Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
With the wound-healing elixir that Zhou Donghuang administered to Yun Lu, it took only three days before Yun Lu’s internal injuries were seventy to eighty percent healed, and it would be several more days at most before they were completely healed.
As for Yun Lu’s external wounds, they had already scabbed over with the aid of Zhou Donghuang’s blood-staunching elixir.
Only the ten fingernails that had been pulled out would need time to recover slowly.
“Big Brother, I’ve been awake for two days… aren’t you curious why the Fan family wanted to capture me?”
Half-lying on the bed in a room in the inn, Yun Lu glanced at the youth sitting at the head of the bed with a witty smile.
“There’s nothing to be curious about.”
Zhou Donghuang smiled casually. “I only know that you are my little sister… that is enough.”
“Then would Big Brother like to hear of my past?” Yun Lu asked.
“If Xiao Lu would like to share, of course Big Brother is willing to listen.”
Zhou Donghuang smiled as he patted the girl’s head. His warm and gentle demeanor made him seem like a totally different person from his usual aloof self.
“Big Brother, I was originally the daughter of the patriarch of the grand Yun family… when I was five, some people from the Fan family came to my home and killed my parents, my grandfather, and killed everyone in the Yun family.”
Yun Lu could still control her emotions at the beginning, but when she reached this point, her little fists were clenched together and her expression was taut, her eyes showing a look of vengeance.
Usually, even major tycoon families did not readily exterminate another family, not even if the other family was only a grand family.
But the Fan family was different.
The elder sister of the patriarch of the Fan family was the consort of the Chu royal family and had the support of the Chu royal family, and they did not need to abide by the decrees passed down by the imperial court of Yunyang country.
This was the advantage of one’s background.
“My mother took advantage of the chaos and sent me away from the Yun family mansion, and entrusted the item that the Fan family was after to me. I wanted my mother to come with me, but she refused and insisted on meeting death together with my father. After a long time, after I had walked very far and escaped the pursuit of the Fan family, I found myself in Yunfeng prefecture… after four years, I met Uncle Freezing Wind, and he originally did not agree to take me, but I viewed him as my hope for revenge and insisted on following him.
“Big Brother, you don’t know… when I attained level-two of the Qi-Gathering, how happy I was because I had the hope of revenge.”
“Later on, when I met Big Brother and Mother, it was the first time I had the feeling of belonging to a family.”
“The only thing I did not expect was that while traveling with Mother on the way to meet you, I was recognized by the Fan family.”
At this, Yun Lu’s expression was full of regret. “Big Brother, I should not have insisted on riding a ferghana horse with Mother to rush to the Chu royal city, if I had ridden in a carriage with Mother, I would definitely not have attracted the attention of the Fan family.
“Silly girl, that isn’t your fault.”
Zhou Donghuang shook his head. “Anyway, Mother is fine, but you have been wronged.”
“Hehe… Big Brother, I’ll take you to retrieve that item. You’ve helped avenge the Yun family. I would like to give you that item,” Yun Lu said earnestly.
“No need for that.”
Zhou Donghuang shook his head again. “I avenged you only because you are my little sister and no other reason. Whatever it is, it is yours, since it belongs to the Yun family. In the future, keep it with you, and Big Brother will teach whoever tries to take it from you a lesson,” Zhou Donghuang said with a slight smile.
“Big Brother, although the Yun family treats that thing as a family heirloom, several generations of research has yielded nothing about it… if not for my uncle who talked about it when he was drunk, it would never have drawn the attention of the Fan family.”
Yun Lu shook her head and said, “That thing in my hands is useless. However, if I give it to you, perhaps you could find out something about it. After all, Big Brother is so capable.”
As Yun Lu said this, she looked at Zhou Donghuang with a look of worship, like a complete fangirl.
“Big Brother, accompany me to retrieve that thing, will you?” Yun Lu asked as she held Zhou Donghuang’s hand with both her hands, swinging his arm and pouting.
“Fine, fine, fine, I will go with you to retrieve that thing,” Zhou Donghuang answered helplessly. “Where did you hide it?”
“In Nanzhao prefecture.”
Nanzhao prefecture was the superior-level prefecture that one had to pass through when traveling from Guangling prefecture to the Chu royal city.
“Big Brother will make arrangements for Mother and Freezing Wind, then we’ll go together to Nanzhao prefecture.”
After Zhou Donghuang said this to Yun Lu, he left her room to look for Freezing Wind, Lu Qinghu, and the others. Now, Freezing Wind had already met up and gathered together with Zhou Han, Zhou Feng and the others.
“The three of you, I’ll get Little Gold to send you and my mother to the Chu royal city.”
Zhou Donghuang looked at Freezing Wind, Zhou Han, and Zhou Feng. “When you reach the Chu royal city, Fu will arrange accommodation for you when you see him.
As Freezing Wind and the others acknowledged respectfully, Zhou Donghuang looked at Lu Qinghu. “As for Patriarch Lu… you’ll return to the prefecture capital of Yunfeng prefecture.”
“Young Master Donghuang.”
Lu Qinghu gritted his teeth and knelt down before Zhou Donghuang. “In the future, I want to follow you and give my all in your service!”
“You are a patriarch of a family; why should you follow me?”
Zhou Donghuang shook his head.
“I can hand over the Lu family to my second brother, Lu Bao… as for me, I would like to follow Young Master Donghuang and experience some of the world out there!” Lu Qinghu said with an earnest look on his face.
Each time he saw the youth before him, he always gave Lu Qinghu a different surprise. How long had it been, and the youth was already a Petty Consummation adept of the Qi-Gathering? And the amount of improvement in everyone with the youth had shocked him and made him extremely envious.
Being the patriarch of the Lu family had its glory, but its appeal to him could not be compared to the appeal of attaining the legendary “Connate stage.” He e still felt that if he followed this youth, he had the chance of attaining the Connate stage in the future!
Zhou Donghuang looked deeply at Lu Qinghu, who was waiting anxiously and said casually, “You’d still better make a trip back to the Lu family. If you don’t change your mind on the way, make all the necessary arrangements in the Lu family, then come and find me in the Chu royal city.”
“Many thanks to Young Master Donghuang.”
Zhou Donghuang’s assent left Lu Qinghu in a state of frenzied joy.
…
“Mother, you return to the Chu royal city first, Xiao Lu, and I will be back in two days,” Zhou Donghuang told Lin Lan with a smile as he personally saw her off onto Little Gold’s back.
“Donghuang, Mother knows your current ability is very great… but be careful nonetheless, don’t be arrogant.”
Lin Lan said this with a serious expression, obviously worried that Zhou Donghuang would swell up with pride because of his great ability and do as he pleased. “You must remember, there’s always a bigger fish.”
But she did not know that Zhou Donghuang had a thousand years of experience and knew these principles better than her. “Mother, don’t worry, I know this.”
“Xiao Lu, keep an eye on your big brother,” Lin Lan said to Yun Lu before leaving, looking at her with a tender expression.
“I will, Mother.”
Yun Lu giggled.
“Go on.”
At Zhou Donghuang’s command, Little Gold took flight with Lin Lan, Freezing Wind, Zhou Feng and Zhou Han on its back, and headed towards the Chu royal city.
Only when they were on their way did Zhou Donghuang gather Yun Lu up in his arms and mount Big Gold’s back, and they flew off in the direction indicated by Yun Lu.
With Big Gold’s speed, it only took them a day and a night to arrive at the place Yun Lu spoke of.
A bamboo forest outside a small town.
“I remember… I think it is here.”
It had been three years ago, and Yun Lu had then been six years old. Although she had matured as a result of the through tough times she had endured, it had been too long, and her memory was still fuzzy. Only after they had combed half the bamboo forest did they find the parcel she had buried years before.
The parcel was not big, only about the size of an adult’s fist. When Yun Lu opened the parcel, a small metal box with rusted frames was revealed.
Yun Lu gazed at the small box with mixed emotions. It was because of this thing that her whole family was destroyed.
“Big Brother.”
Yun Lu passed the box to Zhou Donghuang, forcing out a smile. “Take a look, see if it is any use to you.”
Zhou Donghuang took the box and opened it and saw at once something lying in the box that looked like a metal ball about the size of a baby’s fist. It gave off a piercing sense of chilliness.
“This is… a sword sphere?!”
As he picked up the small metal ball, Zhou Donghuang’s eyes widened involuntarily. “This… how did this appear here?”
In Zhou Donghuang’s view, this should not have even appeared in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, much less in the country of Yunyang.
This was a “sword sphere,” something that only adepts at the Primal Core stage and above could produce using their Samadhi fire. Once it was activated, it could transform into a sword and attack.
Sword spheres were something that adepts of the Primal Core stage and above produced for the personal protection of their juniors who were at a lower level of practice.
Of course, activating the sword sphere took a certain technique. Without that technique, even Connate stage adepts would be unable to activate the sword sphere.
“Big Brother, you recognize this thing?” Yun Lu asked in surprise. “You just said… it’s called a sword sphere?”
“Xiao Lu, watch carefully.”
Zhou Donghuang smiled as he called out to Yun Lu and activated the qi in his body, using a special technique to transfer his qi into the sword sphere.
After his qi had entered the sword sphere, Zhou Donghuang felt a sense of hunger from the sword sphere that swallowed up more of his qi. It was only after half the qi in his body had been swallowed did Zhou Donghuang stop transferring his qi to the sword sphere. The sword sphere immediately flashed in Zhou Donghuang’s hand as it transformed into a small, unremarkable-looking sword, glittering with a visible coldness.
Whizz!
At a flick of Zhou Donghuang’s hand, the small sword shot out and circled the bamboo forest. In a flash, it had sliced all the bamboo in half, then transformed back into a small metal ball and returned to his hand.
“That attack… below the Connate stage, no one can defend against it.”
Zhou Donghuang’s eyes gleamed. “Transferring forty percent of my qi into the sword sphere activated it like this… if I transfer all my qi into the sword sphere, even an ordinary Connate stage adept cannot escape death!”
