Chapter 47: Nothing Left to Live For

“So, what’s your answer?” Lin He turned his gaze back to Yu Daoyi and asked.

“I agree.” Yu Daoyi nodded slightly, smiling as he spoke.

“As expected, smart people don’t require much persuasion.” Lin He narrowed his long eyes with a faint smile, seemingly satisfied.

“But I won’t interfere in the Lin family’s affairs. After all, that’s your own business and has nothing to do with me,” Yu Daoyi added.

“Naturally. Our current target is only him,” Lin He responded indifferently.

“As long as he lives, he’s a hidden threat. I can’t do anything about the Wang family, but as for the Song family, I haven’t yet solidified my most intimate connection there. I won’t let go,” Yu Daoyi grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

“I must say again, don’t underestimate him. He’s far more suspicious than you imagine.” Lin He couldn’t help but add, after all, if things went awry, all his efforts would be for naught.

“I never underestimate anyone—including you,” Yu Daoyi suddenly said seriously. The Lin He before him felt quite unfamiliar.

“I’ve never sought your friendship. We simply share a common enemy.”

Indeed, as long as we maintain this dirty little transaction, all will be well, Yu Daoyi thought to himself.

“Well then, I have nothing more to say. I’ll continue observing him in secret. If you need anything, I can offer what little help I can,” Lin He smiled kindly at Yu Daoyi.

“Just make sure he appears at the back mountain,” Yu Daoyi replied offhandedly.

“Rest assured. He won’t feel at ease until he sees the outcome with his own eyes.”

The two exchanged a glance and smiled, both with a touch of slyness.

“By the way, I’m curious—how did you notice my concealment? Was it a magical tool or a spell?” Lin He couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer.

“You’re overstepping your bounds with that question,” Yu Daoyi waved his hand dismissively.

“My apologies. I’ll take my leave now. Please send my regards to your esteemed parents,” Lin He cupped his hands and departed.

You think you deserve that? Always sending regards to people’s parents—no manners at all!

“Hahaha, not a problem. My parents adore children like you,” Yu Daoyi replied with feigned cheer.

He watched Lin He walk away and stood motionless, occasionally furrowing his brows as if lost in thought.

“What are you thinking about?” Yu Yunfan finally asked. From beginning to end, he hadn’t said a word, only lowering his head or frowning, but tonight’s events had left him deeply shaken.

“Tell me, what time is it now?”

After a long silence, Yu Yunfan was momentarily stunned by this unexpected question from his brother.

“Almost the fourth watch,” Yu Yunfan looked up at the time.

“Little brother.” Yu Daoyi took a deep breath.

“Hmm?”

“I’m hungry. I want a midnight snack,” Yu Daoyi replied sweetly.

What?!

---

Heh, my brother’s mind really is sometimes lucid, sometimes muddled. I can’t believe I actually thought he was pondering something important.

“Come on, come on, I’ll take you to the latrine for a feast.” With a cold tone and icy demeanor, Yu Yunfan dragged his brother toward the latrine without giving him a choice.

“Hey! I was just joking! Don’t be angry!” Yu Daoyi struggled with all his might, finally managing to break free.

“So what exactly did you discover about him?” Yu Yunfan returned to the main topic, his expression serious.

“You know I’m a genius when it comes to alchemy, don’t you?” Sensing his brother’s doubt, Yu Daoyi’s own expression turned serious.

“So?”

Yu Yunfan ignored his brother’s self-aggrandizement and pressed on.

After all, what kind of genius blows up the furnace every other attempt?

“So, I don’t know why, but I’ve always felt my spiritual sense is different from others’, though I can’t pinpoint exactly how.”

“What do you mean?”

“For example, others might see you as an ordinary cultivator at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, but in my eyes, even a ninth-level cultivator might not defeat you.”

At those words, Yu Yunfan was taken aback. He knew his strength far surpassed his apparent stage, but he had never told his brother.

“So, before that meeting at Heavenly Jade Pavilion, both Lin He and I had encountered each other from afar several times. Each time, I had a vague feeling—he’s definitely not as weak as he appears, or rather, he’s not as simple as he seems. There’s something very odd about him—so odd that I doubt he’s even human.”

“Then, during that last encounter at Heavenly Jade Pavilion, when you slapped him twice, my feeling grew stronger. I could sense him deliberately suppressing his spiritual energy. At least in my perception, his level was far beyond the sixth stage—maybe even the ninth,” Yu Daoyi said softly, watching his frowning brother.

“So at that time, you weren’t just probing Heavenly Jade Pavilion, but Lin He as well?” Yu Yunfan asked in surprise.

“I wanted to see if my intuition was correct. After your first slap, my suspicion only deepened. Then, there was the matter of the beggar outside the three families—which wasn’t hard to figure out. You must have noticed, but perhaps I thought a bit further. Now, it seems I was right. That beggar was working for Lin He. He’s hiding many things.”

“So what are you planning to do?” Yu Yunfan asked.

“You should know who he meant by ‘that guy,’ right?”

“Lin Tao,” Yu Yunfan replied coolly.

“Yes. We’ve met him a few times. On the surface, he’s amiable and approachable, but if you pay attention to his eyes, you’ll see through him,” Yu Daoyi said casually, as if Lin Tao’s act was merely for show.

“A hypocrite,” Yu Yunfan said with disdain.

“Don’t underestimate someone who can deceive others and manipulate things behind the scenes. In my opinion, he’s much more formidable than Wang Hongjun of the Wang family, whom I’ve never met. We must stay alert,” Yu Daoyi warned.

“So what do you plan to do?”

“What do you mean? Obviously, we should seek out our handsome, dashing, charming father and our beautiful, elegant, peerless mother,” Yu Daoyi answered as if it were the most natural thing.

Joking aside, why make things difficult for myself when I could just rely on my parents? I’m not the protagonist of some other novel, seeking conflict for no reason.

“...”

Yu Yunfan was speechless, but he couldn’t really refute it.

“La la la, Father, Mother, here I come!” The brat bounced and skipped toward his parents’ room.

“Father and Mother won’t care about your nonsense,” Yu Yunfan glanced at his brother with contempt and sighed.

“Nonsense. As long as I’m earnest and moving, how could they ignore me?” Yu Daoyi said with firm conviction. One must believe in parental love.

---

Yu Yunfan looked speechlessly at his brother’s naive face.

“Trust your brother’s judgment! As long as I cling tightly enough, danger can never catch me!”

Half a stick of incense later.

“Boohoo, the danger caught up with me! What if I die? Little brother, do you think they’re really my parents?” Yu Yunfan looked at his brother, who lay nearby with a bruised face, crying pitifully, and felt a headache coming on.

“Did you even check what time it is?” Yu Yunfan sighed again.

“What time? It was the middle of the night, and an outsider and their two sons were meeting in secret. How could any parent sleep through that? Aren’t they worried we might be in danger?” Yu Daoyi lay on the ground, sobbing like a bullied salted fish.

“In reality, they slept soundly. You shouldn’t have disturbed their sweet dreams,” Yu Yunfan said expressionlessly.

“But their son’s life is in danger! I just wanted to discuss it with them, and look how they beat me! And they said ‘the night is precious’—have you ever seen a father like that? At this hour, what precious night?”

“Waaah, I don’t want to be human anymore. They’re so heartless!”

Yu Yunfan looked at his brother rolling and wailing on the ground and had the urge to kick him, but seeing his sorry state, decided to leave it for another time.

“Fine, I’ll go talk to Father and Mother and tell them you have something important to discuss,” Yu Yunfan said, unable to help himself.

“Little brother, I’m so touched! You’re the best!” Yu Daoyi cried again, this time out of gratitude.

Another half stick of incense later.

Yu Yunfan looked at his brother, now even more battered lying on the ground, and heaved a deep sigh, feeling nothing but a trace of amusement.

“All right, it’s late. Go back to sleep,” Yu Yunfan said calmly.

“Leave me alone. Don’t touch me—we’re not close,” the brat wept, lying on the ground in utter despair.

“Why? I was just lying here, saying nothing. It was you who knocked on the door, you who spoke, so why was I the one who got beaten...?”

“Boohoo, they did it on purpose. I must not be their real son. How could they be so cruel?”

“Well, I can go ask them again,” Yu Yunfan replied considerately, listening to his brother’s lament as he turned toward the room.

“Hey! Little brother! What are you saying? The night is precious—we shouldn’t disturb Father and Mother. As children, we should think of our parents’ wellbeing!” The solemn words sounded from behind.

Yu Yunfan turned to see his brother standing with his back to him, head lifted to the moon, his silhouette as lonely and desolate as could be.

He glanced at the ground beside him—a puddle of tears.

Alas, what a pity there wasn’t a drop of red among them.