Chapter 66 Returning to the Manor:
Actually, when Rong Xie first heard the name Lu Yinglin, it sounded somewhat familiar.
However, Lu Yinglin was the manager of Yuanbao Auction House, which was very different from the image of Lu Yingqi in his mind, so he did not think too deeply about it.
Now, Wang Mu tells him that Lu Yinglin has a twin brother named Lu Yingqi, the Xuan Tian Yi Jian, which immediately awakens Rong Xie's memories.
Rong Xie had heard this name in his precognitive dream. The people in the Mirror Palace Hall were talking about him, saying that if he were still alive, he and Shen Bingsi might not be able to defeat the Heavenly Demon.
But he's gone... Shen Bingsi can only fight alone. If she wants to defeat the Heavenly Demon, there is only one way: to prove her Dao.
The mere thought of the word "proving the Dao" sent a churning through Rong Xie's stomach.
Fortunately, there is still time.
Rong Xie took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
If Lu Yingqi could live to the end, then Shen Bingsi might not need to use drastic methods to prove her Dao. The Heavenly Demon would have been wiped out by their combined efforts as soon as it appeared, and there wouldn't have been so much suffering in the human world and the cultivation world.
Sect Master Xue... would not sacrifice himself for the cause.
So, the key question now is, how exactly did Lu Yingqi die? Given his strength and the extent to which he was revered in the precognitive dream, he shouldn't have died so easily; there must be some reason.
Rong Xie couldn't help but think of the Lu family's perverse methods of controlling people.
Could it be...?
Is it related to this matter?
However, all of this is speculation. To conclude that Lu Yingqi was harmed by the Lu family based solely on a few words spoken in a dream is rather arbitrary.
But for Rong Xie, this was like a beacon suddenly appearing in complete darkness. No matter what lay beneath that beacon, he was determined to go and see.
So, we should continue to get to know Lu Yinglin... But why is it that Lu Yinglin, a sociable person, can talk about his own sad past but never mentions his outstanding older brother?
"Lu Yingqi?"
The next day, on the carriage back to the Lingjing Sect, Rong Xie asked Lu Yinglin about this matter.
Lu Yinglin was initially quite pleased that Rong Xie was riding in the same carriage with him, but he didn't expect Rong Xie to mention Lu Yingqi to him. His eyes flickered slightly, and then he smiled and said, "He rarely shows his face in public. He is a sword fanatic and devotes himself to studying swordsmanship. I thought Junior Brother Rong had no interest in him."
Rong Xie paused for a moment. Indeed, at this time, Lu Yingqi was not yet famous, unlike Shen Bingsi, who was sharp and outstanding. At a young age, she became a ruthless judge and exorcised demons and monsters, accumulating a lot of reputation.
If Rong Xie hadn't heard someone mention Lu Yingqi in his dream, he probably wouldn't have known who Lu Yingqi was. There were countless disciples in the three major sects who cultivated in seclusion, and it was impossible for Rong Xie to remember them all.
"Yes, I heard it from Shen Bingsi. He said that his swordsmanship is amazing and that he is a disciple of Elder Bai of the Xuantian Sect. I didn't expect that he and you are so closely related." Rong Xie shifted the blame to Shen Bingsi, since Shen Bingsi would never have any interaction with Lu Yinglin anyway.
“I see.” Lu Yinglin said calmly, “His swordsmanship is indeed impressive, but he has been in seclusion for twenty years. I can’t say what level he has reached now.”
"Does he also have servants with him?" Rong Xie asked.
“Of course.” Lu Yinglin sneered. “His servants are quite good.”
To Rong Xie's surprise, Lu Yinglin's laughter seemed to carry a great deal of resentment.
“If you hadn’t brought him up, I wouldn’t have wanted to say this. When Xiao Ya was suffering, I asked him for help, but he hid in his secluded meditation room and wouldn’t see me. In the end, he only said one sentence: ‘Take it easy.’” Lu Yinglin said resentfully.
“How could he do this…” Rong Xie frowned.
“Never mind, I shouldn’t have said these things. After Xiao Ya passed away, I swore to myself that I would never mention Lu Yingqi again when I left home, and that I would pretend that I never had a brother like him,” Lu Yinglin said.
Rong Xie understood why Lu Yinglin never mentioned Lu Yingqi again. It was surprising that there was such an old grudge between the brothers. It sounded like the older brother was entirely at fault. No matter how eager he was to cultivate, he shouldn't have been so cold-blooded towards his own brother.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know... you two had such a grudge."
Lu Yinglin shook his head: "You can't blame yourself for this. Who would have thought he was this kind of person?"
Sword fanatic, cold-hearted, and estranged from his family, but he treats his servants quite well.
After talking with Lu Yinglin, Rong Xie was left with this impression of Xuan Tian Yi Jian, who might save the world with Shen Bing Si in the future.
However, no matter what kind of person he is, as long as he is not a world-destroying demon, Rong Xie has to protect him.
...
Rong Xie himself found it amusing that he, a disgraced disciple of the Spirit Mirror Sect who had not yet established his foundation, was actually going to protect a great cultivator whose swordsmanship was comparable to Shen Bing Si's.
“Young Master Lu, I have a presumptuous request. I wonder if you could introduce me to Lu Yingqi?” Rong Xie said. “I have something very important to tell him.”
Rong Xie thought for a moment. Although Lu Yinglin and Lu Yingqi were not on good terms, the only way he could find to contact Lu Yingqi so far was through Lu Yinglin's introduction.
Faced with the cataclysmic destruction of the world by the Heavenly Demon, nothing else mattered; he had to see Lu Yingqi.
"What's so important?" Lu Yinglin's expression indeed turned very ugly.
"Hmm... he might suffer a bloody disaster," Rong Xie said frankly.
"What?" Lu Yinglin was stunned.
"Although I don't know why, Shen Bingsi seems to regard him as a formidable rival and is determined to compete with him," Rong Xie's mind raced. Since the blame had already been shifted to Shen Bingsi once, there was no harm in doing it a second time. "Shen Bingsi often talks to himself when he creates his own sword moves, saying that this can break the Xuan Tian Yi Jian sword moves and make him unable to hold his head up in front of all the heroes in the world. He also often says things like, 'Why was Lu Yingqi born when Shen Bingsi was born?'"
"This..." Lu Yinglin was bewildered by Rong Xie's serious statement. "This is a matter between them. Is it necessary to remind them?"
"Yes, of course!" Rong Xie nodded and said seriously, "Although Lu Yingqi is not a good person either, wouldn't it be very unfair to let him lose to Shen Bingsi without knowing anything? Shen Bingsi is arrogant and thinks he is the best swordsman in the world. If he wins easily, wouldn't that make him even more arrogant?"
Lu Yinglin raised his eyebrows, as if he had realized something, and his gaze toward Rong Xie became more interested: "That's what you think... That's interesting. I thought you admired Shen Jiansheng very much and couldn't bear to see him suffer any injustice."
"How could that be? Although Shen Bingsi has treated me well, he can be really infuriating when he gets angry," Rong Xie said. He had made up a lot of things before, but when he said this, he seemed to be expressing some genuine feelings.
“Junior Brother Rong is much cuter today than he was yesterday,” Lu Yinglin said with a smile. “However, Lu Yingqi is usually in seclusion. If I want to find him, I can only greet him outside the meditation room. Whether he can come out and see you depends on fate.”
“I know it’s not easy to meet him.” Rong Xie nodded slightly. “Then thank you very much for the introduction, Young Master Lu.”
"You're welcome. I'll push this matter forward once Junior Brother Rong arrives at Lan Yuan."
Ten days later, the carriage returned to the Spirit Mirror Sect.
Rong Xie got off the car on the road leading from Yingbin Town to the protective mountain formation and made an appointment with Lu Yinglin for their next meeting.
"Junior Brother Rong, I'm waiting for your good news." Lu Yinglin lifted the carriage curtain and spoke to Rong Xie.
At this moment, Wang Mu's head also peeked out from behind the carriage curtain: "Brother Rong, I'm waiting for your good news!"
Lu Yinglin frowned. This dark-skinned, skinny boy sat obediently next to the coachman on the first day. But after Rong Xie finished talking to him about Lu Yingqi, he invited the boy in. The boy didn't stand on ceremony and sat in the carriage like a Buddha for the next nine days. Whenever Lu Yinglin wanted to talk to Rong Xie, he could chime in with a few words. As a result, Lu Yinglin barely exchanged a few words with Rong Xie and ended up talking to him all the time.
However, Lu Yinglin was not an impatient person. He could sense that Rong Xie's attitude towards him had softened. Once they reached Lan Yuan and left Shen Bing Si's territory, their transaction would be over, and only then could he feel at ease to act.
"Yes, I'll definitely let you know if there's good news." Rong Xie smiled and waved, took out a talisman, cast a flight spell, and gracefully took off, flying forward.
Both of them in the car felt that Rong Xie was talking to them, and they nodded contentedly.
When we returned to Huanxue Mountain Villa, it was already late autumn.
Huanxue Valley is draped in the orange and red hues of autumn, with brightly colored trees concealing the familiar eaves and corners of the mountain villa, their reflections shimmering in the lake.
It was a scene he saw every autumn, yet Rong Xie couldn't get enough of it. He stood in front of the manor gate, looking up and down, as if trying to memorize the scenery, carefully examining it before finally pushing the door open and going inside.
The front yard was empty. The scene that Rong Xie had imagined—the three little ones sitting in the yard working and chatting—did not appear. A few leaves were on the ground, but otherwise, the ground was clean and tidy, and even the lawn had been mowed.
Rong Xie was secretly surprised. He hadn't expected that in the month he was away, the three children could keep the manor so clean without anyone supervising them.
It seems that his absence from the villa won't make any difference, so he can leave with peace of mind.
Rong Xie took a few steps inside, and his gaze suddenly stopped at a certain spot. He saw that the grass, which was trimmed to a normal height in front, became frizzy and long at the corner where the weeping plum blossoms of Longyou met the steps, like a tuft of stray hairs suddenly sticking out of neat hair, which was unpleasant.
Rong Xie pursed his lips slightly, forcing himself to look away from that tuft of "stray hairs." He told himself that it was already quite an achievement for the three younger ones to have done this much without supervision.
Rong Xie continued walking forward, and unfortunately, he saw spider webs in the shadows of the eaves, mud splattered on the window paper, and, to make matters worse, he saw that the warehouse door was half open, with half of the freshly cut weeds showing, swaying slowly in the wind, as if about to burst out.
Rong Xie stared at the door in surprise until he heard a familiar voice calling his name:
"Brother Rong! You're back!"
Shen Yan ran out from the middle gate, her face beaming with joy as she greeted Rong Xie.
"Shen Yan." Rong Xie withdrew his gaze, slightly puzzled as to why Shen Yan had run out from the backyard. However, this puzzlement only lasted for a moment before he smiled and said, "You guys are quite diligent. Did you rush to tidy up before I came back?"
Shen Yan's face showed a complex expression that was hard to describe, as if she didn't want to admit it, but dared not deny it: "Yes...we cleaned it up, what do you think, Brother Rong?"
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It's served! The escape plot is here! [Sunglasses]
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