Lin Qinghen had heard of the Yin family’s renowned Nine Heavens Exquisite Cloud Sword before. This kind of spiritual essence, if fully unleashed, was something the Lin family couldn’t even dream of matching.

But seeing the current situation, that didn’t seem likely.

Once Lin Qinghen led Yin Jiuxiao inside, the tense atmosphere became even clearer. A family head and an elder, both had summoned their spiritual essences, and it looked like they’d already fought to a draw with no clear winner.

As soon as Yin Miao saw this, he hurried forward to defuse the situation. With his intervention, the atmosphere lightened up slightly.

When Yin Jiuxiao had heard that furious shouting earlier, he’d already started explaining to Lin Qinghen, “The one who’s angry is Yin Hengxie, the head of the Yin family, my father’s younger brother. Nowadays, I call him Uncle, so you can call him that too.”

Yin Hengxie was generally good to him, but often powerless. Though he held the title of Family Head, he was restricted on all sides. He tried his best to protect the so-called title of “Young Master” for Yin Jiuxiao, but he couldn’t truly shield him. Instead, most of the time, it only led to Jiuxiao facing more bullying. Without Yin Hengxie in the house, nobody recognized Jiuxiao’s position as Young Master, not even the people directly under Yin Hengxie’s command.

As Lin Qinghen got closer, he finally saw this family head’s appearance.

To be honest, he did resemble Yin Jiuxiao somewhat. High-level cultivators generally had long lifespans, and for the most part, they could maintain their youthful appearances, like Yu Yinyin and Lin Zhongtian. But this man looked far older, appearing entirely middle-aged, with streaks of gray in his hair and lines on his face. Even in the heat of his emotions, you could see the exhaustion and burden he carried, as if weighed down by something heavy.

Opposite him stood Xu Yaoyang, another elder of the family. He wasn’t part of the Yin family by blood, and his spiritual essence was a long whip. When the Yin family was at its peak, they had welcomed talents from all over. It wasn’t unusual to have elders who weren’t part of the family. But it was ironic that now outsiders were the ones stepping over them.

After Yin Miao came over to mediate, both men reluctantly withdrew their spiritual essences. A few tense exchanges later, they both turned, fixing their gazes on Lin Qinghen and Yin Jiuxiao, who were approaching slowly.

Yin Hengxie spoke first, his expression complicated as he looked at Lin Qinghen without a hint of joy. He turned to Yin Miao and asked, “Did Jiuxiao really say this? Said he approves?”

Yin Miao nodded.

Before Yin Hengxie could respond, Xu Yaoyang cut in, his voice dripping with schadenfreude. “I said it before, didn’t I? How could the Lin family be interested in this marriage alliance now? Family Head, from the start, I advised you to talk it out with Lin Zhongtian. If he could dissolve the engagement, I’d fully support it. At least we’d get something out of it. Now look, no Lin Qingshuang, and instead, we’re stuck with a waste. Such a loss.”

“Shut your mouth!” Yin Hengxie snapped, glaring at him. “Jiuxiao’s marriage is none of your business. Stop meddling.”

Lin Qinghen knew that the first impression wouldn’t go smoothly, so he didn’t take their words to heart.

Comparing it all, he realized just how different Yin Jiuxiao’s initial attitude toward him had been.

But to his surprise, Yin Jiuxiao spoke up. “It was indeed my choice to bring Qinghen back. This was a match made by fate. No need for Elder Xu to concern himself.”

Xu Yaoyang hadn’t expected the previously meek Jiuxiao to talk back after a trip outside, and he was visibly annoyed. However, with Yin Hengxie and Yin Miao present, his chances of doing anything were slim. He glanced at the newcomer disdainfully and left with a sour note, “Just you wait. You’ll get what’s coming to you.”

Seeing this, Yin Miao felt that something bigger was going on besides just the marriage contract, and he quickly asked for clarification.

“First, let’s get the Young Master settled back to rest,” Yin Miao gestured to his men, “I have important matters to discuss with the Family Head.”

But even after Xu Yaoyang left, Yin Hengxie’s expression only grew darker. He said, “Jiuxiao, stay. You are the Yin family’s Young Master. You should be informed about the family’s matters.”

Lin Qinghen noticed Yin Miao’s expression—a look of mild disgust, as if he was resigned to putting up with it in public. It was just as Yin Jiuxiao had said: in the Yin family, aside from Yin Hengxie who insisted on honoring the family’s legacy by supporting Jiuxiao’s position, no one else truly recognized it.

“And you—Lin, Lin… Lin Qinghen,” Yin Hengxie struggled briefly to recall his name. “You should go rest in your room.”

It was clear he hadn’t quite come to terms with the outcome of the marriage.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Yin Jiuxiao tightened his grip on Lin Qinghen’s hand. “We’ll both listen together.”

The Yin family’s messy affairs were hardly a secret to Lin Qinghen. Jiuxiao didn’t even plan to return home until they got married. Once he was stronger, he’d take Yin Hengxie and whoever else he respected with him, leaving the family with just enough to carry on. With him around, there was no doubt they’d flourish eventually.

But since Lin Qinghen had come to this forsaken place, Yin Jiuxiao wanted to see if he could make something out of this pitiful environment.

After a moment of hesitation, Yin Hengxie conceded. “Fine, stay and listen if you want. It’s not something we can hide anyway.”

“Just a few days ago, we had a beast outbreak outside the city, in the north. You know how it is with those Biting Tooth Rats; no matter how many we kill, we can’t get rid of them. Thankfully, I had prepared in advance, so the team’s in place.”

At this point, he slammed the table in anger. “But Xu Yaoyang! Not only did he refuse to help, he even stabbed us in the back. The alchemists in charge of support were supposed to be in on this, but he’s been scheming all along and poached several alchemists just when we needed them most! We’re running out of supplies!”

Yin Miao blinked, “Maybe try asking some outside pharmacies…”

“Don’t even think about it,” Yin Hengxie sighed. “Xu Yaoyang colluded with the city’s Alchemists’ Association just to humiliate me. I’ve reached out to everyone I could, but many have doubled their prices. There are still a few I have connections with, like Die Meng, but their alchemists are practically gone. They’re barely keeping afloat.”

Lin Qinghen caught the name “Die Meng” among the barrage of keywords. Even though Yin Hengxie didn’t have time to explain, Lin Qinghen knew what was going on. Biting Tooth Rats were native to the northern region. Their spiritual power was low—around Mysterious Level Two Stars—but they bred like crazy, burrowing everywhere. High-level Spirit Masters couldn’t be bothered to deal with them, so they were impossible to eradicate.

But their teeth and claws, once refined, could be crafted into weapons for ordinary martial artists, and their hides could be made into warm clothing, while their meat, dried and preserved, made decent food. Although they were troublesome, the Spirit World’s rules made it profitable to fight.

Yin Jiuxiao had been watching him closely, while Yin Hengxie and Yin Miao both seemed worried. The two of them remained calm.

After a while, Yin Jiuxiao leaned over, unable to hold back, and whispered to Lin Qinghen, “What are you thinking?”

Lin Qinghen glanced at him and replied, “I’m doing the math.”

Yin Jiuxiao: “?”