The Luo Family residence was located in an ordinary residential area in Yun Port City’s old district, a dense maze of crisscrossing alleyways inhabited mostly by well-off families or declining old clans.
Back when the Luo Family was at its peak, they had relied on both open and discreet help from their son-in-law, Lu Yun, to acquire a rather impressive estate in the area.
For a time, their prestige was boundless. With its high walls and vast courtyards, the residence’s gateway was always bustling with visitors, making them arguably the most prominent family in the neighborhood.
However, times had changed. The entrance to the Luo Family estate was now desolate and seldom visited. The bronze knockers on the red-lacquered main gate were long covered in rust, and weeds sprouted from the cracks between the tiles atop the walls.
The vast estate exuded an indescribable, deathly stillness, both inside and out.
A black Ford sedan slowly came to a stop at the entrance to the Luo Family’s alley. Lu Yun gestured for Yan Lintong to wait in the car, then headed alone toward the familiar estate gate, leaning on his walking stick.
But something was different today. The Luo Family, which usually kept its gates shut tight, had a change at its entrance.
Someone was there.
It was the Luo Family’s old Patriarch, Luo Zhengsheng, a man in his eighties who had become a recluse in recent years, too ashamed to face anyone.
He wasn’t hiding in the deepest part of the estate as he usually did, avoiding the pitying and mocking gazes of his neighbors.
At this moment, Luo Zhengsheng was dressed in a clean, old-fashioned, long white robe. His figure was stooped, his hair was pure silver, and his face was covered in deep wrinkles and age spots.
All alone, he sat quietly on the bluestone steps before the main gate.
Luo Zhengsheng was waiting. Waiting for the son-in-law who was his life’s greatest pride, yet also the person he was most ashamed to face: Lu Yun.
Without a doubt, Luo Zhengsheng’s heart was filled with endless remorse. He regretted his actions. He truly, deeply regretted them.
He regretted the way he had spoiled his eldest grandson, Luojin, without any principles or restraint. That indulgence had not only ruined Luojin but had also, step by step, dragged down the once-prosperous Luo Family.
His other two sons and their wives had long ago grown dissatisfied with their father’s favoritism toward their elder brother and how he had allowed the family’s fortunes to crumble.
As a result, they had packed up their households and left Yun Port City years ago, severing nearly all contact with the Luo Family.
All that remained of the Luo Family now was Luo Zhengsheng, an old man with one foot in the grave; his eldest daughter-in-law, who spent her days washing her face with tears; and that prodigal grandson, Luojin, who lay paralyzed in bed like a heap of boneless sludge after having both his legs broken.
He knew that it was Lu Yun who had personally crippled the legs of his eldest grandson, Luojin.
When he saw his grandson’s twisted, deformed legs and his wretched state, Luo Zhengsheng’s heart felt as if it were being pierced by knives, yet he held no resentment toward Lu Yun.
Because Luo Zhengsheng knew better than anyone that Lu Yun had already done more than enough for the Luo Family, for him as a father-in-law, and for the family of his late wife, Luo Qinghe. He had helped them far, far too much.
The Luo Family had failed to live up to expectations, and Luojin had brought this upon himself, trampling Lu Yun’s kindness underfoot time and time again until the very last bit of goodwill was gone.
"This was our own doing... we can’t be saved from it..."
Tears welled in Luo Zhengsheng’s old eyes, threatening to spill over. He could feel that he was dying.
Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. At most... he had half a month, maybe a month left.
When a man is at death’s door, his words turn righteous.
This stubborn old man, who had been obstinate his entire life and had spoiled his grandson for most of it, had finally awakened to the truth in his final days.
Luo Zhengsheng sat on the steps and waited for Lu Yun’s arrival. He wasn’t there to plead or to reproach, but simply to see the son-in-law he was once so proud of one last time before leaving this world.
"Father-in-law, it has been a long time."
A calm, steady voice spoke, and a shadow fell over Luo Zhengsheng, blocking the afternoon sun that had been warming him.
Hearing the familiar voice, Luo Zhengsheng snapped his head up.
The first thing that met his eyes was a hand offered to him, and behind it, the man from his memory in a familiar black Zhongshan suit and a black bowler hat.
The only difference from his memory was the smooth, lustrous Rosewood Walking Stick in the man’s left hand.
"Son-in-law... you’ve really come!"
Luo Zhengsheng tremblingly reached out with his own withered, age-spotted hand and tightly grasped Lu Yun’s offered right hand.
Aided by that firm, strong hand, Luo Zhengsheng struggled to his feet.
When he finally stood straight and looked up at Lu Yun’s face, Luo Zhengsheng’s murky eyes widened, his expression one of stunned disbelief.
’This... how could this be the face of a man nearly sixty years old?’
The Lu Yun before him had a ruddy complexion and was bursting with an astonishing amount of vitality!
He looked for all the world like a man in his forties or fifties—in the prime of his life, brimming with energy!
Luo Zhengsheng even noticed that among the strands of hair visible from beneath the brim of Lu Yun’s hat, a few were surprisingly jet-black.
In a daze, his mind was pulled back more than forty years into the past.
Back then, Lu Yun had been a high-spirited young man, a master of the martial arts.
It was with that same dashing, heroic air that he had come to their home to ask for the hand of his treasured eldest daughter, Luo Qinghe.
Even now, Luo Zhengsheng could still remember the look of pure bliss on his daughter’s face...
So much had changed. His daughter had long since passed away, yet this son-in-law of his... it was as if he had shattered the shackles of age and was turning back the clock, radiating an unbelievable vitality.
This stark contrast sent a tidal wave of shock through the heart of the dying Luo Zhengsheng.
For a moment, he had no idea what to say; he could only stare blankly at Lu Yun.
"Good... good... good!"
A moment later, Luo Zhengsheng had repeated the word three times, his withered, root-like hands gripping Lu Yun’s right hand with surprising strength.
Several long minutes passed before Luo Zhengsheng’s heaving chest began to settle and his grip on Lu Yun’s hand finally, slowly, loosened.
He took a deep breath, did his best to straighten his stooped back, and stepped aside to clear the doorway, speaking with great earnestness.
"Quick... come in, Son-in-law. The sun is harsh out here. Let’s talk inside. This old man still has a lot he wants to say to you."
Inside the vast, empty main hall, all traces of former splendor and liveliness were gone. All that remained were five old-fashioned wooden chairs with peeling lacquer, each one letting out a faint CREAK when sat upon.
Looking upon this shabby scene, Luo Zhengsheng’s face filled with deep unease and shame.
He opened his mouth, but he didn’t know how to play the host. ’Who could have ever imagined that a perfectly good family could fall into such ruin?’
Lu Yun’s expression remained calm, showing not a hint of disgust. He walked directly to one of the chairs that looked relatively sturdy and sat down calmly.
Seeing this, Luo Zhengsheng finally relaxed a little and carefully sat down in the chair next to Lu Yun.
"Son-in-law... After all these years, I never thought you’d still look so vigorous... no, you look even more vigorous than before, even younger!"
For the next half hour, it was as if a floodgate had opened, and Luo Zhengsheng couldn’t stop talking.
Lu Yun sat quietly the entire time, his face showing no sign of impatience.
His gaze was serene, and he would occasionally nod or murmur a few words in agreement, listening intently as the old man, a flickering candle in the wind, poured out the worries that had burdened him for the better part of a lifetime.

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