Zhuolu - Chapter 1

The north wind was carrying snowflakes the size of grains of rice, and the snow waves crashed on the thatched grass on the roof of the medicine house, making a miserable rustling sound.

“Bring this to Madam, go faster, and don’t let this chitosan tea get cold.” A maid in a brown jacket walked out of the medicine house, she looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old and handed over the wooden tray with a porcelain cup filled with hot tea to the child standing in front of the door.

The boy was short and dwarfed by his oversized clothes, and his thin body was wrapped in an empty gray cotton robe, he looked like a little mouse that had just survived the winter. He took the tray obediently, and responded softly, “Sister Xiao Ying, go in quickly, it’s windy outside.” After that, he took the tray and walked staggeringly on the flagstone road to leave.

Immortal grass could not be contaminated with other spiritual energy, so this medicine house was located in the back mountain far away from the mansion.

“Hey, you said they are all young masters, why is this Third young master so pitiful?” Xiao Ying looked at the child’s back and felt pity in her heart.

“He is a wild seed, and his father died as well, can he still live in brocade clothes while eating jade food?” Another maid who came out with a medicine pot to wash her lips pouted and did not feel any pity for the third young master. No matter how bullied he was, he was still an immortal with spiritual power, unlike them, who were just mortal slaves doing rough work.

Lin Xin walked quickly across the stone road, turned and stepped onto the covered rain porch, then suddenly slowed down. He placed the tray firmly on the railing, and regardless of whether the snowflakes that floated in would cool the tea, he rubbed his frozen little hands.

It was not long after he was reborn, and he still wasn’t quite used to this small body. He looked down at his thin wrist. His bones were straight and well-proportioned. Obviously, they hadn’t been broken yet. How could he not even hold a tray steady?

His past life was still vivid in his mind, while his life had changed within the blink of an eye.

Bursts of hot air bubbled out of the porcelain cup, and the smell of chitosan grass[1] inevitably spread out, causing Lin Xin to frown.

Chitosan was a top-grade immortal grass that reassured the soul and nourished the soul. When it grew in the soil, it could only be smelled close at hand, but it was different when it was boiled into tea.

For the lords of a ten thousand master household like the Zhao family, chitosan was a relatively luxurious thing, and it was usually not boiled and drunk casually. Probably because of the sudden death of the eldest young master, Mrs. Zhao worried too much about hurting her soul, so she ordered the medicine house to boil it for her to drink.

He rubbed his left wrist with one finger, but he couldn’t feel the protruding stubble, which made him really unaccustomed. Lin Xin sneered, as far as his eyes could see, the cold iron-grey roof of the Zhao family was scattered, just like in the memories of his childhood. Why did Young Master Zhao die so early? That man was obviously killed by his own hands when he was an adult, what year was it now…

“Yo, isn’t this the third cousin?” A young man’s voice-changing male duck voice[2] shocked Lin Xin from his deep thoughts.

The second young master, who was wearing a sapphire blue robe and a small mink cap, walked over with a stern look. The saber around his waist was thrown to the outside from time to time because of his twisted posture, revealing the fist-sized Luli[3] on its hilt.

Even if the sky was gloomy, the Luli with extremely high clarity was still dazzling. Today, the price of Luli was not as outrageous as it was a few years later, but it was basically a tael of gold for one tael of glass. During the non-war period, the Zhao family did not allow their children to wear such a large Luli in the mansion.

This man not only wore it, but also shook it three times, for fear that others would not know that he was very happy that his brother had died.

Lin Xin secretly said “Idiot”, lowered his head, twisted his two little hands that were red with cold, made a look of helplessness, and whispered: “Second Young Master.”

Idiot Second Young Master always liked to admire his humbleness and cowardice. The way he looked, this gesture could probably get rid of him, but Lin Xin didn’t want to cause trouble for the time being. However, today’s Second Young Master was not satisfied with this, he pulled out his sword with a “swipe pull” and lifted Lin Xin’s chin with the tip of the sword.

This was what the old eldest young master often did. Perhaps it was because of his excitement that he was about to become the young master of the family. This young man, who usually only knew how to eat and drink, had boldly started imitating his elder brother.

The Luli on the hilt of the sword shone with a faint light, and the abundant spiritual power instantly filled the body of the sword, rippling from the tip of the sword, and small scratch-like wounds were cut on the tender chin. The bright red blood line slid down Lin Xin’s neck and into the placket, but he didn’t even frown, and he still kept his eyes lowered softly, as if he was unaware of the pain, “I have to send this chitosan tea to Madam quickly, otherwise it’ll get cold.”

This stinky smell could be tolerated while it was still hot, but if it was cooled down, it would be no different from drinking urine when put in your mouth. If Mrs. Zhao was unhappy with the drink, she would take out her anger on him again.

Hearing this, the second young master became more interested, put away the tip of his sword, and winked at the companion beside him, “What’s the point of sending tea, let my cousin test your homework first.”

The companion’s name was Xie Tianhe, the leader of the younger generation of Zhao family generals, he was originally the young master’s lackey.

Xie Tianhe was instructed, so he grabbed Lin Xin’s collar with ease, dragged him directly to a secluded place on the back of the rock, and threw an iron sword without Luli at him. The overly heavy sword made Lin Xin, who took the sword, take two steps back again and again before he could stand firm. He adjusted his posture awkwardly, but the soles of his feet slipped and he almost fell. The little child was holding a long sword that was almost the same height as him, this scene was rather comical.

Lin Xin touched the empty Luli slot above the hilt and his eyes darkened. A sword without Luli was like a water mill without running water, and it could only be driven by the spiritual power of the cultivator. With his current strength, not to mention against Xie Tianhe, even against the ignorant and incompetent Second Young Master, he would not be able to stand.

The second young master, who followed him with a smile on his face, obviously did not know how to write the words “bullying the weak”, so he directly handed his sword with Luli embedded in it to Xie Tianhe.

“Om–” The vast spiritual power didn’t come. Before the sword was completely unsheathed, Lin Xin rolled on the ground with the iron sword in his arms, barely avoiding the fierce sword energy, and the rocks behind him shattered.

No matter how talented Xie Tianhe was, he was still only thirteen years old, so he couldn’t use the big move that swallowed mountains and rivers, which made Lin Xin still have the possibility to avoid it. The snowflakes that had gotten bigger and bigger hit his face, making a crackling sound, and the tattered cotton-padded coat rolled over the ground and was embedded with the gravel and withered grass, causing it to hurt.

“Hahahaha…” The second young master saw that Lin Xin was squatting and rolling on the ground like a little gopher, and he couldn’t help laughing, but he didn’t notice that a little light was escaping from his and Xie Tianhe’s bodies.

Embarrassedly dodging a dozen moves, Lin Xin knew exactly where the opponent’s next move was going to be , but he couldn’t escape. The long sword slashed over from the top of his head, and he had to kneel upright, clenching his teeth while facing the sword.

“Kacha!” The iron sword without Luli, like a thin and brittle poplar, was directly broken into two sections. Seeing that the sword qi was about to cut off half of Lin Xin’s shoulders, the second young master didn’t mean to stop it, but laughed even more.

The sword qi cut off the broken hair in front of Lin Xin’s forehead. At this moment, the small body suddenly dodged away like a ghost, and instantly rushed to Xie Tianhe’s side, waving the half-cut sword.

“Chi——” Blood spurted out from Xie Tianhe’s neck, splashing the stunned second young master’s head and face, and before he could react, Lin Xin had already turned his palms into claws, and tightly clasped the second young master’s Tianling cover.

“Ah, ah, you, who are you?” His soul was torn and dragged by an invisible force, as if it was about to burst out of the sky, and the second young master wanted to shout, but the sound he made had changed into a weak breath.

This person could never be his easily bullied cousin, he must have been possessed by some evil spirit!

Hearing this, Lin Xin smiled softly, leaned into the ear of the second young master, and whispered, “I am an evil ghost, sent by the heavens, I came here to give you a taste of your soul flying away, is the second young master still unhappy?”

After his guess came true, the second young master Zhao screamed silently, his eyes seemed to be about to fall out of the sockets, saliva dripped from his mouth that could not be closed, and he passed out with a terrified expression.

The translucent soul body was like squeezed tofu, and it slowly escaped from the fingers. After pinching it twice, Lin Xin suddenly let go of his hand, and the soul was like a drop of water falling on the muddy ground, gradually seeping back into the body. Killing the second young master at this time was not a wise choice.

Throwing away the broken sword, a burst of dizziness suddenly struck him, Lin Xin leaned on the stone wall for a moment, then staggered back to the rain porch, grabbed the half-cold cup of chitosan tea, and gulped it down.

The taste was really not very good, but after a cup, the feeling of the earth spinning disappeared. Lin Xin sighed, his body was thin and weak, and his soul was extremely weak.

Throwing the broken sword into the second young master’s hand, he pulled off the shining piece of Luli, and clenched his palm into a fist. Luli rapidly decayed at a speed visible to the naked eye and turned into powder.

There was no one around, he lightly lifted the hem of his clothes, and peed in the empty cup, and the steaming “Chitosan Tea” came out. Grabbing a handful of snow to wipe off the blood on his neck, Lin Xin picked up the wooden tray and walked unhurriedly towards the courtyard of the Zhao family’s mistress.

“My son, it’s so hard to believe that he’s gone…” The woman’s cry came from the thick cotton curtain and merged with the whistling north wind.

“The Shen family replied that they would send someone to check.” Zhao Wanhu persuaded him slightly tiredly.

Shen family? Lin Xin’s hand that lifted the curtain couldn’t help but pause for a moment, Shen Lou’s extremely handsome face appeared in front of him, and he didn’t know what the expression of that person would be when he would have received the news of his own death.

The author has something to say: Shen Lou: The expression of a widower▼_▼

T/N: Guys, please show your support because this is my first Xianxia novel… I’m in your hands… if they are mistakes, please tell me in the comments. I’ll be highly grateful.

[1] Chitosan is a biodegradable natural polymer with many advantages such as nontoxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability and which is generally used in medicine.

[2] Alluding to how the voice of a teenager cracks while going through puberty.

[3] Luli is a type of glass which is very rare and precious… So I couldn’t find any pictures but the green portion in the necklace is made from Luli..