After confirming Mu Xue wasn't there, Lu Shui weakly collapsed onto the bed.
With a thump, the moment he hit the bed, Lu Shui felt as if his whole body had been torn apart.
Hiss.
That hurt.
Dongfang Liyin didn't seem particularly concerned about whether Lu Shui was in pain. Curious, she glanced at Lu Gu behind her and asked,
"What did you mean by that just now?"
Lu Gu looked at Lu Shui and thought for a moment.
"He's a little disappointed."
Lu Shui: "..."
My dad was slandering me to my face.
I don't want to deal with them.
"What if we really called the Mu Family Little Girl over? What would our son do?" Dongfang Liyin asked.
"Be very happy?" Lu Gu seemed to be playing along with his wife.
Lu Shui opened his eyes and stared at his parents. He felt like the two of them were just messing with him.
In the end, Lu Shui sat up, got out of bed, and walked to the door. He opened it, then turned to the startled Lu Family Patriarch and Lu Family Matriarch standing nearby and said,
"I won't see you out."
Lu Gu: "..."
Dongfang Liyin: "..."
In the end, Lu Shui still didn't see his parents off. After all, even though he was seriously injured, he knew that they cared about him. That had nothing whatsoever to do with his dad throwing punches at him.
The next day.
Lu Shui felt almost completely recovered. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, the kitchen staff brought him breakfast.
Then Qi Xi came over.
"Young master."
Lu Shui didn't pick up his chopsticks. He looked calmly at the pastries beside him.
"What is it?"
"Third Elder sent word that the Heavenly Pool River will open in about ten days. He asked whether you've mastered the basics of Heavenly Cloud Vertical and Horizontal," Qi Xi asked quietly.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Shui replied,
"I have."
Qi Xi froze. She almost wondered if she'd heard him wrong.
She wanted to ask again, but in the end, she lowered her head and withdrew.
Lu Shui didn't care much. He had already mastered Heavenly Cloud Vertical and Horizontal in his previous life, so he didn't need to read through it again in this one.
There was no need to study it.
Only after Qi Xi left did Lu Shui prepare to eat. He'd been hungry for a long time.
But just as he picked up his chopsticks, he inexplicably thought of the person who'd choked to death on the road to godhood.
Sure enough, you had to take your meals one bite at a time. No matter how hungry you were, you couldn't rush.
Lu Shui first took a sip of soup to moisten his throat.
In the main hall.
"He learned it?" Third Elder said, somewhat taken aback after hearing the report.
But soon, he could only sigh.
"Forget it. Let him be."
Lately, he'd been sighing rather often.
The next day.
Lu Shui stood at the Lu Family's entrance while his mother helped straighten his short-sleeved shirt. This time, he didn't say a word.
His father had been watching from the side the whole time. If Lu Shui opened his mouth, his father would definitely lecture him.
Would he give the Lu Family Patriarch a chance?
Not a chance.
"Remember, going to the Heavenly Pool River is the priority this time. Just make a show of investigating the Pollution," Dongfang Liyin reminded him in a low voice.
Investigating the Pollution was dangerous. The main problem was that the other members of the Lu Family hadn't found many clues, so they couldn't get to the bottom of it.
It didn't look simple at all.
Although she'd only sent her son to investigate along the way, it would be bad if he got incredibly lucky and actually uncovered something.
Lu Shui nodded.
"Okay."
"And practice Heavenly Cloud Vertical and Horizontal when you have time. That way, Third Elder and the others won't have anything to say when you get back," Dongfang Liyin added.
Lu Shui nodded again.
"Mm."
"Don't go looking for trouble while you're away. Sometimes being a member of the Lu Family can actually put you in danger, so you need to learn to keep a low profile. Understand?" Dongfang Liyin lowered her hands. She'd finished straightening his clothes.
"I understand," Lu Shui replied.
After that, Lu Shui headed down the mountain. This time, his parents didn't seem too worried.
Mostly because he'd gone out before without causing any trouble.
In fact, he'd traveled away from home many times in his previous life and only had trouble once.
That was when he'd snatched something from that demonic cultivator. He'd been taught a lesson and had nearly lost his life.
He wondered if he'd run into that demonic cultivator again this time.
Lu Shui didn't dwell on it. By the time he reached Qiuyun Town, it had returned to normal. But the Pollution might still pose a Hidden Danger, so his father had kept his mother under house arrest.
"How much have you learned about the Pollution?" Lu Shui asked.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling had come down the mountain with him.
Zhen Wu already knew the details and replied,
"The exact source of the Pollution is unknown, but it was probably brought by a Chiu Ling Bird. Chiu Ling Birds are only found on the Barren Grassland."
Chiu Ling Birds were flying Spirit Beasts that loved pure Spiritual Energy and lived in groups in barren regions.
"Have you investigated how it got here?" Lu Shui asked.
"We concluded it was looking for food, but we don't have any concrete evidence. People have also gone to the Barren Grassland, but there are no further clues for now. We can't rule out the possibility that someone deliberately meant to harm the Lu Family," Zhen Wu answered.
That possibility couldn't be ruled out, but it was very unlikely.
It wouldn't do the Lu Family any real harm. His mother was the only one who was unusual; the other members of the Lu Family wouldn't be affected, and even if they were, they'd recover quickly.
If someone were targeting the Lu Family, they certainly wouldn't use this kind of Pollution. It was like a minor illness, completely pointless.
That was also why the Lu Family didn't care much about it.
It had probably just happened by chance. There was no need to spend a fortune tracing it back to the source.
And sending him to investigate was the smallest possible expense.
Whether or not he found anything didn't really matter, but he still planned to get to the bottom of it. Things like this could pose a certain threat to his mother, and he needed to be prepared.
If something similar came their way, it could be very dangerous.
His mother might be a little long-winded, not very reliable, and fond of teaming up with his father to tease him, but she was still his mother.
Of course, next time she cooked for him herself, it'd be even better if she didn't call him over to eat.
"By the way, have you seen this thing?" As he spoke, Lu Shui tossed something to Zhen Wu.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling were a little surprised. Was there something their young master "didn't know"?
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling took a look. It was a round jade disc, thick and about the size of a round biscuit—one of the larger kind, anyway.
But it wasn't bigger than a palm.
It was covered in all sorts of complicated patterns.
But they couldn't make out any sort of pattern to them.
Zhen Wu and Zhen Ling glanced at each other. Zhen Ling shook her head.
Then Zhen Wu spoke.
"Never seen it before. It should be a magic treasure with some special function."
Lu Shui took the jade back. He knew it was a magic treasure, but it wasn't very useful. At most, it could be used as a defensive treasure, and even then, it wasn't very effective.
It had a few other minor functions, but he had no idea what to use them for.
It wasn't a conventional magic treasure. Otherwise, he would have recognized it.
As for where it had come from, it had been among his things when that maid helped him retrieve his Storage Magic Treasure.
He had no idea who'd put it in there.
Lu Shui didn't dwell on it. They boarded the train and headed for the Barren Grassland.
Lu Family Back Mountain.
Second Elder walked along a narrow path. She passed through a Bamboo Forest and came to a pond. A Small Pavilion stood in the middle of it, empty.
Second Elder still wore a white coat, with her hands still in its pockets. She watched the pavilion.
A gentle breeze stirred Second Elder's tied-back hair.
While the breeze was still blowing, Second Elder spoke.
"Word has it that a Young Sect Master has appeared in the Hidden Heaven Sect."
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