Chapter 826: Good Brothers Stab Knives for Each Other

Meng Jingzhou’s face paled drastically upon hearing those words, and he scrambled to defuse the crisis with speech.

"Father, we are still outside."

"A trivial matter."

With a sweeping wave of his great hand, Meng Potian swept both Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou inside the Meng estate.

The old horse snorted, allowing two guards to unhitch the carriage while it leisurely ambled into the manor to seek out its old companion Xu You, the second brother, to reminisce.

"It has been so long since I last returned to the Meng estate. Where does Second Brother live again?"

Meng Potian brought Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou to the main courtyard of the manor. As a child, aside from climbing mountains, Meng Jingzhou had loved this place above all else.

Now, he felt there was absolutely no need to revisit his childhood here.

"Father, there is still an outsider present," Meng Jingzhou attempted once more to reason with his sire, trying to convey that his childhood misdeeds were merely the ignorance of youth, and that after so many years, even he, the culprit, had forgotten them, so why must his father hold onto them so tenaciously?

"You must be Lu Yang. A youth of striking talent indeed." Facing Lu Yang, Meng Potian’s tone softened slightly. "I have long heard young Zhou praise you for possessing the natural disposition of the Daoist Buyu. Every time you venture out, you manage to stir up a whole succession of incidents."

Lu Yang remained silent.

Old Meng, so this is how you slander me behind my back? Which of those times I encountered trouble were you not right there beside me?

"In this era of grand contention, a rare genius like you is exactly what is needed."

"I hear you do not yet have a Dao companion. Since your master is the Daoist Buyu, surely no one dares to pair with you. By a stroke of fortune, my daughter is just sixteen, pure and lovely, a perfect match for you. I believe our two families could settle a marriage contract."

Before Lu Yang could even voice a refusal, Meng Potian turned back to Meng Jingzhou with a stern face, his tone dropping into a cold and sinister register.

"Very well, now there are no outsiders."

Seeing Meng Potian raise the iron ruler to discipline his son, Lu Yang could not bear to watch his good brother endure a thrashing. He took a step forward. "Please wait a moment, Uncle Meng."

Meng Jingzhou was profoundly moved. A true brother indeed, showing his genuine devotion in times of tribulation. Meng Potian turned his head, not understanding why Lu Yang was calling him to a halt.

"Old Meng’s behavior must have provoked heaven's wrath and human grievance for you to discipline him so, but he is only one person. I fear you will not find it thoroughly satisfying if you only punish one."

"It just so happens that I know a technique called 'One Meng Transforms into Ten Thousand Mengs.' I can manifest ten thousand Meng Jingzhous, ensuring that you, Uncle Meng, can discipline him to your heart's content."

Executing 'One Meng Transforms into Ten Thousand Mengs' was far more difficult than 'One Sword Transforms into Ten Thousand Swords,' demanding an exceptionally high level of spiritual energy and divine sense. However, that was of no consequence; Lu Yang could rely on medicinal pills to temporarily boost his spiritual energy, and as for the strength of his divine sense, he could temporarily borrow some from the Immortal Fairy.

Upon hearing this, Meng Potian was overjoyed. He had not expected Lu Yang to possess such a marvelous technique, and instantly bade him perform it boldly.

Lu Yang wasted no civilities. Seizing Meng Jingzhou by the ankle, he unleashed his sword technique.

"Holy shit, Old Lu, damn your ancestors—"

"One Meng Transforms into Ten Thousand Mengs!" Lu Yang shouted at the top of his lungs, cutting short Meng Jingzhou's final words.

Sensing a change, Meng Potian raised his head to see the sky densely packed with a myriad of his sons. Clutching his iron ruler, he soared into the heavens to begin the beating.

Meng Jingzhou’s agonizing shrieks echoed above the Meng estate, quite pleasant to the ear. Seeing this, Lu Yang hastily produced a Shadow Recording Orb to capture the moment.

Before long, Meng Jingzhou tumbled back down, rubbing his buttocks and walking with a pronounced limp.

"Splendid!" The more Meng Potian looked at Lu Yang, the more agreeable the youth seemed. He truly was the disciple of the Daoist Buyu, having mastered genuine capabilities.

The commotion of Meng Jingzhou's return was so immense that members of the Meng family's direct line soon converged upon the courtyard to watch the spectacle.

"Jingzhou, you are finally back. You have no idea how much your mother missed you; she stayed inside the house all day long, terrified she might miss you when you returned." The first to arrive at the courtyard was a man who appeared to be around thirty years of age.

"Then where is my mother now?"

"She went to the imperial palace several days ago."

With a sigh, Meng Jingzhou introduced him to Lu Yang. "This is my second uncle, Meng Poli."

"Greetings, Second Uncle Meng."

Second Uncle Meng Poli remarked, "Ah, this lad is far more polite than you ever were, Jingzhou. You have never called me that."

Meng Jingzhou rolled his eyes. "Second Uncle, have you forgotten the time you drank too much and insisted on swearing a brotherhood with the stone lions at the gate? You claimed you were the eldest brother, while the pair of stone lions were the second and third. You even said that henceforth I should call the stone lions Second Uncle, and not you."

Meng Poli's seasoned face flushed red as he coughed guiltily. "Ahem, words spoken under the influence of wine do not count."

"Has Jingzhou returned?" A gentle and refined voice resonated. The newcomer looked identical to Second Uncle Meng Poli, yet his temperament was entirely distinct, bearing the unmistakable air of one steeped in literature and poetry.

"This is my third uncle, Meng Poci, my second uncle's twin."

"Do you remember me telling you that I had an uncle stationed at the Demon-Locking Pass? That is him."

Lu Yang recalled something of the sort. When he and Old Meng had been flung by their Eldest Senior Sister to the Great Xia border—the dense forest bordering the Demon Domain—they had gone to the Demon-Suppressing Pass.

At that time, Meng Jingzhou had lamented that he had an uncle at the Demon-Locking Pass, wishing they had been thrown there instead.

"Third Uncle, why have you returned from the Demon-Locking Pass?"

One could discern no trace of the iron-blooded aura of a border-guarding general upon Meng Poci; he looked more like a grand scholar found within an academy.

Meng Poci smiled serenely. "I guarded the Demon-Locking Pass for fifty years. Last year, the imperial court issued an order to have me relieved."

"That is a joyous occasion," Meng Jingzhou said with a smile, surmising that following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Great Xia and the Demon Domain, the exceptionally formidable Third Uncle had been recalled to ease relations between the two factions.

"Brother, you are finally back!" A graceful figure darted out from nowhere, rushing excitedly to a halt before Meng Jingzhou.

"Little Sister!" Meng Jingzhou smiled radiantly, stroking her head and rumpling her hair.

If there was anyone in the Meng family who treated him best, it was his little sister. When he had run away from home without a single coin, it was her kind heart that prompted her to give him a storage ring. The treasures within that ring had allowed him to squander resources until now without ever exhausting them.

"This is my sister, Meng Jingyu."

"Greetings, Brother Lu Yang." Meng Jingyu smiled sweetly, proving to be just as pure and lovely as Meng Potian had described.

"Ah, what a good girl."

"Come, this is a gift from Brother Lu Yang." This was the first time Lu Yang had ever been addressed as 'Brother' by someone younger; previously, he had only encountered peers or cultivators of astonishing age.

From his identity jade token, Lu Yang retrieved a wooden sword. He had carved it in the likeness of the Qingfeng Sword while practicing his sword dao; it possessed the power to pierce through a Soul Formation stage cultivator.

"Thank you, Brother." Meng Jingyu accepted it with care and proper etiquette, her politeness prompting Lu Yang to secretly marvel that she and Old Meng seemed to belong to two entirely different species.

"In his letters, Brother always wrote about the things he encountered while traveling with you. Brother Lu Yang, are your journeys outside always so splendid?" Meng Jingyu looked up at Lu Yang with adoration. Having never left the Imperial City since childhood, she was intensely fascinated by his various exploits.

"How did he describe them?"

"Brother said you frequently cause trouble. For instance, he mentioned you lost your way and voluntarily joined the Immortal Sect, forcing him to destroy the sect just to rescue you. He also said that during your Golden Core stage, you challenged those of the Foundation Establishment stage for your own amusement. And he said you are constantly surrounded by romantic fortunes, but because your body is impervious to all laws, those romantic entanglements are entirely useless against you."

Lu Yang's expression remained unchanged, offering only a couple of hollow chuckles.