CH 82

Mo Yan and Lu Junming just passed by on horseback and heard Zhong Cheng’s cries for help. He rushed over and yelled, “What are you doing? Do you want to go to jail?”

Zhong Cheng heard it was Lu Junming and yelled, “Lu Junming, save me!”

Lu Junming got off his horse and told Mo Yan to flee if there was trouble. Then, he grabbed the whip off his horse and rushed over.

The people saw his intimidating figure and stopped. However, the first person to beat Zhong Cheng up said, “It’s just a youngster, we’ll just beat him up too.”

He ran over and swiftly beat up a few of them using just a few moves. After seeing that, the rest no longer rushed over to fight him. Zhong Cheng could finally get a reprieve and grabbed the reins of his horse. His face had been severely bruised.

The first aggressor’s eyes widened, and he said after spitting out a mouthful of phlegm, “Who are you?”

“I’m from the General’s Mansion,” Lu Junming replied coldly.

“The General’s Mansion…that controls the Upper Valley?”

He nodded, and the thugs slowly backed away. Seeing that he had no intention to chase after them, they turned tail and fled.

Mo Yan couldn’t ride a horse and sat there frozen, “Brother Cheng, how are you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Lu Junming got back on his horse, and Zhong Cheng drove his carriage back to the main road.

“Why did they beat you up?” Mo Yan asked.

Lu Junming replied, “They probably also ran a caravan, and Zhong Cheng was taking away some of their business.”

Zhong Cheng said in his carriage, “The people in this city are really unreasonable!”

After settling in at the inn, Lu Junming gave him the list of wares that he had to get the next day.

When the others saw his bloody and bruised face, they were all indignant and one person even wanted to get revenge. However, he was stopped by Zhong Cheng. “This isn’t our hometown! If something happens to you, what do I tell your family?”

Lu Junming said, “Don’t worry about getting more business, I can help you with that.”

This inn was by the edge of the town, and the people who lived here were mostly working-class people. Everyone thought he would dislike it, but instead, he said, “I’ll stay here for the night. If someone asks for me in the middle of the night, tell them that you’ve never seen me before in your life.”

They didn’t understand, “Did you commit a crime?”

Mo Yan laughed, “No, he’s afraid that his dad will come over and give him a beating.”

Lu Junming just used the General’s Mansion then, and it might reach his father’s ears. Also, he couldn’t fully trust Chi Jie to keep his mouth shut.

Anyways, he wanted to return to Qianshui City as soon as possible.

After an uneventful night, he woke Mo Yan up early in the morning to return home, while Zhong Cheng was collecting the goods.

She gave Zhong Cheng a package, “Brother Cheng, give this to my sister, and say that you were the one who bought it.”

He pointed at his bruised face, “It’s fine, you should give it to her! It’s best if I avoid your family for a few days.”

“Then I’ll say that you bought it!”

“There’s no need, it’ll be hard for both of us to collaborate our stories seamlessly. I’ll buy something for her.”

Lu Junming hoisted Mo Yan onto his horse, “You don’t need to worry about other’s business so much. Worry about me instead!”

“What do I need to worry about?”

“If I get caught by my dad today, I might never go back.”

“Will he try to catch you at the city gates?”

“There’s a possibility, the city guards are all his men!”

“Then do you need a disguise?”

“They recognise my horse.”

“Then they’d have recognised us when we entered the city!”

Lu Junming looked at the sky wordlessly, internally chiding his lack of forethought.

When they were approaching the city gates, he intentionally slowed to see if there was anything out of the ordinary, and tried to rush past after. But when they were just about to cross the city perimeter, they were stopped by a city guard, “Young general, please wait.”

He sighed exaggeratedly, “Just pretend you never saw me and let me pass.”

A sonorous voice came from beside them, “Soldiers must obey duties. If you were a spy from an enemy nation, what would happen if they let you pass?”

Mo Yan looked towards the voice, and a robed general sat on top of a raven black horse. He was tall and strong, with a square face and slightly tanned skin. He went helmetless and wore a sword by his side. This must be Lu Junming’s father Lu Hong.

Lu Junming cocked his head to the side, “If I was a spy, you would be a traitor, and we’d be executed together.”

Lu Hong wasn’t mad. “Good! Get off your horse, and let’s go.”

“I’m not following you!”

If the city guard hadn’t been holding onto his horse’s reins, Lu Junming would’ve long since bolted, and because Mo Yan was on his horse, he could only say resignedly, “I told you I’m not taking the imperial examination and becoming an official!”

Lu Hong chuckled, “You can’t become an official just by thinking about it.”

“I’m not becoming one anyways.”

“What about your mother?”

“She’s not of the Lu family, it’s none of your business!”

“You bastard, don’t use the surname of Lu then. I heard you used the name of the General’s Mansion in a fight yesterday.”

“I’m just following the surname of my grandpa, not your surname.”

The conversation between the two was highly comical. Not only couldn’t Mo Yan help but laugh, the city guard couldn’t help but laugh either.

Lu Hong said, “Can’t you come down and speak civilly, you’re scaring the young lady.”

“No. If you have anything else to say, say it, otherwise, I’m going. If anyone tries to stop me, don’t blame me for being impolite.”

Lu Hong raised his voice, “You dare?”

After saying that, he threw a silver spear on his saddle to Lu Junming, “Catch.”

Mo Yan was so terrified she closed her eyes, but he just caught the spear. Lu Hong said, “I don’t care if you take the imperial examination, as long as your martial arts don’t languish. I’m still counting on you to pass on my spear art.”

So he had just come to give Lu Junming a spear. This was the weapon he had talked about. [1]

Lu Junming thrust forwards with the spear, scaring the city guard and making him lose his grip on the reins. “Pops, I’m going back to help you do your filial duty, take good care of the city.” After saying that, he rode out of the city.

Lu Hong opened his hand, and Lu Junming’s jade was in it. He carefully pocketed it before returning to the city.

Although he looked imposing, he wasn’t a bad person judging from his conversation with his son.

“Your dad’s not bad!” Mo Yan said.

“He’s alright!”

Even Lu Junming thought he was an alright father. Ultimately, the issue lay with his mother, but it wasn’t her fault either. They could only blame the heavens.

The road back was short, and when it was about to turn dark, Lu Junming asked if Mo Yan wanted to set up camp. She asked, “How far do we have left?”

“Say twenty-five kilometres or so!”

“That’s not too far. Let’s hurry home, so we don’t have to stay on the road for another day.”

Post-translation notes: So…did Lu Hong get hold of the jade Lu Junming sold?

[1] Damn, that conversation was so many chappies ago.