Widow Liu

Liu Shengsheng, who had been following behind Widow Liu, also poked her head out and smiled at Lin Xiao:

"Hello, Brother Xiao! Thank you, Brother Xiao!"

Lin Xiao smiled somewhat sheepishly. He was terrible at handling this kind of situation, so he decisively chose to change the subject and asked,

"Auntie Liu, did you come up to see Yunan? Wait a moment, I'll let you in right away."

Saying this, without waiting for Widow Liu to say anything, Lin Xiao turned off the defense function.

Seeing Lin Xiao suddenly close his eyes, Widow Liu did not dare to interrupt. She waited until he opened his eyes again before saying to him,

"Brother Xiao, I know that Nan'er normally follows you to cultivate on this mountain, so I felt bad about disturbing you. Actually, we came today because we have a matter to discuss..."

"Oh? What is it? Auntie Liu, please come in and tell me." Saying so, Lin Xiao gave Liu Yunan a look, signaling him to take his mother and sister to the sect's main hall.

Widow Liu was just about to refuse when Liu Yunan, having caught Lin Xiao's hint, hurriedly supported his mother's arm and led her inside:

"Mother, let's go, let's go. I'll take you and my sister to visit our sect's main hall!"

Lin Xiao walked cheerfully in the front.

This sect main hall was generally a place meant for discussing official matters. However, up until now, their sect had nothing to discuss, so it had been left idle and was used by Lin Xiao as a quiet room for thinking.

Now, this sect main hall was finally going to be put to its proper use!

A short while later, the group arrived in front of the main hall.

Liu Shengsheng, following behind Widow Liu, let out continuous cries of surprise upon seeing the magnificent and imposing hall before her.

"Oh my! Brother, your sect's main hall is so beautiful! That roof eave is actually dropping colored beads!"

Saying this, she ran under the corner of the eaves and reached out to catch the falling colored lights, but she caught nothing.

"Huh?"

On the side, Widow Liu looked at the grand hall before her. There was a flash of awe in her eyes, but her expression didn't show too much surprise.

Once everyone entered the main hall, Liu Shengsheng couldn't stop praising the walls, which were adorned with fine, scattered starlight.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao pointed to the straw mats scattered all over the floor of the hall and said to Widow Liu,

"Auntie Liu, please make yourselves at home. Have a seat anywhere."

These straw mats were used when they occasionally chatted in the hall.

Once everyone was seated, Lin Xiao smiled slightly at Widow Liu and asked,

"Auntie Liu, is there something you need my help with?"

Widow Liu shook her head, then let out a long sigh and said,

"Brother Xiao, I want... to join your sect and cultivate together with you all!"

Lin Xiao hadn't expected it to be this. He was stunned for a moment, then said happily,

"That's wonderful! Auntie Liu, are you joining right now?"

Seeing him agree so readily, Widow Liu couldn't help but breathe a slight sigh of relief in her heart:

"Brother Xiao, I know that the older you get, the harder it is to cultivate. But, I can't control the desires of my heart..."

Hearing her words, Lin Xiao felt that Baldy's mother seemed to have some understanding of immortal cultivation.

Always straightforward, Lin Xiao asked directly,

"Auntie Liu, from what you're saying, it seems you know a bit about immortal cultivation?"

Widow Liu let out a long sigh. She looked at Liu Yunan and Liu Shengsheng before speaking:

"Actually, you should also know that in the past, I got separated from my family while fleeing from a disaster, which is how I ended up in Xiushui Village."

The crowd sitting on the straw mats nodded quietly and obediently, waiting for the rest of the story.

Even Liu Yunan and Liu Shengsheng were no exception; they also did not know about their mother's past.

They only knew that their maternal family used to be quite wealthy and that their mother was educated.

Thus, Widow Liu seemed to be recalling the past. She paused for a moment before continuing,

"Actually, in our Great Qing Dynasty, there are several immortal cultivation sects.

The imperial court has allocated territories to these sects. Every year, a portion of the taxes we pay is sent to them. Furthermore, when these sects need to recruit disciples, they can do so within their designated territories. It's essentially our imperial court providing for these sects. In return, these sects serve as the backers of our dynasty.

And our entire Hufang Province falls under the territory of the Shangyang Sect."

Widow Liu gently stroked Liu Shengsheng's tilted little head and looked toward Liu Yunan, saying,

"Your maternal family... that is, my family, was once the Yang family, the largest cloth merchant in Liaoju Prefecture, the capital of our Hufang Province.

I was the only daughter in the family. My father and mother never wanted me to marry; they said that women suffer too much in this world.

They hoped I could cultivate, become an immortal, and break free from worldly conventions.

Thirty years ago, when the Shangyang Sect was recruiting disciples, I had just been born, so I couldn't participate. By the time I was thirteen, my father tried everything and finally pulled some strings to test my spirit root. After finding out that I had dual Earth and Wood spirit roots, my father was overjoyed and wanted to spend money to bribe our way into the Shangyang Sect for me.

At that time, my father was entirely focused on this matter. However, unexpectedly, he was secretly backstabbed by someone he deeply trusted. Our family's business plummeted. Not only did we lose our substantial family fortune, but we were also driven out of Liaoju Prefecture by our competitors. Right at that time, a drought struck the neighboring prefecture, and my parents and I were separated by the surge of refugees..."

Speaking up to this point, Widow Liu lowered her head, her eyes full of sorrow. Liu Shengsheng, her big round eyes wide open, nestled silently into her embrace.

Stroking the back of her daughter's head in her arms, Widow Liu seemed to recover from her grief and continued,

"Since I was little, my parents taught me: in this world, if you want to live with dignity as a human, you must cultivate. I didn't understand why before, but after so many years and so many events, I finally understand why my parents taught me that.

Because in this world, only by cultivating and possessing the strength to look down upon others can one truly live decently as a human being."

Widow Liu raised her head, her clear and direct gaze locking onto Lin Xiao:

"Therefore, Brother Xiao, I want to cultivate immortality."

Looking at her resolute gaze, Lin Xiao could not refuse, nor would he refuse.

Catching sight of her tightly clenched hands hanging by her sides from the corner of his eye, Lin Xiao saw the nervousness hidden beneath her determination.

He thought for a moment.

It made sense. After all, the Shangyang Sect only accepted people under the age of twelve, which meant that for cultivation, the younger the age, the better.

But the current Widow Liu was already over thirty years old.

So Lin Xiao smiled and said to her,

"Auntie Liu, perhaps for those sects, the younger you are, the better it is for cultivation, but here with me, that is not the case."

Hearing him say this, Widow Liu felt her breathing lighten a bit, and she hurriedly asked,

"Why?"

Beside them, Jiang Youfu and Liu Yunan also pricked up their ears to listen carefully.

Lin Xiao then smiled and said:

"Because our sect's cultivation method is different from those of other sects."

"Here, we do not require a Spiritual Root."