“Sir, the sacred medicine passed down through generations of the Yi family was the reward promised by Yi Yang beforehand, and you have saved this old man as agreed.” Yi Potian stared at Lin Yao with a serious expression and respect in his eyes. “Yi Yang is the current patriarch, that is, the head of the Yi family, and I will abide by any decision he makes.”
"Sir, your medical skills far surpass those of the Fan family. Even the Fan family, who have inherited this medical tradition, could not cure my qi deviation. Our clan's records state that for Yi family cultivators, qi deviation has only one outcome: death." Yi Potian spoke eloquently. "If I were lucid, I would never have agreed to exchange a sacred medicine for your treatment. Of course, that's all hindsight. It was also a great stroke of luck for the Yi family that led us to you."
Lin Yao's expression remained unchanged, but he understood Yi Potian's meaning. The other party felt that exchanging the sacred medicine for his help in saving people was a loss, and this was a reminder that he owed Yi a favor. Lin Yao, guided by the modern principle of mutual consent in transactions, was completely unmoved by these words. Whatever he said, why should he give back what he had already obtained? Even if he could, he would never return it to the Earth Mother.
Yi Potian struggled to move from the bed to the floor. He pushed away Yi Yang's hand that was trying to help him up, and it took him a long time to finally stand up shakily. He didn't even put on shoes, and stepped barefoot on the floor, bowing to Lin Yao.
"Sir, although the Yi family's martial arts are the most offensive, all Yi family members suffer from excruciating pain at all times. This kind of martial arts that injures oneself before injuring others is the fate of every Yi family member. I beg you to lend a hand, and I will try my best to meet any conditions you set."
Lin Yao was taken aback, his mind racing. According to Yi Yang's previous statement, the Yi family had already monopolized the medicinal herb business in a province, which was extremely advantageous to him, as Xiao Cao needed a large quantity of medicinal herbs. However, he needed to further understand the character of the Yi family. After all, they were legendary figures in the martial arts world, and he knew nothing about it. He didn't want to unknowingly become an accomplice to evil.
“Sir, please lie down on the bed first. We can discuss this slowly. Your health is the most important thing.” Lin Yao replied calmly. Yi Potian kept bowing, and he couldn’t help him up, otherwise it would be considered as agreeing to the other party’s request. “To be honest, I know almost nothing about martial arts. I have no experience in this area, and my master has never taught me these things.”
Yi Potian straightened up, stared at Lin Yao without speaking, and after a long time, he finally spoke, "Sir, are you worried about getting on a bad ship? Don't worry, according to current standards, the Yi family are law-abiding people. Many of our members work in government departments and the military, and many are in business. We are definitely not bad people."
“The reason for continuing to cultivate this extremely harmful technique is for the sake of inheritance and also as a means to compete with other aristocratic families. You can think of it as a competitive advantage at a certain level. Please, sir, lend me your assistance.” Yi Potian bowed again, then immediately straightened up and turned to instruct Yi Yang, “Yang’er, bring the clan’s roster for sir to review.”
Ah! Lin Yao was startled; the other party was sticking to him and wouldn't let go! How could he break free?
"It's alright, I can subdue these people instantly, and Yao Yao's safety is guaranteed." Xiao Cao's heavenly voice rang in his mind, and at this moment, Lin Yao no longer cared about being called Yao Yao.
"Let's see how things go." Lin Yao made his decision. The legendary martial arts world had greatly intrigued him, and he had a desire to explore its mysteries.
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Chapter 129 Cooperation
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Shocking, utterly shocking!
Holding the roster that Yi Yang had brought over, Lin Yao felt a surge of emotions, his last remaining doubts dispelled, and he decided to cooperate with the Yi family.
Yi Liaoyuan, one of the ten marshals (let's assume he's from a parallel universe), a general and political commissar in the early days of the People's Republic of China, and national heroes and martyrs who charged into battle in the earlier Republican era—all these names appeared on the roster. A magnificent aura emanated from the thick pages of the roster, making Lin Yao feel a little breathless.
Lin Yao neither understood nor cared about the figures from ancient times; he focused on the Yi family figures from modern times. Starting in the 1980s, the Yi family clearly declined, with their military and political positions decreasing and their numbers dwindling. All of these individuals passed away before the age of fifty, resulting in a clear break in the Yi family's influence and power. The highest-ranking member now was merely Yi Fei, a thirty-five-year-old man with the title of "bodyguard" and an early-stage prefecture-level official.
"How do we cooperate?" Lin Yao closed the roster. He wasn't worried about the authenticity of the information recorded in the roster. These modern figures could be easily verified by Ge Yong and Shen Ruohua. Judging from the age of the paper in the roster, it was definitely not something Yi Yang had deliberately faked to deceive him.
"Sir, please help the Yi family disciples overcome the problem of muscle and bone damage during cultivation. Just name your conditions, and the Yi family will never refuse or haggle over anything we can meet." Yi Potian spoke, his strength greatly restored, his voice no longer weak, and an imposing aura emanating from him.
Yi Yang stood to the side, his hands clasped together at his sides along the seams of his trousers, extremely respectful and solemn. Lin Yao knew that Yi Potian was the previous head of the Yi family, but due to a sudden fall into demonic possession, the young Yi Yang succeeded him as head of the family. Now, Yi Potian was considered the supreme elder of the family, and his words represented the Yi family.
"I need the Yi family's medicinal herbs, as well as some other resources. People from all over the country also need to assist my family's work." Lin Yao directly stated his conditions. In addition to the roster, the relevant information brought by Yi Yang made Lin Yao very interested. "There are two options: one is to calculate the value of the rescue based on the number of people, and the other is to not count the number of people. But in the latter case, I can use the Yi family's resources at will."
Yi Potian stared into Lin Yao's eyes, remaining motionless for five minutes, before suddenly making a decision, "Let's take the second approach, and handle it according to the Fan family's situation."
"The Fan family and the Yi family have a symbiotic relationship. All resources and people are shared equally. They share both prosperity and adversity." Yi Yang explained at the right moment. "The Yi family never breaks its word and has always abided by the rules. That's why the Yi family and the Fan family have been able to coexist for thousands of years. The register that Mr. Gu just saw also records all the members of the Fan family throughout history."
Yi Yang handled his position well, refraining from making any decisive statements and only providing commentary on his father Yi Potian's words.
"Let me explain first." Lin Yao cleared his throat and spoke seriously, "Our family is not a prestigious family like yours, nor is it a clan. There are not many people. There are only three of us in the direct line: my father, my mother, and me. In addition, there are relatives from my maternal grandfather's side. In total, there are only about ten people."
As Lin Yaocai finished speaking, Yi Potian's eyes widened, and his expression of surprise was genuine. Yi Yang, who was next to him, was also clearly shocked. Although he managed to suppress a surprised cry, his suddenly heavier breathing made Lin Yaocai sense the shock in his emotions.
“I know what my parents are thinking. They probably don’t want to get involved in this level of struggle.” Lin Yao continued speaking as if he didn’t see their surprise. “So our cooperation is basically my personal cooperation with the Yi family. Of course, it will also involve several companies and enterprises owned by my family, which are insignificant in your eyes.”
“Personally, I think we can cooperate. We’ll discuss the specific cooperation methods in more detail later.” Lin Yao made a decision that surprised Yi Potian and Yi Yang. “What I want most from the Yi family is medicinal herbs, an endless supply of medicinal herbs. Secondly, I want connections and resources in various places, because my family wants to make the company bigger and stronger.”
"Your followers..." Yi Yang still couldn't quite believe Lin Yao's words.
“Those two men aren’t my henchmen; they’re security guards hired by my company.” Lin Yao revealed Ge Yong and Banan’s identities. “You should be able to tell that they’re former soldiers, hired veterans. Of course, our relationship isn’t just that of a company boss and employees; I consider them brothers and friends.”
“Very well.” Yi Potian sat on the bed and waved his hand. “It’s decided then. Mr. Gu, we are happy to cooperate. Yang’er, go and invite the head of the Fan family to come and meet Mr. Gu.”
“I can’t hide my identity any longer. My name is Lin Yao. You can call me A Yao or Xiao Yao.” Lin Yao suddenly interrupted Yi Potian, feeling a desire to befriend the Yi family. The insights he gained from merging with the Earth Mother had not completely disappeared, and this ability to see through all living beings made him feel the sincerity of Yi Potian and Yi Yang.
"Clan Chief Lin, from now on I will be the Supreme Elder of the Yi family. You can contact Yi Yang for specific matters, or you can discuss them directly with me. Our Yi family will do our best to meet your requests." Yi Potian's voice was loud and clear, and a hearty laugh appeared on his lips for the first time.
Yi Yang's eyes reddened, and he bid farewell, suppressing the stinging feeling in his nose. His father hadn't laughed for many years, and it was rare to hear his father's hearty laughter since he could remember. Perhaps this was an opportunity for the Yi family to rise again. He was glad that he had learned how to use the internet in modern times, and he thought that the internet, which had always been restricted and prohibited by his father and elders, would no longer be resisted in the Yi family.
The 47-year-old member of the Fan family, named Fan Shao, was a middle-aged man who looked only about thirty. He possessed outstanding charm and demeanor, resembling a sage in a painting, with an otherworldly air. However, when he stood next to Yi Potian, who was the same age as him, the vast difference in their appearance became immediately apparent.
"Hello Mr. Lin, please guide me in the future." Fan Shao greeted Lin Yao with a simple and polite greeting, without much formality, and performed a traditional Chinese bow.
"Greetings, Patriarch Fan." Lin Yao's words immediately drew smiles from the other three people in the room, who knew that Lin Yao's statement about not being from a noble family was true.
"Just call me Fan Shao, or Brother Fan is fine too." Fan Shao had a very good first impression of Lin Yao. Having studied the art of judging people, he was extremely pleased to see Lin Yao's handsome appearance after he removed his disguise. He directly used a familiar form of address used between people in modern times, which was quite rare for him.
“Oh, okay, Brother Fan.” Lin Yao readily agreed, as he also admired the three people in the room. “I’d like to take a look at the conditioning medicines that the Fan family prepared for the Yi family’s cultivation method. I wonder if that’s convenient.”
Without further ado, Fan Shao took out two jade bottles from her bosom and handed one of them to Lin Yao, saying, "Mr. Lin, please give me your guidance."
He opened the jade bottle and poured a black pill the size of a soybean into his left palm. Lin Yao's little grass instantly extended its roots to wrap around the pill, and then instantly retracted.
"It's garbage, basically useless. It's very ineffective for strengthening muscles and bones. It might have some effect on ordinary people, but it didn't work for that patient," Xiaocao said disdainfully.
"This..." Lin Yao didn't know how to express himself. Saying it was wrong would be tantamount to slapping him in the face, while saying it was right would be too hypocritical.
“Mr. Lin, these are pills I made myself, so of course they are not worthy of your approval.” Fan Shao saw at a glance that Lin Yao did not approve of the pills in his hand, and was even more excited, thinking that this was a person with real skills.
"Please look at this bottle of pills." Fan Shao handed another jade bottle to Lin Yao. "These are the pills that the Fan family had left over from before. They were all made by my grandfather and father. There are very few left. I have been researching them for decades, but I have not yet made any progress."