After the college entrance examination, my identity as a Mahayana Immortal Venerable could no longer

Chapter 87 The Astronomical Bureau Arrives at the Door; The Sun Family Offers Ancestral Graves as Co

"Have her wait at the foot of the mountain," Lu Yuan instructed calmly.

"Yes! I'll report back immediately!"

The phone hangs up.

Lu Qingxue, with noodles in her mouth, looked up at him blankly and asked, "Who is it?"

"He's delivering intelligence."

"Is he a bad person?"

"Count as half."

Lu Qingxue's curiosity was piqued, and she pressed, "What about the other half?"

Lu Yuan raised his eyes to look at the deep night below the mountain, his tone indifferent: "Let's see if she knows what's good for her next move."

Lu Qingxue nodded, seemingly understanding, and continued eating her noodles. After a couple of bites, she suddenly put down her chopsticks, her eyes resolute, and looked earnestly at Lu Yuan: "Brother, I want to learn skills from you."

"Why did you suddenly change your mind?" Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly. Previously, when he suggested teaching her cultivation, she only thought it was hard and boring.

Lu Qingxue lowered her eyes, staring at the sloshing noodle soup in the bowl, her voice soft yet exceptionally firm: "Before, when Mom had her accident, I was powerless and could only watch helplessly. After you came back, you've shouldered all the dangers and troubles alone."

"I don't have any grand ambitions, and I don't want to be some kind of peerless powerhouse. But I don't want to be able to hide behind you and tremble every time something happens, waiting for you to protect me. At least if someone comes knocking on my door again, I can stand up and not hold you back."

After saying that, she realized she was being a little dramatic, so she quickly patted her burning cheeks and stubbornly said, "Pshaw, I wasn't shaking! Anyway, you understand what I mean!"

Seeing his younger sister's stubborn yet sensible demeanor, Lu Yuan felt a warmth in his heart and slowly nodded in agreement: "Okay, let's start tomorrow."

"Is it really possible to learn?!" Lu Qingxue's eyes lit up instantly.

"First, practice standing meditation; first, learn to read; first, memorize scriptures. No slacking off, no complaining." Lu Yuan set the rules in a serious tone.

"I understand standing meditation, but why do I need to know characters to cultivate myself?" Lu Qingxue asked, her face full of doubt.

"Otherwise, if I give you talismans and cultivation methods later, you'll treat them like math exam papers and just look at them haphazardly?" Lu Yuan teased casually.

Lu Qingxue was taken aback at first, then couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Then all my college entrance exams were for nothing?"

"It wasn't a waste of time." Lu Yuan's eyes held a faint smile. "After the exam, you can use your brain to calculate the ways of cultivation and human relationships."

As they were chatting and laughing, there was a gentle knock on the villa gate.

It wasn't someone from the Mountain Observatory Bureau; it was Sun Changhe, who had just finished working on the project.

He stood respectfully outside the door, his back bent like a taut old bamboo bow, holding an ancient black wooden box in his hands, his posture extremely humble.

"Senior, the gate has been mostly welded and repaired, and all the damaged vegetation has been replanted. The workers are still finishing up, but I didn't dare to delay, so I brought you this apology first."

Lu Yuan didn't open the door to let him in, but spoke calmly through the courtyard gate: "What is it?"

"This is an old artifact passed down through generations of my Sun family, kept for over a hundred years without ever leaving my side," Sun Changhe quickly explained, his tone full of reverence. "This object becomes extremely hot during thunderstorms, and ordinary people who touch it will fall ill or suffer misfortune. My ancestors have studied it for decades but have never been able to unravel its mystery, so we could only keep it as an invaluable treasure. Today, I am offering it to my elders, which is a way of returning it to its rightful owner."

Lu Yuan raised his hand in a feigned beckoning motion.

hum-

The black wooden box instantly flew into the air and landed steadily in his palm.

The lid of the box was slightly opened, revealing a palm-sized, charred tortoise shell lying quietly inside. The shell was covered with fine, ancient patterns, mottled and weathered, carrying the weighty aura of a thousand years. These were not the crude talismanic patterns of the martial arts world, but rather orthodox ancient oracle bone script. Within the shell, sealed was an extremely faint yet pure remnant of the Kunlun spirit.

Lu Yuan saw through the root of the problem at a glance.

This is a relic from an ancient branch of the Kunlun Mountains.

No wonder Sun Changhe was immediately drawn to the spiritual energy of the manor upon entering, his greed becoming blatant. It's highly likely that the Sun family ancestors stumbled upon an incredible treasure by chance, enjoying generations of prosperity thanks to the auspicious feng shui of this tortoise shell. Unfortunately, their descendants lack discernment, possessing this priceless artifact yet only using it for protection, akin to using a peerless kitchen knife to sharpen a pencil—a complete waste of an ancient opportunity.

Sun Changhe stood outside the door, secretly peeking at Lu Yuan's expression. His heart was in his throat, and he was so nervous that his whole body was stiff.

This was the Sun family's most treasured heirloom, and giving it away was excruciatingly painful for him. But even the most precious antique was no match for the lives of his entire family! If he couldn't gain Lu Yuan's forgiveness tonight, the Sun family would be utterly destroyed tomorrow!

"Senior, if this apology is not enough, my Sun family's storeroom also contains century-old medicines, rare jade, and thousand-year-old ginseng, which we can offer up!" Sun Changhe quickly added.

"Send over the inventory list first thing tomorrow morning," Lu Yuan said calmly.

Sun Changhe felt a sudden relaxation throughout his body, and his legs almost gave way, causing him to lose his balance.

This sentence meant that his life, and the life of the Sun family, was completely saved!

"Yes! I will personally deliver it tomorrow! I would not dare to delay!"

"There's one more thing." Lu Yuan's eyes turned slightly cold as he looked at the mess outside the courtyard. "All traces of those who died in the manor tonight have been completely wiped clean. Whoever comes to question or investigate afterward, you will bear the consequences yourself. Take full responsibility for the matter."

Sun Changhe's Adam's apple bobbed, and he gritted his teeth, replying in a deep voice, "This junior understands! I will take full responsibility for all the crimes!"

"roll."

A single, simple word, and it's all done cleanly and efficiently.

Sun Changhe felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He bowed repeatedly and retreated, carefully closing the courtyard gate behind him as he left, and quietly slipped away.

Lu Qingxue asked curiously, "Brother, what kind of treasure did that old man give you? Is it very valuable?"

Lu Yuan's fingertips traced the ancient tortoise shell, his eyes deep and unfathomable: "It's not worth much."

"Then why are you still keeping it?"

"It's not a treasure, it's a signpost."

"Road signs?" Lu Qingxue was completely confused.

"Hmm." Lu Yuan responded calmly, "A path leading to the ancient secrets of the old land, to the seal of heaven and earth."

The appearance of this Kunlun armor fragment, coinciding with the collapse of the Antarctic seal and the frequent occurrence of strange phenomena in Jiangnan, is no coincidence. The prelude to a chaotic era has been fully unveiled.

Half an hour later, in the depths of the night at the foot of the mountain, a neat row of car lights illuminated the scene.

Several black minivans were parked quietly at the entrance to the mountain road leading to the resort, not daring to drive uphill, behaving themselves and behaving politely.

The central car door slowly opened, and a sleek and aloof figure stepped out.

The woman wore a dark gray business shirt and black trousers, her long hair tied in a neat ponytail. She wore no makeup, exuding a cool and capable aura. She carried no weapons, only a heavy leather document bag. The mountain night wind howled, causing her clothes to flutter slightly, yet she stood tall and straight as a pine tree in the darkness, neither arrogant nor servile.

Li Chengyuan stayed by his side, holding his breath the whole time, not daring to even breathe too loudly, his heart filled with trepidation.

"Director Shen, should I call Mr. Lu again to let him know?" he asked cautiously.

Shen Qingci stared intently at the brightly lit villa on the mountaintop, her voice clear, flat, and utterly emotionless: "Wait three more minutes."

"What if he doesn't want to see anyone?"

"Then let's keep waiting."

Li Chengyuan secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, inwardly marveling. This Deputy Director Shen was as tough and calm as a steel ruler; no wonder she, a woman, could suppress all the martial arts forces in Jiangnan and keep the local monsters in check.

Once the three-minute time limit was up, the gate of the villa slowly opened inwards.

It wasn't Lu Yuan who came out, but Sun Changhe, who was supervising the finishing touches.

He was directing the workers to paint and reinforce the gate when he suddenly looked up and saw Shen Qingci down the mountain. His eyelids twitched violently, his face twitched uncontrollably, and alarm bells went off in his mind.

"Director Shen?"

"Patriarch Sun?" Shen Qingci raised an eyebrow slightly, her tone carrying a hint of surprise.

Her gaze swept quickly over the bustling construction team in the courtyard, the newly replanted Podocarpus macrophyllus, and the newly renovated gate. Her tone was calm but with a hint of inquiry: "Has the head of the Sun family switched to the renovation business? To mobilize such a large force to renovate the mansion in the middle of the night."

Sun Changhe's throat was dry and tight, and he could not express his bitterness. He could only say in a low voice, "I... am here to repair your residence and apologize for my mistake."

"Senior?" Shen Qingci's eyes narrowed, instantly grasping the key information.

"It is that gentleman in the villa." Sun Changhe dared not say another word, and spoke with utmost caution.

Shen Qingci didn't press further; too much prying would only cause resentment. She handed the leather document bag to Li Chengyuan: "Give this to him."

Li Chengyuan respectfully accepted the document bag with both hands, holding it as if it were a hot potato, extremely cautiously: "Director Shen, aren't you going in for a face-to-face meeting yourself?"

"If someone wants to see me, they will naturally invite me."

After Shen Qingci finished speaking, she turned around and prepared to get into the car.

Li Chengyuan was completely stunned: "You're leaving already? You rushed here overnight just to deliver a document?"

Shen Qingci opened the car door, the night breeze ruffling her hair. Her profile was cool and sharp, her eyes revealing a clarity and understanding beyond that of ordinary people. She casually uttered a sentence:

"I have come tonight to offer my sincerity, not to test you or to throw my life away."

As soon as he finished speaking, the van quietly turned around, its headlights flashing at the corner of the winding mountain road before disappearing completely into the deep night.

Sun Changhe stood by the courtyard gate, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

Shen Qingci's rise to the high position of deputy director of the Celestial Surveillance Bureau was clearly no accident. She was meticulous, possessed impeccable judgment, and was frighteningly calm. Tonight, countless forces rushed here upon hearing the news, most likely with the intention of testing, spying, and seizing opportunities; they have probably all perished silently. Only she, by merely delivering intelligence and expressing sincerity, remained steadfast, ensuring her own safety and leaving herself a way out.

Li Chengyuan carried the heavy file bag, strode into the villa, and respectfully handed it to Lu Yuan.

The bag contained only two pieces of paper, yet they held the secrets of all the strange chaos and hidden dangers that Jiangnan was facing tonight.

The first image is a high-definition topographic map. An abandoned old textile factory in the old town of Jiangnan is heavily circled in red, with three glaring black characters next to it: Suolongjing (Lock Dragon Well).

The second document is a list of seven victims, ranging in age from a sixteen-year-old boy to a fifty-two-year-old middle-aged man. Each of them exhibited bizarre and abnormal symptoms: unexplained high fever, muscle spasms, nighttime running, swallowing soil, and biting strangers.

At the very bottom of the paper was a line of sharp, forceful handwritten annotations, conveying a chilling and mysterious atmosphere:

The manhole cover opened by itself once tonight, and a knocking sound came from the manhole wall—three short knocks and one long knock—repeatedly four times.

Lu Yuan gently traced the words with his fingertips, his gaze turning completely cold.

Three short and one long, repeated four times.

This is not a distress signal from an ordinary person.

This is a filthy and evil entity lurking underground, breaking through the shallow barriers to announce its arrival to the human world and send a message to its accomplices in other realms!

The sluice gates of the ancient Dragon-Locking Well were opened, and countless evil spirits were unleashed. Chaos ensued in Jiangnan!