At that time, Tian Lin was still cultivating, his Buddha and Demon Freedom Skill had been practiced for a long time, and he had cultivated the so-called dual energies of Buddha and Demon as stated in the skill.
However, these dual energies of Buddha and Demon were not only scarce in quantity, but also difficult to control and maneuver within his body.
Just as Tian Lin reached a critical moment in his cultivation, a sound of breaking the door arose from outside.
At this moment, someone split open the front door of the residence with a single sword strike, and an old crone holding a flying sword entered from outside.
The old crone glanced at the kitchen maid who was carrying firewood to the kitchen and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Where is that old thief surnamed Tian? Tell him to roll out here!"
With her words, the kitchen maid naturally retreated two steps in fear, looking toward the main house where Tian Lin was.
Although the kitchen maid didn't clearly disclose Tian Lin's whereabouts, her timid and subconscious actions inadvertently exposed his location.
Seeing this, the old crone, still holding her sword, walked toward the main house where Tian Lin was but was intercepted by Cui'er who rushed out from the house.
Cui'er obviously recognized the old crone, and she called out 'Granny Tan'.
But Granny Tan refused to listen and her flying sword transformed into a streak of light flying towards Cui'er.
At that moment, the window lattice of Tian Lin's room suddenly broke open, and a streak of light also flew out from the breach, directly stabbing towards Granny Tan's head.
Granny Tan quickly retreated, controlling her own flying sword from afar to protect herself.
Both Granny Tan's and Tian Lin's actions occurred in the blink of an eye, and Cui'er had a brush with death in that instant.
"Granny Tan?"
From inside the house, Tian Lin came out, his expression somewhat unpleasant.
His exerting energy had reached a critical juncture when he was suddenly disturbed by Granny Tan. Although he had not succumbed to demonic possession, his energy was inevitably unstable at the moment.
Tian Lin stood in front of Cui'er, his flying sword still hovering in place, its tip pointing toward Granny Tan across from him.
As Tian Lin withdrew the flying sword that was suspended in midair, he looked at Granny Tan and said:
"Which family's Granny are you, coming here to smash my door and kill my people?"
Before Granny Tan could respond, two women walked in through the broken door.
One of these women, already a matron, possessed cultivation at the early-stage Foundation Establishment like Granny Tan.
The other woman was a maid, supporting the matron as they walked into the house.
As soon as the matron appeared, Granny Tan sheathed her sword and retreated to the woman's side, only to hear the matron with a cold face inquire of Tian Lin:
"Where have you hidden my Jing'er?"
Tian Lin glanced sideways at Cui'er, and Cui'er, pale-faced and trembling, said, "This is Ninth Aunt, and the young master Jing she's talking about is Young Master Seven."
Indeed, without Cui'er's explanation, how could Tian Lin not recognize that this woman who bore a striking resemblance to Young Master Seven was Young Master Seven's mother?
He turned his head away from Cui'er and saluted the woman with a cupped fist, "So it is Ninth Aunt who graces us with her presence—
However, there is one thing I don't understand: where has Young Master Seven gone? Ninth Aunt, you as his mother don't know, so why come to ask an outsider like me?"
The matron beside him, Granny Tan, angrily cursed:
"You old scoundrel, stop pretending! Who doesn't know you have a grudge against our young master?
You huahualang samo, sneaking around when alone, and flatter the rich to gain favor. When people talk of ingrates, they're talking about you!"
Tian Lin didn't know where the old crone's resentment came from; he just chuckled without saying a word, looking towards the couple of Alchemist Long and Gao He.
The commotion caused by Granny Tan, between breaking the door and trying to kill, was not small.
Alchemist Long and the couple Gao He were not deaf; how could they not be disturbed?
The three of them entered just in time to hear Granny Tan's words.
The couple Gao He might still be fine, but Alchemist Long could not feign deafness.
He stamped his foot in anger, scolding: "When did we huahualang become ingrates? It's true that we have taken the Tong Family as our patron, but when did we sell ourselves into servitude?"
Granny Tan turned her head to glance at Alchemist Long, not recognizing him. Thinking he was the same sort as Tian Lin, she immediately sneered:
"You fatso, clearly you have the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Stage, yet your energy is even more turbulent than a mortal. You must have been indulging in pleasures. Today it's our family's matriarch handling affairs outside, so know your place and scram."
"Tantai Auntie, today we are here looking for Mister Tian, not looking for trouble; please don't squabble with others."
After the noblewoman finished speaking, she apologized to Alchemist Long, "Fellow Daoist, please don't take it to heart. Granny Tan was indeed out of line just now, worried over the safety of my Jing'er."
After finishing her words, the noblewoman then turned her gaze towards Tian Lin, and said coldly: "Mister Tian, speak quickly, where have you hidden my Jing'er?"
Yu'er, who was recuperating inside the house, also came out, but she was indeed unwell and had to lean on the doorframe to walk.
Tian Lin made a gesture to Cui'er – one, to assist Yu'er, and second, to get Cui'er away from this 'battlefield'.
He feared that if a fight truly broke out, Cui'er wouldn't be able to help and might just needlessly lose her life.
"I really don't understand, Ninth Aunt, why are you so certain that I know the whereabouts of Seventh Young Master? As your old servant said, Seventh Young Master and I do not have a good relationship; why would he confide his movements to an outsider like me?"
"You still deny it?"
This noblewoman was not nearly as polite to Tian Lin as she was to the alchemist.
She suddenly stepped forward and reached for Tian Lin's throat.
Her speed was fast, but Tian Lin's speed was also not slow.
Tian Lin quickly retreated, and in a flash, his flying sword appeared in front of the noblewoman.
But bizarrely, the woman's palm suddenly seemed to have passed through a layer of golden powder, glittering with golden light as she directly grabbed Tian Lin's flying sword and easily flung it aside.
This ability to 'catch' a sharp blade barehanded sent a chill down Tian Lin's spine, and he immediately threw a punch with his Dragon Elephant Divine Skill toward the woman.
High in the sky, a giant phantom figure stomped down at the woman.
The woman's expression remained unchanged, lightly colliding her palm with Tian Lin's.
With that palm strike, the giant figure behind Tian Lin instantly dissipated, and he himself was flung towards the stone wall behind him.
The stone wall crumbled under the impact of Tian Lin's back, covering him in dust.
At this moment, the woman's right hand was flecked with traces of gold blood, caused by her forceful grasp of Tian Lin's flying sword earlier.
And Tian Lin's mouth, too, was seeping blood, a result of the woman's palm force.
Both were startled in their hearts - Tian Lin surprised by the woman's strength, while the woman by the toughness of Tian Lin's body.
Their clash brought misfortune upon the entire courtyard.
After Tian Lin summoned the loud phantom, half of the courtyard collapsed; if it weren't for the alchemist shielding Yu'er, Cui'er, and the others, they would have undoubtedly been gravely injured by the aftermath.
"The Tian surname, I didn't want to kill you just now, so I didn't use full strength. If you don't confess truthfully, don't blame me for really taking your life."
The noblewoman was in no hurry to advance, coldly staring at Tian Lin as she spoke.
Tian Lin smiled, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at the noblewoman coldly: "Ninth Aunt carries quite the imposing manner, demanding my confession without evidence—
But what exactly should I, a completely innocent man, confess to?"
At that moment, the Great Elder suddenly appeared; just as Ninth Aunt was about to make a move, the Great Elder called out:
"Ninth Aunt, please hold back. Now is the time for the whole city to work together in unity; we cannot engage in fratricide."
While speaking, he had already come to Tian Lin's side, and Ninth Aunt glared at the Great Elder:
"I was about to ask you, Great Elder, Jing'er went to the Immortal Sinking Pond to eradicate the Evil Spirit for the safety of Pingyang City and indeed the whole world.
Now Jing'er has been harmed by a traitor, don't you owe me an explanation?"
The Great Elder first glanced over at Tian Lin behind him, then at some of the Tributes who had arrived at the news, before locking eyes on Ninth Aunt:
"Jing'er is a hero of Pingyang City indeed, but whether his disappearance is related to Tribute Tian remains unknown."
Having said that, he looked at Tian Lin: "Tribute Tian, when did you come ashore, and when did you return to the city?"
Tian Lin said: "I came ashore at around 1:30 AM, and after that, I immediately returned to Pingyang City."
After Tian Lin finished speaking, the alchemist who was protecting Yu'er and Cui'er stepped forward:
"I can vouch for that! Tian Tribute came to my house tonight around 1:30 AM, asking about medicine for his servant girl.
I am so obsessed with alchemy that I suffer from restlessness day and night. Therefore, when Tian paid me a visit, I was yet to retire for the night."
When he mentioned restlessness due to his alchemy craze, his gaze towards Granny Tan had a hint of indignation.
But who cared whether his weakness was due to alchemy or indulgence?
Everyone was looking at the Great Elder, only to see him say to Ninth Aunt: "Tribute Tian's words ring true, I've inquired with those on the shore of the Immortal Sinking Pond.
They all said they saw Jing'er going to the western sea alone last night around midnight, while Tribute Tian came from the south at 1:30 AM.
The two, one from the south and the other from the west, had no intersection. Therefore, Jing'er's disappearance should not be the doing of Tribute Tian."
Ninth Aunt narrowed her eyes, her gaze falling on Tian Lin as if trying to discern a flaw on his face.
Tian Lin too was frowning at this time, not meeting Ninth Aunt's gaze, and muttered as if in thought:
"If I remember correctly, this Seventh Young Master always had a servant girl named 'Sword Attendant' by his side.
Great Elder just mentioned that Seventh Young Master went to the west alone; could it be that 'Sword Attendant' was not with him at the time?"
After saying this, Tian Lin looked at Ninth Aunt: "In that case, Ninth Aunt, why not find this 'Sword Attendant' to come and clarify everything."
Ninth Aunt laughed, looking at Tian Lin: "You refuse to admit it, it's fine, I'll wait another seven days. If Jing'er still doesn't show up after seven days, I will come looking for you again.
By then, I will not wait for the Great Elder to save you."
After she finished speaking, she turned and walked away, flicking her sleeves.
Granny Tan also snorted coldly, swept a look at all the Tributes present, and left haughtily with Ninth Aunt. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Now, Tian Lin complained to the Great Elder:
"This Ninth Aunt, without any evidence and merely because I had a quarrel with Seventh Young Master, concluded that I harmed Seventh Young Master. But how could I, with my cultivation, be a match for Seventh Young Master?"
The Great Elder comforted Tian Lin: "Tribute Tian, do not worry, I will make a thorough investigation of this matter."
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