Way of the Devil Chapter 253

He packed his items, changed into a new suit of robes, got leave from his teacher and soon left the Prime Devil Sect for White Bell City .

Without stopping, he reached White Bell City in about a joss stick's duration .

He followed the route he had taken the last time and soon arrived in the restaurant he was in previously .

"The Winter Cypress" .

That was the name of the restaurant . Presently, its entrance was guarded by several young ladies dressed in yellow robes . They looked like ordinary mortals, but a closer scrutiny revealed that each of them carried some unique features on them .

Some of them had extremely pale and fair skin . Some of their pupils spun like whirlpools . Some of them had arms wrapped in bandages .

At the sight of Lu Sheng, one of the young ladies approached him in greeting .

"Lord Lu Sheng, Master is waiting for you on the second level . "

"Mm, many thanks . " Lu Sheng nodded and could not help but take another glance at this lady .

There was the aura of ghosts on her . And the power of black membrane . As well as some eccentric aura unknown to him .

"We're the Moon Ghost Guard under Lord Jiuli's command . There's a total of five of us . We'll look normal to you once you get used to us," the lady introduced openly . "I'm the captain of the guard—Bian Ning . "

"So it's Ms Ning . " Lu Sheng followed her up the stairs to the second story . The entire restaurant had been reserved for the day by the Shangyang Family .

A table filled with dishes stood in the middle of the empty story . Shangyang Jiuli was sitting distractedly at the table, toying with a white jade cup in her hand . Her thoughts were known only to herself .

"Lord Jiuli . " Lu Sheng stepped forward in greeting .

"Lu Sheng, you're here . It's been a long time . " Shangyang Jiuli snapped out of reverie, rose up and gestured Lu Sheng to be seated .

"Your subordinate has been busy with his studies . I wonder why My Lord has summoned me here?" Lu Sheng sat down slowly .

Shangyang Jiuli smiled . She looked much milder and more amicable than when she had been back in the Northern Lands . But, a trace of fatigue was detectable in her eyes .

"Well, I didn't want to call you back, seeing how well you were developing in the Prime Devil Sect . But right now, I've got an opportunity for one of my men to reach the skies in one step . Among all my subordinates, you're the most suitable . So after much thought, I decided that it's best to call for you . "

"Oh?" Lu Sheng's eyes narrowed . "An opportunity to reach the skies in one step?"

"Indeed . " Shangyang Jiuli smiled . "Shangyang Ruo, one of my cousins, has reached the age for marriage . Her looks are hard to match and her grandpa's one of the three Residential Elders in our Shangyang Family, thus holding great authority . I've submitted your profile and they've selected you as the most suitable candidate . Now, they plan to have the two of you meet in person . "

Lu Sheng stared at her blankly . Never did he expect that Shangyang Jiuli would summon him for this .

"This . . . this . . . " He had no idea how to respond at all . Truth be told, Shangyang Jiuli had treated him rather well . Back in the Northern Lands, he had also often used the name of Shangyang Family as a shield for his faction . But when it came to such a matter . . .

"Don't worry . This is an opportunity for you . As long as you get married successfully with Shangyang Ruo, one of the three Residential Elders would become your relative . Shangyang Ruo's the biological granddaughter he dotes on the most . Now that his sons and daughters have died, this granddaughter is his only family .

So if you're married to Shangyang Ruo, you'll definitely become the closest person to that Residential Elder . I'm sure you understand the benefits that come from such a position," Shangyang Jiuli explained .

"I . . . " Lu Sheng did not care about any Residential Elder to be honest . Neither did he like such transactional, mercenary marriages . He wanted to refuse, but . . .

"I've already set things up for you . This is a golden opportunity that people would kill for . Cherish it," Shangyang Jiuli continued . "I understand you've still got a secondary wife in the Northern Lands . Just fetch her over . Shangyang Ruo isn't some woman with a small heart . They already know about the situation . "

Lu Sheng thought for a moment . It would not look good to reject her offer directly when Shangyang Jiuli must have had put in great effort to arrange it . It would be best if the other party herself did not like him .

But should she really be interested in him, he would have no way to turn her down . Whether it was himself or the Lu Family right now, neither could survive without Shangyang Jiuli .

"Alright, I'll just give it a try," he said .

"Good . The place's Dust Sealing House, a teahouse along the northern street . Someone will lead you there a while later," Shangyang Jiuli quickly added .

"A while later?" Lu Sheng was surprised .

"Mm . The appointment is this afternoon, fixed to be at Dust Sealing House . " Shangyang Jiuli's personality had not changed; she did not take no for an answer .

"Alright then . . . "

Lu Sheng felt helpless . This desire to leave the Shangyang Family and become independent was growing . But should he do so right now, many things would crumble and fall apart . Neither the Crimson Whale Sect in the Northern Lands nor the Lu Family had any security .

At the end of the day, it came down to the fact that his strength was insufficient .

After the meal, Shangyang Jiuli began ranting about her troubles to Lu Sheng .

Recently, she had been tasked by Shangyang Fei to deal with Huang Family's Huang Shuling . The latter was also Huang Family's leading genius . While she might not match up to Lin Beikai and Shangyang Fei herself, she was not to be trifled with .

In her several matches with Huang Shuling, she had lost more than won . On top of that, she was also tasked to search for the keeper of the Jade of Secrets . This kept her up to her neck in work .

"For two whole months, all of my subordinates added together have not seen even the shadow of the Jade of Secrets . " Shangyang Jiuli was rather furious .

"Wait till you're married and secure assistance from Shangyang Ruo's side . Her grandpa has the entire Shangyang Family's intelligence network in his grasp and can more than supplement what I'm lacking in this area . Then everything will get much better . But for now . . . " Shangyang Jiuli continued on and on, bringing the topic back to this .

Lu Sheng accompanied her in chat . After the meal, he boarded a carriage towards Dust Sealing House along the northern street .

***

On the crowded northern street, a bronze shop of modest size stood between rows of antique shops . Three large words were written on its sign: Dust Sealing House .

The shopfront was empty, without any customers entering or exiting . A price list with all sorts of promotions written over it was erected diagonally at the entrance .

Lu Sheng sat in a corner of the teahouse . The table number was carved into the side of the table: B32 . This was the table agreed upon, which happened to be in the innermost corner of the Dust Sealing House .

After Shangyang Jiuli had taken him here, she left in a hurry to settle some other matter, leaving him here alone to wait for the other party .

The Dust Sealing House was not crowded . The other party also seemed to have no intention of booking the whole place . It seemed like they wanted to hide in plain sight and meet like a blind date among mortals .

"Pta . "

The water clock on the indoor false mountain struck .

The water clock was an instrument made of a bamboo tube which went up and down like a seesaw using water flowing at a constant rate .

The rate of water flow in the teahouse was such that the clock would strike once every hour .

Lu Sheng glanced at the light outside . Two hours had passed since the appointed time, but the other party had not come .

He remained impassive as he held up the tea cup slowly and sipped lightly .

"Sir, do… do you still want a refill?" the girl in the teahouse asked in a whisper with beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead .

This customer had already drunk three large vats of tea . Each vat was a meter tall and two meters wide in diameter .

The boss at the back of the teahouse was praying to all his gods and ancestors that he would hurry up and leave . But there he sat like a stone for two whole hours .

Lu Sheng breathed out slowly and took another glance at the color of the sky . It was getting late . Any later and the sky would get dark .

Only then did he stand up .

"Nah, I'll settle the bill . "

"It's a total of ten . . . ten coins!" Overjoyed, the girl stammered .

"Here . " Lu Sheng took out ten coins from his waist pouch and passed it to her .

Because each pot of tea in Dust Sealing House was refillable (of course, it was restricted to one person), it would not cost much no matter how much one drank .

That was also why the boss at the back was close to crying .

"We welcome you visit us agai—" Before she could finish, the girl was silenced by her boss's glare .

"Don't worry . I won't be coming back . " Lu Sheng realized that he might have drunk much more than he was welcome to . He rubbed the girl's head and walked out of the Dust Sealing House with a smile .

Outside, the sun was setting, casting the streets in a deep red hue .

"The sunset today is very red . . . " Lu Sheng exclaimed .

Like blood .

He lifted his head imperceptibly, glanced at a corner discreetly, then turned around a left .

Clearly, he had been stood up .

Sky Heart House .

As another teahouse in White Bell City, the extremely high-class Sky Heart House sat right across Dust Sealing House . Regardless of price or standard of service or decoration, it far outstripped its competitor across the street .

Presently, Shangyang Ruo sat by the window on the fifth story of Sky Heart House, gazing at the setting sun quietly .

"In other words, that Lu Sheng sat waiting for two whole hours there and left only when he saw that it was getting dark?" she asked the servant lady casually .

"That's right . That Young Master Lu waited all the way till the sun was setting before he left . From start to end, no sign of impatience could be seen on his face," the servant lady whispered in reply .

Shangyang Ruo's face turned serious .

"Anyone would be impatient with waiting so long . The fact that he showed no emotion or frustration means that he's aware of his own limits . He knows that it's not that easy to be admitted to our Shangyang Xi's lineage . " A trace of scorn flashed across her eyes .

"Did cousin and grandpa consult my opinion about the marriage they arranged?" Shangyang Ruo's face looked cold . "Where's Young Master Kunyun now?" At the mention of that name, she immediately turned mild and meek .

Young Master Kunyun, named Shangyang Kunyun, was an esteemed young master in a branch family . He had a gentle disposition and was very tolerant towards her . Although he had neither ambition nor talent, he was blessed to have an Iron Brush Judge of the Shangyang Family as his father .

Among the Judges, eight were of the order of the Iron Brush . One of them was his father . As Shangyang Family's highest military faction, these eight Iron Brush Judges combined together wielded authority that rivaled that of the family head's .

"Young Miss, about Young Master Lu . . . " the servant lady asked carefully .

"Whoever fixed the marriage, let her marry him herself!" Shangyang Ruo said impatiently . She could not understand why her grandfather would oppose her relationship with Shangyang Kunyun .

In terms of family background, Shangyang Kunyun's father was an Iron Brush Judge . That made him superior to this Prime Devil Sect first seat by far .

In terms of talent, Young Master Kunyun was unrivaled both in his looks and education . Did Lu Sheng know the Nine Cup Tune? Did he know rhetoric? Could he play the three-stringed lute?

He was just a Nobleman of a forgotten bloodline from a small remote corner . He knew nothing .

Apart from potential .

"Potential, potential . . . all they know about is potential!!" Frustration surged in Shangyang Ruo's heart . Whether it was grandpa or her cousin, they valued only potential .

Born with inhuman strength, possessing a Six-Vein Level cultivation, being young and extremely likely to step into the realm of Snake in the future . . . that was Lu Sheng's potential .

Which was also what her grandpa valued .

"Young Miss, Young Master Kunyun has brought fresh loquat again," another servant lady outside said aloud .

Shangyang Ruo's eyes glazed over . A wide smile broke out on her face .

"He still remembers . . . " She quickly rose to her feet and went out in greeting .

This should be what Chen Quansong was talking about last time, Lu Sheng guessed . He packed his items, changed into a new suit of robes, got leave from his teacher and soon left the Prime Devil Sect for White Bell City . Without stopping, he reached White Bell City in about a joss sticks duration . He followed the route he had taken the last time and soon arrived in the restaurant he was in previously . The Winter Cypress . That was the name of the restaurant . Presently, its entrance was guarded by several young ladies dressed in yellow robes . They looked like ordinary mortals, but a closer scrutiny revealed that each of them carried some unique features on them . Some of them had extremely pale and fair skin . Some of their pupils spun like whirlpools . Some of them had arms wrapped in bandages . At the sight of Lu Sheng, one of the young ladies approached him in greeting . Lord Lu Sheng, Master is waiting for you on the second level . Mm, many thanks . Lu Sheng nodded and could not help but take another glance at this lady . There was the aura of ghosts on her . And the power of black membrane . As well as some eccentric aura unknown to him . Were the Moon Ghost Guard under Lord Jiulis command . Theres a total of five of us . Well look normal to you once you get used to us, the lady introduced openly . Im the captain of the guard—Bian Ning . So its Ms Ning . Lu Sheng followed her up the stairs to the second story . The entire restaurant had been reserved for the day by the Shangyang Family . A table filled with dishes stood in the middle of the empty story . Shangyang Jiuli was sitting distractedly at the table, toying with a white jade cup in her hand . Her thoughts were known only to herself . Lord Jiuli . Lu Sheng stepped forward in greeting . Lu Sheng, youre here . Its been a long time . Shangyang Jiuli snapped out of reverie, rose up and gestured Lu Sheng to be seated . Your subordinate has been busy with his studies . I wonder why My Lord has summoned me here? Lu Sheng sat down slowly . Shangyang Jiuli smiled . She looked much milder and more amicable than when she had been back in the Northern Lands . But, a trace of fatigue was detectable in her eyes . Well, I didnt want to call you back, seeing how well you were developing in the Prime Devil Sect . But right now, Ive got an opportunity for one of my men to reach the skies in one step . Among all my subordinates, youre the most suitable . So after much thought, I decided that its best to call for you . Oh? Lu Shengs eyes narrowed . An opportunity to reach the skies in one step? Indeed . Shangyang Jiuli smiled . Shangyang Ruo, one of my cousins, has reached the age for marriage . Her looks are hard to match and her grandpas one of the three Residential Elders in our Shangyang Family, thus holding great authority . Ive submitted your profile and theyve selected you as the most suitable candidate . Now, they plan to have the two of you meet in person . Lu Sheng stared at her blankly . Never did he expect that Shangyang Jiuli would summon him for this . This . this . He had no idea how to respond at all . Truth be told, Shangyang Jiuli had treated him rather well . Back in the Northern Lands, he had also often used the name of Shangyang Family as a shield for his faction . But when it came to such a matter . Dont worry . This is an opportunity for you . As long as you get married successfully with Shangyang Ruo, one of the three Residential Elders would become your relative . Shangyang Ruos the biological granddaughter he dotes on the most . Now that his sons and daughters have died, this granddaughter is his only family . So if youre married to Shangyang Ruo, youll definitely become the closest person to that Residential Elder . Im sure you understand the benefits that come from such a position, Shangyang Jiuli explained . I . Lu Sheng did not care about any Residential Elder to be honest . Neither did he like such transactional, mercenary marriages . He wanted to refuse, but . Ive already set things up for you . This is a golden opportunity that people would kill for . Cherish it, Shangyang Jiuli continued . I understand youve still got a secondary wife in the Northern Lands . Just fetch her over . Shangyang Ruo isnt some woman with a small heart . They already know about the situation . Lu Sheng thought for a moment . It would not look good to reject her offer directly when Shangyang Jiuli must have had put in great effort to arrange it . It would be best if the other party herself did not like him . But should she really be interested in him, he would have no way to turn her down . Whether it was himself or the Lu Family right now, neither could survive without Shangyang Jiuli . Alright, Ill just give it a try, he said . Good . The places Dust Sealing House, a teahouse along the northern street . Someone will lead you there a while later, Shangyang Jiuli quickly added . A while later? Lu Sheng was surprised . Mm . The appointment is this afternoon, fixed to be at Dust Sealing House . Shangyang Jiulis personality had not changed; she did not take no for an answer . Alright then . Lu Sheng felt helpless . This desire to leave the Shangyang Family and become independent was growing . But should he do so right now, many things would crumble and fall apart . Neither the Crimson Whale Sect in the Northern Lands nor the Lu Family had any security . At the end of the day, it came down to the fact that his strength was insufficient . After the meal, Shangyang Jiuli began ranting about her troubles to Lu Sheng . Recently, she had been tasked by Shangyang Fei to deal with Huang Familys Huang Shuling . The latter was also Huang Familys leading genius . While she might not match up to Lin Beikai and Shangyang Fei herself, she was not to be trifled with . In her several matches with Huang Shuling, she had lost more than won . On top of that, she was also tasked to search for the keeper of the Jade of Secrets . This kept her up to her neck in work . For two whole months, all of my subordinates added together have not seen even the shadow of the Jade of Secrets . Shangyang Jiuli was rather furious . Wait till youre married and secure assistance from Shangyang Ruos side . Her grandpa has the entire Shangyang Familys intelligence network in his grasp and can more than supplement what Im lacking in this area . Then everything will get much better . But for now . Shangyang Jiuli continued on and on, bringing the topic back to this . Lu Sheng accompanied her in chat . After the meal, he boarded a carriage towards Dust Sealing House along the northern street . *** On the crowded northern street, a bronze shop of modest size stood between rows of antique shops . Three large words were written on its sign: Dust Sealing House . The shopfront was empty, without any customers entering or exiting . A price list with all sorts of promotions written over it was erected diagonally at the entrance . Lu Sheng sat in a corner of the teahouse . The table number was carved into the side of the table: B32 . This was the table agreed upon, which happened to be in the innermost corner of the Dust Sealing House . After Shangyang Jiuli had taken him here, she left in a hurry to settle some other matter, leaving him here alone to wait for the other party . The Dust Sealing House was not crowded . The other party also seemed to have no intention of booking the whole place . It seemed like they wanted to hide in plain sight and meet like a blind date among mortals . Pta . The water clock on the indoor false mountain struck . The water clock was an instrument made of a bamboo tube which went up and down like a seesaw using water flowing at a constant rate . The rate of water flow in the teahouse was such that the clock would strike once every hour . Lu Sheng glanced at the light outside . Two hours had passed since the appointed time, but the other party had not come . He remained impassive as he held up the tea cup slowly and sipped lightly . Sir, do… do you still want a refill? the girl in the teahouse asked in a whisper with beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead . This customer had already drunk three large vats of tea . Each vat was a meter tall and two meters wide in diameter . The boss at the back of the teahouse was praying to all his gods and ancestors that he would hurry up and leave . But there he sat like a stone for two whole hours . Lu Sheng breathed out slowly and took another glance at the color of the sky . It was getting late . Any later and the sky would get dark . Only then did he stand up . Nah, Ill settle the bill . Its a total of ten . ten coins! Overjoyed, the girl stammered . Here . Lu Sheng took out ten coins from his waist pouch and passed it to her . Because each pot of tea in Dust Sealing House was refillable (of course, it was restricted to one person), it would not cost much no matter how much one drank . That was also why the boss at the back was close to crying . We welcome you visit us agai— Before she could finish, the girl was silenced by her bosss glare . Dont worry . I wont be coming back . Lu Sheng realized that he might have drunk much more than he was welcome to . He rubbed the girls head and walked out of the Dust Sealing House with a smile . Outside, the sun was setting, casting the streets in a deep red hue . The sunset today is very red . Lu Sheng exclaimed . Like blood . He lifted his head imperceptibly, glanced at a corner discreetly, then turned around a left . Clearly, he had been stood up . Sky Heart House . As another teahouse in White Bell City, the extremely high-class Sky Heart House sat right across Dust Sealing House . Regardless of price or standard of service or decoration, it far outstripped its competitor across the street . Presently, Shangyang Ruo sat by the window on the fifth story of Sky Heart House, gazing at the setting sun quietly . In other words, that Lu Sheng sat waiting for two whole hours there and left only when he saw that it was getting dark? she asked the servant lady casually . Thats right . That Young Master Lu waited all the way till the sun was setting before he left . From start to end, no sign of impatience could be seen on his face, the servant lady whispered in reply . Shangyang Ruos face turned serious . Anyone would be impatient with waiting so long . The fact that he showed no emotion or frustration means that hes aware of his own limits . He knows that its not that easy to be admitted to our Shangyang Xis lineage . A trace of scorn flashed across her eyes . Did cousin and grandpa consult my opinion about the marriage they arranged? Shangyang Ruos face looked cold . Wheres Young Master Kunyun now? At the mention of that name, she immediately turned mild and meek . Young Master Kunyun, named Shangyang Kunyun, was an esteemed young master in a branch family . He had a gentle disposition and was very tolerant towards her . Although he had neither ambition nor talent, he was blessed to have an Iron Brush Judge of the Shangyang Family as his father . Among the Judges, eight were of the order of the Iron Brush . One of them was his father . As Shangyang Familys highest military faction, these eight Iron Brush Judges combined together wielded authority that rivaled that of the family heads . Young Miss, about Young Master Lu . the servant lady asked carefully . Whoever fixed the marriage, let her marry him herself! Shangyang Ruo said impatiently . She could not understand why her grandfather would oppose her relationship with Shangyang Kunyun . In terms of family background, Shangyang Kunyuns father was an Iron Brush Judge . That made him superior to this Prime Devil Sect first seat by far . In terms of talent, Young Master Kunyun was unrivaled both in his looks and education . Did Lu Sheng know the Nine Cup Tune? Did he know rhetoric? Could he play the three-stringed lute? He was just a Nobleman of a forgotten bloodline from a small remote corner . He knew nothing . Apart from potential . Potential, potential . all they know about is potential!! Frustration surged in Shangyang Ruos heart . Whether it was grandpa or her cousin, they valued only potential . Born with inhuman strength, possessing a Six-Vein Level cultivation, being young and extremely likely to step into the realm of Snake in the future . that was Lu Shengs potential . Which was also what her grandpa valued . Young Miss, Young Master Kunyun has brought fresh loquat again, another servant lady outside said aloud . Shangyang Ruos eyes glazed over . A wide smile broke out on her face . He still remembers . She quickly rose to her feet and went out in greeting .

Chapter end