Above all spirits

Chapter 52 Lin Family

Lin Zaicheng shifted his leg position, brewed himself another pot of tea, and chuckled.

"There's no need to trouble you, Uncle. I suppose it's just some family members of women from brothels coming to our door. We can just give them a few silver coins. If they don't know what's good for them, then they don't need to go back."

A ruthless glint flashed in Lin Zaicheng's eyes.

Lin Ping was somewhat puzzled.

“Nephew, to be honest, your uncle has already become a disciple of the Second Prince. There are plenty of other ways to make money in the future. This kind of brothel industry that forces women into prostitution is always dishonorable on the surface.”

Perhaps because he had already joined the prince's faction, Lin Ping wanted to minimize negative impacts and improve his image in certain situations.

Lin Zaicheng shook his head and held up three fingers.

"Uncle underestimates Fengyue Pavilion. You don't understand the profits involved, that's why you say that. Do you know how many gold coins Fengyue Pavilion earns in a month?"

Lin Ping was slightly surprised.

"A whopping 300 gold coins?"

Lin Zaicheng gently shook his head.

The old man sitting in the middle smiled, took a sip of tea, and said.

"Brother, although you've been to the Canglan Empire and seen the world, do you really think a mere 300 gold coins would make us go to such lengths to maintain and develop this gray industry? My Lin family is the number one family in Lanyu City. You think 300 gold coins will make us bow down?"

Lim Jae-sung revealed the answer.

"Uncle, it's 3000 gold coins! I think you'd be lucky to get a few hundred gold coins a year as a retainer of the Second Prince, right?"

Lin Ping stood up in shock.

"3000 gold?! How can there be so much!"

This is just one month's income.

This has far exceeded Lin Ping's expectations.

Even in the imperial city of the Canglan Empire, an income of 3000 gold coins per month would be considered a semi-high-level position.

Lin Zaicheng looked at his uncle's incredulous expression and felt somewhat satisfied.

"Therefore, I will absolutely not allow anyone to stop me from getting a piece of this pie. Anyone who tries to stop me will be considered an enemy by the Lin family, and we will fight to the death. The profits have dropped significantly in the past two days, all because there are fewer women to supply. Fortunately, the Shahu Gang recently received news that they have found a small village with a considerable population."

"and many more."

Lin Zaicheng stood up, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he had thought of something, and walked over to Xiao Hao, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling.

"Don't tell me something's wrong."

Xiao Hao didn't refute, he just kept trembling, sweat beading on his forehead, and he kept his head down, not daring to answer.

The results are obvious.

Lin Zaicheng was immediately filled with anger, and even the old man sitting in the center was somewhat displeased. Although he never interfered with Cheng'er's management of Fengyue Pavilion, it was not hard to tell that this month's revenue would probably be less again.

Having tasted the sweetness of rice, he was undoubtedly in a bad mood when asked to eat brown rice again.

"Go to hell!"

Lin Zaicheng rapidly circulated his internal energy, gathering it in his leg, and kicked Xiao Hao hard in the right shoulder.

Upon seeing this, the old man in the center quickly waved his hand, and a pale red stream of energy flowed out from his body, seemingly with a consciousness, rushing towards Lin Zaicheng's leg and neutralizing Lin Zaicheng's powerful attack.

In the end, Xiao Hao only received a regular kick.

Even so, the physical strength of cultivators far surpasses that of ordinary people.

"Click."

A crisp snapping sound rang out in the reception room.

Xiao Hao endured the pain and resumed his kneeling position, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

He knew he absolutely couldn't shout or yell at this moment.

"Cheng'er, do you want to kill him?"

"This is utter nonsense! You didn't even bother to find out what happened. How can I trust you to go to Wentian Academy with this kind of attitude?"

"Yes, father."

Although Lin Zaicheng was still somewhat irritated, he still obeyed his father's words, as he always had.

He plopped back down in his seat, poured himself a pot of tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

Indeed, the old man sitting in the very center is Lin Zaicheng's father, Lin Tianyu.

Lin Zaicheng was his third and last child. Lin Tianyu had loved Lin Zaicheng very much since childhood. Perhaps it was because he had another son late in life, his eldest brother was away all year round, and his second sister had already married. Only Lin Zaicheng was left in the family to accompany him. Or perhaps it was because Lin Zaicheng always listened to him.

Although his temper had become somewhat arrogant due to his pampering, so be it. Even if the Lin family's children caused any trouble, at least in Lanyu City, there was nothing that Lin Tianyu couldn't handle.

However, recently, Lin Tianyu's uncle was fortunate enough to be chosen by the Second Prince and become his disciple, which secured a qualification for the Lin family to go to Wentian Academy. Today's discussion is about this matter.

What kind of place is Wentian Academy?

That was the largest and most powerful academy in the entire Canglan Empire. Countless children of royal relatives and nobles were sent there, and those who graduated from the academy were all outstanding individuals.

There, the Lin family's background in Lanyu City was no longer enough, so Lin Tianyu had recently been teaching Lin Zaicheng to guard against arrogance and impetuosity on several occasions.

Sigh, I was also at fault.

Seeing that Lin Zaicheng still seemed somewhat unsettled, Lin Tianyu sighed softly.

Let nature take its course. If he really can't get into Wentian Academy, then so be it. Although it's a bit of a regret, Lin Tianyu only feels a slight sense of regret and won't force it.

At worst, I can come back and take over the family affairs sooner.

Lin Ping quickly waved his hand and spoke kindly.

"Brother, don't be angry. It's normal for young people to be a bit impetuous. My nephew has good aptitude. He's already at the second level of the Mortal Body before he's even 20, and he seems to be about to break through to the third level. Even in Wentian Academy, he's ranked among the top. Getting into Wentian Academy shouldn't be a problem at all."

Lin Tianyu clasped his hands in a fist salute and smiled.

"Then I'll take your kind words, Pingdi."

Then he looked down at Xiao Hao, who was covered in sweat.

"Xiao Hao, right? Come on, tell me what happened?"

Xiao Hao, who had finally been given permission to speak, swallowed hard, but he did not look up. He kept his head down and trembled as he spoke.

“I…I was originally ordered by Young Master Lin to be in charge of liaising with the Sand Tiger Gang outside the city, but because we haven’t seen them for a long time, it’s rather unusual.”

"I thought I'd go back to the places you'd scouted before and look for them."

"That was originally a village located at the bottom of a valley at the foot of the mountain."

"The result...the result..."

Xiao Hao seemed to recall some terrifying scene, and he was having trouble breathing.

Not daring to keep the three adults waiting, he quickly took two deep breaths and continued.

"Then a deafening sound came from that direction, and the whole mountain was shaking."

"Looking into the distance, there's a dazzling golden light shooting straight into the sky!"

"When the mountain calmed down and I arrived, the village that was originally in the valley had disappeared. As far as the eye could see, there was a vast expanse of ruins. There were broken branches, sand and stones everywhere. These things had buried the former village completely. The Sand Tiger Gang members were probably down there too."

"Moreover... the main thing is... the shape of the ruins is unusually regular, as if someone deliberately filled it in like this. Combined with the previous golden light, perhaps... perhaps the mountain god is angry. I was very scared, so I rushed back to report."