"Master Lu of the Four Rivers Gang? What do you want with him?" The manâs small eyes revealed a look of surprise.
Bai Pu increased the force in his fingers, and the man immediately began to breathe heavily, his eyes rolling back as he struggled to say, "Spare... spare my life..."
Bai Pu slightly loosened his grip.
The man finally became obedient, no longer daring to ask questions, and led the way honestly.
Before long, Bai Pu arrived in front of a rather grand mansion, with the words "Lu Mansion" inscribed above. He waved the man away and stepped forward to ask at the gate:
"Is this Lu Chuanâs home?"
The gatekeeper glanced at Bai Pu with disdain, clearly unimpressed with Bai Puâs ordinary medical officer attire (changed in the Wounded Soldier Camp), and retorted, "Who are you to dare speak my masterâs name so casually!"
Bai Pu smiled and said, "My name is Lu Pu, the twenty-second generation descendant of the Wu County Lu Clan. If Iâm not mistaken, Lu Chuan is a generation younger than me, so why shouldnât I call him by his name?"
"You... wait a moment!" The gatekeeper, now somewhat intimidated, turned around to report. Shortly after, someone came to lead Bai Pu into the courtyard.
Lu Chuan was a thin elder, with graying beard and hair, aged around fifty or sixty. He wore a scholarâs robe and a Confucian cap, looking more like a well-read scholar than a gang leader.
Upon seeing Bai Pu, Lu Chuan quickly asked, "Among the Wu County Lu Clan, there are many descendants, but Iâve never heard of someone named Lu Pu. May I ask, young friend, which branch are you from?"
Bai Pu cupped his hands and said, "My ancestor Lu Qing left the family for certain reasons. Hence, my name never entered the family registry, and itâs no surprise that Master Lu didnât recognize it."
Lu Chuanâs eyes flashed with a sharp insight (literally), followed by a prompt from the Spirit Realm Will that Bai Pu received:
"[Four Rivers Gang Leader Lu Chuan used the ability: Observing Facial Expressions and Reading Moods on you. Determining the truth of the information... Determination passed.]"
Lu Chuanâs expression noticeably softened, and he said congenially, "Indeed, I seem to recall that there was a grand-uncle named Lu Qing who left early. What the young friend says is true... well, I should call you little uncle instead."
Observing Facial Expressions and Reading Moods is one of the Confucian Scholar abilities of the Three Kingdoms Plane, which can discern the truth or falsehood of what someone says by observing their spirit and complexion.
Fortunately, Bai Pu was genuinely a distant descendant of the Lu Clan, which allowed him to pass the truth determination. Otherwise, with his Spirit Attribute, there was no way he could have deceived Lu Chuan, the scholar.
Although Bai Pu didnât dare to presumptuously accept Lu Chuanâs courteous address, he cupped his hands and said, "As a young man, I donât dare accept the honorifics from Master Lu. You may simply address me by my courtesy name, Bo Yue."
Lu Chuan also didnât wish to call a young man âuncleâ, especially as they werenât directly related uncle and nephew, and many generations apart, outside the exogamous kinship! Seeing Bai Puâs understanding, he couldnât help but feel a sense of goodwill and smiled approvingly, "In that case, forgive my forwardness... Bo Yue, seeing your military physician attire, you must be undergoing training with the army! May I ask what brings you here?"
Bai Pu replied, "I heard that there are Daoist sages skilled in alchemy at Huilong Temple in Chaisang City. However, searching through all the pharmacies in the city, no one knew of them, so I wanted to ask Master Lu for some information about the location of Huilong Temple."
"Huilong Temple?" Lu Chuanâs eyes flashed with insight again (this time not literally), pondering something but did not speak further.
"Could it be that Master Lu knows?" Bai Pu thought to himself.
Lu Chuan laughed it off, changing the subject.
Bai Pu was well aware that Lu Chuan surely had some intelligence about Huilong Temple, but since their goodwill wasnât strong enough, he wouldnât speak. Doctor Liuâs reaction corroborated this as well.
Building goodwill was originally Bai Puâs forte. Unfortunately, when facing Lu Chuan, an old man, the charm value brought by high looks inevitably took a hit.
Bai Pu didnât want to slowly accumulate goodwill and directly said, "Master Lu, I heard there are some disputes between the Four Rivers Gang and the Wild Wolf Gang, as well as the Red Lotus Society?"
Perhaps because Bai Pu was a descendant of the Lu Clan and considered one of their own, Lu Chuan didnât hide it, nodding and saying:
"Actually, the disputes with the Wild Wolf Gang are minor. They deal in shady businesses that we donât care for, so thereâs no need for conflict. The real conflict is with the Red Lotus Society.
"Our Four Rivers Gang primarily deals in brewing, along with trading gold, silver ornaments, and cloth, while the Red Lotus Society mainly deals in grains. Originally, there were not only no conflicts, but also cooperation, since brewing requires grains!
"But in recent months, the Red Lotus Society started their own brewery, and they refuse to sell grains at a fair price to us. Worse still, theyâve sent thugs to raid our Four Rivers Gangâs shops. Itâs outrageous! In the past two months, our gangs have fought three times, without a decisive outcome yet."
Bai Pu casually said, "Give me a list of the key members of the Red Lotus Society, as detailed as possible."
"Oh? Bo Yue, are you suggesting..."
"Now that I wish to return to the Lu Clan, I must support where I can, of course," Bai Pu said. "Master Lu, rest assured that although I may appear as a mere physician, I am more than slightly skilled in the arts of combat and enemy confrontation."
Lu Chuan gave Bai Pu a meaningful look and smiled, "Bo Yue, thereâs no such thing as a free lunch. Youâre so eager to help me, it must be for information about Huilong Temple, right!"
Seeing Bai Pu nod, Lu Chuan stroked his beard and said, "Very well, Iâll send someone to investigate Huilong Temple. Once thereâs news, Iâll inform Bo Yue, how about that?"
Bai Pu agreed, but Lu Chuanâs earlier statement couldnât be taken at face value. The so-called investigation of Huilong Temple was merely a pretense, as the actual intelligence about Huilong Temple was probably in Lu Chuanâs head!
Whether Lu Chuan would be willing to disclose it, and the level of detail of the intel, were surely correlated with Bai Puâs efficiency in completing the task.
If Bai Pu could dismantle the Red Lotus Societyâs lair or eliminate key members with influence, Lu Chuan would likely provide detailed intelligence.
However, if Bai Pu stumbled and failed to weaken the Red Lotus Society at its core, Lu Chuan might dismiss him with "no results from the investigation."
Afterward, Lu Chuan took out a jade token and handed it to Bai Pu, saying, "Bo Yue, now that youâve returned to the Lu Clan, please accept this Identity Jade Token."
Bai Pu took the token, and the Spirit Realm Will sent a prompt:
"[You have acquired a special item: Identity Jade Token of the Wu County Lu Clan.]"
"[Identity Jade Token of the Wu County Lu Clan: Store it in the Storage Space for extra benefits: increases your Life Value by +10 and Spirit by +1]"
"[Tip 1: The bonus effect of the Identity Jade Token is related to your reputation in the Wu County Lu Clan; higher reputation yields stronger effects. Your current Reputation Value is: Neutral.]"
"[Tip 2: The bonus effect of the Identity Jade Token does not stack with other similar items.]"
Great item!
Glancing at it, Bai Pu immediately confirmed it was a great item, as one particular feature stood out: it doesnât take up an equipment slot and works just by being placed in the Storage Space, making it top grade.
Not to mention it can be upgraded based on reputation with the Wu County Lu Clan!
This was also why Bai Pu chose the "Famous Family" prefix without hesitation and joined Sun Quanâs Army faction!
Because this would make the Spirit Realm Will generate Bai Puâs initial identity with a high likelihood of a renowned clan origin from the East of the River, maximizing the "Famous Family" effect.
At the moment of receiving the Identity Jade Token, the Spirit Realm Will sent another prompt.
"[Your current score converts to 25 points, qualifying you to appear on the leaderboard of Mirror Scene No. 1. Please choose a codename, or your real name will be used for the leaderboard entry.]"
Bai Pu filled in the name "Gangxin" and then closed the leaderboard. He wasnât too concerned about it, only occasionally checking it to analyze what other top-ranked Awakened might be doing.