82: I'd rather die than escape

The Grand Elder's cloudy yet shrewd old eyes swept over everyone, carrying an undeniable pressure. He issued orders in a deep voice, his logic clear: "Ancestral Hall Guard, take half the men and go to the Ancestral Hall to put out the fire immediately! Rescue the ancestral tablets and ashes!"

"The rest of you, go find and settle the injured clansmen."

"I and several Elders will stand guard in various locations to prevent those little demons from returning! Go now! Anyone who does not contribute or defies orders will be dealt with by Family Law!"

Everyone immediately moved like marionettes, acting according to the Grand Elder's instructions.

The Grand Elder watched the clansmen quickly disperse and execute his orders efficiently, a flicker of smugness and satisfaction deep in his eyes.

For the past two years, Lin Lingshan had been in seclusion, and he had held sole power. He had long since shaped his image in the hearts of the clansmen as a 'Purple Gold Beam Supporting the Sea, White Jade Pillar Holding Up the Sky.' At this moment of crisis, the effect was immediate, and power was entirely in his grasp.

In Lin Jingyu's small courtyard, the atmosphere was as oppressive as the dead silence before a storm.

Lin Jingxia's small face was already pale and bloodless from fright. She stood at the courtyard gate like a startled fawn, her body trembling uncontrollably.

When she saw her brother and the others carrying in that person who was covered in blood and whose aura was so weak it was almost imperceptible, her tears surged out like a flood through a broken dam, large droplets crashing onto the ground.

"Brother... Patriarch... the Patriarch, he..."

Lin Jingxia's voice was terribly shaky, filled with a heavy sob and bone-deep fear. She wanted to ask but didn't dare, her slender fingers tightly clutching the corner of her clothes, her knuckles white from excessive force.

Lin Jingyu looked at his sister's terrified, helpless, and tear-streaked face, and his heart felt as if it were being squeezed hard by an invisible hand, the pain almost suffocating him.

He gently patted the back of his sister's cold hand, wanting to offer a few words of comfort, but his gaze fell upon Lin Lingshan's pale, ashen face and thready breath on the bed.

Moreover, blood foam mixed with fragments of internal organs continued to spill from the corner of his mouth. The words "it's okay" were stuck in his throat like a fishbone, impossible to say.

At this moment, Lin Lingshan's Life Qi was as weak as a flickering candle in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any moment.

The Qi within his body was scattered and chaotic, like a flood through a broken dam rampaging through his Meridians. The signs of his Meridians being shattered inch by inch were shocking, and his internal organs had likely suffered a terrifying backlash and impact.

His injuries were so severe that they were likely comparable to Lin Jingxie's after being struck by the thunder fiend talisman.

Had it been any other ordinary Qi Refining Sixth Layer Cultivator, they would have been dead long ago.

It was unknown if Lin Lingshan had Cultivated some secret technique, but his chest was still slightly rising and falling; he was clearly still hanging on by a thread.

Lin Jingyu remained silent, his gaze as solemn as iron.

He quickly rummaged through his Storage Pouch for all the healing Medicinal Pills he could find—qi-restoring pills, Flesh-Growing Bone-Knitting Ointment, Heart-Clearing Powder, and even several bottles of powders with unknown effects left behind by Lin Jingxie—and poured them all out at once.

His movements were somewhat rough as he pried open Lin Lingshan's clenched teeth and forcibly poured the Medicinal Pills down with clean water.

The Flesh-Growing Bone-Knitting Ointment was applied to the gruesome wounds on his body.

At this moment, he couldn't let go of any shred of hope; he had to treat a dead horse as if it were alive!

Having done all this, he suppressed the anxiety in his heart and let his still-shaken sister go to the next room to rest first.

Then, he silently noted the few faces still in the courtyard who had just helped carry the man.

In times of crisis, the human heart is revealed.

Once they survived this ordeal with the Black Wind Stockade and he became an Alchemist...

He would give these people rewards beyond their wildest dreams.

Afterward, Lin Jingyu used the excuse that "the Patriarch is fine and just needs quiet rest" to persuade the others to leave. Only he and Lin Lingkuang remained in the courtyard.

The night wind blew, carrying the smell of char and a heavy scent of blood. The atmosphere was as oppressive as solid lead, making it hard to breathe.

Lin Lingkuang, who had been holding on and standing tall like an iron tower, could no longer restrain himself.

This burly man's tiger-like eyes were filled with tears, a faint shimmer glistening at the corners of his eyes. His sturdy frame was slightly hunched, as if crushed by an invisible weight.

He looked at the lifeless Patriarch on the bed, who looked like a tattered doll, and then at the silent Lin Jingyu, whose gaze was as sharp as a blade.

His voice was thick with nasal congestion and an undetectable sob, filled with bewilderment, despair, and deep helplessness:

"Jingyu... the Patriarch... can he... still wake up?"

The words that followed were choked in his throat, impossible to ask. The Patriarch was the only pillar of the Lin Family, the only hope for balancing those hungry wolves like the Grand Elder and the Third Elder!

Now that this pillar had collapsed, the alliance with the Liu Family and the humiliation of the daughter's marriage in a few days were a foregone conclusion.

The Liu Family had wolfish ambitions, and the Grand Elder was selfish; there was no telling when they might swallow the Lin Family whole.

Furthermore, without the Patriarch to balance things out, the Grand Elder would absolutely not let those who had defied him off the hook.

Lin Lingkuang suddenly looked up as if grasping at the last straw, a flash of near-insane resolve in his eyes.

He stepped in front of Lin Jingyu, his hands gripping Lin Jingyu's arms like iron pincers with incredible force. He lowered his voice, speaking as rapidly as popping beans:

"Jingyu! Listen to your uncle—run, run now! Take Jingxia and leave the Lin Family immediately! Go as far as possible!"

His bloodshot eyes stared intently at Lin Jingyu, his voice carrying a desperate rasp: "With your skills and Opportunity, find a place where no one knows you and hide to Cultivate well.

Uncle knows you have an Opportunity. If you Cultivate hard for a few years, perhaps you can become a Late Stage Qi Refining great Cultivator! Then come back! While there is life, there is hope!"

Lin Jingyu looked at the genuine concern, despair, and that near-pleading resolve in Lin Lingkuang's eyes, and his heart felt like a tipped-over jar of five flavors, complex and difficult to describe.

On the way back while carrying Lin Lingshan, looking at the devastated clan grounds, hearing the desperate wails of the clansmen, and feeling the impending disaster pressing on his heart like a physical weight, he had indeed, very rationally, considered the option of "running."

With the Heaven-Defying "brick" Jade Slip, the Taihao Elixir Canon, plus his own Mental Energy which had reached the "State of Clarity" and held infinite potential, becoming an official Alchemist was just around the corner.

As long as there were enough resources to support him, he could refine an endless stream of Medicinal Pills, Cultivate to the Qi Refining Great Perfection, and even glimpse that legendary Foundation Establishment realm; it was not an unreachable dream.

By then, his status would be noble, and an Alchemist's call would be answered by hundreds.

When he returned then, the Grand Elder, the Third Elder, the Black Wind Stockade, and the Liu Family would all be like clay chickens and pottery dogs, easily destroyed with a flip of his hand!

Taking his sister far away, quietly developing, and finally returning as a king to sweep everything away... this seemed to be the most rational, safest, and even the only wise choice at hand.

This thought was like the forbidden fruit of Eden, emitting an extremely alluring and sweet fragrance.

However... flashes of those ordinary clansmen wailing outside the Ancestral Hall, and the bewildered, helpless gazes of Little Miss and Lin Qiao'er, uncontrollably crossed his mind... If he left, what would become of the Lin Family? Under the "leadership" of those two old beasts, Grand Elder Lin Chenghai and Third Elder Lin Chengyuan, the Lin Family would only slide faster into the abyss of eternal damnation!

When the butcher's knives of the Black Wind Stockade fell, these innocent clansmen—the men would be seized as mine slaves and laborers, their last drop of blood squeezed out in the dark, sunless mine tunnels.

The women... their fate would only be more miserable, becoming playthings, wishing they were dead!

And the Grand Elder and Third Elder? They would very likely slip away. They might even find another place to continue acting with overbearing authority, living happily and carefree!

This outcome was like a red-hot steel needle, stabbing fiercely into Lin Jingyu's heart! It made his Soul tremble!

He could not accept it even in death; what was in his bones was a bloody nature like a volcanic eruption and an incredibly intense ferocity!