Volume 1 Chapter 7: Flowers Bloom and Moths Appear
Lin Qing shook his head and leaned gently against Lan'er, saying, "How can I be intolerant of others? I know he has done favors for everyone in the gang, but I don't point it out because I know that all the hall masters are loyal men who have followed my father and me to fight in the martial arts world. Even if Cao Shujian has done them a favor, it is impossible for them to betray the gang and their master. With his power, the Kuangyi Gang has become more united. Look at today, three years have passed, and not a single hall master has abandoned the gang. It shows that his winning over people's hearts is still useful." After saying this, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, showing that he was very confident.
Lin Qing changed the subject: "Cao Shujian paid off a debt for someone today, and tomorrow he will send precious medicinal materials to treat illnesses or increase strength. Even the little boy beside me can get more than ten taels of silver from him every month. He is the third in the Jade Sword Sect and is excluded. The silver he gets from the Kuangyi Gang is also very limited. Why don't you think about where his silver and medicine come from?" At this point, Lin Qing's breath was already very weak. He forced himself to continue: "The incident that night three years ago originated from this. Other things... I won't reveal a word. He really did a great favor to you. He was able to make you work together to hunt me down three years ago. All his efforts were not in vain."
All the hall masters thought in their hearts, "The gang leader knew very well that Master Cao was secretly winning over people's hearts, but he did not stop him. Instead, he used him to consolidate the gang's popularity. His thoughts are complicated and it is really hard to figure out." They all expected the gang leader to tell the whole story of that night, but they did not expect Lin Qing to stop abruptly at the critical point. They were all puzzled, but saw that Lin Qing's lips were tightly closed and he refused to say a word no matter what.
Doctor Cheng coughed softly and said, "Someone heard Cao Zongguan and the gang leader arguing about something that day. Later, Master Cao returned to the inner house with his hands on his chest, his face pale. As a result, he died of poisoning that night. It was a pity that he couldn't even speak completely when he was dying. He only took out half of the letter from his arms... Alas, the letter had been incompletely shaken by your palm power. It was the piece of paper you just saw. It is impossible to know what was written on it. One can only recognize more than ten words such as "subordinates" and "annihilate", as well as the seal of the Dongdu Yukou Division. The two protectors Qin and Zhang, as well as several nearby hall masters were present at the time. Poor Hongfeng, she fainted when she saw the words. Her husband had just died in her arms, and all the signs pointed to her own brother. How could you let her feel?" After a pause, he said, "Even so, you are unwilling to reveal the scene that night?"
Hall Master Fang also bowed and said, "Boss, it is true that Master Cao has done us a favor. Even if the things we received are of unknown origin, we must repay Master Cao's kindness, otherwise we would not be worthy of being his sons. But do you think you are the kind of people who would forget the greater good for the sake of small favors? That day, we only swore in front of Master Cao's spirit that we would chase the boss back and ask him clearly, but we did not dare to talk about hunting him down..."
Qin Tianxiong took over the conversation and said angrily: "The gang leader accused us of killing you out of gratitude. I swear to the heaven and earth that my brothers and I never thought of hunting you down that day. We just wanted to ask you clearly whether you killed Cao Zongguan? What is the relationship between you and the letter?"
Protector Zhang said solemnly, "I'm sorry to Manager Cao. We brothers have been looking for our leader for three years. Revenge for Manager Cao is a small matter, but finding out whether we have violated the rules of the green forest and colluded with the imperial court to harm fellow martial artists is a big deal! The leader must know what punishment he deserves, but we brothers are unwilling to believe it! Leader... The Kuangyi Gang has been struggling to hold on without a leader for the past three years. If you are willing to hand over the Kuangyi Order, it will be legitimate for your wife to be in charge of the gang affairs, and there will be an explanation in the martial arts world. The truth will eventually come out on this matter. If the leader is truly innocent, the order will naturally be returned by then. I, the protector of the gang rules, will be the first to come to apologize to the leader for my disrespect today!" At this point, he said sadly, "We will only tell the martial arts world that the leader is tired of the disputes in the martial arts world and wants to quit. We will not disclose the matter of Manager Cao's blood letter, lest the Kuangyi Gang be branded as colluding with the imperial court and be despised by fellow martial artists!" After he finished speaking, his eyes were red and he tried hard not to cry.
Lin Qing sighed and said, "That letter was indeed not written by me. I am not so stupid as to leave evidence in someone's hands. If I wanted to take the letter back, I wouldn't have to show mercy and poison him afterwards. Wouldn't it be simpler to just slap him to death and search for the letter directly? Well, you can think about it."
Everyone inside and outside the courtyard agreed, thinking: "What the gang leader said is right. The gang leader's martial arts are several times higher than that of Cao Zongguan. It is not difficult to kill him directly, let alone go through all this trouble, which will only leave evidence against us." The hall leaders all felt that what happened that day was too reckless. When they saw the remnant letter, they were indignant. They didn't know who shouted and blood rushed to their heads to chase the gang leader. But they also blamed the gang leader for running away when he saw us that day, so that we never had a chance to ask him. Cao Zongguan usually behaved in a way that made everyone convinced and never offended anyone. Besides, a dying person should not lie. But today, after listening to the gang leader's words, I suddenly felt that there was something strange. Could it be that Mr. Cao fell into a trap like everyone else that day? The gang leader refused to elaborate on the situation, which was really puzzling and confusing.
Lin Hongfeng said angrily: "Why do you have to beg this heartless and ungrateful person? His words can only deceive you. It is true that you are angry that Shujian has discovered his secret and disturbed his beautiful dream. Don't you understand?"
But Lin Qing did not make any more excuses. Instead, he turned his head to look at the pear blossoms on the tree and said completely irrelevantly: "I've seen these flowers bloom and fall three times... Lan'er, I'm afraid Uncle Qing can't teach you anymore in the future." Lan'er had been crying ever since Lin Qing was stabbed. Hearing what Lin Qing said, she nodded blankly while crying, then shook her head violently, and her crying became louder and louder.
Lin Hongfeng saw that Lin Qing was actually very tough. He neither admitted that he had killed Cao Shujian nor that he had written the letter, and he even refused to hand over the "Kuang Yi Order". Instead, the hall masters were all hesitant and ashamed after hearing what Lin Qing said. They were extremely angry and thought to themselves, "So he would rather die than see the Kuang Yi Gang fall apart, than have the position of the leader fall into the hands of Cao. Since you've killed Shujian, I want the Kuang Yi Gang to fall into the hands of Shujian's daughter today." Thinking of this, he slowly walked out of the courtyard gate, and soon walked in holding a little girl.
The girl was about eight or nine years old. She had a small bun on each side of her head, tied with a gold ring. She was wearing a white sable fur robe and a white sable fur headband on her head with a shiny red gem in the middle. Her face looked as cute as a piece of jade, but unfortunately, it was covered with a layer of hostility.
Lin Hongfeng led the girl to Lin Qing and said, "Call me uncle." When the girl saw Lin Qing, hatred welled up in her eyes and she bit her lip and refused to speak. Lin Qing looked up at the girl and smiled helplessly, "You even brought Yin Yin with you. Why do you have to involve a child in our feud? Alas, this child looks more and more like you when you were a child."
Lin Hongfeng did not answer, but turned to the heads of each hall and said, "Seniors of the Kuangyi Gang, Hongfeng should not have been involved in the affairs of the Kuangyi Gang after she got married. However, my brother, as the gang leader, retired from the underworld and was unwilling to care about the affairs of the underworld. He also did not leave any sons or heirs. The foundation created by the ancestors of the Lin family will be destroyed in my brother's hands. My husband Cao Shujian passed away three years ago and left behind a daughter. Today I will change my daughter's surname to 'Lin' and adopt her into the Lin family to inherit the ancestral foundation. If someone holds the Kuangyi Order the next day, I will return the position of the leader of the Kuangyi Gang with my daughter." After saying that, he leaned over and whispered in Lin Qing's ear, "Are you really willing to give up the Kuangyi Gang? I want this gang to be named Cao to avenge Shujian !" After saying that, he laughed shrilly, looking very proud.
After hearing these words, Lin Qing thought of her father's strict discipline since she was a child, the countless efforts she had spent on gang affairs, and how Cao Shujian almost destroyed the Kuangyi Gang three years ago. She kept asking herself in her heart, "Am I willing to do this? Am I willing to do this? If Yin Yin becomes the gang leader, the change of surname is just a cover. The Jade Sword Sect will definitely intervene. If the Kuangyi Gang falls into the hands of the Cao family, she will be the sinner who destroyed the Lin family's foundation..." After thinking about it, she really had no solution, so she could only whisper, "Sister, you have a good plan. In this way, no matter what, the Kuangyi Gang will be in your hands. ... It has changed."
Lin Hongfeng laughed sharply and said, "I'm getting old!"
Lin Qing held Lan'er's hand and said, "You are still as young and beautiful as before, and you are still my little sister. It's just that I can't understand you more and more. As your brother, I have never asked you for anything. Today, there is one thing you must agree to."
Lin Hongfeng stared at Lan'er and smiled, "I know even if you don't tell me that the Kuangyi Gang never hurts innocent civilians. Moreover, they saved you. I have already found out that there is only one woman and this child in this family. It's a pity that the child's grandmother is not here, otherwise I would really like to say thank you to her! Don't worry, I will never hurt him."
Lan'er finally burst into tears and said to Lin Hongfeng: "Why did you force Uncle Qing? And stabbed him with a sword?" She kept covering the blood on Lin Qing's chest and said: "Uncle Qing, Uncle Qing, let the doctor heal you quickly. You have lost a lot of blood. How can we save you, Uncle Qing..."
Lin Qing shook his head and smiled, "I don't need him to save me. My sister wants me to die, so I'm just fulfilling her wish. But Uncle Qing and you have been like father and son for three years, and I really can't bear to let you go. Your last name is Lin, too, and Uncle Qing feels that we are destined to be together. Do you want me to be your father..."
Lan Er just stared at Lin Qing blankly at this moment, thinking quickly in her heart: "How can I save Uncle Qing?"
Seeing that he was slow to answer, Lin Qing said with some disappointment: "You don't want to, right? Perhaps you also think that Uncle Qing has become a lackey of the court and killed your own brother-in-law..."
Lan'er cried hurriedly: "No, Uncle Qing, in fact, I have already regarded you as my father. No matter what others say about you, I believe in Uncle Qing."
Lin Qing was sad and happy at the same time, and said, "Is it true? Uncle Qing doesn't want to live, and he can't live. I didn't expect that you would be willing to recognize me as your adoptive father. Lan'er, Lin Lan, you will be my adopted son from now on."
Lan'er shook her head and said, "My name is not Lin Lan. The villagers call me Lan'er just to save trouble. The name my father gave me has the word 'sword' in the middle, but Uncle Qing was stabbed by the sword so badly, I don't like this word, so let's call me Lin Lan."
Lin Qing smiled and said, "Silly child, how can you just say no to the name your parents gave you? This name is very good. You should also remember your adoptive father's name."
Lin Jianlan said: "I know, Uncle Qing's name is just Qing."
Lin Qing said sadly: "That's because I'm on the run and it's inconvenient to show my real name, so I removed a character in the middle. My real name is Lin Longqing, and the character "Long" in the middle means I hope my son will become a successful person... It's a pity..." Before he finished speaking, his chest kept heaving, and he could no longer speak.
Seeing the two of them chattering away, Lin Hongfeng became increasingly agitated. She swung her sword and cut off a branch as thick as her forearm. She said to Lin Jianlan impatiently, "I've already promised not to hurt you. Go away now!"
Lin Jianlan stopped in front of Lin Longqing and asked, "The 'Kuang Yi Order' you mentioned, is it a green sign?"
Lin Hongfeng was startled and grabbed him and asked, "Have you seen it? What does it look like?"
Lin Longqing was also shocked, but he was out of strength and couldn't even speak.
Lin Jianlan gestured and said, "It's a small green sign about this size, with patterns on it, right?"
Lin Hongfeng was overjoyed and said, "Where is it? Tell me quickly!"
Lin Jianlan said: "If you swear in front of everyone that you won't kill Uncle Qing, I will tell you."
Lin Hongfeng thought to himself, "If I get the Kuang Yi Order, the Lin family's foundation will legitimately belong to Cao, which will be much more painful than letting Lin Longqing die." Thinking of this, he nodded repeatedly and said, "I swear, I won't kill your Uncle Qing, just tell me!"
Lin Jianlan curled his lips and said, "I only said I would tell you, but I didn't say when."
Lin Hongfeng could not help but get furious, but he suppressed his anger and said kindly: "If you tell me, you and your grandmother won't have to live such a miserable life in this remote place." Then he threatened in a low voice: "If you don't tell me, humph, I will kill you first, then kill your grandmother, and let your family reunite in the underworld."
Lin Jianlan showed a slight fear on his face, but he gritted his teeth and shook his head, saying: "I'll tell you when I want to." Lin Hongfeng couldn't bear it anymore, grabbed his collar and slapped him.
The palm strike came suddenly. Lin Longqing saw that the palm was about to hit Lin Jianlan's head, but he was too late to rescue him. He had to watch Lin Jianlan's head shattered and die!
Unexpectedly, the hand stopped when it came to Lin Jianlan's head, and gently placed it on his head. Lin Hongfeng said sadly: "Brother Qing, you are really shrewd and cunning. You set up this trap for me to trick. I can't break my promise and kill this farm boy, nor can I kill you and break your promise to a mere child. Forget it, Shujian, Shujian! If I can't avenge you, what's the point of living in this world?"
