No Longer Planning to Reason

Nanyuan. The instant the small city came into view, Su Yu lost his focus for a brief moment. Yet he swiftly regained his composure. Looking upon the small city once more, a dark gloom could not help but seep into the depths of his eyes. This place was not quite the same anymore. Beside him, the burly man let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the small city of Nanyuan. Once they were inside, security would increase drastically. After that, it was just unloading goods—hardly any trouble left to speak of. "Brother Lang, many thanks for escorting us along the way!" The burly man chuckled heartily, saying, "Now that we've reached Nanyuan, there won't be any trouble. We'll do our best to sell our goods here." Surprised, Su Yu said, "Nanyuan? If I remember right, Nanyuan isn't much of a trading post. People buy goods here?" "There weren't before, but there are now. There's a huge crowd here these days." Knowing he hadn't traveled for a few years, the burly man explained, "Isn't this Su Yu's hometown? Brother Lang, you understand without me spelling it out. The Xia family still hasn't found the ruin Su Yu inherited, so others are trying their luck. As for Su Yu himself, he doesn't dare come back right now..." He laughed and continued, "Quite a few people have come to try their luck, and over time, a lot of folk gathered here. The Xia family originally barred outsiders from coming, but rumors started spreading, claiming that if outsiders were kept out, it must mean Manor Head Xia was hiding here in seclusion to attain the Dao. So the Xia family stopped opposing it. Rather than having people sneak in, it was better to let them come out in the open." Su Yu gave a faint smile. "A ruin? Just because Su Yu was born here, the ruin must be here too? That hardly follows." "The chances are higher, and everyone's interested, so what can you do?" After a few more remarks, the burly man smiled and said, "Brother Lang, why not look around yourself? A ruin would definitely favor geniuses. For non-geniuses like us, there's no hope, but Brother Lang is a genius. You've got a decent shot." "A genius? Heh!" Just then, in the distance, a pack of earth dragon beasts came galloping over. A youth in the lead was riding a Tengkong Realm tiger. Overhearing the conversation, he let out a sneer of contempt. Not bothering to say another word, he drove his beast forward, intending to bypass them. It was merely a casual passing remark. He didn't even deign to pay them any mind. What was there to care about someone riding a Cloud-Galloping Horse? He might not have cared to engage Su Yu, but Su Yu's gaze turned frosty. *Every last one of you comes to my hometown looking for a ruin, and I haven't even agreed to it yet!* Coming out this time was originally to stir up some trouble anyway. This made for a pretty good opening! Just as the youth was about to gallop past him, a beam of sword light descended from the heavens! "How dare you!" Behind the youth, someone barked a low warning. *Squelch!* Before that guard could even make a move, the variegated tiger beneath the youth was decapitated with a wet slice. With a heavy thud, the youth was dragged down by the collapsing beast and slammed into the ground. Hurriedly tumbling to his feet, he barely managed to steady himself before several figures instantly materialized in front of him. A scarred-faced middle-aged man glared at Su Yu, his expression ugly. "Who are you, sir? How dare you launch a sneak attack against a Sun Moon descendant within the borders of the Great Xia Prefecture!" Su Yu said with a chuckling grin, "Cut that crap with me. When your Grandpappy Lang was roaming the world, what kind of sights hadn't I seen?" Su Yu scoffed and looked playfully at the furious youth. "Kid, whose family are you from? Never suffered a beating before, have you? Poking your nose into people's chatter on the road—do you think everyone is your daddy, ready to coddle you? Just a little brat. If not for the fact that you only said that one line and we happen to be at the city gates, I would've chopped your head clean off with one sword strike!" "You..." The scarred man blocking in front raised a hand to cut the youth off, his tone solemn. "My young master was reckless! But for this gentleman to slay my young master's mount without a word, you ought to leave a name!" "Standing tall and true without changing name or surname: Cui Lang of the Great Ming Prefecture!" Su Yu beamed from ear to ear. "Ring a bell? Which family are you from? Out with it, let's see if Grandpappy Lang can afford to provoke you!" "Cui Lang?" The scarred man pondered for a moment, then soon knitted his brows slightly. "The Prodigal Swordsman, Cui Lang? You... you came out!" Su Yu glared. "What, does Grandpappy Lang coming out need to be reported to you? Don't think you're hot stuff just because you're a Lingyun! I've seen plenty of Shanhai and Sun Moon experts. For a trashy Lingyun like you, if you want to pick a fight, just try it!" The commotion outside the city had already drawn the attention of onlookers around them. Even upon the city walls, quite a few figures appeared. That middle-aged man was indeed in the Lingyun Realm, though merely early stage. At this moment, he also realized whom he was dealing with. The Prodigal Swordsman, Cui Lang! Or rather, the Casanova Swordsman, Cui Lang. This fellow was not a warrior, but a Civilization Master who insisted on bestowing the title of swordsman upon himself. Behind him stood a Seventh Stage Sun Moon colossus: Niu Baidao of the Great Ming Prefecture. Moreover, that person in the Great Tang Prefecture... In any case, it wasn't an outsider's place to comment. If Cui Lang truly agreed to marry into their family, he might very well gain another Ninth Stage Sun Moon colossus as his backer. There was simply no reasoning with this. Seeing that the youth behind him was still indignant, having never heard this name, the scarred man was not surprised; Cui Lang hadn't shown his face for several years. Stopping the youth from saying anything further, the scarred man said in a deep voice, "It was all a misunderstanding! My young master harbored no malice. It is merely his first time leaving home, and he is young. Brother Lang, there is no need to take it to heart. Since this variegated tiger is dead, let it be dead; Brother Lang should have vented his anger by now." "Uncle Scar!" The youth was deeply displeased. The other party had slaughtered his mount, an animal the family had paid a heavy price to tame for him. Uncle Scar said in a low tone, "It's fine, it was all a misunderstanding. Young Master, be cautious with your words in the future!" The youth bristled with resentment, but having realized that he had run into someone hard to cross, he could only suppress his rage and fall silent. Su Yu let out a sneer of contempt. Riding his horse, he ambled leisurely forward. "Forget it, I won't lower myself to squabbling with a little brat! I'm an easygoing man! If you ran into someone petty, given those words of yours, they might not strike right now, but once you left the city and there was no one around, they'd secretly do a number on you, and you wouldn't even know how you died! Back in the day, when Grandpappy Lang roamed the pugilistic world, I saw plenty of that!" "So many geniuses and proud scions from great clans think they're something special. Without experiencing a thorough beating from society, their deaths are utterly wretched! Only after cheating death multiple times did Grandpappy Lang understand a single truth: when you're out and about and encounter someone you can't afford to provoke, play the grandson. But when you encounter someone who crosses you, beat the living daylights out of them!" "..." Uncle Scar held his tongue. The youth's face was flushed with fury, yet he spoke no more. Beside Su Yu, the burly man and his companions remained silent as well, escorting their goods without uttering a peep. When encountering this sort of trouble, it was best not to get involved. ... Up on the city walls. There were quite a few people present as well. In the Nanyuan City of the past, there had only been a handful of Tengkong experts, who were already the strongest in the city. Yet in less than a few months, today's Nanyuan City had undergone a massive transformation; right now, there were even Shanhai cultivators on the wall. Everyone had seen and heard the ruckus outside the city. Someone chuckled under his breath. "It's that fellow Cui Lang!" "Who?" Those who didn't recognize him inquired, and soon came to know. So that was it! A guy who slept with the granddaughter of a Ninth Stage Sun Moon expert and still managed to roam freely outside without trouble—nothing else needed to be said. "Who are those other people?" "Seems to be the Hao family of the Great Yuan Prefecture!" "The Hao family? A Sun Moon clan... Hao family... Ah, I remember now. That person from Great Yuan's Sky Monitoring Department, right? People from his family have come too..." "Probably a collateral branch. If not, they'd have at least a Shanhai Dao protector with them. They must be from a collateral branch." "A collateral branch... then they truly have to swallow their anger. A direct line might be fine, but for a collateral branch, crossing Cui Lang won't end well." Cui Lang's own Cui clan didn't possess any powerful figures, but he had Sun Moon colossi backing him—two of them, both high-stage Sun Moon experts. If you were the direct descendant of a Sun Moon, you could perhaps clash with him. For a collateral branch, forget it! When your strength was inferior, you had to endure it. "This fellow Cui Lang isn't weak. A Sixth Stage Tengkong tiger demon, slain in a single sword stroke!" "Years ago he was already at the Eighth or Ninth Stage of Tengkong. By now, he might be approaching Lingyun, or perhaps already in Lingyun. What's so hard about killing a Sixth Stage Tengkong demon?" "Why did this fellow run all the way here too?" "Who knows? That person from the Great Tang Prefecture went into seclusion, so he probably slipped out to blow off some steam." "..." The crowd murmured amongst themselves. Down below, Su Yu rode up to the city walls. Looking up, he felt depressed in his heart—there really were quite a few experts. Yet on the surface, he wore a bright smile. "Yo, so many friends here!" With that, he casually waved and laughed. "Is... is that Brother Wang? Do you still remember the days we freeloaded together in the Great Song Prefecture? Ah, the past is like smoke..." The young man he pointed at turned pale, saying speechlessly, "Brother Cui, you and I have only met once in our lives. A passing encounter! None of the things you mentioned ever happened. You've got the wrong person, and my surname isn't Wang!" Someone laughed and said, "Surname Wang... wouldn't that be Wang Qi of the Great Song Prefecture? Brother Lang, you haven't been out for years, have you even forgotten names?" Su Yu laughed heartily. "Whatever! A name is just an appellation, call it whatever you like. Drifting souls meeting by chance, why must we have known each other before! Are you all here to look for that Su Yu's ruin? Found anything? How about letting me join the fun? Rest assured, even if we find it, I won't snatch it. I just want to see if there are any living ancient beauties inside the ruin..." The crowd was rendered speechless! You really dare say anything! With a light tap of his foot, Su Yu stepped into the air and flew straight up onto the city wall. Glancing left and right, he smiled and said, "Strange. The Xia family isn't managing us outsiders anymore? Letting people tour the city walls as they please?" Saying that, he looked at the young man he had called Brother Wang earlier and smiled. "Brother Wang..." "My surname is Huang!" "Oh, oh, oh, Brother Huang!" Su Yu chuckled heartily. "Huang or Wang, it's all the same! Brother Huang, how come there are no Great Xia Prefecture experts around?" At least, he saw no military powerhouses. There were only some soldiers below the Tengkong Realm standing silently on guard in the surrounding area. No one stopped him when he flew up. In the past, this would never have been permitted. Helpless, the young man had no choice but to explain, "Nanyuan isn't strong, and it's hard to transfer military forces here. The Great Xia Prefecture's stance is: so long as you don't stir up trouble or harass the civilians, you can do as you please. If you harass the civilians or disrupt Nanyuan's daily operation, naturally someone will come looking for you." "So that's how it is!" Su Yu nodded and grinned. "I was wondering why no one said anything when I slaughtered a demon beast just now. Did the Great Xia Prefecture also say that if outsiders kill each other, they won't interfere either?" "Brother Lang truly understands!" The young man smiled as well. "That's exactly it. By Marquis Xia's order, they bear no responsibility for the safety of outsiders! However, if you break places or damage property, it's a hundredfold compensation. Once the fine is paid, he won't care about you. If you have the ability, do whatever you like!" "That does sound like Marquis Xia's style!" Su Yu nodded with a chuckle. Looking down at the group that had just arrived beneath the wall, he crossed his arms and laughed. "That kid dared to insult me. Earlier I was worried about trouble, heheh... Which family is that kid from? If their strength isn't enough, maybe I'll just off him later." "Brother Lang!" Someone chimed in, "They're from the Hao clan, a Sun Moon family of the Great Yuan Prefecture. It's just a minor matter, don't fuss over it. He's a child, only in the Yangxing Realm, fresh out of home. Why bother squabbling with a kid?" Su Yu laughed heartily without saying much. Down below, the scarred-faced Lingyun cultivator had heard those words as well. Knitting his brows slightly, he cupped his fists toward the city wall. "Brother Cui, it was all a misunderstanding. The child spoke out of turn. Once we return, I will naturally ask the family head to discipline him. Why must Brother Cui frighten a child..." Su Yu beamed and said, "Just a joke, don't take it seriously! Children are so cute, how could I bear to kill one? I, Cui Lang, have roamed the pugilistic world for so many years. From the age of twenty-five until now, it's been nearly ten years, and the number of people I've killed is just a tiny sliver. How could I kill people casually? Isn't that just a jest?" The scarred man felt helpless inside. What a headache. The moment he arrived in Nanyuan, he ran into such a character. The fellow had probably gone crazy from being cooped up these past few years and was just looking for someone to vent on. "Brother Cui, please forgive us. Tonight, I shall bring the young master to pay a visit to Brother Cui. I hope Brother Cui will do us the honor!" Su Yu chuckled. "Forget it, just for you, my elder brother, it's a small matter, nothing at all! We're all out making our way in the world, giving each other face. Just remember not to talk nonsense. Look at me: if I run into descendants of Invincibles, I play the grandson too. If I run into descendants of Sun Moon experts... we can just butt heads. At worst, I'll go throw myself into the Great Tang Prefecture's arms!" *Fuck!* Several people cursed internally. *Didn't you refuse to marry in?* *Now you're thinking of running off to Great Tang?* *You kept-man bastard!* *What a shameless face!* Yet with him putting it that way, everyone felt helpless as well. If he truly went and threw himself at the Great Tang Prefecture, ordinary Sun Moon clans might not actually be able to overpower him. Su Yu smiled and walked down the city wall, speaking as he went, "I'll look around. If I stumble across the ruin, I'll be rich! By the way, which way to the City Lord Manor? I'll go have a chat with the city lord. Also, aside from Instructor Liu Wenyan, does Su Yu have any other relatives or teachers here? I'm from Great Ming as well, so we're one family. I'd like to pay a visit." "Brother Wang... er, Brother Huang, how about you come with me, and then we can drop by Su Yu's house to take a look? Do you know where his home is?" The young man's expression shifted slightly, but he quickly said, "I'll accompany you!" Go take a look at Su Yu's home! That place was complicated. Cui Lang truly lived up to his wild reputation! The moment he arrived, he wanted to go to Su Yu's house. He hurried to catch up with Su Yu, regardless of the looks on the others' faces, and quickly caught up, saying, "Brother Lang, I arrived a few days earlier than you, so I do know a bit. Su Yu still has a few teachers here, including the head of Nanyuan Intermediate Academy. But they hold official posts in Great Xia, so it's not easy for us to approach them." He paused, then added, "As for Su Yu's home, there are Dragon Martial Guards stationed outside, so it's not easy to barge in..." Su Yu chuckled. "No matter. My nominal teacher is Head Niu, and Su Yu has a good relationship with my teacher. In a sense, I'm his senior brother—we're family! For family to look at my brother's house, what's wrong with that? We're searching for the ruin fair and square, not acting like thieves, right? Su Yu doesn't even remember where the ruin is himself, so he specifically asked me to look for it. Do you see any fault in that logic?" The people behind who overheard were rendered utterly speechless. What shamelessness! Cui Lang was still the same unbearable sort. Cui Lang might not have even met Su Yu, yet now he was calling him his brother. Given Cui Lang's standing in Great Ming, he might have caught a glimpse of Su Yu, but claiming a close friendship was pure nonsense. Who didn't know that in the Great Ming Prefecture, the people Su Yu associated with were almost all Shanhai and Sun Moon experts, treated as an honored guest by the Manor Lord himself? Great Ming valued Su Yu tremendously; how could Su Yu have time to bother with Cui Lang? ... City Lord Manor. The city lord was still Wu Wenhai. Yet today's Wu Wenhai appeared somewhat aged. Upon seeing Su Yu, Wu Wenhai remained very calm. As a city lord of the Great Xia Prefecture, his strength was meager, but his status was not low, even if Nanyuan was small and weak. Meeting Su Yu—or rather, Cui Lang—was solely because the other party hailed from Great Ming, had graduated from Great Ming Civilization Academy, and was Niu Baidao's nominal disciple. Once they met, Wu Wenhai wasted no pleasantries, stating bluntly, "If Brother Cui has come to look for the ruin, feel free, provided you do not disturb others! As for anything else, even if we knew something, there would be no share for you—it would have been taken by Great Xia long ago! The reason I agreed to see Brother Cui is simply to ask: is Su Yu doing well in the Great Ming Prefecture?" Su Yu smiled. "He's doing great, just injured. When I left, he went into seclusion in my teacher's territory. Before departing, he even urged me to visit his house and help him clean it up. City Lord, I can go take a look, right?" "..." Wu Wenhai eyed him with skepticism. After a long moment, he said solemnly, "Are you sure?" "*Cough, cough*... Sure, absolutely sure!" Su Yu let out a dry laugh, his demeanor clearly screaming that it wasn't true. Wu Wenhai knitted his brows slightly and said, "You claim Su Yu asked you to go. If you want to go, you may, but the consequences are yours to bear! Since you know Su Yu, you should also know that he is not a generous man. If you falsely invoke his name to trespass upon a private residence, I will say no more—weigh the risks yourself!" Su Yu chuckled drily. "Of course, of course. No problem at all. My teacher has a wonderful relationship with him. I'm truly just going to help him clean up. It's been unoccupied for so long, the place must be covered in dust, right?" Beside him, the young man surnamed Huang was filled with admiration. To lie through your teeth so brazenly was truly no small feat. Wu Wenhai had no interest in chatting further. After asking a few more questions about Su Yu, he waved his hand, dismissing him directly. Just as Su Yu was about to leave, Wu Wenhai said indifferently, "In Nanyuan, this is Great Xia's territory after all. You gentlemen had best abide by the rules. If some unpleasantness truly arises, no one will be happy!" "Certainly, certainly!" Su Yu answered with a chuckle. Once outside the City Lord Manor, he laughed. "Let's go, to Su Yu's house!" "Brother Lang, you're really going?" "Of course! But... not you. I never invited you. If you go, and Su Yu comes looking for trouble later, it has nothing to do with me. I'm only responsible for saving my own skin!" "..." The young man surnamed Huang was speechless, grumbling, "That wasn't what you said earlier!" *Earlier you agreed to take me along!* "Haha, just kidding! If you want to come along, that's fine too. Anyway, I'm serious—if Su Yu really tries to pick a fight, I'm not afraid. I'm just visiting his house to tidy up. My teacher is close with him, but you aren't..." The young man hesitated for quite a while before saying, "Then you go inside; I'll wait outside for you. Brother Lang, if you truly discover anything, don't forget your brother." "Of course!" Smiling brightly, Su Yu had already arrived at the entrance of his old residential community. At this moment, Dragon Martial Guards were stationed at the gate of the compound. The one guarding the community was none other than an old acquaintance, Xia Bing. The former decurion of the Dragon Martial Guards stationed in Nanyuan had now reached the Fourth Stage of Tengkong. His strength had improved considerably, though compared to these outsiders, he was still far weaker. Seeing Su Yu and the young man surnamed Huang, Xia Bing knitted his brows and scrutinized them. Several Dragon Martial Guard soldiers also eyed them like tigers watching prey; these two were clearly outsiders. Some residents heading out of the compound glanced at them. An old man muttered curses under his breath, "Damn it all, what kind of wretched birds keep flocking to our neighborhood? The day that Su family kid masters his divine arts and returns, he'll drag every last one of you to the All-Races Pit and chop off your heads!" Fierce tempers indeed! There was no helping it. Some commoners in the Great Xia Prefecture might be weak in strength, but their tempers were anything but mild. Many were retired soldiers who had spent years killing on the battlefield. Furthermore, on Great Xia soil, why would they fear them? That was not all. Su Yu paused slightly, suddenly pulled aside by the young man surnamed Huang. A one-armed old man had been charging right toward him. Because Su Yu was yanked away, the old man hit empty air. The one-armed old man looked rather disgruntled. Glaring at the young man, he cursed under his breath, "Fuck, bullying people, bumping into me..." Muttering, he walked away. Su Yu was momentarily stunned. The young man surnamed Huang sent a voice transmission: "Be careful. The people here are quite hostile toward us. Great Xia's directive is not to harass them and forbidden to touch them. If he bumps into you... you'll be fine, but if you bump him to death, you're dead meat. Even being a Sun Moon descendant won't save you. These old men and women are vicious and ruthless. A few days ago, a fellow riding a demon beast wasn't paying attention; an old man deliberately threw himself into its path and was crushed to death by the beast. As a result, that guy was arrested and had his head lopped off..." Su Yu's heart gave a slight jolt. Someone had died? Then again, the people of Nanyuan had always been fierce. The city was small, and many people were well acquainted. Su Yu was young and only knew those around him, but his father, Su Long, knew countless people. In Nanyuan, mention Su Long, and practically everyone recognized him. Now, his son had seemingly obtained some incredible treasure, only to be persecuted and driven away, while bastard outsiders came trying to seize Su Yu's belongings. In the eyes of Nanyuan's people, they were robbers barging into their home. If the Great Xia Prefecture wouldn't execute them, the people of Nanyuan would look for opportunities to take them down. Using the lives of old men and women to trade for a few experts and geniuses, handing Great Xia the knife to strike them down... Everyone was well practiced in this. After a moment of silence, Su Yu smiled. "By your words, the people of Nanyuan are quite ruthless!" "What do you think?" The young man surnamed Huang grumbled, "Those who just arrived don't know the situation. Some saw these folk bumping into them and reacted, and heheh... you know what happened then. In any case, be careful here. No matter what, this is Great Xia territory. If you don't make trouble, fine; make trouble, and Great Xia won't hesitate to kill a few chickens to warn the monkeys." He spoke from the perspective of an outsider. Yet Su Yu only knew that someone from Nanyuan had died. Died because of him. Yes, regardless of how old those Nanyuan folk were, how weak their strength, or whether it stemmed from their pride as Nanyuan citizens, that person had died on his account. Someone had died! At this moment, Su Yu's feelings were complex. He hadn't actually cared if these fellows searched around; he didn't even know if Nanyuan had a ruin. Returning this time, he had merely wanted to see his home and check on his acquaintances. Yet now, hearing that someone had died for him... in that instant, a deep hatred for these outsider fellows welled up within him. In the eyes of Nanyuan's people, these folk were bandits! Things belonging to my own home—what right do you have to search, hunt, and plunder them? As for the outsiders, they probably felt that a ruin wasn't specifically marked for anyone. If Su Yu could inherit it, why couldn't they? It was left behind by the ancient human race, not your family heirloom! Both sides stood on different ground, holding different thoughts. Su Yu dwelled on it no further. Regaining his smile, he looked toward Xia Bing. "Officer, I am Su Yu's friend. The City Lord has already agreed to let me visit his house. Please let me through!" Xia Bing cast a cold glance at him, then soon said in a low voice, "Cui Lang of Great Ming? You may enter. Huang He, you may not!" The young man surnamed Huang paused slightly, feeling rather helpless. Oh well, if he couldn't enter, then so be it. Su Yu smiled and strolled into the residential compound. As he walked, he asked, "Which building, which unit..." Xia Bing kept silent, but Huang He knew and quickly called out, "Building 4, Unit 302..." "Understood!" Su Yu strode inside. Within the compound, some elderly folk who had been chatting fell silent, staring coldly at Su Yu the moment they spotted him. Su Yu beamed, paying them no mind. When he reached the foot of his building, the smile remained on his face, but anger stirred in his heart. Someone had come to his house! There were people inside! ... Going up the stairs, the door stood ajar. Su Yu laughed heartily. "Someone beat me to it?" Soon, several figures inside looked toward him. Somewhat surprised. Su Yu recognized none of them, seeing no familiar faces. However, one of them appeared to be an official from the Great Xia Prefecture. Seeing Su Yu arrive, that official asked in puzzlement, "You are..." "Cui Lang of the Great Ming Prefecture!" Su Yu smiled, cast a glance inside, and said with a beaming expression, "What a mess in here. I say, you people really are something. This is my brother Su Yu's home! I came specifically to clean up. You've made such a shambles of it, how am I supposed to explain this to him?" "Su Yu?" The group looked at him, comprising both youths and middle-aged individuals. The official, unsure of the exact situation, spoke up upon hearing this: "Cui Lang... you know Su Yu?" "*Cough, cough*, just consider us acquaintances. Friends, friends!" Including that official and excluding Su Yu, there were five people in the room. The other four consisted of two men and two women: a middle-aged man, a middle-aged woman, and two youths, also a young man and a young woman. Cui Lang... That young man seemed to remember something and smiled. "Cui Lang... I remember now. Something about the former director of the Yuqiang Department in the Great Tang Prefecture... right?" With that prompt, the others recalled who Cui Lang was as well. Su Yu chuckled. "Yo, looks like my fame is truly widespread. And you all are?" "Zhou Hongbo of Quest Academy!" "Liu Han of the God of War Academy!" "Yo, folk from the two Holy Lands. Pardon my lack of respect!" Su Yu cupped his fists, entered, and inspected the surroundings. In the living room, the sofa was torn to shreds. In the kitchen, quite a few bowls and plates were shattered. Walking into the bedroom to look... Su Yu suppressed the fury in his heart and crouched down to pick up a picture frame. It was a photograph of him and his father. Wearing a smile on his face, Su Yu turned his head. "Was this place robbed? How did it get turned into this?" The Great Xia official sighed. "A few days ago, someone lured away the garrison experts, and this place was infiltrated." He then chuckled and added, "There isn't really anything here. If there were, it would have been found long ago. I told you so, but you wouldn't believe me. Now you've seen for yourselves. Even when an expert infiltrated back then, they found nothing." Before they could speak, Su Yu said with a chuckling smile, "Gentlemen, ladies, this is a private residence, my brother Su Yu's territory. You just barged in like this? The Great Xia Prefecture just casually brings people barging into someone else's home?" The official shrugged, offering a faint smile without answering. People from the two Holy Lands were not easy to turn away. The youth Zhou Hongbo smiled faintly. "Brother Cui misunderstands. We merely came to investigate and see if we could figure out who broke in here, to see if we could track that person down. Su Yu's home suffered a burglary; we only came to help investigate the case." Su Yu nodded. "So that's how it is. Did you find anything?" "Not quite. The intruder was quite strong..." "The two Holy Lands don't even have this much capability?" Su Yu laughed. "I truly overestimated you all!" Zhou Hongbo didn't take offense, smiling as he replied, "It's not that easy. To lure away the garrison and sneak in afterward, their strength is likely at the Sun Moon Realm. How could it be that simple?" "True enough!" Su Yu stood up, looked around the room, then looked at its ruined state, letting out a laugh. *My wonderful youth!* When he returned last time, everything in the house was intact. Returning today... everything had changed. If his father returned, he probably wouldn't even recognize this house as his own. As a boy, he loved to roughhouse, making the house filthy. His father, with his bear-like, strapping build, would still crawl on the floor to scrub it clean, cherishing it immensely for fear that some spot remained dirty. That apron, used for year after year, was now cast onto the ground like a tattered rag. Placing the picture frame onto the bedside table, Zhou Hongbo also caught sight of it and smiled. "Director Sun, can we speak with Su Long?" The middle-aged man addressed as Director Sun shook his head. "That won't do. Su Long is serving in the military. Outsiders cannot see him!" "What a pity!" The youth looked toward the middle-aged man beside him. The middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "Wasn't Su Long assigned to the rear base area? Perhaps we could talk with him! As to whether Nanyuan holds a ruin, I believe it's best uncovered as soon as possible. Right now, hearts are unsettled, and quite a few people have their eyes fixed here..." "That would require asking the Marquis!" Director Sun smiled. "Looking at the house is one thing; going to see Su Long... I can't make that call. The Marquis must agree." The group frowned. Approaching Marquis Xia was a huge headache. Su Yu smiled. "Folks, you've finished looking. Regardless of whether I'm Su Yu's friend or not, my excuse is at least that I came to clean up. Would you all step aside? Let me do some cleaning. Next time I run into Su Yu, I can still use it as an excuse to cozy up to him. Please don't block the way." The group looked at him, and soon Zhou Hongbo smiled. "Then clean up, Brother Cui. We won't disturb you any longer!" They had seen what they wanted; staying longer was pointless. Smiling, the group departed quickly. Once they were gone, the smile on Su Yu's face remained. With ripples of willpower, he began cleaning up the house. Still smiling from ear to ear, he hummed a little tune, seemingly in high spirits. After a long time, he walked into the bedroom once more, wiping away the dust and footprints from the photo frame. He collected every footprint, every speck of dust, every trace of aura... *My home isn't a place just anyone can enter.* *You came, fine, but turning my home into a garbage dump is truly inappropriate.* *You trashed it, fine, but you even stamped all over the photo of my father and me... Were you completely blind?* Walking to the window, he looked down at the departing figures, a faint smile gracing his lips. *Even the two Holy Lands have grown interested?* *Did the Great Xia Prefecture charge an admission fee to tour my house?* *Who is this Director Sun?* *Did he bring them on his own authority, or on Xia Xiao'er's orders?* *Can my home... be entered so casually?* *Without even asking the owner?* *The owner isn't dead yet!* ... Down below, Zhou Hongbo looked back and saw Su Yu by the window. Su Yu waved at him, his face brimming with smiles. Zhou Hongbo smiled faintly, sending a voice transmission: "Teacher, does this Cui Lang have any connection to Su Yu?" "He's Niu Baidao's nominal disciple. He might have seen Su Yu, but a connection... what connection could there be?" The middle-aged man thought nothing of it. *Cui Lang called him a friend, and you actually believed him?* *That fellow is full of hot air; not a single word from him is true.* Zhou Hongbo nodded and asked no more. ... Back in the room, having finished cleaning, Su Yu smiled and rolled a small wad of dust between his fingers. The next instant, he sent a mental voice transmission: "Eat it, and identify the scent for me!" "Don't want to..." The little fur ball refused vehemently! *No!* *This isn't food!* *It's filthy!* "Eat it, and I'll get you good food later. Hurry up, or you won't have anything to eat in the future!" The little fur ball resisted frantically, aggrieved to tears. *It really can't be eaten!* *It smells awful!* Yet... the yummy one seemed furious. Right now, his sea of will was churning violently. Despite its intense reluctance, relying on another under their roof... well, it could only eat it. The ball of dust in Su Yu's hand quickly vanished. Inside the sea of will, the little fur ball dry-heaved several times. *So disgusting!* *Gonna puke!* "Next time you run into them, can you recognize the scent?" "Eat divine characters... enter the sea of will... then I can tell." "Good!" Su Yu said nothing further. Sooner or later, the chance would come. Whoever came to his home, whoever trashed his home, whoever stepped on the photo of him and his father—no matter what their reason was, they would have a proper reckoning! Venturing out this time, he had never intended to do good deeds. Nanyuan might very well be his first breakthrough point. In this day and age, what was the use of reasoning? Reasoning said this was his home; without his permission, no one was allowed to enter. Yet today, hadn't it still become a public restroom, where anyone who wanted to could barge in? Therefore... it was better not to reason at all.