Chapter 48: Sudden Unexpected Incident

After leaving the Ju Bao Pavilion, Li Tan met Lin Cui on the street and headed toward the main Li residence. They occasionally exchanged a few words, but mostly remained silent, lacking much in common.

The Li family resided at the foot of a small hill west of Linjiang City. Nearby, a gentle stream flowed, making it a picturesque location nestled against the mountains and beside the water. Their estate, unlike the opulent and dazzling Lin family mansion, was more modest and elegant, with pavilions and terraces harmoniously blending into the natural scenery.

This was perhaps the difference between a family with centuries of refinement and a newly rich clan.

Stepping from the dirt path onto the bluish stone bricks, the road leading to the Li estate was lined with evergreen silver-leaf trees, making the air particularly cool.

He vividly remembered the last time he had stood in this place, when everything had been reduced to ashes in a raging fire. Thinking of that, a mix of anger, joy, and shock surged within him, causing his hands to clench tightly and tremble slightly.

But within moments, he regained his composure.

At the main entrance of the Li estate stood six guards. Li Tan didn’t head there but instead took a side route.

“The entrance is that way. Why are you walking this way?” Lin Cui, walking slightly behind, asked curiously.

“Going through the front gate doesn’t necessarily mean I can see my father,” Li Tan replied calmly.

“Why not?” she asked, puzzled.

Li Tan smirked slightly and continued walking at a leisurely pace. “Do you think everyone is like my second uncle?”

“What do you mean?” Lin Cui furrowed her brows.

“Do you really think the guards at my own home wouldn’t dare to stop me?” Li Tan glanced sideways at her.

“Did all the brain-nourishing nutrients you ever had go straight to your chest?”

“What do you mean by that?” Lin Cui stamped her foot angrily.

“Big chest, empty head,” Li Tan mocked.

“I’m an insignificant nobody, yet the first heir to the family head. Think about it—who would those opposing my father most want me to be?”

Lin Cui was momentarily stunned, forgetting her anger. “They must want you to never come back.”

“Exactly. They’d definitely think that way, so it’s very possible they might deliberately stop me from entering.”

Li Tan nodded, suddenly stopping. Lin Cui, unable to react in time, bumped into his back.

“What are you doing!” she exclaimed in annoyance, but Li Tan ignored her and simply said, “We’re here.”

Confused, Lin Cui looked around. She noticed a tall locust tree leaning against the high estate wall, its branches extending into the compound.

“You want to climb in from here?” she frowned slightly, clearly reluctant—undoubtedly due to her ladylike dignity.

Li Tan didn’t bother with her thoughts and nimbly climbed up the tree, then called down, “If you’re not coming, just wait here for me.”

Lin Cui gritted her teeth, placed her hand on the tree trunk, leapt upward, stepped off, and flipped gracefully over the wall.

“Awkward moves,” Li Tan muttered expressionlessly before jumping down himself.

This place had once been his secret escape route during his youth to avoid punishment, and it was quite coincidental that it came in handy again now.

As he moved between the familiar yet foreign buildings, he occasionally saw dry leaves drifting down in the gentle breeze. Li Tan couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy, finding the scenery simultaneously familiar and strangely desolate.

Noticing his lonely and slightly sorrowful expression, Lin Cui gave him a disdainful glance and mockingly said, “It’s only been a few days since you left. Do you have to act like you’ve been gone for decades?”

Li Tan refocused his thoughts, unfazed by her sarcasm, and smiled faintly. “Decades are too short—I’ve been away for thousands of years.”

This was actually the truth, but Lin Cui didn’t believe him, scoffing instead and accusing him of bragging.

After walking a short distance, they reached the outside of an empty house when suddenly voices and footsteps came from around the corner. Li Tan furrowed his brow, pulled Lin Cui into the house, and remained silent. Lin Cui wisely didn’t speak, tugging on Li Tan’s sleeve and noticing the seriousness in his eyes before quietly peering out the half-closed window. She saw an elderly man with streaks of gray hair, flanked by two handsome young men, walking past.

After the old man had gone far enough, Lin Cui asked, “Who was that? An opponent of your father?”

Li Tan nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Yes, that’s the clan’s head elder, always at odds with my father.”

Li Tan couldn’t quite describe his feelings toward the man—there wasn’t much anger, really. The elder wasn’t even worth getting angry at. In a way, it was precisely the so-called Qing Xian Powder he had given that had, by chance, led to everything Li Tan had become.

“Let’s go,” Li Tan murmured, stepping out. But suddenly, a wave of heat surged through his chest, followed by excruciating pain as if his internal organs were tearing apart. His vision blurred, and everything before his eyes turned a faint yellow.

“Ugh!” His eyes widened. He held on for about ten seconds before losing consciousness and collapsing to the ground.

When he awoke, he was lying on a bed, and the sky outside the window had already darkened.

“Damn, the poison flared up faster than I expected. But at least I managed to suppress it. However, if I can’t gather all the ingredients for the Nine Revolutions Green Spirit Pill tomorrow, it’ll be a problem.”

He sat up, supporting himself with one hand on his forehead, and surveyed the surroundings. The room was empty except for the bed.

This was Li Tan’s old bedroom. After he married into the Lin family, all his belongings had been removed.

“Someone come here!” he called out. Immediately, a servant opened the door, delighted, and said he would go inform the master.

Soon after, Li Zhen arrived, followed closely by Lin Cui and the head elder.

Li Zhen almost ran into the room, extremely worried, and immediately hugged Li Tan tightly, anxiously asking how he was.

Lin Cui wasn’t that anxious, but seeing that Li Tan was fine, she visibly relaxed. Her expression, however, wasn’t very good either. If anything had happened to Li Tan, regardless of the circumstances, the Lin family would have been held responsible, potentially breaking the alliance between the two families.

As for the head elder, he wore a fake smile, holding Li Tan’s hand and fussing over him. Although he was at odds with Li Zhen, he never showed it openly, always scheming behind the scenes.

“Little Tan, why did you suddenly come back? And why did you collapse like that? Did you suffer any mistreatment at the Lin family?” The elder subtly glanced at Lin Cui under Li Zhen’s gaze.

Lin Cui immediately bristled. It seemed like the one who had suffered mistreatment was from the Lin family. Li Tan was practically a troublemaker. Before she could explain, Li Tan, half-sarcastically, replied, “Thank you for your concern, Elder. I’m fine. I probably just fainted because my body couldn’t handle such potent medicine. The effect of the Qing Xian Powder you gave me really is quite strong.”

Li Tan cleverly disguised his words. What he meant was that the poison was fierce, but no one present could understand the hidden meaning, so the topic wasn’t pursued further.

“Hahaha, good, good, it’s effective!” The head elder, clearly a man of deep cunning, appeared like a kind-hearted elder at this moment.

“Indeed, effectiveness is good,” Li Zhen, sitting on the edge of the bed, said as well, though his tone carried a hint of doubt.

He had always known the elder’s true nature. No one understood better than he did that the man had always wanted him to fail and would never give Li Tan anything genuinely beneficial.

Despite his suspicions, he couldn’t ask about it directly in front of everyone.

Li Tan politely assured them he was fine, got out of bed, and after a bit more small talk, sent the head elder away.

The servants brought tea and snacks, and Li Zhen invited Li Tan and Lin Cui to sit at the table. He suppressed his urge to ask what had happened in the past few days and instead tactfully asked Lin Cui why she had accompanied Li Tan.

As before when meeting Li Yang, Lin Cui didn’t mention Lin Yuan’s matter, simply saying she was worried about Li Tan going out alone.

Li Zhen thought to himself that sending some guards for protection would have sufficed. Why did she have to come herself?

He expressed his gratitude verbally while giving Li Tan a strange look, almost ready to ask directly, “Have you two become something more? She clearly likes you, otherwise there’s no reason for her to follow.”

Such a misunderstanding was understandable, considering Li Tan’s recent actions had indeed been quite bold and inexplicable.

As night fell, Lin Cui declined the offer to stay overnight, and Li Tan, after considering various factors, also chose to return to the Li estate. However, he didn’t leave immediately, deciding to stay a little longer. For him, everything still felt surreal, as if he feared waking up to find it all just a dream.