Chapter 70: Undercurrents in the Lu Family
Lü Changhua had been feeling restless lately. As the fourth-generation heir to the Lü family's magic tricks, he had a premonition that the family's legacy might be lost in his own generation. Lü Changhua had been plagued by nightmares lately, reminiscing about the gruesome, bizarre death of his youngest son, Lü Jiye. Every memory of that moment filled him with agony.
Who had murdered his only son in such a brutal way? Could it really be the feared Flying Thief Feng Shijiu? Three years had passed, and there was no evidence to prove he was responsible. Furthermore, Feng Shijiu was so elusive, even if he were to be apprehended and questioned, how easy would it be?
Perhaps only by becoming a monk could he find peace of mind from the increasingly unbearable torment he was experiencing? As for the inheritance of the Lu family's magic skills, perhaps he could only proceed step by step according to plan.
Thinking of this, Lu Changhua sat up from the bed.
"What's wrong, Master?" Mrs. Gao, who was lying beside him, couldn't help but ask when she saw her husband like this.
"Nothing... nothing." Lu Changhua wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Are you thinking of Jiye again?"
"Yes. It's been three years. Whenever I think of Jiye's miserable condition, I just..."
"Master, Jiye is not like Shuixian and Shuiqing. He and Shuiling are my flesh and blood. To be honest, I felt the most heartache than anyone else. At that time, I even wanted to die. But after all, we still have three daughters. How could I abandon you and the three sisters? So, Master, you should not take it too seriously. We will definitely find out the truth and give Jiye justice."
"Madam, I have thought so too. But I have already made up my mind to become a monk and a Taoist. I am afraid that I will no longer be able to pass on the incense and skills to the Lu family."
"Don't you trust your cousin Enting that much?"
"Enting... I've considered him, but he's a bit paranoid and too close to my brother-in-law. I find it hard to trust him."
"Then what are you going to do? Are you going to take your unique skills with you when you become a monk?"
Lu Changhua sighed, "Let me think about it, let me think about it... What time is it now?"
Gao looked at the night scene outside the window and said, "It seems to be the fifth watch... It's almost dawn. Ah..." Suddenly, Mrs. Gao covered her mouth and screamed.
"What's wrong?" Lu Changhua didn't know why his wife exclaimed.
"There's someone on the roof! It's Feng Shijiu!" Mrs. Gao shouted, pointing at the roof outside the window.
Lü Changhua was shocked and quickly put on his coat. He walked out of the house and looked towards the west roof, but he didn't see any trace of the thief Feng Shijiu. At the same time, people from other houses in the Lü residence came out to check.
"Dad—what's going on?"
"I heard my mother yell just now, what happened?"
The ones who spoke were the eldest son-in-law and eldest daughter who came out of the east room.
"It's okay, it's okay, go back to sleep." Lu Changhua waved to them.
The couple was a little confused. They looked at each other and then went back to the house.
"Ah...ah..." A man came out of the west room, shouting and gesturing at Lu Changhua. Lu Changhua knew that he had disturbed his mute uncle Lu Tai.
"Uncle, I'm sorry for waking you up. It's okay, you can go back and rest." Lu Changhua said respectfully.
"Cousin, I heard from my sister-in-law that there was someone on the roof? Could it be that Feng Shijiu came to our house again?" Behind Lu Tai, his son Lu Enting asked casually.
Lu Changhua frowned immediately, then hurriedly explained, "No, no, your sister-in-law was drowsy and didn't see clearly. I guess it was just a wild cat scurrying across the roof."
"I'm glad you're okay. If it were Feng Nineteen, he would have turned our Lu family upside down!"
The sarcastic tone in his words made Lu Changhua very uncomfortable. "Come on, go back and rest," Lu Changhua said.
After the house returned to peace, Lu Changhua lay down on the bed again, but this time he tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep at all.
Madam Gao beside him whispered, "Master, I'm not seeing things. That is indeed a figure. It must be the flying thief Feng Nineteen."
"I believe what you said," Lu Changhua replied sullenly. "You heard it just now, too. What did Enting say? Was he worried that I wouldn't remember Jiye's affairs? Although Feng Shijiu has come to our Lu family in the middle of the night more than once or twice recently, it was only a fleeting moment after all, and he didn't commit any crime."
"But you also know that it's hard to say that Jiye's death has nothing to do with him. Now he comes to our house to harass us every now and then. I really can't stand it, but you still don't let me report to the police. How can I live in the future if I am always so frightened?" Mrs. Gao said worriedly.
"It's not like I haven't told you before, Feng Shijiu has been elusive in Linqing for so many years. If the government could have apprehended him, they would have done so long ago. Why wait until today? Reporting him to the authorities will not only be of no avail, but will also seriously affect the popularity of the Lu family's magic performances. This kind of foolish and costly practice is something only you women can come up with."
Mrs. Gao turned away and said nothing more, but she still felt very uncomfortable.
The next day, the Lu family gathered in the front hall for breakfast as usual. While not as elaborate as the more affluent families, they at least adhered to the traditional family hierarchy of seniority. Uncle Lu Tai sat in the main seat, followed by Lu Changhua and his wife, Uncle Lu's son Lu Enting, the daughters and sons-in-law of the three families, Uncle Lu's eldest disciple Zhang Dafang, and his second disciple Jingui. Only after Lu Tai began to eat could everyone else begin to eat.
"Dad, I heard that Feng Shijiu came to our house again yesterday?" asked the second daughter, Lu Shuiqing.
"It's your mother who made a mistake." Lu Changhua responded casually.
"I'm not seeing things, am I? I think I saw it too." The third daughter, Lu Shuiling, said while chewing the food in her mouth.
"Third brother, why aren't you sleeping yet so late?" Lu Changhua asked with some dissatisfaction.
"Father-in-law, Shui Ling has been worried about the inheritance of our Lu family's unique skills recently and can't sleep at night." The third son-in-law Yu Jintang explained with a smile.
"Really? Are you afraid that dad's unique skills won't be passed on to you, the third brother? After all, you and Jiye are siblings, and Jiye is gone, so you always think it should be your turn?" Lu Shuiqing said with a wry smile.
"Second sister, what you said is wrong." Lu Shuiling slammed her chopsticks and glared at her. "My mother didn't teach me these special skills. Dad is the father of the three of us sisters. Why are you so petty? Why are you saying such nonsense?"
"Then why did Dad only teach Jiye, and none of us three sisters got any?" The eldest daughter, Lu Shuixian, interjected. It was obvious that the eldest and second sisters had already been on the same side.
"Ah...ah..." At this moment, the mute uncle Lu Tai suddenly screamed a few times, raised his hand and slammed the table a few times, looking very angry. Lu Enting, who had not said a word the whole time, stood up and helped Lu Tai leave the table. Zhang Dafang and Jin Gui followed closely behind.
"Alright, alright! Shut up!" Lu Changhua shouted. "I'll think carefully about the teachings. There's no need for you to be so veiled in front of our family. Who are you talking to? Go do whatever you need to do after dinner and don't make things difficult for me!"
"Dad, you have to speed up the arrangements for this matter. After all, time..." said the second son-in-law Gu Yan with a charming smile.
"What? Are you so impatient? I'm becoming a monk, not dying." Lu Changhua interrupted him unhappily.
"Don't worry, Dad will have fair arrangements, so we don't need to worry about it." said the eldest son-in-law Hai Yifan.
"I hope Dad can be fairer this time and not be so partial to Jiye like before." The second son, Lu Shuiqing, drooped his eyelids and stirred the rice porridge in the bowl.
"Second brother! Shut up!" Lu Changhua was furious and slammed the table. "Don't mention Jiye in front of me! Otherwise, I'll kick you out of the house!"
Mrs. Gao quickly advised: "Master, why are you so angry with your own daughter? She didn't mean it. Shuiqing, apologize to your father quickly." As she spoke, she winked at the second son.
Lu Shuiqing put her chopsticks down on the table in a bad mood. "Dad, I won't do it again next time," she said, and then she stood up and walked away. Her second son-in-law, Gu Yan, followed her like a pug.
"Dad, we're done eating too." The eldest daughter, Lu Shuixian, stood up and left with her eldest son-in-law, Hai Yifan.
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