Lu Family

Biodata

Background / History

Thirty years before the main events, the three Lu brothers arrived in Yinshan County as refugees. Through force, business acumen, and strategic alliances, they spent three decades building the county’s foremost family 3.

A decisive part of their rise was Chen Xuan. The brothers rescued the heavily wounded Martial Cultivator during an escort mission; in repayment, he agreed to protect the family for twenty years. His protection helped establish the Lu Family’s power, though the agreement was nearing its end before Lu Jing'an formally became his disciple 6.

The family becomes the target of a larger political struggle after Lu Jing'an survives an assassination attempt. The Xiaoshan Li Family and the Liu Family seek advantage in the planned merger of three counties and the resulting contest for the Public Security Bureau’s leadership 3 4. Rather than openly fight both century-old clans, Lu Jing'an proposes that the family appear unwilling to compete while ruthlessly pursuing the assassin as a warning 4.

The investigation reveals that Nine-Fingered Yama had been hired by the Li Family to kill Lu Jing'an, while the Lin Family acted as an informant within Yinshan County 6 11. The Lu Family initially restrains itself against the Lin Family, using pressure and surveillance to expose its connections instead of beginning an immediate full-scale conflict 7 9.

The Lin Family’s marriage alliance with the Xiaoshan Li Family escalates the conflict. The Lu Family publicly appears humiliated and weakened while secretly preparing an operation against the wedding procession and its concealed cultivators 14 22 23. The operation destroys the Lin and Qian families’ positions in Yinshan County and defeats the Li Family’s attempt to establish dominance there 25 30.

After the conflict, the Lu Family hunts and kills the Tiger Demon that had targeted its household through Chang Ghost servants 39 45. The victory brings government compensation and permission to expand the Public Security Bureau, but also draws Secretary Hu’s pressure for the family to compete for authority in the new city 45 46.

Holdings and Influence

Known Members and Retainers

Political Position

The Lu Family’s greatest structural weakness is its comparatively shallow history. Though dominant in Yinshan County, it faces older clans such as the Li and Liu families, whose foundations extend back more than a century 3 4.

The family favors controlled escalation over reckless retaliation. Its response to Lu Jing'an’s assassination attempt combines rumor-spreading, targeted investigations, financial pressure, armed deterrence, and public misdirection 4 6 22.

During the Lin–Li marriage crisis, Lu Jing'an deliberately cultivates the image of an impulsive, humiliated young master. This convinces Li Jinglin and outside observers that the Lu Family has lost control, concealing the family’s preparations for the wedding-day operation 20 22.

The family’s victory over the Lin, Qian, and Li factions establishes its reputation through force. Its standing as Yinshan County’s undisputed leading family becomes a source of deterrence, but also attracts the attention of higher provincial powers 30.

Relationships

• Chen Xuan — Long-serving protector of the Lu Family; his acceptance of Lu Jing'an as a disciple gives him a lasting personal tie to the family after his original twenty-year obligation nears its end 6.
• Lin Family — Formerly supported by the Lu Family, but secretly served as an inside contact against it and attempted to escape Yinshan through a Li marriage alliance 6 7 10.
• Xiaoshan Li Family — Primary rival in the struggle over Yinshan County and the future merged city; linked to Nine-Fingered Yama’s assassination attempt on Lu Jing'an 3 11.
• Qian Family — Local financial rival that supports the Lin and Li factions after Lu Huaichuan’s business interests encroach on its territory; later wiped out alongside the Lin Family 20 30.
• Peacekeeping Bureau — Nominally neutral toward local family disputes; it declines to interfere in the Lu–Li conflict, though Lu Jing'an later cooperates with Wen Ling on demonic-beast matters 26 50.
• Secretary Hu — A provincial official who has historically provided limited protection in exchange for payment; later pressures the Lu Family to contend for the new city’s Public Security Bureau leadership 33 46.
• Bai Chongyu and the Bai Family — The powerful Hang Province commander and family identified as the Li Family’s backer, creating a greater threat behind the Lu Family’s local victory 48.

Major Arcs

• Assassination Attempt — The family investigates the attempt on Lu Jing'an’s life and chooses to deter its enemies without immediately provoking war against the Li and Liu families 1 4.
• Lin Family Exposure — The Lu Family uncovers the Lin Family’s betrayal, confines its residence, and uses its attempted alliance with the Li Family to identify broader opposition 6 10.
• Bloody Wedding — The family secretly prepares against the Li wedding procession, neutralizes Lawrence and other threats, and destroys the Lin and Qian families’ local power 23 25 30.
• Tiger Demon Crisis — After Chang Ghost infiltrate the Lu residence, the family organizes and finances a successful hunt for the Tiger Demon 39 45.
• New City Contest — Secretary Hu’s proposed support places the family in a dangerous competition for the new city’s Public Security Bureau leadership, with success uncertain and failure potentially ruinous 46 48.