Chapter Ninety-Four: The Five-Year Promise

Night lay peaceful and still, while a few fireflies drifted among the grasses, their faint green lights flickering in the dark. Before long, a full moon rose into the sky. Wang the Simpleton was still meditating to heal his injuries, while Lin Xiaobao took out a spirit stone and pinched it lightly. A brilliant flare burst forth from within, and a surge of powerful spiritual force spread outward. Then Lin Tian's almost insubstantial form appeared, suspended in midair.

"Father..."

What stood before him was only a soul projection, yet from that pallid face Lin Xiaobao could tell at once that he had suffered grievously.

"It's enough that you're safe."

Lin Tian's nearly transparent figure remained calm beyond measure.

"What exactly happened? How can I save you?" Lin Xiaobao wasted no words. He knew that in Lin Tian's present condition, he could not possibly hold on for long, and their conversation might be severed at any moment.

"Save me? Easier said than done. Unless you have reached the Realm of the Dao Embryo!" Lin Tian said with a composed smile. "Your thought alone is enough for me. If you truly wish to help me, then find my real child, and take good care of him for me."

"You..." By now Lin Xiaobao understood clearly that even if Lin Tian did not know his true identity, he already knew that he was not his son.

"In truth, not long after you entered the Snowwind Pavilion, I already knew you were not my son." Lin Tian did not seem displeased by Lin Xiaobao's deception. "Since I could not find my own child, I could only make up for what I owed him by placing it on you. After all, the fact that that bracelet appeared on you shows that we do have some measure of fate between us. Fortunately, you did not let me down. Although you knew full well that I was not your father, you still cared deeply for me."

Seeing Lin Xiaobao remain silent, Lin Tian went on, "You have now cultivated to the Spirit Path Realm. If, in the future, you should meet my child, it should not be hard for you to grant him a life of prosperity. I trust you will not refuse this, will you?"

Lin Tian's request was not high. He only wanted his descendants to live well. As for rescuing him or avenging him, he did not mention a word.

"Your daughter is now in the Flowing Cloud Sect, and seems to be one of their direct disciples." Lin Xiaobao gathered his thoughts and, in the fewest possible words, told Lin Tian about Si Mengling. Because time was short, he did not mention a thing about Chen Chong; otherwise, a great storm in the future might have been avoided.

"The Flowing Cloud Sect?" Lin Tian was first startled, then said, "That is well enough. At least she need not be dragged into this turmoil."

Lin Xiaobao shook his head. "Don't you want to see your daughter? Hold on. Hold on until I rescue you!"

"I would like nothing more than to hold on, but I fear they will not give me the chance." Looking into Lin Xiaobao's resolute eyes, Lin Tian seemed somewhat helpless. Lin Xiaobao's cultivation speed might indeed be heaven-defying, but that was only on the path of a martial artist. Once one became a cultivator, every barrier was exceedingly hard to cross. To cultivate all the way to the Realm of the Dao Embryo—how could that be easy? Moreover, the grand elders of the Snowwind Pavilion were themselves all exceptionally gifted people. Could they really stand still all this time?

Lin Xiaobao knew that Lin Tian spoke the truth. Judging from Lin Tian's former injuries, even if the Third Elder and the others did not inflict a single torture upon him and merely sealed his spiritual power, he would have at most five years left to live. And would the Third Elder and the others, while imprisoning him, treat him with courtesy?

"Find a way to buy time. Within five years, I will personally bring you out of the Snowwind Pavilion." Afraid that Lin Tian might not be firm enough, Lin Xiaobao added, "By then, I will go with you to find Si Mengling!"

"Si Mengling..." Sure enough, upon hearing her name, a trace of resolve flashed through Lin Tian's calm expression. "Very well. I believe you can work miracles. I will wait for you. But if there comes a day when I am truly no longer here, remember to take care of Mengling for me."

"Run!" Just as Lin Xiaobao was about to say more, Lin Tian's expression suddenly changed and he shouted the warning, then vanished.

Lin Xiaobao immediately realized that Lin Tian, while imprisoned, must have been discovered using a soul-splitting art. The people of the Snowwind Pavilion would soon be searching for him. At once he forcibly woke Wang the Simpleton, gave him a few instructions, and then sprinted away at full speed.

"Brother Xiaobao, where are we going now?" Wang the Simpleton, whose body was of the Divine of Strength, had only reached the first stage of the Spirit Path Realm, yet his speed was astonishing. He followed closely behind Lin Xiaobao as he asked the question.

"Back to Howling Moon City first!" Lin Xiaobao said in a low voice.

"Howling Moon City?" With his cultivation continually improving, Wang the Simpleton seemed to have become somewhat wiser as well. Frowning, he said, "The Snowwind Pavilion knows we came from Howling Moon City. Wouldn't they go there to look for us?"

As they hurried along, Lin Xiaobao replied, "Precisely because of that, they would never think we would dare return to Howling Moon City."

Not long after the two had left, elders from the Snowwind Pavilion indeed arrived at the cave where they had been hiding. After finding traces of their presence, they immediately widened the search in all directions.

In the Snowwind Pavilion, within the secret prison.

The Third Elder looked at Lin Tian, whose body was covered in bloodstains, and said, "Elder Lin, why be so stubborn? As long as you hand over the cultivation art that Lin Xiaobao practices, I guarantee you can enjoy your later years in peace within the Snowwind Pavilion."

"Didn't you already go searching for him? Wouldn't it be better to ask him yourself then?" Since he had chosen to trust Lin Xiaobao, Lin Tian knew that the secret behind Lin Xiaobao's cultivation was his own safeguard. Of course, even if he truly intended to confess, he had nothing to confess. Even by Lin Xiaobao's account, no one else could possibly find a method of cultivation in the Snowwind's Beginning Manual.

"Since Elder Lin is so uncooperative, we'll simply keep you company a while longer." A vicious look flashed across the Third Elder's face. He said to the prison disciples beside him, "Take good care of Elder Lin. Come tell me again whenever he feels like talking."

"Yes!" The three prison disciples nearby nodded in assent, then took up a leather whip and stepped toward Lin Tian one step at a time...

Driven to exhaustion by their flight, Lin Xiaobao and Wang the Simpleton reached Howling Moon City before nightfall. However, Lin Xiaobao did not enter the city. After giving Wang the Simpleton a few instructions, he departed alone.

The Snowwind Pavilion's target was him. If he stayed with Wang the Simpleton, he would surely bring calamity upon him, and Lin Xiaobao did not wish for the one and only brother he had in this world to suffer such an undeserved disaster. Besides, Wang the Simpleton possessed the body of the Divine of Strength, and in cultivation he required very few resources. As long as his hidden potential was continually awakened, he would do well enough. Taking this chance to let him spend time with his family was not a bad choice either.

Though Wang the Simpleton repeatedly insisted on accompanying Lin Xiaobao, he eventually yielded to Lin Xiaobao's unyielding resolve.

After parting from Wang the Simpleton, Lin Xiaobao raced toward the east.

In the east of the Nation of Ningfeng stood East-Profound City, separated from the Blood Victory Empire by the Blackwind Mountain Range alone. Lin Xiaobao believed that once he entered the Blood Victory Empire, it would no longer be so easy for the Snowwind Pavilion to find him.