Chapter Four: Hidden Truths

At the entrance of the Lie family's grand estate, a young boy and girl stood together.

"Brother Lu Han, I'm heading back now. Remember what I said—don't let anyone else know," Lie Ruge waved to Lu Han.

She then entered the Lie family's mansion.

Lu Han waved back, watching her go inside before turning to leave.

Meanwhile, at the Lu residence, in Lu Tianlin's home—

"Father, just as you predicted, Lie Ruge came to find Lu Han, and she told him about his father's situation. Father, how did you know the Lie family patriarch, Lie Xiong, was poisoned and unconscious?" As Lu Ran spoke of Lie Ruge, his eyes burned with excitement, but when he mentioned Lie Xiong, confusion clouded his expression.

"As your father, I naturally know. Heh... That girl came to find Lu Han today, and today is an auspicious day—truly, the heavens are helping me!" Lu Tianlin's smile was somewhat chilling.

"But... Father, since you knew, why didn't you tell the Li family? Then our Lu family could profit without lifting a finger," Lu Ran asked in puzzlement.

"Hmph, it's for the two of us to reap the rewards, not the Lie family! Do you think the Li family doesn't know? Enough questions. Have you remembered what I taught you?" Lu Tianlin replied with a cold snort.

"I have, but about the patriarch..." Lu Ran looked worried.

"I'll handle that myself," Lu Tianlin gestured for him to leave.

A short while later—

"Uncle Ying, the Li family has delivered the Spirit-Nurturing Pearl to the Treasure Pavilion, correct?" Lu Tianlin asked calmly.

"Yes, master," came another voice from the otherwise empty room.

Bang, bang...

"Brother, are you there?" Lu Tianhong's voice sounded outside the door.

"It's you, brother—come in," Lu Tianhong replied.

"Brother, today is the third day of the sixth month—the Treasure Pavilion's auction," Lu Tianlin said, sitting down and sipping a cup of tea.

"Brother, you're talking about that? Steward Lu Chong has already gone over. He knows what should and shouldn't be auctioned," Lu Tianhong said confidently.

"Brother, there's something you don't know. Today, there's an item you must compete for yourself. It's useful to you," Lu Tianlin said with a smile.

"Oh? What is it, and how is it useful to me?" Lu Tianhong was surprised.

"I just received insider information—there's an item called the Spirit-Nurturing Pearl," Lu Tianlin said.

"What? Brother, are you sure? I've asked the Pavilion's master, Qian Santong, to look for it for ages. The Spirit-Nurturing Pearl isn't a cultivation treasure, but it's extremely rare. It only grows on the Spirit-Nurturing Tree deep in the Monster Beast Mountains. Because it's useless for cultivation, few people bother to bring it out," Lu Tianhong's eyes gleamed; this pearl was something he greatly needed.

"Brother, I've come especially to tell you. The Pavilion's auctions aren't managed by Qian Santong—every auction is supervised by officials from the imperial capital. I advise you to go yourself. I'll take my leave now," Lu Tianlin said, turning to leave for the study.

Lu Tianhong paced in the study, hands clasped behind his back, pondering... Brother, what are you really planning? Isn't it your greatest wish that I fail to win the auction? Yet you came to inform me. Though I don't know your intentions, I am determined to get that Spirit-Nurturing Pearl. "Fubo, prepare the horses. I'll fetch my wife."

At the same time, within the Lie family's mansion—

"Greetings, Miss," the two guards at the door greeted in unison.

"Hey... Didn't I tell you not to greet me? Shh..." Lie Ruge whispered.

She tiptoed into the side room.

"Where are you going, little girl?" a gruff, aged voice sounded behind her. She turned to see an old man in a gray robe, hair and beard as white as snow, but eyes sharp as a tiger's. Lie Ruge felt slightly uneasy under his gaze.

"Grandfather, I... I just went to look at the gate and came right back," Lie Ruge replied, her expression awkward, glancing away.

The old man sighed—well, today he would talk to her.

"Little girl, come here. I have something to tell you," he said, hands clasped behind his back as he walked toward the inner courtyard, with Lie Ruge following closely.

What's there to talk about, really? Just because I went out for a bit, he'll lecture me endlessly again. Hmph, someday I'll pluck every one of those annoying whiskers off him, she thought fiercely.

Squeak...

The old man pushed open a door. The inner courtyard was modest—about fifty square meters. Clusters of bamboo lined the sides, and at the back was the elder's bedroom. In the center stood a stone table with four stone stools. The old man sat at the table.

"Sit down, little girl. Let me tell you..." he began.

It turned out the Lie family was a prominent clan; the old ancestor had been exiled here by the family for some transgression.

Three hundred years ago, the Lie family patriarch brought his household from a faraway land to Maple Leaf City and settled here. At first, the two major clans disallowed the rise of a third, and even squeezed the Lie family, with the City Lord's mansion sometimes intervening. Later, the Lie patriarch visited both the City Lord and the Lu and Li families, and the oppression ceased.

"I am the old patriarch's grandson, born in Maple Leaf City. When I was born, the old patriarch had just passed away, so I don't know what kind of family we came from—only what my father told me. Our original clan was powerful," the old man murmured.

Due to their ancestor's exile, the clan placed a bloodline restriction on him, so no descendant could ever surpass the ninth level of innate cultivation—the utmost limit for the Lie family.

After the Lu, Li, and City Lord's mansion learned of this, they no longer suppressed the Lie family, knowing that without a Xuan Sovereign, the Lie family posed no threat.

"I lied to you before, saying the lotus petal on your arm was a birthmark. In truth, it's not. We all have it. You’ll learn more in a few years, but I'm telling you early," the old man said, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a lotus petal-shaped mark on his left arm.

"Grandfather, the Li family has been so hostile to us for years. If things get ugly, and we have no Xuan Sovereign, aren't we doomed?" Lie Ruge asked in a clear voice.

"Hmph, lost we may be, but they dare not act. Though we lack a Xuan Sovereign, our bloodline lets us reach the innate realm far more easily than they can. We have twice as many innate experts as they do. If a real battle breaks out, and they lose all but one Xuan Sovereign, what kind of family would they be then? So they dare not," the old man snorted.

Lie Ruge tilted her head, thinking it over.

Grandfather had seven sons and not a single daughter. She also knew her uncles, even the weakest, were at the fifth level of innate cultivation, along with her grandfather and two elders. The Lie family indeed had far more innate experts than the Li family.

The Li family, as far as she knew, had only three.

"This time, I kept you from going out for a reason. Your father and six uncles are all at the first level of innate cultivation. I suspect the Li family fears our growing number of innate experts, so your father was poisoned. The Li family is the prime suspect, though the City Lord's mansion can't be ruled out. If it's the City Lord, things get tricky. I'm not worried about you leaking news—I'm worried you might be in danger," the old man said earnestly.

"Grandfather, the Lu family will surely help us, and Brother Lu Han will come too. Hehe..." Lie Ruge clung to his arm, smiling sweetly at the mention of Lu Han.

He looked at her and shook his head, smiling.

"Your six uncles have gone to nearby cities searching for news of antidote pills, so they won't return soon. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to your father. Stay home for now. Stop thinking about meeting your little boyfriend—all in good time, after this is over," the old man teased.

"Hmph, grumpy grandfather! He's not a boyfriend! I'm not talking to you. I'm going to check on Father," the girl blushed, then ran from the courtyard.

"Xionger, I won't let anything happen to you. Even if..." the old man muttered, clenching his fists as he watched Lie Ruge leave.

Suddenly, a fierce wind whipped through the courtyard, bending the bamboo at both sides, a leaf slapping the old man's face. He smoothed his hair and turned to enter the bedroom.

He was the previous Lie family patriarch, known as the Fire Lion, Lie Chong.

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