Chapter 2157.2: Lu Second Master
The middle-aged man could do nothing but present himself in front of Lu Yun as ordered. The young man reached out and took a flaming red fruit from the baskets hanging off the carrying pole. He crunched noisily after taking a bite.
“Although this flame fruit isn’t a spirit fruit, it tastes not bad.” A nodding Lu Yun smacked his lips.
“If the gentleman likes, this humble one can give you all of these fruits,” the trembling man offered with fear and reluctance.
“Lu Yun!” hectored the Lu second master, unable to accept what was happening in front of him.
Lu Yun paid his uncle no mind and c.o.c.ked his head, sizing up the seemingly honest and simple man. A gentle smile played on his lips. “Yo, you’d win an Oscar if you were on Earth.”
“An Oscar? What is that?” Both the Lu second master and middle-aged man blinked when they heard the unfamiliar word.
Lu Yun reached out and gently caressed the man’s face.
Smack!
He suddenly wound his hand back and slapped the man across the face. How could the latter stand up to Lu Yun when he was only six levels qi refinement? Not to mention that he didn’t dare offer any resistance.
He spun around on the spot and spat out several teeth before falling to the ground. Lu Yun swiftly followed up with a few vicious stomps on the downed man.
“How dare you piece of s.h.i.+t try to fool this young master with a flame fruit?! Do you really think I’m a beggar??” Lu Yun cursed as he kicked and beat the man.
“Mercy, mercy, sir! This humble one will never dare do so again, never!” the man wailed as he suffered a torrent of blows.
“Lu Yun!” The Lu second master could no longer bear what he was seeing and ran forward to stop his nephew. He wasn’t the only one, many cultivators in the surroundings also itched to rush forward and teach the bully a lesson.
But they all quieted down when they saw Lu Xuan standing ramrod straight next to Lu Yun. That was a golden core powerhouse!
Lu Yun stopped when he saw Lu Xiaochi draw near. Having lost all of his cultivation, his second uncle was less than a cultivator now and could not withstand the strength of someone at seven levels qi refinement.
“You may go,” Lu Xiaochi said with a frown when he saw Lu Yun pause his abuse.???ℯ?e?nov??. ???
“Yes, yes, yes, thank you second master! Thank you!” The middle-aged man forfeited his carrying pole as he scrambled off to the side.
“Halt! Did I say you could go? Lu Xuan!” Lu Yun tilted his head back and called out lazily. His guard flashed out like a ghost, returning with the middle-aged man dangling from his hand like a dead dog.
Lu Xuan was a deathsworn raised by Lu Tianling to be Lu Yun’s guard. He obeyed the young man’s commands without question or an inkling of hesitation.
“This young master is too poor these days. Hand over your storage bags, rings, or whatever.” Lu Yun c.o.c.ked his head like a ruffian and lazily regarded the honest man.
The Lu second master’s expression was wooden. As they said, to know a man by reputation was not as good as meeting him face to face. It was always far better to see someone in person than to hear of them from others.
Lu Yun was called the pestilence of Dark City and he well deserved the t.i.tle. But when Lu Xiaochi heard his nephew demand the vendor’s storage bags and rings, he sighed all the same.
Lu Tianling was wise and awe-inspiring, yet his only grandson failed so spectacularly to live up to expectation and was so magnificently incompetent!
Storage bags were regarded as more precious items in Darklake Cultivation Empire. How would a civilian of the qi refinement stage afford one? Storage rings were even more valuable, not even wandering cultivators of golden core might possess them.
Only children and disciples of powerful families such as Lu Yun would own them, yet he was demanding them from a qi refinement civilian?? This nephew of his was beyond ridiculous!
What the Lu second master failed to notice was a hint of true panic that flashed through the man’s eyes when he heard the demand.
“You’re not going to hand them over, are you?” Lu Yun cackled and smacked the vendor again, then manhandled him roughly in search of the items. When he fished out a storage bag the size of a palm from the man’s robes, he lightly slapped the latter’s dantian.
Color drained from the man’s face as his dantian was destroyed and his cultivation crippled.
“Lu Xuan, throw him into the sewers.” Lu Yun waved the man away with distaste. “The f.u.c.k, you hollered and danced in front of me with a pole of flame fruits for four years. Do you really think this young master’s gone senile and lost my memory, that I can’t remember you? You may enjoy the act, but I’m completely over it.”
There was no light left in the man’s eyes anymore. Lu Xuan grabbed him and vanished with a quick jump.
“Don’t you think you’re out of line, Lu Yun??” Lu Xiaochi shook with fury. Seeing that Lu Yun had retrieved a storage bag from the man’s robes, he thought that Lu Yun had done the deed because he desired the man’s wealth.
“The dude was pretty rich—there’s a storage ring inside his bag. Tsk tsk,” Lu Yun clucked his tongue when he found a stage ring inside the bag.
“What a pity that the man was only one step away from establis.h.i.+ng his foundations. He was fortunate enough to obtain a senior’s storage ring and could’ve joined the army, but it’s all empty dreams after encountering a hooligan like you,” Lu Xiaochi sighed when he saw the ring.
Meanwhile, Lu Yun chuckled at his second uncle’s words.
“Second uncle, this thing’s interesting. You can have it.” Lu Yun retrieved a blue stone the size of a fist from the ring and tossed it at Lu Xiaochi. The man blinked as he reflexively caught the stone.
“This is… a communication stone?” Lu Xiaochi paused. When he looked up again, he saw only Lu Yun’s back and Lu Xuan sticking to him like a shadow.
“Lu Yun, do you know what this is?” Lu Xiaochi quickly caught up to his nephew.
“That was the only thing inside the storage ring apart from spirit stones. I have no use for it, so you can have it, second uncle,” Lu Yun said casually.
Lu Xiaochi sighed inwardly. He’d thought that his nephew had suddenly grown a brain, but it seemed to be pure coincidence. Communication stones were exceedingly rare and, in fact, restricted items within the empire. Only the army could use them; it was an incredible crime for civilians to possess them. Ordinary families wouldn’t pa.s.s messages through communication stones.
It was normal for a sheltered n.o.ble scion like Lu Yun not to recognize it. But since Lu Xiaochi had followed Lu Tiangling since he was a child and fought by the war G.o.d’s side, he naturally recognized the communication stone.
“It’s just a rock, there’s no need to make a big deal out of it.” Lu Yun waved him off. “If second uncle likes it, you can have it. There are only a few mid rank spirit stones inside the storage ring… Man, even the storage bag is more valuable…”
Lu Xiaochi smiled wryly at Lu Yun’s sigh and placed the stone inside his robes. He was certain now that it was a happy coincidence that his nephew had crippled the vendor. The vendor was also a spy that an enemy family had planted near the Lus.
“I’m so hungry, let’s go eat at Immortal Gathering.” Lu Yun rubbed his stomach and looked at the sun in the sky.
Another wave of resignation struck Lu Xiaochi. Immortal Gathering was Dark City’s biggest restaurant and it belonged to one of the seven great families—the Mo Clan. The Mos were, without a doubt, the foremost family in the city. They were the largest beneath the imperial family.
The Lus were able to meet them toe-to-toe, and more, when the former was in its prime. But the Lu Clan now boasted of only Lu Tianling and no other nascent soul powerhouses. If it wasn’t for Lu Tianling hanging on for dear life, the Lus would likely immediately collapse and become a third-rate family.
“Huh? What’s that?” Lu Yun’s eyelids jumped when they took a few steps out and saw a pill pavilion of immense scale. Its signboard proclaimed it to be the “Lingtian Pill Pavilion”.
“When did this Lingtian Pill Pavilion appear?” Lu Yun frowned.
“This pavilion belongs to the Ling Clan, they opened shop when you were unconscious,” Lu Xiaochi explained when he saw Lu Yun’s expression. “Your grandfather is heavily depleted right now, so don’t provoke the Lings.”
He couldn’t help warning since the Lings were also one of the seven great families and stronger than the Lus.
“Pfft,” Lu Yun curled his lip. “My grandfather is called Tianling, but this pavilion is Lingtian. They’re doing this on purpose! Hmph!”
He snapped open his p.o.r.nographic fan with a loud crack and sauntered into the pill pavilion.
Behind him, Lu Xiaochi smacked himself on the forehead. What was the point of saying all that to the kid? The Lings and Lus didn’t have a conflict of interest and appeared to be friendly with each other on the surface, but Lu Yun had secretly clashed with many of their sons under the table.
There was no one apart from Lu Tianling who could keep this young master in check. The Lu second master absolutely lacked that ability.
……
The general manager of Lingtian Pill Pavilion started when Lu Yun sauntered in, then smirked with barely imperceptible derision.
“Look who’s arrived, it’s young master Lu! Come in, come in! Ah Lian, serve tea!” He quickly welcomed their latest guest with a wide smile.
“You’ve got some nerve calling yourself the Lingtian Pill Pavilion,” Lu Yun said leisurely as he looked around.
There were quite a few cultivators in the pill pavilion, but they scattered like startled birds when they saw Lu Yun. He was the only customer left in the ma.s.sive hall within the blink of an eye.
“Not at all, not at all. Young master Lu is always so humorous.” The general manager smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Alright then, give me five hundred of the third rank King Qi Pill,” Lu Yun demanded after brief thought.