My Surname Is He, and I Am the Third Child in My Family

Meanwhile, Jiang Sisi, who was treating Yuan Jinsheng, glanced at the two children. Seeing how happily they were chatting, she discreetly continued administering the Qinglian Sect’s signature healing technique to Fellow Daoist Yuan, pretending she did not exist.

Shen Yingzi introduced Lin Xiao to his musical scores. As he spoke, he seemed to feel that simply talking about them was not enough. He clutched the bamboo flute in his hand, looking a little hesitant.

Seeing through him, Lin Xiao smiled.

“Do you want to play?”

Whenever people talked about their hobbies, they always seemed to want to show others everything they had accomplished, yet still felt a little shy about it. Lin Xiao understood that feeling all too well.

He used to be the same.

Only back then, he had never had a friend willing to spend the time listening to him show off.

Now that he had been found out, Shen Yingzi nodded somewhat bashfully, though his eyes shone as he looked at Lin Xiao.

“My father… loves listening to me play the flute!”

Lin Xiao nodded with deep understanding.

“Then go ahead. Who knows? If your father hears it, perhaps he won’t hurt quite so much.”

Shen Yingzi raised the bamboo flute to his lips, drew in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and began to play softly.

The gentle flute melody drifted through the air, adding a touch of new life to the barren landscape outside the Jishi Cave.

Even the people who had been sitting cross-legged and meditating with expressionless faces gradually became more relaxed as they listened to the light, cheerful tune.

Under the combined effects of the medicine and the flute music, the mortal girls finally shed their exhaustion and fright, leaning against one another for a brief rest.

Yuan Jinsheng, whose face had been twisted with pain from both body and spirit, seemed to find comfort in the flute’s melody as well. His tightly furrowed brows eased somewhat.

And so it went.

After roughly two hours, Yuan Jinsheng’s condition finally stabilized. His deathly pale complexion and his breathing—which had alternated between being as faint as a thread and as heavy as scorching fire—both gradually returned to normal.

However, the depletion of his spiritual power and the damage to his golden core could not be restored in such a short time. He would have to recuperate slowly in the days to come.

Aside from the cultivators who had used spells to interfere with the State Preceptor and those who had expended a great deal of spiritual power to speed up the mortal women’s movement while leaving the mine cave, the other cultivators had remained under the protection of the Azure Jade Lotus and had suffered no injuries.

They had therefore finished regulating their breathing long ago.

As for Shen Yingzi, he had fallen asleep halfway through, hugging his bamboo flute as he leaned against a rock beside Yuan Jinsheng. He was even snoring softly.

With no one to chat with, Lin Xiao suddenly remembered Zhao Yunzhong, whom he had placed inside the sealing formation.

He took Zhao Yunzhong out, carried him over to Fellow Daoist Jiang Sisi, and asked her to examine him while she was at it.

When Lin Xiao suddenly brought Zhao Yunzhong over, the Golden Core cultivators of the allied army nearby were all rather surprised.

“Why is the Lord of Zhao here?”

“Could it be that he came to help Fellow Daoist Yuan save his son?”

Lin Xiao had already guessed that the Lord of Zhao had probably come for the imperial seal. Earlier, when Zhao Yunzhong had encountered Yuan Jinsheng, he had mentioned sensing something important. Connecting that with what had happened afterward, Lin Xiao had been able to piece together a likely explanation.

Zhao Yunzhong had probably tracked the imperial seal all the way here, where he happened to run into Yuan Jinsheng and Lin Xiao.

Then, just as the former monarch was about to do something to the imperial seal, his attempt had failed. Since the Lord of Zhao was bound to the nation through the seal, he had suffered a backlash and been severely wounded.

Lin Xiao did not know the details, but the matter involved the imperial seal. Moreover, Zhao Yunzhong had not even told Yuan Jinsheng about it directly at the time, so he was clearly even less willing for outsiders to learn the truth.

Thus, Lin Xiao offered only a vague explanation.

“After Fellow Daoist Yuan went down, the Lord of Zhao was suddenly and inexplicably gravely injured. I had no time to look after him then, so I temporarily placed him inside the formation.”

Upon hearing this, the others did not question him.

After all, he was not their lord.

As long as they took good care of him and brought him back safely, that was enough for the sake of friendly relations between their nations.

Once Yuan Jinsheng and Zhao Yunzhong were both out of danger, the group of cultivators brought the nine mortal women aboard a flying artifact and sped toward the city where they lived.

Only then did the girls clearly realize that they had encountered immortals spoken of in legend!

However, since they were surrounded by immortals—and there were simply too many immortals around them—they did not dare show their excitement too openly.

It was still the cheerful-looking girl who mustered her courage and approached Lin Xiao. He appeared to be about their age and was easy to talk to, so she asked him excitedly and admiringly:

“May I ask which place you’re an immortal from?”

This girl came from a reasonably well-off family, so she had heard a little about immortals. She knew that immortals belonged to their own sects.

At that moment, Lin Xiao’s consciousness was immersed in his private treasury, examining the imperial seal. Hearing her question, he closed the treasury and gave the rather bold girl a polite smile.

“This one is Lin Xiao of the Lingxian Sect in the Kingdom of Pusi. May I ask your surname, Miss?”

It was only polite to return the courtesy.

Because of the difference in status between immortals and mortals, and because she was a young woman who had approached him cautiously, Lin Xiao felt that it would be inappropriate to simply announce his name without asking hers in return.

Besides, although it was improper in this era to casually ask a young lady’s given name, asking for her surname was acceptable.

The girl was clearly delighted by his answer. When she smiled, two tiny dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

“My surname is He. I’m the third child in my family!”

Lin Xiao followed her lead.

“Third Miss He.”

Third Miss He gave him a small curtsy. Her movements were proper, though there was also something slightly improper about them.

“Immortal Lin, can I cultivate and become an immortal like you?”

Her eyes shone as she stared at him. Her attitude was respectful, but perhaps because Lin Xiao seemed so approachable, she was not overly restrained.

Lin Xiao thought for a moment, then silently set up a soundproof barrier around them. In a lowered voice, he said:

“I can’t speak for the other sects, but the Lingxian Sect will be recruiting disciples in the near future. It should happen within the next few years. You can go home and think it over carefully. If you truly wish to cultivate, you may come and give it a try.”

The joy on Third Miss He’s face was plainly visible.

However, Lin Xiao immediately interrupted her excitement.

“But you must think it through carefully. Just because you go there does not mean you will definitely pass the examination.”

Third Miss He did not become discouraged at his words. Instead, her fighting spirit rose.

“I’ll work hard! Immortal, if I’m fortunate enough to enter your sect, can I become your disciple?”

…

The scene in her mind suddenly faded away.

When Third Miss He opened her eyes again, all she saw was the canopy over her bedchamber.

She blinked. For a moment, she could not tell whether the scenes that had flashed through her mind were a dream.

The last thing she remembered was the handsome young man in splendid robes smiling at her.

“We’ll talk about it when you get there.”

His voice had been clear and warm.

She excitedly hugged her quilt and rolled back and forth across her bed several times.

I’m going to the Lingxian Sect! I’m going to cultivate and become an immortal!