As the only force in Xinghai Town, the treatment of the children of the Lin family makes outsiders salivate, but people within the Lin family also know that the resources consumed in cultivating immortals are endless. So no matter what outsiders think, the Lin family considers itself to be a situation where there are too many monks and too few people. Therefore, in order to provide more resources to the most talented people while ensuring that everyone has a share, the Lin family has also established a strict hierarchy system. .
The disciples of the Lin family are divided into the inner sect and the outer sect. Anyone who does not have spiritual roots above the Xuan level must start as a disciple of the outer sect. The disciples are ranked by strength through competition. The ranking is related to the monthly salary. For example, Seventeenth Aunt These numbers for Uncle Fifteen are not the ranking of their ages, but the ranking of their strength in the outer sect.
If the disciples of the outer sect can maintain the top three rankings for three consecutive months, they can enter the inner sect. Compared with the outer sect disciples, the monthly salary of the inner sect disciples is more generous, and they no longer have to work part-time as family chores. It can be said that they are truly accepted. Among the people the family cares about, Lin Yan, Lin Yan, Lin Kai, and Lin Zhuang are the inner disciples of the Lin family.
But even the inner disciples have corresponding rankings, and the top five among them are called core disciples, and they receive resources that others cannot even imagine.
If these core disciples can achieve excellent results in the county competition, they will be recruited by the Lin family in the county, and the Lin family in the county will also give a large amount of resources to the Lin family in Xinghai Town as rewards and compensation.
This sequentially ascending hierarchy has also become the driving force for the Lin family to continuously improve, and even provided many unique talents for Dahua Dynasty.
It’s just that the most favored people are in the minority after all, and most people reach their limit when they reach the first two steps.
The four brothers Lin Jiang, Lin He, Lin Hu, and Lin Hai also once stood out among the inner disciples. Lin Jiang, who was once ranked sixth, was only one step away from the core disciples. But one step is like a chasm. The four brothers have also tried to build foundations several times, but due to limited resources, they all failed without exception. In the end, because of their age, they changed from inner disciples to inner elders.
Although the treatment of the elders was slightly better than that of the inner disciples, they knew that they were abandoned by the family. If they want to maintain their current salary, they have to spend more time on family affairs. They spend more time on trivial matters and less time to improve themselves, which makes them feel negative.
In fact, they don't have much to do. Huxiao Mountain is close to the Nanshan Villa of the Lin family. Children often go into the mountain to practice. The responsibility of the four Lin Jiang brothers is to maintain the order of Huxiao Mountain and educate the children of the family, especially The inner disciples will be rescued as soon as possible when they are in danger.
Having said that, since the intelligence of the Qi-training monsters is far inferior to that of human monks, and due to the human instinct to fear death, there are not many situations where rescue is needed. The four brothers have always lived a relatively leisurely and comfortable life.
However, their luck seems to be bad recently. First, the Tianji Guard who stayed there went crazy, and then Lin Yao and others disappeared. Fortunately, they did not have a great relationship with him, so the clan leader only fined Xu Yue's salary symbolically. , but now they had to become nervous when they saw the call for help from the inner disciples. After all, this was his duty to stay here.
"These proud men of heaven don't stay at home honestly, so they like to run to the mountains? It's just going up the mountains. They don't know what it means to be safe. If someone dies, why don't they make me miserable?" Lin Jiang cursed secretly, Having said that, he did not dare to delay for a moment and hurriedly led the people in the direction of the signal.
After driving for more than ten miles along the mountain road, they finally arrived outside the cave, but they were stopped by the mountain of soul-eating insects in front of them. Fortunately, there were no wounds on their bodies, and Ben had made corresponding preparations. After spraying some special powder forward, the soul-eating insects would slowly disperse.
Just as they were blasting sand powder, a thunderstorm suddenly appeared in the sky, which shocked the four of them.
"Brother Jiang, isn't there anyone here who is forming elixirs?" Lin He said in surprise.
"Impossible." Lin Jiang frowned and said, "I was lucky enough to see the scene when the county genius broke through the pill formation. The power of the pill tribulation is not so small. Maybe a great spiritual weapon was born."
"Then what should we do? Aren't those who can refine spiritual weapons usually senior foundation builders?" Lin He asked doubtfully.
"What else should we do? Investigate the truth quickly. This news will definitely alarm the clan leader. We must do something before the clan leader comes. If we are punished to be elders elsewhere, we will not have such leisure." Lin He said angrily. , "And even if we are seniors building foundations, it won't matter as long as we are polite. Don't forget that we are members of the Lin family. Our master is at the peak of his combined cultivation and the right-hand man of King Zhongwu. Who in the entire Hua Dynasty will not give us face?" ?”
"That's right." The other three nodded hurriedly.
But Lin He's confidence suddenly disappeared. What he said just now was just to embolden him. The actual situation still needs to be considered. So he said cautiously: "But no matter what, there are inner disciples here who have sent out a signal for help. Just in case, Lin Hai, you should also report back to the family quickly."
Lin Hai nodded, then packed up his things and headed down the mountain, while Lin Jiang and the three of them took a deep breath, and then cautiously climbed towards the cave.
"Lin Jiang, the elder of the inner sect of the Lin family, wants to see you!"
Lin Jiang shouted several times outside the cave, but there was no response. They then slowly explored the cave, but found the bodies of Lin Kai and Lin Zhuang in the hall.
"Everyone, please don't disturb the scene! While maintaining the scene, check to see if there are any living people, and be careful not to destroy the footprints!" Lin Jiang reminded hurriedly. It makes sense for the family to arrange him in the Nanshan Villa. Now that the tragedy has occurred, all he can do is help the family investigate the matter as much as possible.
Lin He nodded, then pointed to the ashes on the stone bed and said, "Is this the foundation-building monk who just overcame the tribulation?"
"Thank you for thinking about it. You can tell at this glance that he has been dead for many years. There must be someone else who caused the thunder tribulation just now." Lin Jiang said angrily.
"Brother Jiang, there is someone unconscious here, it's Lin Yan, yes, it's her!" Lin Hu suddenly shouted.
"The younger sister of the twins in the inner sect?" Lin Jiang asked suspiciously. There were not many people in the inner sect, so he was still very impressed by the twins.
"The sisters have always been inseparable. What about the elder sister?" Lin Jiang muttered again, "Let's see if we can wake her up."
Jiang You had been pretending to be comatose in the side room, but in order to be realistic, she restrained her consciousness and only kept breathing. Although this would put her in a very dangerous situation, it was also the best choice at the moment.
Soon a pungent herbal smell rushed into her lungs, and Jiang Youye had to wake up due to coughing. At this time, she fell into a daze.
A few months ago, he was an ordinary single, but now he has become a female cultivator in a family of cultivators. But the key point is that apart from knowing everyone's names, she knows nothing about them. Now How should she craft her first line?
Senior Brother Lin Jiang, thank you for saving me? The little girl has nothing to repay, so she can only...stop it! Does this fit Lin Yan’s character setting? Will it arouse everyone's suspicion right from the start?
Lin Jiang, why did you come just now? If I die, can you bear this responsibility? stop! By the way, does Lin Yan have such a status? Will this make Lin Jiang angry and be slapped to death?
With a flash of inspiration, Jiang You's acting skills suddenly exploded. She couldn't help but huddled in the corner and said in fear: "Don't kill me! I don't want the Foundation-Building Pill! I don't want the Qi-Building Pill either! Please don't kill me!"
what's the situation? Lin Jiang and the three of them looked at each other in confusion. Finally, Lin Jiang patted Jiang You on the shoulder and said, "Lin Yan, we are here to rescue you. Please tell me carefully, what happened here?"
After living in the original world for a long time, she naturally knew that the best ratio of lies is five points true, two points false, and the remaining three points unknown, so she tried to recall: "A few days ago, Brother Kai We accidentally discovered the information that there is a foundation-building monk living in seclusion in Huxiao Mountain. Based on the time of the information, we can infer that this foundation-building monk has either left or passed away, so we planned to go up the mountain to try our luck, and finally met a demon. Found this cave with the help of a beast hunter."
"Monster hunter?" Lin Jiang asked in confusion, "What kind of monster hunter?"
"A masked woman, whose cultivation level is probably at the sixth level of Qi training. Because she is very familiar with the terrain of Huxiao Mountain, we used a spirit stone to ask her to help us lead the way." Jiang You said half-truthfully. .
"What's next?" Lin Jiang asked again.
"Then we entered the cave and found that the owner here had indeed passed away, so we started to divide the loot and found some pills in the alchemy room, including three Foundation Establishment Pills. The three Foundation Establishment Pills were difficult to distribute. Lin Zhuang proposed to distribute based on strength. Since my sister and I always stood together, Lin Zhuang was eliminated in the end, and Brother Kai killed him for not letting him inform the family. Just when we were still doubting that Brother Kai would When he didn't take action against us, he was ambushed by the guide at the door. It turned out that this guide also hid his strength, and his real strength was still higher than Brother Kai. My sister and I fought hard, but in the end we were no match for her. In the end, I was also She was seriously injured and fell into a coma, and she didn’t know anything after that.”
Jiang You finished speaking in one breath, but he didn't know if the other party could understand.
Lin Jiang also fell into deep thought. After digesting it for a long time, he finally understood and asked, "Do you have any other clues about the mysterious guide?"
Jiang You shook his head and said, "I don't know. I thought the guide's cultivation was weak at first, so I didn't care much about it."
"I'm afraid it's because you already regarded her as a dead person, so you didn't take it to heart!"
A middle-aged man with a majestic appearance and a calm face slowly walked in. Lin Jiang and others immediately bowed upon seeing this.
Jiang You also recognized this person. Lin Teng, the head of the Lin family in Xinghai Town, was in the late stage of foundation building and could be regarded as the top expert in Xinghai Town, so she also dragged her broken body and prepared to salute.
"Forget it." Lin Teng said calmly, "What a harmonious brother, what a sympathizer. Is this what I teach you? Don't forget that you are not only children of the Lin family, but also members of the Huo family army. , actually imitated those bandits and bandits to kill and seize treasures, and even took action against their own brothers and sisters!"
"This matter has nothing to do with Yan'er. Yan'er just wanted to protect herself at the time!" Jiang You pretended to explain.
Lin Teng took a slow breath and then said in a deep voice: "I just want to know, was it you who made the move first or she?"
"It's my sister. It was my sister who pushed her into the sea of soul-eating insects first, but I don't know why she is still alive!" Jiang You replied.
"Bastard!" Lin Teng said angrily, "You people are more likely to fail than succeed! If you really kill him and let him escape, then you are probably a person who can cause heavenly catastrophe. At that time, the entire Lin family in Xinghai Town may suffer because of this, and you will never be able to atone for your sins by then!"
Everyone stopped talking, because they knew that no matter how much they said with their strength during the Qi training period, it would be useless, and they could only wait for the family leader's further treatment.
"Why are you still standing there? Why are you summoning the experts from the tribe to seal off the entire Huxiao Mountain? Remember, if you encounter that guide, don't act rashly. You just need to keep him until I can deal with him." Lin Teng said instead.
"I'll go right away." Lin Jiang nodded, "But do you need to ask the county for help?"
"Don't you still think the incident is not big enough?" Lin Teng said coldly, "Anyway, we can't let outsiders know about it, and the guide's matter must be resolved."
"The Lin family is upright. Is there anything that we cannot let outsiders know?" Another man with a mustache came over with a group of police officers.
Lin Teng also frowned slightly when he saw the identity of the visitor. It turned out to be Yue Wuxin, the head catcher stationed in Xinghai Town by the county government. Although his cultivation was only in the early stage of foundation building, he represented the government behind it, let alone the head catcher of this town. The position was originally designed to contain the local big families.
"So it's Yue Baotou. Why did you come to this deep mountain and old forest?" Lin Teng snorted coldly.
But Yue Baotou smiled and said: "There is a thunder disaster in Huxiao Mountain. This is a rare thing that only happens once in a thousand years. Why don't I come? What? There is a murder? Then I have to take care of it."
"This is a private matter of my Lin family." Lin Teng said coldly.
"But this is also a murder case!" Yue Baotou still laughed.
"Are you unwilling to give me this face?" Lin Teng suddenly showed murderous intent, and the pressure of the late stage of foundation building made everyone present breathless.
"Brother Lin, don't get me wrong." Yue Baotou hurriedly waved his hand, "We are not here to cause trouble, we are here to seek refuge with you."
"Resign yourself?" Lin Teng said playfully.
"That's right." Yue Baotou nodded repeatedly, "Since the death of King Zhongwu, His Majesty has transferred his trust to the four generals of the Huo family army, and General Lin Heng, the general of the Western Conquest, has also become the most influential figure in the entire northwest. In Under such circumstances, it has become a joke for the county magistrate to use the conflicts between the families to check and balance each other. At this time, if I don't surrender to you, will I still go against you?"
"You are right." Lin Teng said with a slight smile, "But our Lin family has countless talents, so why should we accept you?"
Yue Baotou was not angry, he still smiled and said: "I heard that those who want to achieve great things must recruit talented people from all walks of life. I think your Lin family doesn't just want to live in the shadow of King Zhongwu."
"Are you talented?" Lin Teng asked.
"You may look down on our brute strength, but we have other uses." Yue Captou patted his head, and a group of agents placed several bones on the ground.
"What does this mean?" Lin Teng asked confused.
"Don't you recognize that this is a member of your Lin family?" Yue Baotou reminded.
"How can you recognize this?" Lin Teng asked impatiently.
"Then I can tell you that this is the outer disciple of the Lin family who disappeared some time ago. We found it outside the red fire ant's nest." Yue Captou explained.
Jiang You felt a little guilty. He didn't expect this group of red fire ants to be so unreliable. They even threw out the bones after eating the meat.
Lin Teng frowned slightly, but still said disapprovingly: "So what, Tiger Roaring Mountain is inherently dangerous, so it's not surprising that some disciples were eaten by ferocious beasts."
"But don't you think it's strange? Why are there only seven corpses among the eight missing people?" Yue Captou asked, "And we also found out that these people were not killed by red fire ants."
"What?" Lin Teng frowned, "Tell me what is going on?"
Yue Baotou said hello, and a man and a woman walked out from behind her. They were both at the ninth level of Qi training.
"Junior Song Yuan and junior Yue Lian have met senior Lin Teng." They both saluted in unison. The man Shuanyuan has a handsome appearance, with reserved but profound eyes. At first glance, he looks like the kind of character who is deeply surrendered; while the woman Yue Lian is well-dressed, elegant in manners, with a voice as soft as silk and eyes as clear as water, which makes her look a bit charming like a girl from the south of the Yangtze River. .
"This is my daughter and prospective son-in-law. Let them come to you one by one, Brother Lin." Yue Baotou introduced.
"Stop talking nonsense and get straight to the point." Lin Teng said impatiently.
Song Yuan pasted some notes on the corpse and said: "This is the identity information we inferred based on all the intelligence. If the head of the family doesn't believe it, you can check it again. We won't explain more now. These are the people we want to talk about now. What happened in between? According to the analysis of their corpses, there are three corpses here. The metallic wind blade technique can kill with one hit, but the seventeenth outer sect Lin Miao happened to use the metallic wind blade technique. Plus The three corpses were all attacked from behind. We have reason to identify Lin Miao as the first suspect. Judging from the wound marks, the wound on Lin Yao's abdomen and the wound on Lin Qiang's chest were most likely from the same wind blade. It was possible that Lin Qiang had Lin Yao acted as a shield, but still hurt himself. Lin Miao died because of a stab in the chest, and the wound was very consistent with the dagger Lin Qiang often used, so it is very likely that Lin Miao and Lin Qiang died together in the end."
Lin Teng's face was livid, and he couldn't help but curse: "These unscrupulous people usually look like quails, but they are really powerful when they fight in the nest! These people deserve to die!"
"But there are still people who may be alive!" Song Yuan continued: "Don't forget that the injuries on Lin Qiang's body were not fatal. Someone may have killed him in other ways. And there is another body whose skull was cracked by a stone. Death, it seems that only people who don’t know how to use spiritual power would use this method of killing, not to mention that there is no Lin Xu’s body here.”
"Lin Xu?" Lin Teng tried hard to remember, but had no impression of this person.
"Lin Xiong's daughter." Lin Jiang reminded.
"I remember." Lin Teng nodded, "If she is alive, why doesn't she come back?"
"This is also what we are wondering about. Lin Xu may be an important part of it. If he didn't die elsewhere, he was too guilty to go back. It's more likely that there is a ninth or even a tenth person among them, and that unknown existence He is the real initiator." Song Yuan explained.
