Chapter 7

As the Lin family left, the surrounding crowd burst into a flurry of whispers, their gazes toward Wumu completely changed.

"Is Wumu crazy? He actually dared to accept the Lin family's challenge. This is a battle in the arena, a life-or-death fight. Does he really want to die? He barely survived, and now he’s looking for death again."

"Who is the Lin family? Although we haven’t heard about Lin Yue’s bloodline awakening, the Lin family has plenty of cultivation techniques and spirit medicines. If they are willing, Lin Yue will definitely advance to become a cultivator. Techniques for toughening the skin and strengthening the bones will never be lacking. But Wumu hasn’t even entered the stage of toughening the skin. If he goes to the arena, isn’t he just looking for death?"

"Pity, I thought this Wu family boy had stunned Lin Yue with just a few words, and I thought he had come to his senses after coming back from the dead. I didn’t expect him to still make a foolish move."

"What foolishness? Who is the Lin family? Just now, the head of the Lin family came in person to issue the challenge. If Wumu didn’t accept, he would probably face disaster within nine days. Now that he has accepted, he can at least live in peace for nine more days. This is a delaying tactic. In my view, since this Wu family boy can come back from the dead, perhaps he can create another miracle."

The crowd buzzed with discussion, and it was clear that most people were not optimistic about Wumu’s chances. He was facing the Lin family, and the disparity in strength was like an egg hitting a stone.

They shook their heads and gradually dispersed.

"Brother!! Is it really you?"

Beside him, Wuxinlian, dressed in plain white, still felt as if she were in a dream. She rubbed her eyes, looking at Wumu with hesitation and asked again.

Seeing Wuxinlian in her plain white clothes, Wumu felt a pang in his heart. Plain white clothes were worn by commoners during mourning. Her current appearance clearly showed that she was mourning for him. The look of exhaustion on her face made a warm current surge in his heart. This was his little sister.

"Of course it’s me, Xinlian. Everything is fine now. Let’s go in and see Mother first."

Wumu reached out to touch Xinlian’s hair, a hint of regret in his eyes.

"Brother!!"

Wuxinlian suddenly threw herself into Wumu’s arms and burst into tears, her tears quickly soaking the front of his shirt.

Wumu remained silent. Although he was in his thirties in his previous life, comforting others was not his strong suit. He just held the frail, delicate body tightly in his arms, a look of determination in his eyes.

He had already made up his mind: no matter what, he would never let his mother and little sister suffer. In his previous life, he had never experienced the warmth of family, and in this life, he would never let anyone destroy it. The Lin family, so what? If they push him to the limit, he would rather die than let them have their way.

In his arms, his little sister’s sobs gradually subsided, and soon they stopped completely.

Wuxinlian lifted her head from his chest, her eyes red but filled with worry. "Brother, why don’t we take Mother and leave Longmen Town?"

"Leave?"

Wumu shook his head. "We probably can’t leave now. With the Lin family’s power, we might be safe in town, but if we leave Longmen Town, without the protection of the imperial court, we will surely die."

He knew that this time, although it seemed like he had forced the Lin family to retreat, it was like walking a tightrope on the edge of a cliff. Although the Lin family wouldn’t openly harm him, if they left Longmen Town, who could say what would happen? He wasn’t a naive child but a man with decades of experience.

The Lin family gave him nine days, and they certainly weren’t afraid that he would run away.

"But, after nine days, Brother, you will have to face Lin Yue in battle. If anything goes wrong, what will happen to Mother and me?" Wuxinlian’s small hands clutched Wumu’s clothes tightly, her fingers turning pale from the effort.

"Don’t worry, there’s always a way out. How is Mother?"

Wumu took a deep breath and asked again.

Wuxinlian didn’t say anything, her face darkening. She then took Wumu’s hand and quickly led him to the back of the inn.

This inn had been there as long as Wumu could remember. The back courtyard was a place he and his sister were very familiar with, filled with countless childhood memories. There wasn’t much in the courtyard.

A crooked jujube tree with a swing hanging from it, a osmanthus tree with its branches covered in delicate flowers, and an old well. All these places held memories of his childhood.

Looking further, there was a row of living quarters, with four rooms in total. The main bedroom was where Mother lived, and next to it, on the left, was Wumu’s room, and on the right, Wuxinlian’s room. The last room was a side room.

For some reason, as he stepped into the courtyard, Wumu felt a strange sense of gloom, as if the place was suffocating.

"Brother!! Mother is lying inside. Go in and see her."

Wuxinlian’s brows were furrowed with worry, her face filled with concern.

Creak!

Wumu took a deep breath, stepped forward, and pushed open the door, entering the room. The room wasn’t stuffy; the windows were half-open, allowing a cool breeze to flow through.

On a pear wood bed, a woman in her thirties lay with her eyes closed, her appearance about seventy percent similar to Wuxinlian. Her face was pale, and even in her unconscious state, her brows were furrowed, as if she was worried about something.

Even in her sleep, she couldn’t rest peacefully.

Seeing her furrowed brows, Wumu felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Wumu, who had already decided to take on the responsibilities of a son and a brother, saw this woman as his mother. Her name was Jiang Yulian. As far back as he could remember, only his mother had been working hard to raise him and his sister. His father had never appeared in his memory.

"How is Mother?"

Wumu took a deep breath and asked, his lips trembling slightly.

"Brother!! After the shock of your sudden death a few days ago, Mother became depressed. The doctor said her heart meridians were severely damaged and that she needed a Heart Nourishing Pill to recover. Without it, she could fall into a deep sleep at any time. But there’s only one Heart Nourishing Pill left, and it can only sustain her for nine days."

Wuxinlian, upon seeing Wumu, seemed to have found a pillar of support. She took out a jade bottle from her sleeve, opened it, and inside was a single red pill.

One Heart Nourishing Pill cost 500 black iron coins. Wuxinlian had bought three, which meant 1,500 black iron coins. For the entire family, this was all their savings.

With their previous savings, two pills were the limit. The extra one must have required a great deal of effort and pressure from Wuxinlian to obtain.

"You’ve suffered so much!!"

Wumu looked at Wuxinlian for a long time and finally said a few words.

These few words made Wuxinlian bite her lip and shake her head. "Brother, I haven’t suffered. Now that you’re back, Mother will be fine too." The tears in her eyes never fell.

"Trust me, everything will be fine."

Wumu didn’t say much, just quietly looked at his mother lying in bed for a while, then turned to Wuxinlian and said slowly, his voice not loud but filled with a sense of reassurance.

"Okay!!"

Wuxinlian nodded vigorously. Although she didn’t know why, she could feel a sense of trust and security from her brother, as if nothing was impossible if he said it.

"What’s the situation with the inn now?"

Wumu’s eyes flashed with determination as he immediately asked.

Given the current situation, the family was on the brink of collapse. To buy the Heart Nourishing Pill, they had spent almost everything they had. When he glanced around the inn, he saw that many valuable items had already been sold. To save the family, he needed to turn the inn’s business around and earn enough money.

Money wasn’t everything, but without money, nothing could be done.

He needed money to redeem the inn from the Lin family’s pawnshop, to buy the Heart Nourishing Pill, and to support their future life. He also needed money for his cultivation, which would require a significant amount.

Without money, he couldn’t do anything.

The inn was their only hope. To earn money quickly, the inn was the best place to start. And when he rushed back from the cemetery, he had already formed a plan in his mind.

"Brother!! The inn is almost completely out of business. All the money we had was used to buy the Heart Nourishing Pill, leaving no money to pay the staff. So, we had to let them go. The cook, Aunt Zhang, has two children to raise. Although she never intended to leave, I still asked her to go home. Now, the only thing left in the inn is 500 jars of wine in the cellar. The family has only 30 black iron coins left."

Wuxinlian was well aware of the situation in the inn and quickly explained everything in a few words.

Just 30 black iron coins, not even enough to reopen the inn.

Hiring staff and a cook would require money.

It was impossible with just 30 black iron coins.

"Don’t worry, from today on, we won’t sell dishes. We will only sell wine." Wumu’s eyes showed a hint of wisdom as he decisively said.

"Sell wine?"

Wuxinlian blinked in confusion. "Brother, although we have a lot of wine in the cellar, each jar only sells for 10 black iron coins. The wine can’t be sold all at once, and others, knowing our situation, are only willing to pay 3 black iron coins per jar."