Chapter 12 - 11: Divine Oracle

Chapter 12: Chapter 11: Divine Oracle

When Lu Jing’an returned to the Lu Mansion, the sun was already slanting westward. His shadow stretched long across the bluestone slabs.

Upon returning home, he went straight to his father Lu Huaiqian’s study. There, he recounted exactly what had happened at the Lin family’s gate earlier that day.

The study was brightly lit by candles, and the quiet scent of sandalwood filled the air. Lu Huaiqian sat upright in his Grandmaster’s Chair. His distinct, knuckle-prominent fingers tapped lightly against the smooth red sandalwood desk, producing a muffled THUD THUD sound. His face was as calm as still water, showing no emotion.

Only after Lu Jing’an finished speaking did he give a slight nod. In a deep voice, he instructed the servant waiting outside, "Go and invite the Second Master over."

When it came to schemes involving silver coins and business, Lu Huaichuan was the true master of the trade.

It only took a moment for Lu Huaichuan to arrive. Even though it was already evening, he was still dressed in a perfectly ironed suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses. After listening to Lu Jing’an briefly summarize the situation again, he didn’t immediately comment on the Lin family’s affairs. Instead, with a trace of playful inquiry, he looked at his nephew.

A meaningful smile tugged at the corners of Lu Huaichuan’s mouth. His voice was gentle yet piercing. "Jing’an, when did you learn the French Language? Could it be for the Lin family’s daughter?"

Lu Jing’an hadn’t expected his second uncle to care about this detail, but he was prepared. He casually replied, "A few women from France came to the courtesan house a while ago, so I learned a bit in passing."

A courtesan house was a place that operated under the guise of selling art rather than bodies. However, if one paid enough silver coins, the rules no longer applied. In the past, Lu Jing’an indeed frequented such places, and girls from France had actually visited there.

This, however, was an answer Lu Huaichuan absolutely didn’t expect. Stunned for a second, he broke into an amused laugh.

"I never would have guessed, Jing’an, that you were genuinely going to the courtesan house for cultural exchange.

"Next time, you can act as a translator. I want to entertain a friend."

The classic excuse: ’I have a friend.’ Lu Jing’an immediately agreed. To be honest, Lu Jing’an also had a ’friend’ who wanted to experience a high-end venue like a courtesan house. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"COUGH COUGH."

Sitting at the head of the room, Lu Huaiqian saw the uncle and nephew getting further and further off-topic. He couldn’t help but cough heavily twice, tapping his fingers harder against the desk to serve as a reminder.

Hearing this, Lu Huaichuan instantly dropped his joking demeanor. Straightening his back, he regained his usual sharp and capable aura. Habitually pushing up the frame of his gold-rimmed glasses, he pondered aloud, "Since the Lin family wants to pull out and leave, they must urgently offload their massive assets. They wouldn’t dare make a scene about it, much less sell everything off as a single whole."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Therefore, the most likely method is to break it down into pieces. They will split their properties into several inconspicuous portions, secretly look for buyers, and quietly clear them out. In this regard, I can arrange capable men to coordinate on multiple fronts, driving the price down to its absolute lowest. Little by little, we will swallow the Lin family’s foundation entirely."

Having said this, Lu Huaichuan subconsciously took off his glasses. Holding them in his hand, he slowly wiped the lenses—his usual habit when deep in thought.

The study was completely quiet, save for the occasional soft CRACKLE of the candle wicks.

A moment later, he put his glasses back on. "The next part is the key. There is absolutely no way the Lin family would be willing to take the massive amount of money obtained from selling their assets over to the Li family. That would be no different than delivering a lamb into a tiger’s jaws. So, where is the most secure and safe place to store this enormous sum?"

He answered his own question, his tone firm. "Only a bank opened by Voiders.

"A small place like Yin Mountain County doesn’t have Voider banks; only the Provincial City does. Since carrying massive amounts of Silver Coins is inconvenient, they will inevitably try to exchange them for universally accepted silver notes. And in Yin Mountain County, as well as along the route to the Provincial City, only the silver notes issued by Lu’s Bank carry the highest credibility and have the widest channels. Whether they want to or not, they have no choice but to choose us."

He looked toward Lu Huaiqian in the head seat, handing over the ultimate decision-making power. "So, Huaiqian, whether this money can ultimately leave with the Lins is entirely up to you. Whether it stays in Yin Mountain County or safely arrives at the Provincial City, the choice is yours."

Lu Jing’an quietly listened to his uncle’s meticulous analysis. He thought to himself, "My little bit of cleverness truly seems juvenile in the face of such genuine, seasoned scheming."

Lu Huaiqian didn’t immediately state his position. He simply sat there in silence, deep in thought. This wasn’t indecisiveness; he had to weigh the pros and cons, considering everything thoroughly to find a foolproof plan.

Knowing he was no longer needed here, Lu Jing’an quietly stood up, bowed to his father and uncle, and asked to be excused.

As Lu Jing’an took his leave, Lu Huaichuan once again mentioned the matter regarding his friend. Lu Jing’an readily agreed to it.

Stepping out of the study, the evening breeze brushed against his face with a chilling touch. Lu Jing’an returned to his own courtyard, where the lights in his room glowed warmly. He walked straight to his bed and sat down. With a shift in his thoughts, he selected [Refining].

Following his will, the invisible Zhengqi Furnace surfaced in his consciousness once more. It began to slowly rotate, emitting a hazy, faint glow.

[Refining in progress. Estimated time to completion: 6 hours.]

Seeing that the required time was fully six times longer than when he refined the Centennial Ginseng, Lu Jing’an wasn’t surprised. On the contrary, his anticipation grew. The longer it took, the stronger the Energy contained within. The items he could extract would naturally be all the more extraordinary.

He wasn’t going to just sit around waiting for six hours. The evening sun was just right; it was the perfect hour for Practicing Boxing. Lu Jing’an stepped out into the courtyard and assumed his stance. Every punch and kick was steady and powerful, his blood and qi surging in tandem.

The young master’s diligence was witnessed by everyone in the Lu Mansion. Originally, they all thought Lu Jing’an was just playing around. They hadn’t expected him to not only possess great talent but also train so arduously.

After soaking in a medicinal bath and eating dinner, the dead of night finally brought a notification.

[Refining Complete.]

[Acquired Orange entry: Ghostly Shadows and Traces.]

[Acquired Nine-fingered Yama Memory Pearl x1.]

[Acquired Energy Points: 3.]

Looking at his harvest after the Refining, a look of joy spread across Lu Jing’an’s face. An orange entry! It was an existence second only to red entries. Most crucially, at first glance, it was clearly an entry that enhanced his Body Skill and agility. This perfectly aligned with his current needs. His agility attribute hadn’t improved at all, yet agility was the greatest guarantor for escaping with one’s life.

Originally, Lu Jing’an assumed Nine-fingered Yama would yield an entry that increased Attack. He hadn’t expected it to boost agility. But on second thought, it made sense. For a wanted bandit to remain at large for so long, how could he possibly survive without exceptional escape methods?

As for the Memory Pearl, its name alone made its function obvious. He could study it later. Lu Jing’an opted to check the entry’s abilities first.

[Ghostly Shadows and Traces] (Orange)

[Note]: This entry permanently increases agility by 3 points. It doubles the effectiveness of Body Skill Cultivation Techniques and is especially potent for short-range evasive Body Skills.

After reviewing the entry’s attributes, Lu Jing’an was incredibly satisfied. Following that, he figured he should go acquire a Cultivation Technique that enhanced Body Skills.

Just as he was pondering how to procure one, he abruptly slapped his thigh. "Why should I buy one? There’s bound to be a ready-made one in the Memory Pearl!"

With that thought, he hesitated no longer and sank his consciousness into the faintly glowing Memory Pearl.

After a brief inspection, he understood the Technique for using this Memory Pearl. In layman’s terms, it was a cinematic reel of Nine-fingered Yama’s entire life. Lu Jing’an could browse through the memories at will, just like flipping through a book. He could fast-forward or rewind.

Of course, he could also choose to initiate Devouring. Doing so would allow him to directly digest all of the other party’s memories and gains, naturally including his insights into Martial Arts. However, this method came with a massive drawback: it placed an extremely high demand on Spiritual Power. Because the two sets of memories would clash, it would inevitably cause mental confusion. If his Spiritual Power wasn’t strong enough, a drastic change in personality would be getting off lightly; he might go completely insane.

Naturally, Lu Jing’an didn’t dare attempt Devouring recklessly. He planned to take the perspective of a bystander first, quickly skimming through it to see what it held.

However, after watching for only a short while, Lu Jing’an withdrew from the Memory Pearl, his face pale. His expression was both gloomy and deeply unsettled.

It couldn’t be helped; Nine-fingered Yama was simply born evil. The atrocities he had committed before the age of fourteen were already enough to make him deserve death far more than most heinous villains.

According to the memories, at the age of eight, Nine-fingered Yama lured a neighbor’s girl into the wilderness and murdered her. Afterward, he returned acting as if nothing had happened, even joining her parents in the search.

At eleven, he took a master to learn Martial Arts. It had to be said that his talent in Martial Arts was truly remarkable, but his heart was equally wicked. Simply because his master refused to marry his daughter to him, he slaughtered his master’s entire family and burned the place to the ground.

Furthermore, his finger wasn’t chopped off by someone else; he cut it off himself. The reason was to study Body Skills under his second master. He severed his digit to prove his determination and even ate his own finger.

Once he mastered the skills, he chopped off his second master’s fingers one by one. Then, he sliced off both of the man’s feet in one clean strike, forcing his crippled master to compete with him in Body Skills. When he committed these acts, he was barely sixteen years old.

Viewing the memories of a natural-born psychopath was a massive blow to one’s moral sensibilities. Lu Jing’an couldn’t stomach watching it bit by bit, so he had no choice but to fast-forward.

Eventually, he fast-forwarded to the part where Nine-fingered Yama struck a deal with the Li Family. Here, Lu Jing’an could gather more information about the Li Family. The scene froze inside the prison cells of Xiao County.

The Li Family laid out their terms for Nine-fingered Yama: assassinate Lu Jing’an, and in return, they would grant him his freedom. However, to ensure he followed orders, they required him to consume a poison.

Everything proceeded very smoothly. The two sides quickly reached an agreement, and Nine-fingered Yama ingested the poison.

However, when Nine-fingered Yama was released from prison by the Li Family and returned to his temporary hidden stronghold, the memory footage suddenly turned bizarre.

Lu Jing’an saw Nine-fingered Yama inside a room, setting everything up piously yet bizarrely according to some bloody, blasphemous Western ritual. Then, he dropped to his knees and began a long, fanatical prayer toward an unspeakable entity in the void.

An hour later, the prayer ended. Nine-fingered Yama received a Divine Oracle.

Because these were Nine-fingered Yama’s memories, Lu Jing’an knew what the Divine Oracle entailed. The instruction was not to kill him directly, but rather to plunge the area into chaos to facilitate the descent of the Gods.

Seeing this, Lu Jing’an began to count his blessings that he hadn’t rashly initiated Devouring on these memories. Setting aside the bloodlust and cruelty within, just this so-called Divine Oracle alone could easily invite disaster upon him.