The Lin Family

Martial arts schools—they say they have methods to condense Qi and Blood, true offensive and defensive techniques.

Compared to the Vajra Stake Technique, which builds a foundation and tempers Qi and Blood, only a martial arts school truly teaches the art of killing.

If it were before, Lin Yin might have dismissed it, thinking martial arts were just fancy moves. But ever since he started practicing the Vajra Stake Technique and felt the growing surge of Qi and Blood within him, his perspective had completely changed.

Perhaps... those so-called techniques held power far beyond what he had ever imagined!

At this thought, Lin Yin's heart burned with excitement.

In truth, the moment he realized the extraordinary nature of the Vajra Stake Technique, he had already considered joining a martial arts school.

But remembering how his Old Mother had toiled just to put meat on the table, Lin Yin had buried that idea deep in his heart.

Now, with his mother Madam Wang herself bringing up the matter of joining a martial arts school, how could Lin Yin refuse?

Meeting his Old Mother's expectant gaze, Lin Yin nodded firmly.

The next morning, Lin Yin woke up.

Rising early, he was surprised to find his mother Madam Wang still fast asleep in bed.

Unlike other days, no matter how early Lin Yin got up, he would always see his Old Mother hunched over her loom, weaving. Today was the first time in days he had seen her still sleeping when the sun was high in the sky.

Just as he was about to leave, the faint sound of footsteps stirred his mother from the bed.

"Yin'er, there are steamed buns and pickled vegetables warming in the pot. Eat them while they're hot. Later, come with me for an errand."

"Alright, Mother!"

So she had already woken up early.

Shaking his head inwardly, Lin Yin went to the stove and saw the steaming buns and pickled vegetables inside. He began eating immediately.

By the time Lin Yin finished, Madam Wang had already dressed neatly. Seeing his mother's appearance, Lin Yin paused in surprise.

She was no longer wearing the coarse cotton clothes she usually wore. Instead, she had on a cloth shirt embroidered with large floral patterns. It was the first time Lin Yin had seen his mother dressed so "formally."

Recalling how yesterday his mother had wanted him to join a martial arts school, Lin Yin had a guess.

"Today, we're going back to... home."

"Home..."

Lin Yin's heart stirred. He knew this "home" wasn't the thatched hut they currently lived in.

The morning in Langshi Town still carried a touch of frost, and this day seemed even colder than the past few.

His mother, who usually feared the cold, walked ahead. Today, there was no trace of a hunched, cowering figure. Her unhurried steps were instead remarkably steady.

Passing through the market and then through a narrow, deep alley, Lin Yin followed Madam Wang to a bustling street.

On the bare dirt road, a few farmers in padded jackets carried hoes, and a couple of hunters with bows and crossbows on their backs and hatchets in hand seemed ready to head into the mountains for the hunt.

Lin Yin's gaze followed his mother to a modest-sized house ahead. The plaque carved with the words "Lin Mansion" was weathered and cracked, looking somewhat worn.

Even so, it stood out among the surrounding low, humble dwellings.

Lin Yin watched as his mother walked straight up to the Lin Mansion's door. His heart stirred—he knew they had arrived.

Madam Wang knocked on the door. After three or four knocks, a shout came from inside.

The door opened. A middle-aged man rubbing his eyes looked somewhat impatient, but when he focused on the figure before him, his expression froze.

"You're back?"

"I've come to see the Old Master!" Madam Wang said firmly.

"Looks like you two couldn't tough it out after all. It's better to beg the Old Master than to suffer out there."

The middle-aged man was named Lin De, Lin Yin's Third Uncle.

He glanced at Lin Yin standing behind Madam Wang, nodded, and let out a soft sigh before quickly ushering them inside.

Lin Yin lowered his gaze and followed his mother across the high threshold.

As soon as they entered the Main Door, he saw the large round wooden table set in the middle of the courtyard and the people eating their morning meal.

Seated at the head was an old man with a long beard. He wore a coat embroidered with a landscape pattern that looked quite old. His face was aged, but his Eyes held a trace of Sharp Light, lacking the decrepitude of other old men.

On the right, in the second seat, sat Lin Yin's Second Uncle, his expression somewhat flippant as he yawned and grabbed large meat buns from the table, stuffing them into his mouth.

Large meat buns...

Lin Yin's eyes were sharp. Besides the buns on the table, there was also steaming soybean tea, a breakfast made from soybeans and rice paste.

Scanning the other side of the table, opposite his Second Uncle, sitting on the old man's left, was Lin Yin's cousin—Lin Lin, whom he had just seen yesterday.

In the seats below them sat Lin Yin's Second Aunt and his younger cousin.

From what he remembered, it seemed that aside from his younger cousin, who was close to the original Lin Yin and his mother, and the Old Master, no one else was fond of them.

At the table, the others noticed Lin Yin and his mother, their expressions varied.

Second Aunt's thin, arched eyebrows rose noticeably, and her narrow lips curled into a faint, mocking smile.

"Oh, so this is what some people call having backbone? It hasn't even been that long, and you're already running back, unable to take it?"

Lin Lin did not echo his mother. He merely swept a calm glance at Lin Yin, like an indifferent stranger, then turned his gaze away and continued eating the steamed bun in his bowl with quiet composure.

It was his younger cousin Lin Ai, seated at the lower end of the table, who brightened at the sight of Li Yin. She shot up from her seat with a startled cry: "Big Brother! You're back! And Auntie!"

As she spoke, she made to rise from her seat, but before she could, a light scolding came from the side. A woman who had just stepped out of the bedroom called her to order in time.

"Lin Ai, sit down and eat properly."

"Oh... Mother!"

With a trace of timidity in her expression, the fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl shrank back into her seat.

An odd atmosphere filled the modest courtyard.

Madam Wang watched the scene in silence, a flicker of grievance crossing her face.

Her gaze swept over this "family" that laid bare the warmth and coldness of human relations, finally settling on the old man, whose expression was indifferent and whose eyelids drooped low, as if he paid no heed to their arrival at all.

"Father, I haven't come to beg you to help us, mother and son. I'm here today only to retrieve what belongs to Dashan."

Madam Wang did not approach the dining table, steaming with fragrant heat, but stood calmly at the doorway.

"Oh? Big Brother's things?"

Second Uncle, seated at the secondary seat with a deliberately aloof demeanor, widened his eyes.

"What things? Didn't you take all of Big Brother's things with you?"

"That's right, that's right. Didn't you take all that money with you, Eldest Sister-in-Law? What else is there? Sister-in-Law, I think you're here to split the family property."

Before the old man could speak, Second Uncle and Second Aunt both started clamoring.

Madam Wang, who had been holding back with a look of grievance and resolve, seemed unable to contain herself any longer. She raised her voice: "Dashan's quota, Dashan's favor at the Martial Arts School, and the medicinal ingredients he saved up over the years—I want to take those."

"Those are—"

Second Aunt's eyes widened as if she was about to fly into a rage, but she was cut off by a glare from the old man.

The old man, who had seemed so silent, finally turned his gaze to Madam Wang, then glanced at Lin Yin, who stood silently behind his mother.

"We're all one family. What's all this quarreling? Sit down and talk..."

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