The Official Document

Only then did he gradually come to accept his father's behavior.

He always remembered the exact words his teacher had said to him back then:

"In this world, no one is perfect. People's perspectives and pursuits are all different. As long as one does not drag others down, what does it matter how they conduct themselves?"

"Your father is not a corrupt official, nor is he incompetent, idle, or harmful to others. Whatever he likes and however he behaves—that is his life to live."

"Most people tend to demand more of others than of themselves. But in truth, Yuejun, your father's demands on you are not many. If you take a step back and learn to handle his requests with a bit more tact, you can live comfortably according to your own wishes."

"To live is to learn to seek light for yourself, not to build an abyss."

After that, he finally let go of his resentment toward his father and learned how to get along with him.

As for his son's change, Wen Keming—who was usually oblivious to anything except his superiors' preferences and the tides of officialdom—merely assumed that his son's rebellious phase had passed and that he had grown up and become sensible.

No one knew that the shift in his thinking and his growth had all begun when he stepped onto the Heart-Asking Path of the Lingxian Sect the year before.

Only he himself knew.

So he came.

He hoped this place—a place that could help him set his heart right—would become a new starting point for his life.

Since the private school was hiring instructors to teach half-grown children, the academic requirements for the teachers were not unreasonably high. For someone from a cultured family like Wen Yuejun, who was diligent in his studies and had earned the title of xiucai, passing the cultural interview was not difficult.

And having once passed the Heart-Asking Path, he was now even clearer in his resolve. Although the trial had since become more challenging, he passed it smoothly once again.

Thus, the Lingxian Sect's private school finally succeeded in recruiting two new teachers.

With their arrival, even though the school had not yet begun expanding its enrollment, Sun Yigao found himself greatly relieved.

With the two new teachers sharing the teaching load, he finally gained more time for cultivation, and the sect's alchemy workshop saw a significant boost in output.

Seeing this, Liao Pantu urged Lin Xiao day and night to recruit even more teachers for the school.

Meanwhile, when the rest of the sect learned of the planned expansion, they swiftly set about expanding the private school at the foot of the mountain.

With their cultivation, everyone's practical skills had improved dramatically, and within a few days, the expansion was complete.

While keeping the original classrooms running without interrupting lessons, they tore open the side wall of the courtyard and added a large area along the mountain stream and the foot of the hill.

Of course, Liu Yunan had already gone ahead to the village chief to pay for and secure that land.

Then, on both the left and right sides, they built several rows of large classrooms, a small kitchen for the school, and rest quarters for the teachers.

The teachers' quarters were compact but fully equipped—study, bedroom, and all necessities. The school also provided meals daily, so any teacher who lived far away could simply stay on the premises.

The small courtyard was also spruced up under Yang Jinshu's guidance, planted with plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum—the favorite plants of scholars—and adorned with a rockery and a pavilion for students to enjoy during their leisure.

They even leveled a patch of ground deeper in the woods to serve as a practice field for archery and horse riding.

And so it was.

While the Lingxian Sect was bustling with activity over the private school, Qin Jianghe, who had received Liu Yunan's letter, finally returned.

At the same time, he brought back an official letter from the imperial court.

"It's about the regular allocation of cultivator passes that our country gives to the three great sects every year, to make it easier for people to travel between regions. Now that our Lingxian Sect has newly emerged, the court is asking how many we want this year."

At the dinner table, Qin Jianghe spoke to everyone between bites.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao said:

"You decide on that. By the way, why didn't you bring your disciples back with you?"

Gu Yuxiao and Qin Jianghe's two cousins had all formally joined the Lingxian Sect as his disciples.

Hearing this mention, Qin Jianghe sighed and said:

"Nothing I can do about it. Brother Man Cang has to hold down the fort at the escort agency. Now that I've returned from the capital, Brother Man Liang and Yuxiao have to stay behind in the capital. I hear that several countries are about to formally declare war on Huanyou State soon. This is a critical moment, and I didn't want to risk missing any important information, so I didn't have everyone come back together."

At the news of the impending war, everyone at the table felt it was hard to believe.

There was no sign of tension in the village at all.

Qin Jianghe's father asked:

"Our country's going to war? How come the village hasn't heard anything about it? No talk of conscription either."

Qin Jianghe then explained:

"Dad, this isn't an ordinary war—it's a war among cultivators. The mortal armies are just for show. The main force will be the cultivators of the three great sects, plus cultivators from other neighboring countries."

Hearing this, everyone at the table was astounded.

"A war of cultivators? Then... then will it come looking for us?"

With their long-standing wariness of war and conscription, the villagers of Xiushui felt an instinctive resistance at the news. Young and old alike, they all turned to Lin Xiao, their eyes filled with unconcealable worry.

Lin Xiao immediately smiled to reassure them:

"Elders, don't worry. They won't be conscripting our sect's people. It's already been negotiated—our sect will only supply low-cost materials, things like the talismans, arrays, and pills we make every day."

But after dinner was finished and the elders had been pacified, Lin Xiao sat alone under the peach blossom tree, and his heart sank as he thought about the war about to break out in Huanyou State.

"War..."

Though he had never experienced one himself.

In his previous life, the history books had recorded too much blood and tragedy.

He knew that the existence of things like the Forbidden Stone was a scourge to both mortals and cultivators, and that any country or organization advocating such things had to be firmly resisted and eradicated.

But a large-scale war would inevitably bring with it innocent casualties.

The more he thought about it, the less he could sit still. So he went to find Qin Jianghe and asked:

"Jiang He, do you know roughly when they've set the war to begin?"

Hearing this question, Qin Jianghe replied:

"I don't know the exact date—only the front lines know that. But their demand is that supplies arrive in the capital by the end of this month, plus the time it takes afterward to transport the goods to the front. My guess is it'll be around the latter half of next month."

This time, he hadn't returned just for the sect's second general assembly, but also to pick up goods to take back to the capital.

Upon receiving this answer, Lin Xiao nodded silently and said nothing more, lost in thought.