Are There Really Immortals in This World

Ignoring their surprise, Village Head Du gazed into the distance, as if lost in memories, and continued slowly,

"That time, when I went to the prefectural city, I happened to encounter the immortals recruiting disciples... I heard from the elders in the city that the immortals would visit the prefectural city to recruit disciples about once every few decades. But because each recruitment is separated by dozens of spring and autumns, and a person's life is only a few decades long... plus it happens in the distant prefectural city, many people don't even know about it...

At the time, I also thought it was extremely rare. But when I returned to the village and told others, no one believed me. So, I stopped mentioning it. As time passed, I even forgot about it myself... If it weren't for the Lin boy... I might not have remembered it even on the day I entered my coffin."

Du Changsheng quickly said,

"Pah, pah, pah! Father, you will live a long life of a hundred years. What's this about entering a coffin? Don't speak nonsense."

Madam Hu, who was standing to the side, asked,

"Father-in-law, could it be that the Lin boy has become an immortal?"

Village Head Du narrowed his wrinkled eyes and smiled,

"I heard back then that immortals have to cultivate slowly. The Lin boy is perhaps on the path of cultivation... By the way, didn't the Lin boy set something up at the threshing floor the day before yesterday, saying his sect was recruiting people?"

Du Changsheng nodded and said,

"Yes, at the time, we thought he was just playing around. Many people in the village even went to join the fun."

Village Head Du, thinking of something, happily waved off his son's hand and walked forward briskly on his own.

"Hey! Father, Father, slow down—"

After seeing everyone off, Lin Xiao lifted the collapsed courtyard door and propped it up in front of the entrance as a makeshift screen.

Then, he turned and entered Liu Yunan's room.

Inside, the unconscious Liu Yunan had already been helped onto the bed and settled by Widow Liu and her daughter.

Widow Liu was wiping Liu Yunan's face and changing his clothes, as his garments were completely soaked.

Meanwhile, Liu Shengsheng, with red and swollen eyes, was boiling hot water in the adjacent kitchen.

Lin Xiao said to Widow Liu,

"Auntie Liu, let me take care of him. You two should quickly go change into clean clothes and drink some hot water. It would be bad if you caught a cold."

Widow Liu knew that her son had a good relationship with Lin Xiao, and thinking that if she fell ill, there would be no one to take care of her two children, she did not decline.

With red and swollen eyes, she handed the cloth in her hand to Lin Xiao,

"Brother Xiao, I'll have to trouble you."

She spoke with a heavy nasal tone, then pointed to Liu Yunan's left shoulder and said to Lin Xiao,

"Nan'er was injured here earlier. It looks badly swollen to me. He was also kicked in the abdomen by that thug and coughed up several mouthfuls of blood..." Widow Liu, who had always been educated and reasonable, actually called Eldest Liu a thug.

Lin Xiao had met Widow Liu before, and because there was a lot of gossip around, he generally knew about the Liu family's affairs.

Widow Liu was a woman with a scholarly aura. Even the day-after-day, year-after-year rural labor could not bury her temperament.

The names of Liu Yunan and his younger sister Liu Shengsheng were both given by her.

Widow Liu had come to Xiushui Village after her family encountered a disaster and she became separated from them. She was taken in by Liu Dashu and later lodged with a lonely elderly person. Afterward, the two developed feelings for each other over time and got married.

Because Liu Dashu married her instead of a local village girl whose background was well-known, he fell out with his family and split from the household.

Therefore, Old Madam Liu strongly disliked this daughter-in-law.

Moreover, she always felt that this daughter-in-law was too delicate and bewitching, not at all like them peasant folks.

So she ostracized her greatly.

Because of this, ever since Liu Dashu passed away, Liu Yunan and Liu Shengsheng were raised solely by Widow Liu, who farmed the land and took on some needlework from women in town to make ends meet.

The Liu family's old residence never helped in the slightest; instead, they would occasionally come over to cause trouble and take advantage of them.

In Lin Xiao's heart, the more he admired this woman who raised two children single-handedly, the more he despised Eldest Liu's family.

After Widow Liu left the room, Lin Xiao touched Liu Yunan's injured left shoulder.

As soon as he laid his hand on it, he felt that Liu Yunan's left shoulder was swollen extremely high.

Lin Xiao, with a serious expression, pulled open Liu Yunan's clothes and looked at his left shoulder.

It looked somewhat deformed.

It was very likely that the bone was broken!

Lin Xiao felt a bit anxious in his heart.

He didn't know how to set bones!

What should he do?

Right!

He suddenly remembered something, hurriedly ran out of the room, and shouted in the courtyard:

"Auntie Liu! Baldy's bone might be broken. I'm going to find my grandpa to set his bone!"

Saying that, he didn't even bother grabbing an umbrella and dashed straight into the pouring rain.

Already at the fourth level of Qi Condensation, Lin Xiao left afterimages as he ran.

Before long, he arrived at the Lin family's old residence.

The courtyard gate was already locked.

The courtyard was completely silent.

Obviously, the commotion at the Liu family's place on the east side of the village hadn't disturbed the west side where the Lin family's old residence was located.

Everyone in the old residence had already turned in early for the night.

Lin Xiao didn't want to wake up his uncle's family either, so he didn't call at the door; he chose to climb over the wall.

Climbing over his own grandpa's wall shouldn't be considered breaking the law... right?

Old Master Lin and Old Madam Lin lived in the main house.

The door to the main room didn't open directly into the courtyard, but into the central hall.

So if one wanted to enter the main room's door, they had to enter the central hall first.

But Lin Xiao knew that his grandmother always dropped the latch on the central hall's door before going to sleep every night, so he didn't plan on using the door.

In the dead of night, under the moonless sky, there was only the splashing sound of rain.

For ventilation, his grandpa usually didn't close the window.

Like a thief, Lin Xiao quietly tiptoed under the window outside Old Master Lin and Old Madam Lin's room.

Sure enough.

The window was open.

Lin Xiao gently pushed the half-open window open slowly, and then nimbly vaulted inside.

As soon as he got inside, Lin Xiao took a hit.

By the feel of it, Lin Xiao recognized that what hit him was the smoking pipe his grandpa never left his side without.

"Hiss—Grandpa! It's me!" Lin Xiao quickly called out, otherwise he'd wake up the whole family.

"You brat, not sleeping in the middle of the night and sneaking around like a thief!" Old Master Lin said in a low voice upon hearing it was his youngest grandson.

Old Madam Lin, who hadn't fallen into a deep sleep yet, was also awakened.

"Sanlang? Why are you here at this hour? Did something happen at your house?"

Lin Xiao hurriedly clarified:

"No, no. Grandpa, Baldy got his bone broken by his uncle. I remembered you saying you knew how to set bones, so I came to get you to save him."

Hearing this, before Old Master Lin could say anything, Old Madam Lin pushed him and said:

"Oh my, how did that child end up with such an uncle! So pitiful—quick, quick, quick, hurry up and get dressed to go help!"

When Old Master Lin put on his straw raincoat, brought the family's medicinal wine, and stepped out the door, he saw Lin Xiao still standing like a post by the courtyard gate.

He urged:

"You boy, what are you still standing there like a fool for?"

Lin Xiao rubbed his hands together without answering. He walked up to Old Master Lin, suddenly bent down, and hoisted him onto his back:

"Grandpa, hold on tight!"

Before his words even faded, he dashed out with his grandpa on his back.