Chapter 154: Shen Juesheng |
The moment the white-robed elder appeared, every person in the room was taken aback, and then one after another their expressions turned to stunned disbelief, Hu Rui'an included.
It was evident that everyone recognized the identity of the old man before them at once.
"Father!"
"Father-in-law!"
"Grandfather!"
Shen Liancheng, Ruan Zhenhui, and Shen Anran all addressed him with respect at almost the same instant, every gaze turning toward the white-robed old man in the room.
At this point, Hu Rui'an also managed with difficulty to rise from the bed and clasped his hands toward the old man in a bow, saying, "This junior, Hu Rui'an, pays his respects to Senior Shen."
The white-robed elder gave a slight nod, the kindly and gentle smile never leaving his face, saying, "Rise."
Seeing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, glanced at Hu Rui'an, and asked, "Commissioner Hu knows this old man?"
Li Musheng, however, simply shrugged and said, "Never heard of him."
Then he turned back to Hu Rui'an and asked, "Is this old man very formidable? He looks fairly average to me."
The moment those words fell, Ruan Zhenhui and Shen Anran not far away both had their expressions change.
And Shen Liancheng's face darkened further. He was just about to speak out sharply when Shen Juesheng, his hair pure white, raised a hand to stop him. He looked at Li Musheng with a smile, saying, "Young friend is young, and this old man has been in seclusion from the martial world for many years. Never having heard of me is entirely normal. Besides, those are merely hollow reputations in the martial world. Completely not worth mentioning."
At this point, Hu Rui'an, hearing Li Musheng speak so "presumptuously," froze briefly before snapping back to his senses.
He reached up to wipe the cold sweat that had broken out on his brow, then said quietly to Li Musheng, "Sir, please do not speak like this. This Senior Shen attained the Heaven-Human Realm over forty years ago, and his martial aptitude was breathtaking even by the standards of prodigies. His mastery of the blade path in particular is fathomlessly deep. It is said that even the previous head of the Tianhe Blade Sect was bested by him."
"Though he has been in retirement from the martial world for many years, and some in the martial world have even claimed he passed away long ago, from his current condition it appears Senior Shen has taken yet another step forward. His martial Dao cultivation must be even more terrifying than before."
Hearing this, Li Musheng fixed his gaze on Hu Rui'an, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Commissioner Hu, if you knew this old man was so formidable, you still dared to pursue his daughter-in-law. One has to say, Commissioner Hu is genuinely a man of considerable nerve."
Hu Rui'an was not quite sure what "pursue" meant in this context, but he understood well enough what Li Musheng was getting at.
His aged face flushed at once, and he quickly explained, saying, "There is a long story behind this matter. Please believe me, Sir, that things are entirely not what you are imagining."
Li Musheng waved a hand and said, "It is fine. Everyone has the right to pursue love. Only Commissioner Hu's interest in other men's wives is something that really ought to be changed."
With that, he shifted his gaze and looked toward Shen Juesheng before him.
The old man had remained perfectly silent without interjecting a word while Li Musheng and Hu Rui'an spoke, simply waiting quietly.
Meeting Li Musheng's gaze, Shen Juesheng stroked his beard with a smile, saying, "Young friend speaks with great reason. As the saying goes, heroes deserve beautiful women, and beauties deserve worthy husbands. I can see that young friend is also a person of true feeling. I wonder what young friend thinks of this granddaughter of mine?"
As he spoke, Shen Juesheng turned his head and beckoned with a hand toward Shen Anran standing beside Ruan Zhenhui.
Seeing this, Shen Anran understood perfectly well what her grandfather meant, and a faint flush rose on her fair face.
Even so, she did not hesitate for long, but stepped forward, her green skirt trailing softly, and came to stand beside Shen Juesheng.
Then she stole a glance at Li Musheng, bowed to him with proper formality, and said candidly, "This young woman, Shen Anran, pays her respects to you. Your martial Dao cultivation at such a young age is truly something that fills Anran with admiration."
Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, glanced at Shen Juesheng, then looked at the graceful figure of Shen Anran, rubbed his chin, and said, "Do not try to use a beauty stratagem on me. I am the kind of person who..."
But before he could finish, Hu Rui'an beside him urgently tugged at his sleeve and said in a low voice, "Sir, why not just let this matter go? We have important business on this trip, and there is no need to create further complications."
What Hu Rui'an said was naturally phrased with tact.
What he was actually afraid of was Li Musheng's stubborn streak coming out and provoking Shen Juesheng to the point where the old man no longer held back, which would leave the entire group stranded in Zhanliu Manor with consequences too grim to contemplate.
Though Hu Rui'an also understood that had Li Musheng not acted earlier, he himself would very likely have been done for.
But Shen Juesheng's martial Dao cultivation was simply too terrifying, and resolving the conflict on the spot by taking a step back was undoubtedly the wiser path.
At this point, Li Musheng glanced at Hu Rui'an, and turned the matter over briefly in his mind.
He was not, of course, concerned about creating complications. Nor was he afraid of Shen Juesheng.
What had struck him was that Hu Rui'an, as one of his people on this trip, had genuinely dragged him down.
Before all of this, Zhanliu Manor had poisoned them, and as the wronged party, he had occupied the moral high ground entirely.
Setting aside revenge and killing Shen Liancheng, destroying the entire Zhanliu Manor would honestly have been within his rights.
But the problem was that Hu Rui'an had gone after someone else's wife and been caught in the act.
An advantage that was perfectly good and solid had been thrown away just like that.
Of course, he could simply act regardless, eliminate Shen Liancheng on the spot, and cut down whoever stood in his way. If Shen Juesheng dared interfere, he could take him out at the same time. All of it was simple enough.
But if word of that got out, it would not sound particularly good, with people saying that Li Musheng had helped cover up an affair. That would truly be mud falling into his trousers, deeply unpleasant on every level.
With that thought, Li Musheng sighed, reached out, and patted Hu Rui'an on the shoulder, saying, "Commissioner Hu, there are some things you really do not understand. For instance, tonight you owe me a considerable favor."
As he spoke, Li Musheng looked at the crane-haired, fresh-complexioned Shen Juesheng, then pointed at Shen Liancheng with one finger and said, "Killing him or not makes no difference to me. It would not be particularly difficult either way."
The moment those words fell, Shen Liancheng's face went extremely unpleasant at once, while Ruan Zhenhui and Shen Anran beside him also had their expressions change.
In everyone else's estimation, from the moment Shen Juesheng had personally appeared, he had already made considerable concessions, clearly motivated by a wish to recognize talent or to bring Li Musheng and Shen Anran together.
It was for that reason he had stopped Shen Liancheng from acting, hoping to defuse the tensions between the two sides.
But Li Musheng clearly showed no appreciation for the gesture, and continued to maintain his manner of total nonchalance, as though he had not the slightest regard for anyone present.
From Shen Anran's perspective, Li Musheng possessed such astonishing martial Dao cultivation and was so young that a degree of arrogance was perhaps understandable.
But it seemed he had underestimated the people of the world, and misjudged how terrifying and formidable an opponent her grandfather actually was. He was being somewhat too brazen and overconfident.
At this point, Hu Rui'an sensed the atmosphere shifting dangerously, and without stopping to ponder the meaning of what Li Musheng had just said to him, reached out to try and hold him back, hoping to stop him from doing anything more extreme.
But just then, Shen Juesheng, who had been standing still without moving, looked at Li Musheng and gently stroked his beard, saying, "What would it take for young friend to set this matter aside and spare this child Liancheng?"
Hearing this, Li Musheng looked Shen Juesheng over for a moment, then gave a light nod, saying, "Sparing him is not out of the question. For instance, why not try taking a punch from me?"
The moment those words fell, everyone in the room was briefly taken aback.
"Truly as simple as that?"
Shen Juesheng's long brows rose slightly, and he looked toward Li Musheng with evident surprise.
Li Musheng spread his hands and said, "If you think it sounds simple, then yes, it is that simple."
At that, Hu Rui'an, Shen Anran, and Ruan Zhenhui all let out a collective breath of relief.
They had been genuinely worried that Li Musheng would dig in stubbornly and push Zhanliu Manor into a fight to the death. And if that eventually provoked Shen Juesheng into holding nothing back, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Now that Li Musheng had put forward this condition, it was clear he had already made a concession and was willing to let the matter lie.
After all, in everyone's eyes, it was nothing more than taking a single punch. At most, it would let Li Musheng vent some of his frustration. How much real damage could it do to someone whose martial Dao cultivation was as fathomlessly deep as Shen Juesheng's?
Shen Liancheng, for his part, glanced at Li Musheng, and his expression became slightly more bearable.
He had been silent and said nothing throughout all of this, partly because he did not dare go against his father's wishes, but also because he genuinely felt that Li Musheng was exceptional enough and more than worthy of Shen Anran.
The pity was that the man had been obstinate and spoken with such arrogance earlier, stirring nothing but deep dislike in him.
It was only because the man had shown some self-awareness in the end and agreed to back down that Shen Liancheng was willing to let it be. Otherwise, he would have made absolutely sure the man never left this courtyard.
At this moment, Shen Juesheng's face bore a satisfied smile, and he appeared entirely pleased with Li Musheng's decision. He spoke with complete composure, saying, "It seems young friend is not a rigid and inflexible person after all. Knowing how to be magnanimous and adapt to circumstances is something that serves well on the martial path too."
Hearing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow.
Even offering guidance on his martial cultivation now. The old man did have some nerve.
Even so, Li Musheng said nothing more, simply looked at the man and said evenly, "Old man, are you ready?"
Shen Juesheng paid no mind to Li Musheng's way of addressing him, and gave a light nod.
Then he raised his hand slightly, and an invisible stream of force expanded outward from him as its center, gently pushing Shen Anran and the others to one side of the room.
In an instant, the area between himself and Li Musheng was completely clear.
At this point, Shen Juesheng looked toward Li Musheng with a casual expression, saying, "Young friend, as long as you can stir even the faintest trace of fist wind anywhere on my person, this old man will promise to grant you one request as compensation for the offense Zhanliu Manor has caused."
The moment those words fell, expressions shifted across the faces of Shen Liancheng, Hu Rui'an, and the others.
To obtain a promise from a martial world luminary of Shen Juesheng's standing was something countless people in the martial world had always dreamed of.
Even to Shen Liancheng himself, his father had always only ever been the one to make demands of him. He would never have dared ask his father to do something for him.
As such, a promise of this nature from Shen Juesheng was undeniably something of immense value.
Of course, everyone in the room also understood in their hearts that Shen Juesheng's offer was probably nothing more than a pleasantry.
After all, with a martial Dao cultivation as deep as his, the idea of Li Musheng's single punch actually meeting the condition he had stated was essentially impossible.
At the same time, after hearing Shen Juesheng's words, Li Musheng looked at him with a peculiar expression and said, "Old man, I hope that after tonight, you will come to understand something. There are certain displays of casual superiority that not everyone can pull off. It very much depends on who is doing it."
And with those words barely out of his mouth, in the next moment, Li Musheng raised his hand and drove a punch across the space between them toward Shen Juesheng.
The punch looked perfectly ordinary, and was not fast. It looked like the flowery, untrained form of a student on their first day at a martial hall, loose and unstructured.
There was no surging and billowing martial True Qi gathering around him, no fist wind, no fist force, no fist intent.
Yet that completely ordinary punch, the instant it entered Shen Juesheng's field of vision, caused the old man's expression, which had been composed and unruffled just a moment before, to change completely in the very next instant.
A sense of crisis unlike anything he had ever experienced surged abruptly into his heart. A terror he had not felt in decades swept over his entire mind in a single instant.
Almost on pure instinct, Shen Juesheng's hair and beard stood on end, and the aura of his entire being erupted like a storm, rolling and crashing in every direction in that single instant.
At the same time, a fierce, overbearing, and terrifying blade intent rose up from within him like a pillar of fire reaching the sky, as though to cleave the heavens and slaughter the earth, to cut through everything in existence.