Chapter 12: Life and Death
At the entrance of the Lin home, there were five bodies lying on the ground, covered with white cloth. The cries around were deafening, and it felt as if the sky was about to collapse.
Numerous members of the clan were watching, all with solemn expressions. Even the naughtiest children who usually liked to joke around dared not make any jokes in this atmosphere.
Lin Jiang quietly stood among the crowd, watching the relatives who were crying and wailing. He had already learned the details from Lin Ying.
The cultivation world in Yun State was a chaotic place, where humans and demons coexisted. Many cultivators made a living by hunting demons. Twelve hundred miles west of the Lin family's gate was the territory of the demons.
The Lin family's main source of income also came from hunting demons. Without it, the Lin family's current territory alone could not support their huge expenses. So, the Lin family often led teams to venture deep into the demon territory to hunt and kill demon beasts, collect spiritual medicines, and mine ores to obtain cultivation resources.
And this matter -mostly led by Lin Batian himself- once the Lin family members had grown up, they mostly followed Lin Batian's lead. In the past few years, although people occasionally got injured and a guest or two might die, no Lin family member has died.
But this time, including the guests, more than ten people died in total, and only five bodies were retrieved. The rest were all devoured by the demonic beasts and their bones were gone.
The reason for this incident was the betrayal by the Zhou family. Despite Lin Batian's efforts in expanding their territory for many years, he also understood the principle of "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." Not far from the Lin family, there is the Zhou family. Lin family maintained a good relationship with them and they often acted together, cooperating several times.
However, this time, the Zhou family suddenly broke their promise. They were originally supposed to work together with the Lin family to annihilate a group of Iron Wood Demon Wolves. If successful, the rewards would be huge, surpassing the past few years' profits.
According to the two families' plan, the Zhou family would make the first move by luring the Wolf King and the elite demon wolves away. Then, the Lin family would enter the wolf's den, kill the remaining wolves, and collect the spiritual herbs. Finally, they would join forces with the Zhou family to deal with the Wolf King.
However, after they started, the Wolf King, who should have been led away, reappeared and attacked the wolf's den from behind. The Lin family suffered heavy casualties with more than thirty people. If it weren't for Lin Batian's brave fight to drive away the Wolf King, the Lin family might have been completely wiped out.
Now Lin Jiang and the rest of the Lin family were all thinking the same thing: Will Lin Batian go to war with the Zhou family? The Zhou family was not a newcomer; they had been passed down for over five hundred years and were an established Golden Core family. They had several times more members at the Qi Refining and Foundation Building levels compared to the Lin family.
"He's coming out."
Someone exclaimed, and Lin Jiang looked up, seeing Lin Batian walking out surrounded by his wives and concubines. Everyone immediately looked at Lin Batian.
Lin Batian's face looked very unpleasant, somewhat pale. Lin Ying said he was the last person to break off.
"The daughter-in-law of the fifth brother, the daughter-in-law of the thirteenth brother, the daughter-in-law of the second elder brother, the daughter-in-law of the eldest son in the second family, the daughter-in-law of the seventh family, all come out."
Lin Batian glanced coldly at everyone, then pointed at five people. The people who were pointed at stood up in fear. Lin Jiang also saw that Lin Hai was somewhat frightened.
"The difficulties faced by the Lin family today are closely related to the Zhou family. The five of you should go back to the Zhou family and demand an explanation. If they don't give you one, don't come back. Let each of you find your own fate."
"Dad."
"Grandpa."
"Father-in-law."
"Please, I don't want to leave."
When Lin Batian said this, many people were panicked. These five people were daughters of the Zhou family who had married into the Lin family. Although Lin Batian had never liked the idea of arranged marriages, the Lin and Zhou families had been cooperating for many years and their members often interacted. It was inevitable that people with similar interests would be drawn to each other, so a total of five people married into the Lin family.
At this moment, Lin Batian spoke very clearly. He wanted the Zhou family to give an explanation. If they didn't, he would cut off all ties with them. Whether they would go to war in the future was uncertain, but for now, they needed to send away the Zhou family's daughters. Perhaps they feared a real fight, but they still had feelings for the Zhou family.
No matter how everyone begged, Lin Batian remained unmoved. Based on his personality, if it weren't for taking care of his sons and grandsons, he might have already started a direct war with the Zhou family. There was no need to trouble a group of women.
A guest from the Lin family appeared, staring at each person, and took the five of them away. After a simple tidy up, they were sent out of the Lin family's gate and had to make their own way home.
"The path of cultivation is filled with danger, and no one can guarantee who will survive until tomorrow. I am the same. The difficulties faced by the Lin family today, I hope you all will keep in mind. In the future, you should focus on cultivating and avoid falling victim to swords and daggers."
"Alright, Steward Wu. Bury the bodies tomorrow morning, keep it simple, no need for extravagance."
Lin Batian looked at everyone and gave them some sincere teachings. Then he told Steward Wu to bury the bodies tomorrow, keeping it simple. Cultivators didn't attach much importance to funerals, let alone the Lin family's current precarious situation.
Lin Jiang dispersed with everyone else, but he quickly went to Lin Die's side. Lin Ying told Lin Jiang that Lin Die was also injured, so he came to visit her specifically.
"I'm fine. How is Lin Ying?"
Lin Die didn't originally want to see anyone, but after giving it some thought, she agreed to see Lin Jiang.
"It's not very serious. She took some medicine and are currently healing. The external injuries have already healed."
"That's good. I'm also fine here. Just tell Lin Ying to be careful."
"Third Sister, what happened this time? Did the Zhou family betray us?"
"I can't say for sure, but it's very possible. In the past ten years, the Zhou family has been struggling to develop. Their so-called geniuses are no match for us. Moreover, the Zhou family patriarch doesn't have much time left. Once he passes away and no new Golden Core Period experts appear in the Zhou family, they will eventually be taken over by others. Even if we, the Lin family, don't take action, other families won't let them go."
"According to Third Sister, the Zhou family should be trying to curry favor with us. Why would they betray us? If the Zhou family loses their Golden Core Period experts, shouldn't they rely on their good relationship with the Lin family?"
Lin Jiang couldn't understand. According to Third Sister, they should be trying to curry favor. 'Why would they betray us? It doesn't make sense.'
"Who knows what they're thinking, but this matter is not so easily resolved. Eleven, sixteen have died, and four of our younger relatives have also died. Those guest disciples were all backbone members. It can be said that the power of our Lin family has been weakened by about twenty percent. This vengeance must be avenged."
"Are we really going to war?"
"War won't happen immediately. I know Dad's personality. He may seem reckless and straightforward, but he has a plan in mind. We just need to endure for another twenty years. Once the Zhou family patriarch dies, we can easily take revenge. We won't take action now.
But be cautious of any proactive actions from the Zhou family. Sixth Brother, since you are far from the mountain gate, you need to be careful, especially since our mother is there. If necessary, move back home temporarily."
"Understood, Third Sister. I will strengthen the defense."
"Still, be cautious. It would be best to come back."
"Take good rest, Third Sister. I'll come back to see you in a few days."
Lin Jiang didn't say anything else and quickly left. That night, instead of leaving the mountain gate, Lin Jiang stayed and discussed with everyone.
Although Lin Jiang rarely returned to the mountain gate, he was also a member of the Lin family's second generation. With the Lin family in trouble, he had to lend a hand. However, his cultivation level was too low, at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Now, even the Lin family's fourth generation had people surpassing him, which made Lin Jiang feel powerless.
Lin Jiang didn't make a fuss either. The next morning, he hurried back to Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa and instructed the guards to increase their patrol efforts. If anything seemed suspicious, they were to raise an alarm immediately.
Later, Lin Jiang told Zhuang Rong about the situation. Zhuang Rong was also visibly worried and suggested, "Jiang, why don't we go back to the mountain gate? Your father would be safer there."
"Mother, the real danger lies in an actual fight at the mountain gate. Just think about it, if the Zhou family were to attack, what would they gain by targeting our Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa? There is no wealth here, and no important figures either. This place is actually safer."
Lin Jiang said that he couldn't believe why the Zhou family didn't attack the mountain gate, but instead chose to attack them, it was useless.
Zhuang Rong thought Lin Jiang had a point, so she just told him to go back and see for himself, as there was strength in numbers during troubled times.
After a day and night of rest and healing, Lin Ying felt much better. She couldn't sit still and went back to the Lin family's mountain gate with Lin Jiang. This time, there were several new graves next to the Lin family's mountain gate, and many people from the clan went there to mourn. Lin Jiang and Lin Ying also went to pay their respects.
After that, Lin Jiang stayed by the mountain gate, but Lin Batian never showed up. This led to a lot of speculation and discussions among the Lin family members about how the situation would develop next. Lin Jiang found them boring because their words couldn't influence the situation. He decided to just wait and went to Zhuang Rong's former courtyard to meditate and practice.
