Clark did not know if this was a cruel prank by Nancy or something but he was also too shy and afraid to ask the reason behind this mystery already.
After getting a string of hammer truths earlier, perhaps it was not in his best interest to delve much deeper into the system's motivations.
At least, it would be wise to save this question down for another day.
'Shit! Even my broken foot did not hurt this much at all!' Clark complained in silence as he awaited the slow response from his good Patriarch.
"That is not what i meant, Lu Chen. I am glad to see you are alive and well. My Lu Clan will be even more stronger with you in our ranks!"
The Patriarch responded cleverly and stepped closer towards the seemingly injured man.
Although he had made a terrible slip up in his first meeting with Lu Chen but this old goat was much too well trained in the art of politics and knew that it was useless to mope much longer for his shortcomings.
Lu Jian easily covered the mistake with a great token of friendship handed out honestly into the open.
After all, Lu Chen was already qualified to become a Family Elder based on his cultivation attainments alone. It was not wise to antagonize this new addition to the clan's short list of powerhouses.
The four elders mirrored their Patriarch's action and when the party saw the entirety of Lu Chen's condition, everyone could not help but look at Lu Chen with wide unbelieving eyes.
"He's much too young!'
'What fortune has come in contact with this man?"
"This can't be real?!'
'Tsk. Tsk. What a lucky guy! I wish this kind of fate would also visit me one day.'
The Lu clan's elders all had different thoughts as they witnessed how amazingly fortunate Lu Chen had been in just the span of one single day.
If this man would say that there was no outside factor that had helped him be this way then it would be like saying that white crows could come en masse at any day of any season. It was simply ludicrous!
Either a mighty immortal technique had been cast on Lu Chen's body or he took some precious longevity pill.
Other than those two choices, there was really no other way to explain why he could return back to his youth when he was so obviously still in the 4th Stage of Mortal Shredding Realm.
Their senses could not have failed them also as these groups of ancient cultivators were after all at least more than 100 years old already and had started cultivating in the young age of 10.
They could determine Lu Chen's weaker cultivation with just one glance. These lot also perceived that other than being in a weakened state, Lu Chen was far from any fatal danger at the moment.
"What happened to you? How come you look vastly younger than your age?" The Patriarch Lu Jian asked in amazement.
He totally ignored the seemingly wounded condition of Lu Chen but was only too curious in knowing the root cause of this drastic change.
Of course he knew that there were magical pills in existence that could turn the hands of time but only up to a point.
Those longevity pills could only grant added blood essence but the taker would remain hoary and old in appearance.
There were Eternal Youth Pills in the records but these pill concoctions were rare and no pill maker could craft that certain medicament even in the Demonic Sword Sect.
"I don't know the answer to that also, Patriarch. All I know is that I have always eaten salted fish since young.
And as I've said earlier today, in order to get to where i am now, one must eat salted fish daily for years without pause. This must be an everyday requirement. At least 80 plus years to be exact!
But that was only for the mortal ears. A good lie to assuage their queries. I had to give them something or there was no doubt that I would get endlessly pestered by them earlier today.
But in front of you Patriarch and all these respected clan elders around me, I would not hesitate at all and tell you the secret about my strength."
Clark was almost whispering at the end of his words.
He looked to the sides and even went as far as gazed at the four corners of the heavens to ascertain that there was no other spy or outsiders nearby that might hear this huge revelation.
'A SECRET!' Everyone held their breaths for the big finale. Clark really knew how to create momentum and suspense.
'Hehehe... Look at their faces! If only I had a mirror to let them see how funny they all look right now!'
Clark took a few moments to laugh at the expense of others before he continued what he was about to say.
"If i was to be critical about my experience, i would put my money and bet that the reason behind this epic change was that i accidentally ate the child of a god fish earlier this morning!
A godling salted fish to be exact! I can still remember the taste so vividly. Much more like chicken than fish to my tongue. What i ate was definitely not a normal salted fish at all but a true godfish!"
Clark announced with much fervor.
"Child of a god fish?" The Patriarch mimicked the words on his lips and had a faraway look in his eyes.
Extreme wish and ambition could be seen on his face and it took him a few breaths to remember why they have come here in the first place.
"What about the assassin? Did he escape?" Patriarch Lu Jian asked absentmindedly. It was clear that his mind was already not here in the present. This smart leader was already busy planning ahead.
"I'm sorry to report this but that was exactly what happened, Patriarch. I tried to stop him but as you can see, i paid a huge price for it." Clark indicated his apparent paralyzed predicament.
Initially he would have made an excuse that the sound was brought about by the fighting was a consequence of his personal training in these witching hours but proved that it was better to claim that there was indeed an assassin just as advertised.
"You did well, Lu Chen. I and the rest of the Clan Elders are happy for your good fortune. There will be a feast to properly introduce you as the 5th Elder of the Family!"
"I can see that you are incapacitated. Elder Lu Dong, would you be so kind to assist Elder Lu Chen in his recovery?" the Patriarch said to one of his subordinates.
"But... why... m...?" the elder hasn't yet finished his sentence before he was totally cut off.
"That's settled then. I could be rest assured that Elder Lu Chen will be in good hands."
The Patriarch nodded three times and immediately left the scene as if a devil was right on his tail to have his ass for some midnight snacks.
"Take care, Elder Lu Dong! Elder Lu Chen!" The other three elders also disappeared quickly into the night.
"I wonder what got them so energetic all of a sudden?" Clark rubbed his long beard but continued to sit there in his lonesome.
The remaining elder wrinkled his face even more as he thought of a way out of here. It did not take long for him to discover that there was an old man right by the door nearby.
Although he was behind the doorways but how could this escape the sharp senses of a 4th Stage Mortal Shedding Realm. Elder Lu Dong felt that the heavens could not have been more kind to him than tonight.
And so this good elder smiled.
"Can you stand up, Elder Lu Chen?" Elder Lu Dong asked, starting to enact his subtle plan.
"I'll be just fine in a few minutes, Elder Lu Dong. Please don't let me keep you also." Clark responded with a smile full of understanding.
"Very well. I'm sure that we can get along very well, Elder Lu Chen. I can see that you have your faithful attendant in calling distance. Shall I summon him for you instead?" Elder Lu Dong asked once more.
"You don't have to, Elder Lu Dong. My good servant will be with me after you leave. Please..." Clark replied.
'Wonderful!' Elder Lu Dong could not believe how easy it was to get what he wanted.
"I'll take your words for it, Elder Lu Chen. Farewell!" Elder Lu Dong grinned happily and without ado, followed the footsteps of his friends.
* * *
"BANG!" a wooden door was violently barged into. It broke in two and its tattered remains was the only result of the unannounced change.
The night was cold and deep already but this huge noise could not help but rouse up the occupants of this humble dwelling.
"Wake up!" a voice of authority boomed inside this poor man's home.
"Who are you people?! Why have you come here?! We did not do anything wrong! Please don't hurt us! Please don't hurt my family." a 30 year old man named Hou De pleaded pitifully.
He had a wife and three little children with him in the house and although he himself was also afraid but he mustered the guts to stand up to these unscrupulous intruders.
He did not know what these people had come here for but this was certainly not good news for someone so poor and helpless like Hou De and his family.
"Did you buy any of the salted fishes yesterday?" the door breaker asked in a grave voice.
At this man's side was a pair of big men and the trio wore uniformed dark robes that indicated the distinctive insignia of the Lu family.
Alas, in his panic and grogginess from sleep, Hou De could not have noticed this apparent clue even if it bit him in the eyes. Still, there was one thing that resonated clearly in his mind right now.
'Salted fishes again? How come salted fishes became so popular all of a sudden?' Hou De asked in wonder.
There was an extreme monopoly of this product yesterday morning by some big shots and this man never expected that the thing would become this crazy in the span of mere hours.
Alas, Hou De was lucky to have bought a couple kilos of salted fish yesterday at dawn and so had a sizable stock currently in his possession.
But if it was only salted fish that this men wanted and was not here to hurt his family then Hou De was only too happy to oblige.
Other than this most important truth, he really could not care less for anything at all.
"I have them in here, master! Please... Take it and go!" Hou De cried in relief. He ran to the kitchen and when he returned, he was already bringing a basket filled with salted fishes in them.
"Thank you for this exchange, good man. The Lu Clan does not steal from the people so here..."
"TINK!"
"TINK!"
"TINK!" the sound of precious metals hitting the floors resonated in the room. The three big men left after that. Hou De paused for a moment before his brain functioned once more in the next seconds.
He got the prize and counted them up on his hands.
"Ten gold coins!" Hou De almost screamed his delight. One should know that a kilo of salted fish was only priced at 5 silver coins.
'What in the world is going on here?!' Hou De looked at his ruined doors but found no answers held in them.
* * *
Tang Family Ancestral Palace.
"Patriarch, the Xuan, Ling, and Lu Family are buying all the salted fishes in the city! It appears that..." an Elder announced his findings briefly and when he was done, the Tang Patriarch could only follow the river's flow.
"BUY ALL THE SALTED FISHES AVAILABLE! BUY THEM AT TEN TIMES THE PRICE IF YOU HAVE TO!"
* * *
And it was on that particular night that a salted fish rush began anew in the entire city of Nexus.