Chapter 8 Lantern Festival 4

The noise outside grew louder and louder, as if many were in pursuit of the intruders.

Lin Zhiwen glanced at Lin Zhiwu beside him, as well as at the several guests seated in the guest area, and felt slightly reassured.

"Arrange for a few children to go hide first. The rest should disperse according to plan," he instructed directly.

Instantly, several Protectors entered from the side and began arranging for the young masters and misses to hide in the inner rooms.

Lin Xinguang exchanged a look with his father, stood up calmly and composedly, and, taking his second sister by the hand, headed towards the inner rooms, while on the other side, Lin Xinyuan also walked towards the inner rooms, led by her two sisters.

But Lin Xin approached Lin Zhiwen.

"Dad... Dad, I, too, am trained in the martial arts and can stay and help a bit," he said, still feeling slightly uncomfortable calling him Dad.

Having trained with Taoist Bo Yunzi and experienced bloodshed during this time, he no longer feared engaging in combat as before. At such a critical moment, naturally the more people, the better.

"Child, hurry up and get inside," Lin Zhiwen's brows furrowed and he scolded, "This is no place for you to speak, quickly go hide!"

"But Dad..." Lin Xin wanted to say more.

"I'm not dead yet! Not even listening to me, huh?" Lin Zhiwen immediately flared up, pointing to the inner door, "Go hide inside properly for me!"

This time he was fully prepared, just waiting for the enemy to walk right into the trap. His sons and daughters were the roots of the Lin Family, the hope for its growth. Any harm would be a devastating loss. Even if his eldest didn't amount to much, he was still Lin Zhiwen's root, and anyone who dared harm a hair on their heads would find themselves in a fight to the death with him!

Lin Xin and An Ying stood together, their brows tightly furrowed, knowing that an expert capable of this might not be handleable by their own people. He had seen all sorts of devious methods from his Uncle Taoist Bo Yunzi. Together with An Ying, they might stand a chance. Outsiders did not understand the prowess of an internal martial arts expert, only those who truly knew it were aware.

"But..."

"No buts!" Lin Zhiwen interrupted him, roaring.

Seeing Lin Zhiwen lose his temper, Lin Xin, resignedly, turned around and headed towards the inner door with a frown. As he turned his head, he just happened to catch the cold expression of Lin Xinguang, which was clearly tinged with a hint of mockery.

The fourth child had always been at odds with him, and their relationship was not good. It was only natural for him to gloat at this time.

At this moment, Zhao Yu Niang came over to pull Lin Xin aside and quietly comforted him. Lin Xin's heart was speechless, and he could only respond mechanically to his mother.

Crack!

Suddenly, a crisp sound came from an unknown place, as if something had snapped.

The sound attracted the attention of everyone in the hall. For a moment, silence fell in the room, and only then did everyone realize they could no longer hear any sound from the dark night outside. The Protectors who had been running in pursuit had suddenly gone completely silent.

Hisss!

At that moment, a figure dressed in black shot straight into the room from outside. The Longsword in his hand shot out with a clang, like a silver dragon gliding through the air, viciously spinning towards Lin Zhiwen.

The black shadow, along with the sword, spun at high speed, shooting toward the stationary Lin Zhiwen in the middle of the large hall like a drill bit.

Suddenly, everyone's heart was shocked, and some women covered their mouths to scream. Those who were faint-hearted began to scramble towards the inner door, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

The scene became chaotic.

"Seeking death!"

Just then, a figure burst out from the right side of the black-clad attacker, white-haired but with a robust physique, a curved knife chopping sideways at the black-clad person.

This man was the most famous expert in the city, the old arrest officer Chen Kun of the Government, with Innate Divine Strength and said to possess the strength of a bull.

As Chen Kun charged out, everyone felt reassured. Looking again at Lin Zhiwen, indeed there was a trace of coldness in his eyes, clearly anticipating this and having arranged for Officer Chen Kun to lay in ambush.

Smiles appeared in the eyes of Lin Xinguang. Being able to invite the Red Pine City's strongest expert, Chen Kun, indicated that his father's preparations had been ample indeed.

"Truly foolish, to think they would really dash in like this," he shook his head, a sneer appearing on his face. However, he used his body to shield Lin Xinyuan and Lin Xinyue and the other ladies behind him, casually flipping a folding fan. He remained calm and collected.

Seeing how he remained composed even in this crisis, the eyes of several cousins and other girls from different houses looked at him as if honey had been dripped in, as if a simple flirtation might lead them straight to bed.

Clang!

At this time in the center of the hall, the blade of the knife and the body of the sword collided with a thunderous crash. Chen Kun hadn't even managed to put his strength into play when he suddenly felt a terrifying Explosive Power erupt from the opponent's sword.

What is this?!!

Before his mind could react, he felt himself flying backward as if on cloud nine.

Bang!!

His large body crashed down, breaking two mahogany chairs and sliding across the floor for more than half a meter before coming to a halt, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

What was terrifying was that the black-clad person's sword still maintained its course, spinning rapidly towards Lin Zhiwen.

"Even Officer Chen Kun couldn't stop it?!!" The expression on Lin Xinguang's face momentarily paused. The body shielding the girls shrank back slightly, but he still kept his composure.

"Master Wang, trouble!" he suddenly called out loudly.

No sooner had his voice fallen.

"It seems it's up to me to take action..."

A deep voice echoed. From the left side of the hall, a figure suddenly shot out. It was a tall and burly middle-aged man, dressed in black brocade with red edges, his hand flicking out a streak of silvery light, blasting towards the black-clothed person.

"Idiot!" the black-clothed person's sharp voice suddenly exploded, sounding like it was amplified by a loudspeaker, piercing to the ears. His hands abruptly increased in speed.

The silvery light clashed with the sword over ten times in the blink of an eye.

With a snap, the silvery light actually broke directly. The official's eyes widened, seemingly unable to believe that he had been defeated in an instant. He stumbled back several steps, hitting the wall, and spat out a mouthful of blood, holding only the hilt of a broken sword in his hand.

"I'll take him!"

Another young figure pounced from behind Lin Zhiwen.

"Shu Family!" At this time, Lin Zhiwen's face was already somewhat pale. Two successive ambushed experts had been swiftly repelled. The black-clothed person's prowess was beyond ordinary. Even the Shu Family's experts might not stand a chance!

The young figure's fists struck fiercely towards the opponent's head as he flew through the air, even managing to twist his body slightly mid-air, tracing an arc with his fists.

Thump!

The Shu Family member was flung aside like a broken sack, crashing into a wooden pillar and tumbling down, unconscious.

The black-clothed person's longsword was unstoppable, sweeping everything away.

With a flick of his wrist, the blade shot out like an arrow, heading straight for Lin Zhiwen's forehead.

The sword reflected a silver gleam, aiming straight at Lin Zhiwen's forehead. Lin Zhiwen's face was pale, eyes wide open, showing a look of despair.

Clang!

Suddenly, a beam of silver light shone from the side.

Striking precisely on the bottom of the blade, with a light tinkling sound, the sword was lifted upwards and fiercely embedded into the screen behind Lin Zhiwen.

From the shadows on the side, Lin Xin slowly emerged, gripping a longsword, his cold gaze fixed on the masked man. He stood in front of Lin Zhiwen.

The black-clothed person casually landed in the center of the hall, his masked eyes staring intently at Lin Xin. It seemed that the sword strike just now had made him somewhat wary.

"Big brother, let me handle him."

An Ying stepped out from the other side, holding a longsword, her eyes squinting at the black-clothed person, a hint of manic fighting spirit gleaming within. This woman was a martial maniac; whenever there was a good fight, she would never miss it. Moreover, her strikes were never light or heavy, and if it weren't for Lin Xinru holding her back desperately, who knows how many lives she would have taken by now.

Lin Xin glanced outside at the dark night, where all the light-giving lanterns had been extinguished. A hint of trepidation appeared on his face.

"Since you've come, why don't the rest of you show yourselves?"

The black-clothed person's eyes twitched slightly, focusing on An Ying as she approached. Inner family swordsmanship!

The strike that had deflected the sent-away sword could only have been done with inner family inner qi. This young girl was also an inner family swordsman. Judging by her movements and steps, her strength was at most a bit weaker than his own.

That meant the one she called big brother was certainly a lot stronger... after all, within the various factions, seniority was undoubtedly determined by strength, and those who could become big brothers were without exception experts.

And the others who had come with her were just ordinary good fighters; there was only one inner family expert among them. It was impossible for them to be his match.

With this thought, he had made up his mind.

"Hehe... I didn't expect this... Lin Zhiwen, I'll let you off today."

He retreated swiftly, somersaulting into the darkness of the night.

"Thinking of running!" An Ying thrust her sword, and six points of white light appeared on its tip, revealing the Red Pine Sword Technique's signature move, the Sun Needle of the Red Pine!

Her movement technique was not weak either; she took to the air, chasing after him.

"An Ying, come back!"

It was Lin Xin's words that stopped her.

"Brother~~!" Just as she was about to catch up, An Ying had to withdraw her sword unwillingly, pouting, "Can't you let me have my fun just this once?!"

She revealed her discontent with puckered lips, yet she did not notice the cold sweat on Lin Xin's forehead above.

The sword that deflected the thrown sword was not his doing but An Ying's. He then stepped forward, pretending to be an expert, showing a wary attitude as if there were accomplices outside, not daring to leave Lin Zhiwen's side. He only let An Ying make her move, which finally scared the man off.

It had been a very close call this time. If the black-clothed person had been a bit more reckless and attacked directly, the outcome could have been truly terrible.

The hall fell silent. The twenty-some people present dared not even breathe heavily. Some inner disciples now quietly emerged, looking at Lin Xin in front of Lin Zhiwen, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"Good..." Lin Zhiwen was silent for a while, finally catching his breath, and plopped down in his chair, panting heavily.

"Good... good... Xinru... you really are..." He grabbed Lin Xin's hand, not knowing what to say.

Just a moment ago, he had been sternly scolding his son, but now he had to rely on Lin Xin to save his life, which made his old face turn a bit red.

Not just him, even Lin Xinguang, Lin Xinyuan, and the others were gaping, almost able to fit a goose egg in their mouths.

The events had unfolded in just seven or eight seconds. All the external experts in ambush were unable to stop the black-clothed person for even a moment. Only An Ying and Lin Xin stepping in at the end managed to save Lin Zhiwen's life at last.

Inner family experts!