<h4>Chapter 1802: Chapter 1795: Shut Up</h4>


    When the old man heard Xu Tianchen’s words, he didn’t know whether to cry orugh. His old face alternated between shades of blue and red, twitching incessantly.


    This was their first meeting as grandfather and grandson, but Lu Tianxing acted as if he’d known him for many years, joking around with no hesitation, mixing serious and light topics. This left the old man feeling both shocked and filled with an uncontroble excitement.


    Lu Tianxing joking in such a manner indicated that he already regarded him as his grandfather, as family. Otherwise, why would Lu Tianxing joke with a stranger?


    "Are you the first person daring to joke with me like this?"


    "If you like it, from now on, I can joke like this with you every day. Of course, if there’s an olddy you fancy but you’re too shy to approach, I can help you make the match."


    Hearing this, the old man’s face couldn’t help but twitch again.


    "Aren’t you afraid of me?"


    "Why should I be afraid of you? You’re my mother’s adopted father, my grandfather. Would my family do anything to me?"


    As he spoke, Lu Tianxing pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it for himself, and took a gentle drag.


    After just one puff, Lu Tianxing seemed to remember something, immediately took out another cigarette and said to the old man, "Grandfather, want one?"


    The old man nced at Lu Tianxing, slowly extended his hand, and took the cigarette between his fingers. Without hesitation, Lu Tianxing lit it for the old man.


    "I remember I used to smoke often, but unfortunately, your mother didn’t like it, so I could only smoke in secret, always getting caught and lectured about how smoking is harmful to health."


    The elderly man took a gentle drag, sighed lightly, and said, "It’s been over twenty years now. Ever since your mother passed, I haven’t smoked again."


    "That’s because there’s no more fun in it."


    Lu Tianxing slowly opened his mouth and said, "You used to smoke because my mother didn’t permit it, and you secretly did it. My mother would find you and educate you, and that was the fun of life. Without the fun, smoking naturally bes meaningless."


    The old man had a faint smile on his face, "You’re right, that’s the joy of smoking."


    "Of course."


    Looking at the old man, Lu Tianxing said, "But I believe an old man’s life shouldn’t just be like that. You should learn to get out, maybe dance in a public square. If you have time, I can have Zhiqing and Qian Ru go out with you, to see how other old men live."


    "Okay, it’s a deal then."


    "No problem."


    Lu Tianxing agreed readily, "But let’s get one thing straight first, you can’t just bring me some random grandmother; I don’t want to deal with all that family drama. Of course, if you really want to find me a grandmother, just tell me, I’ll grab some foreign beauties to serve you, and it’ll be a glory for the country."


    The old man’s face hadpletely darkened, and he now had the urge to strangle Lu Tianxing.


    "Shut your mouth!" Seeing Lu Tianxing was about to keep rambling, the old man couldn’t hold back and shouted at him.


    Lu Tianxing looked at the old man’s dark face, decisively shut up. A wise man knows when to back down—any more words and he was sure the old man would p him.


    "I asked you toe with me because I have something I want to say."


    "I know, isn’t that what we’re waiting for you to do?"


    The old man took a deep breath, looked at Lu Tianxing, and said, "Tianxing, don’t you hate me?"


    When he heard this, Lu Tianxing fell silent for a long while, exhaling a deep breath before saying, "Grandfather, this question is exactly what my grandfather asked me back then. Do you know what I told him?"


    "What did you say?"


    "Does hating you help? My parents are already gone. Would hating you bring them back?"


    Lu Tianxing exhaled a thick plume of smoke and continued, "I may not know what really happened back then, but I do realize you did your best at the time. So while I do hate you, I also don’t."


    The old man was a bit stunned by Lu Tianxing’s words. He originally thought he needed to have an in-depth talk with Lu Tianxing to be epted, but he hadn’t expected Lu Tianxing to say this.


    "You’re a good person, but you weren’t a good father."


    "Yes, you’re right, I wasn’t a good father."


    The old man sighed slightly and said, "If I hadn’t been so stubborn with your mother, maybe things wouldn’t have developed to this extent. But rest assured, I’ll try my best to be a good grandfather."


    Lu Tianxing smiled faintly, "I believe you’ll be a good grandfather."


    The old man burst into a heartyugh after hearing Lu Tianxing’s words; it had been a long time since he felt so happy.


    Seeing the radiant smile on the old man’s face, Lu Tianxing took a deep breath and said, "Grandfather, can I ask you a question?"


    It was as if the old man knew Lu Tianxing’s thoughts and directly said, "You want to ask why, back when I was on par with your grandfather and renowned in China as a powerful Martial Artist, my strength is now only at the Yellow-level Martial Artist, right?"


    Lu Tianxing didn’t say anything, just nodded lightly. Although he knew a few things about back then, he wasn’t aware of much.


    "Because I was poisoned."


    The old man took a deep breath and said, "I mentioned earlier that after hearing what happened to your mother, I left Qin Ind immediately. But halfway, I was ambushed. They sent several Late Stage of Mythical experts and some Middle-stage Mythical experts to intercept me. Although I had decent strength and managed to kill quite a few, even a few Late Stage of Mythical experts died at my hands, I was ultimately outnumbered, and fell victim to the Tang Family’s infamous venom, Blossoming Leaf. Though I fought my way through a blood-stained escape back to Qin Ind, I knew my time was limited."


    "Blossoming Leaf, when it blooms and falls is when my life ends. Perhaps it wasn’t my fate to die, or perhaps the heavens took pity on me. As I awaited death, Ji Xingyun came and offered a way to handle the poison. Using the Secret Technique, Ji Xingyun and I together suppressed the toxin, but the technique had a severe w—my strength would decline year after year. Once it fell below the Yellow-level Martial Artist, my fate was sealed. More importantly, I couldn’t fight again; any action would elerate the toxin’s explosion—this time with fatal results."