Chapter 50: The Recognition of the Son May Be Anticipated

Wu Shanlong did not accept the gift this time.

He knew very well that his trip to Yonglin City involved very little effort on his part.

Originally, he had been invited to the Lu family in Yonglin City to guide Lu Xiao.

The *Dragon Blood Bathing Body Art* had been handed over to Lu Xiao, but what would be the point if he could not understand or comprehend it?

Sending Wu Shanlong to offer guidance was done precisely with these considerations in mind.

Yet as things stood, Jiang Yuerou had worried needlessly.

There was no need for them to teach him further; Lu Xiao had already achieved an initial mastery of the *Dragon Blood Bathing Body Art*.

Seated across from him, Jiang Yuerou nodded upon hearing Wu Shanlong’s reply.

"That is for the best, as it spares us some troublesome matters.

Tempered by the *Dragon Blood Bathing Body Art*, his physique should experience a fairly noticeable improvement.

I only hope the boy Lu Xiao can strengthen his physical foundation as much as possible during this period."

"Xianzi Jiang need not keep her brows furrowed. In my view, everything is proceeding smoothly right now, and all arrangements are quite proper."

Faced with Wu Shanlong’s consolation, Jiang Yuerou slightly smoothed away her knit brows and nodded.

"Previously, I truly had some doubts regarding Lu Xiao’s cultivation talent.

If he failed to learn the *Dragon Blood Bathing Body Art*, it would not have mattered much.

What I feared more was that he might not even be able to comprehend the *Concentration Art* and would be entirely unable to grasp it.

Should that have happened, extracting the spiritual bones would have become truly troublesome."

The *Concentration Art* was a very basic cultivation method that offered no significant benefits and provided practitioners with little enhancement.

However, practicing the *Concentration Art* was mandatory for the extraction of spiritual bones.

The vital energy of the body condenses within the bones, and the essence within the bones enters the spirit.

Only after refining the *Concentration Art* would the extracted spiritual bones carry the essence of the body and possess the efficacy of improving one's physical foundation.

If Lu Xiao’s talent were too poor and he proved unable to learn the *Concentration Art* even with guidance, that would have been truly helpless.

Since Lu Xiao was able to master the *Dragon Blood Bathing Body Art*, the *Concentration Art* would naturally pose no problem.

"Speaking of which, Lu Xiao’s cultivation talent is indeed rather lacking.

He has already reached adulthood, yet he has only just opened his physical gates.

Even with the forced enhancement from the *Dragon Blood Bathing Body Art*, he has barely managed to reach the Stone-Moving Realm.

With such talent, it is hard to believe he is Xianzi Jiang's chi—"

Wu Shanlong did not finish his sentence before he noticed the change in Jiang Yuerou’s expression.

It was clear that she felt deeply uncomfortable whenever it was mentioned that Lu Xiao was her child.

In truth, the existence of Lu Xiao had always been a thorn between her and Meng Beizhou.

At times, the two of them would be smiling happily, only for Meng Beizhou’s smile to instantly vanish as if suddenly remembering something.

Then there were the nights when Meng Beizhou sat alone before his desk.

His brows would always be tightly knitted, refusing to relax.

Jiang Yuerou knew what he was thinking and what caused him such distress.

Yet once things had happened, they could never be restored to the past.

All she could do was make amends, making up for it as much as possible.

Sometimes, Jiang Yuerou even wondered why Lu Xiao had not died prematurely in his childhood.

Without the child Lu Xiao, Meng Beizhou might not have suffered so deeply.

"It was Shanlong who spoke out of turn, and I ask Xianzi Jiang to forgive me. 1
My mind is not very sharp, and I always tend to utter foolish words."

Hesitating for a moment, Wu Shanlong quickly offered an apology.

He had just realized that Jiang Yuerou was now the daughter-in-law of the State Duke Meng's estate; bringing up the fact that Lu Xiao was her biological child was certainly inappropriate.

Some matters, though true, only needed to be known in private; there was no need to voice them aloud.

Hearing this, Jiang Yuerou smiled and waved her hand.

"As long as Lu Xiao understands the greater good and contributes his spiritual bones for Xinchen and Xinxue, I have already decided to acknowledge him as my child.

Therefore, Protector Wu was not wrong in what you said just now.

Beizhou feels somewhat uncomfortable about this in his heart.

Yet since Lu Xiao is sacrificing his spiritual bones, I do indeed owe him some compensation.

Consider it a debt I owe him, and so I will acknowledge him."

Jiang Yuerou’s tone was low.

As these words left her lips, it sounded as though she were paying a tremendous price.

Wu Shanlong did not respond, merely nodding in agreement.

He had no desire to meddle in the affairs between Jiang Yuerou and the Lu family, nor did he care to get involved.

Since there were no other matters requiring his attention at the moment, he could simply rest in peace.

At his age, Wu Shanlong had lost much of his youthful drive and ambition; he had begun to indulge in the pursuit of comfort.

During this period, he intended to settle down and enjoy himself thoroughly in the capital.

...

It was already noon.

The attendant delivering meals outside the tent had just set down the midday meal when Lu Xiao happened to open the tent flap.

This sudden movement startled the attendant.

"Please inform the Second Miss Xue that my restoration work is complete. Sorry to trouble you."

Hearing this, the attendant bowed to Lu Xiao and immediately hurried toward Xue Shiwei’s tent.

Compared to the servants of the marquis's estate, the attendants around Xue Shiwei were somewhat more respectful toward him.

The tents were not far apart, and in less than a quarter of an hour, Xue Shiwei had walked over.

Without exchanging any polite pleasantries, Lu Xiao directly took out the Five-Direction Jade.

The surface, which had previously been somewhat dull, now clearly gleamed with luster.

The cracks that had once marked the surface of the Five-Direction Jade had also vanished entirely, without a trace left behind.

"Fourth Young Master, you were able to complete the restoration in just a single night?"

Upon touching the Five-Direction Jade, Xue Shiwei was even more astonished than she had been when she saw the Thousand-Sun Jade last time.

That Thousand-Sun Jade pendant was relatively small overall, and the texture of the Thousand-Sun Jade was quite mild.

Both crafting and repairing it had been much easier.

As for a material like the Five-Direction Jade, aside from being inexpensive and easy to find, it possessed mostly flaws.

Furthermore, the artifact she had handed over to Lu Xiao for repair was a piece of jade ware.

Compared to that jade pendant, it was at least ten times larger.

The larger the jade artifact, the more energy required for its restoration.

There was also another major problem: the cracks in the jade ware were likely to have penetrated deep into the interior.

How deep could a crack be on a pendant of such narrow width?

Yet on this jade artifact, the cracks were quite likely to have penetrated to a depth of half a finger's length.

"Perhaps I was too excited after leaving Yonglin City.

Finding it hard to sleep, I simply got up and continued the restoration work.

By rushing through it, I managed to finish it."

Lu Xiao offered a polite and conventional explanation.

Hearing this, Xue Shiwei seemed even more astonished than before.
"Fourth Young Master, can it truly be completed in a single night......

The master craftsman in my household said that even with his undivided attention, it would take at least three days..."

In truth, Lu Xiao did not know much about craftsmanship and artisan techniques.

To deal with extremely deep fractures, craftsmen had to spend a great deal of time.

For every inch of depth, it generally took another full day of work.

Lu Xiao had no accurate estimate of the time required for such jade ware.

He had originally thought that leaving one night plus a morning would be just about enough time.

He had not expected his judgment to be off once again.

Looking at Xue Shiwei, Lu Xiao hesitated for quite a while, still unable to think of a suitable excuse.

Instead, Xue Shiwei noticed Lu Xiao's awkward dilemma.

A trace of apology immediately surfaced on her face.

"Top-tier artisans possess their own unique, closely guarded techniques.

Fourth Young Master, please forgive me; Shiwei did not mean to pry into your secrets..."

Once Lu Xiao had confirmed that the refining method could restore items, he had also considered using this method for profit.

Fearing that exposure would bring repercussions, he had never put it into practice.

Today's incident served as yet another warning to him.

The art of refining was better left unshown in front of others.