As Long as Lu Yuan Nods, Who Dares Stop Me from Burning Incense to Worship the Ancestors

Lu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, scrutinizing the middle-aged man kneeling on the ground.

He was in his early thirties, yet his hair was already streaked with silver.

Over the years, he had worked conscientiously, managing all the properties of White Moon Villa with impeccable order.

In his view, with Liao Shanhai out adventuring and himself managing the internal affairs, this balance of offense and defense was the very way White Moon Villa survived.

Who could have known that while he was busy guarding the house, it would be stolen from under him.

A golden glint flickered in the depths of Lu Yuan's eyes; he could tell that Han Qiubai was not faking it.

A person might be able to feign anger or sorrow, but they could not fake the sense of bewilderment and collapse that seeped from their very bones.

After a moment of silence, he spoke unhurriedly.

"I am stationed in Linchuan under the orders of the Prefecture Bureau to slay demons and eliminate evil."

"Starting today, White Moon Villa must submit to an investigation; those who should be arrested will be arrested, and those who should be executed will be executed."

"As for those disciples and properties that have no ties to the Longevity Cult... they may remain."

Changing his tone, Lu Yuan's voice became stern.

"However, I will say this again: I, Lu Yuan, am here to slay demons and eliminate evil."

"If I discover even a trace of anything unclean within White Moon Villa, you will not have the chance to speak while kneeling ever again."

Han Qiubai trembled all over and knocked his head heavily against the floor.

"Many thanks to Lord Lu for your mercy. I, Han Qiubai, swear here and now that I will have absolutely no involvement with demon-worshippers or monsters. If I break this oath, may I die a wretched death."

The moment he saw Lu Yuan off, Han Qiubai let out a long, shuddering breath.

The morning light spilled over him, forming a stark contrast with the bloodstains nearby.

He looked at the wreckage before him, recalling the final words the young lord had left behind before departing.

"I never give people chances; the chance you have is one you earned yourself."

Earned himself.

It wasn't because he accepted the punishment, nor because he knelt and kowtowed.

It was simply because he had not colluded with the demon-worshippers.

Rumors outside claimed that the Blood-Clad Yama was bloodthirsty by nature, even more cruel than the demons themselves.

He had believed them before, but from now on, he would not.

That lord could have easily taken his head under the pretext of him being an accomplice to rebels.

No one would have said anything, no one would have dared to say anything, and he wouldn't even have needed to write more than a few lines in the case files.

Yet, the other man had not killed him.

If he were truly bloodthirsty, why would he have spared his life?

He showed no mercy when it was time to kill, but he did not slaughter indiscriminately when it was time to show restraint.

He had lived in Linchuan for twenty years and had seen all sorts of people, but he had never met anyone like this lord.

He was not polite, yet he was reasonable; he was not cold, nor was he hypocritical.

White Moon Villa changed hands overnight, and the Longevity Cult's years of planning in Linchuan were destroyed in a single stroke.

After several days of fermentation, these two events had become the primary topic of conversation in teahouses and taverns.

Some said the new Demon Suppression Captain was a monster with three heads and six arms, others said he walked upon a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and some even claimed to have seen with their own eyes the line of corpses behind him stretching for half a street.

The rumors were told with such vivid detail that it seemed as if everyone had seen it for themselves.

However, those who had truly seen him were the ones who spoke the least.

East Street of the county town.

Inside a tavern.

Wu Chang sat at a table, listening to the various accounts around him, lost in thought.

Although White Moon Villa had changed hands overnight, it remained a top-tier power in Linchuan County.

Yet, the second-ranked power was not the Brocade Workshop, but the Dragon Seeking Dock.

The Dragon Seeking Dock was located on Dragon Hidden Mountain to the north of the city, nestled against the mountains and water; it was said that the site had been personally selected by a top-tier geomancer.

The Wu family was a family of feng shui masters, and the old patriarch, Wu Xuandu, was a leading figure among geomancers.

And Wu Chang, as the young master of the Dragon Seeking Dock, was the legitimate first-in-line successor, the one in whom all hopes were placed.

Although the Dragon Seeking Dock passed down its legacy through feng shui, its true foundation was the use of feng shui techniques to slay demons and eliminate evil.

Since its founding, every head of the family had carved their path through piles of demons.

Wu Chang's parents had died precisely because of their efforts to slay demons and eliminate evil.

That year, he was only twelve years old; his parents had ventured deep into Cangyun Ridge to deal with a Flying Zombie that had broken through the earth, and they never returned.

Ever since then, he had developed a deep aversion to the four words: slaying demons and eliminating devils.

It wasn't out of fear of death; it was because he felt it wasn't worth it.

His father's mastery of feng shui was divine, originally meant to be used to harmonize the earth's veins and bring prosperity to the region.

Yet, he had insisted on risking his life against monsters, only to end up not even leaving behind a complete corpse.

Therefore, he could spend an entire day reading ancient feng shui texts and could perform eighteen different variations of the ancestral Dragon Burial Sutra, but he refused to pick up a compass to exorcise evil spirits.

At eighteen, he left a note in his room and departed from Dragon Seeking Dock.

That departure lasted twelve years.

When he finally returned, he brought a woman with him.

She was neither a noble lady nor a martial arts heroine; she was just an ordinary woman.

She had stayed by his side when he was down on his luck and never abandoned him when he was gravely injured.

What he owed her was not just a life, but a lifetime.

Now that he had returned to Linchuan, he asked for nothing else; he simply wanted to give this woman a proper status.

But he could no longer return to Dragon Seeking Dock.

The one currently in control of Dragon Seeking Dock was his second uncle, and the young dock master had become his cousin, Wu Song.

Wu Song was two years younger than him; his talent was inferior, but he had the advantage of being obedient, hardworking, and tactful.

He did whatever the clan elders told him to do, and he had managed to keep the older generation completely satisfied.

The most critical factor was that two people stood behind Wu Song.

One was named Zheng Hong, Wu Song's maternal uncle, a renowned escort in the Qing Province region.

With vast connections and deep roots, he was nicknamed the Iron-Armed Azure Dragon, and every faction in Qing Province had to give him some face.

The other was Shen Yuyao, the apple of the eye of the Ten Thousand Treasures Chamber of Commerce.

After Wu Song married her, he never lacked silver, and everything went smoothly for him.

And himself?

Aside from his own skills, he had nothing.

Return to Dragon Seeking Dock?

Why would his second uncle's branch ever acknowledge him?

How could they possibly let him return to burn incense and pay respects to his ancestors?

Everyone is human; who doesn't have a bit of selfishness?

It was already a mercy that they hadn't tried to hunt him down and kill him.

Thinking of this, Wu Chang couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Suddenly, he thought of the Corpse Suppressing Bell in his embrace, and his eyes lit up.

That's right!

How could he have forgotten about this!

When he had exchanged three rare treasures with Lu Yuan, he had done so with the intention of building a connection.

Looking at it now, that deal had been incredibly worthwhile.

It wasn't that the Corpse Suppressing Bell was valuable; it was that he had established a connection with Lu Yuan in advance.

With this relationship, when he went to visit later, he wouldn't be an abrupt stranger.

As for Dragon Seeking Dock, he only wanted a status; he asked for nothing else.

"Do it! Rather than cowering, it's better to go all out!"

"With the current reputation of the Blood-Clad Yama, as long as Lu Yuan nods, who in Dragon Seeking Dock would dare stop me from returning to burn incense and pay respects to my ancestors?"

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