Chapter 126: The Dao Protector Cang Lin

"What exactly do you want?" the man said weakly.

"I just want to know the truth," Qintai He demanded. "How exactly did my father and grandfather die?"

The man seemed somewhat surprised. "So you didn't know? And yet you were so ruthless the moment you attacked."

Qintai He grabbed him by the collar. "You had better confess."

"Pah!" The man spat out a mouthful of blood. "I don't know!"

With a *bang*, Qintai He punched him in the cheek. He didn't use Spiritual Power, but the sheer force of his physical strength caused half of the man's face to swell up rapidly, his head tilting to one side.

"Are you going to talk or not!?"

Qintai He hissed through his teeth while raining punches and kicks on him without any technique.

Ruan Xing shook her head; this interrogation method was too amateurish, not even one-tenth as good as some places from her past life.

However, Qintai He had been suppressing his emotions for so long that it was probably good for him to vent.

And so, remaining silent, Ruan Xing did not speak up.

Instead, it was the man who couldn't take it anymore, shouting loudly: "Cang Lin! Cang Lin! Are you still not coming out to save me? Do you want to watch me get beaten to death!?"

Hmm? There was someone else? Ruan Xing was startled and quickly became vigilant, scanning the surroundings for where they might appear.

Qintai He also stopped physically torturing the man and drew his Sword to stay alert.

Seeming to feel that there was no point in hiding any longer, a man stepped out from the shadows. His appearance was so plain that he lacked any presence; if he hadn't been called out, Ruan Xing and Qintai He likely would never have discovered him. If he had waited until he was willing to come out on his own, Ruan Xing might have lost another Simulation attempt.

Fortunately, the person taking the beating didn't have such a tough backbone and couldn't keep his cool; Ruan Xing really had to thank him.

Seeing Qintai He's hostile gaze, the man named Cang Lin stopped a few dozen paces away from them. He paused, his voice calm and indifferent. "Greetings, Young Master."

He... came over to say hello? Was he really that friendly? Ruan Xing was a bit bewildered.

Qintai He raised his Sword and said coldly, "Who are you?"

"I..." Cang Lin suddenly faltered. "I am very sorry, Young Master, I cannot say. Does the Young Master intend to kill Qintai Mo?"

So the man on the ground was named Qintai Mo.

"And what if I do?"

Facing Qintai He's guarded attitude, Cang Lin didn't seem to mind, saying blandly, "Once he is dead, I will be able to tell you."

Hearing this, Qintai Mo immediately grew anxious and shouted in a panic: "Cang Lin! You are my Protector! Are you going to stand on the side of this little bastard? You ungrateful dog, are you trying to betray the Qintai Family?"

He had been emboldened to lure Qintai He and the other away not only because he relied on his cultivation being higher than theirs, but also because he had a Protector hidden in the shadows to protect him. Usually, whenever he encountered danger, Cang Lin would step in to resolve it, yet this time, he had watched him get beaten for so long without appearing! What an ungrateful dog! Qintai Mo cursed incessantly in his heart, twisting his body anxiously. If it weren't for the thought that Cang Lin was there, he would rather have self-destructed his Golden Core than let this little brat Qintai He tie him up.

A Golden Core cultivator scolding a Nascent Soul cultivator? Ruan Xing was stunned.

Had the concepts of status and hierarchy in the Xizhou clans already begun to transcend the standard of judging by cultivation level? Cang Lin turned a deaf ear and only asked Qintai He, "Young Master, shall I kill him?" Qintai He had already beaten Qintai Mo once and had long since lost that impulsive feeling. At this moment, his hand holding the Sword trembled as he raised it, turning the tip to point at Qintai Mo.

He had spent over twenty years in the Xuanbing Sect, and his master had protected him very well. Even at his age, he had never killed a proper Monster Beast, yet now he had to start killing—and it was a relative with whom he shared blood.

Despite how decisive he had sounded earlier, he began to hesitate when it was time to actually act.

Seeing his uneasy appearance, Ruan Xing said in a low voice, "If you cannot bring yourself to do it, I will help you."

"No need!"

Qintai He's voice was a bit too sharp; he only realized he had overreacted after the words were out. He took a deep breath to calm his mood, and his gaze became firm.

"I will ask you one last time: are you going to talk?"

"I told you, I don't know! You son of a bitch! Why didn't you just die out there? You only know how to act tough with me—if you've got the guts, go kill the Clan Leader!" Qintai Mo cursed in desperate madness, his body struggling violently.

He had never dreamed he would fall here today.

Hearing Qintai Mo insult Qingping Xianzi, a scorching rage erupted in Qintai He's eyes. Without further hesitation, he thrust his Sword through Qintai Mo's chest.

He stabbed several more times as if venting, and Ruan Xing found it hard to watch. This corpse had already been blown to pieces by her, leaving only half the skin intact, and now Qintai He had poked so many large holes in it—how was she supposed to repair it enough to draw a Talisman on the skin? It was too wasteful; she had lost a Self-destruct Puppet and couldn't even replenish it.

Ruan Xing's eyes showed regret.

Qintai He stopped and looked at Cang Lin. "What about you? What do you know?"

"I was originally your grandfather's Protector," Cang Lin said.

Qintai He looked surprised, but Ruan Xing suddenly understood; no wonder Cang Lin was leaning toward Qintai He.

He continued, "I don't know much. I was born a servant and, by the grace of my predecessors, was chosen to be a Protector and raised by the clan. When I reached Foundation Establishment, your grandfather was born, and I was sent to his side, where we spent several hundred years together. Back then, the Eldest Young Master and his wife were deeply in love and traveled to many places. Your grandfather was in seclusion, attempting to break through to Spirit Severing. For some reason, the clan suddenly issued an order for the Eldest Young Master to go to a certain place to retrieve something. Afterward, news of the Eldest Young Master's death arrived. Your grandfather learned of this tragedy while in seclusion; in his agitated state, his Meridians reversed, his breakthrough failed, and he passed away suddenly."

"At that time, the one managing the household was the Second Young Master, which is to say, Qintai Mo. I was always guarding the array for your grandfather's seclusion, so I knew very little about outside affairs. I never even saw that secret order with my own eyes; I only knew it had been issued by the clan."

"So that's how it was," Qintai He said, looking dejected. "That is how they died."

"As you heard just now, Young Master, Qintai Mo told you to go kill the Clan Leader... he was referring to the current Clan Leader," Cang Lin said in a low voice. "If your grandfather hadn't died, and he had successfully broken through to Spirit Severing, he would have been the Clan Leader."

Cang Lin was not being subtle; the matter was already very clear.

Only the lineage of the Clan Leader was the direct line, capable of enjoying the clan's greatest resources. Therefore, in order to compete for the position of Clan Leader candidate, brothers killed one another. Qintai He's father became a victim in this. Perhaps the goal of the person behind it was simply to prevent Qintai He's grandfather from reaching Spirit Severing, but through a twist of fate, both men lost their lives.

Qintai Mo was short-sighted; for the sake of the petty benefits promised by that person, he caused his own father to lose the position of Clan Leader. Did he not think that if his father were elected Clan Leader, he would also be a member of the direct line—would he not have received his share of the benefits? Qintai He's gaze was desolate. Did he have to go against the entire Qintai Family to avenge his father and grandfather?

He was silent for a moment before asking, "Then what about you?"

Cang Lin was stunned for a moment. "After the Eldest Young Master and his wife died... I was inherited by Qintai Mo. In truth, I am nothing more than property and a weapon of the Qintai Family. Now that the Second Young Master is dead, my ownership belongs to the Young Master. If the Young Master does not want me... I will likely be assigned elsewhere by the clan."

Yet even tools have their own thoughts and feelings. He loathed Qintai Mo for causing the deaths of the Eldest Young Master and his son, which was why he chose to stand by and watch when Qintai He moved to kill Qintai Mo.

Thanks to Ni-jiang for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Bosong for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Book Friend 20190714011743195 for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to _Panda-jun_ for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Book Friend 20240511135128652 for the monthly ticket~ Thanks to Gebeiliya for the monthly ticket~ (End of chapter)