Chapter 166 - 125: Here Comes Something More Sinister

Chapter 166: Chapter 125: Here Comes Something More Sinister

Lu Changyuan smiled up at the sky. "I didn’t expect a little bonus just for coming to pay my respects to the old man."

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Since there was no rush, he decided to take care of his original objective first.

To visit the old man’s grave.

One thing at a time.

[The Painting Demon is contemplating whether to leave this place.]

A brilliant line of golden text suddenly appeared in Lu Changyuan’s vision.

The Fairy’s voice snapped Lu Changyuan out of his thoughts. "When we find the grave, should I kneel and pay my respects too?"

"Why? I can’t even be bothered. Why would you?"

"He’s an elder, after all."

It was a common custom to bring one’s wife to pay respects to a deceased elder. However, the one who had gone through the wedding ceremony with Lu Changyuan was the Little Fairy in a White Skirt; the aloof Black Skirt Fairy had yet to officially join the family.

’What’s she up to? Trying to get acknowledged by my elder before Xia Lianxue?’

Lu Changyuan shook his head. "There’s no need for that. I’m starting to suspect the old man never actually died."

Qiu Yuehan shot him a sideways glance. "What do you mean? That he didn’t die, or that he came back to life?"

"In the Cultivation Realm, there’s always a group of old bastards who love faking their deaths to fool people. Then one day they just pop back up and tell their juniors, ’Your entire life has gone according to my plan. Now, everything you have is mine.’"

That’s exactly what Ancestor Red Simurgh did, and it’s how the Little Fairy in a White Skirt was manipulated for over a thousand years.

It’s an essential, not-to-be-missed part of the Cultivation Realm experience.

People in the Cultivation Realm live for a long time, and with the constant influence of the Desire Demon, their minds tend to get twisted.

Lu Changyuan continued, "Remember that shopkeeper who gave you the bone?"

’That shopkeeper must have been a Great Power of at least the Sixth Realm. Otherwise, there’s no way he could have fooled Qiu Yuehan, who was already at the Fifth Realm.’

The Fairy’s brow furrowed. "Are you saying... he was the old man?"

"It’s hard to say. But what if?"

Qiu Yuehan toyed with a lock of her hair. "But we weren’t led here by the Dragon Bone."

’That’s true.’

The two events were completely unrelated. It was purely because Lu Changyuan felt something was off about the Elder Physician from his memories, which was why he had come back for a look.

"Hm?"

Lu Changyuan stopped in his tracks, staring into the distance, stunned.

"What’s wrong?"

"The grave is gone."

The sun was close to setting, and its fading light cast a soft glow on the partially melted snow.

The two of them hadn’t left the village, instead making their way to a field not far from the entrance. Walking over the uneven clods of earth, Lu Changyuan pointed. "I buried the old man right here."

The day the old man died, Lu Changyuan had spent a lot of money to buy him a fine coffin. He’d then hired people to prepare the body for burial and had even arranged for several days of gongs and drums, along with a few opera troupes.

Finally, following local custom—which held that the closer an elder was buried, the more powerfully they could protect their descendants—he had buried him not far from his home.

Lu Changyuan had also erected a headstone for the old man, inscribed with the Elder Physician’s name and life story. The day of the burial had been a major affair for all the surrounding villages.

The old man had supposedly treated patients from all the surrounding villages during his life, earning a great deal of goodwill, so many people had come to pay their respects.

Everyone saw with their own eyes that the old man was well and truly dead.

But now, the spot where a large burial mound should have been was completely empty. Not only that, but the headstone from all those years ago had also vanished without a trace.

"The old man’s name was Lu Ping, so he named me Lu Changyuan."

’He’d been named Lu Changyuan in both of his lives. When he first regained his memories, he’d written it off as a coincidence. After all, it was perfectly normal for a man named Lu Ping to choose a name with a similar theme for his son.’

’But now, it seemed that might not be the case.’

"The Painting Demon was suppressed for many years. To show up in this small village now, in such a weakened state... The strangest thing in this village, in my opinion, was always the old man’s grave. Now that the grave is gone, it most likely came here for it."

"So, what do we do?"

"Nothing. Since it hasn’t left, it definitely hasn’t gotten what was inside the grave yet."