Han Jin nodded, “Tired.”

　　So don’t give him any additional tasks, he’s only a seven-year-old child ah!

　　“Tired? Good.” However, Yuan Tianwen ordered nonchalantly, “Okay, now you can go practice those sword styles, twice.”

　　“But…” Han Jin wanted to refute, How did it become twice?

　　“Three times.”

　　Han Jin, “…”

　　An expression finally broke out on Han Jin’s small, impassive face. He angrily glared at Yuan Tianwen, then carried his small sword and walked outside, stomping with heavy steps, as though he couldn’t wait to trample Yuan Tianwen, this great devil, to death.

　　“He actually called you Young Master; I thought you would accept him as your disciple.” After Han Jin left, Yan Tianhen couldn’t help sighing.

　　Yuan Tianwen revealed, “Originally, I wanted to take him as a disciple, but I thought more about it later — accepting a disciple is like accepting an ancestor. I have to care about him and love and protect him in all respects. I’m too lazy to do such a thing.”

　　Duan Yuyang had a headache, “You’re really something. How old is he? Only seven or eight years old, and you’ve given him so many tasks and extra burdens every day. Besides, you’re so callous to him, he might hold a grudge against you.”

　　Yuan Tianwen explained, “If he understands exhaustion now, he can shed less blood later. I trained him the way the Yuan family trains its shadow guards. As for holding a grudge, I’ve never worried about this. Don’t tell me that he won’t be a member of the Han family anymore, if only I treated him well?”

　　Duan Yuyang was speechless.

　　“Aren’t you afraid of ruining him with your excessive enthusiasm?” Lin Xuanzhi asked.

　　“Don’t go by how thin and weak the boy looks. In reality, I don’t know how much energy is inside his body.” Yuan Tianwen was unconcerned. “One more thing, he was sent by the Han family to follow me and learn how to prop up a family. With the Han family’s current situation, if his training took 10 or 20 years, the Han family would have long since collapsed before this boy finishes his training.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi commented, “This boy has a hard life.”

　　Yuan Tianwen tilted his head, “I can’t help it. It’s the Han family’s request.”

　　“That’s true.”

　　Yuan Tianwen looked at Lin Xuanzhi, “Let’s not talk about him. After the previous examination and test, I accepted Lin Zezhi as an inner-door disciple. Do you want to meet him?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi thought for a moment, “There’s no need to see him for the time being. However, your people will have to pay attention to his every move here.”

　　“Wouldn’t it be better if you took them to Sinking Sword Peak and put them under your surveillance?”

　　“If you put them right under my nose, the few people from the Lin family would become even more cautious.” Lin Xuanzhi said with deep meaning, “Madam Bai and Third Elder seem to be very apprehensive of me.”

　　Yuan Tianwen gave him a look, “You’re full of evil tricks.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi laughed, “You’re no better.”

　　After leaving Breaking Sword Peak, Lin Xuanzhi took Yan Tianhen and directly left the sect gates. Before they left, they didn’t forget to take the ignored Ah Bai and Hu Po with them.

　　The sect entrance exam had already come to an end, and the noisy scene of Profound City’s people chattering was no longer visible. The city had returned to its normal appearance.

　　The two people went directly to the other courtyard, where Ah Gu and Qing Zhu lived.

　　Before entering the room, they heard Feng Jingyu chirping wildly.

　　Ah Bai heard the familiar voice and let out “Ao ao!” as he rushed into the yard, pouncing toward Feng Jingyu.

　　Feng Jingyu immediately flew onto Ling Chigu’s head.

　　Ah Bai had always been a little afraid of Ling Chigu, so he stood by Ling Chigu’s foot and looked at the bird high above him. He didn’t dare to climb up along Ling Chigu’s body.

　　At this time, Qing Zhu heard the sound and came out.

　　“Young Master, Young Master Ah Hen.” Qing Zhu smiled, “I haven’t heard from you for a month!”

　　Lin Xuanzhi explained, “I’ve been in secluded cultivation the entire time.”

　　Qing Zhu nodded. “I heard that from Zhantian and the others. It seems that you gained a lot. This closed-door cultivation is worth it.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi smiled, “Recently, what’s the situation at Serene Herb Manor?”

　　The smile on Qing Zhu’s face faded somewhat. “Shi Yongtai sent people to follow me several times, but I sent all of them away, so it’s not a cause for concern. However, the two cultivators around Shi Yongtai, one in brown robes and the other in black robes, did not appear again.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi reminded him, “Shi Yongtai is not in his right mind and is very vindictive. You should also be careful.”

　　Qing Zhu sighed, “I’m not scared of Shi Yongtai, but I’m worried about the backer behind him.”

　　“The backer behind him, who might that be?” Yan Tianhen asked with a frown.

　　“I don’t know.” Qing Zhu also knitted his pair of handsome long eyebrows, “I suspect that it’s someone I know, but I can’t contact him… So I’m still unsure right now, and I have to wait for the results from Qi Yun.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi nodded. “Looking at the time, it’s almost time for Qi Yun to report back.”

　　Mercenary group’s assignments naturally had a time limit. No client would continue waiting past the deadline.

　　Qing Zhu agreed. “We can only wait for now!”

　　Lin Xuanzhi’s cultivation successfully jumped two levels, and he also stayed in Fierce Gale Cliff for one month and three days. Thus, Esteemed Lan Yue had been too lazy to care about him recently. Therefore, Lin Xuanzhi stole this rare half a day’s leisure time, and could wander around outside without any scruple.

　　As for Yan Tianhen, Esteemed Huai Yu recently went outside for some unknown errands and hadn’t made an appearance ever since the day Lin Xuanzhi came out of secluded cultivation. Naturally, no one cared about Esteemed Huai Yu anymore.

　　So the two people hit it off and stayed in the other courtyard that night.

　　Two days later, early in the morning, Qing Zhu knocked on Lin and Yan’s door.

　　“Qi Yun is back.”

　　Qi Yun has a special way to contact his employer. Although he didn’t know where Qing Zhu and the others lived, he could let the other party know his whereabouts through this special method.

　　It was the suburban forest, where they had met before.

　　Qi Yun’s expression didn’t look so good. When he saw them appear in the forest, he pushed the branch with his hand and jumped down from the tree.

　　“I won’t bother with the pleasantries.” Qi Yun opened his mouth and looked at Lin Xuanzhi, “You guys really know how to cause trouble. To find out who was behind Serene Herb Manor’s sabotage, three people from Cloud Summit were seriously injured.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi frowned slightly, “If you were chased and hunted down after being discovered, then the Liu family would not only seriously injure you, but would also kill and silence all the witnesses.”

　　Qi Yun narrowed his eyes with a dark expression, “We weren’t discovered, but it seems you know better than I do.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi, “……Then what?”

　　“Accidentally injured.” Qi Yun answered.

　　Lin Xuanzhi, “…”

　　“Who exactly was the other party?” Lin Xuanzhi also decided to get straight to the point.

　　“The reclusive Liu family.” Qi Yun answered with a wretched expression, “Plus we were not very lucky. Originally it was just a whim of ours, wanting to find out where the Liu family’s lair was, but I didn’t expect that we would coincidentally catch the Liu family head coming out of secluded cultivation, which triggered the lightning tribulation of heaven and earth. If we hadn’t run fast, we would surely have been struck to death by lightning!”

　　Qing Zhu’s expression changed, and he clenched his teeth.

　　Yan Tianhen asked in surprise, “You guys actually found the Liu family’s lair?”

　　“Didn’t find it.” Qi Yun gritted his teeth, his tone full of grief and indignation, “Who the fuck would have thought that such a grand Master of the high-ranking reclusive family would not be in his own lair when entering closed-door cultivation. He just had to find a wild mountain to hide in.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi, “……Indeed, your luck is not very good.”

　　Qi Yun, “….”

　　Yan Tianhen blinked, puzzled. “But what’s the deep hatred between the Liu family and our family that makes them so determined to make life difficult for us?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi seemed to already have noticed Qing Zhu’s changes. He was just about to ask when he was forestalled by Qing Zhu.

　　“If it’s the Liu family, it should be because of me.” Qing Zhu’s face looked pale. He continued with lowered eyes, “The Liu family head and I had some frictions in the past, and it wasn’t of the easy-to-resolve variety either. Since he just left secluded cultivation, it is time to find him and resolve it.”

　　Three pairs of eyes looked at Qing Zhu at once.

　　Thoughts of hearing gossip flashed through those eyes.

　　“You know the Liu family head?” Qi Yun raised his eyebrows, “And you even had conflicts with him? Then I’ll have to reconsider my cooperation with you.”

　　If the Liu family was a large and terrifying ship, then the Liu family head was the captain of that large ship — the one person whom you couldn’t afford to offend the most.

　　Cloud Summit was just a small mercenary group. As long as they weren’t tired of living, they would never take the initiative to cause trouble for the Liu family head.

　　Yan Tianhen, however, had a dumbfounded expression, “Brother Zhuzi, when did you get acquainted with such a powerful figure?”

　　Qing Zhu sighed, “It’s a long story.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi asked, “Liu Mengchen?”

　　“D-Don’t say it.” Qing Zhu shivered. No matter how many years had passed, the name still flustered him and caused goosebumps.

　　Yan Tianhen looked thoughtful.

　　Only Qi Yun was confused. “What are you playing at? Don’t say things that I don’t understand. Who is this Liu Mengchen? Master of the Liu family?”

　　Qing Zhu was a bit dazed and looked unreliable. Lin Xuanzhi said to Qi Yun, “This is the end of the matter. Thank you for helping me find out the mastermind. This is the rest of the commission.”

　　Qi Yun was also not at all polite. He took the treasure card and inserted it into his belt casually. “Right now, the Liu family head’s cultivation is at least peak Unified Spirit Stage of Profound Realm. I would advise you not to provoke him casually. You are pretty generous with your money. If you need to cooperate in the future, please keep looking for me.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi nodded and added, “There is indeed another request, but I don’t know if you dare to do it.”

　　Qi Yun made a Tch sound, “There’s no business in this world that Laozi doesn’t dare do.”

　　“I am looking for the Icy Heart Water Lotus and Colorful Caterpillar Grass.”

　　Qi Yun’s expression changed. “Although I’m not afraid of death, I won’t court death either. These two prime ingredients for curing poison have long gone extinct in the outside world. Now they are only found in the Myriad Beasts Demonic Forest.”

　　“Is it not convenient to make a trip to the Myriad Beasts Demonic Forest?” Lin Xuanzhi asked. “The price is negotiable.”

　　“I won’t go no matter how much money you give.” Qi Yun waved his hand, his attitude very firm. “I’m afraid that you’ve been in the East Continent for so long that you don’t know what’s going on outside. I just got back from the vicinity of West Continent’s Myriad Beasts Demonic Forest some time ago. I know much more about the situation there than you do.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi frowned slightly, “What’s the matter with the Myriad Beasts Demonic Forest?”

　　Qi Yun held out his hand, his fingers forming a number. “If you want information, you can’t do it without shedding some blood.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi narrowed his eyes, “It depends on the information you give. Is it worth the money?”

　　Qi Yun thought for a moment, “Forget it. Just treat this piece of news as a gift from Little Grandpa. In any case, it won’t be long before it spreads across the entire Five Continents. It’s no secret.”

　　It’s not a secret — sometimes that meant it was definitely a bad thing that could cause quite a stir.

　　For example–

　　“The Myriad Beasts Demonic Forest is now ruled by someone.” Qi Yun revealed.

　　“Ruled?” Qing Zhu frowned.

　　“A great monster that can walk unchallenged through the Myriad Beasts Demonic Forest suddenly appeared, so now the entire Myriad Beasts Demonic Forest has changed from a state of separate camps to being unified together on the same hemp rope. Someone entered the forest previously, but before he even entered, he heard ‘Death to trespassers’.” Qi Yun shrugged his shoulders, “The reason why I was able to sneak in, stake out the situation, and return alive is because I’m a demonic beast to begin with and have no conflicts of interest with them, so they didn’t bother with me.”

　　Qing Zhu couldn’t help asking, “What is that great demonic beast?”

　　Qi Yun shook his head, “A bird demonic beast in the Myriad Beasts Demonic Forest told me that they could only confirm that the ruler is a demonic beast, but none of them can see through his true form.”

　　Qing Zhu murmured, “That is truly incredible.”

　　The higher a demonic beast’s cultivation, the more difficult it was to see through their true form.