Chapter Sixty-One: The Truth

In his subconscious, Lu Tianlin had already accepted that Lu Han had died three months ago; there was no longer a person named Lu Han. That was why, when he first heard Lu Han speak just now, although the voice sounded familiar, he hadn’t seriously considered that it could really be Lu Han.

From the very start of the Lu family’s clan assembly, Lu Tianlin had firmly believed that after today, the position of family head would be his, as long as Lu Tianhong willingly handed over the Xuanjin Blade.

For generations, the heads of the Lu family had always handed over the Xuanjin Blade of their own accord when stepping down. Possession of the Xuanjin Blade was recognized by the whole clan; if it was not passed on willingly by the previous head, no disciple of the Lu family would acknowledge the new leader.

Even when Lie Zhong just now supported Lu Tianhong and the vote ended in a tie, Lu Tianlin was still confident he would become the Lu family head. Yet, the moment Lu Han called out “Uncle,” a flicker of panic flashed in Lu Tianlin’s eyes.

“He’s actually not dead! How is that possible? The person who reported back said the blade pierced his heart, and he was pushed off the cliff!” Lu Tianlin raged inwardly.

In truth, what happened in the Cold Abyss Forest was extremely dangerous. The blade nearly pierced Lu Han’s heart—fortunately, it was off by a little. Otherwise, not even Old Man Ling could have saved him.

Now, all the disciples gathered in the plaza turned to look; though many spent much time elsewhere, they returned occasionally and heard, through word of mouth, that Lu Han had fallen into the Cold Abyss Forest three months ago. None had expected to see him alive before them now.

Amid the crowd, three faces changed dramatically—Lu Ran, and the two who had colluded with the Lu Ran father and son back then: Lu Kun and Lu Cheng.

Lu Tianhong merely smiled faintly at the sight of Lu Han, his expression unchanged. After all, he had learned of Lu Han’s survival two days prior.

The most obvious reaction came from Lu Tianbei, who almost stepped forward to question Lu Han, but was held back by the head of the Task Hall, Lu Hongying.

When Lu Tianbei first heard of Lu Han’s accident, he drank himself into gloom for some time.

“Uncle Ying, you—”

“Little Bei, it’s not so simple. You weren’t home at the time, and this can’t be explained in a few words. Now that Han has returned, let’s see what he has to say.”

Lu Tianlin began to feel nervous under Lu Han’s gaze.

Lu Han gave a cold snort, loosened his robe, and stepped forward to face the Lu family disciples.

“I think everyone knows that I fell from a cliff in the Cold Abyss Forest three months ago. But as for how I fell—well, the outskirts of the Cold Abyss Forest are cold, but hardly dangerous. Even an ordinary person would rarely meet with harm there. No matter how useless I am, I had at least passed the Dragon Gate trial—I’d hardly be less capable than a commoner, would I?”

When Lu Tianhong returned then, he had only said Lu Han fell into the abyss, mentioning no signs of fighting or torn clothing by the cliff.

“That’s right…”

“I was there that day…”

Murmurs rose from the crowd.

“That day in the Cold Abyss Forest, I was attacked by a masked man in black. I was no match for him and was stabbed, then thrown off the cliff. It was only by luck that the blade missed my heart—otherwise, I would not have survived.”

As Lu Han spoke, his voice grew colder. He glanced at his uncle, Lu Tianlin.

“That day…”

Now things were different. The poison from Lie Xiong had already been purged—even if the truth came out, there would be no trouble. Lu Han recounted everything: his breakthrough, the mission, the Cold Abyss Forest, the masked man, the fall from the cliff.

…

When Lu Han repeated what the masked man had said, all the Lu family disciples’ eyes widened in shock.

If what Lu Han said was true, the danger lay beyond anticipation.

“Lu Han, don’t make baseless accusations. That day, I was only at the training grounds demonstrating some martial moves for you. You were the one who suddenly wanted to break through. There were plenty of witnesses,” Lu Ran protested as the crowd began to point and gossip.

“Cousin Lu Ran, if I hadn’t discovered the properties of the Scented Flower by chance, I might have believed your story,” Lu Han replied.

When Lu Han mentioned the Scented Flower, both Lu Tianlin and the city lord Wen Hao’s faces changed.

Seeing the crowd’s confusion, Lu Han explained, “Few of you will have heard of the Scented Flower. It’s not a medicinal herb, but it has a unique effect: its fragrance can help those at the peak of the Fifth Level of Postnatal Qi to sense inner energy more quickly and break through to the Sixth Level.”

“What an extraordinary flower! If I’d had one, I would have saved so much time!”

“But wait—the Scented Flower helps breakthroughs, so Young Master Lu Ran was helping Young Master Lu Han, wasn’t he?”

Lu Han continued, “That’s the issue. For a breakthrough, only one Scented Flower should be used at a time. Using more leads to chaotic inner energy and failure.”

Then Lu Tianbei suddenly spoke up, “I know a bit about the Scented Flower myself. It’s as Han said. The flower is very hard to cultivate and extremely expensive. Even for the Lu family, three or more would be a considerable expense. Only the most prominent families can afford them. Han, are you certain?”

Lu Tianlin, well-traveled and knowledgeable, had also heard of the Scented Flower.

“Yes, Scented Flowers are costly. That’s why I guessed you wouldn’t throw them away, Uncle. I’ve already asked my friends to fetch them from your estate. Look—they’re here.”

Lu Han gestured to Chen Jun and his two companions, each carrying a pot of white flowers.

As they approached, Lu Han asked, “Third Uncle, with your experience, you should recognize the Scented Flower.”

In fact, Lu Tianbei had recognized them as Scented Flowers the moment Chen Jun and the others approached.

Though Lu Tianbei said nothing, his expression told everyone Lu Han spoke the truth.

“Uncle, you’re quite calculating. I suppose someone else told you about the Scented Flower—my own father didn’t know of it,” Lu Han remarked with lingering dread. “If I hadn’t managed to break through by sheer luck, I’d be a cripple by now.”

“Lu Kun, Lu Cheng—will you confess yourselves, or must I make you? You must have heard of my methods,” Lu Tianbei said coldly.

According to Lu Han’s account, the task with the Purple Spirit Flower had been overheard during Lu Kun and Lu Cheng’s conversation.

It had all been a trap for Lu Han, impossible to guard against.

Lu Kun and Lu Cheng trembled with fear and fell to their knees. “Third Master, it was Eldest Master who forced us to do it. We had no choice!” They looked fearfully at Lu Tianbei.

“You…you…” Lu Ran stammered.

Lu Kun and Lu Cheng confessed everything.

“Ran’er, these useless fools were frightened into spilling everything—why bother with such trash?” Lu Tianbei said indifferently.

“That’s right, I did it all. So what?” Lu Tianlin stepped forward, sweeping his gaze over the assembly before fixing his eyes on Lu Han. “Little bastard, my only regret is not killing you sooner.”

Then he laughed, “But it doesn’t matter. Do you think your return changes anything? So what if you know it was me? Nothing will change!”

“Elder Brother, you…” Lu Tianbei tried to intercede, then thought better of it and fell silent.

“That position of family head should have been mine sixteen years ago! Mine! Why did that old fool pass it to you?” Lu Tianlin glared at Lu Tianhong, his face contorted with rage.