The Lin's Patriarch is weird.

Lin Xuan smiled warmly.

"Did anything happen while I was away?"

"Lots!"

Lin Zhaoyue answered almost immediately.

"Like there was this one time when I had to reveal my cultivation just to get the elders to pay attention to me."

She smiled faintly.

"I don’t regret it, but now they’re all trying to force me to become the Supreme Elder."

She let out an exasperated sigh.

"They’re crazy, Father. Absolutely crazy."

Lin Xuan couldn’t help but laugh.

"I suppose you’re already mature enough to hold that position."

Lin Zhaoyue stared at him in disbelief.

"Huh? You too? Father, I’m only eleven!"

Lin Xuan casually hooked a finger into one ear and leaned forward slightly.

"Hm? What’s that? You want to become the Supreme Elder?"

He nodded exaggeratedly.

"Very well. Father will make you the Supreme Elder."

Lin Zhaoyue folded her arms and puffed out her cheeks.

"Fine.I won’t talk to you anymore."

Lin Xuan chuckled before raising both hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright. Father apologizes."

He smiled mischievously.

"How about this? Tell me everything that happened while I was away, and I’ll personally tell the elders to let you enjoy being a normal child again."

He paused for effect before adding,

"And... I’ll give you access to the treasury."

The moment the word treasury reached her ears, Lin Zhaoyue’s eyes sparkled.

Her previous indignation vanished instantly.

"Deal!"

She answered without the slightest hesitation.

Lin Xuan couldn’t help but laugh at how quickly her attitude had changed.

Lin Zhaoyue cleared her throat and immediately began her report.

"The Shangguan family unexpectedly extended an olive branch so we’ve reconciled for the time being."

"For the time being?"

Lin Xuan quietly repeated those words, immediately sensing there was more to the story.

Lin Zhaoyue nodded.

"I don’t fully trust their intentions yet."

She paused briefly before continuing.

"And recently, there have been suspicious movements from the Huang family again.

I looked into it and It seems the Xu family from the distant south is trying to stir up trouble here."

Lin Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly before asking another question.

"What about the Zhao family?"

Lin Zhaoyue’s lips immediately curled downward.

"Them?"

She let out a dissatisfied snort.

"As soon as they heard the Shangguan family was preparing to attack us, they immediately cut ties with the Lin family."

Her expression became even more displeased.

"But the moment they heard the Shangguan family had come to reconcile, they also rushed over with gifts, hoping to repair our alliance."

Seeing the obvious dissatisfaction written across his daughter’s face, Lin Xuan couldn’t help but smile.

"Zhaoyue."

She looked up.

"No matter how much you dislike your neighbor, if they possess something valuable and are willing to trade fairly, we shouldn’t hesitate to do business with them."

He gently smiled.

"That said, I’ll support whatever decision you have taken regarding the Zhao family."

Lin Zhaoyue blinked.

"Even if I openly antagonize them?"

Lin Xuan coughed awkwardly.

"Uh... Well... as long as it’s within reason."

Lin Zhaoyue let out a helpless smile.

"Yeah... I hate them, but I don’t want to drag the clan into my personal feelings."

She folded her arms.

"So I simply extorted—"

She abruptly stopped herself.

"Ahem, Ahem."

After several exaggerated coughs, she corrected herself with a perfectly straight face.

"I negotiated a new agreement with them. The previous deal which had been two hundred sets of Qi Refinement Pill herbs every month. I raised it to eight hundred sets but our side of the agreement remains exactly the same."

Lin Xuan blinked.

"...Eight hundred?"

He looked at her in surprise.

"Isn’t that a bit excessive?"

"No!"

Lin Zhaoyue answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Lin Shuxuan was a complete moron!"

She huffed indignantly.

"How could he agree to exchange ten bottles of Pure Quality Qi Refinement Pills for only two hundred sets of herbs?"

She threw both hands into the air.

"Even an alchemy genius would need at least five hundred sets of herbs to produce ten bottles of Pure Quality pills!"

Before she could continue—

Flick.

Lin Xuan lightly flicked her forehead.

"Ow!"

Lin Zhaoyue immediately covered her forehead.

She looked up at Lin Xuan with an aggrieved expression.

"Father..."

Lin Xuan folded his arms and looked at her with feigned sternness.

"How dare you call your father a moron?"

Lin Zhaoyue blinked innocently.

"Father, I’m not calling you a moron."

She tilted her head slightly.

"I’m calling the idiot who went and made that deal with the Zhao family."

Lin Xuan’s eyebrow twitched and he slowly raised his hand again.

The moment Lin Zhaoyue saw it, her eyes widened.

"Okay, okay!"

She hurriedly took two steps back while covering her forehead with both hands.

"I’m sorry, Father! I was wrong! Please don’t flick me again!"

Lin Xuan couldn’t hold it in any longer.

"Hahaha!"

His hearty laughter echoed throughout the courtyard.

After laughing for a while, he lowered his raised hand.

"Alright, I’ll let you off this time."

The atmosphere immediately relaxed and Lin Xuan then changed the subject.

"Oh, right. Do you know how to use Nascent Soul Fire?"

Lin Zhaoyue stared at him for a moment.

Then she looked up at him as though she had just heard something unbelievable.

"...Papa."

Her expression became oddly complicated.

"You’re an idiot, I’m only at the Golden Core Realm."

Flick!

"Oww!"

Lin Zhaoyue immediately yelped as she covered her forehead again.

She puffed out her cheeks and glared at her father.

"You flicked me again!"

———————————————————

Meanwhile, at one of the Lin family’s market stalls within Azure Willow City, a commotion had broken out.

A large crowd had already gathered, surrounding the area as curious voices rang out one after another.

"What happened?"

"Why is that child lying on the ground?"

An elderly woman stood on her toes to get a better look before suddenly gasping.

"Oh my Lord... isn’t that the young boy who works at the Lin family’s restaurant? Did he get caught stealing?"

"Stealing?"

The man beside her shook his head.

"No. He was beaten because he looked at that young lady over there."

The surrounding crowd instinctively followed his gaze.

Standing a short distance away was a breathtakingly beautiful young woman dressed in elegant robes.

Her complexion was fair as jade, and her delicate features were enough to captivate anyone at first glance.

Yet despite her beauty, her expression remained cold and lifeless.

By her side was a portly, middle-aged man whose face was filled with undisguised arrogance.

He stood there with a sneer, leisurely surveying the gathered crowd as though enjoying the spectacle before him.

At his feet was an elderly man was kneeling on the ground.

His forehead repeatedly struck the stone pavement as he desperately begged.

"Please... Young Master... My grandson is still young and ignorant."

"He meant no offense. I beg you... please spare him."

Not far away, a young boy lay sprawled across the street.

His face was bruised and swollen, while fresh blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.