ragginovel Chapter 45 Three days is too long, I'm in a hurry to make dinner.
Chapter 45 Three days is too long, I'm in a hurry to make dinner.
The leather seats of the Hongqi L9 were so soft that half a person could sink into them, but Zhao Tiancheng felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white, and the veins on the back of his hands bulging like dragons. He pressed the accelerator pedal hard and hard, and the car floated slightly on the asphalt road. He didn't even dare to breathe too heavily.
He kept his eyes glued to the rearview mirror, but he didn't even have the courage to look up and glance at it again—the man leaning against the back seat in the rearview mirror was the real killer who could take his life.
Lu Yuan leaned back in the back row, his eyes slightly closed, his expression languid yet exuding a terrifying sense of oppression. He casually toyed with an old ginseng root, a spiritual herb he had casually taken from the Blood Fiend Sect's lair. The dried ginseng roots twirled around his fingertips, faintly revealing a trace of life.
Jade pendant. Kunlun Mountain.
Two words swirled in his mind, and the languor in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a cold glint. For eight generations, the Lu family had been farmers toiling in the fields, and his mother was an ordinary woman who had never left Jiangnan City more than a few times in her life, with a gentle nature like cotton. How could she possibly possess a jade pendant that could unlock the Kunlun Secret Realm?
There is only one answer—this jade pendant does not belong to the Lu family at all.
Was someone deliberately placed near my mother, using her as bait? Or did my mother accidentally encounter someone back then, who secretly stuffed this hot potato into her hands?
Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, a raging murderous intent surging within his dark pupils, yet he suppressed it all, leaving only a chilling coldness. Regardless of the reason, daring to use his mother as a shield, daring to cause her death, this debt was one that no one could bear.
This debt should be settled across the entire Kunlun Mountains!
The street scene outside the car window rushed past, the wind howled, and Lu Yuan's voice was calm and even, yet carried an undeniable authority: "Mr. Lu, where are we going now?"
Zhao Tiancheng snapped back to reality, his Adam's apple bobbing violently as he swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Master Lu, back...back to Cloud Peak Manor?"
He paused, then mustered all his courage and added, "But...but last night you slapped half of that place away, leaving not even a yard to stand in. There's even a deep crater in the ground, several meters deep, from your handprint..."
"I told you to find a construction team to fill the hole, but you didn't?" Lu Yuan didn't even lift his eyelids, his fingertips still twirling the old ginseng. His tone was devoid of any emotion, yet it made Zhao Tiancheng freeze, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Zhao Tiancheng's back straightened abruptly, his foot on the accelerator freezing instantly. The car swerved out of control, drawing an S-shape on the road, nearly crashing into the guardrail. Terrified, his voice trembled: "I found it! Mr. Lu, I searched all night! The biggest construction team in Jiangnan City, with heavy machinery, worked through the night. They've probably already filled the potholes and even started laying the turf!"
"Drive faster." Lu Yuan uttered three words indifferently, casually tossing the old ginseng into the storage ring that appeared on his fingertip. A faint light flashed on the ring, and the old ginseng disappeared instantly.
Half an hour later, at Cloud Peak Villa.
The palm print pit, which was originally several meters deep and comparable to a small pond, has now been completely filled with concrete by hundreds of truckloads, leaving a smooth surface without a trace. Hundreds of workers wearing hard hats are performing their duties, some laying turf, others inspecting buildings. The machines are roaring, and the efficiency is ridiculously high—no one dares to slack off. This is the place of that evil god; a delay of even a second could cost them their heads.
On the intact balcony on the second floor, Lu Qingxue hugged a plush pillow, her almond-shaped eyes staring blankly at the busy crowd below, her face full of confusion. Then, hearing the screech of brakes from downstairs, her eyes lit up. She abruptly dropped the pillow and ran barefoot downstairs, her voice clear yet tinged with a hint of grievance: "Brother!"
She threw herself into Lu Yuan's arms, nuzzling her head against his chest, her nose slightly red: "Where did you go? I didn't see you when I woke up, you scared me to death."
The coldness around Lu Yuan vanished instantly. He raised his hand and ruffled her hair, his tone softening slightly: "I went out to get something."
As soon as he finished speaking, he flipped his wrist, and the old ginseng reappeared in his palm. He handed it to Lu Qingxue and said, "Take it and eat it as a snack."
Lu Qingxue looked down at the thing that looked like an old tree root and was covered in dirt. She curled her lip in disgust and frowned, "It's covered in mud, how can we eat it? And it looks so ugly."
Lu Yuan couldn't help but laugh, the fierceness in his eyes completely dissipating, leaving only gentleness. He had forgotten that mortals on Earth simply couldn't withstand the medicinal power of spiritual herbs from the cultivation world—this old ginseng, though not top-grade, was still quite old. If an ordinary person took a bite, their meridians would be ruptured by the medicinal power, and they would bleed from all seven orifices and die on the spot.
"It's my fault for not thinking things through. I'll fix it for you." Lu Yuan took his sister's hand and walked to the sofa in the living room to sit down.
Zhao Tiancheng, standing outside the door, saw everything clearly. He wisely stood still, gently closed the door, and didn't even dare to breathe loudly—he didn't want to disturb Master Lu and Miss Lu, nor did he want to be affected by that inexplicable force.
Lu Yuan placed the old ginseng on the solid wood coffee table, flicked his fingertips slightly, and a cluster of golden flames instantly shot out. The flames were small, but they carried a terrifying temperature.
As soon as the flames appeared, the temperature in the entire living room soared instantly, and the air became hot and dry. The edges of the solid wood coffee table began to carbonize and turn black at a visible speed, and even the fabric on the sofa curled up slightly.
Zhao Tiancheng, standing outside the door, felt a wave of heat rush onto his face through the crack in the door, burning his skin. He instinctively wiped his face and looked down to see that his eyebrows were curled up in a ball from the heat, and even the ends of his hair were slightly yellowed. He shrank back in fright, taking two steps back, his heart filled with even greater awe—Master Lu's methods were becoming more and more terrifying.
Lu Qingxue squinted from the heat and took a small step back, but then curiously leaned closer, blinking her almond-shaped eyes: "Brother, are you doing magic? That's amazing!"
"Almost." Lu Yuan flicked his finger, and golden flames instantly enveloped the old ginseng. There was no pungent smoke or burnt smell, only a faint fragrance that slowly spread.
The old ginseng, as thick as an adult's arm, turned into a drop of emerald green liquid in just three seconds under the scorching golden flames. The liquid floated in mid-air, its fragrance growing stronger. Just one whiff of it made one feel completely relaxed, and even most of the fatigue disappeared.
Lu Yuan then took out a piece of grayish jade from his storage ring—this was the lowest grade spirit stone in the cultivation world, so low that it was considered too inferior even for paving roads and no one paid any attention to it.
He pointed his fingers like knives, a faint light flashing at their tips, and casually inscribed several intricate array patterns on the spirit stone. His movements were fluid and natural, completed in one smooth motion. "Go."
As he finished speaking, the drop of emerald green liquid steadily dripped into the spirit stone. The originally dull and lusterless spirit stone instantly burst forth with a dazzling emerald green halo. After the halo dissipated, the spirit stone transformed into a crystal-clear jade pendant, with a warm and smooth texture, exuding a faint vitality.
Lu Yuan found a red string, carefully threaded the jade pendant onto it, and hung it around Lu Qingxue's neck. His tone was stern: "Wear it properly. You're not allowed to take it off, not even when showering or sleeping, understand?"
Lu Qingxue lowered her head and touched the still-warm jade pendant. A warm current flowed into her body through the pendant, making her feel comfortable all over, and even her breathing became much easier. She blinked her almond-shaped eyes and asked curiously, "It feels so good, brother, what kind of treasure is this?"
"A little gadget that can ward off disaster." Lu Yuan ruffled her hair, his tone calm, but a hint of certainty was hidden in his eyes.
He didn't tell his sister that this jade pendant contained a wisp of his Mahayana-stage divine thought, which, combined with the pure vitality of the old ginseng, meant that even if a nuclear bomb were to detonate above Lu Qingxue's head, let alone bullets or missiles on Earth, this jade pendant could still protect her and keep her completely unharmed.
Looking at his younger sister's rosy cheeks and joyful expression, a cold glint flashed in Lu Yuan's eyes—with this thing protecting her, he wouldn't have to be distracted when he went to the capital to deal with those scoundrels. The Ye family, the Kunlun Mountain Envoy, owed his mother's life, and he would take it back, bit by bit, with interest!
At the same time, in the capital city, at the Ye family's old residence.
Inside the secret chamber, the ever-burning lamp moved erratically without any wind, its eerie yellow light casting a sinister and eerie glow over the entire space. A young man dressed in a moon-white robe was casually toying with a Soul-Suppressing Mirror in his hand. The mirror's surface was rusted, yet it faintly exuded a chilling aura. The back of the mirror was engraved with intricate lightning patterns, between which a faint spiritual light flowed.
Ye Zhenting knelt on the cold ground, his head bowed low, barely daring to breathe. His back was soaked with cold sweat, and his whole body trembled slightly. On the stretcher beside him, Ye Tiannan lay wrapped in bandages like a mummy, his throat emitting wheezing sounds like a broken bellows, his eyes unfocused. He had clearly been severely injured by Lu Yuan and was unable to speak.
"Your Excellency, this...this Soul-Suppressing Mirror, can it really deal with that monster surnamed Lu?" Ye Zhenting's voice trembled, tinged with despair. "He...he can even kill a half-step Earth Immortal with a single slap! Our Ye family is no match for him!"
The young man scoffed, his tone full of disdain. He casually tossed the Soul-Suppressing Mirror onto the offering table with a loud clang, startling Ye Zhenting. "What are half-step Earth Immortals? A bunch of defective products struggling in the mortal world. They dare to mention me?"
"This Soul-Suppressing Mirror is a supreme treasure of our Kunlun Outer Sect. It's specifically designed to counter the soul. No matter how high one's cultivation level, as long as there's even the slightest flaw in their soul, it will be extracted with a single glance!" The young man stood up, slowly walked to Ye Zhenting, and looked down at him with disdain in his eyes. "That kid has such cultivation at such a young age; it's definitely not normal. He must have been possessed by some old monster. In such a possessed body, the soul and the physical body cannot perfectly integrate, making it the nemesis of the Soul-Suppressing Mirror!"
He leaned down, pinched Ye Zhenting's chin with his fingertips, and forced him to look up. The coldness in his eyes almost froze Ye Zhenting: "I will personally oversee things in the capital. If he dares to come, I will show him what true immortal techniques are, and what the difference between heaven and earth is!"
Ye Zhenting felt a great sense of relief; the weight that had been hanging over him finally lifted, and his face instantly lit up with wild joy. He kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Excellency is wise! That brat boasted that he would come to the capital in three days to settle accounts with us. We'll lay a trap right here, waiting for him to walk right into it, so he'll die without a burial place!"
"Three days?" The young man's lips curled into a mocking smile, his eyes filled with impatience. "I don't have that much time to play house with a mere ant from the mortal world. The Kunlun Secret Realm is about to open, and I still need to take the jade pendant back to report. I can't afford to delay."
He straightened up, his tone icy, carrying an unyielding command: "Issue my decree! Tell those useless bastards in the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals to go to Jiangnan City and deliver a message: that brat surnamed Lu must come to the Ye family's gate in the capital before sunset tonight and kneel down to present the jade pendant!"
He paused, then his voice grew increasingly sinister, each word dripping with bloodthirsty killing intent: "If I had been a minute later, I would have slaughtered the entire city of Jiangnan! Mortals are no different from ants; no matter how many die, it's not a pity!"
Ye Zhenting gasped, his body turning icy cold, a chill running from his feet to the top of his head—a massacre! Is this the way Kunlun Mountain operates? Treating the lives of ordinary people as worthless, massacring an entire city without hesitation!
But he dared not refute, nor even utter a word of pleading. He could only kowtow repeatedly and scramble out of the secret room to hurry and deliver a message to the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals. He knew that the Venerable Envoy of Kunlun Mountain meant what he said, and if Lu Yuan missed the deadline, the entire Jiangnan City would become a living hell.
Outside the gate of Yunding Mountain Villa in Jiangnan City.
Zhao Tiancheng squatted on the steps, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, his brows furrowed and his expression anxious. He knew that Master Lu would eventually go to the capital to settle accounts with the Ye family, but he never expected that day to come so soon, nor did he expect that the people from Kunlun Mountain would be so arrogant.
Just then, a jeep with top-of-the-line military license plates came speeding towards them, screeching to a stop on the side of the road. Its tires left two long black marks on the asphalt, emitting pungent white smoke, and it almost crashed into the gate of the resort.
Chu Jianguo scrambled off the car, not even having time to close the door. He was covered in sweat, his face was ashen, and his lips were trembling, as if he had just been wheeled out of a morgue. He could barely stand.
"Mr. Lu! Is Mr. Lu inside?!" Chu Jianguo spotted Zhao Tiancheng crouching on the steps at a glance. He rushed over, grabbed Zhao's collar, and his voice cracked with despair and urgency. "Quick! Take me to Mr. Lu! Something terrible has happened! Something terribly serious!"
Zhao Tiancheng's eyes rolled back as he was being choked. He shoved him away and snapped, "What's the rush! Master Lu is inside watching TV with Miss Lu. What's wrong with you? You scared me half to death!"
Chu Jianguo didn't bother arguing with him at all. He shoved Zhao Tiancheng aside and rushed into the front door like a madman. He didn't even knock and just smashed open the living room door.
The atmosphere in the living room was warm and inviting. Lu Qingxue sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding potato chips and watching anime with great interest, occasionally letting out a crisp laugh. Lu Yuan leaned back on the sofa, holding an apple and slowly peeling it, the peel forming a long, thin line without a single cut, his movements fluid and elegant.
"Mr. Lu! Something terrible has happened! Something really terrible has happened!" Chu Jianguo rushed into the living room, his legs went weak, and he knelt down in front of the coffee table with a thud, his forehead hitting the ground heavily. His voice was choked with sobs, "The people from Kunlun Mountain have spoken, they want you... they want you to go to the Ye family's gate in the capital before sunset today, kneel down and hand over the jade pendant!"
He looked up, his face streaked with tears, his voice trembling so badly it was almost incoherent: "No... otherwise, they'll massacre the entire city of Jiangnan! Everyone in the city will die because of this! Mr. Lu, please think of something!"
The air in the living room froze instantly. The chattering of the anime characters sounded particularly jarring at that moment, completely out of place with the despair before them.
Although Lu Qingxue didn't understand anything about Kunlun Mountain or the massacre, she could clearly sense the despair and fear emanating from Chu Jianguo, and she could feel her brother's aura instantly turn cold. She instinctively shrank closer to Lu Yuan, tightly gripping his sleeve, and whispered, "Brother, what's wrong? Why is he crying?"
Lu Yuan didn't answer his sister. He simply picked up a tissue from the table and slowly wiped the juice off the fruit knife. His movements remained elegant, but the coldness in his eyes was so intense it seemed to overflow, freezing even the surrounding air.
Massacre of the city.
How familiar those words are. Back in the world of cultivation, there was a foolish sect that dared to threaten him with the lives of innocent people, saying they would slaughter the city he was protecting. Later, that sect, along with the entire continent they inhabited, was annihilated by him with a single slap, leaving not a trace.
Now, these clowns from Kunlun Mountain actually dare to talk about massacring the city in front of him? They even dare to threaten him, using the people of Jiangnan City and his sister to force him to submit?
They're absolutely courting death!
Lu Yuan looked up at the clock on the wall. The hour hand pointed to two o'clock in the afternoon. There were less than four hours left until sunset.
"Brother, are you going out?" Lu Qingxue tugged at his sleeve, her eyes full of worry.
Lu Yuan looked down at his younger sister's worried face, and the chill around him instantly dissipated. His tone was gentle yet firm: "Yes, go take care of some trash."
He stood up, gently placed the fruit knife on the coffee table, and said softly, "You can watch TV at home. If you get hungry, ask Zhao Tiancheng to order takeout for you, or have him cook something for you. I'll be back before dinner."
Lu Qingxue nodded obediently, her little hands tightly gripping his clothes, and whispered, "Then come back soon, I want to eat your sweet and sour pork ribs, I want them to be sweet and sour."
"Okay." Lu Yuan gently rubbed her hair, his eyes full of tenderness, but the moment he turned around, that tenderness vanished completely, replaced by a destructive and ferocious aura.
He turned and walked towards the door. Chu Jianguo, who was kneeling on the ground, quickly looked up, his mind buzzing, and cried out urgently, "Mr. Lu! You...you're going to Beijing already? But it's too late to get to the airport now! Jiangnan City is over a thousand kilometers from Beijing, and there are less than four hours left until sunset. Even if you take a fighter jet, it's unlikely you can make it! How about I arrange a military special plane for you right away and take off as fast as possible!"
Chu Jianguo was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh, cold sweat dripping down his forehead—he knew that if Lu Yuan didn't arrive in time, the entire Jiangnan City would be doomed, and he, as the director of the Jiangnan branch of the Bureau of Extraordinary Immortals, would also surely die.
Lu Yuan stepped outside, the blinding sunlight shining on him, but it did nothing to warm the coldness in his eyes. He didn't turn around, nor did he pay attention to Chu Jianguo's shouts. He simply raised his head slowly, looking towards the direction of the capital, a cold, mocking smile playing on his lips.
"Three days is too long."
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached Zhao Tiancheng and Chu Jianguo's ears, carrying an undeniable air of dominance: "I'm rushing back to make dinner for my sister."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Tiancheng and Chu Jianguo heard a loud "boom" in their ears—not the boom of a bomb exploding, but a loud noise as if the air was being forcibly torn apart by some illogical speed, making their eardrums ache and their heads spin.
The newly paved asphalt road in front of Yunding Villa had been abruptly split in half, creating a chasm half a meter deep. This chasm stretched straight northwards, seemingly endless, as if the earth itself had been ripped apart. A violent gust of air swept in, uprooting century-old trees in the courtyard, and sending pebbles and weeds flying everywhere—a truly terrifying scene.
The two instinctively closed their eyes and covered their ears tightly. When they opened their eyes again, all that remained where Lu Yuan had just stood was a footprint deeply embedded in the ground. The soil around the footprint had been burned into glass-like crystals by the terrifying heat, gleaming with a cold luster.
The person has vanished without a trace.
Chu Jianguo collapsed to the ground, his legs weak. Staring at the chasm that had torn the earth apart, his lips trembled, unable to utter a single word for a long time. His eyes were filled with shock and fear—breaking the sound barrier with a human body? No! This speed surpassed that of any known aircraft; even radar couldn't detect it!
Zhao Tiancheng stuffed the half-smoked cigarette he was holding into his mouth, even chewing the butt. His throat tightened, yet he couldn't help but let out a fanatical smile. He pointed north, swallowed, and turned to Chu Jianguo, his voice hoarse but tinged with excitement: "Director Chu, guess... have those bastards from the Ye family written their wills yet?"
The old Ye family residence in Beijing.
Kunlun Venerable Envoy was sitting by the offering table, sipping fine tea, his expression languid, his eyes full of disdain—in his eyes, Lu Yuan was nothing more than an ant in the mortal world, who would obediently come and kneel to offer the jade pendant upon receiving his order, daring not to resist in the slightest.
Little did he know that a figure was hurtling toward the capital at an earth-shattering speed, causing the earth to tremble and the wind and clouds to change color wherever it passed.
Little did he know that the ants he spoke of were about to raze the Ye family's old mansion to the ground, crush his pride, and make the entire Kunlun Mountain pay a heavy price for their arrogance!