Perilous Situation I (Thanks to Alliance Leader Have a Bowl of Porridge at Night)

Ever since his movement speed had improved, Lin Hui had been going home to rest almost every day.

After all, it only took half an hour to return from the Clear Sword Sect, and he could train his movement technique along the way.

After finishing his sword practice, dusk was approaching.

As usual, he swiftly returned to the outskirts of Xinyu Town. The moment he reached his home, he found the courtyard gates thrown wide open. Inside, the place was completely empty. Only a few burly men, seemingly having just finished moving things out, sat on the ground wiping their sweat with towels.

The moment they saw him enter, they hurriedly rose and bowed.

"Ah, Young Master Hui is back? Master and Madam have already gone ahead to the new residence. This courtyard and house have been sold to someone else. They instructed us to lead you there so you could go over together."

One of them, a bald man, spoke with a beaming smile.

"Moving again?" Lin Hui was stunned. They had not been here for very long, had they? Two years at most?

It seemed the Old Man had really struck it rich.

"Take me there, then. Sorry for the trouble." His thoughts churned, but his face remained calm.

"Certainly! This humble one is Lei Song, the foreman of the work crew Master just hired. If Young Master Hui needs anything in the future, just give the word. Odd jobs, repairs, errands—we're good at all of it!" The bald man wore an ingratiating grin.

"Alright. Lead the way first." Lin Hui nodded.

He took one final look at the courtyard he had lived in for only a short while, and for some reason, a faint reluctance stirred in his heart.

He looked up at the sky. There was roughly an hour until nightfall. In the end, he turned around and followed the bald Lei Song out of the courtyard at a brisk pace.

He had not packed anything. Ninety percent of his belongings were in the private courtyard assigned to him at the sect. This place had merely been a spare residence where he stayed from time to time, and his parents had likely moved everything over already.

Lei Song and the other two men quickly locked the gate and led Lin Hui toward the center of town.

Before long, after passing through the outskirts, the four arrived before a white-walled compound at least five times larger than the previous one.

This could no longer be called a courtyard. It ought to be called an estate.

Standing before the entrance, Lin Hui looked up at the vermilion gates, three meters tall. Above them hung a black plaque with red lettering, bearing the two large characters: Lin Mansion.

"The Old Man really has made a fortune..." He felt that he might have vastly underestimated the speed of his father's rise...

"Young Master Hui, please come in. This way." Lei Song took the lead through a small side gate and beckoned to him.

Lin Hui followed him inside. Within was a great square courtyard more than twice the size of the Lin Family's main compound. There were ornamental rockeries, pavilions, little bridges over flowing water—everything refined and meticulously crafted. At the corners of some walls, unused renovation materials still lay piled up.

A dozen or so workers bustled back and forth, carrying furniture into the rooms.

The Old Man stood with his hands behind his back, continuously directing them. When he saw Lin Hui enter, a smile immediately appeared on his face, carrying a trace of pride he could not conceal.

As he came closer, Lin Shunhe patted his son on the shoulder.

"Not bad. You've gotten taller and sturdier too!"

"Old Man, you struck it rich again?" Lin Hui surveyed the entire courtyard. Looking inward from here, past the eaves, he could see an unbroken stretch of wooden buildings with no end in sight. The foremost building alone had three stories, with at least thirty rooms at a glance.

Even he could not help being startled after roughly estimating the price of this place.

"What do you mean, again? Your father has never lacked money." Lin Shunhe raised a brow and waved Lei Song and the others away to continue working.

"I just happened to find a way to make a big profit. You know how it is—the black mist is both danger and opportunity. And with your father's sharp eye, I picked up a huge bargain. Not only did I make money, I also gained a new connection. Heh heh..." At this point, Lin Shunhe could no longer suppress his smugness, his smile nearly squeezing out fresh crow's feet.

"I won't ask what bargain it was, but you must be careful. Safety first." Lin Hui frowned.

"Don't worry. When has your father ever been careless? Do you think I need you to tell me that? Oh, right." Lin Shunhe paused, as if recalling something. "The Steel Fist Brothers I just hired invited their master over this morning. I've successfully hired him as our estate's resident martial instructor, and the contract's already signed. He'll move in after a while. When the time comes, mind your attitude. This master is known as the Hundred-Step Divine Fist. He's seventy-six this year, and his hard martial arts are incredibly formidable. He's also an Inner Strength expert who came from Xingdao."

"..." Lin Hui was speechless. He had not even reached the Inner Strength Realm himself, yet the Old Man had already gotten ahead of him and hired an Inner Strength Realm martial instructor...

Was that even reasonable!?

He had been rather pleased with himself for hunting materials worth hundreds of thousands each day, even considering whether to move the family into the Inner City. But now...

"Seventy-six... He's even older than my master. Can he still manage?" With that thought, he voiced his doubts softly.

"You don't understand. When I met him, I thought this Hundred-Step Divine Fist was only forty. He looks far too young." Lin Shunhe sighed, clearly quite moved by it as well.

"Fine... I understand." Lin Hui sighed.

"When you have time, don't keep staring at that swordsmanship of yours all day. You need to spend some time learning the business channels and connections with me. I truly can't handle everything alone. You're our family's only son... As for experts, as long as you have money, you can hire them whenever you want. That swordsmanship of yours is fine just for strengthening your body..." The Old Man began nagging again.

Ever since his business had started flourishing, his attitude toward the Clear Sword Sect had taken another one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.

"Alright, I know. Forget that—where's Mother?" Lin Hui headed toward the entrance of the main hall.

"She went to rest. She's been busy from morning until just now—arranging things, managing, tidying up, inspecting. Someone has to keep an eye on all that. Otherwise, if you aren't careful, people might cheat or fool you, or even steal things away."

"Also, you like practicing martial arts and Body Tempering. I heard from the Steel Fist Brothers that certain nourishing medicines can speed up Body Tempering. I wonder if they'd be useful for you?"

"They would, but I don't need them anymore." Lin Hui nodded.

"Is that so?" Lin Shunhe pondered for a moment. "Then what about medicines that increase vitality and strengthen the blood and qi?"

"Increase vitality?" Lin Hui froze. Medicines of that kind were hard currency and exceptionally scarce. Anything useful at his level would be snatched up the moment it appeared on the market.

"What age are the herbs?" he asked gravely. If they could truly obtain them, increased vitality could greatly shorten the evolution time of his Blood Seal.

"They're formulas made with herbs that are generally over ten years old. I acquired a prescription for All Essence Powder. Each dose costs forty thousand to make. Try it first. If it works, you can keep taking it long-term," Lin Shunhe replied in a low voice.

"Old Man, you're amazing!" Lin Hui was genuinely shocked this time. He had asked his master Mingde before and knew that such herbs were almost entirely monopolized by the Three Sects and Six Clans of the Inner City. The Outer City only had herbs with little to no age, mixed together in formulas, and their effects were practically useless.

Yet the Old Man actually had a way to get his hands on them...

"You know that much, so how else could I be your dad!?" Lin Shunhe laughed, stroking the freshly trimmed goatee on his chin, pride gleaming in his eyes.

The two entered the main hall. No calligraphy or paintings had yet been hung directly ahead, leaving the wall blank. On either side were two small doors leading to the central courtyard.

"This way, to the left. After you go in, turn left again—that's the bedroom we reserved for you, the training ground, and a small hall for reading, resting, and receiving guests. There's also a loft you can arrange yourself, for storing things or whatever else you want." Old Man introduced the place. "Through the door on the right are two buildings, where the martial instructors, guards, and hired servants live. You can get familiar with them slowly later."

"Do we really need a place this big?" Lin Hui asked speechlessly.

"We do. Why wouldn't we?" Old Man said with a smile, but did not continue.

"Wait, Old Man, don't tell me you've gotten carried away?" Lin Hui narrowed his eyes, sensing something was off.

"Sigh, you noticed... But you were bound to find out sooner or later. Your mother agreed too." Lin Shunhe stopped walking, his expression complicated yet gentle.

"Who is it?" Lin Hui asked in a low voice.

"During one of my business trips, I ran into some trouble and was saved by chance. The person who saved me was her. She was generous by nature and came from an extraordinary background, yet she just happened to like me... I couldn't hold myself back at the time, and got her pregnant..." Old Man looked helpless.

"..." Lin Hui understood in an instant.

No wonder Old Man had suddenly become so prosperous. He had thought that even with the ideas Lin Hui had given him, things had developed far too quickly. He had never expected...

At last, the truth had come to light.

"What about my mother?" he asked quickly.

"Things will stay as they are. Your mother will be the principal wife, and she's willing to be the second wife. Their standing will be equal," Old Man said seriously.

"Old Man, you really are..." Lin Hui did not know what to say.

In this day and age, it was nothing unusual for capable people to have several partners. But when it truly happened to him, it felt rather strange.

"Sigh... When the time comes, she and her two children will move in as well. They're about your age, so be polite when you meet them," Lin Shunhe said with a sigh.

"I'll try. That depends on what kind of attitude they have," Lin Hui said helplessly.

Old Man patted him on the shoulder and said no more.

After taking his son on a tour of the entire residence, the family of three ate in a two-hundred-square-meter dining hall in the central courtyard.

Because of the mist, every courtyard and hall was connected by fully enclosed corridors with windows.

It was the same here.

New dishes streamed continuously from the kitchen. The three of them had fifteen dishes for a single meal...

The standard had suddenly surpassed anything from before.

Yet despite the abundance of dishes, including quite a few that required elaborate preparation, Lin Hui still felt that the atmosphere of the meal was awkward.

Yao Shan, his mother and the person directly involved, on the other hand, remained just as she had always been. She seemed to bear no grudge whatsoever toward the second wife who was about to enter the household.

Not only that, she even comforted Lin Hui in turn, saying that the woman named Liu Shenglan was gentle, generous, and exceptionally well-mannered. Her two children were also educated and sensible. Since both children had been born in the Inner City, they would rarely come here to live anyway. There was no need to worry about becoming unaccustomed to living together long-term, so Lin Hui should put his mind at ease.

The moment he heard that they had lived in the Inner City for a long time, Lin Hui became even more worried.

The gap in their backgrounds was too great. If they failed to get along, would his mother not end up worshipping an ancestor in her own home?

But since his mother had accepted it, he had nothing to say. He could only accept it as well.

After the meal, servants came forward to clear the dishes, and Lin Hui went to rest in his new room for the first time.

After washing up, he lay on the bed and looked at the hazy moonlight outside the window. The light shone through the window, casting a jumble of strange shadows that constantly flickered past.

The night mist was distorting the surroundings again.

The Jade Talisman hanging before the window swayed gently, releasing a layer of power that Lin Hui could not sense, keeping the mist outside.

"This is fine too. At least Old Man might have a few more children. It won't be just me living in fear every day."

Lin Hui understood his parents' thoughts very well now.

Compared to others his age, he was already considered promising. He could not compare to the Summoned, but among those below the Summoned, he was in the top tier.

To the neighboring residents, he was the kind of child other people wished they had. He never lacked food or clothing and could even support the family, but practicing martial arts was simply too dangerous in the end.

As long as he had to personally step in and take the field, accidents could always happen.

When danger came, wouldn't it be better to spend money and hire someone else to act? Why insist on entering the arena himself to fight others when there were clearly safer methods?

Once he continued training, once he continued moving within martial circles, there would be many times when he had no choice but to make a move.