Chapter 19: The Immortal Lord’s Messenger

Cheng Shan touched the saddle, filled with doubt. She clearly remembered that the horse was not saddled when she bought it. How did this item suddenly appear when there was neither a village nor a shop nearby? Or did she remember it wrong, and the horse came with a saddle? But she only had that small jade pendant; could the horse dealer be generous enough to give her a gift? Moreover, this horse ran like the wind; could it end up being treated as an inferior horse with no one interested, eventually bought by her?

The more Cheng Shan thought, the more her scalp tingled. She dismounted and took a few steps back from the horse, looking at it with wide eyes. After a long time, with no solution in sight, she decided to stop thinking about it. “Forget it, let’s go home and check on Dad.” With the false sense of security that her memory was wrong, she mounted the horse again and set off.

Riding tirelessly without rest, Cheng Shan entered the view of Luo City soon. She entered the city early in the morning, and as she encountered familiar faces on the way, they all looked at her in surprise and fear before avoiding eye contact and walking away. Cheng Shan didn’t understand, but she was worried about her father, so she didn’t talk to anyone and went straight to the Cheng family.

Soon, a young man chased after her, calling out “Cheng Shan.” Cheng Shan turned around and saw Song Xiu, a childhood playmate. He used to take Cheng Shan to climb trees and look for bird nests. In recent years, as they grew older, both boys and girls were confined by their parents and couldn’t play together. After a long time of not seeing each other, there was no strangeness in the youth’s attitude. He spoke immediately: “Are you going home?”

Cheng Shan almost didn’t recognize him and was slightly stunned before responding, “Yes, why?”

“Then be careful. Your elder uncle came a few days ago, saying he wants to sell

Your family’s house.” Song Xiu gestured to touch the Demon King’s bow on Cheng Shan’s back. “Hey? Where did you get this bow? “

“Don’t touch it,” Cheng Shan dodged. “Why would my elder uncle want to sell our house?”

“Simply put, I heard that your parents were in trouble, so your elder uncle rushed over to take control of the family wealth. I heard that he even drove away the manager of the Liang City bank and replaced them with relatives from your aunt’s family. Only the manager in our Luo City didn’t bother with him because someone said they saw you in Luo City after your family had trouble. Where have you been these days?”

“Forget about it,” Cheng Shan sighed helplessly, pondered for a moment, and then asked, “Where is my elder uncle now?”

Song Xiu said, “He’s at the inn in the east of the city. He probably plans to wait for a while. If you don’t show up, he might take over your family’s shop in Luo City.”

“Oh,” Cheng Shan casually responded, not paying much attention. She had experienced the world of demons and monsters in a daze and embarked on the path of cultivation. Although her foundation was not solid, she had developed a mindset of “viewing material wealth as external.” Moreover, with the safety of her parents weighing heavily on her mind, she had no time to worry about these matters. If her elder uncle took over her father’s shop in Luo City, it didn’t matter to her. She wasn’t good at managing it anyway.

With a heavy heart, Cheng Shan continued forward. Song Xiu stopped her and, with a mysterious tone, said, “Do you know why the house hasn’t been sold yet? It’s because your family is still haunted!”

Cheng Shan couldn’t help but stop and turn her head. “Ah?”

“No one can enter. Why don’t you try?” Song Xiu, with a curious excitement in his eyes, said, “Your elder uncle even hired a Daoist priest. Unexpectedly, when that Daoist stood at your house’s entrance, he muttered, ‘provoking is not worth it’ and ran away. Isn’t that strange?”

Cheng Shan thought of this guy’s love for the extraordinary. After all, she was led onto the path by him. She had to deceive him, saying, “I had a master perform a protective spell on my house because I was afraid of thieves. Although there’s not much left inside, it’s still my home, and I don’t want outsiders to enter casually.”

“Really? You can do that?” Song Xiu said. “Which master is it? Introduce me to him.”

Cheng Shan, fearing that he might see something he shouldn’t, didn’t want to explain further. She just wanted to get rid of him quickly and said casually, “From Tian Tai Mountain.”

Song Xiu immediately seemed absent-minded, as if he were wandering in a daze. After a while, when he looked up again, he saw Cheng Shan already walking away. He shouted, “Do you need me to accompany you?”

Cheng Shan’s steps slightly faltered. Without looking back, she waved her hand and said, “No need.” Although she really wanted someone to accompany her, someone to talk to occasionally and share her grievances, she thought about the unpredictable dangers ahead. She couldn’t even be sure if she was still human, so why involve ordinary people in these matters? With a sigh, she just wanted to quietly go home, check if her father was properly taken care of, and then think about saving her mother. She didn’t even plan to meet her elder uncle.

The Cheng family was as dilapidated as before. Cheng Shan could visibly see a thin layer of black energy surrounding it. She didn’t know if others could see it, but if they could, it would be quite frightening. Cheng Shan wasn’t sure if she could enter, but with things having come to this point, she had no choice but to force her way in. In the end, Cheng Shan successfully broke through the energy layer, pushed open the gate, and the little yellow horse was bounced away, its front hooves raised high, almost falling backward.

Cheng Shan speculated that the true qi from Han Luo on her body served as a foundation. For the barrier of this house, it was considered a friendly force. She looked around, tied the horse to a tree outside the courtyard, and entered alone.

Looking at the shattered home with fallen trees and broken tiles, Cheng Shan felt a sourness in her heart. She sniffed and, in her mind, kept repeating “material possessions,” then began searching for her father, Cheng Qian.

Having searched everywhere with no results and growing anxious and puzzled, Cheng Shan finally remembered that she was no longer an ordinary person. Although she had just started cultivating her divine power, her spiritual consciousness was almost negligible. However, using it to sense Han Luo’s barrier should not be difficult. Cheng Shan immediately activated her true qi and released her spiritual consciousness, but after sensing it, it was blocked by a strange aura.

Cheng Shan withdrew her spiritual consciousness in surprise. “Attic?” This aura didn’t seem to have any connection with Han Luo. Cheng Shan hesitated for a moment, then decided to go there.

The attic was the most severely damaged building in the Cheng family. Almost all its components had turned into debris. The only thing left that allowed people to recognize its original appearance was a broken wall. Several collapsed beams and pillars were scattered on the ground, forming a small triangular space. Through a layer of black, transparent energy, Cheng Shan saw Cheng Qian lying inside.

“Dad!” Cheng Shan was both surprised and delighted, rushing over. However, before she could get close, a white-clothed man descended from the sky, blocking her way. Cheng Shan was forced to stop, calmly assessing this person, who appeared out of thin air.

The man in white looked about twenty, was handsome, and dressed in wide and long robes. Standing there, he had a somewhat cultured and scholarly appearance. Despite the long sword behind him, Cheng Shan felt he hadn’t come to fight or steal. The man also assessed Cheng Shan, his gaze filled with doubt and scrutiny. When he saw the Demon King’s bow, he was momentarily surprised and spoke, “Who are you?”

Although Cheng Shan couldn’t discern the true nature of beings from different realms with her naked eyes, she had an intuition that this person wasn’t a demonic entity. She smiled and said, “This is my home, and it seems like you’re jumping ahead of my question.”

The messenger of the immortal contemplated for a moment, seeming to sense that Cheng Shan was not an ordinary person. He spoke plainly, “The local land deity reported unusual signs here. I am here to investigate on behalf of the Immortal Lord Changchun.”