Family Letter

"With pickled tofu soup in my bowl, even the emperor can't match my soul!"

Zhang He set down the final dish, Sour Cabbage Fish Tofu Soup, and said with a chuckle.

"So lavish."

Looking at the feast spread across the table, Lin Chan replied politely.

On the eleventh New Year's Eve since arriving in this world, Lin Chan was spending it at the home of his friend from Shu Mountain, Zhang He, together with Zhang He's family.

Zhang He had married late, descending the mountain to take a wife only in his sixties. His wife was now under forty, their relationship ordinary, and they had four children.

The eldest son, Zhang Dashan, was sixteen this year and wanted to follow Zhang He up the mountain to Shu Mountain. But Zhang He was merely a minor Outer Sect Steward—how could he decide such a thing?

Besides, Zhang Dashan had no Spiritual Root aptitude. Even becoming an outer sect Registered Disciple was out of the question.

The other three children were still young. The youngest pair, a boy and a girl, had long Phoenix Tail Pheasant feathers stuck in their hair, looking cheerful and festive.

"Uncle Lin! Let me pour you some wine."

Seeing the dishes were all served, Zhang Dashan immediately stepped forward to pour Lin Chan a cup of Spiritual Wine. He thought about pouring one for himself too, but after catching Zhang He's look, he handed the flagon to his father and poured himself some ordinary sweet wine instead.

Lin Chan's face flushed slightly at being served wine and called "uncle" by Zhang Dashan.

After all, this body of his was only eleven years old.

But then he thought—counting both his lives, he really did qualify as Zhang Dashan's uncle. So he said nothing more, just nodded and praised Zhang Dashan with a smile.

"Brother Lin, a toast to you."

Zhang He raised his cup to Lin Chan.

After downing the small cup in one gulp, Zhang He ladled Lin Chan a bowl of chicken soup and even pulled off a drumstick for him.

"Brother Lin, I simmered this Phoenix Tail Pheasant all afternoon until it was tender and falling off the bone. Give it a try."

Zhang He handed the soup to Lin Chan.

"Delicious!"

Lin Chan took a bite—the flavor was indeed excellent.

Zhang He hadn't wasted all those years. His cooking skills were honed to perfection; he could easily work as a head chef in the Kitchen.

But the Kitchen had plenty of perks, and getting in wasn't so easy.

"Everyone, eat up. Don't mind me."

Lin Chan said with a smile.

After that, they all ate together and chatted about things.

Zhang He didn't come home often, so once there, he had a bellyful of stories to share with his family.

Of course, he didn't neglect Lin Chan either. Every few sentences, he'd check in for Lin Chan's opinion.

Lin Chan, on the other hand, wished Zhang He would pay him less attention so he could focus on eating and get his fill.

When the topic turned to Zhang Dashan's future, Zhang He planned to have him settle down and farm, living an honest, ordinary life.

After all, the boy had no Spiritual Root talent, so Zhang He wouldn't pass on his own skills to him.

"Dad! I'm leaving Shu Mountain. I want to go out and make my own way."

Zhang Dashan, hearing his father's dismissive words, suddenly spoke up.

He expected Zhang He to try to stop him, but instead heard:

"Fine! If you want to go, then go! You're an adult now, I can't control you. I'll prepare some Travel Money for you. After the New Year, go wherever you like. But you should know—places like Shu Mountain's Peach Blossom Spring aren't easy to come by."

"I'll carve out my own path!"

Zhang Dashan shot back without backing down.

"Just don't regret it."

Zhang He didn't argue further.

After all, it was a holiday—no need to let things get too heated.

After the meal, Zhang He used Sword Riding to take Lin Chan back to Shu Mountain.

"Brother Zhang, I'd like to send a letter to my family. Do you know how I can get it out?"

Lin Chan had been at Shu Mountain for half a year and felt cut off from the outside world. Sending a few letters home wasn't so simple.

"Brother Lin, isn't that rebellious son of mine heading out? Perfect timing—he can take it for you. Just give me the letter in a few days."

Zhang He hadn't drunk himself into a stupor, since he needed to escort Lin Chan back to Shu Mountain.

"That's wonderful. How much will it cost?"

Lin Chan's face lit up with joy.

"Nothing, it's on the way. I don't need much."

Zhang He waved off the offer.

After a bit of back-and-forth, Zhang He finally accepted ten Bigu Pills from Lin Chan.

But he couldn't guarantee it would arrive.

After all, it was several thousand miles away.

Lin Chan didn't mind much. If it got there, great. If not, that was fine too.

He could just go back in a few years.

Back in his cave dwelling, Lin Chan sealed the door and began to cultivate.

After all, he'd eaten so much today—he couldn't let it go to waste.

The next day, after waking up, Lin Chan first meditated as usual.

Then he used the Cleaning Spell to scour the entire cave dwelling from top to bottom.

Now that he could cast the Cleaning Spell himself, there was no need to arrange for Registered Disciples to come clean.

Remembering he hadn't seen Little Li or Little White in half a year, Lin Chan took out a Thousand Mile Travel Talisman and made his way down Tianquan Peak, then up to Yaoguang Peak to visit them.

The Thousand Mile Travel Talisman boosted Lin Chan's speed by about three or four times, but it still wasted an hour of his time.

If he'd flown through the sky, he'd have been there in less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

Sure enough, not being able to Sword Ride was a real hassle.

Next time, he'd have to boldly ask his senior brother, or Zhang He, to give him a lift.

Otherwise, life would be wasted on travel.

Yaoguang Peak was home to many demonic beasts, some even wearing Shu Mountain robes, looking quite proper.

But most were small monsters with shallow cultivation, unable to speak either Rong Country's tongue or the Dao language.

Lin Chan walked to the cat shelter where the cats usually gathered and spotted Little Li among the crowd.

"Little Li, how's your cultivation going? Can you talk yet?"

Lin Chan picked up Little Li, and in an instant, he substituted himself into Little Li's body, then swapped back immediately.

That gave him a clear read on Little Li's level.

Still couldn't speak.

He figured it would take at least a few decades of cultivation before Little Li could utter human words.

Still, with daily practice, its intelligence was growing, and it hadn't forgotten him.

Going deeper inside, Lin Chan saw the white cat lounging lazily in its nest.

"Senior Brother Dian Mo! Happy New Year!"

Lin Chan cupped his hands in greeting to the white cat.

Xu Chang had told him before that this white cat had a century of cultivation, on par with a human Foundation Establishment cultivator—nothing to overlook.

"Human! Even if you pay me New Year's respects, I've got no red envelopes!"

Dian Mo opened his eyes warily, as if Lin Chan might covet his talisman coins.

"Senior Brother, you misunderstand. I just came to see Little Li and the others. Why isn't Little White around?"

Lin Chan asked.

"I think you know we have plenty of female disciples on Yaoguang Peak, and you're just looking to find one of them!"

Dian Mo squinted, lying in his nest.

"Senior Brother Dian Mo, you really misunderstand. I truly came to see Little Li and Little White."

Lin Chan said awkwardly.

"Alright, I'll believe you for now. But showing up empty-handed—isn't that a bit insincere?"

Dian Mo said teasingly.

"Right, I did bring a gift."

Lin Chan took out his jade bottle of Bigu Pills and handed it to Dian Mo.

It happened to have only one pill left, so he'd use it to brush Dian Mo off.

Dian Mo didn't stand on ceremony. He popped the cork, flicked the Bigu Pill out, caught it in his mouth, swallowed it without chewing.

"Next time, don't be so stingy. Hook a few spirit fish or something—that's not too much, is it?"

Dian Mo grumbled after finishing.

"Junior Brother understands."

Lin Chan nodded perfunctorily, but in his heart, he decided not to come to Yaoguang Peak again unless necessary.

After that, Dian Mo's throat moved twice, emitting a sound Lin Chan couldn't hear, then said:

"Little White will be here soon."

In response to readers' requests, a VIP membership ad-free feature is now available.