Chapter Eight: Composed Response, the Old Taoist of Chifeng

At this moment, Lin Kunshan’s expression was as cold as water, his gaze fixed on Lin Qingyun.

“Do you realize that the shareholders are in an uproar right now? If our Lin Pharmaceutical Group were publicly listed, the stock price would have dropped by tens of billions already. Even as things stand, the board and major shareholders are questioning why you, who hold no official position in the company, dared to represent us at an auction. Do you know what this means?”

Zhang Xueyi hadn’t finished; she continued, “You must resolve this immediately, clarify the situation at once. We, as your elders, could forgive you disappearing and acting like an entitled heir in your personal life, but when it comes to the company, that’s absolutely unacceptable…”

Although Lin Pharmaceutical Group was not yet listed, its shares had already become dispersed during its growth. Lin Qingyun’s parents held thirty-four percent, his second uncle and aunt held eleven percent, and the rest were distributed among other shareholders.

While Lin Qingyun’s parents were missing and he was still underage, his second uncle acted as proxy for his parents’ shares and became chairman, while his aunt, as both the chairman’s wife and deputy CFO, saw her power grow day by day.

At this moment, no one mentioned Zhang Baole, and even Lin Qingyun’s public beating of Zhang Baole was dismissed as merely disciplining an elder.

As she lashed out at Lin Qingyun, Zhang Xueyi was already prepared, having considered on the way here how to respond if Lin Qingyun tried to fight back.

Lin Qingyun’s sudden reappearance and the commotion he caused might not have been a bad thing, per se. The real problem was her own brother’s incompetence; if he hadn’t been caught red-handed, this incident could have been used to delay Lin Qingyun’s inheritance of his parents’ shares.

What Zhang Xueyi didn’t expect was that for over ten minutes, from the moment they entered and she exploded in anger, Lin Qingyun simply watched her quietly, listening without interruption until she ran out of steam.

“March 15th, 2123: Zhang Baole accepted six million from the Ivy Corporation and leaked all the details of our new drug launch and marketing strategy…”

“June 7th, 2123, at 7:15 pm, at the Grand Splendor Club: seven nude models accompanied him. Zhang Baole accepted a Longevity Pill and five million in cash, and gave up an acquisition target in the province, letting Ivy Corporation take over, thereby hindering Lin Pharmaceutical’s expansion.”

“Between September 2123 and August 2124, there were four more instances of him taking bribes from Ivy Corporation, including this auction…”

“If we include all the other money Zhang Baole has embezzled, the total exceeds one hundred million, and the resulting losses are incalculable. Second Aunt says I beat an elder, but if I hadn’t stopped him then, these matters would be a public scandal, not just family business.”

Lin Qingyun knew Zhang Xueyi’s nature all too well.

When she persuaded him to enter Ruin No. 18, she was like a doting housewife, unconditionally supportive. When it came to fighting for interests, she showed her ferocious side. In his previous life, when things truly fell apart, she was a shrew, resorting to every trick.

Lin Qingyun had no intention of quibbling with her, focusing instead on Zhang Baole’s misdeeds.

Because the circumstances differed from his past life, Lin Qingyun could not deal with Zhang Baole as decisively as before, nor could he yet forcefully remove his aunt and uncle. All he could do was use this matter as leverage for now and deal with them in due course.

Zhang Baole, who had been cautious and silent, felt a smug sense of relief seeing his sister and brother-in-law berate Lin Qingyun. He never expected Lin Qingyun would ignore all else and directly bring up his crimes.

What frightened him even more were Lin Qingyun’s precise statements—down to the time, place, and amounts—leaving him drenched in cold sweat and trembling with fear.

He had started with petty advantages and womanizing. Since his brother-in-law became chairman and Lin Qingyun’s parents disappeared, he acted with increasing impunity, never imagining Lin Qingyun knew everything.

Zhang Xueyi tried to stop Lin Qingyun from changing the subject, but as Lin Qingyun listed detailed times, locations, and figures, her shock grew.

With a bang, Lin Kunshan, who had been coldly watching Lin Qingyun, slammed the table, reducing it to dust in an instant. The force of his presence, at the Cloud Ascending stage, pressed so heavily on the others that they could barely stand.

Especially Zhang Baole, who collapsed to his knees.

All present were no strangers to high drama; there was no need to question the truth—Lin Qingyun’s words were irrefutable.

“Incredible audacity—undermining the very foundation of Lin Group by colluding with outsiders. Zhang Baole, have you anything to say?” Lin Kunshan, as both chairman and Zhang Baole’s brother-in-law, had to act; failing to do so would fatally damage his reputation.

Compared to Zhang Baole’s crimes, Lin Qingyun’s actions were trivial.

“Sis, brother-in-law, I was wrong! I was blinded by greed! I… I won’t dare do it again—never, I swear!” Zhang Baole sobbed and pleaded for mercy, tears and snot streaming down his face.

He offered no defense; the evidence Lin Qingyun held was too clear, and he couldn’t withstand investigation. He could only appeal to family ties.

Slap after slap rained down as Zhang Xueyi, stunned at first, then furious, struck her brother repeatedly. Though she looked fierce—hitting and kicking—she used no real strength; all together, it didn’t match a single slap from Lin Qingyun.

“This isn’t the place—if you want to beat him, do it at home,” Lin Kunshan barked once she was done, then turned to Lin Qingyun with a gentler tone: “Qingyun, from what you’re saying, someone collected these materials to release after the auction, and you got wind of it in advance, so you acted for the sake of the group?”

“You went missing for a while and had us all worried. But you showed real consideration for the bigger picture. Zhang Baole must be punished severely, but for the sake of Lin Group and the family, we can’t make this public. You’ve handled it well—now, tell us what happened to you. What about Ruin No. 18? We were all so worried.”

Zhang Xueyi was about to speak, but Lin Kunshan, with a harsh glare, silenced her.

As soon as he spoke, she understood: he intended to bury the matter and use it as a bargaining chip. She was filled with anger at her brother, but even more so at Lin Qingyun’s actions.

“Thank you for your concern, uncle and aunt. I was lucky to escape disaster. Perhaps because I was eager to find my parents, I felt a surge in my heart on the way and sensed the threshold of the Lute Heart Foundation stage.”

“Realizing this, I had no time to do anything else, nor to enter Ruin No. 18. I found a place nearby to enter seclusion and cultivate. As you know, breakthroughs are crucial, and only when I completed the Foundation stage did I learn of the events at the ruin. Coincidentally, someone sent me all this evidence, which is why I returned now.”

Lin Qingyun had long prepared this explanation. With the experience of a previous life, adapting on the spot was second nature.

Of course, the so-called exchange they had in mind did not exist—Lin Qingyun had no intention of letting Zhang Baole off lightly.

“You’ve reached Foundation stage? Excellent, excellent!” Lin Kunshan exclaimed, patting Lin Qingyun’s shoulder in apparent delight.

Behind him, Zhang Xueyi was deeply shocked, having never expected Lin Qingyun to break through so soon.

“Qingyun, you handled things well enough, but you were still a bit reckless. It’s hard to explain all this to the board and shareholders. I’ll find a way to smooth things over, but…” As Lin Kunshan shifted the conversation, he clearly intended to return to the matter of Zhang Baole.

Just as he was about to steer things in his favor, Lin Qingyun interrupted, “Uncle, wait a moment…” At that instant, Lin Qingyun’s phone vibrated. He stopped his uncle, ignoring Zhang Xueyi and Zhang Baole, and casually kicked aside the device Zhang Xueyi had just thrown to the floor.

This was a top-of-the-line private smart device, capable of virtual projection calls. Before Lin Qingyun appeared an elderly man in a purple-gold Daoist robe, his hair somewhat disheveled.

“Elder Feng, what brings you…” Lin Kunshan immediately bowed deeply in respect.

“Young Lin, tell your old ancestor what’s going on. That thing you gave me is fascinating—especially your analysis,” Chifeng Daoist didn’t spare a glance for Lin Kunshan, the acting chairman, but focused eagerly on Lin Qingyun.

Lin Kunshan and Zhang Xueyi both felt uneasy. Their restraint over the past year was largely due to this man. Did Lin Qingyun intend to involve him directly?

Lin Qingyun saluted respectfully. “Disciple Qingyun greets Grand Master. This young alchemist is named Li Xiaobo, a top student from the national alchemy faculty in Haicheng, graduating two years ago. He independently developed a new Heart Tribulation theory and Xiaobo’s Foundation Pill. Today, I spent two hundred and ten million to buy his formula and have arranged for him to join Lin Pharmaceutical Group.”

“I called you, Grand Master, so you could evaluate, as our Chief Grade-Nine Alchemy Master, whether this acquisition is worthwhile. If not, I will bear all responsibility myself.”

Chifeng Daoist was Lin Qingyun’s true grandmaster. It was said that before the revival of spiritual energy, he had already been a Daoist alchemist, and after the revival, he took on several disciples.

One of those disciples took Lin Kunlun as a disciple decades ago. Lin Kunlun combined modern medicine with alchemy to found Lin Pharmaceutical Group.

But Lin Kunlun’s master failed to survive the tribulation when breaking through to the Cloud Ascending stage and passed away twenty years ago. At that critical time for the company, Lin Kunshan, following his master’s last wishes, brought his ashes back to the mountain Daoist temple, where he unexpectedly met Chifeng Daoist.

According to Lin Kunlun’s master, he had apprenticed with Chifeng Daoist before the spiritual revival, by which time Chifeng was already in his seventies or eighties—and even he hadn’t known his master still lived.

Lin Kunlun spent several months on the mountain, finally persuading Chifeng Daoist to come down and join Lin Pharmaceutical Group, thus forging its current glory. In today’s cultivation world, Chifeng Daoist had reached the stage of refining the body into qi, surrounded by spiritual radiance—known as the Sunlit Realm, or “True Person.”

In alchemy, he was one of the few grade-nine alchemy masters, the pillar of Lin Pharmaceutical Group.

Chifeng Daoist’s eyes flashed. “Who says it isn’t worth it? Was it you, Kunshan? Two hundred million is nothing—two billion would be worth it! Send that young man to me at once. His ideas are quite interesting, and your insights aren’t bad either. I’ve never really had a good talk with you before.”