From slave trader to the Immortal Lord of Ten Thousand Laws

It was midday, and the sun was rising high.

Inside the Xu family mansion, Master Xu's illness had largely subsided. He was dressed in a dark brown silk robe and sitting in the courtyard, with maids serving him tea and water as he admired the banana trees in the yard.

"Father."

A woman's voice came from the corridor behind her.

Descending the steps, I entered the courtyard.

Xu Qingyue curtsied, her voice slightly anxious:

"Father, you have just recovered from your old illness. How can you go out of the house? It's cold outside, so please wear more warm clothes."

As she spoke, she glared at the maids on either side of her:

"You lot are really something. Why didn't you tell me that Father was going out?"

The maids shrank back, some of them trembling.

"I told them not to report it."

Mr. Xu put down his teacup and said gently.

Xu Qingyue sat down to the side: "Father, really, you come out for a walk without even informing your daughter."

The old man looked at her kindly:

"I know you're busy and overwhelmed in the front hall, how could I bear to send a servant to inform you?"

Xu Qingyue frowned but remained silent.

What Master Xu said is true.

She has been extremely busy lately. It has been three days since Master Xu recovered, and the threshold of the Xu family has been worn down by visitors. Many of them are old friends of Master Xu, all of whom came to offer their congratulations. However, those from prominent families all came in order to curry favor with Jiang She.

Jiang She, however, did not show up.

All of these were handed over to Xu Qingyue for handling.

Xu Qingyue was extremely lucky to have managed to steal a moment of free time. She frowned slightly, looking somewhat hesitant.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally said hesitantly:

"Father, Jiang She has been kind to our family and has a connection with the mountain god, so we should treat him with the utmost respect."

Upon hearing this, Master Xu sat up straight.

"Is he really an immortal?"

"That's about right."

Xu Qingyue frowned, her almond-shaped eyes darting around. She waved away the maids around her before speaking softly:

"Qiao'er said that the mountain god once personally called him an immortal."

"Alas!"

Master Xu stroked his beard, his body trembling slightly. He involuntarily leaned back a little, muttering to himself before stopping, and asked in bewilderment:

"Why would someone like that be in my home...?"

He was filled with fear and trepidation. Although he said these words, he was sweating profusely and for a moment forgot to sit up straight.

Xu Qingyue, however, knew what her father was worried about, and said softly:

"Father Mo Yu, Jiang She is an upright man who can distinguish right from wrong. He would never harbor any ill intentions towards my family."

"That's not what I'm worried about as your father."

"What is Father worried about...?"

Xu Qingyue questioned him.

Master Xu frowned: "Yue'er, think about it carefully. Jiang She and his family, spanning three generations, have all served as servants of the Xu family."

"In all these decades, has his family ever shown even the slightest trace of divine aura? Yet now... how has he become someone even the mountain god addresses as 'Immortal'?"

"It really raises suspicions."

Xu Qingyue was taken aback upon hearing this, her expression quite complex:

"Father, what do you mean...?"

Master Xu stood up, paced a few steps in the courtyard, and said in a low voice, "I'm afraid this Jiang She is not the real Jiang She."

"How could this be...?"

Xu Qingyue's eyelashes trembled slightly.

She originally came today to ask for a clan position for Jiang She, or at the very least, to be a guest of honor who would treat her with the utmost respect.

But unexpectedly... my father had such doubts.

She was stunned.

Master Xu is knowledgeable and has a remarkable memory:

"Moon, do you know that there is such a thing as possession in this world? It is said that there are cultivators whose physical bodies decay but whose souls do not perish, and who can forcibly possess the bodies of others and be reborn in another's body."

"You said that Jiang She was seriously injured several months ago. If a celestial being's spirit happened to pass by at that time and took advantage of the situation to enter..."

Mr. Xu stopped abruptly at this point.

Xu Qingyue's heart skipped a beat.

After a long pause, he hurriedly said:

"Father, this is absolutely impossible! Jiang She risked his life to protect me from the evil Taoist priest. If he truly harbored evil intentions, why would he go to such lengths, traveling eight thousand miles to escort me back to the capital?"

"Oh? Moon, what do you mean?"

"Father, our family should treat him with the utmost respect. How about we treat Young Master Jiang as an honored guest?"

"That's not difficult, it's just..."

Master Xu frowned slightly: "The prominent families that have come to visit recently have all offered their daughters in marriage in order to curry favor with this immortal. My family, on the other hand, is merely a nominal guest. Compared to them, I'm afraid it will be difficult to keep his heart."

Yes, they all marry off their daughters...

Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyue's expression shifted slightly. She stammered for a long while before blushing and saying:

"Father, at worst, my family will marry off our daughters too."

Ok?

"What did you say?"

Master Xu's face darkened.

He suddenly stood up, and with a flick of his sleeve, he knocked over the teacups on the stone table. With a crash, shards of porcelain shattered all over the floor.

"Nonsense!"

"Moon, have you lost your mind? According to ancestral rules, members of the Xu family bloodline are not allowed to marry outside the family. This is an ironclad rule, the very foundation that sustains our family's reputation and lineage. How can you, as the future head of the family, utter such words?"

The old father's words were sharp.

Every sentence conveys the principle of prioritizing the overall situation.

Xu Qingyue did not bow her head to admit her mistake, but instead met her father's interrogative gaze: "Father, your daughter has not forgotten."

"Then what did you mean by what you just said?"

Master Xu's eyes were sharp, and he said nervously, "Could it be that he's no different from those eloquent young masters from wealthy families, only with more sophisticated methods, to deceive you..."

"No, Father!"

"Jiang She is different."

"He's different from other men!" Before the old man could finish speaking, Xu Qingyue abruptly interrupted him.

Mr. Xu frowned.

Just as I was about to say something more, suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the corridor.

"Thump thump thump!"

A young servant in blue robes ran breathlessly into the courtyard, not even bothering to straighten his clothes, and hurriedly bowed to report:

"Master, Miss."

"The men from the Black Court have arrived. Second Master is entertaining them in the guest hall and has asked me to quickly invite Miss over."

The courtyard fell silent as soon as he said that.

Xu Qingyue's gaze sharpened slightly as she glanced at her father, but she did not respond immediately.

The Black Office holds a unique position, specializing in handling unusual matters that are difficult for the government. Its nature is similar to that of the "Six Doors" (a government agency). Most of the officials in the office were recruited from the former Jianghu assassin organization "Night Scouts".

Master Xu waved his hand and said:

"Moon, since the Black Army has sent people, they must have important business to attend to. You should go ahead and deal with them first."

He paused, glanced at his daughter with a complicated expression, and said:

"What happened just now... can be discussed another day."

"Yes, Father."

Xu Qingyue nodded slightly, gave her father a graceful bow, then turned around and took her leave with the servant.

They went to the guest room together.

...

...

Inside the guest room.

Pei Yubei stood still, without sitting down.

He was injured by the old Taoist Liu Tuo several months ago and lay on his bed for several months before recovering. Now that he has come to the Xu residence, he dares not sit down and just stands there, because of the black-robed man at the head of the table.

The man in the black robe was named Fang Zheng'a.

He is one of the six chief constables of the Black Court, known in the martial arts world as the Black-Faced Impermanence.

As his name suggests, he had dark skin, a rugged face with sharp features, high cheekbones, a straight nose, and a pair of wolf-like eyes.

He clearly had a calculating mind.

At this moment, the man in black robes sat at the head of the guest hall. Although he did not speak, he was like a black mass with only his eyes showing. He looked down at everyone with sharp eyes, making it hard for them to breathe.

Pei Yubei was covered in sweat.

He didn't dare to look up.

The higher a martial artist's skill level, the more they feel as if they are facing a towering mountain in front of the man in black robes.

In contrast, although Xu Ningyuan also practiced martial arts, he did not feel as intensely burdened as if he were carrying a mountain.

He can still hold a teacup in his hands and speak eloquently.

"My lords, what brings you to my humble abode today?" Xu Ningyuan smiled, adhering to the principle that one shouldn't refuse a smiling face.

A deep, resonant voice came from the head of the table; it was the voice of the man in black robes: "Naturally, I've come to find your husband."

Xu Ningyuan was taken aback.

"May I ask, sir, which young man are you seeking?"

"Naturally, it's that young master Jiang who can summon the mountain god."