Asura Guardian
Nothing was said that night.
The next morning, the thin mist had not yet dissipated, carrying the chill of late autumn.
Ling Zhan pushed open the gate to the courtyard, and a figure blocked the entrance.
Shen Yan leaned against the door frame, her hair disheveled from sleep, and there were faint dark circles under her eyes, clearly indicating that she hadn't slept well.
He was wearing a thin padded jacket, and the morning chill made him hunch his shoulders slightly. He was still sleepy-eyed, but he forced himself to stay awake.
She stared intently at Ling Zhan.
The sound of the door opening startled several early-rising sparrows on the elm branches in the yard. They fluttered up, circled the eaves twice, and chirped softly. A figure wearing a neat blue cotton jacket peeked out from behind Ling Zhan—it was Little Stone.
He was still holding an open book in his hand, clearly having been reading inside the room when Ling Zhan brought him out.
The eight-year-old boy had clear, bright eyes, with a calmness beyond his years.
However, at this moment, his face also showed a hint of bewilderment as if his thoughts had just been disturbed.
He looked up at the circling sparrows, then at his father blocking the door, his brow furrowed slightly, his expression one of childlike, straightforward confusion: "Father, what are you doing blocking the door so early in the morning? Is it something urgent that you need to see Mother?"
His voice was clear and bright, with distinct pronunciation, carrying the refined air of a scholar, and completely devoid of the babyish tone of a toddler.
Shen Yan did not answer her son immediately, her gaze still fixed on Ling Zhan's face, filled with deep weariness and lingering worry.
He cleared his throat, his voice still a little hoarse from just waking up, but unusually firm: "Wife, where are you taking Little Stone so early?"
He specifically emphasized "bringing small stones," as if this would better prove that Ling Zhan's trip had "impure motives."
Ling Zhan found it somewhat amusing to see him looking so wary and paranoid, but he remained outwardly calm.
"Let's go to the factory. Little Stone wants to see the newly installed spinning machines, and we happen to have some free time today."
Her tone was indifferent, as if what she had heard at the mutton soup restaurant last night was someone else's business.
Little Stone stood quietly beside Ling Zhan, his little hand naturally grasping the corner of her blue cloth robe, his gaze curiously shifting between his father's tense face and the sparrows that had returned to the branches in the distance.
"To the factory?"
Shen Yan repeated it suspiciously, not moving aside but taking a half step forward, trying to find even the slightest sign on Ling Zhan's face that he was "preparing to go to the Broken Soul Cliff".
"You...you're going to the factory? No other plans?"
His gaze swept over his son, as if trying to find some clue on the child's face.
"Otherwise what?" Ling Zhan raised an eyebrow and asked in return.
Little Stone gently tugged at Ling Zhan's sleeve and looked up, saying, "Mother, those sparrows said that the dew in the western woods was very heavy this morning, and the air was damp and cold."
He was sharing what seemed like an ordinary observation, but his gaze seemed to drift across his father's anxious face.
At this moment, I had no interest in listening to the birdsong; I took it as just children's idle chatter.
He quickly seized on Ling Zhan's words: "No...nothing else is fine! Wife, you must not take what Chief Escort Qi said last night seriously! You must not...you must not have any thoughts about it! That three hundred taels is the money to buy life from the King of Hell! Our workshops and shops are doing well now, we have enough money to spend, there's no need to risk our lives! Little Bull and Little Stone, and many other children, are still so young, they can't be without their mother!"
He finished speaking in one breath, his voice rising slightly with urgency, carrying an almost pleading tone.
He completely forgot the dignity of being a "scholar".
He also forgot that his son, Little Stone, was looking at him with those calm eyes.
His mind was completely focused on eliminating any possible adventurous thoughts Ling Zhan might have.
Ling Zhan looked at Shen Yan's face, which looked somewhat haggard from nervousness and lack of sleep. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes were now filled with genuine fear and pleading. She was silent for a few seconds, and just when Shen Yan thought she was about to object, she suddenly spoke.
“Desire”.
"Huh?" Shen Yan responded subconsciously, her heart leaping into her throat.
“You’re blocking the door,” Ling Zhan said.
"Huh? Oh, oh, oh!" Shen Yan finally realized what was happening and hurriedly stepped aside to move out of the doorway, her movements somewhat awkward.
Ling Zhan took Xiao Shitou's hand and calmly walked away from him.
As the cold morning air swept in, Little Stone subconsciously moved closer to Ling Zhan, but did not complain of the cold like a toddler.
He simply gripped the book in his hand even tighter.
"Dad, let's go see the new spinning machine."
Little Stone turned around and gave a warm and clear reply, his tone calm.
It seemed that his father's vehement dissuasion had not stirred much emotion in him.
Ling Zhan didn't stop walking; his voice drifted back on the morning breeze and clearly reached Chen Yan's ears: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Without turning back, she led her son straight toward the cotton mill.
Shen Yan stood frozen in place, watching his wife's back and Xiao Shitou's upright little figure disappear into the misty alley.
That phrase, "I know what I'm doing," was like a reassuring pill!
It's like a smokescreen!
This eased his anxiety a little.
However, it failed to land completely.
"Knowing what's going on... what does 'knowing what's going on' mean?"
He scratched his already messy hair in frustration, muttering to himself at the empty alleyway, "What Chief Escort Qi said was so sinister, that he has powerful connections... My wife, my wife, please don't 'knowingly' go to that Broken Soul Cliff!"
He sighed heavily, and the panic that had been forcibly suppressed in the restaurant last night crept back in, thread by thread.
It seems he's not in the mood to study properly in class today.
I need to think of a way to keep a close eye on my wife, whose ideas are bigger than anything else!
At the end of the alley shrouded in a thin mist, Ling Zhan held Xiao Shitou's hand and walked steadily toward the cotton mill.
However, when passing a fork in the road...
Ling Zhan did not turn towards the workshop, but instead turned into a more secluded path leading out of the city.
Little Stone looked up at his mother's serene profile.
She glanced back at her own courtyard gate, which was no longer visible, and a look of understanding flashed in her clear eyes.
He followed quietly, his little hand still firmly gripping Ling Zhan's clothes, while his other hand, which was holding a book, quietly went behind his back and gently, silently, moved his fingers towards the dense canopy of an old locust tree by the roadside.
A moment later, a boy wearing a faded dark blue Taoist robe, with a slightly thin figure but light steps, emerged silently from behind the tree like a shadow blending into the morning mist and followed them.
The boy was about sixteen years old, with a handsome face and calm eyes. He already had his own small courtyard.
Shen Hong, also known as Douya, is the second son of Xuan Chenzi who follows him in his cultivation.
Bean Sprout walked over to Little Stone, nodded slightly, and said nothing.
Little Stone whispered, "Brother Hong, Mother said that the terrain over there is very strange."
Bean Sprout's gaze had already been fixed on the distant, faintly visible mountain ranges that undulated like the spine of a giant beast. His brows furrowed slightly. "Hmm, I can feel it. The energy is mixed, the earth's veins are blocked, and there's a hidden malevolent aura. It's the direction of the Soul-Severing Cliff."
Ling Zhan seemed oblivious to the extra bean sprout behind him, and without stopping, simply gave a faint "hmm".
This can be seen as a response to Little Stone's words, and also an acknowledgment of Bean Sprout's following.
Her goal was clear—to personally survey the Broken Soul Cliff, which Qi the镖头 described as a dragon's pool and a tiger's den.
The mountain road was rugged, and the morning mist was gradually dissipating.
The closer you get to the area of Broken Soul Cliff, the more precipitous the terrain becomes, with jagged rocks and particularly gloomy vegetation.
Bean Sprout's expression grew increasingly serious, and he would stop every now and then to calculate with his fingertips.
Or you can bend down and touch the cold rocks, feeling the unusual flow of the earth's veins.
“Mother, the mountain ridges here are like knives, and the valley floor is a natural trap and a place of death.
Douya's voice carried a solemnity rarely seen in a young man: "If someone were to set up an ambush here, from this high vantage point, even a thousand troops would find it difficult to maneuver."
Ling Zhan: "In that case, the three hundred taels of silver that the magistrate paid out might really be a death warrant."
She arrived at a relatively open hillside.
Gazing into the distance at the jagged cliff face of Broken Soul Cliff, which looked as if it had been cleaved open by a giant axe, the mountain wind howled, fluttering her blue cloth dress.
She was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised her hand and made an extremely strange and swift gesture towards the empty valley.
The moment the gesture was made, dozens of figures silently "grew" out from the shadows on both sides of the hillside and behind the jagged rocks!
They seemed to have been separated from the rocks and vegetation.
He was dressed in a tight-fitting outfit that blended almost perfectly with the color of the mountain rocks and withered grass, and his face was covered with a simple mask that only revealed his cold eyes.
They were agile and moved in perfect unison, appearing without warning, as if they had always been lying in wait there, blending into the cliff face.
An invisible, chilling aura, carrying the scent of rust and blood, instantly spread out, even causing the mountain breeze to seem to freeze.
Little Stone's clear pupils suddenly contracted!
He instinctively gripped Ling Zhan's clothes, and for the first time, a child's shock and a hint of fear appeared on his little face.
Bean Sprout froze, his keen senses as a cultivator allowing him to perceive more clearly than Little Stone the sharp killing intent emanating from these figures—an intent far beyond what ordinary guards and servants could possess!
It was a chilling feeling, almost solidified, forged on the edge of life and death!
His hands, which were behind his back, had already unconsciously formed hand seals, and his aura instantly tightened.
"A...Mother?"
Little Stone's voice trembled slightly.
Bean Sprout also looked nervously at Ling Zhan, her palms slightly sweaty.
Ling Zhan's gaze swept calmly over the dozens of ghostly "Shura Guards" before him, his voice clear and indifferent in the mountain wind.
"What's the panic? These are all newly recruited guards for the workshop. They'll get used to their skills in the wild, which is better than keeping them in the workshop courtyard. They'll be guarding the place from now on, just like the others you've seen before."
Her explanation was understated, as if these dozens of highly trained elite warriors, exuding a terrifying aura, were really just ordinary guards "training in the wild."
Little Stone and Bean Sprout exchanged a glance, both seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
They knew very well what the patrolling guards in the workshop looked like.
These creatures before me... are clearly ferocious beasts that prey on people!
But since their mother said so, they could only suppress their great surprise and doubt.
Bean Sprout's tense body relaxed slightly, but the seriousness in her eyes did not diminish at all.
Little Stone pursed his lips, his gaze once again fixed on the figures that quickly disappeared back into the shadows of the rocks, his small brows furrowed tightly.
Ling Zhan said no more.
He gestured for Bean Sprout to continue sensing the earth's ley lines and inquired in detail about his assessment of the possibility of terrain traps.
Little Stone pricked up its ears, trying to catch the calls of birds flying through the mountains and forests.
They were trying to glean additional information about this dangerous area.
Meanwhile, at the Shen Mansion.
Shen Yan paced anxiously back and forth several times at the empty alley entrance.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Ling Zhan's words "I know what I'm doing" were full of mystery.
He slapped his thigh suddenly: "No! I have to go and see! What if my wife... what if she really went?"
He turned around and tried to run towards the cotton mill.
"father!"
A loud, slightly coquettish voice came from the kitchen doorway. Little Bull, wearing an apron several sizes too big, his face smeared with flour, and holding a large cleaver, came running out excitedly and grabbed Chen Yan's sleeve. "You finally have time! You promised to teach me 'Golden Jade Abundance' today! I've prepared all the ingredients! Come on over!"
Shen Yan was pulled and stumbled, looking into her son's bright, expectant eyes, then at the gleaming kitchen knife—
A chill ran down his spine: "Little ox, Daddy has an urgent matter! A very urgent matter! It concerns your mother's safety! We can talk about learning to cook another day, another day!"
"no!"
The little bull was quite strong, holding on tightly and refusing to let go, his little mouth pouting high, "You always say that! Last time you said you'd learn 'Eight Treasure Duck' another day, and the time before that you said you'd learn 'Squirrel Fish' another day! Today you didn't go to school, so this is a godsend! Mother said, a gentleman's word is as good as his bond! You are a scholar, you can't lie to a child! I am the page that Mother appointed for Father."
As he spoke, he shoved the kitchen knife into Shen Yan's hand.
"Dad, hurry! I've already cleaned the fish, I'm just waiting for you to teach me how to fillet it!"
"Oh my little darling!"
Shen Yan was forced to follow his son into the kitchen. Looking at the fish still twitching slightly on the cutting board, and then at his son's stubborn eyes, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He tried to reason with him: "Little rascal, listen to me! Your mother might have gone to a very dangerous place, and your father has to go..."
"Danger?"
The little bull blinked his big eyes, his face innocent yet determined. "Mom is so capable, what danger could there be at the factory? Dad, don't try to fool me! You just don't want to teach me!" As he spoke, his eyes began to redden. "Do you think I'm too stupid to learn..."
Shen Yan couldn't bear to see her son looking so aggrieved, especially since the little bull had brought up Ling Zhan's words and the label of "scholar".
He looked at his son, then thought of Ling Zhan, who was nowhere to be found, and his heart felt like it was being roasted over a fire.
Ultimately, guilt over the promise made to his son and a sliver of hope that Ling Zhan "knew what was going on" prevailed.
He sighed heavily, resignedly took the cleaver, and was half-dragged, half-pulled into the kitchen by the little bull.
"Alright, alright, I'll teach you! But we agreed that you'll only learn this one dish! I really have something urgent to attend to after you've finished learning!"
"Yes, yes! Daddy is the best!"
The little bull immediately stopped crying and started laughing. He diligently tied an apron for Chen Yan, brought her a small stool, and looked ready to study seriously.
Thus, the Shen family kitchen became a purgatory of disgust.
He explained the knife skills and cooking time absentmindedly, mechanically slicing the fish with the cleaver in his hand, but his mind had already flown to the eerie and terrifying Broken Soul Cliff.
Every cut felt like slicing into my own taut nerves.
The little bull's enthusiastic questions and occasional clumsy mistakes made him as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, but he had to suppress his frustration and force a stiff smile to deal with his son.
From slicing the fish, marinating, preparing the sauce, frying, to the final thickening and drizzling of the sauce… Shen Yan felt like he wasn't teaching cooking, but rather repeatedly frying the fish in oil. Countless times he wanted to quit and leave, but Little Bull would always ask, "Dad, is this step right?"
"Father, is it too hot?"
"Dad, would you like to try this?" The repeated questions and the trusting, dependent look in his eyes were firmly fixed on the stove.
Time has never felt so long and painful.
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