Lin Ning and Aunt Chun left, and just before leaving, they even took Jiu Niang along.
Watching Little Jiu Niang ride off on the back of a huge dog, following Lin Ning away with delight, quite a few people felt an indescribable pang in their hearts.
So it turned out, they were the real family...
However, things were far from over.
After Lin Ning and the others left, the atmosphere, instead of easing, grew even heavier, because Tian Wuniang still hadn't moved...
Uncle Sun, the eldest of the mountain stronghold, persuaded the onlookers to disperse, leaving only a few of the leaders and the young generation involved in the matter.
When Fang Zhi saw Tian Wuniang's cool, aloof gaze sweep over him, he felt as if a knife had scraped across his face.
Zhou Shi wasn't the only one who held Tian Wuniang in high regard...
Aside from that oddity that was Lin Ning's original body, Lin Xiaoning, there was hardly anyone who practiced martial arts and did not admire, esteem, or even adore Tian Wuniang...
Her beauty surpassed the world, her bearing cool and ethereal, and she was never one for idle chatter.
Bright as the first snow, elegant beyond compare.
Add to that her cultivation in the Martial Dao, soaring above all of Qingyun.
A single sharp blade, cutting down powerful enemies from every direction!
In the hearts of Qingyun Village's younger generation, only the word "goddess" could possibly match their Great Chieftain.
And yet, they had...
"Come here."
Fang Lin's expression was countless times gloomier than before as he spoke to Fang Zhi.
Fang Zhi's heart was already in great distress, and hearing his father's words, he — normally so resourceful and skilled in martial arts — actually shivered involuntarily.
Yet not daring to defy his father, he stepped forward bit by bit, forcing a smile as he said, "Father, I was wrong. We shouldn't have acted without understanding the situation first..."
"Smack!"
A heavy slap cut off Fang Zhi's words.
Fang Zhi didn't even dare lower his head, and simply bore it.
Fang Lin didn't look at him again, instead turning to Hu Xiaoshan and saying, "Come here."
Hearing this, Hu Xiaoshan gave a dry laugh, his gaze darting toward Hu Dashan not far away.
Seeing this, Hu Dashan clenched his fist, and the sight so frightened Hu Xiaoshan that he hurried toward Fang Lin — better to go easy over here...
"Smack!"
Zeng Niu...
"Smack!"
Zuo Yi...
"Smack!"
Li Xuan...
"Smack!"
.....
Of the group of more than ten, everyone except Zhou Nini took a heavy blow, and each of them stood there dispirited, heads hanging.
This wasn't the first time they'd been struck by Fang Lin.
As the Second Boss of Qingyun Village and its resident strategist, Fang Lin bore not only the duty of assisting in leadership but also served as the village disciples' tutor, teaching them the principles of how to conduct themselves.
The village disciples naturally didn't need to sit for the imperial examinations, but they couldn't all remain blind with eyes open either — at the very least they needed to know how to read, otherwise they wouldn't even be able to understand secret manuals, and wouldn't that be a waste?
But the stronghold had never had much of a scholarly atmosphere to begin with, so in order to discipline a bunch of mischievous boys into learning their letters, Fang Lin had resorted to ruthless methods more than once...
"Do you know why you were struck?"
After he stopped, Fang Lin looked at the group and asked.
But without waiting for their answer, his voice suddenly turned sharp, and he barked, "The Great Chieftain, for the sake of the stronghold, plots and plans alongside people like me, and goes entire nights without sleep, all just to think things through more thoroughly — she wears herself out to the bone! And it's only because the Great Chieftain planned to bring you elites of the stronghold, whom she thought had finally grown up, on this expedition to gain experience, so that you could shoulder great responsibilities in the future! Now look at yourselves — is this what growing up looks like? You call yourselves elites? Bullshit! A pack of damned little beasts — do you think you're worthy of the Great Chieftain's painstaking effort? Can't you see how hard things are for her? And still she has to worry about this bullshit of yours — did hunting knock your brains into wild boar brains? All of you, kneel down properly!"
After Fang Zhi and the others knelt down one by one, faces full of shame, Fang Lin grew even more furious and said, "Xiao Ning's temperament isn't likable, I won't even mention that he's already changed a great deal — but even before, has he ever done anything truly cruel or unforgivable? As for what happened to the previous Great Chieftain, there's no need to bring it up again — Second Brother has never blamed anyone for it. You don't understand — to Second Brother, that was, in its own way, a release. Even if there were a score to settle, it certainly wouldn't fall to you bastards!"
Beside them, Zhou Cheng's expression changed slightly, a flicker of deep pain surfacing in his eyes.
Back then, it was he and Tian Hu who went to handle matters in Yulin City. Both of them had been careless, and with a stroke of bad luck on top of it, word leaked out — but in the end, it was still the two of them who had been far too careless.
Because of this, Lin Long had been gravely wounded beyond cure while saving the two of them — how could their hearts not be tormented by that...
If not for that, how could the crude scheme Lin Xiaoning had come up with possibly have fooled anyone?
Back then, Lin Long had saved them without a shred of resentment, and upon returning to the stronghold, aside from telling them to be more careful in the future, he had forbidden anyone else from saying anything more about it.
Could they possibly drive Lin Ning to his death now?
In this whole "wrongful case," no one was truly wronged — the only one who had suffered was Tian Wuniang...
"Among our families, which one hasn't received great kindness from the Lin family? Without the Lin family, would any of us even be here?"
"There has to be some difference between people and beasts, doesn't there? Someone who's ungrateful is worse than a beast!"
Listening to Fang Lin's cutting words, Zhou Shi truly couldn't bear it any longer, and choked out, "Second Uncle, we're not worse than beasts — we just couldn't stand watching him bully Little Jiu..."
"You still dare to argue?"
Fang Lin stepped forward and kicked him, sending him stumbling, and shouted furiously, "Do you really think we don't know what's in your heart? Xiao Ning doesn't practice martial arts, and in your eyes that makes him worthless — but he's made it clear, he doesn't want the position of Stronghold Master! He is the sole bloodline of the Lin family, and Qingyun Village belongs to the Lin family — do you really not understand that? Xiao Ning, the heir, doesn't even interfere in the affairs of the stronghold these days — what more do you want from him? I'll tell you one last time today: without the Lin family's father and grandfather, there would be no Qingyun Village, and no place for any of us to stand, not to mention how many times the Lin family has saved us. If anyone dares insult Xiao Ning or disrespect Aunt Chun again, I will personally deal with them myself, no matter who it is!"
Deng Xueniang sighed and said, "What Madam said was exactly right — if the stronghold only had to guard against outside enemies, no matter how strong they were, we wouldn't be afraid. What we should fear is infighting... Among us eight brothers and sisters of this generation, Eldest Brother died saving Second Brother and Eighth Brother, and before that, Sixth Brother and Seventh Brother died saving me. They've made me carry that for a lifetime — but whenever my turn comes, I too will not hesitate to shield my brothers from blade and arrow. I thought that with us setting the example ahead of you, you would all learn to be good, but I never imagined..."
As she spoke, Deng Xueniang — known in the jianghu as the female King of Hell — broke down in tears of deep sorrow.
This sight stung Fang Zhi and the others far more than Fang Lin's blows had a moment ago.
"Mother, we truly know we were wrong. From now on we will never fight among ourselves again, and we won't... we won't cause trouble for Xiao Ning again either."
Zhou Nini had almost never seen Deng Xueniang cry, and she panicked at once, hastily giving her guarantee.
Fang Zhi and the others also repeatedly vowed the same.
Deng Xueniang only shook her head and sighed...
Uncle Sun, the eldest in years and highest in seniority, stepped in to smooth things over: "Great Chieftain, and you leaders as well, don't be so angry just yet — they're still children, and who doesn't make mistakes? As long as they know their wrongs and correct them, that's enough. They ought to be given a chance to make amends, shouldn't they? As this old man sees it, though these boys have made small errors from time to time, their hearts are still in the right place — they're all good children."
Fang Lin questioned Zhou Shi sternly: "Was your heart in the right place today? Hm? Xiao Ning explained himself to you several times before, and you didn't believe him — was it that you truly didn't believe him, or that you simply refused to? Think it over carefully before you answer."
Looking at the expressions of the elders present, Zhou Shi, though so stifled he could barely breathe, had no choice but to answer, for he knew this concerned his standing in the stronghold going forward, and even more, his image in everyone's eyes — if he answered poorly... the consequences would be unthinkable.
With a sigh of anguish in his heart, Zhou Shi said, "Third Uncle, I've never had a good impression of Lin Xiaoning. Today I thought he was bullying Little Jiu again, so I wanted to come down hard on him. Of that, protectiveness over Little Jiu made up eighty percent... and personal dislike made up the other twenty. But I truly only wanted to teach him a harsh lesson, so he'd never dare bully Little Jiu again. I never meant to kill him..."
"Then what did you want? How far did you mean to take it?"
"I... I... I just wanted him bedridden for a few years..."
"So that Xiao Ning couldn't marry the Great Chieftain next year?"
At these words, Zhou Shi's mind exploded as if struck by thunder, and he stared, dumbstruck, at Fang Lin's iron-dark expression.
He couldn't believe that Fang Lin had seen through his true thoughts...
Seeing him like this, Zhou Cheng, Deng Xueniang, and even Hu Dashuai couldn't help but shake their heads.
Such petty, childish scheming — how could it possibly escape the notice of those who had lived through it all...
Fang Lin didn't press the coercion any further, and his expression eased somewhat. He glanced at Zhou Shi, who knelt on the ground utterly pale, then swept his gaze in turn over Fang Zhi, Hu Xiaoshan, Zuo Yi, Li Xuan, and the others, saying, "We're all children of the jianghu, so I'll just lay it all out plainly, or else sooner or later there'll be real disaster. It's normal for you to have certain thoughts. Someone like the Great Chieftain might not appear even once in several hundred years. A golden phoenix flew out of our bandit's den, and of course you can't help but admire her. You think Xiao Ning isn't worthy of the Great Chieftain — but have you ever stopped to think, it's not just Xiao Ning, are any of you worthy either? If the Great Chieftain had been born into a high-ranking family, she'd have more than enough qualification to enter the palace and become empress. So honestly speaking, compared to the Great Chieftain, none of you are really any better than Xiao Ning. A bunch of fools with no self-awareness!"
These words nearly made the group of young men cough up blood.
Hu Dashan and the others burst out laughing, while Tian Wuniang remained expressionless as ever — though her cool gaze was no longer quite so indifferent. Slowly, she spoke: "Even the imperial palace, even the Supreme Being of this world — how could that compare to the village disciples of my own stronghold, close as flesh and blood, bound in life and death?" She paused, seeming to feel it was best to speak the matter openly, and continued frankly, "My mother died young. Esteemed Teacher and Madam treated me better than their own flesh and blood — everyone knows this. Because I am three years older, Madam, before she passed, entrusted... Xiao Ning to me. Before Esteemed Teacher passed, my late father and he settled this marriage together, so that he could rest assured.
Therefore, heaven and earth may change, but this matter shall not be altered!
I treat you all as brothers and sisters, and I hope you will do the same for me. To insult him is to insult me. My name is Lin Tian Shi."
With that, she nodded slightly to Fang Lin and the others, then turned and walked away.
Leaving behind her a ground full of shattered, shame-stricken hearts...
.....
"Ning'er was so clever today, he did well!"
Back at Ink Bamboo Courtyard, Aunt Chun, who had already cried herself out with emotion, began to grow cheerful, praising Lin Ning fervently.
Compared to her usual habit of going to beg Uncle Sun for Dragon Blood Rice now and then, Lin Ning's outburst today had clearly been many times more masterful...
Ever since Lin Long and his wife had both passed away, what worried Aunt Chun most was Lin Ning's increasingly isolated situation and increasingly awkward standing within the stronghold.
She had tried every method she could think of, but none had done much good.
But she believed that after today, these matters would no longer be hers to worry over.
Aunt Chun remembered her young lady — that is, Lin Ning's mother, Madam Ning — once saying that boys often grow up practically overnight...
Actually, she hadn't believed it before, but now she had to admit — a young lady who'd read countless books really was wiser after all!
.....
"Little Jiu'er, why do you keep following so close behind me?"
Seeing that wherever he went, Little Jiu Niang followed right along, Lin Ning asked, torn between laughter and exasperation.
Little Jiu Niang had plenty of complaints, but she said nothing, instead shooting Lin Ning a meaningful little look, leaving him to figure out for himself what he'd done wrong, and where...
Once Lin Ning caught her meaning, he put on a show of deep thought, but even after pondering for quite a while, he couldn't figure out what mistake he'd made, and shook his head helplessly.
Little Jiu Niang immediately grew anxious, her big eyes wide as she looked at Lin Ning and said, "Brother-in-law, today you only mentioned Aunt Chun, you didn't mention me!"
Lin Ning laughed heartily. "Does Little Jiu'er even need a special mention? Everyone already knows — whoever dares bully Little Jiu'er becomes my enemy for life!"
Little Jiu Niang giggled, looking at Lin Ning happily. "Today Brother-in-law even talked with Elder Sister! Brother-in-law hasn't talked with Elder Sister in so, so long..."
Lin Ning chuckled. "She's a person above the ordinary — she just doesn't like talking much."
Little Jiu Niang didn't quite understand what "person above the ordinary" meant, so Lin Ning explained it a little, and Little Jiu Niang broke into an even wider grin. "Oh~~ so that's how good Elder Sister is in Brother-in-law's eyes!"
Lin Ning actually felt his face grow a little warm at the little girl's teasing laughter, and shooed her off, saying, "Go on, go on, go help Aunt Chun with the firewood and cooking in the kitchen."
Little Jiu Niang ignored him, arguing slyly, "Cui'er is already tending the fire..." then went on to tempt Lin Ning: "Brother-in-law, do you still want to learn to do a good deed? I know just the place!"
Lin Ning didn't believe her. "Where?"
Little Jiu Niang giggled proudly. "Yesterday I saw that the back roofs of Grandma Liu's house and Aunt Qi's house both have some leaks... Hey, Brother-in-law, don't walk so fast, wait for me! Little Gray, Little Gray, come quick!"
"Giddyup!"
.....
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