Lu Family
Becoming an Exalted One
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Original Name:陆家 (lù jiā)Gender:NeutralKind:OrganizationScope:Novel-specificStatus:ActiveSource:AIOccurrences:205Chapters:52
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Context Up ToCh. 68
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Biodata
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Lu Family (陆家) |
| Organization Type | Merchant family with armed retainers and an extensive trading network 1 31. |
| Headquarters | Lu residence, Changle County, Yongning Prefecture, in the Land Beyond the Pass 1. |
| Ancestral Home | Mute Village 20. |
| Family Head | Lu Yulin, formerly named Lu Hansheng; chairman of the Yongning Prefecture Merchant Guild 1 20. |
| Heir | Lu Sui, courtesy name Zhan'ao; the family's only son and intended successor to the Dacheng Trading Firm 2 25. |
| Principal Organizations | Ganzi Gang and Dacheng Trading Firm 1 14. |
| Trade Affiliation | Merchant trade, one of the Five Great Trades governing affairs beyond the pass 26 56. |
| Business Reach | Guanzhong, Guandong, and Yongning Prefecture 24 52. |
| First Appearance | Chapter 1 1. |
Background / History
The Lu family's ancestors were mountain adventurers who traveled through the dangerous ridges of the Land Beyond the Pass. Their commercial foundation developed over generations, eventually becoming a network of herb gatherers, ginseng gatherers, and merchants organized for mutual protection against mounted bandits 1.
Generations
| Generation | Family Member | Contribution and History |
|---|---|---|
| First | Lu Ping'an | Lu Sui's great-great-grandfather. Born into poverty in Mute Village and given to a childless hunter, he later obtained a mysterious opportunity and established the family's wealth. Despite his early treatment, he supported his brothers after becoming prosperous 20 24. |
| Second | Lu Youde | Known for loyalty and generosity toward sworn brothers. His spending nearly exhausted the family fortune; in old age, his son confined him to the rear courtyard 24 38. |
| Third | Lu Dacheng | Founded the Ganzi Gang, established the family in Changle County, and expanded its business throughout Guanzhong. His indulgence in women contributed to conflict with Lu Yulin 1 24 38. |
| Fourth | Lu Yulin | Seized control from Lu Dacheng, expanded the enterprise, and became chairman of the Yongning Prefecture Merchant Guild. His authority holds the trading firm's managers and branches together 24 52 62. |
| Fifth | Lu Sui | Sole heir. Initially uninterested in commerce or martial training, he began cultivating after a prolonged illness and eventually chose to seek entry into the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains 2 67 68. |
Lu Yulin's break with his father began before he took control of the family. After clashes over Lu Dacheng's treatment of his mother and involvement with a mistress, he was expelled from home. During his subsequent travels, he survived mounted bandits and a demon calamity, formed a bond with a godmother near the ancestral home, and later met Lu Sui's mother 67.
Organization and Influence
Commercial Network
| Branch or Asset | Function |
|---|---|
| Ganzi Gang | Protective and commercial organization founded by Lu Dacheng. Its members originally relied on shared hometown ties and mutual assistance to resist banditry 1. |
| Dacheng Trading Firm | The family's principal trading enterprise, with businesses across Guandong and Guanzhong. Much of its daily operation is delegated to head managers 52 62. |
| Transport Network | By Lu Yulin's tenure, the family owned more than five hundred iron-covered wagons and employed over a thousand workers and errand runners 1. |
| Yihe Workshop | Formerly managed by Luo Youxian. Its associated businesses included a grain depot, kiln, and carters' inn; it also supported several hundred men from the former West Mountain Firewood Gang 14 26. |
| Deng's Weapon-Forging Shop | Acquired by the Dacheng Trading Firm after Deng Yun's death 47 62. |
- Core membership: A business counts among the Ganzi Gang's core establishments only after receiving a gilded signboard personally inscribed by Lu Yulin 14.
- Naming convention: Shops and workshops commonly use characters associated with prosperity, peace, abundance, plenty, flourishing, fortune, success, and harmony 14.
- Management: Branch managers gather in Changle County for dividend distributions. Lu Yulin personally checks accounts to restrain embezzlement and waste 13 38.
- Succession requirement: A descendant entering the trading firm must spend three years transporting goods and open three shops before qualifying to become proprietor 26.
Political Position and Weaknesses
- Local authority: The Five Great Trades settle deaths, disasters, and other public affairs in a region without government offices. The Lu family represents a major merchant interest within this order, but Lu Yulin emphasizes that it must still observe the trades' rules 26 56.
- Dependence on its leader: Lu Sui recognizes that the firm's apparent unity rests largely on Lu Yulin's personal authority. Powerful managers could otherwise collude to strip the proprietor of control 26 62.
- Competing interests: Brokerage firms, transport businesses, and banks are not necessarily friendly to the trading association and could exploit any decline in the family's position 62.
- Martial limitations: Despite employing formidable attendants, the family had not produced a major martial master of its own. Lu Yulin hopes Lu Sui's talent will change this 8 24.
Principal Retainers
| Member | Role |
|---|---|
| Dou Xiaowen — “Uncle Wen” | Chief steward responsible for household affairs, a powerful martial artist, and Lu Sui's first martial teacher. He also provides guidance on sorcery and calamities 2 3 19 44. |
| Yang Kunbing — “Divine Eye,” “Uncle Bing” | Investigator and expert appraiser who can see in darkness. He travels to Shaqing Pass for intelligence and helps identify Lu Sui's aptitude for entering the mountains 2 50 67. |
| Duan Fusheng | Steward involved in investigations, locating stolen cargo, and handling the aftermath of threats within the household 13 20. |
| Chai Sanjin — “Master Chai” | Martial attendant who protects Lu Sui, carries out Lu Yulin's orders, and participates in operations against the family's enemies 20 26 31 47. |
| Xiaotang | Lu Sui's maid and an effective manager of inner-courtyard affairs, able to coordinate servants and deal with other household courtyards 14 29. |
| Xiaohuan | Lu Sui's personal maid, assisting with medicine, rehabilitation, and daily care 1 3. |
| Heiwa | Martial trainee under Dou Xiaowen who assists Lu Sui and helps manage practical tasks involving guards and transport 16 47 52. |
Ancestral Fate and Inheritance
Owl God Fate
- Inherited danger: Lu Yulin confirms that an Owl God is woven into the family's fate. While dormant it is manageable; once awake, it seeks food and brings calamities and hardship 68.
- Fate incense: The family possesses a legacy of five fate-incense sticks associated with earlier generations. Only Longevity Incense remains when Lu Yulin reveals the secret to Lu Sui 68.
- Vault restriction: Only someone who has lit incense can enter the ancestral secret vault 68.
- Family discord: Lu Yulin describes thin bonds between relatives and conflict within the bloodline as part of the family's fate, citing the repeated confinement or displacement of fathers by sons 38.
- Secrecy: Lu Yulin initially conceals the inheritance from Lu Sui both to preserve his peace and to avoid exposing him to a fate he may be unable to bear 67.
According to Yu Tianci, Master Pei of the Illuminating Yin Pavilion predicted that both the Lu and Yu families faced a decisive fifth generation. Yu Tianci also claims that Lu Ping'an ruined his ancestor. The precise origins of their intertwined fortunes remain unresolved in the supplied account 31 52.
Treasures and Warding Objects
Dou Xiaowen first presents the ancestral inheritance through a story in which a mountain god grants Lu Ping'an a Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart, a ginseng king, and a Treasure-Gathering Basin. Lu Sui doubts the tale; Lu Yulin later distinguishes the family's actual holdings from exaggerated rumors 20 68.
| Item | Confirmed Nature and Restrictions |
|---|---|
| Six vats of horseshoe gold | Wealth accumulated over generations to anchor a feng shui formation. It cannot be used casually; even Lu Youde left it untouched when creditors threatened the ancestral home 68. |
| Ginseng King | Mature wild ginseng brought back by Lu Ping'an and bound with red thread. A rootlet held in the mouth can sustain a gravely ill family member. Much of it was used for Lu Sui's mother 68. |
| Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart | Actually a Seven-Apertured Golden Core. Only Lu Ping'an had previously been able to take hold of it. Lu Yulin believes Lu Sui's Root and Nature qualify him to take it, gaining the ability to commune with yin and yang and distinguish ghosts and gods; his successful acquisition is not established here 68. |
| Shi Gandang | Warding object shared by Changle County's Five Great Trades. Originally enshrined by the Zhou family, it passes to the Lu family following the calamity investigation 44 50 63. |
Major Events
| Event | Developments |
|---|---|
| War with the Wind and Sand Saber | The bandits robbed an escorted shipment and slaughtered its escorts, including the patriarch's brother. Repeated clashes became a blood feud. In the second year after Lu Sui's birth, Lu Yulin assembled outside support, destroyed the bandit force, and offered its chief's head in the ancestral hall 1 14. |
| Attack on the heir | Yu Tianci used a Suppression Art on Lu Sui to pressure Lu Yulin into opening the secret hoard and using the Ginseng King. Lu Sui remained bedridden for six months, sustained by expensive medicines and constant care 3 22 54. |
| Granny Ma's curse | Granny Ma used a straw effigy against Lu Sui to obtain money for her gambling son. With Dou Xiaowen's help, Lu Sui destroyed it; Granny Ma suffered the reflected wounds and died. Duan Fusheng was assigned to handle the aftermath 19 20. |
| Stolen cargo and household betrayal | Five cartloads of stolen goods became the center of a plot involving Luo Dongsheng and Yu Tianci's senior sister. The conspirators planned to kill Lu Yulin with gunpowder and seize the Dacheng Trading Firm. Lu Yulin turned their scheme against them, purged the conspirators, and captured the woman 13 24 26 28. |
| Investment in Lu Sui's training | Lu Yulin arranged admission to the Hundred Victories Martial Arts School, authorized a monthly thousand-tael allowance, and later granted unrestricted access to funds for training medicines and weapons 23 38 47. |
| Zhou family calamity | After killing the transformed Deng Yun, Lu Sui identified his connection with Zhou Qing. The subsequent investigation ended with Zhou Qing's escape, the Calamity Artifact's removal to the City God Temple, and the transfer of the Shi Gandang to the Lu family 47 54 63. |
| Choice of the mountains | Faced with Yu Tianci's powerful backing, Lu Yulin offered Lu Sui either entry into the Nine Ridges and Ten Mountains or protected settlement in Mute Village. Lu Sui chose the mountains, prompting the revelation of the fate incense and ancestral vault 67 68. |
External Relationships
- Yu Family / Yu Tianci — Enemies bound to a five-generation feud. Yu Tianci seeks the Lu family's destruction, while Lu Yulin insists that eliminating him is necessary to prevent the Yu family's resurgence 31 50 67.
- Hundred Victories Martial Arts School / Tan Jingzong — Lu Sui's martial school. Lu Yulin supports the connection through gifts and work for its disciples 23 33.
- Zhou Family — Brokerage family implicated in spreading an evil calamity. Its loss of the shared Shi Gandang strengthens the Lu family's defensive position 50 63.
- Han Wenlong, the Red-Bearded Heavenly King — Mountain keeper of General Mountain and Yu Tianci's teacher. His backing complicates the feud, but Lu Yulin refuses to let him obstruct Lu Sui's future 50 67.
- Lu Yulin's godmother — Receives the family's offerings and is bound to it by a protective relationship and an unfulfilled marriage arrangement. Settlement under her protection would offer Lu Sui peace, but he would no longer be able to leave Mute Village 67 68.
- Crimson Cloud Mountain, Dragon Spine Mountain, and Moon-Embracing Mountain — Alternatives to General Mountain where Lu Yulin says he can exert influence on Lu Sui's behalf 67.
Appearances
205
Total Mentions
52
Chapters Appeared
3.94
Avg. per Chapter