CIATB Chapter 264 The Lü Family Birthday Banquet, Opening
Chapter 264 The Lü Family Birthday Banquet, Opening
As the sun and moon revolve, three days seem to pass in the blink of an eye. The once remote and quiet Lüjia Village, nestled in the mountains and forests, has now become somewhat noisy, with many more bustling people.
The once quiet and winding mountain path is now adorned with a touch of joy, with bright ribbons and red silk tied to the trees on both sides of the road, stretching all the way down the mountain to the entrance of Lüjia Village deep in the mountains.
Colorful ribbons and red silk fluttered in the wind, welcoming the guests to the banquet and pointing them in the direction to Lüjia Village.
"Hmph, the old hedgehog loves to play these tricks. The entire thirty-mile mountain road is decorated with red ribbons and colorful decorations."
Following the guidance of the red ribbons, the Lu family's vehicle arrived at the entrance of Lüjia Village. Lu Jin, sitting in the car, leaned against the window, looked at the red ribbons on both sides of the road, and shook his head and pursed his lips.
"With this kind of pomp and circumstance, I don't know if it's for a birthday celebration or a wedding procession. Aren't they afraid of not being able to suppress their good fortune?"
The old man, who was praised as having lived a "flawless life," was now more spirited, and his words carried a hint of inexplicable bitterness.
"Alright, Grandpa, at worst, in a few years we can make it a grand affair and have a big celebration. We'll paint the entire Lu family compound red for you, and I guarantee it will be even bigger than Grandpa Lü's."
Looking at Lu Jin, who now seems to have reversed his aging process, the two siblings from the Lu family were somewhat unaccustomed to their great-grandfather's youthful mindset.
After all, no matter how hard they thought about it, they couldn't figure it out. The old man Lu, who was praised as "flawless in his life," now seemed like a vain old man who cared about his image and said things he didn't mean.
"Get lost on your crazy ideas! I hired many masters to design my house and painted it red. Why don't I just paint your house red too?"
Lu Jin turned her head to look at the Lu siblings, gazing at Lu Lin's youthful face, which was remarkably similar to her own when she was young, and then at Lu Linglong's poised and elegant demeanor beside her, she felt a sense of frustration.
"These are all superficial things, nothing to worry about. The real problem is that seeing your faces makes me furious."
"A birthday banquet? Ha, I will never hold a birthday banquet again!"
As they were talking, the Lu family's car had already stopped at the entrance of Lüjia Village. Lu Jin opened the car door and got out, as if she didn't want to recall the past for even a moment.
"Hey Lao Lu, what a coincidence!"
However, just as Lu Jin slammed the car door shut, he looked up and saw an old friend dressed in a Taoist robe, with an air of otherworldly wisdom.
The old friend smiled and waved as he walked toward him, his narrow eyes hidden behind his white eyebrows, making him look quite kind and approachable.
"What a coincidence!"
Lu Jin stared expressionlessly at his old friend approaching, then asked through gritted teeth, "Old Celestial Master, you're here quite early. Why haven't you gone in yet?"
"Hi, not early at all, I just arrived."
A fleeting smile crossed Zhang Zhiwei's eyes as he stroked his beard and said unhurriedly, "Longhu Mountain is far away, and the Celestial Master's Mansion is not wealthy enough to provide transportation. Fortunately, the Lü family arranged for people to help, otherwise I would have had to walk into the mountain."
"Hey, Lao Lu, you don't look too good."
He seemed to only then notice Lu Jin's expression, and feigned confusion by spreading his five fingers and waving his palm in front of Lu Jin's eyes.
"It's nothing. I applied wax because I was worried it would be cold in the mountains before I left."
Lu Jin shoved away the obstructive hand in front of him, and with a forced smile, walked past the old master toward the village entrance. "It's getting late, old master, we should go in now."
Looking at the rising morning light, Zhang Zhiwei smiled and agreed, "It's getting late, Rongshan, Shiman, let's go inside."
The three from Longhu Mountain followed behind the Lu family. The old celestial master tried several times to quicken his pace to catch up with Lu Jin, but the other party seemed to have noticed and walked even faster, quickly widening the distance between them.
"Greetings, Master Lu! Greetings, Old Celestial Master!"
At the village entrance, Lu Xiao and Lu Qian, who were in charge of welcoming guests, had just seen off a group of guests when they turned around and saw Lu Jin walking quickly towards them, seemingly being chased by someone.
"Um."
"Old Lu, what's the rush? Do you think the Lü family would starve us?"
Just as Lu Jin nodded, the old celestial master appeared from afar and stood nearby, winking at Lu Qian with a smile.
"You brat from the Lü family, don't you think so?"
Having taken off his Taoist robe and changed into festive attire, Lü Qian also saw the old Celestial Master's blinking eyes, and seemed to see a familiar figure in them.
He was a young Taoist priest riding a donkey backwards, carrying a satchel on his back, and dressed somewhat sloppily and casually.
In a daze, the figure disappeared again, and the reflection in the old master's eyes was Lü Qian's current figure.
The two exchanged glances for only a moment before Lü Qian smiled and nodded to the old Celestial Master, "Celestial Master is joking."
Watching the tense exchange between the two, Lu Jin felt a surge of bitterness in her heart, and the past inevitably came to mind.
The same Lu family compound, the same Lu family birthday banquet, different location, different time, different people, but the same two slaps.
And two equally annoying Taoist priests with bull-nose noses!
Thinking of this, Lu Jin couldn't help but snort coldly, venting some of the bitterness in his heart, "Hmph."
Lu Xiao, the elder of the two Lu family members, quickly stepped forward, turned around and beckoned Lu Jin and the old Celestial Master to walk into Lu Family Village.
"Uncle Lu and Celestial Master, please come in."
As a junior, Lü Qian looked at the Lu family descendants and the disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion behind the two, turned around and greeted them, "Please!"
The two worked together methodically, escorting the Lu family and the Celestial Master's Mansion into Lüjia Village, where they continued to welcome guests from afar.
"Second Master, most of the guests at Grandfather's birthday banquet this time are elderly people."
Taking advantage of the lull in the guests' arrival, Lü Qian looked at Lü Xiao curiously, "And they're mostly from the same generation as our great-grandfather, or people with deep ties to our Lü family. Could it be that our great-grandfather didn't send out all the invitations?"
Lu Xiao shook his head. "I don't know. Every invitation was written by your great-grandfather himself, but they were all sent out."