A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 136 Unpleasant Guest Arrives

"You're almost four stars already, so it seems I really shouldn't hesitate any longer."

Around noon, I spent several hours visiting the Gu Lan Xiang wine cellar at a local manor before meeting up with Guan Luoyang and the others. Upon hearing about Guan Luoyang's progress, I couldn't help but sigh with admiration.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief, clenched her left fist and slammed it into her right palm. "It's confirmed. I'll set off for Shaolin today."

An Feiyu asked in surprise, "Shaolin? Why are you suddenly planning to go there?"

"Although my kung fu is very different from the system of this world, the martial arts inherited from the Pandaren also include meditation and tranquility as an important part, and Shaolin is obviously the best choice."

Gu Lanxiang showed a string of prayer beads on her palm.

Her skin wasn't exactly fair, but the honey-colored texture on her palms still possessed a delicate quality unique to young girls, which complemented the antique-style, smooth black beaded necklace and the tender green folded cuff on her wrist.

"Actually, I had this idea when I first arrived at the Han residence. General Han fought alongside Shaolin monks. If I borrowed this token from him to ask Shaolin masters for advice, I would definitely make some progress."

Guan Luoyang agreed, saying, "There are still several months before the deadline for going to Chang'an. It's good that you have other plans. Sharpening your axe won't delay your work."

"Of course, I won't slack off. If the Shaolin monks are helpful and can help me solve that problem as soon as possible, I will come out and meet you immediately. If things don't go smoothly, at the latest, I will come out to find you in early July."

Gu Lanxiang put away the beaded string, made a phone call gesture with her right thumb and little finger, waved it near her cheek, and said, "From the vicinity of Luoyang to Shaolin Temple, there are rocky fields, mountains and valleys, and it's not a short distance to walk, but the straight-line distance is actually not beyond the contact range of our communication tokens."

"If you're planning to leave this area and there are any changes in your plans, remember to let me know."

An Feiyu accepted the decision and turned to Guan Luoyang, asking, "I'll definitely be staying at the Sword Forging Manor for a while longer. What about you? Would you like to come to Shaolin with me?"

"No need. My internal strength still has room for improvement. Next, I need to study two fist techniques that I haven't mastered yet. The direction is clear, so I'll just continue practicing here."

Guan Luoyang turned to Gu Lanxiang and said, "Be careful on your journey alone."

Gu Lanxiang said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, the three of us used to be solo reincarnators, so I can take care of myself."

"Come on, before we part, let's divide this gourd of wine."

笃.

Gu Lanxiang placed a gourd on the table, her hair framing her face, her eyes sparkling, and said with a smile, "People in the martial arts world have so many fancy brewing techniques. I chatted with their manager while we tasted some..."

That gourd of wine took a full half hour to drink.

Gu Lanxiang enthusiastically told several stories about people in the martial arts world brewing wine. She used the white porcelain teacups that were always kept in the room as wine cups and divided up the wine she had mixed herself from the gourd.

The liquor has a smooth and mellow taste; even amphetamines can drink it.

Once the gourd was empty, Gu Lanxiang picked it up and left without saying goodbye again. She simply waved goodbye to the two people in the room after she left the room, walking away briskly.

An Feiyu held her wine glass and looked towards the door for a while, then frowned slightly: "She's already gone? That's strange. It's like she forgot something?"

Guan Luoyang's expression remained unchanged, showing no signs of drunkenness. He simply relaxed a bit, resting his cheek on his left hand and idly playing with the wine glass in his right, saying casually, "Our little junior brother."

An Feiyu suddenly realized, "That's right, she was taking care of the little Taoist priest before, but now that she's run away, who's going to take care of him?"

The threat posed by Qiu Ruzui remains. To avoid being deceived by the Heavenly Secret Jade Mirror, besides a Grandmaster, only the Jade Snow Dragon Ring can withstand it.

Previously, the Snow Sweeping Taoist Temple was targeted by the Fire Luo Dao people, and the young Taoist Xia Qing was needed to activate and maintain the Jade Snow Dragon Ring. Guan Luoyang and the others had been taking the young Taoist with them. They had also asked Chen Shouzheng to escort Han Wengong away and bring the young Taoist over when they passed by the Sword Casting Manor.

"You don't need to think of Xia Qing as too fragile."

Guan Luoyang pointed and said, "The two rooms to the left of here are where he lives. I can hear everything that's happening. After he moved in, apart from thanking the people from the resort when they brought him food, he spent the rest of his time practicing his martial arts and reading. He's a very quiet and steady kid."

An Feiyu went along with it: "Since you don't dislike children, then I'll leave him in your care. I'll go and make a few more copies of those intelligence reports for future reference."

Anfei put down the empty cup and turned to go back to her room.

Guan Luoyang propped his face up with one hand, maintaining this posture as he leaned against the table, closing his eyes to rest for a while.

After hearing Xia Qing finish her breathing exercises, he went out and knocked on the young Taoist's door.

The young Taoist priest got out of bed, shuffling in his shoes, and hurriedly opened the door: "Please come in... Second Senior Brother!"

His height was just right; when he looked up at Guan Luoyang with a surprised expression, Guan Luoyang couldn't help but pat his head.

Unfortunately, the wooden hairpin in the Taoist's hair didn't feel very nice to touch. Guan Luoyang touched it a couple of times and then put it on the Taoist's shoulder instead.

"Having left your hometown and been traveling around with us these past few days, have you felt uncomfortable anywhere?"

The young Taoist priest was led inside by him, shaking his head and saying, "No, I'm perfectly healthy, and the food here and here, whether it was the previous mansion or this place, is delicious."

"That's good."

Guan Luoyang led him to sit down at the table.

The young Taoist priest met his gaze and inexplicably felt that his second senior brother hadn't finished speaking, and that there seemed to be much more to say.

"Is Second Brother here to check our homework?"

"Hmm, no rush. Your senior sister has to go on a long trip, so you probably won't see her for a while. You can tell me anything that's on your mind."

Guan Luoyang originally wanted to say a lot, such as asking the young Taoist what his thoughts were about his future life, what his goals were, whether he liked practicing martial arts, and whether he wanted to learn more. But then he thought that it was all nonsense.

After a child has recently gone through so many changes, it's pointless to ask him about his long-term thoughts. It only adds to his worries.

Guan Luoyang skipped those steps entirely.

"I see you have quite a bit of free time after you finish practicing your internal skills each day, so I'll set aside two hours for you to come to the courtyard and learn some moves from me. Would you like to learn in the morning or the afternoon?"

Anyway, he needed to figure out the last two moves of the Bai Family Holy Fist, so he could use the time he spent teaching the children to relax.

Upon hearing this, the young Taoist priest became even more delighted and, after a moment's thought, said, "Would one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon be alright?"

Guan Luoyang nodded: "Okay, you can decide the specific time, but you must remember that once the time is set, you can't be late, or I will punish you."

The young Taoist priest reacted quickly: "If I perform well, will I get a prize?"

Guan Luoyang laughed and said, "That's fine. If you learn quickly, I can consider teaching you a very powerful boxing style, even more powerful than your master's."

He rolled his eyes and added, "There could also be other prizes, like your favorite snacks."

"good!!"

The young Taoist priest threw himself into a more fulfilling life with great enthusiasm.

In the days that followed, many more guests arrived at the Sword Casting Manor.

Through the introduction of Wu Weiyang, the second young master of the Sword Casting Manor, An Feiyu and these people had some understanding of each other. Regarding the matter of the Fire Luo Path, many people claimed to be willing to contribute, but of course, only about half of them were truly actively involved.

These newcomers, representing the gangs and factions behind them, quickly established channels for exchanging intelligence with the factions that An Feiyu had previously discussed, agreed on codes, and coordinated their actions in various locations.

Just as these people were gathered in the hall discussing things in secret, a commotion broke out outside.

Wu Weiyang walked a few steps toward the door with a displeased expression and asked what was wrong.

A steward hurried over and said, "They are distinguished guests from the Lu family of Chang'an. They insist on going straight to the back mountain."

Behind the Sword Forging Manor lies the place where swords are forged. For decades, many famous swords that can cut through iron like mud, uphold righteousness and ward off evil, and can scare away poisonous insects and rodents even when unsheathed, have been produced here.

That was also a top-tier location within the Sword Forging Manor, heavily guarded. Especially this year, the old manor lord, Wu Pingqiang, had been stationed there for several months to complete the final step of the sword forging process, forbidding outsiders from disturbing him.

Even when Che Jinfeng came to ask for help, causing a group of experts to temporarily leave the Sword Casting Manor, no one bothered Wu Pingqiang.

I never expected that the group of guests today, who clearly had invitations, would be so impolite.

As the people inside emerged one after another, Jiang Jiusi, upon hearing this, blurted out, "Could it be Lu Pingdong?"

The manager nodded repeatedly: "It is indeed that person."

An Feiyu was puzzled. He turned his gaze and found that the people around him had a look of "I see" mixed with a hint of disgust on their faces after hearing the name.

Jiang Jiusi shook his head and said, "If it's him, then it's not surprising."

Wu Weiyang had already headed towards the road leading to the back mountain. Since their private conversation had been interrupted, everyone naturally followed to see what was going on.

As they walked, An Feiyu quietly asked Jiang Jiusi, and that's when she found out who this Lu Pingdong was.

During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a saying about five prominent families: Li, Cui, Lu, Zheng, and Wang. These five families had a long history, profound heritage, and great power. Each family produced a large number of ministers and generals. Despite the chaos of the times, they never declined and were among the top families.

Until the Zhenguan era, the court imposed many restrictions on these five families. The implementation of the imperial examination system gradually became effective, and Emperor Gaozong made a greater effort to crack down on these aristocratic families who controlled the flow of public opinion, which finally made these families restrain themselves.

The Lu family traces its lineage back to Lu Zhi, a great Confucian scholar from the late Han Dynasty. The family was once prominent, but after the change of dynasties and the rise of the Tang Dynasty, it fell into obscurity for many years. Several decades ago, the situation even deteriorated to the point where some members wanted to switch from commerce to agriculture and divide the family property.

It wasn't until the brothers Lu Gu'an and Lu Pingdong successively reached the level of first-class masters, especially after Lu Gu'an rose through the ranks in the imperial court and became the Minister of Revenue, that the Lu family once again showed signs of prosperity.

However, besides being a top-notch martial arts master, Lu Pingdong is also viewed with absurdity by many.

These two brothers were once hated, attacked, and framed by their other brothers, both legitimate and illegitimate. Their actions were even worse than those of their enemies. Lu Pingdong kept this in mind and always wanted to eliminate such heartbreaking conflicts between brothers at their root.

Therefore, after the two brothers took power, Lu Pingdong made a decision that the sons of the Lu family were not allowed to raise the illegitimate children left behind by them, their concubines, maids, etc.

Because of his tough attitude and high martial arts skills, no one dared to disobey him. As a result, this prestigious family actually drove all their children, from three or four-year-old to twelve or thirteen-year-old, out of the mansion in the dead of winter. They really had no shame at all, which caused a lot of discussion among the people at the time.

At that time, the Lu family was just beginning to show signs of revival. The sons and daughters born out of wedlock were still family members, each with their own uses. They were ultimately incomparable to outsiders. At this point, most aristocratic families would only regret not having enough children.

Therefore, after word of Lu Pingdong's decision spread, the common people resented his cold-heartedness, and the powerful families laughed at his lack of wisdom.

It wasn't until several months later that Lu Gu'an heard about the matter and rushed back from Chang'an to recall his children who had been living away from home. It was also because of this incident that Lu Gu'an, in a fit of anger, moved almost the entire Lu family to Chang'an so that he could keep an eye on them.

After crossing a stone bridge spanning a small river, An Feiyu could see two groups of people locked in a stalemate on the grass in the distance.

On one side were the disciples of the Sword Forging Manor, all dressed in the same style.

On the other side, most of the dozen or so people were dressed as servants, except for the leader, who wore a jade crown and crane cloak, with a long sword at his waist. He stood tall and straight like a pine tree, and his face exuded an arrogant aura.

"Mr. Lu has come from afar, and I have failed to greet him properly; this is truly my fault as a junior."

Wu Weiyang smiled and walked over from afar, cupping her hands in greeting. She said, "Quickly, quickly, come with me to the hall so I can prepare a feast to apologize and to welcome Mr. Lu back."

Lu Pingdong rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword, his gaze sweeping lightly over the group that had come with Wu Weiyang. He paused only slightly on Jiang Jiusi, ignoring the others, and shook his head, saying, "Weiyang, you're too kind."

"However, I have come here today on a very important matter. I must talk to the person in charge of the Sword Casting Manor. Your family members are so inconsiderate, refusing to let me see Brother Wu. Fine, since you are here, go and call Brother Wu here."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone from the Sword Forging Manor changed slightly, and they were greatly displeased.

Wu Pingqiang, the former master of the Sword Forging Manor, originally had three sons. Unfortunately, his eldest son was born with an illness and died young. His third son was hot-tempered and made enemies in the martial arts world, and was killed. Only Wu Weiyang was left as his successor.

In recent years, this second young master has been in charge of the manor's external affairs, and his prestige among the villagers is almost catching up with that of the old manor lord.

Lu Pingdong's words were arrogant and dismissive, showing no regard for Wu Weiyang and even disrespect for Wu Pingqiang.

Wu Weiyang's smile faded, and she said, "Second Master Lu, I have long heard that the Lu family has transitioned from medicine to martial arts, and is most skilled in cultivating inner peace and tranquility. The Famous Swords Tournament at our manor is just around the corner, and my father will naturally make an appearance. Surely the Lu family's experts wouldn't be unable to wait even this short time?"

Lu Pingdong said arrogantly, "Hmph, I, Lu, am only trying to be helpful. I want to see your father first, otherwise I'm afraid you won't have enough time to prepare for the Famous Swords Tournament."

(End of this chapter)