After they ate their fill at Drunk Immortals restaurant, Yan Tianhen patted his full stomach and held the reins to their horse in one hand, then swayed alongside Lin Xuanzhi as they returned to the Lin residence.
On their way home, Yan Tianhen scrunched up his little face and said with a slight heartache, “Drunk Immortals restaurant is so unscrupulous, they actually charged us 200 gold for one meal! Why don’t they just go rob a bank! Aiyayaya, I’m definitely not going to that place to eat ever again.”
Lin Xuanzhi smiled, then said, “You little money-grubber. The chef at Drunk Immortals restaurant is a retired food cultivator. The food that he dishes out aren’t just tasty and unique, they also contain a type of mild Qi that’s easily absorbed by the body so his food is incredibly beneficial for a cultivator’s body. Also, Drunk Immortals restaurant is a chain restaurant, it’s extremely well-known throughout the Five Continent’s mainlands. They have very stringent requirements for their food cultivators and ingredients, and they adopt very strict quality control practices as well, so you don’t need to worry about suffering from food poisoning at their restaurants.”
Yan Tianhen tried to sense if there had been any changes in his body, then rubbed his head and said, “I don’t really feel anything though.”
Lin Xuanzhi sighed and said, “You’ll feel it sooner or later.”
Yan Tianhen broke out into a broad smile that showed his teeth and said, “But, if Dage can reap its benefits then that’s good enough.”
Lin Xuanzhi pinched his cheeks, then said, “Did Ah Hen eat any candy? Why are you suddenly so good at sweet talking.”
Yan Tianhen grinned as he said, “I’ve always been this sweet, it’s just that Dage had never noticed.”
The two of them maintained this good atmosphere the whole way back, and the moment they stepped into the house, one of Fifth elder’s attendants welcomed them.
The attendant had an agreeable smile on his face as he said, “Xuanzhi young master, Tianhen young master, Master has arranged new accommodations for the both of you. Would you like to follow me to your new place now?”
Yan Tianhen blinked, then said, “New accommodation? Don’t tell it’s some dilapidated yard again? We won’t want to go there.”
The attendant was slightly embarra.s.sed as he smiled. Yan Tianhen looks quite harmless to him, so he didn’t expect Yan Tianhen to have such a sharp tongue — because he couldn’t tell if Yan Tianhen was being serious or sarcastic.
The attendant felt a bit helpless, but he couldn’t do anything. When Lin Xuanzhi was chased away to the worst yard they had, Fifth elder was in seclusion and knew nothing about what had happened. Now that he discovered that this Lin Xuanzhi is a craftsman, he suddenly began to proactively shower him with concern, so this was a bit……aiya, it would be too difficult to explain with just a few words.
But Lin Xuanzhi didn’t make things difficult for the attendant and lightly nodded, then said, “Show us the way.”
The attendant gratefully clasped his hands together, then walked in front of them to guide them towards the new yard allocated to them.
Their newly allocated yard was a sky-level pavillion. It was located near the Lin family’s training field and internal commercial district, so no matter if it was with regards to cultivation or shopping, this new location was much more convenient.
Lin Xuanzhi had a huge yard of his own— it was Lin Zhan’s previous residence. There are no fewer than ten rooms in their pavillion, and they even had a separate bathroom specifically set aside for bathing.
“This is your new place.” The attendant smiled with squinted eyes and said, “This is the room Master personally picked out for Xuanzhi young master. If Xuanzhi young master has any other requests, feel free to let me know. Right, I’m called Yu Shu, I’m the attendant who cares for Master’s sword1.”
Lin Xuanzhi nodded and said, “Thanks for the trouble, I don’t need anything else for now.”
“We have also prepared some servants for both young masters. Right now they’re just waiting for the two young masters to select which of them you want to serve you.”
“We won’t need servants.” Lin Xuanzhi said, “I’m not used to being waited on by others, please thank Master on my behalf.”
“Master had said that everything will go as Xuanzhi young master’s wishes.” Yu Shu smiled as he said, “Then I won’t disturb the two young masters now. I’ll be taking my leave.”
After Yu Shu left, the sullen Yan Tianhen who hadn’t spoken a single word and was kicking little stones at a side walked over to the peach blossom tree in their new yard. Then he gave the tree trunk two good kicks.
He had a lot of resentment pent up in his heart but nowhere to vent it, so he could only take his frustrations out on other things.
Lin Xuanzhi walked over and said, “Why is Ah Hen angry with him? If you’re dissatisfied, you should be directing your dissatisfaction towards those who had chased us to that small yard.”
The one he was talking about was Madam Bai. As for Fifth elder…since he didn’t openly throw stones at him when he was down, Lin Xuanzhi naturally wouldn’t bear grudges against him.
Yan Tianhen pouted, then said indignantly, “At first, when they saw that Dage was of no more use to the Lin family, they threw Dage aside like you were a piece of rag and didn’t care about Dage at all. They couldn’t wait to see Dage disappear from the face of the earth then. But now that they have to ask you for help, they’re suddenly giving Dage tiny favours here and there. This is just way too unfair for Dage!”
How could Lin Xuanzhi not see what they were trying to do?
And realistically speaking, even if he does turn his nose up at such pragmatic behaviour, he couldn’t make an enemy out of everyone.
Lin Xuanzhi broke off a branch from the peach blossom tree, then pa.s.sed it to Yan Tianhen and steadily said, “Ah Hen, the world operates in this manner: if you’re strong, everyone will try to curry favour with you and worship you because they want something from you; if you’re weak, then they will step on you and trample all over you because they think that you can be wantonly humiliated.”
Yan Tianhen said with great resentment, “I will never forget the face of that Bai woman when she got people to carry you when you were unconscious from our original yard to that dilapidated one. I really, really want to kill her!”
Lin Xuanzhi placed his hand on Yan Tianhen’s shoulder and gently brought him into his arms, then said, “Ah Hen shouldn’t get so angry over that kind of sc.u.m. Your anger will take a toll on your body, it’s not worth it. Also, Dage will be worried.”
Yan Tianhen pouted and said, “But now, Dage has already become the Lin family’s most important craftsman. From now on, that Bai person wouldn’t dare to bully Dage again.”
“The time for our revenge has not yet come. It’s easy to decorate something that’s already beautiful, but difficult to send someone charcoal in the snow2; most people in this world act like that, Ah Hen will meet many more people like this in the future, so you need not mind them too much.”
Under Lin Zhan’s guidance, Yan Tianhen had become an intelligent child, but he also had a kind of innately straightforward and naive nature. Lin Xuanzhi naturally liked this kind of Yan Tianhen. But, when he recalled how the Yan Tianhen in his past life had been unable to see through people’s intentions due to his naivety and straightforwardness — which in turn led to his tragic downfall — his heart felt like it was being crushed by a rock.
Also, Yan Tianhen had something called ‘stubbornness’ carved into his bones.
Towards the people whom he believes in, even if they were to beat him up till he was covered in bruises, he would never give up on them.
Towards those who had bullied him, he would always keep their misdeeds in his heart and secretly think about how to take revenge against them.
On the other hand, Lin Xuanzhi hoped that Yan Tianhen could mature as soon as possible and not care too much about others’ opinions.
A childish tiger roar sounded. Yan Tianhen looked at the door and saw two white tigers come in one after the other. One of them was biting on someone’s trousers, while the other was nuzzling against that person’s calf.
Evidently, this man had been “forced” the whole way here by those two tiger cubs.
This person was the Lin Zhantian who had visited their dilapidated yard to offer his apology.
When he saw Lin Zhantian, Yan Tianhen immediately let out a hng and pointed at their courtyard’s door, then said, “You are not welcome here. Hurry up and leave or else I’ll start cursing you!”
Lin Zhantian’s face revealed a look of guilt, but he still stood as straight as a rod as he said, “Not handing over the Recorder Mirror was my fault, you may kill me or cut me up if you wish.”
Yan Tianhen said angrily, “Don’t think that just because you said that I wouldn’t dare to beat you to death!”
Lin Zhantian threw over something that he was holding in his hand. Yan Tianhen caught it, then when he looked at it closely, he realised that it was the sword that Lin Zhantian usually carries around with him.
Yan Tianhen was instantly stunned– he was the typical ‘I’m strong when my opponent is strong’ character, so if the other party were to suddenly soften, he wouldn’t know what to do. Thus, he looked towards Lin Xuanzhi to request for a.s.sistance.
Yet, Lin Xuanzhi couldn’t understand his pleading gaze. He only lightly asked, “The impression you gave me was that of an impartial man, so I really didn’t expect that you would stand on Madam Bai’s side and collude with her in her conspiracies.”
Lin Zhantian endured their words with a face full of shame, then he pursed his lips and said, “Feel free to kill me or cut me up as you wish. But my father, mother and Meimei know nothing about what I did, so don’t bear grudges against them.”
Yet Lin Xuanzhi coldly laughed and said, “If you say your father knew nothing about what you had done, I would believe it; but if you say that your mother and sister were completely in the dark, I wouldn’t believe that in the slightest.”
Lin Zhantian looked up and fixed a fierce gaze upon Lin Xuanzhi, then said, “If you dare to cause trouble for them, I wouldn’t let you off even if I were to turn into a ghost.”
“Even if you do turn into a ghost, I wouldn’t have to deal with your mother and sister before Madam Bai does.” Lin Xuanzhi coldly laughed and said, “Do you think that after Madam Ji had seized Madam Bai’s supervisor position, Madam Bai would be willing to take it lying down? The power of a supervisor in the Lin family is only second to that of Master. Ever since Madam Bai gave birth to Lin Zezhi, the role of the family’s supervisor had always been in her hands. Yet, it had now fallen into the hands of a side branch — how could Madam Bai endure such a great humiliation?!”
In fact, after Madam Bai recovers, she’ll probably deal with Madam Ji immediately.
Lin Zhantian gritted his teeth and said, “If you can spare my life, I’ll be eternally grateful to you.”
“What do I need your grat.i.tude for.” Lin Xuanzhi changed the topic and said, “I remember you have a sister who was born with a Chiyang3 body type, and it is precisely because her Yang Qi is so strong her body can’t withstand it which had caused her to stay bedridden all these years. If she doesn’t consume a certain medicinal pill everyday, her body would be at risk of exploding from her inner Yang Qi.”
When Lin Zhantian heard Lin Xuanzhi mention his sister, he was instantly more wary and said, “That’s right, Yuhan is indeed like that. What are you mentioning this for?”
Lin Xuanzhi said, “Nothing much. It just suddenly occurred to me that when I was still at Profound Sky Sect a few years ago, Madam Ji had asked me to search for a magic treasure called Taiyan Cauldron. Even though I had managed to find it at that time and almost sent it to Madam Ji, that Taiyan Cauldron had a hole in it, so it could not be as effective as Madam Ji expected it to be.”
Lin Zhantian was surprised, then he said, “That Taiyan Cauldron was actually found by you?”
Lin Xuanzhi looked at him and said, “Who else?”
Yan Tianhen couldn’t help but jump in and say, “My Dage had done such a big favour for you guys, yet you repaid his kindness with ingrat.i.tude. Pei, aren’t you guys too shameless!”
Lin Zhantian was thoroughly berated. As he thought about what he had done, his hatred for himself grew.
“I let you down.” Lin Zhantian finally lowered his head and said.
“I don’t need your apology.” Lin Xuanzhi had always believed that apologies were useless, “I want to make a deal with you.”
Lin Zhantian raised his head and asked, “What deal?”
Lin Xuanzhi placed his hands behind his back and lightly said, “I want a drop of your sister’s heart blood.”
“What?” Lin Zhantian’s face immediately changed, then said, “If a drop of her heart blood is taken out, the extreme Yang Qi in her body will become even more turbulent!”
Heart blood has a Yin quality, and at least half of the extreme Yang Qi in Han Yuran’s body is being suppressed by her heart blood.
Lin Xuanzhi’s glance swept across Lin Zhantian’s face, then said, “Within the next three years, I will finish repairing that Taiyan Cauldron, then I’ll pa.s.s it to Madam Ji. This Taiyan Cauldron is the only one of its kind throughout the Five Continent’s mainlands. Rumours have said that the medicinal pills refined by alchemists who use the Taiyan Cauldron will either be of extreme Yin or extreme Yang quality depending on the attribute of the spiritual plants used; and the Yin medicinal pill that is refined from it would be without a doubt the best kind of medicine that can suppress Lin Yuhan’s internal extreme Yang Qi. Even if it can’t resolve the root of her problem, it would be more than enough to help Lin Yuhan live like a normal person.
You must know, ever since Lin Yuhan’s feet touched the ground, she had never seen the sun before– exposure to the sun’s pure Yang nature would overload her body and she would end up exploding to death!
And her mother’s wish, had always been a simple and tender one.
All Ji Lanjun wants, is for Lin Yuhan to be able to live like an ordinary girl.
1. This attendant is the Master’s 抱剑童子, directly translated = the attendant who carries his sword. But after some googling, apparently this kind of attendant takes care of their Master’s sword bc outside of cultivation they don’t have much energy for anything else. If no one takes care of their sword while they cultivate, their sword will end up gathering dust in some corner↩
2. Sending someone charcoal in the snow = helping someone in their time of need↩
3. Chi = blazing, yang = sun; it’s a body type that contains a lot of Yang energy and this Yang energy is supposedly very extreme↩