"I wonder if the engagement will happen or not," one of the guards mused.
"Hmm, who knows the minds of people in high positions. We just have to do our jobs," replied another guard uncaringly.
"I am just curious. When I saw the young master yesterday, I felt he was a little different than usual. His aura was terrifying, and his footsteps seem more determined than before," said the first guard, expressing his observations.
The second guard raised an eyebrow, shocked. "Do you mean that the young master has at least reached the martial trainee level?"
The first guard shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe his incompetent title will be gone soon..."
As they were talking in the distance, they saw a luxurious carriage with four big, strong horses, each about 8 feet tall, advancing forward at a rapid pace. The horses had powerful shoulders and hindquarters, combined with a strong, broad back, well-sprung ribs, and thick mane and tails. The carriage was moving at a terrifying speed of about 5 miles per minute.
They were stunned when they saw the symbol of the Lu family on the carriage—a vibrant tree. Only direct descendants were allowed to sit in this carriage, and they knew that the old man driving it was Lu Zhen's personal guard.
"Isn't the young master going to the Golden Restaurant? Why is he back again?"
"Don't ask me, just open the gates," the guard replied, and the two quickly opened the gates.
The carriage went directly towards the main palace, and they caught a glimpse of Lu Zhen from the windows, which left them shocked.
They saw Lu Zhen covered in bandages, but he had a calm expression.
"Who… Who dares to… beat teh ung master liek that?" The guard said, visibly shocked to the core, unable to even pronounce the words properly.
The other guard was even more afraid.
The reason they were so shocked was that as the only heir of the Lu family, Lu Zhen had never been hurt before. As one of the four major families of Phoenix City, even martial artists had to bow before Lu Zhen, the heir of the Lu family.
One day, a third-tier martial artist had disrespected Lu Zhen to his face while he was drinking in a bar. The next day, the third-stage martial artist was found dead with his head severed, and his family was all slaughtered— not even his chickens and dogs were left alive. However, everyone kept quiet about it.
"A storm will brew again in Phoenix City…"
Both guards thought in their minds at the same time.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the palace as Lu Zhen came out, still wrapped in bandages. He helped Jiang Xue get off, but this time, he became a little distant towards her. As he intimately assisted Little Lily in getting out of the carriage with grace.
"Ouch," Lu Zhen exclaimed, as he 'accidentally' let go of his hand which was supporting little lily. Caught off guard, she almost face-planted into the ground, but Lu Zhen swiftly saved her by carrying her in a princess carry style with his two hands.
Little Lily blushed, feeling both embarrassed and flustered by the unexpected display of closeness with Lu Zhen. Nevertheless, she felt happy in his arms, her heart beating faster than usual. Lu Zhen, still feigning his injuries, managed to maintain a calm and collected expression despite the closeness between him and Little Lily.
Jiang Xue observed the scene with her usual indifferent expression, but deep down, she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy. She quickly pushed the feeling aside, reminding herself that she shouldn't be affected by such trivial matters and still have goals she wanted to fulfil.
"Let's go," Lu Zhen said, gently letting go of Little Lily and helping her stand steadily on the ground.
As they entered the palace through the main door, the guards at the entrance were shocked to see Lu Zhen covered in bandages. The sight left them astonished and fearful.
However, not forgetting their duties, they still opened the gates.
As they opened the gates, Jiang Lao and Lu Huang were engaged in a conversation, but their voices couldn't be heard, only their lip movements were visible. Jiang Lao had a frown on his face, while Lu Huang seemed to be in a cheerful mood. Mother Lu was sitting at the side, minding her own business.
As the trio entered, Mother Lu aka Lu Ying noticed Lu Zhen covered in bandages, which caused anger to be visible on her face. Boiling rage took over her.
"Who hurt you, my son? Tell me," Lu Ying said as a terrifying aura involuntarily spread from her body. The intensity of her aura was enough to make the hall feel as if it was shaking. Even Lu Huang and Jiang Lao's auras weren't comparable to hers.
Hearing the angry voice of Lu Ying, both Jiang Lao and Lu Huang were startled, realizing they had been too deep in their discussion to notice Lu Zhen's arrival. They quickly turned their attention to the furious Mother Lu, unsure of what had happened. Her aura compared to theirs made them feel like chickens compared to her.
Lu Zhen was stunned as he felt the terrifying aura emitted by his mother. Although his previous host of this body knew that his mother was a martial artist, he didn't know how powerful she was. He was totally ignorant of the martial world. However, he knew that Lu Ying had always showered him with love and doting.
Now looking at her aura, she should at least be a second stage martial artist, and she should be stronger than his cheap father, who is also at the second stage.
"Mother, assassins attacked our carriage when we were going to the golden restaurant," Lu Zhen replied without keeping any suspense.
"Oh, so some people have become really daring enough to assassinate my son in the city in broad daylight too," Lu Ying said, her anger boiling and the aura she emitted becoming even more terrifying.
"I think the assassination was for Jiang Xue," Lu Zhen said truthfully without hiding anything. He recounted the whole story, but he tweaked it a little, suggesting that he didn't save Jiang Xue, but a mysterious expert intervened. He also downplayed how he caught the assassin leader.
After all, Yu Bai was a guard that Lu Ying had personally assigned to him for his safety. So there was no way that Yu Bai wouldn't tell the whole story if asked. So, It was better to tell the truth first.
"Son, you shouldn't risk your life like this, especially when you have just started your martial journey. You should be more careful," Lu Ying said as her anger finally calmed down a little.