Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

On the 28th day of the third month of the third year of Tianxin, the old man Mu'an knew passed away in his sleep.

Mu An first met Lin Zhimin when he was twelve years old, and saw the old man off on his final journey at the foot of the mountain when he was twenty-seven.

Fifteen years is neither a long nor a short time.

On this final night, Mu An chose to respect Lin Zhimin's own decision.

The human heart is the most unpredictable thing, and things in this world are not always as one wishes.

Mu An sat on a rock at the foot of the mountain until the old man's presence disappeared from his senses.

He didn't wait any longer, but went straight back to the county town and to Lin'an Hall, instructing the others in Lin'an Hall to prepare for the funeral in advance.

Lin'an Hall was noisy, filled with the sound of crying, which made Mu An not want to stay inside any longer. So she simply went out into the street alone and took a few breaths of fresh air.

Birth, aging, illness, and death are the natural order of things, and we should face them with a calm and accepting attitude.

With that thought in mind, he kicked away the pebbles on the street, found a house that looked more impressive, and sat down on the steps in front of the door.

There were no tears, nor any deep sorrow; apart from a slight emptiness in my heart, I didn't seem to have many other emotions.

He had already shed his last tears when he saw Mu Ping off.

Mu An sat there quietly, staring blankly at the empty street.

Apart from the red-light district where the brothels are located, Qing'an County is really deserted at night. I sat for half a day and not a single person passed by.

"Crunch"

The sound of the door opening came from behind, followed by the curious voices of children.

"Uncle, why are you sitting in front of my house?"

Mu An glanced to the side and saw a child, about three or four years old, standing behind the door. The child poked half his head out, only his eyes showing, and was looking at him curiously.

Behind him stood a refined and gentle scholar, who looked to be about the same age as Mu An himself.

Father and son? No, what three-year-old child could have such cultivation, merging with heaven and earth? He is clearly a Celestial Martial Saint.

And that barely concealed killing intent—it's clear at a glance that this child has killed at least a thousand people.

After glancing at the empty street and then at the two people, one big and one small, Mu An stood up. "Excuse me, I've been feeling a bit troubled tonight, so I'll just sit here for a while and then I'll leave."

The child seemed to want to say something, but the scholar didn't give him a chance. He stepped forward and stood between Mu An and the child.

"I feel like you look familiar, and I would really like to get to know you during the day. But it's getting late tonight, and my child is too young to go to bed early, so I won't invite you in."

Looking at the scholar and the child behind him, Mu An nodded noncommittally.

He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the scholar, squinted his eyes, and walked away into the distance, disappearing from their sight in no time.

About fifteen minutes later, in the same room, in the brightly lit study, came the sound of conversation, one old man and one young man.

"Was that the boss of Qishan Road? He couldn't even tell we were up to something? He's just a pretty boy, how did he get there?"

The voice, though coming from a child, sounded extremely old, unlike the innocent voice of a child.

The scholar, who looked like a father to a child, was now bowing and behaving with utmost respect.

"Guardian Qi, that was Mu An, the Grand Commander of Qishan Dao. Rumors say he was a male favorite of Princess Yongning, and there are also rumors that the 'Vermilion Bird Killing God' who appeared in Qi'an City was him."

The child-like Rat Guardian scoffed, his words filled with disdain.

"He's probably just a gigolo. The court spared his life because of Princess Yongning. If he really was the 'Vermilion Bird Killer,' I couldn't possibly have been completely unaware of it."

"But this pretty boy is really handsome. After I've used him, he could be my flute-playing boy."

The scholar seemed to still have some thoughts, but seeing that his protector had already made a conclusion, the scholar, who was well-versed in the survival strategies of the Blood Robe Sect, decisively shut his mouth.

Thinking about it carefully, what the protector said actually makes some sense. After all, that Qishan Dao Grand Commander just now was like a fool, not noticing anything wrong with them, so he couldn't possibly be some kind of expert.

"The Blood Robe Sect is vengeful! Princess Yongning dared to humiliate our members and torture them to death by a thousand cuts. It's time for her people to suffer the same fate!"

"The Dharma protector is wise."

"Alright, put out the candles to avoid attracting attention. Qishan Road has 30,000 elite troops, and they've recruited quite a few experts over the years. If they get trapped, it'll be a real problem."

The scholar bowed to the child and turned to walk towards the candlelight.

Just as the candle went out, a somewhat weary voice rang out in the room.

"I already told you, I have some worries tonight, why are you all so inconsiderate?"

The moment the words were spoken, a flash of silver light appeared, and a five-colored halo swirled in the void.

The strong smell of blood spread throughout the room in a very short time.

From the shadows, a voice, tinged with anger at being slandered, slowly rose.

"It's a dark and stormy night for murder. You two are too kind. Knowing that I was going to kill someone, you even turned off the lights for me. I am very grateful."

However, I must correct something: the rumors about male concubines are pure fabrication, and the claims about a "god of death" are baseless slander! They are the most baseless rumors!

The Great Qi Dynasty has its own unique circumstances, and the words of those people in the palace are not credible at all!

Go ask anyone on the street, and they'll all know that I, Mu An, am a first-rate philanthropist!

After saying a few words, Mu An raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The flickering light illuminated the room once again, and the candlelight that had just been extinguished was now shining brightly again.

In the not-so-large study, Mu An sat on the back of the child-shaped Rat Guardian, with flowing clouds emitting five-colored light piercing through his chest.

"It's strange, the protectors of the Blood Robe Sect should all be Celestial Martial Saints, why are you so weak, old man?"

Pierced through the chest by Liu Yun and humiliated by Mu An, Protector Zi Shu felt a sudden shortness of breath and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Tsk, spitting blood everywhere, it'll get your clothes dirty."

"You, you, you..."

Before the Rat Protector could finish speaking, Mu An gripped his sword tightly and severed the Rat Protector in two from his chest.

The gushing blood stained his light-colored clothes, making the atmosphere in the room even colder.

"What do you mean, 'what are you saying'? Why do you talk so much?"

He split the man in two, but Mu An showed no intention of getting up from the corpse. He sat on the lap of the Rat Protector and turned to look at the trembling scholar beside him.

"Tell me, what shady plans does your Blood Robe Cult have, and what's the deal with this pitifully weak protector? Perhaps if I'm in a good mood, I might spare your life."

Looking at Mu An sitting in a pool of blood, the scholar felt his legs go weak and he knelt down on the ground.

He didn't know if he would survive, and he dared not stand higher than the killing god in front of him.

Who knows if he'll get slashed to death the next second because he's standing too high? He's still young and wants to see this beautiful world.

The scholar's entire head was pressed to the ground, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"The one you killed was the old thief Zishu. This old thief practiced a mysterious skill that would allow him to revert to childhood for two days each month. However, his power would be greatly reduced during the days he became a child, making him much weaker than the other guardians."

There are only the two of us here. Our plan is to seize an opportunity to kill the Marquis of Yongning, frame the Prefect of Lingzhou, and provoke you, my lord, to send troops to the prefecture, thereby stirring up unrest in Lingzhou...

This was all that old thief's plan, it has nothing to do with me! That old thief treated me like a dog every day, and even killed my parents. I wish I could drink their blood and eat their flesh.

My lord, I am deeply grateful for your kindness today. I would gladly go through fire and water for you...

Mu An listened carefully to the scholar's words, nodded slightly, and then waved his hand to interrupt the scholar's heartfelt words.

"I have one more question."