The Meat Grinder

When Lu Chuan and his father came out of the courtyard, the fat squire was still doggedly urging Jiang Ziya to get married.

Lu Chuan glanced back at the courtyard. "Dad, is our master called Song Yiren?"

He remembered that in Investiture of the Gods, Jiang Ziya did indeed have a sworn elder brother named Song Yiren, who was enormously wealthy and counted as a great tycoon.

Though the two were only sworn brothers, they were as close as flesh and blood.

Jiang Ziya had studied the Dao at Kunlun for forty years. When he came down the mountain, the first person he thought of was Song Yiren—proof of just how deep their bond was.

And Song Yiren had apparently even arranged a marriage for Jiang Ziya, who was already over seventy...

"You already know?"

Lu Liang gave him a surprised look, then quickly warned him, "But remember, as a servant, you mustn't casually mention the head of the household by name."

A servant?

A flicker of surprise crossed Lu Chuan's eyes, but he kept his expression calm and nodded slightly.

Then he glanced back at the courtyard and sighed softly. Now he could be one hundred percent certain: he really had landed in the world of Investiture of the Gods.

After they returned to their room, Lu Liang went out to prepare lunch for the two of them.

Lu Chuan, meanwhile, still felt a little dazed. Sitting on the bed, he stared blankly, as if he'd fallen into a hazy world of clouds and mist...

Jiang Ziya?

The Chan Sect? The Interception Sect? The Investiture War?

Just thinking about it gave Lu Chuan a headache. The Investiture War had been utterly brutal—so terrible that "fearsome" barely did it justice.

Yes, fearsome.

This war was also a calamity.

A great calamity that swept across Heaven, the human world, and the demon realm, engulfing all living beings across the Six Paths.

The calamity involved gods in Heaven, humans on Earth, immortals and demons in famous mountains, the Chan and Jie Sects, and even a certain figure from the Western Sect who would occasionally show up to take advantage of the chaos...

By the end, the calamity had grown so uncontrollable that even several Heavenly Venerables were drawn into it, personally taking the field to fight.

The scale of the war could well be imagined.

Of all the beings caught up in it, humans were undoubtedly the weakest and lowest in the pecking order. He'd heard that the Fox Spirit in the Royal Palace of Chaoge often ate human hearts and drank human blood...

Besides, what did ancient wars run on?

Human lives. They were filled with human lives.

After every battle, the field was strewn with corpses and rivers ran red with blood. That was why armies needed a constant supply of soldiers.

And if there weren't enough?

They seized able-bodied men.

He was sixteen now. By the time King Zhou went to war with Xiqi, he'd be in his prime and ripe for conscription.

Lu Chuan suddenly felt the danger closing in.

He had no interest in becoming a conscript or cannon fodder, sent off to the battlefield to throw his life away.

"How can I get Jiang Ziya to..."

Lu Chuan's eyes flickered as he considered it. "...teach me some skills?"

He knew Jiang Ziya was no ordinary man.

Though he had failed to attain the Immortal Path, he was still a disciple of Primordial Heavenly Lord of the Yuxu Sect, with astonishing Daoist arts. He'd even used Samadhi True Fire to burn the Fox Spirit's younger sister, the Jade Stone Pipa Spirit.

But he had only just come down from the mountain, so the pipa-burning incident hadn't happened yet.

Jiang Ziya had plenty of skill, and the power backing him was great enough to reach the heavens.

Even if Lu Chuan learned just a few scraps from him, they would probably serve him for the rest of his life. At the very least, he'd be safe as an ordinary mortal.

That was right: his foremost goal was to become a mortal with enough strength to protect himself and find his footing in this world.

He'd only just been reborn and awakened. He hadn't even had a chance to properly see the world yet. He couldn't just die again in a daze.

As for taking part in the Investiture War...

At that thought, Lu Chuan shook his head. "Could an ant meddle in the affairs of a giant dragon?"

He wasn't putting himself down.

He knew all too well what role an ordinary mortal like him could play in the Investiture War: at most, he'd be a tiny ripple in the vast ocean.

And the Investiture War was a meat grinder.

Look at the mighty cultivators from the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, the Chan and Jie Sects. Once they were dragged into that meat grinder, how many came out whole?

Never mind the Interception Sect, so ravaged that it was left in name only. Even the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect, protected like children by their master, Primordial Heavenly Lord, had their three flowers above their heads cut down and the five qi in their chests scattered.

Thousands of years of cultivation and the fruits of their Dao were destroyed in the calamity. Once it was over, all they could do was return to their mountains in dejection, shut their doors, and start cultivating again.

And even Jiang Ziya, the protagonist with profound Daoist arts, had suffered the Seven Deaths and Three Calamities during the great calamity.

He'd died seven times!

If not for his protagonist's luck and his good master, Jiang Ziya would have been completely finished in the Investiture War. That just went to show how important it was to have a good master.

Lu Chuan couldn't wait to avoid this calamity. There was no way he'd be stupid enough to rush straight into it.

Of course, apart from learning some skills, Lu Chuan had another little idea in mind when it came to Jiang Ziya.

If he could seek the Immortal Path, become an immortal, and live forever, wouldn't that be wonderful?

In a world where immortals and demons coexisted, if he didn't at least give the Immortal Path a try, he'd be embarrassed to have lived this life.

But whether he could learn anything would depend on whether Jiang Ziya was willing to teach him.

"I'll go ask him to take me as a disciple tonight."

After thinking it over for a long while, Lu Chuan's eyes flashed as he made up his mind. "Even if I can't attain the Immortal Path, I have to at least ask him to teach me some way to protect myself."

Few people in the world could resist the lure of flying through the sky, burrowing through the earth, and living forever.

Lu Chuan couldn't. Even the emperors of the human world couldn't.

That afternoon, while wandering around the estate, he overheard some servants chatting and picked up a few details.

For example, the beautiful Daji had already entered the Royal Palace.

For another, she had killed Queen Jiang and devised the infamous torture of Paoluo.

And because King Zhou had killed the queen's father, four hundred of Great Shang's eight hundred feudal lords had rebelled across the southeast...

Every one of these events was no small matter.

Great Shang had not yet reached the point of collapse, and its rule over the realm remained strong. But that didn't mean it could silence the people's endless talk.

He returned to the little courtyard he shared with his father and ran right into Lu Liang, who was heading out.

"Dad, where are you going?"

"To find you. Where have you been? You've only just recovered, and already I can't find you anywhere."

Lu Liang scolded him. "I've brought the food to your room. Eat first; I still have some things to take care of."

After only a few words, he hurried off.

Still, Lu Chuan could clearly feel the concern behind his words.

By the time he finished eating, night had fallen.

Following the route he'd memorized during the day, Lu Chuan crept through the dark until he reached the courtyard where Jiang Ziya was staying.

"Come on, dear brother, don't be so stubborn. Get married, have a child, and settle down. At least leave an heir for the Jiang family!"

Song Yiren's voice could be heard faintly from inside, urging Jiang Ziya.

"Still trying to talk him into it?"

Listening from atop the wall, Lu Chuan couldn't help smiling. He was a little moved by Song Yiren's persistence.

That was what a big brother was supposed to be like.

Though he and Jiang Ziya were only sworn brothers, Song Yiren still fretted over his marriage. Probably not even a biological brother would be this invested.

But if he wanted Jiang Ziya to carry on the family line, couldn't he find him someone younger? How was a sixty-eight-year-old woman supposed to help him have an heir?

Since Song Yiren was still there, Lu Chuan couldn't go in just yet. He squatted on the wall beside the courtyard gate, gazing at the stars and moon.

After quite a while, just as Lu Chuan was beginning to doze off, Song Yiren finally stood up. He said goodbye to Jiang Ziya and left.

"Who's at the courtyard gate? Come in!" Just as Lu Chuan was wondering what to say when he went in, Jiang Ziya's voice suddenly rang out from the courtyard.