Chapter 85: Call Me Martial Uncle!

Outside the window, the sky was faintly bright, the morning light piercing through the window paper, casting a hazy, warm glow within the room.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes amidst the profound silence.

This sleep had been too deep, his spirit and soul seemingly washed clean, his entire body feeling comfortable and at ease.

The hands of the wall clock were steadily pointing at seven thirty.

He sat up, his joints emitting a series of faint cracking sounds.

From the eastern room of the east wing, faint, suppressed giggles of women could be heard, as if afraid of disturbing someone's sweet dreams, yet unable to contain their own excitement.

Lu Yuan stepped barefoot onto the floor, silently padding over, peering through the crack in the door.

A vivid, enticing scene immediately entered his view.

Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin were sitting at the table, loosely draped only in silk camisole nightgowns, shockingly short.

Beneath the hems, two pairs of smooth, delicate, beautiful legs were crossed, gleaming like jade, emitting a faint, soft glow.

On their feet, each wore a pair of high-heeled sandals.

The raised, slender, pink, and tender beautiful foot wore nothing, adorned only with alluring nail polish.

The two didn't know what they were discussing, talking back and forth, cracking sunflower seeds and sipping tea.

From time to time, expressions of sly, utterly wanton, suppressed laughter that only women understood would appear on their faces.

It made the two maidservants standing nearby, holding jade-mouth tobacco pipes, dare only lower their heads in bashful embarrassment.

Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze and strode directly into the main room.

"Young Master Nephew."

The maidservant beside him, seeing him enter, hurriedly bowed in greeting.

The commotion made the two beautiful aunties turn their heads in unison.

For a moment, these two wanton, high-spirited beauties actually showed a flash of shy awkwardness on their faces.

The two stunningly beautiful, top-tier mature feminine faces that were just radiating allure moments ago now simultaneously flushed with unnatural blushes, their eyes evasive.

Very much like little girls caught red-handed doing something naughty.

Lu Yuan, however, didn't look at them. Instead, he walked up to the two maidservants.

He reached out and took the two jade-mouth tobacco pipes that looked extremely valuable.

"What are you smoking this stuff for?"

"From now on, neither of you is allowed to smoke."

For a moment, Lu Yuan acted just like the master of the house.

The two beautiful aunties were stunned, then the shyness on their faces transformed into myriad charms. Aunt Qiao'er even coquettishly protested in a voice like a young wife's:

"Smoking this helps perk you up~"

Lu Yuan, however, frowned and said directly:

"Perk up what!"

"If you're tired, have some tea. If you're exhausted, just lie down on the bed and rest. What's the point of smoking this stuff?"

After speaking, he turned to look at Aunt Qin and Aunt Qiao'er, a playful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Do you have to wait until you've smoked yourselves a mouthful of big yellow teeth, to see who'd still be willing to 'eat tongues' with you two?"

As soon as these words were out, Aunt Qin's beautiful face flushed crimson "swish," giving Lu Yuan a reproachful glare, her voice sweet to the point of being cloying:

"You're the one with a mouthful of big yellow teeth~"

"What nonsense are you saying, that's so disgusting~"

Aunt Qiao'er beside her also hurriedly offered a delicate, coquettish defense:

"This tobacco is prepared using top-grade spirit meat! It won't yellow teeth, and there won't be any weird smell in the mouth either!"

Lu Yuan turned his head to look at Zhao Qiao'er beside him, directly glaring:

"Hey, do you think I don't know more about this than you two?"

"Even if there's no smell, no yellowing, smoking too much of this stuff isn't the least bit good for your health!"

"If you really have urgent matters and can't stay awake, taking a puff to push through is one thing. But smoking for fun when you're idle, what's the point?"

Lu Yuan's glare made Aunt Qiao'er's entire body go limp, as if boneless, her voice so soft it could be squeezed for water, cooing charmingly:

"Alright, alright~"

"I know, I know~"

"I absolutely won't smoke anymore from now on~"

She turned her head, those beautiful peach-blossom eyes giving the maidservants a charming glare:

"Are you deaf?!"

"Didn't you hear what Young Master Nephew said?!"

"Hurry up and go throw all my things away~"

After scolding the maidservants, Aunt Qiao'er turned back again, her gaze towards Lu Yuan tender as water, sweet and clinging.

"Auntie listens to you~"

"I'll listen to you in everything~"

Lu Yuan: "???"

Hey!

What's with Aunt Qiao'er today, being so coquettish?

Not the usual blatant flirtatiousness.

But a kind of innate, bone-deep charm, like a young maiden in love experiencing romance for the first time.

Every smile, every glance, every trailing note carried a hook, so seductive it made one's heart tremble.

Especially those affectionate, lingering peach-blossom eyes, looking at Lu Yuan, they seemed about to overflow with tenderness.

Speaking of which, Lu Yuan and Aunt Qin were practically engaged for life.

Both were as clear as could be, having completely spoken their minds to each other.

But with Aunt Qiao'er, it wasn't like that.

It's just that Lu Yuan and Aunt Qiao'er hadn't said it out loud.

But in reality, the feelings in both their hearts, the other understood perfectly.

It was just that layer of window paper left unpierced.

But sometimes, to be honest, this layer of window paper doesn't necessarily have to be pierced for something to be considered settled.

They're all adults, not children.

It's not like one has to say "I adore you," and the other has to say "I'm willing," for it to count.

Sometimes, an action, a glance, actually means it's already settled.

As for this layer of window paper between them, it seemed neither Lu Yuan nor Aunt Qiao'er intended to be the first to pierce it.

Sometimes, leaving this veil actually adds more flavor.

Normally, if Aunt Qiao'er acted like this, Aunt Qin would definitely tease her a few words from the side.

After all, the two were childhood best friends, close as sisters.

But today, Aunt Qin was unusually well-behaved.

She just sat quietly to the side, her stunningly beautiful, delicate, mature face wearing a trace of shyness.

Lowering her head, cracking sunflower seeds, lost in thought about something.

Lu Yuan collected his thoughts, stretched lazily, and asked:

"Where's Yellow Braised Chicken?"

Aunt Qiao'er immediately put down the sunflower seeds, rising with a swaying figure, charmingly saying:

"Still resting in the hothouse~"

"Your two junior brothers are helping look after it."

Lu Yuan nodded. A day and night had passed; it was time to see how that fellow was recovering.

The two beautiful, seductive aunties also hurriedly got up, draped their cloaks over themselves, and followed closely behind him step by step.

Inside the hothouse in the central courtyard, as soon as they entered, they saw Yellow Braised Chicken sprawled out on the warmly heated brick bed, even with its legs crossed.

Surrounding it was a full circle of fruits, nuts, and pastries.

Its little paw casually reached to the side, grabbing whatever it touched and stuffing it into its mouth. While chewing, that crossed leg swayed leisurely.

That appearance couldn't be more comfortable.

Lu Yuan pushed the door open, glanced at Yellow Braised Chicken, then looked at Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an, who were organizing the work chest to the side.

He raised an eyebrow at Yellow Braised Chicken on the brick bed.

"What's been going on with you these past few days?"

Seeing Lu Yuan, Yellow Braised Chicken jolted and scrambled up from the bed, screeching:

"Ah, damn it all!"

"Don't even mention it!!"

"..."

About a quarter of an hour later, Lu Yuan finished listening to Yellow Braised Chicken's long list of grievances.

Nothing particularly new, just that Zhao Bing had malicious intentions.

Seeing Yellow Braised Chicken's extraordinary fur color after successfully undergoing its tribulation, wanting to pluck more "Tribulation Golden Fur" to make ritual tools, he had kidnapped it.

"Ah, damn it!"

"You're still pulling!"

"Lord Huang is going bald!"

Yellow Braised Chicken clutched the particularly shiny patch of white-golden fur on the back of its head, hopping in pain on the brick bed.

Lu Yuan ignored it, holding that tuft of golden fur in his hand, leisurely and unhurriedly re-braiding it into the "Yellow Immortal Tribulation Knot."

He turned his head to ask Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao, who were fiddling with the work chest beside him:

"Is everything prepared?"

Yesterday afternoon, Lu Yuan had given the list to Wang Fu, asking him to procure the items.

Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an both turned around, looking at Lu Yuan and nodding repeatedly:

"Yeah!"

"Steward Wang got everything ready, and he even bought double of everything!"

Hearing this, Lu Yuan nodded. Wang Fu handled things properly.

Otherwise, he couldn't have been the steward of the Zhao family for so many years.

Immediately, Lu Yuan nodded and said:

"Pack up properly. We'll leave after lunch today."

When the two seductive, mature, beautiful aunties heard Lu Yuan was leaving, their stunning faces were instantly filled with reluctance.

"What's the rush?!"

Aunt Qiao'er's voice was soft and sticky, carrying a hint of anxiety.

"Stay one more night, leave tomorrow!"

To this, Lu Yuan only shook his head, his gaze calm yet firm.

"I've slept for a whole day; that's enough."

"Resting one more day at home means the work will have to be rushed for one more day."

Lu Yuan was never someone who craved comfort.

Back then, to earn money for the old man's liquor, to renovate the dilapidated Zhenlong Temple.

He once slept in the wilderness for a full two months straight.

At that time, it wasn't Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an following him, but two other junior brothers.

It completely wore those two junior brothers out; they cried and begged to return to the temple to rest.

And now was far from the time to lie back and enjoy.

They had to race against time, leaving ample room for the upcoming work.

After all, not all Nurturing Malevolence Sites were as simple as Chunhua Garden, where you could go in and finish in two or three hours.

More often, they were like that Old Sleeve River, dangerous and bizarre, requiring them to wait painfully for specific hours to act.

Otherwise, forcing their way down would only lead to danger.

To live long, don't seek momentary comfort.

Moreover, beyond the Great Wall hadn't truly started blowing the white blizzards yet.

The heavens had been quite generous this year, with only a day and night of snow.

But no one knew when the heavens might change their face.

In this region beyond the Great Wall, once heavy snow fell for three or four days straight, and the soul-stealing white blizzards started swirling.

Then it was over.

Even if a Grand Celestial Master personally arrived, they'd have to obediently huddle indoors, not taking a single step outside.

When the white blizzards blew, visibility dropped to less than ten meters, the world a vast white expanse with no sense of direction.

After several heavy snowfalls, the accumulated snow could directly bury your knees, making roads impassable.

So, not a single minute or second could be wasted.

Seeing Lu Yuan's resolute attitude, the two beautiful aunties, despite their immense reluctance, couldn't say much more.

Aunt Qiao'er's eyes flickered, and she hurriedly spoke up:

"Then how about this, it's still early before lunch, it's just morning now."

"Auntie will take you three to the shops, quickly buy a few sets of warm clothes. Running around outside from now on isn't like being at home; it'll be very cold!"

Her words were fast and urgent. Without waiting for Lu Yuan to speak, she continued:

"Let's buy some good ones, leather outfits for outside, wool inside, plus leather gloves, big leather boots, we'll get everything fully prepared for you!"

Aunt Qiao'er was thoughtful. Lu Yuan considered it and indeed, it made sense.

Although cultivators had abundant yang energy and weren't afraid of cold and hardship, there was no need to deliberately make things difficult for themselves. What's the point of needlessly enduring the cold?

"Alright."

As soon as Lu Yuan nodded, the group went out, boarded the carriage, and headed straight for the best tailor shop in Fengtian City.

Once in the shop, the two beautiful aunties immediately got busy, personally carrying piles of clothes for Lu Yuan to try on. Their enthusiasm made even Lu Yuan feel a bit overwhelmed.

"The three of us just need one set of clothes. Buying more means carrying more, taking up space."

He said somewhat helplessly.

"They don't need to be too fancy either; this is for work, not visiting relatives."

But the two beautiful aunties wouldn't listen, still enthusiastically picking and choosing.

Suddenly, Aunt Qin slapped her plump thigh in annoyance:

"Aiya!"

"Why don't you have any white ones here?"

She turned to ask the shopkeeper, then looked back at Lu Yuan, her eyes shining.

"Our good nephew is called 'Little Taoist in White Robes'!"

"Why are all these leather clothes black?"

Hearing this, Aunt Qiao'er also blinked, about to tell the clerk to go look in the back room.

Lu Yuan quickly raised his hand to stop her, both amused and exasperated.

"What white robes or not, I'm not that particular!"

The nickname "Little Taoist in White Robes" wasn't something he gave himself.

Lu Yuan never felt he absolutely had to wear white.

That previous Taoist robe wasn't originally snow-white either; it was purely due to poverty, washed so many times the color faded.

Back then, there really was no choice. The small change on him had to be squeezed out to buy liquor for the old man.

The larger sums had to be saved to renovate Zhenlong Temple.

To say he couldn't afford even one set of clothes, that wasn't true.

It just really wasn't necessary.

This was going into the wilderness and mountains to do life-threatening work, not walking a fashion show.

No matter how nice the clothes, they'd get filthy beyond recognition after one trip.

Besides, who are you dressing up for?

For those evil spirits?

Finally, at 9:30 in the morning, Lu Yuan and his group finished buying their outfits.

They also took a stroll along the street.

By 11:30, the group returned home.

In the banquet hall of the Zhao family's central courtyard, a truly massive feast was laid out.

Aunt Qiao'er had directly called the chefs from Songtao Pavilion to cook at home.

The taste, naturally, was beyond description, absolutely top-notch!

After eating and drinking their fill, Lu Yuan went to check on Yellow Braised Chicken again.

Instructed it to rest and recuperate peacefully, to honestly stay at the Zhao family from now on as a Household Guardian Immortal.

Then, under the almost overflowing reluctant gazes of the two beautiful aunties and their soft, detailed admonitions.

Lu Yuan, along with Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an, stepped out of the Zhao family's main gate.

Next stop, Beihua Tower.

Why go to Beihua Tower?

The horses are gone!

To find the horses!

Arriving at the small courtyard where the high-ranking elders of Tianlong Temple were staying, Lu Yuan stepped forward and gently knocked on the door.

With a creak, the door opened.

The one who answered was none other than Song Yan.

As soon as he saw Lu Yuan, Song Yan's face immediately broke into an enthusiastic smile.

"Junior Brother, here to collect the horses?"

Lu Yuan smiled and nodded.

Song Yan immediately stepped aside, making a "please" gesture, lowering his voice:

"Master is waiting for you inside."

Lu Yuan understood, nodding. Paying a visit to an elder was proper etiquette.

He stepped into the small courtyard and immediately saw Celestial Master He Xun sitting cross-legged on a cushion in the yard, eyes closed in meditation.

Lu Yuan quickly stepped forward, bowed, and cupped his hands, his posture very humble.

"Disciple Lu Yuan, pays respects to Celestial Master He Xun..."

Before he could finish, Celestial Master He Xun, whose eyes had been slightly closed all along, didn't even lift his eyelids, just emotionlessly uttered three words.

"Call me Martial Uncle!"