Da Xuan Martial Saint

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Quite soon.

Leaving Yu Jun's side,

"With the four sects settling in, I fear the entire Yu County's situation is about to undergo a major change,"

Xu Hongyu's eyes revealed a hint of worry as she involuntarily looked towards Chen Mu.

If it weren't for the matter of the four sects, given Chen Mu's talent and understanding, with several more years of stable cultivation, he would likely become unparalleled in Yu City, and the Yu Family's dangers would naturally be resolved.

Although the current generation is still inadequate, as long as there's someone who steps into the Five Viscera Realm, even a powerful force like the Xue Family would be reluctant to engage in conflict.

After all, a master of the Five Viscera Realm moves freely and is not easily threatened unless ambushed by a large group of peers. If such a person were pushed too far and sought revenge far and wide in a fit of rage, any family would find it hard to bear.

This is also why the Yu Family's great-grandancestor, who had long ago retired as a steward of the Seven Profound Sect and returned to the Yu Family to spend his latter years, even though he had passed the age of decrepitude, the He Family still didn't dare to fight the Yu Family too fiercely.

After all, no one was certain how far the great-grandancestor's Qi-Blood had declined or how much his strength had diminished. If he still possessed the power of the Five Viscera Realm and took ruthless revenge ignoring all consequences, undertaking a fight to mutual destruction, then no one could accept that.

But now,

the Heavenly Sword, Hehuan, Blood Concealment, and Mysterious Heavenly, the four great sects, are about to settle in Yu County. These are all not inferior to the Seven Profound Sect, standing proudly in the land of a state, and even the Xue Family would have to restrain its sharpness and act cautiously, lest they face the disaster of annihilation.

"Let's just wait and see how things unfold,"

Chen Mu shook his head.

In fact, he had predicted such a day would come, as these are tumultuous times, the Da Xuan Dynasty is in decline, and each state in the world is dividing and war is breaking out everywhere. The so-called grand trends of the world, prolonged division will lead to unification, and prolonged unification will lead to division.

In the face of this grand trend, no single state can remain unaffected. Even a great sect with power over a state and millions of people, ruling a region, cannot remain aloof from the world forever.

Now that the four sects are settling in, in a certain sense, it might actually be a good thing.

After all, in his view, the four sects of Heavenly Sword, Hehuan, Blood Concealment, and Mysterious Heavenly would not necessarily be a united front amongst themselves. Their unity against the Seven Profound Sect is only in search of benefits, and once they obtain them, they will probably divide them amongst themselves.

The arrival of the four sectial powers in Yu County will likely focus on control rather than turning Yu County into a land of war and gunpowder, so in actuality, the situation wouldn't be too different from the previous one where the four Yu County families fought each other openly and covertly.

At least, that's the case for him.

Of course,

for the He, Yu, Xue, and Xie families, it's a complete upheaval. Originally, all standing at the pinnacle of Yu County, wielding power and influence, now they have to act cautiously and seek a livelihood between the cracks of the four sects.

In short, in the days to come, he would also observe the changes. Even with the settlement of the four sects, many matters no longer require his consideration, such as the remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect.

Even,

Chen Mu suspected that the reason the Seven Profound Sect set the boundary at Yu County and allowed the four sects to settle might be because of the remnants of the Heavenly Corpse Sect. After all, it was unclear how much strength the Heavenly Corpse Sect had hidden away.

Bringing the four great sects in to clash with the Heavenly Corpse Sect was a situation the Seven Profound Sect could still accept.

After walking forward with Xu Hongyu for a while, Chen Mu soon arrived at the front courtyard of the county government.

Currently, the inner courtyard of the An Yu County Government is temporarily controlled by Yu Jun, the Deputy Governor of the Demon-Slaying Office, while Yu Rong, the County Magistrate of An Yu, is temporarily handling affairs in the front courtyard. With Chen Mu's arrival, the magistrate quickly came out to meet him personally.

"I welcome Lord Chen's triumphant return. In this recent demonic turmoil, you poured your heart and blood for the millions of commoners of An Yu County. On behalf of the people of Donghong Township and An Yu, I offer my thanks to Lord Chen,"

Yu Rong started speaking even before getting close, and promptly bowed deeply to Chen Mu.

A bit too ostentatious.

Chen Mu muttered to himself, looking at Xu Hongyu's maternal uncle with a strange expression, mainly because Xu Hongyu was still standing beside him, so he stepped forward to help prevent Yu Rong from actually bowing.

Unable to bow, Yu Rong smoothly got up, and with a smiling face looked at Chen Mu, saying, "I've instructed people to prepare a top-quality banquet to celebrate Lord Chen's achievements."

If prior to this, he regarded Chen Mu as just a subordinate of Xu Hongyu but worth befriending due to some capabilities, his attitude this time had completely changed, even placing himself at a very lower status.

After all, compared to Yu Jun, though Yu Rong could also be considered a member of the Yu Family's main lineage, within the family his strength and status were far less than Yu Jun's, and even less than Xu Hongyu's.

Chen Mu, who reached the Tendon Changing Level and comprehended Artistic Conception, if in the future he stops at Tendon Changing Perfection and unable to proceed with Bone Tempering, with Artistic Conception and his Horizontally Trained Body, will still be one of the top figures in the Yu Family.

Although the situation in Yu County is about to change greatly with the entry of the four great sects and will change the state of affairs, the Yu Family after all remains one of the four ruling families of Yu City, and Yu Rong is still a member of the Yu Family.

"There's no need for a banquet, the disaster has just passed, there's no need for fanfare and wastefulness,"

Chen Mu shook his head, saying, "I don't know if there has been any progress in the matter I asked the County Magistrate to investigate last time?"

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Yu Rong couldn't help but reveal a hint of shame as he said, "To my embarrassment, the An Yu County Government suffered from a bout of thievery seventeen years ago, where a fire was set and burned many of the genealogy records. Although we found a few with the same name and surname as Lord Chen's mother in the remaining parts, none had any significant connection."

"I have already ordered my men to conduct a thorough investigation within An Yu County, though it may take some time. However, as long as the person in question is indeed a resident of An Yu County, we will certainly be able to give Lord Chen a proper explanation in the end."

Upon hearing what Yu Rong had said, Chen Mu sighed faintly but wasn't too surprised.

After all, with so many years passed, and not to mention the fire that burned the records as Yu Rong mentioned, just the recurring disasters such as severe colds, droughts, and floods had caused chaos every time. Over the years, even powerful families could have vanished or declined, let alone Liu Ping, who ended up enslaved, likely came from a very ordinary lineage.

Whether any descendants are still alive remains unclear.

He was about to tell Yu Rong to spare the trouble, but considering the aftermath of the disasters and the need to tally the losses, sending the government officials to check a bit more thoroughly would only be taking advantage of the situation. So, he didn't refuse but merely said to inform him once there was news.

After confirming there was currently no news about Liu Ping, Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu left the county government and went to the backyard where they had stayed before.

"We should leave tomorrow."

Chen Mu said to Xu Hongyu.

"Mm."

Xu Hongyu responded softly.

Looking at her demure and graceful demeanor, Chen Mu felt a stirring in his heart and the urge to tease her arose again, but it quickly passed.

Mainly because this exquisite piece of White Jade, usually unresponsive to playful advances, was obedient but lacking a certain charm when wooed. It required a more leisurely appreciation to truly appreciate its elegance.

Chen Mu turned his gaze toward the quietly following Little Lotus.

Little Lotus was startled and hurriedly said, "I... I'm going to fetch water..."

With that, she ran off.

As she fled, the scenes she had witnessed by the Lin'an River flashed through her mind, and her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue while her body started to feel warm. She was Xu Hongyu's maid, and if Xu Hongyu and Chen Mu... then naturally, she would also be part of the dowry.

In fact, she was quite willing to get closer to Chen Mu and did not want to run away; she even hoped Chen Mu would do something to her. But she could never overstep Xu Hongyu, so she had no choice but to flee in silence.

Watching Little Lotus take to her heels,

Chen Mu found it amusing for a moment. This little maid of Hongyu's could be considered both literate and martially capable. Although sometimes impulsive, she was always proper and faithful to Xu Hongyu, who trusted her completely. So much so that when they left the city for demon-hunting, Xu Hongyu entrusted everything in South City District to Little Lotus.

Inside Xu Hongyu's room, Chen Mu did nothing more than discuss the potential situation in Yu County after their return and his plans after reaching the Prefecture City. After briefly consulting about these matters, he returned to his own bedroom.

Little Lotus, hiding aside, watched Chen Mu leave and couldn't help but blink, feeling a slight disappointment mixed with a little smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.

Though the Yu Family was a prestigious and wealthy household, both Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu were considered "children of the martial world" and didn't adhere to many conventions; otherwise, in an age where girls were married off at fourteen or fifteen, Xu Hongyu would not still be unmarried.

She knew Xu Hongyu too well. Although her mistress could sometimes be naïve, she was by no means ignorant. Allowing Chen Mu to act freely by the river showed that her heart had long belonged to him, and she would refuse nothing of his doing. However, Chen Mu didn't take any further action, instead ultimately saying she was weary from the journey and insisting she should rest well this night.

The more he behaved this way, the more it implied that Chen Mu didn't just regard Xu Hongyu as an object of desire to be discarded after use; he had always acted with composure and measure. His talent and insight were unmatched in his generation.

Little Lotus was even pondering how such fate could have brought Chen Mu, such an individual, into her mistress's life from the secluded Wutong Grove District in the Outer City.

In the seven or eight days following the battle in the wilderness, Xu Hongyu's injuries weren't severe, but Chen Mu insisted that she rest and recuperate properly. He took over all of her duties and personally dealt with matters to ease her burdens.

All of this she had seen with her own eyes.

Thus, by the Lin'an River, seeing Chen Mu make his moves towards Xu Hongyu only filled her heart with joy and happiness for her mistress. With such innate talent and character, who also genuinely wished to treat Xu Hongyu well, it would be hard to find another like him.

Even if something more were to happen today, she would only rejoice for her mistress.

Little Lotus entered the room, brought the heated water, and assisted Xu Hongyu in removing her shoes and socks. She delicately placed the pair of dainty feet, carved like white jade, into the water, gently washing them while whispering,

"Miss, he's really good to you."

"Mm-hmm."

Xu Hongyu nodded lightly to Little Lotus's words.

She wasn't clueless. Though she was curious about the feelings Chen Mu's actions could arouse, and though she couldn't quite articulate her own feelings, she understood what those gestures signified. It was just that because it was Chen Mu, she had no thoughts of resistance at all in the depth of her heart.

Knowing what kind of person Chen Mu was, because of all he had done, and because of the vague yet distinctly different feelings she held for him in her heart, as well as the words he spoke... she didn't understand her own heart completely, she just knew she couldn't muster any desire to refuse him now.