Chapter Forty-Six: He Is the Benefactor

Yang Family.

Yang Manli looked respectfully at the elderly man before her and said, “Master Wu, is it true that Yang Junqi is really about to die?”

This so-called Master Wu appeared to be in his sixties, but in reality, he was only in his thirties. His complexion was sallow, his eyes sunken, and his entire presence exuded a sinister aura.

Master Wu smiled confidently. “That’s right. No one has ever survived after falling victim to my Seven-Arrows Cursed Needles.”

A trace of excitement flashed across Yang Manli’s face as she praised, “Master Wu, you truly are a living deity.”

“I wouldn’t dare claim to be a deity,” Master Wu said modestly, though the pride on his face became even more evident.

Then, he pulled out a handful of small black needles and a straw doll from his robe. “Didn’t you want to kill her with your own hands? I’ll give you this chance. Just stick a needle into the straw doll, and your enemy will feel the pain in the corresponding part of her body.”

Yang Manli was delighted and hurried to take the straw doll, but Master Wu deftly avoided her grasp.

“What’s the rush? How’s the matter I asked you to handle?” Master Wu asked.

Yang Manli replied, “Master, I’ve already found the Yin Destiny Cauldron you requested. In Lancheng, the Li family has a young princess named Li Zhihan. Her birthday falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month—she’s a high school student and the perfect cauldron.”

“A high school student? Interesting.” A green glint flashed through Master Wu’s eyes, and he casually tossed the straw doll to Yang Manli.

Yang Manli caught the doll and, without hesitation, stabbed a needle into its leg.

Before Yang Junqi’s death, she would make sure to torment her thoroughly.

...

Thanks to Wang Yang’s arrangements, the hospital quickly agreed.

As Lin Yi prepared to enter the emergency room, Yang Yujia tugged at his arm. She said nothing, but Lin Yi understood her meaning.

“Don’t worry. With me here, Sister Yang will be perfectly fine.”

Lin Yi gently patted Yang Yujia’s shoulder. As he spoke, an aura of absolute confidence radiated from him.

Yang Yujia stared at Lin Yi in a daze. After a few seconds, she nodded, her voice trembling slightly. “Thank you.”

She knew Lin Yi had medical skills—she’d seen it when he treated her sprained ankle previously.

Lin Yi said no more. As he entered the emergency room, his gaze sharpened, and he said in a deep voice, “All of you, step aside.”

The doctors were displeased.

Even if he’d been invited by Master Wang, he was being far too arrogant, ordering them to stand aside as soon as he entered.

A surgeon in his forties said, “Young man, in terms of qualifications and seniority, every one of us here outranks you. What right do you have to order us aside?”

Lin Yi regarded them coldly, not out of disdain, but because Yang Junqi’s condition couldn’t be resolved by surgery.

“I won’t repeat myself. Since Wang Yang invited me, that should be proof enough of my abilities.”

With that, Lin Yi strode to the operating table.

The doctors trembled with rage. Every physician present was highly respected, yet this young man looked down on them.

Lin Yi looked at Yang Junqi on the table. Her face was ashen, her former radiance gone. Even under anesthesia, pain contorted her features.

Suddenly, a faint black light appeared out of thin air and darted rapidly toward Yang Junqi’s leg.

“Hm?”

Seeing this, Lin Yi slapped his palm toward the black light.

Smack.

The dark light dissipated instantly, like snow melting in August.

“Seven-Arrows Cursed Needles!”

Lin Yi’s brow twitched. The Seven-Arrows Cursed Needles was a sorcery capable of harming people from a distance.

He’d once seen a powerful practitioner kill a master from thousands of kilometers away using this technique.

That alone demonstrated its terrifying power.

Lin Yi’s eyes gleamed with golden light as he scanned Yang Junqi.

He discovered a mass of black, baleful energy at her chest, with a black rune wrapped inside it.

“Disperse!”

Lin Yi pointed with a finger, channeling his true energy. The baleful energy rapidly dissolved, taking the rune with it.

Meanwhile, far away at the Yang household in Jiang Province—

The straw doll in Yang Manli’s hand suddenly burst into flames, startling her into throwing it away.

“Master Wu, what’s happening?” Yang Manli asked in confusion.

...

Master Wu’s face darkened. “It seems someone has broken my curse.”

“That can’t be.” Yang Manli was astonished.

She’d seen Master Wu’s skills with her own eyes—he had effortlessly killed a stray dog from hundreds of meters away.

“There are still a few extraordinary people in this world. Hmph. But whoever dares to break my curse must be prepared to die,” Master Wu snorted arrogantly.

“What about that little wretch, Yang Junqi?” Yang Manli asked.

Master Wu waved dismissively and gave a chilling smile. “There’s no rush. First, help me lure out that Li family girl you mentioned.”

“Yes.”

Though Yang Manli was unwilling, she dared not protest.

Just then, Yang Li rushed in, flustered.

“Mom, something’s wrong!” Yang Li panted.

“What is it?” Yang Manli frowned.

“The two men I hired were both killed by Lin Yi,” Yang Li said with fear.

She had chosen desperate men, those with nowhere to turn—like Dong Zhuang, a loan shark and gambler crushed by debt.

She’d thought Lin Yi was just a musclehead, easy to deal with.

But now two of her hires had lost contact, proving Lin Yi was far from simple.

“Did you expose your identity?” Yang Manli pressed.

“No. I always used a disguise, and the phone number was fake,” Yang Li answered.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about. He’s a nobody. Once I’ve dealt with those two little wretches from the Yang family, I’ll take care of Lin Yi for you,” Yang Manli said viciously.

“Alright.” Yang Li nodded.

Yang Manli continued, “Dear daughter, your mother and Master Wu need to go out for a while. Don’t take any action during this time.”

“I understand,” Yang Li said.

...

Meanwhile—

After Lin Yi broke the Seven-Arrows Cursed Needles, Yang Junqi’s expression instantly relaxed.

The surrounding doctors were baffled. All they saw was Lin Yi point a finger, and the patient miraculously recovered.

Even the heart monitor, which had nearly flatlined, returned to normal.

“What on earth just happened?” a doctor with a dark complexion muttered.

The lead surgeon paused, then sighed, “No wonder Old Master Wang holds this man in such esteem.”

Perhaps only the great clans would know of such extraordinary individuals. His abilities were beyond ordinary comprehension.

“We’ll take it from here,” Lin Yi said.

“No problem,” the lead surgeon replied. The greatest danger had been resolved; stitching wounds would be simple by comparison.

Lin Yi left the emergency room. Yang Yujia hurried over. “How is she?”

“She’s fine now.”

Lin Yi smiled and turned to Wang Yang. “Come with me.”

Wang Yang followed Lin Yi to the corridor corner.

Lin Yi said, “Find and bring Yang Manli and Yang Li here immediately.”

He was not one to sit and wait—he preferred to strike first.

“Teacher, the Yang family’s influence in Jiang Province is deep-rooted. Our Wang family is new here. I’m afraid...” Wang Yang was worried.

Though the Wang family was now number one in Jiang Province, their foundation was shallow. Wang Yang himself was only at the second level of innate strength.

The Yang family had been entrenched in Jiang Province for over a century, with deep roots.

Lin Yi thought for a moment. “Contact the other nine great families. Make sure they bring plenty of experts.”

“Yes.” With Lin Yi’s assurance, Wang Yang had no more concerns.

After Wang Yang left, Lin Yi lingered at the hospital, then prepared to head home.

At the hospital entrance, he spotted Angel approaching.

“What’s the matter?” Lin Yi asked.

“Mr. Lin, we still have no leads on the person behind Dong Zhuang, but we’ve made some progress regarding Miao Caifeng in Miaojiang. Here’s the file.”

Angel handed Lin Yi a stack of documents.

...

Lin Yi glanced through them. There was even a photo of Miao Caifeng—though nearly seventy, she was still as beautiful as a young girl.

Lin Yi swiftly finished reading.

Miao Caifeng indeed had four disciples. The eldest, Wu Fangling, was thirty-seven; the second, Jia Yueru; the third, Xiong Jinghui; and the youngest, Li Xiaonan.

Each had been adopted and raised by Miao Caifeng as an orphan.

“Mr. Lin, something major has happened recently in Miaojiang,” Angel said.

Lin Yi looked at her. “What is it?”

“It’s rumored that a giant black turtle, over ten meters tall, appeared on Feng Mountain in Xiang City, Miaojiang. Many local powers have rushed there,” Angel reported.

“Feng Mountain!” Lin Yi murmured. Miao Caifeng had lived on Feng Mountain—it was her homeland.

But the giant black turtle was unexpected.

When Lin Yi had searched Feng Mountain for the Fire Ganoderma, he hadn’t seen any black turtle.

Of course, perhaps it had arrived later.

Fifty years had passed—anything could have happened.

“Mr. Lin, should we go take a look?” Angel asked.

“Of course,” Lin Yi nodded.

Feng Mountain was Miao Caifeng’s homeland and held memories for him as well.

As her friend, Lin Yi would naturally protect her roots one last time.

“When do we leave?” Angel asked.

“Tomorrow. I have some arrangements to make.” Lin Yi gazed into the distance.

At four in the afternoon—

Wang Yang apologized to Lin Yi. “Teacher, I’m sorry. We failed to capture Yang Manli—she escaped. We only caught her daughter.”

“What happened?” Lin Yi asked.

With the nine families united, not even a grandmaster should have escaped, let alone Yang Manli.

“Here’s the situation. Yang Manli had a peculiar companion—a man she called Master Wu. His strength wasn’t exceptional, but his methods were many,” Wang Yang replied, embarrassed.

Lin Yi instantly understood—this Master Wu must have been the one behind the Seven-Arrows Cursed Needles.

Those skilled in martial arts were ill-equipped to deal with such people.

To be safe, Lin Yi had told Wang Yang to bring more experts, but even then, their quarry had slipped away.

“Do you know where they might have gone?” Lin Yi pressed.

“We aren’t sure. Master Wu conjured a black mist—by the time we regained our senses, they had vanished. We checked the surveillance footage too. Nothing,” Wang Yang explained.

“Alright, bring Yang Li over.”

Lin Yi hung up and pondered.

Half an hour later, Wang Yang personally delivered Yang Li, accompanied by a half-step grandmaster.

The moment she saw Lin Yi, Yang Li glared at him with bloodshot eyes. “You country bumpkin, what right do you have to arrest me?”

Smack.

The half-step grandmaster slapped her across the face, then respectfully addressed Lin Yi, “Mr. Lin, I’m Kang Xin. Master Song asked me to send his regards. Also, Song Qi has been drowned in the river.”

Yang Li’s rage instantly turned to fear. “Impossible! Song Qi was Song Yu’s first heir. He couldn’t have been drowned.”

“Why not?” Kang Xin sneered. “Even a mere heir is nothing. If you anger Mr. Lin, entire families can be wiped out.”

“It’s you—all of this was your doing, wasn’t it? The nine great families at my house—did you summon them?” Yang Li suddenly realized.

“That’s right,” Lin Yi nodded.

Yang Li was stunned. She never expected Lin Yi’s influence to be so vast.

But wasn’t he just Yang Yujia’s boyfriend, a mere family tutor?

Wait—could the appearance of the ten great families at the Yang family banquet have been because of him?

He was Yang Junqi’s benefactor!