Chapter 103: Clear On Gratitude And Grudges
Moreover, Lu Yun also wanted to take the opportunity to witness the supreme cultivation methods of the two sects; this was a chance he could only dream of!
But the turn of events greatly disappointed Lu Yun. The Heavenly Maiden, whose martial arts were clearly superior to her opponent’s, actually fell for the Saintess’s scheme and lost all her cultivation right from the start, leaving him no chance to witness their fight.
Then, the Heavenly Maiden startled the Saintess into fleeing, stumbling toward Lu Yun. Lu Yun was about to kill the Heavenly Maiden effortlessly when he suddenly froze.
By the moonlight, he clearly saw the Heavenly Maiden’s appearance—that pure and flawless stunning face was none other than the woman who had righteously intervened outside Cuihe Garden.
Lu Yun’s nature was extremely clear about favors and grudges. Although she wouldn’t have endangered his family if she hadn’t acted at the time, she had still helped righteously. Taking advantage of her vulnerability and striking a fatal blow now was something he simply couldn’t do.
After a brief thought, Lu Yun made up his mind and quietly followed the Heavenly Maiden until, cornered by the Taiping Dao pursuit and preparing to jump off a cliff, he called out to signal her to jump from where he was hiding, thus saving her.
Lu Yun had thought all his actions were completely silent and would absolutely not expose him.
But he had to admit, a woman’s sixth sense was truly terrifying. He never imagined that even when he was carrying her and had changed his cultivation method, the Saintess could still link that vague silhouette to him…
.
Carrying the Heavenly Maiden on his back, Lu Yun ran over twenty li in one go, crossed the Yi River, doubled back to the east peak of Longmen Mountain, found a stone cave on the cliff face, and laid down her warm, soft, fragrant body.
With the Buddha statue blocking the view, there was no worry of the Heavenly Maiden being discovered. Being on the cliff face, there were no beast threats either. Lu Yun could finally leave with peace of mind.
Before leaving, he took a deep look at the Heavenly Maiden and said in a deep voice: “Now we’re even.” With that, Lu Yun turned and left the stone cave, vanishing into the darkness before dawn.
When the Heavenly Maiden slowly awoke, daylight was already bright.
After a brief daze, she vigilantly scanned her surroundings and saw she was lying behind a Buddha statue, with no one else in the stone cave.
Seeing her dress intact and without any irregularities, the Heavenly Maiden finally relaxed, sat up, instinctively circulated her qi, and was surprised to find her true qi restored; her entire body finally regained its familiar power.
As the Heavenly Maiden tried to stand, her toe kicked a metal object. Looking down, she saw her personal precious sword lying quietly at her feet.
The Heavenly Maiden joyfully picked up the precious sword, gripped it tightly, and her heart finally calmed completely. She began recalling how she had escaped danger and ended up here.
But her memory went blank after being saved by that masked man; the Heavenly Maiden couldn’t recall anything afterward. She couldn’t even remember what the man’s eyes looked like, only clearly recalling his slow, powerful heartbeat.
“Who exactly are you…” The Heavenly Maiden stood by the Buddha statue, gazing at the thousands of Buddha statues on the opposite Longmen Mountain, murmuring to herself.
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In Congshan Ward south of the Luo River, after hiding his things elsewhere, Lu Yun stayed indoors, preparing for the clan’s major exam on the first day of the seventh month. He even temporarily set aside Gao Guangning’s case.
Lu Xin, Lu Ying, and Lu Xiang had all treated his exam as the top priority these days. Lu Ying prepared various brain-tonic soups for Lu Yun in every way possible, taking care of him to the point of serving meals directly to his mouth.
Lu Xin also took leave from the yamen to give Lu Yun final coaching at home. The Lu Clan’s exam was simple: each person wrote a piece of parallel prose, the best three were selected by the veteran scholars teaching at the clan’s Ritual Education Institute, and then decided by the Steward of Ritual Education, Lu Yi, as to who would replace Lu Feng.
So in these final days, Lu Yun had to write several pieces of parallel prose according to Lu Xin’s topics. In the evenings, Lu Xin would carefully read and correct them, point out deficiencies, and teach Lu Yun revisions the next day.
That night, Lu Xin was critiquing several articles written by Lu Yun, sighing inwardly as he read.
At this time, Lu Xiang came in from outside and, seeing his son sighing, frowned and said: “What’s wrong? Yun’er’s articles don’t meet your standards?”
“Father.” Lu Xin hurriedly stood to greet him, helped Lu Xiang sit, then answered: “Yun’er’s talent is extremely high, and he’s extremely hardworking; his current articles surpass even what I wrote back then.”
“Then why are you sighing?” Lu Xiang asked puzzledly.
“I’m just saddened.” Lu Xin looked dejectedly at Lu Yun’s elegant and vigorous clerical script: “No matter how good Yun’er’s articles are, there’s no hope this time.”
“What kind of talk is that?” Lu Xiang said displeased: “Is there anyone whose articles are better than Yun’er’s?”
“No, there isn’t.” Lu Xin sighed: “But the selection is most likely already internally decided; no matter how good Yun’er’s articles are, it won’t matter.”
“Internally decided?!” Lu Xiang was shocked and angrily asked: “Isn’t Lu Yi someone no one dares offend, that’s why he uses the exam method? If it’s already internally decided, why bother with the extra step?!”
“It’s just to cover appearances.” Lu Xin said with a bitter smile: “I grew up with Lu Yi and know his character too well. He’s good at everything except being a fence-sitter.” He paused: “I heard the Great Elder’s grandson Lu Xi will also participate in the competition this time.”
“He dares internally decide the quota for Lu Xi? Not afraid of the Clan Leader punishing him?” Lu Xiang didn’t believe it.
“If the Clan Leader immediately counters the Elder Council, it would be fine, but the Clan Leader has remained still so far, and the Elder Council seems about to turn the Lu Clan upside down. At a time like this, Lu Yi can’t withstand the Great Elder’s pressure.” Lu Xin said, seeing his father’s worried face, and quickly comforted softly: “I’m just guessing wildly, Father; don’t take it to heart.”
“Hmph, your wild guesses are always nine times out of ten accurate.” Lu Xiang said full of indignation: “That old dog Lu Wen gets more shameless with age; he could do something like this!” He said angrily: “Then why are you still making Yun’er write essays all day? Isn’t it all futile?!”
“It won’t be futile.” Lu Xin said softly: “Although they can internally decide the quota, they can’t change the quality of the articles. If Yun’er’s articles stand out exceptionally, the clan members will understand who is truly the right person to represent the clan. That way, it will be more favorable for Yun’er next time a selection is made.”
“Next time…” Lu Xiang deflated: “That’ll be three years from now!”
“In three years, Yun’er will only be nineteen, still very young.” Lu Xin smiled faintly: “Having him wait three years isn’t necessarily a bad thing.” Lu Xin’s words weren’t purely to comfort his father. He truly hoped that after three years of tempering, Lu Yun would maturely face his heritage and hatred…
“Sigh…” Lu Xiang felt like he was about to burst with frustration, but he was powerless, hating his own incompetence for not even being able to protect his own grandson.
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The first day of the seventh month arrived in the blink of an eye. Standstill Autumn had come a few days earlier, yet the weather remained scorching hot. Early in the morning, the air was already filled with stifling hot aura…
Lu Ying woke Lu Yun early, personally dressing him in a silver-gray scholar’s robe, putting on a black square scarf, tying the waist silk ribbons, and thus an incomparably handsome young scholar appeared before her.
“If it were just about looks, my younger brother would definitely win the championship!” Lu Ying examined Lu Yun repeatedly and couldn’t help teasing.
“Looks, and dressed so thickly, I’m already sweating.” Lu Yun said with a full face of bitter smile: “Can we change to thinner clothing?” He was going to the Sanwei Hall for the exam today and didn’t dare circulate his profound art, so he could only sweat like an ordinary person when hot and feel thirsty when parched.
“This is our Lu Clan’s scholar attire; you must wear it like this today!” Lu Ying invoked her elder sister’s authority to stop Lu Yun from removing the square scarf on his head.
“Alright, stop fooling around; time to set off.” Lu Xin appeared at the doorway, fondly watching his pair of children.
“Sigh, I really want to go accompany my younger brother for the exam…” Lu Ying pouted, seeing Father and Lu Yun off.
The Lu Clan valued males over females the most; women couldn’t even enter the ancestral hall without cause. This was also one of the reasons the female-led Mei Clan despised the Lu Clan.
“Elder Sister, just wait at home for my good news.” Lu Yun comforted Lu Ying with a smile: “Once you’re the sister of a First Rank Official, won’t you be able to enter the Sanwei Hall whenever you want?”
“Mm-hmm.” Lu Ying nodded happily, encouraging Lu Yun with a clenched fist: “That day will surely come!”
Lu Xin looked at his confident children, his heart inevitably filled with gloom…
