<h4>Chapter 1089: Chapter 1096: The Pain of Losing a Father (Part 2)</h4>


    Lin Qiqi said with a bitter smile, "No, I’m a member of the Ling Family, I’m already deeply involved and can’t get out." Saying this, Lin Qiqi used her hand to pull open her clothes, revealing her snow-white skin. However, Ling Chen’s attention wasn’t on her skin, but on a scar near her heart. It was obvious that the scar was very new and very neat, suggesting that the surgery was performed only a couple of days ago.


    "You... what happened?"


    "A couple of days ago, they sent a few people over to perform a small surgery on those of us left in the Ling Family. They imnted a chip in our bodies to lock onto our location at any time. Moreover, that chip has a self-destruct function. At first, we didn’t quite understand why they did this. But after listening to you just now, I finally got it. It’s probably because of Uncle Lin’s incident. They’re worried about traitors appearing within the Ling Family again, so they put a shackle on us. If anyone betrays, the oue is nothing but death."


    Ling Chen’s face changed; he never expected the Ling Family to be so ruthless, without sparing even their own family members.


    "Then you..." Ling Chen still wanted to say something, but Lin Qiqi had already interrupted him.


    "Ling Chen, there’s no need to persuade me. As a Ling Family member, fate was decided long ago. Come with me, I’ll take you to a ce." With that, regardless of whether Ling Chen was willing, Lin Qiqi simply walked away.


    Ling Chen didn’t hesitate, quickly catching up with Lin Qiqi. At the same time, Ling Chen contacted Pang Jiulin and others through his earpiece to inquire about their situation.


    After all, the security personnel of the Ling Family are all experts. Without his own help, he wasn’t sure if Pang Jiulin and the others could handle them.


    "Instructor Pang, how’s the situation over there?"


    "No problem. These guys are indeed skilled, but we are no pushover either. You go on and do your thing; don’t worry about us."


    Hearing this, Ling Chen was slightly relieved. For this operation, Pang Jiulin and the others were very well prepared, with everyone fully armed. The members of Lonely Wolf are battle-hardened agents; although not as adept as the security personnel, their overall abilities aren’tcking.


    That’s good! With Pang Jiulin’s team attracting outside firepower, his actions would undoubtedly be much easier.


    Following Lin Qiqi’s footsteps, Ling Chen proceeded step by step, and before long, the two arrived in a study within the Siheyuan.


    Walking into the room, he saw many ancient paintings hanging on all four walls. Judging by the seals on these paintings, they’re the works of famous artists. As for authenticity... with the Ling Family’s financial resources, how could they possibly buy fake collections?


    Just the value of the paintings in this room probably exceeds ten figures.


    At this moment, Lin Qiqi went straight to the bookshelf in the study, took out a book, and gently pulled it outward. Immediately, there was a soft click, and the entire bookshelf slowly moved aside, revealing a wide secret passage.


    "This is the secret of the Ling Family, let’s go!" With that, Lin Qiqi walked straight into the secret passage.


    On the way, Ling Chen was perplexed by Lin Qiqi’s actions and couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you doing this? For you, I should be an enemy."


    "You’re wrong." Lin Qiqi replied indifferently, "To be precise, you’re an enemy of the Ling Family, not mine. The Ling Family always likes to impose their enemies on everyone." After a pause, Lin Qiqi continued, "Uncle Lin was once married and had a daughter. Unfortunately, shortly after she was born, she was diagnosed with a terminal illness and couldn’t live for more than a few years. When she died, Uncle Lin’s wife couldn’t endure the blow, chose to divorce, and bid farewell to this sad ce forever. Before this, Uncle Lin applied to take on a position in the God Organization, hoping to use its resources to research a cure for terminal illnesses. Unfortunately, although research made some breakthroughs over a few years, they still couldn’t apply it clinically."


    "After Uncle Lin’s daughter died, he was depressed for a long time, taking years toe out of the shadow. At that time, there was a little girl by his side, with thest name Liu, I heard Uncle Lin took her in. He treated her as a daughter. Later, when my father died unexpectedly during a Ling Family mission, Uncle Lin felt very sympathetic for me. Since then, he, like a father, cared for me, allowing me to feel paternal love again. Even though he’s my uncle, I’ve long regarded him as my father in my heart."


    After listening to Lin Qiqi’s ount, Ling Chen finally understood why she was helping him.


    The Ling Family killed Lin Guodong, and no matter the reason, it was an unforgivable act for Lin Qiqi.


    A woman, once filled with resentment, bes a terrifying thing.


    Proceeding along the secret passage, Ling Chen walked for several dozen meters before it opened up before him. At the end of the passage was a massive underground chamber, capable of amodating even thousands of people.


    However, more shocking than the size was the fact that the walls of this underground chamber were lined with three-meter-high bookshelves, each packed with various books. Judging by the paper of those books, they’ve been stored for a long time.


    "This is the library of the Ling Family," Lin Qiqi said beside him. "Centuries of umtion are all here. In this regard, it’s no exaggeration to say that even the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion can’tpare to the Ling Family."


    Ling Chen couldn’t wait to step up to one of the bookshelves, casually pulling out a book. After ncing through it, he was internally overwhelmed with shock.


    This... turned out to be a martial arts manual!


    It seems Lin Guodong didn’t lie to him. Previously, Lin Guodong had told him that the Ling Family’s collection of martial arts is more extensive than that of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. Now, it seems, it wasn’t wrong.


    The books here were meticulously organized, each bookshelf numbered. Ling Chen casually skimmed a few shelves, his eyes soon drawn to one in particr.


    Standing in front of the shelf, Ling Chen examined it carefully for a while.


    Nine Yang Qiankun Step... Shattered Leaf Step... Phoenix Fist... Eight Silk Palm... All were precious martial arts tomes, some of which were even rare, lost arts.


    Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable!


    Ling Chen was inwardly rmed; who would have thought that the Ling Family possessed such rich resources. Once these martial arts manuals are leaked, they would surely ignite a storm in the Martial Artsmunity. Indeed, the Ling Family is a deeply-rooted n; without hundreds of years of historical foundation, such a collection couldn’t be achieved.


    No wonder the Ling Family stationed people here. Such a vast collection of books couldn’t possibly be moved.