Chapter 249 - 43: Targeted

Chapter 249: Chapter 43: Targeted

People who knew of this matter would at most sigh and remark that the Bai Family was willing to invest more than any other vassal family, practically betting their entire clan on Lin Yan.

With such an investment, if Lin Yan couldn’t break through to the True Gang Realm, the Bai Family would never recoup their costs.

Lin Xiao was jealous of Lin Yan.

He was jealous that although they both came from branch families, Lin Yan was stronger than him.

But this jealousy alone couldn’t even be called malice. It was simply human nature, something most people could keep in check.

What truly twisted this jealousy into malice was Bai Ruo choosing Lin Yan.

It was this malicious jealousy that made Lin Xiao agree almost without hesitation when Lin Minghao approached him and asked him to cause trouble for the Bai Family.

Had it been against anyone else, he would have at least weighed the pros and cons instead of so easily letting himself be used as a pawn.

’Brother Minghao is at the Blood Exchange Second Transformation, stronger than Lin Yan. I’m guarding the fishing grounds and have the right to investigate their ledgers, so Lin Yan won’t dare cause trouble for me. Besides, Brother Minghao will back me up. The Third Branch has Uncle Qi, but our Fifth Branch has Uncle Jiu.’

Lin Xiao repeated this to himself several times, as if to bolster his own courage.

「...」

「East River.」

"Lin Yan, this is so boring. I thought coming to the East River meant we’d get to kill Water Bandits every day."

Lin Mingye poured himself a cup of tea and downed it in one gulp. "How about you write another letter to Uncle Qi? Let’s go wipe out Black Flood Dragon Bay or Swallow Cliff."

"Why don’t you write a letter to the elders of the First Branch?"

Lin Yan was amused by Lin Mingye’s words.

Ever since the Water Bandit Alliance was destroyed, the East River had indeed been calm. Never mind the Water Bandits from the Black Flood Dragon Society and Swallow Cliff; even Roving Bandits had stopped appearing.

No wonder Lin Mingye was bored. He had gone through all the trouble of persuading Uncle Shouzhi to let him guard the Black Water Bay stronghold, only for the members of the Black Flood Dragon Society to all hole up like turtles.

"I’d love to write them, but it would be useless. The first thing my uncle and the others would do upon receiving the letter isn’t to send people, but to summon me back for a beating."

Lin Mingye sighed helplessly. "I can’t compare to you. You’re the apple of the Third Branch’s eye now, with your Sword Gang and Blood Exchange Second Transformation. I’m just a measly Blood Exchange First Transformation, and I almost got myself killed in the mountains last time."

He wanted to slay Water Bandits, but not because he was bloodthirsty.

The last battle deep in the mountains had made him realize he had too little combat experience.

Afterward, Uncle Shouzhi had harshly criticized him. A dignified Blood Exchange First Transformation Martial Artist of the Lin Family had been beaten into such a state by two other First Transformations whose Qi Blood was unstable. It was an utter disgrace to the First Branch.

"If you’re so bored, you can take your sword and charge into Black Flood Dragon Bay yourself. Just remember to do it openly. After what happened before, the Black Flood Dragon Society won’t dare to kill you. At most, they’ll send out a Powerhouse to beat you up and drive you away, which would be perfect for you to gain combat experience."

Lin Yan smiled. He knew why Lin Mingye was so eager to slay Water Bandits.

Firstly, the gruesome deaths of the merchant ship’s crew had filled him with a deep-seated hatred for Water Bandits. Secondly, he wanted to gain combat experience.

A passionate, conscientious, and ambitious young man.

This was Lin Yan’s assessment of Lin Mingye.

And it was young clansmen like Lin Mingye who were the hope that supported the Lin Family, generation after generation.

Perhaps as he grew older and experienced more, this passion would gradually cool. But that was fine, because a new batch of young people would rise to take his place.

If a family were filled with nothing but petty thieves and shameless sycophants, it could never have survived for over two thousand years.

’Kill Water Bandits?’

Lin Yan had never planned on giving up.

Even though the Black Flood Dragon Society had sent him a hefty gift of ten thousand taels in silver banknotes, and he had accepted it, that didn’t mean he would let them off the hook.

He simply wasn’t strong enough right now, so he was biding his time.

The day he broke through to the True Gang Realm, before leaving the East River, he would wipe out both the Black Flood Dragon Society and Swallow Cliff.

The reason for slaughtering the Black Flood Dragon Society was simple: they had sent reinforcements to the Water Bandit Alliance during the initial extermination campaign.

As for the Water Bandits of Swallow Cliff, did one even need a reason to kill Water Bandits?

"Young Master Yan, Young Master Mingye, someone from the Bai Family is here."

Zhou Chuan’s voice came from the courtyard entrance.

"Let him in."

The courtyard gate opened, and a smiling Zhou Chuan led a middle-aged man inside. As soon as the man entered the courtyard, he immediately bowed in greeting to Lin Yan.

"Housekeeper Bai, what matter brings you here to see me?"

Lin Yan looked at the visitor. It was indeed the Bai Family’s housekeeper, whom he had met at the banquet in the Bai Mansion.

"Young Master Yan, the family has encountered a bit of trouble. Young Master Lin Xiao, who is in charge of the fishing grounds, has been constantly picking fights lately."

Housekeeper Bai didn’t know which branch Lin Mingye belonged to, but seeing him drinking tea so casually in Lin Yan’s courtyard, he figured their relationship was far from shallow. Thus, he didn’t hold anything back and recounted everything the Bai Family had suffered in the past few days.

"Who is Lin Xiao?"

Lin Mingye couldn’t help but ask first. He searched his memory but couldn’t recall any clansman with that name.

"He’s a branch family member, like me. From the Fifth Branch."

Lin Yan explained.

Lin Mingye’s expression changed slightly. "A branch family member from the Fifth Branch... Lin Yan, I’m afraid there’s more to this."

He had wanted to directly ask if it was Lin Minghao pulling the strings from behind, but he was afraid Lin Yan would suspect him of trying to sow discord.

"Lin Minghao."

Lin Yan said it for him.

Lin Xiao had been guarding the fishing grounds for several months now, yet he chose this exact moment to give the Bai Family a hard time. Lin Yan himself had just recently offended Lin Minghao, and both of them were from the Fifth Branch. There were no such coincidences in the world; it was obvious who was pulling the strings.

"Lin Yan, how about we ask Lin Minghao to talk?" Lin Mingye suggested.

Lin Yan shook his head. Lin Minghao knew full well about his relationship with the Bai Family, yet he still deliberately ordered Lin Xiao to cause trouble just to spite him. He knew that with a personality like Lin Minghao’s, talks would be fruitless unless he himself backed down and apologized.