Chapter 65
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Chapter 65: Relying on Each Other
Lin Jiang agreed to Zhang Ruifang’s request.
He chose not to bring Cao Ying along and quickly cleared the battlefield.
Afterward, he led Zhang Ruifang deep into the forest and set up a defensive formation.
He fetched a basin of clean water and carefully wiped Zhang Ruifang’s face.
“Taoist Friend Lin, I’m about to pass away. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Were you Jiang Lin from South City Market in the past?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Don’t lie to me. Cao Yang has a strong intuition and talent for this. He saw you several times before, and the first time he saw you in West City, he concluded that you were Jiang Lin.”
“And just now, it was confirmed. You used the Explosive Element Technique from the Overlord Scroll. To fully unleash the power of the Qi Refining Period on the Building Foundation Period, you must sacrifice a hundred years of life span. Just now, you’ve consumed at least three hundred years of life span.”
“I didn’t mean to pry into your secrets. Everyone has their own secrets. It’s just that, before dying, I wanted to ask you.”
“You guessed right, I am Jiang Lin. I’m sorry, but I have a necessary secret, which is why I kept it from you.”
Lin Jiang said, as Zhang Ruifang had already figured it out, he no longer hid the truth.
Moreover, Zhang Ruifang’s condition was deteriorating, and she wouldn’t survive much longer.
“That’s great, I envy you for living this long.”
Zhang Ruifang said, she knew Lin Jiang had been in South City Market for over twenty years, and nearly thirty years had passed since then.
He should be nearing a hundred years old, yet still looked so youthful.
“Living a long life also comes with its burdens.”
Lin Jiang said, his main concern was always changing his identity, afraid of being recognized.
Cao Yang’s intuition was troublesome, so he’d need to be extra cautious in the future.
“That’s a burden many would envy, Taoist Friend Lin. Can I ask one more thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“Take care of Cao Ying for me. She no longer has any family. She has truly cared for you for over a year now.”
“Why not leave her with Cao Yang or your family?”
“No, Cao Yang doesn’t have any close family left. The few remaining ones are all ambitious and untrustworthy. If we leave Cao Ying with them, it will end badly for her, just as it would in my family.”
“Alright, I promise.”
Lin Jiang said he would need to change his identity when he returned.
He had always been alone, and now with a little girl by his side, this new role would make him seem more complete and believable.
“Thank you, Taoist Friend Lin. You are a good person.”
“No, in my hometown, calling someone a good person is an insult.”
Lin Jiang waved his hand, saying not to label him as a “good person.”
It sounded like an insult to him.
Zhang Ruifang didn’t understand the meaning and continued,
“After I pass away, just bury me anywhere, but don’t tell Cao Ying. Let her worry less in this world. In my storage bag, there’s information on the Dark Night Organization, a list that Cao Yang and I compiled, secret codes for meetings, and some locations.
But all of this might no longer be valid, I’m unsure.”
“You take these, be cautious of the Dark Night Organization in the future.
They’re very powerful. We’ve encountered many formidable individuals.
I don’t know who’s behind it, but if your secret is exposed, the Dark Night Organization won’t let you off easily…”
Zhang Ruifang spoke for a while, her voice growing weaker until she breathed her last.
Lin Jiang sighed deeply, found a picturesque hilltop, and buried Zhang Ruifang there.
Afterward, Lin Jiang went to retrieve Cao Ying.
Without waking her, he flew away on a Small Shadiao.
He no longer cared about the rented house under Ruiyang Mountain.
Along the way, Lin Jiang checked Big Shadiao’s injuries.
Its wings had been damaged and broken by Chen Jianhong.
Lin Jiang mended its bones and wrapped them in bandages.
It would take some time to heal.
Back in Yunzhong City, Lin Jiang secluded himself, locking himself indoors and avoiding contact with others.
He planned to remain hidden for a while longer.
Lin Jiang spent a day evaluating the spoils of his journey.
He had gathered ten storage bags in total—nine belonging to Dark Night Organization assassins, and one to Zhang Ruifang.
The assassins in the Qi Refining Period were poorly equipped.
They had less than nine thousand spirit stones in five storage bags, along with some flying swords and other small items.
The total value came to just over twenty thousand.
The storage bags from the Building Foundation Period contained far more wealth.
Chen Jianhong’s storage bag alone contained more than thirty thousand spirit stones.
In total, the spirit stones surpassed seventy thousand, and with additional items, the overall value exceeded one hundred and twenty thousand.
Zhang Ruifang’s storage bag didn’t contain much in terms of money, less than two thousand spirit stones.
However, it held many miscellaneous items, especially the daggers they used, which were of exceptional quality, all top-grade spirit weapons.
“Over eighty thousand spirit stones, a pile of items, and more than ten spiritual tools just from the Building Foundation Period.”
Lin Jiang gazed at the pile of treasures and felt uneasy.
He couldn’t use these items right now.
But if he were to sell them in the black market, Lin Jiang didn’t feel it would be safe.
As someone in the Qi Refining Period, he could explain selling a few spiritual tools, claiming they were passed down from his ancestors.
But with more than ten, even a fool could spot the problem.
These items were destined to collect dust in Lin Jiang’s storage bag.
He wouldn’t sell them unless he had no other choice.
He sighed with regret.
·······
“Big bird, big bird, do you know where my mom is?”
“Big bird, you must know, right? Please tell me where my mom is, okay?”
One month later, Cao Ying tugged at Big Shadiao’s feathers and softly asked by its ear.
Big Shadiao ignored her, lying on the ground, basking in the sun.
It had almost recovered from its injury, and now all it wanted was to soar in the sky.
Lin Jiang watched Cao Ying inside the house, his heart aching.
In the first ten days after their return, Cao Ying had been restless and noisy, crying every day, tears streaming down her face.
Lin Jiang did his best to comfort her, but he couldn’t make her feel better.
Exhausted from crying, she eventually fell asleep.
But soon after, she woke again, crying and making noise.
Lin Jiang had no choice but to follow her, helpless.
Having lived two lifetimes and nearly two hundred years, he had never had children and had no experience in raising them.
Fortunately, Cao Ying was almost four years old, so he didn’t have to deal with changing diapers or cleaning up after her.
Otherwise, Lin Jiang might have gone mad himself.
“Little Ying, come and eat your meal.”
Lin Jiang called to Cao Ying, who was playing.
When he was alone, his meals were simple.
He either ate out or had jerky or even took an Inedia Pill when he needed it.
He only cooked when he felt like it.
But Cao Ying was too young.
Lin Jiang couldn’t bear to give her Inedia Pills.
Jerky and dry food were fine as occasional snacks, but not to be consumed regularly.
So, Lin Jiang found ways to cook proper meals for her.
The food comforted Cao Ying’s young heart.
“Uncle, when are you going to take me to find my mother?”
“When you grow as tall as Uncle, I’ll take you to find your mother.
She’s far away, working.
She needs to earn money to buy you meat to eat and beautiful clothes to wear.”
“Then I won’t eat meat anymore, I won’t wear pretty clothes anymore. Can Mommy come back immediately?”
“No, Little Ying, you need to be good, eat a full meal every day, stop crying, and then you’ll grow tall.
When you grow tall, your mom will come back.”
Lin Jiang continued his well-meaning lies.
It would be too cruel for her to accept the truth about her parents’ death at such a young age, so Lin Jiang decided to deceive her.
Cao Ying couldn’t accept this explanation, but she had no choice.
No matter how much she cried or complained, her mother wouldn’t appear.
She was helpless.
After the meal, Lin Jiang told her to go play with Big Shadiao and Small Shadiao.
Lin Jiang had things to do—he needed to draw symbols and demonstrate the life of an ordinary independent cultivator.
The only difference now was that Lin Jiang no longer set up a stall.
Instead, he sold spiritual talismans to small shops.
Not just one shop, but he changed his identity and sold them to three different shops, so people wouldn’t get suspicious about his production.
“For now, I have enough spirit stones, and my identity is temporarily safe.
Next, I will focus on advancing to the Qi Refining stage and then find a way to establish a foundation.
In the cultivation world, if you don’t establish a foundation, you won’t have any real power.”
When he had time to himself, Lin Jiang planned his future.
The Qi Refining Period was really difficult, the lowest level in cultivation society.
If he could establish a foundation, life would become much easier.
The Building Foundation Period could last two hundred years.
He could claim to be a genius who built a foundation in his thirties or forties, so he wouldn’t have to change his identity for over a century.
Additionally, as his strength grew during the Building Foundation Period, he would no longer be so passive.
Most areas in Yun State could be explored, and he wouldn’t have to stay in Yunzhong City forever.
Even though Yunzhong City was large, after living there for decades, Lin Jiang also longed to see more of the world.
