Zhuolu - Chapter 9

The Zhong family’s twins were born exactly alike, but there were still differences when you looked closely. The corners of Zhong Youyu’s eyes were raised, while Zhong Wumo’s were slightly lowered, which was also related to their temperaments. Today’s Zhong family brothers were still immature, obviously they hadn’t learned how to control their emotions, their emotions were written all over their faces.

Zhong Wumo tugged on his brother’s sleeve, reminding him not to get excited. Only then did Zhong Youyu come back to his senses, and raised his hand to salute Shen Qirui, “Father is in seclusion and can’t welcome each other, I hope Shibo will forgive me.”

Hearing this, Shen Qirui followed Zhong Suifeng into the main hall to talk.

Shen Lou and the brothers of the Zhong family and stood still, “Won’t you buy me a cup of tea?”

“Drinking so much medicine, you still have stomach for tea?” Zhong Youyu said strangely, then turned around and took Shen Lou to the courtyard where the brothers lived.

“But what happened to Uncle Zhong?” Shen Lou still remembered the promise he made to Lin Xin before going out, letting him follow every step of the way, even holding his little hand when going up the steps. But the child couldn’t sit still, he let go of his hands as soon as he stood still and looked around curiously.

Hearing this, Zhong Youyu’s expression became even uglier, and he blurted out: “How do you know?”

Shen Lou looked at Zhong Youyu leisurely, with an inscrutable look.

Zhong Youyu couldn’t hold back anymore, “I knew that uncle was not a bad guy, so I told him not to tell you! Something happened to my father, and the house was in chaos. Uncle said he wanted to find your father to discuss countermeasures. And you came to join in the fun!” As he spoke, his eyes turned red.

Sure enough, the century-old wine was a cover. Shen Lou already understood what happened, then his thin lips gradually pursed into a straight line.

Lin Xin was not interested in the big things these children said and leaned against the wall to tease cats and dogs, so it wouldn’t be a big problem.

A green-haired red-billed parrot stood on a gold wire shelf in the porch, shaking its head idly. Lin Xin picked up a small branch and poked its buttocks. The parrot was not very happy and yelled at him: “Can’t you get fox fur?”

Hehe, Lin Xin thought it was funny, he threw away the branch and flicked the bird’s head with his fingers, “What fox fur?”

“There’s not enough tiger fur, why don’t you use fox fur?” the parrot scolded him angrily.

Zhong Youyu blushed immediately upon hearing this, “Shut up, silly bird!”

The parrot took two steps on the shelf and replied, “Bah!”

He wanted to catch the parrot and teach it a lesson. The parrot yelled loudly: “Can’t you get fox fur? Bah!”

“Hahaha…” Lin Xin couldn’t help laughing.

The Zhong family was known as the House of Crouching Tigers, and when their children reached the age of fifteen, they all went to the mountains to hunt a tiger to prove their bravery. The white tiger fur on the collar was the symbol of crouching tiger. In his last life, Lin Xin used this to laugh at his family. After all, there were very few white tigers in the world, and the Zhong family had many children. Presumably they all dyed the skin of yellow-spotted tigers white to use them. He didn’t expect them to use fox fur to make up for it!

It was only then that Zhong Youyu noticed that Shen Lou’s little follower, a handsome child, was a little too thin, “Who is this?”

“My father’s new apprentice, A Xin.” Shen Lou beckoned Lin Xin to come over, so he approached the Zhong brothers to say hello.

Lin Xin obediently opened his clear and innocent eyes and asked in a low voice: “Is it tiger fur or fox fur on the Zhong family’s collar?”

Quietly, the three older children around heard it. Zhong Youyu looked dishevelled, and lifted Shen Lou’s shoulder, “Who did this kid learn from? Why is he so impudent?”

Shen Lou blocked the claw that tried to snap Lin Xin’s head, “He just learned to write, and he is divided so he doesn’t know tigers and foxes.”

“…” The young man’s emotions came and went quickly, and within a few words, Zhong Youyu returned to his usual attitude towards Shen Lou, and no longer accused him of watching jokes for no reason, but his laugh was still a little forced.

“What happened to Uncle Zhong?” Shen Lou asked Zhong Youyu in a low voice.

Zhong Youyu hesitated for a moment, and was about to speak, but was pre-empted by his taciturn younger brother, “Father, it will take a few years of retreat.”

As a cultivator, if he encountered a bottleneck or had a sudden feeling, they would retreat for a while. But now that his two sons were young, and his younger brother couldn’t be counted on, why would Zhong Changye choose to retreat for a few years at this time? A possibility was that Zhong Changye was accidentally injured and needed to recuperate.

Shen Lou didn’t ask any more questions.

The atmosphere on Mount Mogui was very different from Huanxing Hai. The Zhong family had a strict hierarchy, and the seniority was distinguished according to the number of black stripes on the collar. A mortal slave must kneel down and salute when he saw an immortal.

Lin Xin followed Shen Lou to the vestibule, and the mortals on the corridor kneeled in a row.

On the day of the Autumn Tribute, Mogui Mountain always held a banquet, and adults from thousands of households in the Western Regions were bustling in the front courtyard. The food and drink had already been put on the table, and there were mortal dancers in thin clothes, dancing to the sound of silk and bamboo.

Shen Qirui followed Zhong Suifeng to the main seat with a normal expression, greeted the ministers of the Western Regions, and said with a smile: “I can’t be alone, I’m greedy for drinking, I came to taste the century-old wine of Mogui Mountain, I don’t want to meet Qiugong, so I ask you all to excuse me.”

The subjects even said that they didn’t dare to take their seats. After taking their seats, they all took a sneak peek at this uncommon Lord of the Northern Territory. Xuan Guogong Shen Qirui was straightforward and informal, and seemed to be much easier to get along with than Zhong Changye, who was not very expressive.

The wine that had been stored in the cellar for a hundred years was opened, and the rich aroma of the wine was like a honeycomb that had fallen into the water, bursting in an instant and stretching for ten miles.

“I have admired the name of the Duke of the Kingdom for a long time, and Wu Zhaoyang, a subject of thousands of households, pays respects to the Duke Xuan of the Kingdom.” A middle-aged man with a Luli sword on his waist raised a wine glass and came forward to toast. He was one of Zhong Changye’s most valued subjects.

Shen Qirui recognized this person, so he held up the wine cup to bump into his.

Everyone weighed their identities, and the prestigious attendants were all ready to go up and toast. Originally, those who were slightly inferior could have paid respect to the Princes, but whether it was Shen Lou or Zhong Youyu, they were only fifteen, and they were not allowed to drink alcohol, so they were exempted from this entertainment.

“Is that the son of Duke Xuan? He really is a young talent, with a dignified appearance.”

“I heard that he could wield a sword at the age of seven. He is a genius born in the Shen family.”

“It’s not just the Shen family. Looking at the entire Dayong, there is no one with higher qualifications than him. It is just that he has been weak for the past two years, and he did not participate in last year’s hunting in Xianchi.”

“I heard that he is too sick to hold a sword, and Duke Xuan has changed his thoughts about his son.”

“Wisdom will hurt and being famous at a young age may not be a good thing.”

Everyone peeked at the handsome Shen Lou, and whispered about the legendary son, all of them seemed to know Shen Lou.

While stuffing something into his mouth, Lin Xin listened intently to the discussions, and just as he was listening with enthusiasm, he suddenly burst into applause.

Several tall and burly guards stepped forward and removed the red carpet where the dancers had been dancing. There was a traditional program in Qiugong. The immortals from each family came to the stage and competed with swords without Luli. Zhong Changye didn’t attend, and the one who attended was the lord of another domain who didn’t care about them. The subordinates relaxed a lot and clamored to win the prize.

Wu Wanhu, who had just toasted, put down ten egg-sized Lulis on the silver plate of the wine cup with a bang, “I’ll go out first, and you can do whatever you want.”

When the voice fell, a young man beside Wu Wanhu jumped onto the high platform, “Hey, Broken Sword Wu Yue!” Someone immediately called out the young man’s name. This person was a master of the Wu family, and his title was Broken Sword, because he had the unique skill of breaking people’s weapons with his sword.

He was a very energetic young man, with thick eyebrows and tiger eyes, and his eyes were brilliant. As soon as this person came out, each family became more cautious, and ordered their masters to fight.

“Wu Wanhu, you are not kind. You come out with Broken Sword. Why didn’t you wait?” Someone who knew Wu Wanhu joked.

“If you don’t dare to come out, take out the Luli!” Wu Wanhu stretched out his hand to ask for it, but the other party dodged it with a smile. Even so, there were still people fighting.

Broken Sword Wu Yue cupped his hands with a smile, revealing a pointed canine tooth. When the opponent saw his appearance, his nervousness was greatly reduced, and he rushed forward with his sword.

Wu Yue stood still at the same spot, waiting for the moment when the opponent came up to him, then he suddenly drew his sword and slashed down at an extremely tricky angle, only to hear a crisp “click”, and the opponent’s sword broke in response. Within three strokes, the winner was already decided.

“Good sword.” Lin Xin couldn’t help applauding, and Wu Wanhu accepted the other Patriarch’s Luli with a smile.

“The sword with Luli usually has an empty heart, which is used to guide spiritual power. The point three inches away from the hilt is the weakest. This person wins because he draws the sword faster.” Shen Lou whispered in Lin Xin’s ear.

Lin Xin glanced sideways at him, feeling very nostalgic for this arrogant tone. When Shen Qingque was young, his aptitude was extraordinary, and he always told the truth without mercy, even telling the truth about other people’s unique skills, which offended many people, and he didn’t know how to restrain himself until he was twenty years old.

Shen Lou didn’t know that his words of “teaching children seriously” would become “young and frivolous” in Lin Xin’s ears.

The martial arts competition on the stage was still going on and a few people’s weapons were broken by Wu Yue’s iron sword within ten moves. Whether it was a mortal or an immortal, they couldn’t help being overly excited when they encounter a gambling game, and the banquet was full of excitement for a while.

“This subordinate is not talented and wants to challenge the master of the Zhong family.” After another sword break, Wu Yue rushed to the superior Zhong Suifeng and cupped his hands.

Challenge the masters of the Zhong family, if you win, you can get a generous reward. People who had won several games in a row in the past after making such a request.

In the past, the head of the family, Zhong Changye, was the master. Zhong Suifeng didn’t call his name though. After a moment of confusion, he called a name casually: “Zhong Lu!”

“Uncle!” Zhong Youyu couldn’t stop him, and looked at Zhong Lu, who was tall and had horizontal scars on their faces, when he walked onto the stage, his expression was a little grim.

Everyone in the audience gasped, and Wu Wanhu turned pale on the spot, “Xiao Yue, we admit defeat.”

“This person is Zhong Changye’s attendant.” Shen Lou explained, not noticing that Lin Xin’s back had tensed suddenly.

“He was born in the thousand families. When he was a child, he was pushed down a steep slope by his stepmother and hurt his face. He was picked up by my grandfather and changed his surname to Zhong. He has been with my father since then.” Zhong Youyu didn’t want to pay attention to his uncle who talked nonsense, so he followed Shen Lou to coax the child, whispering the origin of Zhong Lu in Lin Xin’s ear.

Lin Xin naturally recognized Zhong Lu, he would never forget the horizontal scar from the cracked eyebrow bone to the bridge of the nose. This person was not just Zhong Changye’s attendant, he was also Zhong Changye’s mad dog. He narrowly escaped death at the hands of this person twice, and often turned his head in Zhao Jian’s arms to meet Zhong Lu’s ferocious and bloodthirsty face. He still remembered the temperature of Zhao Jian’s plasma when his arm was severed. In his childhood nightmares, most of them were full of this scarred face.

Shouldn’t Zhong Lu be looking for his traces everywhere at this time? How could he appear at the Zhong family’s autumn tribute banquet? Lin Xin’s hands and feet were a little cold, it was because he was too careless, many things in this life were different, and the experience of the previous life didn’t work at all!

It was just a small show of Qiugong, and Zhong Suifeng actually asked Zhong Lu to take action, it was really a bit of a fuss. Zhong Suifeng also seemed to feel that something was wrong with his decision and looked at Shen Qirui for help.

Shen Qirui waved his hand to signal that it’s okay, everyone in the Western Regions knew how powerful this Zhong Lu was, and Wu Wanhu had already conceded defeat, so nothing happened.

“Please.” Wu Yue on the stage didn’t seem to hear the Patriarch’s words and raised his hand to signal Zhong Lu to make a move, and everyone was in an uproar.

Zhong Lu held a black broken sword and raised his head expressionlessly. Before Wu Wanhu could persuade him again, he had already stepped on the ground with one foot and jumped up. The wooden high platform made an unbearable muffled sound, Zhong Lu’s whole body was like a sharp sword, and he quickly and ruthlessly took Wu Yue’s head straight.

“Boom Boom Boom” made more than a dozen moves in the air in an instant, so fast that there were only afterimages left, hitting each other heavily.

“Ah—” someone in the audience screamed. The moment the two collided, Zhong Lu had already cut off Wu Yue’s head and was holding it in his hand. On that young face, there was still the expression of a rivalry with a master, and he was excited and smiling. The headless body maintained the movement of drawing the sword, and fell straight on the stage, making a dull “dong” sound.

Zhong Suifeng got up abruptly, “Zhong Lu, I told you to compete, why did you kill someone?”

“This Zhong Lu can only kill.” Zhong Lu threw the head on the ground, raised his head, and looked straight at Lin Xin who was behind the short couple.

The author has something to say-

Small theater:

Xinxin: I’m afraid QAQ

Loulou: Don’t be afraid, I will protect you

Xinxin: Then you protect me, and I will crush his soul

Loulou: Okay…huh?

Parrot: Bah!

T/N: Merry Christmas you guys…