Departure

He chuckled and said to Lin Dayou,

"Dad, think about it. Our village is such a simple, honest place, yet it produced a troublemaker like Eldest Liu who harms the locals. What I did was basically a good deed, ridding the village of a scourge."

Lin Dayou gave a light snort,

"Did you even look at your own scrawny frame? What if you couldn't beat that Eldest Liu? His brute strength is greater than even your old man's. If your skills weren't up to par and you fell into his hands, I'd like to see where you'd go to cry then."

Seeing he didn't seem truly angry, Lin Xiao immediately slipped over to the dining table and plopped down in a seat.

"Ha! You know your son, don't you? I'm sharp as a tack. How could I make such a basic mistake, right? Come on, come on, Dad, Big Brother, let's eat, let's eat. The food's gonna get cold."

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at Lin Dayou with eager eyes.

Lin Dayou, amused, picked up his rice bowl. Lin Xiao and Lin Yun immediately grabbed their bowls as if they hadn't eaten for days and began wolfing down the food.

Before even swallowing the steamed bun in his mouth, Lin Xiao mumbled to Lin Dayou,

"Dad, the market's tomorrow. We're going together, right? Like we said before."

Lin Dayou glared at him,

"When have I ever gone back on my word to you? Didn't I build that thatched shed for you in no time?"

Lin Xiao quickly buttered him up,

"That's right! My dad is truly a real man, a man of his word, no doubt about it!"

That night, Lin Xiao sat in his room calculating the progress of various tasks.

Currently, excluding himself, the sect already had six members and one chicken. They were only three people short of the ten-member goal.

As for the clay needed to build the sect's main hall and cultivation rooms, thanks to the existence of the private treasury and storage bags these past two days, the digging operation had progressed incredibly fast, far exceeding Lin Xiao's initial expectations.

Just waiting for Tietou to lead everyone who stayed at the sect to cultivate to dig another ten or so baskets at noon today, and it would be completely sufficient.

Now, the only essential material left unprepared was timber.

Lin Xiao felt a surge of excitement.

He was about to have a sect main hall!

At that moment, a system notification suddenly rang in his mind.

[Ding—Congratulations, disciple Lin Yun has advanced to Qi Refining Layer One]

!

Hearing this notification, Lin Xiao's mood instantly became even more cheerful.

It seemed his big brother, because he usually cultivated one less afternoon than others, had been practicing very diligently after returning home.

Early the next morning.

The roosters in Xiushui Village crowed a bit earlier than usual today.

Because many households got up early to prepare for the market day.

The once-a-month market day was a major event for many families in Xiushui Village.

Many of the household necessities for the coming month relied on today's trip to replenish.

Also, the pickled vegetables, eggs they had saved, and even things like various mountain mushrooms or animal pelts some people found in the hills would be taken by the villagers to the market today to trade for money to supplement the family income.

Lin Xiao followed closely behind Lin Dayou early in the morning, heading to the Lin family's old house to gather.

Although Old Master Lin, to maintain the brothers' bond in the future, had divided the household after both sons got married, he had always urged his two sons to get along well, to unite as one in times of trouble, and not to grow distant just because the family was divided.

So for all these years, the two Lin brothers had always gone to the market together.

Usually, it was Lin Dashan, his wife Madam Qin, and Lin Dayou who went together. Today, trailing behind the three of them was a little follower.

Lin Dashan pushed the handcart and asked Lin Xiao with a smile,

"Brother Xiao, the whole village says you crippled Eldest Liu's hands and feet. Is it true?"

Lin Xiao nodded modestly,

"Although villagers tend to exaggerate, this time what they said is actually true."

Lin Dashan's eyes widened in surprise,

"Well done, kid! Tell your uncle, how did you manage it?"

Lin Xiao sighed inwardly. Here it comes.

Ah, relatives are the hardest to deal with. That's why he hadn't told his grandfather earlier.

If they asked, he'd have to tell them. After telling them, they wouldn't believe it, and he'd have to demonstrate. But he was also afraid of scaring them. Ah, being human is so difficult.

Lin Xiao looked at Lin Dashan, then at Lin Dayou beside him, who was pretending to hear nothing while helping push the cart.

No help expected from this dad.

Lin Xiao scratched his head and said to Lin Dashan,

"Uncle, you probably won't believe me if I explain. How about I just show you directly?"

Before Lin Dashan could even wonder what he meant, Lin Xiao immediately cast a Body-Freezing Spell on Lin Dashan, who was pushing the cart.

Before he could react, Lin Dashan suddenly froze in place on the dirt road, holding his cart-pushing pose.

Lin Dayou, who was walking beside him helping to push the cart, almost lost his footing and slipped.

Madam Qin, walking beside Lin Dashan, was startled by her suddenly motionless husband!

She shook Lin Dashan lightly in a panic,

"Husband, husband! What's wrong? Don't scare me—"

Lin Dayou shot Lin Xiao a glare before quickly reassuring Madam Qin,

"Sister-in-law, don't panic. Big brother is fine."

Then, he turned and glared at Lin Xiao again,

"Aren't you going to release your uncle from your magic?!"

Lin Xiao rubbed his nose and immediately withdrew the Body-Freezing Spell.

Lin Dashan's body immediately relaxed. He looked at Lin Xiao with shock and doubt,

"Brother Xiao, you... what was that..."

Lin Xiao gave him a wry smile and said,

"It's just... well, Uncle, I came across some fortune a while ago. I established a sect and am now cultivating immortality. Of course, I'm not an immortal! I'm still far from being a celestial being. Right now, I'm just a person who's cultivating, just barely gotten started."

Madam Qin beside them also looked at him in great surprise.

Lin Dashan and Madam Qin exchanged another glance, then finally looked at Lin Dayou and asked,

"Dayou, is what Brother Xiao said true?"

This was the first time Lin Dayou had encountered this situation, and for a moment, he didn't know how to explain.

He could only awkwardly go "Aye," as an affirmation.

Lin Dashan looked back at his little nephew.

"My dear mother! My nephew has become an immortal!"

Just as expected! Knew his explanation was wasted.

Lin Xiao helplessly explained again,

"Uncle, I'm not an immortal. I'm just a cultivator, someone striving to become an immortal through practice..."

Lin Dashan, flushed with excitement, wasn't listening to Lin Xiao's explanation at all. He reached out with both hands, grabbed Lin Xiao under the armpits, and lifted him high into the air excitedly,

"Haha! My second nephew is an immortal! Hahahaha—"

Forced into the air, Lin Xiao glanced down both ends of the road. Luckily, they had set out early, and there weren't many people on the road yet. Otherwise, he'd want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into right now!

Dangling in mid-air, Lin Xiao hurriedly shouted to Lin Dashan,

"Uncle! Uncle! Put me down, I have something to tell you!"

Lin Dashan's face, tanned and yellowed from years of labor, was creased with smiles. He put Lin Xiao down.

"What is it, Brother Xiao? What's the matter?"

Lin Xiao helped pick up the forgotten handcart beside them and said to Lin Dashan,

"Uncle, it's getting late. Let's talk while we walk."