Nine Nether Dragon Emperor

Chapter 543: Bad News, The Family Head Has Been Killed!

In the inner courtyard of the Lin Family, Ning Xuan made his way unimpeded.

He passed several people along the way, but they only looked at him with confusion. When Ning Xuan took the initiative to smile and nod, they became even more hesitant to speak. The Lin Family is large and prosperous. He must be a young master from one of the branches.

In this manner, Ning Xuan arrived at the entrance of the Lin Family’s Ancestral Hall without incident.

"You are..." an elder asked, spotting Ning Xuan with a puzzled look.

Before Ning Xuan could answer, the elder looked around at the others, who all shook their heads in unison.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Ning Xuan said with a smile as he produced a recording stone. "My name is Ning Xuan. I am your Family Head’s creditor."

Seeing that Lin Zhongqi had actually gambled away the Secret Vault to this young man, the face of the elder who had spoken first turned green.

Beside him, a middle-aged man squinted and stepped forward. "My eyesight isn’t what it used to be," he began, walking towards Ning Xuan. "I..."

Before he could finish, Ning Xuan generously tossed the recording stone to him. The moment the man caught it, a smirk appeared on his lips. Immediately, without another word, he crushed the stone to dust.

Holding his fist high and letting the powder trickle through his fingers, he looked at Ning Xuan with a sneer. "What was that you were saying?"

Behind him, the gathered senior members of the Lin Family collectively sighed in relief, their expressions mirroring the middle-aged man’s.

Ning Xuan didn’t answer, instead taking out another recording stone. Instantly, the smiles vanished from the faces of the Lin Family’s senior members. The eyes of several of them glinted with murderous intent.

"What’s this? Planning to kill me to silence the truth?" Ning Xuan spoke first, his tone equally mocking. "Go on, guess why I dared to come here alone."

At his words, those who were about to attack froze, no longer daring to make a rash move.

"Tian Nan, take him to the Secret Vault!" the first elder commanded, his voice firm and decisive.

"Great—"

The middle-aged man who had crushed the stone had just begun to speak when the elder cut him off. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

"Yes." The man named Lin Tiannan did not dare to disobey and nodded in agreement before leading Ning Xuan toward the back of the estate.

"Great Elder, are we really giving him the Secret Vault?"

"Yes, Great Elder, that’s our Lin Family’s..."

The elder cut them off, his voice laced with fury. "Can any of you tell me just who this person is?!"

"We’ve never heard of him before."

"He must be a Law Enforcement Officer from some other region, here for the selection contest!"

"Where is Zhong Qi? Tell him to come see me!"

This elder held an extremely high position in the Lin Family. Furthermore, with an important guest expected to arrive soon, nearly everyone in the family—with the exception of Lin Zhongqi and Lin Yun, the Law Enforcement Officer—had been confined to the family estate. This was why information from the outside had been slow to reach them.

"Go find him! And prioritize confirming this young man’s identity!" With a wave of his sleeve, the elder sent all the senior members scurrying, leaving only two other men of similar age behind.

After they had all left, one of the remaining men spoke. "Eldest Brother, do you suspect ’Ning Xuan’ is just a false identity? That he’s the one we’ve been waiting for?"

"I have my doubts as well. No one else would have such audacity!" the other added.

The eldest of the three remained silent. The situation was truly bizarre, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

Ning Xuan was also puzzled, as everything was proceeding with an unnatural smoothness. However, after some subtle probing from Lin Tiannan on their way, he finally understood.

They had mistaken him for someone else.

Although Ning Xuan didn’t know who they were waiting for, he quickly formed a bold theory.

"We’re here," Lin Tiannan said, gesturing to an entrance.

Ning Xuan turned to him. "They’ve likely gone to find Lin Zhongqi. Go back and tell them not to bother."

"Huh?" Lin Tiannan was completely baffled.

"Because I killed him."

Leaving Lin Tiannan with those words, Ning Xuan headed straight into the Secret Vault. By the time Lin Tiannan snapped out of his stupor, he heard Ning Xuan mutter to himself, "If there isn’t a poison in there stronger than that one, then this young master’s trip will have been a waste!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Lin Tiannan sprinted back the way he came as fast as he could.

「In the Lin Family Ancestral Hall.」

"Great Elder, terrible news! The Family Head... the Family Head has been murdered!"

"What did you say?!"

"Not just the Family Head, Lin Yun has also been killed..."

"Who did it?!" The Great Elder’s killing intent soared.

"It was almost certainly that Ning Xuan!"

"He dared to provoke a tiger in its own den! He’s simply courting death!" the other two elders roared, their fury boiling over.

"Great Elder, I will go capture him!" one of the returning senior members immediately volunteered.

The Great Elder gave no response. In a flash, the man vanished from where he stood.

Just then, Lin Tiannan returned.

"Great Elder, it’s very likely that Ning Xuan is the person we’ve been waiting for!" he exclaimed, quickly recounting what had happened outside the Secret Vault.

The three elders’ expressions changed dramatically. An instant later, all three vanished.

「Inside the Lin Family Secret Vault.」

The golden carp resumed its devouring. Ning Xuan, however, did nothing but stand guard at the entrance.

Soon, a senior member of the Lin Family appeared. He was about to attack Ning Xuan, but the sight of the golden carp froze him. His eyes widened in shock.

SHHNK!

Without a word, Ning Xuan ran him through. As the blade pierced his brow, Ning Xuan kicked his body out of the entrance and walked straight back into the Secret Vault.

When the three Great Elders of the Lin Family arrived, the first thing they saw was the middle-aged man’s corpse, his eyes wide open in unending shock. The youngest of the three, the third elder, immediately moved to step forward.

"Don’t move!" the eldest brother barked in a low voice.

"Eldest Brother, he—"

"This is a warning! If we dare enter the Secret Vault, all our efforts these past days will have been for nothing!"

"Then what should we do?"

"Wait!"

The Great Elder’s single word set the tone for the standoff to come.

However, before Ning Xuan emerged, Jiang Ding arrived.

When Jiang Ding saw the corpse up ahead, he was dumbfounded. He had gone to the Lu Family and searched for a long time, even scouring the surrounding area, but had found nothing. Remembering that Ning Xuan had gone to the He Family, Jiang Ding had rushed over without rest. Not only did he find a scene of utter devastation, but he also discovered the bodies of Lin Yun and Lin Zhongqi.

Jiang Ding knew this was serious trouble. He didn’t dare linger for a moment and headed straight for the Lin Family. He had assumed that even if Ning Xuan wasn’t dead, he was more likely dead than alive. After all, the Lin Family’s exotic poisons were unparalleled in the Dali Realm! Even if Ning Xuan was immune to a hundred poisons, he would surely fall victim to theirs.

But upon entering the Lin Family and explaining his purpose, all the senior members gave him strange looks. Ultimately, it was Lin Tiannan who led him here.

Seeing the three Great Elders of the Lin Family staring motionlessly at a corpse was, frankly, baffling to Jiang Ding.

Don’t tell me Ning Xuan killed that guy?!

As the thought flashed through his mind, Jiang Ding began to feel uneasy. At the same time, a sliver of regret pricked him. I shouldn’t have come alone!

If Ning Xuan had truly killed the Lin Family Head and Lin Yun and was now running rampant here, he stood no chance of handling the situation by himself.