Chapter 140 The Lantern Festival is Coming

After having lunch, the clinic had no patients for a while. Lu Zheng lay lazily in a chair, almost dozing off, when he was suddenly jolted awake by Hu Zhou’s shouting.

"Master! Master!"

Lu Zheng replied grumpily, "I’m only twenty-three, my ears aren’t deaf yet!"

Ever since Lu Zheng saw that Hu Zhou was filial and had turned over a new leaf, and realized he had extraordinary talent, he began teaching him martial arts, after which Hu Zhou started calling him Master.

Although Lu Zheng expressed that he didn’t intend to take on a disciple, Hu Zhou never stopped calling him that. If Lu Zheng spoke harshly, this half-grown kid would act like he was about to cry, so Lu Zheng had no choice but to pinch his nose and accept him as a disciple.

"Master! Master!"

Hu Zhou ran into the clinic, looking excited.

"I tell you, I... huh?" Lu Zheng sat up and suddenly raised an eyebrow. "You’ve cultivated Martial Dao Blood Qi?"

"Mm-hmm, yes!" Hu Zhou nodded repeatedly, then struck a pose, and the freshly cultivated Martial Dao Blood Qi surged out, galloping like the sea, as heavy as a mountain.

"Master, Sister Liu, I’ve cultivated Martial Dao Blood Qi!"

"Buzz!"

The Mind Jade Seal resonated, and thirteen strands of Light of Fortune were recorded.

Wow! I didn’t expect such an unexpected surprise!

"Impressive!" Lu Zheng gave a thumbs up, "You’re truly gifted with exceptional aptitude, a martial arts prodigy that appears only once in a millennia. The future peace of the Great Jing Dynasty will depend on you!"

Hu Zhou blushed furiously at Lu Zheng’s praise, and Liu Qingyan interrupted Lu Zheng’s rambling with a smile, "Cultivating Martial Dao Blood Qi is a great joy; call Sister and come to our house for dinner tonight."

"Sure, sure, sure!" Hu Zhou nodded again and again.

"Master—" Hu Zhou approached Lu Zheng again.

"What’s up?" Lu Zheng leaned back, not used to such a sincere and fawning expression from such a straightforward young man.

"Master, I want to learn the sword technique." Hu Zhou said with anticipation.

"Tiger Roar Saber?"

"Tiger Roar Saber!" Hu Zhou nodded eagerly.

"Alright." Lu Zheng agreed readily.

"Huh? You agreed?" Hu Zhou was both surprised and pleased.

"Why not? Since you’ve learned the ’Eighteen Mountain-Carrying Techniques,’ you can naturally learn the ’Tiger Roar Saber.’ Just don’t neglect your boxing skills."

"Of course, of course, I won’t, I won’t!"

Over these days, Lu Zheng often went drinking with Xin Zhanting at night and naturally learned the background of his ’Tiger Roar Saber.’ He didn’t prohibit Lu Zheng from passing it on to others.

And since Hu Zhou had innate divine power, straightforward character, he was also well-suited to practice saber techniques, Lu Zheng didn’t intend to begrudge sharing knowledge. Besides, Liu Qingyan had saved his mother, and now Hu Zhou was helping out in the clinic daily, so improving his combat ability was essentially increasing Liu Qingyan’s security level too.

...

Having planned to go to the Liu family to eat and play mahjong in the afternoon, Lu Zheng leisurely went home, and picked up a bottle of Wuliangye. After thinking about it, he went to the supermarket to buy two jin of pork knuckle and three jin of apples.

The pork knuckle was easy to explain, but as for how apples came about right after New Year... just say they were picked in the mountains. Why are there apples in the mountains? How should I know? Besides, as a cultivator, isn’t producing some fresh fruit quite reasonable?

...

In the evening, at the Liu house.

"Wow, there’s apples!" Liu Qingquan cheered, grabbing an apple for a bite, "Crunch!"

Liu Qingquan’s eyes gleamed, "So sweet!"

Lu Zheng handed a washed apple to Liu Qingyan, who received it with surprise, biting a small piece.

The modern cultivated Fuji apples were sweet and crisp, with abundant juice, rich in sugar, with a hint of tartness. Taste-wise, they completely outclassed Great Jing Dynasty apples.

Liu Qingyan was both surprised and delighted, "Lu Lang, where did you find these delicious apples? They’re better than any apples I’ve ever had!"

Lu Zheng raised an eyebrow with a grin, "Delicious, aren’t they?"

Liu Qingyan’s eyes sparkled like blooming flowers, "Delicious!"

"As long as they’re delicious." Lu Zheng laughed, "I found a rare variety in the mountains that bears fruit even in winter, so I’ll check it out every now and then. We might not lack fruit in the future."

"Really?" Liu Qingyan blinked and nodded, asking no more.

...

An entire winter passed, and the fresh, sweet apples couldn’t be resisted by anyone, so everyone ate one apple before sitting down for dinner.

"Congratulations, Sister, now that Hu Zhou has cultivated Blood Qi, life is bound to get better," Liu Qingyan said.

However, Madam Hu didn’t seem particularly pleased; instead, she looked at Hu Zhou with a very complex gaze, "I wish he could spend his life not leaving Tonglin County, just healthy and safe."

Hu Zhou, now understanding, was happy with his martial arts achievements but remained humble. Upon hearing his mother’s words, he nodded repeatedly, "I won’t go, I won’t go. I’ll just accompany mother and help at the clinic."

"Can you really help out for a lifetime? Aren’t you going to get married?" Elder Liu raised his chopsticks.

Hu Zhou pouted, "What’s the point of getting married? None of the guys in the neighborhood who got married are doing well."

Madam Liu, "..."

Madam Hu, "..."

Liu Qingyan, "..."

Young man, you’re on a narrow path!

Lu Zheng cheerfully gave Hu Zhou a piece of elbow meat with his chopsticks, as a reward for speaking the truth.

Of course, he himself would never say it.

Hu Zhou thanked Lu Zheng and ate the meat in one bite, "Master, this morning when I was working, I suddenly developed Martial Dao Blood Qi. I feel like I can carry in one morning as much as I did in three days before!"

Hu Zhou was naturally strong, and his morning’s work was already more than what others did in a day. Now he’s speeding up and becoming a bit of a monster.

Lu Zheng shook his head and said to Hu Zhou, "Tomorrow, when you go carrying the bags again, don’t show off your Martial Dao Blood Qi. Keep your speed at the usual pace, and don’t let people know you’ve achieved it in martial arts."

Hu Zhou looked puzzled, "Why?"

Madam Hu tapped Hu Zhou on the head, "Listen to your master, don’t ask so many whys!"

"Oh—" Hu Zhou shrunk his head a bit.

"A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind," Lu Zheng explained to Hu Zhou. "For instance, you were born with great strength, which made a bunch of loafers gather around calling you brother, mainly because they see you can fight and will stand up for them when trouble comes.

Think about it, just having a bit more strength makes people target you; if someone knows you’ve cultivated Martial Dao Blood Qi, it’s not just loafers that would come looking for you."

Hu Zhou’s eyes widened.

"So, if you want to venture out or join the military to earn a reputation, that’s fine. But if you wish to stay in the county and live peacefully with your mother, then don’t carelessly reveal your Martial Arts True Qi."

"Exactly, that’s the point!" Hu Zhou nodded continuously. He’s straightforward, not foolish.

"Don’t worry about money." Lu Zheng smiled, "Your master has money. When you’re ready to get married, I’ll cover the bride price for you."

Hu Zhou waved his hands repeatedly, and Lu Zheng thought he was trying to be modest and refuse. Who would have guessed Hu Zhou said, "I’m not getting married though!"

Alright, still a bit foolish.

...

"The tenth is behind us, in a few days it’ll be the Lantern Festival." Elder Liu shook his head and said, "Time flies quickly, another year."

Madam Liu nodded, looked around at all the people at the table, and just smiled, "This year is good! This year is good!"

Liu Qingyan’s jade-like face lit up but stayed silent, while Liu Qingquan simply clapped and laughed heartily, "Lantern Festival! Visit the temple fair!"

During the New Year Festival, everyone stays home to keep vigil and celebrate, and then begins visiting relatives after the first day. Mid-month, when the Lantern Festival arrives, is when the populace enters the new year’s work status.

On this day, Daoist temples, Buddhist temples, and the City God Temple conduct sacrificial and blessing ceremonies, making it the largest bustling market gathering of the year, even bigger than the Qixi Festival.

And on the night of the Lantern Festival, adults and children delight in watching the lanterns, practically making it the busiest night of the year.

"That sounds wonderful." Lu Zheng smiled at Liu Qingyan, "It’s been a tiring year, just right to take a day off on the Lantern Festival. Let’s visit the temple fair and enjoy the lanterns at night."

Liu Qingyan’s bright eyes glanced over, she smiled sweetly, "Sure."

...

After dinner, Madam Hu stayed at the Liu family to play mahjong with the Liu family members while Lu Zheng took Hu Zhou home, then grabbed two Brocade Spring Sabers to start teaching Hu Zhou the sword techniques.

After an hour, Hu Zhou and Madam Hu bade farewell and went home.

...

Weekend, Fulong Plaza, Old Qingyu Hot Pot.

Luo Yun vented his rage through his appetite, his chopsticks never stopped, he just kept eating, the others exchanged glances and accompanied him.

After a while, setting down the chopsticks, Luo Yun let out a long breath, "I’m good now!"

"Good that you’re over it, take a break and it’ll pass. You are not the only one who’s encountered such things, others have gotten through it." Huang Xiumin was as sharp-tongued as ever, "No need to act like it’s the end of the world, stop being so fragile."

And then Luo Yun choked on his drink.

Lin Wan patted Huang Xiumin and then advised, "Learn from experience. It’s a setback as well as a lesson; fortune can come out of misfortune. This loss isn’t too big, there are still plenty of days ahead."

Lu Zheng glanced at Huang Xiumin and gestured with his lips: Look, learn from this, that’s the correct way to console someone.

Huang Xiumin shot him a disdainful look: Lovey-dovey couple!

Seeing Luo Yun indeed gradually recover, Su Mengmeng couldn’t resist her curiosity, asking, "Well... were there other people tricked? Was it Luo Liang who deceived?"

"Not Luo Liang, but someone in his same business." Lin Wan shook her head.

"The one in the video?" Luo Yun asked.

Lin Wan’s video was quite popular for several days, both Luo Yun and Su Mengmeng watched it, and then their looks towards Lu Zheng turned curious.

Lu Zheng: Õ_Õ

Lin Wan nodded and roughly explained the situation.

"There are training institutions overseas?" Tong Muxuan was stunned.

"Yes, both for men and women." Huang Xiumin nodded, his lips curling, "Interested in learning?"

Tong Muxuan declared sternly, "No!"

Everyone laughed, the atmosphere finally became lively again.

...

After the meal meeting, Lu Zheng followed Lin Wan home, guided Lin Wan through martial arts practice, had her perform various poses for the entire day, and then returned to the Great Jing Dynasty to resume his idle, unproductive cultivation days.

Several days later, the Lantern Festival arrived...