The Lin's Patriarch is weird.

Chapter 169: 169. Shangguan Jie

Lin Xuan had just finished with his work and was standing in the courtyard when he saw a familiar figure hurrying toward him.

"Father!"

Her voice carried across the courtyard.

Lin Xuan turned toward her, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

"You’re here."

Before Lin Zhaoyue could reach him, Lin Xuan turned to Lin Shuli standing nearby.

"Shuli, you can go."

Lin Shuli nodded.

"Yes, Patriarch."

However, before leaving, her gaze unconsciously drifted toward Lin Zhaoyue.

The moment their eyes met, Lin Shuli’s expression changed.

There was an unmistakable brightness in her eyes.

It was the look of someone who had unexpectedly encountered the person she had admired for a long time.

Lin Shuli immediately restrained herself.

She had spent years cultivating her composure and had become the current Supreme Elder of the Lin Family. Naturally, she could not behave like an excited young girl merely because she had encountered her idol.

She took a breath.

"Hello."

The word came out stiffly.

Then she hurriedly turned around and left the courtyard.

Lin Xuan stared at her departing figure and then shook his head.

"Tsk. So much for being a fan of mine."

Lin Zhaoyue did not even pay attention to the exchange. Her attention was entirely focused on her father.

She quickly approached him, her eyes filled with excitement.

"Father, I’ve heard the news. Congratulations!"

"Thanks."

Lin Xuan smiled before looking at her curiously.

"But how did you hear about it?"

"The royal messenger caravan made it obvious."

Lin Zhaoyue answered without the slightest hesitation.

Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"It could have come here for an entirely different reason."

Lin Zhaoyue shook her head confidently.

"No, it couldn’t."

She folded her hands behind her back, her expression carrying the smugness of someone who already knew she had reached the correct conclusion.

"The caravan they came with was adorned with gifts, and everything was decorated in red. Red symbolizes reward and celebration. They wouldn’t go through all that trouble unless they were delivering good news."

She lifted her chin slightly, as if silently declaring that she had already figured everything out.

Lin Xuan stared at her for a moment before chuckling.

"Your confidence certainly hasn’t decreased."

Lin Zhaoyue smiled proudly.

"Of course."

Lin Xuan shook his head with a faint smile. Seeing her so excited made him feel rather pleased.

Her excitement did not fade. Instead, she tilted her head curiously.

"Father, what exactly was the good news?"

Lin Xuan stared at her for a moment.

And here I thought you already knew.

It seemed that her earlier confidence had been nothing more than a lucky deduction.

So you were just bullshitting me...

Still, he answered.

"We’re hosting the Winter Harvest this year."

The smile on Lin Zhaoyue’s face immediately disappeared.

"What?"

"We’re hosting the Winter Harvest."

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"But this year was supposed to be the Su Family’s turn."

She muttered the words almost instinctively, her brows knitting together.

Lin Xuan looked at her thoughtfully.

"You think so too?"

Lin Zhaoyue gave him an odd look.

"No. I just know."

She paused for a moment before adding with complete confidence,"Did you forget that I’m a regressor?"

Lin Xuan’s mouth slowly fell open as realization dawned upon him.

"Fair enough."

He reached over and rubbed her hair.

Lin Zhaoyue’s hair became slightly disheveled beneath his hand, but she did not seem to mind.

Lin Xuan withdrew his hand and looked at her.

"Then why do you think our family was chosen this year instead of the Su Family?"

Lin Zhaoyue’s expression became thoughtful.

After a moment, she looked at him suspiciously.

"Did you expose your real cultivation base to the royal family?"

Lin Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Before he could answer, Lin Zhaoyue continued.

"Father, searching for short-term profits at the expense of long-term benefits never turns out well."

Her tone had become unusually serious.

"Your Nascent Soul cultivation was supposed to be our family’s trump card. If you expose it to the royal family now, what do we gain from it?"

Lin Xuan’s expression became slightly strange.

He had not even answered her question, yet she had already begun lecturing him.

Lin Zhaoyue continued without noticing his expression.

"Our family is still too weak. Aside from you, what do we actually have that can stand against the established powers of the kingdom?"

She frowned slightly.

"If the royal family learns that you have reached the Nascent Soul Realm, they’ll naturally begin paying closer attention to us. That might sound like an advantage, but it also means they’ll start measuring every decision we make against the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator."

She paused before adding, "And once that information spreads, the people who should see us as equals will also begin thinking about ways to deal with us."

Zhaoyue’s concern was not unfounded.

His Nascent Soul cultivation was indeed the Lin Family’s greatest hidden advantage. As long as nobody knew about it, the family could continue developing quietly while he dealt with threats from the shadows.

Exposing it prematurely would bring attention without necessarily giving the Lin Family anything in return.

Lin Zhaoyue placed a hand against her chin.

"Besides, if the royal family already knew about your cultivation, it would explain why they suddenly changed their plans."

She narrowed her eyes slightly, "Unless something happened to the Su Family."

Her expression became increasingly serious.

"The Su Family was supposed to host the Winter Harvest this year. If the royal family suddenly changed their decision and chose us instead, there must have been a reason significant enough to make them abandon their original arrangement."

She looked toward Lin Xuan.

"Either the Su Family did something to offend the royal family, or something happened to them that made them incapable of hosting it."

Lin Xuan’s gaze flickered slightly.

Was the Su Family’s situation already known to the royal family?

The thought lingered in his mind.

Knowing the Su Family’s temperament, there was no way they would willingly reveal that their Patriarch and several Golden Core experts had been crippled.

Such information would be disastrous for them.

The Su Family would certainly do everything within their power to conceal it until they had no choice but to reveal the truth.

If the royal family already knew, then either the Su Family had been unable to keep the matter contained, or the royal family possessed its own channels of information.

Neither possibility was particularly reassuring.

Lin Xuan was still contemplating the matter when Lin Zhaoyue’s expression suddenly brightened.

"On that note, Father..."

She looked at him with an eager smile.

"Shall we get to refining those Everwinter Soul Calming Pills?"

Her eyes practically sparkled.

"Now that we’ll be hosting the Winter Harvest, we can make a whole lot more money by selling them and since we’re the hosts, we won’t have to pay taxes to another family!"

Lin Zhaoyue clasped her hands together, already imagining mountains of spirit stones.

"We can sell them throughout the entire Winter Harvest. Think about it, Father. So many cultivators will be coming, and everyone needs Everwinter Soul Calming Pills."

Lin Xuan looked at his twelve-year-old daughter.

Then, after a moment of silence, he gave her a flat look.

"Goblin."

A few moments later...

Lin Xuan had just calmed her down when footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard.

A moment later, a Lin Family attendant hurried inside.

"Patriarch, the City Lord has paid a visit."

Lin Zhaoyue’s eyes flickered with curiosity.

"The Young City Lord?"

The attendant nodded respectfully.

"Yes, he has come to pay a visit."

Lin Xuan’s immediately wondered the reason for Shangguan Jie’s visit.

He had naturally heard of the young city lord of Azure Willow City.

Despite his relatively young age, Shangguan Jie had already reached the seventh layer of the Golden Core Realm.

Such cultivation was extraordinary for someone of his generation, and his position as the heir of the Shangguan Family gave him an even more prominent standing within the city.

"Where is he now?"

"He’s waiting in the outer hall."

"Bring him here."

"Yes, Patriarch."

The attendant withdrew.

Lin Zhaoyue looked at her father.

"Why would he come here?"

Lin Xuan shook his head.

"I don’t know."

"Perhaps he wants some pills."

Lin Zhaoyue’s eyes immediately brightened.

"If he does, make sure you charge him properly."

Lin Xuan glanced at her before suppressing the urge to call her a goblin once more and went silent.

He didn’t have to maintain the silence for long as a figure appeared at the entrance.

A young man dressed in dark blue robes walked into the courtyard.

He appeared to be in his early twenties, with a handsome and composed face.

This was Shangguan Jie, the young city lord of Azure Willow City.

He stopped several steps away and cupped his fists.

"Shangguan Jie greets Patriarch Lin."

Lin Xuan returned the gesture.

"You are too polite, City Lord."

Shangguan Jie’s gaze briefly moved toward Lin Zhaoyue before returning to Lin Xuan.

"I apologize for arriving without prior notice."

"There is no need to apologize."

Lin Xuan gestured toward the nearby seats.

"Please, sit."

Shangguan Jie nodded and took a seat.

Lin Zhaoyue remained beside her father, quietly observing him.

She had naturally heard of Shangguan Jie.

The young city lord was considered one of the strongest cultivators among the younger generation of Azure Willow City, and reaching the seventh layer of Golden Core at his age was enough to make him a prominent figure even among the surrounding cultivation families.

Yet Shangguan Jie himself did not appear particularly arrogant.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he looked toward Lin Xuan.

"I came today because I heard that the royal family has appointed the Lin Family as this year’s host."

"That’s correct."

Shangguan Jie nodded.

"Then allow me to congratulate you personally, Patriarch Lin."

"Thank you."

Shangguan Jie’s expression became slightly more serious.

"There is another matter I wished to discuss with you."

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