82: Prelude

In the afternoon, the guests of the Lu Family left one after another, but the festive atmosphere did not diminish. Most of the remaining villagers of West Mountain Village came to the Lu Family to help of their own accord.

Lu Xuan did not treat them poorly. After the noon banquet, he prepared to hold another one in the evening, though it was intended as an internal celebration.

Stomp, stomp, stomp.

The people helping to clean up in the front yard saw Wang Weifeng hurrying in with a middle-aged man; they quickly disappeared into the front hall.

"What happened? I saw Commander Wang's expression was extremely grim."

"No idea!"

"Alright, stop guessing blindly and get to work. If the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."

"Exactly!"

...In the backyard, Lu Xuan sat in the main seat.

Although he didn't take Wang Chenfeng's threats to heart, what the man had done today had already crossed Lu Xuan's bottom line.

He planned to find an opportunity to kill him, but he was still a bit conflicted because his good friend Wang Yuanhua stood between them.

"Patriarch..."

An urgent voice came from outside.

"What is it? Why such a panic?"

Wang Weifeng didn't waste words and recounted the entire matter from beginning to end, while the man he brought behind him made additions from time to time.

After Lu Xuan finished listening, the name "Wang Chenfeng" immediately appeared in his mind.

In Pingze, no one else would dare move against his Lu Family; after all, they were a Grandmaster Family.

"Wei Feng, immediately assemble all Martial Guards, the Hunting Team, and the Militia."

The Militia was organized spontaneously by the commoners of West Mountain Village. After Lu Xuan found out, he gave them a name, allocated some funds, and handed them over to Wang Weifeng for unified management. They mainly did patrols and such on ordinary days, which helped alleviate the predicament of having too few Martial Guards.

"Yes!"

"Zhao Lei, assemble everyone. Gather in the deliberation hall in fifteen minutes."

"Yes, Patriarch."

Zhao Lei did not dare delay and immediately set off to do so.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone arrived at the deliberation hall.

Lu Xuan broke the news to the group.

"Patriarch, what is their strength?"

"At least two hundred people, the specifics are unknown."

"Does the Patriarch have a suspect in mind?"

"Wang Chenfeng!"

*Hiss!* "Patriarch, although we have long had friction with the Wang Family, the two families have cooperated for many years after all. Could it be someone else?"

Ye Wentao was somewhat uncertain. It wasn't that he doubted Lu Xuan, but it was truly hard to believe the Wang Family would do such a thing to an ally.

Lu Xuan recounted the events of the afternoon once more.

Upon hearing that Wang Chenfeng wanted Lu Jingan to marry into their Family as a son-in-law, anger immediately surfaced on everyone's faces.

"Simply arrogant!"

"Lord Wang Yuanhua has acted cautiously and with great wisdom his whole life. How could he sire such a fool?"

Wang Weifeng, among the crowd, was even more furious. First, the man insulted him, then his mother, and finally the entire Lu Family.

This Wang Chenfeng had already found his way to death.

"Alright~"

"I will now make the following deployments. Wen Tao, take notes."

"Ye Feng, you lead one hundred Martial Artists to intercept them with me. Draw eighty percent of the Family's Innate Martial Artists to accompany us.

Dashan and Dahe, you take the Hunting Team to circle around behind them and dig traps. You must not let a single person escape.

Jing'an, you and the remaining people stay behind to guard the home. Coordinate with the Militia and use the banquet as a pretext to gather the villagers together. You absolutely cannot let any fish that slip through the net go on a killing spree in the village."

"Yes, we obey the Patriarch's command."

"Patriarch, I... I want to go with you."

At this moment, Wang Weifeng spoke up, his expression serious and his gaze firm.

"Wei Feng, this time it might be your elder brother. If you go..."

"Patriarch, I am a vassal of the Lu Family. How can I evade when the main Family is in trouble? Wang Chenfeng has repeatedly insulted my Lu Family; I must slay this scoundrel with my own hands."

Seeing that he was not being pretentious, Lu Xuan nodded and agreed to his request.

"I don't care about casualty counts. I only want the Qingshan Lu Family to stand tall here, and I want all the invaders to be executed."

"Those who offend my Lu Family shall be killed without mercy!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

... "Husband, are you about to set out?"

Although Su Jing had not attended the deliberation in the hall, she had been listening from behind. She only came out after everyone had gone down to prepare.

"Don't worry, they are just some insignificant clowns, not worth mentioning."

"Husband, do not be careless either. I will wait for you to return home."

Su Jing naturally wouldn't say anything discouraging like 'don't go' at a time like this; she could only support Lu Xuan.

"Father! I want to go too!"

Lu Jingyan also spoke up at this time.

"Nonsense, you're not even an adult yet. Don't cause trouble."

"Father, I am the Second Young Master of the Lu Family, and this Lu Family is also my Lu Family. Although I'm not an adult, I am now at the Innate level of strength, and my archery is among the best in the Lu Family.

Is it that I, Lu Jingyan, am different from the others?

Father, I have grown up. Please let me go!!"

Lu Jingyan knelt on the ground and bowed his head low.

"Husband, Yaner has grown up. You... just let him go."

Tears flickered in Su Jing's eyes, but she still spoke up.

"Fine. You may go, but we must have an agreement on three points."

"Father, please say them."

"First, once you go, you are not some Young Lord of the Lu Family, but a common Martial Guard. You must follow orders.

Second, if you encounter a powerful enemy you cannot defeat, run when you should.

Third, use your bow and arrows to attack from a distance. Do not engage in close combat unless it is absolutely necessary."

"I promise you everything. As long as you let me go, I will listen to whatever you say."

"Good, then move out with the main force."

After Lu Xuan sent his son off, he turned to Lu Jingan and said,

"An'er, your cultivation as a Grandmaster has never been revealed. Now, you are your father's final trump card. My mission to intercept the enemy will surely succeed, but I fear others might try to take advantage of the chaos. You must guard our Lu Family well.

If you encounter a powerful enemy, do not meet force with force. Take your mother and younger siblings and retreat first, then wait for me to return."

"Father, rest assured. I will wait for your triumphant return."

... "Patriarch, everything is ready. The Hunting Team has set out ahead of us."

"Good. Everyone, move out."

... Wang Chenfeng did not return to the county town after leaving the Lu Family; instead, he arrived at the team he had brought in advance.

"Young Lord, everything is ready. Just say the word, and we can charge out and leave no living soul in West Mountain Village."

"Hmph, that West Mountain Village still has some Martial Artists. Do not be careless.

By the way, has the Grandmaster from the Qian Family arrived?"

"The Qian Family's Grandmaster has arrived, and he also brought ten Innate Martial Artists. Adding our own, we have a total of over thirty Innate Martial Artists. This is much more formidable than the Zhao Family of the past."

The middle-aged man said with a beaming smile.

Over these years, through cooperation with the Lu Family, they had earned a massive fortune from the winery and restaurants, purchasing a vast amount of cultivation resources.

This was also the reason he was striking at Lu Xuan—because his Wang Family only received fifty percent.

In his view, it should be a ninety-ten split.

He had started hinting to the Lu Family a year ago, but Lu Xuan completely ignored him.

So now he wanted it all. Such vast profits were enough to make him take this risk, even at the cost of being rebuked by Wang Yuanhua or risking a fallout between father and son.

He wanted to obtain the Lu Family's recipes and the Lu Family's foundation. When that happened, his Wang Family would surely be able to take another step forward.

"Tell everyone to strike when it gets dark. Three Grandmasters will besiege Lu Xuan; ensure his demise. Dispatch half of the Innate Martial Artists to slaughter the rest of the Lu Family. We must pull them up by the roots."

"Young Master, what about Wang Weifeng?"

"Hehe~ Since he likes being a dog so much, let him die in an 'accident'!"

Wang Chenfeng answered nonchalantly.