Chapter 62. Scapegoat unveiled.
Chapter 62: 62. Scapegoat unveiled.
Not long afterward, the three of them arrived outside the Young Miss’s courtyard.
Lin Xuan slowly released his Divine Sense and extended it into the room.
The moment his perception reached the person inside...
He froze.
Nanny Liu and Su Qinglan had been quietly waiting beside him.
Seeing the sudden change in his expression, both women were immediately stunned.
They exchanged a puzzled glance, yet neither of them dared say a word.
After a long moment of silence, Lin Xuan gritted his teeth and muttered,
"Nanny Liu..."
"The child inside isn’t my daughter."
"It’s your granddaughter."
Nanny Liu’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Impossible!"
"She hasn’t even reached the age for the Martial Spirit Awakening Ceremony yet."
"How could she possibly be cultivating?"
Even Su Qinglan found the revelation difficult to accept.
Was the Patriarch saying that the little girl had somehow begun cultivating without first awakening her Martial Spirit?
Lin Xuan offered no explanation.
Some things were easier to show than explain.
He stepped forward and gently pushed open the door.
The room soon came into view.
Sitting cross-legged in the center of the room was a small girl.
She was completely immersed in cultivation.
It was not Lin Zhaoyue.
It was Lin Zhaoxi.
Nanny Liu’s eyes instantly turned red.
"So..."
"So no one went missing?"
An overwhelming sense of relief washed over her as tears streamed down her face.
Lin Xuan, however, slowly bit his lip.
Only now did he fully understand what had happened.
It was never Lin Zhaoxi who had gone missing.
It was...
Lin Zhaoyue.
Su Qinglan arrived at the same conclusion almost immediately.
Her face gradually turned pale.
She no longer dared meet Lin Xuan’s eyes.
Before entering seclusion, the Patriarch had entrusted the clan to her care.
Yet the very day he emerged...
He was greeted with the news that his own daughter had disappeared.
At that moment...
Su Qinglan felt she no longer had the face to look at her Patriarch.
Lin Xuan let out a helpless sigh.
"I should have seen this coming," he muttered under his breath.
The next moment, Su Qinglan immediately knelt before him.
"Patriarch, please forgive me."
"I failed to protect the Young Miss."
Seeing Su Qinglan kneel, Nanny Liu finally realized what had happened.
The relief she had felt only moments earlier instantly disappeared.
Her face turned deathly pale.
Without the slightest hesitation, she also knelt down.
"Patriarch, this old servant deserves punishment."
"I should have checked more carefully."
"I never imagined that the Young Miss would be the one who had disappeared."
Lin Xuan immediately raised a hand.
"Silence."
"You’re going to disturb the child inside."
The two women immediately fell quiet.
Lin Xuan looked at them before speaking calmly.
"I’ll punish both of you with a week’s deduction in pay for your negligence."
"Understand that it is only one week because Zhaoyue also bears responsibility for this matter."
Nanny Liu immediately shook her head.
"No, Patriarch."
"The responsibility should fall entirely upon this old servant."
"I was the Young Miss’s caretaker."
Lin Xuan let out another helpless sigh.
"Zhaoyue recently entered the Qi Refinement Realm."
"She was naturally excited to go out on her own."
"It isn’t entirely your fault."
"So please don’t make me feel even more awkward."
The two women bit their lips.
After a brief hesitation, they finally rose to their feet.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuan quietly let out a sigh inwardly.
So that’s how it happened.
Now I know who killed Lin Zhenghai.
The old man had only reached the Peak of the Qi Refinement Realm.
His daughter, on the other hand, had already stepped into the Third Layer of the Golden Core Realm.
There was no doubt in his mind anymore.
Lin Zhaoyue had secretly slipped out of the clan just to hunt him down.
His gaze slowly shifted toward Lin Zhaoxi, who remained completely immersed in cultivation inside the room.
A look of genuine admiration appeared on his face.
Just how did she manage to get someone who hasn’t even awakened a Martial Spirit to begin cultivating?
After regaining their composure, Su Qinglan and Nanny Liu gradually looked at Lin Xuan with expressions of admiration.
Su Qinglan was the first to speak.
"Congratulations, Patriarch. You have truly raised an outstanding daughter."
Nanny Liu quickly nodded in agreement.
"The Young Miss is incredibly hardworking. Everyone in the clan knows that her Martial Spirit awakened at only First-Grade Mortal Rank.
By all reason, she should never have been able to step into the Qi Refinement Realm.
And yet... At only eleven years old, she has already become a Qi Refinement cultivator."
Neither woman found it difficult to accept.
After all, the Patriarch had accomplished one miracle after another over the past several years.
In their eyes, he had undoubtedly used precious pills or rare heavenly treasures to improve the Young Miss’s Martial Spirit.
Only then could she have surpassed her natural limits and advanced so quickly.
Compared to her peers, Lin Zhaoyue was already far ahead.
Lin Xuan simply smiled and accepted their congratulations with a calm nod.
"Thank you."
Outwardly, he remained as composed as ever.
Inwardly, however, he could not help feeling a little smug.
I wonder what your reactions would be if I told you she’s already at the Third Layer of the Golden Core Realm.
Su Qinglan smiled warmly, her mood noticeably lighter than before.
"I wonder what the Patriarch has prepared for the Young Miss when she returns."
In her eyes, the answer was obvious.
The Young Miss had stepped into the Qi Refinement Realm at only eleven years old.
Such an achievement deserved a generous reward.
Lin Xuan turned to look at her and with a passionate smile spreading across his face, "I’m going to break her legs."
The smile on Su Qinglan’s face instantly froze and Nanny Liu stood rooted to the spot.
Neither of them knew whether they had heard correctly.
After a long silence, Su Qinglan cautiously asked,"Patriarch... Did I hear you correctly?"
Lin Xuan’s smile remained exactly the same.
"You did."