Lin Yun asked coldly. The He Family leader, his limbs already broken by Little Ape, was completely powerless to resist.

"Haha! You want to know? I can tell you," the leader said with a loud laugh.

"The Bai Family sent me..." A smile played on his lips. The moment he finished speaking, the He Family leader swallowed the poison he had kept hidden in his mouth. He instantly coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his breathing stopped.

As Lin Yun watched the man die right before his eyes, the dozen or so remaining He Family Martial Artists simultaneously swallowed the poison in their mouths, dying one after another.

"Heh, interesting." These were all Deadpools cultivated by the He Family. Watching them all commit suicide by poison, Lin Yun gave a slight smile. ’No doubt about it. The lookout outside must have killed himself too.’

He slowly walked to the door and gently pushed it open. Just as he’d expected, the He Family Martial Artist on watch outside, knowing there was no escape, had also taken poison and died.

"Thank you to the Bai Family for your protection. Please, show yourselves," he called out into the dark courtyard. As his voice faded, over twenty Bai Family guards appeared one by one.

Their leader was the young woman from before. Upon seeing Lin Yun, she first bowed and then said, "Young Master Lin, you must have been frightened. This was due to the Bai Family’s negligence. I hope you won’t take offense."

Looking at the young woman before him, who was about his own age, Lin Yun smiled faintly. "It’s fine. They were just a few petty thieves. Would you be willing to come in for a moment? I have a few things I’d like to ask you."

Having gone to all this trouble, Lin Yun obviously hadn’t done it just to kill a few Deadpools. He had more important business to attend to—that was the real goal.

Hearing this, the young woman gave a few orders to her subordinates, telling them to leave ahead of her, before following Lin Yun into the room.

Inside the room, Lin Yun and the young woman sat opposite each other. He poured her a cup of tea.

"Please," he said, gesturing for her to drink. They both took a sip of tea. Only after they had set their cups down did Lin Yun begin to speak, unhurried.

"Do you happen to know who sent these ’petty thieves’?"

Hearing his question, the young woman’s expression remained unchanged. She looked at Lin Yun and stated calmly, "I do not know. But please rest assured, Young Master Lin. The Bai Family will certainly give you an accounting for this."

He gave the young woman a look that was not quite a smile. ’You don’t know? That lie might work on a three-year-old. If the Bai Family didn’t know anything, why would they have over twenty guards lying in wait outside my courtyard?’

"Since you don’t know, we’ll leave it at that. It’s getting late. You should return and get some rest. I will be leaving tomorrow," Lin Yun said lightly, not calling her out on the lie.

The young woman was taken aback. ’For him to say that... isn’t he blaming the Bai Family?’

Just as the young woman stood there, stunned, Bai Ling’s voice suddenly came from outside the door. "Young Master Lin, you aren’t blaming our Bai Family for being poor hosts, are you?"

As she spoke, Bai Ling pushed the door open and walked right in. Seeing her, the young woman hurriedly stood up. Lin Yun rose and bowed as well.

"There’s no need for such courtesy, Young Master Lin. I came personally to offer you my apologies." Arriving at a chair, Bai Ling sat down and gestured for Lin Yun to do the same.

The young woman stood respectfully behind Bai Ling. Looking at Lin Yun, Bai Ling chuckled. "Young Master Lin, I know who they were."

Lin Yun looked at Bai Ling but said nothing. He calmly sipped his tea, his expression so serene that no one could possibly guess his thoughts.

"Young Master Lin, the Bai Family was indeed negligent tonight. But please rest assured, we will give you a satisfactory explanation," Bai Ling continued.

"You are too kind, Patriarch Bai." In response to Bai Ling’s words, Lin Yun did not demur.

"Why don’t you entrust the bodies to me for now, Young Master Lin? Before nightfall tomorrow, I will surely have a satisfactory answer for you."

Lin Yun and Bai Ling met each other’s gaze. ’This woman is truly something else,’ he thought. ’She guessed my intentions and acted so decisively. But there’s one thing she didn’t realize—some things can only be handled by me.’

"You are too kind, Patriarch Bai. I already felt guilty for troubling you, and now I’ve made you come all this way so late at night. It’s best if I handle this matter myself."

After a moment of silence, Bai Ling laughed. She rose and walked to the door. Just as she was about to leave, she turned and said to Lin Yun,

"You could always pay a visit to the He Family, Young Master Lin."

With that, Bai Ling’s figure vanished from the doorway. Once she was gone, the young woman naturally followed, leaving only the corpses on the floor.

’The He Family, huh? It seems every one of the Ten Core Disciples is taking me quite seriously,’ Lin Yun said with a laugh. He knew the He Family had a prodigy who was one of the Ten Core Disciples of Flawless Palace.

Now that he was caught in this turmoil, he naturally needed to get some information, like who the Ten Core Disciples were.

He Yuntian of the He Family. Lin Yun had already learned about him back at Flawless Palace. That guy, much like Bai Zhicheng, was a deep schemer. He feigned indifference to the position of Flawless Palace’s successor, but he was making plenty of moves behind the scenes.

"Big Brother, why didn’t you agree to that woman’s offer? It looked like she was basically trying to hand you a pile of money. Why do you want to deal with these bodies yourself?" Little Ape asked, having been lazing about idly on the side.

Little Ape couldn’t care less about such things. From its perspective, handing the bodies over to Bai Ling would have solved everything. Why make it so complicated?

"You silly ape... with some things, you can only maximize your gains by handling them yourself," he said to Little Ape with a sigh.

It was true that if he had given the bodies to Bai Ling, he would have received compensation from the Bai Family without lifting a finger. But then, the Bai Family would have surely gone to the He Family to demand an explanation.

Besides, and this was the most crucial point, Lin Yun wanted more than just money. He had a more important goal.

’I haven’t even officially become Luo Feng’s disciple, yet the Ten Core Disciples are already after me. I suspect that once I return from Jincheng, Luo Feng will formally take me as his disciple. When that happens, I’ll become a target for everyone. If I don’t make some arrangements now, I’ll be completely on the back foot.’

After all, the struggles within Flawless Palace couldn’t be won by brute force alone.

’It’s a game of plots and schemes.’ At that moment, Lin Yun suddenly thought of Li Tian. ’If Li Tian were here with me, things would be much easier. His intelligence and strategic planning are on a level even I can’t hope to reach.’

"Sigh... I guess I’m just not cut out for all this scheming," he sighed. Deep down, Lin Yun truly disliked this kind of intrigue. It wasn’t fear, but exhaustion. ’Every step has to be taken with such caution. It’s just so tiring.’

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