The Hour of the Rat

Pacing back and forth behind the desk with his hands clasped behind his back, Tong Shuzheng nodded and said,

"That should be the case. As for the specifics of the imperial court's stance, we will observe a bit more. But when it comes to the Lingxian Sect, we can maintain friendly relations."

Xue Chengfeng was very pleased. After all, thanks to Immortal Lin, they had a very favorable impression, and so their fondness naturally extended to the Lingxian Sect as well.

He stroked his newly grown beard and said cheerfully,

"I will prepare the New Year's gifts overnight, and the morning after next, I will personally deliver them to the Lingxian Sect."

Unexpectedly, Tong Shuzheng stopped pacing, stood still, and told him,

"I will go with you. It's a New Year's visit, after all; the more people, the merrier."

Tonight in Xiushui Village, departing from their usual frugality, every household was decorated with lanterns and colorful festoons.

The small village, which was usually pitch-black as soon as night fell, was brightly illuminated this evening.

Even the vicinity of the Lingxian Eatery had a very simple lantern hung up by some thoughtful person.

By this time, most families had already finished their meals, but the dining tables were not cleared away. Instead, they were left as they were, allowing family members to continue sitting around, eating meat, drinking wine, and chatting about everything under the sun.

From time to time, the sound of firecrackers echoed from various parts of the village, followed by the excited screams and laughter of children.

Every door was adorned with spring couplets symbolizing good fortune.

These had recently been written by the children studying at Sun Yigao's private school, upon the villagers' requests.

The villagers did not dare to disturb Sun Yigao, and it was usually difficult to find him anyway.

However, several students in his private school were from the village. The villagers figured that if they couldn't get The Scholar to write them, having the disciples of The Scholar do it was just as good.

As a result, Sun Yigao's few students managed to earn the first bit of money in their lives through this endeavor.

Although they were all fellow villagers, the students knew they hadn't been studying for very long and their handwriting wasn't that great, so they felt embarrassed to accept money.

But that didn't stop the villagers from stuffing various fruits and sweets into their hands one after another.

When added up across the entire village's households, it amounted to quite a lot.

This made the students overjoyed.

They carried the large pile of assorted snacks they had earned back home to show off to their families.

Their families did not mind the lack of money and all praised their children for being so capable.

Meanwhile, up on the mountain within the Lingxian Sect, after all the dishes on the dining table had been swept clean, everyone patted their bulging bellies, leaned back in their chairs with satisfaction, and began their customary post-meal chatting.

The snow had stopped at nightfall.

The night sky was now filled with stars.

Under the starlit night, the women gathered in one group and the men in another. Topic after topic flowed, as if there would never be an end to their conversations.

As for the youths, after clearing away the bowls and chopsticks, they mysteriously huddled their heads together, whispering and muttering about something unknown.

Mo Que didn't seem to fit into any particular category, so he very obediently let Mo Yuanjiao pull him into the ranks of the youths.

Seeing this, the two little girls, Liu Shengsheng and Lin Ying, pulled along Lin Yan—who was sitting quietly next to Eldest Aunt Lin listening to the elders chat about everything from domestic trivia to life's profound sentiments—and slipped over to where their older brothers were to see what they were whispering about.

As soon as the three little girls went over, they heard Lin Xiao say to them:

"In a bit, hurry up and go practice. This spell is very simple. We must strive to get it right before the midnight hour, remember?"

Hearing this, the group nodded in agreement. Just as they were about to turn around and quickly find an empty spot to learn the new spell, they saw three pairs of watery, black-pearl-like eyes staring at them from behind.

Lin Ying asked curiously:

"What new spell are you getting ready to learn? Is it fun?"

Liu Shengsheng looked at her brother, Liu Yunan, and asked:

"Brother, can we learn it together?"

Only Lin Yan felt a bit embarrassed, thinking she had been caught eavesdropping, and she half-lowered her head, her face flushing red.

Seeing the three of them arrive, Lin Xiao said happily:

"You came at just the right time. Quick, quick, quick, you should also learn this new spell with us. The more people, the merrier."

Saying this, Lin Xiao pulled Lin Yan and Lin Ying along, taking the lead to walk forward.

Liu Yunan threw an arm around his sister and led her to follow Lin Xiao, saying:

"Let's go, let's go, we'll go together! Hehe, you came at the perfect time, Brother Xiao said there's something fun to do!"

The elders had long noticed the situation on this side but decided to leave them be.

At first, Liao Pantu couldn't be bothered to mingle with Lin Xiao's group of brats. Yet, considering it was the New Year, he felt it would be boring to return to his room early. So, he stayed by the table, listening to the men, women, old men, and old ladies chatting idly.

But as he listened, his inner desire to express himself was drawn out.

Gradually, he was no longer content with just being a quiet listener and slowly joined in.

Seeing him join the group chat, everyone was naturally very happy.

This was a man who had lived for over five hundred years, after all.

No matter what everyone talked about, he could chime in with a few words, occasionally leading into topics like, "Back in the cultivation world, things like this were quite common. Ah, let me tell you—"

Before long, the conversation was completely dominated by Liao Pantu.

He began to narrate to everyone, with a rhythmic and captivating tone, his various cultivation exploits from the time he first started cultivating all the way to the present.

Just like that, without realizing it, Liao Pantu became the central figure of the dining table conversation.

Everyone was captivated by the path of cultivation he described.

Even General Mo, a veteran of many battles, was enthralled, and Liu Chun listened with keen interest.

This was a Nascent Soul Venerable personally recounting his cultivation experiences; it was not something one could easily hear in the outside world.

As Liao Pantu spoke, it was as if everyone followed along, seeing the image of that young child who left home to join a sect, experiencing the warmth and coldness of human nature and all sorts of bizarre phenomena, growing up step by step.

This New Year's Eve in the harsh winter seemed to become both melancholic and soul-stirring.

On the other side.

The previously empty cultivation room was now brightly lit, and a group of children, ranging from a few years old to teenagers, were earnestly learning something there.

Lin Xiao occasionally explained and demonstrated for everyone.

Finally, with a quarter of an hour left until midnight, everyone in the cultivation room had completely mastered the spell.

They immediately extinguished the lights in the cultivation room and ran down the mountain in high spirits.

Before heading down the mountain, Lin Xiao didn't forget to detour to the foot of Guiyuan Mountain Residence, interrupt Senior Liao, who was talking incessantly, and say to the elders:

"Grandpas, grandmas, uncles, aunts, and senior, in a little while at midnight, please be sure to do us the honor of glancing in the direction of the village!"

After saying that, he immediately slipped away and ran down the mountain.

Leaving behind a circle of elders who had been interrupted from their story-listening, completely baffled.

Before long, the youths who had gone down the mountain took their respective places in the village at the different positions they had agreed upon earlier, getting fully prepared.

They were just waiting for the arrival of the midnight hour.

When midnight arrived, the large copper gong at Village Head Du's house rang out with a loud clang, echoing through the night sky of Xiushui Village.