The Mirror Master

Chen Martial Arts Hall.

"Dad, that Lu Bai from the Lu Family is here. He says he wants to see you to discuss something. We’ve kept him waiting for two hours, and he still hasn’t left."

A voice came from outside the training room in the inner hall.

On the bed, Chen Tieshan frowned slightly. He slowly reined in his aura, halted the circulation of his Inner Strength, and exhaled a long, turbid breath.

For some reason, his Inner Strength had felt stagnant lately, and his vital energy wasn’t flowing smoothly, making him feel rather irritable.

Chen Tieshan pushed the door open and walked out.

A young man and woman were standing outside the door—his children, Chen Xiaofeng and Chen Qianqian.

"How many people from the Lu Family came?"

Chen Tieshan asked.

"Just him."

Chen Xiaofeng chuckled mockingly. "He even brought a sword with him. Probably to give himself some courage."

"What does he want to see me for?"

Chen Tieshan murmured, lost in thought.

Chen Xiaofeng snorted. "What else could it be? He’s definitely here about the marriage to Qianqian."

Chen Tieshan didn’t speak, unconvinced.

Coming alone, it was unlikely to be about the marriage to Qianqian.

Besides, the mourning period for his father wasn’t even over.

"Dad."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qianqian cried out aggrievedly, "I don’t want to marry him! He’s useless in both literature and martial arts, and he’s as dull as a block of wood. I’ve never liked him."

Chen Tieshan chuckled. "I hear he survived a great disaster. Perhaps a blessing in disguise will follow, and he’ll amount to something in the future."

Chen Xiaofeng said, "Dad, with his family in that state, making Qianqian marry him is just pushing her into a pit of fire."

"Exactly, exactly."

Chen Qianqian quickly chimed in.

"The Lu Family was going to be connected to the Luo Family of Bluestone County by marriage, so their prospects were sure to improve. That, combined with my relationship with Lu Ziheng, is why I arranged this marriage for you. It was with the best of intentions."

Chen Tieshan sighed emotionally. "Who would have thought that a single misfortune would cause the Lu Family to decline so rapidly, leaving them practically ruined and shattered?

Sigh... Man proposes, Heaven disposes."

Hearing the regret in his father’s words, Chen Xiaofeng said, "Dad, if it’s inconvenient for you, I’ll go right now and turn him away."

"I’m not going to see him, anyway,"

Chen Qianqian muttered.

Chen Tieshan said, "Actually, the reason I called you back from Bluestone Academy was so you could take Qianqian to live in Bluestone County for a while to avoid this matter."

Chen Xiaofeng said in a low voice, "Dad, I heard Lu Ziyuan’s family is preparing to take over their medicine shop. The Lu Family has nothing left. Why don’t we just break the engagement? Dragging this out won’t solve anything.

Any disciple from Bluestone Academy, picked at random, is a hundred times better than that Lu Bai."

"Yeah."

Chen Qianqian complained as well. "Having this marriage contract hanging over me just feels wrong."

"I’ve been thinking the same thing."

Chen Tieshan looked troubled. "It’s just... my friendship with Lu Ziheng was not a shallow one. To go and annul the marriage before his mourning period is even over... it wouldn’t look good if word got out. It would certainly attract criticism."

"Dad, then as soon as the mourning period is over, you have to help me annul the marriage!"

Realizing the unspoken meaning in Chen Tieshan’s words, Chen Qianqian’s eyes lit up as she quickly spoke.

"Mm, we’ll talk about this in a few days."

Chen Tieshan said, "I’ll go meet with him first and sound him out."

As he walked toward the front hall, Chen Tieshan asked, "How did he behave while you were keeping him waiting for the past two hours?"

"He just idled about, wandering around, chatting a bit with this person and that person. I bet he was anxious."

Chen Xiaofeng laughed. "At Bluestone Academy, some Martial Artists will deliberately leave disciples waiting to test their temperament. Someone as restless and impatient as him would be eliminated immediately."

-----------------

The Martial Arts Hall’s main hall.

Lu Bai had trained at the Chen Martial Arts Hall for a time before, so he was familiar with his surroundings.

After entering the hall just now, he noticed it was much quieter than before, with significantly fewer disciples training inside.

He asked around and was told that some disciples had been feeling unwell lately and had gone home to recuperate.

Suspicion grew in Lu Bai’s heart. He wandered around the hall and activated his Eye of Illusion. Sure enough, he discovered something strange over by the training grounds!

Lu Bai remained impassive, putting on an act of aimlessly strolling around before returning to the main hall to sit down.

Initially, he hadn’t been very confident about the most important reason for his visit to the Chen Martial Arts Hall.

But now, he felt a bit more assured.

As he was lost in thought, two sets of footsteps approached from outside.

Lu Bai glanced sideways.

A middle-aged man was striding in, dressed in a black training uniform. He had a full beard, large, calloused hands, and a steady gait. It was none other than the master of the Chen Martial Arts Hall, Chen Tieshan.

Following behind him was a high-spirited young man with an upright posture.

Lu Bai thought for a moment and recalled that this must be Chen Tieshan’s eldest son, Chen Xiaofeng.

He had only seen him once or twice and had never really spoken to him.

He’d heard that Chen Xiaofeng was already at the Third Level of the Root Bone Stage and was studying martial arts at Bluestone Academy in Bluestone County.

Lu Bai’s ears twitched.

From behind the main hall, he faintly heard a soft breath. It seemed someone had just crept closer.

After cultivating the Mountain Monarch Bone Forging Technique to the Third Level of the Root Bone Stage, it hadn’t just improved his root bones and increased his strength; even his five senses had been greatly enhanced. His hearing was now exceptionally sharp!

Lu Bai stood up and bowed. "Greetings, Uncle Chen, Brother Chen."

"So, Lu Bai is here."

Chen Tieshan strode into the hall, nodded at Lu Bai, and said in a lukewarm tone, "Sit."

Chen Xiaofeng glanced at Lu Bai, raised an eyebrow slightly, and said in a mock-joking manner, "What, did you come empty-handed?"

"Not exactly."

Lu Bai said, "I brought something that Hall Master Chen will definitely like."

Before this, Chen Tieshan had always addressed him as Nephew Lu.

Just now, upon hearing the man call him directly by his name with such an attitude, Lu Bai adjusted his own form of address accordingly.

"Oh?"

Chen Tieshan was unmoved. A faint, unreadable smile touched his lips. "I’ve already reached the age where one knows the will of Heaven. I’ve long since learned to look past material possessions. There’s really nothing I ’definitely’ like."

Chen Tieshan truly did not want to accept any gift.

Accepting a gift puts one in the giver’s debt.

He was worried that if he accepted it, Lu Bai would press his advantage and make a request, like finalizing the marriage with Qianqian, which he would then have trouble refusing.

"Oh, is that so?"

Lu Bai had just taken the marriage contract from his robes. "I was originally going to return the marriage contract to Hall Master Chen," he said, "but since Hall Master Chen doesn’t like it, I suppose I’ll just take it back."

"Don’t!"

The moment Chen Xiaofeng heard this, he panicked and hastily called out to stop Lu Bai.

At the same time, he kept shooting glances at Chen Tieshan, his eyes almost cramping from the effort.

Chen Qianqian, who was hiding behind the main hall, heard this, and her breathing grew heavy. She was nervous, afraid that her father would miss this rare opportunity.

"Ahem."

Chen Tieshan coughed twice to cover his embarrassment and asked with a serious expression, "Lu Bai, you want to return the marriage contract? You no longer intend to marry?"

"Yes."

Lu Bai nodded. "My family has suffered a misfortune. It would be wrong to delay Miss Chen any longer."

Hearing this, Chen Qianqian snorted softly and thought to herself, ’So he does know his place.’

But then Lu Bai’s tone shifted. "However, since Hall Master Chen has already reached the age of knowing Heaven’s will and has learned to look past such matters, I won’t return it after all."

"This concerns Qianqian’s future, after all. I haven’t quite looked past it that much... heh heh."

Chen Tieshan gave an awkward laugh.

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