Going Home

Since ancient times, winter has been met with sorrow and desolation; I say winter days surpass spring mornings.

Under the clear sky, a crane pierced the clouds, drawing poetic feeling up into the blue heavens.

Lin Chen's heart burned with warmth, and even his footsteps were light.

Compared to half a year ago, his mood was worlds apart.

Half a year ago, he had gone home with anticipation. Though excited, the path of martial cultivation had still been unclear. Now that he had truly set foot on that path, his eagerness to return home was driven even more by longing for his family and by impatience to share this joy with his parents and elder brother.

He reached the village entrance.

Lin Chen slowed his pace.

Gu Fei had returned to the village long ago. With Gu Fei's mouth, Lin Chen's dazzling performance at the Martial Hall had probably already spread throughout the entire village.

Who was free of vanity?

Lin Chen admitted that he was no exception. Vanity was not a bad thing; to a certain extent, vanity and pride were the driving forces that pushed a person forward.

As long as one was not blinded by vanity, a proper amount of it was nothing excessive.

Very soon, Lin Chen encountered a villager.

"Lin Chen?"

The villager saw Lin Chen but did not dare confirm it. A few months ago, Lin Chen had returned home once, only to leave in a hurry the next day, and many villagers had never seen him.

During his year at the Martial Hall, Lin Chen's qi and blood had grown rapidly, and his height and appearance had changed greatly from before.

His eyes were bright, his complexion ruddy, and his entire body was robust and powerful, utterly different from the village youths.

"Uncle Li, it's me."

Lin Chen gave a slight nod, waiting to receive Uncle Li's coming words of exaggerated praise.

"Lin Chen, you came back at just the right time. Something seems to have happened at your house. Some people came to cause trouble, your father..."

The villager had not finished speaking when he discovered that Lin Chen had already dashed more than thirty yards away.

His speed left the man staring in stunned silence.

Lin Chen was anxious too. It couldn't be this melodramatic, could it?

He had only just set foot on the martial path, and trouble had already struck his family.

This plot was so hackneyed that even webnovel authors would not write it this way anymore.

Running toward his home in a single breath, Lin Chen saw the villagers gathered not far ahead and felt relieved.

The villagers were not gathered outside his own house, but at the Lin Family ancestral residence.

It was not his own family that had run into trouble.

Feeling slightly relieved, Lin Chen entered the crowd. At his current height, he already counted as tall in the village, and he could see the situation at the front at a glance.

Father Lin and First Uncle, Second Uncle, and Third Uncle—the three brothers—as well as his elder brother, were facing several burly men with hoes and shoulder poles in hand.

Behind them stood Grandfather and First Aunt. Second Aunt was off to the side, holding Lin Hui, who had collapsed on the ground with his lower body limp, her eyes brimming with tears. Mother Lin was holding her niece, Cheng Xi, while First Aunt's daughter was nowhere to be seen.

"Debts must be repaid—that's only right and proper. Your family borrowed ten taels, and with principal and interest, it's fifteen taels now. Either repay the money or hand over the land deed. Otherwise, even taking this to the magistrate won't help."

The burly man leading the other side had a face full of coarse flesh and wore a mocking expression. "If you're poor, don't imitate others and practice martial arts. You should have thought about what your own family was made of."

Hearing this exchange, Lin Chen frowned. Were these several burly men from the Money House?

Had Grandfather borrowed ten taels from the Money House?

Without his father, Lin Chen would not have wanted to involve himself in this matter at all. Since they had already separated households, the debt owed by Grandfather and First Uncle's family had nothing to do with him. But his father was involved now, so he naturally could not stand by and watch.

"Uncle Zhang, please let me through."

"Uncle Xu, let me in."

Lin Chen patted the shoulders of the villagers watching in front of him. They turned around and were all somewhat shocked to see Lin Chen, but soon made way for him.

"Lin Chen is back."

"Lin Chen? The youngest son of the Lin family's youngest branch? I heard he's doing very well learning martial arts at the Martial Hall."

"Looks like that Gu boy wasn't lying. What a tall fellow! My boy stayed at the Martial Hall for a year back then and only grew half a head. This one must have grown at least a foot taller."

Seeing Lin Chen, the villagers whispered among themselves. Mother Lin was thrilled to see her son return. Holding Cheng Xi, she was about to walk over. "Why did you come back at this time? Gu Fei said you still had another month of training at the Martial Hall."

"I came back to see you, Mom."

If not for what had happened before him, Lin Chen could have satisfied his mother's vanity by declaring outright, "Your son has refined Essence Energy." But now he wanted to know what had happened.

"Mom, what's going on?"

Hearing her son ask, Mother Lin pursed her lips. "Last month, Lin Ming came back asking for money again. You know your grandfather—he'll grant anything those two grandsons ask for. He secretly borrowed ten taels from the Money House and agreed to five taels of interest for a month. If he didn't repay it, the land deed would be used to settle the debt."

Lin Chen's mouth twitched. He looked at Grandfather standing behind his father and gave a self-mocking laugh.

With interest that high, he had still dared to borrow the money!

As befitted the Lin Family's only grandson, ten taels had not been enough, so he had gone and borrowed another ten from the Money House.

"This has nothing to do with our family, right, Father and Second Uncle?"

Since Grandfather had borrowed the money, the fields had belonged to First Uncle after the household separation. They had nothing to do with his own family or Second Uncle's family, which had received the fishing boat.

"They came to demand repayment, but your grandfather didn't want to hand it over, so a conflict broke out. Lin Hui happened to come home at that moment. Thinking they were bullying your grandfather, he charged over and was beaten to the ground..."

Lin Chen understood. Grandfather had refused to hand over the land deed, so the men who came to collect the debt had beaten Lin Hui. His father and the others had rushed over after hearing the news, and the villagers had come as well.

If outsiders from another village came to cause trouble, Lakeside Village was still very united.

But the problem was that these people had come from the Money House to collect a debt. There was written proof in black and white, and the Lin Family had no grounds on their side. The villagers had no reason to step in for them. Besides, anyone capable of opening a Money House was no pushover, and the physiques of these several burly men alone were enough to make the villagers apprehensive.

After explaining the situation, Mother Lin added in a low voice, "This is a matter for your grandfather and First Uncle's family. Don't act rashly."

"Don't worry, Mom."

Lin Chen knew that his mother was worried he would soften and take this debt upon himself for Grandfather.

He could not possibly soften.

From the moment the households had separated, he had lost all familial affection for Grandfather and First Uncle's family.

"Father, they came with a loan note to collect the debt. That's only right and proper. Even if we block them today, tomorrow they can go through the magistrate and take the land deed. There's no need to stop them."

Lin Chen took the initiative to speak to Father Lin. Before Father Lin could answer, First Aunt standing behind them objected first.

"Chen'er, how can you help outsiders? These are the fertile fields handed down through our Lin Family's ancestors. If we lose them, how will we face the Lin Family's forebears?"

"As long as you can repay the money, who would want those few lousy plots of yours? We're all from the same town. Our Money House has always been reasonable. The amount borrowed and the interest charged were both explained in advance. There are people from Lakeside Village who have borrowed money from our Money House before—have you ever seen us cause trouble?"

The leading burly man snorted softly and turned his gaze toward Lin Chen. "This young man understands reason. If this matter drags on until the magistrate handles it, you'll have to pay additional runner's fees."

The county magistrate's runners did not travel to the countryside. To come down and handle a matter, they charged travel fees.

Therefore, when disputes arose in a village or town, the village chief or some respected elders were generally invited to uphold justice and resolve them. Matters that reached the magistrate were extremely rare.

"You can't hand it over. That is the root of our Lin Family." Grandfather Lin Chaoyang spoke up. "My eldest grandson sent a letter the day before yesterday. He has already refined Essence Energy. Given a few more days, he'll be able to repay the money."

He had refined Essence Energy?

Hearing Grandfather's words, the surrounding villagers began discussing it among themselves.

"Lin Ming has refined Essence Energy?"

"He probably has. Lin Ming has been practicing for nearly three years now. Look at the Lin Family's circumstances three years ago, then look at them now—they even had to split the household. After spending so much money, he ought to have refined it."

"Now that Lin Ming has refined Essence Energy, the Lin Family's days are going to improve."

The villagers' envious words brought a smile to Grandfather's aged face, while First Aunt beside him also wore a pleased expression.

She had not told anyone that her son had refined Essence Energy. She had originally planned to make a grand announcement on the day her son returned, but Father had let it slip right then.

Still, with so many villagers present, announcing it today was fine too.

"Give you more time? Bah!"

The leading burly man's expression did not change. He spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground, instantly freezing the smiles on First Aunt and Grandfather's faces.

"It took him nearly three years just to refine Essence Energy. Whether he'll ever awaken his potential in this lifetime is hard to say. Either repay the money today or hand over the land deed. There's no other road."

"You... you..."

"What about me? Did you really think our Money House hadn't investigated your family before lending you the money?"

The leading burly man sneered. How could he not know what kind of person Lin Ming was?

Lin Ming had emptied his family's savings and incurred a huge debt just to refine Essence Energy. A person like that had no prospects in martial cultivation whatsoever, and he would not even be able to scrape together the money needed for further training.

Since they had already offended each other, they might as well offend them thoroughly and cut off their source of funds.

Grandfather Lin Chaoyang trembled with rage at the burly man's words. His Lin Family's Qilin Child had spent so much money refining Essence Energy, only to be belittled as worthless—right in front of the entire village. How could he accept that?

"Second Brother, Third Brother, these are the fields handed down through our Lin Family's ancestors. We can't let them disappear just like this. They want money, so the three of you brothers should pool it together and pay them first. Once Ming'er has refined Essence Energy, he'll be able to repay both your families before long."

Grandfather Lin Chaoyang looked toward Father Lin and Second Uncle. What should have been a great celebration for the Lin Family had now been stirred into this mess.

Second Uncle was somewhat tempted. He did not understand martial cultivators, but he often heard Lin Ming talk about the glory that came after refining Essence Energy. If he helped at a time like this, Lin Ming would remember his uncle's kindness.

Father Lin looked toward Mother Lin and Lin Chen. The household's finances were now controlled by his wife, and his wife mostly listened to their youngest son.

"Our family won't contribute this money."

Looking at Grandfather's overbearing manner, Lin Chen gave a cold laugh. "I think that man said one thing correctly. If it takes three years to refine Essence Energy, then given First Uncle's family's circumstances, whether Eldest Cousin will even have the money to continue learning martial arts is a problem."