The next morning, the dining room was fragrant with porridge and side dishes.
During breakfast,
Lu Jing'an
carefully brought Chen Xuan up to date
on his cultivation progress.
When Chen Xuan heard that Lu Jing'an had broken through to the Second Blood Transformation,
there was little surprise on his face.
In his heart, he had long been certain that Lu Jing'an possessed extraordinary martial talent.
With his peerless talent and ample resources,
such a breakthrough seemed only natural to him.
This was precisely the impression Lu Jing'an had deliberately guided Chen Xuan toward from the very beginning.
After updating him on his cultivation,
Lu Jing'an casually brought up the matter of finding a new sparring partner.
Hearing this, Chen Xuan gently set down the spoon in his hand and said frankly,
"Situ Yiyun and Chen Heqing are already the best martial artists in this city.
Their fundamentals and experience are both first-rate.
If you want a sparring partner who surpasses them,
you'll have to spend more time looking."
Lu Jing'an understood the reasoning.
There was no rushing this matter.
After breakfast, Lu Jing'an returned to his routine of training alone.
In the courtyard, he stood as steady as a boulder, honing his fundamentals against the wooden dummy again and again.
Then his fists whipped through the air, each move and each stance
still packed with force, though no opponent met them.
His qi and blood surged ceaselessly through his body with every punch.
He might be short a sparring partner for now, but he never slacked off for even a moment on the hard work he needed to put in.
After finishing his training and tidying up a little,
he went out again, just as he had in the past few days, with several armed retainers and servants.
Whenever he heard people whispering on the main street,
and saying anything even slightly critical or disrespectful about the Lu Family, he showed no mercy.
He would march straight over with his men to argue, and at the slightest disagreement, often come to blows.
Over the past few days, he had played his part to perfection: a good-for-nothing, furious young master who, after his family had been insulted, could only vent his anger wherever he went.
His antics set tongues wagging all over town.
The news naturally reached Li Jinglin's ears.
When he learned that Lu Jing'an had only behaved himself for one night before reverting to his old ways,
the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.
He felt even more at ease.
The more the Lu Family lost their composure,
making fools of themselves and stamping their feet in front of outsiders,
the more he felt that everything was firmly in his grasp.
The louder the Lu Family kicked up a fuss now, the more face they would lose when the big day came.
By comparison, the Li Family would look all the more imposing.
The days slipped quietly away like grains of sand in an hourglass.
It had been a full twenty days since Li Jinglin and his party had entered Yinshan County.
Only eight days remained until the wedding.
On that day, the Li Family's young master would personally lead the procession to escort the bride.
To show off the Li Family's grandeur,
over the past few days,
Li Jinglin's men had been scattering silver money everywhere,
making arrangements throughout the county.
Every household along the county's main roads
was required to hang red lanterns.
Each household that did so would receive ten silver dollars on the spot.
The main roads also had to be resurfaced and leveled.
Naturally, this task fell to the county magistrate.
It was also a handsome gift for him in advance,
to make things easier for the Li Family when they took over later.
Besides this, there was the most important matter of all:
security arrangements for the wedding procession.
To that end, Li Jinglin had personally visited the Security Station
and held a private meeting with Lu Huaiqian.
No outsider knew what the two had discussed.
But after Li Jinglin left, the usually mild-mannered Lu Huaiqian had smashed a teacup.
However,
the storm of retaliation everyone expected from the Lu Family
never came.
Only Lu Jing'an, that very evening,
had brought his men out to pick fights even more often.
Apart from that, the Lu Family made no other moves.
Outsiders were nearly unanimous in their interpretation:
The Lu Family had completely backed down.
It was easy enough to understand why.
The Lu Family's foundations were still shallow, after all.
They had only recently risen to prominence.
How could they stand against a century-old clan like the Xiaoshan Li Family?
Nor could the situation in Yinshan County compare with the prosperous Xiaoshan County.
With such a vast disparity in strength, avoiding a direct clash and swallowing their anger seemed the wisest course.
All the speculation and scrutiny from the outside world did nothing to change the atmosphere deep inside the Lu Family residence.
At that moment, the doors and windows of Lu Huaiqian's study were shut tight.
The lamplight cast several shadows onto the paper windows.
The three brothers, Lu Huaiqian, Lu Huaichuan, and Lu Huaishan, had gathered there with Lu Jing'an.
Lu Huaichuan was the first to break the silence.
His voice was quiet, but his words were clear and orderly, each one landing firmly:
"I've had people secretly buy up most of the Lin Family's businesses in Yinshan County,
including their grain shops, dock warehouses, and two tea plantations outside the city.
They bought them in batches for roughly half their market value.
All the paperwork has been completed,
and it hasn't attracted much attention.
The Lin Family's liquid assets have also been gradually converted through several different banks
into bank drafts issued in the name of our Lu Family.
The two old stewards most trusted by the Lin Family's elder master
carried the drafts separately and left the city at dawn yesterday, heading toward the provincial capital."
He paused briefly, then continued:
"The Lin Family's liquidated properties came to a total of 1.3 million silver dollars.
I've already contacted our people in the provincial capital myself.
Any redemption involving these drafts
must wait until they receive definite word from us
before it can proceed."
Lu Huaichuan laid out every detail,
clearly explaining the process and results of handling the Lin Family's properties over the past few days.
When he had finished,
Lu Huaiqian's gaze slowly shifted to Lu Huaishan, seated on the other side.
Lu Huaishan's expression was solemn. He nodded in understanding and said,
"Big brother, following the plan we discussed,
I've had my most reliable old hands
take people to block the western and northern routes ahead of time.
We've planted explosives and disguised them
at several strategic choke points along all the mountain paths and waterways that could allow quick passage,
including Eagle Ravine and Soul-Severing Slope.
I've also sent out two teams of unfamiliar faces,
disguised as traveling merchants and mountain folk. They left the city the day before yesterday, heading toward Xiaoshan County.
Their mission is clear:
to delay and obstruct the Li Family's wedding procession by any means necessary.
They'll absolutely keep it held up until we've finished things here."
After speaking, Lu Huaishan looked at Lu Jing'an.
Lu Jing'an met his third uncle's gaze and smiled slightly before speaking up:
"Third Uncle, you've probably looked into the people the Li Family brought with them this time.
Why don't you tell us what you've found first?
Then we can compare it with what I've heard on my end.
That might help us prepare more thoroughly."
Hearing this, a barely noticeable trace of awkwardness crossed Lu Huaishan's face. He quickly waved a hand in denial:
"Me?
When did I ever make a point of investigating those Li Family experts?
I've been so busy these past few days that I haven't even had time to catch my breath.
I barely had time to arrange the roadblocks and manpower.
I haven't made any special effort to approach anyone on the Li Family's side..."
Lu Huaishan's denial came a little too quickly.
To anyone with a discerning eye, his acting was painfully unconvincing.
In the end, Lu Huaiqian spoke up and told Lu Huaishan to share what he knew.
Lu Huaishan didn't immediately speak.
Instead, he turned to Lu Jing'an, his expression especially earnest,
with even a hint of apology:
"Jing'an, it's not that Third Uncle doesn't trust you.
It's just that this concerns the safety of several hundred members of our Lu Family,
and even the future of our entire clan.
I'm a rough man. All I know is that an extra bit of caution
means an extra measure of security, so I had people make some inquiries on the side."
Lu Jing'an remained composed as he met Lu Huaishan's gaze:
"Third Uncle, I understand.
This is a matter of great importance. Even the smallest oversight could lead to disaster.
No matter how cautious we are, it's only right.
Your making inquiries on the side was exactly the prudent thing to do."
Relief and approval showed in Lu Huaishan's eyes. He nodded firmly:
"Good lad. Knowing you can think that way puts Third Uncle at ease."
He cleared his throat and spoke seriously:
"The Li Family has only two cultivators in plain sight.
One is that Listening Cultivator.
The other is Lawrence, who spent the night at the headquarters."
His tone shifted, and Lu Huaishan continued:
"Besides those two, the rest..."
Among the wedding party, there were also three cultivators hiding in plain sight.
Two were martial cultivators, and one was a smoke cultivator.
Of the five people,
the foreigner, Lawrence, had the most imposing aura.
His cultivation was probably the highest.
Next came the two martial cultivators hidden in the party.
The smoke cultivator and the listening cultivator seemed evenly matched.
After speaking, he glanced at Lu Jing'an with a hint of apology.
He seemed to think he had investigated too thoroughly,
leaving his nephew nothing to add.
Lu Huaiqian waited until he had finished.
His fingers tapped twice on the smooth armrest of the rosewood chair.
Only then did he turn his gaze fully to Lu Jing'an and say in a measured voice:
"Jing'an, now tell us what you found."
Lu Jing'an's posture remained unchanged as he calmly began:
"Third Uncle's investigation was already very thorough. The general situation is indeed as you described.
However, there are some discrepancies in the exact numbers and details."
He paused briefly, then continued clearly:
"Besides the listening cultivator and Lawrence, who are out in the open,
the Li Family's wedding party
has not three hidden cultivators, but five."
"Five?!"
Lu Huaishan raised his brows, unable to hide his surprise.
Lu Jing'an nodded firmly and continued:
"That 'smoke cultivator' you mentioned, Third Uncle,
should be the haggard-looking
gray-robed old man who almost never let his pipe leave his mouth.
The other two martial cultivators are actually twin brothers.
Not only do they look almost exactly alike, but their cultivation levels are quite close as well.
Both are at the level of the three transformations of blood and qi.
Besides these three,
there's also someone in the party posing as a 'magician.'
The Li Family claims they hired him to perform at the wedding banquet and entertain the guests.
He has nimble hands and is skilled at simple sleight of hand.
His aura is well concealed, too.
Your men may have taken him for an ordinary street performer and overlooked him."
After a pause, Lu Jing'an continued, "As for the fifth person,
he has never formally joined the Li Family's wedding party.
He has always traveled alone, keeping his movements extremely secret.
But I can confirm that after Li Jinglin arrived in our county,
he went out alone at least three times to meet with this person in secret.
This person is also a martial cultivator, and his strength is no less than Lawrence's."
At this point, Lu Jing'an changed the subject:
"This person should no longer be in the city. He's already left, and his destination is clear: the Li Family's bank drafts worth 1.3 million silver dollars."
Before you continue