Chapter Twenty-Three: The Tragedy of Weida

But when he looked up at Wei Da, he discovered that Wei Da, upon hearing this voice, showed no sign of anger. Instead, his expression was bewildered, then quickly shifted to fear. Such a reaction stirred something in Lin Xiong’s heart.

Just at that moment, Lin Hu entered through the main gate with six young men clad in splendid garments. Each of these youths walked with the bearing of dragons and tigers, brimming with energy. Though their temperaments varied, all possessed a remarkable presence.

“Wei Da, so it really is you here!” As soon as they stepped inside, the young man in silver robes addressed Wei Da with considerable coldness, not waiting for him to reply. Instead, he and the other youths bowed respectfully to Lin Xiong.

“Xiao Shuihan.”
“Li Ji.”
“O Hu.”
“Shangguan Feihong.”
“Qian Jin.”
“Sun Hao, greeting Uncle…”

Each young man bowed in turn, paying their respects to Lin Xiong without arrogance or servility, just as children greeting their elders.

“Good, good, quickly rise. I’m delighted that my son has such friends. Please, take your seats!” Lin Xiong hurriedly motioned them to stand.

He looked at the group, seeing that every one of them was extraordinary, each outstanding in their own way. It made him happy for Lin Fan to have companions like these, and he wished them all to be seated.

The dilemma, however, was that the so-called Lin Family council hall was really just their main hall, with only six seats apart from the main one. Wei Da occupied the first seat beneath the main chair, leaving just five places. With six youths before him, seating arrangements became awkward.

“Greetings, Young Master!” At that moment, Wei Da stood with utmost respect, addressing the young man in silver robes. Then he bowed to the others, “Greetings, Young Master Li. Young Master O. Young Master Shangguan. Young Master Qian. Young Master Sun!”

Lin Xiong was startled by this, quickly deducing the youths’ identities from Wei Da’s words. The Xiao family of North City was the weakest in Qingxue County, but he was not ignorant of the surrounding city families. The ‘Young Master’ Wei Da referred to could only be the son of the city lord of Xiao North City.

It was said this Young Master rarely stayed in Xiao North City, preferring to train at the main house in Qingxue County, only occasionally visiting his father who served in the city. Rumor had it that Wei Da’s connections were through this Young Master.

“Go, stand aside,” Xiao Shuihan said, lifting his eyes with a faint command that made Wei Da tremble. He sensed some displeasure from the Young Master, though he knew not its cause.

“Damn it, what rotten luck! Why did I bring Wei Da to Xiao North City?” Xiao Shuihan cursed inwardly. “I owed Fan a tremendous favor, and we brothers pooled all our money to buy this blade, just so Fan wouldn’t have to spend anything. We wanted to repay the debt, but how did we wind up with this fool Wei Da?”

Originally, Lin Fan had asked Li Ji and O Hu to help him find Mao Chengzi to forge a blade, telling them to let him know the price once it was made and he would pay, leaving their contact information. Xiao Shuihan, moved by this, discussed with his friends after Lin Fan left: since Fan had taught them such invaluable skills, how could they repay him? Why not cover the cost of forging the blade themselves?

Being hot-blooded youths of sixteen or seventeen, loyal and true, they all agreed enthusiastically. They understood Lin Fan came from a small family, and affording such a blade wouldn’t be easy, so when the blade was finished, they didn’t contact him. Instead, they emptied their own purses to buy it.

They were amazed—many struggled to commission Mao Chengzi for a blade, and even more to take it away. Yet, with Fan’s painting, everything went smoothly. But the price was ninety thousand taels of silver, which pained them deeply. Even after pooling all their funds, they were still fifty thousand taels short, so they sold some of their precious belongings.

Xiao Shuihan parted with his prized purple gold ginseng, Li Ji with his favorite dragon-phoenix jade pendant, O Hu with a heart-protecting mirror gifted by his father. Shangguan Feihong sold his jade thumb ring, Sun Hao gave up a military treatise penned by his father. Qian Jin, more ruthless, secretly appropriated forty thousand taels from the Four Seas Restaurant.

Normally, purple gold ginseng fetched ten thousand taels per stalk, but he sold it for six thousand. The dragon-phoenix pendant, with its calming properties, was worth nine thousand, sold for seven. The heart-protecting mirror, a treasure, valued at twenty thousand, sold for eighteen. The jade ring matched the pendant in price, sold for seven. Sun Hao's treatise, written by King Sun himself, sold for eight. Qian Jin, though a scion of the Four Seas Commerce, was hardly favored and owned little of value, so he pilfered forty thousand taels from the Xiao North City branch, finally covering the fifty thousand shortfall and securing the blade, Thousand Layers of Snow.

Selling many precious possessions hurt, but compared to the skills Fan had shared, it was nothing. They only wished to show their sincerity. So, upon acquiring Thousand Layers of Snow, they hurried straight to Fan’s family.

Yet, they encountered Wei Da, whom Xiao Shuihan had brought from the main house, ruining his mood entirely. Even without much thought, he could guess what Wei Da was up to—having just arrived, they’d heard of the three great families’ assault on the Lin family and their subsequent annihilation. They broke out in cold sweat, thankful Lin Fan and his family were unharmed. Otherwise, their debt could never be repaid, and their newfound friendship would have ended in tragedy.

Xiao Shuihan and Qian Jin silently blamed themselves, being local powers, for not ensuring the Lin family’s safety before leaving. Now, with Wei Da here, it was clear he had come to extort benefits from the Lin family.

The brothers had sold many treasures to buy Thousand Layers of Snow, hoping to repay a tiny portion of the favor. Now, this fellow’s actions had utterly disgraced them. If Fan found out, what would he think of their character? Extortion one moment, a gift the next?!

The more Xiao Shuihan thought, the angrier he became. He suddenly turned to Wei Da behind him and said coldly, “The Lin family is my brother Fan’s kin. You’d best protect them well. If anything happens, I’ll take your head myself. By the way, I hear Uncle Lin has unified all the families of Xiao North City. Did you bring him a congratulatory gift?”

Such a sudde