Lin Family

The martial arts school was said to teach people how to refine their qi and blood, along with genuine combat techniques.

Compared to the Vajra Stake Technique, a Stance Skill that built a foundation and tempered one's qi and blood, only the martial arts school truly taught people how to fight.

Before, Lin Yin might have thought nothing of it, believing martial arts were nothing but flashy moves. But ever since he'd practiced the Vajra Stake Technique and felt the power of qi and blood growing ever more abundant within him, his thoughts had changed completely.

Perhaps... those so-called cultivation techniques had abilities far beyond anything he could imagine!

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

In fact, he'd already considered joining a martial arts school when he realized how extraordinary the Vajra Stake Technique was.

But thinking of how exhausted his mother had become just trying to provide meat, Lin Yin had kept the thought to himself.

Now that his mother, Madam Wang, had brought up joining a martial arts school herself, how could Lin Yin refuse?

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

The next morning, Lin Yin woke up.

He got up early, only to be surprised to find his mother, Madam Wang, still fast asleep in bed.

Unlike usual, no matter how early Lin Yin had risen before, he'd always found his mother bent over her loom, weaving.

Today was the first time in many days that Lin Yin had seen his mother still asleep well past sunrise.

He was about to leave when the faint sound of his footsteps roused his mother.

"Yin'er, there are steamed buns and pickles warming by the stove. Hurry and eat them while they're hot. In a bit, come out with me."

"Okay, Mother!"

So his mother had already been up, too.

Lin Yin sighed inwardly and went to the stove. Seeing the steaming buns and pickles inside, he immediately began to eat.

By the time Lin Yin finished, Madam Wang had dressed and was ready to go. When he saw her, Lin Yin's expression faltered.

She wasn't wearing the coarse cotton clothes she usually wore, but a blouse embroidered with large flowers. This was the first time Lin Yin had seen his mother dressed so "formally."

Remembering how she'd brought up joining a martial arts school the day before, Lin Yin had a guess.

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

"The family home..."

Lin Yin's heart stirred. He knew the family home wasn't the thatched hut where they currently lived.

A trace of frost still lingered in the morning air of Langshi Town. This day seemed even colder than the past few.

His mother, who was usually sensitive to the cold, walked ahead. Today, there was none of her usual stoop or hunch; her unhurried steps seemed especially steady.

They passed through the Market, then walked through narrow alleyways. Following Madam Wang, Lin Yin arrived at a bustling street.

On the bare, ocher-colored road, a few farmers in padded jackets carried hoes on their backs. One or two hunters also walked by, bows and crossbows slung over their shoulders and cleavers in hand, apparently heading into the mountains to hunt.

Following his mother's gaze, Lin Yin noticed a modest residence up ahead. The deeply grooved plaque engraved with "Lin Mansion" looked rather old and worn.

Even so, it stood out among the low houses around it.

Lin Yin watched his mother walk straight to the entrance of the Lin Mansion. His heart stirred; they'd reached their destination.

Madam Wang stepped forward and knocked. It took three or four knocks before someone inside called out.

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

"You're back?"

"I've come to see Old Master," Madam Wang said gravely.

"Looks like you two finally couldn't tough it out. Asking Old Master for help is fine, at least you won't have to struggle and suffer out there."

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

He glanced at Lin Yin behind Madam Wang and nodded, then gave a soft sigh. A moment later, he hurriedly invited them inside.

Lin Yin lowered his gaze and followed his mother over the tall threshold.

As soon as they entered, they saw a large round wooden table in the middle of the courtyard, with several people eating breakfast around it.

Seated at the head was an old man with a long beard. He wore a robe embroidered with mountains and rivers that looked quite old. His face was aged, but a sharp gleam shone in his eyes, and he lacked the listlessness of the old people outside.

In the seat to his right sat Lin Yin's Second Uncle. With a rather frivolous air, he yawned and grabbed buns from the table, stuffing them into his mouth.

Meat buns...

Lin Yin had a sharp eye. Besides the buns on the table, there was steaming bean porridge, a breakfast made with soybeans and rice paste.

Looking along the other side of the table, he saw Lin Lin, his younger male cousin, seated opposite his Second Uncle in the seat to the old man's left. Lin Yin had only met him the day before.

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

As far as he remembered, his cousin was the only one close to the original owner and Lin Yin's mother. Apart from Old Master, the rest seemed to dislike them.

The people at the table noticed Lin Yin and his mother. Their expressions varied.

Second Aunt's fine, arched eyebrows lifted, and her thin lips curled into a faint sneer.

"Well, well. So this is what those supposedly proud people look like. You haven't even been gone that long, and you couldn't take it—you've already come running back?"

Lin Lin didn't echo his mother. He merely glanced at Lin Yin with the detached look of a stranger, then turned away and calmly continued eating the bun in his bowl.

But Lin Ai, Lin Yin's cousin, who sat below them, lit up when she saw him. She sprang to her feet and cried out, "Big Brother! You're back! And you too, Auntie!"

As she spoke, she started to rise from her seat. But before she could stand, a sharp rebuke came from the side. A woman who had just emerged from the bedroom stopped her in time.

"Lin Ai, sit down and eat properly."

"Oh... Mother!"

The girl, fourteen or fifteen, looked somewhat timid and shrank back into her seat.

An inexplicable atmosphere filled the small courtyard.

Madam Wang watched it all in silence, a trace of grievance passing over her face.

Her gaze swept past this "family," with its stark display of warmth and coldness, and finally settled on the old man. He was indifferent, his eyes lowered, as if he hadn't noticed the two of them arrive.

"Father, I didn't come here to ask you to help the two of us. I only came to take back Dashan's things."

Madam Wang didn't approach the steaming, fragrant breakfast table. She simply stood by the entrance and spoke calmly.

"Hmm? Big Brother's things?"

Seated just below the head of the table, Lin Yin's Second Uncle gaped at her.

"What things? Didn't Big Brother already give you everything?"

"Exactly, exactly! Didn't you take all that money with you, Big Sister? What else could there be? Sister-in-law, I think you've come to claim your share of the family property."

Before Old Master could say a word, Lin Yin's Second Uncle and Second Aunt started shouting.

Madam Wang had seemed both aggrieved and determined, but now she could no longer hold back. She raised her voice. "Dashan's place at the martial arts school, the connections he made there, and the medicinal herbs he saved up over the years. I'm taking those."

"Those are..."

Second Aunt glared, looking furious. She was about to say something, but Old Master shot her a glance.

The old man, who had seemed so quiet, finally turned his gaze to Madam Wang, then looked at Lin Yin standing silently behind his mother.

"We're all family. Why are you arguing? Sit down and talk..."