章 15: Chapter 15 The Key to the Path of the Strong

Lin Shen stared at Bai Shenfei for a long while without speaking, finding it hard to believe what she had said.

If there really were such things inside Gourd Mountain, why would Bai Shenfei give him the opportunity? Just because he was the brother of her senior fellow apprentice?

Even if, as Lin Xiangdong had said, Bai Shenfei truly admired him like a little fan, she wouldn't give up such an opportunity simply because of something Lin Xiangdong had entrusted her with, would she?

Moreover, the truth was vastly different from what Lin Xiangdong had described; Bai Shenfei was certainly not the little admirer Lin Xiangdong made her out to be.

"Do you not trust me?" Bai Shenfei read the dubious look in Lin Shen's eyes.

"Trust or not, it doesn't matter." Pausing for a moment, Lin Shen sincerely added, "A long time ago, my siblings and I made a pact that they would carry on the Lin Family's honor, and I would be responsible for passing on the lineage. Rather than becoming the strongest man under the stars, I would prefer to ensure the continuation of the Lin Family's bloodline, especially under the current circumstances."

"It's too late," Bai Shenfei said quietly after listening to Lin Shen, then suddenly sighed.

"What's too late?" Lin Shen was slightly startled, not understanding what Bai Shenfei meant by her abrupt remark.

"Had you stated this before I went to the Qi and Wang families, you could have stayed at the base. Now, however, it's too late," Bai Shenfei said helplessly.

"Why?" Lin Shen still didn't understand Bai Shenfei's meaning.

"I already have an agreement with the Qi and Wang families to take them to Gourd Mountain," Bai Shenfei explained.

"What does your taking them to Gourd Mountain have to do with me?" Lin Shen frowned.

"If you hadn't attended the recruitment meeting and shown such strong abilities, it would naturally have nothing to do with you. But now it's different. Do you think the Qi and Wang families would leave you at the base when their elites are out in full force?" Bai Shenfei asked.

Lin Shen's expression changed slightly. Just as the Lin Family was wary of the Qi and Wang families, they too were on guard against the Lin Family.

Under circumstances where the other two families' top talent was deployed, they would never leave Lin Shen—a fake Lin Xiangdong—at the base. Even if it meant coercion, they would surely take him with them.

At this point, Lin Shen had no way to explain that he was not Lin Xiangdong. Even if he could convince them of that, he couldn't explain how he had subdued the Supersonic Gunman with a single strike. It would only make the Qi and Wang families warier, and they might even join forces to take control of the Lin Family first.

If he considered an even darker possibility, the Qi and Wang families might have known from the beginning that he was not Lin Xiangdong, and his impersonation might have been part of a plot set by them.

It was nothing more than an excuse to capture Lin Shen and forcibly take him to Gourd Mountain.

After all, Gourd Mountain was originally discovered by the Lin Family. Mr. Lin Yin, Mr. Lin Zongzheng, and the fourth brother had all gone to Gourd Mountain. If there was a scheme by the Lin Family people, they could use Lin Shen as a hostage.

What they hadn't anticipated, however, was that Lin Shen would possess such terrifying abilities. This made it even less likely for them to leave him at the base.

"Bai, if it really was my Fourth Brother who asked you to escort me into Gourd Mountain, why did you then share information about Gourd Mountain with the Qi and Wang families?" Lin Shen asked, staring at Bai Shenfei.

"This was Lin's arrangement," Bai Shenfei said, seemingly with no intention of elaborating.

Lin Shen looked at Bai Shenfei for a long time, unable to see her expression or eyes due to the mosaic that covered them.

After a while, Lin Shen sighed and said, "It seems I have to go regardless. Bai, I have only one last question: if Gourd Mountain possesses such an opportunity that can make one the strongest man under the stars, why would you not want it for yourself?"

"You remembered wrong. I mentioned the strongest man under the stars, not the strongest being under the stars. Even if one obtains that thing, it's only a possibility. There's still a big difference between potentially becoming rich and already being rich," Bai Shenfei spoke calmly but with an unquestionable firmness.

Bai Shenfei's point was clear. Even if Lin Shen obtained whatever was in Gourd Mountain, he would merely have the potential to become the strongest man. Bai Shenfei, on the other hand, saw herself as stronger than the strongest man—as the greatest under the stars.

"Bai, you really are confident. If I'm not misunderstanding, you already possess that thing, right?" Lin Shen said.

"If I wasn't confident, there would be no need for me to take this evolutionary path," Bai Shenfei stated calmly. "Do you plan to go to Gourd Mountain as Lin Xiangdong or as Lin Shen?"

"Do the Qi and Wang families not know that Fourth Brother went to Gourd Mountain?" Lin Shen looked at Bai Shenfei with disbelief.

If Bai Shenfei hadn't told the Qi and Wang families that Third Brother and Fourth Brother had both gone to Gourd Mountain, how could their elites possibly follow her to Gourd Mountain in full force?

"I only know that Lin and your Third Brother went to Gourd Mountain, and that's what I told them. I don't know anything else," Bai Shenfei seemed to be implying something more.

After considering it for a moment, Lin Shen understood the deeper connotations of her words.

The Qi and Wang families already knew that Lin Xiangdong had gone to Gourd Mountain, but they didn't know whether Lin Xiangdong had come back. Theoretically, they couldn't be sure if the individual who attended the recruitment meeting was indeed Lin Xiangdong, unless they had known all along about Lin Shen's impersonation.

"Then I'll go as my Fourth Brother, and I'd need Sister Bai's help to cover for me," Lin Shen pondered and said.

Sister Bai Shenfei laughed at his words, "Are you planning to test out Ye?"

"Sister Bai worries too much," Lin Shen neither admitted nor denied.

"This is your family matter; I am just responsible for escorting you to Gourd Mountain," Bai Shenfei didn't say anything more on the topic.

"Then I'm afraid I must trouble Sister Bai. When in front of others, I can only call you Junior Sister," Lin Shen said.

"It's just a title; it doesn't matter. Get ready, I have already agreed with the Qi and Wang families that we will set off for Gourd Mountain the morning after next," said Bai Shenfei as she stood up to leave.

"It's a wonder who immediately turned hostile after hearing the name Little Feifei," Lin Shen mocked inwardly, but outwardly he said, "What is it inside Gourd Mountain that makes the Qi and Wang families so credulous?"

"They do not believe me; even without me, as long as they know about it, they would go all the same. Now, they are just afraid I'd go first and cannot but cooperate with me. As for what's inside Gourd Mountain, we can only know once we see it. The thing at each Mutation Point is different, but one thing's for sure, that thing is the key to the path of true strength. With it, you have the chance to become a real powerhouse," Bai Shenfei finished speaking and walked out of the room, disappearing in a flash like a ghost.

"The day after tomorrow, huh? I hope it's not too late," Lin Shen glanced at the incubation pod where the three Base Mutation Eggs, drained of their Fire Seed, remained motionless.

After a moment of thought, Lin Shen headed to the study, took out paper and ink, and wrote a letter.

Dear elder sister,

In the twenty-one years since my birth, although I have not had the pleasure of growing up under our parents' care, I have never once felt a sense of loss or insecurity. You gave me all the most beautiful illusions of a mother and a sister so that even I have felt overly pampered.

Heaven has been unduly kind to me, as if it had spent the goodwill of ten lifetimes, allowing me to be reborn as your brother in this life.

I suppose Second Brother, Third Brother, and Fourth Brother have all had the same thought—that being your brother is the proudest thing in our lives.

But as a brother, I have a very, very big grievance against you.

You give us the very best of everything, yet you keep nothing for yourself. To care for us, you remain alone to this day—are you trying to turn us into men scorned by thousands as sister-dependent demons?

Sister, you're too good, and too selfish; you're so selfish that you won't even allow us the chance to give back. Your brothers have grown up; they want to taste the sweetness of giving to their loved ones.

The three elder brothers can still use me as a guinea pig, but who shall I use as mine?

I heard from Fourth Brother that there was once an outstanding man who wanted to stand by your side, but in the end, you parted ways with him because you couldn't let go of us.

This is where you were wrong, sister. Do you think so little of your brothers' abilities that you doubt our capacity to take care of ourselves?

If there is an afterlife, I hope not to be your brother again, for I am no longer worthy of bearing more of your kindness.

If there is an afterlife, I hope to become your elder brother, to return all the pampering you gave me tenfold.

Sister, by the time you read this letter, I should have already departed.

Don't worry, don't be sad; give me some time to look around below, so in the next life, we can be siblings again.

Promise me, live for yourself in the time you have left; don't let me owe even more, or else I won't be able to repay it all in the next life.

That man, if you still like him, go find him. Don't give your brother any face; sleep with him.

Sister, I'll wait for you in the next life—your most beloved brother, Lin Shen.

He placed the letter into an envelope and then into an iron biscuit tin. In the past, elder sister always put the things Lin Shen liked in this tin.

If Lin Shen could not return this time, elder sister would likely find this letter upon her return to base.

If he could return, he would immediately destroy this letter without leaving a trace.

Deep down, Lin Shen wasn't that averse to adventuring to Gourd Mountain; it was merely the original agreement that made him reluctant to leave the base for an adventure.

But there was still some kind of impulse within him; to say he was not at all tempted by what was within Gourd Mountain would be deceiving himself.

Returning the tin to its usual place, Lin Shen was lost in thought when he suddenly heard a crackle from within the incubation pod.

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