Overnight, the skies above River-Yang City lit up.
Lin Song, an elder of the Lin Household, leaned on his dragon-patterned cane as he personally stood guard outside the residence of the Grand Elder. His back was ramrod straight, and even his breathing carried a trace of careful restraint.
Behind him stood more than a hundred members of the Lin Household, from white-haired elders to children still wearing their innocence on their faces. All were dressed in their finest robes, their expressions so respectful they were almost devout.
Along the city walls, red lanterns were hung one after another, casting a warm glow over the blue-brick walls.
On both sides of the streets, Lin Household servants bustled about, sweeping the roads and setting out incense tables. Even the air carried a faint scent of sandalwood.
"Has the Grand Elder truly returned?"
A young Lin Household disciple could not help lowering his voice as he asked an elder beside him, his tone full of disbelief.
The elder shot him a fierce glare, but his own voice was also lowered, excitement hidden in his eyes. "How could it be false? The Grand Elder did not disappear back then—he was merely trapped in a dangerous land. Now that he has returned, our Lin Household has finally escaped the Bitter Sea."
Those words spoke the hearts of every member of the Lin Household.
During the years Lin Yan had been missing, the Lin Household had been like a fierce tiger with its spine broken, squeezed so badly by the surrounding lineages that it could scarcely breathe.
Its resources had been carved up, the spiritual veins of its ancestral tombs had weakened by the day, and even the cultivation resources for its younger generation had nearly become impossible to maintain.
Had it not been for the