34: Chapter 34 City Lord, I Want to Take Care of You in Your Old Age
[City Lord Murong Xiao somehow learned the news, even sending someone to deliver a congratulatory gift and inviting Chu Sheng to the mansion for a talk.]
[City Lord’s Mansion, study.]
[Murong Xiao dismissed the attendants and scrutinized the respectfully standing Chu Sheng with a cryptic smile.]
["Qin Shou, or should I say... Chu Sheng?"]
[Chu Sheng’s heart tightened, knowing his identity had likely been partially uncovered.]
["A live-in son-in-law of the Lin family in Qingshi Town, a defected disciple of the Qinglan Sect... Heh, quite a colorful history."]
[Murong Xiao toyed with a jade pendant.]
["However, this City Lord does not care about such things. I only look at two things: ability and luck. You seem to lack neither."]
[Chu Sheng lowered his head: "City Lord, you flatter me."]
["Your life-shortening pills, how many more do you have?" Murong Xiao asked suddenly.]
["I still have a few, but the materials are difficult to find." Chu Sheng answered truthfully.]
["If this City Lord gives you the materials, could you refine more? Or... improve it to reduce the cost?"]
[Murong Xiao’s gaze was intense.]
[Chu Sheng pondered: "Improvement is extremely difficult. But if the materials are sufficient, refining more... is perhaps worth a try. It’s just that..."]
["Just what?"]
[Chu Sheng suddenly gritted his teeth, lifted his robes to kneel, and looked up with an earnest expression.]
["City Lord, I have drifted for half my life. Now that I have settled down in the Liu family with a wife and child, and seeing how your prestige shakes Jin Xiao City and your benevolence covers the region, I... I dare to be bold and wish to serve you, to share your burdens!"]
["If the City Lord does not despise me, I am willing to treat you as a father, and... provide for your old age and show you filial piety!"]
[The air suddenly went quiet.]
[Murong Xiao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, the sound shaking the roof tiles.]
["Good lad! This City Lord has cultivated for over two hundred years and has no children. This is the first time someone has said to my face that they want to provide for my old age! You have quite the nerve!"]
[He laughed for a long time before stopping, looking at Chu Sheng with deep eyes.]
["This City Lord does not need a son. But... I do need some capable people with good luck to handle a few thorny matters. If you truly have such intentions, then prove your worth."]
[Chu Sheng watched this scene and silently gave a thumbs up.]
[This maneuver was effective.]
[Acknowledging a father sounds a bit strange, but the results were outstanding.]
[Big shots like Murong Xiao need people who are daring enough to speak and possess some ability.]
[After a period of time, Murong Xiao began to assign some tasks to Chu Sheng that were not critical but tested his abilities.]
[Mediating disputes between small factions, identifying special medicinal materials, and secretly investigating abnormal movements in the city...]
[Chu Sheng relied on "Strong Luck" and his increasingly refined poison pill techniques.]
[He no longer purely relied on self-harm, having started to research more lethal and controllable combat poison pills.]
[He gradually gained Murong Xiao’s trust.]
[Liu Qingyan was at ease tending to her husband and children, and Chu An was growing up healthily.]
[The Liu family’s situation improved greatly due to their closer relationship with the City Lord’s Mansion.]
[The Liu family ancestor even held on for another half a year before finally passing away.]
[With the support of Chu Sheng’s pills, Liu Chengqian barely broke through to Ninth Grade of Qi Induction, temporarily stabilizing the family.]
[Everything seemed to be developing for the better.]
[Until the second year.]
[The moment the calm was broken, Chu Sheng was teasing his son in the yard.]
[Deep in the "Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range," a thousand miles north of Jin Xiao City, unusual and violent demonic energy fluctuations erupted.]
[Immediately after, an urgent report arrived from the border outpost:]
[A small-scale beast tide had broken out!]
[Tens of thousands of demon beasts were stimulated by something unknown, rushing out of the mountain range to attack human towns!]
[Jin Xiao City, as an important border town, bore the brunt.]
[The City Lord’s Mansion immediately issued a conscription order, organizing an army of cultivators to head to the border and resist.]
[Chu Sheng was also among the conscripts.]
[On the night before departure, he sat by the bed, looking at the sleeping Liu Qingyan and the Chu An in swaddling clothes, and suddenly felt a pang in his heart.]
[He thought of the Lin family in Qingshi Town.]
[He thought of his nominal wife, Lin Wanqing, and... the child he had never met, whose gender he did not know.]
["How is the Lin family now? The suppression by the Qinglan Sect, the covetousness of the Wang and Li families... Will Wan Qing and the child be in danger?"]
[A deep sense of guilt and worry welled up in his heart.]
[At the same time, among the team resisting the beast tide, Chu Sheng saw several figures wearing cyan cloud-patterned Taoist robes.]
[They were disciples of the Qinglan Sect!]
[They had also been dispatched by the Tianfeng Kingdom to support the border!]
[Seeing enemies, his hatred flared.]
[Chu Sheng suppressed his hatred and lowered his head.]
[Among the Qinglan Sect disciples, a middle-aged cultivator who appeared to be the leader was talking to Murong Xiao, his attitude not particularly respectful.]
[Chu Sheng vaguely heard words like "searching for traitors" and "suspicious movements of demon beasts."]
[Beast tide... Qinglan Sect... the safety of the Lin family...]
[Three threads converged at this moment.]
[The simulation enters a critical node: The beast tide erupts, and Chu Sheng is conscripted.]
[Please make a choice for the simulation.]
[1. Prioritize the City Lord’s mission, perform with all your strength, strive to further gain Murong Xiao’s trust and support, and use this to counter the pressure from the Qinglan Sect.]
[2. Secretly investigate the real reason for the beast tide outbreak to seize the initiative.]
[3. Try to contact Qingshi Town, secretly understand the situation of the Lin family, and even attempt to secretly bring Wan Qing and the child back.]
[4. Focus on improving your own strength and poison pill reserves to cope with the greater crisis that may come.]
[Chu Sheng looked at these four options and fell into deep thought.]
["Which one to choose?"]
[He rubbed his chin.]
[Choose 1.]
[The Murong Xiao connection cannot be broken; he is the biggest backer at the moment.]
[As for the Lin family...]
[Ask about the situation first, but do not act rashly. The people from the Qinglan Sect are here, so he must deal with them carefully.]
[He made his choice.]
[The simulation continues...]