One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

Lu Linglong, Lu Jin's great-granddaughter.

"Grandpa's back? Just in time for me to finish cooking. Don't forget to eat later."

As Lu Linglong wiped her hands with her apron and walked inside, her tone as light as a lark, "I'm going to Baiyun Temple. Master said he's going to give us a private lesson tonight on the advanced application of Qi—it's a rare opportunity."

After saying that, she turned to leave, her foot already stepping over the threshold.

"return!"

Lu Jin roared at the top of his lungs, so loudly that the crows in the locust tree in the courtyard fluttered up and took flight, "What are you doing running to Baiyun Temple so late at night? A young lady like you! Linglong, it's not that I'm saying anything—"

"Stop!"

Lu Linglong's voice came from outside the door, and then she came back in as well.

She walked behind Lu Jin, skillfully placing her hands on his shoulders, her thumbs pressing precisely on his Jianjing acupoint with just the right amount of pressure—her technique was surprisingly professional. "Grandpa, where did you get upset again? Are you confused? Have you forgotten? I'm a lay disciple of Baiyun Temple! The seniors specially took time out of their busy schedules to give me extra lessons today; wouldn't it be a loss if I didn't go?"

As she spoke, she increased the pressure on her hands, and Lu Jin groaned twice as she squeezed him, his shoulders visibly relaxing.

"It's Grandpa's fault—Grandpa forgot that he took his anger out on you."

Lu Jin's tone softened slightly as she patted her granddaughter's small hand on her shoulder. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned her head and asked, "By the way, where's your older cousin, Lu Lin?"

"You mean my older cousin?"

Lu Linglong continued working, tilting her head and thinking for a moment, "He seems to have gone to a gathering with friends. He's been quite busy lately, never coming home for dinner. What's wrong, Grandpa? You miss him? Then I'll call him right now and tell him to get back here—"

"You bastard!"

Lu Jin slammed his hand on the table, causing the pendulum of the old clock to swing three times, and the teacup lid to bounce twice on the rim of the cup.

He puffed out his beard and glared, his face taut with wrinkles, pointing a finger into the air as if at some unfortunate absentee. "You idle away your days, doing nothing, running around aimlessly, accomplishing nothing! How old are you? In your mid-twenties! You do nothing productive, spending your days with a bunch of scoundrels, wasting your time, squandering your years, achieving nothing! You fall behind at every step! Look at other people's kids, they're already standing tall and proud in their twenties! I'm really worried sick about you youngsters!"

Lu Linglong flinched at the slap, quickly ran to the table, poured herself a cup of tea, and presented it to Lu Jin with both hands. Her voice held a hint of fright but more concern and confusion: "Grandpa, calm down, have some tea. Why are you so angry today? From what you're saying—did you run into some genius junior? And someone the same age as my cousin?"

She shoved the teacup into Lu Jin's hand, tilted her head, and continued to ask, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction: "That can't be right, can it? My older cousin is only in his early twenties, a graduate of a prestigious university, and a recognized genius among the younger generation in our family. He's not as bad as you say, is he? Not doing his proper job—where did you get that idea? My older cousin is just helping the family manage their businesses, isn't he? Grandpa, the main thing is, our family isn't short of money. In today's society, it's all about making money, and my older cousin doesn't gamble, drink, or womanize; he's not some spoiled brat—"

"Hmph! What good is money!"

Lu Jin slammed his teacup down on the table, spilling a few drops of tea. He poked the table with a finger, each word seemingly squeezed out between clenched teeth. "Can you even compete with those in power? You guys—you're all in your mid-twenties, and you can't even see this much! Don't you understand the nature of our country? People's democratic dictatorship, the leadership of the Party—didn't you learn these things in your textbooks? You think you're so great? You're miles ahead of them!"

Lu Linglong was stunned by these words.

She wasn't frightened, but rather felt that this wasn't something her great-grandfather would normally say.

Although her great-grandfather had a fiery temper, he rarely used such a disappointed tone when giving political lessons.

She muttered under her breath, "Oh, Grandpa, is he really that bad? I'm only seventeen, not even eighteen yet..."

"Grandpa wasn't talking about you!"

Lu Jin waved her hand, a hint of helplessness in her voice, "I was talking about your older cousin! Since you're here, let him see for himself, learn a thing or two, and understand what it means to be outmatched!"

He pointed to the phone sticking out halfway from Lu Linglong's pocket and commanded in an unquestionable tone, "Open your phone and search for—Zhuge Ming! After you've searched, you'll know everything!"

Lu Linglong paused for a moment, then took out her phone from her pocket and quickly typed three words on the screen with her slender fingers.

Pressing the Enter key redirects the page, and search results instantly fill the entire screen.

Then she froze.

Her gray-blue pupils widened slightly in the reflection of the phone screen, and her mouth changed from a slit to a small "O" shape, which then grew bigger and bigger until it could fit an egg inside.

Even her ahoge (cowlick) froze at that moment.

"My God—is this...is this even human?"

Her voice trembled as her fingers slid rapidly across the screen, increasingly unable to believe her eyes: "Admitted to Tsinghua University at twelve, completed her bachelor's, master's, and doctoral studies, completed her postdoctoral research at seventeen... National Science and Technology Progress Award (Special Prize)... Model Worker of the PLA in Strengthening the Military through Science and Technology... First-level Inspector of Zhejiang Province, concurrently holding the rank of Director-General..."

She stared at the photo on the screen for several seconds—it was an ID photo of a young man wearing a white shirt, with long, dark blue slicked-back hair, thin-rimmed glasses, a calm and serene expression, and the national emblem on his chest reflecting a gentle luster.

"Twenty-five years old—are you serious?"

She turned to look at Lu Jin, her expression a mixture of shock and something else she couldn't quite define. She tapped the screen with her finger, scrolling down the entries, "Zhuge—his surname is Zhuge! No wonder! Zhuge Liang! Grandfather, he was a member of Zhuge Liang's faction, wasn't he?!"

"You've learned something new, haven't you? You should learn from them!"

Lu Jin snorted, his tone carrying the sigh of someone who had been there and the admonition of someone who had been through it all.

He reached out and pressed down, gesturing for his granddaughter to take the phone. He then took the phone himself, flipped through a couple more pages, and turned the screen towards Lu Linglong. He tapped a spot on the screen with his finger, "Look ahead—he's still the director of the Party Committee Inspection Office of the state-owned enterprise 'All-in-One'. He's about to take up a public office position at the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, dual leadership, two positions with real power, all appointed on the same day. Where did you think your great-grandfather went today? He went to see him."