160: Liu Xiaohua's confusion

Lu Chen: "Don't send the evidence to the Royal City."

Pei Mingce: "Ah, why?"

Lu Chen turned around: "This place is located on the southern frontier of the Southern Barbarians. The Tianwu Dynasty rarely casts its gaze upon this desolate land. If the imperial court were to notice the development speed of Lu Family Village..."

A glint flashed in Pei Mingce's eyes, and he suddenly knelt on one knee: "This subordinate understands! The Young Lord's ambition is vast!"

It's comfortable to talk to smart people; there's no need for too much explanation.

Therefore, Lu Chen could only resolve the matter of Guanyin Hall himself!

The core problem to solve was strength!

As long as his strength was sufficient, everything would be easily resolved.

In the following days, Lu Chen completely immersed himself in Cultivation.

He rose at the Time of the Tiger (3-5 AM) every day and rested at the Childhood (11 PM - 1 AM), continuously circulating the Mind-Cultivation Technique of the Golden Scale Art.

He circulated the Dragon Qi within his body through his Meridians in the order of the Five Elements' mutual generation: wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal, and metal generates water.

Each time he completed a major celestial cycle, he would swallow a blood fiend pill, allowing its medicinal power to catalyze the circulation of the Dragon Qi.

Six months passed in arduous Cultivation.

On this day, Lu Chen felt the True Qi within his body surge like a rushing river, his pores expanded, and an unprecedented sense of power filled his limbs and bones—he had finally Broken Through to Transcendent Seventh Realm!

Upon internal inspection, he saw that within his five viscera, his liver glowed with a warm, verdant light, his spleen pulsed with a fiery red flame, his lungs flowed with a bright white light, and his kidneys settled with a deep black radiance.

The four viscera shone in harmony, forming a Five Elements cycle in his Dantian, with only his heart yet to be successfully tempered.

"The heart belongs to fire, governing the spirit..." Lu Chen murmured to himself. Once his heart was also tempered, the green, red, white, and black lights would merge with the red of the heart, allowing him to step into the fourth Realm of the Golden Scale Art—Gathering Dragon Essence!

By then, the mere threat of Guanyin Hall would no longer be a problem.

Lu Chen welcomed his thirteenth birthday.

Lu Family Village was adorned with lanterns and festive decorations, filled with a joyful atmosphere, and the entire village rejoiced.

The open space in the center of the village was filled with banquets contributed by every household. Fragrant dishes covered the long tables, and children laughed as they weaved through the seats.

"Sister Liu, look, my Xiaocui is fourteen this year, just the right age for Little Master!" Aunt Li, pulling a girl with a double-bun hairstyle, approached Liu Xiaohua with a beaming smile.

"My daughter is excellent at embroidery, she'll definitely be a virtuous wife in the future!" Aunt Zhang was not to be outdone, dragging her own daughter's hand towards Liu Xiaohua.

Liu Xiaohua was surrounded by a group of women, a helpless smile on her face: "Aunties, I can't decide on Chen'er's marriage."

"Oh my!" Aunt Wang exclaimed exaggeratedly, "I think some people just can't bear to let go of such a good child, can they?"

Liu Xiaohua's face flushed crimson to her ears: "What nonsense are you talking about! When children grow up, they always have to start a family. I, I have nothing I can't bear to let go of..." Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost a whisper to herself.

Village Chief Lu Zhengde, his face flushed with joy, raised his wine bowl and walked up to Lu Chen: "Lu Chen, this old man toasts you! Thanks to you, our village can enjoy such good days today!"

Lu Chen quickly waved his hand: "Village Chief, I, I don't drink alcohol..."

"Master is too modest!" Lu Xiaohu squeezed over, unceremoniously stuffing a wine bowl into Lu Chen's hand, "Today is your big day!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Iron Mountain Lu Lu Tieshan also chimed in, "Our village can have what it has today all thanks to Little Master's guidance in Cultivation!"

Under everyone's encouragement, Lu Chen reluctantly accepted the wine bowl.

The spicy liquid slid down his throat, making him cough, which drew a round of good-natured laughter.

Bowl after bowl, unknowingly, Lu Chen had drunk until his face was completely red and his steps were unsteady.

"I... I'm not drunk!" Lu Chen slurred, but his body uncontrollably swayed to the side.

Liu Xiaohua quickly stepped forward to support him, both annoyed and amused: "Yes, yes, you're not drunk."

She carefully helped the swaying Lu Chen walk home, the moonlight stretching their shadows long.

Back in the house, Liu Xiaohua brought warm water and gently wiped Lu Chen's face.

In his drunken haze, the young man was still mumbling "I'm not drunk," but his limbs moved uncontrollably.

"Don't move!" Liu Xiaohua pressed down on his shoulders, her voice tinged with a hint of reproach, "If you move anymore, the water will spill."

Her movements were gentle and practiced, just like every day and night she had cared for this child for the past thirteen years.

After wiping his face, she helped Lu Chen change into clean underclothes. Looking at the sleeping face of the young man, Liu Xiaohua sighed softly, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.

Liu Xiaohua gazed out the window, lost in thought.

At twenty-three years old, in this frontier village, girls her age were already wives and mothers.

Only she, day after day, watched over this young man who gradually no longer needed her care.

Her fingertips caressed a half-embroidered lotus, and Liu Xiaohua suddenly felt that this flower was like herself now—meant to bloom, yet forever trapped on the silk cloth, unable to blossom.

She didn't know why, but Liu Xiaohua always felt that her life shouldn't be like this.

Lately, she kept having a strange dream.

In the dream, surrounded by mist, she looked up at a man soaring into the sky, his figure appearing and disappearing.

Whenever she tried to see the man's face clearly, the dream would shatter like a reflection in water.

The strangest thing was that when she woke up, her pillow was always wet, and her heart felt empty, as if she had lost something important.

Liu Xiaohua vigorously shook her head: "What's wrong with me, have I been hexed! Why am I always thinking about a strange man..."

Liu Xiaohua had sworn that she would never marry any man in this life; she only wanted to raise Lu Chen.

But now that child was already capable of standing on his own and no longer needed her care.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Liu Xiaohua couldn't find meaning in her existence, becoming increasingly anxious... On this day, Pei Mingce reported: "Recently, the Silk Merchant Guild in Feiyun City has been very busy. I suspect they are planning something big!"

Lu Chen slowly ceased his Cultivation. In these days of arduous Cultivation of the Golden Scale Art, his other four viscera had been tempered, but his heart remained unable to Breakthrough.

He looked at the distant outline of Feiyun City: "The Dao of Cultivation emphasizes a balance between exertion and relaxation. Perhaps... it's time to go out and clear my mind."

And while he was at it, investigate what new tricks Guanyin Hall was up to!

Three days later, Lu Chen changed into the merchant attire confiscated from the Horse-Slaying Gang, with a forged bronze waist token hanging from his waist.

The guards at the city gate merely glanced at him casually before waving him through.

Lu Chen's lips curved slightly—the inspections in these small frontier cities were much laxer.

Stepping into Feiyun City, the bustling market atmosphere rushed over him.

Shops lined both sides of the bluestone street, with various banners fluttering in the wind.

The sound of camel bells, hawkers' cries, and bargaining intertwined into a unique urban symphony.

Lu Chen took a deep breath; the air was mixed with the scents of spices, leather, and horse manure—a taste of life he had never truly experienced from the Heavenly Dao perspective.

"Finest Shu brocade! New arrivals from Jiangnan!"

"Western Region glazed lamp, only twenty taels!"

The hawkers' shouts rose and fell.

Lu Chen strolled into a teahouse and ordered a pot of tea.

At a nearby table, several men who looked like merchants were conversing in low voices. One middle-aged man with a goatee mysteriously lowered his voice: "Old Li, have you heard? A peerless beauty arrived at Yihong Pavilion the other day. They say she's a Young Miss from an official family who drifted here from Jiangnan..."

The fat merchant next to him chuckled: "I saw her with my own eyes. That woman's skin was like congealed fat, her features like a painting, and even more remarkably, she carried three parts of nobility in every gesture. The strangest thing is that she always wears a Guanyin jade pendant carved from mutton-fat white jade around her neck, refusing to take it off even when receiving guests. The maid said she burns incense and recites scriptures every morning, treating that jade pendant with great reverence."

The goatee man smacked his lips: "They say her zither skills are extraordinary; one performance of 'Guangling San' can make people forget the taste of meat for three months. What's even stranger is..." He leaned in closer, his voice almost inaudible: "Someone said they saw a special purple sandalwood censer from Guanyin Hall in her room. If a man just smells it, hahaha, he'll be full of vigor all night long!"

Lu Chen's hand, holding the teacup, paused slightly. Behind the misty tea, a glint flashed in his eyes.

Yihong Pavilion... Guanyin jade pendant... purple sandalwood censer... This was an unexpected gain.

Lu Chen had no interest in Yihong Pavilion, girls, or anything like that. His main goal was to investigate the girl connected to Guanyin Hall!

Hmm, he must investigate thoroughly!