Chapter 74: Making Enemies and Becoming In-Laws

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Chapter 74: Making Enemies and Becoming In-Laws

“Because ordinary people can’t pass through barriers.” As Sun Zhengqi said this, he clearly felt the aura of the man sitting across from him sharpen. Mu Yanxiao was obviously an ordinary person, yet the pressure he exerted was immense. As a shrewd operator who made his living through unorthodox methods, Sun Zhengqi immediately realized that this man wanted to hear more about barriers.

So Sun Zhengqi continued, “Speaking of that, I’m sure you’ve seen or heard reports about ‘ghost walls,’ right? Among people like us, there are actually two explanations for them. One is a genuine ghost wall. The other occurs when ordinary people wander into places protected by barriers set up by cultivators. Most of these are illusion barriers that confuse people without harming them, so anyone who accidentally enters finds that no matter which way they walk, they can’t get out. Many eventually collapse from exhaustion, fall asleep, and wake up to discover that they’ve somehow made it back outside.”

Mu Yanxiao frowned. “…So ghosts, monsters, gods, and immortals really exist in this world?” Truthfully, if he hadn’t personally instructed Mu One to find this man, Sun Zhengqi’s wildly unreliable-sounding claims alone would have been enough for Mu Yanxiao to have him thrown out as a charlatan.

Sun Zhengqi saw Young Master Mu frown, but he wasn’t about to lose his nerve. He regularly had to bluff his way through meetings with wealthy clients, after all. Granted, the CEO in front of him, worth XXX hundred million, was by far the richest of them all, and Sun Zhengqi might have felt enormous pressure if he were trying to con him like usual—but this time he was telling the truth! What the hell was there to be afraid of?

And so, living up to the Zhengqi in his name, Sun Zhengqi nodded righteously. “Of course. If the Cultivation Realm exists, how could ghosts and monsters not exist? Even in the ordinary Light Realm—the world ordinary people live in—there are wandering ghosts, hanged ghosts, drowned ghosts, vengeful ghosts, and so on. If they fail to enter the cycle of reincarnation for one reason or another, they’ll remain in the Light Realm. Generally speaking, though, powerful ghosts, mountain spirits, spirits and demons, and the like don’t stay in the Light Realm for very long. After all, this place lacks the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that they rely on to survive and grow stronger.”

Young Master Mu’s mouth twitched. “…Use a different example.” He had absolutely no desire to hear about hanged ghosts, drowned ghosts, or especially vengeful ghosts. He had the distinct feeling that a place like a hospital must be crawling with all kinds of ghosts.

Sun Zhengqi paused, then immediately changed topics in an ingratiating manner. “As for gods and immortals, strictly speaking, neither the Light Realm nor the Dark Realm has any.”

For some reason, Mu One suddenly thought of a certain enormous dark silhouette. Unable to resist, he said, “I seem to have seen an enormous golden-winged bird in the sky… and I think it had a fish tail.” The implication was obvious: didn’t something like that count as a god or immortal?

Sun Zhengqi frowned, lowered his head in thought, and then suddenly slapped his hands together.

“Ha! I knew there couldn’t possibly be gossip that I, the ultimate know-it-all, hadn’t heard! About that golden-winged bird—hey, brother, you were really lucky to see him! He’s a hybrid of a Golden-Winged Peng and a Penglai merfolk. A lot of people think that kid has Kunpeng blood, but I have reliable information that he has absolutely nothing to do with Kunpeng! Still, both the Golden-Winged Peng and Penglai merfolk carry ancient bloodlines, so he’s extremely rare and precious!”

Sun Zhengqi was getting more and more animated as he rambled on when Young Master Mu’s mouth twitched violently. “Get to the point.”

“…Oh. The point is that even though he carries the bloodline of an ancient great spirit, he’s neither a god nor an immortal. A year ago, he almost starved to death because he couldn’t find a job! Apparently, he collapsed outside the shop belonging to that rebellious young master, and in the end, that young master was the one who found him work. Now he runs a global courier service himself, and damn, is he fast! Best of all, he can fly through the sky, travel over land, and dive into the sea. That young master really is incredible—not only can he develop those ridiculous medicines himself, but he’s also got unbelievably good judgment. Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

Mu Yanxiao’s mouth twitched again, and just as he was about to issue another warning, the perceptive Sun Zhengqi hurriedly returned to the point. “So there are no actual gods or immortals in the Human Realm. There are only cultivators, spirits, ghosts, and monsters who aspire to become immortals.”

“As for gods and immortals, according to the Three Thousand Worlds theory, the Immortal Realm lies above the Human Realm, and there may even be a Divine Realm above the Immortal Realm. But none of that has anything to do with us! In the past thousand years, fewer than a hundred people have managed to ascend to immortality anyway.”

Mu Yanxiao visibly relaxed at that. Having cultivators mixed into the ordinary human world was troublesome enough already. If gods and immortals were casually wandering around too, how were ordinary people supposed to survive? Besides, Young Master Mu had another hidden concern. If he really discovered that his Linlin possessed some divine or immortal bloodline, or came from a cultivation family, then even if Mu Yanxiao were rich enough to rival a nation and commanded countless subordinates, marrying his Linlin and bringing him home might still be far from easy.

The more he thought about it, the darker Young Master Mu’s expression became. “What about the demon race?” After all that explanation, he hadn’t heard anything about them.

Sun Zhengqi shuddered, wearing his first genuinely miserable expression since arriving. “The Demon Realm is actually a derivative realm of the Human Realm. It’s somewhat similar to the Underworld, but the two are very different. The Underworld and Human Realm have fixed passages connecting them, and on certain dates—such as the Three Great Ghost Festivals—the gates between the two realms can temporarily open. Anyway, the Underworld may be full of ghosts, but at least it’s organized, disciplined, and governed by someone.”

“But the demon race is different! They’re a whole bunch of lunatics!! Demons are born from the evil thoughts cast off by immortals, products of darkness and corruption. Basically, they’re creatures spawned from the darkest things imaginable. What they enjoy most is causing trouble for humans, especially fighting cultivators or tempting cultivators into demonic cultivation! According to the records of the Cultivation Realm, ninety percent of the demon leaders throughout history spent every waking moment thinking about how to lead their underlings in an invasion of the Cultivation Realm. The remaining ten percent either went after beautiful women from the Cultivation Realm or stole its treasures. Anyway… every last one of them is insane!” By this point, Sun Zhengqi was practically furious.

“And apparently the barrier between the Demon Realm and Human Realm has started shaking again! One of those lunatics must have risen up as their new leader! They’re definitely going to come kill people again!”

Mu Yanxiao and Mu One: “…” The world beyond ordinary human society was really difficult to understand. Still, being an ordinary person suddenly seemed like a wonderful thing.

“Ahem. That’s enough about the irrelevant stuff. It doesn’t have much to do with us anyway. Since you know the Cultivation Realm so well, tell me about its major powers. Or its families.” Mu Yanxiao spoke as though he wasn’t impatient in the slightest.

“The power structure of the Dark Realm? I’m familiar with that too!” Sun Zhengqi slapped his chest confidently. For the sake of that ocean-view villa, even if this man asked him what kind of underwear he was wearing, Sun Zhengqi would tell him everything he knew without holding back a single thing!

“The largest are naturally the three great sects: Kunlun, Taibai, and Jiuhua. Those three sects have supposedly existed for who knows how many years, so their foundations run incredibly deep, especially Kunlun. Besides those three, there are also the Seventy-Two Immortal Mountains, the Thirty-Six Blessed Lands, and plenty of smaller sects, though most of them aren’t particularly powerful. There just aren’t that many cultivators around anymore. Ah, come to think of it, Penglai is technically a sect too, but it seems this generation only has three disciples left. Tsk, tsk. They were practically on the verge of extinction, but then a Golden-Winged Peng suddenly popped up, so they should be able to hang on for quite a few more years.”

“Besides those sects, there are also a few families you absolutely shouldn’t offend. Hmm… three of them, if I count correctly.” Sun Zhengqi’s expression twitched strangely.

“Well, I can’t say too much about these three families. How about I just tell you their territories and names? The three great sects may be enormous and powerful, but they also have strict rules and won’t casually attack people. These three families are much more vicious. If you offend one of them without an exceptionally powerful backer, you might spend the rest of your life regretting it!”

Mu Yanxiao was somewhat speechless, but after thinking about it, he supposed he would feel a little guilty if the man he’d hired ended up in serious trouble because of him. Of course, a little trouble was perfectly fine. Otherwise, wouldn’t everyone start thinking an ocean-view villa was that easy to earn?

“Tell me about those three families. Also, are there any particularly powerful families in the Qinling Mountains?”

Sun Zhengqi froze for a moment at Mu Yanxiao’s question, then immediately asked, “How did you know there’s a family in the Qinling Mountains?”

Mu Yanxiao’s expression sharpened, his pitch-black eyes staring directly toward Sun Zhengqi. The pressure nearly crushed the younger man. He knew perfectly well that Mu Yanxiao couldn’t see, but did a blind man’s stare really need to be this terrifying?!

“There really is one?” Mu Yanxiao narrowed his eyes and slowly asked, “Is it… the Lin Family of Qinling?”

Sun Zhengqi was so startled that he hiccupped. His expression immediately twisted into a mess. Why did this CEO suddenly look so vicious and strange?! Could President Mu actually be mortal enemies with the Lin Family of Qinling?! Holy crap, did he have a death wish?! That was the most unreasonable, bizarre family among all three great families!

No, Sun Zhengqi had to talk some sense into this CEO before the man threw his own life away!

“Um! President Mu! Please listen to me first!” Sun Zhengqi took a deep breath, then began rattling off his explanation like beans spilling from a sack. “There are three great families in the Cultivation Realm: the Wang Family of Tianmen, the Lan Family of Nanjiang, and the Lin Family of Qinling.”

“The Wang Family of Tianmen produces talented people in every generation, and their greatest strength lies in their people. They have an unbelievable number of descendants—in other words, they’re exceptionally good at having children. Their family teachings are also excellent, so every generation produces several talented individuals. Add their sheer numbers and influence, and the Wang Family of Tianmen is easily one of the foremost families in the Cultivation Realm. They’re more protective of their own than the great sects are, but they’re still relatively reasonable and fair. Of the three great families, the Wang Family is by far the easiest to deal with.”

“Then there’s the Lan Family of Nanjiang. Their advantage is geography. Miao territory has been famous for witchcraft and Gu arts since ancient times, and even within the Cultivation Realm, that’s the path they practice. It isn’t exactly an evil path, but their cultivation methods can be somewhat bloody, so you can’t really call them completely righteous either. Outside their territory, things aren’t too bad. But the moment you set foot in Miao territory in the southwest and offend someone from the Lan Family, well… let’s just say you won’t be able to buy a ticket home. You will, however, receive a free ticket to the Underworld~” Sun Zhengqi’s face turned slightly green, as though he’d remembered something particularly unpleasant.

“People from Miao territory are bold and fierce. The good thing is that they place enormous importance on loyalty. If they like you, they might even give you their most precious Golden Silkworm Gu. The bad thing is that if they don’t like you, they might plant a Gu in you without saying another word. Basically, if you can avoid provoking them, don’t provoke them.”

Mu Yanxiao’s expression grew increasingly unpleasant as he listened, especially after hearing about the Lan Family. In his experience, whoever got saved for last was usually the hardest to deal with. Tragically, the wife he wanted was very likely to belong to exactly that final family… At that moment, Young Master Mu desperately wanted to overturn his own theory. Maybe it really would be better if his Linlin were a parrot spirit! At worst, he could find him a human body, or simply wait for him to take human form. But if Linlin really came from the Lin Family…

Well, he should probably hear exactly how untouchable this family was first.

“The Lin Family of Qinling?”

“Oh… that… sigh.” Even Sun Zhengqi’s enthusiasm for talking seemed to fade. “The Lin Family produces a freak in every generation.”

Mu Yanxiao: “Huh?” What was that supposed to mean?

“The Lin Family of Qinling. Nobody knows exactly when they claimed that prime feng shui territory in the Qinling Mountains, nor how many years their lineage has been passed down. All anyone really knows is that they’ve existed for an incredibly long time—long enough for members of the Lin Family to have some kind of relationship with successive leaders of Kunlun, Taibai, and Jiuhua. Granted, some of those ‘relationships’ were apparently forged while fighting over treasures and now consist mostly of rolling their eyes whenever they see each other. Still, after all these years, the Lin Family is the only family that has ever dared to clash openly with all three great sects, especially Kunlun.” Sun Zhengqi spoke with particular gravity.

“The Lin Family has the fewest descendants of the three great families. Their collateral branches number several thousand, but the direct line has fewer than fifty people. Normally, the fewer members there are in the direct line, the easier it is for collateral branches to covet and seize power from the main line, eventually causing internal conflict. But… ahem. Like I said, the Lin Family produces freaks in every generation. And by that, I specifically mean the main line.”

“Every generation of the Lin Family’s main line produces one particularly disastrous—uh, special individual. They’re either cultivation fanatics or cold-blooded killers. I even heard there was one who became sworn brothers with some lunatic leader of the demon race. As for the most recent two generations… uh, one is a cultivator who entered the Path of Slaughter. Back then, he nearly slaughtered an entire city of demons single-handedly. He almost died himself, but survived and became an Asura feared by everyone in the Cultivation Realm. He’s already in his thirties and still hasn’t found a wife. How piti—AAAAH!!” Sun Zhengqi had been talking quite happily when a sudden clap of thunder exploded from the clear sky outside, frightening him so badly that he fell straight onto his backside.

Mu Yanxiao, “…!” It couldn’t possibly be what he was thinking… right?

Trembling violently, Sun Zhengqi said, “…I’ll say just one last thing! Besides him, the youngest generation has another freak who absolutely refuses to cultivate. His natural talent is ridiculously high, but he simply hates cultivation! That’s it! I’m finished! I’m not saying another word! President Mu, just decide how much you’re going to pay me!!” Holy crap, is earning a house supposed to be this hard?! I’m risking getting struck dead by the Blood Asura just to afford a home! Being a mortgage slave is brutal!!

Mu Yanxiao’s mouth twitched. Sun Zhengqi’s voice was still trembling, and considering that thunderclap just now… “You weren’t detailed enough. The ocean-view villa is off the table. I’ll give you a sea-view apartment instead.”

Although Sun Zhengqi was still somewhat unwilling, he eventually broke into a delighted smile and nodded. Sea-view apartments weren’t cheap these days either! Especially not in City A!!

“I never said it was in City A. It’s a sea-view apartment in City B. Take it or leave it.”

Sun Zhengqi: “…” President Mu, is this really okay?! Don’t underestimate the resentment of a low-level cultivator! I curse you to never find a wife!

“Anything else? If not, you can leave. I’ll give you the key and address in a few days.” Young Master Mu had obtained the information he wanted and was already considering how best to digest and use it.

Sun Zhengqi’s mouth twitched, but in the end he still couldn’t resist adding, “Um, President Mu, let me give you one piece of advice. No matter what happens, I really don’t recommend making enemies with the Lin Family. That whole family is a little… well, you know? They’re not only absurdly protective of their own, but the way their brains work is also… well…”

Mu Yanxiao’s mouth twitched as he impatiently waved him away. He wasn’t trying to make enemies with the Lin Family—he was planning to become their in-law. The problem was that the entire Lin Family might object…

Tsk. Come to think of it, that wasn’t much different from making enemies with them. For some reason, Young Master Mu suddenly remembered that burly man whose voice sounded like a bandit chief, along with that old fox spirit… And so, when Young Master Lin You returned in an excellent mood with his shopping haul, he found his blind master sitting solemnly on the bed, apparently deep in thought.

“Blind master, what are you doing?”

Without even thinking about it, Mu Yanxiao replied, “I was thinking we could take a trip to the Qinling Mountains tomorrow. Maybe visit your hometown while we’re there?”

Husky Lin: “!!” Holy shit!! What happened while Young Master Lin was gone?!

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