Chapter 30: Lu Family i
Translator: 549690339
After a bout of bargaining,
Wang Ba cleared out the stock, returning home, satisfied with his haul of forty-six sick chickens.
Due to the extreme shortage of spirit food like Precious Chickens, even sick chickens fetched a high price, comparable to the price of a rooster before the increase.
Yet, male and female chickens were both sold at the same price, and the bearded old man was willing to sell even at a discount. So Wang Ba felt like he had made a good deal.
“Keep the hens and eat the roosters after absorbing their lifespan!”
This was his consistent policy.
Arriving at the entrance of the villa, and confirming there were no people around, he quickly began to store the lifespan into each Precious Chicken one by one.
After ensuring that no chickens were missed, he entered the villa and set up a separate enclosure for them, preventing them from coming into contact with the healthy chickens.
lie then provided the new sick chickens with chicken feed and discarded Spirit Insects.
Not daring to further interact with the healthy chickens, he scurried off to take a bath by a spring at the bottom of the villa.
Bathing was something he hadn’t done in a long time. He was now accustomed to the stench of dealing with these animals every day and didn’t even notice the smell anymore.
Surprisingly, he felt somewhat uncomfortable when he returned to the villa after taking a bath.
However, he still had many matters to attend to, like fixing the house.
The roof that had been demolished by the outer disciple Ye Lingyu was tidied up once again. Fortunately, it hadn’t rained these days, so Wang Ba wasn’t forced to move into Old Sun’s chicken-smeared room.
The smell from that room due to all the chicken feces stored by Wang Ba was…
The next day, Old Hou delivered chicken feed to the villa again.
Since revealing the secrets of the Body Strengthening Scripture, he had avoided idle chatter with Wang Ba to the best of his ability, often leaving as soon as he completed the delivery, never staying a second longer.
He was clearly terrified of Wang Ba’s ‘financial power’.
After persistently instigating without gaining much, Wang Ba stopped bothering him as well, and the two got used to this mode of interaction.
But this time, Wang Ba took the initiative to stop Old Hou.
“Old Hou, how much do you know about the Chief Disciple of the outer, Master Lu?”
“Lu Yuansheng?”
Upon hearing this name, Old Hou’s gossipy nature was itching to reveal itself, and eventually, he couldn’t control it. He probably didn’t see any connection between this matter and the Chengxian Society, so he whispered:
“That’s one tough guy! I heard that none of the outer disciples could match him. But not long ago, he seems to have been killed by some powerful person after he left the Sect, and his body didn’t remain intact!”
“Even the House Masters of the Six Rooms were alarmed!”
“House Masters?”
Wang Ba was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.
The House Masters were powerful elders, enjoying jurisdiction over both the inner and outer disciples, handling Sect chores whilst also having access to numerous resources. It was said that these six House Masters were only second to the lofty Sect Master in terms of strength.
“Yes, didn’t you see? That afternoon, six beams of light suddenly shot out into the sky. They were from those House Masters!”
As Old Hou seemed to reminisce about the scene that day, his eyes held a hint of awe.
Wang Ba also remembered, there seemed to be a day when several streaks of light spread across the sky, magnificent and majestic, filled with an inconceivable amount of spiritual energy.
That was why he was terrified and rushed into his house, not daring to take another look.
Looking back now, it’s likely that Lu Yuansheng died that day.
“Speaking of which, Lu Yuansheng’s death must be hard to accept!”
Old Hou suddenly sighed.
“Why say that?”
Wang Ba curiously asked.
“Ha! Isn’t it obvious? Lu Yuansheng worked hard all his life, and yet his family has no one who possesses a Spiritual Root. Even with the Sect remembering his past contributions, his family has now fallen and become a household of ordinary people, no different from any of us!”
“Not to mention, Lu Yuansheng had been the Chief Disciple of the outer for many years. He has most likely offended a lot of people. Among them, if even one of them is cruel enough, well, the Lu Family won’t have good days ahead!” “This… shouldn’t be that bad, right?”
Wang Ba spoke hesitantly, but in his heart, he agreed with Old Hou’s thoughts.
Old Hou glared at him: “Not that bad? Have you been to West Garden market? You should remember a shop called ’Lu’s Grain Shop’? That’s Lu Yuansheng’s family business. You know what happened to it? The day after Lu Yuansheng died, the shop was auctioned off, and now it’s in the hands of another one of the top ten outer disciples!”
“If you don’t believe me, go check it out after you finish your work today. See if I’m wrong.”
Wang Ba did not respond as he had already visited the place and knew that Old Hou was right.
“Also, 1 heard the Lu Family used to live in the lane nearest to the Beisong Market, which has the most abundant Qi. Later, they moved to the East Mountain Market and recently, they moved to Nanhu Village… A clear case of how flourishing or declining fortunes comes swiftly! I reckon that before long, they won’t be able to stay in Nanhu Village either, they’d have to move outside of the Sect!”
“Enough of this gossip, 1 need to go now. That bastard at 92 Villa always scolds me if 1 deliver late! Damn animal! I’m leaving!”
After saying this, Old Hou muttered some curses, whipped his donkey, and gradually disappeared into the distance.
“Nanhu Village?”
Wang Ba knew about this village located not too far from the South Lake Market. It was naturally formed residential area for deacons, menials, Sect Disciples, and their families.
South Lake Market was the farthest from the Sect’s core, and thus, its Qi was very thin.
Correspondingly, Nanhu Village was seen as a place where only the most rundown families of Sect Disciples lived.
The Lu Family’s sudden drop from Beisong Market to their current residence at Nanhu Village was a manifestation of their quick downfall.
However, there was nothing Wang Ba could do about it.
He was just a lowly menial.
Even if he wished to lend a helping hand to Shopkeeper Lu, a friend, he didn’t possess the ability to do so.
Moreover, a thin camel is still bigger than a horse. Even in decline, the Lu Family’s wealth was far greater than his. It seemed unlikely that they would require the help of someone with his lowly status.
Another few days passed and he finally managed to repair the roof and tidy up the room. The room felt much brighter than before, making it a better place to live in. It was a blessing in disguise for the room.
One evening, after finishing his chores, he sat under the setting sun, and felt an inexplicable impulse welling up in his heart.
This impulse was irrational and completely against his philosophy of keeping a low profile. Yet, it oddly resonated with his heartstrings.
He even felt that if he didn’t follow this impulse, he might truly lose something.
These things might not be important.
But they might be.
In the end, he gritted his teeth.
He glanced around, picked a chicken to put in a bamboo basket, then headed straight for Nanhu Village.
Yes, Nanhu Village.
It was where the Lu Family had moved to.
Wang Ba was not there to see the Lu Family, but just to visit Shopkeeper Lu.
A person whose name he didn’t even know all that well.
When Wang Ba arrived at the courtyard where the Lu Family resided, after crossing a terrible-smelling street, he found that the situation of the Lu Family was even worse than he had imagined..