Evergreen Immortal-Chapter 13: Second Master of the Zhu Family

The end of the year was approaching.

The heavy snow showed no sign of stopping, falling continuously for a full day and night, even dampening the festive New Year atmosphere.

There were few pedestrians on the road, but the number of patrolling officers had increased several times compared to usual.

“Divine Weapon Talisman… Jiang Linxian… Jiang Linxian? She’s actually Jiang Linxian’s daughter? Otherwise, how could she possibly possess the Divine Weapon Talisman?”

In a long-abandoned courtyard within Qinghe City, Xu Hua no longer had the handsome and elegant appearance he once did. Several bloodstains marred his face, but the most striking sight was his empty left sleeve swaying in the wind.

He was in a sorry state.

Though the Divine Weapon Talisman hadn’t killed him, it had severed one of his arms.

If not for the intervention of the Ghost Nether Sect, he would likely have died beneath Han Qin’s Falling Blossom Sword technique.

He cast a cold glance toward the distant Zhu Family estate.

“How dare they touch what's mine!”

Xu Hua had already been to the old temple. The secret technique he brought out from Splendid Purity Sect and hid in the Buddha Hall had long since vanished without a trace.

He had returned to Qinghe City to reclaim what was rightfully his.

“Then I’ll find them one by one!”

Meanwhile, Li Rui's life had returned to normal.

Practicing martial arts, tending to horses, that was all.

The eldest young master of the Zhu Family hadn’t even stayed until New Year’s Day. He left the same day with Han Qin and the other two back to Splendid Purity Sect, showing no attachment whatsoever.

It was said that not long after they left Qinghe, top experts from Splendid Purity Sect arrived and met with the local magistrate. Now, patrol officers filled the streets.

But none of this had much to do with him anymore.

What could a seventy-year-old man still do?

Without Jiang Yan’s constant spying, Li Rui felt much freer.

Compared to survival, achievements were clearly less important.

“Little Zhao, if you’re feeling tired, go take a rest. It’s alright.”

Li Rui looked at Wang Zhao with concern.

He only had two disciples. Ma Yang was already dead. If Wang Zhao also died from illness, he’d truly earn the cursed reputation of a “Lone Star of Misfortune.”

He had to protect this last seedling.

Wang Zhao was an honest child, raised entirely by his hand. He had always treated the boy like his own son, so of course he didn’t want anything to happen to him.

“Master, I can still do a lot.”

“…”

Li Rui felt like his disciple’s response didn’t quite match the question.

Wang Zhao glanced at the base of Li Rui’s silvery-white hair, where a section had turned dark again.

If one didn’t mention his age, most people would think Li Rui was just over fifty. Those who hadn’t spent much time with him wouldn’t notice, but Wang Zhao had clearly seen Li Rui “reverse age” with his own eyes.

“Did a demon eat Master, and the one in front of me now is a demon in disguise?”

A ridiculous thought popped into Wang Zhao’s mind.

In any case, Master was acting strange!

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In the end, Li Rui had to order him firmly before Wang Zhao finally left the stable.

Only Li Rui was left.

He skillfully shoveled dry hay into the trough.

“Still, the sweatblood horses eat the most.”

Just thinking about those four sweatblood horses made him itch with longing. As a man who had raised horses his whole life, he couldn’t help it.

Just as he scooped up another shovel of hay, a shadow appeared at his feet.

“Did you kill Ma Yang?”

The sudden question caught him off guard, but Li Rui’s shovel stopped at the perfect moment. Then he turned around in panic, saying, “Second Master, please don’t joke like that. Yang boy died of illness, many people saw it.”

“Besides, I treated Yang boy like my own son. How could I commit such a heinous crime as patricide?”

The man who appeared in the stable was none other than the Zhu Family’s second master, Zhu Lie, younger brother of Zhu Ping, the family head.

If Zhu Ping was a smiling tiger, then Zhu Lie was a wolf.

No servant in the Zhu Family wasn’t afraid of him, especially because of the one-foot-long scar running down his face, grotesque and terrifying.

There was an old saying in the Zhu Family:

“Don’t fear the crying ghosts; fear Second Master’s smile.”

When Zhu Lie smiled, the scar would twitch—it was scarier than a demon from hell.

Zhu Lie gave Li Rui a chilling grin: “It better not be.”

Li Rui acted the part of a cautious and humble old servant to perfection, nodding repeatedly: “Second Master, you must believe this old servant.”

Life is like a play.

At times like this, showing appropriate panic was the most natural reaction, not composure or defiance.

Zhu Lie snorted coldly. “Bring me a horse.”

Li Rui looked troubled. “Second Master, you know the rules of the stable. Only with the Lord’s written token can a horse be taken from here.”

“You old thing!”

Zhu Lie was furious and was about to explode but forced himself to hold back.

For some reason, his elder brother had recently taken a sudden interest in this old stableman, constantly checking in on him. He couldn’t lay hands on him casually.

“Useless!”

He cursed silently.

The curse was, of course, directed at Ma Yang—for dying at the wrong time. Why didn’t he kill the old man before kicking the bucket?

Zhu Lie’s question just now had been a bluff, trying to intimidate Li Rui into handing over a horse. But to his surprise, Li Rui was unmoved by both threats and persuasion. As for whether Li Rui really killed Ma Yang, even Zhu Lie himself didn’t believe it.

An old man nearly seventy, half-buried in the ground, who probably struggled just to pee, how could he kill someone?

“I’ll see how long my brother can protect you!”

Zhu Lie shot a vicious glare at Li Rui, threw out a harsh parting threat, and left.

Li Rui shook his head.

Every family has its own troubles.

Don’t be fooled by the Zhu Family’s booming business, reaching all the way to Anning Prefecture, the household itself had never known peace.

In the early days, when the Zhu Family was still small, the two brothers had made their fortune through shady dealings. Later, the elder brother Zhu Ping wanted to go legitimate, but Zhu Lie opposed it, and the brothers split paths.

To this day, Zhu Lie remained closely tied with underworld forces.

In some places, those underworld groups were known as bandit riders. And if they were riders, they obviously needed horses.

Zhu Lie’s request for a horse was clearly for some shady things.

Over the years, Li Rui had crossed Zhu Lie more than once over such matters. But no matter the offense, he absolutely could not lend the horses. If something happened, he’d be implicated for sure.

Just trying to survive between the cracks.

Ma Yang had dared to attack him not just because of his weak character, but undoubtedly also due to Zhu Lie’s instigation.

“This debt will be repaid, sooner or later.”

Li Rui’s saber training was progressing at lightning speed.

In just ten days, he had already grasped a sliver of the essence of the White Ape Phi Blade. If the Splendid Purity Sect expert who created the style were still alive, they might even have taken him in as a final disciple, if they didn’t mind the age, that is.

“Ha! Refreshing!”

Li Rui swung his long blade, scattering snowflakes. With the outpouring of blade intent, all the pent-up emotions in his heart vanished.

After practice, he didn’t take the blade back to his room but buried it deep in the snow. It was the twelfth lunar month, there was no worry of the snow melting.

Leaving the blade in his room would risk it being seen, which could stir up trouble.

It might even implicate Yang Yong.

After burying the blade securely, Li Rui finally returned to his room at the Zhu estate.

But just as he reached the door, he saw Yang Yong pacing anxiously outside.

As soon as Yang Yong saw him, he rushed over.

“Old Li! Something’s wrong, Wang Zhao’s been beaten up!”