Chapter 7: Lin Baohua
Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa
"Boom"
At the loud noise, the laborers working in the fields anxiously looked up and scanned their surroundings, while the estate guards hurried toward the manor.
Lin Jiang was awakened by the loud noise, and he got up with an angry shout.
"Lin Baohua, what the heck are you doing?"
After shouting, he immediately jumped out of bed and rushed towards a nearby building. When Lin Jiang arrived, there were already guards there, dragging a boy out of a smoking house.
At first, the boy was scared silly, but then he struggled and tried to rush towards the smoking house, shouting, "My Pill Furnace, my elixirs, don't stop me!"
Seeing this, Lin Jiang approached and slapped him, knocking him down to the ground, and asked, "What are you doing? Do you want to blow up my Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa?"
"Sixth Uncle, my Pill Furnace, wu wu, my elixirs."
The boy burst into tears immediately, extremely sad, making Lin Jiang shake his head.
This was a pitiful child named Lin Baohua, son of Eldest Brother Lin Shan, fifteen years old. Three years ago, it was discovered that he didn't possess any Spiritual Roots--destined to be an ordinary person.
However, Lin Baohua was unwilling to accept his fate. He somehow found out about a miraculous pill called the Wisdom Arousing Pill, which could help ordinary people without Spiritual Roots awaken their Spiritual Roots. He had been tirelessly practicing alchemy.
Inside the mountain gate, as if he was under a spell -even though he didn't have any special abilities- he asked everyone for advice on alchemy. That was why Lin Shan sent him to Lin Jiang. Lin Shan had only one condition - don't let Lin Baohua starve to death.
Lin Jiang also thought that no one would starve under his care, so he didn't think too much and let Lin Baohua stay. Who could have imagined that he could cause all this trouble?
"Young master, what should we do?"
"Take him outside to clear his head, check if there's a fire, and put it out if there is."
Lin Jiang waved his hand, and a few guards took Lin Baohua out to calm down. Other guards checked the room, but there was no fire, just an exploded Pill Furnace.
An hour later, the guards brought Lin Baohua back. He wasn't as agitated now. He bowed deeply to Lin Jiang and said, "Sixth Uncle, I've been rude earlier. Please forgive me."
"It's alright. Just don't cause any more trouble in the future. I know about the Wisdom Arousing Pill. It's a sixth-grade pill. Do you know what sixth-grade means? In theory, only a Soul Changing Ancestor can refine it. But our father is only at the Golden Core Period. There's not a single Soul Changing Ancestor in the whole Yun State."
Lin Jiang spoke, "The sixth-grade Wisdom Arousing Pill is a legendary thing. It doesn't even exist in the Yun State. It's simply a foolish fantasy for an ordinary person to try and create a Wisdom Arousing Pill."
"Sixth Uncle····"
Lin Baohua had a sad face and looked like he was going to cry. Lin Jiang suddenly felt a headache. No wonder he couldn't stay at the gate anymore. This temperament was not good.
"Even if you call me Sixth Uncle, I am just a low-level cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage 2."
Lin Jiang directly covered his mouth. If he could live for tens of thousands of years, when Lin Jiang reached the Soul Formation Stage, he can help him refine a Wisdom Arousing Pill. But for now, Lin Jiang was powerless.
Lin Jiang signaled the guard, who understood and took Lin Baohua away, so as not to be in the way.
A month later, Lin Ying brought Lin Die to mooch food and drinks again. Lin Baohua appeared once more and this time he chose to pester Lin Die. At first, he wanted to discuss alchemy with her, but when he found out that Lin Die didn't know how to do alchemy, he wanted to ask her which alchemist was powerful and wanted to become their apprentice.
This annoyed Lin Die as well, and in the end, Lin Jiang had the guard forcibly remove him; out of sight and out of mind.
"Poor Baohua, his mother is just a mortal. She dreams of giving birth to a child with a Spiritual Root. But alas..."
"Spiritual Root is innate and cannot be changed. Our aunties are cultivators, and yet some of them have siblings without Spiritual Root, right?"
"Yes, that's why he is pitiful. He was born into a family of cultivators, so he has these desires."
Lin Ying and Lin Die watched as Lin Baohua walked away, continuously talking to each other. Now there were more and more members of the Lin family, more and more cultivators, and more and more ordinary people. Even though they all shared the same sky, it felt like they were living in two different worlds.
Lin Jiang didn't care about this. He himself was just a small shrimp at the second stage of Qi Refining, unable to change anything. Besides, he saw many ordinary people in this world. Who said that ordinary people must be unhappy? It was better to accept reality and live a happy life.
In this respect, Lin Baohua was also lucky. With the support of the Lin family, he would never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of his life. The starting point for him was already the end point for most ordinary people.
"I heard that the father has given names to the younger generations, right?"
Lin Jiang changed the subject, no longer talking about Lin Baohua, so as not to ruin the atmosphere. He wanted to say something cheerful.
"Yeah, it's been decided. Starting from Bao Hua's generation, the given names for the next fifteen generations will be Bao, Chang, Chao, Cheng, Cun, Ding, Dong, Fu, Gong, Guan, Guang, Guo, Han, Hong, Hua."
"What about the people before that? Isn't the eldest brother already having several children?"
"They will change their names. Lin Ke Wen is now called Lin Bao Wen."
"That works too. Fifteen generations will last a long time."
"It can last a long time, because Dad gave an order to split the family tree into two books, one for immortals and one for ordinary people. People without Spiritual Root can only be recorded in the book for ordinary people, and they can't use their own names. Lin Baohua is over by the mountain gate, not only being removed from the family tree, but also being called Lin Hua instead of Lin Baohua."
"Is it really so cruel? Dad doesn't show any father-son affection at all?"
Lin Jiang sighed, this was really too cruel. Lin Batian also had several sons without Spiritual Root. Did that mean there was no love without Spiritual Root?
Now he finally understood Lin Baohua's obsession. If he, Lin Jiang, had grown up in this environment, he would have been obsessed too.
"It is cruel, but Dad has no choice. Now we Lin family members have already exceeded a hundred people. We need to concentrate our resources and prioritize taking care of the family members with better aptitude. Only by doing this can we protect the family. All the families in Yun State do the same."
"Sixth Brother, you've been living peacefully at Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa all these years. Do you know how it happened? It's all thanks to the protection of our family. Otherwise, the thieves from outside would have completely raided Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa."
"So you should work harder on your cultivation. Our Lin family has been in Yun State for only fifty to sixty years. Dad has established such a vast territory and offended many people. Without advanced cultivation, how can you protect your spouse and children..."
"Cough, understood, Third Sister."
Lin Jiang helplessly sighed. Here went Third Sister again. She was great in every other way, but a tad bit too talkative, just like an old lady, always seizing the opportunity to educate him.
"Don't think Third Sister is annoying, it's the truth. Our family is now relying solely on Dad. I'm the only one in the Lin family who is building the foundation. After building the foundation, I understood the difficulties Dad faces."
Lin Die looked serious. After establishing her foundation, Lin Batian loved her very much and allowed her to have some power in the family. She realized how many external threats the Lin family had. Lin Batian had been conquering and expanding the family's territory for years while also angering many cultivators. There were countless people who wanted the Lin family to be destroyed.
"I understand. I can't rely on it anymore, Lin Ying. You need to work harder."
Lin Jiang nodded. Even if he worked all day, it was useless. He had the weakest Five Spiritual Roots, which meant his cultivation speed would be slow. It would be better to rely on Lin Ying instead.
"Third Sister, I will work hard. In at most two, no, three years, I will be able to build the foundation."
Lin Ying raised her little fist and said firmly. After spending a long time with Lin Die, she had also been influenced by her. She deeply felt the heavy responsibility of her family. In the future, she would bear the burden of protecting her family.
Lin Die shook her head in disappointment at Lin Jiang, her Sixth Brother. He truly was slow to understand, unresponsive no matter what she said, just like a dried fish. But when she carefully thought about Sixth Brother's inner potential, she let out a silent sigh.
Nevermind, nevermind, forget about it. Thinking too much will make you age faster.
Lin Jiang noticed Lin Die's change in expression and understood her current emotions. But he didn't explain too much. He remembered the kindness and protection of the Lin family. He believed that no matter how long it took, whether it was thousands or tens of thousands of years, he would definitely be able to build the foundation and form a Nascent Soul. When he became strong, he would naturally be able to protect them.
