Chapter 149: Kill
In the Elder Council, Great Elder’s room, Lu Jian said with a stern expression: “However, after all this fuss, that Lu Xin father and son are truly going to make a name for themselves!”
“That Lu Xin is still manageable, just riding on his son’s coattails.” The Great Elder deeply agreed: “But that Lu Yun, his momentum is really too fierce!”
“Indeed.” Lu Jian nodded, his face full of worry: “Given time, even without Lu Yun becoming a Grandmaster, as long as he achieves a good result in next year’s Grand Competition, Lu Shang can legitimately support him to rise. At that time, with Lu Xian standing behind him, and having a half-mentor relationship with Lu Bai and his peers, the Second Elder and several Stewards will also become his allies. By then, within our clan, I’m afraid no one will be able to touch him!”
Lu Wen nodded. Before, he would have thought Lu Jian’s words were alarmist, but after coming out of the Small Bamboo Forest, it all seemed imminent!
“Once that father and son pair make a name for themselves, they will definitely become weapons for the Clan Leader to deal with us!” Lu Jian said darkly: “At that time, Lu Shang won’t even need to act personally; he can just hide behind and direct them to strike at us. Once we’re exhausted coping, showing a flaw, we’ll surely suffer a fatal blow from Lu Shang!”
“Hiss…” The Great Elder sucked in a cold breath, his eyes flickering: “In that case, it’s better to get rid of this father and son pair sooner!”
“Great Elder is wise!” Lu Jian nodded emphatically: “Especially that Lu Yun. Since Lu Xian thinks so highly of him, he must have extraordinary qualities. If he becomes a Grandmaster in the future, in this vast Lu Clan, where will our two families have a place to stand? If he really becomes a Grandmaster, I’m afraid we’ll all die without a burial place!”
“Lu Yun!” Despite his advanced age, the Great Elder was scared into a cold sweat by Lu Jian’s words. He couldn’t suppress the anger in his heart and slammed his palm heavily on the low table, gritting his teeth: “I refuse to believe I can’t deal with this brat who still smells of milk!” Then he suddenly looked up, staring fixedly at Lu Jian: “Do you have any good plan to eliminate this major threat?!”
Lu Jian pressed his fingers together, making a beheading gesture.
“Hiss…” The Great Elder’s pupils shrank. Although due to Lu Xi, he wished Lu Yun dead, before this, he truly hadn’t considered wiping Lu Yun from the world.
“Great Elder, we must resolve this decisively and nip the danger in the bud!” Lu Jian said coldly: “Otherwise, once Lu Yun grows up, we’re all dead!” Pausing, his eyes flashed with killing intent: “Even for Lu Xi and Lu Feng, we must avenge this!”
“Lu Xi…” Thinking of the deranged eldest grandson, killing intent surged in the Great Elder’s heart, but after all, at his age, he wouldn’t act on impulse alone. After pondering for a moment, Lu Wen shook his head dejectedly: “But with Lu Xian as his backer, who dares to touch him?”
“Lu Xian won’t leave the Bamboo Forest; he’ll have times when he’s alone.” Lu Jian had already thought it through, saying coldly: “The matter of Lu Yun taking a master won’t spread outside. We just need to find outsiders to do it!”
“You mean…” The Great Elder’s pupils shrank. “White Ape Society?!”
“Exactly, have the White Ape Society act; it’ll be undetectable,” Lu Jian lowered his voice: “Afterward, Lu Xian won’t be able to find out who killed Lu Yun; no matter how high his kung fu, he can’t seek revenge. Over time, it’ll just fade away!” His expression grew even more ferocious: “Once Lu Yun dies, those connected through him will naturally scatter! The Clan Leader’s scheme will completely collapse!”
“Makes sense.” Lu Wen nodded slowly, but still uncertain: “But has it really come to this?” In his view, this approach seemed a bit extreme. After all, Lu Yun was still just a young lad; even if a threat, it was for the future.
“If we act, it must be now.” Lu Jian said resolutely: “Acting now, no one will link it to us. In the future, as conflicts deepen, we won’t be able to clear our involvement. And Lu Yun hasn’t made a name yet; killing him now will save a lot of trouble!”
“Mm…” Under Lu Jian’s persistent persuasion, Lu Wen finally wavered and said slowly: “You handle the contact with those people; make sure not to implicate me, so if something goes wrong in the future, we can adapt.”
“Great Elder, rest assured; I know my limits!” Lu Jian nodded emphatically.
.
Leaving the Elder Council, instead of returning to the Finance Department, he went straight home and called Steward Zhang to his room.
“The Great Elder has agreed to hire the White Ape Society to assassinate Lu Yun!” Lu Jian said bluntly, clearly this idea had formed before he went to the Small Bamboo Forest.
Steward Zhang was overjoyed: “Excellent! Young Master’s great vengeance can finally be avenged!”
“Lu Xin dared to kill my son; naturally, I must let him taste the grief of losing a son!” Lu Jian’s eyes were bloodshot, his face ferocious: “The more promising his son, the greater his pain then!”
Yesterday, Lu Jian had ordered Steward Zhang to take men to search along the route for Lu Feng’s traces, thinking it would take at least ten days or half a month for news, but early this morning, Steward Zhang appeared before him as if bereaved, tremblingly handing him a small copper bead the size of a silkworm bean, hollow inside and filled with mercury.
Lu Jian shook the small copper bead, and it emitted a low, pleasant sound, vibrating his hand slightly numb. Puzzled, he asked: “What is this thing?”
“This is called a mianzi bell, a precious item from the barbarians, not seen among the common folk; only young masters from great families in the Capital City can access such things…” As Steward Zhang spoke, tears fell: “Young Master once showed this to me!”
“Ah!” Lu Jian instantly felt his limbs turn ice-cold, grabbing Steward Zhang’s collar and demanding fiercely: “Then where did you get it?!”
“After leaving the city on your orders, I started inquiring from Qing Feng Garden along the way. At dusk, I entered a roadside inn and was asking the innkeeper if he’d seen Young Master when I suddenly saw the innkeeper’s young son squatting on the ground, playing with this mianzi bell as a bead!”
“This thing has a very unique sound, so it immediately caught my attention. I picked up the bead and saw it was indeed the mianzi bell I’d seen at Young Master’s place! Common folk wouldn’t have such a thing, and even if they did, they wouldn’t let a child play with it.” Steward Zhang said tearfully: “So I immediately pressed the child, and he admitted picking it up accidentally in a grove a mile away!”
“I hurried there overnight and at the spot where the child found the mianzi bell, saw knife marks on the trees and old bloodstains on the trunks…” Steward Zhang sobbed: “Continuing the search, we truly saw no more trace of Young Master’s group. Master, Young Master… probably… met with harm!”
“Nonsense!” Lu Jian couldn’t accept this conclusion, shaking his head neurotically: “Even if this is Lu Feng’s, maybe he was just playing with it and carelessly dropped it!”
“Master, this is a bedside item; how could it be taken out to play?” Steward Zhang cried: “When Young Master set out, I saw clearly; he carefully put this mianzi bell and several other bedside things in a brocade pouch, hiding it close to his body. Unless something unexpected happened, it absolutely wouldn’t be lost!”
“No, no no, alive we see the man, dead we see the corpse. Without finding the corpse, I absolutely won’t admit Feng’er was harmed!” Though Lu Jian said this, his body couldn’t stop trembling, and his grip on Steward Zhang’s hand loosened dejectedly.
Steward Zhang hurriedly rubbed his nearly crushed neck while tearfully saying: “I’ve already sent people searching everywhere, but Young Master was attacked right after setting out, clearly a premeditated ambush; they’ve probably already destroyed the evidence…”
