Chapter 36: First Encounter Must Fight

  "Your great-grandfather was invincible in his heyday, with unparalleled military achievements. After joining the Imperial Guards, he offended many powerful forces. When he was alive, those powers could only endure in silence. Now that your grandfather has passed away for many years, those guys are getting restless and waiting for an opportunity to strike at us."

  Lin Zhen Nan's face was slightly pale and heavy, his tone desolate as he said: "In recent years, under the siege of many hostile forces, my Lin family has been declining, its sphere of influence constantly shrinking. In the end, I had no choice but to resign and return home, hoping to escape disaster."

  "In the evening, I received a letter from Yu Guanzhu of Qingcheng Sect, saying that he is willing to resolve the feud with our Lin family and live in peace. Seeing Husband's heavy expression, Wang Furen spoke out the good news they had just received."

  "What the lady said is really true, it's a very good thing!"

  Lin Zhennan felt a surge of joy in his heart, and he let out a long sigh of relief. The weight on his face also dissipated somewhat, as if he had put down a huge boulder in his mind.

  Lin Ping's face showed a look of confusion, and Lin Zhen Nan immediately opened his mouth to explain: "The Qingcheng Sect is one of the top martial arts schools in the Jianghu world today, and its leader Yu Canghai is extremely skilled in martial arts, known as a master of the generation. In the past, your great-grandfather Lin Yuan Tu defeated all the heroes in the world, and severely injured Yu Canghai's teacher Long Qingzi, causing him to die in despair. From then on, the Qingcheng Sect became sworn enemies with my Lin family."

  "Is Yu Canghai's martial arts skills that formidable? Our Lin family's Devil-Expelling Sword Technique is invincible, why should we be afraid of the Qingcheng Sect?" Lin Pingzhi was still quite confident in his family's traditional sword technique. In Kyoto, relying on his "out-of-body-and-into-the-spirit" Devil-Expelling Sword Technique, he had taught a lesson to countless arrogant and evil young masters who bullied men and women.

  Lin Ping's boastful words made Lin Zhen Nan somewhat displeased, and Chun Chun cautioned: "Ping, if you want to navigate the Jianghu world, you must learn to make friends. Having one more friend is far more valuable than having one more enemy. Yu Canghai's martial arts may not be as good as your father's, but since he is called a master of martial arts by his peers, he must also have real skills. Don't underestimate the heroes of the world."

  "Yes, Father!" Lin Pingzhi obediently replied.

  "Damn it, I've been blinded and deafened. The Lin father and son are really the worst, each one more self-absorbed than the last." Linghu Chong couldn't listen anymore, he suddenly flipped over and disappeared into the dark night.

  The master has appeared and is not afraid of him running away. This sneaky peeking in the middle of the night is really not interesting, it's better to go back to sleep.

  Inside the luxurious cabin, Lin's family of three continued to point at the scenery and comment on the heroes of the world. Fortunately, Linghu Chong saw an opportunity to slip away quickly and went home to sleep soundly; otherwise, he would have gotten goosebumps.

  The next morning, Yue Lingxuan got up early and disguised herself as a country boy. She went out to gather information. Yesterday, the Qingcheng Sect disciples appeared in this remote teahouse. According to Lu Dahai's analysis, the Lin family was very likely to change their route to waterways and were already close to this place, so she had to go out to scout ahead and make preparations.

  Unconsciously, it was already noon. The weather here was fine and sunny with a clear sky. Yue Lingxuan guarded the place where the boat had to pass by, but she felt uncomfortable under the scorching sun on the shore, so she quietly got into the water and hid inside. At first, she still maintained her composure, closely observing her surroundings, making herself tense. But as time passed, her lively and active personality couldn't help but make her restless, and she began to play in the water by herself.

  After noon, a luxurious large ship sailed into the river. Yue Lingxuan suddenly stopped swimming and quietly dived into the water, slowly approaching this luxurious ship.

  This ship was built by Lin Zhen Nan, who spent a large part of his family's wealth to commission the three most famous craftsmen in Kyoto to work together. The bow is sharp, and the hull is carved with two giant dragons, while the three huge sails are billowing in the wind, looking magnificent and majestic.

  Lin Pingzhi stood at the bow of the boat, handsome and elegant, his clothes fluttering in the wind, truly a good-looking man. Next to him were two followers, with large nostrils, big faces and thick necks, typical ugly men of the masses. These were Lin Pingzhi's attendants that he had asked for from Lin Zhennan.

  Young people love to compare and show off, so they find a few extremely ugly followers to set off their own handsomeness. Lin Pingzhi is still okay, but the little follower of the Kyoto royal family's young master, Wang Dabao, is really something else. That guy has triangular eyes, a pockmarked face, and is as fat as a pig. Standing next to him makes even the royal young master look handsome by comparison. It's said that the royal young master paid a huge price to hire this top star of the follower world, making countless princes and young masters jealous.

  Although Lin Pingzhi was comforted by Lin Zhen Nan and his wife, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable in his heart. Rules are set by people, why must parents adhere to them rigidly and not be flexible?

  Lin Ping's innate talent is a rare sight in a hundred years, and he is indeed a rare martial arts prodigy. Unfortunately, the Lin family only has the self-mutilating "Devil-Expelling Sword Scripture" and no other impressive martial arts secret manuals to offer, resulting in his talent being wasted.

  Lin Pingzhi had been exceptionally perceptive since he was a child, far surpassing his peers. He had a deep understanding of his surroundings and could detect even the slightest changes. When Yue Lingshan approached the luxurious Lin family ship, she was stunned by its majestic appearance and momentarily forgot to conceal herself, but was discovered by the keen-eyed Lin Pingzhi.

  "Who's there? Sneaking around and following us!" Lin Pingzhi suddenly shouted at Yue Lingshan.

  "Oh no!" Yue Lingshan secretly exclaimed, and quickly dove into the water, turning her head to swim away.

  Lin Pingzhi was in a bad mood, so he found a sneaky little thief to vent his anger on. He took off his clothes and ignored the advice of two small followers, jumping directly into the river and chasing after Yue Lingshan.

  Yue Lingxuan was a lively and mischievous child, who had explored every nook and cranny of Mount Hua, from the deep mountains to the isolated peaks and lake bottoms. As a result, she was also quite skilled in swimming. Lin Pingzhi was also a naturally talented martial artist, who had been chivalrous and righteous since childhood, enjoying fighting with others, and over time, he too developed good swimming skills.

  Two people chased each other underwater, and in the end, the man's physical strength took over. Lin Pingzhi gradually caught up with Yue Lingshan and stretched out his hand to slap her. Yue Lingshan had already broken through to the peak of the second-rate Jianghu realm after being trained by Yue Buqun and his wife for some time, and was considered a small expert in the Jianghu world. As for Lin Pingzhi, although he had excellent innate talent, his martial arts skills were too poor, relying on an incomplete set of evil-suppressing sword techniques that lacked important mental methods, barely breaking through to enter the peak of the third-rate Jianghu realm was already extremely difficult, how could he be Yue Lingshan's opponent.

  Yue Lingshan sensed the urgent and swift arrival of Li Zhang's palm, turned around and countered with a slap. Just as their palms were about to separate, she remembered her original intention for coming here. If she hurt Lin Pingzhi and let the Lin family know that she knew martial arts, they would definitely not believe her, and might even think she had ulterior motives. So she quickly withdrew her palm strength, but it was too late to change her stance and defend herself, and was slapped hard on the shoulder by Lin Pingzhi's palm...

  Two people destined to be together, yet they started fighting on their first meeting, and the woman even got hurt. It's really a case of fate being hard to defy.

  (PS: Thanks to book friends kuygg and Ye Luo o Autumn for the reward. After May Day overtime, I will resume normal update time tomorrow. If I say that there will be an explosion tomorrow, what reaction would you have?)