Chapter 5: Lin Yuan’s Provocation

As soon as Li Tan spoke, Lin Long’s face turned very ugly, and he roared, “How dare you!” and stood up suddenly.

Lin Long was a mid-level innate expert, and his furious pressure made everyone in the hall gasp for breath.

“Kneel and apologize!”

Lin Long focused his oppressive force on Li Tan.

Under such an overwhelming pressure, an ordinary cultivator at the later stage might have involuntarily knelt down. However, Li Tan didn’t even flinch, his hair unmoving.

In Li Tan’s eyes, Lin Long was far from imposing, being almost no different from a common farmer by the roadside. After all, even a servant guarding the gates of the immortal palace he served could massacre the entire Linjiang City.

However, since Lin Long was his nominal father-in-law, Li Tan refrained from saying much, knowing fully well that Lin Long would not dare to do anything serious to him.

“What an arrogant junior!”

Lin Long’s eyes turned cold.

“Head of the family, Li Tan must be severely punished, or else our family law will become meaningless!”

Seeing the situation, Lin Yuan took the opportunity to stir up trouble with a smirk. The more he looked at Li Tan, the more he disliked him. What was Li Tan’s merit, aside from being better-looking than him and having a slightly sharper tongue? How could he steal Cui’er away from him?

With his intelligence, he hadn’t even grasped the true purpose behind this marriage alliance.

At this tense and dangerous moment, Lin Cui pursed her lips and said to Li Tan: “If you don’t want to die, kneel down immediately.”

Li Tan didn’t even glance at her, coldly addressing Lin Yuan: “Shut up. You don’t get to speak when I’m talking.”

Lin Yuan sneered: “Just a useless live-in son-in-law, do you really think you’re someone important?”

Li Tan ignored him and turned his head.

“Lin Long, your Lin family has its own rules, and my Li family has its own rules.”

“No matter what rules your Lin family has, I was taught by my father from childhood that a man bows once to heaven and earth, and twice to his parents!”

So I won’t kneel to you. If you really can’t accept it, I can write Lin Cui a divorce letter, and from then on, our two families will sever all ties.

“You!!”

Lin Long was furious upon hearing this: “Today I will teach you what rules are on behalf of Li Zhen!”

Li Tan was indifferent: “Then I will also tell you what it means to have the world as your home!”

Lin Long was momentarily speechless.

Li Tan’s meaning was clear: if you attack him, he will leave the next day. As for what the Liu family would do, that’s none of his concern.

The matriarch Gu Lin gently pulled Lin Long’s sleeve: “Husband, don’t lose your composure in front of the juniors. This kid is no simple character; he actually figured out the truth behind this marriage.”

“Hmph.”

Lin Long sat down reluctantly.

In the end, the morning meeting ended unhappily. Li Tan planned to go to the back mountains to find a quiet place to deal with the poison in his body, so he could start cultivating as soon as possible. His time was limited; if he remembered correctly, there was just over a month left before the Liu family would move against the Lin and Li families.

Later, Li Tan arrived at the forest’s edge. This area was relatively safe, with no concern about encountering beasts. It was also where most residents came to collect herbs and medicine.

“It seems a few pests have followed me.”

While walking, Li Tan noticed the roadside bushes with a sidelong glance. Suddenly, there were several whistling sounds, and three figures leaped down from the trees, surrounding him.

The one standing in front of Li Tan was Lin Yuan.

“Li Tan, since the head of the family won’t touch you, I will discipline you in his place.”

Lin Yuan cracked his knuckles, assuming a triumphant posture, smugly sneering as if Li Tan were an ant on the ground.

“Lin Yuan, you just stand there; don’t dirty your hands. We can handle it.”

The two behind flattered him.

“No, I will personally teach him a lesson!”

Lin Yuan shook his head.

The three of them had cultivation levels around the mid-stage of the later realm. Calculating his current condition, Li Tan considered that fighting them would be somewhat troublesome.

After a brief calculation, Li Tan raised his voice and said: “Lin Yuan, if you want to move against me, better think clearly about your own capabilities. Do you really believe Lin Long isn’t afraid of my father?”

Lin Yuan’s anger cooled slightly. Thus, the matter became somewhat tricky; Lin Yuan wanted to teach Li Tan a lesson but was now hesitant to act.

However, just as he gritted his teeth in frustration and was about to leave, a voice came from behind: “Lin Yuan, you just watch, leave the fighting to us.”

These two were illegitimate sons of the Lin family. They planned to seize this rare opportunity to curry favor with Lin Yuan. Paying a small price for future success was absolutely worth it.

“Fine, and there will certainly be rewards for you two after the success.”

Lin Yuan was delighted and smugly shouted at Li Tan: “Now, kneel down and call me grandpa, then go back and apologize to the head of the family, and it’s still not too late.”

Li Tan sneered mockingly: “Your brain must be really messed up. Do you think, when something happens, Lin Long will believe you rather than me?”

“Or do you think my father will believe an outsider?”

Lin Yuan retorted.

Li Tan laughed loudly: “Then why do you think my father will believe you?” Lin Yuan’s smile immediately froze as he finally realized that if anything happened to Li Tan, regardless of whether he was involved or not, he would still face consequences. He then slapped the two illegitimate youths twice, sending them sprawling: “Useless! Always coming up with bad ideas.”

“Li Tan, just you wait. Don’t think Li Zhen can protect you forever.”

Lin Yuan left in frustration, while the two illegitimate youths, covering their faces, followed behind in embarrassment.

“Tsk, before my rebirth, I didn’t have much interaction with this person. It seems I underestimated the complexity of the situation,” Li Tan mused, looking at the lush forest with a somewhat complicated gaze. He had originally thought that with his previous experience, any problem could be easily solved. However, Lin Yuan’s appearance shattered this notion.