Chapter 41: The Fallen Clan

Ao neared the Lin residence just as the sun was rising.

The guards at the gates were the first to spot him, one straightening at once.

"Young Master Ao?"

Ao said nothing as he neared the entrance.

Lin Yue, her father, Lin Zhengyuan, and Elder Lin Qingshan were waiting when he arrived. At the sight of him, Lin Yue’s expression darkened.

Ao looked as if he had barely survived the journey. Torn, bloodied clothes clung to a handful of old wounds, some of which had reopened on the way. His steps were slow and deliberate and Lin Yue’s stomach twisted at the grey pallor of his skin.

Lin Yue reached out for him as he stumbled forward. "Ao, tell us what happened. The City Lord was at the Ironwood Estate and we heard the worst."

Ao halted where she had gestured for him to come inside. He regarded her carefully.

"The Ironwood Clan will not trouble you again."

Lin Yue’s throat constricted; the words were not surprising but the sight of Ao like this was. Before she could question him, his knees buckled.

"Ao?"

He took another step and Lin Yue caught him before he hit the floor.

"Ao!" Lin Zhengyuan was at her side in an instant. "Qingshan!"

"I’ve him," the elder replied, kneeling to help lift Ao from her hold, and Lin Yue’s wide eyes fell upon his unconscious face.

"He’s so pale."

Qingshan pressed two fingers to his wrist. "His spiritual energy is nearly depleted."

Lin Zhengyuan’s brows furrowed. "How serious is it?"

Ao had pushed himself beyond his limits and Lin Zhengyuan’s jaw clenched at the thought - the young man would live but he would require care if they were to keep him alive.

"Bring him inside," he ordered. "Have the healer prepare a room."

Lin Yue was already moving. "I’ll have a room prepared."

"You do that," Lin Zhengyuan agreed. "And get the healer."

As the servants hurried off, Ao was brought inside and Lin Yue followed without question. Lin Mei stepped around the corner upon hearing the commotion and halted immediately at the sight of Ao being brought into the room.

"What happened to him?"

"He collapsed at the gates," Lin Yue replied.

Lin Mei’s eyes darkened. "Is he hurt?"

"He’s drained," Lin Yue told her. "Exhausted."

Lin Mei followed her sister inside. "I’ll help."

Lin Yue shot her a look. "Mei, go get the healer."

"I already sent someone."

Lin Yue glanced at her again. "Then why are you still here?"

Lin Mei looked toward Ao. "I want to stay."

Lin Yue sighed. "So do I."

Neither moved.

---

The room fell quiet as the servants helped ease Ao onto his side, removing the torn and bloodied clothes he wore while the healers inspected his wounds. There were several shallow cuts littered across his skin and one long gash running along his side but aside from the blood, there wasn’t much else.

The healers cleaned and dressed the wounds before handing him some medicinal powder.

Lin Yue watched him sleep. "Will he wake soon?"

The healer shook his head. "I don’t know."

Lin Yue frowned. "His injuries aren’t life threatening?"

"No," the healer replied. "It’s not that."

Lin Yue studied him. "What is it?"

"He pushed himself beyond his limits," he said, carefully checking Ao’s pulse. "His spiritual energy is nearly depleted and he strained his body as well."

Lin Yue looked at Ao. "How long do you think he’ll be out for?"

"He could wake in a few hours," the healer said. "Or he could sleep for a day or more."

Lin Mei was watching from the other side of the room. "Will he be all right?"

"If he isn’t disturbed and his body heals on its own, then yes."

Lin Mei nodded. "Thank you."

The healer gathered his belongings. "I’ll leave some restorative pills here for him and don’t force him to take them while he sleeps. Once he wakes, he can have them."

As he left, Lin Yue pulled a chair to the side of the bed and sat down.

Lin Mei looked at her. "You’re staying?"

"Yes."

"So am I."

Lin Yue glanced at her sister’s side of the room. "Mei, you don’t have to."

"I know."

Lin Mei pulled another chair to the other side. "I still want to."

Lin Yue looked at her for a long moment before returning her gaze to Ao.

"Fine."

The room was silent as Ao lay unconscious on the bed. Lin Yue watched him closely, her breath hitching every so often at the thought that he might have perished somewhere far from the Lin residence and not be here to wake up.

She looked down at him. "You really don’t know when to stop."

Lin Mei heard her. "He probably wouldn’t have stopped even if someone told him to."

Lin Yue looked at her. "What are you saying?"

Lin Mei rested her chin in her palm. "I’m just saying you should already know what he’s like."

Lin Yue didn’t know how to argue with that so she studied Ao again. "He went after the whole Ironwood Clan."

Lin Mei nodded. "And came back."

Lin Yue didn’t say anything else. She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing at all.

---

The main hall was packed with the senior members of the Lin family.

Lin Zhengyuan sat at the front where he usually did with Elder Qingshan to his right. The rest occupied the seats on both sides of the room and Lin Zhengyuan exhaled slowly at the sight before him. This was no different from the last meeting they had had with regards to the Ironwood Clan.

It was no secret that they were growing in power and influence - they had their own territory under their protection, vast resources, and several elders that could rival other clans. Now, with their Clan Head dead and the rest of their elders defeated, the question was what to do with what little remained of their assets.

Lin Zhengyuan’s eldest son, Lin Yuanhong, leaned forward at the table. "We shouldn’t wait."

Several people turned to look at him.

"Control over their businesses, the spiritual fields, the warehouses and cultivation resources around the eastern part of the city belong to us now," Yuanhong continued. "If we leave them alone, another clan will take what they have."

One of the older family members frowned. "You’re suggesting that we take the Ironwood Clan’s territory?"

"I’m suggesting that we absorb what remains of them into the Lin family."

The man shook his head. "That’s easier said than done. The Ironwood Clan has existed for generations and their remaining members won’t simply hand everything over."

Yuanhong looked at him. "They don’t have a Clan Head anymore."

"They still have people," the man countered. "And they have enemies."

The room grew silent as Yuanhong placed his palms flat against the surface of the table.

"The Ironwood Clan has been weakened severely," he said. "This is the moment for the other families to strike but if we hesitate, another will take everything."

Lin Qingshan slowly opened his eyes. "And what exactly do you propose?"

Yuanhong turned toward him. "We send people over to secure the Ironwood Estate before any other faction can and take control of their businesses and resources. The remaining members of the Ironwood Clan can either submit to the Lin family or leave."

One of the elders frowned. "That might make us a target."

"We are already a target." Yuanhong’s voice hardened. "The Ironwood Clan attacked us because of the Spiritual Spring and their Clan Head came personally. That conflict has already changed the situation around us."

Lin Zhengyuan remained silent.

Yuanhong looked at him. "Father, if we leave the Ironwood territory untouched, we’re wasting the opportunity."

Another family member spoke. "But this opportunity exists because Ao Kuiba destroyed the Ironwood Clan."

Yuanhong’s expression changed slightly but nobody argued with that. Lin Qingshan turned to Lin Zhengyuan. "What do you think?"

Lin Zhengyuan leaned back and his gaze flickered toward the hallway. Beyond it was the guest rooms where Ao was recovering.

He thought back to the young man who had arrived in their territory with nothing but a spatial ring and an unreadable expression and repaid a small debt by falling victim to the Ironwood Clan.

Finally, he looked back at Yuanhong. "If we take the Ironwood territory, we need to be prepared for what comes with it."

Yuanhong nodded. "I understand."

"Do you?" Lin Zhengyuan’s voice grew heavier. "Taking their territory means taking responsibility for everything connected to it. Their businesses. Their enemies. Their remaining members. Their debts."

Yuanhong didn’t back down. "Then we’ll handle them."

Lin Qingshan studied him for a moment before finally speaking. "The boy hasn’t even woken up yet."

Everybody understood who he was referring to.

Yuanhong looked toward the guest room. "We don’t need to wait for him to wake up to make this decision."

Lin Zhengyuan’s expression stayed unreadable. "No."

He looked around the room. "But we should be certain before we act."

The discussion continued on as the first light of morning poured into the hall.

---

Lin Yue sat beside Ao’s bed.

The room was quiet. The healers had come and gone, as had the servants. Even Lin Mei had left to speak with her father but Ao hadn’t moved.

His breathing was steady. His face had regained most of its color and the wounds hadn’t bled anymore.

Lin Yue watched him.

She thought back to the first time she had seen him - a stranger standing on the edge of the Azure Cloud City with torn clothes and a spatial ring but no name and no face to speak of. He had thanked her for letting him stay the night and had left politely. She had suspected him to be another wandering cultivator but she had been wrong.

The door opened and Lin Mei entered silently, taking her seat again.

"Father is still in the hall with the elders."

Lin Yue nodded.

Lin Mei looked at Ao. "He hasn’t woken up yet."

"No," Lin Yue said. "The healer said it could take a day."

"I know."

They sat in silence.

Then Lin Mei spoke again.

"Yuanhong wants to take the Ironwood Clan’s territory."

Lin Yue looked at her. "What?"

"He proposed it during the family meeting. The elders are still discussing it."

Lin Yue’s expression tightened. "We haven’t even buried the dead yet."

Lin Mei shrugged. "Yuanhong doesn’t think that matters."

Lin Yue looked back at Ao.

He was still unconscious. He had no idea that while he slept, the Lin family was already deciding how to profit from what he had done.

She didn’t know how to feel about that.

---

The discussion continued on, the Lin family deciding on what to do with the Ironwood Clan, the ones who had fallen now waiting to see who would rise to take their place.