The city was filled with weeping women, children, and the elderly. Many places were hung with white cloth. The poor could not afford standard white silk, so they simply tore off a piece of white cloth and hung it as a form of mourning.
Many of the streets were also riddled with potholes. No one knew what had smashed into them to cause such a situation.
Lu Sheng looked around. After this battle, Nine Links City was already half destroyed.
After looking around the city, he went to visit the homes of the masters he had trained in before. Fortunately, these masters were vigilant and well protected themselves, so no tragedy had befallen them. After visiting each master, he gave them a considerable amount of money and went to the Zheng Family.
"Pa."
Zheng Xiangui clapped his hands heavily.
"Brother Sheng, I'll go with you too! Yu 'er and I will go with your family's team? Will that do? Damn it, this is the kind of treatment only a county magistrate gets when escorted by soldiers! "
Lu Sheng was speechless. He looked at the Zheng Family, whose house was covered in black paint. Clearly, a lot of trouble had happened here as well.
"Just you and Yu 'er?" he asked casually.
"Mm, just like your family. The rest of us will go to other cities. This time, my old man finally realized that this Nine Links City is a land of trouble. Even if nothing happens in the future, if something like the previous incident were to happen again, we won't be lucky enough to avoid it again. If not for Brother Sheng introducing Taoist Huanyangzi, our Zheng Family would have suffered heavy losses. "
He paused, then sighed, "It's just a pity for Sister Qingqing …"
Lu Sheng was speechless.
After a moment of silence, he asked again, "So, nothing happened to your family?"
Zheng Xiangui was stumped by the question. He lowered his voice and looked left and right, whispering, "My Big Brother is gone …"
"Alright … this is indeed a good thing for you," Lu Sheng was speechless. "Then since you're coming with me, I'm preparing to set off tomorrow. After that, hurry up and get ready, and inform Yu 'er too."
"Alright!" Zheng Xiangui nodded. Both of them understood that after this incident in Nine Links City, both families had plans to relocate. If it had been a bigger city, those people from the pugilistic world would not have dared to be so brazen. That fire wouldn't have been so brazen.
After leaving the Zheng Residence, Lu Sheng began to help Little Qiao pack up his things. This time, he was going out to study. Eastern Mountain Institution was an extremely famous institution in Mountain-Edge City, and even in the nearby cities. Its rules were strict, and students were not allowed to bring along servant girls. Therefore, Little Qiao could only stay in Nine Links City for the time being.
After a series of hurried preparations, Lu Quanan stuffed ten thousand taels of gold into Lu Sheng's pocket, and had him leave the city with the soldiers who were already preparing to depart.
But before Lu Sheng left, he vaguely heard that Nine Links City's Prefect, Song Duanchi, seemed to have suddenly fallen ill a few days ago and had been bedridden ever since. Now, he was on the verge of death.
He thought back to the previous explosion in the Pearl Manor, and guessed that it was highly likely that he had been caught up in this incident. This Magistrate Song was actually a pitiful person …
It was early in the morning when they set off, and the sky was just beginning to brighten.
Lu Sheng stood in the middle of the group. His face was pale, and he was wrapped in a thick white fox fur coat. It was as if he was wrapped in a white fox fur coat. He looked very warm and noble. Just this fox fur coat alone would cost more than a thousand taels of silver.
He gazed silently at Nine Links City behind him. Perhaps he would never return to this place again. Before leaving, his old dad, Lu Quanan, had already made it clear to him that he wanted the whole family to move to a big city.
"Brother Sheng? What's the matter? "Zheng Xiangui stood at the side with a blushing Zheng Yu 'er.
"Nothing much, just some feelings … cough, cough …" Lu Sheng started coughing again. This time, he had forcefully cultivated Black Fury Skill and damaged the Yang in his lungs. Moreover, he had eaten too many Yin-nourishing and cooling herbs. He could not take it anymore.
"Let's return to the horse carriage first. We're getting ready to set off, Young Master Sheng," the leader of the soldiers, Old Niu, came over and said.
Lu Sheng nodded. Taking one last look at Nine Links City, he turned and boarded a horse carriage first.
"Let's go, let's go! Everyone, let's go! "Zheng Xiangui hurriedly shouted. He had long since grown impatient.
…
Mountain-Edge City, February
Spring was in full swing. The large swathes of winter jasmine outside Mountain-Edge City gradually turned a fiery red. Countless little red flowers dropped and bloomed, bloomed and bloomed, staining the ground and trees red.
Beside a small river in the south of the city, in a white octagonal pavilion, sat a few well-dressed scholars from the academy.
Each of these scholars was dressed in ash-gray robes, their long hair tied up with black scarves. Each of them held a similarly styled folding fan in their hands.
"Brother Lu? Brother Lu?? "
A slightly enthusiastic voice pulled Lu Sheng back from his daze.
He turned his head and retracted his gaze from the fields of winter jasmine and looked at the few people in the pavilion beside him.
The one who had called out to him was Song Zhenguo. Like him, he had come from a northern city to study. This person came from a wealthy family and was well-versed in eating, drinking, and playing since he was young. At the same time, he was rather handsome and often organized groups of like-minded people to go on excursions.
Song Zhenguo was introduced to Lu Sheng by Zheng Xiangui. Most of the people present were from the same hometown. Most of them were students from the northern cities. For this excursion, they naturally gathered together as a group.
"Brother Song, forgive me, forgive me. I was distracted for a moment," Lu Sheng smiled.
It had been half a year since he had sent off Yan Kai and the other two.
In this half a year, he had traveled from Nine Links City to Mountain-Edge City and lived here for a few months. Yet, he had not encountered anything out of the ordinary.
Mountain-Edge City's security was excellent. The Winged Honor Guard patrolled the area in shifts throughout the day. Within a radius of several dozen li, no one would have to close their doors at night. Compared to Nine Links City, the difference was like heaven and earth.
There were no disasters here, no Demonic Ghosts. Even deaths were rare. The commoners walking in and out of the city were all fully clothed, unlike Nine Links City, which was scantily clad.
He had not been here for long before he, Zheng Xiangui and his sister, found Eastern Mountain Institute and completed the enrollment procedures. It had been three months since they had entered the institute.
In these three months, Lu Sheng had barely managed to recuperate from the injuries he had sustained while upgrading Black Fury Skill. His body was gradually recovering.
Snapping out of his daze, Lu Sheng looked at the few people in the pavilion.
These students were playing a game similar to the winding stream.
After filling a cup with wine, they would have the servant release it from the stream at one end of the pavilion. Then, the students would wait in the pavilion, watching as the wine cup floated over and stopped in front of someone. That person would have to drink the wine and answer a personal question that everyone had decided on.
In the pavilion, apart from Song Zhenguo, there were five or six other students, all of them descendants of merchants. There were also two girls, dressed in white and blue skirts. They sat by the side, watching the students play. When they heard something interesting, they would cover their mouths and giggle from time to time.
One of the two girls was from the same hometown as them. She was pretty.
The other was a pretty girl with a cherry-like mouth. Her name was Chen Yunxi, a native of Mountain-Edge City.
Chen Yunxi's looks could be considered decent. Although she did not have the pretty face of many of the female students in the institute, her skin was fair and her figure was one of the best. Her long legs and slender waist were especially eye-catching.
However, such conditions were only considered average to the people of this world. From Lu Sheng's point of view, Chen Yunxi could be considered a standard great beauty. Especially her pair of slender jade legs, well-proportioned and tight, the contours exceptionally perfect.
It was a pity … that the people here did not like long legs. They preferred the petite and dainty type, especially with legs that could not be too long.
Hence, the great beauty in Lu Sheng's eyes, Chen Yunxi had become a below-average beauty that the people here looked down on.
At this thought, Lu Sheng noticed that Chen Yunxi's gaze had unwittingly landed on him. He could not help but laugh bitterly in his heart.
He had only chatted with her a few times, and that was only because of Song Zhenguo's recommendation. Who would have thought that after chatting for a while, he would unexpectedly hit it off with this girl. The two of them talked non-stop and soon became good friends of the opposite sex. It was a pity that the good times did not last. For some reason, Chen Yunxi's gaze towards him gradually changed. There was a hint of something amiss.
Chen Yunxi's gaze constantly landed on Lu Sheng. Anyone could see the light in her eyes.
"Brother Lu, Yunxi's eyes are always on you," one of the students teased.
"Everyone, don't you think he should be punished with a glass of wine?!" Another person jeered.
"Miss Yunxi is beautiful and kind. She comes from a wealthy family. Her father is a tycoon in Mountain-Edge City and the nearby cities. Brother Lu, if you don't grab hold of this opportunity, you'll miss it!" Song Zhenguo whispered into his ear.
Lu Sheng shook his head. Under the jeering of the crowd, he picked up a cup of wine from the stream and downed it in one gulp.
When he was done, he flashed the bottom of his cup at the crowd.
His movements were elegant and his looks were decent. Moreover, unlike the other students, he had a well-built and well-proportioned body. Because he was highly skilled in martial arts and cultivated both internal and external energy, his eyes shone brightly. He left a deep impression on anyone who laid eyes on him.
Therefore, although he came from a small border city like Nine Links City, and his family background could not compare to many of the rich people in the Northern Lands cities, his bearing and spirit were the most eye-catching.
Under the crowd's jeering and Song Zhenguo's encouragement, Lu Sheng was quickly arranged to sit together with Chen Yunxi.
The women of this world were mostly open-minded. As long as they were not overly revealing like Duanmu Wan, no one would look at them strangely.
Chen Yunxi whispered a few words to her good friend. After sitting for a while, she was quickly egged on by the crowd and was "chased" out of the gazebo with Lu Sheng.
The two of them took a slow stroll on the nearby grass, finally having some space to themselves.
It was early in the morning. Birds were chirping and flowers were fragrant. Winter jasmine blossoms covered the entire mountain range, dyeing it a magnificent red.
"They … always like to fool around," Chen Yunxi stared at Lu Sheng with her big eyes, not bothering to hide it. This was not the first time they had been "chased out" like this.
The two of them strolled on the lush green grass, crossing a small hill and blocking the occasional glances of the crowd.
Lu Sheng looked at Chen Yunxi beside him. She was dressed in a pure white dress that only covered her thighs, revealing her knees. She even used a pair of long boots to cover her exposed calves. Her waist was light, her chest bulging, her legs long and slender, and her long hair reaching her waist. With one look, he could associate her with words like the autumn moon, white orchid, and purity.
"They mean well," Lu Sheng smiled. He was not a hypocrite, nor was he unruffled. A beautiful girl was actively wooing him, and he himself was unmarried. He did not have any thoughts of resistance, and just wanted to let nature take its course.
Especially when it was clear that the best part about this girl was her long legs, but in the eyes of the people here, it had become the worst part. Thinking of this, he felt a little regretful.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
