Chapter 96 - 74: You Shameless Beast, This Daoist Is Getting a Grandmaster of Huajin to Talk to You

Chapter 96: Chapter 74: You Shameless Beast, This Daoist Is Getting a Grandmaster of Huajin to Talk to You

"They’d go deep into the mountains and old-growth forests outside the city, saying they were looking for aged, potent medicinal herbs. If they found any, they’d sell them to the big apothecaries in the city for a high price!"

"Those boys had all learned a few moves. They were strong and sturdy, so crossing mountains and ridges was no issue."

"For the first six months, they actually managed to find some decent wild ginseng and Lingzhi, which they traded for a good bit of money. Once they had cash, they got impossibly arrogant! We couldn’t talk any sense into them, so we had to let them do as they pleased."

"But a couple of days ago... something happened!"

"A group of them went into the mountains, but only my son, Lu Hai City, came running back alone and distraught!"

"He hadn’t been home long when night fell, and he started acting like a madman—bashing his head against the wall, clawing at himself... His strength was terrifying. His mother and I couldn’t hold him down at all!"

"Luckily, Uncle Feng was visiting at the time. It took a Herculean effort for us to finally restrain him and tie him up. Otherwise, I’m afraid he would have maimed himself to death on the spot!"

"Yesterday, we invited a certain Mr. Chen from down the street, a man said to have some spiritual abilities, to take a look. Mr. Chen just took one glance and recoiled in fear."

"He said our son had provoked a spirit creature that was cultivating in the mountains. It had bewitched his mind and possessed him!"

"That Mr. Chen also said that his own skills were insufficient to handle it. And even if they were, he would have to follow the ’rules of the mountains’—first, he’d have to find this Yellow Immortal to negotiate, then present offerings and beg it to release its hold..."

"But all that waiting and negotiating would take at least ten days, maybe even half a month!"

As he spoke, Lu Yu Yuan’s voice broke with a sob. "My son hasn’t touched food or water for two days! He’s fading right before my eyes! Even if they finally reach an agreement, he’ll have starved to death by then!"

"So, that Mr. Chen mentioned there was another, more direct and efficient way."

"He said that at their core, these mountain spirits are beings of yin and filth, and what they fear most is an aura of pure, unadulterated yang."

"And the Qi of a Grandmaster of Huajin is the natural nemesis of these fiends! The slightest touch ignites them like oil on a flame, instantly forcing them out of a possessed body, or even burning them until their souls scatter to the winds!"

"A Grandmaster of Huajin... they’re god-like figures, practically Immortals! Where is a dockworker like me supposed to meet someone like that? And even if I did, why would they care whether a nobody like me lives or dies?"

"So, we swallowed our pride and went to beg Uncle Sheng, because he’s the only one who could possibly ask for your help, Lord Lu."

At this point, Lu Sheng cut in. "Xiaoyun, that’s the long and short of it. Otherwise, what kind of trouble could an old man just waiting for death possibly have that would require me to seek you out!"

After hearing the story, Lu Yun stood up without a word. He called out the door in a deep voice, "Ah Fu! Get the car ready! We’re going to the Lu Family Mansion immediately!"

The Lu Family Mansion. A dozen years ago, this place had been nothing more than a stretch of low, dilapidated shacks on the outskirts of the city. Sewage flowed openly through the slum, which was home to over a hundred impoverished families of the Lu clan.

After Lu Yun made his fortune, he invested a huge sum of money with a wave of his hand. He had the entire slum razed to the ground and hired artisans to design and build a new, orderly compound of clean, gray-tiled, blue-brick courtyard homes.

Each family was given their own detached house with a small courtyard. He also had flagstone paths laid and a communal ancestral hall and well constructed.

While not luxurious, it was a world apart from what they had before.

It had been Lu Sheng who had stepped forward back then, dissuading Lu Yun from his plan to build something even more "magnificent." "Xiaoyun," he had said, "we all appreciate the gesture. It’s enough that the houses are clean, bright, and keep out the elements. If you make them too grand, people won’t feel comfortable living in them. It’ll just attract jealousy."

"We of the Lu Family make our living with our own two hands. Being down-to-earth is more important than anything."

「Two hours later」

Three stately black sedans rolled slowly into the quiet residential compound, finally stopping before the gate of one particularly crowded courtyard.

The courtyard was packed with men, women, and children from the Lu Family Mansion who had heard the news and come running.

"Look! Uncle Sheng and the others are back! And they’re in cars!"

"Yu Yuan’s family is back too!"

"When Uncle Sheng left this morning, he said they were going to ask for Lord Lu’s help. Did they actually manage to get him?"

"Sigh, think about Lord Lu’s status these days. He’s an important man with a million things to do. Would he really come all this way for a problem involving young Ah Cheng?"

"It’s all that disobedient brat Ah Cheng’s fault! How many people here in the Lu Family Mansion does Lord Lu provide a living for?"

"So much of the work at the trading company is given to our own people first! But no, he had to go off and ’seek his fortune’!"

"Exactly. And now look, he’s gone and brought disaster upon himself..."

As the crowd chattered and murmured amongst themselves, the driver of the first sedan quickly exited the vehicle and respectfully pulled open the rear passenger door.

A foot shod in a black cloth shoe stepped lightly onto the clean flagstone path.

It was followed by the tip of a wooden staff, dark purple in color with a strange grain, which tapped gently on the ground.

Then, Lu Yun, dressed in a black tunic suit, emerged slowly from the car.

In an instant, the noisy courtyard fell deathly silent.

Every eye was fixed on his figure. Surprise, reverence, excitement, and disbelief warred on each person’s face.

After a moment of silence, a wave of suppressed gasps broke out. "It’s... it’s really Lord Lu!"

"My heavens! Lord Lu actually came!"

"I... I can’t believe I’m seeing Lord Lu in person again!"

"Quick! Make way! Clear a path for Lord Lu!"

The crowd parted like a tide, spontaneously clearing a path to the door of the house.

The small courtyard beyond the gate was just as crowded. Besides the worried Lu Clan Members, there was an old man with graying hair tied in a topknot, wearing a faded blue Daoist robe. This was the "Mr. Chen" who had been summoned.

Three rooms stood side-by-side along one edge of the courtyard. The door to the far-left room was shut tight, a bright yellow Talisman drawn in cinnabar ink pasted on the lintel above it. The windows were sealed just as securely from the inside with thick black cloth.

The robed old man had been squatting in a corner of the yard, puffing on a long-stemmed pipe.

But his head snapped up as he saw the crowd part, fawning over a black-clad elder with a Purple Vine Staff as he entered.

The robed man froze. When he heard the excited, hushed whispers of "Lord Lu" from the surrounding Lu Clan Members, his eyes widened and he cried out internally.

’Holy smokes! Are these Lu Family people that well-connected? They actually managed to summon a big shot on the level of a Grandmaster of Huajin?’

’Having connections really means you can do whatever the hell you want!’

The robed man felt a sharp pang of envy, but he was quick to react. He instantly composed himself, smoothed out the wrinkles in his robe, and hurried forward to greet the newcomer.

"Boundless Celestial Venerable! You must be the renowned Lord Lu of Yun Port, the venerable Elder Lu? This humble Daoist, Chen Shouzhuo, pays his respects!"

Lu Yun gave a slight nod. "You’re too kind, Master Chen," he said calmly.

Seeing that Lu Yun put on no airs, Chen Shouzhuo relaxed slightly. He dispensed with the pleasantries and got straight to the point. "Hahaha, in that case, this humble Daoist will be blunt."

"The young man in that room has indeed been ensnared by a creature of yin and filth from the mountains. And it’s quite powerful."

"The creature fears light and yang energy. Any exposure to light will provoke it, causing it to drive Lu City into a self-destructive frenzy. That is why this humble Daoist sealed the doors and windows and applied a Spirit Suppressing Talisman to temporarily curb its malevolence."

With that, he stepped aside to clear the path to the room with the talisman. He waved away the clansmen who were trying to follow them in. "Alright, alright! Everyone, please step back. Don’t crowd around! With so many people, the mixture of yang energy might agitate the creature."

"With myself and Lord Lu here, you can all rest easy! Please wait outside for a moment. Lord Lu and I will go in to assess the situation!"

Chen Shouzhuo made a "please" gesture to Lu Yun, then led the way to the door and gently pushed it open.

Leaning on his Wisteria Spirit Staff, Lu Yun strode inside. Chen Shouzhuo followed close behind, immediately shutting the door behind them.

The room was pitch-black. Chen Shouzhuo moved quickly, pulling a Small Brass Candlestick from his robes. With a FSSSH from his fire-starter, he lit a thin white candle.

In the faint light, they could see a young man lying on a hard plank bed in the center of the room.

Deep ligature marks were visible on his neck and wrists, along with scratches that had already scabbed over.

Chen Shouzhuo placed the candlestick on a low stool by the bed and whispered triumphantly.

"Damn beast. I tried to be nice, but you insisted on doing this the hard way, didn’t you?"

"Open your filthy eyes and take a good long look! See who this humble Daoist brought for you this time?"

"Ever heard of a Grandmaster of Huajin? The slightest wisp of his Qi would be more than enough to put a monster like you in a world of hurt!"