Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

"Fire poison is one of the five elemental poisons. Its toxicity is not only as violent as fire, but it is also quite rare. It usually only comes from certain forbidden and dangerous places where the fire energy is dense and no grass grows, or from the bodies of high-level demonic beasts..."

Compared to the somewhat dejected Lu Jinyuan, Lu Feng was unusually calm at this moment. He stroked his chin and said, "Patriarch Lu, please forgive my impertinence."

"How exactly did your wife become infected with the fire poison? And why did she end up in a hopeless situation?"

Lu Feng's tone was solemn.

Indeed, the toxicity of fire poison is so potent that there is no cure available through ordinary methods.

However, this level of Five Elements Poison is so rare that it's hard to find another one, let alone in Yangguan City, or even in the entire Southern Yue Kingdom. There's simply no fertile ground for its development.

Therefore, Lu Feng was so surprised to hear that Lu Jinyuan's former wife had committed suicide due to fire poisoning.

"Ah, actually, this is a long story...!"

Seemingly sensing Lu Feng's doubts, Lu Jinyuan sighed heavily again before slowly explaining, "Ping'er's original surname was Li. Outsiders generally call her Mu Ping. Her ancestral home is not in the Southern Yue Kingdom, but rather she comes from a small tribe in the Southern Barbarian Lands..."

"Your wife is actually a barbarian?"

Lu Feng was somewhat surprised.

"good."

Nodding slightly again, Lu Jinyuan spoke slowly and deliberately, a hint of emotion appearing on his face as if he were recalling the past. "Speaking of which, it was about twenty years ago, when I had just broken through to the Spirit Soul Realm and had not yet inherited the position of family head."

"And my father, Lu Tianting, the ancestor of the Lu family, in order to temper my character and abilities, sent me to escort a rather valuable shipment to the Southern Barbarian Lands..."

"At the time, I thought it was just an ordinary escort mission. Little did I know that this mission would not only change my life, but also lead me to meet Ping'er, someone I would never be able to part with for the rest of my life..."

"Patriarch Lu, if I remember correctly, Yangguan City is not a major border city, and it is also quite far from the Southern Barbarian Lands inhabited by the barbarians. Could it be that the Lu family had some business dealings with the barbarians of the Southern Barbarian Lands in the past?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng couldn't help but chime in, his face still showing some confusion.

After all, most of the Southern Barbarian tribes were very xenophobic, even regarding outsiders as enemies. As for Wu Yunran, the barbarian boy who entered Luoxing Academy with Lu Feng, he was only a minority.

"Young Master Lu, you are unaware of this."

Faced with Lu Feng's question, Lu Jinyuan simply smiled and then said, "Although most barbarians are warlike and closed-minded, there are also some enlightened people among them."

"Coincidentally, the Lu family used to have some business dealings with some small tribes in the Southern Barbarians. The relationship between the two sides was usually quite harmonious, and they kept to themselves, so it could be considered that each side got what they needed."

"Unfortunately, our good fortune didn't last long. Shortly after I led the Lu family's escort team into the Southern Barbarian lands, we were attacked by a powerful enemy. The leader of this enemy was a chieftain of a medium-sized tribe, and his strength was considerable...!"

"Although I managed to repel the invasion of this great lord and his barbarians, most of the valuable cargo was lost, and naturally, I failed to complete the task my father entrusted to me..."

Lu Jinyuan spoke in a solemn tone.

The Great Lord is second only to the tribal chief. As for the Great Lord of a medium-sized tribe, his strength is at least at the sixth level of the Spirit Soul Realm, or even stronger!

Lu Jinyuan had only recently broken through to the Spirit Soul Realm, yet he was able to escape unscathed from the hands of a powerful chieftain of a Southern Barbarian tribe, which was enough to demonstrate his remarkable strength.

It's no wonder that Lu Tianting, the former patriarch of the Lu family, chose Lu Jinyuan, the youngest son, to succeed him, even though he had five sons. Compared with the former elder Lu Feng and others, Lu Jinyuan was indeed superior!

"Master Lu, please forgive my ignorance, but the Lu family's caravan was robbed by the Southern Barbarian tribes in the past. This matter doesn't seem to have anything to do with your wife, does it?"

"No."

Faced with Lu Feng's doubts, Lu Jinyuan merely shook his head slightly, then said in a meaningful tone, "Ping'er was one of the barbarians who attacked the Lu family's caravan back then, and also the only barbarian to survive that robbery battle..."

"What?!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng's pupils constricted slightly, and he was completely dumbfounded. "Patriarch Lu, could it be that you and Miss Lu's birth mother met in this way...?"

The relationship between robbers and escorts, enemies and relatives, can be seamlessly switched!

It has to be said that Lu Feng initially underestimated the dramatic nature of Lu Jinyuan's past romantic history. It turns out that Lu Jinyuan and Li Muping were not a good match, but rather their relationship started as a misunderstanding.

As for Lu Jinyuan, he was also an extraordinary person. He not only "subdued" Li Muping, his enemy, but also made a barbarian girl fall madly in love with him, even at the cost of her life. It seems that Lu Jinyuan must have some extraordinary "strengths"!

"Master Lu, I never imagined that you and your wife met in this way..."

Thinking of this, Lu Feng's lips twitched, and he said somewhat awkwardly, "However, regarding your wife's illness caused by fire poison...?"

"Ping'er is of barbarian origin, and the Southern Barbarian tribe she belongs to is naturally quite hostile to outside martial artists. Even though I brought Ping'er back to the Lu family after this robbery, these barbarians did not let it go and even regarded Ping'er as an unforgivable traitor..."

Having also guessed the implication in Lu Feng's words, Lu Jinyuan stood with his hands behind his back and continued, "As for the fire poison that Ping'er was afflicted with, it was also the work of those barbarians. These beasts not only targeted the Lu family, but they didn't even spare their own people...!"

"And Ping'er wasn't the only one who unfortunately succumbed to the fire poison; there was also Xiao Xiang, who was only five years old at the time...!"

Lu Jinyuan's fists clenched tightly beneath his sleeves, his brows furrowing deeply, as if he could hardly contain his grief. "To cure the fire poison in Ping'er and her daughter, I once traversed almost every corner of the four kingdoms of Lingnan, but in the end, I only found one antidote..."

"As far as I know, once someone is poisoned by fire, unless they have a strong foundation in their own spiritual energy or find an antidote within three months, they will suffer the agonizing pain of being consumed by flames and eventually turn into scorched earth..."

"So, your wife chose to commit suicide to protect Miss Lu and to avoid putting you, the head of the Lu family, in a difficult position..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng also chimed in, seemingly having grasped the gist of the matter.

After all, Lu Xiaoxiang was only five years old at the time, still a child, and had no power to resist the erosion of the fire poison, while there was only one dose of the antidote.

Therefore, Li Muping chose to commit suicide in the past only to give her daughter a chance to live. As for her husband Lu Jinyuan, it was not that he did not help her, but that he was powerless to do so.

"No, this can't be...!"

As Lu Feng finished speaking, a woman suddenly exclaimed from outside Qingshui Hall.

Swish!

The next moment, before Lu Feng could even react, Lu Xiaoxiang burst into the hall, looking at Lu Jinyuan on the main seat opposite her with disbelief. Her voice trembled slightly as she said, "Lu Jinyuan, what you and Lu Feng just said was all a lie, wasn't it...!"

"You must be lying to me. My mother sacrificed herself to save me; none of that is true, right?!"

Lu Xiaoxiang stared intently at Lu Jinyuan across from her, seemingly trying to discern a hint of wavering on his face.

"Miss Lu?"

When Lu Xiaoxiang suddenly burst into the hall, Lu Feng, who was standing to the side, was also stunned for a moment.

It turns out that the other party had not only been eavesdropping outside, but he hadn't even noticed. It just goes to show how skilled women are at playing hide-and-seek.

"No!"

However, when confronted by his own daughter, Lu Jinyuan acted completely differently, replying with unwavering certainty, "These things are all true! Xiaoxiang, I'm sorry...!"

"It's all my fault, I'm so sorry for you and your mother. If I had been stronger back then, or if I had found more antidotes for the fire poison, perhaps your mother wouldn't have died...!"

Lu Jinyuan looked heartbroken, and his voice became choked with emotion. It seemed that after so many changes, he no longer intended to hide the truth about his wife's death.

"father..!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaoxiang could no longer control her emotions. She immediately buried her face in Lu Jinyuan's arms and burst into tears, as if all the pain and grievances she had hidden in her heart for many years were being released at once.

"Xiaoxiang, Father is still alive...!"

"Sweetie, don't cry yourself sick...!"

Faced with Lu Xiaoxiang's emotional breakdown and incessant sobbing, Lu Jinyuan also looked distressed, his voice trembling, as if he had been misunderstood by his beloved daughter for many years, and he was also in great pain.

"Have this father and daughter truly reconciled?"

Seeing this, Lu Feng merely sighed inwardly and didn't disturb the two. "Looks like I've done another great deed today..."

Although the Lu family suffered greatly after Lu Feng's actions, losing not only its foundation and servants, but also the death of its four elders, the fact that Lu Jinyuan and Lu Xiaoxiang, father and daughter, were able to reconcile can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.