Chapter 358: Chapter 228: Grudges and Drama, Encore

The original material for the candle holder was a tree seed called ’Green Rimu’, from which skin oil was extracted.

Before the fall of the Dao, Green Rimu seeds became scarce and hard to find, making the forgery apparent.

The He Family felt their reputation was tarnished, swallowing the insult in silence. Afterwards, my father visited Lu Zhongping once, and the other party flatly denied everything.

After this incident, the He and Lu families severed all ties.

He Jingfeng sighed.

"He, a distinguished gentleman in the antique trade, risking the offense of your He Family and the fallout of a big feud, just to get that Vermilion Bird Lamp—could there be some hidden reason?

Besides, in just a few days, the Lu Family’s Ronghua Studio replicated and forged an almost indistinguishable fake, which is very suspicious.

This implies that Lu Zhongping knew the intricate details of the Vermilion Bird Lamp, or even had seen the Ancient Bronze Lamp, otherwise how could he replicate it?"

Bai Qi crossed his arms, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"These doubts were all in my father’s mind, but the Vermilion Bird Lamp, mortgaged for three hundred taels, was not some rare treasure, at most being a burial item touched by a bit of yin energy."

He Jingfeng was also perplexed, unable to figure out the crux of it.

"Perhaps what he sought was not the Copper Lamp but something else. The Vermilion Bird is one of the four celestial spirits, an auspicious divine beast.

In the early days of the Dao’s fall, many nobles believed it could guide souls to heaven and grant immortality, thus making it a burial item. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

They even specifically invited Daoists to refine the ’Everlasting Candle’ and ’Longevity Oil’, making the Copper Lamp burn for a thousand years without extinguishing, ultimately resurrecting the tomb owner to live a second life."

Xu Zirong raised his thick eyebrows, munching on dried fruit preserves, saying:

"A Vermilion Bird Lamp, often its value isn’t the lamp itself but the lamp oil refined by the Daoist. I heard that in the early fall of the Dao, an emperor of a certain dynasty obliterated Buddhism, using the sacred blood of a Great Arhat as lamp oil, so his mausoleum would hang like the sun, never dimming."

Bai Qi glanced extra at Xu Zirong, who was eating the snacks zealously, thinking this chief of the Inheritance Hall was indeed knowledgeable.

He Jingfeng praised:

"Brother Xu, you are truly erudite, even knowing these hidden details."

Xu Zirong waved his hand and said generously:

"My family has several large vats of Profound Whale Oil, and we specially cast a set of Copper Lamps shaped with the tides supporting the bright moon, used only during grand feasts.

Thus, I understand the better the lamp, the more costly the oil. Time is merciless; mountains, stones, and vegetation will turn to nothing over centuries and millennia. A lamp that burns for a thousand or ten thousand years, it wouldn’t be too much to say it’s an Immortal Family artifact."

Rich Man indeed is bold!

Bai Qi secretly thought, the Profound Whale is a Spirit Beast and Monster from the East Sea, born with immense strength, capable of overturning rivers and driving waves. Even a Four Cultivation Grandmaster would struggle to capture one underwater, let alone kill and render it for oil.

Several vats of Profound Whale Oil, not cheaper than thirty Yellow Bud Pills!

"Brother Bai, the dramatic act of breaking through the door and destroying a household you mentioned earlier, what exactly does it mean?"

After discussing the feud between the He and Lu families, He Jingfeng finally couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked.

"The Daoist Official is conducting a major search in the County City tonight, having caught a remnant of the White Sun Sect, who came together with Lu Family’s head."

Bai Qi saw the vast night, a line of torches advancing through Xingqing Square like a dragon, and returned to the round table filled with delicacies:

"Brother Jingfeng, eat while you watch; you should have a good appetite tonight."

"The White Sun Sect!"

He Jingfeng’s complexion changed slightly, involving other charges, the Thirteen Firms might at most suffer financial loss to avoid disaster, but if connected to rebels and bandits, it would definitely be a huge calamity!

He picked up his chopsticks, stared blankly at the banquet dishes cooked from nine types of Spirit Beasts and Monsters, and said:

"Brother Bai, is the Lu Family really going to be finished?"

Bai Qi sat at the main seat, picked up a piece of tender Spirit Deer Meat, chewed, swallowed, and said in completion:

"Before dawn, it should be over."

...

...

Lu Zhongping was somewhat uneasy tonight. In the past, when he returned home, he would always have a bowl of the highly nourishing ’Ten Whip Soup’ for dinner.

After letting his Qi Blood circulate, he would choose someone from one of his seven or eight beautiful wives and concubines to serve him.

But for some reason, after sending Mr. Zhou Er to the Long Lake Villa and driving back to his mansion, this Lu Family head felt restless.

As if sitting on needles, he couldn’t sit still for long before getting up to pace and calm his anxious mood.

"The people of the Demon Cult are the most unpredictable..."

Lu Zhongping gazed at the bowl of cold "Ten Whip Soup" and pondered with his eyelids drooping:

"That Zhou fellow has set his sights on Ninghai Zen’s disciple. If things go awry, it’ll be up to me to clean up the mess! I really shouldn’t have boarded this pirate ship! But if I don’t cooperate with these people, the Lu Family has no other way out. How many generations can the family business last just sitting on it?"

Lu Zhongping sighed deeply, sometimes unable to help feeling envious of that He Lichang guy, who bore several sons, all of whom turned out capable, allowing the main household to flourish.

Even though two died untimely, with the loss of He Jinghong and He Jingyun, the second son He Jingsheng and the fourth son He Jinda still supported the household.

Even the seventh son, He Jingfeng, who was previously seen as a profligate, now doesn’t seem like a mere lowlife who only indulges in revelry.

In contrast, despite taking concubines every year, the heirs of his main household are still sparse and most are mediocre.

Either they like to play small tricks, engage in intrigue, or they’re just sycophants, simpering to curry favor.

"Could it really be like the words of the late old man? That our family did too much tomb raiding in the early years, harming our yin virtues..."

Lu Zhongping sat alone in the study, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, and coldly laughed:

"Haha, those were just the words the late old man used to comfort himself on his deathbed! I don’t believe it! If it weren’t for him wanting to be the big boss back in the day, killing and disabling his main household uncles, why would the Lu Family decline so much!"

He lowered his head into deep thought, seemingly lost in thought, staring blankly at his hands, inexplicably recalling the suffocated purplish face of the late old man.

The Lu Family is different from the other high houses of the Thirteen Guilds. The main household learns the "Mountain Moving" skill, while the branch family is responsible for the "Overseeing" work.

This has led to the main household being sparse in its numbers over the years, while the branch family has become increasingly robust.

By the time of Lu Zhongping’s father’s generation, to prevent the branches from flourishing while the main branch weakened,

he suppressed and plotted against many of his siblings both openly and secretly, thereby securing his position as the big boss.

"Our Lu Family made its name in our great-grandfather’s generation, known for moving mountains and shifting ridges, with skills that reached the heavens, even breaking into the Dragon Palace under the Nu Yun River.

But who knows how many lives were sacrificed with each tomb raid.

The other high houses of the Thirteen Guilds, the main family has dozens or even hundreds of people, but only the Lu Family..."

Lu Zhongping’s thoughts drifted, and suddenly he called for the old butler:

"Go to Young Master Yu’s room and bring Xiaoque’Er to me."

His sons are all incompetent, dim-witted, just a bunch of wastrels indulging in food, drink, and debauchery.

Only the four to five-year-old grandson has spirit, like a good piece of material for cultivation.

"Alright, my lord."

The old butler answered from outside the door.

"If the benefits from the Four Reversals Sect are true, the Lu Family can switch to other businesses in the future, no longer needing to raise so many ’scholars,’ avoiding further harm to our yin virtues, and hopefully having decent descendants."

Lu Zhongping squinted his eyes, got up and walked to a mottled ancient mirror as tall as a person, observing his own black and thick hair, and wrinkle-free self inside:

"If I could live such a life of luxury for one or two hundred years, this life would be worth it..."

Such thoughts swirled in his mind, and after waiting for about half a stick of incense, the old butler still had not returned.

Lu Zhongping frowned deeply, raised his voice to call a few times, but there was still no response.

He was quite annoyed, as there are usually seven or eight servants outside the study waiting to be summoned, ready to serve.

Pushing open the door and stepping out, the backyard was quiet, enveloped in an inexplicable tranquility.

"Where is everyone? Where did they all go?"

Lu Zhongping’s heart skipped a beat, glancing around, he proceeded toward the front.

In the corridor echoing with wind and rain, only his own footsteps thumped and reverberated.

When he arrived at the main hall, this big boss of the Lu Family found that his mansion was already illuminated by torchlight.

The old butler, holding the young grandson, stood trembling in the courtyard.

His incompetent sons, daughters-in-law, wives, concubines, maidservants raised in the backyard, and a cohort of guards, servants, and even the more intimate confidants of the branch family... all gathered here.

They were huddled together, resembling a cluster of clouds.

"And yet didn’t hear a single sound..."

Lu Zhongping felt a chill in his heart, and soon saw a Daoist robe floating down.

"After verification and confirmation by two Daoist Officials, the Lu Family’s collusion with remnants of the White Sun Sect is proven beyond doubt. Those deeply involved will be beheaded in the street, family property confiscated, and relatives exiled... Lu Zhongping, do you have anything else to confess?"