Pushing down that restless feeling inside, Lu Chen took a deep breath.
A thought suddenly popped into his head, and he casually asked, “Hey, old Dragon King, about your four nephews here… will they turn out to be male or female in the future? Ah, no, let me rephrase: should I ask if they’ll be dragon princes or dragon princesses?”
“Well, about that…” Huai Lie was startled for a moment, then broke into a smile and said, “Honored One, to be honest… this little dragon really doesn’t know. However, our dragon race does have a tradition: if the firstborn of a generation is a son, then that entire generation will consist of dragon princes. If the firstborn is a daughter, then the whole generation will be dragon princesses.”
“I see,” Lu Chen nodded. “Don’t worry. Since I’ve agreed to take this on, as long as it’s within my ability, I will ensure they live their lives safely and securely.”
“Thank you for your promise, Honored One!” Huai Lie bowed deeply, his gratitude evident on his face. “If you ever have any need of me in the future, this little dragon will gladly walk through fire and tread on water. I will not refuse!”
“Alright, I won’t stand on ceremony with you then. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I won’t bother you. From now on, just focus on protecting this Dragon Tiger County, ensuring favorable weather and the safety and well-being of its people.”
“Don’t worry, Honored One! This little dragon will not fail your trust!”
Lu Chen nodded. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading back. My business here in Dragon Tiger County is finished. I should return to Jiangdu City today.”
“Honored One, allow this little dragon to see you off!”
Leaving the Spring Source Water Mansion, Lu Chen went back to the Dragon Tiger County First People’s Hospital along with the Earth God.
“Earth God, I appreciate your help this time. I thank you for it,” Lu Chen said, giving the Earth God a solemn bow.
“Please don’t say that, Honored One! Being able to serve you is this humble god’s good fortune!” The Earth God quickly stepped aside and returned the bow, not daring to accept it fully.
Lu Chen smiled. “Rest assured, your incense offerings will certainly not be lacking in the future. I always act with clear rewards and punishments: those who contribute will be rewarded, those who make mistakes will be punished. I am never partial.”
“Thank you, Honored One!” The Earth God’s voice trembled slightly, full of gratitude.
Lu Chen said no more. He waved goodbye and turned to walk into the hospital.
Inside the hospital lobby, Sun Yourong was sitting on a bench, scrolling through her phone screen with restless fingers.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a figure at the entrance. She stood up abruptly and said, with a hint of complaint, “Lu Chen! Where did you run off to? You disappeared in the blink of an eye. I’ve been looking all over for you!”
“Sorry, I had to step out for a bit and forgot to tell you,” Lu Chen said, scratching his head.
“Huh? Where are your bandages and band-aids?” Sun Yourong noticed his injuries had healed completely and couldn’t help but look him over with curiosity.
“The Well Dragon King blessed me. It’s all better,” Lu Chen casually made up an excuse.
“I see.” Sun Yourong wasn’t surprised and didn’t press further. She changed the subject. “It’s getting late. Uncle Chen and Uncle Wang are still waiting for us. They couldn’t find you earlier and went to the county office first. Let’s go meet them there, and then we can head back to Jiangdu City.”
“Alright, sounds good.”
They drove to the county office and walked straight into Wang Zhongmin’s office.
“Xiao Lu, come here, take a look at this. This is what I promised you!”
Soon after they sat down, Chen Tiansheng took a wooden box, about a foot square, from beside him and gently placed it on the tea table.
The moment the box opened, the items inside made everyone present widen their eyes.
“The Qilin Knife! The Tong Shen Xuan Ben?!” Sun Yourong exclaimed in a low voice.
“Wait, Uncle Chen,” Lu Chen was also surprised. “I did want to learn that spiritual art, but I never asked for these two treasures. This is…”
He meant it sincerely. When he had made his request earlier, he might have had his eye on the Tong Shen Xuan Ben, but he hadn’t coveted the Qilin Knife at all. After all, it was a family heirloom passed down for generations. Lu Chen knew where to draw the line.
Chen Tiansheng’s smile was warm and genuine. “Mr. Lu, or maybe I should just call you Xiao Lu, sounds friendlier. Uncle Chen bringing out these two items means I’ve made up my mind. To be honest, when you first mentioned it, I did consider only giving you the Tong Shen Xuan Ben. But after today’s rain prayer, especially witnessing you take a blood oath, I made a decision right then and there: only the Qilin Knife could truly express my full intentions and gratitude.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry about it, Xiao Lu,” Chen Tiansheng interrupted with a wave of his hand, his tone firm. “Compared to the safety of the entire city, what’s a mere Qilin Knife? It’s true that it’s a heirloom of my Chen family, but honestly, we rarely have a use for it. It’s mostly passed down as a symbol. Don’t refuse. I only hope you’ll take good care of it in the future, and that will be enough to live up to what I’m doing today.”
Chen Tiansheng was resolute and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Wang Zhongmin also smiled and chimed in, “Xiao Lu, just accept it. You might not fully understand your Uncle Chen’s character yet. He never takes back what he says. With the Qilin Knife in your hand, along with studying the Tong Shen Xuan Ben, you’re sure to learn twice as effectively! So don’t be so modest.”
Lu Chen looked at the two treasures, took a deep breath, and decided not to be pretentious. He stood up and bowed deeply to Chen Tiansheng. “Don’t worry, Uncle Chen. I will cherish these two treasures and never let them be tarnished or forgotten.”
Chen Tiansheng laughed heartily. “Great! With those words, I’m completely reassured! By the way, you can study this spiritual art at your own pace. With your talent, I’m sure it won’t be a problem. However, there are a few special points I need to remind you about.”
His expression turned serious, and he spoke gravely. “First: You must never rashly create statues or try to connect with the primordial deities like the Three Pure Ones, the Six Imperial Rulers, the Five Elder Lords of the Five Directions, or the Five Ghost Emperors. Doing so could, at best, damage the Qilin Knife’s power, requiring a long, long time to recover. At worst, you yourself would suffer severe backlash and lose your sanity. In the past, a few unworthy descendants of my clan ignored this ban and tried it anyway. They ended up insane, with their minds completely scattered.”
Lu Chen’s heart tightened, and he nodded solemnly. “I understand. What’s the second point?”
Chen Tiansheng continued, “Second, you also cannot create statues or try to connect with deities who achieved sainthood through their own physical cultivation. These deities are anomalies among all the gods. Not only are their magical powers profound and incredibly strong, but they are also said to have extremely proud and aloof personalities, sometimes difficult to restrain even with heavenly rules. Furthermore, they don’t need incense offerings. Their physical bodies are already indestructible for eons! If you rashly try to connect with them, merely failing would be lucky. If, by some chance… a misguided stroke of luck allowed a connection, you would very likely invite heavenly punishment for blasphemy. The consequences would be far worse than just being reduced to a fool. That’s why I’m highlighting this. I sincerely hope you will remember it!”
Lu Chen nodded again. “I’ll remember, Uncle Chen.”
At this point, Sun Yourong interjected, “Speaking of these ‘physical body’ deities, I remember one with the title ‘Primordial Lord of Clear Source and Wondrous Dao’ who achieved sainthood that way. They say his power is boundless and extremely formidable.”
Chen Tiansheng nodded. “You’re right. I’ve heard of him too. Legend says he commands twelve hundred ‘Grass-Head Gods,’ each of them a great demon king or demon saint. Just this force of twelve hundred can match a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals. His strength is truly terrifying. Also, it’s said his divine territory isn’t in heaven, but here in the mortal world, at a place called ‘Guanjiangkou.’ Where exactly that is, nobody knows. There’s surely a barrier around it.”
Wang Zhongmin gasped. “Twelve hundred subordinates capable of defeating a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals? These physically cultivated deities are terrifyingly powerful!”
Sun Yourong’s expression also turned serious. She couldn’t believe it.
Then, she noticed a faint, mysterious smile curling at the corner of Lu Chen’s mouth, as if he understood something. Curious, she asked, “What are you smirking at?”
Lu Chen shook his head. “Nothing.”
Sun Yourong furrowed her delicate brows, looking skeptical. “No, you’re definitely thinking about something weird.”
Lu Chen: “…Really, I’m not. I just think you guys know a little less than you could.”
Sun Yourong challenged him. “So you know about this Primordial Lord of Clear Source and Wondrous Dao too?”
Lu Chen smiled faintly. “Of course I do. I definitely know more than you. After all, you didn’t even know about the Book of Life and Death.”
Sun Yourong was momentarily speechless. She shot Lu Chen an annoyed glare. “Alright then, go on. What else do you know about this deity?”
Lu Chen cleared his throat and recited, like counting family treasures, “Legend says he’s handsome and elegant in appearance, often wears yellow robes, and has mastered the Ba Jiu Xuan Gong to perfection, giving him supreme magical power. More notably, he has a third divine eye on his forehead and wields a three-pointed, double-edged blade. He’s also called Erlang Shen. Under his command is a divine dog named Xiaotian Quan, also known as the ‘Star Lord Who Devours the Sun.'”
Seeing that he wasn’t just making things up, Sun Yourong had to nod and smile helplessly. “Alright, alright, you win. You certainly talk a good game.”
Chen Tiansheng and Wang Zhongmin listened and nodded along, sincerely praising him. “Xiao Lu, you really are widely traveled and knowledgeable. We’ve never heard these secrets before.”
Having said his piece, Chen Tiansheng patted his knee and looked at Wang Zhongmin. “That’s all I needed to say. Old Wang, you’re up.”
Wang Zhongmin took over, smiling. “Xiao Lu, I’m not like your Uncle Chen. He’s the head of his family, and his family is the only newly prominent one in our county. He can afford such generous gifts. Your Uncle Wang can’t give you treasures like that. But I do have some good news for you.
We just had a meeting and decided that from now on, our county office will allocate a special annual fund for the two deities, Lord Wealth Monarch and the Honored Lord of the Spring Source, to boost their incense offerings.
At the same time, our county will spare no effort to promote the grace and majesty of Lord Wealth Monarch and the Honored Lord of the Spring Source, ensuring their incense offerings never fade.
The Earth God is included in this too.
This is also a way to fulfill your previous request.
Don’t worry. Starting today, these two will be the officially worshipped main gods of our Dragon Tiger County! We will fully guarantee the prosperity of their incense!”
Chen Tiansheng nodded in agreement. “That’s right!”
This news was an even greater surprise for Lu Chen. Dragon Tiger County has a population of several hundred thousand people. For Lord Wealth Monarch, who urgently needed incense, this was a godsend.
He immediately stood up, cupped his hands, and gave a solemn bow. “Then, on behalf of Lord Wealth Monarch, I thank both uncles for your generous help!”
“Don’t mention it. It’s the least we could do.”
After all the matters were settled, Wang Zhongmin took out the county office’s official seal and stamped it squarely on Lu Chen’s mission document.
The bright red imprint marked the mission in Dragon Tiger County as officially and successfully completed!
Lu Chen and Sun Yourong didn’t delay any further. They immediately set off to return to Jiangdu City.
“You drive!” Sun Yourong decisively sat down in the passenger seat.
Lu Chen smiled helplessly. He carefully placed the box containing the Qilin Knife and the Tong Shen Xuan Ben in the back seat and got into the driver’s seat.
“Uncle Chen, Uncle Wang, we’re leaving.”
“Okay, drive safely! Come back and visit when you have time!”
“Definitely!”
The car slowly pulled out of the county office gates.
What Lu Chen and Sun Yourong didn’t expect was that the streets outside the county office were already lined with people who had heard the news and come on their own.
The crowd was bustling. All eyes turned to the slowly departing car, filled with gratitude. They waved incessantly.
Some had even brought banners, clearly reading things like “Thank You, Daoist Lu!”
“Take care, our benefactor!”
“Daoist Lu, have a smooth trip!”
“You’re welcome back to Dragon Tiger County anytime!”
Hearing these sincere farewells from both sides of the road, Lu Chen was deeply moved. His heart surged with emotion.
He rolled down the window, reached out his arm, and waved back energetically to the enthusiastic crowd.
“Thank you, everyone! Goodbye! Take care!”
The car moved slowly forward. The line of people seeing them off seemed endless, stretching for several miles.
It seemed almost all of Dragon Tiger County had gathered here spontaneously, just to offer their most sincere thanks and wishes.
At the same time,
“RAAAAH!!!”
In the sky above, clouds swirled and a golden dragon tumbled through them continuously.
The Well Dragon King, Huai Lie, was also seeing Lu Chen off in his own unique way.
Under an old tree that the car passed, the Earth God leaned on his staff, gazing at the fading taillights in the distance, and bowed.
“Honored One, have a safe journey!”
The crowds only disappeared after Lu Chen’s car left the bustling town center and was about to turn onto the road leading to the highway on the outskirts.
“How does it feel?” Sun Yourong asked from the passenger seat, smiling.
Lu Chen smacked his lips. “It feels like… I’m a very good and very great person!”
Sun Yourong chuckled at that.
As their car passed an intersection and entered a small forest path,
In the shadows of an inconspicuous corner, a black sedan silently started up, turned onto a faster small road, and chased after them without a sound…
