The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#397 - Cry loudly

Lu Jing was still scrutinizing the hitching post, trying to glean more from it, when a sigh suddenly arose behind him.

Every hair on Lu Jing's body stood on end at that sigh!

With his current hearing, he could hear even the sound of a leaf falling to the ground, yet he hadn't noticed when someone had entered the courtyard.

Before he could turn around, a withered finger had already struck several acupoints on his body with lightning speed.

"You shouldn't have come in here," the person said softly, their voice devoid of emotion, like a stone.

"And you especially shouldn't be looking at other people's things. Didn't your elders teach you that the greatest taboo when wandering the martial world is not controlling your hands, eyes, and mouth? Or are you that man's lackey?"

As the voice spoke, the person reached towards Lu Jing's chest, seemingly intending to judge his identity from something he was carrying.

But then, their expression instantly changed.

Because Lu Jing, who should have been immobilized by the sealed acupoints, had actually dodged the outstretched hand and turned around.

"This is impossible!" the voice's owner exclaimed.

Lu Jing now saw the person's appearance clearly: an old man of about seventy, dressed in rough clothing, with a goatee, and a rather robust build. In his other hand, he held a brush and inkstone. Undoubtedly, this was the owner of the place, Old Hu.

However, like the eunuchs from the Pure Character Guard that Lu Jing had encountered before, he also had a strong scent of spices about him, which made Lu Jing realize something.

No wonder the people on Zao'er Street said he was eccentric and never interacted with the neighbors. He was probably afraid that getting too close to people would reveal something. As for the tuft of beard on his mouth, it was likely stuck on.

Lu Jing's thoughts raced. In a short moment, he had already thought of many things. However, he didn't expose the other person's identity. Instead, he cupped his fist and said, "This old sir, my pet raccoon accidentally ran away. The last time I saw it, it had just climbed over your courtyard wall. I knocked on the door but received no answer. In my anxiety, I climbed in to search myself. I'm very sorry for the disturbance. I'll take my leave now."

Han Shan Ke had only asked him to check on Old Hu, to see if he was doing well, and hadn't given him any message to deliver. So, Lu Jing considered his task completed. Naturally, he didn't want to linger here, and even less did he want to fight Old Hu. So, he made up a lie and planned to slip away.

However, Old Hu clearly didn't believe his nonsense. He coldly sneered, "Want to leave? Not so easy."

As he spoke, he struck at Lu Jing with his palm.

Lu Jing had no choice but to raise his own palm to meet the attack. But then, Old Hu displayed his ghostly movements, instantly darting behind him.

Lu Jing couldn't keep up with his movements, so he could only remind him, "Gently."

Old Hu wondered what Lu Jing meant by "gently." Was he asking him to show mercy? If so, the other person was being a bit too naive.

He did want to find out Lu Jing's origins, and didn't want to kill him with one blow, so he only used about forty percent of his power. As his palm landed on Lu Jing's back, Lu Jing didn't budge, while his own body flew out.

He crashed directly into the door. The flimsy door couldn't withstand such a powerful impact and shattered almost instantly. Old Hu rolled into the house.

Outside, Lu Jing craned his neck, looking inside with concern. "Old Mr. Hu, are you alright?"

The reply was a flash of cold light. Then, Lu Jing saw the unique weapon of the Pure Character Guard again. And, unsurprisingly, the marks on the hitching post had also been left by this weapon.

Lu Jing didn't want to fight Old Hu, because winning or losing would both be problematic. So, reluctantly, he blurted out Han Shan Ke's name.

But Old Hu didn't react at all to the name.

Lu Jing didn't know if Han Shan Ke had taken that name after settling in Mirror Lake Valley, so Old Hu wouldn't know it. So, he tried the name Mr. Nan Zhai.

Old Hu still didn't react.

Then, Lu Jing had a flash of inspiration. He took out the half of the jade pendant that Han Shan Ke had given him. In that instant, all the cold light disappeared.

Old Hu stood by the wall, gripping his weapon, staring blankly at the jade pendant in Lu Jing's hand, as if he were bewitched.

After a moment, he finally spoke again, his voice urgent, "Official, what… what is your relationship with the owner of this jade pendant?"

"He and I… are friends, I suppose." Seeing that Old Hu had finally stopped, Lu Jing breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he added, "He asked me to come and see how you were doing."

Just that ordinary sentence caused tears to well up in Old Hu's eyes. He was already an old man of nearly seventy, and a first-rate expert at that.

Especially with that terrifying movement technique, even Lu Jing found him quite troublesome. Yet, at this moment, he was crying like a child.

For a moment, Lu Jing felt a bit at a loss. If outsiders saw this scene, they might think he had bullied Old Hu into crying.

Fortunately, Old Hu stopped crying after a while. Then, he cupped his fist at Lu Jing, "This old man is getting more and more muddled with age. I actually couldn't distinguish friend from foe, and almost injured a guest. Luckily, it didn't lead to a catastrophe, or I would have deserved to die ten thousand times over."

"Ah, it's not that serious." Seeing a first-rate expert suddenly lower himself so much, as if he were the elder of the two, Lu Jing felt a bit uncomfortable.

He also felt that the old man was quite pitiful, and that Han Shan Ke was quite heartless.

In his pursuit of longevity, he patted his butt and ran into Mirror Lake Valley, leaving everyone he knew in the outside world, not bothering with them for decades.

Thinking of this, Lu Jing could understand why Old Hu had cried just now. So, he then said to the latter, "If the old sir has anything to say to the owner of this jade pendant, I can convey it on your behalf."

Unexpectedly, Old Hu shook his head upon hearing this. "I have nothing to say. Knowing that he is still alive is enough." But at the end, he still asked, "This young brother, you said you know him, so do you know how he is doing now? Does he lack food or clothing? Is there anyone taking care of him?"

"Oh, Han Shan Ke is well-fed and clothed, and lives a very happy life." Lu Jing couldn't bring himself to tell Old Hu the truth about Han Shan Ke sleeping in trees and drinking the wind every day, for fear that the old man couldn't bear it, although Lu Jing felt that Han Shan Ke himself probably didn't mind.

But the purpose of lies is just that. Many times, they can avoid some unnecessary misunderstandings.