Only Got My Martial Arts Modifier in My Old Age

Ren Facai was both surprised and deeply honored that his cousin-uncle had stood up on his own accord. He quickly turned to the side to lead the way. "Ah, yes, yes! This way, Cousin-uncle!"

The two of them walked toward the main gate, one after the other.

Outside, the courtyard lights clearly illuminated the gravel driveway, where an old-fashioned black sedan sat quietly, its engine having just been turned off.

The driver quickly got out, jogged to the rear of the car, and respectfully pulled open the door.

At the same time, the front passenger door was pushed open from the inside. The first to step out was a middle-aged man of about forty.

He had a neat buzz cut, streaked with a bit of gray. He was dressed very simply in a faded gray cloth shirt, black cloth pants, and a pair of ordinary black cloth shoes.

Following the middle-aged man out of the car were two young men in their early twenties from the back seat.

They wore similarly simple clothes and quickly took their places on either side of and behind the middle-aged man, clearly his apprentices.

One of the apprentices, who was slightly taller, rubbed his back and muttered under his breath, "Master, this Western car isn’t all that great. The horse-drawn carriages in town are more comfortable."

The other apprentice, short and with a round face, chimed in, "Exactly! Senior Brother is right. This whole ride was so bumpy, my butt feels like it’s about to fall apart."

The middle-aged man’s brow furrowed upon hearing this, and he chided them in a low voice, "Wen Sheng, Qiucai, don’t be rude! Mind your manners in front of our host."

When the two apprentices saw their master speak, they immediately fell silent and straightened their backs.

At that moment, Ren Facai hurried forward to greet them, his face wreathed in an eager smile as he extended his hands. "Uncle Nine! It was a long journey! We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival!"

The middle-aged man known as "Uncle Nine," Lin Fengjiu, also quickly extended his hands to grasp Ren Facai’s, replying politely, "Master Ren, you’re too kind. Please, just call me Lin Fengjiu."

After speaking, his gaze fell on Lu Yun, who stood half a step behind Ren Facai.

’Although this old man is dressed ordinarily and just standing there quietly, he gives off an incredibly oppressive feeling.’

Just as a chill went through Lin Fengjiu’s heart, Ren Facai quickly turned to the side to make an introduction. "Uncle Nine, this is my cousin-uncle. He’s..."

Lu Yun interrupted Ren Facai’s impending words of praise. He took a step forward and extended his hands toward Lin Fengjiu. "Uncle Nine, we appreciate you coming all this way."

Lu Yun had called him "Uncle Nine" naturally, but the address gave Lin Fengjiu a start.

The old man before him was clearly his senior, so he hurriedly returned the gesture, extending his own hands to shake Lu Yun’s.

"Sir, I couldn’t possibly allow that! You honor a junior like me too much! You can call me Little Nine, or Feng Jiu!"

As he came within a few steps of Lu Yun, Lin Fengjiu grew increasingly surprised.

’As a cultivator, my spiritual senses are extremely sharp. Yet, standing this close to Master Ren’s cousin-uncle, I feel a faint, unsettling fear.’

’This isn’t the aura an ordinary wealthy old man could possess. It’s more like that of a reclusive, peerless master from the legends, one with unfathomable power.’

Hearing this, Lu Yun simply smiled faintly. "Master Lin, you’re too modest. Please, let’s speak inside. I’m afraid my nephew’s matter will require a great deal of your attention."

Lin Fengjiu composed himself, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and said steadily, "You’re too kind, Sir. Feng Jiu will naturally do his utmost regarding the matter Master Ren has entrusted to me."

In truth, he didn’t know that Lu Yun’s feelings were even more complicated than his own.

’But thankfully, this Lin Fengjiu and his two apprentices don’t resemble the ones from my memory.’

’Otherwise, I would have really started to wonder if I had missed something during the last sixty years...’

Inside the main hall, Lu Yun sat in the host’s seat on the main sofa, while Ren Facai and Lin Fengjiu sat on either side.

Lin Fengjiu’s two apprentices, Wen Sheng and Qiucai, were like country boys visiting the city for the first time, appearing rather restless and uneasy in the spacious and luxurious Western-style hall.

They didn’t dare to sit, merely standing off to the side.

Their eyes couldn’t help but dart around, filled with curiosity about the gleaming marble pillars, strangely shaped chandeliers, thick, soft carpets, and various Western decorations.

Ren Facai had no mind for such things. He leaned forward and began to recount the origin of the matter to Lin Fengjiu.

"Uncle Nine, it’s like this."

"Three days ago, the caretaker of the ancestral graves ran over in a panic to report that my father’s grave had been disturbed."

"We rushed over to look. There were signs of digging around the tomb. Although the coffin was still there, inside... my father’s body was gone!"

He took a deep breath and continued, "The Feng Shui master back then said this burial plot was very hard to find, that it was a good ’acupoint’!"

"This acupoint is called the Dragonfly Water Pointing Acupoint. It is thirty-four chi long, but only a four-chi section can be used. It is thirteen chi wide, but only a three-chi section is useful. Therefore, the coffin couldn’t be laid flat—it had to be buried by law!"

Just as Ren Facai uttered the words "by law," the short, round-faced apprentice, who had been listening intently, couldn’t help but interrupt with a bewildered look.

"By law?"

"Master, what do you mean ’by law’? Are you talking about some kind of funeral from France?"

Lin Fengjiu’s brow furrowed. He shot a severe glance sideways at the apprentice. "Hmph. Wen Sheng, listen more, talk less!"

Scolded by his master’s glare, Wen Sheng shrank back and sheepishly shut his mouth, not daring to make another sound.

After reprimanding his apprentice, Lin Fengjiu turned back and, unexpectedly, began to explain it himself.

"The ’law’ he mentioned means it was buried vertically."

"Master Ren, am I correct?"

Ren Facai nodded repeatedly, his expression clearly saying, ’That’s exactly right!’ "Yes! The Feng Shui master said that if the ancestor is buried standing, the descendants will be outstanding!"

After Ren Facai finished, Lin Fengjiu’s tone suddenly shifted as he cut directly to the core of the issue.

"By the way, where is your daughter now?"

Hearing this, Ren Facai immediately said urgently to the old butler waiting nearby, "Quick! Go and bring the Young Miss down for Uncle Nine to see!"

"Yes, Master." The butler replied and hurried upstairs.

Before long, a young woman in a pink Western-style dress was half-supported, half-carried into the living room, carefully attended by two female servants.

It was Ren Xiaoting.

Her skin was white as snow, and her features were lovely, but she was clearly not in a good state.

Her arms were bound with soft cloth ropes. Her eyes were shut tight, her long eyelashes trembling nonstop. Her pale, cherry-like lips parted slightly, repeatedly murmuring fragmented sentences.

"Grandpa... It’s me, Tingting... your favorite granddaughter... Please... don’t eat me... Don’t come any closer..."

As she was brought directly in front of Lu Yun, as if triggered by some external stimulus, Ren Xiaoting’s eyes suddenly flew open!

Her once-clear eyes were shot with blood, her pupils dilated in absolute terror. A piercing, inhuman shriek erupted from her throat.

"GRANDPA!!! DON’T COME NEAR ME! AAGH!!!"

The instant the shriek rang out, the eyes of Lu Yun, who was seated in the host’s chair, narrowed sharply!

He clearly felt a sinister, cold chill flash across the hall, heading straight for Ren Xiaoting.

At almost the exact same moment!

"Insolence!!!"

Lin Fengjiu shot up, his feet tracing an arcane pattern on the floor as his left hand flashed into his robes.

When it emerged, a bright yellow Talisman, drawn with cinnabar ink, was pinched between his fingertips!

His figure moved like the wind, closing in on Ren Xiaoting. The Talisman landed precisely and firmly on the center of her forehead!

The moment the yellow Talisman was applied, Ren Xiaoting’s horrifying shriek came to an abrupt halt. If the female servants hadn’t been holding her up, she would have collapsed to the floor.

At the same time, Lu Yun noticed that the sinister, cold aura that had just filled the air had vanished without a trace.

The hall returned to silence!

After withdrawing his hand, Lin Fengjiu’s expression turned exceptionally grave. He carefully examined Ren Xiaoting’s condition, then pinched his fingers together and calculated silently for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"It’s a wicked art: using a corpse to nurture a spirit!"

"Master Ren, it seems someone has targeted the Ren Family. They stole Elder Ren’s remains not for simple revenge or for money."

"This Dragonfly Water Pointing Acupoint is a rare Spirit Acupoint, capable of gathering the essence of heaven and earth to nourish a corpse."

"A malevolent practitioner is using this acupoint to cultivate the corpse, then using a Secret Technique to link it to its closest blood relatives. They are trying to create a vicious, baleful spirit to turn against its own family! This is an attempt to wipe out the Ren Family’s entire line!"

He paused, his tone becoming resolute. "The most urgent task now is to retrieve Elder Ren’s remains as quickly as possible! Otherwise, your daughter’s life will be in peril, and I fear an even greater disaster will befall this household!"

Lu Yun, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke up. "Master Lin, how do we find it?"

Lin Fengjiu turned to Lu Yun at the sound of his voice and quickly explained, "Sir, the method requires taking a risk."

"We need to find someone to ingest a lock of Miss Ren’s hair to act as a link. Then, I will set up an altar and light the Kongming’s Family-Seeking Lamp."

"As the saying goes, ’Constant thought yields a response.’ The connection between close blood relatives exists on a mystical level."

"After that, I will take a drop of essence blood from Miss Ren’s fingertip and drip it onto the lamp."

"At that point, the person who swallowed the hair will be guided by the bloodline connection, involuntarily leading the Kongming Lantern to the location of Elder Ren’s remains."

The principle was explained. But now came the key question: who would be the unlucky soul to lead the Kongming Lantern?

Without hesitation, Lin Fengjiu looked toward his two apprentices, who were listening with dumbfounded expressions. A "benevolent" smile appeared on his face.

"Wen Sheng, Qiucai... have you two decided? Who’s going to be the ’link’?"

Hearing this, Wen Sheng and Qiucai were instantly stunned. Seeing their master’s "kind" smile, their faces turned even whiter than Ren Xiaoting’s had been a moment ago.

It seemed the job of being the "unlucky soul" was, once again, going to fall to the two of them.