Chapter 2339: Recognition
After formalizing the terms of the truce, clouds appeared behind Bai w.a.n.gyuan, and people quickly emerged from the clouds. They were the surviving va.s.sals of the Lu family whose release had been promised. Lu Yin also saw the insane people from Crimson Garden.
Those people no longer appeared crazy. Their eyes were clear, and they seemed to have regained their sanity.
Lu Yin suppressed his excitement and took out Zenith Mountain. He proceeded to release Long Xi and everyone else.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan frowned as he saw the various people appear from Zenith Mountain. He had a.s.sumed that Lu Yin had only captured the army that the Perennial World had sent to the Fifth Mainland. But surprisingly, Bai w.a.n.gyuan saw Yun Tingting and many others as well. There were also people who had disappeared decades before, as well as Xia Yuan, w.a.n.g Zheng, and more. Lu Yin followed the agreement and released absolutely all of his captives that were from the Perennial World.
The terms of the truce meant that even people like Long Xi and Liu Hao, who had already been released, were also brought out by Lu Yin. They could choose if they wanted to return to the Perennial World or remain in the Fifth Mainland.
When Long Xi appeared in s.p.a.ce, she quickly noticed Bai w.a.n.gyuan and immediately offered a bow to the Progenitor.
One by one, all the cultivators from the Perennial World paid their respects to Bai w.a.n.gyuan.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan allowed everyone to enter the clouds.
Long Xi did not want to leave, but so many years had pa.s.sed, and everyone was being brought out by Lu Yin at once. Thus, it simply did not make sense for Long Xi to stay behind.
Lu Yin just glanced at the woman and nodded to her.
"Lu Xiaoxuan, you vile b.a.s.t.a.r.d! You’re finally letting me go? Just wait! My Xia family won’t let you get away with this!" Xia Taili shouted threats, and she was nearly kicked away by Lu Yin. However, as soon as she stopped ranting for a moment, she realized what she was seeing, though it was clearly impossible. "That- what- the jiao?"
Xia Taili’s shouts caused w.a.n.g Su, w.a.n.g Yi, and everyone else who had been released to stare blankly at the jiao. The sight of the ma.s.sive beast shattered their understanding of the world, and even the Semi-Progenitors like Xia De, Bai Laogui, and Ni Huang were just as incredulous as everyone else.
Finally, when people started recovering from their stupor, they noticed that Lu Yin looked perfectly calm. There was no fear to be seen on his face, despite facing Progenitor Bai. What was going on? With Progenitor Bai present, why was Lu Yin not already captured? What was going on with this odd situation?
A smile crept across Lu Yin’s face as he glanced around at everyone. "Congratulations! You’re all free to go. You should all thank Progenitor Bai. The four ruling powers and I have reached a truce, and you’re all being let go because they’ve agreed to not attack me for now."
Ni Huang and the others instantly turned to stare at Bai w.a.n.gyuan. What they were hearing was simply impossible. Given their understanding of a Progenitor’s power, as well as the known enmity that the four ruling powers held towards Lu Xiaoxuan, how could Bai w.a.n.gyuan ever have agreed to stop pursuing the young man? Such a freakish genius could not be allowed to live.
Bai Laogui quickly called out, "Progenitor Bai, please kill Lu Xiaoxuan! The child is unbelievably talented! He already killed w.a.n.g Si with his own strength, and there is no one from his generation who can compare to him. If he does not die, the universe will never be safe."
Xia De also spoke up in a respectful tone. "I respectfully request Progenitor Bai to take action."
Everyone else started bowing, one by one. "We respectfully request Progenitor Bai to take action."
"We respectfully request Progenitor Bai to take action."
…
Bai w.a.n.gyuan"s expression turned ugly, and his eyes suddenly focused on a certain location. It was where Xia Shenji"s clone stood. Even a Progenitor had been captured by Lu Xiaoxuan, and the clone looked to have been badly wounded as well.
Naturally, Xia Shenji would not openly reveal himself at this moment, and he tried to simply sneak into Bai w.a.n.gyuan’s clouds.
Unfortunately, Kui Luo suddenly shouted, "Isn"t that Progenitor Xia Shenji? He was captured too? Are you alright?"
Xia Shenji froze in place, and his expression twisted horribly as he shot an angry glare at Kui Luo.
Lu Yin took advantage of this moment to speak up. "Dear Progenitor Shenji, I’m sorry to see you go so soon. This junior was not a good host to you, and we also did not have a chance to catch up. I can only hope to make up for this oversight next time."
Everyone from the Perennial World turned to look at Xia Shenji, and they all froze in shock.
Xia De stared as though looking at a ghost. "Progenitor Shenji’?"
Xia Taili could not process what she was seeing.
Everyone from the Xia family was completely dumbfounded.
Even Xia Luo, who was still disguised as Luo Zhong, felt terribly confused at the moment. Was this real life?
Bai w.a.n.gyuan"s eyes flashed, and he quickly waved Xia Shenji into the clouds.
Lu Yin glanced back at Bai w.a.n.gyuan and stared at the old man for a moment.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan could have easily taken Xia Shenji away the moment the clone had appeared, but that had not happened. Xia Shenji’s exposure had completely humiliated the Xia family.
Seeing as how all of his former prisoners were frozen in place, Lu Yin let out a loud laugh. "Progenitor Bai w.a.n.gyuan won"t attack me right now, so let me bid goodbye to you all. You won’t have such an easy time of things if you fall into my hands again, but it’s time to leave now!"
Bai Laogui finally reacted and broke free from his stupor after seeing that Xia Shenji had also been captured, mostly because he had heard Bai w.a.n.gyuan’s name. The Semi-Progenitor reacted to Lu Yin’s words as though his tail had been stepped on. "How presumptuous! Lu Xiaoxuan, how dare you speak Progenitor Bai"s name?"
"Enough!" Bai w.a.n.gyuan shouted. The pressure of a Progenitor suppressed everyone present.
The old man’s eyes ran across the gathered crowd. "Follow me to return."
He then casually waved a hand, and everyone started obediently entering the clouds. No one dared to speak another word.
However, not everyone was willing to leave with Bai w.a.n.gyuan. Crown Prince Gui Qian refused to leave. Specter Abyss was not on good terms with the four ruling powers, which was fine with Lu Yin. At worst, Gui Qian would remain Lu Yin’s prisoner. Lu Yin still cultivated death energy, and he was the G.o.d of Death heir. No matter how one looked at matters, Lu Yin and Specter Abyss had a strong connection. Crown Prince Gui Qian did not feel comfortable returning with Bai w.a.n.gyuan, and he felt that he would have no future if he returned to the Perennial World.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan glanced at Crown Prince Gui Qian, who quickly started begging Lu Yin. "I won"t go! I won’t return with the four ruling powers. You are the G.o.d of Death’s heir, which makes you my young master. I must follow you."
Lu Yin nodded and pointed to Zenith Mountain. "Then head back on your own."
Crown Prince Gui Qian quickly returned.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan was unconcerned about someone from Specter Abyss. Even though Crown Prince Gui Qian was the heir of Specter Abyss, he remained nothing more than a junior, which made it impossible for him to matter to a Progenitor.
"Lu Xiaoxuan, don"t forget the deadline. You must take over protecting the fourth array base within ten days, or else our agreement will be void." Bai w.a.n.gyuan’s cold eyes locked onto Lu Yin as he delivered a final warning.
Lu Yin replied, "You don’t need to worry about that. We will take control of the fourth array base within that time. Also, my name is Lu Yin."
Bai w.a.n.gyuan’s eyes narrowed. "I hope that your name really is Lu Yin."
With that, the old man turned and left.
Once Bai w.a.n.gyuan left, the Fifth Mainland grew much clearer, and the jiao lowered its claws a great deal. The beast had never stopped baring its fangs and claws, as it had been constantly trying to intimidate Bai w.a.n.gyuan. It firmly believed that its antics were effective.
Finally, Lu Yin turned to the surviving va.s.sals and followers of the Lu family. There were thousands of people, most of whom had been prisoners of the four ruling powers for a very, very long time.
Lu Yin observed the people, and they all did the same of him.
As the two parties looked at each other, someone finally spoke up. "Young Master? Young Master?"
The thin man who had been constantly searching for his young master in Crimson Garden stared at Lu Yin and hesitantly called out.
Lu Yin looked at the man. "I"m sorry that I’ve made you suffer."
The thin man grew excited, and he hesitantly started walking forward, his eyes never leaving Lu Yin. "You- are you really my young master?"
At this time, the fat old woman pushed the thin man out of her way and started running towards Lu Yin, very excited. "I know! I know! Young Master! You are our young master!"
Lu Yin held the old woman. Seeing as how she was quivering with excitement and how her eyes were flushed, he apologized yet again. "I"m so sorry, but I’ve lost my memories. I can’t remember any of you."
The old woman shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "It"s fine, Young Master. It’s alright. All that matters is that you didn"t die. On that day, back then, this old servant believed you to have died. Young Master, are you hungry? Would you like this old servant to cook for you?"
"Young Master, do you remember me? I was your first instructor. I was the one who taught you how to read and write." The old man from Crimson Garden who had madly sat at the bottom of the river stepped forward, also excited.
After that, the little girl who looked ten years old stepped forward. "Young Master? I’m your sister! Your own sister, Young Master!"
Behind the girl, the man who had buried himself in the ground dragged the little girl back. "Don"t try to take advantage of the young master! Young Master, don"t listen to her. She’s really an old woman who’s become like this because of her cultivation art. She’s looked like this for hundreds of years. When you first saw her, you felt pity for her and took her back home to the Lu family. The old woman’s been taking advantage of you ever since, always claiming to be your sister."
The girl angrily shouted, "Lu San, you’re nothing but a housekeeper, so don"t slander me! I really am the young master"s sister. Don’t you remember how, when the young master was young, you buried your head in the ground just to scare him? You thought that the young master would enjoy that game, but just how old are you? How could it be alright for someone your age to bury your head in the ground to frighten the young master? The young master never mentioned it to you to help you preserve some of your dignity!”
"Silence! How can all of you act so unruly in front of the young master?" The thin man turned around and shouted. His shout instantly silenced several of the excited people.
Lu Yin looked at the gathered crowd, his emotions roiling. He was able to make sense of a few things. The madman that he had seen at the bottom of the river in Crimson Garden had been Lu Xiaoxuan’s teacher. While the man had been insane, he had been lost within his own world and had still been teaching. It was possible that he had thought that he was still teaching Lu Yin.
The fat old woman was a cook, and so even when she had lost her mind, she had continued cooking and preparing food for Lu Yin.
The little girl was actually a cultivator that Lu Xiaoxuan had taken in whom he had enjoyed playing with.
The man who had buried his head in the ground in Crimson Garden had been one of the Lu family’s housekeepers. When Lu Xiaoxuan had been young, the housekeeper had played with the boy, and he had once buried his head in the ground in order to startle Lu Xiaoxuan. When the housekeeper had been driven insane, that scene had played over and over again in his mind, and he had continued to play with his young master, even when insane. The old man had enjoyed himself in his madness, playing with his young master.
Finally, there was the frail-looking old man who was extremely thin. He was a Semi-Progenitor, and he seemed to have been Lu Xiaoxuan’s guardian or something to that effect.
The people who had been imprisoned in Crimson Garden were the servants who had been closest to Lu Xiaoxuan in his childhood. There were many of these people.
However, hearing everyone refer to him as “young master” was very uncomfortable for Lu Yin.
The thin man stared at all the Lu family’s servants with a stern expression. "The young master is tired, so please don"t disturb him."
Everyone fell silent, though they fixed hopeful eyes onto Lu Yin.
Lu Yin asked for the freed prisoners to be given accommodations. Of course, the fat old woman and the rest were all given places to stay within the Heavens Sect. Lu Yin’s lost memories did not matter, as these people were some of the closest people to him. They had remembered Lu Xiaoxuan even when driven mad. They could only be considered family members.
In addition to the people who had been released to Lu Yin, there was also a large group of the Lu family’s former va.s.sals who had been condemned to the rear battlefield, such as Tu Qiming and those with him. Those people would be sent to Lu Yin when he took control of the fourth array base, in accordance with the terms of the agreement that he had reached with Bai w.a.n.gyuan.
Nearly everyone left, but the thin man alone stayed behind. "I am Young Master"s guardian, and thus I will never leave you, Young Master. Even if I die, it will be before you."
"How ridiculous! How could the young master die?"
Kui Luo had approached. "Old Shan, it’s been a long time, haha."
The thin man stared at Kui Luo, stunned to see him. After a moment, the man rubbed his eyes. "Kui?"
Kui Luo laughed loudly. "It"s me, Old Shan. I never thought that we’d have the chance to meet again."
The thin man smiled as he stared at Kui Luo in amazement. "I didn’t think- I didn’t expect you to still be alive. Have you been protecting the young master?"
Kui Luo replied, "Of course. This kid would have died without me."
He then looked at Lu Yin. "This old man is your protector. You always called him Master Shan. Don"t be deceived by his weak-looking appearance His forte is defense, and it’s incredible. Everyone who fights him is left helpless."