I Have A Dual World Seal

"He, he is..."

Madam Hu was silent for a moment, then nodded, "He is your father."

"For several months, he accompanied me into the mountains to gather herbs and occasionally hunted a few pheasants for the family. I almost got used to the days with him."

"After about three months, he suddenly told me he had to leave and asked if I was willing to leave with him."

"I was willing, but my mother was not, so..."

Hu Zhou frowned, "He just left?"

"No, he promised to come back to stay with me. He just said he had something to take care of, and once it was done, he would handle everything in the Southern Border and return to live with me."

"I said I would wait for him."

"But a month after he left, I discovered I was pregnant with you."

"Pregnant before marriage, I endured the villagers' gossip to give birth to you. A few years later, my mother fell ill from overwork and passed away."

"I didn't pay attention to the gossip. I just wanted to raise you and wait for him to come back, but the next year, a flood hit the village. With no way to live on, I had to leave the village and come to the county town."

Liu Qingyan held Hu Zhou's hand, tears streaming down her face.

Hu Zhou said gravely, "I remember when I was a child, you often took me to wander around a deserted village dozens of miles away, just to wait for my father?"

Madam Hu nodded, "I didn't know when he would return, so every few months, I would take you back to see. Unfortunately, I never saw him again."

Hu Zhou remained silent, digesting the fact that his father was a tiger demon.

At this point, Madam Hu raised her head, looking worriedly at Lu Zheng, "Young Master Lu, you are a layman at White Cloud Temple. Now that Zhou'Er has awakened the demon qi in him, will someone with superior abilities come to exterminate the demon?"

"It's alright, it's alright," Lu Zheng comforted, "Not to mention that Xiao Zhou won't awaken the demon qi without using a saber, and once he's familiar with this power, he can control it himself and won't reveal it.

Besides, Xiao Zhou is not a demon, nor has he done anything wrong, so it's very safe, please rest assured."

"Okay... okay..."

Madam Hu nodded but still seemed somewhat worried.

After all, she didn't know previously that Hu Zhou could awaken the demon qi within, and her understanding of the cultivation realm was limited, making her feel that her son was different from ordinary people, like carrying a ticking time bomb.

Liu Qingyan sat down next to Madam Hu, holding her hand, "Sister, rest assured. Xiao Zhou is Lu Lang's disciple, and Lu Lang is a disciple of the White Cloud Temple. If anyone doesn't like Xiao Zhou, naturally, Lu Lang and the White Cloud Temple will support him."

"Is... is that true?" Madam Hu looked hopefully at Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng nodded, patting his chest to guarantee, "Rest assured."

Hu Zhou's lips moved. He wanted to say that he was already quite capable and could protect himself, but after thinking about it, he remained silent.

Lu Zheng said to Hu Zhou, "You have the bloodline of a tiger demon in you, vaguely aligned with the mental realm of the 'Tiger Roar Saber,' so when you mastered the saber to a certain level, it activated the demon qi in your bloodline.

Your task now is to learn to control this innate demon qi, activating it when you wish and restraining it when you want."

Hu Zhou nodded emphatically, "Yes, Master!"

In the next moment, he scratched his head, "But now, every time I practice with my saber, it gets a bit noisy. If I were to leave the city, I'd still have to work every morning, and the city gates open too late..."

"Hmm," Lu Zheng blinked, "If you want to quickly familiarize yourself with the demon qi and adapt to this power, practicing alone may take a long time. The fastest way is to spar with someone."

Hu Zhou's eyes lit up, "Master, you'll spar with me?"

Lu Zheng rolled his eyes and lightly flicked Hu Zhou on the forehead, "Keep dreaming, your master is very busy every day."

Hu Zhou was quite strong, so Lu Zheng didn't hold back, flicking him hard enough that Hu Zhou clutched his forehead, teary-eyed and looking aggrieved.

Seeing that Lu Zheng was still treating Hu Zhou the same as before, Madam Hu couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hehe!" Liu Qingyan chuckled, then asked, "Lu Lang, are you planning to send Xiao Zhou to General Xin's command?"

Lu Zheng nodded, "Of course, not necessarily directly to the Netherworld, just having him find the City Patrol Envoy and vice generals to practice saber every night will help him adapt faster than practicing alone."

Hu Zhou blinked, "General Xin?"

Madam Hu was sharper than Hu Zhou, and upon hearing this, she was both surprised and delighted, "Is it the City God of Tonglin County?"

Lu Zheng was astonished, "How did you know?"

Madam Hu said, "I used to burn incense at the City God Temple and read the inscription introducing General Xin Zhanting, so when you mentioned General Xin, I guessed it was the county's City God."

Lu Zheng nodded, "Yes, that's correct, it's him."

"But Zhou'Er..."

"Don't worry, the world isn't as dangerous as you think," Liu Qingyan advised.

"Alright then, there's no time to lose; today I'll take you to the City God Temple to familiarize yourself with the place. Later, you can go there at night to practice with your saber without affecting anyone outside."

...

Amid Madam Hu's words of thanks and Hu Zhou's expectant gaze, Lu Zheng and Liu Qingyan took Hu Zhou with them and left.

Since they were going to trouble someone, Lu Zheng went home first, brought along two bottles of wine, and only then headed to the City God Temple together.

"Is Brother Xin here?"

"Young Master Lu!" Duan Zhong appeared before them, "Young Master Lu, it has been a while since you visited!"

"I went to Yizhou Prefecture a few days ago; I just got back today." Lu Zheng cupped his hands, "Is Brother Xin here?"

"General Xin is drilling the troops in the Netherworld; he's not at the City God Temple," Duan Zhong replied, "Do you want to go to the Netherworld to see him, or should I inform him to come back?"

"It's nothing urgent. If he has time, I'll go find him," Lu Zheng said, "Can we head to the Netherworld anytime?"

"Of course," Duan Zhong nodded, "Please come in, I'll open the way for you."

Lu Zheng took Liu Qingyan's hand and walked into the City God Temple with Hu Zhou.

"Wow!!!"

Sure enough, they were met with two exclamations of amazement from newcomers.

Seeing Lu Zheng's mocking gaze, Liu Qingyan quietly reached out to his side and pinched hard.

"Young Master Lu!"

"Young Master Lu!"

Lu Zheng often visited to drink with Xin Zhanting and had fought together with them in Yelan Mountain, so he was familiar with the soldiers and generals at the City God Temple.

Even though most of the troops had moved to Yelan Mountain, a vice general with two hundred ghost soldiers still guarded the City God Temple.

"Does Young Master Lu have business with General Xin?"

Seeing Lu Zheng enter with two companions, the vice general Liu asked.

"I need General Xin's help for my disciple to get accustomed to the power within him," Lu Zheng gestured toward Hu Zhou.

Vice General Liu didn't quite understand, but that wasn't important, so he instructed Duan Zhong to activate the dharma artifact and open the Yin-Yang Road leading from the City God Temple to the Netherworld.

"Thank you!" Lu Zheng cupped his hands to Vice General Liu and Duan Zhong, then stepped onto the Yin-Yang Road with the two others.