After a whole night of searching, the Lin Family finally found the culprit, and it was none other than the least respected son of the leader of the Lin Family—Lin Tian, who also happened to be the widely recognized 'Young Master Rascal.'
Back then, everyone was stupefied when they hurried to Lin Tian's courtyard, only to see him lying on a puddle of blood with his aged face after his tremendous loss of longevity. His heartbeat and breath were no longer present, so there was no way to look into the details of the incident.
What could they do with a corpse? The Lin Family was devastated as they failed to capture the person responsible for the assault, risking the family's annihilation. In that instant, everyone bore utter disdain for Lin Tian.
"He's dead?" Upon Ming Lao's clarification, Gu Changge was slightly dazed. [A secret escape? That's not quite possible. My bet is on him faking his death, it's merely a pretense. There's too many death-faking hidden techniques in the world, so deceiving the crowd wouldn't be difficult. Besides, Lin Tian was shielded by an invisible layer of Fortuity.
As a matter of fact, Gu Changge wasn't at all surprised that Lin Tian could think of such a method. [After all, a heavily scarred Cursed Spirit would have nowhere to go once it left its vessel, and a wind blow could easily erase the spirit. Moreover, why would a Fortuitous One ever kill himself? Was his hatred of me so lukewarm that he'd commit suicide before killing me? He must be the trashiest Fortuitous One if that's the case. Even the system said nothing, which means the Fortuitous One is still intact. Using a hidden technique to fake your death works, but does he really think I can't figure it out?] Various thoughts crossed Gu Changge's mind, yet his face remained unaffected as he voiced not a word.
In the meantime, the Lin Family was even more restless as their hatred for Lin Tian grew substantially. Even the leader of the Lin Family was excruciatingly remorseful for having given birth to such a cursed tool. For a moment, he was comforted after hearing from Lin Qiuhan regarding Lin Tian's changes, but after what happened yesterday, he felt as if he was about to be torn apart.
<*Ding!* Lin Tian is ostracized by the Lin Family, losing 100 Fortuity. User is rewarded with 500 Fatums.>
The system notification left Gu Changge feeling disconcerted. [That works too? Oh, well. Lin Tian hardly has anything left. Perhaps the last thing to do is to sever his ties with Lin Qiuhan.]
"We have failed to educate Lin Tian. Please unleash your punishment onto us, Prince Gu!"
"Lin Tian's attempt to assassinate you within the Lin Family's territory leaves us perturbed. We await your punishment!"
With that, everyone outside the palace knelt down as immense fear surged in their hearts. After hearing Ming Lao's clarification pertaining to Gu Changge's background, the Lin Family was aware that they shouldn't hold any cunning intent and earnestly admit their mistakes regardless of whether they were related to said mistakes.
"So, that's the taste of power…" At that moment, as Su Qingge silently stood behind Gu Changge, the other soul within her body expressed her astonishment with an underlying evil. Su Qingge remained unaffected, feigning not a reaction.
Recently, the other soul within her began to recall many of her memories, including information relevant to the Beyond that confused her, which was why she started to read ancient archives to understand those memories.
At the same time, memories pertaining to certain ancient Spells also slowly popped up in her mind. She couldn't figure out the cause of such a thing, and she had yet to let Gu Changge know about it. Essentially, possessing two souls in a body was her greatest secret yet, so she had no idea how to bring it up to him.
"Prince Gu, please punish this old one for the matter as the truth remains buried. Lin Tian, as this old one's successor, performed such an atrocious act, and this old one is truly ashamed to face you." Ming Lao stated with remorse written all over his face. Still, he was oblivious to what happened to Lin Tian, and how a good-for-nothing rascal would know such abysmal hidden technique. Regardless, he couldn't just say that someone was trying to frame the Lin Family.
"Such an event is indeed uncanny. About Lin Tian, I've heard from Lady Qiuhan that he was an ordinary rascal and possessed not the power or courage to assassinate me. After all, several hidden techniques can allow a body to switch souls and be manipulated. Although Lin Tian is closely related to the case, I am sure that the Lin Family bears no connection to it. Given your loyalty to me, Ming Lao, I shall rest this case. I'm no irrational individual. Thus, there's no point in pursuing the matter.
Upon Ming Lao's words, standing at the palace doors, Gu Changge finally spoke, though his voice remained uninfluenced. He sounded equitable, generous, and considerate with how he straightforwardly claimed not to blame the Lin Family. Though, to be fair, he wasn't at all bothered since he knew about the details of the matter more than anyone in the world. As a matter of fact, everything was fully under his control.
Despite knowing that Lin Tian's possession by a cursed spirit was completely unrelated to the Lin Family, Gu Changge still had to retain his pride. As such, he would gain the Lin Family's gratitude and trust by winning their hearts. Although it was certainly impractical and unnecessary, he figured he could grant Ming Lao the pride and deepen his loyalty to him in one fell swoop. Though it wasn't anything significant, it was definitely worth the effort.
"Thank you for your generosity, Prince Gu."
"Prince Gu is indeed rational and considerate!"
Hearing that, the entire Lin Family, including Ming Lao, heaved a sigh of relief as the pressure in their hearts turned into gratitude and excitement. Unquestionably, they simply assumed Gu Changge's leisurely attitude came from his indifference toward the Lin Family. It was nobility on another level.
"Thank you very much, Prince Gu." Deeply moved, Ming Lao wiped the drops of cold sweat on his forehead. Thinking that Gu Changge would save him—a mere serf—the pride, Ming Lao wasn't just touched, but he was also grateful to have the honor to serve Gu Changge.
Lin Qiuhan, on the other hand, was stunned, wondering whether Gu Changge's mention of her name was to help her. She started to blush and overthink as the despair from Lin Tian's death tremendously faded.
"Worry not, Prince Gu. We shall look into the matter assiduously and provide you with a satisfying answer." The leader of the Lin Family and the rest of the elders let out a comforted sigh before expressing that the incident shouldn't be forgiven so easily. Be it the cause of his death, his motive to assassinate Gu Changge, or the fact that the rascal turned into such a vile assaulter, there were too many questions waiting to be solved.
Subtly nodding, Gu Changge dismissed the crowd as there was no use in tarrying.
However, he didn't have the Lin Family cremate Lin Tian's corpse as he was awaiting his 'resurrection.' If Lin Tian's body were to be burned to ashes, the Fortuitous One was pretty much gone while burying him would only be fulfilling his wishes. Regardless, as long as Lin Tian's Fortuity remained greater than zero, there was no way Gu Changge would let him out of his grasp.