Chapter 78: Father-in-Law Meets Son-in-Law

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Chapter 78: Father-in-Law Meets Son-in-Law

Mu Yanxiao’s ominous premonition began coming true before he’d even reached the Lin Family residence.

By the time they’d followed the exit through the formation core that Lin Fengdi had pointed out three separate times, only to fail to escape the third illusion formation every single time, Young Master Mu couldn’t help feeling that this expedition was getting off to an exceptionally bad start.

“Master? Daoist priest? I think you should explain why we still haven’t gotten out.” Mu Yanxiao rubbed between his brows, his expression distinctly unpleasant. It had been nearly three months since he’d lost his sight, and throughout those three months, his world had been nothing but darkness. He’d assumed he wouldn’t see the colorful world again until after his surgery restored his vision, yet this illusion formation had unexpectedly given him an enormous surprise—

He seemed able to “see” all kinds of things again. Unfortunately, most of what he saw wasn’t particularly pleasant. And while witnessing the scenes produced by the illusion formation, Mu Yanxiao also gained a painfully clear understanding of the enormous gulf between ordinary people and these so-called cultivators.

According to their guide, this illusion formation existed merely to prevent ordinary people from accidentally wandering into the grounds of the Lin ancestral residence. Aside from dredging up unpleasant memories and creating frightening hallucinations, it possessed almost no actual lethality. Even so, judging by the muffled grunts and occasional groans of pain coming from Mu One and the others, Mu Yanxiao could tell how difficult it was for them to withstand it. He himself was doing somewhat better, perhaps because he was already blind and could firmly convince himself that everything he “saw” was fake. But even then, the images made his head throb painfully.

And this was only an illusion formation with almost no killing power. Mu Yanxiao’s expression darkened. For the first time since taking control of the Mu Family, he felt genuinely frustrated. But even though he was frustrated, even though he knew some things had already gone beyond the limits of what he could control, he’d come too far to retreat now. This had nothing to do with pride or courage. The only thing that mattered was that he already wanted Linlin to stay by his side.

Perhaps it couldn’t be called love. After all, there couldn’t be romantic love between a human and an animal. But this feeling—the desire to treasure Linlin and protect him always—was, in Mu Yanxiao’s heart, no less powerful than love.

Linlin was important.

Mu Yanxiao’s expression instantly became resolute. He had come here to bring Linlin back. Until he’d accomplished that, he absolutely would not leave. So what if they were cultivators? Until they became immortals, they were still flesh-and-blood mortals. The difference in strength might be enormous, but that didn’t make them invincible. In all his life, Mu Yanxiao had never feared anyone. So whether they were cultivators wielding Daoist arts and spells, or spirits, demons, ghosts, and monsters, none of them would make him retreat even half a step!

At the very instant Mu Yanxiao’s resolve hardened, a dark golden gleam flashed through his eyes. The final illusion formation that had trapped them suddenly collapsed all on its own.

This was obviously abnormal, so for the next half hour, Lin Fengdi kept frowning as he tried to figure out what had gone wrong with his family’s illusion formation. He’d stepped on the formation core three separate times without breaking it, yet the instant he stopped doing anything, the formation simply collapsed? Was this some kind of international-level joke?!

The three illusion formations had each been laid by one of the family’s three uncles, and the final one had personally been arranged by the greatest eccentric of the previous generation. Who knew how many spirits, demons, ghosts, and monsters it had trapped to death over the years? Even members of the Lin Family could get stuck inside if they weren’t careful. And now it had suddenly become this useless?

Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

With that thought, Lin Fengdi turned around and carefully examined Young Master Mu and the others following behind him. But no matter how he looked, he couldn’t see anything particularly unusual about them. It wasn’t until Mu Two finally asked what was wrong that Lin Fengdi gave an apologetic smile and turned around to continue leading them toward his home. Perhaps one of the people behind him was extraordinarily lucky or blessed with exceptionally deep fortune. Otherwise, there really was no way to explain what had happened.

As for the other possibility, Lin Fengdi chuckled to himself and didn’t give it any serious consideration. A year ago, the sudden appearance of a human descendant carrying the bloodlines of a Golden-Winged Peng and Penglai merfolk had already thrown the Cultivation Realm into chaos for quite some time. It had taken nearly three thousand years for even one such person to appear. How could there possibly be another living human carrying the bloodline of a divine beast? What a joke.

Therefore, this was definitely nothing more than a coincidence. Lin Fengdi led Mu Yanxiao and the others through the depths of the mountains for another hour or so. Finally, just as the sun was about to set, the Lin Family’s castle-like ancestral residence came into view beneath a vast canopy of ancient green pines.

Although Mu Yanxiao couldn’t see the magnificent residence himself, Mu Four’s quiet description was enough for him to sense its grandeur and scale. The tension that had only just eased immediately returned. This was an enormous, ancient family with a long and distinguished history—one worthy of anyone’s respect. And there were likely many extraordinarily capable people within it. The thought that all of them might become major obstacles to his plan to take Linlin back made Young Master Mu feel an immense weight settle onto his shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, Mu Yanxiao was just about to step onto the ninety-nine stairs when an enormous pressure suddenly descended on him. It felt as though all the air around him had been sucked away, making even the slightest movement unbearably heavy.

“Hahaha! You little bastard! You’ve finally shown up! I’ve been waiting for you since breakfast, and now it’s almost time for dinner! I thought you didn’t have the guts to come up here after all. Looks like you’ve got plenty of nerve, but your ability leaves a lot to be desired!”

A familiar voice filled with ten parts dissatisfaction and nine parts fury boomed throughout the mountains.

Mu Yanxiao instantly thought of the dangerous man Mu One and the others had described as looking like a bandit. So that man really was a member of the Lin Family. Mu Yanxiao nodded inwardly. That made it even more likely that his Linlin belonged to the Lin Family as well.

“I’m afraid I disagree. I’m only an ordinary person, so naturally I’m different from a cultivator. Comparing us directly isn’t fair. Besides, I didn’t come here looking for trouble. If my arrival has disturbed everyone, then the fault is mine. I only came to take my pet home. As long as you return Linlin to me, I’ll gladly compensate everyone for the trouble I’ve caused.”

Mu Yanxiao carefully weighed every word, doing his best to avoid saying anything that might provoke the Lin Family. What he never expected was that the moment he finished, a collective gasp sounded from somewhere above him. The bandit-like man seemed to choke on his own breath and fell silent for several seconds. Then he roared so loudly that Mu Yanxiao’s ears nearly went deaf, shouting something that left the entire Mu group stunned.

“Fuck you!! This has gone beyond what any man can tolerate!! What the hell do you mean, ‘return Linlin to you’?! Do you even know who the Linlin you’re talking about is?! The way you’re talking, you’d think you were his real family!! Use your damn brain and think! His name is Linlin! Linlin!! And this is the Lin Family of Qinling!! That ‘pet’ you’re talking about is my son!! Now say that again! What exactly are you planning to do with him? Take. Him. Back?! This is his damn home!! Where the hell are you planning to take him?!”

Mu Yanxiao’s mind exploded with a deafening boom , as though someone had dropped a massive bomb directly into his skull. His thoughts dissolved into utter chaos.

In that state, Young Master Mu actually stammered, “B-But… isn’t Linlin a parrot spirit?”

The direct descendants of the Lin Family watching from above: “…?!”

After several seconds of stunned silence, they exploded into laughter!

“H-Holy crap! A parrot spirit! Lin Tianyou!! So you’re a parrot spirit now?! Why didn’t I know about this?! When exactly did a parrot spirit possess you? Hurry up and confess everything!!”

“…Nephew, don’t you think this lie of yours was a little… too outrageous?”

“My dear grandson, how come I never knew you had such a talent for fooling people?”

Young Master Lin You the Husky, now the unanimous target of everyone’s mockery, had already collapsed miserably onto the ground and was desperately covering his eyes and ears with his paws.

Hehe. Out of sight, out of mind! If Young Master Lin can’t hear it, then it never happened!!

Damn it! My master is so stupid there’s no saving him!!

Amid the Lin Family’s breathless laughter, Mu Yanxiao abruptly grasped the deeply frustrating truth that the assumption he’d held all this time had been completely wrong. He’d always thought something didn’t quite add up. Even for a parrot spirit, his Linlin was far too intelligent. He understood human relationships, social etiquette, and the rules of human society far too well. No matter how one looked at it, he had never behaved like some wild spirit from the mountains.

So… his Linlin was actually human?

The instant that thought occurred to him, Mu Yanxiao felt his heart begin pounding wildly. An emotion called joy nearly filled his entire chest, and even while standing in such an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position, he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising. Naturally, every direct descendant of the Lin Family saw that distinctly meaningful smile.

Their laughter stopped dead.

In its place, a violent urge surged through the entire Lin Family at once.

Fuck! Why does this feel like some bastard has come right to our door to steal a bride?!

And why does it feel like the fat rabbit we painstakingly raised is about to be snatched away and devoured by someone else?!

“Damn it! You brat! What’s with that expression?! Wipe that smile off your face right now!! Now that you know Linlin belongs to our family, you can leave. We don’t keep outsiders at the ancestral residence. Get the hell out of here and go as far away as possible!”

Father Lin was the first one who couldn’t take it anymore. Of course he was! That was the son he’d raised himself. Fine, maybe he hadn’t exactly done the best job raising him and had somehow raised him crooked, but Lin You was still his son! Yet now the son he’d raised was somehow giving him the horrifying illusion that he’d raised a daughter who was about to be forcibly carried off in marriage. What father could possibly tolerate that?! And this brat had even beaten him to killing that evil Daoist priest!

For some reason, Mu Yanxiao no longer felt the same sense of danger and wariness toward that booming voice. Instead, he found himself thinking that anyone with a voice like that had to be a bold, straightforward, and domineering elder. Rather than getting angry, he smiled slightly and said,

“Hello, Uncle. It was my mistake not to properly entertain you when we met last time. Next time, I’ll make sure to host a proper banquet for you.”

The moment Lin Xuandi heard this, his mind immediately conjured up those three enormous tables of Manchu-Han Imperial Feast dishes, and the ferocity on his face instantly faded by thirty percent.

“However, there’s one thing you said that isn’t quite right. Linlin and I have an excellent relationship. Since he’s your son, judging by how things are likely to develop between us in the future, I should eventually be qualified to stay at the ancestral residence too. Mm… if you don’t mind, once Linlin is out of this strange condition, I’ll pursue him properly and marry him. What do you think?”

Father Lin’s expression instantly twisted into something ferocious.

“WHAT DO I THINK?! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!”

With a single slap, he shattered the stone lion standing in front of the gate.

I’m going to cut you into ten thousand pieces!!

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