Since ancient times, winter has been met with sorrow and desolation;
I say winter days surpass the spring morn.
In clear skies a lone crane cleaves the clouds,
Thus drawing poetic passion up to the azure heavens.
Lin Chen's heart burned with fervor, even his footsteps light and brisk.
Compared to half a year ago, his mood was worlds apart.
Half a year earlier, he had returned home filled with anticipation—excited, yes, but the martial path had yet to become clear. Now, he had truly stepped onto the martial path. His eagerness to return home was driven even more by longing for his family, by an irrepressible desire to share this joy with his parents and eldest brother.
At the entrance of the village,
Lin Chen slowed his pace.
Gu Fei had returned to the village long ago. With Gu Fei's mouth, Lin Chen's outstanding performance at the Martial Hall had likely already spread throughout the entire village.
Who doesn't have a sense of vanity?
Lin Chen admitted that he was no exception. Vanity wasn't necessarily a bad thing; to some extent, it was even a driving force that pushed a person forward.
As long as one wasn't blinded by vanity, a little of it was not excessive.
Soon, Lin Chen ran into a villager.
"Lin Chen?"
The villager didn't dare to be sure. A few months ago, Lin Chen had returned home briefly and then left in a hurry the very next day, so many villagers hadn't seen him.
Over the past year at the Martial Hall, due to the rapid growth of his qi and blood, Lin Chen's stature and appearance had changed greatly from before.
His eyes were spirited, his complexion ruddy, his whole body exuding strength—completely different from the youths of the village.
"Uncle Li, it's me."
Lin Chen nodded slightly, waiting to receive Uncle Li's exaggerated praise.
"Lin Chen, you came back just in time. Something seems to have happened to your family. Someone came to cause trouble—your father…"
Before the villager could finish speaking, he saw Lin Chen's figure already sprinting more than ten zhang away.
The speed left him stunned.
Lin Chen was anxious as well.
It couldn't be this cliché, could it?
He had just stepped onto the martial path, and something happened at home.
This kind of plot was so trite that even web novel authors nowadays wouldn't write it like this.
...
...
Running straight toward his home in one breath, Lin Chen saw villagers gathered not far ahead, and his heart relaxed a little.
These villagers weren't gathered in front of his house, but at the Lin family ancestral residence.
The trouble wasn't at his own home.
Letting out a slight sigh of relief, Lin Chen entered the crowd. With his current height, he was already considered tall in the village, and with one glance he could see what was happening at the front.
His father, along with his eldest uncle and second uncle—the three brothers—stood facing several burly men, holding hoes and shoulder poles.
Behind them stood his grandfather and eldest aunt. His second aunt was holding Lin Hui, who had collapsed to the ground, his lower body limp, tears streaming down her face. His mother was holding his cousin Cheng Xi, while his eldest aunt was nowhere to be seen.
"Debts must be repaid—it's only right. Your family borrowed ten taels. With principal and interest, it's now fifteen taels. Either pay up or hand over the land deed. Otherwise, even taking this to the yamen won't help."
The leading burly man sneered, the flesh on his face trembling. "If you don't have money, don't pretend to learn martial arts. Don't you know what kind of material your family is?"
Hearing this exchange, Lin Chen frowned.
Were these men from a money house?
His grandfather had borrowed ten taels from a money house?
If his father hadn't been involved, Lin Chen wouldn't have wanted anything to do with this matter at all. Since the family had already split, his grandfather's and eldest uncle's debts had nothing to do with him. But now that his father was caught up in it, he naturally couldn't stand by and do nothing.
"Uncle Zhang, please make some room."
"Uncle Xu, let me through."
Lin Chen patted the shoulders of the villagers in front of him. When they turned and saw him, they were all somewhat shocked, but quickly made way for him.
"Lin Chen is back."
"Lin Chen? The youngest son of the Lin family's youngest branch? I heard he's doing very well learning martial arts at the Martial Hall."
"Looks like the Gu family kid wasn't lying. Look at how tall he is—my son stayed at the Martial Hall for a year and only grew half a head. He's grown at least a chi taller."
The villagers whispered among themselves. Seeing her son return, Lin Chen's mother was overjoyed. Holding Cheng Xi, she hurried over. "Why did you come back at this time? Gu Fei said you still had another month of training at the Martial Hall."
"I came back to see you, Mother."
If not for what was happening in front of them, Lin Chen could have satisfied his mother's vanity by saying, "Your son has refined essence energy." But right now, he wanted to know what exactly had happened.
"Mother, what's going on here?"
Hearing her son ask, Lin Chen's mother pursed her lips. "Last month, Lin Ming came back asking for money again. You know your grandfather—he indulges his eldest grandson no matter what. He secretly borrowed ten taels from a money house, agreeing to five taels of interest per month. If it wasn't repaid, the land deed would be taken as collateral."
The corner of Lin Chen's mouth twitched as he looked at his grandfather standing behind his father and let out a self-mocking smile.
Such high interest—and he dared to borrow?
Truly worthy of being the Lin family's only grandson. Ten taels wasn't enough—he even went to the money house to borrow another ten.
"This has nothing to do with our family, right? Father and Second Uncle…"
Since it was his grandfather who borrowed the money, and after the family split the farmland belonged to the eldest uncle, it had nothing to do with his own family or with the second uncle who had received the fishing boat.
"They came to collect the debt. Your grandfather refused to pay and a conflict broke out. Lin Hui happened to come home and saw it. Thinking they were bullying your grandfather, he rushed over and was beaten to the ground…"
Lin Chen understood. His grandfather didn't want to hand over the land deed. These debt collectors beat Lin Hui. His father and the others rushed over after hearing the news, and the villagers followed as well.
If outsiders came to cause trouble, Linhu Village was usually very united.
But the problem was that these people were from a money house collecting debts. There was a written IOU, clear as day. The Lin family was in the wrong. The village had no grounds to step in, and those who could run a money house were not pushovers. Just the build of these burly men was enough to intimidate the villagers.
After explaining the situation, Lin Chen's mother lowered her voice. "This is your grandfather's and eldest uncle's affair. Don't act impulsively."
"Don't worry, Mother."
Lin Chen knew his mother was afraid he might soften his heart and take responsibility for the debt.
He wouldn't.
From the moment the family split, he had already lost all familial affection toward his grandfather and the eldest uncle's family.
"Father, they're holding the IOU and collecting a debt—it's only right. Even if we stop them today, they can still go through the yamen tomorrow and take the land deed. There's no need to block them."
Lin Chen took the initiative to speak to his father. As soon as he finished, his eldest aunt behind them exploded first:
"Chen'er, how can you help outsiders? This is ancestral farmland passed down in our Lin family. If it's gone, how will we face the Lin ancestors?"
"As long as the money can be repaid, who would want your few mu of broken fields? We're all from the same town. Our money house has always been reasonable—how much we lend and how much interest we charge is agreed upon in advance. Linhu Village isn't the only place where people have borrowed from us. Have you ever seen us cause trouble?"
The leading burly man snorted, his gaze landing on Lin Chen. "This young fellow understands reason. Drag this out and let the yamen handle it, and you'll have to pay even more in service fees."
County yamen constables didn't go down to the countryside. To make a trip, they charged travel fees.
Thus, disputes in villages or towns were usually handled by the village head or respected elders. Cases taken to the yamen were extremely rare.
"You can't hand it over. That's the root of our Lin family."
Grandfather Lin Chaoyang spoke up. "My eldest grandson wrote a letter the other day. He's already refined essence energy. Give us a few more days and the money can be repaid."
Refined essence energy?
Hearing this, the surrounding villagers immediately began to discuss.
"Lin Ming refined essence energy?"
"Probably. He's been training for almost three years. Look at the Lin family's situation three years ago, then look at now—they've even split the family. They spent so much money; it's about time he refined it."
"If Lin Ming refined essence energy, the Lin family's days will improve."
The villagers' envious words brought a smile to the grandfather's aged face, and pride appeared on the eldest aunt's face as well.
She hadn't told anyone about her son refining essence energy, planning to announce it grandly when he returned. She hadn't expected her father to blurt it out now.
But with so many villagers present, saying it today wasn't bad either.
"Extend the time? Bah!"
The leading burly man's expression didn't change as he spat a mouthful of thick phlegm onto the ground, instantly freezing the smiles on the faces of the eldest aunt and grandfather.
"It took nearly three years just to refine essence energy. Whether he'll ever open apertures in this lifetime is hard to say. Either pay today or hand over the land deed. There's no other path."
"You… you…"
"What about me? You really think our money house didn't investigate your family situation before lending you money?"
The leading burly man sneered. How could he not know Lin Ming's situation?
Lin Ming had exhausted the family's savings and piled up a mountain of debt just to refine essence energy. Someone like that would have no future on the martial path, and wouldn't even be able to scrape together the money needed for further training.
Since they had already offended him, they might as well offend him thoroughly and cut off his financial lifeline completely.
Grandfather Lin Chaoyang trembled with rage at the burly man's words. The Lin family's qilin child—after spending so much money to refine essence energy—was belittled to nothing, and in front of the entire village. How could he accept that?
"Second and Third, this is ancestral farmland passed down in our Lin family. We can't just let it be lost. They want money—your three brothers should pool it together and pay them first. Tomorrow, once he's refined essence energy, it won't take long to repay your two families."
Grandfather Lin Chaoyang looked toward Lin Chen's father and the second uncle. A great joyous occasion for the Lin family had been ruined like this.
The second uncle was somewhat tempted. He didn't understand martial artists, but he often heard Lin Ming talk about how glorious things would be after refining essence energy. Helping out now would make Lin Ming remember his kindness as an uncle.
Lin Chen's father looked toward Lin Chen's mother and Lin Chen. The household finances were in his wife's hands, and his wife mostly listened to their youngest son.
"This money—our family won't contribute."
Lin Chen looked at his grandfather's commanding attitude and sneered. "I think this man said one thing right. Taking three years just to refine essence energy—given the eldest uncle's family situation, whether my eldest cousin will even have money to continue learning martial arts is already a problem."