A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

In the courtyard of the Lü family residence, on Xiao Yu's side.

It was afternoon, and Shen'er and Qian'er were by the vegetable patch in the corner of the wall.

Duan Rong had been traveling for over a year. Shen'er was already three years old, and Qian'er was just over two years old. The two of them were catching crickets there.

Shen'er squatted there and carefully turned over a piece of broken tile.

Qian'er stood behind Shen'er, holding the jar, her small, bright eyes fixed on where Shen'er was holding...

Shen'er flipped over the broken tile and suddenly pressed his right hand down on the ground.

Qian'er immediately hugged the jar and shouted, "Brother, brother, did you catch it?"

Shen'er pinched it in her hand, turned around and smiled, "Got it."

Qian'er's eyes lit up, and she said, "Let me see, let me see..."

Shen'er said, "Bring the jar here."

Qian'er then remembered that the crickets he had caught still needed to be put into the jar. He held the jar in his little hands and walked over to his brother.

Shen'er held the cricket, put her hand into the jar, then slowly opened her hand, quickly pulled it out, and closed the lid.

Once she was sure the cricket was inside the jar, Shen'er finally smiled with satisfaction.

Qian'er became even more eager, clinging to Shen'er, saying, "Brother, let me see, let me see..."

Shen'er moved the lid open a crack, and Qian'er immediately leaned over to look inside, but it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.

Shen'er: "Did you see that?"

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in the courtyard, like a ghost.

Shen'er was startled and immediately hugged the lid to her chest, looking at the stranger who had suddenly appeared with a wary expression.

"Brother, I haven't seen him yet..." Qian'er called out, and then noticed that there was another person in the yard. He immediately shouted at the person in a fierce but childish voice, "Who are you? You'd better leave, or Mother will beat you in a bit."

He had been beaten by Xiao Yu several times and was very afraid of Xiao Yu hitting him, so he assumed that others were afraid as well.

Duan Rong looked at the two little ones in front of him, especially Qian'er's cute and fierce look, and was immediately very happy. He said, "Go, let your mother come and hit me."

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he burst into laughter.

Just then, Shen'er suddenly picked up a broken brick from the ground and threw it at Duan Rong, then pulled Qian'er and went into the east wing.

Xiao Yu was taking a nap in the east wing when Shen'er rushed in and exclaimed, "Auntie, someone's here!"

Xiao Yu got out of bed and asked, "What? Someone's there?"

Shen'er said, "There's a guy in the courtyard outside. He doesn't look like a good person."

Xiao Yu frowned slightly. The Lu family mansion was always heavily guarded; how could just anyone enter? She then lifted the curtain and went out. When she saw the person standing in the courtyard, she froze.

Shen'er and Qian'er followed them out.

Shen'er saw Duan Rong standing there, holding the broken brick he had thrown, and immediately became wary, calling out, "Auntie, it's him."

Xiao Yu had thought that Duan Rong would not return for a long time after leaving, but she never expected that he would be standing in front of her now. The way he gave her the dew-drinking cicada when he left seemed like it was just yesterday. Xiao Yu was immediately filled with emotion, and her eyes reddened. She respectfully curtsied to Duan Rong and said, "Husband, I have missed you every day for more than a year. I wonder where you are now, traveling all over the world?"

When Shen'er saw Xiao Yu bow to that person, her eyes widened.

Duan Rong walked over, helped Xiao Yu up, and said, "Thank you for your hard work with Qingzhu while I was away."

Xiao Yu smiled and said, "It's not bitter. Besides, my husband is back now, isn't he?"

Xiao Yu wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, turned around, and pulled Shen'er and Qian'er to her side, saying, "Shen'er, Qian'er, kowtow to your father."

"Father?!" Shen'er was still hesitating.

Qian'er looked at Xiao Yu, but had already knelt down. Shen'er saw that Qian'er had already knelt down, so he also knelt down. But neither of them called Duan Rong "father," they just knelt there.

Xiao Yu said, "What are you kneeling there for? Call for help!"

This time, both of them remained kneeling motionless, as if they had fallen silent.

Xiao Yu was getting a little anxious and was about to discipline them when Duan Rong stopped her, saying, "If you don't want to call them, then forget it. I just got back, and they haven't even seen me before. They're just little kids, why force them?"

As Duan Rong spoke, he picked up the two of them, one on each side. Shen'er and Qian'er did not struggle and let Duan Rong hold them.

Duan Rong looked at Qian'er and asked, "Were you catching crickets just now?"

Qian'er said in a childish voice, "Brother caught one." As he spoke, he pointed to the jar that Shen'er was holding.

Duan Rong laughed and asked, "Is catching crickets fun?"

Upon hearing this, Qian'er pouted and said, "Fun..."

Duan Rong said, "I'll show you something even more fun."

Shen'er looked at Duan Rong with interest and asked, "What do you want to play?"

Duan Rong put the two down, turned his head to look at an old locust tree outside the courtyard that was taller than the courtyard wall, and with a wave of his hand, a branch as thick as an arm flew over.

This scene left Shen'er and Qian'er speechless with astonishment.

Then Duan Rong suddenly unleashed a burst of law power, and the arm-thick branch suddenly spewed up a cloud of wood chips. Then, three wooden swords appeared in mid-air.

Shen'er and Qian'er were both surprised and delighted when they saw the three wooden swords floating there. Qian'er was especially excited, jumping up and down and shouting, "Brother, brother, it's a sword, it's a sword..."

They often played in this courtyard, and Shen Mizhi often practiced her sword there. They frequently saw Shen Mizhi wielding her sword, but she never let them touch it.

Duan Rong gave one of the three wooden swords to Shen'er, one to Qian'er, and took one for himself, laughing, "Come on, you two, join forces to attack me."

Shen'er and Qian'er, holding wooden swords, were excited and their eyes were shining. Upon hearing Duan Rong's words, Shen'er immediately imitated Shen Mizhi and swung her sword at Duan Rong.

"Not bad. Shen'er, you've got style right from the start!" Duan Rong said casually as he parried the attack.

Qian'er also gripped the wooden sword in both hands, wildly waving it around. Duan Rong would occasionally tap Qian'er with the sword, and Qian'er would giggle with delight.

The three of them began to fight in the courtyard. Shen'er and Qian'er fought more and more energetically, while Duan Rong kept an eye on Qian'er most of the time, afraid that he would accidentally hit himself while wildly swinging his sword.

The two were engrossed in their play, their laughter growing louder and louder, echoing throughout the courtyard and attracting onlookers from both sides. Lü Qingzhu, Lü Zhongtang, and Li Baoyue all rushed over from the other courtyard and found Duan Rong playing with the two children, all three of them having a great time.

Shen'er and Qian'er were still children after all. Although they were playful, their stamina quickly ran out. Shen'er could no longer wield the wooden sword and was panting heavily. The wooden sword limply tapped against Duan Rong's sword strap. Qian'er was even more like a drunkard and could no longer keep up.

Duan Rong suddenly picked up Qian'er, who almost fell, and laughed, "Alright, that's enough for today. Let's play again tomorrow."

Holding the wooden sword, Shen'er, panting, said, "You have to keep your word. You'll play with us again tomorrow."

"You keep your word." Duan Rong picked Shen'er up in his arms.

He carried Shen'er and Qian'er to Lü Zhongtang's courtyard and let them play there while he and Lü Zhongtang drank tea and chatted in the flower hall.

That evening, the family had a reunion dinner at Lü Zhongtang's place.

During this time, Shen'er and Qian'er clung to Duan Rong, never leaving his side.

After dinner, the two of them followed Duan Rong to this courtyard. They both went to Duan Rong's room where he slept alone, and they both wanted to sleep with Duan Rong that night.

Duan Rong then carried them both to bed. The two children, who had been playing all day, were very tired and soon fell into a deep sleep, each clutching their own wooden sword.

Duan Rong covered them with blankets. At this moment, Xiao Yu brought in ginseng tea. Duan Rong asked, "Has Ximen Kankan sent any herbs to the courtyard in the past year or so?"

Xiao Yu said, "It's the same as before, it hasn't stopped. I told him that you haven't been around for more than a year, and no one is looking after that Chen, so it's fine not to send it. Kankan said that he wants to do it according to the rules."

Duan Rong nodded and said, "Bring them all over."

"Yes, husband."

Xiao Yu responded and went out. After a short while, she returned with two thick stacks of documents and placed them on the table.

Duan Rong said, "Go and rest. The two children will sleep here. I will take good care of them."

Xiao Yu smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, my husband. But, my husband, I should tell you something: Qian'er is still wetting the bed."

"Really?" Duan Rong turned his head to look at the bed and asked, "What about Shen'er?"

Xiao Yu laughed and said, "Sometimes I pee too."

Duan Rong said, "It's alright, you can go."

"Yes, my husband." Xiao Yu smiled and withdrew.

Duan Rong then sat down at the table and began to read through the memorials sent by Ximen Kankan. He finished reading through the memorials, which covered more than a year's worth of material, in less than an hour. He then turned off the light and lay down to sleep beside Shen'er and Qian'er.

The next morning, Qian'er woke up first. He turned over, reached out and touched the bed beneath him, and then went to push Shen'er next to him.

He woke Shen'er up and asked, "Brother, did you wet the bed?"

Shen'er reached down and touched herself, then laughed, "I didn't wet the bed, did you?"

Qian'er laughed and said, "I didn't pee either."

There aren't many days when they don't wet the bed!
Actually, they both wet the bed last night, after all, they had gone a bit too far during the day. But at night, Duan Rong used a power of law to dry the wet bedding.

The two were chatting idly when Xiao Yu came in, picked them up from the bed, and helped them wash up and have breakfast. Both of them kept asking, "Where's Daddy?"

Xiao Yu then told them that Duan Rong had gone out on business.

That morning, Duan Rong arrived at Yunfu Peak. He first met with Ximen Kankan and asked him a few questions. Then he stayed with Ximen Kankan, waiting for Zhu He to return to Yunfu Peak.

Zhu He is now the sect leader and is very busy, but he still returns to Yunfu Peak every day to review documents. Duan Rong waited for him there.

Duan Rong waited in Ximen Kankan's room, which was piled high with documents, until almost evening before Zhu He finally returned to Yunfu Peak. Duan Rong had been using his divine sense to cover the entire Yunfu Peak, and he immediately detected Zhu He's return.

Duan Rong snapped his fingers at Ximen Kankan and said, "Kankan, I'm leaving. The sect leader has returned to the peak."

After saying that, his figure vanished in an instant.

Upon hearing this, Ximen Kankan turned his head away, and the armchair where Duan Rong had been sitting was now empty.

Duan Rong suddenly appeared in front of Zhu He's door. As usual, he knocked lightly. Inside the room, Zhu He was slightly taken aback. He had just returned to Yunfu Peak, and it was such a coincidence that someone was knocking on the door. He sat down at the table and said, "Come in."

After that, Duan Rong used his wall-penetrating technique to enter the room.

Upon seeing that it was Duan Rong, Zhu He was slightly taken aback before asking, "Didn't you leave the sect to travel the world?"

Duan Rong smiled and said, "I've been traveling for over a year now, and I think it's time to come back."

"More than a year?!" Zhu He raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Back then, his junior brother Gu Daoling had been traveling for nearly twenty years. How come this kid has returned in just over a year?

Zhu He's mind raced, and he asked, "Have you found the medium yet?"

"No," Duan Rong said. "Master, I want to find a proper job in the Elders' Council so that I can gain experience and temper my mind."

"Experience to temper the mind!?" Zhu He knew that Chu Qiushan had served as the sect leader for fifty years to temper his mind through experience. Now Duan Rong was obviously imitating Chu Qiushan, but this was not entirely unreasonable.

The talk of finding a respectable position within the Elder Council and gaining experience was merely Duan Rong's pretext. What he truly desired was Zhu He's intelligence network in the secular world.

But he couldn't just ask for it directly! Zhu He originally intended to hand over the intelligence system to him. As long as he was willing to work within the Elder Council and gain experience, Zhu He would definitely entrust the intelligence system to him. Hence, that's why he made that statement.

Zhu He said, "If you're willing to do this, that's wonderful. To be honest, I really need you to share some of my burdens right now. There just happens to be a task for you in the Elders' Council."

Duan Rong asked, "What kind of job?"

Zhu He said, "The deputy director of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs."

Duan Rong's eyes flickered slightly; he had already sensed something unusual.

Seeing that Duan Rong remained silent, Zhu He continued, "The Judgment Department of the Clan Court is a confidential department of the sect. Since I became the sect leader, Yang Sixuan has always kept a distance from me. To tell you the truth, I intend to replace him, but I have been struggling to find a suitable candidate. Moreover, Yang Sixuan has made a grave mistake, so it is not appropriate to take action."

"Now that you're willing to come back and help your master, this matter will be easily resolved. There is no one more suitable than you to be the head of the Judicial and Clan Affairs Division. You can start as the deputy head and familiarize yourself with personnel matters."

Duan Rong inwardly groaned. He only wanted to take over the secular world's intelligence system from Zhu He so he could activate this network to investigate ancient statues of deities across various regions, thus aiding his cultivation.

But this old fellow, right off the bat, was going to put him on the hot seat.

Zhu He appointed him as the deputy director of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, and even said that he would replace Yang Sixuan. Doesn't that mean he's using him to deal with Yang Sixuan?
He knew it; that old bastard was up to no good.

That Yang Sixuan is a cunning and shrewd old fox; he's not so easy to deal with. He doesn't want to waste time on these trivial matters. (End of Chapter)