Divine Oracle

When Lu Jing'an returned to Lu Mansion,

the sun had already dipped westward.

Lu Jing'an's shadow stretched long across the bluestone pavement.

Upon returning home, Lu Jing'an went straight to his father Lu Huaiqian's study.

In the study, Lu Jing'an recounted what had happened outside the Lin Family's gates that day,

word for word.

The candles in the study burned brightly.

The scent of sandalwood quietly permeated the room.

Lu Huaiqian sat upright in his grand chair.

His distinct-knuckled fingers lightly tapped

the smooth rosewood tabletop.

They made dull, measured knocking sounds.

His face was calm as still water, betraying no ripple of emotion.

Only after Lu Jing'an had finished did he nod slightly.

In a deep voice, he instructed the servant waiting outside, "Go invite Second Master over."

When it came to money and schemes in the business world,

Lu Huaichuan was the true expert.

Before long, Lu Huaichuan arrived.

Though it was already night,

Lu Huaichuan was still dressed in a perfectly pressed suit.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses.

After listening to Lu Jing'an briefly recount the matter once more,

he did not immediately comment on the Lin Family's situation.

Instead, with a trace of scrutiny and amusement,

he looked Lu Jing'an over.

A meaningful smile curled at the corner of Lu Huaichuan's mouth.

His voice was gentle, yet carried a piercing edge.

"Jing'an, when did you learn French?

Could it be for that girl from the Lin Family?"

Lu Jing'an had not expected his second uncle to care about that.

But he had long prepared an answer.

Lu Jing'an casually said, "A few French girls came to Shuyu before, so I picked up some of it along the way."

Shuyu was supposedly a place where one sold one's talents but not one's body.

Of course, if the money was enough, there were no rules to speak of.

Lu Jing'an had indeed frequented such places in the past.

And French girls really had come there.

Still, Lu Huaichuan had never expected that answer.

After freezing for a moment, Lu Huaichuan laughed in surprise.

"Who would have thought, Jing'an? You really went to Shuyu to exchange culture."

"Next time, be my interpreter. Your second uncle wants to entertain a friend."

The classic line—I have a friend.

Lu Jing'an agreed at once.

To be honest, Lu Jing'an also had a friend

who wanted to see what an upscale place like Shuyu was like.

"Ahem, ahem."

Seeing the uncle and nephew's conversation drifting farther and farther off course,

Lu Huaiqian, seated at the head of the room, could not help coughing heavily twice.

He tapped the tabletop with greater force as a reminder.

Hearing this, Lu Huaichuan immediately reined in his joking expression.

He straightened his back again, returning to his usual shrewd and capable demeanor.

Habitually, he pushed up the bridge of his gold-rimmed glasses and pondered aloud:

"Since the Lin Family wants to pull away,

their vast holdings must be sold off in haste.

They would not dare make a grand spectacle of it.

Nor would they dare sell everything in one lot."

After a pause, Lu Huaichuan continued:

"So, the likeliest method would be to break the whole into pieces.

They would divide their assets into several inconspicuous portions,

secretly seek buyers, and quietly liquidate them.

On this front, I can arrange capable men.

Working from several sides, we can drive the price down as low as possible.

Bit by bit, we can swallow the Lin Family's foundation whole."

After finishing that part, Lu Huaichuan unconsciously removed his glasses.

Holding them in his hand, he slowly wiped the lenses.

It was his habitual gesture whenever he was thinking deeply.

The study was silent.

Only the faint crackle of candlewicks occasionally bursting broke the stillness.

A moment later, he put his glasses back on.

"Now comes the crucial part.

The vast sum the Lin Family receives from selling their assets

cannot possibly,

and will not willingly, be taken to the Li Family.

That would be no different from a sheep walking into a tiger's maw.

So where could such a huge sum be kept most securely?"

He answered his own question, his tone certain.

"Only in a bank run by foreigners."

"Yinshan County is too small a place to have foreign banks.

Only the provincial capital has them.

It would have been inconvenient for them to carry large quantities of silver dollars before,

so they would surely find a way to exchange them for banknotes redeemable everywhere.

And throughout Yinshan County, even along the route to the provincial capital,

only the notes issued by our Lu Family Bank

have the greatest reputation and the broadest network.

Whether they want to choose us or not, they have no choice but to use us."

He looked toward Lu Huaiqian in the seat of honor, handing over the final decision.

"Big Brother, then this money

will ultimately leave with the people surnamed Lin or not—it depends on your decision.

Will it remain in Yinshan County,

or will it safely reach the provincial capital?

It all rests on a single thought from you."

Lu Jing'an quietly listened to his second uncle's analysis, which peeled back each layer like silk from a cocoon.

Inwardly, he sighed. His little bits of cleverness

truly seemed immature before this kind of seasoned calculation.

Lu Huaiqian did not state his position immediately.

He merely sat there in silence, thinking.

This was not indecision; he had to weigh the gains and losses.

He needed to consider everything thoroughly and find a foolproof solution.

Lu Jing'an knew he was no longer needed here.

So he quietly rose, bowed to his father and second uncle, and took his leave.

Lu Jing'an got up, bade them farewell, and left.

Lu Huaichuan brought up the matter of his friend once again.

Lu Jing'an readily agreed.

After leaving the study, the cool night breeze brushed against his face.

Lu Jing'an returned to his own courtyard.

The lamplight in the room was warm.

Lu Jing'an went straight to the bedside and sat down.

With a thought, he selected [Refining].

Following his will,

the invisible [Striving Furnace] emerged within his consciousness once more.

It began to slowly rotate, emitting a hazy glow.

[Refining in progress. Estimated completion time: 6 hours.]

Seeing that it required six times longer than Refining the Century-Old Ginseng last time,

Lu Jing'an was not surprised. Instead, he grew even more expectant.

The longer it took,

the stronger the energy contained within.

Naturally, what could be Refined from it would be even more extraordinary.

He would not wait around for six hours.

The setting sun was just right—the perfect time to practice boxing.

Lu Jing'an came into the courtyard, assumed his stance, and threw punch after punch, kick after kick.

Steady and powerful, his blood and qi surged with every movement.

Everyone in the mansion had witnessed the young master's efforts.

At first, they had all thought Lu Jing'an was merely fooling around.

Who would have thought that Lu Jing'an not only possessed talent, but was also so diligent?

After taking a medicinal bath and finishing dinner,

when the night was deep and all was still, a notification finally sounded.

[Refining complete]

[Obtained orange Affix: Ghost Shadow Lost Track.]

[Obtained one Nine-Fingered Yama Memory Bead.]

[Obtained 3 Energy Points.]

Seeing the results of the Refining,

joy appeared on Lu Jing'an's face.

An orange Affix!

It was second only to a red Affix.

Most importantly, at a glance,

it was an Affix that enhanced movement techniques and agility.

This perfectly suited Lu Jing'an's current needs.

Lu Jing'an's agility attribute had never improved.

Yet agility was the attribute that offered the greatest protection when fleeing for one's life.

Originally, Lu Jing'an had thought Nine-Fingered Yama

would possess an Affix that increased attack power.

He had not expected it to be one that increased agility.

But on second thought, it made sense.

A heavily wanted bandit

who could remain at large for so long—

how could he possibly lack a means of escape?

One could tell what a Memory Bead was from its name.

He could study that later.

Lu Jing'an first examined the Affix's abilities.

[Ghost Shadow Lost Track] (Orange)

[Note]: This Affix permanently increases Agility by 3 points and doubles the effects of movement techniques. It is especially effective for short-range maneuvering.

After examining the Affix's attributes,

Lu Jing'an was extremely satisfied.

Lu Jing'an thought of it as well.

He needed to get himself a movement technique that could enhance his agility.

Just as Lu Jing'an was wondering how to get his hands on one.

He suddenly slapped his thigh. Why buy one? There must be ready-made ones inside the Memory Bead.

With that thought, Lu Jing'an no longer hesitated.

He sank his consciousness into the Memory Bead flickering with a ghostly glow.

After examining it for a while.

He understood how to use the Memory Bead.

Put simply, it was the life-flashing-before-one's-eyes of Nine-Fingered Yama's entire life.

Lu Jing'an could browse through the memories within as freely as flipping through a book.

He could fast-forward or rewind.

Of course, he could also choose to devour them directly.

That way, he could directly absorb all of the other party's memories and gains.

This naturally included insights into martial arts.

However, this method had one enormous drawback.

It placed extremely high demands on mental strength.

Because the clash between two sets of memories would inevitably cause confusion.

If one's mental strength was not strong enough.

A drastic change in personality would be the least of it.

One might even go completely mad.

Naturally, Lu Jing'an did not dare rashly attempt to devour them.

He planned to first take the perspective of an observer.

And quickly browse through them once before deciding.

Yet after watching for only a short while.

Lu Jing'an withdrew from the Memory Bead, his face pale.

His expression was also dark and repressed.

There was nothing to be done about it—Nine-Fingered Yama had been born rotten to the core.

The evil deeds he had committed before the age of fourteen.

Already made him more deserving of death than those great villains and fiends.

According to the memories.

When Nine-Fingered Yama was eight.

He lured away and murdered the little girl next door.

Then went home as if nothing had happened.

He even joined her family in searching for the missing girl.

When he was eleven, Nine-Fingered Yama took on a master to learn martial arts.

It had to be said that this man's talent for martial arts was truly exceptional.

But his heart was equally vile.

Simply because his master was unwilling to marry his daughter to him.

He slaughtered his master's entire family, then burned everything to ash.

His fingers had not been cut off by someone else.

He had cut them off himself.

The reason was that he wanted to learn movement techniques from his second master.

He severed his fingers to prove his resolve.

After mastering the art.

He chopped off his second master's fingers one by one.

Then cleanly severed both of his feet.

Forcing his master to compete with him in movement techniques.

He had been no more than sixteen when he did such things.

Watching the memories of someone born so utterly evil.

Was truly a tremendous assault on one's sense of right and wrong.

Lu Jing'an could not watch it all bit by bit.

He could only choose to fast-forward.

In the end, he fast-forwarded to the place where Nine-Fingered Yama made a deal with the Li Family.

Here, Lu Jing'an could obtain more information about the Li Family.

The scene froze within the prison of Xiaoshan County.

The Li Family offered Nine-Fingered Yama a condition.

The condition was that he kill Lu Jing'an, and the Li Family would grant him freedom.

However, to ensure that Nine-Fingered Yama would obey their orders.

They required Nine-Fingered Yama to take poison.

Everything proceeded very smoothly.

The two sides quickly reached an agreement.

Nine-Fingered Yama also took the poison.

However, after the Li Family released Nine-Fingered Yama from prison.

And he returned to the secret hideout where he was temporarily staying.

The scene within the memories suddenly became strange.

Lu Jing'an saw it.

Inside the room, Nine-Fingered Yama followed some Western ritual steeped in bloodshed and desecration.

He devoutly and strangely arranged everything, then fell to his knees.

Toward an indescribable existence hidden in the unseen.

He began a long, frenzied prayer.

Half an hour later.

The prayer ended.

Nine-Fingered Yama received a divine oracle.

Because these were Nine-Fingered Yama's memories.

Lu Jing'an knew what his divine oracle was.

The oracle said not to kill him directly.

Instead, stir this place into chaos, making it easier for the gods to descend.

Seeing this, Lu Jing'an began to rejoice that he had not rashly devoured the memories.

Leaving aside the bloodshed and brutality within those memories.

This so-called divine oracle alone.

Could very well bring disaster upon him.