There's Something Weird

Lin Yun thoughtfully picked up the conversation, saying,

"So the reason I can't feel anything at all might be because my cultivation level is too low?"

Lin Xiao thought for a moment. His brother was at the first level of Qi Condensation and felt absolutely nothing, while he was at the seventh level and only had a vague sense of it. Did that mean this presence was possibly of a very high level?

Lin Xiao felt a twinge of worry in his heart.

This place wasn't very far from Xiushui Village.

But then he felt he might be worrying over nothing.

It was just a strange sensation. He didn't even know what the source of this anomaly was, yet here he was, worrying blindly... What if the source was just some harmless natural phenomenon born of heaven and earth?

Besides, whether this thing had appeared recently or had existed here for a long time, it hadn't harmed anyone. At least so far, he hadn't heard any rumors about this place.

Except, of course, for the ghost stories made up by the bored villagers to scare the children.

Even though he comforted himself this way, Lin Xiao couldn't help but raise his guard.

He would have to pay more attention to this area in the future.

His desire to improve his cultivation instantly became more urgent.

Indeed, improving one's strength was still incredibly important! It would be his greatest reliance in dispelling fear when encountering the unknown.

Lin Xiao said to Lin Yun,

"Brother, let's keep a closer eye on the situation around Graveyard Mountain lately."

Lin Yun nodded. Just as he was about to say something else, Lin Dayou, who was clearing weeds at the very top, called out to them,

"Erlang, Sanlang, what are you two muttering about down there? Hurry up and carry this grass down—"

"Oh, coming, coming!" The two hurried up to gather the grass.

Both of them tacitly agreed not to mention the matter.

Once the Lin family members finished clearing the weeds around the graves, they began to shovel dirt.

The adults shoveled plenty of fresh earth onto the burial mounds. Once that was done, they had the children come over to symbolically add a handful of dirt to each grave.

After everything was tidied up and all the Lin family graves looked brand new, they finally began to pay their respects to their ancestors.

With the offerings laid out, everyone burned incense and bowed before each grave, one by one.

Old Master Lin took the lead, pouring a shallow bowl of wine over the grave to invite the ancestors to drink and eat.

Lin Dayou led Lin Yun and Lin Xiao to bow at each grave until they finally arrived at his wife's grave.

Standing before the grave, Lin Dayou gazed at the tombstone that had been weathered by wind and rain for over a decade, his expression uncharacteristically gentle.

Lin Yun and Lin Xiao both knelt down and gave their mother three solid kowtows.

Although the time they spent together was short, and Lin Xiao had still been in his swaddling clothes back then, he held deep love and respect for his mother in his heart.

Without his mother's desperate protection back then, he wouldn't be here today.

It was no exaggeration to say that his life had been exchanged for his mother's.

With a thousand words unspoken, Lin Xiao sat on his knees before his mother's grave, pouring out everything he wanted to say to her in his heart.

Beside him, Lin Yun did the same.

The two knelt before the grave, as quiet as two statues, yet their minds had been chattering away for a long time.

Lin Dayou grew impatient and started shooing them away,

"That's enough for you two. Hurry up and go see if your grandpa and the others need any help. Go on, get out of here."

He grabbed each son by the collar with one hand, hoisted them up, and shoved them upward.

Lin Yun and Lin Xiao had no choice but to make room for their parents.

Watching the two boys walk away, Lin Dayou slowly sat down, leaning against the tombstone.

He stroked the somewhat blurred characters Madam Lin née Song on the tombstone, then looked with eyes full of tenderness at the two small characters below them: Chunxiu.

He had asked the engraver to add those back then; it was his wife's name.

Softly, he recounted to her everything that had happened recently and all the amusing anecdotes he had saved up.

Except for holidays and festivals, Lin Dayou rarely came alone.

Because he was afraid that if he came too often, he would drown in this nostalgia and sorrow, unable to pull himself out.

So he always saved his innermost thoughts, saving them for times like this to murmur to his wife.

Lin Xiao and Lin Yun returned to Old Master Lin and the others, but Lin Xiao could still feel that strange sensation. Uneasy, he used the excuse of gathering firewood to wander around the area.

However, he found nothing.

No matter where he walked, the sensation felt roughly the same, so he couldn't use it to pinpoint the direction of the anomaly's source.

Consequently, Lin Xiao had to give up for the time being.

The sky gradually darkened.

By the time the Lin family had packed up their things and prepared to head down the mountain, the sun was already setting.

On the way back, Lin Yan and Lin Ying had picked a large handful of wildflowers. They wove the flowers into wreaths and placed them on everyone's heads.

The others had also gathered a few bundles of firewood, enough to burn for quite a while.

Old Master Lin and Grandma Lin had also picked a large handful of tender green wild vegetables along the way, planning to make a wild vegetable soup when they got back.

By the time everyone returned to the old Lin family residence, only half of the setting sun remained on the horizon.

Eldest Aunt Lin hurriedly took the chicken and fish that had been used as offerings today to cook, while Grandma Lin took the large piece of pork belly, rubbed it with salt, and set it aside to marinate.

The others went about their tasks, some fetching water, some putting things away. Everyone had something to do.

Although the Lin family had already divided the household, they still gathered together at the old residence to eat during holidays and festivals.

With chicken, fish, and fresh, delicious wild vegetables, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Even Lin Dayou, who had been silent and depressed all the way back, perked up, vigorously smacking Lin Xiao's crossed legs with his chopsticks.

The pain made Lin Xiao howl.

This ordinary, peaceful night passed quietly just like that.

Since Tomb-Sweeping Day, Lin Xiao began to cultivate overtime.

Of course, he also began his journey of assisting Sun Yigao's cultivation.

Sun Yigao felt that their Sect Master seemed to be a bit too clingy lately.

Normally, the Sect Master was nowhere to be seen all day, either pondering things in the main hall or secretly clearing spirit fields and building houses everywhere. But recently, bright and early every morning, as soon as Sun Yigao went up the mountain, the Sect Master would appear right beside him on time, follow him into the cultivation room, and constantly discuss cultivation methods with him.

He also dug out all those spells he had previously told everyone there was no rush to learn, urging Sun Yigao to find some spare time to study them more while doing other things.

Sun Yigao felt a bit confused about what was going on with Lin Xiao.

Although he thought it was quite nice, lately, with Lin Xiao cultivating alongside him, his cultivation speed could be described as advancing by leaps and bounds.

But for some reason, he always felt that Lin Xiao had something on his mind.

Sun Yigao admitted he was a little panicked.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao was completely oblivious to Sun Yigao's inner thoughts. He was living an incredibly fulfilling life every day now.

Every morning, he headed straight for the sect's cultivation room and spent the entire day in there with Sun Yigao without coming out. Unless absolutely pressed by biological needs, in which case he would dash out to relieve himself and immediately return.

He acted as if he wished he could just take root in the cultivation room.