Chapter 30: New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Eve.
A cold wind gusted through the streets of the Inner City, but people still bustled about, paying New Year’s visits.
The safety and affluence of the Inner City’s residents presented a starkly different scene from that of the Outer City.
At the center of the Inner City stood the Wang Family’s Retainer Hall.
The Wang Family treated their Retainers quite well. A lavish, free-flowing banquet had been set up in the main hall of the Retainer Hall to feast its thirty-odd members.
The thirty-plus Retainers were seated at three long tables.
The Retainers ate, drank, and chatted idly with their friends and colleagues, creating a rather cheerful atmosphere.
Lu Changfeng sat at one of the long tables as well. To his left, Hei Niu was eating with great relish, while to his right, Old Luo was drinking merrily.
Midway through the meal, the current Patriarch of the Wang Family, Wang Shou, arrived with a few of his children to offer New Year’s greetings.
This was the first time Lu Changfeng had seen the Wang Family’s Patriarch, Wang Shou, up close.
As Wang Shou came over to offer a toast, Lu Changfeng hurriedly opened his interface to inspect the Patriarch’s Root Bone and Talent.
Name: Wang Shou
Root Bone: Middle A Class
Talent: None
Wang Shou’s Root Bone was Middle A Class, just like Wang Yue’s—an excellent grade.
But he had no Talent.
Compared to an ordinary person, this Root Bone was quite good.
However, for a Patriarch, this level of talent was somewhat lacking.
The Patriarch of the Wang Family was likely not the most outstanding member in terms of strength.
"Retainer Lu, Happy New Year!" After Wang Shou offered his toast, a young lady stepped out from behind him, raising her cup to Lu Changfeng.
Lu Changfeng looked over and saw that it was the Sixth Miss, Wang Yue.
After their first mission together, Wang Yue had specifically requested Lu Changfeng by name for several similar assignments.
Over the past half-year, they had become old acquaintances.
"Happy New Year, Sixth Miss!"
Lu Changfeng raised his cup and drained it in one go. ’Unfortunately, I still haven’t seen the Wang Family’s number one genius, the Second Young Master.’
’For the Wang Family’s Second Young Master to be hailed as their greatest genius, he’s very likely a prodigy with an Upper A Class Root Bone.’
’If I could copy an Upper A Class Root Bone, the time it would take to fuse a Heroic Root Bone could be shortened to just one year.’
But for now, this was just a pleasant daydream for Lu Changfeng.
’The Wang Family’s Second Young Master is undoubtedly under heavy protection. If I were to rashly approach him and make physical contact, the Wang Family might assume I have ulterior motives and just kill me on the spot.’
"Retainer Lu, what are you looking at?" Wang Yue didn’t leave. Instead, she pulled up a chair and sat down beside Lu Changfeng. Taking the hint, Hei Niu scooted over to make room.
Lu Changfeng retracted his gaze. "Nothing. It’s just my first time seeing so many members of the Wang Family gathered together. The scions of the Wang Family are truly all geniuses."
Wang Yue smiled. "Of course! But our Wang Family’s most talented genius, my second brother, isn’t here yet."
"I’ve heard a great deal about the Second Young Master, but I have yet to see him since I began my service as a Retainer," Lu Changfeng probed.
"My second brother... he..."
Wang Yue trailed off. "Let’s not talk about him. Retainer Lu, once spring arrives, would you be willing to accompany me on a trip to Luocheng?"
Luocheng, one of the twenty-three cities in Yunyang Prefecture.
It was located to the east of Feng City.
It would take five or six days to reach on foot, or two days on horseback.
"If it’s a mission, I naturally wouldn’t dare to refuse," Lu Changfeng replied.
Wang Yue frowned slightly. "What if it’s a personal request?"
Lu Changfeng thought for a moment. "Then, Sixth Miss, you would need to tell me the full purpose of the trip so I can consider it."
Wang Yue said, "Feng City belongs to our Wang Family. But do you know who is behind Luocheng?"
"Behind Luocheng? Isn’t it the Xuanyuan Sword Sect, one of the four major Sects of Yunyang Prefecture?" Old Luo chimed in from the side, answering before anyone else could.
Wang Yue glanced over with a smile. "Ah, Retainer Luo. You are correct. The Xuanyuan Sword Sect is indeed the power behind Luocheng."
"The Xuanyuan Sword Sect is a Sect with a history stretching back thousands of years. It’s filled with masters, each with astonishing Swordsmanship. I want my younger brother to try and join the Xuanyuan Sword Sect."
"Your brother?"
Wang Yue nodded and gave a brief explanation.
Her younger brother, Wang Shao, was born to the same parents. Because his Root Bone wasn’t very good, he wasn’t valued by the family.
However, Wang Shao possessed a considerable talent for Swordsmanship.
Therefore, Wang Yue wanted to send her brother to the Xuanyuan Sword Sect to try his luck.
If he stayed in Feng City, Wang Shao would have no future.
"The trip will take half a month at most. After that, whether we succeed or not, we will return."
As soon as Wang Yue finished speaking, Old Luo on the other side downed his cup of wine, a glint flashing in his eyes. "Sixth Miss, this trip to the Xuanyuan Sword Sect... how about this old man accompanies you?"
Wang Yue was slightly taken aback. If Old Luo was willing to go, that would be for the best.
After all, despite Old Luo’s scruffy appearance, he was a genuine master of the Tendon Transformation Realm.
He would be more than enough to protect her and Wang Shao.
The other Tendon Transformation Realm Retainers in the Retainer Hall wouldn’t lift a finger without a reward.
Even though she was the Sixth Miss, she couldn’t command a Tendon Transformation Realm Retainer without an order from the Patriarch or the Retainer Hall’s Steward.
For Wang Yue to command a Retainer, she had to go through the family’s official procedures.
And if she went through the normal process, the Patriarch would certainly be unwilling to deploy many Retainers for the sake of a mere Wang Shao. At most, he would send a few guards.
This was the harsh reality within a Martial Arts Family. Only those with outstanding talent, like Wang Yue, received attention. Those with low talent were destined to be relegated to side branches, receiving no importance within the family.
Wang Shou had wives and concubines in droves, and nearly a hundred children. The majority of them had no talent, and he couldn’t possibly manage them all.
Take Wang Yue, for example. She was nominally the Sixth Miss, but in reality, her title wasn’t based on her birth order.
To put it another way, "Sixth Miss" meant ’the sixth child in the Wang Family with superior talent’.
"The Sixth Miss has always treated me well. Since it’s for your own brother, I’ll go with you too," Lu Changfeng chimed in before Wang Yue could even respond to Old Luo.
’The Xuanyuan Sword Sect is a famous Sect in the Song Country. There might be people with even stronger Root Bone and Talent inside. Going with Wang Yue provides a legitimate reason to visit, so there’s no harm in it. Besides, with Old Luo, a hidden ’sword master’, along for the trip, our safety will be guaranteed. And my own strength is certainly not weak either. Although my Realm is still at the Blood Forging Sixth Layer, I feel that after practicing the Fengtian Forging Body Saber Skill, my strength, speed, and explosive power far surpass others at the same level.’
Wang Yue was overjoyed. "Haha, with two Retainers helping me, this trip will be perfectly safe!"
"When do we leave?" Lu Changfeng asked.
"Hmm, three days from now, on the third day of the new year. How does that sound?"
Lu Changfeng and Old Luo both nodded, indicating they had no problem with that.
And with that, Wang Yue left, beaming with delight.
Lu Changfeng watched her go.
He poured himself a cup of wine and went over to clink it against Old Luo’s.
"What’s this? You have some history with the Xuanyuan Sword Sect?"
Old Luo glanced at the young man beside him. At first, he had thought the kid approached him with some ulterior motive.
But after half a year, the kid had only ever sought him out for a drink or a game of chess. Gradually, he came to understand that Lu Changfeng probably had no other goal than to simply find someone to pass the time with.
"Yeah! I’ll take this chance to go see some old faces." Old Luo got to his feet, swaying slightly. "Since we have a long journey in three days, I’ll head back first to rest and recuperate."
Lu Changfeng watched the ’sword master’ in his drunken state and secretly shook his head.
Lu Changfeng looked up at the cold, dark night sky. After today, he would be nineteen years old.
’In this lifetime, is it possible to touch Longevity?’
’Tomorrow, I should go sweep Master’s grave.’