Bamboo Case Chapter 57: Steamed Buns

Lu Yun slipped his sword back into its scabbard and walked aimlessly down the street.

He only knew that An Luo was in this place, but he had no idea where he lived.

As for the An Luo Palace, Lu Yun knew An Luo well enough to know he would never stay there.

Suddenly, Lu Yun saw lights flickering in a few houses in the distance.

...

An Luo heard the commotion in the distance and made to push the door open and step outside.

"My Lord, you cannot go out."

An old man in plain clothes extended his only remaining arm, blocking An Luo's path.

"Why?"

An Luo frowned. "With Uncle Guang here, could the people sent by the Lei family possibly kill me?"

The old man known as Uncle Guang nodded. "It is actually quite possible. You wouldn't know, My Lord, but when I traveled abroad in my youth, I once encountered a successor of that lineage. That warrior in purple armor had methods far more formidable than anyone I ever faced..."

Fear flickered in Uncle Guang's eyes.

"If I didn't possess a few tricks of my own, you might not even be seeing me today."

"What?!"

An Luo's pupils constricted.

The Lei family was truly leaving no stone unturned. Could it be that they intended to leave him crippled for the rest of his days?

Just then, Uncle Guang suddenly lowered his arm, strode excitedly out of the estate, and looked into the distance.

"What a fine sword!"

Feeling the resonance, An Luo also walked out of the residence.

The moment he stepped outside, dazzling, brilliant sword Qi illuminated his eyes.

"This is... Brother Lu!"

An Luo hurried toward that direction.

Uncle Guang instinctively raised his hand, then let it drop with a slight tremor.

The aura of the purple-armored warrior had dissipated; there was no need to stop him anymore.

A sudden sense of sorrow seemed to wash over the old man. He sat down on the threshold, raising his head to gaze at the three bright moons in the sky.

"Uncle Guang, what is wrong?"

Shuize came to the old man's side and sat down with him.

Uncle Guang sighed, then smiled. "Uncle Guang is old. From now on, it will be the world of you young people."

Shuize smiled and patted Uncle Guang's back. "Oh, Uncle Guang, why are you feeling discouraged? Just yesterday you were saying you were still full of vigor!"

Uncle Guang laughed heartily. "Well said! How could such despondency ever be my style?!"

...

An Luo arrived on the street, his heart pounding with excitement as he searched for Lu Yun's figure.

He never would have imagined that Lu Yun would come all the way to Changxing Province to find him at a time like this.

In An Luo's heart, he felt both joy and vexation.

He should have asked about Lu Yun's whereabouts so he could have warned him not to come here.

For Lu Yun to come to Changxing Province right now was simply too dangerous!

...

Setting aside the Lei family, with the Baiyuan Kingdom expanding everywhere of late, the Wild Wilderness had long since caused widespread dissatisfaction, and many had been secretly waiting for the Luoze family to show a flaw.

Therefore, for Luoze to attempt to ascend to the Ascension Realm in the final moments of his life was akin to snatching food from the jaws of a tiger.

The slightest misstep, and every member of the Luoze family would perish right here.

"Boss, that's enough."

Just then, An Luo suddenly heard a familiar voice.

An Luo looked toward the source of the sound.

At the end of the street, he saw a young man with a shy smile, taking a paper bag handed over by a vendor.

Unfazed by the heat, the young man sat on a stone by the roadside and pulled a snow-white steamed bun from the paper bag.

"Brother Lu!"

An Luo quickened his pace and reached Lu Yun's side.

Lu Yun did not seem surprised. With a smile, he pushed the paper bag slightly toward An Luo.

"You're here. Have a few? Don't worry, I'll buy more if it's not enough."

An Luo froze, opening his mouth to explain why he had only just arrived, but when he saw the few steaming buns in the paper bag, the young man who had been a lord for a year suddenly felt like crying.

"Lu Yun, Changxing Province is very dangerous right now."

An Luo bit into a bun, chewing vigorously as he said in a muffled voice.

Lu Yun nodded. "I know."

"Then why did you still come?!"

An Luo said angrily, "Finish the bun and get back to wherever you came from right this instant!"

Lu Yun smiled and said, "I'm not weak anymore, and I've found a backing."

"You don't understand!"

An Luo was full of worry. "Everyone has their opportunities, that's normal, but the Lei family—the backing behind them is terrifying! There are very few in the Wild Wilderness who dare provoke them!"

"It's fine."

Lu Yun pulled out another bun and chuckled. "It doesn't matter."

An Luo was stunned.

After a long while, he tentatively asked, "That is a Throne-level Great Demon King, you might not realize..."

"It doesn't matter."

Lu Yun repeated himself.

"The reason I came here is simply because I consider you, An Luo, my brother. I'll do my absolute best to help you. But let's make one thing clear beforehand: don't expect me to be able to summon some supreme big shot to bail you out. He can only guarantee that I won't die, and that's the extent of it."

An Luo took a deep breath and nodded.

That was enough. That was more than enough...

"By the way, why did you send people to steal stones from the Hundred Thousand Mountains?" Lu Yun asked out of curiosity.

He could deduce that something must have happened to the Luoze family, but he genuinely did not understand why An Luo would do such a thing.

Assuming Lu Yun had simply heard about it from others, An Luo just smiled and said, "I'll take you to see for yourself later."

...

"Let's go!"

An Luo dusted off his hands and said to Lu Yun behind him, "I'll take you to have a look at my family's estate."

Lu Yun scratched his head and pointed somewhat apologetically toward several collapsed houses in the distance.

"I'm afraid I might have caused you some trouble..."

"These are trivial matters."

An Luo laughed heartily, waving a hand dismissively. "I am a prince of the Baiyuan Kingdom now. I may lack many things, but money is not one of them!"

Only then did Lu Yun relax, casting an apologetic glance at the few people hiding behind the houses.

"Brother Lu, why did you buy another portion of buns? My place isn't far from here. If you find it too troublesome, I can just have the vendor move his stall near my home."

An Luo looked at the paper bag of buns that had just vanished from Lu Yun's hands.

Lu Yun smiled. "Someone likes to eat them. I'm saving a portion for her."

Fortunately, storing the buns in his domain meant he didn't have to worry about them spoiling.

He would just buy them slowly like this; when she woke up, she would surely be very happy.

...

The two returned to the Luoze family estate together, only to find Uncle Guang and Shuize absent from the entrance.

An Luo let out a quizzical sound and stepped into the courtyard.

Lu Yun frowned, hesitating for a moment before following An Luo into the residence.

At the far end of the courtyard, beneath the wide-open doors of the main hall, an old man sat in the master's seat, leisurely sipping wine.

Uncle Guang stood respectfully to one side, while Shuize was dutifully massaging the old man's shoulders.

Seeing Lu Yun and An Luo return, Shuize let out a gasp of surprise. "It's you!"

Lu Yun smiled and looked toward the old man in the master's seat.

This person must be the grandfather of An Luo and Shuize.

Luoze!

An Luo was also quite startled and asked, "Grandfather, why are you here?"

Luoze set his wine gourd on the wooden table beside him and looked at Lu Yun.

Lu Yun suddenly felt a wave of pressure wash over him, but he stubbornly forced his spine straight.

As expected, the illusion created by Secretary Lu was ultimately fake. The aura of this old man, who had not yet stepped into the Ascension Realm, was far more oppressive than the Ascension Realm pressure in the illusion!

"Grandfather!"

An Luo said hurriedly, "He is my friend!"

Luoze ignored An Luo, simply nodded, and said to Lu Yun, "You are quite good."

The pressure vanished instantly. Lu Yun let out a breath and bowed.

"Greetings, Senior."

"Do you not think I am a freak in your heart?"

Luoze chuckled.

Lu Yun nodded. "A little."

Luoze laughed uproariously. "You brat, you suit my temperament!"