103: News from Chen Jiangping and Lu Chong

"wuxin pill!"

Seeing the familiar pill before him, Lin Yi felt a slight surprise in his heart.

The wuxin pill was a treasure among First Rank Medicinal Pills, worth three to four million taels of silver each.

Such a precious pill was extremely valuable even for a First-Rank Martial Artist like Chi Longyue.

Although Chi Longyue was a First Rank, he hadn't achieved that status for long, only a little over a decade. His accumulated wealth wasn't deep, and on top of that, his usual cultivation consumed vast amounts of resources.

Therefore, a single wuxin pill worth several million taels was something Chi Longyue could only afford after emptying his entire savings and even selling off some of his treasures.

It could be said that this time, Chi Longyue had truly spent a fortune to apologize to him.

"Forget it! I originally planned to deal with this Chi Longyue after returning this time."

"But since he is now so sensible, and considering my parents' letters over the past two years frequently mentioned how well Chi Longyue has taken care of them, I'll let him off for now!"

Thinking this, Lin Yi expressionlessly put away the pill and then said calmly to Chi Longyue:

"Prefecture Master Chi is thoughtful. The matter from back then ends here. From now on, I hope Prefecture Master Chi will perform his duties diligently in Dongshan Prefecture, serve the Sect well, and live up to the Sect's expectations."

"Yes! Thank you, Inspector Lin."

Hearing this, Chi Longyue's heart was instantly filled with immense joy, feeling as if every fiber of his flesh, blood, and bones were cheering.

Finally succeeded! It's finally done!

Ever since Lin Yi rose to prominence over a year ago in the match against Chu Xiong at Tianshan Pavilion and was praised by the Sect Master as having the potential to rank in the top five of the Heavenly Rankings...

Only heaven knew the immense pressure Chi Longyue had endured over this past year, constantly fearing Lin Yi might, in a moment of displeasure, have him killed.

That's why he had been taking such meticulous care of Lin Yi's parents these days, even treating them more preciously than his own father!

Now, everything had finally paid off!

"Whew! Thankfully, Young Master Lin Yi is magnanimous, tolerant, and benevolent! Otherwise, I, Chi Longyue, would have been truly finished this time."

"I got lucky this time. I must never be so blind again in the future."

Chi Longyue felt relieved in his heart.

"Greetings, Inspector Lin."

After Chi Longyue finished presenting his gift, an old man with snow-white hair, a face like withered tree bark, and a hunched back, supported by a Man in Green Robes, stepped forward and said with a smile:

"This humble old man is Lin Zhentian, the unworthy Old Ancestor of the Lin Family. I presume the Inspector has heard of me."

"Heh, the fame of the Lin Family's Old Ancestor shakes Dongshan. Lin Yi has naturally heard of you."

Hearing this, Lin Yi gave a faint smile.

Regarding this Lin Family Old Ancestor, Lin Yi didn't harbor the same level of dislike as he did for Chi Longyue.

After all, compared to Chi Longyue, this Old Ancestor was truly ancient. On normal days, let alone fighting, he could hardly even move.

Just coming today to offer a simple welcome probably cost him an extra day or two of his lifespan.

Therefore, Lin Yi could actually understand why he didn't help him back then.

"Sigh! I, this old man, also feel I wronged you regarding the matter of Inspector Lin's father back then!"

Seeing no unusual expression on Lin Yi's face, Lin Zhentian first felt a wave of relief in his heart, then sighed with emotion:

"To be honest, this old man originally intended to intervene back then. It's just that this old body of mine is truly useless, which led to the Inspector suffering humiliation at the hands of that scoundrel Chen Jiangping."

"Over these past two years, whenever this old man thinks of these events, I feel immense shame in my heart!"

"Sigh! Had I known the Inspector would achieve such heights today, even if this old body were useless, I would have risked my life to stand up for the Inspector!"

"But what's done is done, regret is useless. Today, this old man can only offer some gifts to apologize to the Inspector. I hope the Inspector will not disdain them."

After speaking, he gave a meaningful glance to the Man in Green Robes, the Lin Family Head beside him, who immediately presented a small jade box.

Seeing this, Lin Yi reached out to take it, opened it, and saw a crystal-clear pearl with faint golden light swirling inside, emitting a delicate fragrance.

"Old Ancestor Lin is thoughtful."

Lin Yi smiled slightly.

This pearl before him was called the Canghai Night-Luminous Pearl, a crucial auxiliary ingredient for refining many Innate-level Medicinal Pills.

While its preciousness couldn't compare to the wuxin pill, it was still worth at least over a million taels of silver!

For the Lin Family to present such a treasure as an apology was indeed "thoughtful."

"Hehe, it's good that the Inspector likes it!"

Lin Zhentian chuckled, then, supported by the Lin Family Head, returned to his original spot.

After that, things became simple. After both Chi Longyue and Lin Zhentian had presented their gifts,

the heads of the other families also came forward one by one to offer gifts. While the value of each individual gift wasn't extremely high, roughly worth ten to twenty thousand taels of silver,

their advantage lay in quantity. Cumulatively, they barely managed to total around a million taels.

It could be said that Lin Yi, having just returned and not even having warmed his seat, had already received treasures worth nearly six million taels of silver.

One could only say, it's good to have power in hand!

Lin Yi sighed inwardly, then ordered his men to collect all these treasures, planning to sell them at the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce tomorrow. Following Chi Longyue's arrangements, he then led the group to the best restaurant in Dongshan Prefecture City for a welcoming feast for himself and Wang Yu.

During the banquet, Lin Yi first inquired about his parents and Zhao Haihong, instructing Chi Longyue to immediately send people to Guangling Prefecture to fetch Dean Zhao Haishan, Dean Li You, Chen Fengyuan, and others, so they could reunite with him in Dongshan Prefecture City.

Finally, he asked Chi Longyue about the current situation of his two great enemies—Lu Chong and Chen Jiangping.

"Reporting to Inspector Lin,"

Hearing this, Chi Longyue immediately explained eagerly:

"As far as I know, that Lu Chong is still based at the Qingfeng Stockade on Wangwu Mountain."

"However, compared to two years ago, he has now broken through to the Martial Dao Second Rank. Not only has his personal strength greatly increased, but he has also elevated the entire Qingfeng Stockade to become a top-tier stronghold on Wangwu Mountain, making him unrivaled in influence there for a time."

"Of course, this is naturally nothing to the Inspector! Never mind him being Martial Dao Second Rank; even if he were First Rank, he'd be nothing more than an ant before the Inspector."

"As for Chen Jiangping? His situation is somewhat complicated."

"Ever since Inspector Lin's Heaven-Defying defeat of Chu Xiong at Tianshan Pavilion over a year ago, I heard he was first thrown into the 'Heavenly Command Camp' of the Wanxiang Tower by the furious Qingzhou Branch Tower Master, forced to capture criminals for the Tower daily, dancing on the edge of life and death."

"But then, just half a year later, unexpectedly, he had an Epiphany amidst life and death and broke through to the Martial Dao First Rank."

"This talent even made the Qingzhou Branch Tower Master of Wanxiang Tower develop a bit of appreciation for his talent, promising to release him if he could complete a full three years in the Heavenly Command Camp."

"Yet, unexpectedly, after another year passed, Chen Jiangping, who had been staying quietly in the Heavenly Command Camp, during a mission three months ago, for some unknown reason, killed Zhou Feng, the former Wanxiang Tower Master of Dongshan Prefecture who was on the same mission, and defected from Wanxiang Tower!"

"Now, Chen Jiangping has been placed on a wanted list by the furious Qingzhou Wanxiang Tower Branch Master and has fled, his whereabouts unknown."

"What! Chen Jiangping killed Zhou Feng, defected from Wanxiang Tower, and his whereabouts are unknown?"

Hearing this, even Lin Yi couldn't help but exclaim on the spot, utterly shocked.