The manor of Xu family was grander than that of Shen family. However, signs of wear and tear could be seen on the Chinese guardian lions at the door.
There was barely any plants and trees in the manor, it was purely extravagant, and nothing more. For no reason, Shen Lian felt irritable.
He maintained his composure and did not show his irritability.
The Xu family started off earlier than the Shen family, and their manor was huge. However, it was more grand than classy; and one could tell that they did not put much thought into the architecture.
The further in they got, the more irritable Shen Lian felt. The air was filled with treacherous and eccentric thoughts, and they attacked him like the damp from the miasma.
It could be that he was extra sensitive to evilness having practiced The Mastery of Senses. There were barely any distracting thoughts in his heart, and that made him sensitive to the evilness in the Xu manor.
Moreover, the average people would not know how to restrain their thoughts and were full of greedy and lustful thoughts. Even if they were to be disturbed by the demonic gods, they would not be too bothered by it.
Up ahead was the drawing room, Shen Lian sat quietly in it. On the southeastern direction, he could see gusts of black smoke rising.
The black smoke did not exist physically, it was a manifestation of the way Shen Lian felt about the evilness, which existed in only his mind.
The stimuli perceived by the human eyes were processed by the brain before they become what we see. What we see through our eyes would be slightly different from the actual reality.
The real world was more complicated than what the eyes could see and the ears could hear. Even the Celestials would not be able to see through everything.
Furthermore, if all of this information were to be processed, the brain would be overloaded and collapse.
Observing with one's heart might not be the most comprehensive solution, but one would be able to see things from a different angle and thus obtain the relevant information.
Xu Hong came into the drawing room with a beautiful woman who was around thirty years old.
The woman had a slim waist, sharp shoulders, and delicate skin. She was smiling slightly, and her pretty eyes amplified her beauty.
The beautiful woman felt her heart ripple when she saw the handsome young man, Shen Lian.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. It was all your aunt's fault. She heard that you were coming and made an effort to dress up. I told her that you are family, and there was no need to go over the top. She replied that because you are family, all the more reason that she should show you respect," Xu Hong said with a hint of pride. Of course, anyone would be proud of such a beautiful wife.
Subconsciously, he forgot about the incident relating to the Wutong Gods.
The fair woman was giving off a pleasant scent and was making her presence felt. Shen Lian did not enjoy it at all. He was getting more and more irritable; the evilness that came from Yan was stronger than those of Xu Hong.
Shen Lian dealt with Xu Hong and his wife calmly, and he was certain that the demonic god was right here at Xu Hong's manor.
"Uncle Xu, your house is huge indeed. I was so impressed when I walked in. However, I realized that no one seems to live on the southeastern side, it is so quiet."
The southeastern side was where he felt the evilness was at its strongest; the black smoke was thickest there, as if some kind of monster was hiding in it.
Sounds of humans, or even of birds, were not heard there. No birds seemed to be flying over that area, and only a corner of the roof could be seen. It looked like a temple.
Yan's beautiful pinkish face got paler, and Xu Hong looked shocked. "Shen Lian had been cultivating in the mountains for two years, even though he is still young and unlikely to have attained anything yet, but to think that he actually discovered the Wutong gods' residence," Xu Hong thought.
He was convicted that Shen Lian was connected to the injuries dealt with the gods of pestilence back in the Shen family. It was just that Shen Lian was too young to be able to capable of taming the demon even with his two years of experience as a Daoist monk.
Perhaps he received help from someone. Xu Hong decided to see if he can find out more. If there was truly an expert behind Shen Lian who could help to remove the demon from Xu family, that would be great.
"The house was too big, and there were too little people. Hence, the south-east area was not in use. If you are curious, you can go take a look at the meal," Xu Hong smiled.
Yan tightened her grip on Xu Hong's hand, and her forehead was full of beads of cold sweat.
Though Shen Lian did not offer to visit, Xu Hong offered Shen Lian the chance to.
Xu Hong was not exaggerating about the food in Xu family, it was indeed remarkable.
In fact, the same dish would taste significantly different from each other if they were cooked with different knife skills, different temperature and a different mix of ingredients.
Even that chewy beef, it was cooked with the freshest and sweetest part of the beef. The tangy scent of blood was removed with special techniques, and it was cooked at the perfect temperature. Slightly more, and it will be too rough, and any lesser, it will be too rare.
It melted immediately in his mouth, and the fragrance remained even after he swallowed it.
Shen Lian had had his share of good food in both of his lives, and even then, he was impressed by this dish.
That was not the only good dish.
"Why do you still have your sword with you during the meal? Isn't it inconvenient?" Yan queried.
She noticed the small sword around seventy centimeters that Shen Lian was carrying on his waist. The handle was green in color, with barely any marks on it. It looked very new.
Xu Hong noticed the sword earlier and had been waiting for Yan to ask about it.
"This is actually made from wood," Shen Lian removed the sword and unsheathed it. It was indeed a wooden sword and gave off the scent of Indian sandalwood.
"I can't believe that you are still using a toy at your age!" Yan covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Gentlemen bring swords with them, I am merely learning from them." Shen Lian was casual when he spoke, but did not come off as impolite. Looking at his child-like face, Yan could not help but to laugh.
"My sweetheart, what is there to laugh about?" A sharp male voice spoke, and it felt cold, as though the temperature in the drawing room had dropped drastically.
A good-looking young scholar walked in. Yan was clearly in fear.
Xu Hong was shocked; he did not expect this god of pestilence to come now.
The young man was very arrogant. He reached into Yan's shapely waist and kicked Xu Hong away. He sat on the table in the crudest manner imaginable; nothing about him reminded one of a scholar. If anything, he was more like a burglar.
The sudden development did not scare Shen Lian. However, he felt the annoyance in his heart peaking.
"Maybe you are not aware of this, but I hate it when someone disturbs the meal," Shen Lian said calmly to the young man.
As for the wailing of Xu Hong who was in pain lying on the floor, and the indescribable fear that was on Yan's face, both did not affect Shen Lian at all.
When they first fought in the dream, it was hard to say who was victorious. After all, Shen Lian had the upper hand back then.
Now that they were finally facing each other, Shen Lian did not feel the pressure coming from the young man; all he felt was annoyance.
Shen Lian hated his vibes.
Logically, cultivators should cleanse their thoughts, and not to be fraught with distracting thoughts. Otherwise, the cultivator would fall prey to their desires and whims, which was destructively addictive.
The psyche of the young man was strong but was filled with evil desires, and evil thoughts were constantly emanating from him.
Shen Lian could not understand how he did not succumb to insanity yet. His six senses were impure, yet he did not collapse from the overwhelming distracting desires.