novelinnhs Chapter 267 All the guests have arrived, the first bill is settled.
Chapter 267 All the guests have arrived, the first bill is settled.
"Shihua, why are you in such a hurry?"
In that brief pause, Wang Ai caught up, her chubby face beaming with a kind smile. "It's not easy for us to meet, you can't keep avoiding me."
"Pah, you shameless old man, who's avoiding you?"
"I misspoke, I misspoke."
Upon seeing Guan Shihua's glare, Wang Ai immediately apologized, even tugging at his cheek, "Shihua, almost a hundred years have passed. I have no other thoughts now, I'm just happy to see an acquaintance."
He loosened his fingers, and a slightly noticeable mark appeared on Wang Ai's cheek. He seemed unaware of it, and smiled easily while leaning on his cane.
"We're both at an age where we have a house full of children and grandchildren, so what's there to hold onto? Actually, you're just one thing on my mind now."
"Hmph, what a disgrace!"
Guan Shihua turned away with a look of disgust, but this time Wang Ai did not chase after her. Instead, she watched her back with a smile.
"Oh, seeing Shi Hua'er's nimble movements makes me feel much lighter."
"If you can't have what you want, why force it? Sometimes, the existence of regrets is not something to lament, because the existence of these imperfections makes things seem more real and perfect."
Wang Ai shook her head, her smile unwavering, then looked at Lü Qian with interest and asked somewhat mischievously, "Grandson, is there anything you longed for but couldn't have when you were young?"
"If you like her, go for it. I think Old Lu's great-granddaughter is quite nice. How about I put in a good word for you?"
At this moment, Wang Ai was like an elder who cared about the emotional life of the younger generation, with a burning gossip fire in her small eyes.
"Hmph, Wang the Skinflint, even in his old age he still has this shameless and despicable face."
Before Wang Ai could finish speaking, Lü Ci, dressed in a bright red Tang suit, stepped out from behind Lü Qian. Looking at the worthless smile on Wang Ai's face, he sneered, "I still have a mirror. You can borrow it later. Don't let that deadpan look of yours tarnish the reputation of my Lü family."
"Hey hedgehog, you actually came out to greet me?"
"Get lost! I just happened to be out on business and happened to overhear some old devil pretending to be cultured, and I couldn't stand it anymore."
Lu Ci turned and made way for Wang Ai to lead the Wang family inside. "You know the roads in the village well. I still need to do some accounting here. Please greet my old friends for me and don't make my place feel awkward."
"Well, I guess I'm just destined to be a thankless, hardworking person who's disliked everywhere I go."
Wang Ai seemed oblivious to Lü Ci's provocations, cheerfully leading the Wang family inside. Having spent his entire life with Lü Ci, he naturally understood the hidden meaning in her words.
As the host, Lü Ci should have been accompanying the elderly members of his generation who had come to the banquet, but he appeared at the village entrance instead, presumably to attend to some private business.
Since it's a private matter, it's none of his business as a guest. He can just wait and watch the show later, and support Lü Ci along the way.
"Hmph, you look like you're about to die."
As Lü Ci watched Wang Ai's figure disappear at the village entrance, a disdainful smile appeared on his face. Then, he turned his head and squinted at the group of people walking towards him on the mountain path.
"Patriarch Lü, the Tang Clan has come to attend the banquet."
Tang Miaoxing led a group of Tang Clan disciples to the entrance of Lü Family Village, and greeted Lü Ci with a smile, "It's been many years. Patriarch Lü, you still have the same charm."
Lu Ci looked at the Tang Clan members before him, observing them for a moment before chuckling softly, "The Tang Clan's style is not bad either, quite different from what I remembered."
"Stillness leads to decay, while change leads to vitality. The Tang Clan also needs to eat; we can't fall behind."
Tang Miaoxing looked at Lü Ci, then, as if suddenly remembering something, turned around, revealing another old man. "I wonder if Young Master Lü still recognizes this person?"
When Lü Ci stormed the Tang Clan back then, some unfriendly things happened between him and Xu Xin. I wonder how the two will react when they meet again now.
"Tang Xin, you should remember Young Master Lü, right? It's been decades since we last met, so it's a good opportunity to come out and acknowledge him."
He pushed the old man behind him in front of Lü Ci, stood beside the two of them, and a mocking glint flashed in his eyes.
This old man from the Tang Clan was somewhat thin, neatly dressed, and had a full head of white hair. Judging from his appearance alone, he was about the same age as Lü Ci. The wrinkles on his face had also obscured and worn away his former appearance, leaving only a faint trace of the old man's spirit.
Lu Ci squinted and carefully examined the old man, matching his face with several old acquaintances from the Tang Clan in his memory. Soon, a flash of inspiration struck him, followed by a less-than-pleasant memory.
Lu Ci's smile vanished, replaced by a cold sneer. "Heh, who was I back then? Turns out it was you, you brat."
"I remember your surname is Xu, isn't it? Do you perhaps want to change your surname and be reborn?"
"Young Master Lü almost crippled me back then, so I'm not allowed to resist?"
Xu Xin, no, Tang Xin, faced with Lü Ci's cold laughter and mockery, looked up at Lü Ci's face, which was almost as old as his own, and his expression also showed some reminiscence.
"It was just a little bit of croton oil. Decades have passed, and I didn't expect that Young Master Lü would still remember it so clearly."
Back then, when Lü Ci forced his way into the Tang Clan, requesting their help to avenge his elder brother Lü Ren, the Tang Clan, being professional assassins, naturally refused.
Then, in a fit of rage, he used the handshake to kidnap Xu Xin with his Ruyi Force, attempting to force the Tang Clan to comply.
The Ruyi Jin technique specifically targets and injures the internal organs and meridians. With that move, he directly locked the opponent's Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian. This meridian runs through the arm and neck, and once it is damaged, the upper body will be ruined.
For an assassin, if the upper body is crippled, their skills will naturally be greatly diminished.
In other words, whether Xu Xin was crippled or not was entirely up to Lü Ci. Unfortunately, the young Lü Ci lacked experience and was tricked by the Tang Clan's poison.
The Tang Clan is also exceptional in poison making, and each Tang Clan disciple's poisons always have some unique characteristics.
Xu Xinnian was a mischievous boy in his youth, so he added "croton" to his poison, causing Lü Ci to lose his power.
On that day, Lu Ci arrogantly came to the Tang Clan's door, but in the end, he could only retreat helplessly to the outhouse.
Lu Ci was about to say something more sarcastic, but when he turned around, he saw Lu Qian's gossipy gaze, so he could only snort and stop bothering with it.
"Does the Tang Clan intend for my Lü family to still hold a grudge against you?"
"If that's the case, then the price isn't enough. You, Xu Xin, still owe the Lü family for the croton oil debt from back then."
"Then what should we do?"
Lu Ci glanced at Lu Qian behind him, pointed at him and said, "I can guess why you, Xu Xin, have lived until now. I don't ask for much, just show me your Dan Shi skills in front of my great-grandson."
------------
Chapter One!