Chapter 222: Chapter 117: Sister, Lu Changsheng is Dead!_1
Qingzhu Mountain.

Inside a grand hall.

“What, you say you were ambushed on your way back, the Second Elder was intercepted, and Changsheng, in order to lure the enemies away, was chased by three robber cultivators and now his whereabouts are unknown!”

Lu Yuanding’s expression darkened instantly upon hearing his daughter Lu Miaohuan’s words.

“Yes, Father, at that time, we were being chased by three Energy Refinement Late Stage robber cultivators. Uncle Yuanhua tried to lead them away, but Changsheng, to ensure our safe escape, voluntarily left the flying boat, attempting to draw one away by himself.”

“But in the end, all three robber cultivators went after Lu Changsheng.”

Lu Miaohuan said, her eyes red and her voice choked with emotion.

All this time, the image of Lu Changsheng stepping off the flying boat and standing on the magic artifact to lead the robber cultivators away kept reappearing in her mind.

Regret and self-blame gnawed at her; why hadn’t she held onto Lu Changsheng then?

After all, being chased by three robber cultivators was certainly a death sentence.

“Family Head, this is all my fault; I failed to protect Changsheng. I am willing to accept punishment,” said Lu Yuanhua, his face filled with self-reproach.

The importance of Lu Changsheng to the Lu Family was now self-evident.

As long as he continued to grow, he would be one of the core pillars of the Lu Family in the future.

But now, such a pillar of the future had been sacrificed because of them.

This filled him with immense guilt and self-blame.

“Sigh.”

Lu Yuanding let out a heavy sigh, his heart weighed down with sorrow.

He never expected such an unexpected event to occur.

If Lu Changsheng really had an accident, it would not only be a great loss to the Lu Family.

He also wouldn’t know how to face the Fourth Elder.

“The ancestor once said, ‘Lu Changsheng is a man of great destiny; I hope he can turn calamity into blessing this time!’”

Lu Yuanding could only hope so in his heart.

But the thought of Lu Changsheng being pursued by three robber cultivators made his mood even heavier.

The prospect of Lu Changsheng turning calamity into blessing, of escaping death, seemed incredibly slim.

“The matter of punishment can be set aside for now; the urgent task at hand is to retrieve and rescue the Second Elder and search for Lu Changsheng!”

Looking at his daughter with reddened eyes, her face full of sadness and grief, Lu Yuanding sighed softly and then turned to Lu Yuanhua and said this.

He then told his daughter and the other Lu Family disciples to rest and not to spread the news.

He and Lu Yuanhua quickly left the grand hall.

…

Lu Miaohuan, her eyes red, returned to the backyard of her family home with a grief-stricken and despondent face and sat down by the stone table, staring blankly into space.

She couldn’t help but recall Lu Changsheng’s appearance and silhouette in her mind.

Their playful bickering, the joy, every little moment shared.

Though the time the two had spent together wasn’t long,

When she reminisced, those moments kept revolving in her head.

The sadness, self-reproach, and other emotions in her heart began to ferment,

Making Lu Changsheng’s image in her heart become ever more vivid.

“Lu Changsheng,” she whispered his name softly.

She felt an emptiness inside.

She realized what it meant to only cherish something when it’s lost.

“Huanhuan, you’re back! What’s wrong?”

At this moment, Lu Miaoge returned from visiting the Fourth Elder.

Seeing her sister’s sorrowful and distraught state in the yard, she immediately approached her with concern.

“Sister, Lu Changsheng is dead, wu wu wu…”

As Lu Miaohuan, mired in her memories, saw her sister appear,

All the emotions churning in her heart exploded in that moment.

She hugged her sister tightly, her voice filled with grievance as she spoke.

Tears streamed down her face as she cried.

“What!?”

Lu Miaoge, hearing her sister’s words, felt as if struck by lightning, her delicate body shaking violently, frozen in shock.

Her beautiful face turned pale, she looked at her sister in disbelief and said, “Huanhuan, what are you saying, you’re saying Changsheng is dead?”

“Wu wu wu, he sacrificed himself to protect us.”

Lu Miaohuan cried out loudly.

She had already convinced herself that Lu Changsheng’s death was certain.

Hearing this, Lu Miaoge looked at her sister’s sorrowful state, her heart also filled with grief, as if cut by knives.

“Huanhuan, don’t cry; tell me what happened? Changsheng… how could Changsheng die…”

Lu Miaoge soothed her sister, her lips quivering as she asked shakily.

She couldn’t believe this was true.

That Lu Changsheng could just die like that.

Memories of him also started resurfacing in her mind,

Meeting Lu Changsheng through the testing of Talisman-Making Skills,

Then constantly hearing about his progress in the Talisman Path and remembering him.

Later, studying Talisman Making with him at the Fourth Elder’s place, working together at the Nine Dragons Marketplace.

She had witnessed Lu Changsheng’s progress and growth all along.

And not long ago, their relationship had taken another step further, with the reality of a marital connection.

But now, her sister was telling her that Lu Changsheng was dead.

Lu Miaoge simply couldn’t believe it, couldn’t accept this terrible news.

“On our way back…,” Lu Miaohuan began, her voice choked with sobs, narrating the events that had happened during their return.

“Four masked robber cultivators attacked us; Changsheng lured the robber cultivators away and ended up being chased by three of them…”

When Lu Miaoge heard that Lu Changsheng wasn’t confirmed dead, the anxiety that had caught in her throat eased somewhat,

But her heart still sunk to the depths.

She knew these four robber cultivators, bold enough to ambush the Second Elder’s flying boat, were no ordinary foes.

They might even be the same four who had ambushed her before.

Under such circumstances, for Lu Changsheng to escape unscathed from three robber cultivators was nearly impossible.

“Huanhuan, don’t cry; Changsheng has a destiny protected by heaven, and he won’t come to harm,” Lu Miaoge bit her lip, consoling her sister.