From slave trader to the Immortal Lord of Ten Thousand Laws

The Xu family mansion.

Inside the triple courtyard.

Xu Qingyue frowned and gracefully sat down at the desk.

She wore a floral-patterned silk robe, her feet resting heavily on the table. Her slender hands peeled a fresh orange, her waist bent slightly like a willow branch. The hem of her robe drooped down, vaguely outlining the lines of her legs, which were pressed together and placed diagonally beneath her skirt. The hem of her skirt was piled up by the embroidered stool, revealing only the tips of her red shoes.

Qiao'er stood behind her, half a step away, with her hands down and eyes lowered.

Standing opposite Xu Qingyue was her uncle.

"Uncle, the three Niu brothers all died on the river. They were probably fleeing to avoid punishment, but this matter is also strange."

"Um."

Xu Ningyuan nodded, his face grave. "This matter is indeed strange. Everyone outside is saying that a water ghost killed someone, but after thinking about it, I realize that a water ghost doesn't eat people's hearts, livers, brains, or marrow, but instead sticks out their buttocks? Isn't that even stranger?"

His words made Xu Qingyue blush.

Xu Qingyue placed the peeled orange on the table, a hint of seriousness appearing on her fair face:

"The strange thing is not just this one thing."

"Just now, a servant came to report that the head maid in the kitchen had also died in her own room. The coroner from the yamen has examined her and found no external injuries or signs of poisoning. Her face was just contorted with horror, as if she had been scared to death."

"Scared to death?"

Xu Ningyuan frowned and said in a deep voice, "People in my family have been dying one after another. Could it be that the house is haunted?"

Xu Qingyue shook her head slightly, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes flashing with a thoughtful light: "Uncle, in my opinion, it's not necessarily that the house is haunted. It's more like she heard about the deaths of the three Niu brothers and scared herself to death."

What she said makes no sense.

The head maid and the three Niu brothers were blood relatives. When the news of the Niu brothers' violent and gruesome deaths in the dead of night arrived, if she was already feeling guilty and frightened, it was not entirely impossible that she might lose her composure and be terrified upon hearing the bad news.

"I'm afraid there really are ghosts."

Xu Ningyuan said thoughtfully, then suddenly added, "By the way, Yue'er, is that old immortal still lingering in the shop?"

Xu Qingyue nodded slightly, and said helplessly:

"Still in the shop, this old immortal is really strange. I don't see him eating, drinking or relieving himself, but he just keeps staying and won't leave. He says he wants to take my niece as his disciple, but my niece has declined because she has worldly ties with him. But he won't give up."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ningyuan frowned, paused slightly in the white porcelain teacup he was holding, and asked in a deep voice:

"If that's the case, my family sent him a lot of valuables and gold as gifts, yet he still refuses to leave?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyue looked even more helpless and frowned, saying:

"Uncle, the money has been given, and the old immortal has accepted it without hesitation, but he still refuses to leave, saying that he has a destiny with my Xu family and insists on seeing the truth. He wants me to learn the Tao from him, and he is really difficult to deal with."

"hehe...."

Xu Ningyuan sneered, lightly tapped the teacup on the table, and said coldly:

"Hmph, refusing to leave? I'm afraid he's not some real deity, but some fake deity or charlatan who's eyeing my wealth and wants to freeload!"

"Let's summon a dozen or twenty guards and servants to scare him, but he still won't leave?"

"Sigh..."

Xu Qingyue sighed softly, her worry deepening:

"My niece initially thought the same thing."

"For this reason, we have already called many guards and servants to try to 'invite' him out of the shop, but the strange thing is... even those strong men who can lift a cauldron cannot move him an inch. He sits there as if rooted to the spot. Ordinary strong men cannot move him, let alone push him. This situation does not seem to be a common trick of the martial arts world."

There's a trick in the martial arts world called "the Thousand-Pound Drop".

He sits with his legs spread apart, and he remains as immovable as a mountain. No matter how many strong men you have, you can't lift him up.

Xu Ningyuan pointed this out, but Xu Qingyue shook her head and said, "We also asked someone to try it. It was an old master who was good at breaking the 'Thousand-Pound Drop', but the old master was so tired that he vomited blood, but he still couldn't lift it. He just said that it was not the Thousand-Pound Drop."

"hiss...."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ningyuan frowned even more deeply. After a long pause, he slowly and deliberately said in a deep voice:

"In that case... this matter is indeed somewhat strange."

"Although the 'Thousand-Pound Drop' is a trick of the martial arts world, if it were broken by someone skilled in it, it would be like a tree without roots or water without a source, and it should no longer have such a miraculous effect. But how could ordinary people possibly use such a method?"

"Moon, if this old man is truly a wandering immortal, or possesses extraordinary skills that are beyond the comprehension of us mortals... perhaps your father's incurable illness may indeed be cured!"

"This may be a tremendous opportunity for the Xu family, who knows?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyue shook her head slightly. Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes held little expectation, but instead showed a deeper worry.

She said softly, "What you said, Uncle, is something I have thought about. But this is precisely where my doubts lie."

If he were truly a celestial being, already transcending the mundane world and regarding gold and silver as dirt, why would he gladly accept the money and jewels given to him by my family?

"How is this behavior any different from that of those charlatans in the mortal world who try to take advantage of others? I'm afraid his ambitions are far from small, and his intentions are even more sinister."

"My father is seriously ill, and the family business is hanging by a thread. I really dare not and am unwilling to entrust my father's life and the safety of my Xu family to such a person of unknown origin and strange behavior."

She paused, then said in a deep voice:

"While a chance encounter with immortals is certainly alluring, I fear that this unexpected 'fate' that has come knocking on my door... is more of a curse than a blessing."

"But he almost lost his composure."

Xu Ningyuan apologized, saying with reluctance, "These past years have been so hard on you, Yue'er..."

Xu Qingyue smiled upon hearing this and said softly:

"Why do you say that, Uncle? Don't you feel the hardship? Father has been seriously ill and bedridden for many years. Everyone in the Xu family, inside and out, needs someone to take care of things. This is my duty, and it is also the heavy responsibility entrusted to me by Father and our ancestors."

She paused, gently smoothing the sleeves of her floral-patterned silk robe with her slender hands, and looked at Xu Ningyuan with clear eyes:

"Moreover, with my uncle and other loyal stewards helping me at home, it's not like I'm supporting the family all by myself."

"Without my uncle's tireless efforts over the years in managing the shops and maintaining relationships with various parties; without my uncle's skillful maneuvering between the government and the underworld to deter petty villains, how could the Xu family have survived to this day amidst such turbulent times?"

"My niece merely stays at home and runs the shop; compared to my uncle's arduous and toilous life, what hardship is there for her?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Ningyuan was deeply moved, yet he still sighed:

"That may be true, but you are still a girl. Other girls your age are either enjoying the company of their parents or have already found a good husband, raising children and enjoying the bliss of family life. But you have to show your face in public and deal with those shrewd shopkeepers, clever merchants, and even eyeing rivals. This heavy burden should not be placed entirely on your shoulders."

Xu Qingyue chuckled, "Uncle, are you implying that your niece wants to get married soon?"

"Ha ha!"

Xu Ningyuan laughed loudly: "My family only allows sons-in-law to marry into our family; we would never marry our daughters off!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyue felt a warmth in her heart and was about to say something more intimate. However, just as the words welled up in her heart and were about to come out of her mouth, her soft and delicate body suddenly trembled, as if her whole body had become stiff and sluggish.

She instinctively reached out to raise her arm and gather her sleeves, but was surprised to find that her slender, delicate fingers were no longer under her control.

This feeling... is like being possessed by a ghost.

Xu Qingyue felt a deep unease in her heart.

Only at the very last crucial moment, her red lips parted slightly, and she managed to squeeze out a few words:

"Uncle...Father...It's...it's really haunted!"