“Who are you?”
Lin Fan had barely returned to the Lin Family Villa when Lin Defei stopped him.
“I’ve only been gone a few hours, and you’re already too stupid to recognize me?”
“You’re Lin Fan?”
Lin Defei’s eyes widened. He simply couldn’t believe that this handsome, sunny young man was Lin Fan, who had grown up in the wilderness.
“Never seen such a handsome man? Remember, this good-looking face of mine is natural. Unlike you—crooked and ugly, unloved by your grandmother or your uncle.”
Lin Defei was a mass of fat, built like a pillar. He looked fierce, ugly, and downright disgusting.
“You’re asking for death!”
Lin Defei was a Level 4 Martial Artist. At the slightest disagreement, he was ready to start a fight.
In Lin Fan’s eyes, he was a god. Killing Lin Fan would be as easy as crushing an ant.
He didn’t actually want Lin Fan dead. He only wanted to mess with him. After all, Lin Zhecheng wasn’t home, so Lin Defei might as well have some fun at Lin Fan’s expense.
Lin Fan was the legitimate son, while he was an illegitimate son. Though he was also a blood relative of the Lin Family, he still felt inferior in Lin Fan’s presence, even if Lin Fan was an ordinary person. He needed to satisfy his twisted pride this way.
“I’m going back to my room to rest. Don’t bother me.”
Lin Fan suddenly darted away and was gone in an instant. He couldn’t be bothered with Lin Defei.
“You grew up in the mountains. How are you so fast? Did you spend every day at Nine Peaks Mountain practicing how to run for your life?”
Lin Defei’s attack missed, and he was about to chase after him, but Lin Fan had already dashed upstairs and into his room.
Once inside, Lin Fan neither cultivated nor rested. Instead, he used his phone to check the latest news and look up information about the Xiao Family and Xiao Ruoxue.
He had spent twelve years on the mountain, diligently cultivating all day and only occasionally checking his phone. He had long since lost touch with the world.
Lin Fan was exceptionally intelligent and perceptive, and only took in useful information.
There was an online ranking of aristocratic families. The Xiao Family ranked sixth, behind the five families of Ye, Zhao, Fu, Qian, and Li.
The Lin Family, meanwhile, ranked only fifteenth.
No wonder Lin Fan’s demands had seemed to cut into Lin Zhecheng’s flesh.
Given the Lin Family’s strength, coming up with more than fifty million at once really was difficult.
In Chujiang Prefecture, a family that couldn’t break into the top ten didn’t really count as an aristocratic family.
As for photos of Xiao Ruoxue, Lin Fan searched the entire internet and couldn’t find any.
Xiao Ruoxue rarely appeared in public, and even when she did, no one would know she was Xiao Ruoxue of the Xiao Family.
If anyone ever managed to photograph her, the Xiao Family would immediately find someone to remove the pictures from the internet.
Although Xiao Ruoxue was ugly, the Xiao Family cared deeply for her.
The Lin Family was nothing like that. Their dignified legitimate son had barely returned before they sent him off to a marriage alliance. Once he was married, they would probably kick him out and leave him to fend for himself. He really was a cast-off son.
At dusk, a Lin Family servant came to summon him:
“Third Young Master, please come downstairs for dinner.”
“Where is everyone else?”
Lin Fan went downstairs and saw that the living room was empty. There was only one place setting on the dining table.
“The Master and Madam won’t be home for dinner tonight. The First and Second Young Masters aren’t eating at home, and Fourth Miss went out with friends.”
So, after all that, he was the only one having dinner.
Lin Fan had thought there would be some kind of formal gathering that evening. He had come home today, and it was his eighteenth birthday. They might not throw a big party, but surely the family would at least formally get to know one another?
Who would have thought everyone would be busy with their own affairs, treating him like he wasn’t even there?
Lin Fan’s only purpose in returning was to facilitate a marriage alliance between the Lin Family and the Xiao Family, allowing the Lin Family to make use of the Xiao Family’s resources.
“I won’t eat either. Is there a driver at home? Have someone take me out.”
“Both drivers are out.”
Lin Fan didn’t know how to drive yet. He didn’t actually need a car; he just needed someone to show him the way.
Lin Fan used his phone to call a car. His destination: the Xiao Family Manor on Yuedao Mountain.
He needed to see what Xiao Ruoxue looked like. If she really was hideously ugly, the Lin Family would have to offer more benefits.
Chujiang Prefecture was extremely bustling. Just minutes after he placed the order, a car arrived at the entrance to pick him up.
The Xiao Family Manor was on Yuedao Mountain, a peak west of Chujiang Prefecture. Ten estates stood at the summit, belonging to the top ten families in Chujiang Prefecture.
The area below the mountainside had been designated a restricted zone. Anyone who wasn’t a member of one of the Ten Great Families would be stopped unless they had contacted security in advance.
Lin Fan was stopped too, but he didn’t get angry. As long as you reasoned with him, he would reason with you. If you didn’t, he would be even less reasonable.
“I’ll get out here.”
Lin Fan noticed that Yuedao Mountain not only had beautiful scenery but was also rich in spiritual energy, making it an excellent place for cultivation.
No wonder the Ten Great Families had fought tooth and nail to live here. It was for cultivation.
The area below Yuedao Mountain’s mountainside was open to ordinary people. Many residents liked to visit, and even if they could only climb as far as the mountainside, getting a distant glimpse of the Ten Great Families’ estates was a treat.
Lin Fan walked along a nearby path and soon disappeared from the guards’ view.
By then, night had completely fallen. There were still a few visitors around, but Lin Fan found a secluded spot, pushed off with both legs, and shot straight into the sky like a rocket.
When he rose above the treetops, he lightly touched a branch with his toe. He glided silently through the air like an owl without wings.
Two four-meter-high walls separated the mountaintop from the area beyond. The first was made of brick and stone and was a meter thick, like a city wall. Vines covered its surface, concealing its original appearance so that it didn’t look out of place.
But not only was the top of the wall fitted with an electric fence, it was also covered in infrared motion detectors. Anyone or anything that passed over it would be photographed at once. The guards in the watchtower would be alerted immediately and quickly send people to deal with it.
Four meters beyond this wall stood another barrier: a five-meter-high metal fence. It too was overgrown with vines, and its bars were covered in spikes.
Naturally, none of these defenses could stop Lin Fan. Without even touching the walls, he flew right over them like a great bird.
“Huh?”
Once inside, Lin Fan discovered a third line of defense: someone had set up a massive barrier formation to protect the entire mountaintop.
An ordinary person might be able to cross the first wall, but only a Martial Artist could get past the second. As for the barrier formation, it would probably take an Advanced Martial Artist to break through.
While in midair, Lin Fan suddenly turned around. His body seemed to have an engine installed, and he abruptly changed direction. In an instant, he broke through the barrier formation.
Yuedao Mountain was enormous. Even after ten estates had been built, they occupied less than one-sixth of its total area.
The estates all faced Chujiang. The western slope had not been developed and had become a private backyard for the Ten Great Families.
The ten estates were arranged in the shape of the character 品: the Ye Family’s estate was at the top, followed by two side by side, then three, and finally four at the bottom.
Of course, the estates were at least five hundred meters apart horizontally and more than two hundred meters apart vertically. They were also deliberately offset, so no other estate could be seen within three hundred meters of any one estate.
To ensure their privacy, the families had even planted tall trees between the estates. They each seemed to live here in complete isolation.
The Xiao Family ranked sixth, so its estate should be in the third row.
Lin Fan first headed to the estate on the right. Based on the rankings—Ye, Zhao, Fu, Qian, Li, and Xiao—the Xiao Family should be on the right.
Sure enough, after entering the estate, Lin Fan quickly realized that this was the Xiao Family’s.
And Lin Zhecheng was here, too.