Chapter 206: Ten Thousand Cannot Breach
Eight li east of Cuihe Garden, the Lu Clan members were still in a standoff with Pei Yukou.
Pei Yukou was originally tasked with openly repairing the plank road, and now he had successfully drawn the Lu Clan members to his side. Of course, he was happy to wear them down until dawn.
As for Lu Wei and Lu Kan, they had long wanted to slip away, but Pei Yukou refused to let them leave, and Lu Xin insisted on staying. The two could only accompany him and continue the standoff here.
At this point, both sides had nothing left to say, and any more talk would lead to another fight. So they simply ignored each other. Pei Yukou rode his horse, pacing circles in the wilds. He thought to himself that his sister-in-law should have reached the dock by now and boarded a ship heading south. Once he finished dealing with the Lu Clan, he would meet her in Jiangnan and spend a shameless winter together.
Even now, Pei Yukou still believed Xie Min was going to Jiangnan, completely unaware that her actual destination was Guangzhong.
Meanwhile, Lu Xin and the others were not in as good a mood as Pei Yukou. Lu Kan and Lu Wei had dark expressions, already considering how to handle the aftermath tomorrow. They discussed that even if they returned empty-handed today, tomorrow they must insist that the gold was in Cuihe Garden. This might make Pei Yukou somewhat wary and prevent him from making too big a scene.
But no matter what, this time they failed to catch the fox and instead stirred up a mess on themselves. It was truly too unlucky…
Although neither mentioned Lu Yun again, Lu Xin could feel their deep disappointment. He wanted to defend Lu Yun but didn’t know where to start. Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward, Lu Xin’s eyes suddenly lit up. He grabbed Lu Wei’s shoulder and pointed at the sky behind him: “Quick, look!”
“What…” Lu Wei turned back involuntarily upon hearing this, only to see a burst of silver-white fireworks blooming in the pitch-black night sky, dazzlingly brilliant…
“This is our clan’s assembly signal!” Lu Kan also saw the fireworks and shouted: “Thirty li west, that’s the direction of Ye Dian Du.”
“It’s Lu Yun. He must have found the gold!” Seeing the signal indicating an emergency, Lu Xin was overjoyed instead of worried and said excitedly: “Quick! Let’s hurry over!”
“Good!” Lu Wei and Lu Kan also perked up. The three immediately rallied their subordinates and prepared to rush to Ye Dian Du.
“Hold on!” Pei Yukou knew something was wrong and hurriedly tried to stop them.
“Pei the Third, what, want to exchange a few more moves?!” Lu Wei drew his silver sword again and waved it playfully at Pei Yukou.
Pei Yukou weighed his options briefly. Whether in number of grandmasters or subordinate guards, his side was far inferior. He didn’t want to fight to the death, so with a dark expression, he said: “Lu the Sixth, if you insist on continuing this farce, I’ll accompany you to the end!” Though he threw down harsh words, he did not draw his golden saber.
“Let’s see if you can afford to play!” Lu Wei wasn’t one to be intimidated. He sneered: “No guts to fight me? Then step aside!” With that, he and his two brothers led a group of Lu Clan warriors in a frenzied run northwest.
Watching the Lu Clan members leave, Pei Yukou’s expression shifted several times. Finally, he whipped his horse hard and, without bringing his subordinates, tailed the Lu Clan members alone.
.
At Ye Dian Du, Lu Yun destroyed two carriages, completely blocking Xie Min’s path forward. Then he leaped over Xie Min’s head and did the same to the last two carriages. Now the entire caravan was stuck, unable to advance or retreat.
The drivers wanted to move the destroyed carriages, but how could they do so quickly? Even if they did, what then? That youth darted about freely as if in no man’s land, easily destroying other carriages.
Some saw the situation was bad and wanted to sneak gold from the broken box and flee in the chaos. But Uncle Bao and the two dead men with dogs watched them menacingly. In the eyes of Xie Min’s guards, this youth was already so formidable; the scarred brute and two warriors in tight clothes probably had even higher martial arts… Otherwise, how would they dare block the caravan with just a few people?
Thus, these terrified drivers and guards surprisingly didn’t dare flee with any gold…
Having single-handedly controlled the situation, Lu Yun sheathed his sword and slowly walked toward Xie Min’s carriage.
“Stop!” Xie Min’s guards hurriedly tried to block him with bluster hiding their fear.
Lu Yun raised his long sword, and the guards retreated repeatedly in fright.
“Make way.” Lu Yun’s voice was very gentle, but to the guards, it was utterly intimidating. “I don’t want to harm the innocent.”
Strangely, the guards themselves felt puzzled. The opponent was clearly a youth below Earth Rank, yet his intimidation surpassed that of an Earth Rank Grandmaster. After hearing Lu Yun, they completely lost the courage to swing their blades at him but didn’t dare step aside, only retreating further and further as Lu Yun advanced.
Seeing they were about to retreat behind her, Xie Min knew she couldn’t count on these useless people. Besides, she didn’t believe Lu Yun would dare harm her. Better to act decisively, so she snorted: “All of you, make way.”
The guards felt as if granted a general amnesty and scattered all at once.
Xie Min sat upright in the carriage, coldly watching Lu Yun approach, waiting silently for him to speak first.
“What more do you have to say?” Lu Yun sheathed his long sword, looking at this woman who was repulsive once clothed. He truly couldn’t understand why Lu Jian, Pei Yukou, and others were so infatuated with her.
“Even if I had something to say, I wouldn’t waste words on a brat like you.” Xie Min snorted coldly, her face full of disdain.
“True, your lord’s affairs are not for a child like me to meddle in.” Lu Yun nodded in agreement: “Then wait for my father and our clan’s various stewards to arrive.”
‘Is there such a formidable child?!’ Xie Min gnashed her teeth in hatred, but at Lu Yun’s latter words, her expression changed abruptly: “What? You just signaled the Lu Clan’s stewards?”
“I’m not in the habit of setting off fireworks for fun.” Lu Yun chuckled mockingly, then added with feigned sigh: “I really can’t fathom what you were thinking. For this bit of money and treasure, you disregard your reputation and status, courting utter ruin.” With that, he stood with eyes on nose and nose on heart beside the carriage, seemingly taking on the role of guard.
“…” Hearing Lu Yun’s words, Xie Min’s mind churned. The fireworks Lu Yun released would summon the Lu Clan’s grandmasters and retainers outside the capital city in the shortest time. Now caught red-handed, she knew not only would her bamboo basket fetch water in vain, but she would be ruined, with no face left to stand in the capital.
Only now did Xie Min awaken from her greed-induced dream due to Lu Yun’s words. She suddenly realized what mattered most: her noble status, the adulated life, the endless vanity-woven dream. Not some damned gold—that couldn’t be bought with any amount of money and treasure!
‘No, I must leave here.’ Xie Min screamed inwardly. As long as she could leave, she could pretend nothing happened. At this thought, she looked up sharply, staring fixedly at Lu Yun, and hoarsely said: “Please let me leave.”
“Looks like you’re not completely stupid.” Lu Yun smiled, glanced southeast, and roughly calculated the time. Then he softly said to Xie Min: “Letting you go isn’t impossible, but what’s in it for me?”
Upon hearing this, Xie Min perked up like a drowning person grasping a straw, transforming as if into another person. She extended her dainty tongue, lightly licked her lips, and cast a seductive glance at the unparalleled handsome Lu Yun, clearly tempted: “As long as you let me go, I’ll do anything.”
Lu Yun shuddered with disgust and glared at her: “What are you thinking?!” Xie Min was old enough to be his mother, yet she tried to seduce him. Who exactly would be at a loss here?!
