Chapter Thirty-two: Return to Chu Family Village

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  "On this New Year's Eve, I wish all book friends a healthy body, everything goes as wished, and may your wealth be abundant!"

  But this does not mean that Chu Lianfeng has no understanding of the mundane world.

  On the contrary, having experienced two years of "waste" life, Chu Linfeng made full use of this period to read many miscellaneous books, which included numerous depictions of the mundane world of Yunfan Continent and even learned about many secrets of the Xiu Zhen realm from some classics. Although these so-called "secrets" may not be true, they undoubtedly broadened Chu Linfeng's horizons.

  Xuanyuan Mountain is located in the land of Nanzhou Daozong, which belongs to the Great Sui Kingdom. After Chu Lianfeng descended from the mountain for several days, he had not yet grasped his sword and set out on foot. With his cultivation at the sixth level of the Sixfold Heaven Refining Stage, he was able to cover a distance of thousands of miles in the blink of an eye, arriving at the place where the Chu family once stood - Qingzhou.

  Qingzhou is the only way to Jiuhuangze, and since he's already here, Chu Linfeng can't help but take a look around the city. After all, deep down in his heart, there's still a glimmer of hope that everything the old steward said wasn't true...

  After entering the city for half a day, relying on childhood memories, Chu Linfeng silently found his way to the front of a huge estate that occupied over 100 acres.

  The old view enters the eye, no longer the prosperity of the past, only a desolate scene remains, a sign with three gold-painted characters "Chu Family Village" hangs crookedly in front of the door, covered in spider webs.

  Gently pushing open the red-lacquered copper door sealed with tape, what entered Chu Lin's eyes was a desolate scene.

  It was early autumn, a gentle breeze blew by, and the Chu family village, which was full of broken tiles and broken walls, gave people an extremely desolate and bleak feeling, without any vitality.

  At this moment, the chill in Chulinfeng's heart had reached an unspeakable level. When he arrived at his parents' former residence and saw a scene of desolation, he couldn't control the intense grief and fury in his heart. The true yuan force in his palm surged out wildly, reducing everything within a ten-meter radius to dust.

  After venting, Chu Linfeng sat on the ground with his knees clasped together and wept silently, releasing all the bitterness that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time.

  Three hours later, Chu Linfeng suddenly stood up amidst his painful crying, and swiftly ran out of the Chu family manor, without any hesitation or lingering attachment.

  Today's cry is his last cry before avenging his family's feud with Chu Lianfeng.

  In his lifetime, if he cannot destroy the Taicheng Sect with his own hands, Chu Linfeng vowed not to be a human being.

  As soon as he left Chu's village, Chu Linfeng, who was about to rush to the Nine Desolate Marsh immediately, was stopped in his tracks by a familiar cry that sounded exceptionally familiar.

  Outside the two alleys, a team of fierce-looking bailiffs were wielding iron chains in their hands, flogging more than ten prisoners wearing prison uniforms, whose appearance was too miserable to describe.

  "Li Shu Yun, stop pretending and get out of here..." A bailiff with a missing front tooth was fiercely beating a robust man wearing prisoner's clothes in front of him, spitting as he scolded.

  "In those days when our great ancestor was in charge of Qingzhou, you were all fawning on him like a pack of hounds, but now you've become the lackeys of the Chen family, Bah!"

  That man was born with leopard-like eyes and ringed eyebrows, a fierce appearance, plus his body shape is two heads taller than ordinary people. Suddenly turning his head back, the roar was like thunder, which actually scared that official into shrinking back, and the chain he had drawn out also fell down powerlessly.

  However, the yamen runner soon came to and, losing face in front of his colleagues, was furious, jumping up and down like thunder, whipping Li Shuyun mercilessly until he almost died.

  Even so, Li Shu Yun still didn't make a sound, his eyes blazing with fury, his mouth cursing non-stop. If he hadn't been restrained by the wooden stocks, he would have pounced on this official and fought him to the death, even if it meant being hacked to pieces by swords.

  "Li Shu Yun... such a familiar name..." Even though they were separated by two alleys, someone like Chu Ling Feng, a cultivator of the pure truth, had extremely sharp senses and naturally heard it clearly.

  Muttering to himself for a moment, Chu Linfeng's expression changed suddenly, his feet stomping out a swift and mysterious step, his body transforming into a streak of light that flashed out.

  The next moment, Chu Linfeng appeared in front of that group of evil bailiffs. The toothless bailiff hadn't even had time to draw back his whip when he was punched by Chu Linfeng and sent flying like a sandbag, crashing heavily into the wall over ten zhang away, losing at least half his life.

  "Get out..."

  A word burst out of Chu Linfeng's mouth, and under the stimulation of his true yuan force, a boundless spiritual pressure was instantly generated, causing the police officers who were used to being arrogant and domineering on the scene to be shocked and turn pale.

  "This... this Dao Ye... these are all imperial convicts... you see..."

  The yamen runner was indeed quite perceptive, after all, in a big city like Qingzhou, one could often see some worldly and experienced cultivators. After realizing Chu Lianfeng's abilities, the yamen runner immediately put on a flattering smile and, plucking up his courage, said that in his understanding, cultivators rarely got involved in such mundane affairs as theirs.

  The response from the bailiff's head was a pale, seemingly powerless fist.

  When a group of yamen runners saw their leader being punched in the face, spitting blood and crashing into a civilian's house, they immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

  Even if they had the audacity, they wouldn't dare to oppose cultivators. Not to mention that these so-called "offenders" were just used by them to make a quick buck, and could be caught or not, as long as their lives were spared.

  More than a dozen men and women, old and young, wearing prison uniforms were also stunned by this sudden scene, until Chu Linfeng stepped forward and grabbed Li Shuyun's arm, with a hint of excitement, asked: "Daniu, do you still recognize me? I'm Linfeng, Chu Linfeng!"

  Da Niu is Li Shu Yun's nickname, from young to old, only his parents and another person are used to calling him that.

  As soon as Chu Linfeng's voice calling him "Big Bull" faded away, Li Shuyun, this nine-foot-tall giant of a man, suddenly fell to his knees with a thud, staring at the former with an incredulous gaze, and choked out: "Young Master... it really is you..."

  As soon as Li Shuyun shouted "Young Master", the dozen or so men, women and children who were stunned on the spot suddenly burst into tears and knelt down to the ground. The oldest among them was overcome with emotion, wailing loudly and crying uncontrollably, "Master, Master, look! Young Master has returned, the Chu family is saved, they're saved!"

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  In the Chu family compound, in a hall that was dilapidated but still intact, Li Shuyun and the old man who had wailed loudly earlier met Chulinfeng, the young master of the Chu family who had been away from home since childhood, and told him in detail about the misfortunes that had befallen the Chu family up to now.

  The old man's surname was Zhou, with a single name Lin. He was one of the six housekeepers of the Chu family. In his younger years, he had even held Chu Feng'er in his arms. After the Chu family suffered a disaster, all direct and collateral relatives were exiled to the Nine Wilderness Marshes. Zhou Lin received orders from Chu Chenhan and stayed on Qingzhou with a group of loyal Chu family servants, including the old housekeeper Li Bin who was already buried at the top of Purple Cloud Peak.

  They have no blood relationship with the Chu family, so they are not included in the list of personnel to be assigned. There are two reasons why Chu Shenhan let them stay behind: Firstly, to take care of the Chu family's estate and use their wealth to win over people above and below; after all, at that time, Chu Shenhan still hoped that the Chu family would one day revive its fortunes. Secondly, to arrange for someone to wait for Chu Linfeng, although he didn't know when his only son, who had been taken in by the Xuan Yuan Sect since childhood, would have a chance to return home, but leaving some hope is always good.

  The old steward, loyal to the master, disregarding his advanced age and frailty, climbed up Mount Xuan Yuan to inform Chu Linfeng of the misfortune that had befallen the Chu family. This was an unexpected turn of events, but it was precisely because of this that Chu Linfeng's journey to Qingzhou today came about. One could even say, without being overly rash, that it was also precisely because of this that Chu Linfeng regained his chance at cultivation.

  After Li Bin left, the more than ten loyal servants who stayed on Qingzhou looked up to Zhou Lin. With a huge amount of wealth in his hands, Zhou Lin visited numerous government offices and sent many lavish gifts over the past six months, but it was like pouring water into a bamboo basket - all in vain.

  Until recently, the money left by Chu Chenhan had been used up by more than half. However, another prominent family that had established itself in Qingzhou had learned about the large amount of wealth held by Zhou Lin and his group.

  The Chen family has always been inferior to the Chu family in Qingzhou. A year ago, the Chu family suffered a disaster and was exiled to the Nine Wilderness Marshes. The Chen family took advantage of this opportunity to expand its power and replaced the Chu family's position in Qingzhou.

  Even the many industries of the Chu family in Qingzhou were taken over by the Chen family, and up to now, the Chen family's power has spread all over Qingzhou, surpassing even the heyday of the Chu family.

  After learning that Zhou Lin and others had a large sum of money, the Chen family exerted pressure on the Qingzhou government office, labeling Zhou Lin and others as fugitives, and arrested them all. As a result, there was the previous scene where many police officers escorted Zhou Lin and others away, and the remaining considerable amount of money in Zhou Lin's hands naturally fell into the Chen family's pocket.

  Finally waiting for Zhou Lin to finish speaking, Li Shuyun glared at him with a pair of leopard eyes, and asked Chu Lianfeng in a tense tone: "Young master, has my father ever looked for you?"

  Suddenly hearing Li Shu Yun mention the old steward who had already been buried at the top of Zi Yun Peak, Chu Lin Feng's heart couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness and regret. He said with some apology: "Dà Niú, the old steward is gone, the mountain is high and the road is far, his body didn't hold up..."

  Li Shu Yun heard the words without wailing or making a scene, but tears as big as beans flowed down uncontrollably. Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the sorrow in his heart and said: "My father had already instructed me before he left, I won't make a fuss, otherwise my father would laugh at me from underground. As long as Young Master returns, everything will be worth it."

  Listening to the words of the great cow, his eyes fell on the wounded body in front of him. The autumn wind seemed to have made a decision, and he suddenly stood up and said: "Where is the Chen family's mansion?"

  Zhou Lin had watched Chu Lianfeng grow up since he was a child, and after being apart for seven years, the current Chu Lianfeng no longer showed any of his former youthful innocence in his eyes. When Zhou Lin met Chu Lianfeng's deep and mysterious gaze, which flashed with a hint of murderous intent, he couldn't help but take a cold breath. "The young master has already become a cultivator, the Chu family is saved!"

  "The largest manor at the southernmost part of Qingzhou is where the Chen family resides."

  Zhou Lin had personally witnessed Chu Lianfeng's astonishing abilities, which were enough to be considered a divine miracle in the eyes of ordinary people. However, he still couldn't help but feel some concern and said: "Young Master, the Chen family has been rapidly expanding its power in recent years, and they've even invited a ruthless cultivator as a guest elder for their clan. I heard that this cultivator's abilities surpass those of our five senior elders from the Chu family combined! If you're looking to stir up trouble with the Chen family, Young Master, you must be extremely cautious!"

  Zhou Lin did not stop Chu Lianfeng because he understood that the young master of the Chu family was not an ordinary person, but an existence like those high-ranking immortals. What he wanted to do, Zhou Lin could not stop even if he wanted to, and there was no need to stop him. The resurgence of the Chu family's reputation would not be possible without the young master. The Chen family was just a beginning.

  Just then, Chu Lianfeng's figure transformed into a faint shadow and flew away with the wind towards the south of the city. Li Shuyun, whose eyes still shone with tears, stared blankly and said: "Uncle Zhou, Young Master has really become an immortal!"

  "Of course!"

  Zhou Lin nodded heavily, his hoarse voice trembling with excitement: "The young master has returned, if the old master knew about this... how great it would be..."

  "On this New Year's Eve, I wish all book friends a healthy body, everything goes as wished, and may your wealth be abundant!"