Chapter 136: Root of Emotion

In the hall, Lu Dongjun pressed forward relentlessly, striking with no mercy whatsoever.

He didn’t need to hold back—eight-layer Wu Xiu against seven-layer Huan Xiu, in a confined space, with Wan Jinxian and Si Wennian right behind him.

From a strength standpoint, Lu Dongjun had no chance of losing; fortunately, Monkey Qiu carried a steel whip on his person, allowing him to barely hold his own against Lu Dongjun for a few exchanges.

This steel whip was a magic treasure, composed of seven segments, each containing hidden weapons capable of autonomous attack and defense, forged from the remains of an eight-layer Wu Xiu.

After several clashes, Lu Dongjun grabbed the steel whip bare-handed and grinned sinisterly at Monkey Qiu: “This is my brother’s magic treasure—how did it end up in your hands? Were you one of those who harmed my brother that night?”

This magic treasure had been given to Monkey Qiu by Lu Dongliang; since Huan Xiu were poor in close combat, the steel whip allowed Monkey Qiu to buy time against close-range experts.

He didn’t bother explaining—it was useless now. Lu Dongjun’s intent was clear: he wanted Monkey Qiu dead.

Now that the whip was in Lu Dongjun’s hands, and with their raw strength so vastly unequal, Monkey Qiu could never reclaim it.

He scanned Lu Dongjun’s eyes, attempting to trigger his Blood Surge technique to force Lu Dongjun to lose control.

The Blood Surge technique originated from the flow of qi and blood during sexual combat.

At the critical moment of climax, qi and blood surged toward the heart and brain; the Blood Surge technique amplified this flow—lower-level cultivators struck by it might burst blood vessels and die, while higher-level ones would suffer numbness in limbs from excess qi and blood.

Though Lu Dongjun was an eight-layer Wu Xiu, the correct response to this technique was to avoid Monkey Qiu’s gaze.

But in a life-or-death duel, evading gaze meant surrendering the initiative, shifting from offense to defense—and Lu Dongjun had no intention of doing so.

He stared straight into Monkey Qiu’s eyes without the slightest flicker of avoidance.

Since Lu Dongjun refused to yield, Monkey Qiu pressed forward; their gazes locked—and Monkey Qiu’s technique had no effect on Lu Dongjun.

Lu Dongjun’s physical strength as an eight-layer Wu Xiu was expected, but he couldn’t possibly be completely unaffected.

Monkey Qiu realized he’d only unleashed half his technique—the other half had been suppressed.

Si Wennian, who had come with Lu Dongjun, had secretly activated the Suffering Sage technique.

The Suffering Sage technique, also known as Suffering for Eternity, induced the notion that all worldly pleasures were corruption, and only through enduring pain could one become a sage.

Si Wennian was a five-layer Ku Xiu, weaker than Monkey Qiu, but he didn’t need to confront him directly—merely unleashing his technique covertly gave him a decisive advantage, forcing Monkey Qiu’s technique to halve in power.

With only half his technique active, Monkey Qiu’s attack was useless before Lu Dongjun; with a casual tug, Lu Dongjun wrenched the steel whip from Monkey Qiu’s grip.

Monkey Qiu’s situation grew dire—when Duan Shaoxia suddenly shouted: “Dongjun, stop!”

Lu Dongjun hesitated slightly, but still raised the whip.

With this weapon in his hands, its power would be terrifying—Monkey Qiu wouldn’t survive a single strike.

Qiu Zhiheng had no recourse but to wait helplessly for death.

Duan Shaoxia’s eyes burst with blood vessels as she shouted again: “Stop!”

Lu Dongjun froze—then a single blood vessel surfaced in his eyeball.

Beneath the glow of that blood vessel, Lu Dongjun saw Duan Shaoxia as beautiful and gentle; even if he died today, he couldn’t let her suffer.

He retracted the whip and stood still.

Wan Jinxian was stunned—what was happening?

This woman was dangerous—she couldn’t be allowed to interfere.

Wan Jinxian’s nose twitched, as if preparing to sneeze at Duan Shaoxia.

Lu Dongjun roared: “Don’t you dare!”

Wan Jinxian stared at Lu Dongjun in shock—the sneeze died in his throat.

Duan Shaoxia’s eyes were full of blood, tears welling as she looked at Lu Dongjun: “Dongjun, what exactly do you want?”

Lu Dongjun stammered for a long while, then lowered his head: “Sister-in-law… I didn’t mean to do anything…”

“While Dongliang is away, you’re trying to bully me?”—those words carried all Duan Shaoxia’s grievance and sorrow.

“Sister-in-law, I never thought that—I’m not targeting you, I’m targeting Monkey…”

“Dongjun!” Duan Shaoxia sobbed. “This is my home—what are you doing in my house?”

Lu Dongjun fell silent for a long while, then pulled the false tooth from the stone lion’s mouth and shoved it into his own.

The guards inside and outside rushed in, glanced at Lu Dongjun, and hesitated to act.

Duan Shaoxia glanced at Monkey Qiu; Monkey Qiu signaled the guards not to move.

Lu Dongjun picked up the stone lion, dropped the whip, and turned to leave the hall.

Wan Jinxian was baffled, but the situation left no room for delay—he followed Lu Dongjun out.

Si Wennian followed closely behind—he never wanted to get involved in this in the first place.

Outside the Lu family mansion, Wan Jinxian stared at Lu Dongjun, confused; Lu Dongjun said nothing.

Back at Lu Dongjun’s residence, Wan Jinxian dismissed the servants and asked: “Second Master, have you taken a fancy to Lady Duan?”

Lu Dongjun rubbed his forehead: “I don’t know.”

Hearing this, Wan Jinxian regretted every moment—he should never have followed Lu Dongjun to the Lu mansion if this was all he was capable of.

“Second Master, forgive me for saying this bluntly—what kind of woman could you not have? Why target this middle-aged woman?”

Lu Dongjun slapped his own face, raised his head, and stared at Wan Jinxian: “I could never be interested in her—what the hell would I want with her?”

Wan Jinxian stamped his foot: “Then I don’t understand—what was today’s point? Why did we go to the mansion?”

Monkey Qiu was about to die in your hands—we were about to succeed—what the hell was that performance?”

Lu Dongjun fell silent, then gritted his teeth: “It was Monkey Qiu—I fell for his Joyful Technique. I didn’t realize it at the time—but when I looked at that old woman, my heart just kept pounding!”

“Joyful Technique…”

It was indeed one of the Huan Xiu’s most potent methods—it could trigger sudden desire between strangers.

Was it truly the Joyful Technique?

Wan Jinxian felt something was off.

The Joyful Technique required more time to activate than other Huan Xiu techniques.

For today’s plan, Wan Jinxian and Lu Dongjun had prepared meticulously—they never gave Monkey Qiu a chance to use the Joyful Technique.

Besides, Si Wennian was present the whole time, continuously casting the Suffering Sage Technique; even if Monkey Qiu had used the Joyful Technique, it would’ve been largely negated—impossible for Lu Dongjun to be completely overwhelmed.

“Second Master, did you respond to it?”

Lu Dongjun blinked: “Respond to what?”

Wan Jinxian glanced at Lu Dongjun’s lower body: “I mean—did you feel any physical reaction toward Lady Duan?”

“Reaction…”

“You know—did you want to…?” Wan Jinxian rubbed his hands together.

Lu Dongjun recalled the moment, then shook his head: “I didn’t respond.”

He was certain of this.

He’d been captivated by Duan Shaoxia—but had no other improper thoughts.

“That doesn’t make sense…” Wan Jinxian shook his head repeatedly. “If you didn’t respond, it can’t be the Huan Xiu technique—then what is it…?”

Wan Jinxian’s gaze sharpened: “Does Lady Duan have any cultivation?”

Lu Dongjun thought for a moment, then shook his head: “I remember my brother saying she was a Bai Gaozi.”

Wan Jinxian’s mind raced—he pondered long, then looked at Lu Dongjun: “Second Master, review all the businesses under your control—have the shopkeepers prepare defenses.”

Lu Dongjun waved his hand: “Don’t worry about it—I’ll just say I had a quarrel with Monkey Qiu, then apologize to Duan Shaoxia later. It’s not time to break ties yet.”

Wan Jinxian shook his head: “Second Master, the ties are already broken. It wasn’t Monkey Qiu who attacked you—it was Lady Duan. She might be a Qing Xiu!”

…

Inside the Lu family mansion, Monkey Qiu had bandaged his wounds and went to see Duan Shaoxia.

“Madam, I’m sorry for frightening you. I have something to tell you—you may not believe it, but I saw it with my own eyes: Second Master has a scar on his wrist. That man we saw at Qianyue Pavilion wasn’t the real Master…”

Duan Shaoxia stopped him: “The man we saw that day was Lu Dongjun in disguise—I already know.”

Monkey Qiu froze—he didn’t understand how she knew.

Lu Dongliang had always trusted Monkey Qiu most—but there were things he never told him.

Duan Shaoxia was a Qing Xiu, with very high cultivation.

At Qianyue Pavilion, Duan Shaoxia noticed “Lu Dongliang” was missing a tooth.

Today, Lu Dongjun removed his false tooth and placed it inside the stone lion’s mouth—that triggered her suspicion.

At Qianyue Pavilion, “Lu Dongliang”’s cold attitude had devastated Duan Shaoxia; in her fury, she had unconsciously planted a Root of Emotion on “Lu Dongliang.”

Today, when Lu Dongjun tried to kill Monkey Qiu, Duan Shaoxia triggered that Root of Emotion.

The one affected was indeed Lu Dongjun.

This confirmed it—the man at Qianyue Pavilion was Lu Dongjun impersonating Lu Dongliang.

Duan Shaoxia looked at Monkey Qiu: “Xiao Qiu, tell me honestly—how has our family treated you?”

“Madam…”

“Don’t call me Madam—Dongliang always treated you like a brother. Call me Sister-in-Law!”

Monkey Qiu immediately stood up: “Sister-in-Law, you and Master have been like parents to me—my life belongs to Master—I’d walk through fire and water for you!”

Duan Shaoxia summoned a servant: “Go get Yuan Shan and Yuan Hai.”

Yuan Shan and Yuan Hai were the two children Duan Shaoxia bore for Lu Dongliang—twenty-eight and twenty-five years old.

They arrived downstairs; Duan Shaoxia ordered: “Come here—call him Uncle Qiu!”

Yuan Shan and Yuan Hai froze; Monkey Qiu stepped back two paces, waving his hands: “Madam, this is too much!”

“Xiao Qiu, if you still believe Dongliang treated you well, then accept me as your Sister-in-Law—and accept these two children. Our lives are entrusted to you!”

As she spoke, Duan Shaoxia’s tone was resolute: “Yuan Shan, Yuan Hai—from now on, you obey Uncle Qiu in everything. Xiao Qiu, go inform the elders of the family—tell them Lu Dongjun’s true nature!”

As she spoke, tears welled in Duan Shaoxia’s eyes, and a single blood vessel burst in her sclera.

PS: He Jiaqing is going to laugh again.

(End of chapter)