Going Again

However, even if Mo Yuanjiao replied as quickly as possible, it would still take a quarter of an hour for the tracking voice transmission talisman to make a round trip.

Naturally, they couldn't just leave people waiting around during this time.

After Qin Jianghe finished asking what he needed to ask, he ignored the tracking voice transmission talisman that was still hovering and recording. He went out and ordered someone to guide Han Weishu and her companion to the reception hall.

After a round of polite greetings and exchanging names, Qin Jianghe received Mo Yuanjiao's reply.

Upon receiving his affirmative response, they took the two in.

Fortunately, the backyard of the escort agency was large enough with many rooms, so accommodating two more people was more than enough.

Thus, Han Weishu stayed at the Lingxiao Escort Agency to nurse Tong Jialiang back to health, trying every possible means to help him recover.

Meanwhile, Li Zhanying had already steered the spirit ship back to Xiushui Village, picking up Wang Goudan and Niu Xiaoxue before returning to the capital.

Before leaving, he had Wang Goudan go and say goodbye to the village chief.

Since that day, small skirmishes began to occur constantly on the border between the Pusi Kingdom and the Huanyou Kingdom.

The undercurrents between the two countries had become very obvious, and incidents of tracking down and arresting spies would happen from time to time in the capital.

For a time, the common people in the capital were all in a state of panic.

But for now, none of this affected the remote and isolated Xiushui Village.

Ever since Lin Xiao returned from the Huanyou Kingdom, the Lingxian Sect had returned to tranquility.

At the foot of the mountain, Xiushui Village became increasingly bustling due to the opening of the inn and the restaurant.

Many people from the surrounding villages saw how lively Xiushui Village was, with people coming and going. Thinking that the journey wasn't far anyway, they would carry some of their homemade goods to sell in Xiushui Village whenever they had free time.

Gradually, a small market began to form around the restaurant and inn area every few days.

Meanwhile, the Lingxian Sect on the mountain was both quiet and busy.

Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao were busy giving classes to everyone, focusing on cultivating and tempering one's state of mind.

This was because the Path of Questioning the Heart had recently been upgraded, and its difficulty had increased significantly.

Last time, Little Luan wanted to go down the mountain to eat bugs, but ended up falling into a deep sleep on the Path of Questioning the Heart for half a month before finally waking up.

Thanks to its diligence in pecking a little bit of the Silver Frost Python Demon's core every day, its cultivation had now reached the ninth level of Spirit Awakening, so it didn't starve to death despite being trapped for half a month.

Moreover, although it took a bit long, it had at least managed to pass.

However, when Little Luan thought it could pass through the Path of Questioning the Heart unhindered again and went in for a stroll, it got trapped once more.

Only this time, the duration was a bit shorter.

It was only trapped for seven days.

But this also cast a psychological shadow over Little Luan regarding the Path of Questioning the Heart, and it never wanted to step on it and be trapped for a third time.

Because of this incident, the people in the sect who hadn't had the chance to go down the mountain recently were also intimidated by the Path of Questioning the Heart and didn't dare to leave.

They were terrified that they too would be trapped inside for ten days to half a month and simply starve to death.

Therefore, to prevent this from happening to anyone else in the sect, Lin Xiao and Sun Yigao took on the heavy responsibility of taking turns to give classes to everyone.

Little Luan was also dragged into the classroom to listen to the lectures.

In this way, when everyone attempted to enter the Path of Questioning the Heart for a second time, although they all spent much more time than their first try, they at least managed to pass without any major issues.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for Lin Xiao's thirteenth birthday.

Xiushui Village did not have a tradition of celebrating children's birthdays, so Lin Yun just went to the kitchen and made him a bowl of longevity noodles.

Lin Yun's culinary skills naturally couldn't compare to Jiang Youfu's, but Lin Xiao still slurped up the entire bowl of longevity noodles until it was clean.

This was a flavor he had eaten for many years.

In the past, when his older brother Lin Yun was young and not even as tall as the stove, he would stand on a small stool to cook for him.

Similarly, on Lin Yun's birthday every year, Lin Xiao would cook for him too.

Lin Dayou saw all these interactions between the two brothers but did not interfere.

Once Lin Xiao's birthday passed, the weather began to grow hotter day by day.

It was time again for the Lingxian Sect to prepare for another trading trip to the cultivation world.

This time, they didn't have to rush like the first time, fearing that if they didn't show up for too long after negotiating, the Treasure Pavilion would think they had backed out. Therefore, they had a longer preparation time and hoarded a lot more goods. They wouldn't end up in a situation like last time where they barely covered the travel expenses.

At the moment, Lin Xiao and Liu Yunan were in the Affairs Hall, verifying the quantity of goods to be taken out this time.

Liu Chun knocked on the door from outside.

Seeing it was him, Lin Xiao called out, Please come in.

Entering the Affairs Hall, Liu Chun cupped his hands in a salute to the two of them and spoke:

Sect Master, Elder Liu.

By now, Liu Yunan had gone from being Lin Xiao's assistant to handling sect affairs for him while he was in seclusion, and now he had been officially appointed to the position of Affairs Elder by Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao gestured for him to dispense with the formalities and asked with a smile:

Is there something the matter, Elder Liu?

After asking, he saw Liu Chun take out a storage bag from his robes and hand it toward the two of them:

I know well that the sect is not wealthy right now. This is my travel expense for going to the cultivation world this time. Please accept it, Sect Master.

Having stayed in the sect for so long, he had long known that every time the sect used the teleportation array to go to the cultivation world, it was a considerable expense. Although he had mentioned to the Sect Master that he wanted to tag along on this trading trip to the cultivation world, the Sect Master had never brought up the issue of travel expenses with him.

Just because others didn't mention it didn't mean Liu Chun, who knew very well that the travel expenses were not cheap, could pretend to take it for granted and ignore it.

After all, going to the cultivation world to participate in the Talisman Masters Assembly, and...

This was his own private matter.

Seeing this, Lin Xiao raised his eyebrows slightly. He didn't take it; instead, he closed the ledger in his hand and smiled at Liu Chun, saying:

Oh, right, I forgot to tell Elder Liu earlier. Elder Liu and I had actually been discussing that it might be better to just entrust this trading trip directly to you. This way, it would save us some trouble. I wonder if Elder Liu could spare a little time for the sect and help deliver the goods?

Hearing this, Liu Chun looked up at him in great surprise.

Liu Yunan also cast a slightly surprised glance at Lin Xiao.

Liu Chun was surprised because he didn't expect Lin Xiao to entrust this matter to him. After all, this could be considered the sect's only current source of spirit stone trade, and the transaction amount was not small for an ordinary cultivator.

Moreover, he hadn't joined the sect for long, unlike Elder Liu and Elder Sun, who had grown up in the same village and generation as Lin Xiao, nor was he like Senior Liao, who had a deep friendship with Sect Master Lin and was already very wealthy.

However, he saw that Lin Xiao did not look like he was joking.

Lowering his eyes in thought for a moment, he did not refuse. Instead, he bowed to Lin Xiao again and said:

I have plenty of time. Thank you for your trust, Sect Master. I will certainly not fail your request.

He knew that the Sect Master might be doing this to spare him the travel expenses without directly refusing him, which was why he phrased it that way. But since the Sect Master was this considerate and willing to entrust him with such faith, he had no reason not to accept.

Liu Chun sighed softly in his heart.

This was truly so different from everything he had encountered in the cultivation world over the past few decades.