Chapter 25: Friends List

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Friends List

"Take me as a disciple?" Meeting Lu Zhiyuan’s gaze, Fang Xu hesitated.

Judging from that Elixir yesterday, Lu Zhiyuan’s identity was far from simple. A powerful and mysterious faction had to be backing him. Furthermore, because of the Blood Food Shop incident, the Wu family had probably already begun to harbor a grudge against him. Taking Lu Zhiyuan as his master wouldn’t be a bad choice at all.

Besides, Lu Zhiyuan had just broken a past vow to take him in as a disciple in front of so many prominent figures of Fenglin Town. Refusing would be tantamount to publicly humiliating the man. If he offended two Martial Masters of Fenglin Town at once, he would never be able to show his face around here again.

"I am truly humbled! Greetings, Master." Figuring everything out, Fang Xu hastily bowed low to perform the grand formal bow of a disciple.

Seeing this, the others at the table rose to their feet. Though still harboring doubts, they cupped their hands and congratulated Lu Zhiyuan one after another.

"Congratulations, Lu, on gaining a beloved disciple!"

"Lu, this is a double blessing!"

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

Amidst the crowd’s compliments, Fang Xu rightfully took the seat beside Lu Zhiyuan.

"Fang Xu, pour wine for the seniors," Lu Zhiyuan said with a smile after sitting down.

"Pour wine?" Staring at the wine jug in front of him, Fang Xu froze for a moment before secretly rejoicing.

After the deaths of Zhang Mingliang and his two servants, only three people remained on his friends list. Right now, Wang Erhu and the other two didn’t generate much Life Value, and it likely wouldn’t be long before they died as well. His friends list couldn’t be left empty. Scanning the people seated at the table, Fang Xu was pleasantly surprised to find that, excluding himself, there were exactly seven of them!

Excellent! This was perfect! It would fill his list right up!

With a wide smile on his face, Fang Xu quickly stood up and poured wine for everyone present. However, when he prepared to pour for Lu Zhiyuan beside him, Lu Zhiyuan frowned and slowly moved his cup away. "Your master quit drinking a long time ago."

"He quit drinking?" Fang Xu was slightly taken aback. The others at the table also looked at Lu Zhiyuan with some confusion.

"My father indeed gave up drinking long ago. Allow Qingluo to toast everyone on his behalf today." Standing behind Lu Zhiyuan, Lu Qingluo stepped forward, preparing to take the cup and drink with the guests in her father’s stead.

"Nonsense!" Lu Zhiyuan glared at her. "What business does a young lady have drinking wine?" Having stopped Lu Qingluo, Lu Zhiyuan looked at Fang Xu. "How about you toast everyone on my behalf?"

Fang Xu hesitated for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Yes, Master."

Filling his own cup, Fang Xu slowly raised it. "Seniors, I toast you all on behalf of Land Master. Thank you for your support."

"You’re too polite, nephew. We will still need to rely on Lu’s care in the future," one of them said.

"Exactly, exactly. Now that Lu has taken over the Blood Food business, you must look out for us when you strike it rich," another chimed in.

As the group raised their cups and offered flattery, Fang Xu saw that the atmosphere was just right. He glanced at Lu Zhiyuan, and seeing that he remained silent, smiled and spoke up. "Allow me to be bold and say a few words on my master’s behalf. As fellow townsmen, once we drink this wine, we are all friends. We should look out for each other in the future."

His words made everyone at the table very happy. They immediately echoed their agreement. "Well said, nephew! We are all friends. Cheers!"

As the wine slid down his throat, a virtual light screen popped up in front of Fang Xu.

Friends List (9/10)

Friend 4: Huangzhou Prefecture, Qinghe County, Fenglin Town - Qi San (68%)

Friend 5: Huangzhou Prefecture, Qinghe County, Fenglin Town - Guo Shun (71%)

Friend 6: Huangzhou Prefecture, Qinghe County, Fenglin Town - Hu Lin (69%)

...

The names of all six people appeared one after another on his friends list. Seeing this, Fang Xu was overjoyed. Just as he was about to propose another drink with them, he suddenly noticed that the Life Value behind all nine names on his friends list had uniformly dropped by 3%!

"This..." After a brief moment of shock, Fang Xu swept his gaze over the group.

"Nephew?" someone called out, noticing his strange expression.

Snapping back to his senses, Fang Xu said apologetically, "Please forgive me, seniors. My parents passed away when I was young, and I depended on my grandfather to survive. Ever since he passed away, I have been all alone in this world. Now, I am fortunate that Land Master has not abandoned me and taken me in as a disciple, allowing me to feel the warmth of a home once again. Hence, I couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional..."

Hearing his words, the men burst into hearty laughter.

"Lu, it is truly rare for your nephew to have such a genuine nature!"

The others also nodded in agreement.

Amidst the cheerful banter and laughter, the banquet lasted for a full four hours before finally coming to an end. After seeing off all the guests, Lu Zhiyuan called Fang Xu alone into a side room. The master and disciple sat facing each other.

Lu Zhiyuan looked at him and smiled faintly. "Do you have many questions in your heart?"

Fang Xu nodded.

Taking a sip of tea, Lu Zhiyuan said, "Before that, I must first apologize to you. I did not discuss the matter of taking you as a disciple with you beforehand. Bringing it up in front of everyone today carried somewhat of a coercive tone. Of course, I must also thank you for saving my face in front of the crowd." Lu Zhiyuan stood up with utmost sincerity and cupped his hands.

Fang Xu hurriedly stood up to support him. "Land Master, what are you doing? You’re honoring me too much!"

Holding his hands, Lu Zhiyuan said with gratification, "I indeed had selfish motives for taking you as a disciple this time, but I absolutely have no intention of harming you. Now, ask the questions in your heart."

Fang Xu remained silent for a moment. He organized his thoughts and asked, "Land Master, what exactly was that Elixir?"

Hearing this, Lu Zhiyuan’s expression grew somewhat complicated as he sighed. "That is one of the inheritances of my family, named Divine Attendant. I see that the Divine Attendant has already recognized you as its master, so you must have also witnessed its wondrous uses. The Divine Attendant has many miraculous functions. You can slowly discover them yourself; they will be of great benefit to your future cultivation," Lu Zhiyuan said earnestly.

Fang Xu nodded.

"Land Master, behind you..." Being able to possess an Elixir like the Divine Attendant was enough to prove that the faction behind Lu Zhiyuan was extremely powerful. Fang Xu wanted to know who exactly he was serving now.

Hearing this question, Lu Zhiyuan remained silent for a long time.

"If Master has unspeakable difficulties..."

"It’s not that I can’t talk about it, but telling you now would only add to your troubles." Lu Zhiyuan thought for a moment before saying, "Fang Xu, you only need to know that my sole selfish motive for taking you as a disciple is so that when you grow strong in the future, you can protect Qingluo well."

"Protect... her?" His gaze shifted to the red silhouette standing in the courtyard. Fang Xu took a deep breath and cupped his hands. "Rest assured, Land Master. I will do my best to protect Senior Sister Qingluo."

Seeing his agreement, Lu Zhiyuan nodded with gratification and then smiled faintly. "I can tell that you harbor secret affections for Qingluo. I don’t object to this."

"Uh!" Having his little secret suddenly exposed, Fang Xu scratched his head awkwardly. "Land Master, I..."

Lu Zhiyuan waved his hand. "There’s no need to be so restrained. Qingluo is proud and ambitious. If you can win her heart, I would actually be happy to see it happen. Alright, go back and cultivate well. This is a world where strength reigns supreme. Only by constantly growing stronger can you protect everything you wish to protect," Lu Zhiyuan murmured.

This sentence seemed to be directed at Fang Xu, yet it also felt as if he were speaking to himself. Seeing this, Fang Xu asked no further questions. He stood up, bowed to Lu Zhiyuan, and turned to leave.

After Fang Xu left, Lu Qingluo entered the room. "Father, why did you lie to them today saying you quit drinking, and even stop me from drinking with those people?"

Lu Zhiyuan looked at his daughter with a somewhat solemn expression and said, "I cast a divination last night. Today is not an auspicious day for drinking."

Lu Qingluo looked stunned, seemingly unable to believe this explanation.

"Qingluo, cultivate well. Bai Ze’s Soul also possesses the effect of pursuing good fortune and avoiding disaster. Our lineage must not abandon the root to chase the superficial."

Lu Qingluo curled her lips and nodded. "I understand."