Chapter 398: Chapter 222: Lead the Way, I’m Paying a Visit to Le Shen Temple Today
Su Liyan’s mother sighed and said, "Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and life has gotten better, so my mindset has changed. I just can’t stand to see people suffer."
"What are you talking about? Mother, you’re looking younger every day!" Lu Yuan said, walking side-by-side with his mother-in-law.
Lu Yuan continued, "Mother, that pair might not have actually been mother and daughter, but we still helped them, didn’t we?"
His mother-in-law asked in disbelief, "How could that be? They were so pitiful. If we hadn’t stepped in, that group of Daoists would have robbed them of their things."
Su Liyan’s mother held Daoists in high regard; after all, they were the guardians who protected the common folk.
However, the events of the day had somewhat shattered her perception of them.
Su Liyan’s mother was still too naive. In the heat of the moment, she hadn’t noticed the subtle clues.
Lu Yuan countered with a question, "Mother, did you get a good look at their ages?"
"Their ages? The old woman looked to be under fifty, and the young woman was around twenty. Is there a problem with that?" his mother-in-law said, thinking for a moment and scratching her coiled-up hair.
"I’m skilled in medicine and can deduce a person’s age from subtle physical features. Don’t be fooled by the old woman appearing to be under fifty. I estimate she’s already fifty-six," Lu Yuan said.
His mother-in-law thought about how she had already given birth to Su Liyan by the time she was twenty. Most women had children around that age.
"Could it be they weren’t mother and daughter? Maybe she had a child late in life, or perhaps they were a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law," Su Liyan’s mother mused.
"Let’s hope so," Lu Yuan said, hoping he was just being overly cautious.
Su Liyan’s mother straightened her clothes and asked slyly, "Son-in-law, care to guess my age now?"
Lu Yuan studied her for a moment before teasing, "Mother, don’t mess with me. After you took that Beauty Pill, there’s no way I can tell."
Things like wrinkles and laugh lines had improved so much that Lu Yuan genuinely found it difficult to judge his mother-in-law’s true age.
Su Liyan’s mother said, "And isn’t that all thanks to my son-in-law!"
"Young Master Nephew, it sounds like someone’s heading for us!" one of his attendants warned, hearing the thundering of hooves from behind.
After Lu Yuan’s group had bid farewell to the two women, they had turned from the main road onto a narrow, winding path.
They did this not only to shake off those pestering Daoists but also to experience the unique charm of the scenic trail.
The dusty troop of riders behind them was very likely heading straight for Lu Yuan’s group.
Lu Yuan’s expression turned serious. "I already noticed," he said. "Those three Daoists we sent packing actually dared to come back!"
Hearing her son-in-law, Su Liyan’s mother rolled up her sleeves and declared boldly, "Let me handle them!"
"Mother, what are you saying? This is something I should handle," Lu Yuan refused.
In no time, the riders arrived and stopped in front of Lu Yuan’s group, positioning their horses to block the path.
"Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, it’s them! Their leader is a Grand Celestial Master. He’s the one who hit us earlier," one of the Daoists said, pointing at Lu Yuan with his right hand while his left covered his mouth, which was swollen from being kicked in the fight.
That was right. The newcomers were a group of Daoists. Including the three who had been driven off earlier, there were seven of them in total.
The one in the lead must have been the ’Eldest Senior Brother’ the three had mentioned. The four newcomers were all at the level of Grand Celestial Master.
’The Le Shen Temple’s strength is nothing to scoff at,’ Lu Yuan mused to himself. ’They’re much stronger than the Guyang Temple, able to casually send out four Grand Celestial Masters.’
Su Liyan’s mother also saw the strength of their opponents. She knew she couldn’t handle four Grand Celestial Masters at once. If her daughter were here, the situation would be much clearer.
The seven Daoists all remained on horseback, holding their reins, not dismounting.
Their horses snorted hot breath, lowering their heads to nibble on the wild grass by the roadside, blocking Lu Yuan and his group’s path.
One of the Grand Celestial Masters listened to his junior brothers and said, "Kid, you’re the one who hit our men?"
Lu Yuan crossed his arms and said dismissively, "So what if I was? What, you want a beating too? Care to sample my kung fu?"
This Grand Celestial Master drew his Celestial Master Sword, pointed it at Lu Yuan, and was just about to speak.
Suddenly, a black speck flew into the man’s mouth.
The Grand Celestial Master couldn’t react in time and swallowed it.
Still with his arms crossed, Lu Yuan flicked his thumb against his pinky. Without even looking up, he asked mockingly, "How’s my booger taste?"
The moment Lu Yuan said this, his two attendants burst out laughing.
Even his mother-in-law was covering her mouth to stifle her laughter. ’My son-in-law is such a scamp! These Daoists need to be taught a lesson!’
The Grand Celestial Master who had swallowed the black speck tried to spit it out but couldn’t. He only felt a salty taste in his throat.
It wasn’t that Lu Yuan was trying to be disgusting; the other party was just being unreasonably persistent.
In a situation like this, Lu Yuan had no intention of backing down.
"Second Senior Brother, are you alright?" a few of the Daoists asked from the side.
Being fussed over by his junior brothers, the Second Senior Brother felt he had lost all face. He roared in fury, "Kid, I’m going to cut you down today! Eldest Senior Brother, junior brothers, let’s get him together!"
Before his martial brothers could respond, the Second Senior Brother, Celestial Master Sword in hand, leaped up, kicked off his horse’s back, and vaulted to the ground, thrusting his sword forward.
Lu Yuan remained standing in place, arms crossed, completely still. "Oh? Is this the Inviting God technique?"
"You’ve got a sharp eye, kid. Let me show you the god we serve," the Second Senior Brother said, his sword flashing toward Lu Yuan at extreme speed.
"Young Master Nephew, get out of the way!" his two attendants cried out.
Seeing this, Su Liyan’s mother pressed her palms together, about to use her ancestral transformation to stop him. But then, her son-in-law’s voice echoed in her mind, "Mother, we’re within the Imperial City’s domain. Try not to reveal your true strength."
Hearing this, Su Liyan’s mother lowered her hands, trusting that her son-in-law had the ability to handle everything.
A few of the Daoists jeered, "Is he scared stiff? He’s just standing there frozen!"
Just as the Daoist was two or three meters away, Lu Yuan pulled a square, golden token from his robes with his right hand.
The cord was wrapped around his index finger, and Lu Yuan dangled the golden token in front of his chest.
The brilliant, gleaming golden token dazzled his opponent’s eyes.
The Second Senior Brother thrust his sword forward, but when he got a clear look at the Token in Lu Yuan’s hand, he cried out in his heart.
He wasn’t entirely certain if the Token Lu Yuan held was the one he was thinking of, but even if there was only a one-in-ten chance that it was real, the Second Senior Brother didn’t dare take the risk.
Like a deflating balloon, the Second Senior Brother instantly dissipated the god he had channeled.
By then, it was too late to stop his forward momentum. Seeing that his sword was about to hit the Token, his footwork fell into chaos, his legs tangling together like a pretzel.
Steeling himself, the Second Senior Brother angled his Celestial Master Sword and threw it aside, while his body continued hurtling straight toward Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan sidestepped slightly. The Second Senior Brother lunged at empty air and tumbled to the ground, landing flat on his face.
The other Daoists, still on their horses, were stunned for a moment, not understanding why their Second Senior Brother had acted that way.
"It’s the Daoist Elder Order!" one of the sharp-eyed Elders shouted, looking at the Token in Lu Yuan’s hand.
All the Daoists quickly dismounted, their expressions turning solemn as they formed a single line.
"Greetings, Elder!" the assembled Daoists said in unison, performing a salute by covering their right fists with their left palms.
Hearing this, the Second Senior Brother, still on the ground, slammed his fist on the dirt, spat out a mouthful of sand, and scrambled to his feet.
Without even bothering to dust himself off, the Second Senior Brother lowered his head, backed up in front of Lu Yuan, and saluted. "Greetings, Elder!"
Lu Yuan swung the golden token back and forth, thinking, ’The Observatory Master of Guyang Temple really wasn’t kidding. This Daoist Elder Order is actually pretty useful.’
Lu Yuan tucked the golden token into his robes, but in reality, he placed it into his System Space.
’Can’t lose something this valuable.’
Su Liyan’s mother watched the sudden shift in the scene with confusion. She walked to Lu Yuan’s side and saw her son-in-law tucking some kind of token into his robes.
Although she hadn’t seen exactly what it was, she could tell from the Daoists’ words that the Token in her son-in-law’s hand was something incredibly powerful.
The three Daoists who had first clashed with Lu Yuan were filled with regret. ’He had a Daoist Elder Order! Why didn’t he take it out sooner?!’
Lu Yuan cleared his throat and said with an air of authority, "Ahem. Let me say a few words. As for today’s matter, I will let it go."
The Daoists finally breathed a sigh of relief. If he had shown up at their temple’s gates with the Daoist Elder Order, they would have inevitably faced severe punishment.
"Thank you for your magnanimity, Elder!" the Daoists said in unison.
This scene left Lu Yuan’s attendants completely shocked. ’Those four Grand Celestial Masters didn’t even fight Young Master Nephew. Why did they all chicken out?’
Lu Yuan put on a profound expression and said, "Lead the way. Today, I will pay a visit to the Le Shen Temple!"
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