A Whole Family of Oddballs

Young Master Qin's gaze held a kind of feverish fanaticism, along with the barely suppressed thrill of wild delight.

Lin Xiaotian knew that feeling well. It was far from unfamiliar.

It was plainly the look of someone itching to show off and act tough.

Could this have something to do with his sister? Had this bastard grown so bold that he actually dared come looking for her?

Probably not! If he truly had that kind of nerve, Old Master Qin would have ground it out of him long ago.

Something was off here!

Young Master Qin was about to speak.

Young Master Qin slightly raised his head, gazed diagonally upward, and pointed his nostrils straight at Lin Xiaotian.

The corners of his mouth curled upward as he prepared to speak.

This was the standard opening pose for acting tough.

Quick-eyed and quick-handed, how could Lin Xiaotian possibly let this man show off before him? He spoke first instead.

"Young Master Qin, are you here to bring me the remaining twenty taels of silver? You're quite diligent. I'll forgive you for coming to find me in the middle of the night."

As he spoke, he reached out and gripped Young Master Qin's jaw.

"Mmgh..."

Caught by the jaw just as he was about to act tough, Young Master Qin could only make a muffled "mmgh."

With his head tilted back and nostrils aimed at the sky, Young Master Qin gave a hard shake under Lin Xiaotian's grip.

Unfortunately, his carefully assumed pose vanished into thin air, leaving him looking utterly pathetic.

Young Master Qin retreated a foot away from him, his face filled with aggrieved anger.

Lin Xiaotian withdrew his hand. He had not used much force just now.

"What? Aren't you here to deliver silver?"

Young Master Qin's face alternated between green and white. He pointed at Lin Xiaotian with a trembling finger.

"Alright, alright, don't get so worked up. You're only bringing me some silver. Is there any need to be this excited? Come, follow me into the courtyard."

Tap!

Lin Xiaotian took a step forward, and Young Master Qin startled, taking a step back.

In a trembling voice, he asked:

"What are you doing?"

Lin Xiaotian feigned surprise.

"Young Master Qin, I invited you into the courtyard. Why are you acting like this? Don't tell me you're afraid of me."

"Who? Who's afraid of you?" Young Master Qin gritted his teeth. "Do you know that what I came to tell you today is about your sister..."

Lin Xiaotian cut him off directly, his voice turning cold.

"You're not here to deliver silver?"

Young Master Qin retreated another step, his voice growing much louder.

"Your sister..."

Lin Xiaotian gave him no chance to speak. He lunged forward and threw a punch.

Bang!

Young Master Qin fell to the ground, his face swelling from the blow.

He climbed back up and roared in disbelief.

"You dared hit me? Your sister can..."

"I know. You felt that finding my sister wasn't reason enough, so you came here specifically to get beaten." Lin Xiaotian gave him no chance to finish and moved to step forward again.

Young Master Qin grew furious.

"Your sister is in my hands. Give..."

"Oh! So now I get it. Turns out I didn't beat you enough!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Stop hitting me!"

"Stop hitting me!"

"I'll give you the silver. Let me say something..."

After hitting him more than a dozen times, Lin Xiaotian unclenched his fists and looked at the young master, now covered in dust and disgrace.

"Alright, come into the courtyard with me. Mm, hand over the silver first."

Young Master Qin's body trembled. Though his eyes burned with anger he dared not voice, he obediently took out the silver and placed it in Lin Xiaotian's hand.

"Alright, now you can tell me the details." Once they entered the courtyard, Lin Xiaotian thoughtfully poured him a cup of water.

Young Master Qin endured the pain and took a sip.

He did not particularly want to drink it, but he was afraid of getting hammered again.

"Speak." Lin Xiaotian prompted him.

Young Master Qin looked at the composed Lin Xiaotian, then at the silver now in his hand, and swallowed.

"You... you've entered the Martial Dao." His voice was somewhat cautious and timid.

Lin Xiaotian suppressed the urge to slap him and said indifferently:

"Of course. Otherwise, why would I want your silver?"

Anger appeared in Young Master Qin's eyes again, but this anger was directed at himself.

"Alright, Young Master Qin, hurry up and tell me. I still need to rest early."

Young Master Qin gave a start and hurriedly said:

"Alright, it's like this. Your sister has been detained by my Qin Household. You must pay fifty taels of silver, or else your sister will become someone of the Qin Residence."

Lin Xiaotian nodded.

"Alright, got it."

"What? You're not surprised?" Young Master Qin's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.

"What, did you want to see me act surprised? What's so strange about this?"

"You... you..." Young Master Qin stammered, not knowing what to say.

His greatest reliance, and the capital he had intended to use to act tough, was the matter of detaining Lin Xiaotian's sister.

Yet seeing the other man's calm expression, even if he had not been beaten earlier, saying it aloud now would still have been nothing but self-inflicted humiliation.

"You're not worried at all?"

"Hahaha!" Lin Xiaotian laughed loudly. "If your Qin Household wanted to touch my sister, you would have done so long ago. You couldn't before, and you still can't now."

Young Master Qin refused to give up.

"What if my Qin Household now has the ability to detain your sister?"

Lin Xiaotian shrugged.

"Then there's even less to worry about. No matter how hard I tried, I still wouldn't be able to save her."

"Uh..." Young Master Qin felt choked for a moment. Just what was inside this man's head? He did not follow common sense at all.

"Alright, Young Master Qin, if there's nothing else, go back. Mm, you probably didn't have the nerve to come find my sister that day, did you?"

"And you had even less nerve to bring people and kidnap my sister, right?"

Young Master Qin panicked, his face flushing red, yet he could not vent his anger.

Every single one of his trump cards had been seen through.

"Yes, I didn't have the nerve. I got all the way to your doorstep, but I just didn't dare knock. I didn't even dare knock on the courtyard gate. I stood there stupidly... In the end, people from the residence came and dragged me back."

Lin Xiaotian let out a soft breath.

He was certain now. The Qin Residence had not suddenly grown stronger. Otherwise, they would not have come to fetch Young Master Qin back—they would have smashed straight through the gate and helped their young master bring her home.

"Mm! Alright, go back. I need to rest."

"Ah, you're letting me go back? But I, but I..." Young Master Qin panicked, like a little wife about to be driven from the house.

Lin Xiaotian gave him a strange look. The other man was practically about to cry.

This was far too abnormal.

"What? You don't want to go back?"

"I-I'll go back." Even Young Master Qin's voice trembled. He turned and was about to rush out through the courtyard gate.

Lin Xiaotian suddenly called out:

"Stop!"

His voice boomed like thunder.

Young Master Qin jumped in fright and cried out, as though he had run into a ghost in the dead of night.

"My sister is in your Qin Residence." Lin Xiaotian pressed on, his voice low.

"Mhm, mhm." Young Master Qin nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking rice. After answering twice, he seemed to realize something and hurriedly added:

"No, no, I don't know."

After shouting that, he ran away with a mournful face.

Only the sound of his frantic, directionless footsteps remained. Midway through, Lin Xiaotian could even hear him fall, scramble back up, and keep running.

Lin Xiaotian grinned.

"You make it sound like I'm some great demon, while you, Young Master Qin, are Tang Monk's flesh. Am I really that terrifying?"

After joking about himself, he stood up, shut the courtyard gate, and slid the bolt into place.

Could what that man said be true? What could my sister possibly want from me?

If she knew about this Blood Qi, she would have acted long ago.

Other than Blood Qi, what else is there on me worth coveting?

Young Master Qin looked as though my sister had been pressuring him. Otherwise, he would not have been like this.

My sister truly isn't simple!

How strange. Why use the Qin Household to pressure me? What is her purpose...

Thinking about it, if it were the original owner of this body, he would surely be helpless and panicked right now. He might even truly try to find a way to get fifty taels of silver, as that man demanded.

Why does she want to make me like this?

Lin Xiaotian's brows furrowed slightly, then suddenly relaxed.

Forget it. Let the bullets fly for a while. As long as I know my sister is safe, that's enough.