Chapter 46 - 35: Liu Family
East City, Wang Family.
The Wang Family Patriarch sat at the head of the room, his face livid. A figure was seated on his left and right, and several men stood below.
"Patriarch, we’ve searched the entire Great Mist Mountain three times, but there’s still no sign of Housekeeper Li and his three men."
A man stood in the center with his head bowed, not daring to meet the Patriarch’s eyes.
Housekeeper Li had served the Patriarch since he first began his martial arts training and was deeply trusted.
Otherwise, the Patriarch wouldn’t have entrusted him with capturing the Purple Furred Beast after its discovery. Who wouldn’t be tempted by such a Treasure Medicine?
"Useless! Housekeeper Li and his men must have been killed in the Great Mist Mountain, and you can’t even find their bodies!"
The Wang Family Patriarch slammed his right hand down, shattering the armrest beside him. He was furious about Housekeeper Li’s death, but even more enraged that his chance to break through to the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing was gone.
A year ago, he had attempted to break through to the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing, but he had failed.
He thought he would have to wait several more years for another attempt, but then he received news of a Purple Furred Beast sighting. At that moment, he felt as if the heavens themselves were paving his way to the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing.
But now, it was all gone.
"Patriarch, calm your anger. The Great Mist Mountain is filled with toxic miasma, so we can’t use hunting dogs to search. Relying on manpower alone makes it extremely difficult to find anyone."
The man on the left spoke, trying to placate him. "Housekeeper Li met his end this time, so the perpetrator must have planned this meticulously, with thorough preparations to destroy the corpses and erase all traces."
"Are you saying the news about the Purple Furred Beast was leaked? Isn’t it possible they were just accidentally discovered by other Martial Artists?"
"The chances of an accidental encounter are slim."
The man on the left shook his head slightly. "Because of the miasma, there are very few wild beasts in the Great Mist Mountain. No Martial Artist would go there to hunt for no reason."
The Patriarch’s anger subsided slightly as his gaze swept across the room. "Only the people present in this room knew the secret of the Purple Furred Beast. If it wasn’t an accident, are you saying someone here leaked it?"
As soon as he said this, the several men standing in the room began to tremble.
"Patriarch, the possibility of an internal leak is minimal. It’s more likely that Housekeeper Li’s movements were being watched the entire time."
The man on the left offered his speculation. "Patriarch, when Housekeeper Li and his men left the city, the more cautious he was, the more likely he was to arouse suspicion, especially from those families who hold a grudge against our Wang Family."
The Wang Family Patriarch’s eyes narrowed. He looked at the man on his right. "Hao’er, secretly investigate the Zhou Family and the Qian Family. Find out which one was behind this."
The man on the right stood up. "Yes."
......
「Three days later.」
Lin Yan left Qingtian Town and entered the city. His topical Secret Medicine had run out, and he needed to buy more from the Martial Arts Hall.
The Secret Medicine prepared by his Martial Arts Hall had a time limit; its effects would be greatly diminished after a month. Moreover, his master would formulate the Secret Medicine based on each disciple’s specific situation.
Returning to South City, Lin Yan frowned at the locked gate of his home.
Since moving here to South City, his aunt rarely went out. ’Why would the gate be locked today?’
"Xiaolin, your aunt probably went back to her parents’ home. A group of people came to your house early this morning, said they were relatives from her side of the family."
The neighbor across the street said, seeing Lin Yan standing before his gate.
"Thank you for the heads-up, Elder Zhang."
Lin Yan clasped his fist in thanks and headed toward the Liu Family’s residence.
After his parents passed away, the Liu Family had tried to get their hands on his family’s house, but his aunt had refused them. However, Lin Yan also knew that as long as the two Liu Family elders were alive, his aunt couldn’t completely sever ties with them.
’For his aunt’s sake, he could overlook their attempt to take the house. But if the Liu Family tried to use his name or force his aunt to do something, they had sorely miscalculated.’
「A quarter of an hour later.」
Lin Yan arrived at the Liu Family residence in North City.
In front of the old, connected single-story houses, many people were standing or squatting in the open space. They were all members or relatives of the Liu Family.
"Brother."
Lin Yan spotted Lin Mo at a glance, standing alone off to one side, counting ants on the ground. He called out to him.
"Brother!"
Lin Mo looked up, and a smile spread across his face when he saw it was his older brother. He quickly ran over.
The Liu Family members at the entrance heard the commotion and looked over. When they saw Lin Yan, several of them first tensed up, but then immediately put on forced smiles.
"Lin Yan is here!"
"Lin Yan, it’s been a long time since you’ve visited your uncle’s home."
His aunt’s second-oldest brother stepped forward, his face wreathed in an enthusiastic smile. Lin Yan completely ignored his words and asked coolly, "Where is my aunt?"
"She’s inside talking with Mother, Lin Yan..."
Lin Yan walked right past him and headed for the door. He didn’t call out until he reached the entrance. "Aunt!"
The ignored second brother of the Liu family had an awkward expression but could only stand aside with a placating smile. ’Lin Yan was a Martial Artist now, a person of importance. He couldn’t afford to offend him.’
After a moment, the door opened, and his aunt came out. She was very happy to see him. "Yan’er, what are you doing here?"
"I just got back. When I heard you were here, I came right over. Are you alright, Aunt?"
His aunt shook her head. Just then, an old woman walked out from inside the house and was about to grab Lin Yan’s hand, but he sidestepped her.
The old woman wasn’t embarrassed that her hands grabbed at empty air. She immediately started wiping away tears. "Xiaoyan, you don’t know! Our family is being bullied so badly! Look at your eldest uncle, beaten so miserably by those gang members."
"Mother, please stop crying."
Seeing her mother cry, his aunt interrupted her and pulled Lin Yan aside. "Yan’er, I’ll be home in a little while. You should take your brother home first."
"There’s no rush. Aunt, tell me what’s going on first."
Lin Yan didn’t hurry to leave. ’He didn’t feel at ease leaving his aunt here alone.’
Seeing her nephew’s determined gaze, his aunt hesitated for a moment before saying, "It’s nothing serious. The gangs were just collecting protection money, and the family couldn’t pay right away. I’ve already paid it for them, so everything is settled."
Lin Yan only half-believed his aunt’s words.
’It was certainly true that his aunt had paid for the Liu Family, but it wasn’t necessarily true that the Liu Family couldn’t afford it.’
’Knowing the Liu Family as he did, now that he had become a Martial Artist, they would definitely try to leech off him. The most likely scenario was that they wanted to use his name to avoid paying the gang’s protection money, hoping his aunt would ask him to step in. But his aunt clearly hadn’t agreed.’
Seeing Lin Yan purse his lips, his aunt sighed internally. ’She knew Yan’er must not have fully believed her. He was getting smarter and smarter, able to see the whole picture from a single detail.’
’Early this morning, her eldest brother had rushed to her home, claiming their mother was ill. She had hurriedly brought Mo’Er back with her. But it turned out their mother was perfectly fine. They had tricked her into coming back because today was the day the Ping Mountain Gang came to collect their dues. Her eldest and second brother had deliberately acted tough in front of her, refusing to pay and even taking a beating, all to force her to ask Yan’er to intervene. But she hadn’t wavered. She knew her brothers and nephews’ characters all too well. If she gave in today, next time it would be for something even more outrageous. If she refused then, her brothers were capable of pushing their mother to hang herself at her doorstep. As a daughter of the Liu Family, she could give them the money she earned from sewing to show filial piety to her mother, but she absolutely could not drag Yan’er into this.’
"Well, look here. The Liu Family is still crying and wailing."
A mocking voice came from not far away. A few burly men walked over. When they got closer, the leader saw Lin Yan, and his expression changed slightly. His tone became a bit more serious than before. "I am Liu Fei, a Hall Master of the Ping Mountain Gang. May I ask your name?"
Liu Fei could tell that Lin Yan had an extraordinary presence. ’He realized the Liu Family hadn’t been bluffing; they really did have a Martial Artist relative.’
’But he wasn’t intimidated. He was collecting protection money for the gang, with the entire Ping Mountain Gang backing him. According to the rules of Guangping County Town, a Martial Artist was only exempt from paying their *own* protection money. He wasn’t breaking any rules. Besides, a relative of the Liu Family couldn’t possibly be from a powerful or noble background. Achieving Single-Time Skin Smoothing was already a blessing from their ancestors; there was no way he was a Second-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist. There were a few of these common-born Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artists in the county town every year, but that was their limit.’
Lin Yan didn’t even bother to acknowledge Liu Fei. Being ignored like this, a trace of dissatisfaction flashed in Liu Fei’s eyes, but he didn’t dare provoke a Single-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist too much. After a silent huff, he left with his companions.
"Aunt, since the matter is settled, let’s go back together."
Hearing her nephew’s words, his aunt glanced at her mother and finally nodded. "Alright."
Seeing his aunt agree, Lin Yan called to his younger brother, and the three of them left. The Liu Family members wanted to stop them, but under Lin Yan’s sweeping gaze, they felt a chill run through their bodies. The Liu matriarch, in particular, was about to start crying but swallowed her sobs when Lin Yan’s eyes fell on her.
"Senior Brother Lin?"
Lin Yan had only taken a few steps when a voice called out from behind him.
Lin Yan stopped. Zhuang Zheng, dressed in the uniform of an Inspector, strode up to him quickly. "It really is Senior Brother Lin. I thought I’d seen the wrong person."
Bumping into Zhuang Zheng here was a surprise for Lin Yan. What surprised him even more was that Zhuang Zheng was wearing an Inspector’s uniform. ’In Guangping County, the Director of the Inspection Bureau was a Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing powerhouse, and the Vice Directors, like his own Senior Brother Hao, were at the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing. To become an Inspector, one had to be a Second-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist.’
"Congratulations on reaching Second-Time Skin Smoothing, Junior Brother Zhuang."
"I just got lucky and broke through to Second-Time Skin Smoothing last month. I can’t compare to you, Senior Brother Lin."
Zhuang Zheng scratched his head, smiling shyly. Lin Yan mentally calculated. ’It had only been nine months since Zhuang Zheng joined the Martial Arts Hall. Reaching Second-Time Skin Smoothing in nine months was an undeniably fast pace.’
’Most importantly, Zhuang Zheng had actually become an Inspector.’
’The minimum requirement to become an Inspector was Second-Time Skin Smoothing, but that didn’t mean every Second-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist could get the post.’
’The lucrative positions in the Inspection Bureau were few and the candidates many. Without the right connections, you wouldn’t even get a turn.’
’This Junior Brother Zhuang was no simple character.’
"What brings you to North City, Senior Brother Lin?"
Zhuang Zheng glanced at the Liu Family members not far away. Seeing Zhuang Zheng in his Inspector’s uniform, they were even more afraid to approach.
In their minds, a Martial Artist was a person of importance, and an Inspector was a government official. Both were existences they couldn’t afford to provoke.
"I was just accompanying my aunt on a trip to her parents’ home. We’re heading back now."
Hearing Lin Yan’s introduction, Zhuang Zheng also addressed his aunt. "Greetings, Aunt."
"Aunt, this is my junior brother from the Martial Arts Hall."
"Since you two junior and senior brothers have run into each other, you must have a lot to talk about. I’ll take Mo’Er home first."
"Junior Brother Zhuang is on duty, so he probably doesn’t have time to chat now. I’ll go back with you and Mo’Er, Aunt."
Lin Yan stopped his aunt. Zhuang Zheng also smiled and nodded. "Senior Brother Lin is right. I’m on duty now, so I can’t chat for long. Senior Brother Lin, let’s catch up when I’m back at the Martial Arts Hall."
"Alright."
Lin Yan left with his aunt and younger brother. Zhuang Zheng watched the three disappear down the street, then slowed his pace and instructed a Patrol Officer beside him, "Go ask about the situation. I want every last detail."
The Patrol Officer understood and walked toward the Liu Family. He also questioned a few neighboring families before catching up a short while later.
"Sir, I’ve got the details. Today, the Ping Mountain Gang came to collect protection money from the Liu Family. The Liu Family wanted to use your senior brother’s name to avoid paying, but your senior brother didn’t intervene. From my perspective, your senior brother’s relationship with the Liu Family isn’t very good."
Zhuang Zheng nodded. ’If the Liu Family had a good relationship with Senior Brother Lin, he would have just asked him to look after them a little.’
"There’s one more thing. Before your senior brother arrived, the men from the Ping Mountain Gang were somewhat disrespectful in their speech toward his aunt."
Zhuang Zheng’s expression didn’t change. "Let’s go."
...
Back home, while his aunt was preparing lunch, Lin Yan called his younger brother over.
"Brother, tell me what happened today. Don’t leave out any details."
Lin Mo nodded. As his younger brother recounted the events, a cold glint flashed through Lin Yan’s eyes, especially when he heard that the members of the Ping Mountain Gang had been disrespectful to their aunt.