It wasn’t just him; even Lin Zhongtian froze for a moment, likely not expecting things to go so smoothly.

He had only intended to give it a casual try. If it didn’t work out, there’d be no loss. If Lin Qinghen were to end up severely injured from this, well, that wouldn’t be much of a loss to him anyway.

Now that things had gone according to plan, it was truly a lucky break.

Lin Zhongtian felt in high spirits as he looked down at Lin Qinghen before him.

He knew very well that this son was nothing more than a temporary tool, something to help the Lin family get through this current predicament and fulfill Shuang’er’s wishes. If that could happen, it would probably be the most useful moment of his life.

Naturally, he didn’t feel the need to explain anything to a tool. Since bringing Lin Qinghen over, he hadn’t even said a word to him.

Due to past grievances, he could never bring himself to like this son of his, with his low spirit power and scarred face, nor did he bother to pay him any attention. But after seeing Lin Qinghen’s reaction, he couldn’t help but entertain some new thoughts.

—He’s rather sharp, isn’t he? He didn’t scream excessively and quickly figured out the situation.

But such sensitivity wouldn’t do him much good now.

After a series of emotional upheavals, Lin Qinghen, still held down by the guards, stopped struggling, breathing heavily as he sat on the ground with his head lowered.

He cursed in his mind.

“I told you it would work, didn’t I?” Lin Qingshuang stared at the marriage contract, the most delighted of anyone. “Now, let’s see who else dares to speak out.”

Once her joy faded, she turned to Lin Zhongtian, pleading, “Daddy, the Round Wheat issue is even more important. You have to find it for me! It just so happens that the Peak Master is incredibly interested in it. If our Lin family can connect with Su Ye Immortal Mountain because of this, it wouldn’t just benefit me; it’d be good for the whole family.”

Lin Zhongtian, of course, understood this.

This strange Homeostasis Powder definitely hadn’t originated from the Lin family. At the very least, he, as the Family Head, wasn’t aware of it.

But now that it had appeared and attracted so much attention, Lin Zhongtian was determined to obtain it.

Apparently, he truly didn’t care about Lin Qinghen, believing he posed no threat. They didn’t bother speaking in private, even while discussing this.

Moreover, Lin Zhongtian had no intention of letting him go back.

He smiled at Lin Qingshuang, then waved his hand, signaling the guards to hold onto Lin Qinghen’s arms and haul him to his feet, preparing to escort him outside.

Lin Qinghen heard their conversation loud and clear. He had already guessed that the Homeostasis Powder he created had been exposed, but he hadn’t expected that even Lin Qingshuang would be eyeing it.

Though they hadn’t pinpointed him as the source and hadn’t found it yet, he suddenly found it all absurdly ironic.

Lin Zhongtian’s favoritism had never been hidden, growing year by year until it had reached this point.

Lin Qingshuang was even worse. She wanted others to endure what she didn’t want, and she would take what she desired without hesitation.

In all honesty, Lin Qinghen had never done anything wrong. He had merely been left to bear the burdens of his parents’ generation. The Lin family shunned and bullied him, and he never expected anything from his relatives. Surviving in this household was good enough.

But should the things he struggled to achieve be snatched by Lin Qingshuang just like that?

From his earlier struggles, his face mask had loosened a bit. As the guards led him away, Lin Zhongtian’s gaze flicked over, catching a glimpse of half of Lin Qinghen’s face, partially exposed.

This son of his, with his unsightly birthmark, hadn’t changed a bit, though due to the backlighting, the blueish birthmark appeared less prominent, allowing his eye on one side to show.

Lin Qinghen’s eyes were, in fact, quite nice, slightly round with a hint of a fox-like upward slant.

And that eye was staring right at him, filled with an emotion that was difficult to discern.

Hatred? Disappointment? Anger? None of those seemed to fully capture it.

But it was just a glance, the futile struggle of a caged beast, and Lin Zhongtian didn’t think too deeply on it.

Whatever was in Lin Qinghen’s heart was trivial. It was just those eyes—they sparked an old memory within him.

Lin Zhongtian closed his eyes, but just then, Lin Qingshuang tugged at his sleeve, bringing him back. Looking at his daughter, he reached out to touch her hair, dismissing the fleeting thought.

Although the specific person in the marriage contract wasn’t specified, the timing for the union was clear. It was set for when both parties turned eighteen.

Yin Jiuxiao was already eighteen, and both Lin Qingshuang and Lin Qinghen happened to share the same birthday, just a few days away.

Lin Zhongtian had no intention of announcing the swap of the marriage partner to the public, simply stating that the marriage would go on as planned, to avoid any unnecessary complications.

When the time came, he’d shove Lin Qinghen into the spotlight, have him bow before the Marriage Stone, and that would be that. Until then, Lin Qinghen wasn’t going anywhere.

He was locked away in a room in the inner courtyard. To be fair, the conditions were better than his shabby little courtyard, with people around to “attend to him,” though they were just guards, really.

Lin Qinghen didn’t sleep that night, sitting on his bed in disbelief at how ridiculous this all was.

—Just like that, he was going to get married.

Damn.

The precious spirit artifact his master had given him had been of no use. There had been no life-threatening situation, and even if Yu Yinyin returned, she would never openly oppose Lin Zhongtian.

The marriage contract was locked in; the Lin family wouldn’t let him go.

Lin Qinghen was clear about his current predicament. There was no way he could escape, so he gave up on wasting energy and started pondering what he would do if he truly went through with the marriage.

His plans had been thoroughly wrecked.

Why was his life always so messed up? He had almost been free of this place, only for this to happen.

He was getting a headache.

Meanwhile, things weren’t going great for Yin Jiuxiao, either.

He had noticed that the progression of his plans seemed a bit off.

Early that morning, the Lin family sent out word that the marriage would proceed as scheduled.

Only a few major powers, including Three Mountain, knew about the elixirs. But the representative sent by the Yin family wasn’t naive.

Elder Yin Miao, the delegate, was clever enough to realize they were being used by Three Mountain. The specifics of what was being contested didn’t matter, as it wouldn’t fall to the Yin family anyway.

Still, he was surprised by how effective the pressure had been.

Yin Jiuxiao sat in his room, his aura distinguished, his senses sharper than most Spirit Masters, allowing him to hear Elder Yin Miao’s joyful exclamations from afar: “Excellent, excellent, excellent! I told you, there’s no way the Lin family would dare to break such a significant promise!”

Though this was also what Yin Jiuxiao had hoped for—he only wanted his grandfather’s Spirit Source—it felt too easy.

Could Lin Zhongtian really accomplish all this in just a few days, merely because of pressure from Three Mountain?

And even if he agreed, would someone as arrogant as Lin Qingshuang accept this so easily?

His brows furrowed, his expression turning slightly grim.

Yin Jiuxiao had sent out scouts multiple times. With his current strength, he risked being detected by Lin Zhongtian if he followed too closely, so he avoided encounters when Lin Qingshuang was with her father.

He still hadn’t obtained the marriage contract, and the intriguing Lin Qinghen he’d seen at the Lin family house was nowhere to be found, despite his search.

There was something strange about the Lin family, and a day later, an even more surprising development occurred.

The Lin family had found that peculiar Red Round Wheat!

The news wasn’t publicized, and he learned about it only because one of his scouts had followed Lin Qingshuang.

The one who made the discovery was Lin Yunsi, who had lingered around Yu Yinyin’s courtyard for days. Noticing something odd about a tree nearby, he inspected further and uncovered an intricately set array within.

An array couldn’t create space from nothing; it merely hid things from sight.

The Lin family had array masters capable of deciphering the setup. Once it was deactivated, it revealed two acres of open ground.

Why hide such land? Though the area was cleared, the outskirts of the array had left traces. While undetectable from within, once the array broke, its edges were exposed.

In that outer blind spot, there stood a single mature Red Round Wheat plant.

As to who had planted it, no one knew, though many suspected the missing garden owner, Yu Yinyin. But Yin Jiuxiao knew better.

The little crow from that day had muttered about it while perched nearby, claiming it was “the best material under the heavens” he’d cultivated himself.

Upon hearing the news, his first reaction was one of shock.

Was the little crow a member of the Lin family?

Was it really such a coincidence?

The strange thing was, if he were a member of the Lin family, why not cultivate these things for the family’s benefit, instead of risking exposure by selling them openly? And why disappear afterward?

Moreover, overhearing Lin Qingshuang’s ambitions, it was clear she planned to use the discovery to curry favor with visitors from Su Ye Immortal Mountain, hoping to become a disciple of its master. With that goal in mind, she would never agree to go through with the marriage contract with him.

Soon, Lin Qingshuang’s grand birthday feast would arrive, coinciding with the time for the marriage. What was the Lin family’s true agenda?

Meanwhile, Lin Qinghen, who understood the real story, also received the news.

He was still confined to the courtyard, but someone sought him out.

It was Chu Wei, whom he had met once before.

Chu Wei had been searching for Lin Qinghen for days, finally extracting the information from Lin Qingshuang. She needed Su Ye Immortal Mountain’s support, so, after weighing her options, she told him where Lin Qinghen was.

Now that the rare Red Round Wheat had been found and Lin Qinghen was set to be married in her place, Chu Wei couldn’t do much to change things.

“You can’t take him back to Su Ye Immortal Mountain,” Lin Qingshuang had told him. “This is his fate.”

But Chu Wei didn’t care about that. Still young, he insisted on speaking with Lin Qinghen.

Lin Qinghen, however, was in no mood. Chu Wei might be interested in him, but the feeling was definitely not mutual, and he didn’t even bother pretending otherwise.

Chu Wei quickly noticed that Lin Qinghen wasn’t the same as the last time, no longer lowering his head and feigning weakness. Lin Qinghen sat there unmoving as Chu Wei prattled on about his search through Plum Garden, eventually snapping, “So?”

“It must’ve been you who discovered it!”

“You’re overthinking.”

Chu Wei didn’t believe him. He came from a respected background, and people always fawned over him. The fact that Lin Qinghen, despite knowing who he was, remained cold and aloof made him all the more unique.

Unwilling to give up, he kept pestering him with questions.

“It has to be you!”

“How many of these books have you read? Tell me about them!”

“Say something, will you?”

“Hey, don’t be upset. Just because you’re marrying Yin Jiuxiao doesn’t mean you can’t leave. If Su Ye Immortal Mountain wants you, would the Yin family dare refuse?”

“What is it you really want? Just tell me!”

Lin Qinghen, finally fed up, replied, “I just want Lin Qingshuang to stop dumping the things she doesn’t want on me. Can you manage that?”

“That’s out of my control,” Chu Wei replied bluntly. “She’s already gotten what she wanted. The Lin family is negotiating with people from Su Ye Immortal Mountain. There’s a good chance she’ll be accepted as a disciple.”

Upon hearing that, Lin Qinghen finally reacted.

“She found the Round Wheat?!”

What kind of luck did Lin Qingshuang have?

Her success didn’t matter, but why did he have to be her stepping stone every time?

“You knew about this?” Chu Wei made no effort to hide it from him and quickly recounted the situation. “No wonder it caught my uncle’s eye. The Red Round Wheat is indeed extraordinary. My uncle has tested it, and even the seedlings have started to mutate. Eight out of every hundred stalks turned red, and their yield is somewhat higher. Amazing!”

Lin Qinghen: …?

Wait a minute.

His frustration momentarily halted, and he paused in surprise.

The seeds the Lin family found didn’t seem to be his final version?