During the Flower Lantern Festival, people appreciate the flower lanterns and solve lantern riddles, but Lin Miao did not go.

He was injured and recuperating at home. Pei Jian knew about it but couldn’t say much. Having the soft jade warmth in one’s arms is much more comfortable than watching the flower lanterns. Besides, there are flower lanterns every year. If not this year, he could watch them next year.

The senior sister peeled grapes and fed him herself. Such treatment might never come again in the future.

Xia Zhu and Liuli went, and it was reportedly very lively, crowded with tourists. There was even a near-dangerous incident where a flower lantern caught fire and almost burned down a house.

Business at Huaye Tower became quite slack. After learning "Xingyi Fist" from Lin Miao, Si Miaoxue practiced a few times and became enamored with it.

This witch indeed had a very high talent in martial arts and extraordinary comprehension.

After teaching twice and having her get the hang of it, it didn’t take long for her practice to take shape, especially after Lin Miao explained to her the key movements and techniques for exerting force and attacking in Xingyi Fist. She reached enlightenment all at once.

If Lin Miao’s chest hadn’t been wounded by a knife, she might have wanted to pull him into practice with her.

However, it seems this is only a matter of time.

Lin Miao also wanted to "test" himself to see what level of combat power he had reached. His cultivation was at the Middle Grade Bone Forging Realm, with small bursts could reach the Upper Grade Bone Forging Realm, and with a large burst, he could briefly contend with the Lower Grade Blood Fusion Realm. If he couldn’t win, escaping would be no problem.

He estimated that it would take at least another three months to reach the Upper Grade Bone Forging Realm, after which he would still need to polish his skills.

Moreover, he already had a general understanding of what breaking through to the Blood Fusion Realm and "Blood Refinement" was about, so he didn’t plan on breaking through rapidly.

Many people who hadn’t thoroughly honed their muscles and bones and were in a hurry to break through found the consequence was a limited height in the future.

Therefore, he also advised Si Miaoxue not to rush to break through to the Meridian Passage Realm, as she had no barriers to upgrading. Hastening the upgrade might make future breakthroughs to Tianyuan extremely difficult due to an insubstantial foundation.

Although he was not yet aware of what lay beyond Tianyuan, one must have aspirations.

Maybe one day, these human limitations will be broken, reaching a whole new realm.

For martial artists, who doesn’t want to become the supreme standing at the peak?

Once the senior sister’s body recovers, she can also practice martial arts. She doesn’t necessarily need to fight others; she can practice health-preserving skills, strengthening her body and bones, which is beneficial.

Practicing martial arts, as long as you want to practice and have the perseverance to continue, will eventually yield results.

...

After the Flower Lantern Festival, the Lin residence will undergo a major renovation, with everyone needing to move to a temporary inn.

Since the entire inn had already been purchased, there were no issues with staying as long as needed.

Hence, using the injury as an excuse, he first stopped going to the diagnosis point to move!

Although they had only lived in this house for four or five months, quite a few things had been accumulated. Some items don’t need to be moved, like pots, pans, and ladles, since the inn had these.

But some things must be taken first, such as the manuscripts Lin Miao accumulated over months, the Lin Clan’s medical lectures. He specifically ordered several camphor wood boxes to pack and take them.

Additionally, the master’s memorial tablet naturally needed to be temporarily removed.

This is a large operation and may require demolishing a few severely damaged rooms to rebuild.

Lin Miao genuinely planned and designed, with little change to the front yard’s main house while the backyard might truly need to be demolished and rebuilt.

A small three-story building with a brick-wood structure, using the best materials.

It was a pity there was no Xiangshan Gang; otherwise, he would definitely create a classical garden. If he could annex the Huaye Tower’s lot, there would be enough space!

However, he couldn’t just ask Si Miaoxue to end Huaye Tower’s business now, which wasn’t realistic or possible in Dongshan City.

He probably wouldn’t live here long, but he wanted to marry his senior sister here, so it needed to be properly arranged.

He wanted to leave a beautiful memory for his senior sister.

In the future...

Future matters can be discussed in the future, but if he were to go to Li Jing, he would definitely take his senior sister with him. As for Liuli, Shi Yin, and others, it depends on the situation. If there were development opportunities in Li Jing, it wouldn’t be impossible.

Dongshan City is only the starting point, not the end.

"Mr. Lin, what are you doing? Are you leaving Dongshan City?" Han Chunyang appeared at the gates of the Lin Residence with two subordinates, surprised to see several carriages being loaded with items.

"No, just moving," Lin Miao explained with a slight smile. "I bought this residence and plan to renovate it. Mr. Han, what brings you here?"

"The old Tang head case has mostly been investigated," Han Chunyang lowered his voice, "It was Gon Sheng, a captain from the South City District Public Security Bureau, colluding with the Green Blade Sect to plot revenge against you."

"Oh, who killed old Tang’s wife?" Lin Miao was not surprised by the result; some things he couldn’t change unless by force.

"A Green Blade Sect disciple confessed, saying it was accidental..."

"Accidental? Though I’m not a coroner, I am a professional doctor. Old Tang’s wife had her neck twisted, how could that be an accident?" Lin Miao scoffed.

Such is the world. If you don’t have the ability to protect yourself, you’re at the mercy of others. Lin Miao increasingly felt the need to build his own power.

Not to harm others, but to protect oneself.

Han Chunyang offered an embarrassed smile, looking quite sheepish. He accompanied Lin Miao there; how could he not know the situation?

Deliberate murder is punishable by death, but accidental killing is another matter. It could at most lead to beheading upon review, and after greasing some wheels, a sentence of exile. After a few years of inactivity, through a fake death, one could assume a new identity and live well.

As an officer of the Arresting Department, he knew all too well how these backdoor dealings worked.

"How could Gong Sheng confess?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"The Green Blade Sect probably offered him conditions he couldn’t refuse. His confession is beneficial for everyone," Han Chunyang said.

"Captain Han, did you come here just to tell me this, or are you probing my reaction?" Lin Miao asked without reservation.

"In this case, you are also one of the aggrieved parties. If you’re not satisfied and we insist on concluding the case this way, it could get ugly for everyone," Han Chunyang said frankly. Everything was clear now.

"Was it Mr. Feng who sent you?"

"Mr. Feng didn’t say, but I thought I should come and inform you," Han Chunyang quickly replied.

Lin Miao glanced at Han Chunyang and chuckled, "They were all about killing me. If I didn’t have a bit of self-defense, I wouldn’t have survived that night. And Captain Han, if they killed me, in order to cover up the truth, they might not have spared you either."

Han Chunyang’s face turned even more awkward. What Lin Miao said was true. If not for the others, even if he survived that night, he would likely have been labeled an accomplice.

That would be a lifelong stain on his character, a guilt that his conscience would punish him for.

"The Green Blade Sect has great influence in the northwest, with disciples spread across various prefectures, masters everywhere. Even the government sometimes has to rely on them," Han Chunyang explained. "If you insist on pursuing this, you’ll face even bigger trouble."

"They’ll keep targeting me, won’t they?"

"The Green Blade Sect bears grudges. If you hold onto this, they will certainly retaliate against you," Han Chunyang said.

"Retaliate? How? I haven’t offended them nor have any conflicts of interest with them. On what grounds will they retaliate? How can they be so unreasonable? Could the Green Blade Sect possibly be greater than the righteous principles and the laws of nature and the state?" Lin Miao retorted.

"Ahem, Mr. Lin, while that’s true, you are all alone against a group with your family involved. It’s not worth it to clash with these lawless people. Even the government sometimes can’t handle them, let alone ordinary people like us," Han Chunyang patiently persuaded.

"I’m not concerned with how the court judges them. But if they come to cause trouble again and harass my family, I’m not one to be trifled with. Don’t blame me for being too harsh then!" Lin Miao said. "Captain Han, thank you for coming to tell me all of this. I’m moving house, and it’s a mess here, so I can’t entertain you. Please feel free to leave."

"There’s no need for formalities, Mr. Lin. Since we’re here, we shouldn’t leave just like that. Hey, you two brothers come over and help!" Han Chunyang called to his two subordinates.

Since Han Chunyang and his men were willing to help, Lin Miao didn’t stop them. It’s not like he had asked them to do it.

"Mr. Lin, there’s one more thing. It was Old Tang who mentioned it. On the seventh, he actually went to Anning Hall to find Mr. Song first. Mr. Song had been treating Shang Youwei, but on that day, Song Yunzhong recommended you, and that’s why Old Tang went to the Convenient Medical Diagnosis Point."

"Oh, is that so?" Lin Miao was surprised. He really didn’t know about this, as Old Tang hadn’t explicitly mentioned it, and he wouldn’t have asked.

Being neighbors in the same community, he wouldn’t have expected such a situation.

...

Regarding the items in the camphorwood chest, Lin Miao would never let anyone else handle them. He personally moved them to his upstairs room.

This was an inn, naturally not comparable to home.

But the good rooms were still decent.

Two slightly better suites, one given to senior apprentice-sister Sun Youwei, the other to Shi Yin. One brought Yuzhu, the other brought Xiaolian.

They each lived with someone, but nobody said anything.

Then six upper rooms, Lin Miao chose one close to his senior apprentice-sister. The rest were given to Yun, Liuli, Mr. Xie, and Xia Zhu, with the remaining two used as guest rooms.

The cook, Luu Wan, said she didn’t like sleeping upstairs. She found a storage room downstairs near the back kitchen, saying it would make it more convenient for her to get up early to cook. She tidied it up and moved in.

Lin Mao and Ling Yu’Er, each with a boy and a girl, slept in two open-plan rooms downstairs.

The original inn owner had a room for accounting and resting, which Lin Miao slightly modified into his temporary study.

Behind the first floor, there was a small courtyard with two rows of rooms, serving as the back kitchen and storage room.

The inn also had a cellar, stocked with plenty of preserved winter vegetables and some wine, all of which was sold to Lin Miao.

Though these weren’t valuable, they saved Lin Miao’s family from having to go out shopping for quite a while.

The inn had long ceased external operations.

The dining hall on the first floor was going to be remodeled later, half into a classroom and half into a restaurant.

Moving, cleaning, organizing, and sorting took the whole day, leaving everyone exhausted.

This inn was on the same street as the diagnosis point, just a short walk away. Working there would be much closer, allowing for more sleep.

And there was no need for Yuzhu to bring lunch over at noon; they could just walk home for a meal and enjoy a comfortable nap.

The inn’s signboard had also been taken down to avoid any misunderstanding. Since the main door would remain closed, everyone would enter and exit through the side delivery door.

Just as the whole family settled down and sat down for dinner, they heard a knock on the door.

"Mao, open the door."

"Yes, young master." Lin Mao put down his chopsticks, quickly ran over, took down the door bolt, and opened the door.

Seeing the people entering from outside, Lin Miao and Sun Youwei immediately put down their chopsticks and stood up to greet them quickly.

"Mr. Jia, Mr. Guan, how come you are here?"

"Since you moved next door to me, as a neighbor, I should come by and say hello, shouldn’t I?" Guan Biyun said, holding a gift box.

Similarly, Mr. Jia didn’t carry a gift box, but his attendant "Hui" did.

"I’m just staying temporarily, not really moving in. You two are too polite. Please come in and sit," Lin Miao hurriedly invited the four inside.