Chapter 117: The Iga Clan Strikes Back

Seeing the old Master Xie and his grandson enjoying themselves so heartily, the old Master Lin and other members of the Lin family couldn’t help but step forward to join the conversation. Lin Feng’s mother, Liu Runli, in particular, said sharply, “Young man, don’t celebrate just yet. Why didn’t Lin Feng come back with you?”

Xie Ming was chatting happily with his grandfather when he noticed a middle-aged beautiful woman standing nearby. Concerned, he asked her about Lin Feng.

“Ah, and you are?” Xie Ming found himself unsure how to address her and looked at her curiously.

“He is Lin Feng’s mother!” Old Master Xie quickly explained, realizing his grandson was momentarily taken aback.

“Oh, Auntie, hello!” Upon hearing Old Master Xie, Xie Ming quickly greeted Liu Runli.

Liu Runli, already anxious, waved her hand impatiently and said, “No need for formalities. Just tell me why Lin Feng didn’t come back with you.”

“Well, Lin Feng didn’t explain clearly either, but he mentioned something about wanting to cause trouble for the Iga family, so he let the rest of us return first,” Xie Ming pondered and relayed what he knew to Liu Runli.

“Ah! That boy…” Liu Runli was shocked to learn that Lin Feng had stayed behind in the island nation intending to continue provoking the Iga family. She stood up, struggling to find the words to express her worry.

Everyone else in the room, including the eldest and second uncles, understood why Lin Feng had gone to the island nation. Their hearts were heavy with worry. Lin Feng wasn’t just a descendant of the Lin family; he was their hope for the family’s rise alongside the old elite families of Yanjing.

Lin Feng, unaware of the turmoil back home, had long returned to the hotel where he was staying. Having completed all his tasks on the island, he finally allowed himself the comfort of a good night’s sleep.

Meanwhile, the Iga family was in uproar. Security personnel, during their patrol, discovered the corpse of Iga Tengxiang. Her body had been carefully prepared and laid out in the Iga family’s main hall. All direct family members were summoned back by Iga Tengchun, and they witnessed the gruesome sight of Tengxiang’s brutal death.

“Baka! How dare they kill a direct family member! They clearly don’t respect the Iga family!” Iga Tengchun furiously smashed the tea set on the table, his emotions clearly spiraling out of control due to the shock of Tengxiang’s death.

All the direct family members kneeling before him were intimidated by his rage and dared not speak.

“Are you all mute? No one has anything to say to me?” After venting, Iga Tengchun still felt unsettled. He glared at the kneeling family members and shouted at them.

“Yes!” The members knelt silently, responding in unison but without daring to speak further.

Only Iga Tengfei remained foolishly unaware of the gravity of the situation. Naively, he looked up at Iga Tengchun and asked, “Grandfather, who did this?”

Seeing it was Tengfei who spoke, Tengchun’s anger flared even more. He approached Tengfei and kicked him harshly, knocking him to the ground. Pointing at his face, he scolded, “Who else could it be but Lin Feng from Huaxia? It’s all your fault, you bastard! If you hadn’t provoked Lin Feng and made enemies of him, our Iga family wouldn’t have ended up like this!”

Tengfei scrambled to his feet and knelt again, bowing his head in apology.

“Baka! Shut up! What use is it to talk about this now? Keep nagging and I’ll kick you out of the family!” Tengchun, already annoyed by Tengfei’s pleas, sat back down in his seat and scolded him.

Tengfei immediately shut his mouth, too frightened to say another word.

After a moment, Tengchun sipped his tea to steady himself, then muttered ominously, “Since you dared to cause trouble in the Iga family, I’ll make sure you never return.” He intended to escalate the matter to the island nation’s highest authorities. He no longer cared about the Asou family’s mockery. Tengxiang’s death had crossed his breaking point. While she was alive, even if the issue reached the top echelons, the Asou family’s influence would have suppressed any action. But now, with Tengxiang murdered, the authorities could no longer ignore it.

That very night, Tengchun entered the imperial palace to report the murder to the island nation’s emperor. News of Tengxiang’s killing and the destruction of the organizations supported by the Iga family spread quickly among the island’s aristocratic families. The name of Lin Feng from Huaxia, the perpetrator, became widely known, and his profile was swiftly gathered by various families through special means.

In the Asou family, Asou Haruko, having been left behind by Lin Feng, was left feeling helpless and bored. She finally called home and was picked up by her bodyguards.

“Haruko, why did you go out today without your bodyguards? It’s very dangerous, you know? Don’t ever do that again!” The family head, Asou Jirou, hearing the bodyguards’ report, scolded his granddaughter with a mix of anger and helplessness.

“Grandpa, I know, you always say that, but our country isn’t that dangerous. I was out all afternoon and came back safe, didn’t I?” Asou Haruko was unafraid of Jirou’s reprimand. She was used to being dominant within the family.

Jirou smiled wryly. In Haruko’s world, everything was bright and positive. He didn’t want to impose any dark perspectives on her, so he swallowed the words he was about to say, deciding instead to instruct the bodyguards to be more vigilant in the future to avoid such incidents.

“Oh, by the way, there’s been some trouble in the island nation recently. You’d better stay home and not go out,” Jirou added gravely, recalling the news circulating among the high families.

“Trouble? Grandpa, this sounds serious judging by your expression,” Haruko immediately asked upon hearing his warning.

“Yes. Iga Tengxiang was killed today within the family—cut cleanly in half. The Iga family has reported it to the emperor, who has mobilized the military to conduct a city-wide manhunt for Lin Feng from Huaxia!” Jirou figured there was no need to hide the matter from Haruko; perhaps it would serve as a lesson to the naive granddaughter. He placed the collected photos of Lin Feng in front of her, telling her to remember his face and to avoid him at all costs if she encountered him in the island nation.

In truth, Lin Feng had been disguised both at the hotel and during his confrontation with the Iga family. Only when he met Haruko at the bar earlier that day had he appeared without a disguise. On the night he killed Tengxiang, surveillance footage caught the entire act, though the assailant’s appearance differed greatly from Lin Feng’s real face. Still, Tengchun was convinced Lin Feng was responsible. Thus, the materials collected by the island’s families depicted Lin Feng’s true appearance as known in Huaxia.

Upon seeing the photo, Haruko recognized the familiar face and exclaimed, “This is the man I met this afternoon! I even had him pretend to be my boyfriend and spent the entire afternoon with him. So that’s why he went to the Iga family—to kill Iga Tengxiang!”

Jirou, seeing his granddaughter’s shocked expression, guessed she must know Lin Feng. He anxiously asked, “You know Lin Feng?”

Haruko did not answer directly but instead posed her own question, “Grandpa, tell me, why would Lin Feng from Huaxia go to the Iga family to kill Tengxiang? Do they have a grudge?”

“They do, and it’s a deep one. The Iga family offended Lin Feng many times. The worst incident was a few days ago when Tengxiang went to Huaxia and attacked Lin Feng’s fiancée in a failed assassination attempt. Lin Feng came to the island for revenge. He destroyed the organizations backed by the Iga family, and now Tengxiang is dead at his hands,” Jirou explained concisely, hoping to get answers from Haruko.

“What? He has a fiancée? That bastard never told me and even agreed to be my boyfriend!” Haruko, ignoring the gravity of the revenge, focused instead on Lin Feng’s engagement, muttering to herself about the events of the afternoon.

Though her voice was low, Jirou overheard and was startled. He stood up and asked loudly, “Lin Feng from Huaxia is your boyfriend? When did you meet him?”

“Grandpa, when did I say Lin Feng is my boyfriend?” Haruko, unaware that she had just revealed her connection to Lin Feng, replied naively.

“Hmph, you’d better be honest. When did you meet Lin Feng? How did you meet him? And how did he become your boyfriend?” Jirou’s tone was grave and stern, reflecting the seriousness of the situation.

Realizing she couldn’t evade the truth, Haruko recounted the entire afternoon’s events to Jirou in detail, ending with her honest feelings about Lin Feng.