Chapter 159: Reversal
“Brat, let’s see where you can run to?!” The bamboo hat man sneered as he approached Lu Yun step by step.
Seeing that there was nowhere left to escape, Lu Yun simply stopped, but lowered his head and let out a strange laugh, the laughter thick with sarcasm echoing through the Maple Forest.
“What are you laughing at?!” The bamboo hat man said while slowly approaching Lu Yun. The dwarf stood in place, somewhat uneasily looking around.
“I’m laughing that you White Ape Society are a bunch of stupid pigs.” Lu Yun said as he raised his head, the cape hood slowly falling down, revealing a clean but thickly mustached face with deep nasolabial folds. Especially those hawk-like eyes, which made anyone shudder just by looking!
As soon as he saw this face, the bamboo hat man was immediately stunned. Although he had never personally met Lu Yun, he knew it should be a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth. A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth, no matter how precocious, wouldn’t look this mature!
So, the person they had chased all the way was not Lu Yun at all!
“Lu Xia! You’re Lu Xia!” The bamboo hat man instantly recognized him and cried out in shock. “Why are you wearing the same cape as Lu Yun!” The woman on horseback had already described Lu Yun’s clothing and appearance in detail to him. Thus, the bamboo hat man didn’t think twice and chased after that eye-catching silver-white cape all the way.
Who would have thought he was tricked by them!
“As expected of the White Ape Society’s second-in-command, sharp eyes!” The fake Lu Yun praised, acknowledging his own identity. But this praise sounded like sarcasm no matter how you listened.
“…” The bamboo hat man’s face flickered between dark and light, his heart surging with shockwaves! This assassination attempt on Lu Yun had the Capital City White Ape Society going all out, with tight stakeout from the moment he left. Who knew they would still be switched right under their noses!
Lu Clan’s elite disciple Lu Yun had been swapped with the Steward of Punishment, Earth Rank Grandmaster Lu Xia! What this meant was self-evident!
“Withdraw!” The dwarf made a snap decision upon seeing the situation and ordered the bamboo hat man in a deep voice.
The bamboo hat man obeyed and tried to retreat, but was blocked by Lu Xia who flashed in front of him. Lu Xia looked at the dwarf with mockery and sneered: “It’s rare to meet the Great Steward, so we should get nice and close!”
“Lu Xia, don’t be arrogant!” The bamboo hat man shouted sternly: “Do you think you can keep two Grandmasters here?!”
“I certainly don’t have that ability myself.” Lu Xia let out a long laugh, clapped his palms together and said: “So, I invited a few helpers!”
Amid the clapping sound, the bushes rustled on all sides. The two White Ape Society leaders hurriedly looked around and saw a tall man with a smile on his face suddenly drop from a maple tree to the north.
“Lu Wei!” The bamboo hat man’s pupils shrank as he gritted his teeth and named him.
Before the words finished, another thin, ordinary-looking man with a gloomy expression slowly emerged from the eastern bushes.
“Lu Kan!” Seeing that man, the bamboo hat man couldn’t help but shudder. The Lu Clan’s Steward of Observation wasn’t as idle as he appeared on the surface; the blood on those hands was ten times more than this assassin leader!
At this time, two figures appeared simultaneously from the west and south. One was Lu Xin, the other resembled Lu Wei but was much more steady in expression and melancholic in gaze.
“Lu Xiu!” The bamboo hat man’s back was already soaked with cold sweat; the Lu Clan’s Great Steward had arrived too!
Now he knew full well that the Lu Clan had long known their actions inside out, so they turned the tables, having Lu Xia impersonate Lu Yun to lure the two into the encirclement of Lu Clan Grandmasters!
“The Lu Clan actually sent half its Stewards, truly looking up to our humble society.” The dwarf was far calmer than the bamboo hat man, and after assessing the situation, he directly gave up any attempt to escape.
As he said, half the Lu Clan’s Stewards arriving showed the Lu Clan’s importance to this matter had reached an extreme. Even if they broke out desperately, the Capital City White Ape Society would face devastating retaliation from the Lu Clan.
Moreover, a bitter smile rose in the dwarf’s heart; he had no confidence in breaking out from the encirclement of five Grandmasters…
“Our Lu Clan never offends unless provoked.” Lu Xiu looked at the dwarf and said in a deep voice: “But your White Ape Society dares to assassinate our core disciple; how can our Clan sit idly by?!”
“Great Steward, no need to put it so nicely,” the dwarf sneered upon hearing this: “If I’m not mistaken, your Clan has others dealing with my subordinates.”
“Hmph.” Lu Xiu snorted coldly, not denying it.
“I may be untalented, but I know the Lu Clan wouldn’t go to such lengths for a mere elite disciple, not even the Clan Leader’s direct grandson…” The dwarf hit the nail on the head: “Your Clan is probably using a feint like Xiang Zhuang’s sword dance, aiming for Pei Gong!”
“Great Steward has a silver tongue,” the Steward of Observation Lu Kan, knowing the Great Steward was never good with words, took over: “But it’s all nonsense! Our Lu Clan has our own reverse scales; touch them and die!”
“Then enough talk, let’s see the truth in fists and feet!” The bamboo hat man roared and lunged at Lu Xin! The four Stewards were all long-famous Grandmasters, so he was certain Lu Xin was the weakest link.
Lu Xin remained unhurried, feet squarely placed, arms forming a circle. With a breath of energy, his palms flipped outward at right angles and heavily struck toward the bamboo hat man!
The bamboo hat man felt a surge of utterly rigid and righteous forceful energy coming at him, sensing something wrong, but still gritted his teeth to exchange a palm with Lu Xin! He had to test the opponent’s skill for the Great Steward…
With a boom, the two clashed plainly without fancy moves. Lu Xin’s figure swayed slightly, his face a bit pale, but his hands and feet maintained their original posture.
The bamboo hat man staggered back several steps, his bamboo hat knocked flying by Lu Xin’s palm wind, revealing a terrifying skeletal face.
“Transforming Circle into Square…” He stared deadly at Lu Yun, a trickle of blood seeping from his mouth.
Transforming Circle into Square was one of the Lu Clan’s Heaven and Earth Righteous Law secret techniques, seemingly standard but actually endlessly variable and hard to defend against. For Lu Xin to use it so casually showed he was already a genuine Grandmaster.
“Blood Skeleton Gu Qi.” Lu Kan sized up the second-in-command’s face and laughed: “Didn’t expect you’d be working under the Earthwalker in the Capital City; truly going backwards.”
This Blood Skeleton Gu Qi was originally the Wu Commandery White Ape Society’s Great Steward, in charge of the Yuhang branch. Later, the Yuhang branch offended the Xiahou Clan, was uprooted by Xiahou Bupo, and Gu Qi was implicated, demoted from Great Steward and sent to the much-dreaded Capital City White Ape Society as the thankless second-in-command…
.
That dwarf was the Earthwalker Lu Kan mentioned, one of White Ape Society master Xuanyuan Wentian’s five direct disciples. But probably not favored by Xuanyuan Wentian, or he wouldn’t be sent to the Capital City rife with nobles…
Seeing Gu Qi repelled in one move by the weakest Lu Xin, the Earthwalker grew more convinced of his judgment. He turned to Lu Xiu: “Our White Ape Society has no intent to meddle in your Lu Clan’s internal struggle, but since you’ve caught our weakness, let’s draw a line.”
“Simple: hand over the employer, and today’s matter can be written off.” Lu Xiu said slowly.
“White Ape Society rules forbid betraying the employer.” The Earthwalker shook his head and sighed lightly: “Another condition?”
“No!” Lu Xiu shook his head firmly and said in a deep voice: “If your society won’t hand over the instigator voluntarily, our Clan will have to do it personally.”
“Don’t get too arrogant!” The Earthwalker snorted angrily: “Do you really think you can capture this seat?!” He spoke the truth; as Xuanyuan Wentian’s direct disciple, he naturally had a life-saving secret art, but using it meant no hope of advancing to Heavenly Rank in this lifetime, so he wouldn’t unless absolutely necessary.
