Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

"Lord Official, my apologies."

Miss Yun regulated her breathing, casually wiping the bloodstains from her face.

She turned and handed the long saber back to the Blackhead Junior Constable with both hands.

"It’s... it’s nothing."

Chang Yi took the saber. He wanted to say something more, but he noticed Miss Yun had already averted her gaze, looking toward the figure seated in a lazy lean.

He took the hint and stood to the side, saber in hand.

"Thank you... benefactor."

Miss Yun bit her lip, trying her best to wipe her face clean with her sleeve before walking up to the young man with red-rimmed eyes.

She had so much she wanted to say, but for a moment, the words were all caught in her throat.

Ever since her parents died, she hadn’t known what it felt like to be protected.

Even after coming to West City, she had played the role of the family’s backbone, doing the most chores and working hard to wash more clothes, barely able to support herself and the mad old woman.

Only this man before her had, from the very beginning, always kept her shielded behind him.

"Go get cleaned up first."

Lin Shu rose slowly and nodded toward Brother Baodao, who stood nearby.

"Understood!" Chang Yi obediently sheathed his saber. ’Brother Lin kills, I collect the bodies. It’s the usual routine.’

It was just that the number of bodies needing to be collected was not only increasing, but their strength was also far exceeding his imagination.

’Now that the Black Water Gang is almost completely wiped out, this city is finally going to get better!’

"Lord Official, I’ll help too." Dong Cheng, ever perceptive, hopped into the Woodshed and began helping him drag the bodies scattered on the ground out one by one.

He took the opportunity to glance out of the corner of his eye at the two mortals in the pile of corpses, other than Mr. and Mrs. Cheng.

They looked miserable, yet they had died without a sound.

’Liu Chuan, oh, Liu Chuan. How dare you meddle in Master Lin’s affairs.’

Having followed Lin Shu for so long, Dong Cheng had a decent understanding of him.

Although his methods were cruel, he always had a strange sort of pity for ordinary people...

’No, "pity" sounds too condescending. It’s not quite right.’

It was more like a bottom line: what happens in the Jianghu stays in the Jianghu, and once you step outside that circle, you don’t involve the innocent.

In all this time, Liu Chuan and Bi were the first mortals Dong Cheng had ever seen Master Lin lay a hand on.

’They were really just asking for death. No one could have stopped it.’

With a soft exhale, Gu Nanzhi leaped down from the high wall and landed in the courtyard.

This time, she surprisingly didn’t scold Chang Yi for his recklessness.

After all, when it came to recklessness, her own trip to North City with Lin Shu hadn’t been much better.

Besides, she had only acted so desperately because she sensed an Immortal Descendant, but Yi had charged into this Woodshed with genuine sincerity.

His actions had surely been seen by the Immortal Family.

’This time, it’s the Chang Family’s turn to benefit from their good son’s fortune.’

"I just sensed the aura of an Inner Technique on her. Wouldn’t it have been better to leave the Cheng Family alive and let her come back to deal with them herself after she’s accomplished something in her Cultivation?"

Gu Nanzhi glanced toward the kitchen.

Many Immortal Families trained their disciples this way.

"Revenge is revenge. Don’t overcomplicate it."

Lin Shu replied casually. This was why he had shown a look of appreciation just now.

Vengeance is a pure thing.

It is an outpouring of emotion, a resolution for the dead.

Of course, one must be unscrupulous and seize every opportunity.

It wouldn’t be hard to let Mr. and Mrs. Cheng live another day, but who could bring her parents back to life for even a moment?

Hearing this, Gu Nanzhi smiled and didn’t argue.

She collected her thoughts, no longer able to suppress the excitement in her eyes. "Now, can I see her?"

After asking the little one for her opinion via Divine Thought, Lin Shu gestured with his eyes for the County Captain to look at the side room.

"Hah."

Gu Nanzhi took a deep breath, completely ignoring the members of the Fierce Wolf Hall still in the courtyard.

She walked straight to the side room, lifted the hem of her robes, and knelt respectfully on the ground.

"Hm?" Yan Jin snapped out of her daze, staring quizzically at her fellow sect sister. Bai Feng, having confirmed he was still alive, also cast a numb gaze in her direction.

"Gu Nanzhi, a humble World Traveler from the Chen Family of Anren Prefecture, Yongzhou, begs for an audience with the Upper Immortal!"

As she spoke, Gu Nanzhi bowed deeply.

That simple sentence, however, sent everyone present, aside from Lin Shu and Miss Yun, into a state of stunned shock, their pupils dilated.

Here in the tiny Black Water City, inside this dilapidated Woodshed, there was actually an Immortal Family in residence?!

Even Chang Yi and Dong Cheng, who had never left the city, stiffened, their eyes filled with a mixture of nervousness and longing as they looked over.

CREAK—

The door was pushed open.

A petite figure with a calm expression stepped unhurriedly through the doorway, stopping to stand before Gu Nanzhi, looking down at her.

The moment she appeared, everyone held their breath. They were so shocked that they instinctively wanted to prostrate themselves on the ground like the County Captain.

"..."

Gu Nanzhi stared at the small, fair, and delicate bare feet in her line of sight, and her heart suddenly began to pound violently.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Those were clearly the feet of an infant.

She raised her head in a daze, looking at the figure still dressed in a belly-band, her gaze finally resting on the child’s tender face.

The next moment, fear washed over her like a tidal wave.

Gu Nanzhi’s arms trembled slightly, and beads of sweat seeped out, soaking the back of her shirt.

’There’s no Core Formation Immortal Descendant like I imagined...’

To be precise, she had never seen an Immortal Descendant like this one before. An Immortal Descendant shouldn’t be walking the mortal world in this form!

This being couldn’t even be considered a child.

The feeling Gu Nanzhi had right now was as absurd as watching an egg hop out on its own.

But eggs can’t move.

And an Immortal Descendant in this state shouldn’t be moving either.

It should be slumbering, absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, waiting for the moment it fully matures.

’There was no Immortal Family backing him up at all... From start to finish, it was only Lin Shu alone!’

At this thought, Gu Nanzhi’s heart was filled with lingering fear and palpitations, and her body nearly went limp.

The recent scenes flooded her mind.

Killing the Mountain-Smashing Dragon, taking the Magical Artifact, then fighting the remaining two dragons alone.

Throughout this entire process, she had assumed an Immortal Family was watching from the shadows, but for Lin Shu, the only one he could rely on was himself.

She turned her head in disbelief, staring intently at that slender figure.

Without any intervention from an Immortal Family, everything this young man had done—and the decisiveness and composure with which he acted—took on an entirely different meaning!

"Yan Jin, a humble World Traveler, pays respects to the Mountain God!"

Yan Jin, her heart trembling with fear, shot a glare at Gu Nanzhi. ’I don’t get it,’ she thought. ’This woman is quite experienced, how could she lose her composure in front of an Immortal Family?’

She dropped to her knees with a THUD and kowtowed to the porcelain doll-like figure.

The belly-band the figure wore had already revealed its identity.

’Riding the wind as a chariot, taking the mountains and rivers of Yongzhou as its perch, the incarnation of a Cyan Simurgh, a descendant of the Yu Family Mountain God.’

Warned by Yan Jin’s actions, Gu Nanzhi finally snapped back to her senses. She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look directly at this Immortal Family member again. "I shamelessly beseech you on behalf of all the citizens of this city. Now that Black Water City is open, I implore the Mountain God..."

"Say no more. I am already aware."

Yu Sheng, her little hands behind her back, said faintly, "All of you, rise."

As the others averted their gazes in awe, the little one secretly winked at Lin Shu.

’Hehe, I told you, didn’t I? The Yu Family has a ton of prestige!’

"..."

Lin Shu shot her a look, not bothering to respond.

Right now, he only wanted to know if Yu Sheng actually had the ability to solve this problem for Black Water City.

"Relax, it’s a piece of cake."

Yu Sheng replied via Divine Thought. She didn’t need to know which family the Immortal Descendant trapping Black Water City belonged to.

Because no matter which family it was, none in Yongzhou could compare to the Yu Family.

"Thank you, Mountain God, for your grace!"

Just as expected, upon hearing Yu Sheng’s response, Gu Nanzhi was instantly relieved, and the worry on her face vanished.

Nearly forty percent of all Civil Servants in the entirety of Yongzhou came from the Yu Family, spread throughout all levels of the hierarchy.

It was no longer a simple matter of one family holding a dominant position.

One could say that the Yu Family’s will completely represented the State Yamen. Their words were more effective than an order from the Governor appointed by the Court.

And resolving matters like Black Water City’s situation was precisely what they excelled at.

"But I have one condition."

The toddler in the belly-band waved her hand, her tone shifting.

Hearing this, Gu Nanzhi, who was just about to rise, quickly froze. "Please, give your command."

Even if the Immortal Descendant before her was a bit too young, the lives of the entire city’s citizens depended on this single being. No matter the request, the Government Office would have to risk everything to fulfill it.

"From now on! You’re not allowed to do that pose anymore!"

Yu Sheng puffed up her cheeks and crossed her little arms over her chest. "Right, that one."

"Uh."

Gu Nanzhi’s expression changed slightly, a look of bewilderment on her face.

She had guessed many possibilities, but after thinking it over and over, she couldn’t figure out what kind of condition this was supposed to be.

"This disciple... this disciple obeys!"