Hunter 130: The Lu Family

"Chief Ma, you don't look well."

As they prepared to set out, Lin Jiu noticed a hint of worry on Ma Xianhong's face.

"It's nothing... I just hope it doesn't turn out to be something bad."

Ma Xianhong had found Lu Liang's technique using the Soul Seizing Technique somewhat familiar. He hoped it wasn't the worst-case scenario he was imagining, or else he wouldn't know how to handle it.

After explaining things to the villagers, Ma Xianhong sets off with Lin Jiu. They left under the watchful eyes of the villagers, which naturally included the contractor of Biyou Village.

"Is this happening?"

"Wow! That guy just took the village chief with him. What are we supposed to do now?"

"So this is how high-level contractors operate! I can't even begin to imitate that!"

"What should we do now? Try our luck at the Raten Taishō?"

"If you want to go, go by yourself! That place is way more dangerous than Biyou Village!"

"It seems like the villagers are reluctant to see you go, Chief Ma."

Lin Jiu glanced back at the contractors with various expressions and smiled at Ma Xianhong.

"Looks like I'm not such a bad village chief after all!"

Ma Xianhong also smiled.

...

"What kind of energy is this? It feels completely different from Qi."

Sitting next to Lin Jiu, Ma Xianhong noticed the spiritual energy attached to Lin Jiu's hand as he leaned against the window.

Lin Jiu was trying to make it more precise, like turning a pair of rubber gloves from dishwashing gloves into surgical gloves.

Qi is essentially an abstract life energy, divided into innate Qi and acquired Qi. Innate Qi aligns with the heavens, while acquired Qi aligns with human desires.

Innate Qi has the power to transform and represents the quality of life. Acquired Qi, on the other hand, is for strengthening the body, gathering in the lower dantian, flowing through the meridians, nourishing the internal organs, limbs, and bones, and singing the beautiful melody of life.

So, innate Qi represents aptitude, and through acquired cultivation, one can extend their lifespan. But acquired Qi cannot fully replenish or prevent the loss of innate Qi, and life ultimately comes to an end.

The ultimate goal of the Three-One Sect's Reverse Life Technique is to transform one's Qi back into an innate Qi, achieving an immortal state.

However, the energy Ma Xianhong saw in Lin Jiu's hand was completely different from both innate and acquired Qi. Qi's presence is the standard for determining whether someone is an Outcast, but this situation left Ma Xianhong a bit confused.

Lin Jiu frowned as he looked at the dissipating soul energy in his hand. First, there wasn't enough quantity for sustained operation, and second, his control wasn't sufficient. He hoped that what they gained at the Lu family wouldn't disappoint him.

In the Lu Family Village, Hebei.

The Lu family village was not poor, nor backward, but it was extremely closed off. Status was determined by supernatural abilities—those unsuitable for cultivating Qi managed the family's businesses but had no say in family matters. Even if some non-Outcast people left the village, they couldn't sever ties with the family.

All actions were controlled by the village, especially marriages. Most of the villagers had the surname Lu, and those few with different surnames were all men, including those from families that left the village. The Lu family only accepted live-in sons-in-law. The village treated these sons-in-law well materially, but their status was the lowest in the village.

With Lu Liang leading the way, they quickly found the location of Lu Family Village. It was deep in the Taihang Mountains, with the village layout centered around ancient buildings, and the houses expanded outward in chronological order.

The outermost circle, with houses similar to modern buildings, was generally where villagers with no Qi cultivation talent lived. Most of the time, these houses were unoccupied because the residents were out managing the family businesses.

"Tsk, tsk, your Lu Family Village isn't bad. But it's a few notches below my Biyou Village."

Ma Xianhong, Lin Jiu, and Lü Liang stood on a distant peak, overlooking Lu Family Village.

The village landscape displayed a strong sense of layering. The internal spatial order wasn't handled uniformly but was shown in layers, with different levels such as the outskirts, village edges, and residential courtyards. It was obvious that the tower-like structures at the village edge were for vigilance.

The only place capable of using multiple artifacts to form a barrier was Ma Xianhong's Biyou Village, known for its expertise in Mysterious Mechanism Converts All Art.

"Let's not rush. Wait until it gets dark; it'll be easier to move then."

Lin Jiu found a large stone to sit on and told the other two.

Lu Liang looked at how naturally the other two were behaving, wondering how many times they had moved at night. Ma Xianhong, looking thoughtful, also found a place to sit.

As night fell.

Ma Xianhong stood up and took out three pairs of red monocular glasses from his devouring pouch, put one on, and handed the other two to Lin Jiu and Lu Liang.

"Let's use this to scout out the situation inside first."

Ma Xianhong said as he released a mechanical fly that flew toward Lu Family Village.

This fly could transmit the monitored images and sounds through the red monocular glasses worn by the user. It could also facilitate two-way communication with the person being monitored, and multiple flies could be dispatched at once, creating multiple screens for surveillance on the monocular glasses.

"This is so interesting. I'm starting to like following you, Sect Leader Red. Even in the Quanxing, it's rare to experience such fascinating things."

Lu Liang, no longer fearing for his life, began to find the Reincarnation Sect quite appealing. He was interested in these novels and intriguing things.

"The structure made of stone walls, slanting wooden beams, and gray tile roofs, like a courtyard house, is the Lu family ancestral hall... and over there, that's the Sun and Moon Tower. The peak behind it is called Guanshi Peak; the Lu family patriarch likes to stand there and overlook the entire Lu Family Village..."

As the fly's perspective shifted, Lu Liang introduced these landmarks to them.

"Who's there?!"

Suddenly, a stone flew and shattered the fly, causing the trio to lose visual contact. However, they managed to catch a glimpse of the face of the person who threw the stone.

"That's my second uncle, Lu Xiao. Although he didn't awaken the Soul Seizing Technique, his mastery of the Qi is a true inheritance from Lu Ci." As a rebel, Lu Liang didn't forget to introduce Lu Xiao to Lin Jiu and Ma Xianhong.

"We're heading to Guanshi Peak."

The three quickly moved toward the high peak behind the Lu family ancestral hall.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiao immediately informed Lu Ci of the intrusion, and Lu Family Village was put on high alert. Whenever Lu Ci sensed any threat to his family, he would go mad. And this intrusion by Lin Jiu and his group didn't need any further consideration!

"Find the intruders spying on our Lu family as quickly as possible!"

At Lu Ci's command, the entire Lu Family Village lit up, and all the Outcast began searching for the unknown invaders.

It wouldn't take long for them to find the trio on Guanshi Peak, who hadn't hidden themselves.

At that moment, the trio had already encountered someone on Guanshi Peak. The person first looked at Lin Jiu with surprise and curiosity, then saw Lu Liang and Ma Xianhong beside him and was shocked.

Moreover, the reaction to seeing Ma Xianhong was even more intense than when he saw Lu Liang. Hardly anyone in the outside world recognized Ma Xianhong. Even Lu Ci didn't know him, let alone a member of the Lu family. The conclusion was obvious—this person was a contractor.