Using the Jade Scroll, based on the timestamp, Lu Quanzhen immediately identified a name, “Zhao Changhe.”
“Zhao Changhe, Ninth Level Energy Refinement…”
Lu Quanzhen muttered to himself as he looked at the name.
Then, using the Jade Scroll again to check the Identity Jade of the other party, he viewed the trajectory of his movements within the Marketplace.
Upon seeing that the other party had headed straight to his Spiritual Wine shop after entering the Marketplace and then went to the Tian’s Everything Shop after leaving, his gaze sharpened slightly.
“Thank you, Cousin Mu Jun.”
Lu Quanzhen’s expression returned to normal as he gave his thanks with clasped hands.
“Hehe, Cousin Quanzhen is too polite.”
This Lu family disciple said cheerfully.
Through inquiries, he learned that today a young man in a black robe had come here to purchase information about Bi Lake Mountain and had acted somewhat oddly.
“Master Lu…”
The shopkeeper, a middle-aged female cultivator, looked somewhat flustered as she faced Lu Quanzhen.
She had not expected selling one piece of information today to trouble the young master from Bi Lake Mountain enough to prompt his visit.
“Just act as if nothing happened.”
Lu Quanzhen spoke with a calm demeanor, walked out of the store, paused for a moment to ponder, and then headed to a tavern.
After asking around, he went to the sixth floor of the tavern and came to a room, knocking softly and saying, “Daoist Zhao.”
“Hmm?”
Qu Changge inside the room immediately recognized that it was Lu Quanzhen outside.
He wondered why Lu Quanzhen had come to find him, especially since he did not recall giving Lu Quanzhen this address.
“Come in.”
He lifted his palm slightly, and the door swung open.
“Daoist Lu, what brings you here to see Zhao?”
Qu Changge looked at Lu Quanzhen with a calm and detached expression.
“Quanzhen pays his respects to Uncle.”
Lu Quanzhen bowed deeply as he greeted.
“You called me what!?”
Qu Changge was taken aback, his hand trembling slightly beneath the black wide robe, his voice sinking.
“Uncle.”
Lu Quanzhen continued.
“How did you know about me?”
Qu Changge did not deny it but instead asked aloud.
He did not understand how, after seeing this nephew only once and having brief chat, the other side could have discerned his identity.
“Because Uncle came to see me today, and your behavior and mannerisms were a bit off, which led me to this conjecture.”
Seeing that the other had not denied it, Lu Quanzhen knew he had guessed correctly.
This made him pause internally, uncertain about the purpose of the other’s visit.
After all, when he was handling affairs at Ruyi Marquis Mansion in the mortal world, he had received a piece of news.
His uncle, Qu Changge, had not died but had turned to Demon Cultivation…
“Oh?”
Qu Changge still did not see where he had given himself away, a smile emerging on his face as he spoke with interest, “Tell me, how did you conjecture it?”
Saying this, he gestured for Lu Quanzhen to sit down, then started to prepare tea.
“Uncle came today, and his behavior did not seem like he was there to do business but rather to converse with me, which I found quite inexplicable.”
Lu Quanzhen gently pinched the talisman in his sleeve, then seated himself at the table and said with reverence, “During our conversation, I was extra cautious and, through your accent and surname, I came to this suspicion.”
“Accent, surname?”
Qu Changge seemed oblivious to the talisman in his nephew’s sleeve, his face full of smiles, beckoning him to continue.
“That’s right, I once lived in Zhoushan Mansion for quite some time, and noticed a certain familiarity in your accent.”
“Then, Uncle, you use the surname Zhao, and it happens that my maternal grandmother’s surname is Zhao.”
“Also, my mother often reminisces about Uncle, telling stories about you to us siblings, so I speculated about your identity.”
Lu Quanzhen explained as such.
“It shouldn’t be just these reasons, should it?”
Qu Changge looked at his nephew, smiling as he spoke.
He felt that just these few conditions were not enough.
“Today, after I had my suspicions, but was still unsure, I went through the marketplace to check today’s city entry records.”
“I saw the fake name Zhao Changhe that uncle used, and then noticed that uncle came directly towards me, and afterwards purchased information about Bi Lake Mountain, which gave me some confidence.”
Lu Quanzhen continued calmly.
“There must be other reasons too, right?”
Qu Changge still wore a smile.
Seeing his nephew infer so much from their simple conversation today brought him a great deal of satisfaction.
Truly worthy of being a child of the Qu family, so astute!
“I was not entirely certain of the matter either, I just felt it was a possibility, so I came over to ask. I did not expect uncle to admit it straightforwardly.”
This is what Lu Quanzhen said.
“But if that’s so, why were you holding a talisman in your sleeve?”
Qu Changge asked with a smile, his demeanor easygoing and refined.
Seeing Lu Quanzhen’s expression change, he immediately raised his hand and said, “Quanzhen, no need to be nervous, uncle is just asking casually.”
At this moment, he candidly revealed his own identity.
Since his nephew had already recognized him, he had nothing left to hide.
“I didn’t expect uncle to have noticed.”
Lu Quanzhen felt a chill in his heart, not expecting his uncle to be aware that he was hiding a talisman in his sleeve.
This indicated that the other party was definitely not merely at the Ninth Level Energy Refinement but had broken through to Foundation Establishment!
Only the divine sense of Foundation Establishment could possess such keen insight!
This revelation struck him with amazement, as he had not expected this uncle whom he had never met to be a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator!
Faced with this situation, he knew he couldn’t play any tricks in front of the other.
He immediately took out the talisman hidden in his sleeve, placed it on the side, and said with a bitter smile, “Because my mother often mentions uncle, and our family has always been looking for you, but there has been no news.”
“Thinking that we should see each other alive or at least find the body if dead, so in my early years when I was handling affairs in the secular world, I investigated uncle’s information and learned that thirty years ago in Zhoushan Mansion, a demon cultivator appeared…”
“And this demon cultivator, is very likely to be you, uncle. So, on this trip, I came with some caution in my heart, I hope uncle won’t take offense.”
Lu Quanzhen no longer concealed anything and spoke openly.
He knew that he couldn’t play games in front of the other and could only bet that the other had no ill intent.
“A demon cultivator…”
Qu Changge immediately knew it must be the time when he returned home years ago, only to discover that his entire family had been wiped out, which caused the demonic blood within him to erupt.
He laughed and said, “Hehe, what’s there to take offense at? In the Cultivation World, it is necessary to be extra cautious.”
“Yes, many years ago, due to some reasons, I walked the Demon Path and became a demon cultivator.”
Qu Changge admitted candidly.
Then his facial features blurred for a moment as his disguise faded and he restored his true appearance.
Although he regained his original look, his current appearance and demeanor were quite different from the uncle’s temperament Lu Quanzhen had learned about from his mother Qu Zhenzhen’s descriptions and images.
His face was stern, and there was an inexplicable demonic aura between his eyebrows.
“Zhenzhen… how has your mother been these past years?”
Qu Changge continued to speak, his voice somewhat hoarse and trembling.
He had intended to go directly to Bi Lake Mountain today to see how his sister was doing, and to teach her husband a lesson.
But after reading the information and making some simple inquiries, he learned that Lu Changsheng had a rather good reputation and was not the kind of energy-draining heretic cultivator or demon cultivator he imagined.
In particular, he was famously good to his wives, and his sister Qu Zhenzhen was one of his official wives, not just a concubine.
Consequently, he thought about further contact with his nephew, and to visit Bi Lake Mountain later, not expecting his nephew to take the initiative to come to him.
“Mother has been quite well these years, it’s just that she often mentions uncle, as well as my grandparents…”
“And then these past years I’ve caused mother some worry…”
Lu Quanzhen began, slowly voicing his mother’s situation.
He roughly guessed that his uncle must have achieved success in cultivation, which is why he came back to visit his mother.
Because from his mother’s stories, he knew that the siblings were very close, and that his uncle was always especially caring towards her, his sister.
Faced with this, he also played the familial card as much as possible to stabilize his uncle.