The little maid’s body stiffened the instant she heard the name Shen Fei, and she began to tremble faintly with tension.
Seeing her reaction, Lin An knew his guess had been correct.
The little maid was around fourteen years old. She had fair, delicate features, and although she was still young, it was already clear that she would grow into a stunning beauty.
“Master, I have nothing to do with the Shen family.”
“My name is Li Xueyin. My parents were traveling merchants. I followed them to the imperial capital to do business, but they offended a powerful noble and were framed for a crime. My parents were killed, and our money was seized. With nowhere else to go, I had no choice but to sell myself into service as a maid.”
The little maid’s story came out extremely smoothly, as though she had recited it countless times in advance.
How could such a clumsy trick possibly fool Lin An?
“Do you know who wrote the military manual in your hands?”
Lin An pointed at the military manual she was clutching tightly.
The little maid hugged it even more tightly in fright.
“Master, this isn’t a military manual. It’s merely a record of some experiences my parents accumulated as traveling merchants.”
She was still making one last attempt to resist.
The Shen family had rebelled and been exterminated down to the third degree of kinship. Everyone in the imperial capital knew about it. She did not dare reveal her true identity, afraid that Lin An would turn her over once he found out.
“The military manual in your hands was written by me.”
Lin An looked at her with a faint smile.
The little maid’s pupils contracted sharply, and she stared at Lin An in disbelief.
This military manual was an ancestral heirloom of the Shen family. How could it have been written by the master?
Was he trying to trick her?
“Several decades ago, I compiled this military manual and gave it to Wang Daniu, a villager from my hometown who was preparing to join the army. He later died on the battlefield and passed the manual on to Shen Fei.”
“If you don’t believe me, turn to the last page. It says, ‘To Daniu. May fortune attend you in war.’”
Knowing that she would not believe him, Lin An revealed a detail from the manual.
The little maid hesitantly turned to the final page. Sure enough, those words were written there.
Only then did she suddenly remember that her grandfather had indeed once said the military manual had been given to him by a close comrade-in-arms.
At that moment, the little maid was at a loss for words.
“Don’t worry. I won’t turn you in.”
“The fact that you came before me carrying this military manual means that fate has brought us together.”
“Now, can you tell me about your circumstances, Shen Xueyin?”
Lin An looked at her with a faint smile.
Shen Xueyin’s expression changed several times before finally settling into one of resignation.
Lin An had already guessed her identity. There was no point in hiding it any longer.
“Master, I did not mean to conceal it from you.”
“My grandfather, my father, and my uncles were all falsely accused. I must stay alive so that I can clear their names.”
“My real name is Shen Xueyin. Shen Fei was my grandfather, and my father was his second son.”
“Master, please believe me. The Shen family has been loyal for generations. We would never commit treason or rebel against the empire.”
Shen Xueyin’s gaze was utterly resolute.
Lin An waved his hand casually. “Whether the Shen family rebelled or not has nothing to do with me.”
“Since you appeared before me carrying this military manual, it means we were destined to meet.”
“I can protect you until you turn eighteen. After that, you will have to walk the rest of the road yourself.”
Shen Xueyin relaxed slightly.
As long as Lin An did not turn her in, that was enough.
“Thank you, Master. I, Shen Xueyin, will never forget this kindness for as long as I live.”
She respectfully kowtowed in gratitude.
Lin An helped her to her feet, then took a Spirit-Testing Stone from a chest in his study.
“Put your hand on it and give it a try.”
Since he had decided to take her in, he might as well test her aptitude. If she happened to possess a spiritual root, he could invest in her.
Shen Xueyin did not know what the Spirit-Testing Stone was, but she obediently placed her hand on it.
The next moment, the stone radiated a brilliant light of three colors.
“An inferior-grade Three-Element Spiritual Root. You have the talent to cultivate, but it isn’t particularly impressive.”
Lin An had not expected this unexpected gain.
With such aptitude, she would be able to enter the outer sect of the Azure Profound Sect, but she would probably remain stuck in the Qi Refining Realm for her entire life, with little hope of reaching Foundation Establishment.
“This is a cultivation technique. Take it and practice.”
“There are also three bottles of Qi-Gathering Pills and one hundred low-grade spirit stones.”
Ding! The host has successfully invested. The investment target has been bound.
Shen Xueyin’s aptitude was insufficient, and she was not worth recommending for admission to the Azure Profound Sect.
After all, every favor he used was one favor fewer at his disposal.
Shen Xueyin stared blankly at the cultivation technique, pills, and spirit stones in her hands, feeling as if she were dreaming.
She had already been satisfied simply to receive Lin An’s protection.
Yet now, Lin An had given her a cultivation technique, granting her the possibility of becoming an immortal.
“Thank you, Master. I, Shen Xueyin, swear here and now that once I clear my family’s name, my life will belong to you.”
She slammed her head against the floor in a heavy kowtow.
This debt of gratitude might never be repaid in her lifetime.
“Go. How far you can go will depend entirely on your own fortune.”
Lin An helped her to her feet.
And so, Shen Xueyin remained in the Lin Residence, devoting herself to cultivation and the study of military strategy.
The matter of the Shen family remained a topic of discussion throughout the imperial capital for more than a month before gradually dying down. In time, fewer and fewer people mentioned the Shen family.
The imperial court then appointed a new commander-in-chief, but the war continued to go badly. They were completely unable to suppress the rising tide of rebellion.
The situation throughout the various regions grew increasingly tense, showing every sign that the empire would fracture into a struggle among rival warlords for control of the realm.
But none of this had anything to do with Lin An.
He did not care in the slightest. All he wanted was to live peacefully as a wealthy landowner.
…
Another four years passed in the blink of an eye.
After four years of arduous cultivation, Shen Xueyin reached the third level of Qi Refining, but she became stuck at the minor bottleneck and was unable to break through.
One day, Lin An summoned Shen Xueyin.
“I promised to protect you until you turned eighteen. Now that you have reached that age, it is time for you to walk your own path.”
Lin An dismissed her without hesitation.
He had done everything he could for her over the years. From this point onward, her fate would be in her own hands.
A trace of reluctance appeared in Shen Xueyin’s eyes, but she had not forgotten her family’s injustice. After giving Lin An three solemn kowtows, she turned and left without hesitation.
Now that she had become a cultivator, she possessed enough strength to investigate what had happened back then.
She did not believe that her grandfather had rebelled, so she intended to go to the front lines first and question the officers who had once served under him.
Lin An felt no particular emotion when Shen Xueyin left. In his eyes, she was merely one of his investment targets.
He did not deliberately keep track of her, but six months later, he still heard news of Shen Xueyin in teahouses, taverns, and entertainment districts.
Three months earlier, Shen Xueyin had persuaded Shen Fei’s former subordinates to join her. Under the banner of clearing her family’s name, she had declared herself a queen and become one of the leaders of the rebellion.
Although the entire Shen family had been executed, its foundations remained intact.
Within three months, she had gathered an army of one hundred thousand, seized three major cities, and gained tremendous momentum.
Yet no matter how turbulent things became elsewhere, the imperial capital remained peaceful and stable.
It was as though the storms beyond its walls had nothing to do with the capital.
When Lin An heard the news, he merely smiled.
The path Shen Xueyin had taken was one she had chosen for herself.
Over the next five years, more and more rumors about Shen Xueyin reached the imperial capital.
She had inherited her grandfather’s wisdom and used all kinds of strategies to conquer cities and expand her territory. By now, she had seized half of the empire.
But just as the Shen Family Army’s morale was at its peak, the emperor revealed his true trump card.
An imperial retainer in the early Foundation Establishment stage.
He alone routed the Shen Family Army, shattering its main forces. Its commander, Shen Xueyin, also vanished without a trace, her fate unknown.
When Lin An heard the news, he was slightly stunned, but he wasn’t surprised.
With the imperial family possessing a Foundation Establishment expert, Shen Xueyin’s defeat had been inevitable—unless she could also find a Foundation Establishment expert to aid her.
What surprised him slightly was that several days later, Shen Xueyin appeared before him dressed in black night clothes, her face deathly pale.