finally said "Oh," walked to the cold slab, and carefully looked at Qin Tian's neck. She couldn't see any traces of stitches at all, as if this head had never fallen off.

"Do you think he's good-looking?"

The woman in white suddenly asked an absurd question.

Wen Qingkong was stunned for a moment, then said faintly, "He's alright, I guess."

The woman in white stared at Qin Tian. Although there was a veil between them, Wen Qingkong could feel that the woman in white's gaze seemed very strange.

"He's not good-looking, he has no money, and his martial arts are not good either. Why is it that Senior Sister can't forget you even in death?"

She was talking to herself, but she didn't avoid Wen Qingkong.

Wen Qingkong then realized that the White Lotus Sect Holy Maiden in the revolving lantern was the senior sister of the woman in white in front of him.

Whoosh!

Wen Qingkong watched as the woman in white's whip wrapped around Qin Tian's corpse, then she leaped up and quickly disappeared into the night.

Wen Qingkong put away the silver, locked the doors and windows, and then practiced the Hundred Step Divine Fist, each punch generating wind and whistling power. With the final strike, from a distance of fifteen feet, the force of the punch extinguished the candle.

Although Qin Tian was evaluated by the woman in white as having mediocre martial arts, he specialized in the Hundred Step Divine Fist all his life, and this fist technique was truly remarkable.

Wen Qingkong felt that among those at the Innate level, there might not be many who could be Qin Tian's opponent.

Wen Qingkong went up to the second floor to sleep and rest.

The night passed without incident. The next day, before dawn, the Ministry of Justice clerk had already arrived, banging on the door.

Wen Qingkong was speechless.

Old Zhou was right; the guy really did come this early.

Signaling the awakened Li Lan'er to continue sleeping, Wen Qingkong went downstairs and opened the door.

The Ministry of Justice clerk's beady, triangular eyes darted up and down.

"Is the money ready?"

Wen Qingkong took out a silver note.

The Ministry of Justice clerk happily accepted it.

"Not bad, not bad."

"The property deed is yours; we're square."

With that, he stuffed the deed into Wen Qingkong's hand, took the silver note, and left.

Wen Qingkong carefully checked the deed, and after confirming that it was correct, he meticulously put it away.

Although this clerk was detestable, he kept his word and didn't cause any further trouble.

From this day forward, Corpse Seamstress House Number Nine belonged to him.

As the first rays of dawn appeared, Wen Qingkong gave the white-clothed woman's ten taels of silver to Li Lan'er.

Now, Li Lan'er was more like his older sister, responsible for taking care of his daily life. He had divided the second floor into two rooms, one for Li Lan'er and her daughter, and one for himself, so they wouldn't disturb each other.

Today, he and Li Lan'er would go to the market together to buy the necessities for their life.

Things like pots, pans, and a certain amount of vegetables, meat, rice, and flour.

Wen Qingkong wanted to partition off a kitchen in one of the side rooms on the first floor, specifically for Li Lan'er to use for cooking.

The other half of the side room would continue to be used for storing black dog blood, ink fountain lines, and other items to prevent corpses from reanimating.

The place where Wen Qingkong and Li Lan'er bought things was in the market at Caishikou, just a few steps away.

Caishikou was originally a market intersection with a large flow of people, so every time someone was convicted and beheaded, it was done here to deter the people.

While Wen Qingkong was shopping with Li Lan'er at the market, he saw soldiers from the Five City Garrison arresting people everywhere, holding portraits in their hands, looking fierce and menacing.

Clearly, the white-clothed woman's killing of three Black Cloaks yesterday had angered the imperial court.

Moreover, Qin Tian had attempted to assassinate Grand Tutor Yuwen, a crime punishable by death.

Wen Qingkong and Li Lan'er quickly bought their things, and just as they were about to return, they were stopped by two soldiers, one of whom looked Li Lan'er up and down.

Wen Qingkong quickly stuffed some loose silver into the soldier's hand.

"Sir, we're just ordinary people, please give us a break."

The soldier weighed the silver in his hand, and since Li Lan'er was not particularly beautiful, he waved his hand, signaling that Wen Qingkong could leave with Li Lan'er.

Wen Qingkong watched as soldiers took the opportunity to drag away pretty women in the distance, and he felt more and more that the arrival of this turbulent world meant danger everywhere.

Li Lan'er's face was even paler; if she were caught by these soldiers, she didn't even dare to imagine what the outcome would be.

Back at home, Wen Qingkong partitioned off the side room on the first floor, built a kitchen, and set up an earthen stove.

Li Lan'er tidied up the rice, flour, vegetables, meat, pots, and pans.

Little Shuang'er was also sweeping the floor in a decent manner.

This deserted Corpse Seamstress Workshop was gradually taking on the appearance of a home.