Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1287: Huai Ling Lu

Lu Qingxu hurried out very quickly, which was enough to show that he was really a little panicked. When he saw that Lu Ning was fine and even had a fish in her hand, he slowed down his pace.

Following behind him was Peng Yujian. When this disciple of Zhenjian Villa saw the fish in Lu Ning's hand, his expression suddenly changed slightly, because the size and color of the fish were obviously a bit strange.

"Drunken Shadow is dead. The Demon Suppression Department has taken action." Lu Ning held up the fish in her hand. "This fish was born from the environment where Drowning Shadow lives. The Demon Suppression Department said that eating it will be beneficial. I would like to ask Uncle Peng to help arrange it."

"Is the demon dead?" Peng Yujian was shocked and quickly invited Lu Ning back to the villa, this time to a larger courtyard. On the way, Lu Qingxu also told Lu Ning what happened from his perspective.

The moment Lu Ning entered the house, the whole house turned into a dark cave. Nothing inside could be seen, and Peng Yujian didn't dare to go in at all. After a while, the house returned to normal, but when asking the disciples in the house, no one had walked in just now.

Lu Ning knew that she was teleported away as soon as she entered, and she was not surprised by this.

After that, Lu Qingxu and Peng Yujian searched all over the villa for Lu Ning. This sudden disappearance was too unbelievable for people, so Lu Qingxu became unusually anxious. Until Lu Ning came back, they were still searching various areas of Zhenjian Villa.

Fortunately, Lu Ning came back and brought good news.

"You two should stay at Zhenjian Villa today. Since the demon has been killed, the birthday banquet should start as scheduled." Peng Yujian invited warmly. Lu Qingxu declined twice before accepting the invitation.

  =

After nightfall, the gate of the courtyard belonging to the Demon Suppression Division at the foot of the mountain was pushed open. Ning Ke stepped into the courtyard aggressively, looked around, pulled out the copper coin sword, pointed at the door and shouted: "Who is here! Come out!"

The only light on in the house in the courtyard shook slightly, and then a person walked out.

He was dressed in linen, tall and thin, with a somewhat tattered hat on his head that covered his face. He had an unremarkable long sword slung across his back, and a scimitar hanging from his waist.

Ning Ke frowned slightly, and the copper coin sword fell down.

"Is it Lord Li Duanyu?"

"I never thought that I would meet the next head of the Head-Cutting Temple here." The tall and thin man sighed softly, "Whose head are you looking for?"

"Senior, there is no need to be so polite." Ning Ke said, "I'm sorry I can't tell you the target. I wonder what Mr. Li has seen here? The people in the Demon Suppression Division here..."

"Dead." Li Duanyu adjusted his bamboo hat. "They were not capable enough to identify a newborn monster, so they died long ago."

"A new great demon?" Ning Ke looked up at the house. "Someone told me today that the demon-suppressing officers here just left... Since you can say they are dead, it seems that there is definite evidence."

The two looked at each other and said a name together.

"A hundred faces and a thousand appearances."

"You said someone told us today." Li Duanyu pulled his bamboo hat down a little more. "The last mute slave here has been dead for at least three days. The demon prevented his body from decaying, peeled off his face, and devoured his brain fluid. If anyone comes here in the next few days, what they see must be the demon in disguise."

"Mr. Li, would you like to attend the birthday banquet at Zhenjian Villa?" Ning Ke asked.

"Of course, the birthday banquet should be the first place where we meet. And the first head you are going to cut off will also appear at this birthday banquet?" Li Duanyu asked.

"Ning Ke is not such an unromantic person." Ning Ke said, "If there is a chance to resolve it silently, I will not disturb such a grand event. And if there is no chance, I will just let that person live a little longer."

"Of course I trust the guarantee of the Chief of the Holy Temple." Li Duanyu smiled, "Since you are from the Demon Suppression Bureau, you should know how many demons there are here?"

"No more than five fingers."

"'But', the young are to be feared." Li Duanyu sighed, "I will also do my best. As for the problem here, since it belongs to the Demon Suppression Bureau, I will leave it to the Demon Suppression Bureau."

After saying that, Li Duanyu leaped forward and blended lightly into the night.

Ning Ke walked into the house and saw several pieces of paper on the table in the main hall. The words on the papers were blurred, and there was obvious demonic power on them.

After being damaged by the demons, what was written on the paper can no longer be traced back. However, judging from the material of the paper, these papers are used to record demon information. The demon suppression department in each place will record the unresolved demon information and bind it into a book.

"Four demons...including Baimian Qianxiang himself, have concealed the information of the four demons." Ning Ke tapped the paper on the table, then lit it with a wisp of talisman fire and burned it, purifying it along with the remaining demon aura.

Niying was not a demon from this place, but Ning Ke had followed him. The purpose of these four demons was probably to complete a hunt in Zhenjian Villa. After all, many people in the martial arts world practiced internal and external martial arts, and they had strong blood and energy, and most of them were brave and aggressive, making them perfect targets for demons.

At this time, the ghost mask on half of Ning Ke's face began to move slowly. Ning Ke reached out and touched the mask, and said softly: "Don't worry, killing Niying today should be able to relieve some of my hunger and thirst. When the birthday banquet comes, both the host and the guests will enjoy themselves, and you will naturally be indispensable."

The mask's movements slowly stopped.

  =

On the second day, Lu Qingxu said goodbye to Lu Ning and went down the mountain.

The fish that Lu Ning brought back last night was made into soup by Peng Yujian. It was just as Ning Ke said. After drinking the soup, Lu Ning felt that his internal strength had improved a lot. A vague feeling of breaking through to the second level appeared during his meditation last night.

When practicing Senluo Jiuzhuan to the second level, one will have protective Qi, and ordinary hidden weapons will not hurt him. As for defending against firearms or swords at close range, a deeper skill is needed. Lu Ning was very satisfied with this progress. Practicing internal skills is always a long process. She was able to practice this internal skill to the second level in less than half a month after entering the scene. It was already a natural talent.

Although this talent is also hers.

After coming down the mountain this time, Lu Ning also officially met another group of people from the Lu family. It was not difficult to find them. Lu Qingxu took Lu Ning directly to the location of the best house group in the village. He asked the local villagers and found out where the people of the Lu family lived. When he knocked on the door, Lu Ning saw a man in his thirties, with a white face and no beard, standing at the door. He looked a bit like Lu Qingxu. When the man saw Lu Qingxu, he was stunned at first, and then smiled reluctantly: "Brother..."

"Won't you invite me in to sit down, Old Four?" Lu Qingxu asked.

"Brother, why bother inviting me now? We are all family." Lu Qingyun made way and glanced at Lu Ning again, "Is this brother's adopted daughter?"

"Yes."

"A Ning walks steadily and breathes in a measured way. Has she practiced Kung Fu?"

"Aning does practice martial arts, but she doesn't practice it for her family. She just practices it out of interest. Don't even think about pulling her into the family faction." Lu Qingxu said directly.

"Even so, it's better to have a family to protect you than to be alone. Brother, you know how difficult it is to make it alone."

"If you have the ability, it is also a training to venture out on your own, and what you gain is yours. Fourth Brother, how much power do you think I have borrowed from my family? Just in terms of being an official, the favors my family has received from me are much greater than what I have gained from my own family."

"You can't say that it was wrong for your parents to force you to study when you were a child," said Lu Qingyun.

"That's why I've always taken good care of my father and mother. If the capital wasn't so treacherous and not a place to live for a long time, I would have wanted to bring them to the capital."

"Beijing...Brother, your official position..."

"It's lost, so what's the big deal." Lu Qingxu shrugged. "It's easier without an official position, and I'm not without anything. I started as a county magistrate, and the properties I've bought in various positions are enough to provide me with food and clothing for the rest of my life. But God is not giving me long, and this country is about to fall into chaos."

"The country is going to be in chaos?"

"Evil men are in the court, jesters are in charge of government affairs. Honest men have to go to the borderland, and the suffering of the people cannot reach the ears of the emperor. How can this be a good thing? Fourth Brother, although you are a martial artist, if you want to support your own lineage, you should also know the current situation in the world."

"Of course I am not as good as my eldest brother."

As he spoke, Lu Qingyun had already led Lu Qingxu into the main hall and greeted the people who were accompanying him.

After all, Zhenjian Villa is a sect in the martial arts world, and its positioning is different from that of a large clan like Huailing Lu Clan. The people sent by Lu Clan this time are all clan members who have entered the martial arts world, and Lu Qingxu also recognizes half of them. After Lu Qingyun introduced Lu Qingxu, Lu Ning also listened to the general idea.

But even with her current martial arts skills, without looking at the other things she brought from the distribution center, she could tell that these Lu clan members were all inexperienced and only came here to see the world. The oldest among them was only twenty years old.

"You brought so many young tribesmen here, you must bring them back safely." Lu Qingxu said.

After all, Lu Qingyun was Lu Qingxu's younger brother, and he immediately heard the hidden meaning: "Brother, is there any change?"

"All the demon suppressing officials of the Demon Suppression Bureau have disappeared. Yesterday, An Ning and I went up the mountain to pay a visit, and we even ran into a demon. If An Ning hadn't been lucky enough to meet a demon suppressing official who chased her here, I'm afraid her life would be in danger." Lu Qingxu said, "And whether there is only one demon is still unknown. I have frequently encountered suspected demons all the way from the capital, and the rumors about the demon star in the northern frontier are probably not empty talk."

Lu Qingyun knew that this elder brother never joked about such things, so he became serious: "I must be vigilant, but now we have come here on behalf of Huai Ling Lu family, and we must not leave before the birthday banquet is over."

"Don't leave the crowd, don't go into unfamiliar places, and don't communicate too much with people you don't know the details of. What you have to do is to send these young people back safely." Lu Qingxu warned.

"Listen to big brother's arrangements."

"Okay, tell me how things are going at Huai Ling's house?"

"I have asked someone to prepare a meal, brother, let's eat and talk at the same time."

Although this Lu Qingyun is a martial artist, he still has some of the temperament of a scholar. Lu Ning is still acting as a follower of Lu Qingxu. As long as Lu Qingxu doesn't say anything to her, she will listen beside him.

During the meal, Lu Qingyun also told Lu Qingxu about the current situation of Huailing Lu family.

The Huai Ling Lu family started a hundred years ago, when the Wei Emperor Kuangwu was in power, and launched a war to suppress foreign races. The Lu family's ancestors followed the army to do business and made a fortune in the war. After returning to Huai Ling, they took advantage of their friends in the army to take root and set up their own businesses in all walks of life in the local area. Almost within a month, they became the largest local boss. Then they began to cultivate a new generation of children in the family, regardless of whether they were scholars, farmers, merchants or workers, and cultivated them with all their efforts according to their talents. This second generation of children also prevented the Huai Ling Lu family from declining after the ancestor's old age, but instead became a real big family, and even became one of the aristocratic families a hundred years later - although this aristocratic family existed for a short time.

However, now that the fourth generation of the Lu family is in charge, another problem has arisen. That is, the family members who have been trained in various fields through tradition have all acquired some skills, and conflicts have gradually arisen between them. Now that the family head is still in control, there has not been a major problem. But the precursor to the split has already appeared.

"I came here this time to avoid the trivial matters at home." Lu Qingyun complained to Lu Qingxu, "All the people brought by my second brother have opened their own shops now. Some even want to follow the example of their ancestors and go to the northern frontier to run a business, but you know, big brother, this is different from the past. If they go to the northern frontier, they will die."

"So they're arguing again?"

"Nowadays, most of the family's income, including schools, ancestral temples, shops, and farms, comes from the support of the merchants. They believe that they are indispensable to the family and should receive more support. However, apart from the shops, the people who are actually in charge of the business are mostly the agriculturalists. They believe that merchants only care about profits and don't know the difficulties of farming, so they can't be the ones who really decide things. As for the scholars, they are still arrogant and are much more interested in criticizing current problems than these so-called 'mundane affairs'."

"Where are you from the labor faction?" Lu Qingxu asked.

"Brother, you know that the labor faction is somewhere in between the merchant faction and the agricultural faction. They know that making money and farming are not easy, but the labor faction knows that they have the largest number of people, so they insist that the decision should be made based on the number of people in order to be fair."

Listening to this mess, Lu Ning felt that the Lu family was doomed.

There are four main factions in a family, not to mention the various side branches, and there are disagreements among the factions themselves. Compared with the drawbacks of many traditional families where one person has the final say, the Lu family is just the other extreme. Everyone has their own ideas, which makes it impossible to get together as a team. Lu Qingxu and Lu Qingyun can sit down and talk peacefully because they are brothers. If it were a side branch, they would probably not be able to talk to each other.