The large back courtyard of the Lin family mansion was silent except for the sound of Lin Hua slapping himself and begging for his life,
“Slander?”
“What has Lin Hua done? I don’t understand!”
Many of the Lin family juniors wore a confused expression and had no idea what had happened.
Of course, although they had no idea what had happened, they knew one thing for certain: Lin Hua had offended Lin Lan’s adopted son, Zhou Donghuang, who was incredibly fearsome.
Otherwise, why would Zhou Donghuang single him out when so many Lin family juniors were present?
“Lin Hua, you’re really digging yourself into a hole.”
The side relative who had been guarding the main entrance of the mansion that day was also present, and he shook his head and sighed.
“Lin Nan, you know how Lin Hua offended this Zhou Donghuang?” A Lin family junior standing beside him asked in curiosity.
As Lin Nan related the details of the matter, realization dawned on the crowd of Lin family juniors as they finally understood why Zhou Donghuang had singled Lin Hua out.
“Lin Hua is really malicious… I never heard of him bearing a grudge against Lin Lan?”
“I remember, Lin Hua was Lin Lan’s suitor, and the kind who would not be put off… Finally, he only stopped pursuing Lin Lan after she publicly rejected him.”
“He could not possibly be bearing a grudge after all this time, could he?”
“He could.”
“If it really was because of this, isn’t this Lin Hua too petty?”
…
The crowd of Lin family juniors looked once more at Lin Hua with spite.
“I wonder how this Zhou Donghuang is going to deal with Lin Hua.”
The gaze of many of the Lin family juniors fell on Zhou Donghuang.
“If you knew how it would turn out, you wouldn’t have acted in that way.” Under the gaze of the crowd, Zhou Donghuang gazed indifferently at Lin Hua before raising his leg and bringing it down to kill Lin Hua with a single stomp. The sound of Lin Hua begging and slapping himself stopped immediately.
Zhou Donghuang killed Lin Hua with a single stomp as casually as one might kill an ant.
All the Lin family juniors watching felt their scalp tingle.
After Zhou Donghuang took his leg off Lin Hua, he swept his gaze over the patriarch of the Lin family, Lin Zhuoyue. That look frightened him so much that his expression changed as though doom was descending upon him.
Only when Zhou Donghuang took his gaze off Lin Zhuoyue did he then release his breath.
Seeing Zhou Donghuang’s gaze fell on him, the second elder of the Lin family, Lin Chonghuan, gave a bitter look without being fearful like Lin Zhuoyue, as though he did not care whether he lived or died.
“We’re wrong, all wrong… Head Elder was wrong, Patriarch was wrong, and I was wrong too.”
Lin Chonghuan knew that that day, every single one of them had been wrong. Otherwise, if Lin Lan had been welcomed into the Lin family, her adopted son Zhou Donghuang would also have been a part of the family.
With such ability at sixteen or seventeen years of age, who knew what he would become in thirty years’ time?
The Lin family had missed a golden opportunity.
“Donghuang, let’s go.”
Just then, Lin Lan called out to Zhou Donghuang. She had watched impassively at everything Zhou Donghuang had done from beginning to end.
The belief she had in the Lin family had crumbled completely from the moment she had announced that she was renouncing the Lin family.
Now, the Lin family was no longer important to her, and she did not consider herself to be a member of the Lin family.
“Okay.”
Zhou Donghuang acknowledged her and returned to her side, helping her along as he led Fu and Granny Lian towards the main entrance of the Lin family mansion.
“Lin Lan!”
Lin Chonghuan gritted his teeth and finally looked at Lin Lan and called out to her, “Would you still consider staying in the Lin family? The Lin family can give you justice.”
Lin Chonghuan put his dignity aside for the sake of the Lin family.
“Justice?” Lin Lan turned around at this, gazing at Lin Chonghuan indifferently. “Second Elder, do I, Lin Lan, still need the Lin family to dispense justice? My justice has already been delivered by my son. As for the Lin family… from this day on, I, Lin Lan, will have nothing to do with you!”
With that, Lin Lan left with Zhou Donghuang, and the gathered crowd of Lin family juniors parted to let them through, staring at them as they left.
They had the same bitter smile on their faces. Just like Lin Chonghuan, they knew that the Lin family had just missed a golden opportunity.
Lin Lan and her adopted son, Zhou Donghuang, would have been the greatest assets of the Lin family. But now, they had been thrown out the door by the Lin family!
“Second Elder, if she wants to leave, we’ll let her… the Lin family will not miss an insignificant side relative!” Lin Zhuoyue said in a heavy voice. Although he sounded unperturbed, everyone in the Lin family knew that he was trying to salvage the last shred of dignity.
Today, the greatest loss of the Lin family had not been the deaths of the head elder and fourth elder of the Lin family, but Lin Lan’s departure.
Lin Lan had left, bringing with her a sixteen or seventeen-year old youth that was most likely already a level-five adept.
“Farewell, Patriarch Lin.”
Seeing Zhou Donghuang leave, Lu Qinghu did not intend to linger, and he bade Lin Zhuoyue farewell before leaving with Lu Bao.
“Patriarch Lu, wait!”
Seeing this, Lin Zhuoyue called out hastily to Lu Qinghu. “We haven’t discussed the rights to the Lu family’s qi-gathering elixir…”
“There’s no need for discussion.”
Before Lin Zhuoyue could finish, he was interrupted by Lu Qinghu, who had stopped. He turned around to gaze indifferently at Lin Zhuoyue, and said, “The Lu family will never give the rights for our qi-gathering elixir to the Lin family… From this day on, the Lu family will not cooperate with the Lin family in any aspect.”
With that, a cold smile spread over Lu Qinghu’s face.
“Hmmm?”
Lin Zhuoyue’s expression changed completely at Lu Qinghu’s words, and he asked instinctively, “Why not?”
“Because, the owner of the formula for the Lu family’s qi-gathering elixir is none other than Lady Lin Lan’s adopted son, Zhou Donghuang! The Lu family was only helping him with the manufacture and sale of the qi-gathering elixir.”
Lu Qinghu finished speaking and left with Lu Bao.
Only when their silhouettes vanished from the sight of the crowd of did the Lin family members regain their wits, and the expressions of shock spread over their faces as one.
“My god! The formula for the Lu family’s qi-gathering elixir actually belongs to Lin Lan’s adopted son, Zhou Donghuang?”
“This… how is this possible?!”
“Patriarch Lu of the Lu family said so himself, it cannot be false.”
“I never thought, I really never thought… Lin Lan’s adopted son was a hidden dragon all along!”
“That hidden dragon should have been the Lin family’s all along.”
In that moment, the crowd of Lin family juniors all sighed at their missed opportunity, but they did not dare voice out the resentment against their patriarch, Lin Zhuoyue.
“Patriarch, I’m going back.”
The second elder of the Lin family, Lin Chonghuan, gave a long sigh and greeted him before leaving, cutting a lonely and desolate figure as he went. And Lin Zhuoyue, the patriarch, was left rooted to the ground, his expression unreadable as he was lost in his own thoughts.
Soon, Lin Zhuoyue regained his senses, and he swept a cold gaze across the crowd of Lin family juniors.
“If anyone spreads word about what happened today, they will suffer the discipline of the family!”
With that, he left.
Although Lin Zhuoyue’s words had intimidated some of the Lin family juniors, many of the braver Lin family juniors did spread the news.
In just several days, the entire capital of Yunfeng prefecture knew what had occurred on October 10, 1228 of the Ziyun era in the back courtyard of the Lin family mansion: Zhou Donghuang, a youth of only seventeen years old and also the adopted son of Lin Lan, a side relative of the Lin family, killed the fourth elder and head elder of the Lin family, implying that he had already attained level-five of Qi-gathering!
The news spread, and the entire capital of Yunfeng prefecture was shaken by it.
It was easy to imagine how not only the prefecture capital but also the entire Yunfeng prefecture and the prefectures adjoining it would be shaken by this news as it continued to spread.
In the history of Yunyang, there had never been a seventeen-year-old, level-five adept of Qi-gathering.
Zhou Donghuang’s accomplishment was unprecedented in the country of Yunyang.
Of course, when this news spread, many people would remain skeptical. Unless they saw it with their own eyes, it would be very difficult for them to believe that Yunfeng prefecture could produce a level-five adept who was only seventeen years old.
After all, this had never happened before in the history of Yunyang.
…
In the governor’s mansion, the Zhao family.
“Elder San, have you heard about the latest uproar in the prefecture capital?”
The steward of the Hall of Gods, Zhao Ruochen, stood in the peaceful courtyard and questioned Zhao San, who was sitting at a stone table and leisurely sipping a cup of tea.
“What is it?”
Zhao San had not been out recently and had stayed in his room practicing. He took his meals in his room and had only left his room an hour before.
“Elder San, that Zhou Donghuang has come to the prefecture capital again… five days before, he was in the back courtyard of the Lin family mansion, and in a rage on his mother’s behalf, killed the fourth elder and head elder of the Lin family!”
As soon as Zhao Ruochen had finished speaking, the teacup in Zhao San’s hand was shattered with a crack, and his originally relaxed expression was replaced by one of shock.
“This… has been verified?” Zhao San asked after drawing in a deep breath and taking a moment to calm himself down. He looked solemnly at Zhao Ruochen.
“I have gotten someone to track down the accounts of the Lin family juniors present that day, and they have all verified it,” Zhao Ruochen said.
“That Zhou Donghuang… where is he now?” Zhao San asked urgently, standing up suddenly and staring at Zhao Ruochen with an electrifying gaze.
Although he had discerned that there was something mysterious about Zhou Donghuang in the past, he did not imagine that Zhou Donghuang, who was only seventeen years old, had the ability to kill Head Elder Lin Tianzheng of the Lin family.
Even in his current state, and with the swiftness technique of the Zhao family, he would not necessarily be a match for Lin Tianzheng.
“He’s at the Lu family,” Zhao Ruochen replied.
“The Lu family? The Lu family that has just recently advanced to become a preeminent family?” Zhao San asked.
“Yes.”
Zhao Ruochen nodded.
“I already thought that it was strange for the patriarch of the Lu family, Lu Qinghu to suddenly break through so abruptly after failing all these years.”
There was a gleam in Zhao San’s eyes, as though he had a thought.
“Elder San, you mean… Lu Qinghu’s breakthrough had something to do with Zhou Donghuang?” Zhao Ruochen’s eyes narrowed suddenly.
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