Journey to the West: Cultivation Begins at Jindou Mountain

Chapter 378 Lü Yan Returns Home
Early in the morning, Chunlian rushed into the courtyard of Madam Lü's residence, calling out as she ran.

"Madam! Madam! There's good news, Madam!"

Madam Lü, who was dressing up in front of the mirror in the room, frowned slightly when she heard the noise outside.

Chunlian, I asked her to buy a chicken this morning to make soup for her eldest son, why did she come back so quickly and in such a hurry?

The two of them, mistress and servant, had long been like family. Normally, Chunlian wasn't such a loud and boisterous person, so what good news could she have that would warrant such a reaction?

Madam Lü got up, walked quickly to the gate and opened it. There stood Chunlian, holding an old hen, with a joyful expression.

Madam Lü frowned even more deeply upon seeing Chunlian's disheveled appearance.

"Chunlian, you're already this old, look at yourself like this! What kind of behavior is this! If outsiders saw this, what would they say about the Lü family?"

"mother!"

Before Madam Lü could finish speaking, she was startled by a clear voice and froze. She looked incredulously at the young Taoist priest walking towards the gate with a smile.

That night, the Lü family held a grand banquet to welcome their young master back from his journey of cultivating Taoism with an immortal.

Not only were the master of the Lü family, Lü Qing, and his wife present at this banquet, but also Lü Yan and his wife, who were in the city taking care of their business, rushed back together. Many close neighbors and relatives were also among those invited.

Many people were very curious about this young master who was said to have gone out to cultivate with an immortal, including the group of uninvited guests who had already arrived outside the Lü residence.

At this moment, a group of men in black sneaked up to the high walls of the Lü residence under the cover of night. Each of them was carrying a gleaming long knife and moved silently, clearly a group of ruthless and experienced assassins.

"Boss, I heard that Lu Yan, the young master of the Lu family, has returned from his studies of immortality. Do you think we should be careful?"

"Hmph! Immortal? It's probably just the Lü family exaggerating. Lü Yan was probably tricked into learning fake skills from a wild Taoist priest for a few years. He probably only realized the truth now and that's why he came back."

"Never mind this young upstart Lü Bu or Lü Yan. Now that the Lü family's backer in the court has fallen, if we can accept the Lü family's wealth today, we can retire from this life of crime and never have to struggle again. If the Lü family, without its backer, were to perish, who would seek justice for them?"

The leader of the men in black spoke with unspeakable ruthlessness, but he probably never expected that everything he said was heard clearly by Lü Yan at the main table of the banquet.

At this moment, although Lü Yan was eating, a chilling, predatory glint flashed in his eyes.

"Did Daojun foresee this scene when he advised me to return to the Lü family?"

Lu Yan never expected that someone would set their sights on the Lu family again. After all, the Lu family was now extremely wealthy, making them the envy of many.

At this moment, Lü Yan also understood that when his family left Jiangcheng, the tail that followed his father was probably hesitant and did not intend to wipe out the Lü family. They just wanted to make a show of it so that they could leave safely in the end.

But these bandits and assassins, who appeared out of nowhere, were determined to wipe out the entire Lü family mansion, and probably wouldn't even spare a single guest.
"Yan'er, what's wrong? Is the food not to your liking?"

Seeing his mother and father, Lü Qing, looking at him with some concern, Lü Yan shook his head slightly, put down his chopsticks, and smiled, "I can tell this food is made by Mother as soon as I taste it. How could I not like it when you cook it yourself? It's just that my appetite has shrunk a lot these days, and I'm already full."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lü looked at Lü Yan, whose demeanor had changed drastically, and seemed somewhat dazed before nodding slightly.

Yes, Yan'er is cultivating with immortals. According to legend, those immortals can exist in the world without eating mortal grains.
Lu Yan's spiritual sense had been focused on the assassins outside the wall. He slowly rose and said:

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law, please eat first. It seems there are guests outside who want to see me. I will go and greet them personally and will be back in a little while."

Lu Qing, seated at the head of the table, nodded slightly, not asking how Lu Yan knew, but simply smiled and said:
"Yan'er, since we have guests, why not invite them in for a meal as well? Don't be impolite."

"Yes, Father, you can rest assured."

Lu Yan smiled and nodded, greeting everyone along the way, and walked out of the Lu family compound.

However, as soon as Lü Yan left the room, the smiles on the faces of the people present disappeared, and Lü Qing's expression became rather gloomy.

After all, he was his own son. Even though he hadn't seen him for several years, his youngest son had changed a lot. But how could he not see just now that the guest Lu Yan mentioned was an unwelcome guest?
Lu Yan didn't tell them, and he must have had his reasons; he probably didn't want them to get involved.
Having spent many years in officialdom, Lü Qing was a cunning old fox himself, and in just a short while, he had already figured out most of the details of the matter.

"Father, Mother, shall I go out and take a look?"

When Lü Qing saw his eldest son across from him, who couldn't help but speak up, he shook his head slightly and sighed:

“No, we have now completely distanced ourselves from Yan’er’s world, and judging from his words and actions today, he is quite reliable.”

"Since he won't say, it means he doesn't want us to know. So our family will know nothing. I believe he can handle all of this!"

There was a hint of pride in Lü Qing's words. He had thought that his Lü family had reached its peak after he passed the imperial examination, but who would have thought that his family would produce an immortal!
During the day, the various skills that Lü Yan displayed truly left the couple speechless, and they knew in their hearts that these were not some kind of trickery that could be performed.

If even someone like Lü Yan can't solve the problem, then their presence would only cause more trouble.

The beautiful woman with a large pregnant belly next to Brother Lü Qing only showed a little curiosity in her eyes when she saw this scene, but she didn't say anything. After all, although she was Lü Yan's sister-in-law, she was not very familiar with him.

Before long, the family who were waiting saw Lü Yan return with a smile on his face.

"Father, Mother, the guest has already left."

"Alright, alright, sit down quickly. Where were we just now? Didn't you say, Yan'er, that your senior brothers and sisters were all enlightened white cranes?"

Inside the Lü residence, the jubilant atmosphere remained vibrant, while outside the high walls, the group of men in black had vanished without a trace, leaving only a layer of dust that had appeared on the ground sometime during the night. A gust of wind blew it away, scattering it into the air.
The next morning, a smiling Madam Lü personally brought breakfast to Lü Yan's courtyard. She intended to wake Lü Yan as she had done in the past, but she heard the sound of a long sword being wielded and cut through the air outside the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)