Chapter 94: I...will...always...protect...you...

December 29th, early morning.

The carriage returning to Zhenlong Temple rocked slowly and leisurely.

Tomorrow would be New Year's Eve, and the day after would be the Spring Festival.

Lu Yuan lifted the carriage window curtain, watching the familiar scenery speeding past outside, his heart suddenly stirring with activity.

"Is there still a small market down the mountain in Qixia Town?"

He turned his head and asked.

"Last New Year, I didn't even get to eat a single hot dumpling. This year, I should at least wrap enough to fill a dozen bamboo trays, right?"

Xu Erxiao's home was in Qixia Town. Hearing this, he immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Listening to Xu Erxiao's words, Lu Yuan pondered going to buy some New Year items, like firecrackers and Spring Festival couplets.

But before Lu Yuan could think much more, the old man beside him couldn't help but curl his lip.

"You're in this state, just stay put!"

The old man wore an expression that said, "Don't cause trouble for me."

"If you want something, just have someone else buy it for you!"

Lu Yuan pouted, his enthusiasm completely gone, and leaned back again.

The carriage soon arrived at the mountain gate of Zhenlong Temple.

The junior brothers, who had received the news early, were already eagerly waiting at the entrance, warmly welcoming the group inside.

As soon as he entered the main gate, Lu Yuan, familiar with the route, was about to head towards the side hall in the backyard.

But he had only taken two steps when a "tsk" sound came from behind him.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey!!"

"Where are you going?!"

"Can't wait even a moment, can you?!"

Lu Yuan slapped his forehead.

Damn it.

He really was a bit bewitched.

Having just returned from this near-death experience, shouldn't the first thing be to offer incense to the Three Pure Ones and the Patriarch to report his safe return?

He immediately changed direction and walked quickly towards the Sanqing Hall.

"Wait."

The old man called him back again.

Lu Yuan turned around and saw the old man pull a long, thickly cloth-wrapped object from his chest and hand it over.

The cloth strips unwound, revealing the hilt.

The Divine Firmament Thunder Punishment Sword!

Lu Yuan's mind buzzed, instantly becoming a bit chaotic.

He subconsciously reached out to take it, but his mind was frantically concocting explanations.

After all, the old man usually knew exactly how much money he had. Now, suddenly producing such an awesome thing...

How should he explain it?

To be honest, one reason Lu Yuan was reluctant to pull out some of his treasures was precisely because he was sometimes afraid of not being able to explain them clearly to those around him.

This...

But what Lu Yuan didn't expect was that after returning the sword to Lu Yuan, the old man just clasped his hands behind his back and walked towards the Sanqing Hall.

He didn't even ask about the sword's origin, merely saying:

"You didn't even know to look for a lost treasure!"

"What a spendthrift!"

This reaction, instead, left Lu Yuan at a loss.

He stood frozen, watching the old man's retreating back, and only after a few seconds did he snap out of it and quickly catch up.

"Wait, aren't you going to ask where I got this sword from?"

The old man walked ahead, shaking his head like a rattle-drum.

"Not asking, not asking."

"Save you the trouble of having to explain."

Lu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly said:

"No, it's fine. I've already prepared a story, guaranteed to be reasonable."

The old man shook his head repeatedly again.

"Not asking, not asking."

"If you've already prepared a story, what's the point of asking?"

Lu Yuan pouted and simply started acting shamelessly.

"No, you have to ask!!"

"Otherwise, I'll feel uncomfortable keeping it bottled up."

The old man kept walking, shaking his head and swaying.

"Heh, I'm just not asking!"

"Keep it bottled up then!"

Lu Yuan: "..."

As they spoke, the old man had already placed one foot over the threshold of the Sanqing Hall, but suddenly turned back, his eyes shining as he stared at the sword in Lu Yuan's hand.

"This thing, it's really something!"

"Let this old man play with it for a couple of days later!"

Hearing the old man's words, Lu Yuan couldn't help but curl his lip again.

"Yeesh!!!"

"These are the kinds of treasures a master gives his disciple!"

"How can you try to take mine?!"

"Have you no shame?"

Hearing this, the old man was instantly displeased, glaring and puffing out his beard.

"Hey!!!"

"How do you know I didn't prepare a treasure for you?!"

"The treasures from our family are incredibly powerful!!"

"I didn't give them to you before because you weren't a Celestial Master and simply weren't worthy of using them!!"

Lu Yuan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately leaned in like a puppy, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Really?"

But then, he skeptically looked the old man up and down.

"Weren't you so poor before that you couldn't even afford food or drink?"

"Where did you get treasures?"

Mentioning this, the old man became flustered and exasperated.

"Hey!"

"What do you mean by that?!"

"Just because I had no money for food or drink doesn't mean I'd sell the ritual tools left by the Patriarch!!"

With that, the old man flicked his sleeve and strode into the hall with a proud, imposing air.

"Hurry up!"

"The treasure has been ready for you for a long time!"

"After paying respects to the Three Pure Ones and the Patriarch, I'll give it to you right away!"

Walking into the center of the hall, the old man turned back again with a proud and smug face, lowering his voice towards Lu Yuan.

"My master doted on me the most back in the day. The very best things were basically all passed down to me!"

"Don't be fooled by that old fellow He Xun making a big fuss, acting like he has everything."

"Back then, what our master gave him were all just scraps!"

"He's been coveting the things in my hands for decades!"

Hearing this, Lu Yuan couldn't hold back either. He immediately quickened his pace, overtook the old man, and went to offer tea to the Three Pure Ones and the Patriarch.

Lu Yuan really wanted to see how the thing the old man would give him later compared to the rewards he got from the system before!

Watching Lu Yuan's impatient back, the smug smile at the corner of the old man's mouth gradually faded.

Deep in his eyes, a flicker of indescribable loneliness and sorrow passed.

But it was only for a moment.

He soon returned to his usual somewhat unreliable demeanor, shaking his head and muttering.

"You kid are really blessed..."

"No one to fight with you over things, to share with you. In the future, everything inside and outside this temple will be yours..."

...

A little past nine in the morning.

Lu Yuan emerged from the old man's meditation room, huffing and puffing as he dragged two large camphorwood chests.

How were the treasures the old man gave?

Hmm...

Hard to say.

The main problem was, the old man himself couldn't even explain them clearly!

Lu Yuan strongly suspected that in the past few decades, the old man had never opened these two big chests.

When the chests were opened, a cloud of dust hit his face.

As for which ritual tool was for what purpose, what incantations were needed to activate them, the old man had completely forgotten some of them.

Finally, he rummaged through the bottom of the chest and pulled out a half-moth-eaten, nearly falling-apart old book and tossed it to Lu Yuan.

"Here, the catalog and descriptions are all in there. Look it up yourself."

That wasn't a big deal; it would just take some time to study.

What Lu Yuan was really worried about was another matter.

These things that hadn't been used for decades, just left gathering dust like this—were they still functional now?

You have to understand, ritual tools aren't like ordinary swords and knives.

An ordinary sword or knife, if well-maintained, can be taken out decades later and still cut people like it's nothing.

Take, for example, that famous Goujian Sword of King Goujian of Yue on Earth.

Taken out 2,400 years later, it was still incredibly sharp.

But ritual tools are different.

Ritual tools have spirit. They need to be warmed and nurtured day and night by their owner's True Qi and spiritual power to unleash their divine might at critical moments.

And these two chests of treasures before him...

Forget about a treasure glow; even the spiritual energy on them was almost completely buried by dust!

Lu Yuan had ample reason to believe that the old man wasn't passing down the family heirlooms.

He was just finding himself a free laborer.

A laborer specifically tasked with "re-consecrating" and "re-warming and nurturing" these antiques!

Nominally, the items were given to Lu Yuan, that was true.

But...

If the old man said he wanted to use them someday, could Lu Yuan refuse?

Damn it!

Feels like I've been tricked by this old fox!

...

For the entire day today, Lu Yuan shut himself in his room, fiddling with those two chests of dusty "treasures."

He carefully wiped the years of dust off the ritual tools with a soft cloth while cross-referencing that nearly falling-apart old book.

Identifying the origins and uses of these items.

The descriptions in the book were written in the most extravagant terms.

How to put it.

If the descriptions of these ritual tools in this old book weren't exaggerated, if they weren't just bragging...

Then... then these ritual tools really were quite awesome.

Lu Yuan even felt they might be on par with the top-tier rewards from the system.

If that's the case...

It seems his own sect lineage was surprisingly awesome.

The ritual tools passed down from his master's lineage could rival the top-tier tools from his system.

Lu Yuan buried himself in hard work until five in the afternoon, when the sky outside the window had completely sunk into ink-black darkness.

Gurgle—

His stomach inopportunely sang the tune of an empty city.

Come to think of it, throughout the day, Lu Yuan only had someone make him a bowl of noodles for lunch.

Right now, he really was a bit hungry.

He originally thought about going to the dining hall to find something to eat, but as soon as he got up and felt his pockets, Lu Yuan suddenly froze.

Damn it!

How could I forget the most important thing!

Immediately afterwards, Lu Yuan hurriedly threw on his clothes and quickly headed towards the side hall in the backyard.

On the hall door, a Yellow Talisman was still quietly pasted.

This talisman couldn't stop Gu Qingwan; it was mainly to prevent the junior brothers in the temple from accidentally barging in.

Lu Yuan tore off the talisman and pushed the door open.

Creak—

The scene inside was as before.

An ancient black coffin rested silently in the center of the hall, emanating a wordless, oppressive aura.

Lu Yuan closed the hall door behind him. As soon as he turned around, his heart skipped a beat.

A figure as crimson as blood had already appeared soundlessly atop the coffin.

In the next instant, Gu Qingwan was already suspended before him.

Those scarlet eyes, empty, indifferent, yet seemingly able to see through a person's heart, were now fixed on him, scrutinizing him intently.

Lu Yuan opened his mouth, wanting to ask her how she had been these days, whether that damn malevolent curse on her head had dissipated a bit more.

Logically speaking, the malevolent curse on her head should be almost gone, right?

But before he could make a sound, Gu Qingwan moved first.

She slowly raised a hand, her fingertips sharp as jade, pointing straight at Lu Yuan's chest.

Cold, fragmented syllables spilled from her lips.

"...In..."

"jured...?"

Lu Yuan was taken aback. He looked down at the thick bandages wrapped around his chest, then looked up, forcing a somewhat strained smile.

"Yes."

"Damn it, ran into a sneaky bastard, got stabbed in the back."

He explained lightly:

"I was fighting a Malevolent Deity head-on just fine, and that grandson ambushed me from behind, stabbed me with a sword."

"But it's fine. The old man arrived in time, the wound's been treated, and I'll be up and about again in seven or eight days."

Gu Qingwan hovered in mid-air, her posture unmoving, but that scrutinizing gaze from above grew even more pressing.

A few seconds of dead silence.

Her red lips parted again, each word seeming dredged from a frozen, deep sea.

"...Why..."

"...not... call... me... to..."

Uh...

The smile on Lu Yuan's face stiffened for a moment. Then he scratched his head and gave a dry laugh.

"The situation was complicated at the time. Who could have guessed that guy was an enemy? Just lack of experience."

"I was almost winning, just a tiny bit away, and he suddenly pulled that move."

At this point, Lu Yuan switched to a deliberately casual tone:

"Besides..."

"I can't rely on you for everything, right? I have to learn to get stronger myself, don't I?"

"I can't trouble you to protect me forever, can I?"

Gu Qingwan gazed at him quietly. Deep within those scarlet eyes, some emotion seemed to be churning.

Another few seconds of silence.

"...Why..."

"..."

Gu Qingwan spoke a bit slowly. After saying "why," she immediately rushed to explain:

"Didn't I say? When I get powerful in the future, I..."

Lu Yuan's words stopped on their own because he realized Gu Qingwan's sentence didn't seem finished.

"...can't...?"

Her voice carried a barely perceptible tremor.

"I... will... forever..."

"protect..."

"you..."

"..."

Uh...

As Gu Qingwan finished speaking, Lu Yuan found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Just as he was lost in a daze of emotion, Gu Qingwan's body leaned forward slightly, bending down.

That icy, exquisitely beautiful, flawless face instantly drew close to his, their noses almost touching.

Her voice, like a whisper, yet each word piercing his heart.

"You... don't..."

"trust me..."

"..."

As her words fell, she gave Lu Yuan no time to react.

The crimson figure suddenly reversed, like a wisp of smoke, instantly retreating back into that icy, large coffin.

An... angry??

Lu Yuan stood frozen in place, blinking.

Coming back to his senses, Lu Yuan immediately stepped forward and knocked on the coffin lid.

"I do trust you!"

"Didn't I say before, once I get stronger, I'll help you find release!"

Bang, bang, bang!

Lu Yuan knocked on the coffin lid a few times. There was no movement from inside at all.

Lu Yuan hurriedly added:

"I really did want to call you at the time, but then the old man came, so naturally, it wasn't needed anymore."

After saying this, there was still no movement from inside.

Uh...

Lu Yuan thought again, his eyes darting as a plan came to mind.

"Speaking of which, I discovered something very important this time, related to your matter~"

"Do you want to hear it or not?"

"It might help figure out who harmed you back then!"

"You want to hear, right?"

Lu Yuan's voice carried a coaxing tone, like a big bad wolf holding candy.

"If you want to hear, come out. I'll only tell you face-to-face~"

But obviously...

Gu Qingwan wasn't a child.

Still, not a single sound.

Lu Yuan: "..."

After a moment of silence, Lu Yuan was at his wit's end. He pouted helplessly.

"Alright, alright!!"

"Next time something happens, I promise I'll call you right away!!"

"Come out quickly, I really have something big to say!"

And as Lu Yuan finished saying this, finally, Gu Qingwan's upper body rose from within the coffin.

Only, she didn't look at Lu Yuan. Instead, she stubbornly turned her face away, leaving a cold, perfect profile.

"...You..."

"say... it..."

Yeesh!!!!

This sulking appearance...

It's actually kind of cute!!!

However, Lu Yuan didn't talk about the big matter. Instead, his expression suddenly changed, and he grinned.

"Not saying."

"I'm hungry. I'll go eat first and tell you when I get back."

At this moment, Gu Qingwan turned her head, looking at Lu Yuan and tilting that stunningly beautiful face slightly.

A big question mark seemed to appear above her head.

Right then, Lu Yuan, like a magician, pulled out two things wrapped carefully in oiled paper from his chest and offered them to her.

The paper wrappings opened to reveal two crystal-clear, sugar-coated hawthorn berries.

"Here~"

"Candied hawthorn sticks I brought back for you from Fengtian City~"

"Try them, they're really sweet~"