Emotion Root

In the main hall, Lu Dongjun pressed forward step by step, leaving no margin in his strikes. He had no need to hold back. An eighth-tier Martial Cultivator against a seventh-tier Joy Cultivator, fighting in an enclosed space, with Wan Jinxian and Si Wennian backing him up. In terms of raw strength, there was no way Lu Dongjun could lose. Fortunately, Monkey Qiu had an iron whip on him, allowing him to barely hold his own for a couple of exchanges. This iron whip was a magical artifact consisting of seven sections, each concealing hidden weapons capable of attacking and defending autonomously. It had been forged from the skeletal remains of an eighth-tier Martial Cultivator. After several exchanges, Lu Dongjun caught the iron whip with his bare hand and gave Monkey Qiu a sinister grin. "This is my eldest brother's artifact. How did it end up in your hands? Were you among the ones who harmed my brother that night?" Lu Dongliang had given this artifact to Monkey Qiu. Joy Cultivators were not skilled in close combat, but with this iron whip, Monkey Qiu could at least hold out for a while when facing a melee expert. He didn't bother to explain; explanations were useless now. Lu Dongjun's intentions were obvious—he wanted Monkey Qiu dead. Now that the iron whip was in Lu Dongjun's grasp, Monkey Qiu was so outmatched in sheer physical strength that there was no way he could wrest it back. He swept his gaze across Lu Dongjun, intending to use the Blood Surge technique to drain his strength. The Blood Surge technique originated from the flow of qi and blood during furious charges in bed. At that critical juncture of victory and defeat, qi and blood surged toward the heart and brain. The Blood Surge technique amplified this very flow. A low-tier cultivator struck by it could die from burst blood vessels, while even high-tier cultivators would suffer numbness in their limbs from the excess surge of qi and blood. Even though Lu Dongjun was an eighth-tier Martial Cultivator, the proper countermeasure against this technique was to avoid Monkey Qiu's gaze. Yet in a life-or-death duel, averting one's eyes meant forfeiting the initiative and shifting from offense to defense, which Lu Dongjun had no intention of doing. He kept his eyes locked on Monkey Qiu, never dodging in the slightest. Since Lu Dongjun met it head-on, Monkey Qiu naturally pressed forward with everything he had. As their gazes crossed, Monkey Qiu's technique unexpectedly failed to affect Lu Dongjun. Lu Dongjun was an eighth-tier Martial Cultivator, and while his formidable physical constitution was to be expected, it was impossible for him to be completely unaffected. Monkey Qiu realized that his technique had only unleashed fifty percent of its power—the other half had been suppressed. Si Wennian, who had come with Lu Dongjun, had acted in secret. He had invoked the Ascetic Sage technique. The Ascetic Sage technique, also known as Seeking Constancy Through Suffering, induced the mindset of a sage, leading one to believe that all earthly pleasures were decadence and that only through tempering amidst pain could one become a sage. Si Wennian was a fifth-tier Ascetic Cultivator, inferior in cultivation to Monkey Qiu. However, he did not need to confront Monkey Qiu directly; by fully deploying his technique from the shadows, he gained a massive advantage, forcing Monkey Qiu's technique to be cut in half. At fifty percent power, the technique was virtually ineffective against Lu Dongjun. With a casual yank, Lu Dongjun tore the iron whip from Monkey Qiu's grip. Monkey Qiu found himself in dire straits. Suddenly, he heard Duan Shaoxia shout, "Dongjun, stop!" Lu Dongjun hesitated slightly, but he still raised the iron whip. In his hands, the power this weapon could unleash would be terrifying. Monkey Qiu wouldn't last a single exchange. Qiu Zhiheng had no way to counter it; he could only watch helplessly and await death. Blood vessels bulged in Duan Shaoxia's eyes as she shouted once more, "Stop!" Lu Dongjun froze. Within his own eyeball, a red thread of blood surfaced as well. Beneath the cast of that blood thread, Lu Dongjun felt that Duan Shaoxia was beautiful and gentle. Even if it cost him his life today, he could not bear to cause her grief. He lowered the iron whip and stood motionless in place. Wan Jinxian went pale with shock. What was going on? This woman was no simple figure; she could not be allowed to interfere here. Wan Jinxian's nose twitched as if he was about to sneeze at Duan Shaoxia. Lu Dongjun barked, "Don't you dare!" Wan Jinxian stared in horror at Lu Dongjun, the sneeze choked back. Her eyes bloodshot and brimming with tears, Duan Shaoxia looked at Lu Dongjun. "Dongjun, what on earth are you trying to do?" Lu Dongjun stammered for a long moment before lowering his head. "Sister-in-law, I... I didn't want to do anything..." "Are you trying to bully me just because Dongliang isn't here?" In that single sentence, all the grievance and sorrow in Duan Shaoxia's heart poured out. "Sister-in-law, I never thought that. I wasn't after you, I was after Monkey..." "Dongjun!" Duan Shaoxia sobbed. "This is my home. What are you trying to do in my home?" Lu Dongjun remained silent for a long time. Then he pulled the false tooth from the stone lion's mouth and shoved it back into his own. The guards inside and outside the house rushed in. They looked at Lu Dongjun, neither acting rashly nor making a move. Duan Shaoxia glanced at Monkey Qiu, who signaled to the guards not to act recklessly. Lu Dongjun picked up the stone lion, set down the iron whip, turned around, and walked out of the hall. Wan Jinxian was utterly baffled, but given the circumstances, he couldn't linger any longer and had no choice but to leave with Lu Dongjun. Si Wennian followed closely behind; he hadn't wanted to get involved in this mess in the first place. Once outside the Lu family mansion, Wan Jinxian looked at Lu Dongjun in bewilderment. Lu Dongjun said nothing. After returning to Lu Dongjun's residence, Wan Jinxian dismissed the others and asked Lu Dongjun, "Second Master, did you respond at the time?" Lu Dongjun blinked. "Respond to what?" Wan Jinxian glanced at Lu Dongjun's lower half. "I'm asking if you had any physical reaction toward Madam Duan." "A physical reaction..." "I mean, did you feel the urge to... with her?" Wan Jinxian rubbed his palms together. Lu Dongjun thought back to the situation at the time and shook his head. "I had no reaction." He was absolutely certain of that. He had merely been infatuated with Duan Shaoxia back then, without any improper desires beyond that. "That's not right..." Wan Jinxian shook his head repeatedly. "If you felt no desire, then this couldn't have been the work of a Joy Cultivator. Just what was..." Wan Jinxian's gaze hardened, and he asked, "Does Madam Duan possess cultivation?" Lu Dongjun pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "I recall hearing my eldest brother say she's a white lamb." Wan Jinxian's mind raced. After contemplating for a long while, he looked at Lu Dongjun. "Second Master, sort through the businesses under your control and have those shopkeepers stay on guard." Lu Dongjun waved a hand. "You don't need to worry about that. I'll just say Monkey Qiu and I had a bit of a disagreement and explain it to Duan Shaoxia afterward. It's not time to have an open falling-out yet." Wan Jinxian shook his head. "Second Master, the falling-out has already happened. The one who made a move against you probably wasn't Monkey—it was Madam Duan. She might be an Emotion Cultivator!" ... Inside the Lu family mansion, Monkey Qiu bandaged his wounds and went to see Duan Shaoxia. "Madam, I'm sorry you were frightened. There is something I must tell you. You might not believe it, but I saw it with my own eyes. Second Master has a scar on his wrist. That day at Qianyue Tower, the master we saw wasn't the real one..." Duan Shaoxia signaled for Monkey Qiu to stop. "The master we saw that day was Lu Dongjun in disguise. I already know." Monkey Qiu stood frozen for a while, unable to fathom how Duan Shaoxia could know this. The person Lu Dongliang trusted most had always been Monkey Qiu, yet there were still things he had never shared with him. Duan Shaoxia was an Emotion Cultivator, and her cultivation was extraordinarily deep. At Qianyue Tower, Duan Shaoxia had noticed that "Lu Dongliang" was missing a tooth. And today, Lu Dongjun had pulled out a false tooth and placed it into the stone lion's mouth, which had aroused Duan Shaoxia's suspicion. At Qianyue Tower, because "Lu Dongliang's" cold indifference had left Duan Shaoxia utterly heartbroken and filled with resentment, she had unwittingly planted an emotion root within him. Today, when Lu Dongjun moved in for the kill against Monkey Qiu, Duan Shaoxia detonated that emotion root. And the one affected by the technique was indeed Lu Dongjun. This confirmed it beyond all doubt: the Lu Dongliang at Qianyue Tower had been Lu Dongjun in disguise. Duan Shaoxia looked at Monkey Qiu. "Xiao Qiu, tell me the truth. How has our family treated you?" "Madam..." "Don't call me Madam. Dongliang has always treated you as a brother. Call me Sister-in-law!" Monkey Qiu hurriedly rose to his feet. "Madam, the kindness and generosity you and the master have shown me are as vast as mountains. My life was given to me by the master. I would go through fire and water without hesitation." Duan Shaoxia summoned a servant. "Go and call Yuanshan and Yuanhai here." Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai were the two sons Duan Shaoxia had borne for Lu Dongliang, aged twenty-eight and twenty-five. When the two came downstairs, Duan Shaoxia instructed them, "Come here and greet Uncle Qiu!" Lu Yuanshan and Lu Yuanhai were taken aback. Monkey Qiu hastily took two steps back and waved his hands. "Madam, this won't do!" "Xiao Qiu, if you believe Dongliang treated you well, then accept me as your sister-in-law and accept these two boys! The lives of my sons and me are entrusted to you!" As she said this, Duan Shaoxia's resolve was unyielding. "Yuanshan, Yuanhai, from now on, you must listen to Uncle Qiu in everything. Xiao Qiu, go and inform the elders of the family. Expose Lu Dongjun's true face to them!" As she spoke, tears welled in Madam Duan's eyes, and a thread of blood surfaced across the white of her eyeball. PS: He Jiaqing is about to laugh again.