0122 - Treasure Trove Time!

After only a few steps, he stopped. He saw three figures waiting for him. Relief washed over him when he recognized two of them: his father, Lu Ming, and the Clan Patriarch, Lu Zheng. 

To avoid raising any suspicion, he avoided looking directly into their eyes and closed the distance with a bow. "Father? Clan Patriarch?"

"You have passed the sudden trial. How did you achieve that?" Lu Zheng asked abruptly before Lu Ming could congratulate him.

"Umm… I don't know. I just felt some chills and a little weakness, and that's it."

"Then what prompted you to come to this cave?" Lu Zheng asked.

Lu Sheng panicked inside, knowing it was a valid question. He couldn't reveal that his dead brother's ghost, now his soul slave, had guided him here. "Nothing specific. I felt a chill in my bones and came looking for warmth. I found this cave and thought to rest here for a while."