Chapter 237:

Bing State, Yucheng City

Chaos erupted in Lin Jiang’s cave once again. Golden Feather Carving tried to please Small Shadiao, wanting to get closer to it, but Small Shadiao was very disdainful. Being a mediocre bird, it often attacked Golden Feather Carving. After a few days, its golden feathers became dull.

Meanwhile, Lin Jiang secured several shops in Yucheng City and planned to open some restaurants. They would not be upscale but rather mid-range and affordable. The low-end ones would mainly serve modern fast food, catering to the lower-level cultivators in Yucheng City, i.e., the poor. As for the mid-range ones, they wouldn’t focus on any special features. Lin Jiang would simply follow what others were doing, at most personally teaching some new dishes.

It was mainly for Lin Jiang himself, he couldn’t get rid of the habit of eating and didn’t feel like cooking, so he decided to open a restaurant where he could eat as much as he wanted without worrying about the money.

After a busy period, several months passed and the restaurant wasn’t making much noise, but the business was very good, especially the low-end fast food, which was highly popular with regular customers and the business was extremely busy.

One day, Lin Jiang rolled up his sleeves, feeling full and acting like a boss, he inspected his property and ran into a cold-faced Zhang Shuhua at the entrance.

"Hey, isn’t this my dear senior brother?"

"You still remember that I’m your senior brother?"

"Of course I remember, come on, senior brother, come in and have some tea."

Lin Jiang laughed loudly and pulled Zhang Shuhua into the shop, asking the staff to serve tea.

"Junior brother, my father is very angry, the sect is very angry."

"Senior brother, taste the spiritual tea here, it’s a specialty of Bing State, you can’t find it in Yun State."

"I am speaking to you seriously."

"Drinking tea is also possible to say."

"You wouldn’t drug me, would you?"

"You’re not a beauty, why would I drug you?"

Lin Jiang realized that he had been overthinking. Even if he was a handsome and wealthy man like Lin Jiang, there was no need for him to do such things. Now, which independent cultivator in Yucheng City didn’t know about Lin Jiang?

"Tell me, how do you want to solve this?"

"Let’s agree from the beginning, it’s not my fault…"

"Do you have a reason to leave without saying anything?"

"You forced me to do it."

"What did my dad do?"

"My job is not to spy on the Lin family and find their secrets."

"An envoy is basically a public spy, and everyone knows that."

"Yes, it’s true, but I am also a relative of the Lin family. We’re family, so what would you do if your dad asked you to investigate your mother’s family? Would you agree?"

"I…"

"So running away is the best choice, not angering anyone, don’t you think so?"

Lin Jiang said, he believed he was not at fault in this matter. He didn’t want to offend anyone or be persecuted. Leaving was the right thing to do.

"But I shouldn’t have just left, my dad got angry when he found out."

"Well, it doesn’t matter because I’m not there, being angry is useless."

"You brought shame upon our sect."

"So I came to Yucheng City to atone for my sins. My business has doubled in the past six months, I hope they didn’t miss all those piles of spiritual jade I sent back."

Lin Jiang said. I’ve been busy these days, besides running my own restaurant, the business with spiritual jade has been thriving as well.

"No matter what, you’re right, aren’t you?"

"That’s close enough, or would you like to hear me argue some more?"

"You’re asking for a beating more and more."

"Haha, my senior brother can’t bear to beat me."

"My father wants you to come back to the sect and explain."

"I can’t go back, I’ve already prepared the explanation for the sect. It’s all in this Image Saving Talisman, please take it back for me, senior brother."

"You are breaking the rules of the gate, you are becoming more and more unruly."

Zhang Shuhua was in a bad mood. Before, Lin Jiang was not like this. Now, he has a feeling of being untouchable, even by the sect.

"Senior brother, I don’t think I am being unruly. I won’t talk about my contributions to the sect. That’s what a disciple should do. In the past, Jin Yu and others in the Five Elements Sect were corrupt and did many bad things, but the sect didn’t treat them with discipline. Now, the sect wants to put me in a difficult situation and I just don’t want to do it. Does that mean I am unruly? Have I harmed the sect?"

"I can’t argue with you."

"Then let’s not talk about it. The higher-ups of the sect will handle it. No matter how they punish me, I will accept it. But it’s impossible for me to go back now."

"Ah, how did it come to this? Everything has changed."

Zhang Shuhua furrowed his brow and was very unhappy. Is this what growing up is? Can’t go back to the way things were before? It was so good when he was in the Internal Affairs Hall and at the stronghold.

"Don’t think about these unhappy things. Come, I’ll take you to explore Yucheng City and get some gifts for Wen Chen and Wen Xin."

Lin Jiang was generous and didn’t care about all that. He pulled Zhang Shuhua away from the restaurant, buying gifts for Zhang Wenchen and almost everyone they knew. Be prosperous and never forget each other, right? Old Lin is not stingy.

When Zhang Shuhua talked about his sons and daughters, there was a smile on his face. His sons and daughters are all very talented, not only in their spiritual abilities, but also in their hard work in cultivation. They have now reached the stage of building a solid foundation.

After buying a bunch of gifts, Lin Jiang brought Zhang Shuhua back to his house. As soon as Zhang Shuhua entered the door, he saw a beautiful carving made of golden feathers.

"Is it your junior brother’s new pet?"

"No, it belongs to the Pure Jade Sect."

"You didn’t steal it, did you?"

"Senior brother, is this how you see me? I’m really angry."

"I casually mentioned it, how did the Pure Jade Sect’s Golden Feather Carving end up with you?"

"My pet has reached the fourth stage. The Pure Jade Sect wants to pass down their Golden Feather Carving to him. They want my pet to help."

"I see. By the way, our Five Elements Sect also has a few senior brothers. Martial Uncle has a flying-type pet too. I can bring your pet back and improve the bloodline of our Five Elements Sect’s pets."

"No problem"

Lin Jiang immediately agreed, anyway it wouldn’t be him who suffers.

"These years, we have actually been quite exhausted. The four major families have been too oppressive, and the sect has been holding their breath. It’s fine for the other disciples, they just need to cultivate. But my father and the others have to take care of the food and expenses for tens of thousands of people in the sect. I had my arm disabled before, and my father sought many people for medicine…"

"Senior brother, no one lives without exhaustion. Mortals work hard for their basic needs, and cultivators strive for cultivation resources. Everyone is living with effort."

"I have limited abilities, I can’t help my father much. Those in the sect with golden cores and the like are not being held back by anyone and there is a tendency for chaos. My father really wants you to go back."

"It won’t be that bad. A sect of tens of thousands of people won’t crumble just because I’m not there. You’re just worrying too much. Enjoy good food and drinks, don’t think too much."

Lin Jiang never thinks highly of himself. The Five Elements Sect surely has talented individuals, especially with Zhang Wanjing in control. This is just Zhang Shuhua’s wishful thinking.

"Junior brother…"

"Let’s not talk about that today, let’s just talk about enjoying ourselves. Senior brother, how about I take you to Yuhuan Tower? It may not be as grand as the Palace Banquet in Medicine City but it has its own unique charm, with beautiful scenery and melodious music…"

"The senior apprentice brother is a married man."

Zhang Shuhua’s face turned dark. Can he compete with you? He is a married man, a respectable person.

"Haha, the junior apprentice brother made a mistake. Come, let’s have some tea and alcohol. I will punish myself by drinking three cups first."

Lin Jiang laughed loudly, but he changed the topic as a result. Lin Jiang is really unwilling to talk about the sect now. He has already left the Five Elements Sect for many years.

"Xiao Brother, Xiao Brother!"

They chatted for a while, and then Yi Zhibai arrived.

"Oh, we have a guest! Xiao Brother"

"The senior apprentice brother from my hometown came to visit me today."

"That is a distinguished guest from Yun State. Why are they here? Come, let’s go to Yuhuan Tower. I will treat you. Xiao Brother’s senior apprentice brother is also my friend."

"No, no, no, Brother Yi. My martial brother is a respectable person with a family."

"I also have a family, but we play differently. Let’s go."

"I really can’t go this time. I’ll play with Brother Yi in a few days."

"Alright, no pressure. I came this time to deliver something, so I can finally take down your beast pet."

Yi Zhibai placed a storage bag down, inside which were specially-made pills, designed for beast pets to consume.

It’s a bit like dog-wolf and cat food, made from dozens of ingredients such as monster beast meat, Demon Core, spiritual paddy, spiritual medicine, etc. It was invented by the Central Domain’s Beast Taming Sect, but many sects have cracked it, imitated it, and even improved upon it. It is highly favored by beast pets.

Small Shadiao couldn’t resist the temptation and became less inclined to beat up the Golden Feather Carving. The bond between the two birds grew stronger.

"Brother Yi, you didn’t add any extra ingredients this time, right? You know my beast pet has a bad temper and can really hurt someone. I think you might not be a match for it."

"Haha, Brother Xiao, I definitely won’t make that mistake. Don’t worry, but we should hurry up with this matter. It’s been almost a year."

"Don’t worry, it’s important to be patient, right?"

"Yes, alright, I have something to do, so I’ll go now. See you in a few days."

Yi Zhibai smiled. In the medicine, he added a special ingredient that Small Shadiao ended up consuming, almost causing a rampage.

"Who is this person?"

"He is a friend of mine from the Pure Jade Sect. He’s the one who handles all the spiritual jade business. Otherwise, as an outsider, why should I be able to establish myself here?"

"Judging from his appearance, he doesn’t seem to be a good person."

"Haha, are you and I really good people?"

Lin Jiang burst into laughter. They have also killed many people. It’s too simplistic for people in the cultivation world to differentiate between good and evil.

He and Yi Zhibai became acquainted while in the Divine Kingdom. At first, they shared life-and-death experiences. Later on, it became a partnership driven by mutual benefits. Now, they have a balance of power. Although Lin Jiang has a golden core, he also has a fourth-tier beast pet and is supported by a mysterious sect or family.

"You’re right, when we’re away from home, it’s important to be careful."

"Understood."

"I’ll stay for two days and then I’ll go. Right now, I’m taking over your responsibilities in the Lin family. There’s a lot going on in Qing State and the Lin family has been going crazy, constantly assassinating members of the four major families. Many people from both sides have died."

"You take care too."

Lin Jiang nodded. If everything goes as planned, he would leave without saying goodbye. The sect would still need to send someone to Lin family, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to control the situation in Qing State.

After staying for two days, Zhang Shuhua left. Lin Jiang went to meet Yi Zhibai as planned. Yi Zhibai’s jade gambling business had taken off and he had formed an alliance with many Nascent Soul cultivators from the Pure Jade Sect. Their business was booming, making a fortune. It was a time of great success for them.

"It seems like Brother Yi is building high towers."

Lin Jiang looked at Yi Zhibai’s current circle of friends, all Nascent Soul cultivators, and sighed.