Chapter 10: Request
Bai Chen remained kneeling on the floorboard. He lowered his head until his forehead brushed it, assuming the posture of absolute submission. In the Nine Provinces, strength was the only true currency, and the young man sitting on the edge of the bed possessed enough of it to crush him like an ant.
Lin Yuan casually set the empty bowl onto the tray. He didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he allowed a suffocating silence to stretch across the room, letting the weight of his unseen aura press down on the young man’s shoulders.
"A junior?" Lin Yuan finally spoke, his voice calm but resonating with an innate authority. "A moment ago, I was an outer-city trash who had married your crippled cousin. Now, you address me as Senior. The cultivation world is truly a pragmatic place. Speak your mind, Bai Chen. What does a proud disciple of the Bai Clan want from me?"
Bai Chen swallowed hard. He lifted his head, his eyes burning with a mixture of desperation and awe.
"Senior," Bai Chen began, his voice trembling slightly but laced with sincerity. "This junior knows he is but a frog at the bottom of a well, incapable of seeing the vastness of the heavens. But having witnessed Senior’s cultivation, I have two selfish requests. First... I beg Senior to use your power to heal Cousin Qingyue!"
Bai Qingyue, who was resting against the headboard, let out a soft gasp. "Cousin Chen..."
Bai Chen turned to look at her, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "Cousin, you were the brightest star of our generation! You were the pride of the City! When you fell, the clan elders treated you worse than a stray dog. They threw you to the wolves to save face. I was weak. I am only at the 6th level of Qi Condensation; I could do nothing. But Senior Lin... he is a true immortal! With his Foundation Establishment cultivation, he can surely reforge your shattered meridians and repair your dantian!"
He turned back to Lin Yuan and kowtowed fiercely, his forehead hitting the floor with a loud thud.
"I know heavenly treasures and pure spiritual energy are priceless," Bai Chen pleaded, his voice breaking. "If Senior is willing to expend his origin qi to heal her, this junior is willing to offer all of his worldly possessions, his monthly clan stipends, and even his own life essence in exchange!"
Lin Yuan looked at the young man, a flicker of genuine approval passing through his pupils.
In a world where brothers would slaughter each other over a single spirit stone, this kind of selfless loyalty was rare. Bai Chen genuinely cared for Bai Qingyue, enough to offer his life to a terrifying expert he had just met.
"Your loyalty to my wife is commendable," Lin Yuan said smoothly, his tone softening just a fraction. "However, you underestimate the severity of her condition, and you underestimate me. Do you truly think I need an outsider to beg me to heal my own wife?"
Bai Chen froze, looking up in confusion.
Bai Qingyue bit her lower lip, a tragic smile touching her beautiful features. "Cousin Chen, your heart is kind, but you do not understand. My meridians are not simply broken. They are bound by a Soul Transformation restriction. If my husband recklessly forces his qi into my body, the restriction may detonate. It would be like striking a stone with an egg."
"S-Soul Transformation?!" Bai Chen gasped, all the color draining from his face.
To a Qi Condensation disciple, the Nascent Soul realm was a myth. The Soul Transformation realm was a concept that belonged to the untouchable gods of the Upper Realms. The realization that his cousin was cursed by such an entity made him feel as though the sky had collapsed.
"The restriction is a heavy lock, but no lock is absolute," Lin Yuan interjected calmly, bringing a sudden spark of hope back into the room. He reached out and gently held Bai Qingyue’s hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "I will surely find a means to dissolve the restriction. It is only a matter of time before she walks again, and eventually, soars."
Bai Chen stared at Lin Yuan, utterly dumbfounded. He can break a Soul Transformation restriction?! Just who exactly is this man?!
The Bai Clan had truly been blinded by dog shit! They had practically paid this supreme dragon to take away their greatest genius, thinking they were disposing trash!
Realizing the sheer magnitude of the man sitting before him, a radical, life-altering decision crystallized in Bai Chen’s mind. The Bai Clan was a sinking ship of arrogant, short-sighted fools. If he stayed there, he would eventually be devoured by internal politics or killed in some pointless dispute.
Bai Chen straightened his posture. He took a deep breath.
"Senior Lin," Bai Chen said, his voice ringing with absolute resolve. "My first request was foolish, for I failed to see that Senior already cherishes Cousin Qingyue beyond measure. Therefore, I offer my second request."
He pressed his palms flat against the floor.
"I have heard that ’A wise bird chooses a sturdy branch to roost, and a loyal minister chooses a enlightened lord to serve.’ The Bai Clan is rotten to its core. They have eyes but fail to recognize Mount Tai. I no longer wish to share a surname with those who abandoned their own blood. I beg Senior Lin to take me in!"
Bai Qingyue’s eyes widened in profound shock. "Bai Chen! Do you know what you are saying? Defecting from the inner clan... if the elders find out, they will cripple your cultivation and brand you a traitor!"
"Let them try!" Bai Chen declared fiercely. "I would rather be a sweeping servant in Senior Lin’s outer courtyard than a direct disciple in a clan of blind dogs! Senior Lin, please accept me as your follower, your servant, or your disciple! I will run your errands! Point your sword, and I will charge, even if it means marching into the abyss!"
Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed. He was a transmigrator bound to the Millionfold Return System. His path to absolute supremacy required investing in his wife. And Furthermore, Bai Chen’s loyalty had already been tested by fire. He had stood by Bai Qingyue when she had nothing.
Lin Yuan slowly stood up from the bed. He took a single step toward the kneeling young man.
"To sever your roots and follow a man you met less than an hour ago... you are either a madman or a true opportunist," Lin Yuan stated, his voice echoing with the profound resonance of his cultivation.
He suddenly released a fraction of his Foundation Establishment aura—just enough to test the boy’s willpower. The air grew heavy, pressing down on Bai Chen’s spine like a physical boulder.
Bai Chen gritted his teeth. His bones creaked, and beads of sweat dripped from his chin onto the floorboards. But he did not break his kowtow. He did not retreat. His eyes remained fixed on the floor, burning with unwavering determination.
"Good," Lin Yuan said softly, instantly withdrawing the pressure.
Bai Chen gasped, nearly collapsing in relief.
"I do not need a disciple right now," Lin Yuan declared, placing his hands behind his back. "But for someone to run errands, a subordinate who can move where I choose not to. From this day forth, you are no longer a disciple of the Bai Clan in your heart. You will serve me faithfully, and I will ensure your cultivation soars."
"Thank you, Lord Lin! Thank you! This subordinate greets his Lord!"
Bai Qingyue watched the exchange, her heart swelling with a myriad of complex emotions. The cousin who had pitied her was now serving her husband.
"Stand up," Lin Yuan commanded.
Bai Chen hurriedly scrambled to his feet, dusting off his robes, though he kept his head respectfully bowed.
"Since you are now my subordinate, you will have your first task," Lin Yuan instructed, his tone shifting to pure business. "Return to the inner city. Do not arouse suspicion. Maintain your facade as a Bai Clan disciple. I need you to gather two things for me."
"First, gather the sentiments of mortals."
Bai Chen frowned. "Sentiments...?"
"Yes." Lin Yuan replied. "Walk through the markets, the villages, and the streets. Observe the people. A farmer praying for rain after months of drought. A mother weeping for her child. Lovers reunited beneath a passing drizzle. An old man silently watching the rain from beneath his roof."
"Every sigh, every hope, every farewell, every tear shed beneath the heavens... They all emit a sentimental aura, and with your cultivation, if you focus enough, you will gather this sentimental aura."
Bai Chen remained silent, unable to comprehend why such seemingly insignificant matters could possibly interest a cultivator.
Lin Yuan offered no explanation. His enlightenment had already shown him the path. And If he wished to truly comprehend the Dao of Rain, then he first had to understand the countless hearts that instinctively looked toward the heavens whenever the first drop began to fall.
"And second..." Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed. ", quietly acquire an alchemy cauldron. Can you do this?"
"This subordinate understands!" Bai Chen replied firmly. "I will return in three days with the items requested."
"Go," Lin Yuan waved his hand dismissively.
With a respectful bow to both Lin Yuan and Bai Qingyue, Bai Chen backed out of the bedroom and quickly vanished into the morning light, his heart blazing.
Once the courtyard was silent again, Lin Yuan closed the bedroom door and turned his attention back to his wife.
"He is a good kid," Lin Yuan noted, walking back to the bed.
"You did not have to take him in, Lin Yuan," Bai Qingyue said softly, looking up at him with immense gratitude. "But knowing he is under your wing brings peace to my heart."
"If he is loyal to you, he is valuable to me," Lin Yuan replied simply.
"Now that our uninvited guest is gone," Lin Yuan said, his gaze meeting hers, "it’s finally just the two of us."