A weight lifted, a farewell before a long journey

At 3:45 PM, the carriage slowly drove into the entrance of Reed River Village, and the entire village where Qin Siyu was born and raised was displayed before Lin Yu.

Although he had just done a quick check, he was busy investigating whether there were any methods left behind by "Diviner" in the Village, so Lin Yu didn't pay much attention to the local customs, scenery, or anything like that.

Now that I'm back in, I can finally take a good look around.

This is a village with over a hundred households, not a small one. A straight, hard dirt road runs through the middle of the village, with curbs marked by gravel half-buried in the soil.

There were three taverns and a two-story Wooden Pavilion Inn on both sides of the road, indicating that caravans and martial arts practitioners sometimes passed through this area, and some villagers also did this kind of business.

But most of the buildings are still single-story mud-walled and tiled houses, clearly inhabited by ordinary villagers. Looking further into the distance, there are vast fields, irrigation canals in several canals, and a waterwheel, indicating that most of the residents in this Village still rely on farming for a living.

It was early afternoon, the off-season for farming, so there were hardly any people in the Fields. Most people were resting at home, and only a few villagers were strolling around on the street. However, there were quite a few children running around, playing and frolicking.

But whether they were villagers or children, compared to people in other places, most of them had sparse, yellowish hair, and their skin was covered with many cracks. They would cough violently after taking a few steps, and they did not look very healthy.

This is naturally due to the internal Fire Poison in their bodies.

The children all turned their curious gazes towards the carriage that had just arrived.

Although visitors often pass through this village, it is indeed rare to see a single horse-drawn carriage arrive at this time.

Lin Yu reined in his horse and stopped the carriage, Qin Siyu jumped down.

As Qin Siyu appeared, the children's gazes shifted from curiosity to surprise.

"Sister Qin!"

"My Big Sister's back!"

The children cheered, some running towards Qin Siyu, while others turned and ran into the streets and alleys.

The children who ran towards Qin Siyu her, asking her all sorts of questions about Qin Siyu recent situation.

The children who ran into the streets and alleys soon brought out more children, older children, and many adults hurrying out.

In an instant, the entire Reed River Village seemed to be celebrating a festival, with everyone coming out of their homes and rushing towards Qin Siyu.

"Xiao Qin is back! Cough cough cough!"

"Sister Qin, you've been away for so long, cough cough. Why are you only just getting back?"

"Ahem, Siyu, you've lost a lot of weight again."

Has your Martial Arts improved?

Qin Siyu was surrounded by people asking her all sorts of trivial questions, interspersed with a lot of coughing, which surprised Lin Yu.

He is now beginning to believe that Qin Siyu was not joking when she said she was raised by the people of the village.

Everyone in these Village truly treated her like family.

Lin Yu also began to understand why Qin Siyu was so concerned about the affairs of the Village.

She is indeed a grateful and good child.

What surprised Lin Yu even more was not only the villagers' attitude towards Qin Siyu, but also Qin Siyu's attitude towards the villagers.

More accurately... it's the state Qin Siyu is currently displaying.

Although Qin Siyu's carefree nature at first glance was inspired by Li Nian's performance, Lin Yu also realized along the way that Qin Siyu, who could become friends with Li Nian, was definitely not an introverted or steady person.

She is also naturally lively.

However, at this moment, Qin Siyu's demeanor was completely opposite to that of her in front of Lin Yu.

The night clothes he had worn the whole way were nowhere to be seen now; Qin Siyu had probably taken them off and hidden them in the car. In their place was a gray, fitted outfit commonly seen on Martial Arts School disciples—made of linen, simple and practical.

Qin Siyu herself had a gentle and quiet demeanor. She smiled and took out some Candy and snacks from her bosom to distribute to the children, while answering questions from the uncles and aunts around her.

"These past six months have been great. I'm highly regarded at the Martial Arts School, and my master thinks a lot of me."

"Oh, by the way, Master and my Senior Brother brought back some Cold Jade Spring Water from their travels and asked me to bring it back and share it with the villagers!"

"Please accept these, everyone. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I've made many contributions to our sect... Don't worry, I will definitely repay Master and my Senior Brother."

"There are some things in the carriage, all of which I obtained from my adventures slaying demons and monsters. I left them in the village when I returned... Please feel free to take what you need."

"However, my Senior Brother's share is also included, so don't spend it all!"

Qin Siyu smiled gently, interacting with all the villagers with maturity and composure, patiently answering their questions and sharing her experiences. She truly resembled a mature, composed, and reserved Heroine- errant.

She even took out the Cold Jade Spring Water and naturally explained the matter of the Yaomo treasures in the carriage.

As Lin Yu listened to Qin Siyu's methodical arrangements and responses, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"That's really impressive, to be able to portray such a reliable character... or rather, is it that her acting skills actually allow her to do that?"

"Or is this mature and composed demeanor her 'true face,' and being with me is just an act?"

For a fleeting moment, Lin Yu even began to doubt Qin Siyu's "true colors."

However, this suspicion only arose and lingered for a moment.

After all, for Lin Yu... he can distinguish which parts are "acting skills".

Although Qin Siyu's acting was indeed good, he could still tell that what he was seeing was created through "acting skills."

Moreover... judging from Qin Siyu's words and those of the villagers, it's clear that she was indeed "lying" in this area.

After all, Qin Siyu seemed to be creating the impression that she was practicing martial arts normally at some Martial Arts School.

She seems to be hiding the fact that she is a notorious thief.

Meanwhile, Qin Siyu's conversation with the villagers became increasingly in-depth, naturally leading the topic to Lin Yu.

"Hey? You mean that guy over there...? That's a senior from the Daoist Sect, a close friend of my master. I was really fortunate to receive his special escort back this time; I got a lot of help along the way."

"This senior is a highly skilled and accomplished Daoist master with profound Daoist Sect."

Upon hearing this introduction, Lin Yu smiled warmly and greeted the surrounding villagers.

Before Qin Siyu could introduce herself, Lin Yu felt a little nervous as she pointed at him.

He was genuinely afraid that when Qin Siyu him, she would blurt out something like, "This is my husband."

But to her surprise, the identity she assigned to herself was unexpectedly normal.

It was so normal that Lin Yu didn't even know how to respond.

He could only maintain a smile, exchanging simple glances with the villagers who looked at him with reverence, adopting the demeanor of a "Daoist Sect master."

Some of the children were also curious, but perhaps because Qin Siyu had said that Lin Yu was highly skilled and had profound knowledge, the children, under the restraint of the adults, did not dare to go up and talk to Lin Yu for the time being.

The next thing, naturally, was the final step in the neighborhood's pleasantries—several elders from Reed River Village who were somewhat familiar with Qin Siyu warmly invited Qin Siyu to their homes for dinner, listing the dishes in a manner that was anything but polite.

However, all these invitations were turned down by another aunt.

"Alright, alright, Xiao Qin just said, cough cough cough, he's mainly here to drop off some things and is just passing through, he won't be staying long... He only has one meal, let him and the Village Chief have it!"

"That's true, Xiao Qin probably misses the Village Chief the most."

The group laughed and joked as the crowd gradually dispersed, and then Qin Siyu looked at Lin Yu.

"Senior, I'm going to the Village Chief's house... Let's go."

She spoke with a smile, and Lin Yu nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I'll go with you to formally pay a visit to the Village Chief... who should be considered your most official adoptive father, right?"

"Before I leave, it's time to say a proper goodbye to him."

As Lin Yu spoke, Qin Siyu pursed her lips. "Foster father... you could say that, but judging from his age, he's more like Grandfather."

"But you're right, senior, it's time to say goodbye."

The two walked along the Village road. Qin Siyu, familiar with the way, led Lin Yu to the deepest part of the village and found a spacious house.

Although it is the Village Chief's residence, it is not particularly grand compared to the other villagers' houses; the only difference is that the gate is built a bit high.

Qin Siyu grabbed the brass ring on the door and knocked on it. Then, without waiting for an answer, she pushed the door open and went inside.

"My lord, I'm back."

As Qin Siyu spoke, she stepped over the high threshold. A yellow dog in the courtyard heard the door open and barked twice. But when it saw Qin Siyu, it stopped barking and instead jumped up, making the chain rattle and hiss.

The noise from the dog and the door woke up the old man lying on the recliner under the pomegranate tree in the yard. The dark-skinned, bald old man, who was about the same height and build as Qin Siyu, picked up the palm-leaf fan that was on his face, saw Qin Siyu, and started cursing.

"Hey, so you finally know how to come back! You haven't sent a single letter to the village all year round. Your Uncle Erniu's kid is worried sick about you all the time! He knocks on the door every day asking me if his Xiao Qin has died out there!"

"You didn't even tell me you were coming back!"

The old Village Chief walked up to Qin Siyu, cursing and swearing, and patted her shoulder with a palm-leaf fan.

Seeing that the old man was alright, Qin Siyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a more relaxed and flamboyant smile appeared on her face, different from when she was facing other villagers.

"Oh, sir, I'm writing to you. Can you understand it?"

"You can't read!"