Birth Mother

Chapter 23: Birth Mother

Lu Jinlin looked at the familiar figure before him.

Yet, he also felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Is this truly my son?

At sixteen years old, with a cultivation of the Seventh-Rank Realm.

He had never dared to imagine such a thing before, but now it was happening right before his eyes, feeling like a dream.

Until a call of "Father" snapped him back to reality. Lu Jinlin realized this was real, not an illusion. "Zhaojin..."

He had expected to have a thousand words of worry upon their reunion.

But the words got stuck in his throat.

Because this reunion was far from what he had imagined.

However, this wasn't a bad thing.

Lu Jinlin thought with relief, looking at Lu Zhaojin, his eyes filled with pride. "Zhaojin has grown up."

Not only had he grown up, but he seemed like a completely different person.

He looked at the dismembered corpses on the ground, falling into a long silence.

Lu Zhaojin, sensing Lu Jinlin's thoughts, didn't offer much explanation. After all, who would believe him about transmigration?

He recalled Zhao Huaishui mentioning the personal grudge between Xu Huan and Lu Jinlin. "Father, do you know Zhao Huaishui?"

Lu Jinlin shook his head. "No, but I know the County Magistrate of Qishan County is not someone to be trifled with."

As the Chief Escort of the Sihai Escort Agency, Lu Jinlin had escorted goods to various places in Qishan, and even to Yanling Commandery and Luoshui Commandery. His experience far surpassed Lu Zhaojin's.

Lu Zhaojin's brow furrowed slightly. How did Zhao Huaishui know those things? "What about Xu Huan?"

Lu Jinlin was silent for a moment, a mix of melancholy and nostalgia in his voice. "He was a friend I shared hardships with. But because of your birth mother, he cut ties with me, stubbornly believing I seduced her and caused Xiulan to leave him."

He looked at Xu Huan's corpse and sighed softly. "I never expected him to have joined forces with the Third Prince..."

Li Xiulan, Lu Zhaojin's birth mother.

However, in the memories of his previous life, Lu Zhaojin didn't have many impressions of his birth mother. It seemed she hadn't been around since he was born.

Perhaps she passed away?

Lu Zhaojin pondered this, but Lu Jinlin's next words dispelled his thought. "Your mother comes from an extraordinary background. She is a young lady from the Li family of Luoshui Commandery, not from the main branch, but a collateral one."

Lu Jinlin sat down on the ground, unloading everything hidden in his heart to Lu Zhaojin, as if a great weight had been lifted. "However, I came from humble beginnings. They looked down on me... and rightly so. Families like theirs place great importance on matching social status."

He pointed at Xu Huan. "This Xu Huan is from another prominent family in Luoshui Commandery, the Xu family. Your mother was betrothed to him before birth, but she didn't like him and ran away from home. Her journey in the martial world wasn't smooth, and that's how she met me..."

That memory must have been beautiful, as Lu Jinlin unconsciously smiled. But this happiness didn't last. He sighed again. "Later, your mother and I joined forces and founded the Sihai Escort Agency in Shiqiao Town. But on the night she gave birth, people from the Li family came and took her back..."

Lu Zhaojin searched the corpses while listening to Lu Jinlin recount his past, feeling a deep sense of emotion. "I never expected Father to have such a past... Was Mother imprisoned by the Li family?"

Lu Jinlin nodded and shook his head, explaining, "It wasn't imprisonment, not so heartlessly. It was more like house arrest. They just didn't allow her to contact me."

Lu Zhaojin found a book on Elder Qiushui's body. The pages were inscribed with the words "Meteor Sword Art."

He recalled the power Elder Qiushui displayed when using this sword art. It was indeed formidable and worth learning, but he wasn't in a hurry to improve it now. He simply stored it in his system inventory.

He also found some fist techniques and spear techniques on the other individuals. He wouldn't learn spear techniques, but a couple of fist techniques could be useful to pair with the Golden Body Technique, serving as a hidden card.

Lu Zhaojin had gained a lot. He looked at the three stone pillars on the platform, wondering what good things lay within. "Didn't Father ever think of bringing Mother back?"

Lu Jinlin shook his head heavily, with a hint of self-deprecation. "Even after all my cultivation, I'm only at the Seventh-Rank Realm. In the eyes of those prominent families, I'm no different from trash."

"I originally planned to expand the Sihai Escort Agency, make it famous throughout the land, and then grandly bring her home. But now... the Sihai Escort Agency is gone."

He looked at Lu Zhaojin, his eyes shining brightly. "But you, Zhaojin, with your talent, the Li family will surely accept you if you go to find your mother."

Lu Zhaojin didn't continue the topic.

He wasn't the original owner of this body, and the original owner hadn't had many impressions of his birth mother. Even if they met, it would only be a blood-related stir, with a greater sense of unfamiliarity. He doubted he could ever call out "Mother."

Lu Zhaojin changed the subject. "Did Xu Huan also say he was coming to take up a post in Qishan?"

Lu Jinlin explained to Lu Zhaojin, in detail, that Qishan was about to be changed to Qishan Commandery.

This was also the reason why their Sihai Escort Agency was jointly slaughtered by the Zhang Family and the Zhao Family.

With Xu Huan instigating from behind, and in preparation for the city lord position after the rectification of Shiqiao Town, the Sihai Escort Agency was a threat to both the Zhang and Zhao families.

They didn't want to have a tiger watching them after a mutually destructive conflict.

Even if he, Lu Jinlin, had no intention of becoming the city lord.

Actually, he had originally had an idea.

Because as soon as he became the city lord, he would be a subject of the dynasty. With that connection, asking the Li family for her should have been without incident.

He ultimately gave up because Lu Jinlin knew that with Li Xiulan's free and unrestrained nature, she would definitely not allow him to do such a thing. Therefore, the matter of the city lord might have backfired.

Besides, he didn't want to be bound by the dynasty.

Lu Zhaojin nodded, while contemplating that the dynasty's intentions might not be so simple.

In the past, why was there no intervention? Because Qishan County truly had nothing worth paying attention to.

But why is there a need for reform now?

Could it be that something has threatened the interests of the imperial dynasty?

Upon careful consideration, the only anomaly discovered was the Dingshan Sect.

If people from the imperial dynasty were to station themselves in Qishan, would the Dingshan Sect still possess its former prestige?

Or rather, would the Dingshan Sect still be able to act tyrannically in Qishan?

Perhaps to the common folk, it would be a good thing for the imperial dynasty to send people to suppress unruly martial artists or forces.

But to the martial artists, it would mean the imperial dynasty's influence was reaching too far and meddling too much.

The martial world and the imperial court.

The martial world is the martial world, and the imperial court is the imperial court.

They cannot be treated the same.

Now that the imperial dynasty intends to make a move against the martial world, this reform in Qishan County might be a test.

The Dingshan Sect is the target of this test.

And the most secure target at that.

Lu Zhaojin could imagine how difficult the future situation would be for the Dingshan Sect if Qishan truly became Qishan Commandery.

But this had little to do with him.

He had no intention of joining the imperial court or aiding the martial world.

Lu Zhaojin's goal was simple, just as the system's purpose stated: to become the strongest sword immortal, past, present, and future, in the heavens and on earth.

He walked towards the three stone pillars and took down three wooden boxes.

A faint scent of sandalwood wafted from the wooden boxes. They were likely made of sandalwood, with exquisite patterns carved on the surface.

Lu Zhaojin and Lu Jinlin opened the first brocade box