Chapter 5

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Chapter Five – Four Days Later, Outside Jiangning City

Dust-covered from travel, Luo Guan finally saw the familiar city gates. A smile spread across his face.
Finally… home!
He could hardly wait to tell his father…
Father, your years of painstaking care were not in vain. Your son has successfully condensed the Tongtian Bone!
Before, you were the one protecting me.
From now on… it’s my turn to protect you.

The Luo household was shrouded in a heavy, oppressive air.
Inside the main hall, Mr. Wu of Ziyun Pavilion sat with his brows tightly furrowed.
“White and black, clearly written, ever since Luo Zhenyang signed the contract, the Tongtian Bone has already changed hands. Today marks the deadline. Don’t make things difficult for me.”
Ziyun Pavilion specialized in acting as a trusted intermediary. Though they’d only been in business for a few short years, their trade had already spread across every major county.
It was rumored that a powerful figure in the imperial capital stood behind them—a terrifyingly strong backer indeed.
Luo Zhenshan understood well what that meant. “Mr. Wu, the Luo family’s breach of contract was due to unavoidable circumstances. Could you convey this to the buyer for us? We’re willing to pay triple the silver, and other terms can also be negotiated.”
Mr. Wu replied, “I’ve already invited the buyer here. You can speak to him yourself.”
Even as his voice fell, a mocking laugh rang in from outside.
“Many thanks for your patience, Mr. Wu. Xu has arrived late!”
At the sight of the newcomer, the faces of everyone in the Luo household changed.
Xu Hai—one-eyed, with a long, horse-like face, stepped inside, his cold gaze sweeping the room.
“What’s this? You’re not happy to see me?”
A crushing aura of Wan Chong Realm cultivation (ten-thousandfold might) spilled forth, pressing down like a mountain.
Mr. Wu introduced him without ceremony. “The buyer of the Tongtian Bone is none other than Chief Xu of the Qingjiang Gang.”
Luo Zhenshan cupped his hands respectfully. “Our Luo family is sincere in wishing to redeem the contract. Please, Chief Xu, show some mercy.”
Xu Hai reached up and tugged off his eyepatch, revealing beneath the scar a dark, empty socket. His voice was like steel scraping stone.
“This eye was ruined by Luo Laosan (Third Master Luo). I’ve been waiting twenty years for this day, and you’re telling me to let him go?”
Luo Zhenshan said steadily, “Since you’ve come, Chief Xu, name your price.”
Xu Hai’s lips curled into a grin. “No one in the world turns down silver. As the saying goes, the eldest brother is like a father. If you’re willing to personally beg me on Luo Laosan’s behalf, perhaps this Chief might reconsider.”
“Very well!” Luo Zhenshan drew in a deep breath, then bent at the waist in a solemn bow. “Please… spare my younger brother.”
Xu Hai shook his head. “Not enough.”
Luo Zhenshan’s brows trembled, as if carrying a thousand jin of weight. After a brief silence, he dropped to one knee. “I beg you.”
“Patriarch!” The cry came from every corner of the room.
He raised a hand, motioning them down.
Xu Hai threw his head back and laughed. “They say the Luo family’s bones are hard as iron—yet here you are. Fine, I’ll be generous. I’ll spare Luo Laosan’s life… for a price. Ten thousand taels of gold, and the contract is void.”
The Fifth Elder roared, “Xu, you go too far!”
By their total assets, the Luo clan was worth far more than ten thousand taels, but to produce it all at once was utterly impossible.
Mr. Wu frowned. “Chief Xu, if you won’t cancel the contract, don’t waste our time.”
Xu Hai smiled faintly. “If not for Mr. Wu’s face, I wouldn’t even be here today. Gold or the Tongtian Bone. Luo family, you choose.”
Resolve hardened in Luo Zhenshan’s eyes.
If Luo Guan had met with an accident, Luo Zhenyang would cough blood and fall unconscious on the spot—and the extraction of the Tongtian Bone would mean instant death.
He was the Luo Patriarch… but he was also the elder brother who had once knelt at their late mother’s grave and sworn to shield his younger brother from all storms.
“Zhenhai,” he said to another sibling, “from this day on, you take the Patriarch’s seat.”
Zhenhai grinned. “I like my wine too much—messed up plenty of things over the years. Let Fourth Brother take it.”
“I don’t want it!” said the Fourth Brother flatly. “When I was escorting a caravan and ran into the Black Tiger Mountain bandits, Third Brother took a blade meant for me. I owe him something.”
Before he could say more, the Fifth Elder spat, “That boy Luo Guan’s got more guts than I do—hell, more than any of us. Let whoever wants be Patriarch, but if anyone tries to take my Third Brother’s bone today, they’ll have to go through me first!”
Xu Hai’s smile was icy. “Such touching brotherhood. Mr. Wu, it seems I’ll be troubling you.”
At that moment, a lean, gaunt figure appeared in the doorway.
“Big Brother, Second Brother… Fourth, Fifth… Xu Hai is only trying to provoke you. Such a clumsy ploy—don’t tell me it’s enough to fool us brothers?”
“Third Brother…” The Fifth Elder started, but Luo Zhenyang cut him off.
His voice was calm. “With Luo Guan dead, I have no wish to live either. In truth, if I hadn’t worried for my son, alone and without support, I’d have given up long ago. If I die today, perhaps I can catch up to Luo Guan on the road to the underworld. The boy’s been afraid of the dark since childhood—I can’t bear to leave him walking it alone.”
A cold smile touched his lips. “Me, a dying man, scheming for the Luo family? Xu Hai, your abacus is off.”
Xu Hai’s face darkened. “Enough talk. Luo Laosan, honor the contract—or I’ll dig the Tongtian Bone out of you myself!”
“Zhenyang!” Luo Zhenshan’s voice was low and urgent.
But Luo Zhenyang only smiled. “Think of the greater good. If there’s a chance, Brother, avenge me later.”
He turned, his voice ringing like a thrown blade. “Xu Hai, if you want my Tongtian Bone, come and take it!”
Feeling the burning hatred in every Luo clansman’s eyes, Xu Hai’s face grew grim. “Very well. I’ll oblige you.”
“Stop!”
A sharp voice cut through the hall.
Everyone turned.
“Luo Guan!”
The young man strode forward and knelt before Luo Zhenyang, knocking his forehead against the floor in a heavy kowtow. “Father, I’ve returned. It was my fault to make you worry.”
Luo Zhenyang clutched him as if waking from a dream. “My son… you’re alive! You’re still alive!” Tears streamed unchecked down his weathered face.
Luo Guan’s own eyes reddened. “This time, your son entered the Heavenly Fire Abyss and successfully condensed the Tongtian Bone. I haven’t disappointed you.”
“Good! Good!” Zhenyang’s joy was almost disbelief. “Seeing you like this, even if I died now, I’d have no regrets.”
“Father, I haven’t yet repaid you. You must live well. This whole matter began because of me—let me resolve it.”
He rose to his feet. “I’ll redeem the contract for ten thousand taels of gold. I agree to the price, but I’ll need time to raise it. Mr. Wu, please grant me a few days.”
Mr. Wu said, “If Chief Xu agrees, I can give you at most three days.”
Xu Hai snorted. “And if the Luo family can’t produce it in three days?”
Luo Guan stepped forward, eyes locked on him. “Then you can have my Tongtian Bone instead. Two generations, father and son, both with Tongtian Bones—three days is all I ask.
But if you insist on harming my father today, then for the rest of my life, at any cost and by any means, I will kill you. I swear it.”
His tone was quiet, but every word was edged with steel.
A faint twitch touched Xu Hai’s eyelid. That icy stare sent an unexpected chill down his spine.
This boy… is dangerous.
Three days. The Luo family could never gather that much gold in time. Better to destroy this whelp now and end the threat.
“Fine. I’ll agree.”

After they left, Luo Zhenshan sighed bitterly. “Luo Guan, you were too impulsive.” He drew a deep breath and turned to the elders. “Come to the ancestral hall—we’ll discuss this.
You, stay here and tend to your father. This is grown men’s business.”
No matter what, they couldn’t let the father and son come to harm. But ten thousand taels hung over them like a mountain.
Soon, the room was empty except for the two of them.
Luo Zhenyang said quietly, “Guan’er, after we speak, I’ll find Mr. Wu and fulfill the contract myself. Don’t stop me. This began because of me—how can I drag the whole family down? Your uncle cannot raise such a sum.”
Luo Guan lifted a hand…
Shhhhk!
A straight sword-mark split the floor.
“This…” Luo Zhenyang stared.
“Father,” Luo Guan said respectfully, “in the Heavenly Fire Abyss, I gained more than just the Tongtian Bone. Leave the contract to me, I can resolve it.
But your health… that’s what worries me. Let me examine you first.”
He gripped his father’s wrist. “Teacher, if you would.”
A thread of silent sword-intent slipped into Luo Zhenyang’s body.
The older man sat still, but inwardly he was more and more shaken.
Moments later, the sword-intent withdrew.
“How is it?” Luo Guan asked.
The ancient Xuan Turtle was silent for a while. “…Boy, they say you have hard bones, but your father’s are harder still.
Those old wounds from years ago should have killed him. And yet… he’s still here. Even so, he had maybe two or three years left and he forced himself to last until now.
His organs are damaged, his meridians shattered… his body is riddled with wounds. I don’t know how he endured, but every day, every hour of these years has been like carving flesh from bone.”
“Boy, cherish your father. He’s a good one.” The turtle’s voice dropped low, as if remembering something.
Pain stabbed through Luo Guan’s heart. His father had endured all this… for him.
“Teacher, can he still be saved?”
“Yes—but it will come at a heavy price.”
“No matter the price, I will save him.”
“Good. I didn’t misjudge you. I’ll help ease his pain for now.”
Opening his eyes, Luo Guan saw the deep lines on his father’s face, and tears slipped down without warning.
“Guan’er, you’re a grown man now. What’s there to cry for?” Luo Zhenyang smiled faintly. “I know my own body. Seeing you today… I’m already content.”
“Father, you’ve suffered all these years.” Luo Guan’s voice was hoarse. “Your injuries can be healed.”
Zhenyang’s eyes widened.
“It’s true. Let me adjust your body first…have a good sleep.”
Half an hour later, watching his father lying peacefully, free of pain for the first time in years, Luo Guan smiled.
For eighteen years he had been a son. Today… he had finally repaid a little of that debt.
Now, it was time to think about money.
“Teacher, any suggestions?”
“Where in Jiangning City has the most money?”
“Jinding Auction House,” Luo Guan answered without hesitation.
“Then that’s where we’re going. We’ll figure it out when we get there.”
Pulling on a loose black robe, Luo Guan slipped out of the Luo estate.
Half an hour later, he stood outside Jinding Auction House and bought a ticket.
As the most prominent trading house in Jiangning, Jinding feared no troublemakers. Many attendees wore disguises to avoid recognition, so the guards only gave Luo Guan a cursory glance before letting him in.
The seats were already more than half full. Luo Guan found a quiet corner and flipped open the auction catalog.
The lights dimmed. A tall woman in a fire-red gown walked gracefully onto the stage.
Her face looked like that of a girl of fifteen or sixteen, but her full, mature figure marked her as a woman in her late twenties. Every gesture was laced with charm; her large eyes curved into a smile even before she spoke, setting hearts racing.
“Welcome, honored guests. I am Jin Ya, and I have recently taken charge of Jinding Auction House’s Jiangning branch. I hope for your continued support in the future. I won’t delay you, let the auction begin!”
With a few simple words, she stepped down, countless gazes following her.
The Xuan Turtle teased, “Boy, snap out of it.”
Luo Guan flushed. “Please speak, Teacher.”
“This woman has a hidden ailment. We can use it. Turn to page twenty-one in the catalog. When bidding starts, don’t worry about the price—just win it…”
As the old turtle laid out the plan, Luo Guan silently filled in the details in his mind.
While, master and disciple whispered, the auctioneer had already taken the stage.