Chapter 31: Taking Refuge at the Lu Estate, a Maid Keeps Watch at the Door

Wutong Manor.

In the western sky, the sunset clouds resembled a phoenix spreading its wings, unfurling across ten thousand miles. Qiutong stood at the manor gate, gazing anxiously down the road leading to Baishi Town, while casually placing a severed head onto a pile of others nearby.

"Why hasn't the young master returned yet? It’s already the evening of the second day. Could something have happened to him?"

Qiutong’s arched brows were furrowed in a tight knot, and her eyes, gentle as an autumn lake, were filled with concern.

"Sister Qiutong, you've placed it crookedly again," Qingzhu complained.

Dragging a headless corpse by the foot toward the wall, she lined it up neatly alongside the others.

"What does it matter if one head is a bit crooked? These people surely don't have any objections. Sister Qingzhu, you really are too fussy. What did the young master call it? Right, obsessive-compulsive disorder!" Hongmei said, her hand moving with the blade to lop off another head, tossing the comment in as she worked.

"Who’s being fussy? A *jingguan* (monument of heads) needs to be arranged neatly to be intimidating. If the head at the very top is crooked, how can it scare anyone? If it fails to deter, and people keep coming to harass us, what are we supposed to do if the master and mistress are frightened?" Qingzhu snapped back.

"Everyone, stop arguing. The young master is so capable; he’ll be fine—" Yulan said timidly.

"Who said the young master is in trouble? The young master’s martial prowess is heaven-sent and invincible; even if we were in trouble, he wouldn't be!" Qingzhu turned and retorted.

"Enough! If the young master doesn't return tonight, you all hold the manor. I will head to Songjing tomorrow to find him," Qiutong commanded, and the girls finally fell silent.

The five of them had grown up with Lu Wu, and being separated for more than a day had left them restless, stripping away their usual cheer.

"I’m just saying, the young master is definitely fine—" Yulan muttered, pulling a few riderless warhorses toward the manor.

The State of Wu, located in the south, suffered from a shortage of horses. A single warhorse was worth at least a hundred strings of cash, with better ones fetching three to five hundred, and top-tier ones worth thousands. The fifty or sixty warhorses they had gathered over the past two days represented an astonishing fortune.

Wutong Manor lay to the south of Baishi Town, a place many passed through during the spring outings. However, with the current chaos in the capital of Songjing, while various factions maintained some restraint and the situation hadn't completely collapsed into total looting, many families who realized they had backed the wrong side were scrambling to escape. Even deserters, having made a quick profit through opportunism, were looking for a way out.

Those who were well-prepared simply fled. Those who were ill-prepared but confident in their own strength set their sights on the wealthy estates along the way. Old Master Lu had originally been one of those wealthy men who saw the writing on the wall and intended to bolt, but he had harbored a shred of luck, hoping to wait out the storm at Wutong Manor.

As it turned out, he had brought too much wealth; his two hundred carriages could not fit inside the manor and had to be left outside, attracting many uninvited guests. These people were not necessarily after money, but many simply wanted to seize the carriages—only to leave their heads behind instead.

Because so many people came to harass them, Yulan had suggested piling the heads into a *jingguan* in front of the manor to discourage passersby from having any ideas.

***

Inside Wutong Manor.

Lu Jinhe picked up a cup of tea, took a sip to steady his nerves, then set it down on the table beside him and asked, "Your name is—"

"This servant is Jinju," Jinju replied, quick-witted enough to volunteer her name.

"For all these years, I have been blind. I have wronged you girls," Lu Jinhe said.

It was no joke; these girls were not mere handmaidens—they were killing machines! At first, he thought Lu Wu had told him to bring his wives here for safety because these five girls were exceptionally skilled in martial arts. While it seemed unbelievable, since his son had suddenly become so formidable, it wasn't impossible that the girls had received a similar legacy.

He had thought hiding at Wutong Manor would be safe due to its remote location, but rogue soldiers had actually attacked. At that time, the five girls had donned heavy armor and marched out from the gate side-by-side to engage the cavalry. The scene was like five meat grinders pushing forward in unison; men and horses were shattered and left in gore before them.

Initially, Lu Jinhe had strongly opposed the girls going out to fight—it was common knowledge to use the terrain against cavalry; who would ever charge out to meet them on foot? But the girls insisted that this was the young master’s home and could not be defiled, so they donned heavy armor and took up heavy axes and long blades. They wouldn't listen to reason, and Lu Jinhe could only order people to provide support.

When the two sides clashed, the five long weapons descended like thunder, and flesh and blood flew wherever they passed. Lu Jinhe and his wife, Madam Lu, were alright, but the concubines, Madam Lu Yun and Madam Lu Shui, had vomited on the spot.

(Madam Lu Yun was Lu Jinhe’s concubine and Lu Wu’s biological mother.)

"I dare not accept such words from you, Master. It is our blessing to serve the young master," Jinju said, bowing her head.

Jinju was cautious in her reply. Qiutong had left her to answer the master’s questions because she had been standing on the far edge, having killed only one person, and her armor was mostly free of bloodstains.

The old mistress had already vomited; if they scared the master too, how would they answer to the young master upon his return? Unfortunately, she was so tall that even while bowing, she still stood a head taller than Old Master Lu.

"The Lu family has failed you. But fortunately, there is time to make amends. The situation in Songjing is chaotic, but once it stabilizes, I will go to the authorities and help you clear your slave status." Lu Jinhe was determined to treat these five maids well.

The Lu family was currently in a precarious state. If they could not establish themselves in Wu, they would have to flee to another country, which would require armed protection. The Lu family did have many guards and retainers, but if they were truly forced to leave their homeland, not all of them might be willing to follow. Since these five maids had grown up with Lu Wu, they were likely his peers in training, if not in name; the Lu family could no longer treat them as mere maids.

"Master, the young master has already helped us clear our slave status. We are now the young master's guards," Jinju replied quickly.

"Hmm, Wu did well. But that was his doing; my own sense of guilt remains. Tell me, Jinju, is there anything you desire?" Lu Jinhe asked.

"I want for nothing. As long as I can stay by the young master’s side, that is enough," Jinju said softly, bowing her head.

Jinju’s father had been a servant of the Lu family, and her mother a servant from a branch family. Both had died when she was young, and she had been brought into the main house and assigned to serve the young Lu Wu—a custom of the Lu family to care for their own household-born servants, at least ensuring they were fed. Apart from Lu Wu and the other sisters, she had no other family.

"What?" Lu Jinhe hadn't heard her clearly.

"I want to stay by the young master’s side," Jinju said, raising her voice slightly.

Lu Jinhe sighed. It wasn't that the request troubled him, but that the girl’s requirements were far too modest. He had asked in hopes that she would make a real request, yet all she wanted was to remain by his son’s side, not even knowing enough to ask for a raise in her monthly allowance.

Such a fierce warrior, capable of donning heavy armor and charging head-on into cavalry, would be treasured by any family. In truth, it wasn't difficult to hire a martial artist from the underworld for a high price, but warriors capable of facing military formations head-on were not easy to come by anywhere.