A clear head and refreshed spirits always came after a night spent cultivating.
The next day, after bidding farewell to the enthusiastic Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo and Head Deacon Li Feng, Lu Yun took Lu Chen and Xiao Wu on a leisurely journey back to Dragon Soul Village.
On the way, Lu Chen also told Lu Yun about Xiao Chenyu. The old man said little about it, merely nodding to show he understood and would keep a close eye on City Lord Xiao from then on.
As for the storage soul tool ring and recommendation letter, he naturally accepted both without reservation.
Anyone who touched his precious grandson in Nuoding City would have to bleed heavily for it.
That was the confidence of a Soul Ancestor!
"You must be joking! You're actually a Soul Ancestor?!"
When they returned to the Village Chief's Residence, before the three could enter, an androgynous voice rang out, soft and feminine with a hint of allure, its tone thick with shock.
"Who's there?!"
Lu Yun was, after all, a veteran who had weathered decades in the Soul Master World, and he reacted fastest.
Anyone who could evade his senses and hide inside his home had to be immensely powerful. With no time to conceal his cultivation, he instantly possessed himself with his Steel-Winged Dragon Hawk Martial Soul. Four Soul Rings-yellow, yellow, purple, purple-floated out, and a pair of steel hawk wings spread wide, shielding Lu Chen and Xiao Wu firmly behind him.
Soul Ancestor-level fluctuations of Soul Power swept out, seeking to flush out the person who had spoken from hiding.
Meanwhile, concealed beneath Lu Yun's wings, Lu Chen quietly mobilized his own power as well. His two great domains stood ready, poised to give the enemy a surprise once they appeared.
"My apologies. Please don't be nervous. We're on the same side."
At that critical moment, another voice sounded, hoarse and deep, with a texture like metal scraping against metal.
Two figures shrouded in robes, one yellow and one black, finally stopped hiding and revealed themselves before Lu Chen and his companions.
Looking closely, they saw that the yellow-robed figure had skin as fair as fine snow and strikingly beautiful features. His peach-blossom eyes seemed to possess the power to steal souls, and every smile and frown radiated an intense allure.
Had it not been for the Adam's apple visible behind his collar, everyone would probably have taken him for a beautiful woman.
Coupled with his earlier soft voice, impossible to distinguish as male or female, this gave Lu Chen a guess as to his identity, while also prompting an inward remark-
What a sissy!
Compared with this exceptionally good-looking sissy, the black-robed man appeared far more mysterious and plain.
A loose black robe covered his entire body, and a half-mask of black left only the deathly pale lower half of his face exposed. His features were cold and hard, as though carved by blades and axes, his thin lips tightly pressed and utterly bloodless. He looked like an evil ghost that had crawled out of the netherworld to drag every living person into the hell of the King of the Underworld!
Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo?
What were these two lackeys doing in Dragon Soul Village instead of waiting at Bibi Dong's side for orders?
Or had Bibi Dong ordered them here in the first place?
Before two Titled Douluo whose Soul Power cultivation had reached level 95, it was no wonder Grandpa's cultivation had been seen through at a glance.
Lu Yun lived up to his years of experience. From the few traits the two had displayed, he too had guessed their identities. After hearing Gui Mei's apparent attempt to smooth things over, his tone eased slightly, but he did not withdraw his Martial Soul. Frowning, he asked with a mixture of respect and wariness:
"A wondrous chrysanthemum reaching the heavens, souls falling into the netherworld; Yue Guan and Gui Mei, the twin jewels of Martial Souls. Might you be Their Excellencies Chrysanthemum and Ghost?"
"Oh my~ Little Mei-Mei, just listen to how sweetly he speaks. As expected of Elder Lu Tian's older brother. So handsome, too-far better than an old ghost like you~"
Chrysanthemum Douluo blinked his lovely eyes, his brushlike lashes trembling lightly. With his thumb and middle finger pinched together in an orchid gesture, he offered his smiling praise.
His uncannily distinctive voice made everyone else present shudder in unison.
Lu Chen even saw clearly that his proud, unyielding grandfather had involuntarily stepped half a pace back, evidently sickened beyond endurance.
The other four silently cursed, You damned sissy, can't you act normal?!
Unbeknownst to them, Chrysanthemum Douluo was actually using his own unique method to ease the awkwardness.
After all, Lu Yun was not a Soul Grandmaster but a Soul Ancestor. No matter how one looked at it, that was undoubtedly a secret. Before coming, he and Old Ghost had clearly agreed to build a good relationship with the man. What were they supposed to make of this now...
Sigh, beautiful women are always short-lived. I'm so exhausted from being so kind to everyone... (´ο｀*)~
Faced with Yue Guan's teasing, Gui Mei simply pretended he had heard nothing and turned to converse with someone normal.
His deep voice rang out:
"Hehe, we were presumptuous this time."
"You're too kind, Your Excellency Ghost Douluo. May I ask what brings you both here so suddenly...?"
"We have come to bring you good news, Village Chief Lu Yun. Your younger brother will be appointed a Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall in four days. At such an important and glorious moment, he ought to have family by his side. His Holiness the Pope personally dispatched the two of us to invite you and your family to attend the ceremony."
By this point, Lu Yun's expression had relaxed completely.
The rest was easy enough to guess. Lu Yun had left the village to visit friends without informing anyone, so Yue Guan and Gui Mei had arrived after their journey to find him absent. With no other choice, they had waited at the Village Chief's Residence, leading to Yue Guan's startled exclamation.
After ushering Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo into the guest room and serving tea, everyone took their seats.
Clearing his throat, Lu Yun spoke first as the host:
"I understand why you've come. When will we be setting out?"
"Hehe, there's no hurry~ There are still four days until the investiture ceremony. You can finish whatever business you have on hand first, Village Chief, as long as we leave no later than two days from now."
Chrysanthemum Douluo elegantly lifted his cup, took a sip of tea, and smiled cheerfully.
Beside him, Ghost Douluo nodded, indicating no objection.
In that brief exchange, the three old foxes had already reached an understanding.
Bibi Dong had once investigated and even questioned Lu Yun about Martial Soul Evolution, and at the time, Lu Yun had indeed been a genuine Soul Grandmaster.
Now, many years later, how had an old man who should long since have exhausted the last scrap of his potential suddenly transformed into a Soul Ancestor?
There was definitely something fishy here!
By taking the initiative to ask when they would depart, Lu Yun had indicated his willingness to go to Spirit City.
Chrysanthemum Douluo, in turn, had shown goodwill by leaving him some time. His meaning was obvious-think carefully about how you plan to lie... how you plan to explain yourself before meeting His Holiness the Pope!
To reconnect with the Elder Hall through Lu Tian, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo were really pulling out all the stops.
[Xiao Wu: Ghost Douluo + Chrysanthemum Douluo.jpg]
[Xiao Wu: Sisters, two Titled Douluo are treating me like I'm not even here. The Presence Concealment Device is godlike, if you ask me!]
[Yanzi: Remember how you turned your nose up at it before?]
[Little Princess: Apologize to the Presence Concealment Device right now!]
[Xiao Wu: _(:зゝ∠)_]
[Qian Renxue: Aren't those two that woman's subordinates? Why are they in Dragon Soul Village?]
[Xiao Wu: Apparently Lu Chen's second grandpa is being appointed some Platinum Bishop, and Bibi Dong personally ordered them to take Grandpa Lu Yun to Spirit City to watch the ceremony.]
[Little Fox: Is Lu Chen coming (˙ω˙)?]
[Little Fox: Don't misunderstand. I simply want to get to know little brother Lu Chen.]
[Xiao Wu: Get lost.]
At Qian Renxue's request, Xiao Wu posted everything that had happened since she encountered the two Titled Douluo in the Chat Group, including the cryptic exchange between Lu Yun and Chrysanthemum Douluo.
After reading the general account, Qian Renxue and a select few others slowly typed a question mark.
[Back to That Day: ?]
[Spirit Cat: Why do I get the feeling...]
[Qian Renxue: Those two aren't all that loyal to her either.]
[Xiao Wu: What do you mean?]
[Qian Renxue: Because of a certain scumbag, she once paid particular attention to Lu Yun's theory of Martial Soul Evolution.]
[Qian Renxue: And Lu Yun's circumstances back then definitely don't match what they are now. Deceiving the Pope is a serious crime. Those two old ghosts want to do Lu Chen's grandfather a favor, so they're planning to get their stories straight.]
"She" naturally referred to Bibi Dong. And as the very person being discussed, Bibi Dong, who was currently handling routine affairs on the Pope's Throne, already wore an extremely ugly expression.
"Yue Guan..."
"Gui Mei!"
"You two are very good. Very good indeed!"
Unaware that Bibi Dong herself was lurking in the Chat Group, Xiao Wu had inadvertently spilled every last detail of Chrysanthemum and Ghost's secret collusion with Lu Yun.
Meanwhile, sitting beside her, Lu Chen, who had already learned about this by lurking in the chat, was doing everything he could to recall every sad experience from both his lives.
Sometimes, holding back laughter really was hard!
Before you continue