Chapter 173 - 21: The Truth

Chapter 173: Chapter 21: The Truth

They disperse the clan members, sending them to various regions to absorb worldly fortune. When the time is right, they’re summoned back to produce a few talented offspring, thereby maintaining the Lin Family’s prosperity.

They are bound by blood, yet they operate like a Sect.

No wonder the Lin Family has stood strong for over two millennia. In a way, the bloodline of the Lin Clan Members has become exceedingly diverse.

But regardless, as long as they share the surname Lin and descend from the same ancestor, their cohesion and sense of belonging will always be stronger than that of Sect Disciples.

"Alright, I’m telling you all this to make it clear that the clan harbors no ill will toward you members from the branch families. For one, it’s a rule set down by our ancestors. For another, the Lin Family’s numbers haven’t exactly been thriving these past few years, and many of the clan’s businesses need people to watch over them. It’s more reliable to have you do it than to use outsiders. As for hiding your true strength... it’s acceptable to keep a few trump cards. Just make sure you strike the right balance yourself."

Lin Minghai didn’t say any more. He wasn’t supposed to tell Lin Yan these things yet, but in his eyes, with Lin Yan’s talent—developing Sword Momentum with the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques in a matter of days—it was already a certainty that he would be staying with the main family. Whether he was told sooner or later made no difference, and it would keep Lin Yan from overthinking things.

"I’ll do as you say, Brother Hai."

A thoughtful expression crossed Lin Yan’s face. ’It seems revealing my Sword Momentum with the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques was the right move,’ he thought. ’At least now I understand the Lin Family’s true attitude toward us branch family members, as well as their purpose for summoning us.’

’But that said, I still need to keep some trump cards hidden.’

"Uncle Qi, I’ve brought Lin Yan, a disciple from a branch family, to pay respects to the ancestors of our Third Branch."

Lin Minghai spoke softly toward the door of the ancestral hall. A voice soon answered from within, "Come in."

The ancestral hall’s door wasn’t shut, just ajar. Lin Minghai pushed it open, and Lin Yan followed close behind, stepping over the threshold. His eyes were met with a spotless floor and, at the far end, rows of ancestral spirit tablets.

The vast ancestral hall, illuminated by candlelight, seemed exceptionally empty. In the left corner, a middle-aged man with a thick, grizzled beard sat cross-legged.

"Uncle Qi."

Lin Minghai bowed to the grizzled man. Lin Yan hesitated, unsure of how to address him.

"Idiot. Just call him Uncle Qi like I did."

"Uncle Qi."

Lin Yan quickly bowed as well. The grizzled man glanced at him, gave a slight nod, and then closed his eyes again.

"Uncle Qi," Lin Minghai added, "Lin Yan is twenty years old and a Fourth-Time Skin Smoothing Martial Artist. He only began his Cultivation of the Flowing Cloud Thirteen Techniques six days ago, and he has already developed Sword Momentum."

The grizzled man looked up again. This time, his gaze lingered on Lin Yan for a moment longer. "Not bad."

Then, he closed his eyes once more.

Lin Minghai shot Lin Yan a look, then led him to pay respects to the ancestors. As they turned to leave, Lin Minghai didn’t say another word, but Lin Yan paused and spoke up, "Uncle Qi, I’ll be taking my leave now."

Hearing Lin Yan take the initiative to bid farewell to Uncle Qi, Lin Minghai smiled. ’Getting Uncle Qi to say ’Not bad’ at all was impressive enough,’ he thought. ’There’s no way he’ll respond again.’

"Let’s go. For Uncle Qi to even—"

"Alright."

Lin Minghai’s words cut off abruptly. He stared in disbelief toward the corner of the ancestral hall. Uncle Qi was still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. If he weren’t so confident in his own hearing, he would have thought he’d imagined it.

’Uncle Qi actually responded to Lin Yan a second time,’ he thought. ’I must be seeing things.’

"Uncle Qi, Lin Yan and I will be leaving now, then."

He tried his luck, also bidding farewell. But alas... Uncle Qi didn’t even twitch an eyelid.

’He’d really just asked for that snub.’

Er...

Walking out of the ancestral hall, Lin Yan was filled with curiosity about this Uncle Qi.

It’s no wonder he was curious. He’d been heavily influenced by the novels from his past life, where the floor-sweeping monk in the Scripture Pavilion, the old man guarding the ancestral hall, or the recently popular trope of a young man imprisoned in a forbidden land—they were all secretly masters.

"Stop letting your imagination run wild. The fact that Uncle Qi responded to you means he acknowledges your talent. Cultivate diligently, and try to... try to reach the Blood Exchange Realm as soon as possible."

Lin Minghai had wanted to say "try to get a good ranking in the branch family competition at the end of the year," but on second thought, he held back, not wanting to put too much pressure on Lin Yan.

"Brother Hai, does Uncle Qi always guard the ancestral hall?"

"Uncle Qi’s situation is... complicated. You’ll find out later. For now, just remember one thing: he is extremely strong."

"A True Gang Powerhouse?" Lin Yan pressed.

"Hmph."

Lin Minghai didn’t answer directly, merely grunting before striding forward. "When you reach the Blood Exchange Realm, you’ll be qualified to know."

Lin Yan...

...

...

After leaving the Third Branch’s territory, Lin Yan returned to the Disciple’s Quarters. To his surprise, someone was standing right outside his door.

"Lin Yan!"

Lin Zhaowu heard the footsteps behind him. When he turned and saw Lin Yan, his expression was at first excited, then quickly turned awkward. He subconsciously fidgeted with the hem of his clothes, betraying his inner turmoil.

"Let’s go inside."

Lin Yan opened the door and let Lin Zhaowu in.

Once inside the courtyard, Lin Zhaowu’s expression finally relaxed. While he had been waiting at the door, several branch family members from other houses had passed by, all giving him strange looks.

"Lin Yan, I... I came to apologize to you."

The moment he stepped into the courtyard, Lin Zhaowu lowered his head, not daring to meet Lin Yan’s eyes. His voice was hoarse, as if squeezed from a crack in a rock.

"These past few days, you’ve kept to yourself and haven’t really interacted with us. In private, I thought you were arrogant and aloof. I even said some nasty things about you to other people. But today, after you defeated Lin Wang with a single strike, I realized it wasn’t you who was arrogant—I was just blind."