Chapter 29: Forcibly Securing Fortune, Defying Fate to Change Destiny (I)

In the Fox Tomb, the old woman had long been prepared for the arrival of the Mysterious Nether Dharma Lineage group.

“About the questions from you three True Masters, this old woman too cannot give an answer. This humble one did indeed point out the location of the Shilang Tomb to Liu Ling. But before Young Master Liu Ling died, he had already exposed the tomb’s location to other people!”

On the cloud bed, the old woman’s expression was calm, but a strand of gray light weaved through the jade-green flames behind her, making her seem quite formidable.

The three from the Mysterious Nether Dharma Lineage frowned slightly. This Fox Granny before them was not an easy opponent.

Fox Granny had cultivated for a thousand years, having long entered the Jade Mysterious Realm. She was a distinguished Yin Spirit True Lord and possessed many methods in her hands.

Moreover, celestial fox anomalies in Dongyue Province were not without backing; it was unwise to pressure her too much.

“This Fox Granny’s mouth is unusually tight. I dare say she certainly knows something. Senior Brother Gan, what if we join forces to capture this demoness and interrogate her? I don’t believe she won’t talk.”

One of the gray-robed Daoists secretly sent a mental message, his eyes glinting with a hint of coldness.

Having been sent by the Mysterious Nether Dharma Lineage to investigate this matter, each of the three possessed some formidable skills.

“That’s the worst plan!” The leading Senior Brother Gan had other concerns.

“Fox Granny being so secretive and evasive likely means that person is extremely difficult to deal with!”

The three gray-robed Daoists of the Mysterious Nether Dharma Lineage felt a secret chill in their hearts, vaguely sensing they might have stumbled upon a big trouble this time.

If they were not careful, all three could face unforeseen dangers!

“Don’t forget, besides investigating that scholar’s death, we have another important mission on this trip!” The final sentence completely extinguished the other two gray-robed Daoists’ thoughts of resorting to force.

“Since you, elder, are unaware of this matter, we three will not trouble you further. Farewell!”

With a shared glance, the three quietly left the Fox Tomb.

Watching the three from the Mysterious Nether Dharma Lineage depart, the old woman withdrew the jade-green fox fire behind her into her body and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“They are all troublesome characters!”

“How infuriating! What should have been smooth-sailing Virtue Merit has turned into such a huge mess!”

Under the light of the luminous pearl, the old woman’s face shifted between gloom and other emotions, then she looked with a peculiar gaze towards the direction of the Lingjiang River.

If her guess was correct, the Mysterious Nether Dharma Lineage disciples came in such haste not only for Liu Ling’s death but also for another important mission.

It was another great opportunity that belonged to Liu Ling.

Now that Liu Ling was dead, disciples from the Mysterious Nether Dharma Lineage, as well as other young disciples from various major Daoist academies in the Jiangnan Circuit, would come to try for this opportunity.

To divide Liu Ling’s remaining fortune.

In recent years, quite a few disciples with superior aptitude had emerged from the major Daoist academies.

Many possessed Immortal Roots and Dao Bones.

Fox Granny’s eyes flickered with hesitation. It would be false to say she wasn’t tempted by that opportunity!

But besides young cultivators, many high-level cultivators had also rushed over, trying to seize this blessing. Xiaowu Mountain’s foundation was weak; rashly getting involved was not a good idea!

At Lin Manor.

Upon receiving the news, Lin Yuan immediately rushed back from Haitang Manor.

“Young Master Fifth, you’re here. The master has been waiting for you for a long time!”

Upon seeing Lin Yuan’s arrival, steward Uncle Lian immediately led him to the inner courtyard.

“How exactly were those hundreds of thousands of taels of silver lost?” Lin Yuan asked with a stern face. Having just returned to Lin Manor, he looked up at the sky above the manor, frowning.

Lin Manor seemed very off.

It was fine when he wasn’t back, but once back, his innate Thunder God Embryo felt extremely uncomfortable.

Uncle Lian glanced around and said softly to Lin Yuan, “Young Master, this matter is truly baffling!”

“It is very strange!”

“The vault we built had very tight security!”

“Every inch of the floor tiles was also made from the thickest stone slabs, polished smooth. Logically, no one should have been able to tunnel through silently and carry away hundreds of thousands of taels of silver!”

“But those hundreds of thousands of taels of silver disappeared like ghosts!”

The steward’s expression was somewhat grim. Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver was no small amount for the Lin Family, and much of it came from managing official estates.

With all this silver lost, Lin Manor simply couldn’t explain it to the people from the Imperial Household’s Internal Treasury!

The ruin of the family was imminent!

Lin Yuan also understood the seriousness of the situation.

A nameless anger surged in his heart. Someone was deliberately trying to push the Lin Family to its death.

In the main hall, Lin Yuan saw Lin Chengzong, whose face looked rather unpleasant. Besides Lin Chengzong, his mother Wang Shi and several concubines stood nearby, secretly wiping tears.

Things were looking very bad.

Seeing Lin Chengzong remain silent, Lin Yuan shook his head and spoke. “Father, take me to have a look!”

“Will looking help?”

Lin Chengzong raised his head and snorted heavily.

Wang Shi, who doted on her son the most, immediately stepped forward, took Lin Yuan’s hand, and said with red eyes,

“Yuan’er, don’t get involved in this matter. You should quickly notify the Wenchang Daoist Academy and ask the Daoists from the academy to come investigate!”

“Yes, Lin Yuan, this must be the work of evil cultists!” Several concubines chimed in while wiping their eyes with handkerchiefs.

Although Lin Chengzong hadn’t spoken, his gaze also turned to Lin Yuan.

Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver disappearing without a trace was clearly beyond imagination. Even some famous martial heroes in the Jianghu didn’t have such capability.

Ignoring the astonished looks from everyone’s eyes fixed on him.

Lin Yuan looked at the steward beside him and asked, “Then, was the silver in the vault stolen all at once? Is there any left?”

The old steward replied, “That’s not the case. Strangely, each time around a hundred thousand taels went missing!”

“Last night, we personally saw one batch of a hundred thousand taels of silver vanish into thin air!”

“As for what’s left, only the final two hundred thousand taels of silver remain in the vault!”

The steward’s expression showed some anger.

Lin Yuan understood in his heart, a cold smile flashing in his eyes. He turned and immediately instructed, “Steward, later go prepare a few things!”

“Young Master, what are you planning?” The steward raised his head.

Meeting the astonished gazes of Lin Chengzong, Wang Shi, and the concubines, Lin Yuan said.

“Even if people from the Wenchang Daoist Academy come, they might not be able to recover the lost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver!”

“But it might be different if it’s me!”

After a moment’s thought, Lin Yuan looked at the steward Uncle Lian beside him, who wore a strange expression, and asked again.

“Steward, before the silver went missing from the vault, did Lin Manor ever offend any strange people, or encounter any unusual events?”

After thinking for a moment, the old steward shook his head. “Our Lin Family has many competitors, but we haven’t offended any strange people?”

Lin Chengzong’s brow furrowed thoughtfully as he looked at Lin Yuan. “No, Old Ten mentioned something a few days ago! I didn’t pay attention to it before.”

“He said he previously met a strange Daoist in the marketplace!”

“That mad Daoist claimed Lin Manor had another disaster coming. He demanded a hundred taels of gold to ensure peace. After Old Ten refused, before leaving, he boasted arrogantly, saying that since Lin Manor didn’t believe his true words, it would surely face the disaster of a ruined family!”

Lin Chengzong had clearly thought of something too, his eyes flashing with intense coldness.

“What enormous nerve, opening his mouth for a hundred taels of gold, as if the century of hard-earned savings of our Lin Family ancestors were blown in by the wind!” Lin Yuan muttered, a cold smile in his eyes.

A hundred taels of gold was equivalent to a thousand taels of silver. Not to mention ordinary commoners, many merchants couldn’t earn that amount in a lifetime!

Lin Yuan pondered deeply. However, based on his observations, black clouds indeed covered the sky above Lin Manor, as if its fortune had run out.

If not for this, given the scale of the Lin Family.

With many family members spread across surrounding villages, the family’s fortune should have been vast.

Ordinary cultivators wouldn’t dare act recklessly, for fear of suffering a fatal backlash.

This was precisely the peak of prosperity before decline; fortune had reached its end, giving rise to all manner of calamities!

Yang Miaozhen had most likely also noticed this and went along with the flow.

But so what if the fortune had run out? It wasn’t as if he lacked a supreme treasure to suppress fortune!

Lost in thought, a fierce light flashed in Lin Yuan’s eyes as he looked at Lin Chengzong. “Father, since a hundred thousand taels of silver goes missing from the vault every night, tonight will likely be no exception. We need to make arrangements early!”

“What do you want to do?” Lin Chengzong looked at Lin Yuan.

He was no pushover either. If this matter weren’t so bizarre and there weren’t a lack of suspects, he would have likely already taken action!

“Of course, to make him fail in his theft and suffer a loss instead!”