Chapter 335: Chapter 197: Abnormal Reaction

Leaving the He Family’s estate, Cheng Zongyang slipped into an alley and vanished.

He reappeared in a small house at the marketplace and picked up the envelope.

Inside were three sheets of paper containing information on the other five families, excluding the He Family.

As he read through them, however, Cheng Zongyang’s expression soured.

The information on each family was sparse, consisting mostly of basic details.

This was all surface-level information he had already learned from the captive family Martial Artists. It was completely useless.

Although the report concluded that they had no other connections in Xiangyang, Cheng Zongyang didn’t fully believe it.

’These Lower Three Grade Families managed to break out from the Land of Thirteen Royal Families, fight their way through countless factions, come here to occupy a County Town, and carve out a piece of the pie for themselves. It’s impossible that they’ve done all this without any power, connections, or foundation.’

Therefore, in his eyes, this letter was nothing more than a half-hearted gesture from He Shujun.

He would have to wait for the men he’d sent out to investigate to return before he could know for sure if they had connections.

’It doesn’t matter. I just have to kill Lu Yan. If I deny it afterward, who can frame me?’

’As for He Shujun, the agreement forbids her from revealing anything. She won’t be able to talk! If she speaks my name to a third party, she’ll probably drop dead on the spot, her Soul Returns to the Wilderness.’

「Half an hour later, in a pitch-black alley.」

When Cheng Zongyang appeared again, he had changed into Night Clothes. Then, executing the Wind-Stepping Step, his figure vanished into the night like a shadow, heading toward Northwest City Street.

Now that the agreement was sealed, there was no need to waste any more time.

「Northwest City Street, at the Lu Family estate.」

"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."

A fit of violent coughing echoed from a room in the rear courtyard.

"Husband, why are you coughing again? I thought your injury had already healed."

Inside the room, a woman with a slightly anxious expression looked at her husband, who was beside her, preparing to change and go to sleep.

"It’s nothing." Lu Yan shook his head slightly, but his complexion was grim.

He looked down at the long-healed scar on his chest, his eyes filled with confusion.

It wasn’t the first time he’d suffered a blade wound, but nothing like this had ever happened before.

He had thought the blade might have been poisoned, but the Martial Physician his family had brought with them had diagnosed him multiple times and found no signs of poison, not even a slow-acting one. Nor was it a Martial Arts Internal Injury.

And yet, for the past few days, his chest had been constantly uncomfortable. Not only did he feel weak when practicing his Martial Arts, he couldn’t even sleep well, which left him mentally drained.

And now, tonight, he had started coughing.

This convinced Lu Yan that something was definitely wrong with his body. Why else would a Seventh Grade Martial Artist suddenly start coughing for no reason?

"Go have someone fetch Mr. Lan," Lu Yan said with a dark expression, telling the woman beside him to send for him.

"Yes, yes, of course."

Hearing this, the woman’s expression grew even more tense as she hurried out.

A moment later, a wiry man with graying hair, yet a ruddy complexion and high spirits, walked briskly into the room carrying a wooden box. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Several young men and women followed him in.

"Father, what’s wrong?"

The first to speak was Lu Wufei, who hurried forward with a worried look on his face to ask.

The others who followed behind also chimed in with their concerns.

"Father, has an old injury relapsed?"

"Father..."

"Enough." Lu Yan cut them off. "I am fine. There’s no need to be nervous. All of you, leave. Only Mr. Lan needs to stay."

"But, Father..." Lu Wufei started to protest. But meeting his father’s irrefutable gaze, he could only swallow his words and lead his younger siblings out. Even Mrs. Chang of the Lu Family had to go outside and wait.

"Patriarch, what is the situation?" Lan Feng asked with some confusion as he placed his box on the table.

"I’ve been coughing for a while tonight. I thought it was just my breathing, but just now, a cough was accompanied by a sharp, twisting pain in my chest. I suspect there’s a problem with my heart. I need you to take a close look."

This, however, made Lan Feng frown. He said:

"I have already taken your pulse, tested your blood, and examined your body’s surface very carefully. There are no signs of illness, internal or external.

But to inspect the condition of your internal organs, you would need a Martial Physician of the Sixth Grade or higher. Only those at the Sixth Grade and above possess True Qi.

Only by using True Qi to probe can one perceive any abnormalities within the organs. And such an abnormality wouldn’t be an Internal Injury, but... a foreign object!"

At this, Lu Yan’s brow tightened. "Are you saying there’s a foreign object in my heart?"

Lan Feng shook his head slightly. "I can’t be certain. From my examination, your body is perfectly normal aside from a slight deficiency in qi and blood. But since you feel discomfort in your chest, and considering your description, the possibility of it being your heart is high. Let me take your pulse again. You should also try to remember when this discomfort in your chest began."

"I’ll have to trouble you, then."

Lu Yan suppressed the doubts in his heart and extended his hand, placing it on the table.

Lan Feng immediately began to take his pulse.

Lu Yan’s mind, too, was racing with thoughts.

Time ticked by, second by second, and the room was completely silent. Outside in the small courtyard, however, everyone was extremely anxious.

As the eldest son, Lu Wufei had to remain calm and composed; he couldn’t afford to lose his nerve.

They had only just arrived in the County Town, and nothing had truly begun yet. Because of Li Mingxin’s complete hands-off approach, all the cooperative agreements the families had discussed on their way here seemed to have become empty talk.

Now, with each family harboring different intentions and their own schemes, he was worried something would happen to his father.

’What’s going on?’

From the corner of a wall, Cheng Zongyang silently observed the situation in the rear courtyard, his expression hardening.

He had just arrived, assuming that most of the Lu Family would be asleep by now, and had been planning to seize the opportunity to quietly eliminate Lu Yan.

But from outside the rear courtyard wall, he heard some commotion within.

He watched for a moment. Lu Yan was not among the people in the courtyard, but one of the rooms was lit, and inside, two figures flickered in the lamplight.