These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Lu Yu focused his attention on the white-haired old man before him.
At first glance, this seemed to be just an ordinary old man.
But although his hair was completely white, he was radiant, and the wrinkles on his face were not as many as those of ordinary old people. He was clearly no ordinary person.
Moreover, although he had been fishing just now, the other party had come so quietly to his side that he had not noticed at all, which meant that he was skilled in martial arts.
The old man before him was more than likely a master.
“Thank you, senior, for explaining.”
Lu Yu expressed his gratitude.
“Hehe, you're welcome. We are all in the same line of work.”
The white-haired old man said, waving his fishing rod with a smile on his face.
“Are you also here to fish, senior?”
“Yes. This is the season for golden carp to appear, and this old man also wanted to come and try his luck. When I saw you catching one, I was even more certain that the golden carp had started to move around.
This is a good fishing spot. Would you mind if I fish here, young man?”
“Senior, you're joking. This river isn't mine, you can fish wherever you want, you don't need my permission.”
“Hehe, good to hear that. I'll share half of the golden carp with you when I catch one.”
The old man laughed.
“Then I’ll thank you in advance, senior.”
“Don’t call me senior. It’s too formal. You can call me Hua Lao if you don't mind. Young man, what is your name?”
“Lu Yu.”
“It's a good name for a fisherman, auspicious. Do you have a spare fishing rod? If not, I'll lend you one.”
“I do.”
Lu Yu pointed to the spare fishing rod placed beside him, the one that Huang Rong had used earlier.
“Great! Let's fish together?”
“Sure.”
Lu Yu was also curious about the mysterious old man.
He still had some time, so he didn't mind getting to know the old man better.
Thus, a fishing duo, one old and one young, appeared on the banks of the West Liang River.
“Hua Lao doesn't seem to be from around here. I've never seen you before.”
Lu Yu said.
“Hehe, I'm not local. I only stay in Seven-Hero Town for a while every ten years.”
“Ten years? For the golden carp?”
“Yes. This golden carp is not only a precious medicinal ingredient, it's also a rare delicacy. Eating it once every ten years is a great pleasure in life.”
Hua Lao said with a chuckle, his words tinged with a hint of nostalgia.
“I see.”
“By the way, your name is Lu Yu? Is your father called Lu Shan?”
At these words, Lu Yu was startled.
“You know my father?”
“Indeed, you are father and son, no wonder you look so alike. I don't exactly know him, but when I came here to fish for golden carp last time, there was another man fishing here, his name was Lu Shan.
This old man had a great time talking to him.
I never thought that his son would be so grown up now.
Where is he? Why didn't he come out fishing?”
Lu Yu realized that this was indeed a coincidence.
“My father passed away not long ago.”
“Passed away?”
Upon hearing this, Hua Lao was stunned. He clearly didn’t expect this answer.
“That's not right, your father was in good health, how could he have died at this age?”
“He died suddenly from a serious illness.”
Hua Lao nodded slightly and didn't ask further.
“What a pity. He was a rare and interesting person. Young man, I see that your martial arts skills are not weak. Did your father teach you?”
“How do you know that, Hua Lao? My father didn't know martial arts.”
Lu Yu asked in confusion.
“Ah?”
Hua Lao was clearly stunned upon hearing this.
“Did my father know martial arts?”
Lu Yu immediately grasped the crux of the matter.
The mysterious old man before him was clearly a master.
He had seen Lu Shan before. He could not have hidden his martial arts skills from this man.
“Ahem, although I don't know why you think your father didn't know martial arts, he did have internal energy when I saw him ten years ago.”
Hua Lao felt a little embarrassed.
After all, this was a family matter, and it wasn’t appropriate for him to butt in.
Lu Yu's heart was filled with curiosity at these words.
His father actually knew martial arts?
Then why had he never shown it before?
From what Ge San Shu had said, his father had come to Seven-Hero Town to settle down with him when he was still a baby.
It seemed that he had retired from the martial arts world.
So, what was Lu Shan's past like?
Who was his mother?
“Thank you, senior, for telling me about my father.”
Lu Yu bowed and thanked him.
“No, no, no. Your father didn’t expose the fact that he knew martial arts, so he must have had his reasons. This old man was just being nosy.”
Hua Lao chuckled wryly. Who would have thought that Lu Shan would even hide this from his own son.
He had just wanted to make small talk, but ended up bringing up a secret.
“Hua Lao, can you tell me about how you met my father?”
Lu Yu asked.
“Nothing special really. It was similar to how we met today. I came here to fish, and I saw your father fishing too. We got to talking and that's how we got to know each other.
I stayed here for almost a month before I caught a golden carp.”
Hua Lao said slowly.
Their acquaintance was simple.
It was just small talk between fellow fishermen.
Lu Yu didn’t discover any more useful information after hearing this.
“Are you trying to investigate your father's past?”
“Yes. I used to think that my father was just an ordinary fisherman, but I’ve recently discovered that he seems to have many unusual aspects.
All of this has made me curious.
Especially since you said he knew martial arts, but he never showed it in front of me and never taught me.
When I excelled in my studies, he wouldn't let me take the imperial examination. It's truly strange.
Everyone has a past, and I want to know where I came from.
And I also want to know who my mother is, someone I have never met.”
Although Lu Yu was a transmigrator, his feelings for this life weren’t fake.
Since his origins were a mystery, how could he not investigate?
“I see. It’s quite mysterious, based on what you've said. I'm here, I wish you good luck. Unfortunately, I was only an acquaintance of your father, and I don’t know much about his past.”
Hua Lao whispered.
“You know my father knows martial arts, that's already a great help. I will investigate on my own from now on.”
“Hehe, you're not like a fisherman at all, young man. As the saying goes, like father, like son, your father must have had an extraordinary past.”
Now that he had spoken this far, Hua Lao had also become interested in Lu Shan's past.
But at his age and level, he wouldn’t delve into it too much.
Nothing was more important to him than fishing.
After chatting for a while, Lu Yu got up and prepared to go to the Tongfu Inn to deliver the fish.
“It's getting late, I have to go to the Tongfu Inn to deliver the fish. Hua Lao, if you’re not in a hurry, wait for me to come back and keep you company.”
“Deliver fish? Okay! This old man will wait for you.”
Looking at Lu Yu's departing figure, Hua Lao chuckled, “What an interesting young man.”