By common social standards, it’s inconceivable for a collective force, especially one that’s a wealthy family with huge assets, to seek allegiance with a single person, particularly when the individual in question is rely a "youth fresh off the farm".
Yet, as Zhu Shi once told , in Luo Mountain, in the world of demon hunters, an exceptionally powerful individual is in themselves an army, capable of being equivalent to a force even when operating solo. Therefore, the current situation is not so much a "wealthy family" seeking to follow a "youth fresh off the farm," but rather a "weaker force" wishing to integrate into a "stronger force," which makes much more sense.
In the past, I had rely accepted and digested Zhu Shi’s remarks as new knowledge, understanding that it was information closely related to myself, but ultimately lacking a sense of reality. After all, I had lived nearly twenty years as a regular citizen, and it was hard to emotionally find my place when suddenly told of my own incredibly high "social status."
Now, however, as I watched Mr. Zhu make his request to with such solemnity, the reality struck my heart like a jagged rock suddenly erging above the water surface.
I couldn’t help but look at Zhu Shi beside , who was also at a loss. Clearly, Mr. Zhu had not inford her of this topic in advance. Unprepared for this, she was engulfed in confusion without a clear idea of what was before or after, even casting a pleading look towards .
Seeing this, I made up my mind.
"Zhu Shi, Changan and I are friends," I told Mr. Zhu.
The latter nodded slightly, "So?"
"So if you have matters you need assistance with, I will do my best to help. And when I’m in difficulty, I will seek assistance from you," I said. "But this is not because one has sworn allegiance to the other, or because one has beco the hands and feet of the other, or who is above or below whom... It has nothing to do with those things."
"I understand what you an," Mr. Zhu nodded, "But the reality is that your power overwhelmingly surpasses that of the entire Zhu family. You don’t even need to accept the Zhu family’s allegiance; rely expressing to the outside world your close relationship with my granddaughter and that young man Changan will enable the Zhu family to benefit from your protection in the future.
"This is a tangible benefit, a clear asymtry to anyone who sees it. You can indeed boast of being above my Zhu family, and no one would object.
"Enemies that the Zhu family cannot deal with, you can; those you cannot handle, the Zhu family can’t either. Ultimately, what we can offer you in the future will rely be the overly complicated support work that seems trivial to you. And as you continue to grow stronger, the gap will only widen.
"If this is not us pledging allegiance to you, then what is it?"
I directly counter-questioned, "Are you suggesting that it is a predetermined and natural outco for and my friends to change from an equal relationship to a hierarchical one?"
"Exactly," he nodded.
"If it’s predetermined and natural, then there’s no reason we can’t just remain friends for now," I said. "Who knows? The outco might turn out different from what you suggested."
"You’re not going to refute ?" he asked.
"To be honest, I’m not very concerned. No matter how my relationship with my friends changes in the eyes of others, that is their business. All I need to do is be true to myself. As for whether my friends share my thoughts—" I said this while looking towards Zhu Shi, "that is for my friends to decide, and I will trust my friends."
"Yep yep yep!" Zhu Shi nodded vigorously.
Mr. Zhu seed at a loss for words as he glanced at his granddaughter.
"Then let us conclude this topic for now and address it again when the opportunity arises," he said. "Next, we’ll discuss the matter of healing."
That’s referring to Mazao’s soul injury, I suppose.
Upon realizing the conversation had turned in her direction, Mazao seed to need a mont or two to catch up, belatedly pulling her attention away from the tea leaves she’d been engrossed in. It was like a child who’d been brought to an adult conversation unable to understand the dialogue, left to idly fill the ti. She appeared to lift her head naturally, as if pretending to listen attentively with an expression of utmost seriousness. Suddenly, I felt like testing her about what we had just discussed.
"Our Zhu family has stored so special dications specifically for healing soul burns. You are welco to use them from the warehouse as needed, just follow the instructions when administering to this young girl," Mr. Zhu said. "However, according to what my granddaughter has told , the kind of soul damage this young girl has suffered is akin to the legendary flas of Xuanming, so the dications our Zhu family can provide will at best have a mitigating effect. For a complete recovery, alternative thods must be sought."
"Mr. Zhu, may I inquire what these thods are?" I asked respectfully.
He stroked his goatee, pondered for a mont, and then said, "... Although the Zhu family has no ans, I can introduce you to soone who may be able to help. However..."
"Just ’but’?" I asked.
"This character is extrely dangerous," he said.
"Dangerous... Is he very dangerous for Zhuang Cheng?" Zhu Shi asked curiously, "But with Zhuang Cheng’s strength, there should be very few powerful beings who could pose a threat to him, right?"
Mr. Zhu said gravely, "Unfortunately, this person happens to be a powerful being who is indeed capable of posing a threat to him."
Upon hearing this, a strong interest erged in my heart. Zhu Shi was fully aware of my level of strength, and Mr. Zhu had heard about from him and even gauged my abilities based on my previous performance. If even Mr. Zhu said this person could pose a threat to , then his skill must far surpass that of the Weirdo Maker.
Could it be that this ti I would finally co into contact with soone who could truly challenge ?
"Who is that?" I asked.
"He used to be known as ’Water Master’," Mr. Zhu said, "Perhaps you haven’t heard this na before, but he was once a renowned figure in the world of demon hunters."
Hearing this, I looked at Zhu Shi. This was the first ti I was hearing this na, and Zhu Shi probably knew of it. True enough, she imdiately showed a reaction, though it was one of horror.
"Water Master? Wasn’t he already dead?"
She blurted out and quickly explained upon seeing my confusion, "This Water Master was a demon hunter who operated outside of Luo Mountain, and like you, he was an ’Outer Path Impermanence.’ It was said that he possessed masterful Alchemy skills, and the elixirs he created could bring back the dead and nd broken bones. Many people had received his aid and owed him favors."
"He sounds like a benevolent character," I said. "Why would such a person be described as extrely dangerous?"
"He wasn’t dangerous to normal demon hunters..." she said, "Rumors have it that the Water Master lived for over three hundred years, and he left behind many legends among the common folk. You must have heard tales like ’a passing Immortal kindly bestowed an elixir that cured an incurable illness of the villagers’ during your collection of folk tales and strange anecdotes, right? He was the prototype for so of those stories.
"To many demon hunters, the image of Water Master is no different from the ’passing Immortals’ in those tales. So demon hunters even regard encountering the Water Master as a blessing from heaven. Not to ntion danger, there were plenty of demon hunters who would go out of their way to visit places rumored to have been passed by Water Master.
"However, there is an uncertain legend about the Water Master. It was said that his entire family was slaughtered by a Fla Ability User, and ever since then, whenever he encountered a Fla Ability User, he would beco frenzied and would turn into an Evil ghost and slay them..."
"That’s a false rumor," Mr. Zhu seed to possess so authentic information. "But he does indeed harbor an enmity towards Fla Ability Users that it would not be surprising if such suspicions arose."
"So why does he have issues with Fla Ability Users? And..." I was curious. "Just how powerful is he?"
"As for your first question, I don’t know much. I only know that he seems to be searching for a specific Fla Ability User, whom he believes he must kill at all costs. However, besides ’the target possessing the ability to control flas,’ he knows nothing else about the target, therefore he chose to kill every Fla Ability User he found," Mr. Zhu said. "As for his level of power..."
"Three years ago, when Xuanming was still Lushan Great Impermanence, the Water Master infiltrated Luoshan Headquarters and attempted to assassinate Xuanming," Zhu Shi said. "As far as I know, he inflicted injuries on Xuanming during that battle, and in the end was burned to ashes by Xuanming himself..."
As she spoke, Zhu Shi looked towards her grandfather, who then shook his head and said, "He didn’t die but was critically wounded and fled. He has been hiding in the shadows, and to avoid assassination by Xuanming’s followers, he spread the news of his own death."
Xuanming had followers? That made sense, given that he was rumored to be a Fire God who had survived from the mythological era; it was normal for a God to have so worshippers.
I analyzed the information provided by Mr. Zhu, "To be able to cause injury to Lushan Great Impermanence like Xuanming and escape from a deadly crisis... Could it be that Water Master is also Great Impermanence?"
"Losing to Xuanming and running away" wasn’t shaful, as when Xuanming betrayed Luo Mountain, other Great Impermanence were severely injured by him, with one even being killed.
"He is not Great Impermanence. Although many people thought he might beco Great Impermanence in the future, at least at the ti of attacking Xuanming, he wasn’t. It’s just that he is said to be able to use moves at the Great Impermanence level, which is why he thought he might be able to kill Xuanming," Mr. Zhu said. "Furthermore, he is no longer called Water Master now. Perhaps to avoid being tracked down by Divination Skill, he has even abandoned his forr na. As for his current na, I rember it’s called..."
He paused for a mont to recall, and then uttered a na.
A na that took completely by surprise.
"—’Xuanwu,’" he said. "He is now ’Xuanwu.’"
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