Chapter 139: A Stubbon Coward

"By the way, Yang’er."

Lu Hai suddenly spoke while eating.

"When are you planning to visit Canglan Prefecture this year?"

Lu Yang raised his head, "Probably in a week or two."

"Is that so?" Lu Hai nodded thoughtfully.

"Then I’ll submit your leave application beforehand. You should have enough accumulated leave to make the journey without rushing."

"Thank you, grandfather."

Lu Yang did not say anything more and continued eating.

Lu Hai glanced at him before suddenly letting out a faint cough.

"Well... since you’ve grown up now, there are some other matters you should start considering."

Lu Yang looked at him suspiciously, suddenly having a bad feeling.

"What matters?"

Lu Hai put down his chopsticks and adopted a somewhat serious expression.

"Marriage, naturally. You’re already twenty-six years old. It’s about time you considered finding a suitable young lady and starting a family."

Lu Yang fell silent for a moment.

Before he could respond, Aunt Lin, who was sitting beside them, immediately nodded.

"That’s right, young master, you’re no longer a child. You should think about getting married and having children. It would be nice to see you settle down."

Lu Yang looked between the two.

Judging by their reactions, these two had probably discussed this matter beforehand.

Lu Hai continued.

"Look at Zhao Ming. He’s only six or seven years older than you, yet he married a respectable young lady several years ago. They’re already expecting their second child this year."

He paused briefly before adding.

"You’re both working in the Imperial Prison and have been friends for over a decade, yet he’s already started a family. What are you waiting for?"

Lu Yang was speechless, not expecting a meal to suddenly turn into a discussion about marriage.

Zhao Ming...

He did marry someone four years ago, and they even had their first child, a boy, two years ago. In both occasions, Lu Yang was present to congratulate him.

Now, that fellow had apparently become an example for his grandfather to use against him.

He could almost imagine Zhao Ming laughing if he learned about this conversation.

Lu Yang shook his head.

"Grandfather, I don’t have such plans."

Lu Hai frowned, "Why not?"

"I’m fully devoted to cultivation. I don’t want to consider starting a family for the time being."

Lu Yang’s tone was firm, leaving little room for discussion.

Aunt Lin looked at him with some distress.

"Young Master, cultivation is important, but it isn’t everything. You can’t spend your entire life cultivating alone. Having someone by your side and children to look after you in your old age is also a blessing."

Lu Yang listened quietly, understanding their intentions.

Lu Hai was already in his twilight years, and Aunt Lin was no longer young either.

Both of them wanted to see him settle down while they were still around. Perhaps they wanted to witness another generation of the Lu Family growing up.

There was nothing unreasonable about that.

However, their wishes weren’t necessarily identical to his own.

Lu Hai and Aunt Lin exchanged glances.

Seeing that Lu Yang showed no intention of changing his mind, they eventually sighed.

"Forget it. You can think about it more carefully."

Lu Hai picked up his chopsticks again.

"You’re still young, after all."

Aunt Lin also nodded, although the disappointment on her face was difficult to conceal.

Lu Yang did not respond.

His expression was calm, but a distant memory slowly surfaced in his mind, a memory belonging to another lifetime.

It was not the memory of Lu Yang, a Guard Leader of the Imperial Prison and eldest son of the Canglan Prefecture Vice-Prefect, but the memory of Lu Yang, the Rising Sun of the Lu Family and the sun that never sets.

At that time, he was twenty-nine years old, having just broken through to the Spirit Awakening Realm, when the Internal Affairs Grand Elder approached him with a similar suggestion.

The Lu Family needed descendants, and as the greatest genius in the clan’s history, it was only natural that he should consider marriage and continue the family lineage.

Following that conversation, he met Bai Qinglan.

Her face appeared clearly in his memories, following their first conversation.

The decades they had spent together, the ordinary moments that somehow became precious, the occasional disagreements, followed by reconciliation, and eventually, the birth of their daughter, Lu Qingxue.

She was born when he was already quite old, yet her appearance brought a joy he had never anticipated.

She grew up exceptionally talented, becoming the most talented genius in the Lu Family’s history, eclipsing his own self.

He watched her grow, taught her cultivation, and witnessed her gradually become an accomplished cultivator in her own right.

But he also remembered watching that small world collapse right in front of his eyes.

Bai Qinglan died, Lu Qingxue died before reaching thirty, and the family he had spent decades protecting was eventually dragged into a catastrophe that even he could not overcome without sacrificing everything.

The memories were distant, but their details remained remarkably clear, perhaps because those events were all linked to him in a way not even the Script of Reincarnation could completely erase.

He still remembered seeing his daughter’s corpse, Bai Qinglan’s final words, his promise to her, and the helplessness of watching everything he cherished disappear.

He also remembered the Script of Reincarnation’s Fate Trajectory at the end of his third life.

That sequence of events might not have occurred had he not imparted the Azure Spirit Body Tempering Art and the Azure Moon Spirit Water Technique to Lu Qingxue.

Lu Yang lowered his gaze towards the food on the table, suddenly having no appetite to eat anymore.

He was a coward.

He did not want to make another person bear the consequences of his choices.

Or perhaps, on a deeper level, he did not wish to experience that kind of loss again.

He quietly picked up his chopsticks and ate a little more.

However, the food no longer tasted as good as before.

"Grandfather, Aunt Lin, I’m full."

Lu Yang put down his chopsticks and stood up.

Lu Hai looked at him with a helpless gaze.

"You’ve barely eaten anything."

"I’m not particularly hungry today." Lu Yang said.

Aunt Lin frowned.

"Then at least eat a little more before leaving."

"Another time." Lu Yang smiled faintly before turning around and walking out of the dining hall.

Neither Lu Hai nor Aunt Lin stopped him and just exchanged glances, seemingly somewhat helpless.

After all, they knew that Lu Yang was quite stubborn with matters concerning his decisions.

Once he made up his mind, persuading him was rarely easy.

...

Lu Yang returned to his room.

He sat quietly for a while, his expression returning to its usual calm.

The memories of Bai Qinglan and Lu Qingxue gradually receded, but they did not disappear entirely.

He knew that he would never forget them.

Perhaps that was simply the price of having lived more than one lifetime.

He had been given another opportunity to live, but that did not mean the people and experiences from his previous lives had become meaningless.

They were still a part of him, both good and bad.

In this life, he would have to disappoint everyone who wished to see him start a family.