Chapter 63: Childhood Memories
"Junior Brother Rong, you don't believe me."
When they arrived at the county government office, Lu Yinglin did not get out of the carriage.
He turned to look at Rong Xie, his tone stating rather than questioning.
"..." Rong Xie didn't know how to answer him.
"I'll tell you what you want to know after I'm done with my business," Lu Yinglin sighed, lifted the carriage curtain, and got out of the car.
As soon as Lu Yinglin got out of the car, he was greeted by a group of yamen runners dressed in blue cloth robes, who escorted him through the gate.
Rong Xie lifted the carriage curtain and saw Lu Yinglin's grand reception. He recalled that when he was handling business in Heyang County, even though the Shen family was considered one of the most prominent families in the county, they still had to be very respectful to the government officials, addressing them as "Master" repeatedly. The Lu family's status in Qinghe County was indeed different. Even Lu Yinglin, a member of the Lu family who did not come back often, could receive such a high-level reception.
Rong Xie greeted the driver, said he would wander around the area, and then got out of the carriage.
As soon as he got out of the carriage, a child dressed as a servant ran up to him from the wall and grabbed Rong Xie's clothes with both hands to keep his balance.
"Brother Rong, it's me." The servant raised his head, revealing his thin, dark face, and grinned at Rong Xie.
“Wang Mu?” Rong Xie asked in surprise.
Rong Xie never expected that Wang Mu would actually come to Qinghe County and even intercept him right at the entrance of the Qinghe County Government Office.
"Brother Rong... I wasn't much of a help this time, but next time, I'm sure I'll be able to come in handy!" Wang Mu said hurriedly.
"You came here to find me?" Rong Xie asked in surprise.
“Yes, I didn’t see Brother Rong come back from the county office yesterday. I thought he thought I was useless and left on his own.” Wang Mu rubbed his fingers together.
Rong Xie chuckled. To be honest, he had completely forgotten about Wang Mu; too many things had happened in the past two days…
"How could that be? I'm just out on business with someone, I'll be going back."
Wang Mu breathed a sigh of relief: "I knew it, Brother Rong wouldn't abandon me."
"How did you get here? How did you know I was here?" Rong Xie couldn't help but ask.
It's quite a distance from Heyang County, and Wang Mu doesn't seem to have the money to travel by carriage. Besides, Rong Xie was stopped by Wang Mu as soon as he got off the carriage, which means Wang Mu had been staking out the place for a while. How could he be sure that Rong Xie would come to the county government this morning?
“I walked here last night,” Wang Mu said smugly, showing Rong Xie his worn-out straw sandals.
Rong Xie felt a pang of heartache watching this, but Wang Mu seemed completely unfazed.
“I originally wanted to go to the Lu family’s place, but the Lu family’s security was too tight; there wasn’t even a dog hole under the courtyard wall. Luckily, two kitchen helpers came out to buy supplies, and I pretended to be an apprentice at a restaurant in the county. I mingled with them all the way, and that’s how I learned everything.” Wang Mu puffed out his chest.
Wang Mu had completely mastered the art of gathering information. Rong Xie thought to herself.
Suddenly, Rong Xie thought of something and called Wang Mu to a quiet alley: "Could you help me find out something else?"
Wang Mu was annoyed that he hadn't been able to show off his skills in stealing household registration documents, and that Rong Xie hadn't witnessed his true abilities. Now that he heard there was another opportunity to gather information, he naturally agreed without hesitation.
"What I want to know is, what exactly is going on with the 'servant boys' of the Lu family?" Rong Xie said. "Any information is fine, as long as it's related to the 'servant boys' of the Lu family. Tell me what you find out. The deadline is after lunch today. Lu Yinglin and I are going back to Shenjiazhuang. Come here then, whether you've found out or not, and we'll go back together."
"A pageboy?" Wang Mu asked, puzzled. "Like Shen Yan and the others?"
“Yes, but… there are some differences. You can ask people in the county, or you can ask for information like you asked the kitchen servants about me before, but don’t get close to the Lu residence, and don’t let the people in the Lu residence notice you,” Rong Xie instructed.
"Oh... okay!"
Rong Xie thought for a moment, then took out three more sound transmission talismans and three more protective amulets, put them in Wang Mu's hands, and told him how to use them.
To ensure Wang Mu could use them, Rong Xie taught him how to use them step by step until Wang Mu could activate the spells of the two talismans without hesitation.
Seeing that it was getting late, Rong Xie patted Wang Mu on the shoulder and told him to be careful. After watching Wang Mu run out of the alley, he slowly made his way to the yamen gate.
After another incense stick's time, there was a commotion in the yamen. An official in a bright red robe and a group of bailiffs escorted Lu Yinglin out. Lu Yinglin spoke with them at the door for a while, then walked toward the carriage with a beaming smile.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Lu Yinglin said with a smile as he approached Rong Xie. "How was it? Did you take a stroll around the area?"
"Hmm." Rong Xie asked casually, "Is everything settled?"
"All set, all set," Lu Yinglin said with a smile. "Let's go eat now. I know a great place where we can enjoy the river view while eating fresh river delicacies."
As expected of a local strongman, Lu Yinglin took Rong Xie to a place that was clearly not a place that ordinary people could enter.
It was a restaurant built in the style of a dock. Guests would charter a small boat to go down the river, enjoy the river view while eating freshly killed river delicacies, and fully experience the local customs of Qinghe.
Lu Yinglin chartered a small boat and sat opposite Rong Xie. The boat swayed gently into the river. Only then did Lu Yinglin put away his smile and say seriously, "Junior Brother Rong, ask whatever you want. I will tell you everything I know. As long as you still trust me as before and don't distance yourself from me, I will tell you even if it violates the family rules."
Lu Yinglin's formality left Rong Xie somewhat at a loss.
"Alright, you probably don't know where to start, so let me tell you about my former page."
"You had a page before?" Rong Xie couldn't help but ask, "Then...where is he now?"
"He's gone."
Lu Yinglin's gaze became distant, just like the last time he mentioned the pageboy, as if he were looking into an unknowable distance.
"Leave?" Rong Xie asked, puzzled.
"Yes, he's gone. If his reincarnation went smoothly, he should be a handsome young man now."
Rong Xie was startled: "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."
"It's alright." Lu Yinglin raised his hand, indicating that Rong Xie didn't need to blame himself. He once again let his gaze wander, recalling the past.
Lu Yinglin's former page was named Xiao Ya. From the day Lu Yinglin discovered his spiritual root, Xiao Ya stayed by his side and served him in his daily life.
The two grew up together and had a deep friendship. Later, they both entered the Xuantian Sect and became disciples of the sect.
That's right, Xiao Ya also has spiritual roots, and her talent is no less than Lu Yinglin's. Xiao Ya is also diligent and ambitious. When she first entered the Xuan Tian Sect, it was Xiao Ya who dragged Lu Yinglin to cultivate, while Lu Yinglin was the one who was lazy and got scolded.
At that time, Xiao Ya's life was full of hope. It seemed that if she worked a little harder, she could defy fate, take a step into the gate of immortality, and become a Foundation Establishment cultivator that everyone admired.
On the contrary, when Lu Yinglin first discovered his spiritual root, everyone around him fawned over him like a star. But when he arrived at the Xuantian Sect, he realized that every fellow disciple was a leader among their peers. With so many outstanding individuals gathered together, Lu Yinglin seemed unremarkable, even somewhat dull and outdated.
Lu Yinglin was not the kind of person who could concentrate on cultivation. After suffering a setback, he disliked cultivation even more. He started doing some frivolous things, dealing in rare and precious materials and selling sect manuals. Until one day, he received an ultimatum from the sect, ordering him to pass the sect's Foundation Establishment assessment, or else pack his bags and get out.
"Ah..." Rong Xie couldn't help but exclaim softly. Lu Yinglin's experience... why does it sound so familiar?
"I'm ashamed." Lu Yinglin rubbed his nose. "Actually, I hadn't reached the deadline yet, but I angered Elder Bai because I had repeatedly sold sect manuals outside..."
Rong Xie knew that Elder Bai was a very important figure in the Xuan Tian Sect. For a junior disciple like Lu Yinglin to anger him, the reselling business must have gone too far.
"At that time, I thought, perfect, I'm not going to serve you anymore. Cultivation is such a boring thing, let whoever wants to do it do it. I'm going to go out and roam the world."
When Lu Yinglin got to this point, his eyebrows danced with excitement, and one could vaguely see his rebellious nature from back then.
“But Xiao Ya disagreed. He said that if I were expelled from the Xuantian Sect, he would be beaten to death by the patriarch.” Lu Yinglin’s face fell again. “But at the time, I didn’t believe it. What did my expulsion from the Xuantian Sect have to do with Xiao Ya? He could continue to be a disciple of the Xuantian Sect. Could my grandfather—who was the patriarch at the time—beat a disciple of the Xuantian Sect to death?”
Rong Xie frowned. He couldn't help but think of those blue feet. Could it be...?
“We had a big conflict over this matter. Actually, we’ve been having conflicts for a while, but it hasn’t gotten much bigger. I didn’t like him controlling me, and he couldn’t stand me wasting my opportunity to study at the Xuantian Sect. By the time he issued the ultimatum, we hadn’t had a proper conversation for more than half a year.”
Lu Yinglin remained silent for a moment, his face revealing an indescribable mixture of regret, anger, and self-blame.
"He suggested that we cultivate together and he could transfer his cultivation power to me, and I agreed. I thought that since we were already together, cultivation together would just be one more step, and since he was willing to give it to me, why shouldn't I take it? There was also an element of spite involved. I researched the methods of cultivation together beforehand, and on the day of cultivation, I used the crooked and unorthodox methods taught in the manual to absorb all of his spiritual power."
"Later, I passed the Foundation Establishment test, but he did not."
Upon hearing this part of the story, Rong Xie was so shocked that he didn't know what to say.
He always thought that his relationship with Shen Bingsi was already messy enough, but he never expected that someone else had already done it at a young age and didn't take it seriously at all.
Wait a minute, the servants in the Lu family aren't just servants who take care of daily life, are they? Do they offer other services as well?
Lu Yinglin stopped and looked at Rong Xie: "Is there a problem?"
"N-nothing..." Rong Xie's mind was a mess, forcing himself not to focus on things that were clearly not the point. "And then?"
“He hasn’t made any progress; his cultivation has stalled at that level, no matter how hard he tries. I thought it was my fault, and I regretted it. I wanted to make it up to him, so I suggested we cultivate together again and transfer my cultivation to him.”
But he refused.
“I thought he was still angry with me, so I begged him, pestered him, and tried all sorts of methods. He couldn’t take it anymore and told me the real reason.”
As Lu Yinglin spoke, his usually lively and smiling eyes turned extremely gloomy.
"Because he neglected his duties, failed to take good care of me, and did not inform the family in time that I had offended Elder Bai, the head of the family has decided to replace him."
"There is a special method in the family to control the servants, and I still don't know what it is. All I know is that a servant who is abandoned can no longer continue to cultivate and is like a useless person."
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