2026-05-27 01:39:49The thick, freezing fog hung low over the Lin clan’s primary distribution warehouse, swallowing the dim light of the overhead lanterns. Outside the heavy iron doors, two senior enforcers—the exact men who had bound Lin Feng in frost-iron chains five days ago—sighed as they clinked their wine jars together.
"I'm telling you, that trash son-in-law is probably liquid sludge by now," the larger enforcer, Guard Zhao, laughed boisterously, wiping grease from his mouth. "The Ashen Pits don't leave bones, let alone a cripple."
"And his annoying brat isn't far behind," the second enforcer, Guard Liu, sneered coldly, taking a heavy swig. "She’s barely breathing in the extraction cell right now, whimpering for her dad, though we keep telling her he’s already dead and forgotten."
Hearing those words, the shadows near the alleyway froze, a terrifying, absolute glacier forming inside Lin Feng's chest. A limping, shivering figure stepped slowly out of the thick fog, leaning heavily on a weathered wooden staff.
Guard Zhao blinked, dropping his wine jar as it shattered against the cobblestones, his eyes widening in brief shock. "What the hell? Is that... Lin Feng? How are you still breathing, trash?"
"Well, look at that," Guard Liu spat, recovering his composure and drawing his gleaming iron sword with a cruel laugh. "The execution canyon must have rejected your filthy peasant blood. Even hell didn't want to swallow a piece of garbage like you."
"Did you crawl back here to beg for your daughter?" Zhao taunted, stepping forward and intentionally kicking a piece of broken glass toward Lin Feng's feet. "You're too late, cripple. The young master has been using her as a footstool to keep her quiet."
"She cried so much her throat bled, you know," Liu added, his eyes gleaming with malicious delight as he tapped his blade against his palm. "We told her she’s a parentless bastard now and that nobody is coming to save her. She just lies there sobbing."
Lin Feng stood perfectly still, his tattered, blood-stained clothes clinging to his pale skin as he stared at them. His eyes were completely deep and flat, hiding a volcano of pure, unadulterated fury behind a mask of total weakness.
"You should have stayed in the pit, trash," Zhao barked, lunging forward with a sudden, vicious swing meant to take off Lin Feng's arm. "Die again, cripple! This time, I'll make sure you're buried properly!"
Lin Feng didn't retreat. He simply tapped the base of his wooden staff against the cobblestone, subtly releasing a microscopic thread of gravity-altering Nether Qi. The air pressure in the alleyway instantly multiplied by ten thousand, turning thick as lead.
The two enforcers froze mid-air, their swords shattering into absolute dust under the sudden, crushing weight. Their eyes bulged with primitive horror as they were slammed violently into the ground, the stones cracking beneath their chests.
"What... what kind of sorcery is this?" Zhao wheezed, his face pressed against the dirt as he struggled to lift his head. "You're a cripple! You don't have spiritual energy! This is just a trick, a forbidden artifact!"
"Brother, use the pill!" Liu screamed through his teeth, his bones groaning under the invisible pressure. "Kill this monster!"
With a desperate, roaring surge of willpower, Zhao forced his hand into his robe, crushing a forbidden Crimson-Life Pill. The forbidden medicine instantly burned away ten years of his lifespan, unleashing an explosive, blood-red aura that temporarily broke the gravity lock.
"I don't care what treasure you stole from the abyss!" Zhao bellowed, his muscles tearing and swelling as he swung a fist coated in boiling, blood-red Qi straight at Lin Feng's face. "A piece of trash will always be trash!"
Lin Feng didn't even blink as the massive fist rushed toward him. He simply reached out a single, pale hand, catching the giant, blood-red fist with his bare fingers as if it were a falling leaf.
The collision caused a small shockwave, but Lin Feng's arm didn't move a single millimeter, his expression deathly calm. Zhao’s triumphant smile instantly froze, his face turning completely pale as he realized his full-power strike was totally useless.
"Is that all your forbidden power can do?" Lin Feng whispered, his voice sounding like a freezing wind from the deepest underworld.
He squeezed his fingers slightly, and a sickening crunch echoed through the alley as Zhao’s entire hand was crushed into bloody pulp. Zhao shrieked in absolute agony, falling to his knees as the blood-red aura shattered like glass.
"Please! Mercy! Master Lin, have mercy!" Liu began to wail from the ground, weeping openly as he crawled toward Lin Feng's feet. "We were just following orders! The Patriarch forced us! The young master forced us!"
"When my six-year-old daughter begged you for mercy in the mud, did you grant it?" Lin Feng asked, his voice entirely devoid of human warmth.
He stepped forward, completely ignoring their frantic, terrified pleas as they begged for their lives. With two swift, precise strikes, he crushed their windpipes, the impact rendering them unable to draw breath. Their bodies slumped as a dark crimson stain seeped from the corners of their mouths, their struggles growing increasingly faint.
"Taste a fraction of my hell, you dogs," Lin Feng hissed, watching their eyes roll back as his cold Qi flooded their systems, permanently shattering their internal cores and severing their connection to their cultivation. "This is just the interest for Nina's tears."
The light faded from their eyes as they collapsed onto the ground, their forms becoming still and lifeless in the cold shadows of the alley.
[Ding! Two core enforcers neutralized. Cultivation base absorbed. Transforming essence into pure Ashen Nether Qi.]
"Master Jiu warned me to hide," Lin Feng whispered into the dark alley, his fingers gripping his staff until the wood groaned. "But you fools needed to taste my wrath first. The rest of the Lin clan will follow."
To ensure the clan remained entirely confused and didn't suspect a high-level cultivator, Lin Feng moved swiftly into the storehouse. He used a tiny spark of his Nether flame to subtly ignite the warehouse’s highly unstable fire-crystals from the inside out.
"Let them think it was an accident," he muttered, slipping away into the thick fog just as a massive, thunderous explosion tore through the night, leveling the entire facility. The intense heat vaporized the bodies completely, destroying millions of credits worth of vital assets.
A moment later, the city authorities and the frantic clan elders concluded that the two drunk enforcers had clumsily caused a catastrophic crystal leak. A massive, panicked crowd gathered around the smoking, black crater at the edge of the market district.
"Who did this? Millions in spiritual herbs, gone in an instant!" Patriarch Lin screamed, his face turning purple with rage as he stomped his feet. "Find out who was responsible! I want heads!"
Standing inconspicuously in the back of the crowd, Lin Feng watched the old man rage at the absolute financial disaster. "Rage all you want, old man," Lin Feng thought, a dark smile playing on his lips as his cold eyes fixed on the distant family altar. "Your nightmare has only just begun. Cherish the little time you have left, because the moment I reclaim my daughter, I will personally drag every one of you into hell."
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141
The giant gray bird circled low through the freezing mountain mist above the high stone wall. Its massive wings beat the air with a sharp, ragged whistle that cut through the morning silence. A dark trail of blood dripped from its tail feathers, staining the pale pear blossoms below.Lin Feng moved instantly, stepping between the falling shadow and the little girl in the grass. He swept his wide wool coat forward, pulling Nina safely behind his strong, steady legs. His dark golden eyes looked up into the clouds, watching the wounded beast falter in the wind."Take Granny Wan inside the house right now, Uncle Lu," Lin Feng ordered in a low voice. The old servant did not hesitate for a second, grabbing the midwife's trembling elbow with care. Together, the two elders hurried up the wooden porch steps and pulled the heavy screen shut.The great bird gave another long, painful shriek that echoed off the cold granite cliffs. It tilted sideways in the freezing air, its heavy head drooping a
140
The golden light inside the little glass bottle pulsed like a warm, tiny heart. Lin Feng looked down at the soft glow, resting his steady hand on his daughter's shoulder. Beneath the blooming pear tree, the subterranean chime of the valley grew louder with every breath. But just as peace settled over the quiet garden, Granny Wan let out a sharp cry of pure terror."Look at the third seed!" the old midwife screamed, her shaking finger pointing straight at the glass. "Oh heaven, look what is happening to Lian'er's seed!" Lin Feng dropped to one knee instantly, his dark golden eyes turning as sharp as winter iron. Inside the bottle, two of the seeds burned with bright gold fire, but the last one was turning cold.A thin, ugly gray crack was spreading across the smooth shell of the third seed. The warm golden light was leaking out of the tiny wound like melted spring snow. The shell shivered in the dark glass, losing its color and turning the dull gray of lead. Granny Wan fell to her knee
139
The heavy black box sat quietly on the damp grass between their boots. Its dark surface caught the morning light, showing a carved white lotus ringed by seven stars. Lin Feng stared down at the mark, his chest growing cold as old memories rushed back. Beside his knee, Nina held the tiny red baby shoes tightly against her warm quilted coat."Daddy," Nina whispered softly, looking up at him with wide, tearful eyes. "Is my Mama hiding inside this dark wooden box?" Lin Feng felt an ache in his throat that hurt worse than any battlefield wound. He knelt in the dirt, wrapped his strong arms around her, and pulled her close."No, my little bird," Lin Feng whispered, his voice trembling with deep love. "Your Mama is not inside, but she left a special gift for us before she went to sleep." Granny Wan wiped her wet cheeks with the rough sleeve of her patched blue coat. The old midwife sat on the grass, her tired legs shaking after the long mountain road."Lian'er never wanted you to know the tr
138
The black stone sang softly through the night.Its deep music made the valley feel safe. Everyone slept well, but Lin Feng woke up before the sun came out.He sat quietly on the edge of Nina's small wooden bed.The room was warm and smelled like dried pears. Nina was curled up under her thick quilt, holding her ash rattle tight against her chest.Suddenly, her small eyelids fluttered. A tiny tear ran down her pink cheek."Mama..." Nina whispered in her sleep. "Where did you go?"Lin Feng felt a sharp pain in his chest. It hurt more than any wound he had ever suffered.He reached out his large, rough hand. He gently wiped the wet tear from her soft cheek.He had beaten the kings of the sky. He had broken all their bad rules. But he could never bring back the mother she never saw.The door slid open with a tiny creak.Lanying walked into the room, carrying a bowl of hot water and a clean white cloth.She stopped beside the bed. Her silver eyes looked at the little girl, then turned to L
137
Grandmother Yan-Yu sat upon a three-legged stool by the ditch, her birch staff resting between her knees. She spat into the wet gravel with ancient, grandmotherly disgust."A monument is an arrogance," the old herbalist rasped, her milky eyes turned toward the sky. "Whether you carve a king's name or a beggar's name, the stone stands there like an old tooth sticking out of the dirt, pretending that human beings are more important than the trees. Drag the cursed thing into the deep swamp! Let the water-moss cover it; let the eels make their nests in the cracks; let the earth swallow what the Archons stole from its belly!"The four elders argued back and forth, their voices rising and falling like the wind through a pine canyon, each proposal carrying a fragment of truth, each solution carrying the seed of a future failure.Lin Feng did not speak.He sat upon an overturned cedar crate three paces from the great black stone, Nina resting quietly in his lap. The child had her arms wra
136
The crossroads of the valley was crowded before the sun had reached the height of a man’s head.Four hundred villagers, weavers, and orphans from the Warm Basin stood along the stone banks of the main canal, their weeding tools and pruning knives held loosely at their sides. They did not shout; they did not raise alarms. They stood in the eerie, breathless silence of people witnessing an apparition from an age that had ceased to exist.Coming down the switchback road from the northern granite bluffs was an immense timber sledge.It was constructed of eight parallel trunks of mountain oak, each three feet thick, lashed together with iron-banded cables of braided rawhide that were kept slick with melted beef tallow.Hauling the sledge were twelve pairs of black mountain yaks, their shaggy winter coats matted with red road clay, their breath rising from their nostrils in great, rhythmic fountains of steam that dissolved into the spring sun. Between the teams walked thirty men in coats of
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