Ch135 – Backer’s Here

　　As they passed Heaven and Earth Winery, Lin Xuanzhi handed over the last batch of wine cups he had crafted into Feng Lun’s hands.

　　Feng Lun was grinning from ear to ear. Aside from giving Lin Xuanzhi the 50,000 gold as payment for the wine cups, he also handed over a jade pendant that was emblazoned with the Feng family’s insignia on it to Lin Xuanzhi.

　　When Lin Xuanzhi saw it, he said calmly, “Boss Feng, this is a bit too valuable, I can’t accept it so casually.”

　　Feng Lun smiled, “Craftsman Lin has helped me a great deal. Also, from what I see, Craftsman Lin and I can already be considered friends. What does Craftsman Lin think?”

　　At this time, if Lin Xuanzhi didn’t know what to say in return, then his 1,000 years in his past life would have been lived in vain.

　　Lin Xuanzhi’s furrowed brows relaxed and he smiled, “I naturally regard Boss Feng as a friend as well. Since that’s the case, I’ll accept it. I’ll be going to the Middle Continent to participate in the Hundred Families Gathering soon, so I won’t be able to deliver wine cups to Boss Feng for a while.”

　　Feng Lun waved his hands. “It’s no problem. The cups that Craftsman Lin has crafted for me during this period are enough to last me for some time.”

　　“If I have some time on the road, I’ll continue crafting more and have them delivered to Brother Feng through a Tuoqing Bird.” Lin Xuanzhi said after he pondered for awhile.

　　“Then, please do.” Feng Lun’s eyes lit up.

　　Lin Xuanzhi said, “As a first-class family, will the Feng family also be sending their pupils to the Hundred Families Gathering too?”

　　“Yes.” Feng Lun nodded. “I’ve received news that we should have dispatched about ten or so pupils over. By then, if Craftsman Lin were to meet the younger generation of our Feng family, do show them some mercy. Don’t mess up their Heart of Dao with just one move, please.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi laughed. “Boss Feng thinks too highly of me. By then, I should be the one seeking advice from the Feng family’s young masters.”

　　Boss Feng said, “You’re really too modest. The younger generation in my family are all so arrogant and overconfident in their abilities. If they were at least half as mature and steady as you, I would be able to rest easy.”

　　“You flatter me.”

　　“No, no.”

　　After the two of them finished, they looked at each other then laughed at the same time.

　　Feng Lun said, “Brother, let’s stop flattering each other. To be frank, there’s no one amongst the younger generation of my family who’s more mature than you. If you do meet them then, I hope that you can pardon them if they offend you in any way.”

　　Lin Xuanzhi smiled lightly and said, “As long as it’s not a problem that involves principles, I would not pursue the issue.”

　　Feng Lun asked, “For Xuanzhi, what would be your definition of ‘principle’?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi’s line of sight fell upon the one who was drooling at the sight of a jar of wine and had sneakily lifted the lid to take a whiff of the wine inside — Yan Tianhen. His gaze turned as gentle as water. “My principle…is him.”

　　Feng Lun was stunned, and then a glint of ‘I see’ flashed through his eyes. He repeatedly nodded, “I never expected that Brother Xuanzhi would be a sentimental person too.”

　　At the same time, he thought to himself that he must immediately send a letter to the head of the Feng family and get them to pay utmost attention to not provoke Lin Xuanzhi’s darling baby when dealing with him.

　　Before he left, Feng Lun even gave a jar of osmanthus brew to Yan Tianhen. Yan Tianhen didn’t dare accept it at first, but when he saw Lin Xuanzhi nod, he happily accepted it from Feng Lun.

　　After they left, Yan Tianhen felt a little strange and asked, “Dage, I don’t really have anything to do with Boss Feng, so why would he be so generous as to give me such good wine?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi looked at him and said, “It must be because he thought Ah Hen was cute when he saw you, so he wanted to give Ah Hen a gift ba.”

　　Yan Tianhen wanted to laugh at first, but after he thought about it, he reined it in. “Dage, you’re lying to me again. You’re the one who thinks I’m cute ba?”

　　Lin Xuanzhi nodded in agreement, “Yes. In my heart, Ah Hen is the cutest.”

　　Yan Tianhen’s face immediately flushed red.

　　Lin Xuanzhi had wanted to take Yan Tianhen to the Duan residence to see how Duan Yuyang was doing, but after he took a few steps, Lin Yan hurriedly rushed over to block Lin Xuanzhi’s path.

　　“Yanyan, how did you know we’re here?” Yan Tianhen was extremely curious.

　　Lin Yan took a deep breath and regulated his breathing a bit, then said to Lin Xuanzhi, “The family dispatched a few groups of people to look for you separately.”

　　“To look for me?” Lin Xuanzhi paused slightly. “Did something happen in the family?”

　　“Of course, otherwise they wouldn’t be so anxious to get you home.” Lin Yan looked worried as he shifted around uneasily. “Not long after you left, a Hardened Body first layer peak cultivator came unannounced to the Lin residence. He claimed to be one of Sky Peak Sect’s inner disciples and said that he was Lin Yangzhi’s Shixiong. He insisted on seeing Lin Yangzhi, and when he came to know that Lin Yangzhi had been confined to the Reflection Cliff for the past two months, that cultivator blew up at once and injured a few elders of the family. He stirred up a huge clamour as he insisted on getting you, the culprit, to come out and make amends!”

　　Yan Tianhen’s face paled, and the little hand he grabbed onto Lin Xuanzhi with was breaking out in cold sweat.

　　A Hardened Body first layer peak cultivator — throughout the entire Lin family, not many elders could even reach that level. And the most important thing was that Lin Xuanzhi’s current cultivation level was merely at the Foundation Stage. If that cultivator really wanted to cause trouble for Lin Xuanzhi, then it wouldn’t be easy for Lin Xuanzhi to get out of this mess.

　　Lin Xuanzhi felt Yan Tianhen’s unease and forcefully squeezed his hand back in return. He appeared calm and composed still, “Let’s return to the family ba.”

　　The two tiger cubs were instantly in high spirits. They rubbed their paws together as they looked prepared for a fight.

　　Lin Xuanzhi cast a glance at the two tiger cubs who looked like wild horses that refused to be bridled, “Ah Bai and Hu Po, the two of you must head straight into the yard once we get back. Both of you aren’t allowed to leave at will.”

　　Ah Bai, “…”

　　Hu Po, “…”

　　Ao, baddie!

　　In the Lin Residence’s Mansion.

　　A young man with a tall stature stood in the square with his hands behind his back, looking utterly conceited. And Lin Yangzhi, who was supposed to look emaciated as he had suffered the torture of gales at Reflection Cliff, was currently dressed in a set of clean robes, had neat hair, ruddy cheeks, and didn’t seem to have been worn out by the Reflection Cliff at all.

　　Feng Jianian frowned, “When will that damned cousin of yours come back?”

　　Lin Yangzhi narrowed his eyes. “Lin Xuanzhi has never been someone who would put anyone else in his eyes. I’m afraid that even after knowing that Shixiong has made your grand appearance, he wouldn’t mind it in the slightest either.”

　　Feng Jianian’s expression didn’t look too good. As the pride of the heavens who had been selected to enter the inner section of Sky Peak Sect at a young age, Feng Jianinan had never been one to suffer neglect. Later on, when Lin Xuanzhi came into being, although he was predicted to be the strongest powerhouse of the current era by the head of Profound Sky Sect, but as an inner disciple of Sky Peak Sect — the main sect of the Five Continents — everyone including Feng Jianian just treated those words as a joke.

　　No matter how talented disciples of Profound Sky Sect were, they wouldn’t even be able to match up to just half of the disciples in Sky Peak Sect. After all, they were of completely different levels in the first place.

　　Later on, when Lin Xuanzhi turned into trash, it didn’t stir up much in Sky Peak Sect either. Everyone just laughed it off.

　　Feng Jianian never expected that he would end up meeting this guy who he never really regarded highly to begin with.

　　Moreover, that kid seemed to show little respect for his elders too.

　　Looking at Feng Jianian’s long face, Lin Yangzhi added fuel to the fire. “Lin Xuanzhi has always claimed to be the top genius within the past and future hundred years. He has never bothered to acknowledge the Sky Peak Sect’s inner disciples, and even once proclaimed that he would beat down the entire Sky Peak Sect one day.”

　　Feng Jianian immediately said coldly, “How dare he?”

　　“How dare he not?” Lin Yangzhi smiled. “Shixiong, you just need to see how he deals with me, and you should be able to tell how he treats people from our Sky Peak Sect. Especially our inner sect disciples — he has always looked down upon us.”

　　A flame was immediately ignited in Feng Jianian’s heart. He grit his teeth and said with some severity, “Someone like him who dares humiliate a disciple of Sky Peak Sect must be extremely audacious. Once he appears, I must let him have a taste of how strong we are!’

　　Lin Yangzhi nodded and quickly said, “Yeah, Shixiong must let him know how strong you are. Otherwise, a frog at the bottom of the well like him would think that people from the Sky Peak Sect can be easily provoked.”

　　Feng Jianian nodded, then asked, “Where’s Yaer?”

　　Lin Yangzhi said, “During this period, for the sake of my health, my sister has been searching everywhere for medicine. She should have gone to the auction house today, I’ve already dispatched someone to bring her back.”

　　Feng Jianian scrutinised Lin Yangzhi, “You’ve suffered a great deal as well. Tell Yaer not to go through all that trouble anymore. I’ve brought some medicinal pills over; consume the bottle of medicinal pills that can resist the cold and dissolve the Yin in your body first. If it’s not enough, I’ll report to the sect and get them to deliver more over.”

　　Lin Yangzhi’s expression remained unchanged, but he was actually overjoyed. He said respectfully, “Then, thank you very much, Shixiong.”

　　After knowing that someone had come to wreck their homeground, the two elders of the Lin family who hadn’t entered seclusion appeared on the square.

　　Fifth Elder stood opposite Feng Jianian. He studied Feng Jianian and thought to himself. Crap, that kid is an infamous stubborn one in the Five Continents. Looking at his seemingly graceful appearance was deceitful. In reality, he was someone who didn’t care about anything and would help those who were close to him with complete disregard for reason. Most importantly, he was one of the direct descendants of the Feng family and was the strongest one amongst their younger generation. Now, he had been accepted as a disciple by one of the elders in Sky Peak Sect.

　　Third Elder grit his teeth and said, “I didn’t know Lin Yangzhi was actually the junior brother of the Feng family’s direct descendant.”

　　Fifth Elder uttered bitterly, “I didn’t know either, he didn’t say anything.”

　　Third Elder sneered and glanced askance at Fifth Elder, “You should blame yourself for favouring that unlucky Lin Xuanzhi. If it wasn’t for him, would you have punished Lin Yangzhi?”

　　Fifth Elder sighed helplessly. “It’s not up to me to decide what’s right and wrong. Lin Yangzhi wasn’t very magnanimous in handling that matter, and he couldn’t take out any evidence either. In everyone’s eyes, that’s equivalent to an attempt to frame Lin Xuanzhi. If I hadn’t punished him, then everyone else in the Lin family wouldn’t have been able to accept it either. Also, subordinates follow the example of their superiors; the younger ones could have been corrupted as well.”

　　Third Elder’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, “Since you won’t admit to being partial to Lin Xuanzhi, then I won’t say anything else about that either. But, he has already dropped in now, I’ll see how you try to resolve this mess.”

　　Fifth Elder sighed, “Now, even an outsider wants to meddle with the Lin family’s private affairs. Looks like the Lin family truly has fallen quite a bit in recent years.”

　　When he heard this, Third Elder felt quite upset as well.

　　At the peak of Lin family’s glory, it was one of the top elite families in the Five Continents, and many families had to take note of their actions with the Lin family in mind. Unfortunately, even the oldest person in the Lin family today wouldn’t have been a witness to the glorious days of the Lin family in its heyday.