Chapter 510: Family Conspiracy!

Yun Xiao's eyes trembled. He grasped the hand of the woman in plain clothes, his voice soft yet resolute, "Mother, don't worry, I won't leave you again."

Though it was a lie, at least Yun Xiao gave her hope. He decided to rectify the regrets of Arbiter Lu, ensuring her a peaceful life in her remaining years.

"Good! Good!" Upon hearing this, the woman's tears flowed even more, darkening her entire face. But beneath that layer of dark tears, there was a long-missing smile.

"Stop crying, it hurts your eyes more. I've come home, and that's a reason for joy. No more tears," Yun Xiao said sternly.

"Alright, alright…" The woman nodded repeatedly, yet couldn't stop her tears from falling.

Fortunately, a thought struck her, and she hurriedly said, "Sit down, I'll cook for you. I've grown celestial vegetables, beneficial for cultivation. Your brother always wanted to eat them, but I didn't let him, I saved them all for you, Lil Yao…"

"Don't fuss, I'm not hungry," Yun Xiao quickly interjected.

"Not hungry? Then I'll go out and buy you some clothes! I have money saved, unspent, all for you!" the woman said excitedly, as if only by keeping busy could she find some peace, fulfilling her duties as a mother.

"Mother, don't go anywhere. Let me tell you something cheerful." Yun Xiao caught her, finally calming her down.

"What cheerful news…" she asked, stunned.

"Lian Xi, come here." Yun Xiao beckoned.

The young girl, having watched from the side, her eyes reddened again. A sensitive girl, her thoughts always pure, indeed she was pristine.

"Mother, hold her hand." Yun Xiao took Lian Xi's hand and placed it in the woman's palm, smiling, "Do you feel it? Smooth and delicate, the hand of a beautiful girl."

"I feel it! I feel it!" the woman said nervously.

"Do you now?" Yun Xiao chuckled, holding their hands, "Let me introduce her, this is your daughter-in-law, named Lian Xi."

Finishing, he winked at Lian Xi, "Say hello!"

"Hello!...Ah no, Mother…" Caught off guard by the situation, Lian Xi was immensely nervous.

"Daughter-in-law!" The woman let go of Yun Xiao's hand, clutching Lian Xi's tender hand eagerly, "Girl, you and my Lil Yao are married?"

"Y-yes, yes we are?" Lian Xi said shyly, her head bowed.

"Yes, yes, that's wonderful," The woman in plain clothes sobbed again with joy. "Our family, at last, is bustling with life!"

Although tears streamed more than ever, this was indeed her happiest day.

"Quick, go tell your father the good news!"

She grabbed a young man by the hand, and they stumbled into a dimly lit room. On a desk in the room lay a tomb tablet inscribed with, "The tomb of Rank 9 Arbiter Lu Bufan."

This was the father of the Lu brothers.

From the diary entries, ever since Lu Yao could remember, his father had been absent.

In his diary, there was a line, "Everyone says Arbiter Lu Bufan was a hero, who gave his life for the Celestial Court, but I don't see it that way! A man who can't protect his own family is no hero, but a bear!"

Yun Xiao knew that for several generations this family had served as Arbiters, yet... it seemed they rarely met a good end.

Once inside, the woman in plain clothes placed three sticks of incense before the tomb tablet, but it took a long while before she could speak.

Her throat worked for a moment, and then she finally said, "Old Lu, both your sons are about to settle down and start their families. I have fulfilled your last wish at last! I hope I haven't disappointed you."

With that, she seemed to cast off a great burden, as if a mountain had crumbled from her shoulders.

She appeared to float on clouds, finally letting a smile spread across her face, her eyes sparkling. "Both sons, settled and established..."

Yun Xiao stared at the simple, dim tomb tablet, lost for words.

?ι══????????══ι?

At the gates of the Lu family estate, a young man in platinum-colored Arbiter armor returned home. He was tall and sunlit, with a warm smile and an air of celestial grace, truly a figure of distinction.

"Greetings, Commander Lu!" Several armored guards greeted him with obsequious smiles, quickly bowing.

"What Commander? I'm not even Rank 8 yet; stop your nonsense," the young man, Lu Changfeng, said calmly.

"My lord, it's only a matter of time!" An older guard chuckled sheepishly.

Clearly, he knew that although Lu Changfeng verbally dismissed the title, he secretly relished being called

commander

.

The difference between Rank 8 and Rank 9 might seem slight, but reaching Rank 8 meant no longer being a mere foot soldier, no need to run about aimlessly.

And in a place like Sky Soaring City, a Commander of the Arbiters was already a figure of considerable stature.

"Keep it low-key." Lu Changfeng gave them a sharp look and walked into the Lu family estate.

"My lord, my lord!" The older guard hurried up, all smiles, "Do you remember Lu Yao?"

Lu Changfeng paused, then replied coolly, "I mingle with the upper crust; why would I remember such riffraff?"

"Oh," The guard chuckled awkwardly, "No matter, I just found it funny. The guy disappears for ten years and comes back looking younger, his skin soft like he's selling himself. Had I not stopped them, the boys would've asked him his price."

At first, Lu Changfeng was somewhat annoyed, but at the guard's words, his brow furrowed, and he asked in a low voice, "What did you just say? Lu Yao is back?"

"Yes, he returned this morning, even brought a girl wearing a mask. Nice figure on her, she moves with quite the energy," the guard remarked with a click of his tongue.

WHOOSH!

Lu Changfeng suddenly grabbed his throat, his teeth clenched, "Are you certain it's really Lu Yao?"

The guard was stunned!

He was puzzled; the young master had just declared he didn't recognize commoners, so why the sudden agitation?

Feeling intimidated, he hurriedly said, "It's true, sir. Blind Old Lady Yu cried tears of joy, happy for half the day. Many people saw him, it's definitely Lu Yao, that little pest."

He mentioned it because, ten years ago, they were rivals. In terms of power, Lu Yao was nowhere close to Lu Changfeng, but their talents were often compared. He knew well that Lu Changfeng despised this little pest!

"Don't worry, my lord, he's completely ruined now. I reckon he's not even a Yang Immortal anymore, his cultivation crippled! Compared to you now, it's like one is in the heavens and the other in the dirt!" the guard added quickly.

"That's enough." Lu Changfeng gave him a cold look and disappeared down the corridor.

"Why does the young master care so much about a ruined man?" the guard mused, lost in thought.

?ι══????????══ι?

In a grand and dignified courtyard, a woman in a phoenix robe played the zither within a lakeside pavilion. Her form was slender and curvaceous, her gestures graceful, an air of ethereal beauty surrounding her.

"Father!" Lu Changfeng burst in, his expression dark. He glanced around before addressing the woman at the zither. "Mother, where is father?"

"He's gone to the governor's office for a meeting."

The woman in the phoenix robe glanced at Lu Changfeng with a hint of exasperation. "How many times has your father taught you? When you're in the arena of fame and fortune, you must control your temper and hide your thoughts, show no emotion. With your behavior, how can you be promoted to Rank 8?"

"Enough of your nagging!" Lu Changfeng gritted his teeth, then sat down beside her, asking, "Mother, have you heard? Lu Yao is back!"

"Yes, I heard." The phoenix-robed woman pursed her lips, her fingers dancing lightly over the strings of the zither. "Isn't that nice? Old Lady Yu has been crying for ten years; she's nearly brought doom to the Lu family estate with her tears."

"It's not nice at all! This Lu Yao is surely an impostor, which means someone's out to get me!" Lu Changfeng said coldly.

"What does he have to do with you?" the woman asked, startled.

"Uh." Realizing his slip, Lu Changfeng waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind, don't worry about it. Keep playing your music. I'll go find father."

"Stop right there!" The woman's brows furrowed. "Let me guess, you tampered with the Arbiter's exam ten years ago?"

Lu Changfeng rolled his eyes. "I knew I couldn't keep it from you! Fine, I'll tell the truth. During the exam, father had a word with Commander Yuan. When I reached the finish line, I was short on Arbiter Tokens. Commander Yuan stepped down from his supervisory seat and took care of Lu Yao, burned him to ashes... That kid was on a rampage that day, he'd snatched over eighty Arbiter Tokens! If I hadn't taken his, he would have been first place that day!"

The lady in the phoenix robe raised her eyebrows and glared. "You kept this from me?"

Lu Changfeng shrugged. "I considered your distant kinship with Lu Yao's mother. Thought it best to keep it simple. After all, it was a trivial matter, and it's long past."

"How many know about this?" she demanded.

"Just father, Commander Yuan, and me... and now you," Lu Changfeng said, chuckling. "Though we made Lu Yao disappear, I saw him burn to ashes myself. Come back to life? The fellow even tried to fight me; I cut his throat with one strike of my sword, and he died on the spot, eyes wide open."

Hearing this, the phoenix-robed woman bowed her head in silence.

"Mother, you're not planning to champion their cause, are you?" Lu Changfeng asked casually.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" She shot him a look. "A blind relative better off dead than alive—who cares about her?"

"Good, then I'll expose this impostor right away, get rid of him once and for all! I'm being assessed for the prospective Commander position; I can't let this fool ruin it," Lu Changfeng said coldly.

"You can't expose him!" she said sternly.

"Why not?" Lu Changfeng raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone thinks he's disappeared. To insist Lu Yao is dead would be too obvious," she said exasperatedly.

"What should I do, then?" Lu Changfeng asked, impatient.

The woman thought for a moment, then asked seriously, "I heard it was Liu Mumu who brought him back to the Lu family estate... Could Liu Mumu know about you killing Lu Yao?"

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"How could she? Unless Old Yuan has a death wish!" Lu Changfeng snapped.

"Something's off... None of those who know would have a reason to target you." She shook her head.

"Indeed! But here’s the thing. Lu Yao is an Arbiter’s kin, protected by the celestial laws. If this gets out, not only will I forget about becoming a Commander, I might not escape unpunished. So, impostor or not, he must die!" Lu Changfeng clenched his teeth.

"Without finding the true instigator, your adversary could exploit this weakness. If one impostor has emerged, countless others could follow. Merely killing him won’t solve this."

With that, the woman in the phoenix robe stood up, her long dress touching the floor.

She looked ahead, resolved. "Come, let’s meet this impostor, hear what those behind him demand."

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