MTLNOVEL Chapter 206: Shocking Changes in the Tong Family
The afternoon of the next day, Tian Lin, who had sent the name card through the sisters Yu'er and Cui'er in the morning, received a reply.
In the afternoon, Tian Lin brought elixirs and some bitter tea, and again visited the old Tong residence.
Tong Shisan's injuries had greatly improved, and he glanced at Tian Lin with a hint of shame, promptly giving him a deep bow as he said:
"Brother Tian was held captive by the Day Patrol Deity, and I, Tong Shisan, failed to protect him. Please, Brother Tian, accept my bow."
Where would Tian Lin dare to accept such a grand bow in the old Tong residence?
Moreover, leaving Tian Lin to die and then abandoning him, could such a disgrace be cleared by a mere apology?
Yu'er and Cui'er were moved by Tong Shisan's humbling gesture, but Tian Lin did not take it to heart.
He calmly said, "It was Immortal Mei who asked me to make a move initially, and later, for the Heavenly Water Breathing Technique, I also willingly took the risk. The Tong Family owes me nothing, hence, Young Master Shisan need not be so polite."
Tian Lin stepped aside to avoid Tong Shisan's bow, and when Tong Shisan straightened up, he smiled and clasped his hands together:
"I am here to visit Young Master Shisan, and to bid farewell to Young Master Shisan. No need for such courtesy."
Hearing this, Tong Shisan frowned and asked, "Is Tian truly angry with my family? Otherwise, why would you leave Pingyang City?"
While heading to the West Garden with Tong Shisan, Tian Lin explained:
"I, Tian, am leaving Pingyang City not because of the Tong Family, but because I have earned enough to cover the travel expenses to the North Wilderness."
His words inadvertently caused Yu'er, who was walking behind Tian Lin, to tense up.
Tong Shisan asked Tian Lin, "The North Wilderness is more than ten thousand miles away from Tianbei County, a remote and barbaric place. What is Tian intending to do in the North Wilderness?"
"I plan to join the Wendaos Sect."
Tong Shisan looked at Tian Lin, his gaze fluctuating with shock and suspicion.
He was now sure that Tian Lin was not Zhai Xingzi, but if Tian Lin wasn't Zhai Xingzi, what other connection could he have with the Wendaos Sect?
"I came here to see Young Master Shisan's injuries, to say goodbye, and —"
Just as he was speaking, the manager of the old house hurried in.
The manager glanced at Tian Lin and hearing Tong Shisan asked, "What's the matter? Why such panic?"
The manager's face looked terribly upset, and without hesitating replied with a sorrowful tone, "Young Master, the old ancestor has met with an accident."
"Which old ancestor?"
Tong Shisan had never thought that Tong Yao would be in trouble, for to him, Tong Yao was like an unbreakable sky for the Tong Family.
A Golden Core cultivator, how could she possibly be easily troubled?
In that moment, dark clouds covered the sky above Pingyang City, and both Tian Lin and Tong Shisan looked up towards the direction of Kun Lake.
A chill ran through Tong Shisan's heart, and after clasping fists with Tian Lin, he followed the manager out of the West Garden.
When he left, it took another quarter of an hour before a servant came to inform Tian Lin, "The young master has gone to Kun Lake, Grand Elder Tian, if you have any matters, you can tell the servant, or you can come again to see the young master next time."
Tian Lin, not wishing to stay longer at the old house, took Yu'er and Cui'er back to his own residence.
By then, the dark clouds in the sky had not dispersed, and countless people had left the city heading towards Kun Lake to gather information.
Tian Lin frowned, weighed down with heavy concerns.
Just like Tian Lin, Yu'er and her sisters were equally burdened with concerns.
Cui'er was worried about the safety of the old ancestor of the Tong Family, having grown up in the Tong Family, she held considerable affection for them.
From top to bottom, the Tong servants and masters held great reverence for Tong Yao.
Without Tong Yao, how could they, from top to bottom, command such respect in Pingyang City?
But what worried Yu'er was not the old ancestor of the Tong Family; after entering the house, she was the first to kneel down and said, "Please, Daoist Tian, take my sister and me to the North Wilderness."
This request was somewhat presumptuous; Tian Lin was unwilling to reveal the identity of 'Tian Shuang', firstly because the identity of Tian Shuang was no longer useful, and secondly, he never intended to bring these two sword holders.
The journey to the North Wilderness was long and arduous, and Tian Lin had just managed to gather enough for his own travel expenses, let alone any spare spirit stones to take them two through the Transmission Array.
But Tian Lin didn't rush to refuse, instead, he said to Cui'er and Yu'er, "You both go outside and find out exactly what happened at Kun Lake."
In fact, without needing to say much, the people of Pingyang City all knew, it must be the grand tomb at Kun Lake that had opened.
The news of the opening of the grand tomb at Kun Lake was known much earlier to the people of Pingyang City than the heavy fog at Immortal Sinking Pond; initially, Gao He and his wife planned to rush to grab Dharma Manifestation Pills and magical treasures after the tomb opened.
But no one expected that suddenly a heavy fog would rise from the Immortal Sinking Pond followed by an invasion of evil spirits, which momentarily distracted everyone from the grand tomb at Kun Lake.
Now that the evil spirit at Immortal Sinking Pond was nearly eradicated, it was time for the tomb to open.
Soon, Yu'er left and quickly returned.
Her complexion somewhat pale, she said, "Our ancestor went into the grand tomb of Kun Lake with Elder Zhou Jiu, and somehow, Nine-Life True Man rushed back. Our ancestor has disappeared!"
Tian Lin asked her, "Did both Immortal Master Zhou and Ancestor Tong enter Kun Lake? Only Ancestor Tong disappeared? Could it be that there were no others?"
Tian Lin was asking about 'Xing Bufan', but Yu'er thought Tian Lin was asking about Elder Qiu of the Goddess Sect.
She pondered for a moment and said, "Elder Zhou has always been tending to Mei Immortal's injuries and didn't go to where Kun Lake is."
Tian Lin remembered that sisters Cui'er had seen Cai Shu boarding Immortal Master Zhou's boat, and at that time, Zhou Shoufan was also on the same boat with Immortal Master Zhou.
The existence of the great tomb in Kun Lake was known to both Immortal Master Zhou and Zhou Shoufan.
With these two people gathering together, it was hard not to suspect that they had some sort of conspiracy.
"The matter concerns the great tomb of the Nine-Life True Man; Ancestor Tong might have already ridden a crane to the west. However, if the one who has returned this time is truly the Nine-Life True Man, then it won't be easy to handle."
Yu'er didn't understand the meaning of Tian Lin's words, in fact, very few in Pingyang City understood what Tian Lin meant.
"Go to the county government and inquire about the situation with the Transmission Array."
Tian Lin didn't want to wait for the Heavenly Water Breathing Technique anymore; he had a premonition that something irreversible was about to happen in Pingyang City.
Yu'er knew Tian Lin had made up his mind to leave, and also knew that once she let Tian Lin go this time, it would be difficult for the two to meet again.
It's not that she couldn't live without Tian Lin, nor is it that she would be distressed without being Tian Lin's sword holder.
It was just that she simply saw Tian Lin having a great future ahead, fully aware that letting go this time meant it would be very hard to encounter such a mystical fate again in her life.
Tian Lin had been causing a stir in Pingyang City for so long, being a fisherman, a corpse retriever, and a tribute-giver, wasn't it all just to seek a mystical fate in the North Wilderness?
Similarly, these servants becoming sword holders, willingly facing death for their masters, wasn't it just for the chance to soar to the heavens if they luckily survived?
When Yu'er left the mansion, Mr. and Mrs. Gao He had already arrived together.
Tian Lin had long noticed the movements of this couple, thus he had sent Yu'er to the county government to investigate first.
After the couple was led into the house by Cui'er, Tian Lin then calmly asked Cui'er to make tea.
Gao He couldn't sit still and said excitedly, "Brother, did you know about Ancestor Tong's disappearance?"
Tian Lin spoke in an indifferent tone, "How does it matter? This is a misfortune for the Tong Family, and also a misfortune for Pingyang City."
Seeing Tian Lin speak so solemnly, although Gao He didn't agree, his face also showed sorrow, "Indeed, among many Golden Core cultivators, Ancestor Tong was indeed the kindest. And the Tong Family was the most lenient Golden Core family to Huahua Lang——
However, now that Ancestor Tong has fallen, who will inherit the immense wealth of the Tong Family?"
Hearing this, Tian Lin almost laughed, pretending to be ignorant, he asked, "Is Brother Gao planning to rob the Tong Family?"
"How could that be possible! Although Ancestor Tong is no longer here, the Tong Family still has quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators."
Gao He waved his hand and finished speaking, but then he smiled and said, "However, while we Huahua Langs might not get a share of the meat, we inevitably could share a bowl of soup."
Tian Lin nodded; Gao He's words were not wrong.
With the Tong Family fallen, who wouldn't covet the vast amount of lands they left behind?
The Tong Family had initially swallowed up many Foundation Establishment families to build up their current family resources.
A thousand years have passed, how could those barely surviving families not seek revenge on the Tong Family? How could those Golden Core families with Golden Core ancestors not want to carve up the Tong Family?
But could they really divide up the Tong Family?
"Brother Gao, how do you plan to share the soup? Frankly, I'm already planning to leave Pingyang City."
The smile disappeared from Gao He's face, and he suddenly stood up and said to Tian Lin, "Why do you say this, brother? With the Gao Family ancestor dead, it's a great opportunity for us brothers to enter the Shuiyun Sect."
Cai Shu also said, "Brother Tian, listen to your elder brother——with the death of Ancestor Tong, the spots for Inner Sect Disciples in the Shuiyun Sect may not all belong to the Tong Family's people anymore. We Huahua Langs also have a chance to compete for the positions of Inner Sect Disciples."
Tian Lin wasn't expecting this, this was exactly what they were planning.
But he couldn't deny, their argument wasn't wrong.
"I'm on good terms with Tong Shisan, how could I take advantage of a disaster?"
Tian Lin had no intention of staying in the Shuiyun Sect, he had no relatives or friends in the Shuiyun Sect, how could being an Outer Sect Disciple in the Shuiyun Sect compare to being an Outer Sect Disciple in the Wendaos Sect?
"Brother, opportunities don't come often. Tong Shisan is a scion of a great family, how could he truly be close to us people born as Huahua Langs?
When these scions are of noble status, they're willing to call you brother, to earn a reputation for bending over for friendship, but when it's time for you to die for them, could you really take it seriously?"
Tian Lin waved his hand and said, "Enough of these useless talks, I'm not going to compete for the Inner Sect Disciple positions. Brother Gao, if you have this idea, just go and compete yourself."
"Could brother lend me the Soul Gathering Bead, so that I could——"
He was cut off halfway through by Tian Lin: "Brother Gao, don't bring this up again! If I give you the Soul Gathering Bead, wouldn't that be helping you cheat and harming Tong Shisan?"
Gao He never expected Tian Lin to be not only impervious to persuasion but also so pedantic; in the end, he could only leave with a flick of his sleeve.
Tian Lin was too lazy to entangle with Gao He because his Spiritual Sense had already detected that Yu'er had returned.
At this moment, Yu'er, who had returned from outside the mansion, had a very complex expression on her face and said to Tian Lin, "Daoist, the Transmission Array at the county government has been sealed. The Tong Family said that during this period, no one is allowed to enter or leave Pingyang City."