After leaving the Weiyuan Escort Agency, Lin Yan said goodbye to his master.
"Just stay home for the next few days, and don’t get too involved in outside affairs. As for Senior Brother Hao and Junior Brother Zhuang, I have a plan."
Yang Qingfeng’s words held a deeper meaning. Seeing his master’s expression, an image of someone flashed through Lin Yan’s mind. "Master, is this about Junior Brother Zhao?"
"Yes, Linyuan is on the verge of a breakthrough. As long as he succeeds, Senior Brother Hao and Zhuang Zheng will be fine."
Lin Yan smiled. He understood his master’s meaning.
Once Junior Brother Zhao reached the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing, he was guaranteed to become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Profound Celestial Sect.
Although that status was still a far cry from being a Direct Disciple of the Zheng Family’s eldest son, Junior Brother Zhao was young. Who could say he wouldn’t have the chance to become a Direct Disciple in the future?
More importantly, Senior Brother Hao and Junior Brother Zhuang were only working at the Inspection Bureau to make a living.
’No, that’s not quite right. Senior Brother Hao is just there to make a living, but that might not be the case for Junior Brother Zhuang.’
The Zheng Family had no reason to make an enemy of Junior Brother Zhao over Senior Brother Hao and Junior Brother Zhuang.
"Junior Brother Zhao’s talent is astonishing. He’ll definitely succeed in his breakthrough."
Lin Yan wasn’t jealous of Junior Brother Zhao.
Junior Brother Zhao was a good person. Besides, Lin Yan knew how much his junior brother spent on his Martial Arts training; that Cultivation speed was built on a mountain of real gold and silver.
Yang Qingfeng stroked his beard and smiled. He was also very confident that Linyuan would succeed, but it was best not to count one’s chickens before they hatched.
After saying goodbye to his master, Lin Yan headed home.
As he stepped through the courtyard gate, he saw two familiar figures sitting in the yard.
"Fourth Aunt, Fourth Uncle."
Li Min and Cai Wanlong immediately stood up when they saw Lin Yan return. Li Min said with a beaming smile, "Yan’er, you’re back! Your uncle and I were just passing by, so we stopped in to sit for a bit."
Cai Wanlong also nodded with a smile. Liu Shi, bustling about with tea and snacks, looked up and said, "Yan’er, your Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt have been here for a while. They brought a lot of gifts, too. I told them it was all too much..."
"What’s all this formality between us? It’s nothing, really," Li Min said with a smile and a wave of her hand.
Lin Yan listened to the conversation between his aunt and his fourth aunt, his gaze sweeping over to his uncle. He already had a good idea of what was going on.
’With something this big happening in Guangping County Town, my Fourth Uncle must have heard the news. The "just passing by" story was an excuse. They were really here to ask about the situation.’
He walked up to Liu Shi and said with a smile, "Aunt, the jar of Three Mountains Jade Needle Tea I brought back from Sanshan County is in my room. Why don’t you brew a pot for Fourth Uncle and Fourth Aunt to try?"
"Silly me, I’d completely forgotten about the tea you brought back, Yan’er. You all sit tight, I’ll go get it right now."
Liu Shi wiped her hands and went into the inner room.
Once his aunt was inside, Li Min’s smile faded. She lowered her voice and said, "Yan’er, your uncle and I heard early this morning that something big happened in the county town. Many Martial Artists were arrested, and the Martial Artist Clans are all scrambling to pull strings. If you’re short on silver coins, don’t hesitate to ask."
Cai Wanlong quickly nodded in agreement. "There’s still some operational silver in the shop, just sitting there. Nephew Lin, please don’t be a stranger."
"Fourth Uncle, Fourth Aunt, don’t worry. The ones implicated this time are mainly Martial Artists connected to the Four Seas Gang and the Inspection Bureau. I have nothing to do with either of them. I’m fine, there’s nothing to worry about."
Li Min and Cai Wanlong exchanged a look. Seeing Lin Yan’s confident expression, they finally let out a true sigh of relief.
"That’s good, that’s good."
Li Min said, relieved, then picked up her teacup and drained it.
Before, her heart had been heavy with worry, and she hadn’t tasted the tea at all. Now, with a weight lifted from her mind, she could taste its sweetness.
Her family had finally produced a promising Martial Artist in her nephew; she really couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Lin Yan.
When Liu Shi came out with the fresh tea, the three of them, by a tacit understanding, did not bring up the subject again.
Lin Yan didn’t want his aunt to worry, and Li Min and Cai Wanlong knew this, which was why they had waited until Liu Shi went inside to ask their quiet questions.
The couple sat for a while longer before getting up to take their leave.
After seeing his uncle and aunt off, Lin Yan thought for a moment, then closed the courtyard gate.
’These are troubled times. I should just stay home and practice my Martial Arts.’
He used Introspection to look at the Martial Arts Tree in his mind. Only a single fruit remained on it, but it was worth a full seventeen years.
’I can choose to use it for the Refinement of the Smoke-Stepping Technique or the Jinghong Sword Technique now, but to be safe, I won’t be in a hurry.’
The absorption and Refinement of a Martial Arts Fruit was instantaneous; it would be better to decide which Cultivation Technique to use it on when the need arose.
「The Tang Family Estate」
Before entering the main hall, Wang Shaojun took a moment to straighten his clothes.
"My lord, the list you requested is ready."
At the head of the main hall sat a man in his fifties.
The man had drooping eyebrows, but strangely, a bloody gash ran from his left eye clear to his left ear. Judging by the scab, the wound was recent.
"Mm."
Zheng Wenqu took the list and scanned it quickly. It contained the names of the Martial Artists affiliated with the Tang Family, along with their Realms and the dates they began their affiliation.
"Not bad. You were thorough."
"I just wanted to make it clear for you, my lord," Wang Shaojun replied humbly.
He had put a lot of thought into this list, not just to curry favor with this lord from the Zheng Family, but also because of his own father’s words.
’Since I need to build goodwill with the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall and Lin Yan, I have to reduce Lin Yan’s visibility to the Zheng Family.’
He didn’t dare to simply cross off the name. To reduce the Zheng Family’s suspicion toward Lin Yan, he had gone to great lengths, finally finding a solution involving the length of affiliation.
He had arranged the names of the Martial Artists on this list in order of how long they had been affiliated.

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