Star Odyssey

Chapter 2393: Visit

Liu Lu said, "This is where we receive foreign guests."

He purposely looked at Big Sis. "We hope for everyone to see my Liu family in this manner."

Big Sis sneered. "How unnecessary."

Liu Lu frowned. Big Sis's attitude was quite abrasive.

Lu Yin also felt rather helpless. Big Sis had the behavior of a pirate, and she had acted exactly the same when she had joined the Hall of Honor’s overseers’ council. Big Sis had not been deliberately trying to make problems, but her way of interacting with people was not considered normal. In fact, she only looked favorably on the members of Leon’s Armada.

Liu Lu escorted Lu Yin and Big Sis into the house. A middle-aged man was already inside, waiting for their arrival. This man was Liu Du, the current patriarch of the Liu family.

Lu Yin entered and met Liu Du's gaze. For some reason, this man seemed very familiar.

Liu Du stared at Lu Yin in amazement, though there was also something else present in the man’s eyes. It was as if Lu Yin was one of his own juniors. "I haven't seen you for so long. It's good to see that you're still alive, Little Seven."

Lu Yin looked at Liu Du in a questioning manner. This man had called Lu Yin Little Seven, which was not something that most people would use. Upon hearing the nickname, Lu Yin’s expression that he showed Liu Du shifted. "Um, I’m sorry, but I’ve lost all of my old memories."

Liu Du sighed. "I’m Little Pebble's father. Little Pebble's real name is Liu Shi. You always called him Fifth Brother."

Lu Yin's eyes widened. This man was Fifth Brother's father?

Lu Yin had already regained some vague, indistinct memories of the Seven Heroes. During his visit to Food Paradise, he had managed to recall the appearance of each of the Seven Heroes, and he suddenly understood why Liu Du looked so familiar; he greatly resembled the laughing Fifth Brother from Lu Yin’s memories. "You’re- you’re Fifth Brother's father?"

Liu Du nodded. "I won't talk about the past, but as long as you’re alive, you don't need to worry. I will do everything that I can to help you, though there are some things that I can't do. Who is this with you?"

Lu Yin reined in his wandering thoughts and introduced Big Sis. "This is Big Sis. She’s my sister who saved me when I first started living in the Fifth Mainland."

Liu Du looked at Big Sis. "Thank you."ｂｅ𝚍ｎｏｖｅ𝚕．ｃｏｍ

Though simple, his thanks were very sincere, and anyone could hear the man’s gratitude.

Big Sis nodded, and her arrogant manner of speech disappeared. "Little Seven is my family as well."

Liu Du smiled and gestured for the two people to sit down.

After everyone was seated, Liu Du got straight to the point. "Little Seven, while I will do my best to help you, there are certain things that are beyond my abilities. You sent Wang Wen to meet with us, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then you should understand my Liu family's answer," Liu Du said bluntly.

Lu Yin much preferred such a straightforward conversation. It felt comfortable, as it indicated that Liu Du regarded Lu Yin as one of his own. For that reason, there was no need to beat around the bush. "Uncle Liu, I know what you are worried about. It is indeed important for the Perennial World to maintain a certain stability, and the four ruling powers are indeed protecting the rear battlefield, while your family is helping to defend the Outer Realm. If this kind of stability could last, I would have never bothered to approach you."

"What are you trying to say?" Liu Du asked.

When Wang Wen had visited and proposed a trade agreement between the Liu family and the Fifth Mainland, the offer had been more like a partnership. Liu Du had initially been tempted by such a thing, but Bai Qi’s words to Nong Ya in Seed Garden had triggered tremendous concerns for both the Liu and Nong families. Their greater understanding of the four ruling powers meant that the two families felt greater fear, as they were afraid that openly declaring their position would take away any possibility of turning back.

It was similar to when two people with equal strength fought each other. A cowardly person would fear acting ruthless, while a ruthless person would fear death.

It was indeed possible for the Nong and Liu families to ally themselves with Lu Yin's forces in order to suppress the four ruling powers, as doing so would likely see the entire alliance cut down together. Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors had expended their full strength in order to banish the Lu family, and they had not paid that steep price to only rule the Perennial World for a few decades.

Lu Yin carefully chose his next words. "The four ruling powers exiled my Lu family so that they could seize control of the Perennial World. For them, why would they be satisfied with the current state of the four ruling powers?"

Liu Du froze.

"While this junior has lost my memories of my time as Lu Xiaoxuan, I have visited the Perennial World several times already. I was both Long Qi and Yu Hao, and with both of those identities, my interactions with the four ruling powers made me feel like a fish in water," Lu Yin said.

Liu Du found it strange to hear that Lu Yin claimed to be comfortable among the four ruling powers. A fish in water? Things could not truly be that simple, as both of Lu Yin’s visits to the Perennial World had ended in pure disaster.

"Uncle Liu, do you know why each of my identities allowed me to toy with the four ruling powers?" Lu Yin asked.

Liu Du did not answer.

"It’s because each of the identities that I assumed had a very specific trait in common." Lu Yin leaned forward as he stared at Liu Du. "Both were geniuses. Peerless geniuses."

Liu Du’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Yin.

The young man continued, "The reason why the White Dragon Clan was so humiliated when I was exposed as Long Qi was entirely because the White Dragon Clan praised Long Qi too highly. They made him so important that they were willing to abandon Long Ke's family line as the clan’s main family and replace them with Long Qi. Why? Because Progenitor Mu Xie wanted to accept Long Qi as his disciple. Because Long Qi showed an unbelievable level of talent for lockbreaking. It was never because Long Qi did great things for humanity as a whole. The White Dragon Clan only ever saw a genius who could crush his peers in the future. They saw a chance to eventually surpass the rest of the four ruling powers.

"Things were even more exaggerated when I impersonated Yu Hao. At that time, Yu Hao showed both an even more impressive talent for cultivating and lockbreaking than Long Qi ever did. In both aspects, Yu Hao was amazing. In fact, the talent that he revealed was so shocking that all the ruling powers wanted to recruit Yu Hao, as they could each see in him the chance to rise above the other ruling powers.

"Each of the four ruling powers has been trying to do everything possible to break free from the current situation. Not one of the four will ever be happy with sharing control of the Perennial World with others. The most fundamental motivation for each of them to banish the Lu family was always because they each wanted to replace the Lu family."

Naturally, Liu Du already knew everything that Lu Yin was saying. "But no matter how much they fight against each other, they will continue to keep each other in check and maintain the current status quo."

Lu Yin shook his head. "You’ve already seen it yourself, Uncle Liu. If this junior’s guess is correct, then the Liu and Nong families have already secretly formed an alliance to maintain the current balance between the four ruling powers. If any one of the four manages to seize a dominant position, then your two families will help the other three powers as much as necessary in order to maintain the status quo. Am I wrong?"

Liu Du denied nothing.

"In fact, I believe that this alliance isn’t merely limited to your two families, as it also includes Specter Abyss, and likely some others as well. Your only goal is the Perennial World’s stability, and I’m guessing that you can even use the four ruling powers to do so. Might I ask, can the power of your alliance compare to that of my Lu family of the past?" Lu Yin asked.

Liu Du's eyes flashed. "Of course we can’t compare to that."

Lu Yin immediately resumed talking. "The four ruling powers were able to find a way to exile my Lu family, which means that there’s no need to mention your alliance. From my understanding of things, I believe that, as soon as one of the four ruling powers gains some degree of confidence, they will immediately target not only the other three, but also your alliance in a show of force…"

Big Sis yawned. Lu Yin spoke for a long time, and so did Liu Du. However, the two men were in different positions, and they each had their own concerns. Ultimately, neither was able to convince the other to change their mind.

Lu Yin had never anticipated success during these initial negotiations. Wang Wen had already failed, and he was far more eloquent than Lu Yin. No, Lu Yin’s goal was not to convince the Liu family to join him, but rather to plant a seed. The seed would sprout sooner or later, and even if it failed, Lu Yin would simply force things to happen his way.

"Little Seven, it's not easy for us to meet like this. Stay for a few days. Little Pebble’s quarters have been left empty." A few more words were exchanged as Liu Du and Lu Yin walked out of the room where they had been speaking, and Liu Du put on a weary expression. He looked at Lu Yin with an incredulous gaze. Lu Xiaoxuan back then did not have such an eloquent tongue!

Lu Yin felt rather worn out by the long negotiations. "Uncle Liu, I would like to visit the Sword Monument."

"Of course. You can go whenever you wish."

"Can Big Sis visit it as well?" Lu Yin asked.

Big Sis looked over at Liu Du.

The patriarch hesitated for a moment. "That would be fine, though I need to speak to Elder Song about it as well."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "I would also like to meet with Elder Song, as I have some questions regarding swordsmanship that I would like to ask him."

"Questions about swordsmanship?" Liu Du’s immediate reaction was to offer his own advice and insight, but after a moment’s consideration, he banished the thought from his mind. This young man was not the Lu Xiaoxuan whom Liu Du had once known. But more importantly, he was a powerful cultivator who could fight against Progenitors and who had actually managed to force Bai Wangyuan and the rest of the four ruling powers’ Progenitors to agree to a truce. Lu Yin might only be a four-tribulation Envoy, but he was able to face off against Progenitors, which was far beyond Liu Du’s capabilities. It was true that, out of everyone present in the Liu family, Elder Song was the only one qualified to offer Lu Yin any sort of combat advice.

"Very well, I’ll convey your request."

Lu Yin and Big Sis stayed with the Liu family for the day.

Lu Yin stared at a very simple wooden house. It was the house that had belonged to Fifth Brother. He had lived in this house for many years, and Lu Xiaoxuan must have visited this place many times.

Complicated emotions ran their course as Lu Yin fell asleep.

The next day, he went to find Liu Yishou, whom Lu Yin had once Possessed. When Lu Yin found the man, he was speaking to Zhang Dingtian.

At this time, Lu Yin could not reveal his true identity, so Zhang Dingtian did not recognize Lu Yin.

As Lu Yin approached Liu Yishou, Zhang Dingtian warily glanced over, and Liu Yishou also looked at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin smiled at the two men as he passed by. One step. Two steps. Three steps.

The third step happened to put Lu Yin within five meters of Liu Yishou, and at that moment, Lu Yin pulled the needle-like weapon from his cosmic ring and passed it into Liu Yishou’s ring with a Possession that lasted less than an instant.

Everything happened so quickly that the weapon entered Liu Yishou's cosmic ring without him realizing that anything had happened.

Lu Yin had spent a lot of time thinking while he traveled to visit the Liu family, and most of his thoughts had revolved around Liu Song. The more that Lu Yin considered the situation, the more certain he was that he could not allow Liu Song to remain free. However, Lu Yin had no evidence that he could use to prove anything. This meant that his only option was to see how he could use Liu Yishou to his advantage.

This was the reason why Lu Yin had brought up asking Liu Song for guidance with matters regarding swordsmanship. When that happened, most of the Liu family would be watching, and there was no way that Liu Yishou would miss such an opportunity.

Zhang Dingtian watched as Lu Yin walked away and felt rather puzzled. "Who was that?"

Liu Yishou had no answer to offer. "I’ve never seen him before, but that mole is quite distinct. Don’t worry about him. Let’s continue."

Zhang Dingtian paid the matter no mind.

Liu Du went to speak with Liu Song, but he could not find the man. Lu Yin grew worried that Liu Song might not show himself, but after three days passed, Liu Du returned to speak with Lu Yin. “I asked. Elder Song also has a very favorable impression of you from the past."

The patriarch was naturally referring to Lu Xiaoxuan.

Lu Yin and Big Sis glanced at each other and then waited quietly.

A short time later, the hunched figure of Elder Song appeared. Lu Yin and Big Sis looked at the man, but there was nothing abnormal about his demeanor.

The Elder Song that they saw appeared no different from the old man that they had seen in Realmless’s headquarters. There was nothing different about the look in the man’s eyes. Wait, he seemed a bit happier. "If I had known last time that Long Qi was actually Lu Xiaoxuan, I would have made sure to keep you around for a few more days."

Lu Yin politely greeted the old man. "This junior greets Elder Song."

Elder Song nodded with a smile. "A year ago, I also watched the game of Stable Zone that you played with Mu Shang. Even compared to when you were Lu Xiaoxuan, you have climbed higher and further, which is quite impressive."

"Thank you, Elder Song, for your kind words. During my last visit, this junior was acting on behalf of the Fourteenth Gate, and my mission caused me to offend the Liu family."

Liu Song dismissed Lu Yin’s concerns with a wave of his hand. "Liu Ke was a traitor, damn him. My Liu family would instead like to thank you."

The old man then paused for a moment as he observed Big Sis. "You will be allowed to visit the Sword Monument."

Big Sis’s eyes never left Elder Song, and there was a good deal of apprehension in her eyes as she stared at the old man. "Have we met before?"

Liu Song appeared puzzled. "Have you been to the Perennial World before?"

"I only arrived about a year ago."

"Then we have never met."