Chapter 304: A Chip Off the Old Block
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Xiao Budian tugged on Lin Feng’s sleeve and blinked at him with that piteous look of a child in need, as if he had been harmed and was seeking the protection of his parents. It was a very charming look.
However, the scene in the eyes of Shi Zongyue and company was one of trouble and gloom.
When the grey-robed elderly assassin made his move, they were already at the scene and witnessed all that transpired – the Great Chaotic Shield of the Ganges and how it blocked the attack, saving Xiao Budian’s life.
Even if they missed that part completely, with their level of mastery they could tell instantly that Xiao Budian was actually perfectly fine and had not been harmed in any way.
Xiao Budian did not suffer internal injuries or any other form of hidden injuries, let alone physical injury. He was, in fact, extremely healthy and was energetic and vitalized enough to wrack havoc upon the world for a long time to come.
Xiao Budian was Lin Feng’s disciple, so Shi Zongyue and company could not just chide and reprimand him out of general courtesy. They turned to look at Lin Feng and hoped that the master could rein in his disciple and teach him to stop telling lies and pretending.
Lin Feng appeared concerned as he dragged Xiao Budian in front of him and carefully scrutinized Xiao Budian for a long while. What he said afterwards came as a shock to everyone and sent Shi Zongyue and company into intense exasperation.
"Oh, you’ve been hurt bad indeed. It’s hard to heal this."
Lin Feng had a look of solemnity and looked up at Shi Zongyue and the others. "My disciple has lived a hard life and has had to face a great many challenges. He almost lost his life when he was just a little boy."
"But this kid is tough and resilient. There’s a saying that goes: God helps those who help themselves. He has survived till now despite everything," Lin Feng heaved a heavy sigh. "I’ve watched Tian Hao grow up since he was a little kid. I am extremely clear about how difficult his life has been."
"But no matter how much suffering and darkness he has had to endure, Tian Hao’s heart and soul has remained kind and radiant and is still a blessing to this world!"
Lin Feng continued. "This kid extends his love and his warmth to all the fauna and flora of the world, all the pieces of nature and all the souls with beating hearts."
"Looking back at his tragic childhood, it is indeed surprising yet wonderful that Tian Hao has remained so optimistic about the world."
He paused and a look of indignation flashed across his face. "And some people couldn’t let a kid like this live?"
"Badly hurting a twelve-year-old kid like this – it’s unacceptable!"
Shi Zongyue and the others stared at Lin Feng with gaping mouths. Their eyes darted back and forth between Lin Feng and Xiao Budian.
The Vivant Joy Hold Man suddenly blinked and scrutinized Xiao Budian once again. He thought to himself, "Could it be that he suffered some internal injury that I failed to detect? That’s not likely though…"
He wanted to tell Lin Feng that his disciple was completely fine.
Shi Zongyue recovered after a long while and let out a muffled grunt. He could tell that Lin Feng was just being opportunistic and taking the chance to knock a hefty sum off the Great Qin Empire.
For such a thing to happen on the Great Qin Empire’s home turf, even if the victim was only marginally hurt, the Great Qin Empire still had to provide compensation and assurance as a gesture of courtesy. The amount was another story altogether.
Shi Zongyue was the first to speak. "Master Lin, the Great Qin Empire will definitely compensate you for what happened. However, I am willing to swear on my life – I have lived five thousand and eight hundred years – that your disciple was completely unhurt in the assault!"
Even Xiao Budian’s skin was completely intact, let alone another form of injury.
Shi Zongyue was complaining in his mind. "What nonsense. We have already arrived halfway during the assassination. If there was any real danger, we would have stepped in to stop it. Heck, you would have done the same. How could he be hurt?"
Lin Feng looked at him plainly and answered, "When did I say he suffered external injury?"
The Gambling Holy Man laughed forcefully and replied, "Master Lin, he does not have any internal injuries either."
Lin Feng patted Xiao Budian on the head. "Of course I know that. My disciple is completely fine – his mental state or his physical state.
Shi Zongyue and company heaved a sigh of relief. Everything was simpler as long as he recognized the fact.
Lin Feng suddenly changed his tone of speech and continued, "But my disciple is psychologically traumatized!"
"What?" The Vivant Joy Holy Man and Zhuge Guang were stunned. Shi Zongyue frowned and replied, "Please do not joke about this, Master Lin."
Lin Feng’s faced returned to a state of solemnity. "Who’s joking with you? I’m sure everyone knows his real age."
Shi Zongyue and company’s stopped breathing and peered at Xiao Budian. At least they were old enough to have seen innumerable numbers of decadent prodigies. Right now they were feeling exasperated.
Xiao Budian was not even twelve and he was already in the beginner aurous core stage!
Xiao Budian’s prowess frequently caused others to overlook his real age. In other words, many individuals subconsciously avoided the question as it was a complete mismatch. This level of mastery at such a young age could embarrass so many cultivators to the point of suicide.
Lin Feng lowered his voice and said, "He’s a little kid that’s not even twelve years old. To think that he has the emotional maturity of a grown adult is impossible."
"He’s just a kid and he just faced a situation of life and death. He was chased down by assassins and barely escaped with his life. What do you think the impact would be on his psychological state of mind?" Lin Feng continued and said, "Especially so when the perpetrators could possibly be related to him by blood. What do you think this could do to his soul?"
"A psychological trauma as serious as this – if nothing’s done to fix it and help him recover it will ruin his life."
Shi Zongyue and company could only watch as Lin Feng spoke with eloquence and unfettered righteousness. Their mouths gaped open and nobody could say anything.
As for Xiao Budian’s psychological state of mind, they did not believe Lin Feng’s nonsense. To the best of their knowledge, Xiao Budian was doted on by Lin Feng, but his background was nothing like a privileged kid. He had already experienced multiple situations of life and death amongst other challenging experiences.
If his psychological state of mind was that weak, he would have died hundreds of times over. How could he have survived until now to wrack havoc upon the world?
However, Lin Feng’s words seemed to suggest that the Shi Family was the mastermind of this evil plan. Shi Zongyue and the others could not disregard his words.
If that were true, and the Shi Family was identified as the main perpetrator and the true mastermind of the crime, the Great Qin Empire could not possibly pretend it never happened. This would only strain their relationship with the Shi Family.
The four great families of the Great Qin Empire, besides the relatively stronger rapport between the Huo Family and the Royal Family, the other three families had some conflicts between each other. However, they were usually able to stick or progress together. If the Great Qin Empire antagonized the Shi Family, it was likely the other two families would be dragged in as well.
At that point, the external pressure from the Great Zhou Empire would be greater and greater. Under such circumstances, any internal conflict within the Great Qin Empire would be highly unwise.
This was the reason that Shi Zongyue and company wanted to resolve this issue as quietly as possible, and the reason why they wanted to push the blame to their adversary, the Great Zhou Empire.
The three great immortal soul cultivators ran their thoughts while Xiao Budian wore a pitiful look and hid behind Lin Feng. He hugged Lin Feng and said quietly, "Master, I’m afraid. Can we go back to Mount Yujing?"
Shi Zongyue’s face and the others instantly turned black. They glanced at Lin Feng, then at Xiao Budian and back at Lin Feng. The combined age of the three great immortal cultivators was more than ten thousand years but suddenly they seemed to be at a loss for words and ideas.
"This is really a chip off the old block!" Shi Zongyue heaved a heavy sigh to the heavens and shook his head while he said to Lin Feng, "Master Lin, the abilities of your disciple is indeed impressive. I have nothing else to say."
How could Lin Feng not detect the sarcasm in his voice?
However, Lin Feng simply chuckled and replied, "Of course. It is natural that my disciple is like me in every way."
Lin Feng peered at Shi Zongyue with a faint smile on his face.
"In every way…" Shi Zongyue was taken aback once again. He stared at the legislations and nodded his head slowly but said no more. He shot the Vivant Joy Holy Man and look and turned around.
The Vivant Joy Holy Man coughed dryly and looked at Lin Feng. "Whatever you say. Tell me, Master Lin, how can we help to repair your disciples psychological trauma?"
The Vivant Joy Holy Man enunciated the last two words syllable by syllable with pauses in between. It was as if he squeezed out the words ‘psychological trauma’ from between the gaps of his teeth.
The state of his temperament was already a wonder in itself.
Lin Feng glanced at the Vivant Joy Holy Man and replied with a tone of disapproval. "Do the three of you think I’m trying to blackmail you or extort from you? I think you guys are underestimating me."
He patted Xiao Budian on the head once more and said, "What do you want from them?"
The Vivant Joy Holy Man was stunned. He understood Lin Feng’s words – he wanted to give the right to compensation to Xiao Budian and let him decide on whatever he wanted in compensation. To do things until such a level as a master was indeed impressive.
The Gambling Holy Man nodded his head slowly and Shi Zongyue turned back to face them. His expression was a lot more relaxed now as he looked at Xiao Budian and heaved a heavy sigh after a long while. "Forget it. Tell me, my child, what do you want? If it’s anything that the Great Qin Empire possesses it is yours."
Even though his words were as such, if Xiao Budian’s request was something outrageous like a magic treasure on the spot Shi Zongyue was going to pretend he did not hear.
However, Xiao Budian did not seem like he had such intentions. He just stared at Shi Zongyue and the other immortal soul elders like an injured little animal.
The Vivant Joy Holy Man looked at Xiao Budian and said amiably, "Tell us, what do you desire?"
Stop pretending you little bastard! We had already agreed to compensate you, you should make it quick!
Xiao Budian tried to test the waters and made his first request. "I want a Purple-Golden Gust. Is that okay?"
"Ah, that is nothing much. At least this kid has decent propriety." The Vivant Joy Holy Man thought to himself as he met Xiao Budian’s desirous gaze and flashed a smile. "Sure, no problem."
A smile appeared on Xiao Budian’s face and he whispered his second request. "Then… Then can I also have a piece of Thunder Crystal?"
His big eyes had a tinge of embarrassment in them, as if he knew he was getting greedy.
"Thunder Crystals? No problem." The Vivant Joy Holy Man replied before he thought to himself, "That’s nothing too rare or exotic either. It seems like this kid is quite pure and innocent after all. He’s only requested for such a small amount and he’s already feeling embarrassed."
If these were the only items that the Great Qin Empire gave as compensation seemed to betray stinginess on their part. Shi Zongyue and the Vivant Joy Holy Man exchanged a look and said, "If you want anything else, just tell us now. I will ensure that anything suitable for you, as long as you desire them, will be yours!"
Xiao Budian giggled when he heard those words and replied, "Thank you, sir. Then… then I’m going to say them now."