The Lu residence on Fulu Street was small and exquisite, yet it contained a Separate Cave Heaven. Even the woman from the Qingfeng City Xu family felt that it had turned a snail shell into a place for spiritual practice, achieving the utmost perfection, with nothing more to demand. Within a lakeside waterside pavilion, the woman who had just successfully taken the Liu Family Wart Armor into her possession was beaming with springtime pride. She lounged lazily against the railing, and perhaps because she was in such an excellent mood, even Lu Zhengchun—the fly standing on the pavilion steps—did not seem quite so much of an eyesore.
Her son, dressed in a bright red robe, stood atop a long bench and tossed fish bait into the little lake. Nearly a hundred red-backed carp crowded together, rolling up waves of red, a rather spectacular sight.
The woman instructed Lu Zhengchun, "You need not wait here for orders any longer. Once matters here are settled, you will accompany us to Qingfeng City. Not only will my husband take you as an inner disciple, but we will also agree to your grandfather's somewhat unreasonable request and ensure that you can one day enter the Middle Five Realms. You should know that such a promise is the most valuable thing of all. That is why I say your grandfather is an old fox."
At this point, the woman smiled to herself, radiant and lovely. "In my view, if your grandfather had been the one steering the Lu family, the Lu Dynasty might not have collapsed so quickly. Even the Great Li Prince Song Changjing, who looks down on everyone from on high, admitted that being able to achieve the merit of Nation Destruction within a single year was half due to your Lu imperial family. Of course, your branch of the Lu family in this little town has had poor luck. You may not have shared glory with the main Lu branch, but when disaster came, you truly all suffered together. That is why Qingfeng City is giving you this once-in-a-millennium opportunity. Do not miss it. Grasp it properly."
Lu Zhengchun bent deeply at the waist, his clasped hands raised above his head. With tears of gratitude, he said, "Lu Zhengchun will never dare forget Madam Xu's great grace and virtue. When I arrive at the world-renowned Qingfeng City, I will surely serve Madam Xu like an ox or horse. Moreover, Lu Zhengchun swears that for the rest of his life, he will be loyal to Madam alone!"
The woman from the Qingfeng City Xu family smiled seductively, narrowing her eyes as she said softly, "Do not let my husband—your future master—hear such heart-baring words. Or perhaps you can repeat them in front of him when the time comes?"
Perhaps after kneeling before Liu Xianyang in Mud Bottle Alley, Lu Zhengchun no longer held any resentment over such matters. Hearing the woman's heart-piercing words, he immediately knelt down, prostrating himself atop the steps outside the waterside pavilion as he trembled, "Lu Zhengchun absolutely does not dare forget his roots!"
The woman smiled, waved her hand casually, and began dismissing him. "Enough. Get up. Once you reach Qingfeng City, cultivation will consume the greatest amount of time. The road tests a horse's strength; time reveals a man's heart. Whether you have forgotten your roots will naturally become clear."
Lu Zhengchun backed away from the waterside pavilion. Only after descending the steps did he slowly turn around. This Heavenly grade wastrel, who had once summoned wind and rain throughout the little town, seemed never to have straightened his back before the woman.
The Lu family outside the little town had once been the ruling surname of a great dynasty. After suffering a devastating blow from the Great Li border army, they had been greatly weakened and never recovered. In the short term, it would be difficult for them to rise again. From top to bottom, the direct Lu line, collateral branches, and distant relatives could only keep their tails tucked between their legs.
Otherwise, no matter how deep Qingfeng City's foundations or how lofty its reputation, they would never have dared to play the magpie claiming the nest within the little town's Lu residence, much less order Lu descendants around from on high. Even if it had been the Zhengyang Mountain master and servant pair instead, it would have been quite difficult.
Now that the Lu family's dragon had entered shallow waters and the times were harsh, they truly had no choice but to bow low and humble themselves.
The red-robed boy sneered. "What a natural-born lackey, a dog-legged servant. Mother, why take in such trash? Surely you do not really intend to have Father accept him as a disciple? And promise him the Middle Five Realms? Since when did the Middle Five Realms become so cheap and worthless?"
The woman smiled. "Although Lu Zhengchun is detestable to look at, he is not entirely without merit. His aptitude is ordinary; becoming an outer disciple would originally have been the height of his fortune. But in the end, this Young Man is merely a small extra thrown into that great deal, incapable of stirring up the slightest wave. As for the many things Mother appears to have promised the little town Lu family—allowing those fleeing Lu imperial relatives and Golden Branches and Jade Leaves to seek refuge and settle in Qingfeng City, treating them with courtesy as honored guests, even setting aside a large section of the city as the Lu family's private territory for a hundred years—"
After finishing the fish bait, the child suddenly ran from the pavilion, returned with a large handful of pebbles, then lay over the railing and hurled them hard at the carp below, playing to his heart's content. Turning his head, he said, "Mother, was our coming to the little town to seek the Wart Armor merely a pretext to deceive others? Was it an Illusion Technique by our Qingfeng City Xu family, using this opportunity to take control of the Lu family? After all, a centipede does not die stiff even after death. That vast pack of homeless dogs from the Lu family supposedly numbers more than three thousand imperial family members alone. Add the palace eunuchs, slave girls, retainers, and old officials of the fallen nation unwilling to submit to the Great Li Song Clan, and they would greatly help Qingfeng City's growth in influence." If so, was this place the true hub through which the fallen Lu family's information now flowed?
The woman smiled approvingly. "Being able to think that far proves my son is clever. But you are still wrong."
The boy frowned and waited for her answer.
The woman blinked. "There is a hidden mystery within that Wart Armor. Simply put, it is no worse than that Sword Scripture."
The boy viciously hurled a pebble, striking the back of a carp. Blood sprayed everywhere as the pitiful fish frantically slapped the water's surface.
The child's eyes burned. "Father is most skilled in the path of offense. His killing power is not much inferior to Great Li's Song Changjing. It is only a pity that he has always been constrained by his naturally frail body. What he fears most is an opponent's shameless style of trading injury for injury. That is why he has been unable to make a name for himself and has even become a laughingstock. Even our own people in Qingfeng City dare mock us behind our backs. Mother, if Father obtains this Treasure Armor, will he then have both offense and defense, able to contend with Song Changjing?"
The woman still shook her head.
The red-robed boy slapped the railing heavily, anger flashing across his face. "Do not keep me in suspense!"
He bared his teeth, ready to choose someone to devour, like a tiger or leopard cub.
The woman had never felt there was anything improper about her son shouting at her. After all, when her son had been born, an eminent person had given him a highly favorable prophecy: "The visage of tiger and wolf, the aptitude of a ruler among men."
The woman patiently explained, "Once your father gains the Treasure Armor and successfully comprehends it, he will be able to advance another step from the top of a hundred-foot pole. What need would he have for defense? One force can crush ten techniques; he can simply press forward in one burst and crush his enemies."
The boy burst into delighted laughter. "Kill, kill, kill! When the time comes, let Father begin killing from within Qingfeng City itself! The disgusting things done by one's own people are the most disgusting of all!"
After laughing, the boy quickly calmed down. Suddenly recalling something, he asked, "Mother, you toyed with Zhengyang Mountain like this, truly treating them as monkeys. Aren't you afraid that if that stupid ape comes to its senses and leaves the little town, it will attack us outright? There is also something I have never understood. That one surnamed Liu had a ceramic buyer long ago, possessed excellent bones and roots himself, and also had a Treasure Armor and Sword Scripture. Such a prized delicacy is exceedingly rare. Even I have to admit that he deserves a fresh look. Then why did his ceramic buyer refuse to reveal himself for so long, allowing you, Mother, to fish in muddy waters? And Zhengyang Mountain's Old Ape even helped us clean up the mess. After he punched Liu Xianyang to death, everything became quiet. Zhengyang Mountain would shoulder the enormous trouble, while Qingfeng City would gain tremendous room to maneuver."
The woman answered with complete confidence, "That thousand-year-old Mountain-Moving Old Ape of Zhengyang Mountain may not have the sharpest mind, but it is not so stupid that Mother could treat it as a monkey however she pleased. In truth, it had long guessed Mother's scheme of killing with a borrowed knife. Why was the Old Ape willing to pinch its nose and jump into the trap itself? The reasons are rather complicated. There is Zhengyang Mountain's arrogance in not fearing trouble, as well as a secret history unknown to others. You need not concern yourself with these matters for now."
The woman fell into thought, once again sorting through her reasoning, trying to plug every gap and prevent endless future trouble.
Young Man Liu Xianyang's ceramic buyer had once been a force that strongly supported the Lu Dynasty. After the dynasty fell, they lost everything, their capital gone without return. Before that, they had indeed been one of the foremost aristocratic houses in the worldly dynasties below the mountain. Otherwise, after confirming Liu Xianyang's Sword Embryo aptitude, they would not have been able to spend heavily to keep him in the little town and purchase the following nine years.
After Zhengyang Mountain learned of this through some unknown channel, it found that fallen household and attempted to purchase Liu Xianyang's Natal Ceramic. A Zhengyang Mountain Old Ancestor had personally offered an astronomical price. Yet that household seemed to have taken the wrong medicine; no matter what, they refused to loosen their grip, saying only that they had already sold it onward to someone else. As for who that person was or what background they had, they kept their mouths sealed tight.
Later, the baffled Zhengyang Mountain heard rumors that Wind Thunder Garden, Zhengyang Mountain's mortal enemy, had seized the opportunity first, taking advantage of the fire to rob them and gaining the upper hand. Naturally, that household would not dare tell a Zhengyang Mountain Sword Immortal to his face that they had already sold the item to your Zhengyang Mountain enemy, Wind Thunder Garden.
As for the Liu family's inherited Wart Armor and Sword Scripture, as well as the news that Wind Thunder Garden had taken over Liu Xianyang's Natal Ceramic, who had leaked it all to Zhengyang Mountain?
Far away at the edge of heaven, yet close before one's eyes.
It was precisely the Qingfeng City Xu family, though naturally they had remained behind the scenes.
She was also the chief planner. Having personally rushed to the little town and paid such a tremendous price, she naturally had to ensure that this deal at least returned her investment. Otherwise, the standing of her branch within Qingfeng City would plummet, becoming perilously unstable, much less allowing her to dream of independently controlling Qingfeng City.
In truth, the little town was a place where crouching tigers and hidden dragons dwelled and could not be underestimated. Setting aside the Lu family, whose sun was already sinking in the west, among the other three great surnames, which one did not dominate a region of the East Treasure Bottle Continent, shining like the noon sun?
The true foundation of the Four Clans and Ten Tribes was not how many local tyrants possessing Heaven-Reaching Sorcery they had stationed there. These family heads and Old Ancestors were already fated to be unable to leave. As the old saying went, when a tree is moved, it dies; when a person is moved, they die. Yet they had long become much like the peach trees of Taoye Lane and the old locust tree at the center of the little town: move them, and they would die, with no possibility of another life. Thus, though they possessed great divine powers, they could not wield them.
The foundations of these families lay in how many Dragon Kilns they controlled and how many households they governed, for this directly determined how many Natal Ceramics they could provide to outsiders each year. Once a promising cultivation seed appeared, the ceramic buyer who had correctly placed their bet would, so long as they were not too strapped for funds, most likely add an extra "large red envelope." Beyond that, it meant the two sides had formed a bond of incense and fire, far weightier than a mere nodding acquaintance.
The woman suddenly sighed to her son, "Never underestimate anyone, not even a minor figure like Lu Zhengchun, who bends his back and acts like a dog. Do you think that after coming to the little town, you can easily seize those opportunities and treasures? It is not so. Fu Nanhua of Old Dragon City nearly had his Dao heart shattered, while Cai Jinjian of Cloud Mist Mountain has vanished from the face of the earth, with her life or death unknown. There was also a younger descendant of decent aptitude who, at the Covered Bridge, seemed to receive a blessing of insight and observed water, only to have someone ruin his state of mind. It was no different from someone forcefully smashing a great pit into the bottom of his Heart Lake, causing the lake water to fall. Such things will not end here. On the contrary, there will only be more and more of them ahead. Thus, on the road of cultivation, there is not a single carefree soul."
The child thought for a moment. "A cautious sailor can sail a ship for ten thousand years. Mother, I will be careful."
The woman nodded. "That would be best."
The child threw his final pebble and asked, "What exactly is going on with Qi Jingchun?"
The woman rarely grew angry. She sternly rebuked him, "Insolence! Address him as Mr. Qi!"
The child froze, but obediently changed his words. "Has Mr. Qi encountered some trouble?"
After hesitating for a moment, the woman slowly said, "Mr. Qi's teacher once not only accompanied the sacrifices at that Temple of Literature, but also sat second to the left of the Confucian leader."
The child stared, dumbfounded.
This meant Qi Jingchun's teacher had been the fourth person in the long history of Confucianism—or, more precisely, the Confucian faith?
If someone boasted that such a being, in a fit of rage, could crush the largest mountain in the East Treasure Bottle Continent into nothing with one stomp, the child would not dare say he fully believed it, but he would certainly be half-convinced and half-doubtful.
The woman felt a chill in her heart and whispered, "Yet that Sage among Sages now holds a status inferior even to those ruined statues of gods in this little town..."
The child swallowed and casually asked, "How should Liu Xianyang's friend be handled?"
The woman thought for a moment. "You mean the orphan surnamed Chen from Mud Bottle Alley?"
The child nodded.
The woman smiled. "Did you not call him an ant the moment you met? Let them fend for themselves."