Lin Zhongtian’s first reaction was complete disbelief.

When the engagement pact was made, it was clearly meant for a child of his and his lawful wife, Shen Luoying—not Lin Qinghen. No one in their right mind would have tied this matter to him. Over the years, Lin Zhongtian had done everything he could to avoid mentioning this redundant son of his, leaving him to fend for himself, treating him as if he didn’t exist.

Lin Qinghen was both the shame of the Lin family and a source of deep resentment in Lin Zhongtian’s heart. Only because Lin Qingshuang had brought him up did Lin Zhongtian reluctantly remember him.

“Shuang’er, marriage contracts aren’t to be taken lightly. He—”

Lin Qingshuang interrupted him, asking, “Father, does my name appear anywhere in the marriage contract?”

Lin Zhongtian hesitated, then answered, “No, it doesn’t.”

Although outsiders didn’t know the specific wording of the contract, Lin Zhongtian did. 

The groom, Yin Jiuxiao of the Yin family, was a bit older than Lin Qingshuang and had no known birth mother, having been brought back by his father. When the engagement was arranged, it was Lin Zhongtian’s father who seized the opportunity, using old ties and getting Father Yin drunk on a thousand-year-old vintage, securing the marriage pact and even sealing it with a clause of no return. But back then, Lin Qingshuang hadn’t even been born, and her name hadn’t been added. 

The contract only specified that it would be the child of Lin Zhongtian and Shen Luoying, which pointed to Lin Qingshuang by default.

Yin Jiuxiao, back then, also didn’t have the name he has now. Still, as the only child under his father’s care, with his father’s name clearly written, their families’ bond couldn’t be dodged.

“Shuang’er, you…”

“I don’t think this marriage contract is that precise,” Lin Qingshuang continued with growing confidence. “Though Lin Qinghen was born of a concubine, my mother is still the main wife and the head of the Lin household. According to the family registry, she’s also his stepmother. So why can’t he marry?”

This…

Lin Zhongtian had never even considered such a possibility, and there was no precedent for it. Typically, marriage contracts clearly stated the bride’s name, but the Lin family’s grandfather, in his haste, avoided specifics, too anxious to let the opportunity slip away before the Lin child was even born.

“Why the hesitation, Father?” Lin Qingshuang urged, feeling this plan suited her perfectly. “Shouldn’t he take my place? This is something he owes me, after all. Besides, the Yin family is still well-off; I’m securing him a good future!”

She’d thought it through: Lin Qinghen and Yin Jiuxiao—a blind man and a disfigured one, both weak in spirit power—seemed like a perfect match. While the Yin family still had assets, Yin Jiuxiao was nothing more than a discarded son, and Lin Qinghen deserved to be stuck in ruin with him. More importantly, he’d have no chance of going to Su Ye Immortal Mountain! If the engagement issue could be settled, it would relieve the Lin family of considerable pressure.

Lin Zhongtian seemed swayed, frowning as he pondered.

Since clearing out the last red Round Wheat from the two acres yesterday, Lin Qinghen’s right eyelid hadn’t stopped twitching. Unable to sit still today, he donned a farmworker’s straw hat and snuck back to the Planting Garden to observe.

Just as he suspected, something else had indeed happened that day, beyond just Lin Fei’s reckless actions. The Planting Garden had never been so bustling; though people were trying to keep a low profile and avoid attention, Lin Qinghen, having lived there for so long, could tell at a glance that they were searching for something.

People from the Three Mountains had already visited, but with the garden’s vastness, they had yet to find anything unusual. Lin Zhongtian had even attempted to question the garden master, but Yu Yinyin was nowhere to be found, and no one knew where she had gone.

To the people of the Three Mountains, the garden master’s sudden disappearance was just another suspicious cover-up by the Lin family. Determined, they left some people in the garden to look for clues, while others moved on to the Pill Refining Room.

In addition to external interest, certain Lin family members were just as curious. While disguised as a farmworker, Lin Qinghen noticed that the Lin family’s internal investigation was far more intense than that of the outsiders. Yu Yinyin’s quarters had been searched multiple times, and the entire garden had been turned inside out for any trace, but still, no clues emerged.

Not all members of the Lin family were without intellect.

Soon, Lin Qinghen spotted one particular person, who clearly had more insight and purpose than the others—Lin Yunsi, the most talented young alchemist in the Lin family. It was said he held a primary position at yesterday’s meeting. Lin Qinghen didn’t know him well, but during their younger years, Lin Yunsi was one of the few who hadn’t bullied him, either openly or in secret, at Lin Qingshuang’s instigation.

As they grew older, most of them became too busy to keep bothering him, leaving only Lin Fei to occasionally stir up trouble. But Lin Yunsi, for his part, had never joined in. It wasn’t that he was particularly kind-hearted; rather, this young alchemist was so consumed with his craft that he cared for little else and would rather spend his life in the Pill Refining Room. Yet here he was, wandering around the Planting Garden.

Having seen the four-star Homeostasis Powder, Lin Yunsi, unlike those from the Three Mountains, knew that the Lin family Pill Refining Room had never produced anything like it, so he didn’t waste his time searching there. Instead, Lin Yunsi concluded the unusual properties of this elixir must lie in its ingredients.

For days, Lin Yunsi had been searching around Yu Yinyin’s courtyard, finding her sudden disappearance incredibly suspicious. Though the outsiders had searched her quarters without much care, unaware of her unique skills, Lin Yunsi recalled hearing stories as a child. He knew Yu Yinyin was brought here at the request of a senior member of the family and that, besides controlling butterflies, she had other abilities. Her butterfly companion was still here, which meant her absence might be temporary. He continued lingering near her courtyard, looking for signs.

Lin Qinghen saw all this.

At the rate Lin Yunsi was going, it was only a matter of time before he uncovered the hidden formation.

Observing all of this, Lin Qinghen’s keen instincts instantly linked the situation to himself. Could his elixir have been exposed?

It was hardly a self-centered guess; the circumstances pointed him to this conclusion. He’d sold two bottles of that four-star Homeostasis Powder, and if someone at the alchemy convention had caught onto it amid the fuss over Lin Fei’s cheating, they could’ve assumed the elixir’s origin traced back to the Lin family. If anyone from the Fu Xin Hall had discovered the powder’s uniqueness, they wouldn’t have caused such a stir. It must have been someone at the inn that night. But who?

Lin Qinghen’s only connection to that guest was a mere inn servant. Even if he asked now, the servant likely wouldn’t remember or know who that person was. Too many people came and went at inns, stopping briefly to stay or dine.

Forget it; there was no point in overthinking it. Thankfully, he had destroyed all traces in the hidden formation just in time. So far, no one suspected him. Even if Lin Yunsi or anyone else found the tree hollow, they’d come up empty-handed. All he had to do was wait here until his master came to retrieve him.

Feeling a bit relieved, Lin Qinghen headed back to his small, shabby courtyard that night, only to see a crowd waiting there.

Men clad in black armor—the Lin family’s inner court guards. And they weren’t just any guards; these were Lin Zhongtian’s personal men, typically of high status, rarely seen in this part of the estate. They had surrounded his courtyard entirely.

At that sight, Lin Qinghen knew something was off and turned to run.

But this group had come specifically for him and spotted him immediately, blocking any chance of escape. Within moments, Lin Qinghen was caught.

The guard looked him over, sneering at his servant’s garb and mask. “So you’re Lin Qinghen? Young Master Qinghen, you’ve made us search high and low. The family head requests your presence—come with us.”

Realizing escape was impossible, Lin Qinghen stopped struggling, knowing better than to risk injury. Taking advantage of the moment, he glanced back at his courtyard. Surprisingly, it looked undisturbed; the guards hadn’t searched it thoroughly but had only waited for him to return. That meant the four-star Homeostasis Powder hadn’t been exposed.

Relieved, Lin Qinghen was led all the way into the inner court of the family estate, where Lin Zhongtian and Lin Qingshuang awaited him in the study.

A familiar sense of danger prickled at him again.

Lin Zhongtian paused upon seeing his son brought in by the guards. It had been years since he’d seen him and wouldn’t have recognized him if they’d passed each other at home.

After Lin Qingshuang had suggested her idea, he’d given it serious consideration.

The result? This might just work.

Lin Qinghen was his blood, after all, and the contract didn’t specify any names. While this had never been done before, rules could be tested. If the contract accepted Lin Qinghen, other powers couldn’t use this marriage pact to bind him.

Though the four-star powder issue remained unresolved, it wasn’t an urgent matter; he could take his time investigating, without pressure. So today, Lin Zhongtian had fetched the engagement scroll from the family treasury, examined the oath between the two families, and summoned the guards to find Lin Qinghen.

Now that his son was here, Lin Zhongtian wasted no time. He didn’t need Lin Qinghen’s consent or even an explanation. A drop of blood was all it would take to confirm whether the contract recognized Lin Qinghen. If it did, the scroll would emit a faint pink glow.

When Lin Qinghen saw Lin Zhongtian taking out the scroll from its box, his eyelid twitched violently. The guard had forced him in front of Lin Zhongtian, and the words “engagement contract” were clearly written on the scroll, a powerful spiritual energy emanating from it.

This contract was no ordinary item. As far as he knew, only Lin Qingshuang had this level of engagement scroll in the family. Her engagement with Yin Jiuxiao was famous, and Lin Qinghen understood what this meant.

Without a word from Lin Zhongtian, Lin Qinghen grasped his intention quickly. Lin Qingshuang didn’t want to honor the engagement! And of course, with the fallen genius Yin Jiuxiao, she would be far too proud to agree. But Lin Qinghen hadn’t expected that they’d shift this onto him.

“What are you trying to do?”

Lin Qinghen immediately struggled, but the guards held him down firmly, leaving him no room to move. “You can’t just recklessly test this kind of engagement scroll! Lin Zhongtian, Lin Qingshuang, calm down! I’m not its intended match—spiritual energy backlash could be fatal!”

Cold sweat broke out on Lin Qinghen’s brow.

Being well-versed in basic knowledge, he knew the engagement scroll was a high-grade Heavenly-ranked spiritual weapon with its own protective mechanism. Anyone besides the intended person would suffer severe repercussions from its power. With his limited Yellow-grade Four-Star power, this forced test could leave him half-dead.

This was no obscure knowledge—Lin Zhongtian couldn’t possibly be unaware of it. Lin Qinghen couldn’t believe his father’s bias ran this deep. Even after hearing his plea, Lin Zhongtian’s hand did not falter.

A guard held Lin Qinghen’s hand, swiftly slicing his palm, and his blood dripped onto the scroll.

In that fleeting moment as the drop fell, Lin Qinghen felt his heart stop.

After all these years, he’d never been this tense. He’d spent so long avoiding danger, and now it felt like he was brushing against death again. Everything happened so quickly that Lin Qinghen even forgot about the protective spiritual device Yu Yinyin had gifted him.

But to his surprise, the charm hanging around his neck remained dormant, doing nothing.

Lin Qinghen’s blood touched the scroll, and without hesitation, it emitted a faint pink glow.

The thing… had accepted him?

Just like that? So casually?