A Capable Man

The morning sun had already crawled its way through the sky, it was noon. By the time Yang Lin got out of his room, he didn't know what to feel exactly, something felt off. It wasn't his injury, that had already healed. Furthermore, he attempted to communicate with the fox spirit, but it ignored him entirely. Currently, the little lass was playing outside with her father, and Yang Lin could listen in to a cheerful hum from the dining room, the lady seemed to be in a good mood.

"Good morning," said Yang Lin. The woman chuckled lightly, a genuine smile seen over her face as she said, "Morning? The sun is already so high in the sky, Mister. Good day to you, too." She responded. In a haste, and charmingly, she bowed to Yang Lin and bit her bottom lip as she said, "I'm sorry for this morning, I misjudged your character prematurely. While you rested, my husband explained to me what happened at the docks. You may resent me, but please don't harbor any ill intentions towards my husband and Yue'er." Miss Xi seemed to have cast off a huge burden off her heart. Guilt was eating her up like no other, she felt terrible.

Yang Lin's expression was awkwardly funny, he never harbored such thoughts, to begin with. Clearing his throat, he said, "Aunt, what are you talking about? Everything you've provided me with was but wishful luxury back in my hometown, I already took generosity to my heart." As he spoke, he hurried to help Miss Xi stand up straight, it felt so wrong to encounter this.

"But... " Miss Xi was about to insist on apologizing, but Yue'er's cries suddenly breached the house. The lady's heart skipped to her throat as she ran outside, leaving Yang Lin frowning.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Settled in the dirt, Yue'er clung tightly to her father's arm as he supported himself to look up at a pair of suit-dressed men. One was built like a gorilla, whilst the latter was chubby and short in stature. Nonetheless, the way he had a thick cigar tucked between his sneering lips gave the impression of a boss.

"Now now Mister Xi, we already offered our condolences three days ago. The mourning should have been over, ya? So, what about we settle your unpaid debts?" The chubby man said, not even glancing at Xi Jao no more, but more or so eyeing his wife who ran over distressed. "Hm, how about she accompany us instead? She could prove more useful in a way or another, haha."

"Dear!" Miss Xi kneeled by her husband's other side, helping him sit up. His face was swollen, with a black eye-bulging, and a thick trail of blood soaking his goatee. Obviously, beat up.

"Bad guy! Bad guy! Wasn't my big brother enough for you?!" Yue'er yelled out, tears streaming down her face. Before she could yell out more, her mother hushed her up in a hug, telling her to shush.

"The lass has some backbone, haha. We already said sorry about the boy, he simply didn't cut it, dying on his first caged matchup. Seems like your family isn't fit for combat, how about we go down with prostitution instead?" A cold gleam was seen in the man's eyes as he gauged up Miss Xi, she was definitely in shape, even after giving birth twice.

At this moment, Yang Lin was outside the house. After observing for a while, he quickly assessed up the situation through some vague hints. Stepping forward, he said, "This house still has a capable man for fights, stop picking on helpless women."

Yang Lin's words shocked not only the two men, but Xi Jao, his wife, and Yue'er too. Since when did he become part of the house? The chubby man sized up Yang Lin's lean figure, though it had a bit of muscle on it. However, before all that, "Who the fuck are you? Never seen you around these corners."

"Lin'er, no!" Uncle Jao spat out in a stern tone. Alas, Yang Lin ignored him.

He looked the man directly in the eyes and said, "I was adopted by Uncle Jao not too long ago. My name is Xi Lin."

Xi Jao and his wife were speechless, the latter's eyes had even grown a little red. He was but a stranger who she deemed unworthy of warm water, but he was here putting his life on the line led by a sense of gratitude to her husband. She wanted to tell him not, but she was scared. Her bones were trembling, she was a selfish woman after all, and she hated it. Closing her eyes, she let nature take its course.

Of course, the chubby man was reluctant to let such a beauty slip through his fingertips. Thus, he gestured to the gorilla-like man by his side to step up and handle Yang Lin, then returned to focus on his cigar and the Xi family.

"Now that we have that fly out of the way…" Whack! Thud!

The chubby man's words got stuck in his throat, With great difficulty and egg-sized eyes, he turned back to look at his subordinate. Though he didn't see how... It was but a single punch. A single punch rendered his subordinate unconscious. On the contrary, the Xi family was speechless precisely because they had seen what happened.

Yang Lin moved like a nimble tiger, the large man had no chance to contend at all. The battle ended with a single exchange, and Yang Lin stood there calmly.

"As I said, this house has a capable fighter now." He said,

Now, what the chubby man saw wasn't a man, but a gold mine. If he brought this youth to that place, they would make a fortune! He was so shocked that his cigar dropped from his lips, though he didn't care. Hurriedly, he brought his palms together and said, "Of course! Of course! I'll report to the boss, wait for my news!"

The man then turned tail and sped off in the distance where there was a carriage waiting. He didn't even wait for his out-cold subordinate, he wasn't even worth the pick-up. As for the Xi pair and their daughter, they were dazed silly by what just happened. It was as if they've met Yang Lin for the first time.

Where did that upright, polite, and calm character go? It was only then that it dawned upon Xi Jao, this brat was like this facing the officials as well, how could he forget that?!

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By noon, the sculpture of the two Offical Officers was also found, along with the Soul Hunter's dead body. Investigations indicated that the Soul Hunter died due to having his spiritual body destroyed without a trace. As for the frozen Officials, their life or death was unknown. Many have attempted to melt the ice, but it was futile. They've attempted to crack it open as well, but it was tougher than steel and diamond combined.

This level of a frost spell shocked the investigators. With the culprit on the loose, many were uncertain about how to feel, thus bringing the case to the City Lord Mansion directly.

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Whilst all of this transpired, the Goddess figure, Mo Rong, stood at the edge of a cloud-mounting precipice. A place unknown, but gales of spiritual Qi ebbed and flowed beneath her feet. Her clear eyes flared with a thousand emotions, irked by the incident.

Matter of fact, she hoped the Soul Hunter would have killed Yang Lin there and then. However, she had not expected that the Palace had already aided the boy in such a way, No wonder her essence was captured, and she could not pry into his spirit, they have got everything calculated to protect him already.

"A Celestial Gaurdian Spiirit, huh." The woman muttered. For now, she was hesitating. She could either try and bring one catastrophe after another on Yang Lin. Or, she could wholeheartedly guide his cultivation.

The first option, if successful, would inevitably lead to her death by his hands once he's strong enough. As for the second option, she did not want to aid someone associated with that one person whom she loathed the most. What a headache, she thought.