The Zhang family’s Master sighed, “I don’t want to squeeze the Serene Herb Manor dry like this either. The Zhang family has made enough money as is, and more friends have given us more options. Moreover, there are many alchemists in Purple City. No matter how badly our business does, it’s not like we won’t be able to make money. We’re fine as long as we more or less have enough. But now, we can’t help it. If we didn’t make this money, we wouldn’t be able to keep the Zhang family’s business anymore.”
Qing Zhu’s expression turned serious. He couldn’t help sitting up straight and asking, “Master Zhang, who are those people who gave you these things in the beginning? Turns out there are even people who the Zhang family can’t afford to offend?”
The Zhang family’s Master smiled bitterly, “I don’t know who they are either. I only know that none of the elders of the Zhang family were opponents against the masked man. In addition, the man’s subordinates were also all very powerful!”
Qing Zhu frowned, “Master Zhang, can you tell us more about that day?”
He nodded, “Why not?”
Master Zhang explained the incident of that day in detail. Even though it happened two years ago, he still remembered it vividly, which showed how shocked he was!
“It was about this time that day,” Master Zhang began, “When I returned home, I saw a group of people waiting in my courtyard. Judging by their postures, they definitely didn’t look as if they walked in through the main entrance, but fell from the sky, appearing out of thin air.”
“I can’t remember exactly how many people there were, because there were also those who were lying in wait. But including the specially dressed man sitting in the middle, there were seven of them in total, each of them powerful masters. As soon as I saw them, I involuntarily fell on my knees.”
Master Zhang touched his chest with lingering fear as he spoke, “As soon as they opened their mouths, they threw a scroll at me. I opened it tremblingly and saw that it was actually written with all kinds of benefits they could give the Zhang family. I was surprised. I never thought that such a good thing from heaven could fall on my head. I just asked, what do you want the Zhang family to do? A pretty little girl who stood next to the masked man replied, ‘I want the Zhang family to completely destroy the Serene Herb Manor so that Lin Zhan will never be able to turn it around and will have no choice but to beg her family’s Master for help’…”
“Wait!” Lin Xuanzhi suddenly interrupted Master Zhang, “When they found you, my dad was still alive?”
Master Zhang nodded, “Yes, it was nearly half a year before your dad’s accident.”
Lin Xuanzhi narrowed his eyes. It seemed that those people were really after Lin Zhan.
Master Zhang continued, “I could tell from their words that Lin Zhan must have offended them so severely that they got upset and used this method to suppress the Serene Herb Manor. When they saw that I was hesitant, they began threatening me, saying that if I wasn’t sensible, they had their own way of making the Zhang family disappear from the Five Continents. ”
He sighed, “What a big issue that they had to threaten the Zhang family for it. I knew then that, unless these people were acting on their own desires, they must be extremely powerful. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have uttered the words of extermination so easily.”
It was the first time that Master Zhang had seen such a person, but since he was also a man with many experiences, he hadn’t panicked. Instead, he weighed the opponent’s lethality and the Zhang family’s gains and losses.
After making his judgment, Master Zhang agreed through gritted teeth.
Anyways, even if they agreed, they wouldn’t face too many losses. At most, those people would take a lion’s share which was agreed on the deal that 30% of the Zhang family’s Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion’s annual profits would be given to them.
But as those people said, if the income of the Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion could grow ten times more than that of today’s Serene Herb Manor, that 30% loss was nothing.
To be honest, the Zhang family didn’t rely on the Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion to survive. In most cases, the Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion just casually sold spiritual herbs that the Zhang family’s disciples couldn’t use and were not easy to preserve. If it could be done, it was naturally a good thing. If it couldn’t, the 30% profit didn’t mean anything to them, and the Zhang family could still survive.
After the deal was made, Master Zhang couldn’t sleep for three days and nights.
He always felt that while he himself sat at home, disaster would strike from the heavens.
He originally didn’t have much hope for the Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion, but within a few days someone came to discuss the Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion’s business with them. Moreover, even if those people had never seen Master Zhang or heard of him, they were all from big families or were great alchemists.
Under such circumstances, the Zhang family was “forced” to pick up the business of the Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion, and it wasn’t long before Master Zhang heard that the spiritual herbs from Serene Herb Manor were destroyed.
“Lin Zhan was not dead yet when it was destroyed.” Master Zhang recalled.
Lin Xuanzhi asked, “Have you seen those people since?”
Master Zhang shook his head, “This is where I dare not offend them, because those people were hungry. It’s really too mysterious. I’ve never seen them again. I sent people to find out their origins, but they all failed. However, after Lin Zhan died, they should have, in principle, dropped the Serene Herb Manor. Unexpectedly, they increased their efforts to suppress them instead. I don’t know what kind of deep hatred Lin Zhan has with them.”
Lin Xuanzhi naturally didn’t know either. In his memory, his father had many friends, but basically no enemies.
“Mast Zhang,” Qing Zhu suddenly said, “Do you remember what the woman talking next to the masked man looks like?”
Master Zhang frowned and touched his head, “I vaguely remember it, but it’s strange that I can’t see it clearly.”
Qing Zhu and Lin Xuanzhi exchanged glances, their hearts sinking.
This was a kind of illusion magic, or a memory influence brought by the other party when the pressure was deep enough.
Even if one could clearly see the appearance of the person who imposed the illusion at that time, once you try to dig the memory as a whole, it would seem as if the memory had been wiped away.
A great expert.
Lin Xuanzhi felt a little troubled.
It could be inferred from Master Zhang’s description that the woman should just be a maid, but a maid with great power, showing just how difficult it was to provoke “those people”.
As for other things, Master Zhang couldn’t say why. For the changes and which companies the Zhang family cooperated with, Master Zhang said nothing. He was probably worried that Lin Xuanzhi would find them and affect the business of Zhang family’s Ten Thousand Grass Pavilion.
At this point, Lin Xuanzhi almost understood the context, and even determined Serene Herb Manor’s defeat. Since there was someone pulling the strings from behind, they couldn’t get much useful information here anymore. Lin Xuanzhi and company didn’t waste their time and soon got up and left.
After they were gone, a young man came over from the other side of the corridor, asking Master Zhang, “Grandpa, why should we be so polite and say so much to them? We can’t afford to be so willful in case we offend those people. “
Master Zhang patted the back of the young man’s hand, “You don’t understand. The reason why those people attacked Serene Herb Manor was simply to deal with Lin Zhan. But now Lin Zhan is dead, and those people no longer have a target to deal with. Naturally, they won’t pay attention to our business here anymore. You can see the decrease in the number of their people coming here in the past two years. But Lin Xuanzhi is a genius. You must have heard a lot of rumors about him these days. Now, he has become a core disciple in Sinking Sword Peak. Naturally, his status is rising with the tide. Many of our Zhang family disciples are cultivating in Profound Sky Sect, and some of them are inner disciples of Sinking Sword Peak. Instead of offending Lin Xuanzhi, it’s better to show him kindness. Even if he doesn’t help the Zhang family, at least he will never be angry with us.”
The teenager thought for a moment and nodded. “Grandpa is right. I was being thoughtless.”
Although the Zhang family was forced into this insidious plan, it also left its own mark on the road leading to Serene Herb Manor’s collapse. If Lin Xuanzhi had been narrow-minded and vindictive, he would not have let the Zhang family go so easily in the future.
Although the Zhang family was not afraid of Lin Xuanzhi, it was always better to make friends than enemies.
It was getting late when they came out of the Zhang family house. Lin Xuanzhi and the others didn’t take advantage of the night to return to Profound City and found an inn to stay at instead.
Inside, three people sat around a small square table, forming a triangle.
Yan Tianhen stuffed some snacks into his mouth that were brought in by a server of the inn. “Dage, it seems that those people are very taboo for the Zhang family.”
Lin Xuanzhi nodded, “It seems that my dad really did offend the wrong people.”
Yan Tianhen thought for a moment and asked, “Dage, do you think it was the Jian family who dealt with Serene Herb Manor?”
Lin Xuanzhi shook his head, “I don’t think it was the Jian family. Their style is quite different. The Jian family obviously encroached on some of the Lin family’s private properties, but Serene Herb Manor lives here. That family is reclusive and won’t personally come forward … I just don’t understand. My father is gone, so why do they continue to target Serene Herb Manor?”
Qing Zhu’s expression was ugly. After a while, he raised his eyes, “I’m not sure about some things, but I need time to verify them. Maybe these things have something to do with me.”
Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen looked at Qing Zhu simultaneously.
Lin Xuanzhi asked, “Uncle Zhu, do you know anything? Is my father guilty of any crime before?”
Qing Zhu looked pale and shook his head. “It’s not necessarily your father who offended anyone. It’s also possible that I might have brought trouble on him.”
Yan Tianhen was puzzled, but seeing Lin Xuanzhi’s eyes, he pressed down the question on the tip of his tongue.
Qing Zhu was silent for a moment, then stood up, “It’s getting late. You must be tired after running around today. Take a rest early. I’ll definitely pursue this matter to the end.”
Lin Xuanzhi nodded and got up to send him off. “Uncle Zhu doesn’t have to worry too much. It’s certainly the best thing to find out about it. If it’s really too difficult to deal with, we should regroup and discuss more.”
Qing Zhu sighed, “Okay.”
After Qing Zhu left, Yan Tianhen blinked and asked with some perplexity, “Dage, why didn’t you let me ask?”
Lin Xuanzhi rubbed his head, “Uncle Zhu should have some answers, but he’s still uncertain now. We’ll wait for him to find out and then I think he’ll tell us from beginning to end. I think that if this matter is not related to Nine Lands, then it’s related to Uncle Zhu.”
Yan Tianhen thought for a moment, then he suddenly realized, “Maybe it’s related to the ordinary mortal with Brother Zhuzhi before?”
Lin Xuanzhi paused, then replied, “I’m not sure, but I won’t rule out this possibility.”
Since suddenly returning to the Lin family one day, Qing Zhu never mentioned anything about the past. Although Lin Xuanzhi had not seen Qing Zhu’s lover with his own eyes, he once heard Lin Zhan mention it. At that time, Lin Zhan said one sentence.
“I always feel that there is something strange about the ordinary mortal Qing Zhu’s interested in. There is a sense of wrongness on him.”
However, Lin Zhan couldn’t find out what was wrong with the man at that time, so he finally let it go.
—
