Chapter 61. The missing child.
Chapter 61: 61. The missing child.
Lin Xuan slowly left his seclusion cave.
Ever since discovering the truth about Lin Zhaoyue’s Martial Spirit, he had been unable to calm his mind.
No matter how hard he tried, he simply could not focus on cultivating anymore.
After taking several long, deep breaths, he decided to stop thinking about it for the time being.
Instead, he would visit Su Qinglan and learn about how she had dealt with Lin Zhenghai.
A short while later, Lin Xuan arrived outside the Lin Clan Treasury Hall.
The guards standing at the entrance immediately recognized him.
Without waiting for any instructions, they respectfully pushed the heavy doors open.
"Good afternoon, Patriarch."
Lin Xuan smiled and nodded in return.
"Good afternoon."
He then stepped into the treasury hall.
After walking through several corridors, he finally arrived at Su Qinglan’s office.
The moment he saw her, he paused slightly.
Su Qinglan looked utterly exhausted.
Dark circles surrounded her beautiful eyes, making her resemble a panda that had not slept for several days.
Lin Xuan pulled out a chair and leisurely sat down opposite her desk.
"Did you not get enough sleep?"
Su Qinglan slowly raised her head.
For a brief moment, she looked as though she wanted to curse at him.
Fortunately, she managed to suppress the impulse.
"Thanks to a certain someone, I ended up with even more work as punishment despite having that person’s obvious permission."
Lin Xuan chuckled softly.
"I wonder who that could be."
Su Qinglan stared daggers at him but after a few seconds, she simply gave up and let out a long sigh.
Seeing her reaction, Lin Xuan wisely chose not to tease her any further.
After all, he was partly responsible for her current appearance.
As soon as he returned with the caravan, the elders had immediately complained about her being too ruthless.
She had suspended the benefits of multiple branch families, confiscated rewards that had been issued years earlier, frozen unnecessary clan expenditures.
She had even investigated numerous elders without consulting anyone beforehand.
Following Lin Zhenghai’s disappearance, the position of Supreme Elder had become vacant.
As punishment, Lin Xuan had temporarily assigned all of the Supreme Elder’s responsibilities to Su Qinglan.
Unfortunately for her, that decision had nearly doubled her workload.
Although... some of the elders seemed to view those responsibilities as a reward rather than a punishment.
Perhaps he should let them experience that workload for themselves later.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Lin Xuan smiled.
"By the way, thank you for handling everything so well."
Su Qinglan’s tired expression softened slightly.
She nodded with a hint of pride.
"I’m glad I was able to manage the clan’s affairs while carrying out my own duties."
Lin Xuan returned the nod.
"Thank you. I also have to say that I’m impressed by how quickly you dealt with Lin Zhenghai."
Su Qinglan blinked in confusion.
"Lin Zhenghai is dead?"
This time, it was Lin Xuan’s turn to look surprised.
"You didn’t know?"
Su Qinglan slowly shook her head.
"In all honesty, Patriarch... I still haven’t received a single report about his whereabouts."
Lin Xuan found himself completely at a loss for words.
Did that old man really flee from the Lin Family only to die somewhere else?
Before he could think any further, hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
The next moment, the office door was pushed open.
An elderly woman rushed inside with an anxious expression.
"Madam Su! Please help me! My granddaughter is missing!"
Both Lin Xuan and Su Qinglan immediately turned toward the newcomer and saw that it was Nanny Liu.
She had served the Lin Family for many years and was one of the clan’s most trusted servants.
Lin Xuan quickly stood up.
"Nanny Liu, what happened?"
Only then did Nanny Liu notice that Lin Xuan was also in the room.
"Oh, Patriarch... you’re here as well."
A trace of relief appeared on her aged face before it was quickly replaced by panic once again.
"Patriarch, it is like this. For the past two days, Lin Zhaoxi has been missing."
Lin Xuan’s expression immediately changed.
"Two days? Why didn’t you come sooner?"
Before Nanny Liu could answer, Su Qinglan had already walked around her desk and gently helped the old woman into a nearby chair.
"Please sit down first. Take your time and tell us everything."
Nanny Liu took several deep breaths before finally calming herself enough to speak.
"Two days ago, little Xi went out to play with the Young Miss. When evening came and she still hadn’t returned, I went to the Young Miss’s courtyard.
But I noticed that the young miss was deeply immersed in cultivation, so I did not dare disturb her.
I thought little Xi might have gone somewhere else, so I asked the servants to help me search. We searched everywhere we could think of. But... we found nothing."
Nanny Liu’s voice gradually became choked with emotion.
"I... I truly don’t know what else to do."
She clasped her trembling hands together as tears streamed down her face.
"Madam Su... Patriarch... Please help me find my granddaughter."
Seeing the old woman’s helpless state, neither Lin Xuan nor Su Qinglan spoke immediately.
Su Qinglan’s brows gradually furrowed.
She wanted to ask how an entire search involving so many servants had taken place without a single report reaching her.
However, seeing Nanny Liu’s tearful appearance, she decided that this was neither the time nor the place for such questions.
She turned towards Lin Xuan.
"Patriarch, I believe we should speak with the Young Miss first. If little Xi was last seen with her, she may know what happened."
Lin Xuan understood why she had suggested it.
Nanny Liu had not dared disturb the Young Miss while she was immersed in cultivation.
Su Qinglan also felt that it would be inappropriate if she were the one to interrupt so that only left him, her father.
Lin Xuan nodded in agreement.
"Alright. She may have some idea where little Xi went afterall."
He then looked toward Nanny Liu and spoke reassuringly.
"Nanny Liu, come with us. We’ll find your granddaughter."