What is Merit? Scattering Family Wealth to Aid the Common People!

Lin Xuan's voice rang out in the silent living room.

Every word struck Li Yuan straight in the heart.

The strength he had feigned was smashed apart layer by layer, exposing the bloody truth beneath.

Li Yuan lay sprawled on the floor, his body shaking violently.

Strange rasping sounds came from his throat as he desperately tried to breathe.

"Save... save my daughter..."

He used all his strength to force those few words through clenched teeth. At last, a trace of pleading appeared in his hollow eyes.

Lin Xuan remained expressionless.

He no longer looked at Li Yuan. His gaze fell on the sofa.

The mage named Hui'an had been frightened limp and could not even stand.

"Before you make your choice, you'd better see it with your own eyes."

Lin Xuan stepped toward the golden idol.

When Hui'an saw Lin Xuan approaching, he was so terrified his courage shattered. His entire body shook into a trembling heap.

The stench of urine spread from beneath him.

"Don't... don't come closer... you monster!"

Lin Xuan could not be bothered with him and walked straight to the offering table before the idol.

He picked up a bronze incense burner and held it to his nose.

"Top-grade benzoin, mixed with rosemary, and something rather special."

Lin Xuan turned and held the incense burner before Li Yuan.

"Do you know what this is?"

Li Yuan stared blankly at the burner.

"It... it's a sacred object used by the Divine Messenger to communicate with the gods..."

"A sacred object?"

Lin Xuan let out a scornful laugh, his mockery undisguised.

"Li Yuan, you've been fooled so thoroughly you've lost your brain."

He reached his other hand into Hui'an's black robe and pulled out a porcelain bottle.

The moment he removed the stopper, an unusual sweet fragrance spread through the room.

"The substance in this bottle is a slow-acting neurotoxin extracted from a South American poisonous plant. It has no color and no smell. Mixed into incense and burned, it clouds the mind and weakens willpower, making the victim especially susceptible to psychological suggestion."

Lin Xuan threw the porcelain bottle to the floor.

It shattered with a crisp crack.

"Your daughter's illness was only mild depression at first. She shut herself away."

"These swindlers took advantage of that. After they came, they burned this adulterated 'divine incense' in her room every day."

"The toxin steadily eroded her will to live, dragging her into an ever-deeper coma until she could never wake again."

"They poisoned your daughter while cheating you out of every penny you had."

"And you, like an idiot, worshipped them as saviors."

Lin Xuan's words split across Li Yuan's forehead one by one.

All color drained from Li Yuan's face. His expression shifted from confusion to shock, until nothing remained but twisted remorse.

"Ah!"

A scream that did not sound human tore from his throat.

He clawed frantically at his hair and rolled across the floor in agony.

So that was it.

So that was it!

It was not an evil spirit possessing her, nor was it punishment from the gods.

He had let the wolf into his own home.

With his own hands, he had pushed his daughter into the abyss of death.

He was not merely a neglectful father.

He was a murderer.

That thought instantly destroyed the last shred of his sanity.

Seeing that the scam had been exposed, Hui'an's instinct to survive forced a little strength out of his terror.

He scrambled desperately toward the exit.

After crawling only two steps, a tremendous force of suction came from behind him.

His body flew backward out of control, and Lin Xuan seized him by the throat with one hand, lifting him into the air.

"Trying to leave?"

Lin Xuan's gaze was icy, devoid of even a trace of warmth.

He pressed two fingers together like a sword and struck Hui'an's limbs and spine several times in a blur.

A series of faint cracks rang out.

Hui'an's body suddenly went limp, his limbs twisting at grotesque angles.

Lin Xuan had crippled him.

From this day onward, he would not even be able to move a finger. He could only lie there like a living corpse until his life ran out.

"This man is yours."

Lin Xuan casually tossed Hui'an before Li Yuan as if throwing away a piece of trash.

Li Yuan looked at the culprit who had caused his daughter's death, then at the immobilized guards and the golden divine statue.

Boundless regret and despair swallowed him whole.

With a thud.

He abruptly turned around and dropped heavily to his knees before Lin Xuan.

He cast aside all dignity and slammed his forehead against the cold floor with all his strength.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Blood instantly poured from his forehead, staining the tiles red.

"Daoist... Daoist, save me!"

"I was wrong! I was truly wrong! I'm not human! I'm a beast!"

"Please, save my daughter... please, give her a chance to live!"

"I'll give you all my money! My company, my estate, everything I own! As long as you can save her! I'll serve you like an ox or a horse! I'm begging you!"

He wept so violently it tore at the heart, snot and tears smeared across his face, shredding the last shred of dignity an billionaire possessed.

Lin Xuan watched him quietly, allowing him to vent.

Only when Li Yuan had kowtowed until he was dizzy, his voice hoarse, and he was on the verge of passing out did Lin Xuan reach out and help him up.

"The antidote isn't with me. It's in your hands."

Lin Xuan's voice entered Li Yuan's ears with perfect clarity.

Li Yuan froze. His face streaked with tears, his eyes filled with confusion as he looked at him.

"You scattered your wealth and begged the gods out of selfishness—for yourself. Now, you must cultivate virtue and save lives for the greater good. That is for your daughter."

Lin Xuan's gaze saw through the heart filled with guilt and selfishness.

"This is the only antidote."

"Cultivate virtue... save lives?" Li Yuan murmured, still unable to understand.

Lin Xuan did not explain further.

He pointed Li Yuan toward the most direct path—and the most difficult one.

"Donate every last cent that was swindled from you, along with all the property under your name."

"Use that money to set up soup kitchens in this city and aid the refugees who cannot afford food. Build schools so children who cannot afford an education can study. Build bridges and pave roads. Help every poor person who needs help."

Lin Xuan's voice was not loud, yet it carried a force that shook the heart.

"Your eyes used to see nothing but money. Starting today, they must see only the people of the world."

"For every person you save, you gain a measure of merit."

"If you save an entire city, you gain immeasurable merit."

"When your merit is sufficient, when the good intentions of tens of thousands throughout the city gather upon you, that power may be able to cross the boundary of life and death and awaken your daughter's desire to live."

These words tore open a ray of light within Li Yuan's despairing heart.

Give away all his wealth and aid the people...

Use the goodwill of tens of thousands to awaken his daughter?

He had never heard of such an inconceivable path to redemption.

It was harder than any miraculous pill, harder than any promise from gods or Buddhas.

But it was also more real.

He understood.

This wasn't a transaction.

This was cultivation.

A path of redemption tailor-made for him, a father burdened with grievous sins.

The emptiness and despair in Li Yuan's eyes slowly faded.

In their place, a faint light began to kindle once more.

That light grew brighter and brighter until, at last, it became a blazing flame.

He had found what he needed to do.

He had found the only path to save his daughter—and save himself.

"I understand..."

Li Yuan slowly straightened up, wiping the tears and blood from his face. His gaunt features forced out a smile uglier than crying.

"I understand!"

Facing Lin Xuan, he gave a deep, solemn ninety-degree bow.

There was no pleading in that bow—only heartfelt gratitude.

"Thank you, Daoist, for showing me the way!"

When he straightened again, his entire bearing had changed.

The decay and deathly air around him had been replaced by a steely resolve.

Without another word of nonsense, he turned to the old butler beside him. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a ruthless edge.

"Uncle Wang!"

"Contact my lawyers and financial team immediately. Within three days, liquidate all assets and accounts under my name!"

"Contact the city government. I want to make a donation! Establish the largest charity fund in the entire city!"

"And melt down that damned god statue! Exchange all the gold for food! Starting tomorrow, set up soup kitchens for me in the poorest slums in the west of the city!"

"I want this entire city to never see another person starve to death!"