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Way of the Devil - Chapter 79




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Chapter 79
Uncle Zhao led a few soldiers ahead and entered the small village cautiously via the main path, his hand on the saber hilt .


The village was a scene of stillness . A dozen dilapidated mud-wall houses sat here and there, without any apparent order or planning . In the middle of the village was an intersection of two rudimentary paths .
The sounds made by Uncle Zhao and his band of men were extremely jarring in the deathly silent village .
"Is anybody here?" Uncle Zhao walked to the front of the village and shouted .
His shout echoed inside the village, but there was no activity to be heard or seen in response .
"Is there anyone?" he asked again .
The village remained silent .
Behind him, the soldiers frowned . Dispersing at Uncle Zhao’s hand signal, they tiptoed into the village .
Slowly, they checked every single house, one by one .
"Ka-thump . "
A soldier accidentally knocked into the handle of a flour grinder . The wooden handle snapped immediately and landed on the ground .
A dozen lines of sight zoomed in in his direction . Uncle Zhao strode over to the flour grinder and scrutinized it .
He touched the spot where the handle had broken off . When he lifted his finger, it was covered in a layer of yellowish-brown wood dust .
"This is an old village . Which of you have been here before? It’s near the main path so it should be visible to any travelers along it . "
The band of soldiers looked at one another and shook their heads .
"I’ve heard my old Dad mention that he used to travel to Mountain-Edge City when he was young and had once spent the night in a village along the way . No idea whether this is the place…" a muscular soldier said in a boorish voice .
"Your old Dad is sixty now . When he was young… wouldn’t that be decades ago?" Another soldier replied .


"Thirty years ago, perhaps . It’s so long ago that I might as well not have said it," the thickly-set soldier replied with a chuckle .
"This village seems deserted," Uncle Zhao stood up and surveyed from left to right . "Go make another round to check again . If nothing is out of the ordinary, we could spend the night here . "
Due to all sorts of mishaps in the recent years, there have been many cases of entire villages migrating or fleeing . Consequently, an empty village was nothing strange .
Often, an epidemic was sufficient to cause a whole village to uproot and migrate, leaving behind a ghost town-like village .
"Yes, sir!"
They scattered themselves all over to check . A total of eighteen mud houses sat in the village; all swept by them . Half of them had broken down; there were either gaping holes in the roofs or collapsed walls in the houses .
Uncle Zhao and his men tidied up the remaining mud houses, then dispatched a messenger to inform Lu Quanan, who had been waiting on the main path .
Then, Lu Quanan brought everyone else and drove the ox carts into the village slowly .
"There’re a few larger mud houses . Let’s allocate them accordingly and make do for the night . We’ll continue on the way tomorrow . Arrange sentries for the night," Lu Quanan commanded everyone to set up camp for the night .
Just the mud houses alone were naturally insufficient for all of them to lodge in . Their priority were the women and children . The Northern Lands were not nearly as comfortable as other places; the temperature drops drastically at night, sometimes to freezing point . It was very easy to catch a cold .
"There’s a well in the middle of the village . We can fetch water from it . The forest is right beside us . Bring some men to pick some dried twigs . And look around to see if there is any game or mushrooms and the like . But don’t go far--watch your safety . "
Lu Quanan had traveled to a lot of places when he was younger and so was experienced . Very soon, he had everything set in order .
"Dispatch a messenger to Mountain-Edge City . Say that our progress will be delayed by a few days because a wheel had broken down," Lu Quanan instructed a soldier .
"Got it, Old Master," these soldiers were city guards arranged by Lu Anping as escorts, who were here at their superior’s command . Moreover, the Lu Family has been treating them well along the way . Just by escorting them along this journey, each of them would earn five taels of silver, which was equivalent to two months’ salary . Naturally, they had no complaints .
The soldier flipped himself onto a horse, brought along some rations and rushed towards Mountain-Edge City .
By then, a campfire was lit in the village . A large pot of soup was being prepared .
Lu Chenxin alighted from his horse carriage to stretch . Originally, he was supposed to seek further studies with Lu Yiyi . Given his lackadaisical nature, however, there was no way he could put up with the meager lifestyle in an institution . With many excuses and fake illnesses, he missed the departure date, leaving Lu Yiyi to head to Xichuan Town alone .


‘Heheh, Mountain-Edge City is much more exciting . What fun is there in Xichuan Town? Brother Sheng must be having the time of his life there . I heard that there’re plenty of pleasure boats … I’m in for a good time once we get there,’ Lu Chenxin chuckled in anticipation as he looked around .
He was put in the same carriage as Zhang Xiuxiu’s family, relatives of Lu Quanan’s first wife . Lu Tianyang was also in the carriage, making for a cramped ride .
But Zhang Xiuxiu was born with a pretty face and her body soft to the touch . So, he had been enjoying the ride .

Zhang Xiuxiu was a distant relative descended from Lu Sheng’s maternal grandfather . She was, in fact, not related to Lu Chenxin by blood .
Since her father was not doing well, he had thrown in his lot with the well-endowed Lu Family .
Furthermore, Zhang Xiuxiu was born out of wedlock; rumor has it that her father had hooked up with a lady in some brothel . Anyway, only her dad raised her up since the time she was taken into the family .
Perhaps as a result, she grew up living loosely . Owing to her good looks, she had some unclear connections to Lu Tianyang of the Lu Family, and even Sun Bajun .
Now that these people were out of the picture, Lu Chenxin finally had his turn to taste this forbidden fruit . Naturally, he was in an extremely good mood .
Lu Tianyang also alighted from another carriage by the side .
The two of them made eye contact, and drew near to each other .
"How was it? How did Xiu’er taste?"
"Not bad, not bad… she takes the initiative much more than Yuelan . She’s got kick," Lu Chenxin whispered in a chuckle .
"Same house tonight?" Lu Tianyang was born of Lu Quanan’s fourth concubine and had also earned himself the repute of a prodigal in Lu Manor . Originally, he, Lu Chenxin and Sun Bajun were together known as the Three Bachelors of the Lu Family . It’s a pity that Sun Bajun went missing after that .
"Pity that Bajun…"
At the thought, Lu Chenxin grew heavy-hearted . "Mountain-Edge City is so prosperous and lively . If Brother Bajun was around, he would’ve been delighted . Then we the Three Bachelors of the Lu Family would go drinking and cruise Cypress Pine Lake together . That’d have been fun . "
"Let’s not talk about this . Where’s Jiao Yan? Have you seen her?" Lu Tianyang had recently been smitten by a servant girl in the family .
"She’s helping to tidy up the place . At Old Dad’s carriage . You dare to go?" Lu Chenxin pointed .
Lu Tianyang stuck his tongue out without daring to reply .
***
Crystal Watergate, Mountain-Edge City .
Swathes of grayish white flat-roof houses were packed tightly together like scales on a fish . In the middle, Cypress Pine Lake—presently dyed a pinkish hue—divided them into two districts .
Lu Sheng and Chen Yunxi stood on the arched stone bridge above the watergate, admiring the willows by the lake, swaying in the wind . Neither of them spoke for a while .
Seeing no response from the long-legged beauty before him, Lu Sheng smiled and broke the silence, "I’ve never been to this place . The air is fresh and scenery is beautiful . How did you think of this place for a stroll?"
Chen Yunxi gazed at the opening of the watergate, from which water flowed incessantly like white silk, feeding into Cypress Pine Lake .
"My Dad was the one who paid for the third refurbishment of this watergate . Lots of manpower and resources were involved . Once it was completed and water was let through, I came to watch . Back then, I was so excited .
Gazing at how the murky brown flood water turned into clean water, clear as crystal, after flowing through the watergate… the impact that made on me… you wouldn’t understand . "
"It’s alright . I’ve seen similar sights in the past," Lu Sheng caressed his bald head, wondering why it took so long for new hair to grow .
"Brother Sheng . Tell me honestly . Do you despise me?" Chen Yunxi turned around, staring at Lu Sheng with a pale face .
"You’re so beautiful and virtuous, and come from such a decent family background . Who can despise you?" Lu Sheng shook his head, "I just don’t want to settle down so soon . "
He knew that the road ahead of him was destined to cross paths with the supernatural without end . His personality had decided that, since he possessed the Deep Blue Modifier, he would not live a mediocre life .
And such a life was destined to be one that Chen Yunxi could not accept . What she desired was simply finding a good man, living the rest of her life in peace, bearing children to inherit the family business or achieve an academic degree .
But these were not what Lu Sheng wanted .
Since he was unable to give others a future, then he should not lead them on and hinder them .
Lu Sheng understood this fact clearly . Hence, he made no effort to avoid Chen Yunxi when she approached after the ceremony, and came here with her .
"I know you’re different from the rest of us," Chen Yunxi bowed her head, her voice trailing into a whisper . "My Dad also urged me not to be too persistent . From the changes on you, I can guess at the kind of life you used to lead . "
"Then why do you still…?" Lu Sheng asked helplessly .
"But, only when I’m with you do I feel truly safe…" Chen Yunxi stepped closer to Lu Sheng .
She was wearing a light, thin long-sleeved white dress . A cream-colored gauze cloak covered a pink top . A lotus leaf-shaped dress, tied with a butterfly knot to the right, covered her legs to her knees, revealing her perfect, fair and slender legs .
"You…" Lu Sheng stared in surprise at Chen Yunxi . Even in the open-minded Northern Lands, it was very rare for a woman to be so near a single male .
"I like you, Brother Sheng," Chen Yunxi gazed affectionately into Lu Sheng’s eyes . "Even though you’ve lost your eyebrows, even though you’ve become bald, even though your muscles are getting thicker and thicker, I still like you . "
Lu Sheng felt weird . Something seemed wrong to him .
"So…" Chen Yunxi stepped closer again, her bust lightly caressing his chest .
"…marry me . "
"Pop . "
An intricate jewelry box appeared in Chen Yunxi’s hand out of nowhere . She gently opened it, revealing a white jade thumb ring within . A soaring phoenix had been carved on the ring .
"…!" exclamations burst forth in Lu Sheng’s mind .
Countless similar images flashed across his mind continuously . But all of those images were proposals by men to women . He had not expected in the slightest that a big beauty like Chen Yunxi would take such initiative to custom-make such an intricate white jade thumb ring to propose to him .
Helpless, Lu Sheng regained his composure .
"I’m sorry . I can’t give you the kind of life you want," lightly, he closed the jewelry box and pushed it back towards her .





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