Chapter 29: Closed Door Meditation

  That "Divine Feather Arrow" shot an arrow and immediately shifted his gaze to the fish Xuanji sitting beside him, thinking about how to get this unparalleled beauty in his life. As for Shen Tu Zhang, he was already considered a dead man.

  "A good shot with a cold arrow, little man." A loud shout exploded in the ear of "Divine Feather Arrow" like thunder. In his terrified gaze, Terror Shentu's large hand opened and grabbed his head, slamming it to the ground, instantly splattering his brains everywhere. Turning back, he punched and kicked, easily dispersing that group of so-called top-notch Jianghu fighters.

  Chu Jianxiong only felt a tightness in the back of his neck, and before he could react, he was already dizzy and fell to the ground with a thud. His heart was filled with shock and astonishment: How can there be such an expert in the world?

  Look at the group of good hands led by him, all fell to the east and west, fell into pieces, some still had a groan, some had no sound, none of them were worthy opponents of Shen Tu Jian. The "Divine Feather Arrow" was originally the farthest from Shen Tu Jian, but died the earliest.

  This reversal happened in an instant, between the flash of lightning and the spark of flint, and life and death were clearly decided.

  Shi and Shang stood there in a daze, staring at Shen Tu Zhang, their eyes filled with incredulity. They had seen Shen Tu Zhang's skills before, but they were far from what he was showing now. Shen Tu Zhang sat back down at the small stall, finishing off the remaining wonton soup in one gulp, saying: "Those who should die have died, those who haven't better scram, or when the officials arrive, you won't be able to even if you want to."

  Xu Xian's body possessed spiritual eyes, and he personally saw that in one of his hands, he grasped several illusory human shadows, which were the souls of the people he had just killed. Only then did he realize that he was also a cultivator.

  Chu Jianxiong gritted his teeth, knowing he had suffered a great defeat. He clasped his fists and said, "The green hills remain unchanged, the clear waters flow forever."

  "Get out! Don't waste words, don't wait for me to change my mind."

  Chu Jianxiong's words "we'll meet again" were stuck in his throat, and he knew that this child was probably gone for good. He glared fiercely at Xu Xian, turned around and left. Those who didn't die on the ground also groaned as they got up and left, and surprisingly no one dared to look at Shen Tuo in the eye, tonight's battle, everyone lost inexplicably, their hearts and souls shattered.

  The alley's bustle had just begun, as if it was pressed down by an invisible giant hand and returned to silence.

  Xun Zu stormed out with a smile, still holding the few souls in his hand. He turned around and took big strides to leave, disappearing into the dark alley. He didn't kill everyone, but only chose those who were extremely guilty, which was a way to make up for the cause and effect. However, he also had a bit of "owing too much debt doesn't matter" attitude, anyway, the cause and effect on his body were already enough.

  Only that one lantern still emitted a warm light, illuminating the few corpses on the ground.

  Yu Xuanji said: "He has taken on this cause and effect for you."

  Xu Xian looked at Yu Xuanji with some apology and said: "I'll send you back!" He walked over.

  Yu Xuanji took a step back and said: "No, don't come any closer. I'll just go back myself!" His face was actually somewhat flustered.

  Xu Xian thought back to the scene earlier and felt even more apologetic. On such a dark night, after experiencing something like this, he couldn't bear not to send her back home. He could only force himself to explain: "Uh, just now..."

  Yu Xuanji interrupted: "Don't say any more, give me the Lei Fu." As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the ground.

  Xu Xian took out two talismans from his bosom and handed them to her. Yu Xuanji pinched the edges, accepted them, turned around, and walked away hastily. Xu Xian looked at that slender back figure, unsure if it was his own illusion, but felt a bit flustered.

  Yu Xuanji's heart couldn't calm down, but it wasn't just because of the intimate posture in that small alley. If it were a stranger, she could have let it go and forgotten about it entirely, not putting it in her heart at all. But now she found herself unable to forget the scene from back then. Not only the scene from back then, but also the scene where Xu Xian held hands with her to teach her how to write, the scene where Xu Xian cooked for her, many, many scenes flooded her mind, suppressing one and another popping up.

  If she weren't a cultivator, it would be easy to just let things go after a brief annoyance. But she had to understand her own heart. Unable to face it, yet unable to not face it, what a helpless thing this was. Lifting her head to gaze at the orange-yellow sky, she wanted to ask: In this deep red dust, where is home?

  At the entrance of the Taoist temple, Zhūn sat on the stone steps in a daze, with the lantern placed to one side. Yú Xuán Jī couldn't help but chuckle and went over to tap her head, only then did Zhūn come back to herself, pouting as she exclaimed: "Master!"

  Yu Xuanji patted her head and said, "Let's go in!" After thinking for a moment, he added, "The master will be closed off, except for Chun'er, I won't see anyone else, especially Xu Xian."

  Bamboo shoots clapped their hands and laughed: "The master is mine alone now, suffocating Master Shu."

  Yu Xuanji watched her happy appearance, and sighed in his heart: You are empty-headed bamboo, can't understand the troubles of the world, it's better to never understand.

  The efficiency of demon cultivation is far inferior to that of human cultivation, but demons are all wild beast spirits and do not have so many distracting thoughts. Especially the spirits cultivated from plants, their hearts are clear and unblemished by a single speck of dust. Unlike human cultivators, who in addition to enduring the great calamities of heaven and earth must also undergo repeated trials of demonic temptations.

  Xu Xian walked back and forth along the alley, when suddenly a multitude of flames burst out in the darkness, and a group of soldiers surrounded Xu Xian.

  "I am Xian, a licentiate of the Imperial Academy, with the surname Xu."

  Xiao Wei pushed through the crowd and recognized Xu Xian: "So it's Master Xu, are you alright? What about those bandits?"

  "I was rescued by a stranger, several of the group were killed and are lying in the alley up ahead. Officer Zhang should hurry to apprehend them, and send a few more men to escort me to see Mr. Jin!"

  The officer Xiao Yu was busy putting out the fire for half the night and got a belly full of smoke. Only when he heard that there were rewards to be given did he feel a little happy. He thanked Xu Xian and then led his men away, leaving a few guards to take Xu Xian to see Jin Wancheng.

  Just out of the alley, Jin Wancheng was standing beside the dead guard, with someone collecting the body. His face was pale and it was unclear whether he was injured or not.

  Xu Xian walked over and handed him a brocade box, saying: "Mr. Jin, your things."

  Jin Wancheng forced a smile at Xu Xian, but didn't seem particularly pleased. "Today was a big mistake on my part," he said, taking the brocade box and putting it into his bosom without even looking at it.

  "Take a look! Check if the items are correct." Something worth millions needs to be clarified during handover, otherwise it will be unclear what kind of trouble will arise in the future.

  Jin Wancheng smiled wryly: "Since Master Xu can return intact, would he still be greedy for these small things?"

  Xu Xian sighed and said: "It's not just this little thing, it's the blood and sweat of countless craftsmen, and the life of this brother. Even if we don't consider these things, it's worth millions."

  Jin Wancheng's eyes gleamed as he stared at Xu Xian, "I'm telling you, Master Xu might not believe me, thinking that this old man is just making things up. But I'd rather use these six precious stones to exchange for this one life. Ah, material possessions are dead, but human lives are alive!"

  Xu Xian was stunned and didn't know how to respond, nor did he know whether to believe it or not. All he could do was sigh bitterly. Once you're dead, that's it; who can bring the dead back to life?

  Jin Wancheng didn't make any further explanations and instead asked: "Does Master Xu really think these six black diamonds are worth three million taels?"

  Xu Xian said calmly: "It may be worth it, but even if I sell it for a tenth of its value, no one will buy it."

  Jin Wancheng nodded and said, "However, these six gems are not for sale. I invested a lot in preparing to go out to sea and was a bit strapped for cash, so I thought of coming to Hangzhou to make up for the shortfall. If it were just tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, it would be a simple matter, but 3 million taels is no small sum after all. We must also consider others, but if the old man signs and draws up an IOU, writing what kind of loan agreement, I really can't bear to lose face in front of this person. So I thought of using these six gems as a pledge. Who would have thought that it would spread out and become 'one gem is worth 500,000 taels'?"

  Xu Xian was stunned for a moment before he understood that this was the style of ancient merchants, who relied solely on their integrity to do business all over the world, and did not bother with written contracts. When borrowing money, they would break a piece of tile into two halves, with each party holding one half, and when it came time to repay the loan, they would simply match up the tiles as proof. If you didn't trust me, there was no need to borrow from me; if you trusted me, there was no need for written evidence. This stubbornness was particularly evident in Jin Wancheng, an old merchant who had experienced many ups and downs in his life.

  Xu Xian sighed, these six gems that attracted a group of thieves to rob, turned out to be just like the broken tile's function. What was truly worth 3 million taels was the old man's integrity and the signboard he had spent decades crafting. Since he mastered this craftsmanship, naturally more and better diamonds would be made in the future. This time bringing six black diamonds probably also had a promotional meaning. Compared to these added things, the value of these few diamonds was pitifully small.

  At this time, the knight's feather arrow was cut off and pulled out. The doctor said that this arrow pierced deeply into the lungs, and he should have died on the spot, but he could ride his horse to rush here, which is really unthinkable. The two looked at the half-cut bloody arrow, and for a moment they were speechless.

  Is it the inner strength of this world that can suppress fatal injuries, or is it a certain idea in his heart that makes him say his mission to Xu Xian here, no one knows.

  ;