Killing Intent

By evening, Lin Yi had departed.

Yu Qinglian sat in the private room, gazing longingly in the direction Lin Yi had left.

"Miss, he’s already long gone," the maid at her side reminded her.

"I know," Yu Qinglian replied.

"Don't worry, Miss. Young Master Lin gets along with you so well, he’ll surely come back tomorrow," Xiaocui teased. "Who knows? He might even marry you and take you home as his wife."

"He won't," Yu Qinglian said with ironclad certainty.

"Ah? Why not?" the maid asked, confused.

"It’s not him marrying me..."

"It’s me buying him."

Yu Qinglian hummed softly; naturally, she didn't say the second half of that sentence aloud.

Lin Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the text before him.

[Consumed 4,000 Destiny Talisman Coins to purchase four pieces of Destiny intelligence.]

[Destiny Talisman Coins: 10,000 units]

[Hu Ma’s White Moonlight: Yu Qinglian knows well that to keep a fish, one must maintain a pristine persona. Five years ago, she began distributing porridge to the poor to build merit. Four years ago, the then-insignificant Hu Ma received her charity, and from that moment on, Yu Qinglian became his "white moonlight."]

[Zhang Xun’s Killing Intent: After Hu Ma was found and brought back as the magistrate’s biological son, the magistrate’s foster son, Zhang Xun, harbored intense killing intent toward him. He ordered dozens of his subordinates to infiltrate Hu Ma’s side as moles. The following is the list of moles...]

[The Dark Secret of the Qingsong Hall Master: To advance his cultivation, the master of the Qingsong Martial Arts Hall once rescued a group of remnants from the Bliss Cult who were being hunted by the Taiping Guards. He had the cultists secretly kidnap women with the potential to be "cauldrons" to train them, thereby assisting his own cultivation...]

[Chihuan Path, Yu Qinglian: A "cauldron" who escaped from the Bliss Cult five years ago...]

Damn, this place is truly chaotic.

This Jiaqing County is quite a mess...

To Lin Yi’s surprise, that Hu Ma was actually a pure-hearted romantic.

But whether he was a romantic or not didn't matter anymore.

In any case, he would soon be nothing more than a corpse.

It worked out perfectly; Lin Yi practiced the Corpse Puppet Path and needed a fresh corpse to unleash his combat power.

Furthermore, Hu Ma was an eighth-grade martial artist.

He was, for all intents and purposes, a corpse-material delivered right to Lin Yi’s doorstep for his cultivation.

The hour was late, and Lin Yi did not return directly to the Lin residence. Instead, shielded by the cover of night, he quietly arrived at a remote, abandoned estate on the outskirts of the county.

The courtyard was deep and overgrown with weeds, with shrubs reaching nearly waist-high.

He pushed aside the grass, reached a dry well in the backyard, and leaped down.

The bottom of the well was dark, though the moonlight filtering down from above allowed him to see.

Lin Yi reached out to feel along the brick seams, pressed down on a loose one, and the well wall slowly cracked open to reveal a secret chamber.

He slipped inside and used a fire-starter to light the candles on the wall.

This place had once been a security firm, but over a decade ago, the entire family had been wiped out for unknown reasons, leaving it abandoned ever since.

After finding this place through [Know Destiny], Lin Yi had secretly purchased it and hidden all the wealth he had accumulated through his fate-based opportunities over the years. Counting it up, he had five hundred and thirty-six taels of silver.

He changed out of his fine robes in the secret chamber, put back on his usual coarse hemp clothes, and then headed home.

Right now, his mind was entirely occupied with how to eliminate Hu Ma; he had little time to worry about his family.

But within three days at most, Hu Ma’s life would be quietly brought to an end.

By the time he returned home, it was already evening.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Lin Yi felt that the atmosphere was wrong—his uncle Lin Hua was not there, his aunt Chen was not there, and only his cousin Lin Xiuwen was sitting in the yard, looking dazed and sullen.

"Xiuwen, where is Aunt?" Lin Yi asked.

"I don't know... Mother went out at noon..."

"She told me to wait at home for you to return..."

Lin Xiuwen looked up and saw his cousin had returned, his eyes red.

"Went out at noon? Did she say where she was going?" Lin Yi raised an eyebrow.

Lin Xiuwen shook his head, his voice hitching with sobs: "She didn't say..."

Lin Yi frowned: "What happened..."

"Waaa!!!"

The next second, Lin Xiuwen burst into tears and lunged forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Lin Yi’s waist.

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Lin Yi’s heart sank; he felt a sense of foreboding.

"Brother... Brother..."

"At noon... Uncle Liu came and called Mother out. When she returned, her face was ghastly, and she hurried out again, telling me only to stay home and wait for you."

Lin Xiuwen's voice trembled. "Xiao Liuzi came to play with me this afternoon, and that was when I found out... Father was beaten by the Black Wind Gang. He lost so much blood that he had to be taken to the clinic. Mother went to look after him."

"Brother... what do we do now? Should we try to persuade Father to give up the restaurant?" Lin Xiuwen's eyes were rimmed with red, his voice hoarse. Hearing this, Lin Yi felt as if his heart had been gripped by a ruthless hand.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine." Lin Yi ruffled his brother's hair, though a surge of uncontrollable rage churned in the depths of his eyes.

Not long after, Lin Hua returned with his head wrapped in bandages, supported by Chen.

Lin Yi hurried forward to meet them.

"Oh, what rotten luck today. I tripped and fell while working," Lin Hua said, sweeping the gloom from his face and forcing a smile.

"Yi is back? Have you been to the county martial arts school yet? You're about to start your training. Business was good at the shop today, so I had your aunt set aside an old hen for you. We'll stew it later to build up your strength."

Chen pulled at the corners of her mouth, saying nothing. She lacked her usual sharp tongue, simply carrying the chicken into the kitchen in silence.

Lin Yi felt a sour, bitter ache in his heart, but he could not expose the truth. He had to play along, upholding his uncle's dignity.

Lin Xiuwen followed obediently by Lin Yi's side. Though he knew the truth, he only kept his eyes red and said nothing more.

Lin Yi found an excuse to head outside.

The tea stall at the end of the alley had not yet closed.

It was barely a stall—just a few wobbly-legged long tables set beneath an old locust tree. A copper kettle, half a person tall, boiled there year-round, its white steam wilting the locust leaves overhead into a sickly yellow.

Uncle Liu was bent over, tidying up bowls and dishes, an apron draped over his shoulder that had long since lost its original color.

"Uncle Liu, a bowl of Old Leaf tea, please." Lin Yi chose a bench against the wall and sat down.

Uncle Liu turned, paused for a moment, and then his wrinkled face broke into a smile.

Instead of reaching for the coarse pottery jar containing the Old Leaf, he pulled a small porcelain jar from the shelf and shook a pinch of Steamed Green tea into the bottom of a bowl.

"Uncle Liu, I asked for Old Leaf."

Old Leaf cost one copper a bowl, while Steamed Green cost two. The families living in this alley were all laborers; who could afford to spend two coppers for a sip of that clear sweetness?

"What's a young lad drinking Old Leaf for? It's astringent." Uncle Liu lifted the copper kettle and poured the boiling water straight in. The tea leaves swirled and unfurled, and a clean, bitter fragrance wafted out with the steam. "New tea has a sweet aftertaste. This bowl is on me."

Lin Yi sipped the scalding tea without looking up.

"Uncle Liu, I want to ask you something. My family's restaurant opened today. By rights, even if business wasn't booming, we should have been busy until lamp-lighting time."

"Why did my uncle come home so early, and with a head injury?"

The smile on Uncle Liu's face faded, inch by inch.

He picked up his own tea bowl and took a gulp, saying nothing. Only after a long while did he lean in, lowering his voice. "Yi, you aren't a child anymore. Since you're asking me, I suppose I should answer."

"But before I do, you must keep your cool."

Lin Yi nodded. "Don't worry, Uncle."

"It's Hu Ma from the Black Wind Gang..."

Lin Yi lowered his eyelids.

The mist rising from the bowl obscured the flash of cold light in his eyes.

"That plot of land your family owns—Hu Ma is dead set on getting his hands on it. The whole neighborhood is already talking about it."

Uncle Liu sighed with every word. "First thing this morning, just as your uncle took down the door panels and set off firecrackers, Hu Ma and his men swarmed in. They occupied seven or eight tables, ordered nothing but a single plate of peanuts at each, and sat there cracking them all morning."

"Real customers saw the scene and turned right back around. You know your uncle's temper—stubborn his whole life. He went to reason with them, but before he could get two words out, Hu Ma shoved him against the door pillar. His forehead split open on the spot."

Uncle Liu continued, "At noon, Hu Ma announced to the entire street that anyone who dared enter the Lin family shop was going against him. Before leaving, he sent a few thugs to smash up your place. Even the hens your aunt kept in the kitchen for eggs were killed."

The tea stall fell silent for a moment. Even the steam from the kettle seemed to freeze.

Lin Yi did not speak.

He simply held his bowl, drinking sip after sip, his face devoid of expression.

But Uncle Liu knew Lin Yi was not as calm as he looked.

He had watched this boy grow up, but the lad's temperament was as heavy and still as a stone.

The quieter he was, the more uneasy it made him.

Lin Yi tilted his head back and drained the dregs of the tea, swallowing the tea leaves along with the liquid. He stood up and fished copper coins from his waist, pressing them onto the table one by one.

"Thank you, Uncle Liu."

His voice was calm, showing no ripples of emotion.

He turned and walked away, his pace steady and unhurried, his hem soon swallowed by the twilight at the end of the alley.

Uncle Liu watched Lin Yi's retreating figure, his heart feeling heavy.