Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

Deep inside the dungeon, candlelight flickered.

Lin Jiu sat cross-legged on the stone bed, his hair disheveled and his appearance miserable.

But if someone looks closely into his eyes, they will find that there is no madness in them, only a bottomless calm.

Elder Lin stood before him, bowing slightly, and placed the dagger on the stone table.

"We've got everything."

Lin Jiu picked up the dagger, carefully examined the character "拾" on the hilt, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Good. With this, Lin Shi will never be able to turn things around."

He put down the dagger, raised his head, and looked at Elder Lin.

Where are they?

"As per the young master's instructions, we sent them back to the small courtyard in the woods." Elder Lin paused, then added, "However, that Yu Yan asked me to pass on a message to the young master."

"Oh? What did you say?"

He said, "Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future."

Lin Jiu was slightly taken aback after hearing this.

"Hahaha……"

He chuckled softly and tossed the dagger to Elder Lin.

"Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future... That's interesting."

He stood up and paced back and forth in the cramped dungeon.

"This Yu Yan is a smart man. He knows how to leave himself a way out."

Elder Lin stood to the side, cupping his hands slightly and saying:

"Young Master, regarding what I mentioned before about my nephew joining your great enterprise..."

"Oh, that's not urgent."

Lin Jiu took a few steps, stopped, and turned around to look at him.

"Now I think it might be possible to bring Yu Yan in and have him work for me."

"Elder Lin, what do you think of this Yu Yan?"

Elder Lin's heart tightened, but he remained expressionless, pretending to ponder for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Impressive ability. To find this clue and escape from several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, such skill is rare among his peers."

Lin Jiu nodded.

Elder Lin continued, "Moreover, he's cautious. Just now at the restaurant entrance, he was constantly on guard against me. His hands were always in his pockets, ready to activate the talisman at any moment. This kind of person isn't easy to fool."

Lin Jiu seemed to be deep in thought.

"So, you think he's a capable person?"

Elder Lin remained silent for a moment, then spoke slowly.

"It's usable, but not very user-friendly."

"How so?"

"His cultivation level is too low," Elder Lin said calmly. "The fifth level of Qi Refining is not bad among rogue cultivators, but in the Lin family, any guard you pick out is stronger than him. Taking him out would be embarrassing."

Lin Jiu did not speak.

Elder Lin continued, "Moreover, he's too calculating. This kind of person won't genuinely risk their life for someone. You can use him to do things, but it's probably very difficult to get him to rely on others."

"Who knows, one day he might turn around and bite the hand that feeds him for his own benefit."

Lin Jiu remained silent for a long time after listening.

He walked back to the stone bed, sat down, and gently tapped the edge of the stone bed with his fingers.

"You make a good point."

"But if we don't let him join, he already knows too much."

Lin Jiu looked up at him.

"you mean?"

Elder Lin met his gaze and said firmly:

"Young master, some things can only be kept secret by the dead."

Silence fell over the dungeon.

The flickering candlelight cast long, long shadows of the two people.

Lin Jiu looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Elder Lin, how many years have you been following me?"

Elder Lin was slightly taken aback, then answered.

"It has been fifteen years since you decided to begin vying for the position of young clan leader."

"Fifteen years..." Lin Jiu nodded.

"In these fifteen years, you have done countless things for me, and I have seen your loyalty."

Elder Lin lowered his head.

"It's all within my duty."

Lin Jiu stood up, walked up to him, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Elder Lin, you don't need to be modest. If it weren't for you by my side these past fifteen years, I would have died countless times over."

He paused, then continued.

"Compared to Yu Yan, an outsider, I naturally trust you more."

Elder Lin raised his head and looked at him.

Lin Jiu walked back to the stone bed, sat down, and waved his hand.

"Alright, you handle this as you see fit."

A glint flashed in Elder Lin's eyes.

He bowed slightly.

"clear."

Lin Jiu looked at him and added another sentence.

"However, that Yu Yan... is indeed a smart man. If we're going to make a move, we should do it cleanly and leave no evidence."

Elder Lin nodded.

"Don't worry, young master, I know what I'm doing."

Lin Jiu waved.

Elder Lin bowed and turned to leave.

Lin Jiu was the only one left in the dungeon.

He picked up the dagger and examined it repeatedly in the candlelight, a faint smile always playing on his lips.

Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future...

Yu Yan, Yu Yan, when you said that, were you already thinking about something?

What a smart person.

pity--

Intelligent people often don't live long.

Let's keep these things about the Lin family a secret and not say anything more.

Lin Jiu put down the dagger, closed his eyes, and stopped thinking about it.

…………

The night was deep in the small courtyard in the woods.

Yu Yan silently climbed through the window and landed on the floor of his room.

Inside the room, the straw puppet remained seated cross-legged on the futon, maintaining its meditation posture.

Moonlight streamed through the window, casting crisscrossing shadows on the puppet's face. From a distance, it looked almost exactly like a real person.

Yu Yan walked up to the puppet, placed his hand on its shoulder, and slowly withdrew his spiritual power.

The puppet's eyes gradually dimmed, and its body began to stiffen. After a moment, it transformed back into the palm-sized straw doll, lying quietly in Yu Yan's palm.

Yu Yan put it into his storage bag and sat down in front of the futon.

He closed his eyes and went over the events of the evening in his mind.

The dagger was handed over.

Elder Lin has received the item and should deliver it to Lin Jiu soon.

Next, we just have to wait for Lin Jiu to come out of the dungeon and fulfill his promise.

Ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, ten thousand for each person.

This deal was worthwhile, but it involved gambling with one's life.

Just as he was about to lie down and rest, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.

The footsteps approached from afar and stopped at his door.

Immediately afterwards, there was a knock on the door.

"Old Yu! Old Yu, open the door!"

It was Zhou Yan's voice.

But the voice was muffled and the tongue was swollen, clearly indicating that the person had drunk too much.

Yu Yan stood up, walked to the door, and opened it.

A strong smell of alcohol wafted over.

Zhou Yan stood at the doorway, his face flushed, his eyes glazed, and his body swaying. He held onto the doorframe with one hand, waved the other hand erratically, and mumbled something under his breath.

"Old Yu! You... what are you still doing here? Come on! Follow me to the Pleasure House! They have... they have good stuff there!"

Yu Yan frowned slightly as he looked at him.

He raised his head and looked behind Zhou Yan.

Lin Shi stood not far away, his signature smile on his face, looking in their direction.

It seems the other party has been trying to get information out of Zhou Yan these past few days.

However, having learned from the previous experience, Yu Yan knew that this guy was a good actor and kept his mouth shut, otherwise Lin Shi wouldn't still treat them with courtesy.

He reached out to help Zhou Yan up, nodded to Lin Shi, and gave her an apologetic smile.

"Young Master Lin, I'm truly sorry. My brother here can't hold his liquor, and he's caused you trouble."

Lin Shi waved his hand and walked over with a smile.

"Brother Yu, you're too kind. Brother Zhou is a man of strong character; I'm just glad you enjoyed your drink."

Haha, what a sentimental person he is.