Lu Wanyuan had deliberately cooked extra Spirit Rice, enough for several more people.
He also prepared a large number of dishes, then brought the Silver Moon Spirit Carp, which had been steaming for a long time, to the table.
Before long, the few of them had swept everything away like a whirlwind.
He had thought Lu Shan and the others would be full and ready to talk. After all, they had just wolfed down all the food, leaving no time to speak with them.
Seeing this, Lu Wanyuan and his wife had no choice but to wait nearby for them to finish.
To their surprise, once they were done eating, the three immediately began cultivating their Cultivation Techniques.
Only then did the two of them remember that they had also begun cultivating right after eating the Silver Moon Spirit Carp.
The main reason was that the Silver Moon Spirit Carp contained an astonishing amount of spiritual energy. It made sense: at twenty Spirit Stones per catty, it had to be worth the price, or it could never be so expensive.
That fish weighed at least ten catties, making it worth two hundred Spirit Stones. The three had no idea how long it would take to refine all the spiritual energy in their bodies.
Seeing this, the two of them found it rather amusing.
"Husband, you should get two sets of clothes ready. Lu Shan and Lu He will definitely need to wash up later. I'll prepare a set for Lu Ting, too. She'll need to freshen up as well!"
Baili Qiuyue hurriedly reminded him.
At this, Lu Wanyuan immediately nodded.
A day later, Lu Shan finally woke up. He looked at the layer of dark grime covering his skin and smelled the stench of sweat, then wore an embarrassed expression.
"All right, don't just stand there. The washroom is over there, and these are your clean clothes. For now, just wear mine and make do!"
Lu Wanyuan pointed to a set of clothes beside him, then gestured toward the washroom a short distance ahead.
"All right. I'll go wash up now. I'm filthy from head to toe!" Lu Shan nodded, came over, picked up the clothes, and went to wash.
By the time Lu Shan had finished, Lu He and Lu Ting still hadn't woken up.
Lu Wanyuan looked Lu Shan over after he had washed. His appearance hadn't changed much; he was simply a little thinner.
Lu Wanyuan motioned for Lu Shan to join him in the main hall. Baili Qiuyue had already poured tea there. Fortunately, they had packed all their belongings into their Storage Bags that day and brought everything with them. Otherwise, having to buy it all again on the spot would have been a hassle.
Once they were seated, Lu Wanyuan asked bluntly, "Lu Shan, tell me, why did you come to Bayberry Market? You were far too reckless. You were lucky to run into your sister-in-law today. Otherwise, you might have died out there without even knowing what hit you."
"All right, don't be so hard on them. Nothing happened, did it? They probably didn't want to come here either. They must have had no other choice!"
Baili Qiuyue hurriedly tried to soothe him.
At that, Lu Wanyuan's expression softened.
"Eldest Brother, we really had no other choice. Green Bamboo Peak had changed completely. About half a month after you and sister-in-law left the mountain, more than a hundred people arrived at Green Bamboo Peak. They were all relatives of Aunt Ouyang Tingting!"
At this point, Lu Shan's face twisted with anger. "We still had some cultivation resources at first, but after Father went into seclusion, we had nothing!"
"Ouyang Tingting somehow got lucky and reached Foundation Establishment, too. With things as they were, there was no place for us at Green Bamboo Peak. They gave us nothing and often bullied us. In the end, they even drove us down the mountain by force..."
Hearing this, Lu Wanyuan was so furious that he nearly saw red. He wanted nothing more than to storm up the mountain and kill them. But when he considered his current strength, going to Green Bamboo Peak would only get him killed. So he held his temper and asked, "Did Lu Hu have nothing to say about it? Or did you not see him?"
Seeing that his younger siblings had been driven down the mountain, he had expected Lu Hu to at least remember his bond as their father and look after Lu Shan and the others.
But now all the siblings had been expelled from Green Bamboo Peak. So he didn't call Lu Hu "Father"; he addressed him by name instead.
"At first, we could still see him, of course, but he didn't say anything. Later, he acted as if he couldn't even see us. I don't know what his heart is made of. We eventually realized he didn't care about us at all."
"Instead, he stripped us of everything we had, just to curry favor with Ouyang Tingting. So we gave up on him."
"We'd planned to hang on at Green Bamboo Peak until you came back for us, but before you returned, they drove us down the mountain. The three of us had no idea where to go."
"We only remembered that when you left the mountain, you said you'd be at Bayberry Market, so we headed here. Luckily, we made it to the market without incident."
"But it was incredibly dangerous outside the market. For more than ten days, the three of us were constantly on edge, hiding wherever we could just to stay alive. By chance, we found a gap and slipped into the market. That's how we ran into sister-in-law!"
Lu Shan lowered his head and spoke guiltily.
Lu Wanyuan couldn't help sighing. He hadn't expected things to come to this. Fortunately, he had left when he did; otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
But he would definitely avenge this grudge—not now, though. In their current state, they were ants in the eyes of the other side, easy to crush between their fingers. Going after them now would only get them killed without making the slightest ripple.
"All right, you did well. You did a fine job as the eldest brother. At least you brought your younger siblings here safely. We don't need to talk about the rest, and don't dwell on what happened at Green Bamboo Peak. This is a fresh start for you. We brothers must build a powerful Cultivation Family so no outsider can bully us!"
Having made up his mind, Lu Wanyuan immediately comforted Lu Shan.
"Mm, I'll listen to you, Eldest Brother. Since we brothers are going to establish a Cultivation Family, does that make me an ancestor? Should I change my name? I don't want to be tied to the past anymore!"
"Haha, I've chosen these twenty characters for the generations of our new Cultivation Family: 'Eternal flowing waters; sun, moon, and stars; the vast universe; everlasting through the ages; pursuing the Dao and cultivating immortality.' Add the character 'Wan' to the middle of your name, and you'll be an ancestor of the Wan generation. I've already changed my own name to Lu Wanyuan, so you'll be Lu Wanshan!"
Lu Wanyuan said with a smile.
"Mm, thank you, Eldest Brother. I'm Lu Wanshan now, and I'm an ancestor too. I can't wait to see how big our Cultivation Family will become!"
Lu Wanshan spoke earnestly to Lu Wanyuan.
"Haha, if we work hard, it's possible. I believe we can build a powerful Cultivation Family. I'm confident of it. Look, we're already living in this grand residence..."
Before he could finish, Lu Wanyuan saw a string of entries appear above Lu Wanshan's head:
[Name]: Family Patriarch [Entries]: First-order Spirit Talisman Inheritance, First-order Artifact Refining Inheritance, three bottles of Barrier-breaking Pills (can be claimed by adding members to the Cultivation Family)
At the sight of this, Lu Wanyuan's head jerked in surprise. He didn't know why the entry had appeared above Lu Wanshan. It hadn't appeared when they first entered the residence; it seemed to have appeared only when Lu Wanshan changed his name.
In other words, the entry had appeared after Lu Wanshan became a member of his Cultivation Family. That meant the entry was connected to the Cultivation Family he had established. He would need to investigate further to understand the exact relationship.
Most importantly, the rewards were astonishing: two inheritances and three bottles of Barrier-breaking Pills. The gains were enormous.
Thinking of this, he remembered that Lu He and Lu Ting had only just joined. Once they changed their names, he would likely receive plenty of rewards from them as well.
Before you continue