Unexpected Change I (Thanks to Cat-and-Mouse Fan for becoming Alliance Master; you girls are amazing)

"Not bad. Fortunately, I'd been nourishing my yin in a targeted way during this period. This Second Layer was the highest realm of the Jade Crane Skill. Ordinary people needed five years to reach it, but I'd compressed those five years into such a short time. Naturally, the burden was far heavier than when I first started."

He carefully sensed the state of his body.

Though he was weak, he was much better off than before.

It seemed his recuperation over this period had indeed been effective.

Huff. He let out a long breath.

Lu Sheng felt that the ring of inner qi within his chest and abdomen had changed from a single stream as thick as a chopstick into no fewer than nine streams.

The nine streams combined were much thicker than before.

Upon reaching the Second Layer, the Jade Crane Skill clearly felt different from before.

With every breath Lu Sheng took, he felt brimming with energy, and his reactions were much faster than usual.

"According to the records of the Second Layer of the Jade Crane Skill, it should prolong life and grant rapid hemostatic effects."

"I'll test the effects of this inner skill tomorrow. I'll also contact Duanmu Wan and see whether I can get any new inner skills from her."

Since the Jade Crane Skill was real, the other inner skills might be real as well. He wanted to see what reaction there would be if several inner skills were cultivated together.

In principle, as long as the inner skills were not of conflicting natures, they could be fused.

With that thought, Lu Sheng lay back down to rest.

But just as he lay down, he faintly heard footsteps coming from outside the courtyard, as though someone was moving away.

Judging by the rhythm, they sounded very much like Lu Qingqing's footsteps.

Lu Sheng shook his head and paid it no mind. During this period, Lu Qingqing had been slipping out for walks in the middle of the night every few days.

Who knew what clues she had found.

At first, he had cautiously followed her once, but he discovered that his footwork was nowhere near Lu Qingqing's. After only a few moves, he lost her, so afterward he stopped wasting his effort.

Early the next morning, Lu Sheng took the banknotes he had prepared and headed straight for the Ten Thousand Blessings Inn, where Duanmu Wan had been staying.

"What? She checked out?"

Lu Sheng stared at the innkeeper with a frown.

"When did it happen?"

"About half a month ago. Miss Duanmu was invited by several young masters to leave the city and visit Red Lotus Temple. After that, she sent someone back to say she was checking out."

The innkeeper had paid plenty of attention to Duanmu Wan.

After all, she was beautiful to begin with, and so many young masters had come pursuing her. She herself also spent money lavishly, so she naturally left a deep impression on him.

"Red Lotus Temple."

Lu Sheng frowned.

His instincts told him Duanmu Wan was probably not at Red Lotus Temple.

Her sudden checkout was merely an excuse.

"Forget it."

Waving his folding fan, he walked out of the inn. Two guards waited outside the entrance.

"Young Master, how did it go? Did you find Miss Duanmu?" Guard Xiao Song was usually quite close to Lu Sheng. He was also the one who cleaned up the grounds whenever Lu Sheng practiced martial arts, and occasionally sparred with him. His martial skills were decent.

"No. She left." Lu Sheng shook his head.

"Then where are we going now?"

"Where? Back to the estate."

Unable to find any manuals, Lu Sheng was in a foul mood.

The three boarded the carriage and hurried all the way back to Lu Estate. When they reached the front of the manor, they saw a yellow carriage already parked at the main gate.

A large Zhang character was carved into the side of the carriage.

"The Zhang Family?"

Lu Sheng's expression shifted. The Zhang Family had finally come knocking after so long since their people had been killed.

He was not afraid. He had Xiao Song and the others leave, then entered through the gate alone.

Looking in from the main gate, he could see Lu Quan'an in the main hall, accompanied by a martial arts master, receiving the person sent by the Zhang Family.

The Zhang Family had sent only one person.

He was a man around thirty, with thick brows and narrow eyes.

"How could my son possibly do such a thing? The Zhang Family must have seen wrong!" Lu Quan'an sat in the seat of honor, his expression calm.

"Quite a few people witnessed it with their own eyes! How could it be fake?!"

The man was so furious that his chest burned.

"I don't care how formidable your Zhang Family is in Purple Splendor City. This is Nine Links City, not your Purple Splendor! Your Zhang Family may be formidable, but my Lu Family is no pushover either! If you keep framing my son, don't blame me, Lu Quan'an, for being discourteous!"

Lu Quan'an barked coldly.

The man trembled from head to toe in rage.

Pointing at Lu Quan'an, he could no longer say a word.

"Fine, fine, fine!! Lu Family Head, what grandeur. I will certainly relay your words, exactly as they are, to the Songxi Family Head! Farewell!!"

He turned and strode toward the main gate.

Lu Sheng encountered him midway. The man did not know Lu Sheng either and continued storming out in fury.

Lu Sheng was not surprised. Great Song was weak and divided now. In every region, especially here in distant Northland, the city lords and local powers acted like tyrants.

Even in the Central Plains, great families like the Lu Family mostly paid lip service while doing the opposite, and no small number of incidents had arisen from it.

This Zhang Family still thought it was in Purple Splendor City. It had actually come to the door to demand an explanation.

The man brushed past Lu Sheng, climbed into the carriage in a rage, and left.

Lu Sheng entered the main hall and saw his father, Lu Quan'an, sitting in his chair with a distracted expression.

"Father, are you done with your business?"

He spoke softly, gesturing for the guards around them to leave so he could talk with his father alone.

Lu Quan'an sighed. When he saw that it was Lu Sheng, a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"Sheng, keep a closer eye on your younger sister. Don't let her keep wandering around the city."

"I can't control her." Lu Sheng shook his head with a bitter smile. "Father, have you found the thing those above want us to find? Are we looking for an object or a person?"

"It may be an object, or it may be a person. It's hard to say!"

Lu Quan'an shook his head and lowered his voice.

"What has the Prefect worried now is the Xu Family case and the well-jumping case at Wang Family Village outside the city. Especially the well-jumping case. So many constables can't find a clue—what can your sister accomplish alone? Later, tell her to stay obediently at home."

"She went to investigate the Wang Family Village case?" Lu Sheng was startled.

"You didn't know? The yamen's constables have seen that girl Qingqing at Wang Family Village. Every few days, she catches one or two wanted criminals or suspects and sends them to the yamen. The people in the yamen are practically getting to know her."

Lu Quan'an said helplessly.

"So that's how it is." Lu Sheng frowned. "I've been busy gathering martial arts recently and didn't have time to keep an eye on her."

"Gathering martial arts... Your spending has already approached five thousand taels. How are the results?" Lu Quan'an asked casually.

"I've already gathered several sets. I'll organize the manuals I obtain and set up a scripture repository at home. That will make it easier for our Lu Family to cultivate skilled fighters in the future."

Lu Sheng spoke seriously.

"I can roughly guess what you're thinking. These are troubled times. Relying on only the few dozen people in our household isn't enough. We need to cultivate more experts who belong to our Lu Family. That's why, after hearing you were collecting martial arts, I spared no effort in supporting you."

Lu Quan'an said seriously.

"There are eighty-six guards and servants in the household who can be mobilized at any time. But because they have to guard the estate, only around forty can truly be deployed elsewhere."

Lu Sheng calculated it.

"These forty people must protect the Lu Family's thirteen estates and sixteen shops outside. They are nowhere near enough."

"Your father naturally knows this as well. It's just... trustworthy manpower is hard to find." Lu Quan'an sighed.

"What about adopting orphans? There should be quite a few homeless children both inside and outside the city, right?" Lu Sheng suggested.

"That... ultimately, we must consider the thoughts of the other families."

Lu Quan'an hesitated.

"We already lack manpower. Why should we still worry about the other families? Can't we develop in secret?" Lu Sheng argued.

"This is a sensitive matter. Tug one hair and the whole body moves. If the other families discover it, they will surely accuse our Lu Family of harboring ambitions. It would draw too much attention."

Lu Quan'an shook his head slightly.

Lu Sheng tried to persuade him a little more, but it still came to nothing.

Then he understood that Lu Quan'an no longer possessed the drive of his youth. Back then, he had nothing and no worries holding him back, so he acted decisively and took responsibility, building the Lu Family's vast fortune.

But now... he looked before and behind, hesitant and indecisive.

Lu Sheng could tell that Lu Quan'an supported his gathering of martial arts because he had the desire to expand.

But when it came time to truly begin, he hesitated again, unable to make up his mind.

After saying a few more things, Lu Sheng stopped trying to persuade him and merely mentioned matters concerning the family's health and well-being.

Afterward, he took his leave.

Lu Quan'an stood alone in the main hall, brows tightly furrowed, still hesitating.

But Lu Sheng no longer wished to rely on this old father of his.

In such troubled times, if one's own strength was insufficient, one would sooner or later become a juicy piece of meat in someone else's eyes.

Leaving the main hall, he continued to the Training Ground to practice martial arts.

After the Jade Crane Skill reached the peak of the Second Layer, he was full of energy all day. Even if he stayed busy from morning to night, he did not feel too tired.

Whenever he felt slightly sleepy, he only needed to sit down and rest for a moment before becoming lively as a dragon and vigorous as a tiger again, able to move about for several hours at a stretch.

At the Training Ground, he practiced his saber continuously until evening.

Only then, drenched in sweat, did he bathe and hurry off to dinner.

At the dining table, Lu Quan'an, Second Mother, and Lu Sheng sat at one table, while the rest of the family sat at another large table.

That was the rule.

Lu Quan'an was the family head, Lu Sheng the future family head, and Second Mother had always been extremely close to both Lu Quan'an and Lu Sheng. She also managed the female relatives and maidservants of the inner courtyard.

These three were the three highest-ranking people in the entire Lu Family.

After them came Third Mother, Fourth Mother, Fifth Mother, Lu Qingqing, Lu Yingying, Lu Chenxin, and the other family members.

Although the Lu Family belonged to the first generation of newly rich upstarts, it still imitated the rules of great households in many ways.

One such rule was to neither speak while eating nor talk while sleeping.

The people at both large tables ate with only the occasional clink of bowls and chopsticks. There truly was not a single other sound.

"Sheng."

Lu Quan'an, who rarely spoke at the dining table, suddenly opened his mouth.

The moment he spoke, the entire family slowly stopped and listened to him. This too was etiquette. After all, unless it was something particularly important, he generally did not speak during meals.

"Father, what is it?"

Lu Sheng set down his chopsticks and looked at Lu Quan'an.

"You said Nine Links City has no more martial arts for you to collect. Would you like to make a trip to Yan Mountain City?"

Lu Quan'an asked seriously.

"Yan Mountain City?"

Lu Sheng was stunned. He had not expected his father to ask him to leave Nine Links City.

"Yes." Lu Quan'an nodded. "I have an old friend there. In a letter a few days ago, he mentioned that famous masters from the Central Plains have opened their doors to teach in Yan Mountain City. If you are willing, you can make a trip there. Perhaps you can bring back one or two sets of truly formidable martial arts from the Central Plains."

Like the Vault Sky girl before, this is also an old friend. Thank you for your support, thank you for your encouragement. So many people are supporting the new book so quickly—it seems my character really is that good, hahaha~~~ Speaking of which, Three-Lifetimes-Fate Heavenly Emperor Chu, who is in first place, is a new face. Thank you for your support.

Actually, friends who have read my books know that I'm not someone who encourages everyone to give lots of rewards. As long as you support me with bookmarks, recommendations, and subscriptions, that is the best support you can give me.

If that still won't do, then support my public account~ Hehehe. Just search for 'Author Get Lost'.