House Search

The next day.

"Junior Brother Lin, this is the home of those two traitors."

Looking at the two small neighboring courtyards before him, Lin Chang'an could not help showing anger. "Senior Brother Zhang Qing, the sect raised them, yet they betrayed it. They are not even as obedient as the dogs it raises."

Zhang Qing moved quickly. The very next day, he brought Lin Chang'an to the residences of the two assassins bribed by outside enemies. Yet when they arrived, most of the sect disciples who had followed along had anger in their eyes.

After all, they had grown up in the sect since childhood. They could be considered the true insiders. Even if Lin Chang'an was Elder Lu's disciple, he was still an outsider.

So what if they tried to assassinate you? You were not dead, while the two senior brothers were already dead. Yet you were still this ruthless!

It had to be said, facing the dissatisfied, exclusionary looks from the crowd, Zhang Qing and Li Han, who stood behind Lin Chang'an, exchanged glances. This feeling was truly unpleasant.

"The sect nurtured them for so many years—what beasts!" Lin Chang'an looked furious as he pointed at the main gate and cursed loudly. Anyone unaware of the truth would have thought he was profoundly loyal to the sect.

Others might not know, but how could Zhang Qing not? Still, he could only smile and nod. "Junior Brother Lin, come, come. Let's go inside and talk."

Pushing open the gate, they found that the small courtyard was quite nice. After all, the two had both been cultivators at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. Though their potential had been exhausted, they were still regarded as elite disciples within the sect.

Inside the courtyard was a group of family members and servants who already knew their fate. Their faces were pale as they knelt on the ground like prisoners.

"Junior Brother Lin, these are the family members and servants of those beasts. We'll go to the other courtyard later."

For such a minor matter to require Zhang Qing himself to lead the party showed just how seriously Elder Lu regarded this matter.

Lin Chang'an looked at Zhang Qing and smiled, waving his hand. "Why make it so troublesome?"

After speaking, Lin Chang'an turned with a smile toward Qi Feng and Li Han, then pointed directly at the courtyard wall. "Just knock it through. That way, the beasts' families cannot escape."

Seeing how shameless Lin Chang'an was, Zhang Qing could not help feeling inferior. Yet his face showed a smile of sudden realization. "Junior Brother Lin, it had to be you."

Boom!

While Zhang Qing and Lin Chang'an traded commercial compliments, Li Han and Qi Feng had already smashed through the wall. The sect disciples looked at one another, able only to sigh helplessly.

"Hurry up and bring over the families of those two thieves."

As cries and sobs rose up, Lin Chang'an saw the women being herded together and frowned. "Senior Brother Zhang, are these all the family members of those two beasts?"

Zhang Qing smiled and nodded. "Look, Junior Brother Lin. These two concubines are quite nice, and this one..."

Good heavens. At that moment, the crying among the family members continued, though the female relatives all kept their voices low. Here, they clearly knew what their fate would be. All they could do now was pray it would not be too miserable.

Zhang Qing pointed them out one by one, saying this one was a wife and that one a concubine. But when he saw Lin Chang'an's calm smile, realization immediately dawned on him.

"Junior Brother Lin, there is even better merchandise here."

Zhang Qing seemed to have thought of something. Grinning, he pointed before Lin Chang'an's expectant gaze at a petite, pitiful-looking girl who appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen.

"Hehe, Junior Brother, don't be fooled by how pretty he looks." Seeing Lin Chang'an's puzzled gaze, Zhang Qing chuckled, then whispered, "He is actually a man."

Pfft!

Zhang Qing's move made Qi Feng and Li Han, standing behind them, hold back their laughter until their faces turned red. Lin Chang'an's face turned green as he stared wide-eyed. Damn it, he had come to confiscate the household for benefits, not for this!

"Senior Brother, I—"

"It's fine. Senior Brother understands. There is no need to be embarrassed. It is not as though Senior Brother has never seen the world. Plenty of geniuses play far more extravagantly than you do."

Zhang Qing grinned and winked, then whispered, "Senior Brother knows the cultivation technique you practice. Playing with this does not count as breaking your cultivation!"

Lin Chang'an's face had turned completely green. He shot a vicious glare at Qi Feng and Li Han behind him, who were holding back their laughter. His reputation was ruined.

"Senior Brother, give these women to the junior brothers as rewards."

Lin Chang'an was exceptionally generous now as he turned around and looked at the sect disciples standing guard around them, a smile appearing on his face.

"We are all fellow sect brothers."

Yet quite a few people showed anger. You still knew they were fellow sect brothers? In their hearts, these were their true fellow sect members. You were still one step short!

Afterward, Zhang Qing led Lin Chang'an farther ahead and pointed at a room from which soft crying could be heard. "Inside are the close relatives of those two traitors. There are some in the other courtyard as well."

From the sounds alone, it was clear. Lin Chang'an stopped in his tracks with a calm expression, while Qi Feng behind him showed resolve and stepped forward, whispering, "Brother Lin, I'll do it!"

Born into a noble household, how could Qi Feng not understand the principle of cutting weeds and digging out the roots? Li Han naturally understood as well, but his expression was somewhat ugly. He could tell from the sounds...

In the end, Li Han stepped forward as well. They knew this counted as a token of allegiance. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Lin Chang'an had promoted them partly because he needed helpers, but if they did not know to rush forward and bind themselves to him, they would only end up pleasing neither side.

"These two still have some family members within the sect. Elder Lu has already ordered people to bring them over."

Although Elder Lu had not appeared this time, he had shown more than enough sincerity. It was also a warning to everyone: whoever dared to slaughter their own and turn against their own people would meet this fate.

For a sect that wished to turn over a new leaf and wholeheartedly establish its foundations, Elder Lu's boldness was undeniable. Though Lin Chang'an had witnessed it before, he still could not help sighing in admiration this time.

"There is no need to go through so much trouble for those in the sect." Lin Chang'an waved his hand calmly, as though he were speaking of something utterly insignificant.

When merely staying alive was already a problem, you expected someone to show mercy? What nonsense.

"No! Don't kill my son! I—I have Spirit Stones!"

Just then, a woman in the crowd pleaded sorrowfully. Under Zhang Qing's ruthless gaze, she trembled as she took four Spirit Stones from inside her clothes.

Seeing this, Lin Chang'an's mouth twitched. She had hidden them well. Zhang Qing glared viciously at the people behind him, as though scolding them: Is this how you confiscate a household?

But the disciples behind him all looked wronged. After all, these were the family members of their fellow sect brothers.

Looking at the woman, Lin Chang'an sighed and shook his head. Zhang Qing, seemingly embarrassed by this, let out an irritated cold laugh. "Idiot. If we kill you, those Spirit Stones will still belong to my junior brother."

"No! No!" The woman's face instantly turned deathly pale. Zhang Qing shook his head. "Have another one."

Reality was this cruel. Those who could survive here might offer kindness to strangers, but never to enemies.

"Senior Brother, this was confiscated from the house!"

Just then, a startled cry rang out, instantly drawing everyone's attention. Yet no one noticed the blood splattered across the doors and windows of two rooms.

Thank you, fellow Daoists, for your support.