I Outworked the Entire Cultivation World-Chapter 190 - 162: Return to the Lin Mansion (Revised)
The sun was setting in the west, and the twilight was vast.
The bustling market during the day became silent, with vendors starting to pack up tables and chairs, while some beggars roamed various places to beg.
Jiang Yuebai saw them and thought of her past self, hoping daily that when the market closed, some kindhearted vendors would give her unsold food.
Of course, the prerequisite was that she spoke some nice words.
Jiang Yuebai stood nearby and observed that in Yong’an City, all the beggars were elderly, unlike before when there were also some young orphans.
"Kind-hearted lady, spare a couple of coins."
A dirty old beggar held out a chipped porcelain bowl to her, but Jiang Yuebai had no money in her pocket and turned away.
After running away and looking back, she saw that the old beggar was still staring at her, feeling embarrassed, she ducked into a nearby alley.
The old beggar seemed quite sturdy and well, why must he resort to begging?
Jiang Yuebai wandered through the city, inquiring here and there, finding things and people no longer as they were, the beggars who bullied her were long gone, either dead or moved elsewhere.
And the original Drunken Immortal Tower was raided for offending a noble, with all the Madam and prostitutes in the building beaten to death, creating a sensation throughout the city.
This was a vengeance she couldn’t seek, so Jiang Yuebai could only make a visit to the still-prosperous Lin Mansion.
On a cold winter night, the moon was exceptionally bright.
Jiang Yuebai sat on the roof of the Buddhist Hall of the Lin Mansion’s old matron, holding exquisite snacks she pilfered from the matron’s kitchenette, watching the ladies from various residences hurrying in, clutching warming pans to attend to the matron’s illness.
Outwardly civil, but inwardly scheming, fighting fiercely for their lives.
Just moments ago, Jiang Yuebai overheard the third wife complaining that a concubine from the second house wore the same color dress as hers, looking prettier, and ordered her servants to spike the concubine’s soup.
Although the status of women in Yun Country is much higher than elsewhere, some still prefer to engage in these vicious harms behind closed doors.
And this third wife was none other than Lin Suwan’s biological mother.
"Third Madam, Master said he won’t be coming home tonight."
"Not coming home again? How many months has it been since he came home? Why doesn’t he just die outside, not considering his age, still dreaming of becoming an immortal!"
Jiang Yuebai indulged in snacks and watched the drama unfold until late at night when the various courtyards of the Lin Mansion settled down, a shadowy figure appeared in the moonlight, approaching from distant rooftops.
As the figure drew near, the person humbly and fearfully bowed to Jiang Yuebai.
"I am Cai Ren, greeting Martial Uncle."
Cai Ren, broad and stocky with a square face, dressed in a blue Daoist robe, exuding a righteous aura, wielding a Qi Cultivation Sixth Level.
"Are you also a disciple of Heavenly Interence Sect?" Jiang Yuebai asked.
Cai Ren nodded and showed his token to Jiang Yuebai.
"Qingzhou lies between Chaotian Domain and Fengxian Domain, with half managed by Hundred Yang Sect and the other half by Heavenly Interence Sect, Lin’an County falls under the jurisdiction of Heavenly Interence Sect."
Jiang Yuebai confirmed the token’s authenticity and displayed her own direct disciple token to Cai Ren.
After seeing it, Cai Ren’s pupils contracted, amazed at Jiang Yuebai’s youth having already achieved Foundation Establishment and being a direct disciple, suddenly showing a guilty expression.
"Allow me to ask, what’s going on with the frequent disappearances of young children and maidens in Lin’an County over the past six months?"
Cai Ren felt a chill down his spine, wondering if Jiang Yuebai specifically arranged to meet him at the Buddha Hall roof due to the individual behind Lin Mansion...
Jiang Yuebai glanced at him and understood his thoughts, "How many years has it been since you last returned to the sect?"
"Reporting to Martial Uncle, five years."
"No wonder you’re unaware, a certain Elder Lin from Heavenly Interence Sect practiced an Evil Dao Method and has already been dealt with by the Law Enforcement Hall."
Upon hearing this, Cai Ren knelt down with fear, "Please, Martial Uncle, understand, I truly didn’t know about Elder Lin’s practice of the Evil Technique, I was merely threatened by him to look after the Lin Family members."
Jiang Yuebai didn’t let him rise, she took a piece of cake from the food box nearby and started to eat slowly.
Just like the head mistress of the Lin Mansion, interrogating a wrongdoing housekeeper without saying a word, just sipping tea, sending chills through them for half a day.
At this moment, Cai Ren was in the same state, pale-faced.
Only after finishing her food did Jiang Yuebai ask, "Now, tell me the whole story."
Cai Ren hurriedly confessed, "Reporting to Martial Uncle, I have also been investigating this matter, but the leads always cut off at the end. Moreover... the rumors of disappearances outside were actually spread by people I had placed in the government offices."
"The actual number of people disappearing is not as high as the rumors suggest, initially it was children, but recently, girls aged fifteen to twenty-five have started disappearing. Due to the hidden methods, no one noticed at first, if it weren’t for my suspicion of Lin San, tracking him a few times, I wouldn’t even know people were being abducted in Lin’an City."
Jiang Yuebai understood, "So you refrained from interrogating Lin San due to Lin Mansion’s backing from Lin Xiangtian and spread rumors to both alert the mortals and force the hidden power to become cautious?"
Cai Ren nodded, "Exactly."
"What’s the deal with Lin San?"
"Aspiring for immortality, I’m unsure if he found some connection, but these past few months he appears younger, secretly bought a large mansion in the wilderness outside Lin’an County and..."
Cai Ren carefully glanced at Jiang Yuebai, hesitating to speak.
Jiang Yuebai frowned, "Speak freely!"
"He keeps twelve concubines, every day..."
"Does he practice the technique of supplementation?" Jiang Yuebai asked.
This topic came up in a miscellaneous book she read in the Library, out of curiosity she even sought her master’s explanation, only for her master to splutter tea and suddenly claim an old illness flared up requiring seclusion.
Eventually, they called a female master to explain it to her, which didn’t seem like a big deal to Jiang Yuebai.
Cai Ren shook his head, "Not quite, he’s not a cultivator, incapable of... supplementing from others, his concubines bear children, and once a new one arrives, he looks for another. I’ve placed spies around him, he doesn’t step outside, just stays in the courtyard from morning till night..."
"Is he so obsessed with bearing offspring? Could it be because Lin Suwan has a Spirit Root and he hopes to conceive another child with a Spirit Root and then... use the Foundation Stealing Great Method?"
Cai Ren agreed, "I think the same too, but with Lin Xiangtian threatening me to protect the Lin Family, I dare not act against Lin San."
"Yet this has little connection to the disappearances? No, wait, you mentioned discovering the abductions while tracking Lin San?"
"It happened once when Lin San bought five children, on their way to the mansion outside, a wicked wind kidnapped the children right in front of me, I chased but couldn’t catch up. It might have startled the perpetrator, preventing further direct contact with Lin San."
"Let’s meet this Lin San, lead the way."
*
Under a dark, windy night, a sudden heavy snow arrived.
At the villa outside, Lin Shoushan, still vigorous despite his age over fifty, returned with joy from the room of a newly taken concubine.
"This one too, tomorrow I can buy a new one!"
"Master, a young lady outside requests your presence."
A servant reported through the wind and snow.
"Young lady? How old is she?" Lin Shoushan’s eyes lit up.
"She appears tall, looks around sixteen or seventeen?"
"Let’s see."
The servant led Lin Shoushan to the mansion gate, where an oddly dressed young lady in a green coat, covered in snow, was standing.
The green-dressed lady turned, but before Lin Shoushan could see her face, he muttered disapprovingly.
"So thin, obviously not good for bearing children."
Jiang Yuebai: .........
"Who are you? What brings you to see me?" Lin San asked impatiently.
Jiang Yuebai said, "I am Suiwan’s fellow disciple sister, she asked me to bring some longevity elixirs for you."
