With his previous experience, Lu Ming was now somewhat familiar with the Peach Miasma Mountains. Guided by him, the two did not stumble blindly about as they had when first entering. In less than half a shichen, they smoothly passed through the pervasive toxic Peach Miasma, landing atop a hill outside the mountain range.
Only then did the two have time to catch their breath.
And there they waited for two full days.
At dawn on the third day, they finally spotted two figures riding red horse beasts along the distant mountain path, galloping hurriedly toward them.
It was none other than Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei.
Lu Ming promptly retrieved a thunderfire signal arrow and ignited it. It surged skyward like fire thunder, detonating with a loud bang midair.
Hearing the familiar thunderclap, Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei were overjoyed and rushed up the hill.
“Father, A-Ming, are you two all right?” Weariness was written all over Lu Qingyan's face, yet seeing both of them safe and sound brought immediate delight to his eyes. After safely escorting the caravan to Xuanjing Ward, they had ridden non-stop toward the Peach Miasma Mountains, barely resting over the past few days.
“We're fine. Guo Kui has already been slain,” Lu Ming replied with a smile, delivering the good news.
“Haha, excellent!”
Hearing this, Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei were instantly overwhelmed with ecstasy. Only with this menace eradicated could they finally set their minds at ease.
“Guo Kui has been killed? A pity no survivor was left, or we could have used them to implicate Lin Changkong,” Lu Jinglei remarked with a hint of regret.
Lu Ming glanced at Lu Jin, who was silently puffing smoke beside them, before speaking up to reveal the true mastermind behind the Peach Mountain Bandits.
Upon learning the truth, Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei froze for a few seconds. Then, boundless fury and killing intent surged within their eyes.
“What? The mastermind who ordered the Peach Mountain Bandits to attack Thunderfire Hall wasn't Lin Changkong, but Zhang Yue?!”
“That scum!”
“To think Thunderfire Hall poured our entire foundation into nurturing him back then! Not only did he feel no gratitude, but seeing our circumstances improve thanks to A-Ming, he actually resorted to such vicious schemes in secret to destroy us!” Lu Qingyan's face turned livid, trembling with rage.
Uncharacteristically, Lu Jinglei did not roar in a frenzy. Instead, his eyes were bloodshot as he paced back and forth, his trembling frame laying bare the sheer magnitude of the fury burning inside him.
Had Zhang Yue stood before him at this moment, Lu Jinglei would likely have lunged to fight him to the death, even knowing he was no match.
Even if it cost him his life, Lu Jinglei would tear a chunk of flesh from Zhang Yue's body with his own teeth.
Lu Ming could offer no comforting words, able only to wait for their emotions to slowly subside. He knew his father and second uncle harbored a hatred toward Zhang Yue that ran far deeper than his own; after all, the resources poured into sustaining Zhang Yue back then had been won through their own blood and lives.
Lu Ming had never expected anything from Zhang Yue from the start, so he naturally felt little disappointment. But Lu Qingyan and Lu Jinglei had genuinely pinned all their hopes on him.
Yet what was the result? What had they received in return?
This time, Thunderfire Hall had mobilized in full force to wage a desperate, bloody battle against the Peach Mountain Bandits. The slightest misstep could have resulted in the extermination of their entire family.
And all of this had been brought upon them by Zhang Yue.
Only after quite a while did Lu Jinglei slowly walk up to Lu Ming. Fixing his gaze on the youth, he spoke every word with deliberate weight: “A-Ming, when you possess enough power in the future, you must—you must slaughter that beast!”
Lu Jinglei knew that in their family, only Lu Ming had any chance of accomplishing this.
Lu Ming gave a slight nod. “Mm. Second Uncle, I understand.”
Though he felt no personal disappointment toward Zhang Yue, he still couldn't find a single reason to let the man live.
Still, this incident inevitably instilled a sense of urgency in Lu Ming. It proved that although Zhang Yue had departed for the Great Golden Crow Hall, he was still keeping tabs on Thunderfire Hall. Perhaps deep down, Zhang Yue also knew that his departure from Thunderfire Hall was anything but honorable, and thus he refused to allow anyone from here to tarnish or disrupt his currently flawless life in the slightest.
For now, Zhang Yue had only dispatched the Peach Mountain Bandits, which remained within a scope Thunderfire Hall could still manage. But what about in the future?
What if one day this filthy scoundrel actually managed to enlist a Grandmaster from the Great Golden Crow Hall?
At this thought, Lu Ming could not help but calculate the days. There were less than four months left before the Black Rain Season erupted... He wondered when that grand noble mentioned by Zhou Xuan and the others would arrive.
“Haha, Father, Second Uncle, let's talk about something cheerful.”
Putting aside his thoughts, Lu Ming smiled at the two sullen men before him and recounted every bit of their spoils from the Peach Mountain Bandits' stronghold.
“One hundred thousand heavenly gold sand?”
“Red Jade Flat Peaches?”
“And Red Jade Flat Peach mother trees?!”
Sure enough, upon hearing Lu Ming's words, Lu Qingyan's and Lu Jinglei's expressions turned exceedingly vivid. Ecstasy surged forward, yet remained choked by the revelation regarding Zhang Yue. For a moment, their faces were caught between grief and joy, looking thoroughly comical.
Once they finally suppressed their turbulent emotions, the two could not help but exchange a look and chuckle.
“Good, good, good! If A-Ming's method truly works, wouldn't our Lu family also have our very own ‘minor blessed land’?” Lu Qingyan marveled.
“Eldest, you stay here and guard these items. I will take A-Ming and Second Brother back to the stronghold to clean out everything else in that storeroom,” Lu Jin said as he stood up.
“All right.”
The three of them agreed in unison.
However, watching Lu Jin summon his Divine Ability Feather Robe once more before reaching out to grab his arm, Lu Ming could not help but let out a helpless sigh. Being carried around like a chick was truly undignified. Yet there was no alternative; even if he pushed his great perfection Lesser Lightning Flash to its limit, his speed was nowhere near that of feather robe flight.
At that moment, the flight divine ability cultivated by Zhou Fuling, the “Green Jade Wings,” involuntarily crossed Lu Ming's mind. How convenient it would be if he could master that!
Thereafter, the trio traversed the Peach Miasma again, making several round trips to the stronghold until all three were panting from exhaustion, only then completely emptying the storeroom of all its contents.
There was no helping it. For a family accustomed to scraping by in poverty, this was their first opportunity to strike it rich in years; they would have dug three chi into the ground of that stronghold if they could.
With everything hauled out, Lu Qingyan went to a nearby town to purchase a cargo cart. They piled all the goods onto it and draped a black oilcloth over the top to conceal everything from prying eyes.
Then, thoroughly satisfied, the family drove the cart toward the Qingyuan ward city.
As they neared the ward city, a squad of armored ward guards approached along the main road. Lu Qingyan went forward to speak with them, returning a moment later to report, “I heard that the Ward Master is currently leading various factions of Qingyuan Ward to welcome us at the city gates.”
“Why make such a massive fuss?” Lu Ming asked in surprise.
“Haha! Naturally, it's because news of the Peach Mountain Bandits' eradication has already reached home. Right now, the entire Qingyuan Ward is buzzing about our Thunderfire Hall's bloody grit!” Lu Jinglei said with immense pride. Clashing head-on with the Peach Mountain Bandits had truly vented a tremendous amount of stifled frustration.
“After this, who will dare claim that our Thunderfire Hall's champion hall title was won by fluke?”
“No matter how formidable their Golden Gang Sword Hall is, why haven't we seen them confront the Peach Mountain Bandits all these years?”
Lu Ming smiled and nodded. It had to be said that Thunderfire Hall mobilizing in full force to engage the Peach Mountain Bandits in a direct, bloody clash had indeed caused their prestige in Qingyuan Ward to skyrocket. After all, the Peach Mountain Bandits had been a scourge for years, harassing various factions, with merchant chambers in particular suffering immensely under their depredations.
Now that Thunderfire Hall had eradicated them, it was truly a joyous event that delighted everyone's hearts.
“Zhou Xuan is paving the way to elevate our Thunderfire Hall's standing. It seems we owe him yet another favor,” Lu Jin remarked, puffing on his pipe.
“We already owe so many anyway; one more won't make a difference,” Lu Qingyan replied open-mindedly. Zhou Xuan's intelligence had been vital in eliminating the Peach Mountain Bandits. Without it, not only would they have been unable to lay a trap, but the bandits might well have succeeded, inflicting catastrophic casualties on them.
“That niece of Zhou Xuan's has been quite concerned about A-Ming, constantly asking after him with worry. Heheh, if we can't repay the debt of gratitude when the time comes, we'll just hand him over to settle the tab,” Lu Jinglei teased, clapping Lu Ming on the shoulder with a sly wink.
Lu Ming pursed his lips, ignoring his second uncle's teasing.
Yet toward Zhou Xuan, Lu Ming truly held a sense of gratitude. The man had repeatedly offered guidance and even taught him the art of alchemy. While a tinge of transactional nature was involved due to the Golden Sun Flame Banner, Zhou Xuan had always been open and direct without concealing anything, which was already remarkably upright.
Therefore, should the opportunity arise in the future, he would naturally repay the favor.
Amid their casual conversation and laughter, the silhouette of Qingyuan Ward emerged at the edge of their vision.
As they drew closer, a sea of people could be seen gathered at the city gates. Even from such a distance, the boiling clamor and uproar drifted distinctly to their ears.
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