Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

"Old Huang, you know what? You can be really annoying sometimes." Wenxiang suddenly pulled on the reins and stopped, turning around to look at the old servant behind him with a bright smile.

"Uh... this..." Old Huang was stunned for a moment when he heard Wen Long's words. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't know what to say to refute it. Indeed, Wen Long was right. It seemed that he often seemed a little nagging, but... he couldn't control it, could he?

"Hahaha, Lao Huang, Lao Huang, look at you. You're usually so talkative, why did you stop after I said that? What's wrong? Did you remember your ramblings and can't refute them?" Wen Long looked at the old servant's embarrassed expression and suddenly burst into laughter. He really thought that Lao Huang was quite adorable at times.

"Old Huang, you know what? I always think you're so cute at times like this. Hahahaha." Since Wenlong had brought it up, how could he not tease Old Huang, who had always been with him?

"Hehehe, young master, please stop teasing this old servant. You keep saying I'm cute, but I don't know how a wrinkled old man like me, whose teeth are still intact for now, can be associated with cuteness." Old Huang grinned sheepishly at Wenlong's words and scratched his messy hair.

Wenlong knew that although the old servant was always very talkative when he was with him, and he would tease him from time to time, it would be naive to think of him as just an ordinary old man. Putting aside everything else, just the fact that Old Huang could keep up closely behind Wenlong on horseback when he went out at full speed was enough to show that Old Huang's cultivation level was not low.

But if we were to really discuss just how high the old servant's cultivation level was, even Wen Long himself couldn't say for sure. On one hand, Old Huang was too low-key, and on the other hand, Old Huang had been by his side protecting him since he was a child. As time went on, Wen Long gradually stopped paying much attention to how deep Old Huang's cultivation level was. After all, it was someone else's cultivation level; what difference would it make if he knew?

However, Wen Long had heard other servants of the Wen family mention Old Huang's background in conversations. It seemed that Old Huang was a brother of the former patriarch, the kind of brother who would never waver. But during a great battle, the former patriarch, in order to protect the lives of his descendants, ordered Old Huang to lead the rest of the Wen family to escape first, while he himself stayed behind to hold off the enemy's attack single-handedly. With heavy heart, Old Huang obeyed the former patriarch's words and led a large group of young and strong Wen family cultivators to safety.

After Lao Huang settled the Wen family members, he instructed an older member of the Wen family to look after the other members, while he himself retraced his steps, intending to return to the battlefield to rescue his sworn brothers. But when Lao Huang returned to the devastated battlefield, smoke filled the air, the land was shattered, and scorched earth lay everywhere. The enemy was gone, leaving behind only corpses strewn across the ground.

Old Huang searched frantically everywhere, looking for each corpse one by one. Time ticked by, and after a long time, just as Old Huang was about to collapse from exhaustion, he found them. However, the former patriarch was in terrible condition, barely breathing, his face covered in blood and filth. Old Huang dared not delay. In a panic, he helped the former patriarch seal his life force and carried him swiftly towards the Wen family's hiding place.

When Lao Huang rushed to the Wen family's hiding place, the older young man had already taken care of everything. Every now and then, he would come out of his hiding place and look towards the place where Lao Huang had left. He felt uneasy for some reason, but he hoped that the outcome would not be like that.

As night gradually fell, a bright moon slowly climbed above the treetops. The older young man's heart sank. Although he was extremely anxious, he knew he couldn't show it. His entire family was watching him; if he panicked, they would all be thrown into chaos.

Although the young cultivators of the Wen family had narrowly escaped death, they had gradually calmed down after a period of reflection. It must be said that while large families are most likely to experience life-or-death crises, their members possess qualities that are not easily found in ordinary people. Although they felt fear after the great calamity, they clearly understood what they should do, rather than blindly screaming and shouting.

A little while later, as the bright moon hung high in the sky and all was silent, the young man frowned, deep in thought about his next move. He and his large group of blood brothers couldn't remain here indefinitely. The main reason was that he knew too little about the situation. He didn't know the fate of his patriarch, nor Old Huang's condition. He couldn't afford to act impulsively and risk taking this large group of people into danger; otherwise… otherwise…

This is something a young man like him wouldn't dare to think about, but the problem he faces is indeed very real. If the patriarch and Lao Huang have really died on the battlefield, and he is leading this large group of people on an adventure, then the deaths of the patriarch and Lao Huang would truly have been meaningless.

"Brother, what do we do now?" Just as the young man was pondering his next move, a younger man who looked somewhat immature walked up behind him and asked softly.

The older young man turned to look at his brother in front of him, then craned his neck to see the large group behind him. He lowered his head, not immediately answering the question. His eyes darted around several times, his brain working rapidly, before he seemed to have made up his mind and raised his head.

“Now everyone go and rest, close your eyes and go to sleep. You, you, you.” The young man pointed to several people.

"You few will keep watch with me tonight, and keep a close eye on everything around you. Remember, don't fall asleep. If any of you miss something due to negligence and cause us to get into trouble, don't worry, I won't let you go even after I die." The young man's words, "I won't let you go even after I die," might sound funny in normal times, but in the current situation, no one dared to doubt the weight of those words.

Upon hearing the young man's instructions, everyone obediently sprang into action. In the blink of an eye, the night watchmen reached their positions, skillfully concealing their presence, and began observing their surroundings. The others closed their eyes as well. Although they genuinely doubted whether they could truly fall asleep, they had to force themselves to quickly recover their strength so as not to become a burden to others the next day.

A little while later, the young man looked back and saw that the large group of young people behind him had all fallen asleep. Although their brows were furrowed, it was better than not sleeping all night. The young man sighed deeply as he looked at them, then turned his gaze back to the spot where Old Huang had left.

"Brother, brother, people are coming from over there." A young man suddenly ran up to the young man in charge and pointed in a direction.

The older young man looked in the direction the man was pointing and instinctively assumed an offensive stance, ready to attack at any moment. But as the man drew closer, the younger man suddenly felt an unusually familiar aura emanating from him. The older young man was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered and grabbed the younger man beside him, running swiftly towards the approaching figure.

"Uncle Huang is back! Go get him, quick!" The other guards sensed the young man leading another young man running in that direction and immediately surrounded their group, keeping their eyes glued to the direction they had gone.

A short while later, the young man led Old Huang and the former patriarch back to the Wen family's hideout. The large group of Wen family members, having been awakened by the night watchman's call, quietly awaited their return. Once Old Huang, the former patriarch, and the young men returned, a large group immediately surrounded them, while another group formed a tight circle around the former patriarch.

Seeing the old patriarch's condition, the older young man couldn't help but feel anxious. After Lao Huang released the old patriarch's energy channels, he was about to use his power to try to heal the old patriarch when the old patriarch, who had just regained consciousness, coughed up a mouthful of bloody phlegm. His trembling hand grabbed Lao Huang's hand, which was about to perform the rescue, and his lips moved as he slowly uttered a few words.

"Old Huang, don't bother, it's useless. Cough, cough, cough, my energy channels have been broken by him, you can't save me, it's a waste of your energy." The old patriarch said slowly, and everyone around held their breath and listened quietly, but tears were already flowing from the eyes of many people.

"Old Huang, I, Wenlong, have lived a worthwhile life with you as my brother. I entrust the Wen family to you." The old patriarch said intermittently, with violent coughs interspersed throughout.

"And another thing, from now on the Wen family is your responsibility. Don't embarrass me, do you hear me?" The old patriarch turned his head with difficulty, looked at the young man kneeling beside him, and said softly with a smile on his face. Everyone knew that the old patriarch was giving his final instructions.

"Old Huang, just give me a quick death. I've held on until now, and I'll be satisfied if I can see my Wen family again and know they're alright."

Chapter 1229 Take action

"Old Huang, don't bother, it's useless. Cough, cough, cough, my energy channels have been broken by him, you can't save me, it's a waste of your energy." The old patriarch said slowly, and everyone around held their breath and listened quietly, but tears were already flowing from the eyes of many people.

"Old Huang, I, Wenlong, have lived a worthwhile life with you as my brother. I entrust the Wen family to you." The old patriarch said intermittently, with violent coughs interspersed throughout.

"And another thing, from now on the Wen family is your responsibility. Don't embarrass me, do you hear me?" The old patriarch turned his head with difficulty, looked at the young man kneeling beside him, and said softly with a smile on his face. Everyone knew that the old patriarch was giving his final instructions.

"Old Huang, just give me a quick death. I've held on until now. If I can see my Wen family again and know they're alright, I'll be content." The old patriarch weakly glanced around at the people around him, then looked at his closest brother kneeling beside him and made his last request.

Upon hearing this, Old Huang's already rapid breathing became even more frantic. He trembled as he raised his hand, but hesitated to lower it. Although the old patriarch had given the order, Old Huang still dared not put his hand down. His chest heaved violently, and large tears slid down his cheeks.

"Old Huang, come on, I'm ready." The old patriarch looked at Old Huang and forced a smile, revealing the brightest smile he could muster.

"Uncle Huang, let's do it." After a little while, the older young man gritted his teeth and endured the pain, saying to Old Huang, who looked conflicted and full of grief.

"Uncle Huang, if you can't do it, then I will. Don't let the patriarch suffer so much, please don't." The young man's voice choked with sobs, trembling even more.

As he spoke, the young man raised his hand, his face filled with grief as he looked at the dying patriarch of the family, his own father, lying on the ground before him. Hearing this, the old patriarch turned to look at the young man and nodded in satisfaction. "In a large family like this," he thought, "everything must prioritize the greater good. Personal feelings can wait until we're alive."

"Wenlong, I'm sorry." Old Huang finally made up his mind and slammed his palm hard into the old patriarch's chest. The old patriarch smiled and closed his eyes contentedly. In that instant, the young man suddenly lost his balance and fell backward. The person behind him quickly caught him in his arms.

The young man gradually began to cry silently, his expression growing more and more pained, until it turned into a silent wail. Everyone turned away, biting their lips tightly to stifle their sobs, tears streaming down their faces. The sorrowful atmosphere instantly shrouded the already heavy mood in a thick shackle.

Old Huang stood up shakily, his eyes fixed on his brother lying dead on the ground. He couldn't vent the pent-up frustration in his heart; his grief and anger caused him immense pain. Finally, Old Huang took one last, deep look at his dead brother, then ran like a madman into the distant forest.

"Brother, no, Patriarch, Patriarch, Uncle Huang is gone, Uncle Huang is gone!" A young man noticed this and hurriedly said to the young man who was still immersed in grief and could not recover, shaking his shoulders violently, trying to bring him to his senses and get him to make a decision quickly.

"Uncle Huang, Uncle Huang, don't go, don't go!" Finally, the young man, who was immersed in grief, came back to his senses. A little bit of life returned to his empty eyes, but his expression was still blank. He stiffly crawled in the direction that Old Huang had left.

"Ah ...

Immediately following a few roars was a violent fluctuation of battle energy in the distance. Vast swathes of forest trees vanished in an instant, and boulders and hard pebbles turned to dust in a flash.

A night passed, and Old Huang did not return. The young man, who had just become the head of the family, knew that Old Huang had his own plans. He did not intend to send anyone to search for him, nor did he intend to interfere with Old Huang's affairs. What Old Huang needed now was to vent, to calm down, and to release the pent-up emotions in his heart; he did not need anyone's comfort.

Words can be powerful, but they often seem incredibly weak and powerless in moments like these. No one can truly understand the depth of the bond between the former patriarch and Old Huang, nor does anyone really know what the former patriarch and Old Huang went through together. So, no matter what, any decision the young man makes now is futile. It's not even worth mentioning; probably no one even knows where Old Huang really went.

With the primary goal of returning to the Wen family as quickly as possible and stabilizing its situation, the young man ordered all Wen family members to set off immediately after dawn towards the Wen family's location. After cremating the former patriarch, he carefully wrapped his ashes and carried them with him, then obeyed the new patriarch's orders and began their journey.

After everything was settled, the young man watched his people set off one by one. He also packed his things and prepared to move on, but after taking only a few steps, he stopped, turned back, and looked in the direction where Old Huang had disappeared, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"Uncle Huang, thank you. Goodbye, Wen family." He knew that Old Huang did this to prevent him from being accused of patricide.

Although the young man had assumed the position of family head and had the right to make decisions about anything within the Wen family, as well as the right to exercise his own power, killing one's own father was ultimately not something one could easily bear. Old Huang didn't want the new head of the Wen family, the young man who had just taken on this important responsibility, to suffer a lifelong resentment because of this incident.

A few days later, the new patriarch led the Wen family members back to their own territory. He had barely taken a few steps inside when he suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground. His attendants and those behind him hurriedly helped him up and carried him back to his room.

"He's fine. It's just that he has insufficient blood and qi, which is caused by excessive grief and fatigue. He'll be fine after a few days of rest."

Upon hearing the news, an elder from the Wen family who was skilled in medicine rushed over and carefully examined the young man. His furrowed brows relaxed, and he spoke calmly to the close attendants who had returned with him.

The attendants nodded, letting out a long sigh of relief; the weight that had been on their shoulders finally lifted. The elder nodded, and just as he was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to turn back, wide-eyed, and asked the attendants, "..."

"Where is the old patriarch...?"

"The old patriarch is dead. He died to save us." Upon hearing this, several followers instantly burst into tears, choking as they answered the elder's question in soft voices.

The elder was stunned upon hearing this and didn't come to his senses for a moment. He simply turned around and walked straight out of the young man's room. Completely bewildered and with his mind blank, he didn't know how he ended up in the council hall.

"Third brother, how is Mou'er?" Seeing the elder who knew medicine step into the council hall, another elder who happened to look up and see him stood up, walked quickly to the elder, grabbed his arm and asked anxiously, his face full of worry.

Hearing someone ask a question, the elder raised his head blankly and looked around at the other elders sitting in the council hall watching him. The elder in front of him, who was called Third Brother, murmured that Mou'er was fine.

The "mou'er" they were referring to was that young man, the one entrusted with the important task of becoming the new head of the family by the former patriarch. The former patriarch was the eldest brother of the elders sitting in the council hall.

"Now the eldest brother's idea is to let Mou'er take over as the head of the family. Does anyone have any opinions?" The one who spoke was the oldest person present, and also the one with the highest seniority among them. He was also the one who had just addressed the elder who knew medicine. He was the second son of the Wen family.

“We have no objections. Mou’er is indeed the most outstanding person among the younger generation. It is certainly feasible for him to lead our Wen family,” an elder said.

"As for those elaborate rituals and procedures, let's talk about them when Mou'er is better. There's no need to rush this. But..." The elder paused here, not continuing.

"Go ahead and say it, Fourth Brother, it's alright." The Second Brother nodded to him, indicating that he shouldn't be shy.

"But nobody knows where Lao Huang is right now. I'm worried that, what if he goes..." The fourth brother clearly couldn't continue, his brows furrowing tightly.

"Don't worry, Old Huang isn't that unreasonable. He just needs some time to process things. I think he'll come back once he's figured it out," the second brother nodded, gently reassuring everyone. Everyone was only worried about Old Huang; they had no other thoughts. The Wen family was currently facing a turbulent period. The old patriarch had passed away, the new patriarch was still in a coma, and most of the family members desperately needed rest. They simply couldn't afford any more trouble.

"Alright, let's not talk about anything else for now. Let's hold the eldest brother's funeral first. As for the new head of the family, we can announce it after Mou'er has fully recovered. I suggest keeping the funeral simple, partly because the Wen family has too many things to deal with right now and it's not advisable to make a big fuss, and partly to avoid attracting the attention of those who have ill intentions towards us." After stating his thoughts, the second brother looked around and asked for everyone's opinions.

"What do you think?"

After exchanging glances and exchanging a few words, the group nodded to the second brother, indicating their agreement with his idea.

"Alright, since that's the case, let's talk about it in detail. Third brother, find a place to sit down." Seeing that everyone nodded in agreement, the second brother walked to his seat, thinking of discussing with everyone what to do next. The third brother looked around and found a corner seat. He never participated in any of the Wen family's affairs, but this time was different; his eldest brother was gone.

The elders hadn't expected that their conversation would pass so quickly, and before they knew it, evening had arrived. Just as everyone had finalized the funeral details, a servant suddenly rushed into the council hall, disregarding formalities, and shouted at the elders seated there,

"Elder Huang is back! Elders, Elder Huang is back!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately stood up from their seats. Old Huang followed his servant's words and entered the council hall. However, it seemed that there was blood flowing from Old Huang's abdomen, and his brows were filled with a fierce aura.

"Old Huang, you..." The second brother noticed that there was blood flowing continuously from Old Huang's abdomen.

"Where is the eldest brother?" Old Huang interrupted the second brother, asking him in a cold voice.

"Third brother, hurry up and take a look at Lao Huang. Lao Huang, let the third brother take a look at you first." The second brother was worried about Lao Huang's health, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Big brother, where is he?" Old Huang's tone had changed to one that left no room for argument. The second brother was stunned for a moment, then sighed and shook his head. He knew that nothing he said would make a difference.

"Over here." The second brother gestured and led Old Huang toward the old patriarch's mourning hall.

Chapter 1230 Untitled

"Elder Huang is back! Elders, Elder Huang is back!"

Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately stood up from their seats. Old Huang followed his servant's words and entered the council hall. However, it seemed that there was blood flowing from Old Huang's abdomen, and his brows were filled with a fierce aura.

"Old Huang, you..." The second brother noticed that there was blood flowing continuously from Old Huang's abdomen.

"Where is the eldest brother?" Old Huang interrupted the second brother, asking him in a cold voice.

"Third brother, hurry up and take a look at Lao Huang. Lao Huang, let the third brother take a look at you first." The second brother was worried about Lao Huang's health, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Big brother, where is he?" Old Huang's tone had changed to one that left no room for argument. The second brother was stunned for a moment, then sighed and shook his head. He knew that nothing he said would make a difference.

"Over here." The second brother gestured and led Old Huang toward the old patriarch's mourning hall.

Old Huang didn't say much. Seeing the direction the Second Elder pointed, he strode confidently towards it. The Second Elder turned and nodded to the Third Elder, who understood what the Second Elder meant. The Third Elder immediately turned and jogged towards his courtyard. He knew the Second Elder was worried something might happen to Old Huang, and he needed to hurry back to his courtyard to get his medical kit and any other necessary equipment.