Some of the guests outside were growing anxious, but finally Qin Feng opened the door. Eight Zero E-Book (txt02.com) He didn’t even bother to say “please.” After opening the door, he simply turned and walked back into the courtyard. This left the elders of the Lin family feeling rather embarrassed, though who could blame them—after all, they had come to the Lin family for help. Everyone suppressed their irritation and entered one by one, in order of rank. The courtyard was actually quite small; by the time twenty people had arrived, it was completely filled. Lin Wei stood beside Lin Hao, radiating confidence, as if he had completely forgotten the slap he’d received just a few days ago. Now he seemed more self-assured than ever. Through the weathered wooden windows, he spotted Zhang Jie and Lin Caiwei seated inside. Lin Wei was utterly astonished—wasn’t that the graceful woman inside Zhang Jie? It was simply unbelievable—how had she become so young and beautiful? He had never noticed this before. Recalling what his brother had said, a slow, indulgent smile played on Lin Jiahou's face. Lin had stated that to control Qin Feng, one must first control Lin Caiwei, and to control Lin Caiwei, one must control Zhang Jie. Therefore, he would never let her leave. As long as Zhang Jie remained within the Lin family, he would always have opportunities to do mischief. With the newly appointed family head, his brother, standing firmly in place, who would dare to raise objections? Just as he was envisioning all these favorable outcomes, Qin Feng caught him in the act. Qin's demeanor grew stern; he pointed at Lin Jiahou and said, "I don't want to see this man. Send him out immediately!" "What did you just say?" Lin Jiahou also turned pale. "I said send him out," Qin said, turning to Lin Fenglei. "With him here, I won't be doing the demonstration for you. You handle it yourselves!" The elderly man glanced sideways at Lin Jiahou, waiting for his decision. Lin Jiahao was furious, but he had to weigh the consequences of going against Qin Feng—otherwise, everyone's grievances toward Lin Fenglei would be transferred squarely onto his shoulders. Taking a deep breath, he turned to his brother and said, "You go back first!" "What? You're also making me leave?" Lin Jiahwei stared at him. "Go back, and you'll go back. What belongs to you is yours—anything that doesn't belong to you, no matter how hard you push, will fall through. Can't you see that here, it's not our call?" Lin Jiahao said earnestly. "Don't you see that it's not us who are in charge?" Lin Jiahwei glared angrily at Qin Feng and sneered, "Fine, I'll go. If some people don't like me, I'll just as soon not like him!" With that, he slammed the door and walked off. With one more troublesome person gone, Qin's younger brother felt much better. He said, "Who has a furnace to lend me? To prove my method is sound, I'm planning to use the herbs you've provided. Anyone who has any—please bring them all. I'll Lin Fenglei placed his most beloved purple-gold furnace right in front of him, while Lin Jiahou arranged the last of his remaining herbs at the very forefront. Everyone else also didn't want to fall behind, and as a result, herbs drifted through the air like a gentle mist. It was clear that these were their final supplies. Qin Feng certainly wasn't going to be polite—instead, he said, "Keep them all. I'll use what I need, and later on, I'll return the rest to you!" He selected several types, in substantial quantities. If the success rate were perfect, this alone could produce well over a hundred pills. No one could have imagined that just three minutes later, the attempt ended in failure. Everyone stared at him in disbelief, waiting for an explanation. Qin, the young lord, shrugged and said, "Failure is something we encounter regularly. Moreover, since this time we used a larger quantity of herbs, the chances of failure have increased. Therefore, your failures aren't really anything special—how could there be success without failure?" "The second batch failed, and the third one did too. The crowd's spirits steadied—apparently, alchemy simply can't be perfectly successful, even for seasoned practitioners. How then can we possibly take it personally? The fourth batch succeeded, and at that very moment, their medicinal supplies were completely exhausted. That's precisely Qin's true intention—without raw materials, what will you do for further experiments? Without experimentation, how can you possibly know whether you've truly learned? "Now, I believe you've all clearly understood," he said, clapping his hands and standing up, then kicking aside the purple-gold alchemical furnace before him. "Only when the method is thoroughly mastered does the success rate gradually improve. Rushing only leads to negative outcomes. You've seen it four times over—now go." Lin Fenglei was the first to turn and leave, followed by the others. Only upon returning to their own plots did they realize—bitterly—they had no medicinal herbs left. These senior figures started borrowing herbs wildly from the younger generation. After all, the younger ones had limited stock, and it had already been depleted during previous visits. Even if someone still had some, they dared not offer them—having previously sworn they had none. Now to present what they had would be tantamount to court suicide. To go out and buy? Where would they go? A flurry of activity ensued, with everyone scrambling around, yet none managed to secure what they needed. In disappointment, Lin Fenglei began preparing the farewell banquet. Though the banquet was modest—originally intended for the entire clan, it eventually reduced to just Lin Fenglei himself, with others unwilling to attend. The Lin family is quite practical: they show immense enthusiasm when needed, but once their needs are met, they're already considered lucky if they don't send you far away. Naturally, the trio didn't take the farewell banquet seriously, and Qin Feng attended as the sole representative. Lin the elder's face turned pale. "Where are Xiao Wei and her daughter? How come they haven't come!" Qin the young noble didn't answer directly, but asked instead, "Weren't the entire clan coming to see our aunt off? What about the others?" The elder grew even more displeased. "Can't I represent everyone else? What do we need so many people for? It's all a mess!" Qin the young noble quickly agreed, "Then I'll represent Aunt and Weiwei—should that be sufficient?" Two foxes, one old and one young, sat face to face in the dining room. The atmosphere was tense. To be honest, compared to last time, the food here was nothing short of a world apart—only slightly better than ordinary home cooking, still far from fine mountain delicacies and sea treasures. "Grandfather," he smiled, "after having dinner, I'll take Aunt and Weiwei away from here." "You needn't worry," he added, "Weiwei is a dutiful child and will surely come visit you often." "Little Feng," the elder said, "I still believe it's best if they stay here." "The old man smiled with deep intention, saying, 'I don't doubt your abilities, but compared to the Lin family, you're merely a young sapling, while the Lin family stands as a towering tree, offering better protection to their daughter and mother.' 'Wait—aren't you changing your mind now?' Qin Feng's tone had grown cold. 'How can I not?' the old man was tired of pretending. Qin Feng smiled and said firmly, 'If I decide to leave, no one will be able to stop me. If you don't believe me, go ahead and try.'