Some people are simply favored by heaven

With the poison in his body cured and the daughter he had missed for years finally before him, Lin Ruhai was indeed doing very well.

He could not quite be called rosy-cheeked, but he at least looked in good spirits. Gone was the dying air of a man with one foot in the grave, liable to breathe his last at any moment.

"Song Xuan pays his respects, Cousin Uncle!"

Entering the room, Song Xuan cupped his fist and bowed.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble you and your sister have taken this time. My daughter and I owe you an enormous debt."

Song Xuan waved a hand and smiled. "We're all family. There's no need to stand on ceremony, Cousin Uncle."

Lin Ruhai looked at him with a complicated expression. "When your mother married, I was busy with the Imperial Examination and missed her wedding. Has she been doing well with the Song family?"

"Rest assured, Cousin Uncle," Song Xuan said. "Mother is well in every way. You needn't worry."

Lin Ruhai smiled. "The Lin Household has never had many members. Even counting the collateral branches, there aren't many of us. Your mother and I are well beyond the five degrees of mourning kinship, but we knew each other from childhood.

"As long as she's doing well, I can put my mind at ease.

"And your father? Is he well too? Is he still the same as ever, idling his days away in the Black Robe Guard?"

Song Xuan was a little surprised. "You know my father well, Cousin Uncle?"

Lin Ruhai nodded with a smile. "When your father was young, he was a notorious slacker in the Imperial Capital's Black Robe Guard. He dodged assignments whenever he could and slipped away from trouble at every opportunity. He had no ambition whatsoever.

"Back then, I thought he lacked even the slightest spark of youthful vigor, and I rather looked down on him.

"But looking back now, your father was the one who understood life. A lifetime without danger, illness, or calamity, with his family safe and together-isn't that more important than anything else?"

Song Xuan smiled without replying. The subject concerned his own parents, after all, and he did not want to discuss it too much with others.

"Daiyu told me you and your sister came to Jiangzhe Prefecture to take up a post?"

Song Xuan nodded. "Yes. A Hundred-household Officer here died a while ago, so they transferred me from the Imperial Capital."

At that, Lin Ruhai's smile gradually faded. "The situation in Jiangzhe Prefecture is complicated. The salt merchants alone are difficult enough to deal with.

"And the Black Robe Guard has to contend with more than wealthy men such as the major salt merchants. Many people in officialdom and the Martial World are involved as well."

Lin Ruhai had spoken tactfully, but Song Xuan immediately understood what he meant.

"Are you saying that officials here in Jiangzhe Prefecture have colluded with the Martial World?"

Lin Ruhai nodded. "There is certainly collusion. As for how far it goes, or what their true purpose is, that remains difficult to say.

"In short, you must be cautious during this time. If there is anything you don't understand, you can come to me to discuss it whenever you like.

"To tell the truth, I never expected your father to agree to let you come to a place like this."

Song Xuan smiled. "Cousin Uncle, these orders came from the upper ranks of the Black Robe Guard. What could my father do even if he disagreed?"

Lin Ruhai shook his head. "Don't underestimate your father. He may seem unambitious, but his connections in the Imperial Capital are far from weak. If he objected to you and your sister coming here, he would have plenty of ways to scuttle the appointment."

Song Xuan was momentarily taken aback. As far as he and Song Qian knew, their father was only at the eighth level of the Houtian Realm, a little weaker than either of them.

Aside from being older and having a good relationship with Zhao Dezhu, the director of the Inspection Office, did he actually have other connections?

Had anyone else said this, Song Xuan might have dismissed it as polite flattery toward his father. But if even a high-ranking regional official like Lin Ruhai thought so highly of him, it was certainly more than mere courtesy.

Could Dad have some hidden identity I don't know about?

After chatting a while longer with Lin Ruhai about the situation in Jiangzhe Prefecture, Song Xuan rose to take his leave.

He still had plenty to do, and Lin Ruhai needed a period of quiet recuperation. It was not convenient for him to spend too long talking with visitors.

Leaving the room, Song Xuan waited in the courtyard for a moment.

Before long, his younger cousin Lin Daiyu, in excellent spirits, came over with Song Qian. Each held a piece of osmanthus cake, and they chatted and laughed as they walked.

At the sight of Song Xuan, his younger cousin's eyes curved into smiling crescents. She hastily held out the osmanthus cake wrapped in her handkerchief.

"Cousin, you must be hungry. Have some cake to tide you over. I've already told the servants to prepare a meal."

Song Xuan instinctively started to reach for it, but when he saw Song Qian offering her osmanthus cake beside her, he immediately waved a hand. "I'm not very fond of sweets."

"Oh..." Lin Daiyu looked a little disappointed. "Then wait a little while, Cousin. Lunch will be ready soon."

Song Xuan shook his head. "We'll pass on the meal. There's still plenty to do today. My sister and I will come trouble you at the Lin residence another day, when we have some time."

As he spoke, he beckoned to Song Qian. "Come on. We're going to dig up a grave!"

"Okay!"

Song Qian stuffed the entire piece of osmanthus cake into her mouth. Swallowing, she said goodbye to Lin Daiyu. "Little Yuyu, your big cousin has business to attend to. Remember to keep plenty of cakes at home. I'll come eat them another day!"

"Yes, of course, Cousin. Next time you come, we can..."

Before she could finish, the whirlwind pair of siblings had already gone far away. She lowered her hand in disappointment and let out a wistful sigh.

"They've both gone..."

In the room nearby, Lin Ruhai quietly watched the scene through the window. After a moment, he spoke softly.

"You said just now that Song Xuan and his sister are very strong?"

The black-robed elder who had spoken with Song Xuan earlier emerged from a corner of the room and nodded solemnly.

"Very strong!"

"Stronger even than a Xiantian Martial Artist like you?"

"It's hard to say." The black-robed elder considered the question. "By rights, since I sensed no Xiantian aura from either of them, they should not have broken through to Xiantian yet.

"But those two give me a very strange feeling. How should I put it..."

The elder thought for a moment. "My lord, you should know that cultivation is one thing and strength is another. In an actual fight to the death, cultivation alone does not always decide the outcome.

"Otherwise, everyone could simply release their cultivation auras when they met and compare them. What need would there be for fighting?

"In truth, far too many factors determine life and death. Internal Cultivation Manuals, Martial Arts Masterworks, Divine Weapons, the surroundings, and even the combatants' state of mind and fighting spirit can all affect the final outcome."

Lin Ruhai waved a hand. "Just tell me plainly. If you fought them now, would you be confident of winning?"

The black-robed elder thought for a moment. "If we sparred right now, I should win. But if it were a fight to the death, I suspect I would be the one to die."

"Oh? Why is that?"

The elder said gravely, "I entered the Martial World at fourteen and spent decades clawing my way through the Martial Arts World. I've seen far too many extraordinary things.

"Some people cannot be judged by ordinary standards. Sometimes, you have to admit that heaven truly does favor certain people far too much.

"My lord, would you believe me if I said that, were I to fight them to the death today, those siblings would break through in the midst of battle in some utterly unreasonable fashion, then turn around and kill me!"