“Then, has anyone said anything that you found unpleasant?” Lin Xuanzhi asked again.

　　Yan Tianhen bit his lower lip and said nothing.

　　Lin Xuanzhi knew the answer when he saw his reaction.

　　He said coldly, “Have I ever asked you to tell me whenever someone bullies you?”

　　Yan Tianhen nodded.

　　Lin Xuanzhi’s voice was calm and unhurried, yet it carried a frightening sense of oppression. He enunciated every word clearly, “After getting scolded, only getting choked up about it in your heart; after getting bullied, you thought that I wouldn’t know as long as you don’t say anything. Yesterday, when you fell into the woods at Mt. Yudai outside of Sky Peak City, who did you meet? And what did you hear them say?”

　　Yan Tianhen was startled. He stared at Lin Xuanzhi in disbelief– those were only things that the heavens and earth would know, so how did Lin Xuanzhi know about them?!

　　It was impossible for Lin Yaer and the others to take the initiative to look for Lin Xuanzhi and tell him about how they humiliated Yan Tianhen.

　　Unless–

　　Lin Xuanzhi was monitoring him.

　　Yan Tianhen had a feeling that every single one of his actions were in Lin Xuanzhi’s grasp; he couldn’t tell whether it was a good or bad kind of feeling, but it made him feel a little uneasy.

　　“Do you have anything you want to say to me now?” Lin Xuanzhi glanced at him, “Or anything you want to ask me?”

　　Yan Tianhen instantly felt sadness spreading to the tip of his heart. He shook his head. “Dage, I just want to ask you this: if I want to follow Alchemist Zhong Li to study alchemy under him, will you agree to it or not?”

　　“I won’t.” Lin Xuanzhi didn’t even hesitate before he said lightly, “This is my attitude on that matter. We need not continue wasting time on that topic.”

　　Yan Tianhen almost burst out into tears. He clenched his fists tight and looked at Lin Xuanzhi. After the two of them looked at each other for a moment, he said, “What if Alchemist Zhong Li has the celestial-level pill you want? He said that as long as you agree to let me follow him, he’s willing to give you that medicinal pill. In that case, would you agree?”

　　After saying this, Yan Tianhen realised that Lin Xuanzhi’s expression changed, and the change made him seem a little like a stranger.

　　Lin Xuanzhi was startled.

　　It was a little difficult for him to believe that Yan Tianhen would say such words.

　　Exactly what kind of person was he in Yan Tianhen’s heart?

　　A celestial-level pill was something that Lin Xuanzhi had always dreamed of having; he’s a sword cultivator, his pair of hands had always been meant to wield swords.

　　However…how could he use Yan Tianhen to exchange for that celestial-level pill?

　　And how could Yan Tianhen think of him in that way?

　　Lin Xuanzhi felt very defeated. His mood had fallen to the depths of a valley, his heart throbbing constantly. He felt as if he was seeing Yan Tianhen gradually moving away from him.

　　“Dage, it’s actually a really good deal.” Yan Tianhen added as if he wasn’t afraid of death, acting in a fit of pique. He pursed his lips, “I’ll benefit from this, and you’ll benefit from it as well. Everyone can be happy.”

　　“Yeah, it truly is a good deal.” Lin Xuanzhi suddenly chuckled. He stared at Yan Tianhen with a profound gaze. “Go and tell Zhong Lishen that I, Lin Xuanzhi, would never sell my younger brother, even if I were to be a cripple for life.”

　　Yan Tianhen instantly froze in place.

　　He had never thought that Lin Xuanzhi would have the idea of selling him for a celestial pill, and he had said all that because he truly thought that it was a good deal.

　　“Dage, that’s not what I meant.” Yan Tianhen wanted to explain, but the more anxious he got, the more difficult it was for him to do so. He didn’t know how to make it clear. “I just want to study under Alchemist Zhong Li. If we can get that celestial-level pill, then of course it’ll be for the best, I…”

　　“I said no.” Lin Xuanzhi just casually stuffed all of Yan Tianhen’s words in his mouth with these few words.

　　Yan Tianhen felt like he was going to be wronged to death. His eyes reddened in an instant. He didn’t know where his courage came from, but once his blood surged to his head, he shouted at Lin Xuanzhi, “You’re just being a dictatorial tyrant, you don’t listen to what I think at all. You’ve always just been making decisions for me, you don’t care about me at all, you just think I’m someone who’s easy to order around and follows behind you like a servant — an obedient one who you don’t even need to pay! You don’t care about me at all!”

　　Suddenly, the anger that Lin Xuanzhi had suppressed soared in an instant. He turned around and reached out to pull Yan TIanhen over, then raised his right hand to slap him.

　　“Hit me ah hit me!” Yan Tianhen shed tears as he glared at him, looking up at him while saying, “I’m ugly enough anyway, I won’t get any uglier even if you hit me!”

　　Lin Xuanzhi’s hand stopped right next to Yan Tianhen’s cheek.

　　He slowly clenched his hand into a fist, his whole body trembling in anger because of Yan Tianhen.

　　“Where did you hear all of that from?” Lin Xuanzhi’s complexion was ghastly pale, even the colour of his beautiful ruddy lips turning much lighter. “Or have you just always thought that way?”

　　Yet Yan Tianhen didn’t see anything through his tears. He felt like he had never felt more aggrieved than he did now. He pursed his lips, “All of them can tell, and they say that too. I, hic, I can see it too. You just think I’m easy to bully and manipulate, which is why you’re so good to me. Otherwise..wuwu, why is it that you used to treat me so badly, but after you fell sick, you started treating me so well? If it wasn’t because Daddy asked you to take care of me, you would’ve probably driven me out of the house long ago ba?”

　　When Lin Xuanzhi heard all this, he felt like his breathing had turned haggard.

　　Every word struck the heart.

　　No matter how others misunderstood him, no matter how they insulted or ridiculed him, he had always been able to stay indifferent to it all and place it all at the back of his mind. He felt that since those words have already been spoken, then let others talk. Millions of people have millions of mouths; he couldn’t shut them up, and he couldn’t manage them either, so he didn’t care.

　　However, Lin Xuanzhi had never thought that some words could hurt even more than a sharp blade, that they would hurt so much that his whole body would tremble, and even his vision turned a little blurry.

　　He had always been a proud man. He never bothered to explain a lot of things he did, and never felt that there was a need to explain either. But for Yan Tianhen to misunderstand him and trample on his goodwill like this made him feel a deep sense of sorrow, and he was deeply hurt.

　　Ah Bai and Hu Po were so frightened their jaws fell off. They even forgot about licking their favourite demonic delight fruits and both of them huddled in a corner, staring at their two masters that had suddenly got into a huge fight somehow.

　　What…what happened?

　　This…this didn’t seem like something tiger cubs could interfere with ba?

　　“What else is there? Say it all at once.” Lin Xuanzhi said with a hoarse voice.

　　Yan Tianhen sobbed as he complained, “And you don’t tell me anything either. Shen Rubing wants to marry you, but you didn’t tell me; the five major sects are fighting over you, but you didn’t tell me; you made a new friend, but you didn’t tell me about that either…you don’t tell me anything. I’m just an outsider to you. My surname isn’t Lin anyway. If a Lin family member were to do something wrong, after admitting their mistakes to you, you wouldn’t pursue it anymore. If I do something wrong, you’ll treat me coldly and ignore me. You’re just like the rest who look down on me and despise me, wu–”

　　Lin Xuanzhi felt like he couldn’t stay in the same room as Yan Tianhen any longer, otherwise he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t do something that would hurt him. Lin Xuanzhi used all the self-control he had to suppress his urges.

　　He took a deep breath, then fixed his eyes on Yan Tianhen’s crying face. “Have you always thought of me as someone like that? You think that I treat you like this in order to use you, because I despise you, because I see you as a servant, because I look down upon you, and see you as an outsider?”

　　Blood had only rushed to Yan Tianhen’s head for an instant. After yelling it all out, he had calmed down quite a bit.

　　He immediately broke out into a cold sweat and really regretted the horrible words he blurted out so recklessly.

　　However, he had a temper too.

　　“Being dictatorial and not listening to what I think shouldn’t be wrong ba?” Yan Tianhen said firmly with a stiffened neck.

　　“Okay.” Lin Xuanzhi put his hand down and looked down, saying lightly, “Get lost then.”

　　Yan Tianhen felt like he just got struck by lightning.

　　The words ‘get lost’ were like a thunderbolt that struck straight down from the clear skies, striking him so hard that his whole body felt uncomfortable.

　　Lin Xuanzhi always remained calm and collected without even batting an eyelid, as if nothing in this world could truly anger him.

　　Perhaps, in Lin Xuanzhi’s eyes, he was merely a sycophant at his beck and call!

　　“I’ll get lost then! I’ll ignore you forever!”

　　Yan Tianhen rubbed his eyes, turned around and ran out of the door, even slamming the door forcefully.

　　After the “bang“, Lin Xuanzhi grit his teeth and took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth; a stream of hot liquid flowed out. He didn’t look at the turbid liquid in the handkerchief before he flung it straight into a corner of the room.

　　Lin Xuanzhi poured a cup of tea to rinse his mouth, then spat out the light red water in his mouth. After putting the tea cup down, he spoke coldly, “You’ve had enough fun watching, Your Excellency should leave too.”

　　“I didn’t spectate on purpose, I just thought that I would be able to say a few words on his behalf.” Zhong Lishen pushed the door open and entered. Upon seeing Lin Xuanzhi, he said a bit helplessly, “I just didn’t think that the two of you would fight till that extent.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi held absolutely no good feelings for Zhong Lishen right now. He stared at him coldly, not caring the least bit about the other party’s status and identity.

　　Ah Bai took this chance to plaster himself against the wall and sneak to the entrance, then squeezed through the crack of the door and ran to look for Yan Tianhen, his small master.

　　Meanwhile, Hu Po stayed where he was, continuing to watch how things would develop here in secret.

　　Lin Xuanzhi said coldly, “No matter how much my younger brother and I fight, we would still be connected by tendons even after the bones fracture (referring to people who are close whose relationship will never be severed even if small conflicts arise). If someone tries to drive a wedge between us, don’t blame me for being rude to that person.”

　　Zhong Lishen thought to himself that this guy was truly angered to the extreme now. However, he didn’t take Lin Xuanzhi lightly and explained calmly, “I just told him to tell you what he thinks. Also, I do have a celestial-level pill in my hands. As for the rest…I definitely didn’t teach him any of it.”

　　Of course Lin Xuanzhi knew that the problem did not lie in Zhong Lishen at all, but Zhong Lishen was a fuse, so he still didn’t take too kindly to Zhong Lishen.

　　Lin Xuanzhi said indifferently, “If you’re willing to accept Ah Hen as a disciple, then there’s no harm in waiting for him for a few more years when he’s grown a little older. It won’t be late to talk about it then.”

　　Zhong Lishen looked at this young but domineering man and said, “The younger they are, the easier they are to mould. The sooner he follows me, the more solid his foundation will be. Why must you be so hung up on these three to five years?”

　　“Sky Peak Sect has complicated factions and a messy network of people. There must be innumerable people who want to be your disciple. Besides, you already have a few named disciples under you, but…if I’ve guessed correctly, you should want Ah Hen to be your direct disciple ba?” Lin Xuanzhi asked.

　　—