The Mirror Master

"Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, Brother-in-law, please, come in."

Lu Bai emerged with a smile to welcome them.

"We’re eating in the Memorial Hall?"

Li Family glanced inside, a look of disdain on her face as she frowned.

Although many of the arrangements in the Memorial Hall had been removed, the spirit tablets of Lu Ziheng and Lu Yun were still on display, which was quite unsettling to see.

Lu Bai said, "After all, the four pharmacies were left behind by my father. He should be here to witness this."

Li Family was still resistant and unwilling.

"Let’s go."

Lu Ziyuan waved his hand and said, "It’s just a quick meal. It won’t take long."

Lu Bai led Lu Ziyuan and the others to their seats.

Wang Shouzhong and Zheng Ke, sabers at their waists, stood behind Lu Ziyuan’s family of four. They observed their surroundings but found nothing out of the ordinary.

However, a longsword was propped up at the entrance, its purpose unknown.

Their seats were set slightly toward the back, which made Lu Ziyuan frown to himself.

Given his status, even if he wasn’t in the seat of honor, he should at least be in the second-most important seat.

But now, Lu Bai was casually sitting in one of the secondary seats, while the one opposite him was still empty.

What’s more, the fish head on the table wasn’t even facing him!

’He really doesn’t understand the first thing about etiquette. After tonight, I’ll teach him some manners!’

Lu Ziyuan sneered inwardly.

On the long table at the front of the Memorial Hall, an array of dishes and fruits were laid out. The fragrant aroma was enough to make one’s mouth water and appetite stir.

After a while, Wang Family walked in from outside, with Uncle Fu following behind her.

"Such airs. Inviting us over, only to make us wait."

Li Family remarked sarcastically.

Wang Family didn’t want to start another argument, so she ignored the comment and went straight to her seat.

After Wang Family was seated, Lu Ziyuan grew impatient and said, "Everyone’s here now. Let’s begin."

"Wait, we’re still missing one person."

Lu Bai said suddenly.

"Hm?"

Lu Ziyuan frowned slightly and asked, "Who else is coming?"

"Haha!"

Just then, a hearty laugh came from outside.

Chen Tieshan and his son, Chen Xiaofeng, were seen striding quickly into the Memorial Hall.

Chen Tieshan cupped his fists and said in a booming voice, "Apologies for keeping you all waiting."

"Hall Master Chen."

Lu Ziyuan stood up to greet him, but his heart sank and his expression changed slightly.

His gaze flickered to Wang Family at the side.

’Did Wang Family invite Chen Tieshan to intervene in this matter?’

"Wang Family, what is the meaning of this!"

Li Family’s face fell instantly. "Isn’t this supposed to be a family dinner? Why did you invite an outsider!"

Lu Bai said coolly, "I invited Hall Master Chen to be a witness."

"Master, why are you here?"

Zhou Yu also stood up and asked.

Lu Ziyuan said in a deep voice, "Hall Master Chen, tonight’s business is, after all, a private matter for my Lu Family. You see..."

"Hehe."

Chen Tieshan chuckled and said, "Brother Lu, Little Yu, I’m just here to freeload a meal. I won’t interfere in your family matters. Like Lu Bai said, I’m just here to be a witness, to prevent anyone from going back on their word later."

Hearing this, Lu Ziyuan relaxed slightly and smiled. "In that case, wonderful. Hall Master Chen, please, take the seat of honor."

Only then did the others realize that the empty seat had been reserved for Chen Tieshan.

Chen Tieshan took his seat, and Chen Xiaofeng stood behind him, holding a sword.

"Everyone’s here now. Let’s eat first."

Wang Family said, "Whatever we need to discuss, we can do it after the meal."

"We’re all family here, so no need for formalities. Please, help yourselves."

After saying this, Lu Bai began to eat on his own, taking large gulps of wine and big bites of meat, clearly enjoying himself.

Lu Ziyuan’s family, however, sat there without touching their chopsticks.

Wang Family took a few bites. Seeing that Lu Ziyuan’s family hadn’t eaten a single thing, her mind raced for a moment before she guessed their thoughts. She couldn’t help but sneer, "What’s the matter? Afraid the food is poisoned?"

"Hmph, you never know."

Li Family retorted.

Lu Ziyuan said, "I had a big lunch, so I’m not hungry right now."

When Chen Tieshan saw that Lu Ziyuan’s family wasn’t touching their chopsticks or offering any toasts, he too began to have his doubts.

Although Lu Bai had invited him, he had no idea what Lu Bai was planning.

After all, as someone who had roamed the Jianghu, he didn’t dare to touch the food in front of him either.

The atmosphere at the dinner gradually grew strange.

Wang Family ate slowly and deliberately.

Lu Bai, on the other hand, was feasting with great gusto.

The guests—Lu Ziyuan’s family and Chen Tieshan—remained motionless, simply watching Lu Bai gobble down his food with relish.

In no time, nearly half the food on the table had ended up in Lu Bai’s stomach.

Watching him made Lu Ziyuan’s family’s stomachs rumble with hunger.

Li Family was already starving and couldn’t stop swallowing her saliva.

’If this food were poisoned, could Lu Bai still be eating with such enjoyment?’

Li Family couldn’t hold back any longer and reached for the chopsticks on the table.

Lu Ziyuan grabbed her hand and stopped her.

Wang Shouzhong leaned in and whispered, "Madam, perhaps they took an antidote beforehand. We must be on our guard."

Li Family’s stomach growled, and she grumbled internally, ’If I had known this would happen, I would have eaten at home before coming!’

Wang Family wasn’t in the mood to eat much and had put down her chopsticks early on.

Lu Bai, however, showed no signs of stopping. He even took the plates of fish from in front of them and, completely ignoring everyone else, devoured them like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds.

Chen Tieshan, however, grew suspicious. ’Lu Bai has a huge appetite. Even a common martial artist couldn’t eat this much.’

Behind him, Chen Xiaofeng was licking his lips in craving, cursing inwardly, ’What a glutton. All he knows is how to eat. Let’s see how you’ll handle things later!’

Everyone’s faces were grim, and they were all cursing under their breath.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Bai took a satisfied sip of wine and finally put down his chopsticks.

Seeing this, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted.

’We finally made it through.’

"Lu Bai, you’ve eaten and drunk your fill. It’s time to discuss business!"

Impatient, Li Family pulled a contract from her robes and, suppressing her rage, slapped it onto the table with a loud THWACK.

"It is time for an explanation."

Lu Bai said slowly, "However, the matter of the four pharmacies will have to wait."

"What do you mean by that!"

Li Family shot to her feet and shrieked, "You’re just messing with our family, aren’t you!"

Lu Ziyuan’s face was as dark as water as he said grimly, "Lu Bai, this is no laughing matter. You’d better think carefully about the consequences!"

Lu Bai turned his head to look at Lu Ziyuan’s family, his gaze like a torch. He said slowly, "My father and older brother died under mysterious circumstances. That matter must be settled first."

A sense of guilt flickered through Lu Ziyuan and the others.

Lu Yao found Lu Bai’s gaze piercingly bright, as if it could see right into her heart. She instinctively avoided it, not daring to meet his eyes.

Lu Ziyuan, however, remained composed. "Second Brother and Lu Yun both died in accidents. The Government Office couldn’t find anything. What kind of explanation are you looking for?"

"My father and older brother were murdered."

Lu Bai stated it plainly.

At these words, everyone present had a different reaction.

Wang Family and Uncle Fu, who knew about the Brick Mourning, were not surprised.

Chen Tieshan, however, was quite astonished to hear this.

Upon hearing this, Lu Ziyuan’s family were all shaken, their gazes becoming shifty.

Lu Ziyuan frowned. "Lu Bai, you can’t just say things like that. If you claim Second Brother and Lu Yun were murdered, then who is the killer? Why didn’t the Government Office find anything?"

Lu Bai said, "Father and Older Brother died because someone placed an ancient Evil Technique on the Lu Family. During the renovation and expansion of the Lu Residence, a mourning brick was buried."

"The series of calamities that befell our family recently were all caused by this technique."

At this point, Lu Bai glanced at Chen Tieshan.

A chill went through Chen Tieshan’s heart.

’He realized Lu Bai’s words were also meant for him.’

"Could my family also have been cursed with this ancient Evil Technique?"

Chen Tieshan’s expression was grim and uncertain.

Lu Ziyuan’s family were all deeply shaken by these words.

Lu Bai continued, "That brick was buried by Carpenter Zhang of Liuxi Town. However, he later suffered a backlash from the Evil Technique and died by self-immolation."

"Carpenter Zhang’s family died because of this technique?"

Chen Tieshan asked with a frown.

He had heard about this matter. Carpenter Zhang’s entire family had burned to death, and it was said to be an accidental fire.

But for a fire to kill an entire family with no survivors was indeed strange.

He had never heard of the ancient Evil Technique Lu Bai spoke of, and he found the whole thing too horrifying and bizarre.

If such an Evil Technique truly existed, it would explain the deaths of Carpenter Zhang’s family.

Lu Ziyuan composed his Heart and Spirit and said, "Since the culprit has been found, and Carpenter Zhang has reaped what he sowed, Second Brother and Lu Yun can rest in peace."

"Carpenter Zhang’s death was from the technique’s backlash."

Lu Bai said, looking at Chen Tieshan, "But his wife and four children were silenced."

"Hmm?"

Chen Tieshan’s expression changed.

’If this was true, it meant there was someone else behind Carpenter Zhang!’

Just then, Lu Bai suddenly turned to Lu Ziyuan and the others. "Uncle, Aunt, you don’t seem surprised at all by this ancient Evil Technique. Have you heard of it before?"

Li Family glanced toward Zhou Yu, then quickly looked away, saying instinctively, "No, never heard of it."

Lu Ziyuan forced himself to remain calm and just shook his head.

At this point, Chen Tieshan also noticed something was off.

’If they had truly never heard of this technique, they should have been skeptical, just like him.’

’But after Lu Bai brought it up, the reaction of Lu Ziyuan’s family was tantamount to admitting the technique’s existence.’

"It’s nothing more than baseless rumors and tales of the supernatural!"

Zhou Yu snorted coldly.

"That’s right."

Lu Yao forced a smile. "Ah Bai, you must have read this in some storybook. It’s all fake. Such things don’t exist in the world."

Lu Ziyuan had also regained his composure by now. He took a deep breath and said, "Lu Bai, don’t tell me you’ve been deceived. You can’t make such wild accusations without any proof!"

"What about the brick?"

Chen Tieshan asked.

’If what Lu Bai said was true, that brick would be the key evidence.’

Lu Bai said, "It’s been burned."

Zhou Yu, who knew the truth of the matter, couldn’t help but sneer. "So you just made it all up. And here you were, going on about some ancient Evil Technique."

Chen Tieshan frowned slightly, once again uncertain.

’With no evidence, and with Carpenter Zhang’s family dead, Lu Bai could naturally say whatever he wanted.’

"Originally, there was no proof."

Lu Bai looked at Lu Yao and smiled faintly. "However, Cousin, it seems you’ve forgotten that before I left the city, you gave me a Protective Talisman."

"Ah!"

A flash of panic crossed Lu Yao’s eyes. She forced a laugh. "A Protective Talisman is to keep you safe. I did it for your own good, what’s wrong with that?"

"But this Protective Talisman is host to a malevolent spirit!"

Lu Bai tossed the Protective Talisman onto the table and said grimly.

Hearing this, both Wang Family and Uncle Fu were shaken.

Even they didn’t know about this.

Uncle Fu quickly asked, "Young Master, when you became delirious and fell off a cliff after leaving the city, was it because of this Protective Talisman?"

"That’s right."

Lu Bai nodded.

Chen Tieshan’s expression grew solemn.

He had never heard of any ancient Evil Technique, but tales of malevolent spirits had existed since ancient times.

In the Wu Dynasty, there were even special Guards who hunted malevolent spirits, and they held an extremely high status.

"You... what are you talking about? I don’t understand."

Lu Yao’s smile was a bit stiff. "I gave you a normal Protective Talisman. What malevolent spirit? I don’t know anything about that."

Chen Tieshan looked at the Protective Talisman on the table and said in a low voice, "Normally, this kind of talisman should be able to exorcise ghosts and ward off evil. A malevolent spirit wouldn’t be able to inhabit it."

"Exactly, exactly."

Lu Yao hurriedly agreed.

Lu Bai said coolly, "Hall Master Chen, why don’t you pick up this Protective Talisman and take a closer look?"

Chen Tieshan picked up the Protective Talisman from the table and began to examine it.

"Hm?"

Chen Tieshan quickly noticed something was wrong. "The characters for Shen Tu and Yu Lei on it are written incorrectly."

"That’s not all."

Lu Bai said.

Prompted by Lu Bai, Chen Tieshan extended a fingernail and scraped forcefully at the Protective Talisman, revealing the material inside.

He brought it closer to smell it and examined it again. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he said gravely, "This is Locust Wood, which can host malevolent spirits!"

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