Chapter 426 - Endless Void

"Lu… Jin?"

The name tasted bitter in Old Lu's tongue.

It had been a long time since he heard this name directly from someone, and also first time he uttered it after he casted his eldest grandson out of the family.

His breathing became heavier as he remembered the past, but he quickly recovered his emotions and glanced worriedly at his youngest grandson.

Lu Yin Ze sat quietly beside him, his long dark silver lashes casting a shadow on his cheeks.

"Little Yin…"

The silver haired young man stirred, looked up at Old Lu, and smiled gently.

"I'm fine grandfather. Please continue, Mistress Tang. Did you talk to my… did you talk to him?"

"Yes, I did. In fact, he already notified me a week prior to Tang Yin's banquet that he would be attending," Mistress Tang explained.

"Of course, I did not ask for the reason as to why he came. Since he was still surnamed Lu, I welcomed him with open arms."

Old Lu was silent.

He thought of possibilities why his eldest grandson attended a banquet actively out of the blue.

Based on his understanding of his own grandson, Lu Jin would only do something if it benefited him. However, Lu Jin doesn't have any deeper connections to the Tang. Maybe, he met an important guest there?

In any case, there was definitely a reason why he suddenly went there. So what was it for? Was he planning on competing with Little Yin for the inheritance?

Old Lu could not help but ask, "So what did he do there? What did he ask of you? Did he tell you something?"

Lu Yin Ze's eyes fell on Mistress Tang. He was silent, but he his back was tensed as he waited for Mistress Tang's answer.

The old woman shrugged. "Nothing."

The two Lu's: "...."

"I'm sorry?" Old Lu asked again.

"He did not ask anything. We only talked of casual things, random things. Basically, it was nothing."

Old Lu frowned. "Nonsense. He would not go there unless he has something he needed to do. "

Mistress Tang nodded. "That's right. I am confused as well. He did not even bother to come to my granddaughter with a simple congratulatory greeting. And I watched the whole coverage of the banquet in every corner after that day. Lu Jin did not meet anyone or talk to anyone in the banquet."

Lu Yin Ze was silent, but he was also confused.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. There was one time when he did. He crossed paths with Old Xiong's granddaughter when they were about to leave in the parking lot." Mistress Tang was suddenly reminded by the scene she had seen in the parking lot footage.

Lu Yin Ze froze.

'It can't be...'

"What did he do to Xiong Zhi?"

His usual polite voice turned worried, as if faintly panicked.

The people noticed his tone, they looked at him confusedly.

"Well, nothing seemed to have happened," Mistress Tang answered a bit hesitantly.

The elderly lady saw Lu Yin Ze's worried and doubtful expression so she added some details.

"They just talked. The footage does not record the audio, so I couldn't hear them. But they didn't even shake hands, they just talked for a bit. Besides, Young Miss Xiong Zhi had her butler with her at that time. I believe her butler would have made sure that Young Miss Xiong Zhi is well-protected. He is quite capable."

"..."

Lu Yin Ze fell silent and looked down, a sudden bitter sensation filling his heart.

There was pricking pain on his chest as he was reminded again of the couple's relationship. His long lashes swept down and covered the emotions in his eyes.

Right, Linfeng was there, so there was no reason for him to worry…

Tang Yin's large cat-like eyes observed him quietly.

"I believe Lu Jin attending the banquet is a mystery even for you, Old Lu. We don't know if your eldest grandson is planning to fight back for the inheritance of the heir position. So I investigated a bit more through different channels. I even used my black card."

If she did not owe the Lu family, she definitely would not have used such a good bargaining chip.

Old Lu's eyes flashed with the mention of 'black card'.

(A/n: 'Black card' of EMA - an underground martial arts organization where the Tang family has great connections too, refer chapter 119. If you remember Xiong Zhi and Lu Yin Ze's birthday, they both had given the simplest card, 'red card'. With a 'black card', one could mobilize the whole organization for a certain task. Even the wealthiest could not have a black card. It is a power that only belonged to the head of Tang family- Mistress Tang and other head founders of the organization)

Old Lu knew the power of the black card.

It was possibly one of the most high-end human resource in the entire world. It was the best place to hire an international spy, an assassin, a guard, or any profession that generally involved high risks.

"So what did you find out?"

Mistress Tang glanced at Lu Yin Ze then to Old Lu.

"Ming Zhi Yi is back."

The air stilled, as if stagnant.

Lu Yin Ze and Old Lu both froze.

But Old Lu was faster in recovering himself.

He snorted. "So what? It's not like I care even if that bastard left that country."

"He came from far north. "

"..."

Old Lu fell silent.

The last time he met Ming Zhi Yi was when that devil asked for Lu Yin Ze's guardian rights to be transferred to him.

At that time, Ming Zhi Yi had undoubtedly come from the south.

Yet now, he came back from the far northern countries?

Old Lu was a hegemon, so of course, he knew what Mistress Tang was about to say next.

The far north…

The surrounding temperatures seemed to have fallen to ground zero.

Mistress Tang continued somberly. "And he became a 'King'* there."

"...."

(A/n: King- of the underground.)

***

The sun was already down in the horizon when the serious discussion of the family heads, Old Lu and Mistress Tang, finally took a brief break.

Outside, the stars had already appeared in the dark purple sky, with only a fleeting orange watercolor cast on the clouds low on the horizon.

"Oh, pardon me, ladies. We old people talked too much. We must have bored you out."

Old Lu's tone had become much friendlier to the Tang family compared to earlier. After all, they had brought him important news.

"Not at all, Master Lu. This discussion is important to us as well. We've learned a lot by simply listening," Tang Xinyang respectfully said.

This banquet incident was a big wake-up call to her. She wanted to learn more about social politics in order to avoid such troubles in the future.

"There's no need to worry about us. Our Tang family has nothing but energy. Even if we talked all night, we can definitely manage," Tang Yin added.

"Oh, that's a great relief. Still, it must've been tiring for youths like you. Why don't you young people take a stroll in our garden? We have quite a big garden. My wife and my daughter used to love flowers so much, so I've made sure to take care of the garden in their memory. It's too bad that the Lu family only has rough men. There are no ladies here who could appreciate them."

"Oh…" The two sisters looked at each other and then at Mistress Tang. Mistress Tang nodded.

It seemed like there was still some matters that the two elderly needed to talk about that the young ones should not hear.

"Alright." The two nodded and excused themselves.

"Little Yin, the ladies are not familiar with the mansion. I leave them to your care."

Lu Yin Ze who was quiet ever since the mention of his father nodded and stood up as well.

"Let me escort you, young ladies. This is the way to the garden."

He walked ahead of them, maintaining a gentlemanly bearing. His face was composed and his pace was smooth. Yet somehow, when the two young misses from the Tang family looked at his slender back, they could feel a sense of detachment and emptiness emanating from him.

A boundless darkness that could only be described in two words—an endless void.