Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Sitting on the lid, Xiao Chen burst into laughter when he saw Ye Feng’s blackened eye.

Ye Feng stood up, smacked his lips, and cursed under his breath. “Damn it, does a tier-six being really hit that hard?”

Back in her room, Meng Wanshu called out, “Little Cui, where’s my mother?”

The young maid outside replied with a smile, “Miss, the madam is in her courtyard stewing chicken. She said she’ll bring it to the young master once it’s ready.”

Meng Wanshu’s face flushed. She muttered reproachfully, “At a time like this, she’s still stewing chicken soup. Doesn’t my mother know what just happened?”

The maid tilted her head and thought for a moment. “The madam doesn’t seem to know.”

Meng Wanshu’s lips curved. She changed into a deep blue dress and headed out. “If my father asks, tell him I went to the rear mountain.”

She stepped forward and vanished. When she reappeared, she was in the core area of the territory, within a small personal realm belonging to Li Guilan.

Several mountain peaks stretched together, and a rather imposing brick house stood in the valley. Of course, this imposing look was only in comparison to the buildings below the mountain. Compared to the lavish territory as a whole, it looked rather plain.

A slightly plump woman was halfway up the mountain, chasing chickens. All the hens had been raised by Li Guilan herself.Seeing her mother struggling, Meng Wanshu laughed. “Mother, you’re already a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Why don’t you use your vital force?”

The woman stood up and replied irritably, “What do you know? Vital force this, vital force that. If you use it for everything, you lose the fun of catching a chicken yourself.”

She rolled up her sleeves. “I don’t believe I can’t catch you. What are you standing there for? Come help. Don’t just stand around.”

Meng Wanshu smiled. If anyone passed by, they would see the wife and daughter of the Divine Treasure Territory Lord chasing chickens all over the hills. With their strength, catching them would be effortless, yet neither of them used vital force nor divine consciousness, enjoying the process as ordinary village women would.

Meng Wanshu, dressed in an elegant gown, sat by the stove tending the fire. The small stool beneath her was low but comfortable. She rested her chin in one hand while tossing firewood into the stove with the other. The bright flames illuminated her face, her cheeks glowing like crimson clouds at dusk.

Li Guilan, while in the process of killing a chicken, gave a faint smile as she looked at Meng Wanshu, whose mind had clearly wandered off. She thought that a girl in the throes of first love was always at her most beautiful.

She skillfully handled the hen, casually probing as she worked. “Girl.”

“Yes?”

“You like him?”

“Yes…”

“Hahaha. Compared to before, has that boy changed?”

Li Guilan truly liked Li Guanqi, but when it came to her daughter’s lifelong happiness, she respected Meng Wanshu’s own wishes. If she didn’t like him that much, it would be fine if nothing came of it.

Meng Wanshu’s gaze drifted. After a long moment, she said, “He’s changed.”

Li Guilan chopped off the chicken’s neck with a loud thud. The shiny cleaver buzzed on the chopping board. She said angrily, “Changed? That won’t do. If that’s the case, I won’t approve of your relationship.”

Meng Wanshu hurriedly stood up. “Mother, that’s not what I meant!”

“Then what do you mean?”

Meng Wanshu said shyly, “I mean he’s changed for the better… He’s more outstanding now.”

Li Guilan relaxed and started plucking feathers from the hen. “Oh? Tell me more.”

“Guanqi is wonderful. He’s the same as before. When he looks at me—that look, that feeling—it’s all the same,” Meng Wanshu said.

“Hm... and he’s still blind, right?”

With her back turned, Li Guilan didn’t notice Meng Wanshu’s cheeks burning with shyness.

“What realm is he at? Hasn’t reached the Golden Core Realm yet, right? You and your father need to take good care of him. Don’t look down on him. He’s a blind child with no parents. It wasn’t easy for him to reach this point. Besides, he’s not even twenty yet. The Foundation Building Realm is already impressive.”

Meng Wanshu looked at her mother strangely. Then she remembered her mother couldn’t clearly perceive others’ auras.

She stepped forward and hugged her mother from behind. “Don’t worry, Mother. Guanqi isn’t as bad as you imagine.”

“You silly girl, get up. I’m all dirty. Why are you hugging me?”

“I don’t want to.” Meng Wanshu leaned into her. “Let me hug you for a bit. By the way, Mother, you know Xiao Chen, right?”

Li Guilan nodded and smiled. “Of course. That boy clings to you every day—how could I not? Actually, if I hadn’t met Guanqi before, I’d have thought that boy wasn’t bad either. At least he treats you well. And I heard he’s considered some kind of genius in the Divine Treasure territory, ranked on some list or other.”

Meng Wanshu nodded proudly. “That’s right. Brother Xiao Chen is very strong. In the entire territory, only a handful his age could beat him. But just now, ten families with similar power came to the territory.”

Li Guilan grabbed the cleaver and turned toward the door. “Hmph! They came to bully your man? I’ll go see who dares!”

Meng Wanshu hurriedly pulled her back. “Mother, don’t go. They already left.”

“Hm? They all left?”

“Yes. Ten monks from holy kingdoms. Li Guanqi fought ten alone and beat them all half to death.”

Li Guilan nodded, then froze. “What? One against ten? Beat them all half to death? No, wait. Didn’t you say they were all in the same realm as Xiao Chen? Then...”

With her hands behind her back, Meng Wanshu said proudly, “That’s right. Li Guanqi is very strong now. So strong that he can crush the peerless geniuses of an entire territory!”

“And you still say he hasn’t reached the Golden Core Realm.” Meng Wanshu paused, suddenly shy. “His realm is only a little lower than mine.”

When Meng Wanshu spoke of realms, her face turned red, all the way to her ears.

Li Guilan’s expression suddenly looked enlightened. She pursed her lips and smiled. “Oh, I know. In the cultivation world, this is called... dual cultivation, right?”

“Mother!”

“Hahaha. Then I have to make today’s chicken soup extra delicious to nourish my son-in-law.”

Inside the room, Li Guanqi slowly woke up. He was surrounded by darkness, mist drifting in the air. Little white sticks floated around him. Peng Luo, red all over and foaming at the mouth, drifted past his eyes.