Upon hearing this, Chen Mo gave a bitter laugh and shook his head. "Sigh, Brother Lu, I don’t have to worry about any of that while I’m still alive."
"My network, the favors people owe me... they’ll all be there as long as I can still diagnose patients and write prescriptions. But... what happens after I’m dead?"
"People are quick to forget you once you’re gone! Of all the favors I’m owed and the ’face’ I have, how much will actually benefit Haonan and the others? How long can it protect them?"
He pointed to the ground beneath his feet. "And besides, just look at the location of my Huichun Hall."
"It’s one of the most bustling areas in the city center! I can’t tell you how many people have approached me over the years, openly and secretly, wanting to buy this land under my feet, or to partner with me to open some foreign trading company, restaurant, or casino!"
"Just last month, some foreign devil of a priest from Great Britain sent someone to tell me he wants to buy this place and turn it into a church! Hmph!"
The mere mention of it seemed to agitate Chen Mo, and he took a hard swallow of his tea.
"These foreign devils, they’re using the power of the concessions to extend their reach further and further! They can keep dreaming! Even if my Chen Family’s ancestral property rots on this spot, I will never sell it to a foreigner to build some blasted church!"
The two spoke for a while longer. Seeing the unconcealable worry on Chen Mo’s face, Lu Yun finally gave a solemn nod.
"Brother Chen, don’t you worry. As long as I, Lu Yun, am here, I won’t let anyone bully Huichun Hall. I’ll watch over Haonan."
"Good... good! With your promise, Brother Lu, I feel so much more at ease!" Chen Mo’s eyes reddened slightly as he nodded emphatically.
Lu Yun said no more and rose to take his leave.
After returning to the Lu Family’s Old Mansion, Lu Yun wasn’t in a hurry to process the precious medicinal herbs he had just acquired.
This time, he wouldn’t be as crude as before, when he’d simply devoured the Centennial Ginseng King.
He instructed the kitchen to use different combinations of herbs each day to meticulously brew five or six potent tonic soups and deliver them to him on a schedule.
Lu Yun drank them as scheduled. He had nothing but time, after all. He had weathered sixty years of trials and tribulations. Now that he had broken through to Huajin and his lifespan had increased, he certainly didn’t mind a bit of slow and steady accumulation.
However, a problem had slowly begun to surface ever since he broke through to Huajin and his power started to climb.
What kind of man was Lu Yun? Having lived two lives and weathered countless storms, how could he not understand what was going on?
This was clearly the reactivation of a man’s most fundamental biological programming.
The instinct to procreate!
His body had returned to its peak, and his qi and blood were as vigorous as a dragon’s or a tiger’s. This was a good thing, a sign that Lu Yun had broken free from the shackles of old age and regained the physique of a man in his prime.
But this abundant vitality and life force naturally brought with it the corresponding desires of a virile young man.
’How... troublesome.’
Lu Yun rubbed his brow, unsure whether to laugh or cry. He looked much younger than he did at sixty, but he still had white hair and wrinkles. The overall impression was that of a hale and hearty man of about fifty-five or fifty-six.
The greatest changes were internal: the replenishment of his qi and blood, and the firming of his skin.
He was still a long way from true rejuvenation.
’Am I... at my advanced age, really going to have to consider taking a few more concubines to "solve" this problem?’
’I’ll just put it out of my mind for now.’
More than half a month slipped by in a daily routine of consuming tonics.
One morning, Lu Yun slowly finished the last cup of his meticulously brewed tonic soup in his room.
Over the past twenty days, he had not only consumed all the rare herbs from Huichun Hall, but also the decades-old premium supplements that Lu Jingwu had personally scoured from every major time-honored pharmacy in Yun Port City. Now, almost nothing was left.
Lu Yun focused his thoughts, and the ethereal blue screen materialized in his mind.
[Extreme Blue Martial Arts Modifier]
Name: Lu Yun
Gender: Male
Realm: Grandmaster of Huajin (Mid-Stage)
Cultivation Technique: Mountain-Breaking Inch Force Fist Second Layer (Initiate), Hard Qigong First Layer (Mastery)
Modified Value: 19
Nineteen points.
Eleven of those points came from the eleven Centennial Ginseng Kings. The rest—the numerous Lingzhi, snow lotuses, Polygonum multiflorum, and other herbs—had only scraped together the remaining eight.
And yet, the word "Modifiable" didn’t appear next to either the Mountain-Breaking Inch Force Fist or the Hard Qigong.
Lu Yun stared at the result, almost suffocating from frustration.
In just over half a month, the cost of everything he had "eaten" was already close to one thousand silver dollars. Converted to the current Daxia Yuan, that was nearly a million.
Even with his family’s vast fortune, this kind of one-way spending, this squandering of wealth, was enough to make his heart ache.
’...So be it.’
Lu Yun heaved a long sigh and suppressed his stray thoughts. ’Today is my birthday. The children have probably been waiting for a while.’
Lu Yun hadn’t made a grand affair of his sixtieth birthday, inviting only close clan members and relatives.
However, the Lu Family was a sprawling clan with intricate ties. Even limiting the guest list to just the "close" circle resulted in a considerable number of people.
The Lu Mansion’s front courtyard, spanning several thousand square meters, was packed to the brim with banquet tables and chairs.
Lu Yun had only one full brother, Lu Changfeng. Sadly, he was not granted a long life and passed away from a terrible illness some years ago, leaving behind his only son, Lu Jingwu, and several wives and concubines.
Recalling their past, both Lu Yun and Lu Changfeng had been born in the Lu family’s shantytown district. Their parents had passed away one after another when they were ten, leaving the two brothers to rely on each other, raised by the charity of their neighbors.
The few remaining elders of Lu Yun’s generation from the old mansion were also among those invited.
Also present were members of his mother’s maiden family, the Ren Family; his father-in-law from his late wife’s family, Luo Zhengsheng of the Luo Family; and his eldest daughter-in-law’s maiden family, the Shen Family. In short, all manner of aunts, uncles, and cousins were gathered here today.
As the banquet drew to a close, the guests began to disperse.
Ren Facai of the Ren Family, a thirty-eight-year-old, balding middle-aged man, had remained at Lu Yun’s table the entire time.
Lu Yun had personally helped establish him years ago, and he now held the position of Chairman Ren, presiding over Yun Port City’s influential *Spark Daily* newspaper.
Lu Yun had noticed a persistent anxiety etched on Ren Facai’s face ever since his arrival, but with so many guests around, he hadn’t mentioned it.
Now that most of the guests had left, Lu Yun finally set down his teacup.
"Facai, what’s with the worried look? If you’re in some kind of trouble, just say it. There are no outsiders here."
At this, Ren Facai forced a smile onto his chubby face and waved his hands dismissively. "N-No, it’s nothing, Uncle. Really. It’s just... just a small business problem. It’s fine, it’s fine."
"Hm?" Lu Yun’s brow twitched.
At his side, Lu Jingteng was already growing displeased. He set down his chopsticks. "Cousin Fa Cai, that’s not right. My father considers you family. He’s asking you a question."
"Are you treating him like a stranger? Is there any trouble our Lu Family can’t handle?"
Rebuked by Jingteng and scrutinized by Lu Yun’s seemingly all-seeing eyes, Ren Facai wrung his hands and heaved a long sigh.
"Alright... Uncle, Jingteng, it’s... it’s my father’s grave. There’s a problem."
A moment later...
Lu Jingteng and Lu Jingwu exchanged a look of utter astonishment.
A strange expression crossed Lu Yun’s face.
’Well, I’ll be damned!’ he thought to himself. ’What in the world did I just hear?!’
"Bury the ancestors vertically, and the descendants will surely prosper!"

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