Heartfelt Intent

If they wanted to turn this land into farmland, they would first have to clear away all the dense weeds and loose stones. Clearly, that would be no easy task.

If the weeds weren’t thoroughly removed, then even if crops were planted, the nutrients in the soil would only end up feeding the weeds. The stones buried underground could also easily damage farming tools.

Since the existing fields were enough for their needs, the villagers of Clear Water Village simply didn’t have the manpower or resources to reclaim this land.

And yet, a road had now been built through this very area. The ground had been tamped down until it was smooth and solid, with not a single weed or stone in sight.

It was obvious that the road had been constructed with great care.

The road stretched for about three hundred meters. However, because it was surrounded by shrubs and thorny bushes roughly a meter tall, the villagers could barely see that a road existed here when looking from the village.

The three of them soon reached the end of the road.

Before Lin Xiao and Liu Yunan stood a brand-new little estate.

At its center was a large courtyard. Although it couldn’t compare with the buildings in the city, it was far grander than the ancestral halls of the various clans in Clear Water Village, which stood not far away.

After all, aside from the restaurants and inns funded by the Lingxian Sect, the ancestral halls were the most impressive buildings in the entire village.

However, a closer look revealed that the bricks used for this large courtyard were the same as those used in the town’s recent construction.

Clearly, the villagers had built the courtyard at the same time they were building the town.

Surrounding the courtyard were broad stretches of neatly cultivated farmland. As far as the eye could see, there were roughly a hundred mu of fields.

Although nothing had been planted in them, leaving them looking rather empty, the furrows from plowing were clearly visible.

Someone had obviously been tending these fields regularly.

The land had been maintained exceptionally well. Not a single stone or weed root could be found in the freshly turned soil. The earth looked fine and loose, with just the right color and moisture. It appeared incredibly fertile.

If Lin Xiao and the others hadn’t known what this place had originally been like, they would have assumed it was simply a stretch of prime farmland.

The difficulty of reclaiming this land from its original state to what it was now was self-evident.

“Grandpa Village Chief, did some wealthy family move to our village?” Liu Yunan asked.

Village Chief Du laughed heartily.

“Isn’t it? This is the wealthiest household in our entire village!”

Hearing that, Lin Xiao had a rough idea of what was going on.

Liu Yunan, however, was still puzzled.

“Huh? Is the gift they’re giving us in this household?”

Village Chief Du walked to the gate of the large courtyard and waved to the two of them.

“Come over, come over!”

The two obediently walked over and stopped beside him.

Village Chief Du reached into his robes and pulled out a key, which he handed to Lin Xiao.

“Brother Xiao, this estate, with its hundred mu of land, is the heartfelt gift everyone in the village is giving to the Lingxian Sect.”

As soon as he finished speaking, before Lin Xiao could react, Liu Yunan’s eyes widened. He pointed at the vast fields around them in astonishment.

“What? The villagers are giving us all this land?!”

Seeing his shocked expression, Village Chief Du smiled proudly.

“Brother Nan, didn’t expect that, did you? Actually, everyone had already been reclaiming this land for quite some time. It was only a matter of putting in some hard work. Every day, when the villagers returned from the fields—or whenever they had some spare time—they’d bring their tools over and do a little more. One family would swing a hoe here, another would drive a shovel there, and bit by bit, they reclaimed this hundred mu of land.”

“The main courtyard was a little more troublesome since it needed good bricks and tiles. The larger families in the village each chipped in some money, and they happened to buy the bricks and tiles along with the materials for the town’s construction. It’s sturdy, too!”

As he spoke, Village Chief Du raised a hand and patted the courtyard wall beside him.

The villagers of Clear Water Village had lived here for generations. The land that was easy to cultivate had long since been reclaimed. Everywhere else was either rocky ground or forest. This was the only place where such a large stretch of land lay connected in one piece.

He looked at Lin Xiao with eyes full of warmth.

“Our village has spent our whole lives scratching a living from the soil. Over these past three years, you’ve given us so much care and assistance, but we have nothing else of value to give you. The best thing farmers like us can think of is land. Your grandpa told us before that you grow crops up on the mountain as well, so everyone discussed it and decided to give you some fields.”

“This place is close to your sect but some distance from the village. You can’t see it from over there, either. We’ve also told the outsiders that this area is barren and forbidden them from coming this way. They won’t disturb you.”

After saying this, he saw Lin Xiao staring blankly at the surrounding fields. He extended the key in his hand toward him once more.

“Everyone is grateful to you, but we don’t have much ability. Reclaiming some wasteland is the only way we can show our sincerity. You have to accept it.”

Lin Xiao lowered his gaze to the key in Village Chief Du’s hand and silently accepted it.

He felt as though there were grains of sand in his eyes.

Otherwise, why did they feel so swollen and sore, and why were they growing moist?

Liu Yunan glanced at the copper key in Lin Xiao’s hand, then turned to look at the broad, empty fields around them.

“This is incredible...” he murmured.

The villagers were all ordinary people without even a trace of cultivation!

Every day, they had to tend their own one-and-a-half mu of land and prepare three meals for their families.

Moreover, hardly any household in the village owned more than fifty mu of land. Yet now, without batting an eye, they had voluntarily reclaimed a hundred mu for the Lingxian Sect.

And not just any land—it was fertile farmland that had been carefully prepared and maintained!

The sincerity behind this gift was truly astounding.

Lin Xiao discreetly rubbed his eyes before looking up at Village Chief Du with a smile.

“Grandpa Village Chief, we’ll accept this gift. Please thank everyone on our behalf. We really like this estate.”

Seeing him agree, Village Chief Du smiled until his eyes narrowed and nodded repeatedly.

“Good, good, good! I’m glad you like it. I’ll go back and tell everyone the good news. Hahaha!”

Then he pointed at the courtyard gate beside them and explained to Lin Xiao:

“We didn’t know what kind of layout you wanted, so the inside of the courtyard is completely empty. You can arrange it however you like. We didn’t want to build something that wouldn’t suit your needs.”

“I’m heading back now!”

Village Chief Du waved, clasped his hands behind his back, and turned to leave.

Liu Yunan came back to himself and glanced toward Lin Xiao. Seeing him turning the key in his hand with a thoughtful look, he tugged on his sleeve.

“Brother Xiao, what are you thinking about?”

Lin Xiao rolled the key between his fingers and replied softly, “I was thinking that the mortal world is about due for a trading center.”

“Huh?” Liu Yunan was utterly bewildered.

He couldn’t understand how Brother Xiao could be standing in front of such a vast stretch of farmland and yet be thinking about some trading center instead.

Lin Xiao looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll tell you later. Come on, let’s see Grandpa Village Chief back!”

With that, he grabbed Liu Yunan by the arm and pulled him along. At the same time, he called out toward Village Chief Du, who had already walked some distance ahead.

“Grandpa Village Chief—we’ll walk you back! Don’t walk so fast!”